by N. Heller
It was exactly because the area of the white ring was so large, she did not feel anything when Timo mentioned it. She only knew that it was colossal, but she had no idea to what extent.
That was, until today.
Right now, Lin Sanjiu was standing in a clearing surrounded by a thick forest. She turned around to make sure that she was in the right location. Everywhere she looked, she saw trees that stood staunchly under the sky. There was a gentle slope at the end of her sight and wisps of cloud were hanging at the edge of the sky.
She pulled a key box out from the doc.u.ment holder that was as large as a suitcase and settled it down on the ground.
The glossy key box was white in color. It had a rectangular shape, and it shone brightly under the sun. Following the instructions, she pulled drawers out one after another which made the box look like a tiny staircase that appeared from nowhere. Each drawer held row after row of keys with different functions. She picked up a round piece of burnished gold metal and tried to swing it several times.
Then, her surroundings began to change. It was as if gravity was throwing a tantrum over the upper ground, the healthy green foliage, the forest glades interspersed with rivulets of white, and the almost imperceptible wind. Everything that was laid in front of her eyes began to deform and fade away, turning into different colors of particles and shadows before being absorbed into the ground below. Finally, the true appearance of the terrain was revealed.
Even though she had psyched herself up, when she looked ahead, she still could not help but be astonished.
She was now standing on a cliff. Strong gusts of wind roared across the yellow earthen land. The sand hopped onto the passing wind and began painting the sky yellow.
The canyon looked like a giant laceration on the planet. Even looking from a bird's eye view, she still could not see the end of the canyon. Layers of rocks stood stalwart on both sides of the ravine, forming craggy sides as they held up against the corrosion of the blade-like gust for more than a millennium. The canyon was as deep as the height of the sky, and it seemed like it would remain there for an eternity.
Lin Sanjiu looked down and her heart leaped into a gallop.
Her map was almost blown away when she took it out, so she quickly took several stones to hold the map in place. She narrowed her eyes and began searching for the location of her house. By the time she found the location of the ring, her face had already become red from getting whipped by her hair.
Perhaps the reason the previous owner decided to reduce the price by half was because of its location. After all, nobody liked staying inside a canyon.
Lin Sanjiu walked windward for a while and finally arrived at a spot known as the great platform according to the map. The wind had gotten weaker, so she finally had a chance to have a better look at the canyon.
Looking ahead, the sky was blue like a sapphire gem. The wind had stopped billowing and the sand had ceased hopping around. The planet had calmed down and silence once again returned to reign over.
Looking down into the abyss, she saw that an enormous white ring had been fixed onto both sides of the cliff almost a hundred meters deep.
The white ring fit into the picture she had in mind.
The entire white ring looked just like a battleship from outer space. There were scratches here and there on its white metal exterior wall, frequented by the sand that was carried along by the wind. Various geometric metal plates protruded from the hollow center of the ring and intertwined with the translucent acrylic skylight and titanium framework that gave a clean but sophisticated futuristic appearance. She seemed to be able to see a patch of green grass through the skylight.
Lances of sunlight speared through the layers of cloud and shone on the white ring, giving it a golden finish.
All the grumbles and complaints Lin Sanjiu had earlier on were dissolved by the scene before her eyes. She looked blankly at the white ring below her feet, lost for words. The white ring stayed obediently in the center of the canyon, looking like a gentle beast that was waiting for the return of its master.
"Oh, yeah." Lin Sanjiui wiped her face and sniffled a little. "How should I get down there?"
She opened the folder and rummaged through it. Suddenly, something came into her mind and she smacked her head hard. Then, she pulled a controller out.
The camouflage barrier was able to produce more than just a fool-shaming hologram. After all, there were so many posthumans out there, and if they found out that the camouflage was fake just by touching, then the barrier was practically useless. Lin Sanjiu had no idea who created this kind of Special Item, but she could not help admiring the ingenuity of the creator when they were creating it. Slowly but steadily, as she rotated the golden-orange button anti-clockwise, she peered forward. Trees began to spurt from the ground while grass and stone slowly stretched and spread forward. Soon, a glossy and green landscape appeared before her eyes.
When she saw a half-log in the river, she raised her guard. She crouched down and slowly descended into the river until her entire being disappeared.
The camouflage barrier actually enacted a layer of real matter on top of the object that needed to be hidden. After all, there was nothing in the world that was more deceptive than the truth.
The only exception was probably the river.
The canyon was now replaced by the river, the land, and the oasis at the far end of the river. Unlike the forest behind her, those were just holographic images. After all, it required an astronomical amount of matter to cover the entire canyon, and up until now, there was no camouflage barrier that could achieve such a feat.
The wavelets splattered on Lin Sanjiu's body, but she did not feel anything and her body was still dry.
She walked down the suspension bridge for almost an hour before finally arriving in front of the white ring.
Lin Sanjiu had no idea how large it was. When she looked skyward, the top of the ring seemed to touch the sky. It looked just like the shiny glaciers in the northern region of the world she originally came from.
Once she stepped onto the staircase, the camouflage barrier behind her disappeared.
