Chapter 8: Crossing

“Zhang Dongliang!”

A young man standing in the front row hesitated for a moment until the woman repeated the name. He then awkwardly stepped forward.

The other woman affixed a thin, flexible liquid crystal display to his left wrist, securely fastening the screen in place.

After a brief functionality check, the woman instructed Zhang Dongliang to draw from a box.

Zhang Dongliang pulled out a slip of paper, which the woman took and opened for him.

“Ghost Realm.”

“Enter through the right passage. Someone is waiting for you there. Wait for everyone to gather before proceeding together.”

Zhang Dongliang nodded, took a deep breath, and headed towards the left passage.

“To the right!” The woman somewhat exasperatedly dragged him towards the right passage, realizing he was still processing the astonishing information and hadn’t fully recovered.

This scenario was not uncommon for them. To prevent last-minute withdrawals and ensure the newcomers’ readiness, they deliberately withheld crucial information before the assessment. It was expected that some individuals might struggle to accept everything all at once.

“Liu Qi.”

A well-proportioned young man hesitated before snapping back to reality, hastily responding, and then stepping forward.

All the newcomers appeared burdened with deep thoughts.

When confronted with such paradigm-shifting revelations, anyone would need time to digest the information.

Yang Fan was no exception.

During the examiner’s speech just now, Yang Fan had listened attentively, piecing together the basic logic.

The meteorite acts as the nexus connecting Earth to the other realms, allowing Realm Explorers to access various otherworldly realms through these nexuses and gain powers beyond ordinary limits.

The incredible process bestows unimaginable powers.

The Scavengers are likely an organization composed of Realm Explorers.

In this assessment, divided into the Beast Realm and the Ghost Realm, Yang Fan became instantly alert upon hearing the term “Beast Realm.”

Qin Hao and Sister An had mentioned that the culprit was from the Beast Realm!

When Yang Fan raised the question earlier, unrelated to the newcomers’ life or death, about whether creatures from the Beast Realm could enter Earth through the nexus, he received an ambiguous response from the examiner, leaving him unable to glean any useful information.

The roll call and drawing of lots proceeded swiftly, and the hall, previously somewhat crowded, began to become empty as people were called forward.

Yang Fan had to refocus his thoughts.

Now aware of the assessment’s nature, it seemed that An Ya and Bai Ze’s warnings were not baseless worries. Given his physical condition, his chances of passing the assessment were incredibly slim.

“My physical fitness is the weakest here, but I do have my own strengths. My senses are sharper than most, and if I can fully utilize them, there might still be a chance. If I draw the Ghost Realm, my odds may improve slightly. However, I actually hope to enter the Beast Realm!”

Another point to consider was Bai’s advice about gaining the right to choose his team—an opportunity only possible by achieving the ultimate goal in the other realm!

The exact nature of this goal in the other realm remained a mystery.

As Yang Fan raised his head, only he and the young girl remained in the hall.

“Su Qianqian!” When the girl’s name was called, the two women, who had been stern-faced, unexpectedly smiled.

The girl glanced back at Yang Fan before calmly walking towards the twin women.

“Ghost Realm, right passage.”

The man also looked towards the girl, a smile on his face. As she approached, he whispered softly, “Don’t come out too early.”

Although the man spoke in a hushed tone, Yang Fan could hear him clearly.

“Don’t come out too early? The nexus gate only opens prematurely in a specific situation…”

“Yang Fan.”

As the young girl entered the passage, she happened to hear Yang Fan’s name and couldn’t help but pause, turning to look back at him.

With only one tester left, the man also approached. He gazed at Yang Fan and remarked, “So, you’re Yang Fan… Your physical condition truly doesn’t disappoint.”

Yang Fan felt a slight sense of surprise. Even the person in charge here knew him; he seemed to have become quite famous.

“Draw the Ghost Realm; it increases your chances of survival by a bit,” the man suggested, his gaze inadvertently drifting towards Susan.

However, the woman responsible for the draw interjected, “No need to draw. Out of 44 people, 22 are already assigned to the Ghost Realm. He’s going to the Beast Realm.”

Yang Fan was momentarily stunned. Well, he didn’t even get the opportunity to draw lots.

What awaited him was the Beast Realm, which not only demanded higher physical fitness but might also be connected to his mother’s tragic death. Was it a stroke of luck or misfortune?

“The Beast Realm?” The man shook his head. “Take care of yourself. Go to the left.”

Yang Fan didn’t say anything and strode towards the left passage.

Upon reaching the end of the left passage, he found over twenty people already waiting there.

In front of them stood four men armed with rifles.

At this moment, people were no longer concerned about a company having firearms but rather the scene behind these armed individuals.

Behind them lay a circular, flat platform about ten meters in diameter.

Four radar-like circular devices were evenly spaced around the platform, with their pointers aimed at the center directly above, where a irregularly shaped stone the size of a fist hovered.

Yang Fan couldn’t help but steal another glance at the stone. Was that irregular stone the nexus connecting Earth to the other realms—the meteorite?

The head guard, upon seeing Yang Fan, cleared his throat and raised his voice, “Everyone is here. Please enter the circular platform quickly!”

People started gathering on the platform in groups of three or more.

After confirming the headcount once more, the guard leader addressed the bewildered newcomers, “There’s one thing to clarify. While the nexus gate is active, time flows at a one-to-one ratio between the other realms and Earth. When the nexus gate vanishes, in this realm connected by the meteorite, one day here equals an hour outside!”

“But don’t worry too much; time distortion won’t affect you. Whether the nexus gate is present or not, you won’t feel any abnormal passage of time.”

Before the newcomers could respond, the guard retrieved a remote control-like device from his black waist pouch, pressed a button, and…

As the surrounding radars activated, emitting a low hum, the stone hovering above the people’s heads responded to the sound waves, trembling slightly. Upon reaching a specific frequency, it emitted a burst of white light that enveloped the entire circular platform perfectly.

In the next moment, the twenty-two testers vanished instantaneously!

…

A flash of white light later, Yang Fan found himself alone.

He looked up at the beam of light above him, obstructing his view and preventing him from seeing the outside environment.

When they entered the nexus gate, the twenty-two newcomers were together, but now he stood alone. It seemed that the others might have been scattered into different areas.

“It seems like the crossing is complete.”

Glancing once more towards the top, Yang Fan could faintly discern the silhouette of the irregular meteorite. At that moment, the silhouette was gradually fading away.

Yang Fan recalled the examiner’s words.

The meteorite served as the nexus to the other realms.

A decade ago, he had been trapped in a state of consciousness when a meteorite fell nearby.

There seemed to be a possible unknown connection between these two events, Yang Fan thought.

As the light dimmed around him, signaling the imminent end of this protective layer, he realized it wasn’t the time for unfounded speculations. It was best to focus on facing the assessment head-on.

Steadying his mind, Yang Fan prepared himself, awaiting the fading of the white light.