Chapter 374 Lusakas Spatial Rif (1/2)

African region, Lusaka base city.

Since the Cataclysm, the Lusaka base city was like any other base city in the world. However, half a year ago, the place had become an international hotspot.

Zambia, a landlocked country in Africa, was instantly turned into an important commercial hub in the region with the appearance of a permanent Spatial Rift there. Trainers of all shapes and sizes began converging on Zambia from every corner of the African region. After all, beyond a Spatial Rift laid a whole new world of resources just waiting to be exploited for profit. This attracted a lot of attention inside and outside of the continent.

Housing prices in the Lusaka base city jumped up exponentially overnight, making it impossible for younger people to buy a house there.

Given the economic significance of the Spatial Rift, there was no way the Lusaka base city would be able to keep it all to itself. The New World Development Union was established in an attempt to regulate the exploitation of the Spatial Rift.

Zambia, Kokang, Zimbabwe, and Angola were the main constituents of the union. Its other members included large-scale security companies and military contractors, such as the Falcon, Crimson Leopard, and Nine-headed Lion groups.

Out of the four constituent countries, Kokang was the most influential. It lay north of Zambia, with Zimbabwe to the southeast and Angola to the west.

These three countries had already laid claim to large swathes of land in Zambia.

Since the appearance of the Spatial Rift, Zambia had experienced considerable economic growth. Every day, large groups of monster trainers would enter Zambia to investigate what lay beyond the Spatial Rift. These trainers had ventured as far as 300 miles into the unknown on the other side of the rift.

Every day, large numbers of extraterrestrial monsters were carried out from the Spatial Rift to be sold worldwide. Some of them were used as guinea pigs in laboratories, while others were taken in to be trained as familiars. For some reason, these extraterrestrial monsters saw more demand than their terrestrial counterparts. An extraterrestrial monster would be sold at five times the price of a terrestrial monster at the same level and grade. Even still, people just couldn't get enough of them. The demand for them soon outweighed their supply.

The sale of these creatures was also subject to something called an ”international tax.”

These extraterrestrial creatures had to go through a rigorous procedure, including a thorough sterilization stage, before they were allowed to enter this world. The procedure required a lot of money and manpower. Only those directly involved in it would know just how much money and manpower were required to bring these creatures into this world...

The Spatial Rift in the Lusaka base city had grown considerably since its appearance. It was now at least 13 feet wide and 32 feet tall. It looked like a huge door on the outside.

Most normal-sized familiars wouldn't find it difficult to pass through the Spatial Rift.

On the other side of the rift lay the desolate remains of what had once been a city.

It was evident that an intelligent species had once lived there. Most of the buildings in the abandoned city had been left in a state of disrepair. Now, after the New World Development Union ordered the repair of the city, the place looked much better than before. Forts were even built around the city walls to fortify its defenses.

”Boss, we've just discovered a new building that hadn't been touched. There's something inside. I think you should take a look at it.” A monster trainer was training his familiar in the plains, where a streak of black and white was chasing after a group of black-and-white streaks in front of it.

”Hm?” A dark-skinned man took down his sunglasses and turned to his subordinate.

”Black King,” said the man, calling his familiar back.

The black-and-white streaks collided with each other for a moment before pulling away from each other. They were a couple of six-foot-tall black wolverines. One of them, a wolverine with a particularly streamlined body, impatiently licked its claws and swept back the fur on its head with them.

It then walked back towards the man with the sunglasses without a sound, ignoring everything else around it.

Upon entering the Spatial Rift, they found themselves in the middle of a seemingly empty city. The place was painted in shades of yellow and gray, the walls and roofs of the buildings overgrown with all kinds of plants. Even though some of the buildings had caved in, no one had bothered to repair them. The only sign indicating any manner of repair had ever taken place here was a distinct lack of weeds on the ground.