Chapter 1 The "Observation Facility"

The so-called "observation facility" was a cylindrical building with four rectangular corridors radiating symmetrically outwards, the overall shape resembling an old-fashioned rocket about to launch – a style the Campbellians were quite fond of. The observation facility was used for scientific research, and the Campbellians sent the strange things they discovered on their journey of exploration in the vast space to such comprehensive research centers. The Sacred Treasure Orb and the four ascetics obviously met the criteria of "strange things." Hao Ren and his group got off the vehicle in front of a corridor in the observation facility and found that there were far more guards here than in other places. Many armed (presumably with guns) little green men were stationed at the entrance of the facility, and a large number of rotating metal turrets could be seen on the ground around the facility: the latter should be some kind of sentry gun or other form of alarm device.

Taram, the planetary governor of this planet, personally served as a guide throughout the whole process: "...Since those four strange fellows moved in here, we have doubled our security force. Those four have been trying to run away. Although they are no match for high-tech equipment, they have many strange abilities. To be on the safe side, we can only send more guards."

The guards of the observation facility had already received orders. They were not surprised by the planetary governor's personal visit, but quickly completed the certification and access procedures. Hao Ren, led by Taram, walked into this uniquely shaped building. He looked at the busy little green men running around along the way: "Have you kept them locked up for several months?"

"Strictly speaking, it's not 'locked up'," Taram shook his large head, and the green of his skin became deeper, indicating that he was very serious about the word, "They are not criminals, just a little... unstable. In addition, we can't guarantee whether these four are important figures or explorers from other civilizations, so it's not good to be too strict with them. When conditions permit, we let them relax in the ecological garden behind the observation facility, which has earned us a little bit of their recognition – otherwise, we wouldn't even have had the chance to decipher their language. For the first two months, they didn't even say a word to us."

"Ascetics are a very stubborn bunch, and there are many taboos," Becky whispered next to Hao Ren, "Especially since they were teleported out of the church with the Sacred Treasure Orb, they probably regard it as a 'test' from the Goddess, and the Campbellians... are definitely regarded as demons."

In Hao Ren's opinion, ascetics, this kind of extreme creature, were the most difficult people in the world to deal with. Even before meeting them in person, he could guess that it would not be easy to get along with them. Therefore, until now, he was still constantly thinking about how he should communicate with those four later. At this time, hearing Becky speak, he couldn't help but inquire: "How do you think we can get those four ascetics to trust us?"

Becky thought for a while and nodded vigorously: "Find a way to get involved with religion – if you are bolder and more open-minded, it would be even better if you could directly involve the Goddess."

Hao Ren nodded to show his understanding and followed Taram's pace again. They had already learned that the four ascetics were "out for air" in the backyard ecological garden at this time, so they directly passed through the main body of the building and came to the rear part of the observation facility. This closed ecological garden was isolated from the outside world by sturdy glass walls and light beam grids. Through the transparent barrier, Hao Ren could see many tall, broad-leaved plants of light purple and blue-green color, forming a unique alien garden. Taram pointed to the figures between two broad-leaved plants: "Those are the four of them. Now is their... um, 'contemplation' time. They call this process of sitting still and motionless 'contemplation'."

Hao Ren leaned his head and glanced inside, seeing four people in gray robes sitting on the ground in the ecological garden, one of them in the middle, and the other three forming a triangular formation to protect him. The gray robes on their bodies were old and tattered, but their figures were not as thin and emaciated as the ascetics in Hao Ren's impression. Three of the four had taken off their hoods, and Hao Ren was surprised to find that there were actually women among the ascetics: the two gray-robed people with long hair were obviously women, judging from their profiles and vaguely visible figures.

At this time, the four ascetics also broke away from their temporary meditation. They raised their heads and talked to each other in soft voices. Seeing this, Hao Ren led Becky and others to the entrance of the ecological garden, while waving his hand to Taram: "Leave the rest to us, you guys wait outside."

