"So, what exactly do you think we will find there?"

"Is this seriously your first time out in the Danger Zone?"

"Normies aren't allowed outside. Shouldn't this also be your first time?"

"I have the internet, my friend. I have even seen it in VR once."

With the sound of the truck going through the rough surface of the Danger Zone, Yun Hao and the others could not help but raise their voice just so that they could hear each other talk. And seeing the looks of the other party they were with, their conversation didn't seem welcomed.

But still, it would seem that Yun Hao and Sun Fang didn't notice, or just didn't care as they continued to talk and bicker with one another.

"So, what will we find there, exactly?" Yun Hao then repeated his question.

"Be--"

"Beasts."

Before Sun Fang could answer Yun Hao, Jia Su answered Yun Hao, "88% of deaths in the Danger Zone are accounted to Beasts. The world had been trying to clear them since the beginning of time, but they just keep on spawning everywhere from god knows where."

"And the remaining 12%?"

"Well, it is called the Danger Zone. There are natural-made traps made by nature... some say they were made by an ancient civilization, but lately, the working theory of researchers all over the world is that the terrain of the Danger Zone is just built like that, by nature."

"Sounds complicated," Yun Hao could not help but blink a couple of times from Jia Su's words, "Next thing they'll tell us is that the Danger Zone itself is a beast."

"That's actually also one of their theories."

"W... what?"

"Yup," Jia Su nodded several times, "It's weird, I know. But if you think about it--"

"Can you guys just shut up for a moment!? We're not going on a picnic here!"

Before Jia Su could finish his words, one of the members of the other party they were with stood up, throwing his cap on the floor of the truck before pointing his finger towards Yun Hao.

"And you! Why are you here if you don't even know anything about the Danger Zone!?" The seething man roared, "This isn't a place for half-baked cultivators! Just go back to the Safe Zone!"

Seeing the man raging out on him, the only thing that Yun Hao could do was blink a couple of times as he looked at his group, "Is he talking about me?"

With that question, team Champion quickly nodded their heads.

"You're the only one who doesn't know about the Danger Zone among us, Yun Hao," Jia Ning answered without any hesitation, "So it is probably you he is talking about. P... plus, he is pointing at you."

"Pft," Sun Fang breathed as he patted Yun Hao's shoulder a couple of times, "How is life in the mountains? Seen any hidden cultivators there?"

"It's alright, Yun Hao," Jia Su followed with a sigh, "Since we are here now, we can fill in the gaps for you. The world shall know..."

With team Champion suddenly continuing their conversation, the man from the other team that just scolded them could not help but twitch his eyes a couple of times. But after a few more seconds of their voice echoing through his ears, he had enough and walked his way towards their bench.

His team, on the other hand, let out unified sighs as they followed their comrade.

"This is not a game," the man said, "Do you know how much I had to sacrifice to go through Immersion? Not everyone who takes it are young masters like you are, Yun Hao."

Hearing the man's words, Yun Hao once again blinked a couple of times in bewilderment. Considering how this man knew him and even called him a young master, he had probably watched Yun Hao's video.

"I had to sacrifice everything just to become a cultivator," the man continued, "This isn't some entertainment for me, bud. This is a livelihood I need in order to have my family live well. It's--"

"...Why didn't you just use the money you had for Immersion to put up a business? Are you fucking stupid, or what?"

Surprisingly, it wasn't Yun Hao that answered the man, but Sun Fang. "That's three hundred thousand fucking dollars, man. You could have used that to live willfully with your family for a couple of years without even working."

"You don't know my story, boy!"

"And I don't fucking care. All I see is a middle-aged man who wasted his family's entire life savings just to play cultivator so he could be treated like some kind of big shot… that's fucking lame, man."

"You--"

"Let's go, Hong. Just leave them be."

Before the man could continue to argue with Sun Fang, his team dragged him away. Yun Hao and the others could only watch as the man struggled, before looking towards Sun Fang.

"Damn, you toasted that man," Yun Hao said.

"Tch, people like that are worse than you, Yun Hao."

