Pillar of Yita

”The Scholar named ’Traveler,’ in truth, no one knows if he has left this world, nor do they know if he is a Native or an Invoker. Is it merely a code name, or an ID?”

”The translated content...”

Fang Hong couldn’t help but ask in a low voice.

”The translated text reveals the true secrets about the Holy Relic, along with some information regarding the Second Land Bridge and the World Gateway of the Third World. Out of self-interest, the Morning Dawn Star Adventure Group decided to destroy the slates, copying the contents onto paper and translating them, making two identical copies to carefully store and wait for the right time to sell—”

”They swore an oath to each other, to guard the secret and strive for the greatest benefit for the Adventure Group. If things went smoothly, their dream of traveling to the Second World might actually come true.”

”They contacted the at-the-time flourishing V.E.M Alliance, but no one expected that V.E.M had already become nominally defunct, split internally into two major camps: the Rose Cross Army and the Former Alliance. After both sides learned of this matter, they naturally couldn’t resist the temptation from the New World and decided to seize the opportunity, striving to surpass the other side.”

”It was at this moment that a betrayer emerged within the Morning Dawn Star Adventure Group. If the information wasn’t wrong, this person sold most of the contents about the slates to the Former Alliance—now known as the Descendants of Flor. Of course, if it were just this, perhaps our story today wouldn’t be so convoluted and bizarre.”

The courtyard disappeared.

Before the two appeared a long corridor.

But Fang Hong was lost in thought, not even paying attention to the changes around him.

”To prevent the competitors from getting the information, the Descendants of Flor orchestrated a conspiracy. They lured people from the Morning Dawn Star Adventure Group into a deadly zone and then launched a planned hunting operation, resulting in a tragedy that was rare at the time, with two dead and three injured, shaking Stargate Port.”

”Two dead and three injured,” Fang Hong paused for a moment before asking in an incredulous tone, ”Is it...?”

”Actual death.”

The middle-aged man answered word by word: ”It’s said to be the first time in the history of the Stargate.”

”But how is that possible?”

”I don’t know the specifics either,” the middle-aged man replied, ”but it did happen then, and there were some rumors in the community.”

”But how do I not know this?” Fang Hong frowned, asking suspiciously.

It wasn’t that he was overly suspicious, but the matter was really too bizarre. Invokers dying on the Stargate side leading to death on the other side was too terrifying. If the word got out widely, who knows what kind of turmoil it would cause. Wouldn’t the voices resisting the Stargate rise in a wave?

”Because it was intentionally suppressed by the Super Competitive League for fear of causing widespread panic; the incident in July, if you want to, you can still find information on it.”

”So it was true?”

The middle-aged man shook his head: ”True or false, none of us now can say for sure. But after that incident, it was one of the origins of the sightseeing passage. Among the participants at the time, including two stowaways, there were seven people in total, more than half of whom are still in prison today and facing at least twenty years of imprisonment.”

”And all these are verifiable.”

Fang Hong didn’t fully believe it, but he believed most of it.

He never expected the origin of tourists to be like this. However, the middle-aged man in front of him had a hesitant attitude, clearly not having told the whole story.

Looking at his expression, Fang Hong had already decided in his heart that if given the chance, he too would investigate this matter. Of course, not now, as he had more pressing matters to attend to. Thinking of this, he gathered his thoughts and asked, ”What happened afterward?”

”Surely there were quite a few people left from the Morning Dawn Star, weren’t there?”

The middle-aged man nodded but then shook his head. ”The participants were Bounty Hunters and stowaways, and although there were some related clues to the Former Alliance, there was unfortunately no concrete evidence. The Super Competitive League intervened, preventing the Third District from punishing the Former Alliance privately, and eventually, the Former Alliance only underwent personnel adjustments, with some high-ranking officials leaving their positions...”

Once again, the Super Competitive League.

Fang Hong’s brow twitched, thinking how nothing positive ever seemed to come from this damned alliance, always playing the villain role. He almost doubted whether this institution’s purpose was to protect the Invokers’ interests. Was this supposed to be the benefit for the Invokers?

After such a horrifying incident occurred, they only gave some insignificant penalties. If before he only had some prejudice against the Super Competitive League, now its position in his mind had plummeted to the bottom.

”After a round of punishment, the Descendants of Flor simply put the matter on the table, sending a large number of assassins to hunt down the Morning Dawn Star. Since it didn’t happen in the Dead Silence Zone, nor did it result in an incident like July’s tragedy, the Alliance turned a blind eye, taking it as Invokers’ actions only.”

”However, this didn’t violate the ’Stargate Declaration,’ so China’s side at Stargate Port couldn’t intervene, watching the Morning Dawn Star fall apart and eventually disband. The Rose Cross Army on the other side did not play a glorious role in this; they bribed ’Snail,’ one of the core members of the Morning Dawn Star, and after obtaining first-hand information, they ignored the rest of the group—”