Chatting casually with Scáthach along the way, Ethan quickly arrived at the bridge of the Artemis.
Because he spent most of his time either running around outside or staying on islands, sometimes Ethan would truly forget that his home was actually a starship sailing through the vast universe.
Through the front window, he could see the boundless universe, a vast darkness punctuated by points of light. Although the ship was traveling at near light speed, standing there for a while gave you the feeling that the ship was always stationary, never moving.
Ultimately, the universe was too vast. The distances between planets were enough to make ordinary civilizations despair.
And the distances between star systems were an even more terrifying number.
Ethan walked to the very front, leaned against the handrail, and glanced at Logan beside him.
Logan was on duty in the bridge recently. Nebula and Hill were resting.
"I'm going to Diana's place in a while. This trip should establish a stable channel between the two worlds. Speaking of which, because of the time flow difference, I don't know how much time has passed there. Do you want to go back and take a look?"
Logan was leisurely puffing on a cigar. Although he was on duty in the bridge, there was actually nothing to do most of the time. Even if there were sudden situations, like large asteroids on the route, Luna could handle them on her own.
The reason he was willing to stay here was because it was relatively quiet, and looking at the endless universe and starry sky also made him feel very peaceful. But today that peace was broken by Ethan's question.
"Finally ready to establish the connection?"
A year had passed in a flash, and Logan had debated it a few times. He knew that as long as he contacted Ethan, Ethan would be happy to come and help him get there.
But after thinking about it again and again, he ultimately didn't speak up.
Now that the connection was being established, perhaps he should also properly handle his own affairs. No matter how it turned out in the end, there had to be a result.
He had also been thinking this past year about whether he truly wanted to live with Atlanna for a long time.
This 'long time' wasn't just a few decades like ordinary humans. Even without considering the enhancements he had gained through multiple power-ups, his original mutant genes already gave him a lifespan far exceeding ordinary people.
He thought about it repeatedly but couldn't find a definite answer. Perhaps he really needed to meet her face to face to confirm things.
Moreover, if they truly wanted to be together for a long time, it wasn't something he alone could decide. It also depended on Atlanna's thoughts.
Of course, due to the time flow issue, perhaps Atlanna had already moved on from this relationship. In that case, Logan would also choose to let go and continue with his own life.
"Where are Maria and Nebula?"
This wasn't a question for Logan, but for the intelligent system Luna. Luna immediately told Ethan that both of them were currently in the Marvel Universe.
"Initiate cross-dimensional communication?"
"No need, let them relax."
Because he was going to the DC Universe, a non-connected universe, it meant that from the moment Ethan left until he returned, only an instant would pass here, so there was no need to call the two of them back to take over for Logan.
Afterward, Ethan continued to wander around the ship. He went through almost every corner of the Artemis, like someone who had been away from home for many years, returning to his old house and wanting to see what changes had occurred.
To his surprise, Scáthach quietly followed beside him the whole time, accompanying him as he toured every corner.
"You didn't tour these places when you first came aboard?"
"At that time, I just got a general sense of the layout. I didn't look at the specific details carefully."
Following Ethan as he wandered around, she also took a look at the updated equipment.
The protective suits and customizable armor on the Artemis were in a technological bottleneck phase. It wasn't easy to manufacture better products, so they wouldn't be replaced anytime soon.
However, the firearms had almost all been replaced.
Looking at the half of the weapons in the armory that had been replaced with the latest models from the Starship Troopers world, with only a small number of 'outdated' weapons left for commemoration, collection, or occasional use.
Besides the update of weapons and equipment, another piece of equipment on the Artemis had been upgraded.
The previous multi-functional tool, after being upgraded again, had more and more powerful functions.
Cross-dimensional positioning, cross-dimensional communication, larger storage space, usable as a personal computer, and capable of seamlessly connecting to electronic devices of currently known civilizations.
In addition, this personal terminal was very, very small, injected directly into the body using an injection gun, attached to the bone, and it was very difficult to detect the existence of this item unless technology or mysticism reached a certain level.
Besides these, this terminal also had some auxiliary combat capabilities. It could release an energy shield about half a meter in diameter or condense into an energy blade for melee combat.
However, for the people on the Artemis, this little bit of combat assistance was negligible. What they cared more about was communication, positioning, and storage. Even the function of a portable computer was irrelevant.