"...Thanks?"

"Did your mother leave you to pursue her own dreams?"

"Wha--- how the fuck did you know that!?"

"Brother!"

Sun Fang could not help but suddenly stand up as he heard Jia Su's words. Jia Su, on the other hand, only let out a sigh.

"...A working theory-- Well, a theory no more."

The group once again continued to have their conversation, but when they noticed that the man from the other team was once again looking at them weirdly, they decided to lower their voices and eventually stop talking altogether.

Finally, after a few hours of awkward silence, the truck stopped moving. The other 4 trucks also started unloading the other teams as they reached their destination.

Yun Hao, who just leaped off of the truck, could not help but be slightly taken aback. He could not see much from the truck as it was closed down by a protective barrier as soon as it passed through Hengyang's gate, so now that he had a clear view of the Danger Zone, the only thing he could do was let out a halted breath.

There… was nothing here. It was a desert, maybe even worse as there were no signs of any plants or even insects-- if anything, this should have been called the Dead Zone instead. How exactly are they going to find treasures here?

But then, Yun Hao's eyes landed on a huge hole, surrounded by people, which judging by their uniform, were part of the Confederation.

"First time seeing it?" Jia Ning then walked beside him.

"Yes… is that the Rupture?" Yun Hao gulped.

"At least you know what they're called," Jia Ning giggled, "They're formed--"

"They're formed by Magical Beasts."

"..."

Jia Ning could not help but pout as soon as her brother interrupted him. She hasn't gotten the chance to talk much since they arrived, so he could not help but feel the urge to suddenly hit his brother.

"A lot of people say that they're some kind of portal to another world, but not true," Jia Su said as he focused the direction of the camera towards the so-called Hole, "They're just formed by the magical beasts that dug their way from the Dark Zone."

"Walking encyclopedia strikes again," Sun Fang said as he passed by.

"Interesting… thanks for all the info, Jia Su," Yun Hao patted Jia Su's shoulder a couple of times as he followed Sun Fang to the hole. But before he could even take 3 steps, a loud voice echoed through the air.

"Please gather to the front of the Rupture!"

With that, the other teams quickly made their way towards the members of the Confederation that were waiting near the Hole. And since Yun Hao and his team were already on their way there, they were the ones in front of the whole group.

"This is the last chance for your teams to back down." The voice once again echoed through the air. Yun Hao's eyes wandered all over the place to try and find the owner of the voice, only to see someone slowly descending from the sky.

"..." Flying people… he should probably get used to seeing that soon.

"But do note that your payment for this hunt will not be refunded," the old man that descended from the sky then said.

"...We paid for this?" Yun Hao whispered to Jia Su.

"...Yes? At least the Song family did. That's how the Confederation earns money."

"...Cool."

"Tch, fucking rich kids."

Yun Hao could once again hear the man from the other team cursing them from afar. But he was too intrigued by what was happening in front of him to even care anymore about anything else.

"We have rated the Rupture to be at the lowest level, your level," the old man continued, "So do not expect that this will be easy. That's all."

The old man then walked away, gesturing for the first team to go inside. And soon, the cultivators all jumped to the rupture one by one.

"..." Yun Hao was a little hesitant at first, but since the Jia siblings jumped without any hesitation or even a slight pause, the only thing he could do was hold his breath and jump inside. And once again, what he saw there made his mouth open in awe.

In contrast to the barren land above, there was almost an entire ecosystem inside the Rupture. He had seen photos of it from the internet, but seeing it in person truly was different. Even though they were underground, it was bright-- the glowing plants made it so, and there were plenty.

Almost like a forest that left one in trance, and he is. If it wasn't for the scream that echoed through the air, then Yun Hao would still be in a stupor.

Yun Hao quickly rushed towards the others, who were already on their guard as their eyes traveled everywhere. They did not have to travel far, however, as something flew its way towards them.

The group quickly dodged, but as soon as they saw what it was, their eyes all turned wide-- It was the head of the man that scolded them earlier.

"What… the fuck?"