Chapter Two

  Li Wei almost choked. Gold. Not just any old gold, but veins of it, kinda like sparkling stars stuck inside those weird alien critters. The giant bug's wings weren't just shiny; they had freakin' gold woven all through them. And the snake thing? Its scales weren't just colorful; they had chunks of gold that seemed to glow from the inside.

  His brain went into overdrive – part greed, part no way this is happening.

  He couldn't tell Mom and Dad about this. No way. The size of what he'd found and how crazy alien it all was would scare them to death. More than that, it'd put them in danger. This was a small village. Secrets just don't stay put. Before you knew it, people would start jabbering, and then someone who would do anything for that kind of money would come sniffing around his area. He could just see it, shadowy figures creeping around their tiny place, Mom and Dad looking scared. Nope. His family would have to stay clueless until he could hit them with a life-changing surprise – BAM, instant riches!

  He started daydreaming, big time. Stacks of cash, enough to buy a mansion, fast cars, anything he wanted. And the girls... he'd always been too shy to even talk to, too busy with school and being broke. Now? Girls would totally be all over him. He'd have his pick of them. He grinned like an idiot at the thought.

  But, even with all the money dreams going on, a bad feeling started creeping in. What if it wasn't as easy as just grabbing the gold? He remembered what the voice at the gate had said: Heal them, and they are yours. It wasn't a take-what-you-want situation. He needed to treat these things. But how? They weren't like any animals he'd seen before. Their insides were a complete mystery. The idea of digging gold out of them while they were still alive... It made him feel uneasy, not just because it was brutal, but because it just didn't seem possible. He had no clue where their important organs were or how any of them worked. He'd probably just end up killing them and messing the whole thing up.

  And then there was the gatekeeper. That voice, like it knew everything, had figured him out right away. How could he move all that gold without it noticing? The doorway didn't feel like a way out; it felt more like a super-guarded entrance.

  He had to treat the animals, that was obvious. But he'd mostly focus on the gold ones, that's for sure. If he could figure out what was wrong with them, maybe he could sneak out some gold while he was healing them. The problem was, how does he even start? They were so different from anything he knew.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  Needing to know more, Li Wei thought about this old, weird book he kind of stole from his grandma's house years ago. It was full of old stories and strange stuff, and everyone thought it was nonsense: “Magic and Aliens.” He kept it because he was curious, even though it wasn't exactly scientific. Now, he was wondering if maybe there was something useful in it.

  For two nights, he stayed up late reading the book. The writing was old, the pictures were strange, with weird creatures and magic tricks. He looked for anything about going to other dimensions, creatures from other worlds, anything that could help him figure out what he'd gotten himself into. It was a long shot, but he didn't have anything else to go on.

  As he read, an idea started to form. What if he didn't have to treat them *there*? What if he could bring them to Earth? The voice just said, Heal them, and they are yours. It didn't say where he had to heal them. Risky? Definitely. But the reward was too big to ignore.

  Then, another thought hit him. Could these animals even live on Earth? They lived in a different world. Maybe they wouldn't be able to live on Earth. They may need something from their own world to survive. What if the little bird thing he saw was ill? He recalled the lifeless form of the small, bird-like creature. Perhaps it had succumbed to an illness, but what if the very air of that world was essential to its life? The creatures he had briefly studied in his grandmother’s book if they were to be believed, certainly hadn’t fared well on Earth, often described as withering away or exhibiting bizarre transformations.

  He had an idea. What if he took something small back from their bodies and brought it to Earth? What if a parasite could live inside of the golden creatures in the alien world, eat the gold, and then bring the parasite back to Earth? It was kind of mean but safer than moving the huge animals. Or... what if he just ate the gold himself? Crazy, right? But it'd be so much easier. No moving things, no worry about them dying on the way. He could just... eat the money.

  He dropped the idea fast. Too risky. The parasite thing was better, even if it was a little out there. He could transport them gradually throughout his lifetime.

  Now, could he maybe do what the book said and make a parasite that could live in both worlds? The book talked about crazy rituals, using energy from the earth and stars. It sounded like a joke, but... he'd seen another world. He knew that at this point, everything was possible.

  Li Wei started getting ready to follow the book. He needed moon dust, midnight dew, and a feather from a bird that only sings in the dark. For three nights, he snuck around the forest and back alleys, trying to find the weird stuff. He traded and bought, slowly starting to believe that it might work.

  The ritual was even stranger. He tried to chant in the weird language and mixed things in a bowl, and it started to glow. He did his best to focus, to imagine a tiny bug that could handle anything.

  And then, it happened. A little, worm-like thing started to grow in the bowl, sort of glowing. He'd done it. He'd somehow made a living parasite, just like the book said.

  He felt great and terrified. Could a parasite born on Earth live in the alien world? He'd given it a drop of his blood, which his ritual demanded, and it was alive, but... what if it died as soon as it walked, not slithered into the alien world?

  He held the parasite in a glass jar. It was a risk, that's for sure. But the gold calling. He wanted a life without so much struggle. He had a parasite, a ride to riches. He had the doorway home. He was ready to go back. He was ready to try his crazy idea. He was ready to be rich. He clutched the jar, heart pumping, and stepped into the light.