Chapter 4: The Rift’s Echo

The full moon hung high in the sky, casting down streams of moonlight that shimmered like water across the land.

In Central Park, a rift abruptly materialized before vanishing just as quickly.

*Beep, beep.*

Inside a sealed room, a rapid electronic sound pierced the silence.

“What’s going on?” In the room, a middle-aged man in military uniform, seated in his office, questioned the palm-sized screen beside him in a low, grave voice.

“Bureau Chief, a new spatial rift has appeared in Yangji City’s Central Park!” The Youth on the screen reported truthfully.

“Understood. So, what has emerged from the temporal rift this time?”

“We’re not certain. The rift appeared too abruptly and closed too quickly!”

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man pondered for a moment before immediately issuing an order: “Command the nearest teams to locate whatever emerged from that rift, be it a person or anything else.”

“Understood, Bureau Chief!” The Youth rendered a crisp military salute before disconnecting.

Watching the screen go dark, the middle-aged man rose and gazed at the world map hanging on the wall beside his desk, dotted with red markers.

With a sigh, the middle-aged man settled back into his office chair, resuming his work on official documents.

****

In Yangji City’s Central Park, a sleek, black minivan slowly drove into view under the moonlight.

The sliding door opened, and three young individuals—two men and a woman—stepped out of the minivan.

“Captain Lu, is this the location the higher-ups specified?” The sole woman among the three addressed the man beside her, who wore a white shirt and black trousers.

“…Yes, this is it. Let’s get to work! The sooner we resolve this, the sooner I can go back to sleep,” the man, addressed as Captain Lu, responded to the woman with a tone brimming with resentment.

“Captain Lu, this is work time. Please put away your resentment.” A man wearing glasses and dressed entirely in black gazed at the white-shirted man with a serious expression.

“Alright, alright, fine. In any case, it’s time to get to work!”

Lu Ren sighed, rubbing his cheeks, his expression growing serious. He couldn’t afford to be anything but serious; the black-clad man had been sent by their superiors to supervise him, and he certainly didn’t want to face any repercussions.

The three each took out a mirror-like spatial detector and began scanning the park’s surroundings.

Each of them took a different path, commencing their sweep of the park.

After a considerable time, the three reconvened at the pavilion situated in the very heart of the park.

“Captain Lu, did either of you detect anything?” The black-clad man questioned the two beside him.

Both shook their heads, indicating they had found nothing.

“How strange. Usually, within a few hours of a spatial rift appearing, the detectors can pinpoint the whereabouts of any people or objects that emerged from it. This time, there’s absolutely nothing…” Lu Ren, stroking his chin, also found it peculiar.

“There’s nothing strange about it. The bureau’s archives contain many cases where this has happened,” the quiet woman beside them spoke, adding, “Of course, such occurrences are only a small fraction of all spatial rift incidents.”

“When this situation arises, it often means that what slipped into our world from the spatial rift isn’t a low-intelligence creature, but a highly intelligent life form.” The black-clad man’s expression turned grave; this indicated the situation had escalated to another level.

“Highly intelligent… life form… So, if it’s a highly intelligent life form, is there a possibility…?” Lu Ren rubbed his chin, speaking in a low voice.

“What possibility?” The two beside him voiced their questions, their expressions filled with doubt.

“That the highly intelligent life form is still inside the park and hasn’t left? Of course, I’m just saying it’s a possibility, alright?” Looking at the two bewildered faces, Lu Ren emphasized that it was merely a possibility, his own speculation.

Regarding his conjecture, the black-clad man muttered to himself, “A possibility? Perhaps. We could try. Maybe it really is still within this park.”

“Huh? No, are you serious?” The woman, who had been contemplating Lu Ren’s theory, looked somewhat bewildered as she stared at the black-clad man.

“Yes, let’s search with this idea in mind! After all, there are no other options.” Looking at Li Sijia, Zhao Suyan nodded.

“Hey, hey, this is just a guess. Are you really going with this?”

“Well then, Captain Lu, do you have any better suggestions?”

Unsure how to respond, Lu Ren could only respond with silence. After all, there truly were no other options, unless they reported back to the bureau with this inconclusive answer.

If he truly returned with such an answer, he was certain his position as captain, which was already temporarily suspended due to a past infraction, might very well be revoked permanently, forcing him to start over as a regular team member.

*Beep, beep.* The earpiece in his ear suddenly chimed.

Hearing the sound, the trio exchanged glances before answering.

“Third Squad, how is your detection work progressing? Have you found what came out of the rift?” A slightly weathered voice emerged from the earpiece.

“Report, Squadron Leader, we haven’t found anything yet, but we’ve developed a new approach and are now proceeding with it.” Lu Ren, nervously rubbing his nose, felt a pang of unease.

“…Make it quick, lest the populace suffer.” After a brief silence, a reply finally came from the other end.

Once the earpiece fell silent, Lu Ren exhaled in relief.

Zhao Suyan observed Lu Ren for a moment in silence before stating, “Honestly, you’re not suited for the captain’s position…”

Li Sijia, standing nearby, remained silent, but her expression clearly indicated her agreement with Zhao Suyan’s words.

Fixing his gaze on Zhao Suyan, Lu Ren remained silent, then, gripping his detector, earnestly resumed his search for whatever had emerged from the spatial rift.

Beneath a large tree in the park, Lu Ren clenched his fist and slammed it forcefully against the trunk.

A dull thud echoed from the tree trunk, its sound alone betraying the immense force behind Lu Ren’s punch.

‘Do you… wish to grow stronger?’

A devilish whisper abruptly echoed within Lu Ren’s mind.

“Who’s there?” Hearing the voice, Lu Ren whirled around. Yet, beneath the tree, he was utterly alone; there was no one else.

‘You needn’t search. I am within your mind, hoho~’

The voice in his head cackled eerily.

“You scoundrel!” Lu Ren roared in fury, his muscles beginning to swell. In moments, he had grown several meters taller, his arms like iron pillars. This was his ability: Gigantification.

“Oh? How interesting. So, the innate magic in this world allows one to transform into a giant several meters tall?”

“Innate magic? This is called an Awakened Skill.” Listening to the voice in his mind, Lu Ren cautiously engaged it.

“Awakened Skill, is it? Indeed, different worlds have different terminologies.” The gender-ambiguous voice clicked its tongue in wonder within Lu Ren’s mind.

The noise-like voice in his head gave Lu Ren a headache. “Hey, you gender-ambiguous fiend, come out now, or don’t blame me for being impolite!”

“Very well, but you must answer me first: Do you… wish to grow stronger?”

When the whisper echoed again, Lu Ren fell silent. Who wouldn’t want to grow stronger? Truthfully, he was greatly tempted.

“Yes, I do. But if you don’t show yourself, I can’t trust you.”

“Very well, I shall appear before you now!”

A figure slowly materialized behind Lu Ren.

With his Awakened Skill active, Lu Ren’s senses were incredibly sharp; he spun around almost the instant the figure appeared behind him.

“Who are you?” Looming over the exotic-looking woman before him, Lu Ren questioned in a low voice.

“Where I come from is irrelevant to you. You only need to know that I hail from the other side of the rift!”

“Right, so you’re the one who slipped through the rift into our world, aren’t you?” Lu Ren grinned.

Seeing Lu Ren’s smile, the woman felt a prickle of unease.

Soon enough, however, the woman understood the reason for her disquiet.

“Everyone, the spatial stowaway has revealed themselves!” Lu Ren shouted towards the patch of grass that had appeared at some unknown point beside him.

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