At dawn, the sky had just begun to brighten, and a thin layer of fog shrouded the deathly silent village of Locke.
In these ruins that should have been inhabited only by the dead, a figure appeared holding a steel sword.
It was a black-haired young swordsman, his form light and agile, like a fully-grown panther in a rainforest.
The youth moved forward with easy steps, avoiding the rotting chunks of corpses on the ground.
At the same time, his sharp eyes swept over every inch of ground like a hawk's, constantly scanning through the scattered items among the ruins.
A few seconds later, the youth's eyes suddenly lit up, and he strode forward.
From beneath a long-stiffened goblin corpse, he pulled out a black object.
It was a long data cable connected to a black device just the right size to be gripped by a hand.
This was a mouse. It looked quite old, with the end of its data cable crushed, the USB connector vanished without a trace, and the wires inside the braided outer sheath exposed to the air.
Though it was clearly a completely ruined mouse, the youth cradled it carefully in his hands like a precious treasure, examining it closely.
After a long while, disappointment gradually showed in his eyes.
"No production date..." Orum sighed, gently setting down the mouse and continuing to search through the silent village.
This mouse wasn't the only "otherworldly artifact" Orum had found today.
Besides the mouse, Orum had also found a screwdriver, a Coke bottle, and a plastic children's toy: an Ultraman Tiga transformation device.
It was this ordinary-looking Sparklence that sent Orum's mood plummeting to rock bottom.
The world on the other side of the 'Black Gate' was now, without a doubt, the Earth where Orum had once lived, grown up, and constantly dreamed of!
Orum couldn't begin to understand what bizarre connection existed between the otherworld he'd been transported to and Earth.
"Could it be that this otherworld is actually part of Earth itself?"
"Then why, after I crossed over, did decades pass on Earth?!"
"And what exactly is the 'Black Gate'? Why can it connect two worlds?!"
Questions flooded his mind one after another, his thoughts chaotic and agitated. Paradoxically, Orum's movements as he searched through the items grew faster and faster.
"I need to figure out what era the world behind the 'Black Gate' is in!"
"This is the key!"
What Orum was searching for now were production dates on product packaging.
This was the most direct and crucial information that could help him determine the specific time period!
"Orum." A familiar deep voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Raygore?" Orum whipped his head around and indeed saw that iron tower of a massive figure.
Today, Raygore wasn't wearing his heavy plate armor, just a suit of chainmail.
He still wore that iron mask carved with menacing patterns, the black color scheme making him look from a distance like a moving black mountain, his figure radiating an oppressive presence.
The instant he turned around, Orum's gaze was completely captured by what Raygore held in his hand!
It was half of a plastic packaging bag, its smooth surface wiped clean by Raygore.
The logo and text printed on the packaging made Orum's heart suddenly race wildly!
"Vice Captain, is this an otherworldly artifact you found? It looks like it has a lot of text from another world printed on it."
Orum made his voice calm down, walking toward Raygore with composed confidence.
"Yes, definitely lots of text. Needs to be submitted to Scholar Hal for interpretation."
Raygore didn't notice the tension Orum was hiding deep inside. He casually handed the plastic bag to Orum, his gaze drawn instead to the sword in Orum's hand.
What Orum was currently carrying was an ordinary standard-issue steel sword.
Its luster was dull and its material common, not even close to the same league as the snow-pattern steel longsword he usually wielded.
On yesterday's battlefield, after consecutively cutting through dozens of goblins and the bones of three bugbears, the snow-pattern steel sword couldn't take the punishment.
Obvious cracks had appeared in the blade, and it was clearly ruined.
Orum hadn't expected his new sword to break down on its very first mission.
Fortunately, the second level of the Ice Hawk's wagon still had backup standard-issue steel swords available for Orum's use.
Logically, the snow-pattern steel sword's original owner was the Blood Wolf bandit chief Dorian, and its price should have been far higher than Gal's crude half-orc greataxe.
