Chapter 6: Is This Also a Realm of Calamity? And the "Communication" Feature

“The inhuman force that wreaks havoc upon the world,” Zhou Yan couldn’t help but repeat the girl’s words, though what he truly thought of was what Luo Xuan referred to as the “demon’s lair” or the “rift,” which most likely corresponded to what the Order’s great power called the “Chaos Rift.”

“That’s right,” Luo Xuan nodded. “They are creatures of fantasy, of legend, even beings beyond imagination.”

“Beasts, poisons, goblins, slimes, giant insects, machines, and even demons and…” She glanced at her younger sister, who was already shrinking her neck.

Her voice suddenly rose: “Ghosts!”

“Aaah!” At the final word, Luo Ke let out a scream, terrified enough to bury herself directly into Zhou Yan’s arms.

Seeing this, Luo Xuan’s forehead immediately twitched with a vein.

“Luo Ke! What are you scared of? Don’t you have even a shred of the Luo family’s dignity? Get out here!”

“No!” Luo Ke buried her head deeper into Zhou Yan’s chest. “There’s only you and me left in the Luo family. What dignity is there? It’s all because you insisted on talking about ghosts and monsters!”

Clearly, Luo Ke was afraid of ghosts.

Of course, not just Luo Ke—Zhou Yan was afraid of those things too.

But unlike Luo Ke, he wasn’t so easily frightened. While gently patting the girl’s back to soothe her, he asked Luo Xuan, “So the Exorcism Division is responsible for dealing with these creatures?”

Luo Xuan shot a displeased glance at Luo Ke, who was still curled up in Zhou Yan’s arms, and said coldly, “Exactly. After joining the Exorcism Division, your daily routine is either training to grow stronger or, when given orders, sealing the rifts. Most of these rifts contain minor minions inside. Usually, if handled promptly, they don’t cause much trouble. But if the rifts aren’t sealed in time…”

She paused. “There have been many horrifying incidents in history where entire villages were destroyed, or cities emptied out completely—these were all due to failing to close the rifts promptly.”

Zhou Yan frowned. “Isn’t it reckless to rely solely on the Exorcism Division for such abnormal matters? The empire should have an army, right? From what I see, creatures like goblins and slimes from other worlds wouldn’t stand a chance against heavy weaponry.”

“That won’t work,” Luo Xuan shook her head. “That’s the terrifying part about the rifts.”

She spoke solemnly. “If a rift isn’t sealed in time, it expands and becomes a ‘dead zone.’ Not only does sealing it become much harder, but the monsters that normally stay within the rift also flood into our world.”

“The most frightening fact, proven through experience, is that these monsters exist in a state of ‘both present and absent,’ like projections—whether inside the rift or manifesting in reality.”

“In such a state, kinetic or energy weapons, and most technological devices, cannot interact with them, yet they can still harm living beings and matter,” Luo Xuan revealed a chilling truth.

“How is that possible!?” Luo Ke lifted her small head from Zhou Yan’s chest. “Doesn’t that make them invincible?”

“They’re not invincible,” Luo Xuan pointed at herself, then at Zhou Yan. “Humans, especially those with strong spirit and vitality, can inflict real damage on these creatures.”

“Moreover, specially crafted weapons wielded and powered by humans can also harm them.”

Luo Xuan furrowed her brow. “The exact reason seems linked to concepts like the ‘soul.’ I only know this much—it’s true, but I don’t fully understand why.”

Luo Ke’s little mind raced quickly. She immediately proposed a thought: “What about the Divine Machines? Can people wearing Divine Machine equipment hurt them?”

“Yes,” Luo Xuan nodded without surprise. “But only specially made Divine Machines equipped with rare circuits can. Ordinary mass-produced Divine Machines won’t work—not even military-grade ones.”

“Specially made Divine Machines,” Luo Ke glanced at the silver-white box Luo Xuan had set aside. “Sis, your Divine Machine…”

“You guessed right,” Luo Xuan’s eyes were calm. “Not every head of the Nanming Sword Pavilion has a Divine Machine with that rare circuit. But by chance, the one Dad left us does.”

“No wonder,” Luo Ke murmured, “Leader Cong specifically invited you to join the Exorcism Division.”

Luo Xuan ignored her sister’s muttering and looked back at Zhou Yan.

“So, joining the Exorcism Division is extremely dangerous,” she said seriously. “I have my reasons for joining. Zhou Yan, you’re different. Even if you don’t join, you can continue practicing martial arts at the Nanming Sword Pavilion or the Lihuo Pavilion and keep growing stronger.”

“Think it over tonight and give me a definite answer tomorrow.”

*

After talking with the two sisters, Zhou Yan returned to his room.

