章 23: 23 Donghua City
編集者: Nyoi-Bo Studio
They traveled constantly at high speed in the giant flying car.
Elsa sat at Zhou Bai's feet, Christina stood on her head, straightening her body, paws leaning on the window, her cat eyes widened as she looked outside.
At Christina's strong insistence, and considering that the cat would need to see the light of day eventually, Zhou Bai simply let her out to keep an eye on Elsa.
Turning his head, Zhou Bai looked at the scenery along the way, a desolate and ruined landscape everywhere. He even saw two flashes of light accompanied by loud explosions, seemingly indicating a battle.
The entire world had been ravaged by the war between the Heavenly Demons and humans.
It was said that after humans retreated to the last third of the eastern continent, they congregated 90% of the population into five main cities in the east, west, south, north, and center, apart from some outposts, to defend against the Heavenly Demons and combat spiritual contamination. These cities concentrated nearly all the elite in immortal technology, combat, and other fields.
The city Zhou Bai was heading to, East Huacheng, was one of these five main cities.
...
Two hours later, Zhou Bai could see the massive silhouette of buildings floating densely in the air from afar, like massive ships.
'This is entirely different from what I imagined.'
East Huacheng was a supergiant city with a population of over 300 million, far denser than Zhou Bai had imagined.
Using advanced immortal technology, they could suspend numerous buildings in the air, developing enough urban space to accommodate the massive population of over 300 million.
The entire East Huacheng was divided into various zones based on height and location, ranging from underground 50 meters to 2000 meters high, including a civilian residential area on the ground, a 500-meter military zone, a 1000-meter administrative zone, a 1500-meter Dao School zone, and other various functional zones.
Outside the city, a faint light film, barely discernible to the naked eye, enveloped the entire city.
This giant array not only defended against Heavenly Demons but also purified spiritual energy, preventing contamination. The triple protection of the array, Primordial Spirit adjustments, and rune vaccines continually reduced the risk of spiritual contamination.
"It's really huge." As the flying car advanced closer to East Huacheng, Zhou Bai increasingly perceived the city's vastness and density, seeing the floating buildings that covered the sky.
These buildings shared a uniform style, almost all white, gray, or black, with no unnecessary decorations, floating and combining like blocks.
Looking down at the street, Zhou Bai noticed that the countless overhead buildings made the streets very dim. The overly crowded buildings and streets made everything feel exceptionally cramped.
Zhou Bai got off the car, took out the note Zhang Aidao had given him later, which had two addresses: a registration point for East Huacheng Dao School and the address of a friend of Zhang Aidao.
As it was Zhou Bai's first time here without a place to stay, Zhang Aidao wrote down an address, advising him to rely on his friend in East Huacheng before the enrollment test.
With a cat and a dog, Zhou Bai first asked for directions and found the registration point for the enrollment test, then started looking for Zhang Aidao's friend's address.
Christina and Elsa attracted much attention along the way, as petting cats and dogs were quite rare in these times.
Sighing as he looked at the dim street even before nightfall, Zhou Bai noted that East Huacheng appeared grand and magnificent from afar, but walking on the street, it probably stayed under shadows and darkness twenty-four hours a day.
Most people on the street were in a hurry, and it was rare to see anyone strolling or chatting, everyone seeming to be rushing.
The streets were excessively clean and tidy, with no litter, greenery, landscape, or neon lights typical of large cities in Zhou Bai's impression.
'Cold, precise, like a machine driven by countless components.'
That was Zhou Bai's first impression of East Huacheng.
Elsa, tongue out and walking beside, called to Zhou Bai, "I'm hungry..."
Christina, riding on Elsa, immediately slapped the dog's head with a cat paw, "Who allowed you to speak? I told you not to talk outside."
Elsa lowered her head in grievance. Perhaps due to Dr. Zhang's successful experiment, fully animalized Elsa could manage to utter simple words like Zhou Bai and 'hungry.'
Yet, to avoid unnecessary trouble, Zhou Bai instructed her not to speak outside.
Hearing Elsa's call, Zhou Bai petted the dog's head, and Elsa eagerly nuzzled Zhou Bai's hand, hearing Zhou Bai say, "Alright Elsa, we're almost there, there will be food soon."
They arrived in front of a row of small, uniformly built houses, standing straight like tin cans along the street. These were all apartments constructed by the Heavenly Court, allocated to the common people.
Knock knock knock.
Footsteps sounded, and an old man with graying hair opened the door, slightly startled seeing Zhou Bai: "Who are you?"
"Zhang Aidao sent me. I came for East Huacheng Dao School's entrance exam but have no place to stay. He said I could stay here for a few days..."
"He still remembers this old dad?" The old man snorted, turning into the house, "Come in, close the door."
Zhou Bai entered the house and found it a bit messy, with things thrown randomly on tables and the floor, many corners filled with dust and grime, making the whole house look old and worn.
Despite the old man's stern face and cold tone, he promptly brought a bowl of porridge and pickles for Zhou Bai shortly after he sat down.
Even Elsa and Christina were thrown two pieces of bread.
Elsa eagerly seized the bread, hastily stuffing it into her mouth, while Christina, as a special existence, didn't need to eat or drink. She tapped Elsa's head lightly, whispering, "Obey me in the future, and this bread will be yours, understand?"
Elsa tilted her head, looking at Christina with a confused expression.
Meanwhile, the old man, after Zhou Bai entered the house, kept staring at Zhou Bai's face, his expression shifting from bright to dark, occasionally smiling, then frowning.
Unable to endure the gaze after a few sips of porridge, Zhou Bai asked, "Sir, is there something you need?"
"You..." The old man looked at Zhou Bai, asking, "Are you Zhang Aidao's son?"
Pff!
Zhou Bai spat out his porridge, shaking his head continuously.
The old man looked at Zhou Bai and smiled, "You look just like I did in my youth..." Seeing Zhou Bai still denying it, he nodded understandingly, "Alright, alright, I know he doesn't acknowledge this old dad."
The old man's eyes were filled with curiosity and kindness as he looked at Zhou Bai, suddenly sighing, muttering, "I know he hates me, hates me for pushing him to join the army after he failed the exam. His mother divorced me over it.
But I've been a soldier all my life. I know how fragile our lives are now. If everyone only thinks about self-protection, if everyone fears danger and no one steps forward, there will be nothing left."
Zhou Bai: "Why are you suddenly telling stories..."
"Aidao..." The old man looked fearfully at Zhou Bai, "Do you hate Dad?"
Zhou Bai: "Huh?"
Christina, looking at Zhou Bai, said, "Probably dementia? He used to fight with Primordial Spirit power. Without advancing his cultivation, the chances of dementia are higher in old age.
After all, the Heavenly Dao and spiritual energy are already distorted. Long-term use of these things for battle while not advancing in cultivation, with declining willpower and physical condition in old age, naturally leads to illness more easily."
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