Once he finished, Gaia turned around and walked towards the helicopter.
"Gaia... Once this whole ordeal is over, remember to come and find me! I'll miss you!" Seeing that Gaia was about to climb up the rope ladder to the helicopter, Millie shouted.
She sounded just like a newlywed waiting for her husband to return from his business trip, especially when she said the phrase "I'll miss you". This entire time, she had been putting on the bashful expression of a maiden in love.
She had always thought that Gaia was just another average Joe, but now it seemed like that was far from the case.
Coupled with her response to Gaia's request earlier, she was currently anxious about her chances with him.
"Don't worry! Just be a good girl and stay here for a while. Uncle Bill will take good care of you." Gaia's face was gentle, almost as if he did not mind at all.
However, when he turned his head, his expression became extremely cold. A few moments later, he made his way onto the helicopter.
Soon, he quickly disappeared into the clouds.
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After Gaia left, Bill also made his move.
He quickly requested permission from his superior to carry out a military exercise in this area and ordered all the members of his division to participate.
After waiting for the vanguard troops to arrive, orders were quickly given.
"Platoon One, stand guard at the stone door. From now on, no one is allowed to approach it. Make sure that not even a fly can get in."
"Platoon Two, secure the entrance of the temple. Verify the identities of anyone planning on entering the temple, no matter who they are. The fate of the country is all lying on ths. We can't let any problematic individuals approach this area."
"Platoon Three, prepare the drones. Make sure that there aren't any blind spots. This is now a restricted airspace, shoot down anyone or anything that enters without prior authorization."
After Bill gave out their missions, several platoon commanders relayed orders through the walkie-talkies in their hands.
In just half an hour, Bill had managed to mobilize more than 3,000 troops to this zone.
The entire area around the temple ruins was instantly cordoned off.
One of the extremist organizations that were operating at the edge of the desert was even annihilated as a side effect of Bill's orders.
Three minutes later, the area surrounding the temple ruins was completely cleared out.
Just from a single glance, one could see countless loaded guns everywhere. It was almost like a war was about to break out, with black muzzles pointed at every corner.
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Half a day later, Gaia had finished his body checkup and was making his way into an old courtyard in Washington.
The courtyard was a little old, but it was completely walled off save for the entrance. Persimmon trees could be seen peeking out from above the wall, bearing several green persimmons.
A middle-aged man dressed in a butler's uniform was waiting respectfully in the courtyard.
"Mr. Rutherford!" Gaia greeted.
Rutherford was the old man's butler. He had served the old man for over twenty years.
All matters within the family, no matter big or small, had to go through him before reaching the old man.
His position in the family was actually about as important as Gaia's.
"Welcome back, young master! The master is waiting for you in the study." Rutherford smiled.
"I'll go ahead and greet grandfather first. I'll come back to play some chess with you later."
"Very well. You shouldn't make the master wait any longer."
Gaia walked into the study.
"Grandfather, I'm back."
"Now, tell me, what happened?" The old man seemed to be in good spirits despite his age.
Taking a seat, Gaia placed the book in his hand onto the table, and looked up at the old man.
"Bill told you about that door, didn't he?" Gaia asked.
The old man nodded, not giving out any additional information.
"On the other side of that door is another planet."
The old man opened his eyes, his eyes glimmering.
He stood up and asked excitedly, "Are you sure?"
"That's right, it's another planet called Planet Mushu. I went in personally and can personally confirm that it's a whole new planet. I've sent you video documentation of the planet, you can take a look.
"Once you go through the door, you'll find an altar similar to the one we have on our planet. Currently, there are many monsters outside the altar. I encountered a few of them myself. Just like the goblins in video games, they are very aggressive. Moreover, they have evolved enough to be using stone tools, I almost died in there."
Gaia took off his shirt, revealing the wound on his back.
After medical treatment, it had already scabbed over. However, the old man, who was experienced in battle, could still tell that it was caused by an arrow.
Being able to develop and use stone tools meant that these creatures had a significant level of intelligence. It further implied that they had already evolved to the point of civilization to a certain extent.
Moreover, it was still uncertain whether there were even more advanced civilizations on the other side of the gate other than the goblins.
If there were civilizations at the same level as the current human civilization on Planet Azure, then their current actions would undoubtedly be classified as an invasion, causing a high possibility of a planetary war.
The old man fell deep into thought.
"That door is called a Stargate. The first one has been discovered, but it isn't the only one. Six months later, a second gate will open. The location of the gate is unknown, and we don't even know if it's on Planet Mushu.
"It's a brand new world filled with unknown dangers and opportunities."
Gaia summarized what he had experienced and gave this assessment.
The old man did not say a word. After a long while, he finally broke the silence. "You handled the situation correctly. Even I couldn't have handled this any better."
Gaia nodded, though not being arrogant over getting praised.
The old man sat back in his chair, his hand resting under his chin as he weighed the pros and cons.
Gaia looked at the decorations in the study to kill time. For a person who had just transmigrated to this planet not long ago, everything seemed quite novel to him.
"What are your thoughts on the situation right now?" After a while, the old man raised his head and asked.
"Only with the combined strength of the Federaton can we actually develop that land. Additionally, if another Stargate is to appear on Planet Mushu in half a year, we have to find it before the others and seize the initiative. Only then will the family be able to reap the most profit from this revolution."
"Hmm not bad. You didn't get blinded by the current state of things." The old man nodded.
"One more thing, I want to go along with the army when they start scouting out the planet."
"Why is that?".
"I seem to be the first person to enter that world, that's why I seemed to have earned something special from the experience. It's a skill called Attuned to Nature. It gives me the ability to hear the sounds of flowers and trees. Take that orchid for example. You watered it a bit too much today, it seems to be having some difficulty breathing."
Gaia did not mention the system, but instead saying that he had obtained something special in that world.
The system was his most valuable secret at this point. No one could know about it.
The old man looked at him in shock.
However, with the discovery of an entirely new world, there was no reason for him to doubt his grandchild.
"This ability can play a huge role in that world. It can reduce the casualties of our soldiers and help our family gain more influence in the exploration of this new world," Gaia said.