Sitting on his bed, he couldn’t help but ponder the “dark side of the world” Luo Xuan had just revealed.

It was obvious Luo Xuan wasn’t the type to spin tales or deceive.

If she earnestly told him something, and she wasn’t herself deceived, the credibility was nearly one hundred percent.

A demon’s lair, a rift—beings unaffected by technological weapons, only harmed by “human” power.

Beneath the surface peace of this main world, there truly lay a hidden side unknown to ordinary people.

His eyes flickered.

As a Traveler backed by a great power of Order, having experienced several journeys through disaster realms, he had some guesses.

Strictly speaking, this “main world” he was in was also a “disaster realm” being eroded by chaos.

Only, for some reason—perhaps because the power of Order granted it some protection—the “disaster factors” used by chaos to erode this world were not as extreme as those he had encountered in other worlds.

For example, in the first world, the “concept-level” horror disaster called the “war calamity” was unimaginable to solve.

Without such terrifying concept-level disaster influences, and with the relatively common presence of strong individuals in this world, it managed to maintain an outward appearance of peace and prosperity.

Most citizens seemed unaware that their world was being infiltrated.

No wonder the technological level was not poor—arguably even better than Earth’s.

Yet, every country’s main combat force was based on human soldiers.

Mechanized warriors, augmented humans, beast soldiers, and other unknown entities.

Besides the battlefield, their real purpose was probably to deal with the rifts.

Hence, the Tianyuan Monarch Empire, under official guidance, upheld a strong martial spirit.

Now everything made sense.

Zhou Yan put away his thoughts.

Before parting with the sisters, he had already expressed his willingness to join the Exorcism Division with Luo Xuan.

But she insisted he consider carefully and not act impulsively.

He didn’t argue and went straight to his room.

He could give her a clear answer tomorrow.

Before settling into quiet cultivation, Zhou Yan had one more thing to do.

After becoming a full-fledged “Order Traveler,” besides gaining the “Life Gear” function, he also obtained another ability:

“Communication.”

When he was inside the disaster realm, this function was unavailable.

Now, back in the main world, it was time to try and see what it was.

With a flicker of anticipation in his eyes, he summoned his interface and attempted to activate the previously inaccessible function.

【Enter “Communication” function?】

【Yes】

【Order Traveler, before entering, please set a “codename” for yourself or use your serial number instead.】

【Your codename is:】

He hesitated—another input? Forget it, too troublesome—he would just use his serial number.

He thought it over and gave up setting a name.

【Codename confirmed—XIII】

【Entering “Communication”】

【Note: The communication range has restrictions. Speech beyond limits will be blocked.】

Several pieces of information flashed before his eyes.

The next moment, his vision blurred, engulfed by endless mist.

Zhou Yan regained consciousness.

He found himself in a special scene.

Inside a narrow space completely sealed by thick gray fog stood a huge round stone table.

Around the table, at fixed intervals, were chairs—stone armchairs with very tall backs.

Just a glance told Zhou Yan the number of seats.

No more, no less—exactly thirteen.

Thirteen.

He recalled his serial number—XIII.

So, there was more than just him among the “Order Travelers.”

He instinctively wanted to raise an eyebrow but found he couldn’t move it.

Then he noticed his current state.

His entire body was shrouded in a gray hooded robe, but beneath it, no physical form existed.

Supporting the hood was not a head but a swirling mist.

He reached out his hands and saw they were just gray gloves filled with mist, moving at his will.

He had become a humanoid fog.

It seemed the great power of Order didn’t want his appearance revealed in this “communication” space.

Zhou Yan gathered his thoughts and looked at the only meaningful object in the misty space—the stone table.

He slowly approached it, his footsteps stirring the mist like waves in a sea of clouds.

As he neared, he noticed some differences.

First, the chairs around the table each bore different characters on their backs.

They were not written in any language Zhou Yan knew, yet he immediately understood their meaning.

{One}

{Emperor}

{Fool}

{Four}

{Five Fingers}

{Aha}

{Martial}

{Let’s see how long a codename can be—this long}

{Extreme}

{Ten}

{No Inscription}

{Zodiac}

{Thirteen}

Zhou Yan circled the table and finally realized which seat was his—it was the one marked “Thirteen.”

He sat down.

Glancing over the tabletop, he saw two notes.

One read—You can write questions you want to ask on this paper. If other travelers know and are willing to answer, you may receive a response, provided it does not violate regulations.

The other note read—Next meeting begins: August 8th, midnight sharp.

Zhou Yan quietly looked at the latter.

‘August 8th, midnight.’

Today was August 7th.

So the meeting was roughly two hours away.

***