Chapter 25: Olympia
Chapter 25: Olympia
The stargate was situated in the center of the fortress hall, with rooms carved into the walls surrounding it, totaling over fifty floors resembling several interconnected buildings.
Ji Xinghuo ascended to one of the levels and entered a bank.
"Welcome," greeted the staff member politely from behind the counter. "How may I assist you today?"
"I wish to withdraw some cash," replied Ji Xinghuo as he typed his account number into the machine on the counter and successfully logged in using facial and fingerprint recognition.
As electronic devices were unusable in the Stellar World, there were no online payment methods available. However, the need for transactions remained strong.
Thus, paper currency, which had long been obsolete on Earth, found new usefulness once more. Individuals heading into the Stellar World would withdraw a sum of cash to carry with them.
"Mr. Ji, how much would you like to withdraw?" The staff member glanced at Ji Xinghuo's account information.
"One million," answered Ji Xinghuo.
"Please wait a moment."
The bank staff member was not overly surprised. Most individuals who traveled between Earth and the Stellar World were affluent, often conducting transactions worth hundreds of thousands or even millions. Occasional transactions in the tens of millions were not unheard of, so a mere one million was not out of the ordinary, and they encountered such requests almost daily.
Ji Xinghuo waited patiently. Soon, he received a message on his phone, confirming the withdrawal of one million.
He checked his balance and felt a surge of emotions. With the 10 million yuan gifted by Xia Qingyu, the 180,000-plus championship bonus from the She Ye Cup, the reward for eliminating Ji Zongbang, and his existing savings, his total balance now exceeded 10.5 million.
He was officially a millionaire! For an ordinary person, this would be more than enough to live a happy life forever.
However, after purchasing the Life Spirit Seed and transferring 700,000 to Lu Yunhai, he now found himself back to a six-figure balance after withdrawing one million.
"I was a millionaire for only three days…" Ji Xinghuo sighed inwardly.
Soon enough, the bank staff member pushed out a large stack of cash from behind the counter. "Mr. Ji, your cash is ready. Please count it."
Ji Xinghuo quickly counted the money. According to his request, 800,000 of the million was in 10,000-yuan bills, 100,000 in 1,000-yuan bills, 80,000 in 100-yuan bills, and the remaining 20,000 in 50- and 10-yuan denominations. The red banknotes were bundled into stacks, weighing several kilograms altogether.
The bank thoughtfully provided a backpack, which Ji Xinghuo used to securely stow away the money.
Carrying the backpack, he returned to the stargate hall and joined a queue for one of the "entry channels."
It was past two in the morning, a time when the stargate saw less traffic. The line moved swiftly, and within five minutes, he was nearing the stargate with fewer than ten people ahead of him.
As his turn approached, Ji Xinghuo took out his phone, opened his email, and set a timer for a pre-composed email and video to be sent out.
In a few hours, when his siblings woke up, they would receive the message and know that he had entered the Stellar World.
"You're up."
One by one, the people ahead of him disappeared through the stargate, and finally, it was Ji Xinghuo's turn.
The Stellar Army soldier guarding the channel gave him a once-over. Dressed casually with a bow bag on his back and a backpack in hand, he hardly looked like he was going into battle. It was evident that he was a newcomer to the Stellar World, and moreover, he was alone.
The soldier frowned and shook his head slightly. Nonetheless, he did not voice any objection. After verifying Ji Xinghuo's identity once more, he waved him through.
Step by step, Ji Xinghuo ascended the circular platform, drawing closer to the stargate. With each step, the world around him became increasingly distorted.
When he was just one step away from the stargate, his entire surroundings seemed to twist and contort to their extremes.
Sounds faded away, and he could no longer see anyone else.
The world fell silent, as if he were the only person left. Before him lay nothing but darkness.
Ji Xinghuo could only continue forward, groping his way. Just then, he felt his hand touch something, and in that instant, he felt weightless, the world spinning around him. His limbs instinctively reached out to grab onto something, but before he could act, he felt the ground beneath his feet again.
His vision suddenly brightened.
His senses returned—sight, sound, smell—all at once.
Ji Xinghuo found himself standing in an open square. The ground was paved with smooth, flat rocks, and behind him stood the pitch-black stargate.
However, the stargate here was larger, its diameter visibly greater than that of the one in Chaka. He estimated it to be over fifty meters.
It was daytime in the Stellar World.
Ji Xinghuo looked up at the sky, which stretched clear and cloudless.
A golden sun hung in the western sky, two to three times larger than Earth's sun, yet its radiance was not scorching. The sunspots on its surface were visible to the naked eye, creating a sense of oppression as it bathed the Stellar World in warm sunshine.
Surrounding the square was a massive city, but unlike the modern metropolises of Earth, the structures here were not tall. Rarely did they exceed ten stories in height.
