"Dwun succeeded back in May," Ging said. "Greed Island and Refill Island are now connected via teleportation link."
"Now, only the final and most important phase remains."
"He and List — one stationed at Greed Island and Refill Island, the other here on the New Continent — have completed all the groundwork."
"Very soon, by mid-month, the two points will be linked mid-journey — between Refill Island and the New Continent."
"If all goes well, Ickshonpe and the rest of the network inhabitants will be able to cross from the Six Continents to here in a single instant."
"And we, along with the members of Greed Island, will finally have a stable, two-way teleportation system — one that doesn't rely solely on your transport lantern."
Beside Germain's teleportation array, under the watchful eyes of everyone present, List slowly activated several large machines.
From their humming cores, a radiant sphere of energy began to form—spinning continuously, like a tiny artificial sun.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that this swirling ball of energy was composed of countless minuscule light particles.
Each fragment danced in orbit around a glowing core, weaving together a mesmerizing visual effect.
"Did it work?"
Germain stood to the side, arms crossed, his tone calm but curious.
"Technically... yes."
List's gaze was fixed on the numbers stabilizing on his tablet screen.
His expression remained tense.
"But we'll need to test it."
"How?"
"With this."
List pulled out an apple and glanced at Germain.
"I'm starting now."
Germain nodded.
"Go ahead."
The others kept a safe distance, watching from afar.
Only Germain and List stood near the sphere.
That was because if anything went wrong, Germain was the only one fast enough to pull List out before disaster struck.
As long as Germain was there, List had a safety net.
List exhaled slowly, calming his nerves.
Carefully, he tossed the apple into the spinning energy sphere.
Whoosh—
The apple tumbled inside the glowing field for a few seconds...
Then, it vanished.
List began explaining to Germain, "This type of teleportation is a bit like broadband internet—speed and quality both matter."
"The object gets broken down for a moment into data fragments, like digital bits of 0s and 1s. Then it's reconstructed at the destination."
"So, the key isn't the transfer itself—it's the 'packet loss rate' after reassembly."
"If the loss rate is low enough to ignore, then we can consider the transmission successful."
The actual theory was far more complex, but List used this analogy so Germain—and the others—could understand the basic idea more easily.
They fell into tense silence.
Minutes passed.
Roughly three minutes in, a strange humming filled the air.
Whoosh—
Suddenly, a shadow burst from the center of the energy sphere.
It spun wildly like a spacecraft flung out of orbit, then shot out from the light.
Plop.
An apple hit the ground.
It rolled a few times and came to a stop.
Germain didn't sense any danger. He simply nodded at List.
List's face lit up with joy as he eagerly slipped on a pair of custom-made gloves and picked up the apple.
The apple was perfectly intact — but it now had something extra.
On its surface, a line of text had been written: "W → D."
"It's Dwun's reply," List immediately understood the message. "His name was forcibly changed by Ging — the first letter shifted from 'W' to 'D'."
Overjoyed, he looked at Germain, then turned and shouted toward the observers watching from afar, "We did it!"
There were still many adjustments to be made. Human teleportation experiments would have to be postponed for now.
But this apple's successful transmission marked one thing clearly — the connection was established.
At the core of the Hunter Association, those most closely watching the experiment burst into cheers and applause.
Outside the coastal fortress, on the outskirts of a growing human settlement...
"Sorry about this," said Chairman Netero, stroking his white beard in his usual laid-back tone. "You probably wanted to spend time with Shizuku, right?"
Germain shook his head. "It's fine. What's going on?"
Netero's expression turned more serious. "The war on the new continent has temporarily come to an end. Vice Admiral Pier and Steiner passed along V6's latest directive."
"They're headed for the Ancient Labyrinth?" Germain quickly guessed the content of the order.
"Exactly. Their goal is to secure the Ancient Labyrinth. The value of the 'Herb for All-illnesses' speaks for itself — and with your team's success as precedent..."
"You mean... we're leading the expedition?"
Netero nodded. "You'll set sail aboard several ships, taking with you a total of one thousand people and supplies. Eight hundred will stay behind at the transit island for development. The remaining two hundred will follow you into the Ancient Labyrinth."
"The last time such a large human expedition ventured into the Dark Continent was over half a century ago — when the original V5 sought one of the so-called "Calamities and Hopes."
But this time, things were different.
Germain's team had already retrieved the 'Herb for All-illnesses' from the Ancient Labyrinth. That experience would significantly reduce the cost and risks of follow-up missions.
The V6's united exploration force could no longer wait.
They were determined to seize control of the Labyrinth and begin full-scale development of the herb's potential.
This new move subtly diverged from the Hunter Association's original plans.
Originally, Chairman Netero and Morel were supposed to lead the team to meet up with Germain's squad on the Dark Continent.
However, plans couldn't keep up with changes.
Under the current situation, Germain had already been pushed into the spotlight.
Of course, he could no longer hide in the shadows.
Germain thought for a moment.
Shizuku's due date was probably around May or June of next year.
There was still plenty of time, so he agreed.
But he could go on this trip alone.
Shizuku couldn't go.
She would definitely be safer staying on the New Continent.
Chairman Netero continued, "This time, Steiner will accompany you. The Hunter Association will also assign some members."
It was originally Steiner's responsibility.
He was meant to travel with the expedition team to the Dark Continent, record everything, and return safely.
Obtaining the "Herb for All-illnesses" was already a success.
Having someone like Steiner, an ordinary person, survive a round trip to the Dark Continent was an entirely different kind of success.
The Hunter Association definitely needed to send personnel to follow the team.
Although Germain had trained many core members extensively, a direct journey to and from the Dark Continent was still an extremely rare and valuable experience.
It was expected that many would volunteer.
Chairman Netero would need to select suitable members from among them.
Unfortunately, Netero himself could not go to the Dark Continent this time.
The current situation on the New Continent required him to stay behind.
Moreover, no one else was trusted enough to manage the Hunter Association's expedition base.
So, the decision was made.
Before departure, Germain once again conducted a large-scale training exercise with the core members of the Hunter Association who would accompany him, using the teleportation lanterns.
The last time they eliminated the "Disasters" was around June or July.
Now, they had all revived again.
In the end, Germain received six more teleportation lanterns.
The total number of unused lanterns reached thirteen.
"Hope" was harvested once again.
They also preserved the ancient labyrinth castle.
They were not afraid that Steiner and the others would notice anything suspicious.
The construction of the ancient labyrinth castle could easily be attributed to the current Germain.
After all, he truly had the capability to do so.
Only some modern devices—such as electric wires, refrigerators, air conditioners, and electric lights—needed to be removed to avoid any mistakes.
Just disguising the interior of the ancient labyrinth castle took them about three days.
Then, in mid-November, the well-prepared V6 Joint Exploration Team set off from the New Continent.
*******
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