"Welcome to Exodus," a robotic female voice rang out, causing her outstretched arm to freeze in the air, "I am your voice control assistance. Please call me Silas."
"This...this is so advanced."
"Thank you for your compliment. Please insert your name card into the slot."
'What slot?'
Her question was instantly answered as a square slot appeared out of thin air on the white metallic wall. It was an empty slot that fit one of the keys inside her box.
"Thank you for your cooperation. You have been registered as the new administrator of Exodus. Please reset your name and password as proof of your identity for authorization."
"Lin Sanjiu," she said before hesitating for a brief moment. "The password is…Meatball Peach."
"Activation successful. Dear Lin Sanjiu, it's my honor to serve you."
As soon as it finished speaking, the wall in front of her suddenly opened. As a puff of stale air wafted into her nose, the door slid into the wall.
In the dimly-lit corridor, lights illuminated one after another.
"Welcome to Exodus. I will now bring you around to familiarize you with Exodus," Silas's voice rang out as if it were speaking right into her ears, "Are you ready?"
"Hold on!" Lin Sanjiu shouted and raised her head. She tried to find where the speaker was installed in the ceiling. "Will it take a lot of time?"
Before she could even finish speaking, she suddenly felt something as the hairs on the nape of her neck bristled. She jerked around and saw that a pod had arrived silently right behind her. It seemed like a miniature space ship with a hollow center. It was hovering in mid-air and the leather wrapped around the seat was sparkling clean.
"This is your personal maglev transport pod. Please take your seat. With my help, you can finish touring the house in 5 hours. Before we start, can I get you a glass
of juice?"
Chapter 727 - I Heard That The Heroine Of A Time-Travel Novel Would Definitely Visit The Brothel
The hydraulic door slid open with a puff. Stretching her leg, Lin Sanjiu stepped onto the staircase.
The wind blew her hair back from her forehead. Laid in front of her was an endless stretch of rocky terrain. No matter how many times she saw the canyon from the television or in pictures, the topographical appearance of the canyon had a hypnotical effect when one was truly in it.
The sunlight was strong under the azure sky, and it seemed like there was still a long time before it turned dark. Lin Sanjiu let out a chagrined sigh as she reactivated the camouflage barrier. As the river began to fill in, a looming suspension bridge appeared before her eyes.
"See you tonight, Silas."
"Goodbye." Exodus's voice control assistance dimmed and disappeared.
Before she could go on the house tour, Lin Sanjiu had to call a halt because just as she stepped into the pod, she suddenly realized something—she had not checked in today yet!
The entire house tour took about 5 hours. It would take her an hour to get back to the ground, not to mention the journey from the canyon to the black market would consume even more time. Even if she took the private plane service provided by a posthuman, it would take her at least four hours to get back to Black's Market. If she started the house tour, she was certain that she would not be able to get back before the clock struck midnight.
"This might be a problem." Lin Sanjiu sighed again, then she took a sip of the fruit juice in her hand. Even though she stopped the house tour, Silas had still given her a glass of fruit juice. Silas even led her to the "kitchen and the beverage area", which was the only area she had visited so far.
"I need to check in every day, and a round trip to Black's Market took me almost the entire day," she mumbled and took out the brochure she bought from Mophead. She skimmed over the brochure, hoping to find a checkpoint that was nearest to her.
The Heaven Underworld was a huge planet. For example, if Lin Sanjiu met Mophead in South Africa, the range of areas he was able to cover at most was several countries adjacent to South Africa, perhaps including France. Hence, if she was in Peru now, then it would be a whole different region where Mophead had never stepped into before.
Fortunately, her current distance from the black market was not as far as from South Africa to Peru. After a shaky four-hour flight, she finally returned to Black's Market, or rather, a small town about thirty kilometers away from Black's Market.
"Black's Market is too cramped. There isn't any parking apron for me to land on," complained the old captain with a red nose as he smacked his airplane, causing it to rattle, "and they said the only thing missing in Black Market is lacking itself. What an irony."
"Perhaps you could buy a parking apron if you had enough money," a passenger mumbled. His face was pale from the bumpy ride just now.
"Why must you all go to Black's Market?" the old captain said, "It's pretty bustling in here, too! Alright, I should get going now! Have fun!"
Out of ten of his sentences, nine revolved about how reliable his plane was and how cheap his fare was. Perhaps, the only thing close to the fact was his last string of sentences.
The town was located in a highly elevated mountainous region. The summit of the mountain at the back of the town was covered in snow all year round. Compared to the towns below the mountain, the air in this town was dry and freezing. Every breeze felt like cold fingers that c.a.r.e.s.sed her cheeks. Even after Lin Sanjiu put on a heavy coat, it still could not stop the cold stream of air from invading into her body and robbing her of heat.
Even though it was cold, there were a lot of people in the town. The original inhabitants had disappeared along with the apocalypse, so Posthumans remodeled the houses and buildings they left behind into various odd-looking buildings to fit their purpose. The buildings were radially arranged across the entire town, and the most striking one was the building situated right in the heart of the town.
Lin Sanjiu stared at the building, not knowing what to say.
