Stellar Colony 7, 0830 hours
Aric couldn't help but hope that he might be growing taller. He had once thought that this goal would be impossible to achieve in his lifetime. His best option had been to buy a pair of height-boosting insoles.
However, with this newfound anomaly, it seemed he had a second chance to develop further, and he had to admit that the prospect was quite enticing.
Nevertheless, no matter how tempting it was, he knew he needed to focus on leveraging the anomaly's potential for making credits.
He returned to his quarters and gathered some warmer clothing: a thick jacket, a pair of insulated trousers, and two thermal shirts. He also found a small rechargeable flashlight and stuffed everything into a utility case.
An old infrared scanner reminded him of the good times he had during his academy days. Back then, he had been an enthusiastic amateur explorer, balancing his studies with frequent trips around the colony. Although he hadn't gone on any major expeditions, he had acquired some useful gear.
He missed those days of relative freedom.
He had purchased the infrared scanner along with a multitool back then, but he sold the multitool to a younger cadet when he graduated. Carrying it around on the station could have caused unnecessary trouble.
After all the necessities were packed into the utility case, Aric picked up his old comm device and was ready to enter the strange dimension again. However, just as he was about to activate the anomaly, the door slid open, and Dax Mitchell walked in.
Aric decided to wait for a bit, but Dax began playing a mobile game on his comm device while lying on his bunk, so Aric had no choice but to leave with his utility case.
Dax muttered without looking up, "Heading out?"
Aric glanced at him and noticed he was fully engrossed in his game, so he replied lightly, "Just taking a walk."
Dax didn't respond further. He wasn't much of a talker.
Aric dragged his utility case down the hall. When he passed by a convenience kiosk, he stopped briefly. He then walked in and bought two bottles of 1.25 liters of water along with a few energy bars.
When he arrived at the diagnostics station, Officer Kane at the front desk happened to be yawning toward the entrance. She was surprised when she saw Aric. "Where are you headed?"
Aric lied, "My utility case got dirty, so I brought it over to clean it."
"Alright." Kane nodded, accepting his excuse without much thought. She suddenly remembered something. "I don't need my comm device right now. Do you still want to borrow it for half an hour?"
Aric was caught off guard. "Uh, I don't think I need it anymore."
"Why not?" Kane seemed annoyed. "I just deleted all my personal data and transferred the rest of my credits. Now you're telling me it's not necessary?"
"Fine." Aric was a little flustered and nodded reluctantly. "I thought it might be inconvenient for you. I only need it for about 10 minutes."
"Ten minutes?" Kane looked at him suspiciously before handing over her comm device. "Where are you going to use it?"
Aric said, "In the washroom."
"The washroom?" Kane was startled and quickly snatched her device back.
She unlocked it and opened her photo gallery. Her fingers flew across the screen, deleting files at lightning speed before handing it back to him. "You really should get a partner, you know, instead of resorting to this." She said with a smirk.
"What?" Aric groaned in frustration. "Do you think I'm going to—"
"I won't give you the opportunity," Kane interrupted him. "The only things left in my gallery are pictures of food and scenery."
Aric looked exasperated but didn't say anything for a long moment. Finally, he sighed, "You're overthinking this."
He wasn't so desperate that he'd resort to anything inappropriate.
To be honest, while Kane had a decent figure, her face was quite average, so he didn't find her particularly attractive.
In any case, she was young and not unattractive, or she wouldn't have been selected for the front desk.
Aric pulled the utility case into a washroom stall. He opened the camera app on Kane's comm device and placed it on the water tank cover. The device had a small stand attached, making it easy to adjust the angle.
He hooked the handle of the utility case on his right elbow and unlocked his old comm device with his left hand. Then he tapped the blank space on the screen. "Let's do this!"
The next second, he was back in the strange dimension. As expected, his utility case was still hooked on his elbow.
The sun hadn't set yet in this dimension. It seemed that time in this space froze whenever he left.
A cold wind suddenly swept across the barren landscape, causing him to shiver involuntarily. He hurriedly opened the utility case and began putting on the warmer clothes he had packed.
After dressing, he looked around and checked the mark on his left wrist.
The mark was very faint now, having lightened further since his last visit. If he didn't recharge, he wouldn't be able to enter any space again, including this strange dimension or the holo-sim.
It seemed that bringing materials into the dimension required more energy than he had anticipated.
Aric shook his head. He couldn't worry about that now. His priority was to explore the surrounding area thoroughly and not waste this opportunity.
He spent over two hours walking around the abandoned settlement but found no signs of life.
Eventually, he returned to a sheltered spot and put on the thicker jacket and trousers. He had also packed a thin thermal blanket, intending to spend the night here if necessary, but it soon became clear that the cold was more intense than he had expected, and the blanket wasn't enough.
Moreover, the scattered human bones around the area made it difficult to feel safe or comfortable enough to sleep.
Even though Aric was brave, he was still human.
He didn't know how long he had endured the cold, but it felt like an eternity. When the sun finally began to rise, he was overcome with relief as the red glow appeared on the horizon.
Tears welled up in his eyes as he saw the first light of dawn.
He had eaten all the energy bars he brought with him but hadn't drunk much water. He hadn't even finished a bottle of 1.25 liters of water because it was too cold.
He needed to be better prepared next time.
As the sun climbed higher, the temperature rose quickly. Aric stretched his limbs and decided to conduct one final sweep of the settlement.
After thoroughly searching the area, he found nothing of significant value. There were shards of pottery and broken tools, but nothing that could be turned into credits.
He had hoped to discover something valuable, something that would make his efforts worthwhile.
However, on a crumbling wall, he did find two primitive paintings. One depicted a figure, while the other showed an animal that looked somewhat like a rabbit.
The quality of the paintings wasn't impressive—they were simple charcoal sketches, no better than children's drawings.
Still, from the style of the figures' clothing, Aric guessed that this civilization might be roughly equivalent to Earth's medieval period. The garments were simple, with tunics and cloaks common.
"Did I stumble upon a lost civilization?" Aric rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Nearby, he also discovered a broken stone tablet with faint, shallow markings etched into it.
Even if he had somehow traveled to a different world, he wasn't afraid. Aric sat on a fallen pillar, pondering his situation. This was a two-way door, and he could return to his own world anytime.
He just didn't know which era or civilization this was. If it was an advanced or wealthy period, he might find opportunities for profit.
Of course, his thoughts began to drift toward fantastical scenarios, imagining the wealth and power he could amass.
But Aric shook his head, knowing he was getting ahead of himself. He still needed to be cautious and methodical in his exploration to avoid missing anything important.
The next moment, he noticed something odd. He raised his left hand and saw that the mark on his wrist had faded to the point where it was almost invisible.
He also felt a faint warmth emanating from the mark.
Aric touched his wrist with his right hand, confirming the warmth.
He soon realized that the source of the heat was the stone pillar he was sitting on.
When his left hand touched the pillar, the warmth in the mark intensified.
This stone pillar was definitely unusual!
The pillar wasn't very large—about a foot square and a foot and a half tall, with about half of it buried in the ground.
It took Aric half an hour to dig it out, but even after he did, he couldn't move it. It must have weighed at least 200 kilograms.
He doubted he could bring such a heavy object back to his world. It was hard enough to move, and he didn't have enough energy to transfer it.
Moreover, he had to consider what others might think.
After all, he had only been in the washroom for a few minutes, and it would be very strange if he suddenly reappeared with a massive stone pillar.
Frustrated, he kicked the pillar. "This is really annoying. Oh, wait."