The most prominent structure in the city was its wall, towering over a hundred meters high, its end not visible to the eye.
"Olympia!"
"I've finally arrived in Olympia."
Since the opening of the stargate in 2033, humanity had endured eighteen years of arduous bloodshed, repelling the invasion of the alien race at a heavy cost. Now, they had regained control of the stargate and were poised to counterattack the Stellar World.
Thus, Olympia was also referred to as the "City of Unity."
Over a century later, the name might seem ironic, but it has endured as the chosen moniker for this city.
High in the sky, several massive peaks hung suspended several hundred meters above the ground.
"Floating Mountains!"
Ji Xinghuo laid eyes on these majestic wonders for the first time.
Each mountain was anchored to the ground by three or four thick chains, their enormous bulk swaying gently in the wind as if weightless.
"Hu hu hu..."
Ji Xinghuo's breath quickened, and a strange sensation rushed to his head with each breath, but it subsided after a few seconds.
"Is this the Panacea Air?" he wondered, intrigued.
The "air" of the Starry World had a different composition from that of Earth, and scientists had yet to decipher its makeup.
Even more mysteriously, this air could sustain the respiration of all races, whether they were natives of the Starry World or aliens from distant galaxies, as long as they relied on breathing.
Hence, it was dubbed "Panacea Air."
"Move along, don't block the way," urged a Stellar Army soldier standing nearby.
Ji Xinghuo hurriedly took a few steps forward, keeping pace with the crowd leaving the square.
Although there were thirteen stargates on Earth, they all led to the same destination—the stargate square in this very city. No matter which stargate one entered from, they would emerge in a relatively fixed area within the square.
These thirteen areas formed fan-shaped sections surrounding the stargate, each corresponding to a stargate on Earth.
The three stargates owned by the Asia-Pacific Collective occupied three adjacent sections, collectively making up almost a quarter of the entire square. Red lines marked the ground of this area, and those walking within it were citizens of the Asia-Pacific Collective.
The city district in the extended direction of this area mostly fell under the influence of the Asia-Pacific Collective.
Ji Xinghuo reached the edge of the stargate square and abruptly stopped in his tracks.
He covered his right eye.
A sharp pain shot through his brain, and the iris of his right eye flickered rapidly. Fortunately, it was daytime, and he had quickly shielded his eye, preventing others from noticing anything unusual.
The Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil interface popped up automatically, and the pain subsided just as swiftly.
Three arrows appeared on the periphery of the interface.
"What's this?"
Ji Xinghuo was puzzled as he examined them more closely. The three arrows pointed in different directions and varied in size, with one being over ten times larger than the other two.
He turned his body to face the largest arrow, positioning it directly in front of him.
Instantly, Ji Xinghuo heard a distant calling.
He vaguely sensed an unknown entity intimately linked to him, and he knew that if he followed this direction, he would surely find it.
"Another part of the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil?"
"Could it be?"
Ji Xinghuo was both astonished and delighted.
He hadn't forgotten that the Myriad Phenomenon Star Pupil was fragmented, and he had assumed he would never come across another piece. Yet, here he was, with a lead right after entering the Starry World.
The three arrows, perhaps representing the three fragmented parts? He turned again, noticing that the directions indicated by the other two arrows seemed incredibly distant, and even when facing them directly, he couldn't sense anything.
"Should I go and search for it?"
Ji Xinghuo hesitated as he eyed the largest arrow.
People passing by gave him curious glances as he stood motionless at the edge of the square. Among them were some incredibly powerful beings.
"I should find a place to settle down first."
Ji Xinghuo instinctively reached for his phone to check the time but found it turned off.
The powered shoes on his feet had also lost their power and felt no different from regular shoes.
All electronic devices were rendered useless in the Starry World.
He shook his head.
If one were to judge solely by appearances, the surroundings seemed no different from Earth—the air, the ground, the trees, and the city, all seemed perfectly normal. It was hard to believe this was another world.
On a macroscopic level, the Starry World resembled a planet in the Milky Way galaxy, and it was challenging to discern any differences when immersed within a small part of it.
However, its fundamental rules were entirely dissimilar from those of the real universe!
Ji Xinghuo quickly left the stargate square, feeling a sense of danger in this place.
His magnetic field perception detected that the area beyond the square, filled with continuous buildings, was entirely comprised of military camps, housing the Stellar Army of the Asia-Pacific Collective.
Deep within these camps were several extremely powerful beings.
"Those humanoid magnetic fields must belong to legendary beings!" Ji Xinghuo dared not linger and walked several blocks in Olympia, eventually checking into an inn.
Only after closing the door did he finally relax, looking around the simple room devoid of any electrical appliances.
(End of Chapter)
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