Taram retreated while breathing a sigh of relief. Although there was no expression on his green face, the color was obviously much lighter, which was a sign of relaxation. To be honest, the pressure that these four ascetics had put on everyone during their stay here for the past few months was quite great, mainly because of their quirky personalities and various taboos, which made the little green men who were used to rushing headlong into everything quite uncomfortable. In these few months alone, three batches of guards on duty had applied for leave – the Campbellians were not afraid of death, but they were really afraid of these fickle (in their view) ascetics.

This was also thanks to the high quality and long-term vision of the Campbellians. It was not easy for this group of little green men to endure until now...

A rustling sound of footsteps on fallen leaves suddenly came from the entrance of the ecological garden. The four ascetics immediately stopped talking, and they jumped up nimbly and turned to the source of the sound, their faces full of unusual seriousness and vigilance.

However, this vigilance quickly turned into shock.

What appeared in front of them were not those green creatures holding strange weapons and "plotting against" the Treasure Orb, but a group of living humans like them – werewolves and vampires were also humans in their eyes, and the fish hanging on Hao Ren's arm could be temporarily set aside to study what it was.

"The Goddess have mercy!" an ascetic exclaimed exaggeratedly. He quickly clasped his hands on his chest and stared at Hao Ren's direction. "Humans! Humans like us! Are you reinforcements sent by the Goddess or fellow men also captured by those green creatures? Where do you come from?"

"To take you away from here," Hao Ren had expected the other party to react exaggeratedly. He waved his hand to relax the four gray-robed people in front of him. "Sit down first, sit down. I know your situation, I know where you come from and how you got here. Let me introduce myself first, my name is Hao Ren..."

"My name is Becky!" the mercenary girl immediately shouted, "A mercenary from the Kingdom of Holletta! A northerner!"

The eyes of the four gray-robed people lit up when they heard the four words "Holletta." Just now, they were only surprised to see humans with the same appearance as themselves, but now they could truly confirm that these humans in front of them were "their own people." And the younger of the two female ascetics looked at Hao Ren and opened her mouth with a slightly hoarse voice: "You know how we came here?"

"You were teleported here from the small church," Hao Ren recalled Becky's instructions, and tried to pull the topic towards the mysterious atmosphere of the church. "There should have been a flash of light at that time, which took you and part of the small church with it. You should not be able to sense the power of the Goddess here, because this place is very far away from your homeland, even so far that you cannot understand. The Radiant Church has never set foot in this place."

"You really know..." The ascetic who spoke first nodded. The fact that the person in front of him could say these details was enough to give him an extra layer of trust. "Friend, are you also a messenger of the Goddess? Why don't you wear the holy robe of the church?"

Hao Ren waved his hand: "I'm not a clergyman... no, I am a clergyman, but I'm not the same as you... that's not right, I'm a contracted clergyman... forget it, I can't explain it clearly, in short, I'm not a member of the Radiant Church, but I can help you now."

The ascetic did not react much when he heard Hao Ren say that he was not a member of the church. He just nodded lightly: "Then do you know what is going on? Why were we sent to this place?"

"Actually, you are no longer in your own world..." Hao Ren sighed, and then, with Becky's assistance, told the other party about the Dream Plane and the Surface World in detail. At first, he really wanted to use some scary amount of information to scare these ascetics, but then he thought about it... damn, is there anything more scary than the Dream Plane itself?

Sure enough, without adding any embellishments, Hao Ren's explanation of the two concepts of the Dream Plane and the Surface World scared the four ascetics. Then, when he explained the problem of traveling through the world, the four on the opposite side were so frightened that they couldn't speak. The female monk with the hoarse voice stared at Hao Ren with wide eyes: "You said we passed through a portal and came to another world?! How far is this place from the land protected by the Goddess?"

"The distance is indescribable," Hao Ren spread his hands, "The chasm between two worlds, this is a concept that only God can measure."

"Then who are you?" The bearded ascetic who had not spoken all the time seemed to have realized something. He stared at Hao Ren. "You are not a servant of the Goddess, and now I don't even think you are a child of the Goddess – but you are obviously on our side, what exactly are you?"

Hao Ren spread his hands: "A traffic cop!"