Nia pointed at the video of the dark gray forest, and Roland, knowing very well where he had fild, said expressionlessly, "This is a forest where the trees have thoroughly mutated. It used to be a monster's nest, which they must have dealt with by now."
The video clips were short and fragnted, not connected in sequence. Roland simply fild a little bit wherever he went without any careful planning or filming techniques, except for intentionally avoiding so disgusting places and certain corpses; the rest was pure, random footage without artistic value, but with a strong sense of realism.
Jimmy also watched it for the first ti, nodding while switching videos. From the houses and equipnt, it was indeed a dieval environnt. Most of the buildings were wooden houses, not the modern modular type. They looked quite rough, with too few people, just a handful of buildings per settlent, and people rarely appeared in the scenes, their clothing completely different from Earth's, giving a strong sense of the era.
"How do you feel?"
Roland looked at Nia, whose eyes were glowing, smiled slightly and asked, "Interested in taking a look? The portal is very safe, I can assure you."
Nia glanced up at Roland, then turned to Jimmy, finally shaking her head at Roland, "It's indeed very interesting, but let's forget about it for now, I don't have the ti."
Roland: "It's fine, we have a portal. It won't take long; you just need to wait for it to charge a bit. It won't waste much ti."
Roland didn't bother persuading Jimmy, focusing on enticing Nia and igniting her curiosity, "You've spent too long in New York's concrete jungle. Maybe a change of scenery would be nice, right?"
Jimmy imdiately interrupted Roland, "Hey, I'm still here!"
Nia looked at Jimmy, her eyes sparkling. She had been mostly hobound since her pregnancy over a year ago, aside from visits to the precinct, hospital, occasional trips to the church, and strolls in the park, eting and chatting with others, hardly ever leaving New York. The opportunity to travel across worlds was irresistible.
Jimmy pointed in the direction of the upstairs nursery, "We really can't leave now."
Nia: "What about later? After so ti? We need to have our own life too..."
Jimmy conceded, gently taking Nia's hand and patting it, "Okay, okay. But at least we should wait until Liam is a bit older, right? Besides, that world isn't safe, is it, Roland?"
Roland: "As long as we stay close to the ruins, it's not a problem."
Jimmy gave Roland a fierce glare. Nia, hearing Roland's words, responded, "See, Roland has traveled back and forth several tis, ensuring the safety there."
Jimmy: "Alright, alright. But let go check it out first, OK?"
Roland's face was openly smiling, and Jimmy sighed while Nia continued watching the computer screen, playing other video clips.
It's no use, Roland had hit Jimmy's weak spot. For him, visiting the Dark Tower World wasn't a big deal; his real concern was for his family. Besides them, there weren't many others he cared about, and since traveling was convenient, he might as well go.
Jimmy said while looking at the laptop, "Nia, these videos need to be destroyed; they must not be leaked."
Nia turned to Jimmy, "Huh? Why? They're just landscape shots; it shouldn't matter, right?"
Jimmy: "Even if it's just scenery footage, people with intent can analyze a lot from it. It's a new world; any suspicion could lead to big trouble."
Roland nodded, "That's right; the two worlds are completely different, and I don't want anyone else going there."
To so, a new world is an absolute opportunity. Despite the dangers, you can't stop ambitious individuals from exploring it for resources, whether minerals or otherwise; the allure is undeniable.
For ordinary people in that world, facing danger is unavoidable, or if only the reward is substantial enough, losing a few lives is inconsequential.
This isn't Jimmy distrusting human nature, but such problems have occurred before, like discovering the New Arica...
For people like Jimmy and Nia, with little ambition, just experiencing a different world and scenery suffices. For others, even ordinary folk would see ambition swell, trying everything to scrape together resources.
Currently, Jimmy isn't fully aware of the threats over there, but Roland has inford him that monster-infested areas often lead to large-scale human casualties or even total annihilation—calamities unseen in modern society. The monsters observed usually only cause minor damage, indicating a significant disparity in power.
If anyone harbors ill intentions and gathers large personnel to invade that world, most wouldn't return, since few possess Gunman's abilities, and even then, might not rescue ordinary people.
Jimmy and Nia shared their concerns, with Roland adding to the discussion, finally reaching consensus. Nia was mainly interested, but not planning to stay long with a little one less than a year old at ho.
Of course, as the topic deepened, its side effect increased Nia's curiosity. Jimmy initially planned to wait a few months for the toddler to grow, but it turned into going to have a look in a few days.
Well, since there's nothing urgent now, to fulfill his wife's temporary desire, Jimmy confird the travel ti with Roland, letting him take a break.
What's required for visiting an unfamiliar world? Jimmy was also new to this, so he wasn't sure. Even though Roland assured there were sufficient supplies, Jimmy remained cautious, packing hiking clothes, a large backpack filled with spare clothes, bullets, plenty of ergency food and water—enough to survive if he were dropped into a wasteland.
The duration of this visit was uncertain; Jimmy wasn't sure how many days off to request, so he arranged to et Ruiz, directly asking for extended leave. Since no one needed him at the bureau, relaxing at ho seed better.
Ruiz detected Jimmy's frustration, but could do nothing but drink with him while listening to complaints.
In reality, Ruiz had spoken for Jimmy quite often, offering significant benefits for him to be involved in affairs, but so people's apprehension towards Jimmy had gone too far.
He was initially shelved to rust in a cushy office, then rely went to Albuquerque, managing to uncover a drug trafficking ring hidden in New xico for nearly twenty years, earning DEA's public comndation.
They're quite helpless; this guy is difficult to suppress. Any mistake could escalate into a major event, with a high success rate and hard-to-handle nature. Forcefully suppressing him would cause bigger issues when it involves agent promotion rules; once unwritten rules beco open targeting, getting caught would be troubleso.
Now, Jimmy said he's taking a few months off work, though it's against the rules, Ruiz doesn't plan to refuse—not like he can kick him out of the FBI.
Jimmy and Ruiz chatted extensively before leaving. Their bond was different from others due to life-and-death experiences, and Ruiz shared so slightly less classified information. Jimmy learned part of the reason, clearer than Dave's hints.
At the scheduled ti, Jimmy and Roland, equipped, arrived at the basent. Once confirming the generator across is up, Roland input the opposite portal's number and activated the two-way portal.
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