The girl standing there

"Someone survived!"

"We have to help her immediately!"

Syunosuke and Milena instinctively start to run toward the girl standing in the corridor.

"Wait a moment!"

Marks suddenly shouted at a volume far exceeding normal conversation, stopping Syunosuke and Milena in their tracks.

Regaining their composure, Syunosuke and Milena pause, stunned by Marks' loud voice.

Syunosuke calms down, regaining his composure.

"So, the Emerald III went down 76 years ago. There's no way a girl around ten years old could still be alive unless she was in cryosleep..."

"Yes. Her body temperature isn't detectable. Also, there's no disturbance in the surrounding air currents. In other words, she isn't actually there."

Marks explains with no emotion.

"Then what is that child? She's clearly afraid—she's reaching out to us for help, isn't she?"

Milena seems to understand it intellectually, but her emotions haven't caught up yet.

"I don't know either. It could be a phenomenon caused by changes in gas density, or perhaps distortions from electrons or plasma forming a humanoid illusion."

"Can Marks see that girl too?"

"Yes. My camera has captured her image as well."

"Could the phenomenon Marks described really produce such a distinct image of a young girl?"

"No, the possibility of something like that forming a clear human figure is nearly zero."

As Shinosuke and Marks were exchanging these words, the girl standing at the far end of the corridor cast a sad expression on her face before dashing forward down the passage.

"Hey, Marks! Can your so-called plasma really make that kind of expression or run off like that?"

"It's impossible."

"There's no time for such talk! We have to go help her!"

"Wait, Milena!"

Milena dashed after the girl without heeding Shinnosuke's protests.

"Damn it! Marks, let's go after her!"

"Understood."

Sinnosuke and the others chased after Milena, but by then she had already turned the corner of the corridor and vanished from sight.

"Damn it! Which way did she go? No choice—Marks, split up!"

"I oppose splitting up. It goes against established protocol for cases like this. Furthermore, suggesting 'let's split here' violates the unofficial Acneria military regulation No. 12."

Marks' objection was understandable.

Regardless of unofficial regulations, the official space fleet operation manual explicitly states that one must avoid acting alone when conducting inspections on other vessels.

"I understand, but sending Milena out alone while she's losing her composure would be more dangerous."

Even so, Shinnosuke chooses to split up.

If Shinnosuke has made the call, Marks won't strongly oppose it.

Shinnosuke and Marks decide to split into two groups to search for Milena.

Shinnosuke, separated from Marks, moves alone through the dimly lit corridor.

Checking the ship's map, ahead lies the restaurant and recreational facilities, but just before that, there's a passage leading to emergency equipment.

The door should be securely locked except during emergencies, yet it's unlocked and open.

"There should be a cryogenic sleep chamber ahead..."

Even though the number of units is insufficient, it's far too unnatural that the cryogenic sleep chambers haven't been used.

Shin nosuke decided to check the status of the equipment.

This corridor runs along the starboard side of the ship and includes an access point for escape pods, but only one escape pod is in use, as recorded by the captain.

Beyond that lies the cryogenic sleep chamber control room.

The control room door is unlocked.

Upon entering, no abnormalities are observed inside the room.

"There's no sign of a fight aboard the ship. Why wasn't the cryogenic sleep chamber used?"

Shinosuke felt a sense of unease.

Though Shinosuke had never experienced an accident like the one on Emerald III, he could easily imagine that such a disaster would inevitably lead to conflict aboard the vessel.

There should have been a struggle between those trying to escape first and those rushing to enter the cryogenic sleep chambers.

Yet the cryogenic sleep units on Emerald III were activated, and although anyone who entered the units could enter a state of cryogenic sleep, no one was actually using them.

It was only natural that Shinosuke felt uneasy.

"Well, pondering here alone won't reveal any answers. I should focus on finding Milina first."

Milina was nowhere to be seen in the cryogenic sleep unit control room.

Meanwhile, Markes, having split from Shinosuke, was searching the ship's rear section—where the engine room and storage areas were located—when suddenly, the girl from earlier stood before him.

The distance between them was just a few meters.

She wore a lime-green dress and a cute necklace around her neck, looking up at Markes.

(No body heat detected. 35% body transparency. Confirmed non-corporeal.)

Markes takes a step forward, extending his hand toward the girl, but the girl hesitates, her expression filled with unease as she steps backward.

(Defensive posture. Her expression clearly indicates fear toward me. Presumed to be an entity with independent will.)

Markes remains with his hand extended, kneeling on the spot, and speaks slowly and gently to the girl.

"There's no need to be afraid. My name is Markes. I may look intimidating, but I mean you no harm. Could you tell me your name?"

The girl looked puzzled at Markes's question, but soon smiled, only to quickly shift into a flustered expression.

Her constantly changing expressions were endearing.

"Though you can understand my words, you cannot speak. It's unavoidable, given that you have no physical form."

Even so, the girl's image was clearly visible in Markes's camera.

The girl truly existed right in front of Markes.

Markes remained perfectly still, carefully avoiding any action that might provoke her, waiting quietly for her reaction.

For three minutes and fifteen seconds, they stared at each other through Markes's built-in timer. Then, the girl gently placed her hand over Markes's extended one—and vanished without a trace.

Markes checked the state of his hand, which had been touched.

"Contact痕迹 absent. Judging it as some kind of message from her."

Markes looked back at the door behind the girl.

Engine Cooling System Room.

The room, equipped with a cooling system to maintain the engine coolant at a constant temperature, always stays at -20 degrees.

Markes stood up and reached for the door.