Chapter eleven: The Crossing
A little over a month later.
Fang Xing walked down the street, his steps gradually slowing. He found himself back at the same station from that fateful day.
After a month of repairs, the ground was now smooth, the buildings restored, and the crowds of people flowed like rivers. It was hard to believe that just over a month ago, this place was a battlefield, one that had left thousands dead.
Arriving back at his apartment in the Xingfu Homestead Complex, Fang Xing couldn't help but grumble, "After all that happened, there's still no compensation. The landlord didn't even lower the rent…"
He opened a takeout box and, as he wolfed down his meal, he checked his contacts list.
Seeing that Gu Yun still hadn't reached out, he felt a wave of disappointment wash over him.
But Fang Xing knew better. He was just a sparring partner, not someone in any position to comfort her, and she didn't need his comfort anyway. The only thing that would help would be if he could bring back the people Gu lost. Otherwise, anything he did would just be unnecessary.
"Believe in her. She'll find her way through this," he sighed. After cleaning up, he went straight to bed.
The next morning.
With a sense of anticipation, Fang Xing opened his status panel:
- **Name:** Fang Xing
- **Age:** 16
- **Occupation:** Warrior
- **First Realm:** Flesh (Refinement: 84/100)
- **Twelve Forms of Military Fist:** 1/100 (Proficient)
- **Great Dragon Stance:** 13/100 (Proficient)
- **Gate of Worlds:** 100/100 (Position Locked)
In an instant, a mirror-like symbol in his mind burst into light. An influx of information flooded his consciousness, and he suddenly understood—he now had the ability to cross into another world! All it would take was activating the gate.
His gaze fell to the bottom of the status panel:
- **Gate of Worlds (Charging)**
"So, there's no capture progress bar now? I thought I'd be capturing another world or have to stay there for a hundred days before I could return…"
"Turns out, once the progress is complete, I have the ability to freely travel between worlds. But when does the next world's capture start?"
It was a relief. If he had to stay in an alien world for a hundred days, he wasn't sure how he would cover it up.
Taking a deep breath, Fang Xing unpacked the tools he had prepared—drone, air quality detector, poison test strips, selfie stick, and a cage with a few lab mice. His basic nanotech protective suit was already on, and most important of all—his weapon.
Easing his nerves, he pulled a black rod from under his bed—a high-voltage stun baton.
He couldn't afford a laser gun, so he had spent his hard-earned savings on this RT700 stun baton. It was the most suitable weapon he could find.
The baton was about 70 centimeters long, just the right thickness and weight, and fit comfortably in his hand. The key feature was that when he pressed the button, a spark of electricity surged from the tip.
*Crackle!*
"According to the seller, this thing can knock out an elephant with a standard shock… and that's just the basic function."
"Plus, it's been modified to shoot electric currents from the tip. The range isn't long, but it can catch someone off guard."
With the baton secured at his waist, Fang Xing covered himself with the nanotech suit and organized his backpack.
"Based on the Gate of Worlds information, I'll be directly transported over, no portal opening involved… guess the selfie stick is useless."
With a sigh, he counted to three in his head.
As he reached the third count, a silver light engulfed him, and within moments, Fang Xing vanished from his bedroom.
---
A wilderness jungle.
A two-headed lizard creature looked up, startled by a flash of silver light.
*Zap!*
A burst of electricity shot out and turned the creature into a charred heap.
"Seems like I was a bit too cautious," Fang Xing said, staring at the tiny double-headed lizard's corpse. He didn't disable his nanotech suit, still on high alert.
"It really worked... I've crossed over."
He quickly surveyed his surroundings and tested his way back home.
"Okay… I can return, but there's a three-second delay. That's not much use for a quick escape. No instant life-saving trick, then."
Frowning slightly, Fang Xing deployed the drone and activated the air quality detector. As the results came in, they displayed on his device:
"Nitrogen is the primary gas, oxygen content is 22%, rare gases 1.2%, and there's 0.0001% of something undetectable. But there are no dangerous toxins or harmful gases…"
Glancing at the mice still scurrying in their cage, he hesitated briefly before removing his mask.
"Hmm, breathable, and the air feels really fresh."
The drone had started sending back footage of the surrounding jungle—a vast expanse of emerald greenery, with a river like a jade ribbon flowing gently through it.
In a clearing, a monstrous beast resembling a wild boar was running. It was over six meters long, like a small hill, with six tusks emitting a faint blood-red glow.
"An extraordinary creature? And there's more than one?"
Fang Xing's eyes gleamed. "This world looks rich in resources... Set the drone to auto-cruise."
He programmed the drone to map the area and search for other life forms.
"For safety's sake, none of these devices are ever going back to Earth Federation. There's no telling if there's a hidden backdoor in any of them," Fang Xing resolved.
The best course was to assume there was one. If these gadgets stayed in the other world, there was no risk of data being uploaded to the internet.
"Sigh… A high-tech world sure brings complications."
"Even if I find resources here, it's not like I can sell them immediately…"
As a regular student, how would he explain suddenly acquiring all sorts of strange materials? Even worse, how would he account for a sudden influx of wealth?
"I need a way to turn resources into cash—untraceable cash. Looks like I'll have to get involved with the black market."
With a sigh, Fang Xing began searching the map for a suitable campsite, one close to water but safe from threats. Thanks to his survival training, it didn't take him long.
Half an hour later, he fetched water from the river and set it to boil while preparing fish and bird meat he had caught.
In this jungle, small animals were surprisingly plentiful. But the river was dangerous. He had caught a glimpse of a shadow, a giant snake, slithering beneath the waters—at least ten meters long.
Using what was available, Fang Xing roasted the birds and fish. He also gathered berries and mushrooms from nearby bushes.
When the food was ready, Fang Xing didn't dig in right away. Instead, he tested each item with poison strips.
"Alright, the bird and fish are fine… wait, the berries are poisonous?"
He frowned. "Guess my first meal in this new world is going to be disappointing… better order takeout when I get back."
Reluctantly, he fed small pieces of fish and bird meat to the mice in the cage.
The mice were his front-line explorers, taking all the risks so he wouldn't have to.
Half an hour passed, and when Fang Xing saw no ill effects on the mice, he nodded. "We'll keep an eye on them… I'll try the berries tomorrow. Maybe they'll be useful for getting rid of pests."
After setting up a control group to monitor the mice, Fang Xing grabbed a few bites of his emergency food—crackers and bottled water.
"I have to say, that meat smelled incredible… really gets the appetite going."
Feeling more settled, Fang Xing assumed the *Great Dragon Stance*. Even in an alien world, the *Great Dragon Stance* was the foundation of his martial progress, something he couldn't neglect.
"Huh?" This time, something felt different.
"Am I imagining things? If I hadn't mastered this stance, I might not have noticed… but my energy flow feels more vibrant?"
He quickly checked his status panel:
- **Great Dragon Stance: 14/100 (Proficient)**
"My proficiency went up? Didn't I just advance yesterday? Normally, it takes two or three days to increase by a point…"
"Maybe I was imagining the energy flow, but the data doesn't lie."
Fang Xing glanced at the world around him, a new hunger in his eyes.
This world held more potential than he had anticipated.