Chapter 127: Establishing a Teleportation Array

Over the next few days, Xu Ying and the others returned twice. From the information they had gathered, there were no longer any reports of hostility from the Kurast dwarves. However, Liu Zong understood that this was merely temporary; the conspirators behind the scenes had already set their sights on him, and further delay would only work to their disadvantage.

Fortunately, the materials Xu Ying and Lena had been searching for were nearly all collected, and Liu Zong had become familiar with the construction of small-scale teleportation arrays. The array provided by Akara came with strict limitations; it was a type known as a reciprocal teleportation array. It could only be activated if an equal number of people were present on both sides, at which point the positions of those on either side would be swapped. This array could automatically draw energy from the environment to recharge, allowing it to be activated once every three months, though only for a fleeting moment. Therefore, successful use required perfect coordination between both ends.

Building such an array was simpler: one only needed to construct a complete set of models. Once the local unit was activated, the other unit would be transported via a positional swap. As the days passed, Liu Zong finally completed the preparations for the two arrays. Turning to Lu Shang, he said, "I need you to go over first to help me with positioning. I believe you have a way to determine the coordinates and notify me."

Lu Shang chuckled. "Don't worry, this is my specialty. But how am I supposed to get there?"

Liu Zong pointed to the two small teleportation models he had crafted. "I've been working on these for the past few days. Beyond studying their mechanics, I also took the liberty of researching the principles of teleportation. I've built a random teleportation device that points to the vicinity of the Yadala insectoid palace. I can't be certain exactly where you'll appear. I originally intended to send Xu Ying, but he has no way to relay information back. You are the only choice."

Lu Shang looked at the metallic object Liu Zong held out and nodded firmly. "Rest assured, even if a spatial storm kills me, I will respawn in a safe location and get those coordinates to you." With a final glance at Xu Ying and the others, he activated the device and vanished in a flash of white light.

Once Lu Shang was gone, Xu Ying and the others asked, "What was the success rate of that random teleportation array you just used?"

Liu Zong shook his head. "I didn't make that one; it was something Akara gave me. I’ve always suspected there was something behind it, so I kept it out of our main array. I could only let Lu Shang test it."

At this, the group fell silent. Yuan Ying was the first to react, saying nothing, while Lena, flipping through her book, looked up at Liu Zong. "Why didn't you tell Lu Shang about your suspicions?"

"Because his strength is insufficient; knowing too much would only work against him," Liu Zong replied with a hint of helplessness. "As for why I chose him—on one hand, he is the weakest among us, so if there truly is an issue, our combat effectiveness won't be significantly reduced. On the other hand, I trust that no matter where he ends up, he will be able to send word back."

As he spoke, Liu Zong’s expression suddenly shifted; a spider had descended from a nearby tree. Upon closer inspection, he realized the spider was crafted entirely from gemstones and had not emerged from a branch, but rather from the void itself. A look of delight crossed his face. He reached out, and the spider landed in his palm, spitting out a slip of paper.

The note, written in a messy scrawl, read: "Success. Location is close to the hotel. Coordinates: 271.183."

Liu Zong clapped his hands in excitement. He knew everything was set; now he only needed to send the teleportation array over. He nodded to Xu Ying and then pushed one of the active arrays onto the fixed foundation, rapidly adjusting the symbols that represented the target coordinates. Any error here could potentially send someone into a spatial storm within the void. In matters like this, Liu Zong was meticulous; he knew he held everyone's lives in his hands and could not afford a mistake.

Once everything was calibrated, he activated the array. Watching one of the small units vanish before his eyes, Liu Zong felt a weight lift from his heart, though he remained tense—he did not know if it had arrived correctly. Beyond arriving, the device had to be placed properly for both sides to synchronize; the slightest error would render the operation a failure.

Fortunately, luck was on his side. The gemstone spider soon appeared from the void again, bearing another note: "Array has arrived. It appears to be firmly positioned."

Seeing this, Liu Zong finally breathed a sigh of relief. He signaled to Xu Ying, who gestured for his skeletal lion to drag a mass of human-shaped flesh and blood onto the array. This was the result of Liu Zong's efforts over the past few days. The flesh had all been harvested from the beasts in the forest. This was not meant to intimidate the Kurast dwarves, but to facilitate the first positional swap.

There were only four of them left on this side; if they had used the array alone, only four people could have been swapped. Liu Zong’s original plan was to swap in twenty Level 1 experts, so the remaining sixteen slots had to be filled by these flesh-constructs.

With the mass piled onto the array, Liu Zong began to wait for word from Lu Shang. This wait would be longer, as Lu Shang could not make the decision himself; he had to notify the battlefield commanders and have them arrange for the players to arrive. If things went smoothly, it might be finished by the end of the day; if not, they might have to wait two or three days.

Liu Zong could not leave; if a message arrived while they were gone, the arrays could not be synchronized, and the operation would be ruined. Given the difficulty of calibrating these small, reciprocal arrays, missing a window would make success nearly impossible.

Consequently, the group sat down by the array to discuss their next steps. Akara had granted their squad the privilege of entering the forest without passing through the standard gates. Once they returned to the Yadala insectoid territory, they planned to rest for a day or two and resupply before returning. They had no intention of competing with the Level 1 players for quests; instead, they intended to venture deep into the forest to investigate the site where the Resonant Amber was sealed.