As Xu Que and his team stepped out of the dimensional rift, they found a squadron of heavily armed soldiers waiting nearby.
"What the... what's going on here?" Kun Shao exclaimed in shock.
Before he could process the scene, a fully armed officer approached, saluting them. "Welcome back!"
"Thank you," Zhao Xian replied, shaking the officer's hand.
Just as the officer was about to say more, the space behind him began to shift and warp.
"Boss, is this the territory you were talking about?" Kun Shao hurried over to Xu Que, seeking confirmation.
Xu Que nodded and lightly touched the dimensional space, causing it to instantly disappear.
"Where did the territory go?" Huang Bo asked in surprise.
"I folded it over to the eastern outskirts," Xu Que explained, glancing at the officer beside them.
"It's you!" the officer said, clearly taken aback.
"Well, fancy seeing you again," Xu Que replied with a smile.
The officer looked slightly awkward, unsure of what to say next.
"They're probably eager to see us, aren't they?" Xu Que said knowingly.
"Yes, please follow us to the vehicles. We'll escort you back right away," the officer responded firmly.
Xu Que nodded and led the group toward the military convoy.
Meanwhile, back at the operations center, news of Zhao Xian and the others' return spread quickly. It seemed no one had expected Xu Que to be among them.
"Old Shen, what do you make of this?" someone asked.
Shen Tianhe glanced at Old Zhao. "What can I make of it? Naturally, I'm watching with my eyes," he muttered, though he knew he couldn't dismiss Xu Que so lightly—Xu Que was an enigma.
"The harbor zone is nearly clear, but it's hard to say how things turned out for those inside," Shen Tianhe remarked.
As Old Zhao pondered this, Old Peng stormed into the room, visibly irritated, grumbling under his breath.
"Old Peng, did you catch them?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"Damn it, not a trace of them. We had a chopper tailing them down Qianjiang Avenue, but they vanished into thin air as soon as they hit Haibo Avenue. They switched cars in the basement of the Guangchen Building and left in five different vehicles. No surveillance, no signals. It's like they evaporated."
The room fell silent, as they'd hoped to capture these individuals, only to find their opponent's planning was far more intricate than anticipated.
"Should we seal off all exits from the country?" Old Zhao asked, turning to Old Ye.
"At a time like this? How could we possibly secure all routes?" Old Ye frowned. "Every nation is struggling to respond to this calamity. If we lock down the borders, who'll answer if those mutant creatures attack?"
The group fell into contemplation, well aware of the difficulties, but equally conscious that letting vital scientists fall into foreign hands would be a national disgrace.
Moments later, a soldier entered. "Report! The dimensional rift at the auto sales center has disappeared. Commander Hyena and the Hero Team are outside, awaiting orders."
Upon hearing that Zhao Xian's team had been brought back, Old Ye and the others quickly rose, moving toward the exit, eager to find answers about the nature of this crisis.
Kun Shao sprawled casually beside Xu Que, muttering under his breath. Xu Que's eye twitched. Most couldn't make out Kun Shao's incessant murmuring, but Xu Que, a B-class powerhouse with enhanced senses, could. He began to wonder if the quiet and stoic Kun Shao he'd known in his past life had been a disguise all along—how had he become such a chatterbox?
Just as Xu Que was contemplating how to quiet him down, the meeting room door creaked open, and four high-ranking officers entered, dressed in military attire.
"Everyone, these are the top commanders of the Modu Military District," a young soldier announced.
"Thank you all for your hard work," Old Ye said with a smile, looking directly at Xu Que and the others. "I am Ye Zhentian. Perhaps I don't need to introduce myself too much; I trust you've heard of me."
At the sound of Ye Zhentian's name, Kun Shao's lazy stance vanished, replaced by rigid posture and respect. Xu Que noted this with interest, realizing that Kun Shao seemed to have a certain reverence—or was it fear?—for the man.
"Thank you for your dedication," Old Peng said. "I'm Peng Hu, head of the Tactical Department." Though his introduction was brief, Xu Que and the others knew his fiery reputation well.
"I am Shen Tianhe, in charge of information for the Modu Military District," Shen Tianhe said, glancing at Xu Que.
Xu Que's lips twitched; he could feel Shen's disapproval—he hadn't disclosed the full truth.
"And I am Zhao Zhenguo, handling overall operations. You must have endured much hardship traversing the dimensional rift. Let me assure you, anything I can grant, I will," Zhao Lao said warmly.
Zhao Xian gave Xu Que a meaningful look, which Xu Que immediately understood.
"All right, let's all sit down and discuss. We have plenty of questions," Ye Lao said, gesturing toward the seats.
Once seated, a soldier leaned in to ask if they should record the meeting, to which Ye Lao nodded his consent.
As the meeting commenced, Ye Lao and the others began to inquire about the nature of these dimensional rifts. Xu Que took charge, answering their questions one by one, as Zhao Xian and the rest had limited knowledge.
"You're saying this is related to a resurgence of spiritual energy?" Zhao Lao asked.
"Yes, that's my theory. Some phenomena now defy scientific explanation, and thus must be attributed to mystical forces."
Ye Lao and the others nodded thoughtfully, as they'd considered similar theories but lacked confirmation.
"And the time limit you mentioned within the dimensional space, how does that work?" Shen Tianhe asked.
"The rifts we're dealing with have a time limit. If we fail to defeat the BOSS within seventy-two hours, we—'the players'—will be permanently trapped in that space until we truly die."
"You say 'currently,' implying that more dimensional rifts may open in the future?" Shen Tianhe picked up on the implication.
Xu Que smiled. "Based on my findings so far, it's certain that more rifts will appear, each with its own ranking."
As Xu Que elaborated, the commanders began to grasp the gravity of the rifts.
As the saying goes, where there is opportunity, there is challenge; where there is hope, there is hardship. If they wished to survive this calamity, they'd have to venture into these dimensional rifts to gain the power and resources needed for survival.
"The teams and companies you mentioned forming—will that affect the public?" Ye Lao inquired.
"It will, without a doubt," Xu Que admitted. "After all, this model is grounded in power-based operation…" He then began to explain the industries that emerged in the wake of these dimensional rifts.
In the early stages, the unstable rifts required players to slay the BOSS to escape. However, as the rifts stabilized over time, the conditions relaxed, giving rise to professions such as transporters and collectors.
Yet, with this new flexibility came a lethal threat.
Each rift would remain open for seven days. During this period, the alien creatures within wouldn't swarm out, but if the team failed to slay the ultimate BOSS within those seven days, the creatures would breach the rift en masse, plunging the world into chaos once more.