A period of silence has finally arrived in the noisy departure hall. Everyone turned their heads up to the speaker artifact on the ceiling out of instinct. However, this momentary peace didn’t last long before the supervisors of each group began to speak.

“Alright, it’s finally time for the departure.” Supervisor Tai Wei took three black bags out of the underground storage beside him before continuing. “For you guys in group 104, the primary mission is to determine the target civilization’s level and ascertain if they have any Interuniversal Travel capabilities. In addition to this, you will also need to collect intelligence about their cultivation pathways, cultivators we need to take note of, and much more.

“The location of the destination has already been set to [E46-E12-D20], the capital planet of a Native civilization called the “Great Celestial Empire”. According to the Universal Observer, this civilization will give you guys the best chance to collect intelligence.

“Don’t try to rush this process or… well I assume you guys already know what happens to people like that. Remember, it might be smarter to wait 10 years rather than risking your own life if it’s impossible to proceed with the mission.”

Li Jiangsu nodded and received the bag from the supervisor that was surprisingly heavy for its size. He looked around to other groups and noticed that every group got bags made out of unique materials and designs. The supervisor proceeded to introduce the bag and the supplies inside it.

“I’m sure everyone has already noticed the peculiarity of these survival kits. They are made with utmost care so the Natives will never find them out of place. Including the supplies inside. It’s all thanks to the Universal Observer that this was made possible.

“There’s enough food for 4 weeks as well as items for combat and defense. Y’all should have already memorized them via the Universal Assist while in the waiting room. And don’t forget about using Universal Marketplace if you need more supplies.”

Hearing this, Li Jiangsu brought up the supplies list in the Universal Assist to check everything once more.

Instant Dried Beef 200g (Wet) * 20 Instant Dried Chicken 200g (Wet) * 20 Instant Dried Shrimp 200g (Wet) * 20 Various grains 9kg Seasonings (oil, herbs, salt, etc) 3kg Knife 2x Sedatives 12x [Effective for 3 days, 70kg Body] Poison 6x [5 minutes until death, 70kg Body] Medical Supplies 3 Outfits

Haha, why does it feel like we’re going camping? Li Jiangsu couldn’t help but think in this way. He then checked the Universal Marketplace.

***

Credit: 0;

[Closed]

***

I guess they will deposit the credits and open the shop after we are in the New World.

The supervisor’s voice pulled Li Jiangsu back to reality.

“We only have one minute left, enter the Void’s Gate one by one and wait for the Void’s Key activation.” Supervisor Tai Wei gestured with his head to the Void’s Gate. “If you guys can’t approach it, I will have to use force.”

This prompted Xia Jiang to be the one taking the first step. Li Jiangsu and Xian Er soon followed. As Li Jiangsu approached the Abyss, the feeling of danger soon changed to disgust. He felt as if thousands of slimy tentacles were dragging him, wanting to devour him whole. The sudden change caused him to lose his balance and nearly crashed into Xian Er. Luckily she has a quick reflex.

“Aiya, don’t scare me like that!” Xian Er glared at Li Jiangsu with her crimson eyes while taking a few steps sideways. “Want my help?”

Li Jiangsu shook his head, wiping the sweat on his forehead. “My bad, that sudden change… was quite unexpected.”

Xian Er took a look at Li Jiangsu before she said.

“I don’t really understand what you meant by that, but let’s enter the Void’s Gate first.”

Li Jiangsu nodded and walked into the Void’s Gate after Xian Er. He didn’t feel any different when in contact with the “ball of mist”. But his nose was hit by an inexplicable smell similar to a mix between chlorine and blood. Li Jiangsu could also hear the faint sound of heartbeats.

“This smell better doesn’t stick to my body!” Xian Er said, pinching her nose.

“Hehe, what a stimulating smell and sound. I am so ready!” Xia Jiang declared, with his hands over his mouth and a green face.

Supervisor Tai Wei smiled and said “I enjoyed my time with all of you, however, short it may be. If we are destined, we will meet each other again soon. I hope you all bring glory to our great civilization, the mighty heaven!”

“The mighty heaven!” the trio exclaimed.

“I’ll be taking my leave then.” Supervisor Tai Wei said.

Li Jiangsu watched as supervisor Tai Wei walked a few meters away from the Void’s Gate and Key and stood together with other supervisors, forming a line. All of them have their right fist over their heart and left hand behind their back. The countdown from the dreaded speaker was like a judgment to hell.

“Departure Hall number 10, Void’s Key activation in 10…”

“9”

“8”

“7”

*

*

*

“2”

“1”

“Release the Void’s Keys”

Every single one of Void’s Keys in Departure Hall 10 begins to change. The obsidian color started to “peel” like old paint, revealing the white brilliance underneath. It was as if the Sun had descended and switched places with the Void’s Key. Li Jiangsu had to shut his eyes with everything he got, lest he gets blinded by the light. The Void’s Gate instantly reacted, the “mist” started to boil and Li Jiangsu could feel the smell getting stronger while the heartbeats were more deafening. After what seems like an eternity, the darkness has finally returned along with the calmness. Li Jiangsu didn’t dare to open his eyes yet as he can still smell and hear the Void’s Gate. But this didn’t prevent him from speaking.

“Xian Er, Xia Jiang, are you guys alright?”

After Li Jiangsu waited for a few seconds. The expected reply never came.