The half-orc greataxe had sold for the hefty price of 42 gold coins, so the snow-pattern steel sword's estimated value would probably easily exceed 60 gold.
Yet such a valuable weapon had been used up by Orum after just one day of combat.
The bounty for a goblin's right ear was 2 silver coins, seventy in total. A bugbear's head was worth 10 gold coins, three in total.
After calculating, the total income from the monsters came to about 55 gold coins.
And the reward for this commission, [Commission: Exterminate the Goblin Horde in Locke Village], was a mere 5 gold coins.
Not counting whatever reward the kingdom might give for rescuing the five survivors.
The total income from this mission was about 60 gold coins, not even matching the price of Orum's snow-pattern steel sword.
However, this was also due to Orum not paying enough attention to weapon durability.
At the same time, the snow-pattern steel sword was a blade specialized for swordsmanship.
Its design was more suited for [dueling humans] than brutally cleaving through the hard bones of low-level monsters.
So using such a refined weapon as the snow-pattern steel sword to slaughter the lowest-level goblins was actually quite wasteful.
When he'd discovered the snow-pattern steel sword was ruined, Orum had already made up his mind: "Looks like from now on I need to use cheaper weapons, or especially durable ones, to kill goblins."
Luckily, the Ice Hawk contract Orum had signed with Felix included a weapons and equipment reimbursement clause.
After returning to Blackwater Town, Orum only needed to purchase new weapons at the blacksmith shop designated by the Ice Hawk to receive up to 80% cost reimbursement.
Of course, this reimbursement quota wasn't unlimited. It was calculated monthly on a cumulative basis. Once the quota was used up, no more reimbursements could be made until the next month.
"Buy another sword when we get back." Raygore was obviously thinking the same thing.
As soon as he finished speaking, Raygore stopped lingering and turned to stride toward the direction Felix was exploring, leaving Orum only with a tall, mountain-like back.
"We're going to see the Captain," Raygore added briefly.
Within the Ice Hawk mercenary company, Raygore had always been the most taciturn member, but each of his sentences was concise and to the point.
He didn't need long speeches for others to understand his intent.
This communication style was extremely direct, even somewhat stiff and rough.
It would definitely make people uncomfortable at first contact, but after getting used to it, you'd actually come to appreciate this bold yet silent temperament.
Of course, Raygore's unique communication style also had obvious drawbacks.
He had great difficulty communicating with the civilians involved in missions, unless he used intimidation to scare villagers into wetting themselves, which could elicit useful answers.
Therefore, during Ice Hawk missions, all work requiring negotiation and questioning of civilians was usually handled by Ronald, the eloquent priest.
Following behind Raygore, Orum lowered his eyes to look at the plastic packaging in his hand.
Outwardly, Orum appeared calm and collected, but inside he was incredibly tense.
He recognized it at a glance: this was the remains of a bag of potato chips, and that sense of familiarity was like a sword thrust coming at him, impossible to avoid.
A yellow circular base wrapped around a central red diamond pattern that looked a bit like the emblem of the sun god Pelor, but Orum could recognize it as the Lay's potato chips logo!
Orum took a deep breath, his gaze moving down to the lower half of the damaged packaging.
A line of numbers was printed there.
The moment he saw those numbers, Orum's mind went completely blank.
"FS2045/07/22JCI50..."
"2045..."
"Twenty years later..."
Chaotic thoughts flashed through Orum's mind.
Although countless huge questions remained, at least two questions now had definite answers after Orum's investigation.
One: The world beyond the 'Black Gate' was indeed Earth.
This was proven by the text on the Lay's potato chip packaging and the Ultraman Tiga Sparklence toy.
Two: The time beyond the 'Black Gate' was at least after 2045.
This also confirmed Orum's speculation that "decades had passed on Earth."
"As for the remaining questions: what exactly has the world beyond the Black Gate become? In that environment, are there still humans surviving?"
"Perhaps only by passing through the Black Gate and seeing it with my own eyes can I know the answer."
Orum pondered internally. Once again, he thought of Reed's experience.
