I blinked, as all eyes centered on me - the girls, Mr. Prince-Not-So-Charming, everyone.

"...Uh..." I muttered hesitantly. "Hi?"

"...And who are you?" the prince asked, as if only noticing me now.

"I'm, I am...uh..." I said, struggling to remember how to speak - or rather, how to respond to this question.

"He's our boyfriend," Qing Yue continued, happily clutching to my arm.

"Huh?!" the girls, prince, and I exclaimed simultaneously.

"W-Wait, since when was I-" I began, but was immediately cut off.

"Now then...Big Brother Xuan Kai, lead us to a place to spend the night at, 'kay?"

"Oho...yeah, that's right...we can't just sleep on the streets, after all..." Xiang Peng whispered seductively, joining in on the fun.

O-Okay. Stop, stop, stop. This isn't right. This was not how it was supposed to go.

Xiang Peng then turned to the prince guy and spoke. "C'mon man, ask the girls yourself. Would they rather go with you, or with their boyfriend? Like, we get that you're trying to win their hearts, but the thing is, their hearts have already been captured."

This caused the prince dude to fall silent. He seemed to detest me, but also detested the girls - after all, they just wasted his time, when he could've used that time to 'seduce' other girls. But despite his dark emotions, he still managed to put a calm smile on his face.

"I see. Very well, then. Apologies...I have stepped my foot in where I should not have."

"N-No problem!" Lan Xiao Su exclaimed. "We're still grateful for what you did on the maglev, really!"

"I understand," the prince said. "Feel free to contact me anytime, I'm sure we'll meet again."

Translation: If you ever break up with this dude, come find me and I'll be happy to become your new boyfriend. Ahaha, slick.

With these words, he left, a bunch of bodyguard-like dudes waiting for him a short distance away.

Hm...wait, that bodyguard in particular...looks kind of like the pervert on the maglev? No way, right? But if he's actually this guy's subordinate...does that mean my guess was on point? This prince dude...really orchestrated the whole situation just so he could play the hero and win the hearts of my women?

Damn, that's lame as hell. But whatever...I'm not one to judge.

After that, we found ourselves a taxi. According to Xiang Peng, we were currently on the very outskirts, hence why the place doesn't look all that different from other cities like Shenzhen or Huizhou. But this taxi, would take us directly into the heart of the city - a huge floating structure known as The Fortress. It covered 90% of the entire area size of Shanghai, and everyone lived on this massive levitating architecture instead of on solid ground. The remaining 10% was some residential areas on the ground instead of on The Fortress, for those who didn't like being up there for whatever reason. In addition, there were roads and maglev stations like the one we had gotten off at leading towards The Fortress within that 10%.

All this seemed pretty surreal to me, but Xiang Peng had just responded with 'just wait until you see it with your own two eyes'. And so, here I was, eager for us to reach our destination.

The drive took about 20 minutes, give or take. Not too long, considering we were in a taxi. For the record, we actually took two taxis, since one wouldn't fit all ten of us.

I nearly fell asleep in the cab, but before I could, the driver spoke.

"We're here."

I slowly opened my eyes, and they widened further at the glorious sight before me. A massive, bright structure levitated in mid air, with six chains binding it to the ground on all sides. I could only see 3 from my perspective, but I assumed there were 3 more on the other end of this structure, just to keep it symmetrical.

"So this is...The Fortress," I muttered under my breath.

"Indeed it is," Xiang Peng said from beside me. "Man...no matter how many times I see this sight, it'll never get old."

I gulped. "I can see why..."

The Fortress wasn't just a single building. It was a city of its own, levitating above the land of Shanghai. In the dead of night, the bright neon colors and lights of The Fortress shone radiantly, as if the day had just begun.

"Wow..." Qing Yue breathed from my other side. "If Shenzhen was considered futuristic, then I don't even know what to call this..."

"The Fortress was designed based on a cyberpunk-theme," Xiang Peng explained. "Of course it's going to be futuristic."

"Well, that explains the neon lights..." I murmured, then got out of the taxi to fully admire the view. The girls in the taxi behind us also did the same. Yu An Yan paid both of the drivers, and they headed back. I assumed they were part of the population who didn't like living in The Fortress, but instead solid ground.

"So, how do we actually get up there? I don't see any...stairs or roads or anything leading upwards," I asked.

"Pfft. Stairs? Who uses those?" Xiang Peng scoffed. "The entrance to the Fortress...is right before our very eyes."

