Two days later.
The directors of Rhine Lab quietly left the Rhine Lab office building with the students they had chosen, under the pretense of attending a meeting and presentation. Although such an excuse could easily be seen through, no one in Trimounts would actively pick a fight with Rhine Lab, aside from the military.
No ordinary staff at the launch site witnessed this undertaking. All operations and adjustments were handled by the Preserver. Aside from him, only Ferdinand and Ahrens were seated at the computers, typing rapidly as they carried out the final checks. The remaining directors, together with Chief Administrator Kristen, entered the bridge and took their assigned seats.
Ever since hearing about this insane plan, Stainless had been so restless that he could barely eat or sleep. Now, seated behind Felix, he was still visibly uneasy. This was the first attempt in Terra's history to break through the sky itself. It was not serious enough for him to write a will, but he had still written a letter to his grandmother, telling her how much he missed home.
"Activate the second sequence of the anti-gravity array." Kristen's finger traced a fluorescent blue path across the control panel. From the corner of her eye, she could see Ferdinand behind her staring at the energy propulsion system he had designed, his eyes full of manic excitement. "System all green, Prepare for countdown."
"10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5..."
Everyone leaned back in their seats, gazing up at the azure sky above.
"4... 3... 2..."
Muelsyse gripped Felix's hand tightly. Her lips pressed together, and her heart pounded with fear and anticipation for the unknown future ahead.
"1... Liftoff."
The instant the synthesized voice sounded, the first-stage thrusters ignited.
Ferdinand's wild laughter was swallowed by the deafening roar. Twelve streams of bluish-purple flame tore through the morning mist, and the heat-resistant quartz sand beneath the launch pad vaporized in an instant, forming rainbow-colored rings of cloud in the monitoring lens.
The metal floor of the control room tilted sharply. Saria's shield, which had been fixed against the wall, nearly crashed to the ground under the sudden force of acceleration.
"Didn't the structural engineers say the gravity system was foolproof?"
Ahrens silently closed his eyes, took out two heart pills from his pocket, and placed them in his mouth.
On the monitor, the rocket tore free from the launch facilities, violently ripping apart the quiet morning of Trimounts as it surged upward toward ninety thousand miles.
Across the city of Trimounts, pedestrians stopped in their tracks and stared wide-eyed at the enormous rocket ascending into the sky in the distance. Some researchers dropped their documents and folders on the spot, then ran off in a frenzy to spread the news.
"This is the largest rocket ever built. Unbelievable. Can it really fly?"
"My God, are they actually going to exceed the maximum altitude aircraft can reach?"
"I need to call the director and tell him to come see this. This is a miracle!"
The scientists were thrown into an uproar, and so were the military officers, who knew nothing about the project. One general stared at the launched rocket with bulging eyes, then gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it! Is this some new weapon developed by the Air Force Commander?"
"But... we haven't received any report from the Air Force."
"Didn't they request a huge sum of money for aerial weapons development? Is this what they came up with?" the general spat, then narrowed his eyes. "The air force is getting far too much momentum. That's not good for the army."
His subordinates exchanged looks, seemingly finding some truth in his words.
___
Kal'tsit stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, while the Doctor stood behind her, looking somewhat dispirited. The Doctor had accepted fragments of her past memories, but she had never expected the responsibilities she once carried to be so heavy, nor that she had almost completely forgotten them.
The launch of the rocket broke her silence. She lifted her head and shaded her eyes from the sunlight. "This is... what Felix was talking about. Arc Light One."
Kal'tsit gave a quiet hum of acknowledgment. "Arc Light One is breaking past its original altitude limit... They are about to collide with..."
"Kal'tsit."
"What is it, Doctor?"
"It's nothing. Hehe... it's just nice to see that you haven't changed at all," the Doctor said softly. "To be honest, I'm a little scared."
"I'm afraid that after hearing what the Preserver said, you might change the way you see me, or the way we interact... something like that."
Kal'tsit answered calmly, "My attitude toward you, Doctor, will not change. That has nothing to do with my conversation with the Preserver."
