Chapter 1368: A Magical Journey
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Light gates appeared in various sanctuaries and shelters on Earth. These light gates appeared without warning. Even the most knowledgeable demon hunters did not know how these light curtains were formed, let alone understand how they worked in order to test them. Some otherworldlings with this in mind soon gave up the idea after throwing various identification spells at the light gates. They realized that the mysterious man who organized such a journey really had incredible power.
As Hao Ren did not focus on dealing with all the different otherworldlings on Earth, not everyone on the list knew about him. Many of them had not even met Hao Ren before. They were chosen by their tribes to represent them only because they met all the conditions. Their understanding of Hao Ren came from the information released by the Shadow Council: a powerful and special human who possessed the power to influence and had influenced the entire supernatural society. He was the one who recorded several extraordinary events on Earth in the past two years. Coupled with his good relations.h.i.+p with the Countess of the Crimson Moon, he had become a major influence within the Shadow Council and even the demon hunter organization…
In short, he was a powerful man…
“It’s interesting…” Seeing the light gate appear, Ha.s.se did not go in right away, but smiled and said, “So he set up the teleportation portals all over the world… I was worried that he was going to gather all of us on the list somewhere on Earth, and we’d have to worry about a possible fight. But with this portal… I think he’s prepared for that.”
At the Athens Sanctuary, Zeon Lucas frowned slightly when he saw the light gate and asked, “How did it form?”
“Out of nowhere,” Hesperides said, somewhat surprised. “According to the plans we received, the departure time for the ‘partic.i.p.ants’ are the same everywhere on earth. That is to say… At this moment, he opens a teleportation portal in every sanctuary and secret place on earth? While Athens Sanctuary is now open to him, other shelters around the world still have a lot of strange s.p.a.ce protections. Has he penetrated all those defenses?”
Zeon Lucas’ ever-elegant expression finally turned a little serious. He knew that Hao Ren should not be able to break through the protective lock of each shelter because he needed Hesperides to lead the way when he entered the Athens Sanctuary for the first time. There was only one explanation: the ‘great being’ behind Hao Ren had made a small intervention.
“Come on, this gate is an invitation and an announcement,” said Hessiana. She then smiled and stepped into the light gate. “If someone quits or questions the trip at this point, then they probably won’t have a chance to question anything in their life.”
In Nasaton, the city in the deep sea, Katreina, the Queen of the Sirens and her entourages also saw the light gate in front of them. As one of the otherworldling races who had the deepest contact with Hao Ren, they had no extra thoughts on this journey, and they were the first to respond positively at that time. It’s time to go, Katreina nodded slightly and said, “The portal is open. It’s time to go.”
The sirens, seeing the queen off, began to clamor, “Your Majesty, take care!”
“Remember to take pictures…”
“And video!”
“Your Majesty, bring back some local specialties!”
“Shaqira, don’t lose the wis.h.i.+ng bottle I gave you.”
“Don’t forget your clothes!”
“Toothpaste, toothbrush, cold medicine!”
The queen carried her traveling bag on her back. She turned her head smartly towards the light gate and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll show you the photos when I come back!”
What a peculiar yet wonderful scene…
In Raven 12345’s courtyard, Hao Ren nodded his head slightly as he watched the grid representing “the chosen ones” being filled one by one on the holographic projection in front of him. “Everything seems to be going well,” he said.
“Of course. I opened the door for you personally, how could it go wrong?” said Raven 12345 with her arms across her chest. She tilted her head and looked at Hao Ren. “The ‘perfect specimen’ you mentioned does sound qualified. Bring her with you when you come back this time. Well, I didn’t expect it. This group was initially organized in order to bring the ‘ancient species’ of the Plane of Dreams to be tested but you accidentally found a more perfect test sample, and now the ‘ancient species’ in the previous plan didn’t carry much weight. Destiny… I’m a G.o.ddess but I can’t even foresee it?”
Hao Ren coughed awkwardly, “Ahem, it’s okay. By the way, shall I bring the ‘ancient species’ of the Plane of Dreams with me this time?”
Raven 12345 pondered for a moment and nodded. “It’s still going according to plan, and we need to look at more than one sample. Every reference point in the transition from ‘human’ to ‘man-made G.o.d’ is significant, but we’re going to have to reduce their time in the Surface World because you’re going to bring a ‘mage emperor’ through the Wall of Reality. I fear that if they cross the line too long they will put too much pressure on the stability of the universe.”
