In the room next to the Star Devouring Engine hall, Helen was chattering away about her experiences in the Zombie Universe to Harley and Barry.
Barry was captivated by her stories, but Harley found them a bit boring. Since the adults were around, they strictly adhered to the rule that minors are not allowed to drink alcohol. They weren't even allowed to be in the same room with alcoholic beverages. As a result, while the rest were having fun in the hall, the three children were sent to the room.
Harley, bored and sipping on orange juice, only perked up when Helen started talking about ghost theory. "Since the laws of physics in our two universes are so similar," she said after some thought, "maybe it's the same for this as well. Do you remember when we learned about the principles of the summoning array at the Kamar-Taj?"
After contemplating, Helen nodded and said: "I understand the summoning array as a search engine. Different types of runes can differentiate between different filtering items. Mages can freely choose any condition under these items."
"After all the conditions are selected, the array is activated. Summoning targets that meet these filter conditions will receive a specific signal, and they can choose whether to respond to the summon."
"Of course, to increase the success rate of the summon, mages will put corresponding offerings according to their filter items. By feeling the scent of the offerings they like, the targets are more likely to respond to the summon."
Harley extended a finger and said: "Then, can ghost wave theory be understood as summoning wave theory?"
Harley took a piece of paper and a pen from the side. As she drew on the paper, she said, "The summoning array is like a radio transmitter that can be tuned. The actions mages take altering runes are like adjusting the frequency. Radio waves on the tuned frequency can only be received by certain beings."
"Magic-treated offerings are actually imitating the radio waves of the other party's food or favorite items, leading them to mistakenly believe that there is something to eat here, and thus follow the radio waves back."
Barry and Helen both nodded, agreeing with Harley's logic. But Helen appeared puzzled. "Why was it that I was able to summon Doctor Shiller without using a proper summoning array, adjusting any frequency, or even treating any offering?"
Helen then detailed her process of summoning Shiller. After listening, Harley pondered for a moment before hypothesizing, "I think this might be related to the nature of the being that was summoned."
"When humans have a physical body, they can't feel changes in the magnetic field, and their sensitivity to certain virtual electromagnetic signals is zero. But when they become ghosts, they are more affected by the magnetic field and can sense subtle changes in it. Perhaps this is why they can sensitively receive certain wave signals directed towards them."
Just then, a lightbulb went off in Helen's mind. "Since mages can use arrays to transmit signals into the universe, do summoned beings just have to wait passively?"
"You mean..."
"If we could receive all the summoning signals from mages, could we pretend to be summoned entities and respond to the summons?"
The more Helen thought about it, the more feasible her speculation seemed. "The energy that mages input into the summoning array, part of it is used to offset the loss of signal dissemination, and the remainder is essentially the summoned entity's travel fee for crossing time and space."
"If we could find these signals and respond to the summons, wouldn't we be able to travel to various universes without spending our own money?"
Harley frowned and voiced her objections, "Not every mage has the power to spread their summoning array signals beyond the universe."
"What if we can also receive the summoning signals within the universe?" Helen rubbed her chin, "Even if the travel expenses they provide are insufficient, we could supplement a little. It's still easier than trying to transport there on our own, right?"
Harley's eyes lit up, and she immediately gave Helen a thumbs-up, saying, "The plan is viable, let's put it into action."
Almost synchronously, they both jumped off their chairs and dragged Barry to the laboratory across the way.
The Gray Mist had transported the entire Stark Group's laboratory to the Star Devouring Engine, so all the equipment was available. Helen and Harley intended to create a device that could search for summoning signals.
Receiving different summoning signals across universes might seem difficult, but when Helen devoured many of the Time Management Bureau's machines, the bureau was managing the Multiverse. Their devices recorded and indexed the individual universes.
Helen and Harley only need to modify such devices to receive summoning signals within the individual universes. This wasn't a difficult task for Helen, who had often observed Stark's experiments.
The people in the hall had no idea what the group of youngsters was up to in the laboratory. Stark, eyeing the navigation route on the instrument, said solemnly, "Something's off. The mass of the final destination universe is rapidly decreasing. I'm afraid it will collapse in less than half an hour. Could it be a trap set by the other party?"
Shiller shook his head, "If they've interacted with us in the future, they should know that our technological level far exceeds the average human level. Setting a trap that can be detected in advance doesn't make sense."
"It couldn't just be a coincidence that we're so unlucky as to come across a universe at the end of its life, could it?" Nick, standing behind Stark, remarked.
Having managed the Time Management Bureau, Nick had seen numerous reports of universal destruction. These were natural phenomena occurring in the cosmos rather than man-made disasters. If a coincidence happened, they would just have to chalk it up to bad luck.
After some thought, Stark said, "I don't think this is a simple natural phenomenon. We could use the old method of travelling back in time to when the universe's structure was still stable to see why this universe is going to be destroyed."