This fortunate villager, because he had witnessed the Black Gate opening, had developed irrepressible fear in his heart.
Therefore, he forcibly took his wife and daughter away, allowing them to successfully avoid the fatal disaster.
But Reed had also suffered irreparable mental trauma from that terrifying glimpse, his sanity completely collapsed, turning him into a mentally deranged lunatic.
Orum's gaze sharpened, his mind already decided.
"Was it some kind of mental attack that turned Reed into this state?"
"It seems that before personally approaching the Black Gate, I need to prepare defenses against mental attacks. I absolutely cannot be rash and impulsive."
"Either cast spells that can protect the soul, or hunt magical beasts with powerful souls, obtain their organs, and increase my soul's strength."
Just then, a booming voice interrupted Orum's thoughts.
It was Ronald shouting, his hands cupped like a megaphone, calling out vigorously to Orum and Raygore from a distance:
"Orum, Raygore! Come help us move something! There's a big guy here that the Captain and I can't budge!"
"Alright."
Orum and Raygore answered simultaneously, then both quickened their pace and ran toward Ronald's location.
...
Orum's current weight wasn't light.
Although he appeared to have a well-proportioned build, his muscle density far exceeded normal people's. When running, his feet pounded heavily on the ground, producing muffled "thud thud" sounds.
And when Raygore ran beside him, he was practically a steel locomotive. The ground rumbled and trembled as if it might crack open at any moment.
Wherever the two passed, dust flew up and smoke scattered in all directions, wild winds sweeping through.
Many of the surrounding bushes were shaken violently by the fierce wind, and fragile branches struck by their bodies even snapped with a "crack."
Among them, one dead tree, though also stirred by the wind for a moment, immediately returned to its upright form and stopped trembling.
In the shadows no one noticed, a crack suddenly split open in the rough brown bark wrinkles of the dead tree.
A hidden eye, in that crack...
Opened.
This was a goblin mimicking a dead tree. At this moment, it was using its cloudy yellow pupils to lock onto the Ice Hawk members in the distance.
Its gaze held no emotion, like a cold scanning device, sweeping in turn over Felix, Ronald, Raygore, and Orum.
"Target One: Human noble, dragon-blooded sorcerer, high bloodline activity... Hunt Value: S"
"Target Two: Human priest, Lathander [god of dawn and renewal] follower, suspected god-touched... Hunt Value: A"
"Target Three: Half-orc warrior, Karakak clan warlord-class warrior... Hunt Value: B"
However, when this eye looked toward Orum, its scanning process suddenly stuttered, its pupil instantly freezing.
As if the system had malfunctioned, what it scanned from Orum was actually countless streams of information that couldn't be parsed, like corrupted data!
"Target Four: Race: ?... Class: ?... Hunt Value: ?"
It then repeatedly scanned Orum's figure multiple times, but no matter how it tried, it could only get the result: "Race: ?... Class: ?... Hunt Value: ?"
"Encountered special anomaly, must report quickly..."
As the wrinkles in the dead tree's bark closed again, the eye in that tiny crack was completely hidden and vanished entirely.
The only abnormality on the dead tree that might have been noticed by someone disappeared without a trace.
...
After running closer, Orum finally saw clearly what the "big guy" was that Ronald and Felix claimed they couldn't lift.
It was actually a dilapidated minivan!
"This..." Orum looked at the minivan's broken shell, his heart growing heavier.
Seeing Orum's arrival, Felix walked to the side of the minivan and carefully explained to him:
"Ronald and I both agree this is a vehicle from another world. Those four black circular objects below are wheels, just like a carriage's wooden wheels, except this otherworldly carriage uses a strange material we don't recognize at all."
As Felix spoke, he climbed directly into the driver's seat through the minivan's missing door.
He patted the seat, gesturing to Orum:
"Look, I can easily sit in this position. This means the race using this carriage has a body size at least similar to us humans, or might even be human!"
