Xander left the tent and just in time saw a few researchers hurrying his way.
His brows furrowed when he saw their panicked expressions. When asked what it was all about, the one who looked like the head came forward and answered,
"The rift has vanished, from the previous records from other places we can conclude that the rift has moved somewhere else. Most likely near the city still so it shouldn't be too difficult to locate.
"But if we don't hurry up, there's a possibility that things on the other side will spill out."
Xander had never entered a space rift, just heard that it was a good form to train yourself and find some opportunities. He asked the researcher for additional information to which the man replied,
"Although space rifts lead to a different space, the space itself is extremely unstable in an area. In that unstable and weak space area, in which case it is San Francisco and nearby cities, space randomly collapses to form space rifts, while sometimes that space rift heals and forms in another spot within that area.
"What is sure though, is that a space rift within the particular area will always lead to the same area on the other side. There are also cases, like this one, where the space rift healed and didn't form back in any other spot in the aforementioned unstable area.
"It still reappears though, like this rift which closed months ago and formed here today, we just need to wait for the Gardeners to check if the rift has formed somewhere else again or you might need to come another day for practise."
Xander took that all in, processing through the information before he replied, "But then what of the people inside? The Gardeners have sent someone in haven't they? And I've heard that the things inside might spill out if there's no one to contain them."
"Yea, exactly why we are rushing to locate where the rift has formed. If it happens to open when we aren't around to contain it, on the off chance that something from the other side does rush out, we'll have a difficult time killing it if it has significant speciality in stealth.
"There have been examples of it before, one such situation in San Francisco itself. Do you remember reading files about the shapestealers? Yep, they came from this rift. Although the Gardeners quickly reacted to the situation, such creatures with impressive stealth and disguise abilities must still be roaming around in the city posing a danger to its stability."
Just as the man was nearing the end of his explanation, they saw Sebastian walking towards them with his usual entourage of a 3-4 member crew. He said,
"My men have already found the space rift, it's still closed but is showing signs of opening, if you don't have a helicopter ready I could lend you mine. I suggest you rush there quickly in case the rift opens and closes before you get the chance to enter."
Xander flashed Sebastian a polite smile when he heard that and followed one of his men towards the helicopter which he quickly boarded along with his guard. Xander and Sebastian had a good relationship when it came to proper work matter so it wasn't out of sorts for such small favors and acting polite.
Sebastian shortly followed after them with another helicopter. Meanwhile, the young soldier who had always accompanied him curiously asked, "Why did you lend him your helicopter to go ahead?"
Sebastian always had an amazing bond with the soldiers under his command. Although he himself didn't train, the fatty was the one who personally trained his soldiers. He was also always frank and true with them, acting just like friends. In return, the soldiers had unwavering loyalty towards their boss and talked with him without any pretenses.
Sebastian answered without turning his head, "The beasts on the other side are extremely sensitive to the space rift. What do you think would happen when the rift opens?"
The young soldier replied with an obvious edge to his tone, "They'll rush out on our side."
"And what is Xander's goal?"
"Go to the other side. Oh. Oh. I geddit, you plan to have Xander fight whatever comes out of the rifts?"
"Why would I not want a free worker?"
"But sir, you're forgetting about the people we had sent in there. What if it were them who would be standing on the other side?"
"First, it's not as if there's no one from our side there, if the people we sent if happen to come back alive, my men stationed there will facilitate the communication so that the both parties don't fight. And second, I didn't forget but simply that it would be difficult for them to come back alive.
"The space rift here in San Francisco was one of the earliest ones on Earth, we had no prior data to work or compare with. We kept exploring the space rift and bringing back the mana crystals when one day the rift vanished but didn't form anywhere else in our area.
"The people we sent in didn't have any idea that they would be dealing with this, no one saw it coming. Not to mention they had no experience dealing with such a situation, they also didn't bring any additional or special supplies for an extended stay in an unfamiliar place.
"Now that the space rift has opened once again, it's very likely that the people we sent in might have died. There's also the fact that most of them were people we hired or forced in there. Even if they die, so be it, we just need to keep sending the gangs and disobedient people in there to work for us."
The young soldier kept quiet after he got the answer he was seeking for. He knew who he was working for but didn't care, Sebastian treated them good and they would do the same. They didn't care about what he did or what kind of man he was.