In another location.
Lieutenant Hart, a soldier from the future who had alerted the world about the alien threat, stood in front of hundreds of men and women of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
Her voice, firm and serene, echoed through the air as she gave instructions.
"Your service will last seven days, that is, 168 hours. At the end of your service, if the teleshift device on your arm determines you are still clinically alive, you will be automatically brought back from wherever you are."
Among the crowd, a man sighed impatiently, eager for action.
"Should I have brought my console? The guide didn't say anything about waiting three days before killing the White Spikes..." he muttered, visibly annoyed.
This was Radiant, who was accompanied by the group with whom he had formed an alliance.
Next to them were the fifty Reincarnated who had entered Floor 1 with Seth, all expectant to be sent to the future.
The rest of the group was not much better; bored and restless.
"For an NPC, she's quite hot, don't you think?" commented a Reincarnated near Radiant, pointing to Lieutenant Hart.
Radiant smiled, approving the comment. "Didn't you know? Most of the main female NPCs in the Tower of Trials are beautiful. At least the Reincarnation Space gives us some good views. We should be grateful."
A female Reincarnated with them rolled her eyes, while another man, Dorian, watched them with disapproval.
"Stop saying nonsense, okay? Shut up and listen," Dorian intervened, his tone firm and authoritative.
Dorian was one of the original members who would accompany Dan on his expedition to Siberia, searching for the White Spikes' alien ship.
It was also his third time traveling to the future to confront the White Spikes, all of them as a volunteer.
"What did you say?" Radiant turned toward him with a challenging glint in his eyes. "You damn NPC... wait until they send us to the future."
Dorian let out a dry laugh, mocking him, which infuriated Radiant even more.
If Seth had been with them, he would have been surprised to see how some Reincarnated treated the inhabitants of this world as mere game characters, forgetting how real and dangerous their mission was.
...
"We are approaching," James informed us.
Dan and I exchanged a look and nodded in silence. We would soon be landing in Siberia.
Dan checked his phone, which had stopped ringing a while ago due to the lack of coverage.
"Stop worrying, your family is safe," I told him, trying to calm him down.
James had ensured that Emmy and Muri were protected and safe while we searched for the White Spikes' spaceship.
Dan's phone had not stopped ringing for hours, urging him to attend the recruitment test.
Even after losing signal, it kept vibrating, likely with warnings from the authorities about his non-compliance.
It took quite a while to stop.
"They are your family too. I'm worried about what will happen when we return," Dan replied, seriously.
"We will be known as the heroes who saved the world from an alien war. The president himself will thank us by kissing our ass," I joked, trying to lighten the tension.
Dan managed a smile, visibly more relaxed.
A few minutes later, James landed, and it took us about two hours to load the explosives onto the snowmobiles.
I led the way, using the Search Card again to quickly locate the White Spikes' spaceship.
To avoid raising suspicion, I carried a compass in my hand and told Dan and James that, as we got closer, all the technological equipment would start to malfunction.
James had landed relatively close to the location, so, after about an hour of searching, which I intentionally prolonged not to raise suspicion, we finally found it.
However, we still had to dig it out.
"I'll take care of setting the explosives," James said, and neither of us objected.
After James placed the charges, we moved far enough away for him to activate the detonator.
More than thirty explosive charges detonated in small sequential blasts.
"Is that it?" Dan asked, surprised by the apparent lack of impact.
Suddenly, a huge explosion shook us, and a wave of freezing wind hit us squarely in the face.
James, with an unflappable expression, watched as a gigantic crack opened up in front of us, large enough to allow us to descend with the right equipment.
"Yes, that's it," James replied with a smile, starting to walk towards the crack.
Dan gave me a look and muttered, "How he loves to show off..."
It didn't cost us as much as I expected to lower all the necessary equipment to blow up the ship.
Once we had the equipment down, we began to advance through the tunnels, aiming our weapons at every corner, alert to any movement.
The flashlights we carried as accessories illuminated the dark path.
In the original plot, there were eight people in this expedition. But now there were only three of us...
What was about to happen would be extremely difficult.
As we moved through the tunnels, we remained silent and alert, attentive to any movement.
Finally, we reached our destination, a massive spaceship, frozen in the ice.
"I confess, all this time I thought you were crazy, but now I completely believe you," James suddenly revealed.
Dan said nothing. He just sighed as he ran his hand over the frozen surface of the ship.
"Once inside, don't touch absolutely anything," I warned them firmly. "The White Spikes have extra-sensory perception. They are weakened while sleeping, but as soon as they sense our presence, they will begin to wake up... and attack us."
I didn't want them to make the same mistake as in the movie.
"You could have mentioned that at any other time... than right when we are entering the damn ship," Dan said, visibly more nervous.
"Yeah, I just remembered," I replied without giving it much importance.
Suddenly, Dan turned to us. "We have proof. We can leave now, take photos, and show the world that it has a common enemy to defeat..."
"Sure, tell the UN. I'm sure they can discuss it until we're all dead," James retorted sarcastically.
"We have the chance to give the world a second chance, provided this goes well..." Dan looked at his father and added softly: "Second chances are not easy to find..." It was clear that those words had a personal meaning for him.
"Let's open that damn ship already, will you?" I told him, tired of his dramatic words.
"You just stole my moment! That's when I was going to say my great line!" Dan complained.
We all felt a little less tense than before after joking around a bit.
James used a grinder to cut the surface of the ship, creating an opening large enough for us to enter.
After half an hour of effort, he finally succeeded.
"Dad, you stay," Dan said, to which James looked at him, incredulous, as if he thought he was joking. "You will be the secondary perimeter. If William and I don't come out, but something appears, don't allow it to leave the cave."
James, albeit reluctantly, nodded in agreement.
"Are you ready?" I asked Dan.
"Can anyone be?" he replied with another question, reflecting the same anxiety I felt.
The truth was, no one can really be prepared to venture into a spaceship filled with hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of hibernating aliens.
"This is just the beginning... from now on, my life will get stranger and stranger," I thought, aware that this was barely Floor 1 of the Tower of Trials.