"From the claw marks on the shell, this otherworldly carriage clearly suffered fierce attacks from monsters, and the bloodstains inside the cabin indicate the carriage's owner most likely perished."
"You're right, Captain." Orum looked at the glaring dried bloodstain on the minivan's driver seat before him. His breathing suddenly grew heavier, his emotions complex.
Felix continued directing:
"There are other items pressed under this otherworldly carriage. Orum, you and Raygore move it together and see what's underneath."
"Uh, let me get out first before you move it." Felix came to his senses and quickly jumped down from the driver's seat.
Half an hour later...
The sky gradually brightened.
Several beams of bright sunlight had already pierced through the thick clouds, cascading down to earth like golden waterfalls, dispelling the gloom of dawn.
"Time's up, we're pulling out!"
Felix looked with satisfaction at the hefty bundle before him, filled with "otherworldly artifacts" he'd carefully selected from the ruins of Locke Village.
Inside the bundle were not only various machine casings and clothes printed with text, but also four tires removed from the minivan, as well as the engine pried out from under the minivan's front hood.
Although Felix didn't know the engine's specific function, his instinct told him this complex machine placed in the vehicle's "heart" position must have more research value than the steering wheel and seats.
This "Locke Village search operation" had clearly yielded abundant results in Felix's view, far exceeding expectations.
Just as Felix was directing Raygore to hoist up this large bag of "otherworldly curiosities" and carry it away...
A faint humming sound came from behind them.
Among the four, Ronald, who had stronger perception abilities, was the first to notice.
Ronald looked back and saw a sight he would never forget for the rest of his life.
The sky was splitting open.
A pitch-black, profound crack rapidly extended through the sky, exceeding a hundred meters in the blink of an eye.
Like tearing heaven and splitting earth, it emanated spatial fluctuations like mountain floods and ocean tides!
"This is... the Black Gate?!"
Ronald's pupils suddenly contracted to their limits, every hair on his body standing on end. He violently twisted his head and roared at the three ahead:
"RUN!!!"
"Ronald?!" The instant Felix turned back in surprise...
The earth began to shake violently. A vast, tremendous aura descended from the sky, like a mountain pressing down, instantly covering a range of a thousand meters!
Felix's face turned deathly pale in that moment, losing all color!
Just an instant of oppressive aura left him dizzy and disoriented, his eardrums ringing.
It felt as if endless overwhelming majesty was simultaneously assaulting both his spirit and body, making even breathing incredibly difficult!
In that instant, Felix's body was suddenly lifted by tremendous force, his feet leaving the ground.
He'd been hoisted like a sack onto Raygore's shoulder. The half-orc's massive shadow was now fleeing desperately forward!
Flee! If they didn't flee, they'd all die!
In his violently jolting field of vision, Felix struggled to look up at the sky.
Above the torn firmament, from within that hundred-meter-long black crack, a blinding crimson suddenly appeared!
The next moment, a dragon-scaled claw burning with raging flames suddenly thrust out!
Immediately following was an enormous, ferocious deep red dragon head.
Atop the dragon's head were countless terrifying horns, like a crown of supreme chaos and evil.
Its scales were colored deep as solidified volcanic magma, blazing hot and hard, covering the dragon's massive body.
Within a pair of eyes like molten gold, endless savagery poured forth!
The instant this terrifying red dragon emerged from the crack, it roared like thunderous explosions, releasing an earth-shattering, heaven-rending bellow!
"ROOOAAR—"
Within several kilometers, every wild creature on the ground involuntarily trembled, an irresistible fear emanating from deep within their souls.
Whether gray rabbits or wolves, they all released streams of utterly terrified urine from their loins.
Storms swept across the earth, as if nature itself was silently proclaiming the arrival of destruction.
The instant the fierce wind struck his face, Felix felt his entire body go numb and powerless.
His blood seemed to stop flowing, and thin trickles of blood uncontrollably seeped from his nose, staining his neck red.
"So this is... dragon terror..." This was Felix's last thought.
The next second, his head drooped and he completely lost consciousness, losing all perception of the outside world.