But as things got better, everyone naturally wanted to switch to the new model, except for Ethan who didn't equip it.
He was different from others. His power was getting stronger and stronger. He could achieve all those auxiliary functions using spells, and he could even use magic to completely fulfill all the functions on this terminal. Even cross-dimensional positioning and communication could be easily done.
Now, as long as Ethan remembered the 'number' of everyone recorded on this terminal, he could connect to their terminals by casting communication magic. The effect was no different from using a personal terminal.
In this situation, he naturally didn't need to equip this thing.
It could be said that when the personal capabilities of the crew members reached a certain level, even if this personal terminal was upgraded further, it would eventually be abandoned and could only serve as an auxiliary tool for newcomers or children.
Why did the Artemis keep upgrading this kind of thing?
Besides the fact that they could still use it now, another reason was that this equipment was an excellent commodity.
The technology for personal terminals on the Artemis was becoming more and more mature, and Ethan was already considering selling some early models in the Starship Troopers and Marvel Universes.
The Marvel Universe would be handed over to Stark Industries for promotion and sales. He would use this technology to increase his shareholding percentage in Stark Industries, which was more convenient and didn't require him to put in effort.
In the Starship Troopers world, it would naturally be Cherry Ordnance. Although the biggest market for this personal terminal was civilian use, it would definitely be prioritized for the military currently fighting the bugs at the beginning.
The initial version released for sale would not be that powerful, only retaining functions such as communication, positioning, and a simple personal computer.
Later, an upgraded version could be provided, connecting the personal terminal to the soldiers' optic nerves. At that time, an 'interface' would appear in each soldier's eyes, making it easier for soldiers to understand their own status and the battlefield situation, and even directly assisting with aiming.
"Heavy Sword Assault Rifle, Templar, Priest, exoskeleton armor, plus this personal terminal, should be able to put up a fight against the bugs..."
As Ethan was thinking this, he turned his head and found that Scáthach had changed her clothes at some point, put on a full set of combat gear and light armor, holding a Heavy Sword Rifle in each hand, standing there proudly and striking poses for photos happily. Photography was also a function on the personal terminal, and it was a holographic 3D image.
Silently withdrawing his gaze, Ethan continued his stroll and quickly went through the entire spaceship.
He didn't encounter anyone else. Although the Artemis wasn't huge, the entire spaceship wasn't small, and the already small number of people were scattered across several worlds, so it was normal not to see anyone on the ship.
He casually asked Luna where the others were and learned that Illya and Rin had gone back to the Type-Moon Universe to play, and Leah was also invited to go along.
O'Connell and the others had gone to the Marvel Universe for vacation, but not with Nebula and them. The rest were all in the Starship Troopers world.
After confirming this, Ethan called Logan, took Scáthach, and went directly to the DC Universe.
As Ethan's strength grew stronger and his mastery of space-time power deepened, he could choose his landing location more freely.
Moreover, with Diana as a reference point, Ethan directly chose his destination near Diana and arrived in front of her immediately.
Seeing Diana again after an unknown period of time, Ethan could feel the difference in her.
As Diana continuously protected the world in this universe, she was slowly becoming more mature. However, since they met frequently back then, this feeling wasn't very strong.
This time, meeting again after an unknown period of time, the change in Diana's temperament was very obvious, as if she had suddenly become the Diana from his previous life who had left a deep impression on him, possessing a noble and mature aura.
"What year is it now?"
"It's already 2013," Diana said, looking at the few people in front of her, especially the young boy who had grown a little compared to their last meeting. She felt a bit speechless and a bit like laughing. "You've only grown this much after all these years?"
"After all, it's a divine body. It's normal to be a bit slow."
From the way Diana could still joke, it seemed she wasn't angry that so much time had passed. Or had Diana's temperament become more composed over the years?
It seemed so. But when Diana smiled and hugged Ethan, Ethan immediately knew he had been overthinking.
"You made me wait all these years. It won't be that easy to just gloss over it."
Although she whispered this in Ethan's ear, the other two people present were not ordinary. At such a close distance, even if they weren't deliberately eavesdropping, they could hear everything clearly and could only hold back their laughter, pretending they heard nothing.
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)