” “When it flashes green, it means my side is ready, and you may initiate the transmission at any time within a twenty-four-hour window.
If it is orange, then the spatial node is unstable.
You must wait for it to stabilize and ensure the energy supply is sufficient and steady before continuing the transport.
Otherwise, the transmission will fail.
Remember, there must be at least three months between each transmission.
The device needs adequate cooling time.” Dottore then pointed at the device and continued, “In return, I will periodically send you, through this device, certain ‘special equipment’ developed based on the circumstances of your world.
The specifics will depend on the value of the materials you send and the progress of my research.
It may be weapon blueprints, improved purification modules, or other technical products and solutions that could be of use to you.
The exact contents will be determined as circumstances dictate.” It sounded fair, a mutual exchange of what each party needed.
“The specific operational manual, methods for updating and verifying the materials list, and contingency plans for dealing with abnormal situations—I have already encrypted and transmitted all of this to your stronghold’s core database.
Search for ‘Cross-Dimensional Transmission Protocol’ and you will find the entire data package.
Access permissions have been opened for you.
The rest is for you to explore on your own.” “There is one final item.” Dottore pulled a fist-sized device from his pocket and handed it to Victor.
It was a perfect sphere, its surface as smooth as a mirror.
Its color shifted constantly, transitioning from a deep black to a nearly transparent silver-white, as if it contained a miniature starry sky within it.
“This is a spatial transmission beacon.
Under normal circumstances, it remains in a dormant state.
Only when either world faces an insurmountable world-ending crisis will it automatically activate, linking the two worlds and establishing a temporary passage.” General Victor was stunned.
“You mean…” “This is the final insurance.
Time is pressing.
I must leave.” Dottore glanced at the spacetime pocket watch.
The coordinate stability had already dropped to fifty-eight percent.
To be absolutely safe, he began using [Heart of the Black Hole], guided by the particles from the pocket watch, to perform a final calibration and resonance, ensuring his return journey would be without error.
He did not forget to leave them with one last warning.
“Remember my warning: do not attempt to deeply research void energy.
It is not a domain you are capable of wielding at your current level.” General Victor saluted him with solemn gravity.
“Mister Dottore, this has far exceeded our expectations.
You not only resolved the crisis of the spatial rift but also built for us a bridge to a broader world…
I hardly know how to express our gratitude.” Dottore nodded, the light of the spacetime pocket watch already enveloping him.
“Gratitude is unnecessary.
Fulfilling our contract is the best repayment.
Cherish these two centuries of reprieve.” Old Jean bowed deeply.
“Thank you for everything you have given us, Mister Dottore.
May the starlight guide your path.” A flash of silver light passed, and the observation platform was left with only faint, rippling spatial distortions, along with the cold silver-gray device in Old Jean’s hands and the list brimming with hope.
“He’s gone…” Old Jean murmured.
“No,” General Victor shook his head.
“He left us a future and a responsibility.” His gaze instantly turned resolute.
“Summon the technical committee at once.
We will draft a detailed transmission protocol and form a dedicated maintenance team.
At the same time, fully initiate the ‘Resurgence Plan.’ We have two hundred years.
We must make our civilization rise again.
Furthermore…” He looked at the list.
“The materials on this list are, from this day forward, classified as top-priority collection tasks.” “Yes, General!” Old Jean straightened his back, a never-before-seen fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
When Dottore’s form fully solidified amidst the silver light, the bone-piercing winds of Snezhnaya immediately wrapped around him.
He staggered, barely able to stay on his feet.
His already pale face was now as white as paper, and a cold sweat beaded on his temples.
A trickle of blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth due to the sudden motion.
The consecutive spatial transits had placed an enormous burden on his still-unrecovered body.
Waves of dizziness washed over him, and his lungs felt as if they were packed with shards of ice.
Every breath brought a sharp sting.
He wiped the corner of his mouth, forced himself to stand firm, and looked down at the spacetime pocket watch in his hand.
Web-like cracks now covered its entire surface, and the light of the core hourglass had grown so faint it was almost imperceptible.
Still, the core functions had barely survived intact.
“Next time…
I must construct a more stable version,” he whispered breathlessly, carefully stowing the nearly wrecked watch away.
He desperately needed to return to the hidden safehouse, use the power of [Heart of Life] to slowly repair his body’s damage, and organize the gains from this journey to another world.
Yet, just as he took a single step forward, a cool voice sounded from behind him.
“Finally decided to come back, have you?” Dottore’s body stiffened.
He turned around slowly.
Pierro stood in the snow not far away, and it was unclear how long he had been standing there.
Thick snow nearly swallowed the tops of his boots, but he stood there like an eternal, unchanging iceberg.
His single eye was razor-sharp, locked firmly onto Dottore, churning with frustration and a trace of worry so faint it was almost impossible to detect.
Behind Pierro, the entire Fatui Special Operations Unit had fanned out in a semicircle, silently cutting off all possible escape routes.
Their cold weapons gleamed with a chilling light against the snow.
Dottore’s heart tightened.
Almost instinctively, he tried to mobilize the remnants of power within his body, just enough to create a wisp of black mist to obscure their vision and buy a brief moment for escape.
Yet the moment the thought stirred, a wave of overwhelming exhaustion crashed over him like a landslide.
His vision went black, and his body slumped forward uncontrollably.
The expected cold of the snow against his face never came.
Pierro had appeared behind him in an instant.
Dottore only felt a tight grip on the back of his collar before he was hauled up.
Pierro had grabbed him by the back of his collar like he was handling a chick.
A few hours earlier, Pierro had been informed by Columbina that the spatial ripples here carried anomalous fluctuations.
He had immediately brought men to investigate, merely hoping to try his luck.
As it happened, perfectly and coincidentally, he caught Dottore the very moment he returned.
“Cough, cough…
Pierro, it’s been a while,” Dottore attempted to struggle but found the other man’s grip like iron tongs.
His body, still unrecovered and further weakened by this transit, could not break free for the moment.
“It seems your ‘little trip’ was far from easy.” Pierro’s single eye swept sharply over his increasingly pallid complexion and somewhat disheveled robes, his voice betraying no emotion.
“So weak now that you can’t even evade my grasp?” Dottore gave up struggling and managed a helpless smile.
“With the Director himself making a move, how would I dare misbehave?” His gaze swept over the heavily armed Fatui Special Operations Unit surrounding him, and his brow arched slightly.
“This welcome ceremony, isn’t it a bit too grand?” “You…!” Pierro’s deep voice rumbled by his ear.
The storm that had been brewing within it was forcibly suppressed the moment it registered Dottore’s cold and weakened body.
He felt the fine trembling of Dottore’s frame and its abnormal chill.
The reprimand on his lips eventually transformed into a sigh that mixed frustration with concern.
“…Can’t you just stay put for once?” Pierro’s voice lowered, carrying an indescribable weariness.
He carefully examined Dottore’s paper-white face and the dark circles beneath his eyes.
His original intention to haul the man straight back vanished.
He set him down and then steadied him securely, allowing him to lean and find his footing.
Dottore leaned against Pierro’s solid arm, his breathing ragged and rushed for a few moments before the black mist in his vision gradually cleared.
“Let go…
I’m fine.” His voice was hoarse, laced with bravado.
He tried somewhat pitifully to pull away, but Pierro held him firmly in place.