"That's good. Then... don't you find it strange that the Preserver said you need to protect Felix's safety?" the Doctor asked in confusion. "Felix is probably the strongest person on Terra now, right? Kal'tsit... do you also want to become the strongest on Terra?"
"..."
"Kal'tsit, why are you ignoring me?"
___
"Breaking through the troposphere." Kristen's voice remained as calm as ever.
"Stay alert. Everyone, report your vital signs!"
"Energy Department normal!" "Defense Department normal!" "Structural Department normal!" "Energy Department... ugh!"
Ferdinand was, after all, only terran. Faced with the continuous acceleration as they climbed higher into the sky, he finally could not hold on. The ecstatic expression from earlier vanished completely. His student, Elena Urbica, quickly tore a vomit bag from the side and handed it to him.
Ferdinand's face turned pale. "I regret this."
"Why?"
"Because I haven't had time to buy insurance yet."
"Hahahahaha!"
"Wait, what's that up ahead?"
"Passing 5,000 meters!"
"That's it!"
At the very edge of everyone's vision, an almost transparent "wall" appeared, blocking Arc Light One's path.
"Convert energy to impact resistance!" Kristen shouted at once. "Saria!"
"I'm on it!"
The wall shone in front of the Arc Light One like phalanx.
"All units, brace for impact!"
Before she could finish speaking, Arc Light One had already slammed into the boiling barrier.
In an instant, the entire sky above Columbia lit up like a blazing furnace.
A beam of searing white light burst from the bow of Arc Light One. The layer of star essence peeled back to both sides like molten gold foil, while tiny specks of light clung to the hanging observation windows, turning into dancing fireflies of radiance.
As a baker in Trimounts spread honey over the seventh batch of scones, the shop window was suddenly drenched in flowing golden rain. When he looked up, he saw a sight he would never forget.
The entire sky... was cracking apart.
And from those cracks emerged a silver-white bow, with twelve blue-green trails of flame burning iris-shaped channels through the clouds.
"Mom! The stars are out in the daytime!"
Newsboys scattered coins all over the street. A cleaner scrubbing a statue at Trimounts University stopped in the middle of using his high-pressure water gun, and water streamed down the stone face like tears.
In that moment, science discovered a new path.
Fragments of the starpod fell like burning feathers, skimming past the Central Park Observatory Tower.
At the observatory, the astronomy professor dropped his coffee cup and lunged toward the spectrometer with trembling hands. "My God... those broken spectra, what... what on terra is this...?"
"It's all fake. It's all fake!"
He pressed his eyes to the binoculars, staring at the shattered false sky before him, tears streaming down his face. He laughed and cried at the same time, as though the whole world had collapsed in front of him.
"All the astronomical research we've done... it was all false!"
Kal'tsit let out a quiet sigh. "The false starry sky... has been shattered."
Ahrens's medical sensors sparked repeatedly. In the instant the wall broke apart, he froze. The violent pain coursing through his body was quickly replaced by stunned silence at the sight before him.
Unable to stop himself, he unbuckled his seatbelt and staggered toward the window, cracking his face shield in his excitement.
"Look at thirty-seven degrees south latitude!"
Blood trickled from Dorothy's ears, but she seemed completely unaware of it as she pointed toward the observation screen.
The entire continent of Terra hung suspended within a dark, velvet universe. Siesta's volcanoes resembled a string of crimson coral. The deserts of Sargon gleamed with silver along the line of dusk. The tundra of Ursus shimmered beneath aurora-like stardust.
Standing before the backup observation port, Ferdinand felt the starlight sting his retinas, and tears rose in his eyes. "Craters... there are lunar craters glowing to the north..."
As Kristen unbuckled her seatbelt, the hair of the commander drifted upward even though there was no wind at all.
The sensation of weightlessness was brief. A moment later, the gravity system of the Garden of Myriad Stars activated, allowing her to stand firmly once more.
She raised her head and looked at the starry sky, the sky Terra's people had dreamed of for thousands of years.
And now, it was right before her eyes.
Felix also unbuckled his seatbelt and hurried toward Kristen, wanting to confirm it for himself.
Unlike Muelsyse, who could recognize plants at a glance, Felix, like everyone else present, was filled with fear and excitement before this unknown starry sky.
