Chapter 36: The Second Gate

Komoe Primal Rainforest. This vast rainforest, covering an area of 11,500 square kilometers, still has about 70% of its territory unexplored by humans, mainly due to the numerous venomous mosquitoes that even the local tribes avoid.

However, along the border with Ghana, several construction teams under Atlas were busily at work.

Due to the tall trees and the armed mercenaries forming an outer blockade, even the local government couldn't get close to spy on the construction activities.

Additionally, since this area had been purchased by Atlas, making it private property, and Atlas had superior military forces to protect it, the construction was steadily progressing into the depths of the rainforest.

If one followed the construction team's direction, moving rapidly northwest, they would reach the depths of the Komoe Rainforest.

At first glance, this area appeared no different from other unexplored parts of the world, with tall trees and dense foliage covering the ground throughout the year.

However, several meters below this area:

"All personnel, please prepare. Repeat, all personnel, please prepare. The second space gate is about to open. Advance team, please report to SG-002 area."

In the large space, the announcement echoed.

What was once a ruin built with granite bricks had now been expanded and transformed by Atlas into a more spacious underground base.

The engineering department had neatly planned living areas, laboratories, training zones, and energy facilities, almost turning it into a small underground town.

On the southeast side of the base, there was a ten-meter diameter tunnel with a completed track, indicating that Atlas's construction team was trying to excavate an "underground railway" reaching the Ghanaian border beneath this rainforest.

Only Atlas would undertake such a costly, non-profit, national-level construction.

Despite the ruins losing their original appearance, the engineering department preserved the load-bearing stone pillars burning with golden flames and the altar in the center.

On the north side of the base was the first space gate, resembling a mercury mirror. Heavy trucks continuously traveled between Universe Zero-One and the main universe.

Although Universe Zero-One no longer needed much attention, Atlas continued to send various personnel for infiltration. The first investigators to integrate into that society had already established an Atlas branch.

The branch's main business was cross-dimensional trade, leveraging price differences between different universes and eras to maximize profits while gradually extending Atlas's influence from a single universe to the multiverse.

A secondary task was to locate high-value individuals in different universes, make contact, and attempt recruitment.

For instance, Henry Carter, who had deeply studied Mimics but was dismissed as a lunatic, was from the movie *Edge of Tomorrow*, known for his disheveled appearance. When faced with Atlas's high-paying job offer and the Mimic threat already eliminated, Dr. Carter gladly accepted and had passed the assessment phase, now transferred to the research department under Wang Zhaofeng.

At this moment, with the announcement, warning lights installed in visible locations started flashing, putting the entire base on high alert.

People moved between different areas, corridors, and passageways, while an armed squad in sealed pressurized combat suits rode an open shuttle vehicle to the vicinity of the first space gate.

As the vehicle arrived at the waiting area and stopped, the armed personnel quickly disembarked. Four members equipped with mechanical exoskeletons handled large equipment boxes.

Back at the central altar, Samuel Young, dressed in a black suit, stood atop the altar, gazing at the skull engraving representing human purity.

He then raised his left hand, spreading his fingers, and used his right index finger to forcibly cut open his left palm.

Drip, drip.

The red blood first dripped slowly, then flowed profusely, consciously seeping into the engraving crevices, and within moments, a blood-red skull appeared before Samuel.

Boom!

Golden light suddenly surged, filling the entire underground base.

Encased in soil and covered with moss between the stone bricks, the second gate's frame also ignited with golden flames.

As the flames grew more intense, the golden light burst forth again, causing everyone but Samuel to instinctively close their eyes.

A moment later.

The light dissipated.

When everyone reopened their eyes, they saw that the soil and stone bricks within the second gate's frame had been replaced by a faintly glowing mercury mirror.

"Attention all personnel, green light, green light. The second space gate has opened," the broadcast reminded everyone. "Advance team, please proceed to Universe Zero-Two, assess the situation there, and establish a wired communication base."

In reality, no reminder was needed; all personnel had already reached their positions, prepared to explore Universe Zero-Two.

Samuel then walked slowly to the edge of the altar, watching as the advance team of fewer than twenty people stepped through the space gate one by one until all their figures were engulfed by the "mercury."

——

...

"Huff... ha... huff..."

The breathing sounds were particularly clear due to the sealed mask.

The mask had a built-in HUD. In the upper left corner was a round-rimmed radar displaying nearby movements detected by dynamic sensors, marking teammates as green dots.

The upper right corner showed heart rate and the name "Sgt. Gary 'Roach' Sanderson," along with some real-time data.

Sergeant Sanderson, nicknamed "Roach," stood with his teammates in front of the second space gate, bathed in the ripple-like glow from the mercury mirror.

Upon hearing the broadcast, a low voice command came through their communication channel: "Soap, Ghost, Roach, you three go through the space gate first."

"Roger that, we're moving."

With that, Sanderson stepped forward, quickly reaching a position two fists away from the mercury mirror.

"Huff... ha!"

Taking a few deep breaths, his heart rate slightly increased as Sanderson and his two teammates stepped forward until their masks and vision were enveloped and filled by the "mercury."

Fortunately, in just a blink, he and his teammates successfully passed through.

Simultaneously, the "mercury" quickly receded from the center of their masks to the top and sides, restoring his vision. What lay before him...

A rainforest.

However, it was vastly different from the Komoe Primal Rainforest outside the ruins base or any rainforest on Earth.

Every tree within sight was at least a hundred meters tall, and all nearby flowers and plants seemed to have grown larger. Most notably, Sanderson felt strangely "lighter."

A quick glance at the data feedback on the right side of his mask confirmed his suspicion with the reading "Gravity: Approximately 0.8G," proving his feeling of being lighter correct and affirming...

They were now on another planet.

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