The investigators in this batch numbered twenty in total, each of them individuals disillusioned with the real world and harboring suicidal tendencies.
Among them were men and women, from corporate executives to street thugs.
Some had incurred massive debts and wished to end their lives, while others simply buckled under the immense pressure of survival, lacking sufficient resilience.
The most peculiar investigator was named Chu Cha, who had been plagued by a peculiar monster.
This creature was formless and ethereal, yet it could appear beside Chu Cha at any moment to hurl tomatoes at him.
Driven to the brink by the relentless harassment, Chu Cha contemplated suicide.
For Chu Cha, becoming an investigator was a fortunate turn of events, as the tomato-throwing monster had not followed him here; he had escaped that tormentor.
Within the temporal echoes, not only the history of the real world existed, but also images from other worlds, potentially containing knowledge that could propel the development of this world.
...
Zheng Xuan opened his eyes to find himself standing on a patch of grass. The blades of grass were semi-circular, a blend of red and green, making it feel as if he were in a virtual reality simulation.
The air here was exceptionally fresh, lending him a sense of weightlessness, as if he could leap several meters.
Zheng Xuan surveyed his surroundings and noticed a city with a peculiar architectural style to the south. After some thought, he began walking towards it.
In truth, he had no desire to be an investigator; he merely wished to escape the real world, making this place highly appealing to him.
Upon reaching the city gates, Zheng Xuan discovered he was surrounded by a group of strange individuals with slightly red skin.
These beings, both male and female, possessed features that were quite handsome by human standards, with two gradient-colored tentacles emerging from above their foreheads.
"Who are you, and why have you come to Dou Xuan City?"
The leader was a woman clad in a red dress, her expression tense as she questioned Zheng Xuan.
At this moment, the most anxious individuals were not Zheng Xuan but these outnumbered natives.
In their eyes, Zheng Xuan was a monster, clad in outlandish attire, with peculiar hair and sallow skin, and lacking tentacles on his head.
The visual impact was akin to villagers from the Xia Prefecture suddenly encountering a bald person with dark green skin and no nose...
"You ask why I've come here, but I can't tell you, because I myself..."
Zheng Xuan paused, surprised that he could understand the language of these natives; it was the Standard Federal Tongue!
He quickly altered his statement: "I come from another world. I hope to receive friendly treatment here."
Upon hearing the words "another world," an immediate silence fell over the scene.
This place was known as the continent of Yalanda, and every Yalanda knew they were not unique; countless powerful and terrifying races existed beyond the stars.
A thousand years ago, Yalanda, like many other ambitious civilizations, believed itself to be the sole existence in the universe.
Subsequently, an endless stream of monsters descended from the void, bringing immense disaster to this world.
After enduring apocalyptic scenes, the Yalanda people discovered that the appearance of the starry sky had changed. From then on, rarely did bloodthirsty monsters descend upon their world.
It was rumored that the high echelons of the Yalanda Empire had established contact with civilizations beyond the stars, and they would now live as part of those monstrous civilizations. While they had to pay substantial tribute to extraterrestrial civilizations annually, the Yalanda people could at least live in peace. Therefore, they treated every visitor from the heavens with caution.
"Welcome to Yalanda, esteemed visitor from the heavens." The red-dressed woman bowed to Zheng Xuan and prepared to lead him into the city.
Seeing their respectful gaze, Zheng Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing he had passed this hurdle at least.
However, after only a few steps, he heard a series of exclamations, and then witnessed over a dozen knights mounted on creatures resembling wild boars, wielding weapons like spiked clubs, charging towards the group of over twenty people outside the city.
The red-dressed woman's expression changed: "The barbarians are here! Prepare for battle!"
Those boar-like creatures were fast, and they were a considerable distance from the city gates, making it impossible to outrun the wild boars.
Upon hearing the command, the other Yalanda people's forehead tentacles twitched rapidly, their expressions contorting as if they were about to urinate.
A semi-transparent energy emerged from their bodies, forming grotesque, clawing monsters.
Zheng Xuan recoiled two steps, startled by these creatures, which caused the red-dressed woman to regard him with a degree of disdain.
Visitors from other worlds who had appeared in Yalanda were generally extremely powerful. This man, being so easily frightened by their soul manifestations, was surely not from a powerful race.
Those grotesque monsters, known as soul manifestations, though seemingly powerful, were as fragile as paper; they were torn apart by the barbarians riding the wild boars.
All twenty-odd soul manifestations, in total, managed to kill only two barbarians before being completely annihilated.
Zheng Xuan's expression was odd. He observed that these barbarians did not appear particularly agile, yet they could so easily dispatch those strange monsters.
With the soul manifestations gone, the barbarians surged forward to the twenty-odd Yalanda people and began a brutal slaughter.
The fully armed Yalanda people were effortlessly torn apart by the barbarians.
One barbarian, caught up in the fervor of killing, set his sights on Zheng Xuan. Disregarding Zheng Xuan's unusual appearance, he charged with his spiked club.
Zheng Xuan, intimidated by these barbarians, closed his eyes and awaited death.
Having sought death in the first place, dying at the hands of these barbarians was acceptable to him.
However, he had closed his eyes for less than two seconds before he violently opened them and lunged to the side, narrowly dodging the barbarian's attack.
During those two seconds, he realized that he actually did not want to die; he wanted to live.
While evading, Zheng Xuan perceived that he had jumped much farther than anticipated, and that the barbarian's movements were not particularly sharp or agile.
He quickly drew his Jie-01 handgun and fired a shot at the barbarian, a single bullet shattering the creature's skull, the deafening report stunning everyone on the battlefield.
The other barbarians displayed expressions of terror, unable to comprehend why their companion's head had suddenly exploded.
Zheng Xuan licked his lips and fired three more shots at the other barbarians. Although only two barbarians were hit, it completely shattered the courage of these creatures. They spurred their wild boars forward and scattered rapidly.
Watching the retreating barbarians, Zheng Xuan's heart pounded wildly. Turning his gaze back to the exotic city, his mood suddenly improved considerably.
The world was vast, and there were still many things he had yet to see and many experiences he had yet to have. He still had debts to repay; he could not simply die like this.
Some realizations only come at the brink of death. Zheng Xuan no longer wished to die carelessly.
He resolved to utilize his work as an investigator to diligently improve himself, thus gaining the ability to repay those he had wronged.
For Zheng Xuan, the investigator's job was a new beginning!