The Spring Festival was naturally boisterous, and with another year added to my age, the burden on my shoulders felt heavier. Before the dumplings from New Year's Eve were even digested, the Mars Development Initiative began. Propelled by the immense power of the Hope's Heart of Energy, and coinciding with the Lantern Festival's illumination, the Martian magnetic field was successfully stimulated—a colossal feat for humanity, celebrated wildly back on Earth when the news arrived.

While Mars couldn't transform into an Earth-like humid climate overnight, the gradual formation of the atmosphere meant it was only a matter of time. Humanity could temporarily reside within glass shields while establishing preliminary underground bases. The move to settle outside the protective domes would happen once the upper atmosphere was sufficient for outdoor activity.

Cooperation from various nations regarding troop withdrawals had been relatively smooth; the Federal Army had seized control of the military and political reins in most countries. Seeing the inexorable progress of the Mars development plan and the steady construction of the Earth Spaceport, the US and Russia could no longer remain passive. They promptly dispatched envoys, constantly seeking contact with the Federal Government. Humanity had already reached Mars and established habitable bases; the people of the US and Russia weren't fools; they understood that holding out longer would only leave them as ancient fossils.

The search for a wormhole remained fruitless, a major obstacle for interstellar navigation, causing a palpable sense of anxiety among everyone. However, both the Dragon Girl and Little Raindrop predicted that a wormhole definitely existed within the Solar System; finding it was merely a matter of when. Since there was no external threat for the time being, dwelling on it was unnecessary.

As communication between Earth and Mars grew increasingly frequent, and with some residents already settling on the Red Planet, their roots remained firmly planted on Earth. Navigation solely reliant on the Hope could no longer meet the rising demand. Soon, a civilian transport vessel equipped with a store of powerful energy crystals was manufactured.

Its function was singular: a dual-purpose vessel for both cargo and passengers. It utilized the potent energy crystals carried onboard to execute multiple spatial jumps, drastically shortening travel time between Earth and Mars. This allowed resources mined on Mars to be shipped back to Earth, while transporting humans from Earth to Mars, thus strengthening the link between the two worlds.

Humanity seemed to have leaped into an age of interstellar travel overnight, but this had little effect on me. I remained accustomed to living among ordinary Earthlings, leading my own carefree existence. Yet, the restless nature of the women in my life meant they couldn't stay settled for long. During a break, they organized a tour group and indulged their curiosity by visiting Mars several times. Each return left them ecstatic; after all, none of them had ever imagined seeing another planet in their lifetimes.

On Friday evening, Cai Jingjing and Ouyang Qian, along with the other women, planned an excursion to Mars for the next day. Due to work commitments and various personal matters, seven of my wives had not yet visited Mars. This time, they intended to see Mars in its current desolate, barren state, reasoning that once the first rain fell, witnessing such a magnificent, solitary spectacle would become difficult.

Seeing the others retreat to their bedrooms to pack, Cai Jingjing leaned into my embrace with a pout. "Husband-brother, you truly won't come with us? How can you be so uninterested in these new things? Mengmeng and Fangfang said it’s incredibly fun there—we can watch dust storms and the twin moons, and even take an exploration vehicle into the Grand Canyon for an adventure."

I put down the novel in my hands. "That’s just childish games. You all go yourselves. Have fun for a couple of days, but make sure you come back by the afternoon the day after tomorrow. I’ll stay home, watch TV, and read some novels. Qiqi is due soon; I’m worried about leaving her."

Cai Jingjing pouted in dissatisfaction. "Who's a child? And Sister Susu is going, along with Qingqing, Yun Yao, Zhou Ni, and Xu Chen. Even your former secretary, He Yuqing, is coming. Why not take Qiqi along too? Let her see it! Otherwise, after the baby is born, she’ll be stuck at home bored for ages."

