Chapter 26 – The Origin of the Pioneers
Over time, rumors of no return spread across all major states. People weren’t foolish; they wouldn’t waste their lives for some elusive wealth.
Fewer and fewer people actively applied to go, and in the end, there were almost none. The federal government had to change its strategy.
They decided to train their own personnel.
They trained a group of people whose duty was to explore the Threshold.
Born for the Threshold, they wouldn’t resist its terrors.
Thus, the Pioneers were born.
The Pioneers were personally trained by the Federal Government. They not only had to possess excellent combat and wilderness survival skills, but also had to have a high level of knowledge, knowing astronomy and geography, truly becoming all-rounders.
The effort paid off. After the first batch of Pioneers officially started their mission, the survival rate of exploring the Threshold significantly increased.
Comprehensive information about the Threshold was continuously sent back, allowing technicians to gradually build the first generation model of the Threshold.
However, the plutocrats were not satisfied.
The pace was still too slow.
At this rate, it would take at least several more decades to fully understand the Threshold.
The rulers couldn’t wait, so they increased the training efforts for the Pioneers and divided those already in service into two groups, alternating their explorations.
On the same day the Threshold opened, one group, having endured many hardships, would come out, while another group, having gathered their courage, would go in.
But even this couldn’t satisfy the rulers’ ambitions.
They were impatient to occupy the Threshold.
At this moment, a second Threshold appeared.
Although she was reluctant, Tu Ran had to admit that the Federal Government was very lucky.
The two Thresholds: one was in the political center of the Federation, densely populated, which could be used merely as an entrance for the Pioneers’ exploration; the other was far away in Reigaken State, sparsely populated, which could be set up as a giant trap, stationed with troops to capture alien species and conduct comprehensive research.
“The appearance of another Threshold is not a good news for the Pioneers.”
Tu Ran keenly caught that the officer said it was not good news for the “Pioneers,” rather than for the “Federal Government,” indicating he also understood that the appearance of the second Threshold was a godsend for the federal plutocrats.
“Those seventeen alien species have already harmed many citizens in Reigaken State because they can possess local residents, making it impossible for the state’s guards to catch them. The only ones in the entire Federation who truly understand these aliens are all of you. Therefore, following the unanimous decision of the higher-ups, the Pioneers need to send a hundred members to Reigaken State to control these seventeen aliens with the assistance of the advance troops.”
The young officer’s gaze swept around the conference room again. “This mission is much less dangerous compared to going into the Threshold, but it will take at least half a month. This means you might miss the next opening of the Threshold, and thus lose a chance to accumulate points. Therefore, participation is voluntary.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Tu Ran’s communicator began to vibrate, as did everyone else’s in the room.
Tu Ran looked down to see her communicator projecting a light screen with the options “yes” and “no.”
Without much thought, she selected “yes.”
Of course, she would go.
Points were not as important as life.
Going into the Threshold required going solo, whereas in Reigaken State, there would be military protection. The Pioneers were mainly needed to identify who was human and who had been possessed by the aliens.