Saying this, she stepped forward onto a circular platform, at which point the road we had been driving on abruptly ended. She beckoned us to all join her, and we complied.

"Alright, now channel your mana, everyone!" Xiang Peng instructed.

We did as told - well, I had my mana constantly active thanks to the little experiment Mei Gui and I did a while ago, but the rest of the girls didn't have that power, so had to manually activate their mana. And then, the moment we all successfully did so-

"Entry Authorized. Welcome to The Fortress. Teleporting Now."

A mechanical AI-voice said these words, and we were immediately shrouded in a white light. We all closed our eyes to avoid being blinded, and when we finally opened them again, we weren't on the ground anymore. We were now standing atop a similarly designed white transporter circle as the one we had been on just now, but the surroundings...were vastly different. I looked up, and saw Xiang Peng, standing in front of a large gate, facing us. The words on the sign above the gate read 'Welcome'.

Xiang Peng, seeing the rest of us' confused expressions, smirked.

"Welcome, everyone, to my home - The Fortress, Shanghai."

"Wait, this is it? The Fortress?" I asked, looking around at my unfamiliar surroundings. Everything was dark, and the only sources of light were some half-broken lampposts, and the neon signs all around.

"Mhm," Xiang Peng confirmed with a nod. "Well, we're in the slums of it right now. This place is pretty dangerous, but with our strength, we'll get by just fine...as long as we don't run into any of the big gangs."

"Wait, gangs? And why the hell does the teleporter bring us into such a dangerous place?!" Yu An Yan exclaimed, slightly fazed.

"Because this is a test, of sorts," Xiang Peng explained. "If you can reach the central part of The Fortress, called Fragment, then you will have earned that privilege. If you can't reach it...well, train yourself in these slums before trying again."

"And who, exactly, is testing us?" Feng Mian asked.

"Why, the IMF, of course! You see, Shanghai is the Magic Capital because the headquarters of the IMF is located here. And of course, that being the case, it shouldn't be a spot where just anyone can pass in and out. The IMF has designated The Fortress - or more specifically, Fragment - to be only for the best of the best, the elite mages from all around the world. All the famous mages you've heard of in textbooks, news, all that stuff - currently live within Fragment, or at least at some point in their lives had."

"I...see...so, in other words...if we aren't able to get into this 'Fragment' place in one piece, the IMF doesn't care if we die within these slums?" I asked for confirmation.

"Hm...essentially, yes. Like I said, The Fortress is supposed to be the most pinnacle of locations. Only the best mages can enter, hence the test the IMF has implemented. In these slums...it's kill or be killed. A massive death arena, created by the IMF themselves."

"Isn't that...kinda bad and evil and stuff?" Qing Yue asked innocently.

Xiang Peng shook her head. "It's not like they forced you to try and get in or anything. You chose this for yourself, so you gotta be ready to face the trials and consequences that come your way. If you can overcome them, congratulations! You'll live in honor and glory in Fragment for the rest of your life, enjoying the best resources and all the Magic Capital has to offer. But if you fail...well, the worst case scenario in that case, is...death."

I sighed. "I guess that's fair. High-risk, high-reward, huh?"

"Indeed," Xiang Peng agreed with a smile.

"But wait, say we pass the test here, leave for another city or something, then come back a couple months later. Would we have to redo everything?" Lan Xiao Su asked.

"Nope! The AI controlling The Fortress uses your mana as a 'DNA' of sorts. If you reach Fragment, the AI will register you as someone who has already passed the test once before, and directly teleport you inside Fragment the next time you come back to The Fortress, unless you choose otherwise."

"...So, you chose otherwise?" Obsidia asked. "Why would you do so, human? You could have just directly teleported to Fragment, then bring the rest of us there as well. I find it difficult to believe there is no way to bring in outsiders who have not passed the test before - for example, family members of visiting loved ones."

"Well, sure, I could've done so but hey, where's the fun in that?" Xiang Peng asked right back, a devious grin on her face. "I've actually never done this test before, since I was born directly inside Fragment, as my parents lived there. So I'm kinda excited to try!"

"Oh man, so you dragged us into this all for your own fun," I muttered, slightly irritated.

"Now now, don't be like that. This is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime, thrilling experience!" Xiang Peng argued back. Then, leaning on the gate, and facing towards us, she spread her arms.

"Now then, my dear companions. Are you ready to face this test of courage, skill, and strategy? Because I sure the hell am."