It was a four to five-story high rectangular building that looked like an exhibition hall. Every facet of the building was covered in a layer of dark glass, behind which were a number of square showcases.
Every showcase emitted various spectrum of lights. Some of them were deep blue while the others were rose red, fiery orange, or bright yellow. Sitting and standing amongst the pulsating lights were silhouettes of different figures.
However, not all the figures looked human. When Lin Sanjiu turned around, she saw that, on the third floor, on the right side of the showcase stood a figure with numerous tentacle-like shadows protruding from its torso. Each tentacle-like shadow seemed to have their own life force and consciousness as they coiled and played around with another figure.
"This…this building is not what I am imagining, is it?" Mrs. Manas exclaimed in her mind.
"Well, all I can say is that it depends on your imagination."
There were plenty of posthumans going in and out of the building. Most of them buried their faces in the scarves wrapped around their necks, while the others held their head down, refusing to make eye contact with anyone else. There were both men and women, and all of them had different expressions and appearances. Lin Sanjiu wanted to stop somebody to ask about the location of the checkpoint, but nobody would pause for her.
"In a bustling place, look out for the blank spot which is mostly avoided by posthumans. That spot might possibly be the checkpoint," Lin Sanjiu muttered the description she read from the brochure. After that, she strode towards the busiest spot in the town. "Come, let's look inside."
"You just want to go in and have a look, don't you?" Mrs. Manas blew Lin Sanjiu's cover.
"Yep, you are right."
Everyone possessed the heart to be curious, and so did Lin Sanjiu. She stood at the entrance and cleared her throat. Then, she put on an indifferent mask as she followed a bearded man into the building.
The lights dimmed as soon as she passed through the glass door.
The moment the thought appeared in her thought, Mrs. Manas sneezed.
Holding his head low, the bearded man took a few quick steps into the corridor. He stopped beside someone, who should be the staff, and murmured into his ears. The male staff then handed something to the bearded man. Before Lin Sanjiu could get a good look, the bearded man had walked into a corner and soon disappeared from her sight.
The staff raised his head. Grating her teeth, Lin Sanjiu walked toward the staff.
Peering at the staff with the help of the weak light, Lin Sanjiu realized that he had a clean face. The decent face of the staff did quench a bit of her apprehension as her heart began to relax.
"Good day, lady. How may I help you?"
"Well, hi." Lin Sanjiu forced herself to look straight at the staff's forehead. She felt her cheeks get a little hot.
"The entrance fee is 100 Rondes," said the staff. He probably did not notice that this was the first time Lin Sanjiu was there. "For every one level up, you have to pay another 100 Rondes. Which level you would like to go to?"
"Erm…do you have a checkpoint around here?"
Surprisingly, the man answered the question quickly, "Yes, there is one on the highest level."
She thought for a moment; her ears blushed. After that, she went to the second floor.
The second floor was quiet and the air was cold. Here, Lin Sanjiu finally saw more contours and faces which looked like clumps of shadows when she was outside the building. The music sounded more like gasps or whispers in her ears.
Lin Sanjiu walked past ten or so showcases without looking at them. After she continued to walk for a while longer, Mrs. Manas could not hold herself back and said, "Didn't you come in to see the things here? Don't be so uptight. I won't laugh at you. Speaking of which, I'm also a part of you."
"Okay." Lin Sanjiu then stopped. She realized that she was standing in front of
a petite figure with an hourglass body shape. Just when she was pondering was the figure a child, the showcase suddenly glowed. Then, an a.d.u.l.t woman who stood only at a meter tall appeared before her eyes. She was a kind of human species that Lin Sanjiu had never seen before.
Unlike dwarves, the woman's body proportions were perfect and she had a cute face. Suddenly, A buzz came and prompted Lin Sanjiu to look in the direction of the sound. She found an interphone there, and the woman's saccharine voice wafted out, "Are you a pedophile?"
Lin Sanjiu was a little bit fl.u.s.tered. She looked around as if she were a thief looking for a camera. She cleared her throat and answered, "No, I'm not."
"That is good then. They aren't welcomed in here," said the woman as a charming smile blossomed across her tiny face. "What do you think?"
"What do I think?"
"Oh, a newbie. Too bad." The petite woman shook her head and sighed. The light dimmed and she turned into a shadow again.
She stood in front of another showcase for a fair share of minutes, yet the light remained dim. The next showcase was the same, but the lanky man talked to her, "Oh my, what did you eat to become so tall? You are even taller than me!" As if he was talking to his friend, he said halfheartedly, "No, it won't cut it." Then, the man fell silent as he cut off the interphone.
Lin Sanjiu did not know what had she said, because the moment she came back to her senses, she was already on the third floor.
There were more people on the third floor than on the second floor. However, all of them were standing very far from each other and they did not engage in any conversation. They were strolling as they observed the showcases. She observed for a moment and realized that after the light inside the showcase lit up, most of the people would talk to the person inside before going into the showcase.
After going into the showcase, the two people—sometimes more than two—would walk into a door on the side of the showcase. Perhaps that was why the distance between two showcases was so large. There ought to be a room with good soundproofing in the middle.