Even though Xie Yufei had told Wang Yan to get lost, she was the one who vanished. What an odd woman!
Wang Yan sat atop the mountain, pondering everything she had said. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made.
Yes!
What was he so worried about?
Here, he was the lord of the planet—the ultimate authority. On Earth, he was just an ordinary guy with no criminal record. Who on Earth would bother tracking him down day and night?
Take Old Man Liu Wanjun, for example. He'd quietly lived in that run-down apartment building for decades. If Wang Yan hadn't accidentally dragged him into this new world, no one would ever have learned about his "Lone Eagle" nickname in the international mercenary scene. In fact, none of his neighbors had any clue of his past.
He realized his worries had been somewhat paranoid.
Wang Yan snorted at himself and decided that, as long as he remained somewhat cautious and didn't court trouble, everything should be fine.
A sudden burst of clarity.
In high spirits, he yawned. He was about to teleport back to the Caesar Tribe to get some rest before returning to Earth for his errands.
But then he froze. Wait a second…
The Caesar Tribe had been taken over by Xie Yufei, and she was probably asleep in his tent.
Sure, he wanted to sleep there too—but he'd just forced a kiss on her, then got chewed out. If he tried to crawl into her tent, he had no doubt she'd make a scene.
Wang Yan really didn't have the stomach for another fight.
All the other tents had already been allotted to the folks from the rehab hospital. He, the planet's master, couldn't just barge in and repossess them.
He briefly considered Li Zhan's tent but immediately dismissed that idea—he recalled what sorts of "dirty" things had taken place there. No thanks.
So, ironically, he had no place to sleep in his own world.
In the end, exhausted, Wang Yan hauled over his bedding from his rundown apartment on Earth, found a clean cave, and camped on the ground like a castaway for the night.
Lying alone in the darkness, he silently vowed that once his world grew prosperous, he'd build palaces in every corner of the planet. Each palace would be equipped with a beautiful consort. If anyone dared to interfere with his sleeping arrangements, he'd deal with them on the spot…
The Next Day
After a long night's rest, Wang Yan opened the Gate of Time and Space at dawn and slipped back to Earth without telling anyone.
He had already sown the seeds, metaphorically speaking. From now on, his planet's development would mostly rely on its new inhabitants. He couldn't—and didn't want to—micromanage them.
His main task now was to acquire supplies as quickly as possible—taking care of logistics so his brave pioneers could work without worry.
Back on Earth
Wang Yan's phone automatically synced to the local network time. It was just after six in the morning—still quite early.
He wasn't in a rush. He booted up his computer and started purchasing some items online, especially those that weren't easy to find in physical stores.
He arranged for large, bulky deliveries to go to a temporary warehouse he'd rented, while more valuable or compact items were sent to the villa Li Zhan had given him.
Modern logistics were fast, so even if he spent the next two days buying things in person, his online purchases would (hopefully) arrive in time for him to move them into his world.
As for most of the remaining supplies, he decided it would be faster to buy them locally, even if it meant spending more money. Time mattered more than cost.
As he placed orders, he crossed items off his paper list.
Time ticked away, dull and methodical.
Eventually, the clock neared seven.
All of a sudden, his phone rang, making him jump. He picked it up and answered.
"Hello?"
"Brother, are you awake?" On the other end, Wang Lin's voice trembled. "Something… something happened!"
Wang Yan's heart lurched. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm.
"Take it easy, Linlin. Tell me what happened."
"Brother, promise not to spread this around, okay?" Wang Lin's voice lowered to a whisper. "You know the VIP ward at our rehabilitation hospital?"
"Yes," he confirmed.
"Overnight, more than half the patients in the VIP ward just… disappeared." Wang Lin's voice quivered in fear. "They really vanished, as in gone without a trace. The surveillance footage shows absolutely nothing, like they all just evaporated. The staff in those rooms woke up, and… no one knows what happened. A lot of folks here are saying it's supernatural, and I'm so scared!"
Supernatural?
Yeah, well, your brother's the culprit…
Wang Yan pursed his lips and asked gently, "Linlin, don't panic. What's going on at the hospital now?"
Wang Lin sniffled, on the verge of tears. "The whole VIP ward is sealed off. The police are swarming the place. The missing patients' families are all here… I heard the mayor's even involved. The whole hospital is in chaos. Everyone who was working last night, including doctors and nurses, is being detained for questioning—nobody's allowed to leave."
"You were on shift last night?" Wang Yan said, startled.
"Yeah," Wang Lin replied, her voice wavering. "I swear, I know nothing about what happened! People keep saying the hospital is haunted. I'm terrified. I don't want to be a doctor anymore!"
That's great, Wang Yan thought guiltily. I managed to scare my own sister half to death… and I can't even explain it.
He tried to comfort her. "Linlin, there's no such thing as ghosts in this world. Maybe they were abducted by aliens or something."
She managed a small laugh through her tears. "Brother, I'm so scared, and you're joking around… you're so heartless! Anyway, I should hang up. The head nurse is collecting everyone's phones. Just… please don't tell anyone I called you. Come pick me up from the hospital when my shift is over…"
And with that, the line went dead.
The situation was blowing up.
Placing his phone on the desk, Wang Yan felt his heart pounding. He tapped his fingers against the tabletop, replaying everything he'd done the previous night. Had he left any clues behind?
This was, after all, the boldest thing he'd ever done on Earth.
He worried he'd made a mistake somewhere, but as he replayed the details in his mind, he couldn't pinpoint any obvious slip-ups. Slowly, his pulse calmed.
He muttered to himself, "I can't imagine anyone linking that ward's disappearance back to me just from the void—right? …"
But just then, he spotted the towering stack of supply lists on his desk, plus the open Taobao orders on his computer, and his phone lying next to them. His face fell.
"Oh, no. Something else has gone wrong!"
Without a second thought, he abandoned his online shopping, scooped up the paper lists, tore open the Gate of Time and Space, and hurried back to his world.
Once there, he rushed into the Caesar Tribe to find Xie Yufei. Grabbing her hand, he exclaimed anxiously,
"Xie Yufei! We've got a problem back on Earth!"