Chapter 184 – Meeting, Candy Box
Lu Yuan changed his clothes and got a fresh haircut.
He was sitting quietly by the window on the shuttle, looking through the light blue crystal glass at the gradually enlarging, bizarre world outside.
This was his second time approaching Xiabang.
The last time was on Zhou Ling’s shuttle, and it was at night.
He only took a distant glance and turned away before getting close.
Before seeing Xiabang up close, Lu Yuan always thought it was just the name of a city.
Now he realized—why everyone he knew who came from Xiabang would describe it as a “new world.”
It wasn’t just a metaphor.
The real Xiabang… was indeed as large as a “world.”
From the shuttle thousands of meters high, his view still couldn’t encompass the entirety of Xiabang.
He saw a massive circular city, roughly ten times the size of Jiaoyan.
But that wasn’t Xiabang.
It was just a “small” satellite city surrounding Xiabang.
There were reportedly more than a hundred such satellite cities.
The most conspicuous buildings in his view were the six tall towers at the edge of his vision.
Silver-white towers.
Five smaller towers surrounded a larger central one.
All six silver-white towers pierced the clouds, connecting with the dense steel dome above.
He couldn’t see the tops.
They constantly reminded Lu Yuan of the mythical “world tree that connects heaven and earth” and the “immortal mountain that supports the sky”…
Of course, Lu Yuan thought a more fitting metaphor was—this was more like a hand.
A hand that carried the countless desires, expectations, curiosities, and dreams of the people of Xia State, stretching from the surface towards the stars.
“I wonder if they light up at night. If they do, who knows how beautiful they would look…”
Lu Yuan thought as he subconsciously picked up his mobile phone and started taking pictures through the window.
After Lu Yuan officially completed the assessment, Yellow Bear’s people returned all the personal belongings they had temporarily taken before the assessment.
During his four days in Smokeless City No. 3, nothing particularly noteworthy happened.
Except for the daily inquiry messages from his mom, and private messages from a few friends like cheng peng.
The rest were reminders from Liu Si of the crane style, informing him that he needed to visit Linghexuan this month. Liu Daoyuan had something for him and he must go back to get it.
Looking at the messages, Lu Yuan subconsciously pictured Old Liu’s cold but warm-hearted face, and a wave of warmth surged in his heart.
He replied to Liu Si with a “good” and inquired about Old Liu’s recent health, reminding Liu Si to let Old Liu drink less soda. The old man was getting on in years, and drinking too much soda could lead to osteoporosis. He didn’t have many good bones left…
Next, he sent the aerial photos of Xiabang he had taken along the way to his mom, older sister, and cheng peng.
After some thought, he also sent a set to “Quiet Bamboo Treasure” Xia Zhiqing.
Just after sending them, the notification sounds of incoming messages started ringing continuously.
Before Lu Yuan had a chance to check them one by one, the door to the small compartment he was in was opened by someone.
A beautiful woman with short wavy hair, wearing a blue-black uniform, stepped in.
“Hello Lu Yuan, my name is Xiao Rui.”
The beautiful woman walked over and shook Lu Yuan’s hand, casually handing him something that looked like a tablet.
“Hello.”
Lu Yuan took the tablet, glanced at it, and quickly realized—it was his “report card.”
He didn’t look too closely; he just noticed the evaluation column on the right side of the screen was filled with “S”, “S+”, and “SS”…
He scrolled down to the comprehensive evaluation section at the bottom and saw it marked as “SSS+”.
“Whew—”
Lu Yuan exhaled softly, feeling a wave of relief wash over him.
This must be a very high score.
As a “top student,” Lu Yuan had a peculiar obsession with getting high scores in assessments.
Now… he was satisfied.
“Congratulations, Lu Yuan.”
Xiao Rui, who had a Golden Bear emblem on her left chest, smiled at Lu Yuan and said, “You have achieved the best new blood assessment score in Yellow Bear’s history. As a reward, in addition to the 247,000 merit points you earned from the 2,470,000 points in this assessment, we will give you an additional 10,000 merit points.