I stroked Cai Jingjing’s soft hair. "No, absolutely not. Qiqi can't travel long distances right now; any mishap would be a huge problem. And you all need to be careful. Space travel, no matter how safe, always carries risks. The less you go out, the better."

Cai Jingjing laughed sweetly. "If you put it that way, Husband-brother, we can’t go anywhere! We’d be afraid a piece of gold might fall from the sky and crack our heads even while sitting in the sun."

I held her close. "I wouldn't dare let anything happen to your head again. Otherwise, I’d have an extra daughter to raise."

Cai Jingjing pinched my nose playfully. "You're laughing at me! You think I haven't grown up!"

My hand began to trace her form: "I like that you haven't grown up."

"Oh, what are you two doing in broad daylight?" Ouyang Qian emerged from the room with a captivating smile.

Cai Jingjing quickly pulled away from my embrace. "Qianqian, you come here. I couldn't convince my husband; he’s not accompanying us tomorrow."

Ouyang Qian shrugged. "If he’s not going, he’s not going. With no one watching over us, we can have even more fun."

Truthfully, I harbored a deep-seated dread of voyages into the vast cosmos. After all, this wasn't flying within the atmosphere or swimming in the sea; if an accident occurred, the consequences were unimaginable. However, the countless uneventful trips between Earth and Mars over this period had somewhat soothed my anxiety, especially since I trusted Little Raindrop, Little Hui, and the Dragon Girl implicitly in their arrangements.

But for some inexplicable reason, this Sunday after the seven wives and He Yuqing left, I spent the day feeling unnerved, constantly sensing that something was about to happen, burdened by an inexplicable restlessness.

As expected, the seven women, who should have returned by Sunday evening, did not. Panic rising, I immediately called the transport ship directly. It was then I learned that an unexpected meteoroid cluster had deviated from its orbit and entered the travel lane between Earth and Mars. The transport ship was currently executing a wide detour around the obstructed path, preparing to initiate another spatial jump.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I urged Cheng Susu, "Be careful. You are the eldest among them; please look after them for me."

Cheng Susu nodded. "Don't worry, Husband. After one more jump, we’ll be back at the Spaceport. We took so many beautiful photos; we’ll show you tonight when we get home."

The moment Cheng Susu finished speaking, the communication was severely disrupted. The image and voice dissolved into static, and finally, all I heard was Ouyang Qian’s sharp scream, "Fly away from that black hole, quickly!" And then, silence.

Something had gone wrong. It had indeed gone wrong. My heart seized. In a fit of desperation, I shouted into the now-dead cell phone: "Susu! Susu! Qianqian! Qianqian!" But no matter how loud I called, no signal returned from the transport ship.

The cold sweat that had just subsided immediately returned. I wasted no time calling the Dragon Girl and Little Raindrop, tasking them with investigating what had occurred. If those eight women met with disaster, I wouldn't know how to live with myself. I should have stopped them from going to Mars in the first place.

Not long after, the Dragon Girl, Little Raindrop, and Little Hui, having received the news, rushed back to the house. Seeing the expressions on their faces, I knew the news wouldn't be good. Indeed, Little Hui said, "Brother, don't panic yet. Let us explain slowly."

Explain? They must have met with disaster. I collapsed onto the sofa with a thud. Except for He Yuqing, every one of them was dearer to me than life itself. This was unbearable. Beside me, Yi Xiaorou gripped my hand. "Don't rush, Zhao Qian. Let Sister Little Hui explain the situation first. Things might not be as terrible as you imagine."

What else could I do? Weakly, I looked up at Little Hui. "Tell me. What happened? How... how are they now?"

Little Hui continued, "The transport ship was diverted from its course due to the obstruction from the meteoroid cluster. The deviation wasn't theoretically significant; it shouldn't have affected the next spatial jump. But who could have predicted that, precisely along that altered trajectory, the transport ship would encounter a wormhole?"

"A wormhole?" My heart jolted. This accursed thing—why choose this moment to appear? It happened to my wives! Surely that meant they were in even greater danger.

