Chapter Eleven: The Trio

Inside the alien metaverse.

“Captain, both individuals have been executed.”

On hearing his subordinate’s report, Wang Yilong gave a slight nod.

“What happened after the execution?”

“They turned into corpses, remaining exactly as they were at the moment of death. Nothing disappeared. Should we bury them?”

“There are doctors in the advance team, aren’t there? Hand the bodies over to them for research.”

“Understood.”

The subordinate had barely left when Wang Yilong noticed that the bodies of Prisoner No. 8 and No. 9 began to fade, and then, astonishingly, vanished into thin air.

“The outside world has received our transmission and informed us that death in this alien metaverse carries grave consequences. We must be extremely cautious.”

Wang Yilong silently translated the message from the outside world in his mind.

Before entering this alien metaverse, the Space Force had already devised dozens of contingency plans to prepare for any possible situation they might encounter inside.

Now, in these circumstances...

The advance team’s priority was to carve out a safe zone as quickly as possible and establish a base, while gathering as much information as they could about the alien metaverse to prepare the way for the main force that would follow.

With this in mind, he ordered the group, “This alien metaverse is even larger than Earth; with just ten thousand of us, we can barely make a ripple. So our immediate mission is to establish a foothold. And for that, a water source is essential. We need to find a location near water.”

He paused, then continued, “Other than the Space Force’s First Detachment, anyone else who wishes to join the exploration can step forward now.”

Excluding the seven thousand members of the First Detachment, most of the remaining three thousand in the advance team were elderly. Subtracting some of the women, less than five hundred were capable of joining the exploration.

Of those, about half stepped forward voluntarily, including Chen Nian.

As for the rest, it wasn’t fear that held them back, but rather their areas of expertise. For example, doctors had little reason to participate in the exploration.

Once these two hundred or so people had stepped forward, Wang Yilong appointed three thousand Space Force members to assemble an exploration party.

“You three thousand two hundred plus, organize yourselves into teams of three. Each group will be assigned a specific coordinate range to explore. During your expedition, pay special attention to water sources, as well as anything that could serve as food or weapons. Also, remember: no matter what sort of creature you encounter—even if you believe it’s edible—avoid it at all costs. Your task is to memorize what you see and report back. This includes not just animals, but also people from other nations and extraterrestrials. Understood? No need to answer aloud—just nod. We must avoid making too much noise here.”

The three thousand Space Force members all nodded in unison.

Wang Yilong smiled faintly and reminded them, “Remember these coordinates: 952.35, 635.52. Return here immediately after you’ve finished exploring your assigned area. And again, be extremely careful—death here carries very serious consequences, according to the information we’ve received from outside.”

The group nodded once more, indicating their understanding.

Only then did Wang Yilong give a wave of his hand.

“Begin the operation!”

The three thousand dispersed at once, each seeking out teammates.

In the crowd, before Chen Nian could look for companions, a young Space Force soldier approached him briskly.

“Chen—Chen! My name’s Hu Xiaofeng, First Sergeant, Space Force First Legion, First Detachment. May I join your team?”

Faced with the irrepressible, sunny smile on the other’s face, Chen Nian couldn’t bring himself to refuse. Besides, he had only planned to find two people at random anyway.

“Of course.”

“Actually, I’m a fan of yours! But with training being so intense, I hardly ever get a chance to play metaverse games, so I never joined Sky Vault. Still, one of my childhood friends is a member—if he finds out I’ve teamed up with you, he’ll be green with envy! Hahaha! Oh, and just call me Hu.”

“All right.”

Chen Nian didn’t fuss over formalities. Though Hu appeared to be about his age, in this environment, there was no point wasting time on courtesy.

“Let’s find one more person,” Chen Nian said, turning his gaze toward the crowd nearby.

Just then, a voice called out from behind.

“How about taking me?”

The voice was elderly, and there was an undertone of hostility.

Both Chen Nian and Hu turned to see a man in his sixties standing behind them. His hair was peppered with gray, his skin tanned, his body solidly built—clearly someone who exercised regularly. But the most striking feature was his hawk-like, penetrating gaze, exuding an intense sense of pressure.

“My grandson’s a fan of yours. He skips his homework to watch your tutorial videos and constantly talks about joining your guild. I finally caught you today—I want to see for myself what makes you so captivating.”

Before Chen Nian could reply, the old man added with a cold laugh.

Chen Nian gave an awkward smile. So, this was a detractor.

But Hu’s eyes lit up in excitement when he recognized the old man.

“Instructor Li, it’s fantastic that you’re willing to join our team! I’ll go discuss our assigned area with the others—wait here!”

With that, Hu turned and left.

Once he was gone, the old man finally spoke. “My name is Li Shouyi. I was a scout, then served as an instructor in special forces after retiring, and ten years ago I was transferred to the Space Force. I just retired last year. Just call me Old Li. I’ll go fetch three sticks for us to use while scouting—wait here.”

With that, Old Li walked toward a nearby tree, leaving Chen Nian alone.

Chen Nian chuckled wryly to himself. In this team, besides himself, one was a die-hard fan, the other a skeptic—a rather amusing combination.

But the thought only flickered through his mind. He quickly focused all his attention on the mission ahead.

He was very self-aware. He knew that his status as China’s top metaverse player stemmed from his strategic planning and resource management skills. Simply put, in the same game, with the same amount of time and no extra spending, he was often the highest-level, best-equipped player.

But in the current scenario, such skills were of limited use. After all, the advance team’s actions had been planned extensively before entry—they simply needed to follow the procedures. No matter how good he was, he couldn’t outdo the panel of experts guiding them from outside.

The task now was exploration, which was mainly a test of physical endurance. While he wasn’t weak, he certainly couldn’t match Hu, who came from the Space Force, or Old Li, a retired special forces instructor.

Therefore, his goal for this mission became very simple: to avoid holding his teammates back.

Chen Nian closed his eyes, rapidly compiling all available information in his mind.

“A world shrouded in darkness on the map... Maximum level cap unknown, whether this is the starter village... unknown.”

Level one, weak—Chen Nian, possessing a mysterious, possibly schizophrenic talent. Only one life; death means the end of the game. Now, he’d accepted a quest from an NPC to explore a region. He’d recruited two companions—one at level two, affection rating 2, ID: Hu; and one at level three, affection rating -2, ID: Old Li.

So, what I need to do next is to explore cautiously while figuring out whether this unknown talent is a blessing or a curse...