Mo Yu got busy.
Following the theory manual, he began operating the shuttle.
The shuttle wasn't large, about the size of a shipping container, but its interior space was still quite spacious. The space station had several spares, and two had survived the meteorite strike, giving him a fighting chance. Otherwise, he really would have been done for.
As a transmigrator with a panel, if he ended up trapped and dying alone in outer space, that would truly become a joke.
【Name: Mo Yu】
【Life Level: Basic】【Note: raising your Life Level can increase your Attribute caps】
【Basic Information: Human; 20 years old; 175cm; 68kg; 18……】
【Attribute Assessment: physical quality 1.3, Mental Strength 1.2, Soul Quality 3.1】【Note: this value is a comprehensive score; outstanding performance in certain areas can also raise this score. The standard value for a Human is 1】
【Extraordinary Ability: Sequence 1111 — Rewind】【Note: after completing tasks, use Ability Points to upgrade】
【normal skill: Comprehensive Combat（proficient）, Firearms Shooting（proficient）, Driving Skills（proficient）, manual operation（proficient）, Scientific Research Theory（proficient）】【Note: normal skills provide a boost to ability in that direction and cannot conjure knowledge out of thin air, but they allow rapid mastery up to a certain level. They are ranked as novice, basic, proficient, mastered, Expert, Grandmaster, and legendary. They can be forcibly upgraded with Skill Points, or improved through independent practice.】
【Monster Compendium: empty】
Even though he'd had the panel for a while now, he hadn't been grinding tasks, and it seemed to be linked to the monsters somehow.
His abilities and skills had all been developed by himself.
The shuttle started up smoothly, and as the indicator light came on, it could now pass through Time Rifts and travel to Derivative Timelines at any time.
The year was unknown.
Alpha said, "Increasing timeline disturbance can capture more Time Rifts. Station Chief, please seize this hard-won opportunity."
Mo Yu acknowledged and began preparing supplies.
He had no idea what lay beyond the Time Rift, so he had to be fully prepared.
Food and water, various survival tools, self-defense weapons, medical supplies, and so on.
Only after finishing this did he return to the shuttle.
Once he confirmed everything was in order, he climbed inside.
The interior was a spherical space two meters in diameter, with a base one meter across. Once he stood inside, there was more than enough room.
Alpha followed him in as well.
The Mechanical Dog was about the size of a medium dog, and it crouched by Mo Yu's leg.
"You're coming too?"
"Alpha can monitor timeline status at any time, provide access to the information database, and simultaneously record the Station Chief's actions for review."
"Fine. At least we'll die together, if it comes to that."
Mo Yu agreed.
Dying in a Derivative Timeline meant truly dying.
He pressed the start button.
The hatch sealed shut.
The shuttle began.
……
……
Splash! Splash!
"Aaaahhh!"
Mo Yu fell into water, choked on a mouthful, and started flailing wildly. In his ears he could hear a girl's shrill scream.
Once his feet touched the bottom, he stood up steadily.
He wiped the water from his face.
He realized he'd fallen into a swimming pool.
It was nighttime; overhead he could see a dazzling starry sky and a bright moon like a disc. LED lights installed at the bottom of the pool let him clearly see what was underwater.
About five meters away stood a beautiful girl in a bikini — golden hair, fair skin, stunningly good-looking, with a somewhat youthful face and a flat chest, probably around fifteen years old.
The young girl wore an expression of fear.
Alpha leapt out of the water and stood beside the pool, spinning rapidly in imitation of a dog shaking itself dry, though it only ever spun clockwise.
"Sorry, sorry, this was an accident, an accident!……"
Mo Yu laughed awkwardly, knowing he'd landed in a rather bad spot, and tried to bluff his way through.
But.
As he took in the sight of the girl's swimsuit, a string of Blood-red Text appeared.
The Panel had given him a warning.
【This is a Vampire, extremely dangerous! It is recommended you flee immediately!】
Mo Yu fell silent.
Alpha stopped its shaking, its camera locking onto the girl, and let out a shrill, mechanical voice: "Warning! Vampire detected! Energy response coefficient is high; assessed as a Vampire Baron that has undergone three Evolutions. Please flee immediately!"
"Damn artificial idiot! Shut up!"
Mo Yu cursed aloud.
He'd confirmed it now.
Alpha really was just an artificial idiot. It could offer plenty of help, but he shouldn't expect it to be as clever as a person.
He looked toward the girl not far off.
Her expression had already changed. The frightened look from a moment ago was gone; her pretty face was now blank, and her blue eyes were fixed on him unblinkingly.
"This is a toy……"
Mo Yu pointed at Alpha.
His words clearly lacked conviction or persuasive power.
Or rather, Alpha's words had struck right at the heart of it — she'd shown her hand, no longer bothering to pretend.
A pair of black Bat Wings sprouted from the girl's back, fangs grew in her mouth, her eyes turned a dark crimson, and with a light beat of her wings, she rose into the air.
【Please prepare for combat.】
"Die."
The girl wasted no words, shooting toward him like a cannon shell.
Just as her black claws closed in, time froze.
The world came to a stop.
Mo Yu activated Rewind.
Space took on an eerie black-and-white hue as he watched his own performance play out from a god's-eye view.
Time began flowing backward.
The beautiful girl retreated back into the water; Alpha spun counterclockwise, drawing the Water Drops back onto itself, then leapt back into the water; he lay in the water and began flailing again.
Mo Yu realized that his ability couldn't cross timelines — it could only rewind back to the moment he'd appeared in the air, not all the way back to the space station.
The instant he hit the water.
Color returned to the world.
Mo Yu had rewound to half a minute earlier.
He could choose whether or not to generate a Mirror Image; besides that, the Mirror Image would vanish instantly once it reached the rewound moment, if it took a fatal hit, or if he cancelled it himself.
Mo Yu climbed out of the water, kicked Alpha — who was jumping onto the shore — back into the pool, and ordered:
"Not a word out of you!"
Only after doing this did he turn to look at the girl.
"Who are you? Why are you in my house?" The girl wore a thoroughly frightened expression.
Mo Yu's eyes darted around as he scrambled for an excuse: "I'm a skydiving enthusiast. I accidentally landed here."
The girl: "……"
Mo Yu said, his eyes full of sincerity: "Really, trust me."
"You appeared out of thin air and fell from a height of one meter. If you'd really been skydiving without opening your parachute, hitting the water like that would've blasted all the water right out of this pool." The girl tilted her head up. "I got a perfect score on my last physics exam."
"It's a bit complicated to explain, but anyway... it was an accident, trust me, really. I won't bother you any further — I'll leave right now."
Mo Yu couldn't come up with a good excuse on the spot, so he could only try playing dumb and bluff his way out.
"Stop right there."
The girl's voice came out ice-cold:
"There are Bodyguards patrolling a five-kilometer radius around here, 24 hours a day. So how, exactly, did you get in?"
Her tone turned mocking.
The Blood-red Text appeared once more.
【Please prepare for combat.】
Mo Yu took a deep breath, then drew his gun, aimed, and pulled the trigger at top speed.
Rat-tat-tat-tat……
The suppressed Automatic Pistol fired in bursts, emptying the magazine within a second.
Twenty-four bullets.
Not a single one hit.
In Mo Yu's eyes, the girl seemed to teleport, flickering past in an instant to dodge every bullet, appearing right in front of him, grabbing his throat, and lifting him off the ground.
The girl sneered, "Let me guess — Sequence 41, Blink Movement?"
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