Just as the Star Devouring Engine was about to initiate its time jump function, Helen and Harley had finished modifying the device that receives summoning signals.
The device wasn't large. Helen purposely designed it to look like a briefcase to make it easier to carry. Harley looked at the briefcase laying on the table, wrapped her arms around herself, and asked after some thought, "So how do we test whether this thing works or not?"
"Obviously, we need to find a universe, open it up, and see if we can receive a signal and if we can be perfectly teleported afterwards."
All of a sudden, the Star Devouring Engine trembled. Harley and Helen were both jolted and hit the laboratory bench. Getting back up, Helen rubbed her forehead and said: "It seems that the Star Devouring Engine's time-leap feature has been activated. This means we've arrived in a new universe."
Harley looked outside the window. Observing the unfamiliar starlight, she nodded and said, "It seems like a new place, but it doesn't seem different from other universes. Want to give it a shot?"
"Isn't this a bit dangerous?" Barry scratched his head, "I'm also bored here, but teleporting to unknown places with a summoning formation...what if the people there bear ill intentions?"
"Are you stupid? If mages are going to all this trouble to create a summoning formation, it must mean they're in some kind of trouble and need help. That is to say, they need us more than we need them. Plus, weren't you just practicing running? If things go south, you can carry us and run away."
"But I'm still not very skilled," Barry said, looking distressed. "Additionally, I'm also unsure whether these abilities can be utilized in unfamiliar universes."
"It's fine, aren't I here?" Helen patted her chest and said, "I'm quite strong now. If we can't fight our way out, I can still protect you guys."
Barry hesitantly nodded his head. Immediately, Harley rubbed her hands together. After opening the briefcase, she pressed a button on it.
The briefcase emitted a steady "beep, beep" sound. According to the screen on the top half of the briefcase, the device was searching for a signal.
Suddenly, the device let out a shrill cry, and a wave-peak appeared on the straight line on the screen. Helen immediately went closer, widened her eyes, and said, "Oh my God, someone has sent out a very strong summoning signal, and its energy level is very high. It's in this universe. I think we can try to respond!"
"What are we waiting for?" Harley jumped up and down excitedly on the spot and said, "Hurry up, I can't wait to become a summoned beast!"
Helen operated the device for a bit, took a deep breath, and said, "It seems like someone is summoning an Evil God. Something is already responding to the summoning. If not, I must grab this opportunity...hold on a moment."
Helen tinkered around in front of the device. Suddenly, a magic projection popped up from the box. Helen closed her eyes to adjust her brainwaves, then extended her hand and placed it above the magic light sphere.
The light sphere fluctuated before suddenly becoming extremely bright. Helen grabbed the handle of the box, pulled the other two to her, and yelled: "Success, hold on to me. We're teleporting!"
"Swoosh!"
"Bang!"
The moment the door was swung open, all they saw were three children disappearing. Stark slapped his forehead.
The teleportation was a bit rough. Like clothing being spin-dried in a washing machine, Helen, Harley, and Barry were thrown around and fell from mid-air onto the ground. Upon falling, they almost passed out.
Being the one with the best physical conditioning, Helen staggered up from the ground, clutching her throat and retching. She opened her eyes, which were somewhat dazed, and stared at the dark room.
Harley, who was lying on the ground, kept dry heaving. Fortunately, she hadn't eaten anything, so she couldn't even vomit stomach acid. Barry propped himself up, coughing violently and swaying as he tried to stand.
After making eye contact with an opposing figure kneeling down for two seconds, both sides let out a scream.
The figure kneeling on the cushion was pale. After the initial dizziness disappeared, Helen realized it was Stephen Strange.
Strange's face looked weary, pale, and confused. He glanced at Helen's face, then at the reactor on her chest. His confusion deepened.
Helen looked around and noticed that this place didn't look like the room of Kamar-Taj's Supreme Magician. Nevertheless, she greeted Strange with a Kamar-Taj disciple's salute and said, "I apologize, Supreme Magician. We are just visitors from another parallel universe. Initially, we just wanted to test our newly invented device and didn't intend to interrupt your summoning. But, are you alright?"
The reason Helen asked this question was because Stephen Strange's current state looked very bad. He looked gaunt and pale, his eyes were deeply sunken into their sockets, he had heavy dark circles under his eyes, and his lips were chapped and bleeding. His beard was shaggy.
When Helen was studying at Kamar-Taj's Magic Academy, she knew how much Strange cared about his appearance. He had OCD, and took special care of his looks. Sometimes, Helen even suspected that he knew the exact number of whiskers he had on his face, because nobody had ever seen the Supreme Magician with an uneven beard.
Helen's concern was very pure, and her clear eyes only contained a touch of curiosity.
Looking at the three young faces in front of him and feeling the vitality of the human race coming from their bodies, Strange's hand, hidden in the back, trembled slightly.
He took a deep breath, closed his eyes in discomfort, but the magical light that burst out from his nose and mouth eventually dispersed.