Three human shadows decorated the interior of the barren room. The illumination from the candle sconces reveals the faces of two young men and a woman leaning on the wooden wall. Each of them has temporarily retreated into their little mind worlds. Thinking about all sorts of things. Well, until the screams from the outside pulled them back to reality.

“The 9th group already.” A man with brown eyes and black hair said, looking toward the door leading outside.

“Why don’t we be the 10th? I need fresh air!” The woman said, scratching her head through her silky long black hair. “How much longer do we have to wait? I think I’ve already aged 100 years… Look! My skin is turning orange.”

“Sigh, about 12 hours have already passed. Wanna bet when they will release us?” The young man with obsidian eyes said, holding up four fingers. “I am sure it’ll be within 400 heartbeats. Since the regular currency will be useless for us from now on, I will bet 10 credits.”

Before the woman could respond, the door began to slide to the left and let in bright light, followed by a gentle, energizing breeze and deep voice that cleared up the remaining dizziness.

“Group 104, Mr. Li Jiangsu, Mr. Xia Jiang, and Mrs. Xian Er, please follow me to the 10th departure hall. I am supervisor Tai Wei and I will be taking care of you all until the departure time.” The man called Tai Wei said, looking at the trio with his sharp eyes. “I suppose none of you have any problems with each other, right?”

“Finally! Supervisor, lead the way. If I stay here any longer, I will definitely have problems with those two.” Xian Er jumped up to her feet and gestured with her chin to her teammates.

Li Jiangsu has already gotten used to her antics and just smiled while walking toward the door. He glanced at Xia Jiang, who was contemplating something. Xian Er might just be joking, but this guy has certainly considered picking a fight with us for real. And it looks like he still hasn't made up his mind.

Noticing Li Jiangsu's gaze, Xia Jiang smirked back. Will I really survive with this bunch of weirdos as teammates?

*

The light crystals lined the ceiling of the beige-colored wooden corridor. Like the room, there’s no decoration unless the doors’ outlines are counted as one. Walking along the path, Li Jiangsu felt each step was as heavy as his worries. It was thanks to the warm, earthy scent of the Springfield wood that he could remain so calm. However, the deep voice of the supervisor is like a mosquito that keeps pestering him, reminding him what awaits in the future.

“...therefore the Dragon Gate will support each of you with 1,000 credits per month and 1 free Interuniversal Delivery. This is in addition to the custom-made backpack and the emergency supplies in it. Don’t forget to turn on the local language mode, it only contains the most basic vocabulary so try to avoid conversations with natives in the beginning. Moreover…”

Li Jiangsu turned on his Universal Assist artifact to read the mission information. Partly to distract himself from the annoying voice and review the details again so he can be more prepared.

A window popped up and hovered in front of Li Jiangsu's field of vision.

*****

Mission Details

Mission: Collect intelligence and determine the target’s threat level.

Duration: 10 years or until completion of the mission.

Basic intelligence collected by: Universal Observer Unit 27XQ Iter 63

Target Coordinate: 00 00 00 00 01 Z1 ZZ ZZ

Recommended Destination [Local Coordinate]: E46-E12-D20

Danger Level: Undetermined; Target civilization development level is minimum 6.

Progress: Pending review… (X/100)

*****

10 years… I wonder if I can survive that long. Heh, heh, c’mon Li Jiangsu, just thinks of it as a holiday to a very far place. Li Jiangsu shook his head. Thinking back to how he ended up in this situation, he couldn’t help but curse himself. Well, at the very least those two also ended up in the same situation as me. Clearing these thoughts away, he begins to consider his chances of survival in the New World.

I won’t have to worry about Xian Er or Xia Jiang to cause any trouble. They have their own abilities and should be dependable from what I have seen. The most concerning is the Undetermined danger level. From what I have heard, this is usually reserved for civilizations with capabilities to detect the Universal Observer. This could be done either by the unique power system or technology. At any rate, it signifies a decent level of development. I hope my luck isn’t used up by that roulette game and I end up in an advanced New World.

Supervisor Tai Wei's sudden stop broke his train of thoughts.

“I know you guys might be feeling tense right now but please listen carefully to what I am about to tell you next.” Supervisor Tai Wei turned around and looked at the three of them seriously. “We are doing this not out of our greed but self-preservation. As long as we have the upper hand, we should never let it go. Ever since we opened Pandora's box three centuries ago, the fate of all civilizations has been changed.”

He continued with a solemn tone. “The Dragon Gate of Nine Heavens do not expect absolute loyalty from each one of you. However, try to remember your roots before letting our great civilization down.”

Li Jiangsu and the other froze, they weren’t expecting such serious talk before arriving at the departure hall.

Xian Er was the first to reply.

“The mighty heaven!”

Li Jiangsu and Xia Jiang repeated soon after.

Supervisor Tai Wei took another look at the trio and nodded satisfactorily.

“The mighty heaven.” He said before turning around and entering the departure hall.

The large hall was lit up by countless crystals as if they were stars in the night sky. It would take over 20 minutes to walk from one side to another. The woody scent was replaced by a humid and inexplicable smell, no longer giving out soothing warmth. Groups of people dotted all over the area and in front of each of them was a clump of ethereal-looking mist. The shape of it changes every blink and it seems to be calling for Li Jiangsu to come closer. Li Jiangsu felt all his hair standing up as if the abyss was in front of him when he looked at the mass of mist.

And we are supposed to get inside that thing? He thought.

Xian Er and Xia Jiang turned their heads at the same time to Li Jiangsu, confirming their feelings are real.

“Xia Jiang and Li Jiangsu, about us being the 10th group. I am still up for it, you know?” Xian Er whispered to both of them.

“I am feeling so alive right now!” Xia Jiang burst out randomly, attracting weird gazes from nearby people including the supervisor.

“That’s new. It’s not uncommon for people to start a fight after entering the hall to delay the inevitable. But I have never seen someone as peculiar as you, Xia Jiang.” Supervisor Tai Wei remarked and led the group to their own “horror” ball of mist. “As you guys might have already guessed, this is one component of our Interuniversal Gate. We call it, ``The Void’s Gate.”

Li Jiangsu’s body could sense a stronger repulsive force the closer he is to the Void’s Gate. His feet would like to run away on their own if not for his control over them. Xia Jiang and Xian Er's pale faces tell the same story.

“Then, there are more components? Are they as terrifying?” Xian Er asked, visibly struggling to keep her body from shaking.

“Yes, here’s the Void's Key.” Supervisor Tai Wei took out a chest with complicated golden symbols on the surface and opened it. “Let this be your motivation for completing the mission. Well, I hope it does.”

Void's Key is obsidian colored in the shape of a perfect diamond. It’s no larger than a child’s hand. There’s no reflection off of it, it could easily be mistaken for a drawing on paper.

The moment supervisor Tai Wei picked up the Void's Key from the case and placed it on the marked area a few meters from the Void's Gate, it began to float as if the chains of gravity surrounding it had melted away. After checking it’s properly in place, supervisor Tai Wei took out a communication artifact and reported it to his colleagues.

“Group 104 is ready.”

A few seconds later, a clear crisp voice sounded from the communication artifact.

“104 Ready. Confirmed. Standby.”

Li Jiangsu couldn’t help but look at his fellow unfortunates, trying to decipher their emotions. Xia Jiang gave a thumbs up and a weak smile while Xian Er kept scratching her head. You might go bald if you keep doing that. Li Jiangsu thought to himself and shook his head, feeling a bit better.

The group didn’t have to wait long before the dreaded announcement was broadcasted to the whole departure hall.

“Groups in Departure Hall number 10, please prepare for teleportation in 5 minutes.”