Chapter 285 - Three Gates (1/2)

”Now you all know, so pay attention. But try to keep things reasonable. If you see a human size diamond... leave it. There is no way to take it. Riches are good, but they won't keep you alive. Keep that in mind,”

”So then...?” Dwayne asked, looking for some guidance. In truth, everyone was. Looking around at the Ivy's, Helen, Jennia, Dwayne and even Remi, they all looked to Laz for what they should do.

Laz was afraid to admit that he really hadn't thought that far through either, he just knew that big things were bad.

Luckily, he wasn't alone this time.

”Look for things with world based energy which should be mostly what you find here. Looking around, this place seems like a giant metal city so I highly doubt they have much in terms of natural energy items like special plants or such, but if you find some sort of a lab, that isn't out of the question. What you really want are small, easy to carry items like the cores Laz found. These looked like simple door guards so who knows what kinds of cores you can find in other places. I've never been here so I really don't know what to look for. It's not like there is a guide for this kind of thing. If it seems special and it's small enough, bring it. We can always figure it out later. If you find something bigger and either myself or this guy is around, we might be able to take it with us due to some special means, but don't get hung up on anything. And don't get too caught up in exploring around. We will designate a meeting spot and we want you all there at a certain time. Just remember that if we find the way back and leave and your still wandering around, you're probably not getting back in this life time. There is a time gap where five minutes out there is 60 minutes in here. So if it takes two months to open the gate again, that's three years in here. I highly doubt you will find enough food or whatever to survive that long.” Ruby gave a warning at the end of her message. It was only through this that people started to realized that although there might be great fortune to be found here, there was a ton of risks as well.

This was a sobering thought for everyone gather. Even then, Laz could see a fire in their eyes and he couldn't blame them.

How many people would ever be put into this kind of situation? How often in life would you get to have an experience like this? Maybe it was because they still didn't understand exactly how dangerous things were, mostly because they hadn't been attack thanks to the rune Laz put on everyone. But that was going to wear off soon. And when that happened, each of them would experience the real dangers of this place.

Of course there were some who were already prepared for this. Looking at everyone's reactions, Laz could easily tell that the group sent by Freya was in a league of their own. Just the way they moved as a group, one could tell that they were at one hundred percent preparedness.

”Any other questions? Everyone have a group ready for themselves?” Laz asked finally.

Everyone ended up grouping up with each other, showing that they had at least taken some time to figure this out. Basically, everyone was going around with people from their own original organizations. Dwayne was leading a group of guys and girls he was comfortable with, Jennia had her own squad while there was two other groups set. Remi was basically leading a group with Damien and all of the stronger members of the former council while the rest of them had formed a group of their own. As for the members under Helen, she had set up a group by herself while giving orders to a subordinate that was in charge of their second group. The four Ivy's were going to head off by themselves.

All in all, they had a plan for who was going with who at least. This just left Laz with Ruby, something that he was totally ok with.

”Excellent,” Laz said to no one in particular. Ruby then went on to point out where they would be meeting in around six hours from now. Once there, they would discuss what they would do next and see if anyone had any luck discovering a way out.

As everyone broke up and moved along, Laz couldn't help but wonder about how many of them would be returning. It was a mind numbing thought, but one that had to be considered, especially when he thought about how he was being trusted to lead this whole thing.

No matter what though, anyone who came back alive from this would be far stronger than when they came in.

”You look worried?” Ruby said, watching the others leave.

”How many of them are going to return? And how many of them are going to die here?” Laz asked in all seriousness.

”Would you like the truth?” Ruby responded.

”Always.”

”We will be lucky if half of them make it to the meeting spot. By the time we leave, we will be lucky if a quarter of them are still breathing,” Ruby replied back in all honesty.