"Food, clothes, hygiene, water filters, survival and medical kits—you should have two months' worth of everything," Fan Yumei listed off, counting on her fingers as she paced in front of the lined-up group, her adrenaline surging.
"Space tools open, items out!" she shouted, standing straight as a board with her hands behind her back like a military sergeant running drills.
Everyone jumped and began pulling out their items.
Zhou Qian was the second to be checked, after Kai Shi's gear passed inspection.
"Purification tabs, shelter nodes, beast supplements—all I need to conquer whatever lies ahead!" Zhou Qian pumped his fist in the air after Fan Yumei gave him the nod.
Next up was Jin Minhe, which ended in Fan Yumei's dying frustration.
Jin Minhe grinned sheepishly, patting his bulging bags. "I've stashed rations, dried jerky, one box of Panda's favorite 2-star silver bamboo shoots, two boxes of qi bars… plus dried mangos! And a few morale boosters!"
Fan Yumei drew a long, deep breath, pinching the space between her brows.
"Snacks won't mend wounds. Where are your medical supplies?" she snapped, glaring over at his items of choice.
Liang Chenwu nodded in agreement, while Min Zhao chuckled as she unpacked her own things and ticked off a list for Fan Yumei to check, mumbling that some items were inconvenient to carry.
Zhou Qian and Kai Shi proudly tightened their gear, ready for the unknown. Both beamed after receiving Fan Yumei's approval.
Jin Minhe's panda curled up next to the food packs, snoring softly.
Jin chewed on a mango strip while staring at the sky. "Do I have to go? I could just be the team mascot."
"You are the team mascot," Zhou Qian said, kicking him lightly. "But now you're one with a beast that eats everything it deems edible. And you're practically no different, if it weren't for Captain's care and concern."
Jin made a face while the others laughed.
Kai Shi flicked a wind pellet into his beast's mouth. "Realm opens today. Let's focus. This route's crowded—I heard many factions and academies are already on it."
"Exactly. Over-prepared beats under-prepared. Remember that!" Fan Yumei called out to Jin Minhe as she finished checking Min Zhao and Liang Chenwu.
Then she grabbed the six packs she'd set aside earlier and passed them out one by one. She pulled out identical items from her own and began demonstrating their use.
"These talismans need to be linked by you—drop your blood on them and stamp them with your soul mark." She demonstrated with a plain-looking talisman.
Fan Yumei had Maxius prick her finger with a talon. She then used her blood while channeling her soul power and wrote her initials, drawing a whale 🐳 on the talisman.
Moments later, it glowed brightly and shot toward her ankle, merging into her skin, where a whale symbol appeared. She then pulled out her rift map and unfolded it, showing them how her marker had appeared with her initials beneath it.
"Woah!" Liang Chenwu, Jin Minhe, and Kai Shi exclaimed in unison as they crowded around.
"Oh oh, me next!" Zhou Qian pushed them out of the way.
"No, I want to try too!" Liang Chenwu whined, shoving Zhou back and accidentally bumping into Min Zhao.
"Idiots! We all have our maps and talismans too! Now shut up and let sister Meimei finish explaining everything before you dummies get tunnel vision!" Min Zhao scolded, red-faced, hands on hips.
They all quieted down, letting Fan Yumei continue.
"As I was saying, these are linked to the rift maps I gave you all last night." She tried not to laugh at Min Zhao's outburst.
"If someone dies, the marker on their rift map will show a blacked-out flame. A visual of their last moments or words will appear."
The air thickened with tension.
"And these starbound locators," she added, holding up a flat, black disk, "can be thrown into the air. They'll scan and connect you to your teammates through RiftWalk Communicator signals within a 3-kilometer radius."
"And these—" she held up a large, walkie-talkie-like device "—are your RiftWalk Communicators. They'll work with the disk to keep you in contact."
"I've already configured your devices. Keep them tuned to frequency 45.3.1." She pressed the blue button, powering it on, showing them the correct channel.
Everyone pulled out their communicators, following her lead.
She then proceed to show the other items.
• Large jade‑ink teleportation scrolls
• Mini‑signal locator talismans
• Emergency comm‑runes
• Grade‑3 healing elixirs
Liang Chenwu examined his gear closely. "Did you really think of everything? I didn't even consider half this stuff."
Fan Yumei nodded, pride swelling. "My specialty is being over-prepared. And remember the plan."
➤ Ping every 60 minutes
➤ Regroup in three days
➤ Retreat signs: Two consecutive red burst flares
➤ Emergency site: any location marked with a triple-moon glyph—red, white, and gold. Anything else is a trap.
For a moment, they exchanged looks—these weren't just tools; they were symbols of trust and survival.
Then Kai Shi cracked a grin. "Guess we can't get lost… or die… maybe not even pee without someone knowing."
"Ewwww, that's gross, Shi. Seriously—TMI, man!" the others groaned while laughing.
And then—
"WHEEEERE'S MY FAVORITE OVERACHIEVER?!"
The air split with chaos-level volume as Uncle Hanji stormed out of the house—no warning—carrying a mountain of grilled skewers slung over his shoulder.
"Uncle Hanji," Fan Yumei sighed.
"Please don't yell 'overachiever' within forty feet of cultivators—we all have excellent hearing," she scolded, rubbing her ears.
"Bah!" he said, tossing a skewer to Jin Minhe, who caught it happily. "You're all off to a death realm. I can yell whatever I want!"
He hurled a meat stick at Min Zhao. "Eat. You look like a dehydrated scarecrow."
"I am a dehydrated scarecrow," Min Zhao muttered, dodging the food.
Hanji plopped down a folding chair and blanket. "Now listen up, Team Fainting Fawn—this realm's the real deal."
He sighed dramatically, shaking his head.
"Spatial warps, anchorless qi currents, possible time drag. You're about to suffer horribly. But! I brought snacks."
"Can't wait for the motivational book you publish," Kai Shi murmured.
Zhou Qian was already halfway through his skewer. "Mm. Burned fear into my taste buds. Ten outta ten."
"Yumei," Fan Hanji said more quietly, pulling her into a hug. "Come back with all your limbs intact, got it?"
She nodded, hugging him back. "I'll keep the limbs."
He slipped her a weird metal object. "It's tied to my power. It can block any curse or charm below scholar level and can launch two pact-forger level attacks. Use it only if things go spectacularly bad."
"Like… 'goose farmer bad?'" she asked.
"Huh?! No! I have no idea what you're talking about," he blinked.
"Never mind," she said, smiling.
Jin Minhe yawned, curled under his panda like a living pillow. "Can he take my spot but leave the snacks?"
"I'd get eaten first round," Fan Hanji replied proudly. "Then I'd haunt your team as a vengeful ghost. Also, I'm technically grounded from rift exploring after the… goat incident."
"Wait." Fan Yumei paused. "What goat incident?"
Fan Hanji waved it off. "Long story. Mild international scandal. Let's move on."
Mystic snorted above them, shaking the sky with laughter-like thunder.
Soon, everyone boarded Mystic—her parents included, wanting to see her off. They headed toward the Academy, chattering and joking the entire way.