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nIt was down to the last twenty minutes. There was still no news about the portal. Everybody would check their phones from time to time, hoping to receive messages about the portal.

nOnce, twice… ten times…

nTime went by. There were ten minutes left. The crowd felt uneasy, nervous, excited, or flustered. They had no idea what was going to happen in the next ten minutes. They had received no news from Mr. Himmel Soan or the president for the past two hours.

nThere were only ten minutes to go, but there was still no news. The unknown kept them guessing. They didn’t know if the portal would open in time.

nFive minutes to go. Everybody’s eyes were glued to their phones. Even when there was no news, they still wanted to watch the screen while the seconds ticked by. They could only feel the time passing in that way.

nOne minute to go.

nAll the people began the countdown in their minds.

n30 seconds.

n10 seconds.

n9 seconds.

n…

n5 seconds.

n1 second!

nThe time was up!

nEverybody looked up, trying to see if the portal was opening anywhere near them. However, nothing seemed to be happening. It was so quiet.

nHad they been misinformed?

nThey were feeling disappointed when a streak of white light flew across the sky and landed somewhere on the flatland. A gigantic door appeared in front of everybody. It was big enough for thousands and even tens of thousands of people to walk through.

nThey didn’t have any doubts anymore. They all looked at the portal and wanted to go inside. Just then, they thought they heard Mr. Himmel Soan’s voice in the air.

nYes, it was him!

nIt was as if Mr. Himmel Soan was speaking through a powerful loudspeaker.

n“The portal has opened. Everybody can go through the portal, but don’t jump the queue! I don’t want any chaos!

n“We’re all a big family, and I believe you can do this. If anybody breaks the line, they’ll be punished accordingly. That’s to say, they can’t use my portal anymore. They can build one on their own and jump the queue however they want!

n“Mr. President will make the official announcement now.”

nCharles had arrived somewhere close to the portal together with Henry, Gordon, and a few others. They were already there ten minutes ago. Himmel Soan had summoned them but didn’t tell them anything.

nHe didn’t speak until now.

nCharles and the others could sense that something had changed in Himmel Soan, but they couldn’t tell what exactly it was. He was still him, but his tone and demeanor had slightly changed.

nHe seemed to be filled with sorrow.

nCharles was going to speak, but he was perplexed. How could he broadcast his voice to everyone?

nHe didn’t know what to do. He cleared his throat and was embarrassed. Mr. Soan had everything arranged!

n“Mr. Soan has told you most of the things you need to know. I still have a few things to stress.

n“I heard earlier that some people weren’t pleased with the one-bag rule and insisted on bringing a suitcase. Some people even want to drive to K18.

n“I’ll repeat myself: everybody must follow the rule!

n“Those people won’t be allowed to bring anything with them to K18! They can do that, or they can stay on Earth and build their own portal like Mr. Soan said!”

nCharles’s tone became serious and somewhat angry.

nHe had to.

nThe whole world was going to do something together, and he couldn’t allow a few individuals to sabotage everything. The world couldn’t afford it!

n“If anybody tries to defy that order, they’ll be sentenced to death and executed immediately!” Charles stressed each word.

nThe crowd heard him clearly. If they didn’t follow the rule, they would die!

nThe statement had come from the president, and no one dared question him. They only had one president now, and his words were the absolute order.

nIt wasn’t all that harsh. They were only asked to bring fewer things.

nSoon, they were ready to go through the portal. Henry, Gordon, and Charles were the first to step inside the door. They needed to make sure everything would go well when the rest arrived on the other side.

nThey left Earth to Himmel Soan with full confidence.

nThe others began to enter the portal. After Charles’s speech, no one dared break any rules.

nThings proceeded smoothly. Those one hundred Soans with swords stood on either side of the portal. They would take action immediately if something went wrong.

nTime flew by. As expected, it took nearly ten hours to let all the people go through the portal. Only the Soans were on this side now.

n“Patriarch, I’ve collected all the materials!

n“I have a billion tons of construction materials, fifty million tons of medical supplies, fifty million tons…”

nHimmel Soan nodded and said, “You and your people can go through. I’ll bring all these things to K18.

n“Follow this instruction and wait for me there.”

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