Humanity: Evolve

Zhang Long adjusted his white double b.r.e.a.s.ted coat. He looked at his apartment one last time, double checking for anything he'd left behind, at the same time, carving the image of the tidy room into his memory.

He was a doctor, a researcher. In the lab Zhang Long had always advocated tidiness, scolding any of his department members if they misplaced anything.

Zhang Long breathed out as he looked at the room one last time. After today, he would be in a new world, never to return. He walked over to the cabinet, gently touching the framed photo of himself and a silver haired girl.

'Well, it's time to go.' He mumbled, removing the photo from its glass frame and putting it in one of his pockets.

He pulled a small suitcase behind him, some medical tools along with one or two mementos. Zhang Long made his way out of the building, where an escort was waiting for him.

The truck had glazed windows and was covered in dark blue multi terrain pattern (MTP) that the military used during urban conflicts.

Nowadays, the entire Earth had been modernised, a patch of nature would be rare. The only flora or fauna would be those grown in food plants or the trees planted for decoration across the roads.

A slim soldier came over, 'Doctor Zhang.'

Zhang Long nodded in response.

'Have you got everything? The trip is one way, once you're through, there's no going back.' The soldier asked.

'Of course.' Zhang Long replied with a scowl.

'It's not like I had a choice anyway.' He thought silently.

'Great, hop on. We'll get to the portal in just about half an hour, sit tight.' The soldier said, walking over to the driver's cabin.

Although filled with reluctance, Zhang Long got into the back of the truck anyway. What else could he do but follow their orders? Even if they beat him up, all he could do would be to take the beating without complaint.

As he got on, there were several other faces. At least 9 other people sat there with a variety of expressions. From the large number of dark faces, he could tell that some had been forced to come like Zhang Long.

Of course, there were a few volunteers as well. The allure of a new world which was primitive but full of treasures was difficult to resist. Especially when the current Earth was on the brink of collapse, scientists said another 1000 years or so till the sun begins to expand and subsequently engulfs the Earth.

Zhang Long took a seat next to a male youth, with short black hair. Zhang Long himself was only 21 years old. The moment he'd turned 18, he had been grabbed by the government and forced to train for the new world.

He had taken a variety of classes, from archery to martial arts during the 2 year training course. Zhang Long was a stubborn person, yet also reasonable. The moment he had been told that he had to become a new world pioneer, he put all other thoughts aside and trained as hard as possible.

This was also because he knew how terrifying the spirit beasts of Pangaea were, first hand. Humans discovered Pangaea through its inhabitants first, the spirit beasts had run rampant throughout the cities and rural areas alike, appearing from thin air. Zhang Long's family had been caught up in one of these incidents when he was a child. That was when he lost his parents.

After several years, the government managed to get the situation under control, to the point where some shallow research could be done. That was when they discovered the portals, the thin air which spirit beasts materialised from.

Long story short, humanity managed to discover the existence of Pangaea through these portals, quickly setting up a travel system, albeit a one way travel system.

'Hey, nice to meet you.' The black haired youth next to him said in a friendly manner, gesturing for a hand shake.

Zhang Long took the hand with a nod.

'Zhang Long. Nice to meet you.' He said, shaking the youth's hand.

'I'm Jack Roberts, p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet ya.' The youth replied with a grin.

Zhang Long thought for a moment before asking, 'Volunteer, or conscripted?'

'Volunteer.' Jack said, before hurriedly adding. 'Although, it's not like I have some sort of dream to become a legendary explorer or anything. I just have a few... personal issues.'

Zhang Long nodded expressionlessly.

'I guess he's someone who was effected by spirit beasts first hand too.' He thought.

Zhang Long eyed the rest of the people in the truck. Most had common Western traits, like blonde hair, white skin and blue eyes, whilst others had brown or yellow skin, along with African and Asian traits.

Of course, he belonged to the latter, with his light yellow skin and black hair. Other than an average appearance, he had a slim build and eyes deep as the abyss.

Zhang Long quickly did up the seat belt as the truck started up. The truck was silent, if not for the roaring engine and shaking of the seating compartment. It was not comfortable at all, even if the road was devoid of pot holes, the truck itself was like an untamed spirit beast, or a rodeo.

Eventually, the passengers had to get on a different truck, one which towered over them like a behemoth. This truck was covered in green standard army MTP, with netting and visibly bulkier framework.

'Alright boys and girls, you'll be travelling into the new world now. You'll meet some pioneers tasked with guiding you when you go through, please be on your best behaviour and don't create any problems. You guys are the future of mankind, remember that.' Yelled a gruff sounding bulky man, with muscles practically bursting from his uniform.

'One more thing. There has been some spatial turbulence recently, so please remember to strap yourselves in. Good luck.'

The group of 10 hadn't been trained with military etiquette yet, thus all they could do was awkwardly nod.

The truck drove slowly into a large building shaped somewhat like a warehouse, save for the plethora of armed guards and electric fencing which surrounded its perimeter. They got off again and did some standard checks.

There were frequent blood tests and lots of different vaccinations which they had to go through during the 2 year training period, just looking at the number of needles which were used would make one shiver.