Little Raindrop took over. "Yes. The very wormhole we’ve been searching for ceaselessly was right between Earth and Mars. But who could have guessed the transport ship would stumble upon it by chance, and what’s more..."

My concern overrode patience, and I interrupted Little Raindrop abruptly. "Are you saying the eight of them were sucked into the wormhole? The transport ship has no negative mass to counteract the gravity inside, so aren't they..."

The Dragon Girl interjected gently. "Husband, don't jump to the worst conclusion. Susu and the others might not be in danger. We know nothing about wormholes yet; everything we speculated before was just subjective guesswork. Perhaps they are safe right now on the other side of the universe."

I knew the Dragon Girl was trying to comfort me. The gravity inside a wormhole would be immense; an unprotected transport ship would likely be torn to shreds in less than a hundredth of a second. Cheng Susu, Cai Jingjing, Hua Qingqing, Yun Yao, Zhou Ni, Xu Chen, Ouyang Qian—which one wasn't my beloved? And He Yuqing too. Were they truly gone? All my life, I believed I held control over life itself, but now I understood how fragile human power was against the immensity of the universe. With this realization, a bitter taste filled my mouth, my vision darkened, and I passed out.

When I opened my eyes again, I saw my parents, and behind them, the expectant gazes of a cluster of my wives. Hua Qingqing was replaced by another doctor from the Hua Family Hospital. I pushed his examination away. "I'm fine."

Li Qi nodded to the doctor, who discreetly backed out. My mother said gently, "Zhao Qian, we know about the eight of them. It must be fate; don't be too sad. Many people are still waiting for you. You need to pull yourself together."

"Mom, I'm alright now. Please let everyone else leave so I can rest alone."

My mother waved toward the women standing behind her, and they filed out one by one. "You four, stay behind," I told the Dragon Girl, Little Raindrop, and the others.

Staring blankly at the ceiling, I asked Little Hui, "Little Hui, did you send the Hope out to search?"

Little Hui shook her head. "We did, Brother, but without results. That area has been temporarily sealed off. We cannot risk sending anyone back until we fully understand this wormhole."

I said mournfully, "So, that means the eight of them, along with the transport ship, were definitely sucked into the wormhole and shredded into fragments, right?"

Little Hui and Little Raindrop remained silent, sensing the depth of my pain. The Dragon Girl spoke in a low voice. "Theoretically, yes. But we cannot rule out anomalies. We have no idea if the gravity inside this wormhole is immense. Perhaps they will return safely from the wormhole soon, as if they had just returned from a trip to another galaxy."

I gave a wry smile and shook my head. If that were a possibility, they would have been home by now.

With such a major crisis erupting, no one could stomach dinner. After calmly considering the situation, I summoned the Dragon Girl, Little Raindrop, Little Hui, Yi Xiaorou, Zhao Fen, and Zhao Fang back into the room to discuss the matter.

"Tell me, do you truly believe this wormhole we discovered today would shred the transport ship? Perhaps it's not a wormhole at all, but just a gateway through spacetime we haven't recognized yet."

The six women understood what answer I sought. After a low exchange among themselves, the Dragon Girl replied, "Even if it isn't a wormhole, we will call it a wormhole for now. However, we have absolutely no concrete evidence proving the existence of immense gravity within it, nor do we have proof the transport ship has been torn apart. The Hope has been equipped with all necessary experimental gear and is observing the vicinity of the wormhole. We should have results soon. Husband, please don't worry. I know you are concerned for your sisters. We’ve weathered so many storms; I believe this time too will turn out safe. It might really be as I said—the transport ship has ended up on the other side of the universe, and they are probably figuring out how to get home right now. You should eat something; they will be upset if they see you like this when they return."

I sank deeper into the sofa. "I’m not hungry. Notify me immediately once you have results. I hope, as you suggest, that they are unharmed. As long as their lives are safe, I will find them, even if they are at the very edge of the universe."

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