Maine's crew reappeared on the circular platform of the wasteland workshop, which was engraved with teleportation runes.
The transition of space was not a smooth one, but rather a nearly brutal displacement of reality.
One second, their senses still retained the dry, metal and ozone-scented air of the Death World, and the unique tactile sensation of the hard rock beneath their feet;
The next second, the familiar workshop scene forcibly intruded into their vision, accompanied by a violent, tumultuous disarray within their bodies.
The process of returning was identical to their departure, and even more unbearable due to their previous "experience."
That feeling of being completely decomposed by an invisible force, consciousness drifting in nothingness, and then being forcibly reassembled and reshaped, challenged the limits of physiological and mental endurance, no matter how many times they experienced it.
This was far from simple dizziness or discomfort; it was a severe perturbation at the level of existence, causing a huge impact on the nervous system and precise implants.
A series of suppressed groans, mixed with pain, immediately resounded on the platform.
Bodies fell uncontrollably, and metallic prosthetics collided with the platform surface, creating chaotic and heavy sounds.
Rebecca's heavy bolter nearly slipped from her grasp, but she instinctively held it tightly; however, the vibration from the gun body hitting her leg armor seemed insignificant amidst the current chaos.
Pilar's proud long arms tangled together like suddenly disobedient tentacles, preventing him from using them to support himself.
Falco's sunglasses hung askew on one ear; he tried to straighten them with his hand, but found his arm trembling uncontrollably.
Sasha and Kiwi slid to the ground, back to back; their electronic warfare prosthetic interfaces flickered with unstable noise due to strong neural signal interference, clearly unable to effectively process any complex information in the short term.
Dorio, relying on her extraordinary core strength and reinforced tendons, did not completely collapse, but as she stabilized herself on one knee, the muscles on her bronze face were taut, and fine beads of sweat seeped from her temples, clearly fighting with all her might against the violent sense of imbalance within her body.
Osiris' tall, dark red figure already stood silently before the main control console, as if he had never moved.
His crimson optical lenses calmly scanned, one by one, the temporarily incapacitated Maine's crew members on the platform.
In his sensor's field of vision, various vital sign parameters were clearly displayed like a waterfall in the data stream on the side of his vision: heart rates generally exceeded the safe baseline by more than fifty percent, adrenaline levels surged, neural electrical signals showed characteristic chaotic waveforms, and feedback from muscle micro-control units was generally failing... All these data pointed to the same conclusion: severe spatial transfer stress response.
However, the data also clearly showed that these disturbances were fluctuating within a predictable range and had not reached critical thresholds that could lead to organic failure or permanent neddielogical damage.
He mused that this marked the preliminary success of the living trans-dimensional teleportation experiment in terms of physiological tolerance, meeting expectations, despite the significant and severe side effects.
Within his logical core, a series of new data entries were rapidly generated and archived: time difference in consciousness recovery after individual teleportation, degree of basic limb coordination loss, duration of major sensory system disturbance...
These valuable empirical data from individuals with different degrees of modification would be incorporated into his vast analytical database to further optimize the energy output curve and phase stability of the teleportation protocol, as well as future specific buffering measures for different biological components and implants.
Maine was the first to forcefully resist the physical discomfort with stubborn willpower, struggling to try and stand up.
His modified, heavy left arm, integrated with an artificer plasma cannon, was the first to exert force; mechanical knuckles scraped against the cold metal surface of the platform, emitting a grating "creak" as he barely supported part of his weight.
One of his legs was still trembling uncontrollably, but he gritted his teeth, trying to get the other leg to follow suit.
Dorio followed closely, her reinforced tendons bursting with strength, allowing her to maintain a stable kneeling posture, though her breathing was slightly heavy, revealing that she was not entirely unaffected.
Rebecca completely abandoned the idea of getting up immediately, lying directly on the ground in a spread-eagle position, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for the familiar air of the workshop, mixed with oil and static.
The focus of her green bionic eyes was scattered, as if still struggling to piece together fragmented visual signals in her mind.
Pilar, Falco, Sasha, and Kiwi were in an intermediate state; they needed to reach out and support each other, or lean against the cold, rough wall at the edge of the platform, to barely maintain a posture that wasn't a complete collapse, with physiological pain and extreme mental exhaustion clearly written on each of their faces.
Only Morris, thanks to Osiris' deep optimization and systematic reinforcement for spatial disturbance tolerance during her modification, showed the most stability.
She didn't make any sound like the others, but simply moved silently into the shadows at the edge of the platform, as if blending into the background.
Her reinforced compound optical lenses scanned the familiar workshop environment at an extremely high frequency, quickly confirming the safety status, while her internal systems also performed rapid self-checks in parallel.
Although her system logs also clearly recorded signs of severe impact during the teleportation process, such as sensor readings soaring to warning levels and temporary packet loss in neural interfaces, her recovery speed and stability far exceeded all her companions.
"Boss... boss..." Maine's voice was unusually hoarse, with a clear sense of weakness; he raised his head, his gaze struggling to focus on Osiris, his eyes mixed with the daze of surviving a disaster, the shock of an unknown experience, and a hint of unanswered confusion, "Over there... that world..."
Osiris' synthesized voice sounded steadily, interrupting his unformed question; there was no hint of comfort or explanation in his voice, only a purely conclusive statement: "Experiment samples recovered. Vital signs stable. Preliminary assessment indicates teleportation experiment achieved preset objectives. You require time to restore physiological functions. Return to base for rest, remain on standby, and await subsequent physical data collection and in-depth analysis."
His words were concise and clear, like input commands, leaving no room for doubt.
Maine opened his mouth, as if to ask something else, but the strong sense of exhaustion from deep within his body and Osiris' emotionless demeanor made him swallow the words he had almost spoken.
He glanced at his equally unwell and stumbling teammates, and finally just nodded, difficultly signaling for everyone to follow him out.
Dorio reached out and forcefully pulled Rebecca, who was still lying on the ground, to her feet.
Falco timely supported Pilar, whose steps were unsteady and almost fell; Sasha and Kiwi continued to support each other.
The group moved slowly and silently towards the workshop exit, their steps faltering.
Their backs looked exceptionally weary and heavy; this was not only the physiological exhaustion brought by high-intensity teleportation, but also the violent impact on their established worldview from the three-day experience in the alien world.
The vast territories of the Imperium, the unique faith of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the harsh environment of the Death World, and their own sense of insignificance and powerlessness in that unfamiliar land, had all transformed into a heavy burden weighing on their hearts.
Osiris' attention did not linger on their departure for too long.
For him, Maine's crew's instrumental value in this mission had been realized.
As valuable living samples, they verified the preliminary feasibility of two-way teleportation and successfully brought back key communication tokens and the data carrier prepared by Sekhmet.
As for their current psychological state and the impact on their worldview, in his current evaluation system, these were non-core variables that required observation but did not necessitate immediate allocation of additional resources for intervention.