This time, it was just a last minute health check, mainly for a few illnesses like the cold. Soon, the group of youths were hurried back into the back of the truck. The driver had been replaced with an android, with it's long and slender limbs, it's grey chassis with white paint on which had been scr.a.p.ed up by several years of service.

Zhang Long assumed the change in driver was because the robot would be able to come back through the portal again, for one reason or another. There was also a short convoy of smaller cargo trucks behind them, filled with things like food and clothing.

He felt the truck shake for a moment, before going still. Through the driver's cabin Zhang Long could see a bright blue light which quickly filled his vision. He squinted and covered his eyes, much like everyone else in the truck.

Then, the truck was struck by something. Zhang Long, through his squinted eyes swore he could have seen some kind of giant creature fly past within the blue light.

'My imagination, definitely my imagination.' He thought.

Another impact came from the side of the truck, much like the first but a lot heavier. Zhang Long felt the seat strap holding him in place, holding him so tightly that he felt a pain in his c.h.e.s.t.

Bang!

A third impact, from above. Zhang Long heard the sound of metal grating upon metal, along with the screech of the truck's bending hull.

A pain began to build up in his head, clouding his thoughts. An rush of adrenaline caused his hairs to stand on end, goosebumps across his skin.

The roar of some sort of beast echoed in Zhang Long's head, it seemed like a tsunami crashing into a cliff face, indifferent yet powerful.

The pressure made him feel like an ant, one which could be crushed easily by a human. He felt as if the gods themselves were bearing down on him with divine might.

He faintly heard the sound of someone in the cabin wailing in fright.

Then, the world turned black.

***

Benton sat on his rocking chair out on the grass. Behind him was his house and office, around him was a bunch of basic facilities surrounded by concrete walls.

'It'll rain soon.' He mumbled whilst stroking his white beard.

The clouds above were gathering, slowly blocking out the sun.

With an annoyed snort, the bald old man got up and put his chair away.

He heard footsteps approaching from behind.

'Who is it?' He asked in a rough manner.

'It's me old man, Alan.'

'Oh.' The bald Benton quickly shuffled into his house. 'Here for induction are you?'

Alan looked at the old man with an amused look. 'You're the one who sent for me.'

'Oh.' The old man said again.

'So I did.'

Alan sighed.

'I swear this geezer is going senile.' He thought.

'Benton, my whole squad is here, we've already set up the landing platform and the rookie's pioneering gear.' Alan reminded.

'Why'd you do that?' Benton asked.

'Because we're here to do induction. Don't tell me you forgot again.' Alan frowned.

'Oh.' Benton said.

'So I did.'

Resisting the urge to face palm, Alan returned to the side of the portal. He couldn't tell whether Benton was properly senile or just messing with him. He was more inclined to believe the latter, however, he wouldn't be surprised if it were actually the former.

Ryan and the others came over, cleaned up from their previous mission.

'Does Benton do that to everyone?' He asked with a grin.

'Hell if I know.' Alan grumbled.

Suddenly, the large rectangular portal flashed blue. The empty space between the frames became filled with a strange blue light that had a strange sense of solidity.

'Everyone, get back.' Alan barked, jumping away himself.

The rest of the group also moved away, before a large truck and several smaller ones came barrelling through. The vehicles stopped with the screeching of tires against the concrete road.

The androids driving quickly arranged the vehicles, the driver of the large troop transport went and opened the hatch at the back of the truck.

Alan heard muffled groans, much like the ones you'd make during a hangover. A slight grin graced his stony appearance as he recalled making his own warp through. It was like being placed within a washing machine, not pleasant at all.

From first hand experience, he knew that the new recruits would be unconscious. This was the period when they would begin to form soul stones and also where the body would adapt to the spiritual essence in the air.

'Let's unload the recruits, Amanda and Grace, you two got the girls, the rest of us will carry the boys.' Alan said.

'Aw, no fair. I wanna carry the girls too.' Ryan joked, receiving a kick in the backside from Amanda.

'You know what to do, so get on with it.' Alan growled.

***

Zhang Long felt numb across his entire body, inhibiting his movement. He waited patiently for some semblance of feeling to return, before gingerly attempting to sit up.

He looked around, noting the unfamiliar environment.

'We must be here already.' He tried to recall the process of the warp, but most of the experience was a foggy cloud of pain, without a single moment of clarity.

After what felt like an eternity, the numbness completely went away. Zhang Long rubbed his forehead, feeling slightly groggy. He realised that there was some strange object embedded there, it's smooth surface not dissimilar to that of a gemstone.

A wave of panic washed over him, but a set of deep breaths let him settle down slightly, calming his mind. Slowly, Zhang Long got out of the bed. He had noticed a large mirror on the wall opposite. As he walked in front of it, he had his eyes locked warily onto the eye sized gemstone on his forehead, sitting on his glabella (The skin above and between the eyebrows).

'What the heck.' He cursed aloud as he fingered the stone gently.

He looked around at the other beds in the room, of twenty only 7 were filled, the occupants all male. Each person had a similar blue stone on their foreheads, sitting on the glabella.

