Hao Ren knew he had yet another problem. It was as though he had caught Vivian's bad luck, because he found that problem always came looking for him.
"What's the situation? What's the bad news?" Hao Ren tried to remain calm, and decided that he would choose the size of brick to use depending on how smutty the MDT was going to be.
But the MDT was not kidding around this time. "The bad news is, we won't be able to open the World Gate from within. It could cause the space to collapse and even endanger other spatial bubbles. There's a possibility of an implosion.
Hao Ren froze. "Why is that?"
"Because, it's the heart of the collision between the two worlds. The two worlds with different laws tore the space here, leading to a fragile mathematical order—think of dismantling the load-bearing walls from inside a building after an earthquake. That's what it's like."
With this analogy, Hao Ren immediately got the picture. He pulled his brows together as he said, "So, the only way to open the World Gate is from the outside?"
"Now, the worse news," the MDT sounded just as annoying. "The entire bubble zone is actually not suitable for opening a World Gate—the World Gate is unlike Petrachelys' void drive. The void drive is just a propulsion device, capable of sending things from one world to another. However, the process is entirely self-contained and wouldn't cause information interference in the outside world. The World Gate is an entirely different thing; it's a 'structure' that takes root here and it'll have a certain impact to the surrounding environment. The power output of the tiniest World Gate is tens of times more than the drive output of a spacecraft. That doesn't sit well with the dangerous structure of the bubble zone. You can refer to the Incompatible Mathematical Erosion Equation in Unified Information Theory. That's..."
Hao Ren was stunned as he did not expect this situation. Nonetheless, the MDT's explanation was loud and clear—anything he could not understand, he would definitely be able to make sense after that. He blinked and turned to look at Y'zaks as well as Vivian who looked curious. "The MDT came back with one bad news and one worse news. Which news would you like to hear first?"
Lily grinned, revealing her fangs. "Let's hear the worse one first so that the bad one will feel like a silver lining later."
"I think I better tell you the bad news first, or else it'll be logically challenging to deal with the information." Hao Ren spread his hands out with a wry smile on his face. "There's a problem in opening the World Gate."
He then proceeded to explain the complex situation of the spatial bubble zone. Lily immediately indicated that she did not understand—Hao Ren looked at her, and sadly found that he and the husky had a common language. Meanwhile, Vivian's brows were knitted together. "This has turned out to be a bit of a surprise... We never thought about it in the beginning."
"Of course we didn't." Hao Ren twisted his mouth and said, "We thought that we were just coming here to pick up some people. Who would've thought we'd have to haul back a 400-km-long space fortress? My Dimensional Pocket is only good at accommodating things as large as 500 m or less in radius. Maybe we should consider cutting some stuff into smaller pieces for easier transportation if they aren't needed for scientific research. But then, Wang would have to chop his house up."
"Shut up if you have no real ideas." Vivian glared at Hao Ren before she turned to look at Y'zaks. "Biggie, what do you think?"
"The World Gate is going to be opened outside the bubble zone, which means that we have to haul Helcrown and the wreckage through the bubbles." Y'zaks studied the operation plan like a half-baked scientist. "First of all, we will inevitably face fierce attack when Helcrown is out in the open; secondly, how do we tow such a massive spacecraft wreckage? Use the Petrachelys?"
"I'm afraid it's not possible." Hao Ren shook his head. "The world outside has gravity. The anti-gravity field of the Petrachelys can't possibly cover hundreds of kilometers. It's just an official vessel that can make do as a tugboat in space, but not in gravity-filled environment."
"There's another thing; how do we let a 100-km wreckage pass through the gateway?" Lanina probably understood what they were discussing, but she was more concerned with the practical aspects rather than things like the World Gate and the spacecraft wreckage, which she knew nothing about. "The space bubbles are connected by naturally-occuring teleportation portals. The largest of which are only hundreds of meters across. That looks like a pinhole compared to a monster of a few hundred kilometers wide."
Vivian thought for a moment, and said, "Why don't we just teleport the wreckage to the fringe of the bubble zone using the Petrachelys?"
Hao Ren shook his head as he said, "Impossible. I've gotten the MDT to record the data each time it passed through the portal. The connection between each bubble is very confusing. Following the existing routes to leave the bubble zone is the safest way to go. Creating another teleportation gateway is dangerous and unpredictable."
While they were having discussion, a blue light suddenly flashed next to the table. The MDT emerged from it. "Hey, what Lanina mentioned is just a small problem. The Petrachelys can read the connection patterns of the portal, and expand it into a larger one—hundreds of kilometers. That shouldn't be a problem, but for stability's sake, this 'hyperlink extension' must be carried out in the vicinity of a natural portal. And that is after we deal with the hostile interception en route."
Hao Ren was stunned for a moment. "What? There's such a feature in my spacecraft?"
The MDT knocked Hao Ren on the head and said, "So what do you usually read in the textbook?"
Hao Ren grabbed the MDT and knocked it against the table twice to quiet it down. "Well, it seems we've solved the problem of the gateway. What's left is for Raven to open a gateway at the border of the bubble zone, and find a way to tow Helcrown as well as the spacecraft to the border. Wang, don't you have anti-gravity magic? How long does it take to cover the entire wreckage with Anti-Gravitational Array?"
Y'zaks shrugged and said, "Forget it. It's like trying to make an entire mountain range float in the air. We simply don't possess this kind of technology yet. In addition, even if it floats, we have another problem to deal with—do you think the garrison at the portals will let us pass through just like that? Helcrown only has enough firepower for self-defensive and your spaceship's firepower isn't suitable for the job. That leaves the rest of us to deal with the millions of hostile enemies. The best case scenario would be to die a martyr's death."
Hao Ren scratched his chin in thought. He knew exactly what he needed now: a large-scale transport equipment which did not necessarily have to be of advanced technology. But, it had to ensure that the 100-km wreckage could be hauled to the portal. He also needed an escort team to deal with all the troops in this world.
He thought of Kabala and 883, the little green men, and the private armed caravans, who all fit the job, but they all cost money. This was especially true for Fairy Void Consortium, the gang of notoriously vindictive profiteers.
A group of long-eared figure suddenly crossed his mind.
"I've got an idea!" Hao Ren clapped his hands and said, "I have hundreds of millions of male lions..."
Using her hand to touch Hao Ren's forehead, Vivian said, "Are you feeling too much stress? Don't worry, we'll solve the problem together. Don't stretch yourself too hard."
Half laughing, half crying, Hao Ren took Vivian's hand off. "I'm serious—I do have hundreds of millions of male lions. Although the Aerymian elves' technology isn't that advanced, their fleet of spacecrafts is formidable! How many of these worlds could change like Y'zaks?"
A glow suddenly appeared in Y'zaks eyes, but it was followed by a sense of worry. "Would the goddess even allow it? Would it be seen as dragging yourself into a war? If the Aerymian elves and the locals here were to go to war, that would be unimaginably horrible."
Hao Ren took out a workbook from the Dimensinal Pocket with a wry smile on his face. "The wreckage has been classified as a major research sample. The inspector in-charge of the shipment of such a cargo is entitled to an armed escort. It's not a troop, just a group of security guards! Don't forget that the Aerymian elves are under my custody, so I can issue them a private army permit."
Hao Ren then waved to his men. "Prepare for take off. I'm going back and I'll return with my armed escorts!"
Lily looked at Hao Ren dumbfoundedly, and murmured, "Landlord has gone mad... Woof, woof."