"Damn it, why am I in a place like this... Help! Ahhhhhh..." Lin Luo cried out in sheer panic. What the hell was an untargeted spatial jump? Lin Luo had braced for the worst—perhaps appearing in some mountain ravine, or a sewer, or even directly in the People's Grand Square; he had mentally prepared for any of those scenarios.

But what he never expected was for the jump point to land him above the ocean... hundreds of meters above the waves!

Attempting a freefall that challenged the limits of the human body for the first time, Lin Luo was on the verge of a breakdown. Dropping from this height into the water meant certain death for anyone short of a superman!

"I'm going to cry! They can't just play with people like this!"

Lin Luo was genuinely about to weep. He thought he had found a path to survival, but instead, he’d dug his own grave. If he had known, he should have fought Liu Ziwen to the bitter end; perhaps there would have been a glimmer of hope then.

Birdman! Birdman! Got any wings?

If Mikoto were still conscious now, Lin Luo could rely on her to generate hydrofoils or something similar. But the current ‘Railgun’ was just a sleeping loli. Forget hydrofoils; he’d be thanking his stars if she could even manage to spit out a bubble... Relying on her was less likely than waiting for a miracle.

"Aaaah! Sister Railgun, we’re really going to be a pair of flying fish this time, swimming aimlessly to the ends of the earth... I refuse to accept this! Sister Railgun, and all you future wives in my harem that I haven't even met yet, you guys... Gulp!"

Just as he was about to make the most intimate contact with the glistening surface of the water, Lin Luo was so terrified he started rambling incoherently. Halfway through his rant, a massive wave suddenly crashed over him, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He could no longer maintain his grip, his hands loosened, and the girl in his arms threatened to fly away.

"Mikoto!" Lin Luo instinctively tightened his arms, holding the girl tightly against him just before losing consciousness. Almost simultaneously, with a deafening thud, they plunged into the ocean...

...

When Lin Luo woke up, it was already the next morning. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a stretch of sandy beach. He instinctively tried to spring up from the ground, but his legs immediately buckled, and he collapsed again, his body utterly weak.

"What's the situation now? I'm not dead?" Lin Luo felt a splitting headache. He rubbed his head, recalling everything that had happened, and was filled with immense relief.

Although that wave knocked him senseless, it was also that wave that fortunately cushioned some of his falling momentum. Otherwise, at this moment, he probably would have been reduced to a pulp.

"Lucky!" Lin Luo sighed. In fact, he was incredibly lucky. This spatial jump had placed him hundreds of meters above the sea surface. While it was a near-death experience, it hadn't been completely hopeless. But what if the jump point had been hundreds of meters above ground level? Or directly over a volcano? That would have been an absolute certainty of death!

"It seems I shouldn't try this sort of thing again before I have aerial flight capability. This is way too thrilling!" Lin Luo muttered, spitting a little. However, after a short while, he suddenly felt like something was missing. Upon careful inspection, he was shocked to realize that on this vast stretch of beach, there was no sign of Mikoto!

"Sister Railgun!" Lin Luo's heart skipped a beat, and panic immediately set in. Ignoring his weak body, he forced himself up.

Did Mikoto not wash ashore? Did she sink into the sea?

Lin Luo dared not contemplate further. In his frantic state, he even forgot to use the Contract Book to check Mikoto's status attributes, and he began searching along the coastline.

Ten minutes later, Lin Luo's internal fear was amplified infinitely. Just as he was about to despair, his eyes suddenly lit up. Not far ahead, near the trunk of a tree, he spotted a small silhouette... tea-colored short hair, a petite frame.

"Mikoto!" Lin Luo shouted in joyful relief and rushed over.

Mikoto's small body was weakly draped against the tree trunk. Her originally delicate and beautiful face was not only deathly pale but also smeared with sand, mud, and grit, making anyone who saw her feel heartbroken.

Lin Luo carefully gathered her into his arms, gently wiping the grime from her face, softly calling out, "Mikoto, Mikoto..." The latter kept her eyes tightly shut, showing no reaction.

Since Mikoto had already passed out before they hit the water—meaning she hadn't lost consciousness due to drowning—there was no need for any melodramatic things like mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Lin Luo thought for a moment, carried her to a cleaner spot near the shore, laid her down, and began removing her wet clothes.

Although Mikoto was a powerful esper, her physical constitution was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person's. If she remained in wet clothes in this state, falling