'I guess it's something unique to this new world, huh.' He thought.

Suddenly, he felt a pang of hunger, along with the quiet growling of his stomach.

Zhang Long walked out of the room, making sure to close the door behind him. He recalled putting a couple of instant noodle packets in his suitcase before making the warp.

'Where is the luggage, I wonder.' He began to walk around the place randomly.

The lack of signboards meant that he couldn't really do anything else. After a while, although he hadn't found his suitcase, he chanced upon some sort of kitchen. After rummaging around the cupboards, he found some food.

Just as he was about to begin eating, the door swung open, revealing a short and bald old man.

'You must be a new recruit.' The old man said in a gruff voice.

Zhang Long looked at him expressionlessly.

'I'm Benton.' The old man introduced.

'Zhang Long.' He replied slowly.

'Ah, nice to meet you doctor.' Benton said with a friendly smile. 'Come with me, I'll show you about.'

Zhang Long followed him out of the room, stuffing a dry biscuit into his mouth.

'You've just come through the portal and must feel pretty strange. I'll explain to you some of the basics.' Benton said.

'This world, the new world, is also known as Pangaea. We named it after the super continent that existed from the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras. You've probably been briefed about that already, so I'll cut straight to the things you don't get told during the training course.

These are the real secrets, the stuff which the government doesn't want to leak out.' Benton had a childish grin, one which seemed like teenagers telling dirty jokes in the classroom.

Zhang Long couldn't help but feel slightly amused, even with his usual cold countenance.

'First of all, the soul stones. The blue gem on your forehead and the yellow one on mine. Those are formed naturally by all living creatures which enter or are born in Pangaea. The spirit beasts, which I'm sure you've heard of have a similar thing called a core. Soul stones and cores don't differ all too much, except from the shape.

In short easily understandable words, it's an indicator of one's power level and also the source of a pioneer's powers. As your soul stone grows, so does your body. As for the reason why these stones appear, we have no clue, other than the fact that Pangaea's atmosphere is full of spiritual essence, which we believe is what these soul stones are made of.'

Benton's words flowed out of his mouth naturally, betraying the fact that he had said these same words many times.

'For people who warp in through the portal, their body shuts down temporarily in order to handle the stress and adapt to the spiritual essence in the atmosphere. To be honest, I'm surprised you were only out cold for so long. It usually takes a full day for someone to recover.'

'How long was I unconscious for?' Zhang Long asked, interrupting the chatty old man.

'A couple hours, give or take a few minutes.'

'Anyway, humans aren't really a match for spirit beasts, save for talented individuals. Upon making the warp, each human, except from the really unlucky ones, awaken a talent.

A talent, before you ask, is basically an enhancement of an individual's strongest aspect. This could be a physical enhancement or a mental enhancement, depending on the individual.'

The old man raised his right arm and flexed, causing bulging muscles to appear.

A hint of shock found it's way onto Zhang Long's face, before he suppressed his emotions again.

'You awakened physical enhancement?' He asked.

Benton nodded with a grin. 'Specifically, I have the ability to maximise the potential of different parts of my body at will. It's not that special though. This kind of talent is nothing compared to geniuses with dual talents.'

Zhang Long nodded, with a slight hint of anticipation.

'I'm a doctor and my best features should probably be related to that, right? I hope I awaken something useful.' He thought.

'One more thing. Our soul stones have a very important function- that is, the ability to tame and summon spirit beasts.' Benton said.

This time, Zhang Long was properly shocked. The thought of those powerful and wild spirit beasts being controlled by humans was somewhat unbelievable. His mind flashed to that giant creature which he saw during the warp. It's sheer might imprinting itself in his brain.

Then again, with humanity's adaptability, he realised how feasible it was. What with the existence of soul stones and spirit beasts in the first place, the whole thing felt like a cultivation novel!

'Old man. You're supposed to be keeping watch at the portal, what are you doing over here?'

Suddenly, Benton seemed to turn dumb, his cheeky expression evaporating into the air, replaced with a senile clueless one.

'Oh.' He mumbled.

Alan rolled his eyes at the strange senior before turning to Zhang Long.

'You must be the doctor. Welcome to the new world, I'm Lance Corporal White. First name's Alan.' He greeted in a cold but not hostile tone.

Zhang Long recovered from his dumbfounded state, glancing at the old man pretending to be senile.

'Zhang Long. Doctor and researcher.'

Alan nodded. 'I'm guessing that this geezer has already explained a lot of things to you.'

Zhang Long nodded before saying, 'He just spoke about taming and summoning spirit beasts.'

'Okay. Well, you'll get your spirit beast at Bastion, the pioneer headquarters. We'll have to wait for everyone to wake up before we go there.' Alan said.

'We have to travel further?' Zhang Long asked.

'Yep. The location of portals are stationary, most of them being in places unsuitable for large cities to be built. We have to compromise, thus the travel in between here and there.' Alan answered.

'Anyway, I'll take you to the mess hall. You're probably hungry. Then, when everyone's up we'll be off to Bastion.'