Azmuth looked down and operated on a virtual keyboard for a moment. A moment later, he looked up, his gaze passing through the holographic projection to Gwen: "Now, stand in an open space."
Gwen obediently walked to an empty spot in front of the desk and said, "Alright."
In the projection, Azmuth looked down and operated again.
After the operation was complete, Azmuth's tone was as impatient as ever: "Alright, find a corner and stay there. The delivery person will be here soon."
"Delivery person?" Gwen frowned, just about to ask further, when the air in the office suddenly began to twist and tremble.
A vortex glowing with an eerie green light slowly formed in front of her. Amidst the crackling sound of electricity, the green light surged like a living thing.
Gwen looked at the scene before her and couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity.
She inexplicably thought of the portal gun from "Rick and Morty."
But within the vortex, if one looked closely, one could see shimmering starlight.
It was somewhat like a starry sky, and somewhat like a certain powerful entity within her own watch.
The green vortex surged more and more violently, and suddenly a figure emerged from it.
The newcomer was wearing a crisp white lab coat, with intricate golden patterns embroidered on the fabric. Leather shoulder straps draped from his shoulders, adorned with brass ornaments that made a faint clinking sound as he moved.
The person was probably thirty or forty years old, with some gray hair at his temples, yet he appeared cheerful and wore a benevolent smile.
"Hello, Gwen." The man passed through the vortex and quickly saw Gwen behind the desk.
He stepped forward and extended his right hand towards Gwen.
It was a cold, metallic mechanical hand, with gears embedded at the joints and a watch-like dial prominently set on the back of the hand.
Gwen raised an eyebrow slightly, reaching out to grasp the mechanical hand offered to her. The coolness of metal spread from her palm.
After they released each other's hands, the other person suddenly clapped his palm as if remembering something: "I was too abrupt. You probably don't remember who I am now."
The other person cleared his throat twice, clasped his hands behind his back, and began to introduce himself with a smile: "I am Dr. Paradox, a good friend of Ben Tennyson."
"I probably guessed it."
"You're still so smart." Dr. Paradox smiled, thought for a moment, and then apologized, "I'm sorry, I almost forgot, I should address you as Miss Gwen."
"It's alright, Dr. Paradox, you can call me whatever you're used to." Gwen shrugged, a smile playing on her lips.
Dr. Paradox burst into hearty laughter: "Then I shall accept with pleasure!"
The two chatted for a bit, easing some of the awkwardness of their first meeting.
Dr. Paradox suddenly reached into his lab coat's inner pocket and pulled out a brass pocket watch.
The surface of the pocket watch was carved with intricate star map patterns, and the gears on the edge were still slowly turning, faintly emitting a glow.
"This is the World-Hopping Navigator you need." He held the pocket watch in his palm and offered it to Gwen.
Gwen's gaze was instantly drawn, and she raised an eyebrow, asking, "Is this the pocket watch you use to travel through time?"
"No, no, no," Dr. Paradox said, shaking his head with a smile, and gently tapped the dial on his mechanical right arm with his normal left hand, "I use the Time-Hopping Navigator for time travel, it's here. And this World-Hopping Navigator is specifically used to cross different multiverses; their principles are vastly different."
Gwen stared at the pocket watch, her brow slightly furrowed, a little puzzled: "Azmuth would actually give this machine such a name? It doesn't sound like his style."
Thinking of Azmuth's inventions, the Omnitrix, Ultimatrix, Unitrix, the only relatively straightforward one was the Azmuth Sword. Such a direct and simple name really wasn't his style.
Dr. Paradox threw his head back and laughed, his eyes behind his glasses narrowing into slits: "This name wasn't given by him; it was given by me."
Seeing Gwen's surprised expression, Dr. Paradox raised an eyebrow and continued, "After all, I contributed a lot to the creation of this machine."
"This World-Hopping Navigator can randomly lock onto a nearby Universe that matches a keyword by entering it, and then lock onto suitable coordinates for teleportation." Saying this, Dr. Paradox opened the pocket watch cover, "What keyword do you want to use to lock onto a World? I can demonstrate how to use it."
Gwen rested her chin on her hand, pondered for a moment, then said, "How about we try 'Earth'?"
Dr. Paradox nodded, just about to reach out to operate the pocket watch, but Gwen raised her hand to stop him: "Wait a moment! I need to get some luggage."
"Of course, go ahead." Dr. Paradox spread his hands, naturally pulled up a chair and sat down, looking around, "Would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?"
"It won't take that long." Gwen pulled open the cabinet door beneath the bookshelf and dragged out a silver-gray suitcase, its wheels rumbling on the wooden floor.
She patted the case, then suddenly showed a regretful expression: "I should have had Azmuth make a spatial ring or something. Carrying this box is such a hassle."
Dr. Paradox laughed heartily: "You really treat Azmuth like a universal wish-granting machine, don't you?"
"Alright, [Shrink]." After a loud shout, a cloud of smoke enveloped the suitcase. Immediately after, the suitcase became smaller and smaller until it was the size of a key charm. Only then did she pick it up with satisfaction and casually put it in her pocket.
Gwen clapped her hands, then smiled as she looked back at Dr. Paradox sitting in the chair: "I'm ready."
Dr. Paradox smiled and nodded, then slowly walked to Gwen's side.
He pressed his slender mechanical finger on the side of the pocket watch, opening it to show Gwen.
"This is the input box, this is confirm. The general control method is similar to the Omnitrix's backend control mode, so I don't think you'll be unfamiliar with it."
"Alright, we'll enter 'Earth' here, click confirm, start searching, then directly open a portal to the nearest coordinates it locates, and then..."
Before he finished speaking, the vortex spacetime portal that Dr. Paradox had arrived through reopened.
"Please enter, Miss Gwen." Dr. Paradox stepped aside and made an inviting gesture, a eager smile on his lips.
Gwen took a deep breath and stepped into the portal.
Dr. Paradox followed. The moment he stepped into the portal, he seemed to sense something, suddenly looking up at the ceiling, an elusive expression flashing in his eyes... Beyond the vast and boundless Multiverse, chaos surged like thick ink.
Three giants, whose power essentially reached Heaven and Earth, stood here, their bodies enveloped in starlight.
The giant who appeared to have the most volatile temper wore a silver-gray helmet and black heavy armor. His overall appearance gave off an impression of coldness and strong mechanical sense, exuding a powerful and dangerous aura.
The exposed parts of his face were grayish-green, and his teeth were sharp.
The three remained silent, simply staring intently at the passage that had appeared above their Multiverse at some unknown time.