This was an achievement the people of Terra had never accomplished before.
Now, they stood here as representatives of all Terrans who had broken through the star pod, broken through the protective shell that had enveloped the land of Terra for thousands of years.
Now, the true sky had appeared.
The title [Pioneer] has changed.
Congratulations on obtaining the new title [Pioneer of the Stars: Trailblazer]!
[Trailblazer] — One who has made a tremendous contribution to the world, or perhaps whose existence would have been drastically different without them.]
[Grants an additional 20% bonus to all attributes, Charisma +100]
Felix glanced at the change in his title, but before he could think much of it, Muelsyse pulled him over to inspect the changes in the plants. This time, unlike in his previous life when the chief commander had stood alone beneath the sky, all the members of Rhine Lab were working together. Before long, the life-support system began to function, and as oxygen was supplied, Muelsyse carefully examined the condition of the plants.
Felix, meanwhile, looked out through the porthole, wanting to see what the so-called Observers looked like, or what kind of phenomenon they truly were. Although he had made some guesses before, he had never seen the real thing for himself. Yet all that lay before him was the mesmerizing sea of stars.
"It can detect cosmic radiation... It is harmless to the terran body, but if the wavelength is long enough, it may affect plants and animals."
Ferdinand frowned as he observed the fluctuations in cosmic radiation, while his student, Elena Urbica, assisted him from the side. He kept nodding and shaking his head, clearly deep in thought. "Wait, this wavelength... it is somewhat similar to the wavelength of Oripathy."
"What do you mean?"
When he saw that it was Felix, Ferdinand did not hide his discovery. "We all know that the Originium inside the body of an infected person affects the body's internal structure. One reason is that the blood contains Originium, and the second is that the Originium within the body emits weak radiation, which gradually damages the patient's health. That is why Oripathy only worsens over time, because the body loses its ability to repair itself, like a leaking balloon."
"I have observed that the energy wavelength of this radiation is indeed not strong. In fact, it can even be said to resemble the Originium reaction within an infected body. But it has no harmful effect on the terran body... no, perhaps it is actually a beneficial reaction." Ferdinand typed rapidly across the keyboard. "If this estimate is correct, then cosmic radiation may be able to neutralize the internal radiation caused by Oripathy."
"You mean..."
Ferdinand let out a wild laugh. "Hahaha, the Columbian Medical Prize is waving at us. If the current data is accurate and there are no abnormal fluctuations later on, then we can begin experiments. Suppose the false sky covered by the starpod were completely shattered. Would the infected people of Terra stop deteriorating?"
Felix rested his chin on one hand. "What about the effect on the animals and plants you mentioned earlier?"
"That is only speculation for now." Ferdinand gestured toward the ecological park. "This wavelength may produce different effects on other organisms on Terra. Director Muelsyse brought a large number of small animals with her. Perhaps we can observe how they change over time."
Felix returned to his workbench and discovered that, at some point, the system had already begun updating.
[Detected: User has left the surface of Terra and entered deep space]
[Spaceship Blueprint Module Unlocked]
[Shuttle Module Unlocked]
[Miniature Stargate Module Unlocked]
Felix immediately resumed his old habit: gambling on blueprints.
The first to appear were the spaceship blueprints. He unlocked two civilian-class spacecraft capable of breaking through the atmosphere.
The ships themselves were not the issue. The real problem was the materials. Felix frowned. He had never even heard of some of them. As for the ones he did recognize, their places of origin were far beyond Kazdel. Processing them would not be impossible, but the manufacturing cycle would be extremely long.
As for the shuttle, it was a spacecraft designed for rapid passage across a planet's surface. A trip from Kazdel to Victoria that would normally take dozens of hours by plane could now be completed in just one hour.
Then there was the stargate...
Only then did Felix realize the true problem. The stargate was simply too tall and too large: five hundred meters high and two hundred meters wide, large enough for an entire spacecraft to pass through.
And that was merely the miniature version.
If Kazdel had no place large enough to install it, then Felix planned to place the stargate on the northern lands.
Now, the only thing left was the Observer.