“Xian Er? Xia Jiang?”

Still nothing.

O-kay… according to the written experiences of the previous Explorers, the situation I’m in now is similar to the 2-3 seconds period inside the Void’s Domain during the traverse to the New World. The smell and sound are here, yes, I am not mistaken about it. So, does this mean I am still stuck inside the Void’s Domain?

Huh?

I can’t open my eyes!

If Li Jiangsu's previous heart rate was like the calm waves, it’s now more akin to a storm with heavy clouds. He tried to move his arms and legs, but no matter how much force he exerted, they barely moved from the initial position.

Suddenly, he could feel the breath of someone in his right ear.

“Ano–er c–rs-d? P–r li–le –hing…”

One more breath appeared in front of him, directly on his face.

“L-ok at -he –ood si-e. W- go- one mor- hel–ng ha-d!”

“It’s a -ity, he cou-d ha-e be-n st–ger.”

Another breath joined, tickling Li Jiangsu's left ear.

“Alr-g-t, qu-te now. We a-e sca-ng hi-. Boy, han- in –here.”

A few moments later, Li Jiangsu couldn’t feel these people's presence anymore. They disappeared as abruptly as their appearance. But before he could rejoice over the return of silence, his ears were bombarded by murmurs from every direction.

“Ḑ̸̤̪͎̗̣͎̣͋̅͆e̶̡̙͉̱̦͓̺͓͊͜ͅs̵̡̢̛̛͎̪̝͇̰̬͇̝̭̜̲̄̂̃ͅt̵͔̮̰̠͓̘̐͘r̶̡̧͙̥͖̞̗͚̙̈͐͒̓͝ͅǫ̶̛̣̪̞͎͔̩͔̱̙̻̝͐̔̑̉̅̈̇͛̅̔̕y̶̨̝͕͔͉̲̳̿͋̓̄͝ ̶̢̨̛̟̳̻̣̪̩̟̀̉̉̎̈́̈͊̊̆̆̈́̕͝͠m̴̨̛̛̠͙̲̣̫͍͉͕̜͇̮̰̀̂̀̇̂̄̓͝e̶̡̱͉̥̼͈͕̤̭͓͙̅͜ͅ.̵̢̹̪̰͈̻̞͎̘̗̍̇͌̈́̀̔͝.̴̛̟͇̂̊̀̃̓̾̍̈́̾͠.̷̝̠̟́̈́̀͐̑͋̈́̾̀̍̆̑̎̆ ̴̢̡͙̻̞͕̻͕̼̖̦͍͂̋͑D̶̟͓̬̫̺͚͇̊̔̌̄͆̽̓͐̓͐̀͘ę̶̞̖̯͉̽̔͌́͑̾͛̃̉̾̆̏̕ͅs̵̍̒̉́̊̎̚͜t̷̡̹̟̪͎̜̫̘͔͎͚̼̍̀̔͊͘͘r̸̡̢̛̳̱̘͎̖̥̩̫̻̠̐͊͐̉̎̇͐̆̊̒͘͠ơ̶͓̹̗͈̹̮͉̖̤͔̫̭̏̈̃̌̎̎̇͐͝͝͝ŷ̷̢̢̨̛̺̩̱͉̖̣̦̯͇̯͑̎́̈͊͆͛͗̑̕͜͝͝ͅ ̶̹̩͉̰͙̝̩̤̪̆͐̍͐̃͜͠m̵̧̨̛͙̫̻̱̪̠̬̫͉͔̫̦̗̚ė̷̠͛͂͌̈̄̃̆͊͆̽̽̕.̷̡̙͇̳̮̰̞͈̀͌̃̀̊̓.̶̺͔͉̙̦͒̀.̷͓͇̰̺̯̼͍̘͖̩͕͈̟̠̄͊ ̴̧͖͎̘̰̩͖̖̆͛͒̔͑D̶͉̪̰̈́͛̔͌͊͒̂̀͊͆̈͠͝e̸̡̧̨̨̙̤̳̙̫̹̺̥̟̱̔́̓̕s̵̜̳̼̳̯͕̬̺̯̹͙͈͙̻̀̍ͅt̴̠̎̄̉̀̆͆̏̆́̚ř̸̢̰͍͕̼̪̪̓ơ̶̢̤̟̭̙̠̙͕̜͍̺̻͈̜̅͑̎̄̊̈̽͠y̴̡̨͓̩̠̙̖̥̻̭̣̾̑͑̈́̒͝ ̴͕̃͑̏̊̎̽m̵̨̯̯͔̾̊̆̅̂̐̇͠e̴͓̥̩͇̿͊͗̍.̴̡̟͙̜̠̼̻̥̦̮̙̹͖͎̋͒̏̐͝.̸̡͉̣̟̖͎̗̦̱̪̎̈́̒̽̔̆̽͐̾͆́͠.̷̡̮̼̗͙͓̙͙̯̮͈̪̰̇͗̎͌͜”

“Ahh!” Li Jiangsu screamed in agony.

Blood “worms” started to “drill out” of Li Jiangsu’s pores as if they were living beings. Every breath felt like sucking air through a needle-sized straw. The ears are ringing non-stop with the vile murmurs in the background. Li Jiangsu’s sclera turned blood red. He could feel the pulsing arteries inside his skull. These sensations soon faded as Li Jiangsu fell unconscious.