“Don’t worry, I know that of course,” said Hao Ren, stepping toward the teleportation portal not far away. “It’s time for me to go there and pick them up. I’ve planned the rest of their journey, and their changes after this journey should be well worth looking forward to.”
White Flame felt like she was pa.s.sing through a heavy, uncertain curtain as if all her senses had been thrown into confusion for a moment. All she saw was a million lights coming and going, a million incomprehensible sounds whispering in her soul, and then followed by a sense of weightlessness. But the bad feeling lasted only a moment, and before she even had time to react, she felt grounded again, and the bright light made her squint.
She found herself in a silver hall of futuristic style. She could be sure that this hall was absolutely not something that could be seen on earth at the present time. The hall was magnificent and bright. It was made of metal. Numerous streams of light flow around the dome, coalescing into clumps of energy that carried a tremendous amount of pressure and were injected into the crystalline channels below. Holographic projections could be seen everywhere in the hall, showing the vastness of the cosmic sky, spectacular and mysterious celestial bodies, as well as something like s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps flying around. Such a sight could only be seen in science fiction and games. White Flame had never thought that she would see it in real life one day.
“Visitor, please leave the platform and follow the light beam.”
White Flame was startled as she suddenly heard a soft synthetic voice. She did not see who was talking to her, but she saw a light blue path suddenly appeared before her eyes—a path that began on a metal platform with a white aperture at her feet and led to a clearing at the end of the hall.
She squinted her eyes and released her mental sense, only to discover that the light blue path she saw did not actually exist in the real world—it seemed to come straight into her mind without her even knowing it.
Some low exclamations came from aside. White Flame turned her head and saw the ground behind her lined up with countless metal platforms with white apertures. Now every metal platform was s.h.i.+ning. As each light gate lit up, familiar or unfamiliar figures appeared. The only thing they had in common was the fact they all came from Earth.
They should be “friends” of this trip.
Maybe they had also heard the soft synthetic voice and seen the light blue path. Their mental s.h.i.+elds or intuitive warnings did not work at the moment, so it was hard not to be surprised.
“Visitor, please leave the platform and follow the light beam.”
Again White Flame heard the voice. She realized that these were clearly the handiwork of the landlord, so she let down her guard and walked down the light path to the other end of the hall.
After a moment of hesitation, the rest of them stepped off the platform and looked around the strange place as they went.
An unexpected silence hung over the hall. The once-hostile otherworldlings were suddenly herded together, without starting a fight or greeting each other. They just kept a tight expression on their own faces, wary of each other while discreetly keeping their distance from everyone else. No one broke the silence, they just tensed their muscles and tried to keep their faces expressionless.
It was as if everyone was enveloped in separate gla.s.s enclosures. A hundred people stood together, but they were divided into dozens of distinct groups.
And the demon hunters were the largest of these groups.
Yet the largest group kept the greatest distance from all the others.
“It’s mind-boggling…” Hessiana muttered, then looked back at the platforms. “Look at them… it’s big. That guy…”
“Is this his real power?” Zeon Lucas looked more serious than ever. “I had imagined it, but it was a little more than I could have imagined.”
“I don’t know.” Hessiana shrugged. “That guy is secretive. Lord Vivian doesn’t say much to me either. But one thing I know, he’s got more than that. He’s even killed demons on another planet…”
At this moment, another beam of light appeared in the hall, but instead of landing on the platform, it came straight out in front of everyone, and Hao Ren, Vivian, Lily, and Y’zaks came out of the light.
Along with them were dozens of Aerym’s Royal Guards, dressed in military uniforms. They were energetic and neatly lined up. Hao Ren had requested for them from Hilda.
Anyway, these Aerymian elves were not like the other otherworldlings. They had zero causal entanglements with the Plane of Dreams, and as long as the teleportation portal was stable, the impact of their crossing through the Wall of Reality was minimal, provided they did not remain in it for too long.
“Everyone, welcome to Kuiper Station, our first stop,” said Hao Ren, opening his arms to all of them. “This amazing journey will start from here. Now, please come with me. Let me take you aboard.”