Moreover, your genetic sample has high research value for our Research Group. We collected some of your hair and skin tissue. If you agree to authorize us to use them for research, we will pay you an additional 10,000 merit points as compensation…”
As she spoke, Xiao Rui reached out and gently swiped twice on the tablet in Lu Yuan’s hand, bringing up a pre-drafted authorization form.
Lu Yuan was a bit caught off guard, but after thinking about it, he figured that even if he didn’t sign the authorization form, Yellow Bear would still use his body tissue samples for research anyway.
So he signed it. With compensation offered, why not take it?
Seeing Lu Yuan’s straightforward and decisive actions, a satisfied smile appeared on Xiao Rui’s face. Her gaze towards Lu Yuan seemed to hold a hint of newfound closeness.
“Next, I need to tell you a few things in a private capacity.”
Xiao Rui leaned a bit closer to Lu Yuan, and as she spoke, a warm, orchid-like fragrance lightly brushed against Lu Yuan’s face.
“The scent of a mature woman…”
The phrase inexplicably popped into Lu Yuan’s mind, and then he heard Xiao Rui continue.
“…because of your outstanding performance, a highly esteemed Lord within Yellow Bear has taken notice of you.”
“I am now going to take you to meet her.”
“Before that, you need to pay attention to a few things.
- This Lord is very sensitive to smells and dislikes people with any odor. You’d better take a shower first…”
“But I just took a shower…”
Lu Yuan was taken aback and instinctively moved his arm closer to Xiao Rui.
“Smell it, there’s no odor, right?”
Xiao Rui’s face reddened slightly, and she nodded, “I know, but the fragrance of body wash and shampoo also counts as an odor. You should use something unscented to wash again…”
“Alright.”
What kind of quirk is this? Can’t even stand the smell of shampoo? Does this Lord never shower…
Lu Yuan thought to himself, unable to help but recall the Woman in Black Dress who had been washing her hair in the Crow Dreamscape.
“2. This Lord does not like being interrupted while speaking. When you converse with her, remember not to interrupt. Do not bring any communication devices like mobile phones inside…
- This Lord dislikes being refused. Remember, after meeting her, whatever she asks you to do, just comply.
- …”
Xiao Rui rattled off about ten points for Lu Yuan to remember, talking so much that Lu Yuan began to feel a bit impatient. She then made him repeat the instructions back to her to ensure he had fully understood and memorized them.
After completing everything, Lu Yuan couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked, “Xiao Rui, who exactly is this Lord you mentioned? And, is this person a man or a woman? What’s their name?”
“This Lord holds a very high position, among the highest within Yellow Bear. I am a Golden Bear, and above me, there are several ranks of Flying Bear Generals. This Lord’s status is even higher than the top-tier Flying Bear Generals…”
“The Lord is a woman. Her name is…”
Xiao Rui paused, hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said the name, “Yuwen Tong.”
“Yuwen Tong.”
Lu Yuan silently repeated the name, blinking his eyes. Out of the corner of his eye, he unconsciously glanced at the towering Silver White Towers outside the shuttle’s window.
…
“Are you ready?”
Standing in front of a giant silver door that almost reached the ceiling, Xiao Rui asked Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan exhaled warm air into his palm and sniffed his armpit to ensure there was no odor. He nodded, “I think I’m good.”
Xiao Rui smiled and couldn’t help but say, “Actually, you don’t need to be too nervous. Lord Tong has a very good temper and is always considerate of her subordinates. Besides, I think…”
Xiao Rui looked Lu Yuan up and down, her beautiful eyes showing a faint sparkle, “Lord Tong will probably like you. It’s rare to see someone who looks like you without any genetic modifications.”
“Let’s hope so.”
Lu Yuan sighed lightly.
Lu Yuan knew he was handsome, but what if Lord Tong wasn’t swayed by good looks?
To his surprise, his initial worries turned out to be true.
He was now standing at the top of one of the six Silver White Towers in the very heart of Xiabang.
Xiao Rui’s shuttle had flown for a long time before reaching this point.
As the most iconic and magnificent sight in all of Xiabang, the shuttle “Tianhe” and the steel sky landscape were now beneath his feet.
This place was literally in the clouds.
“Zzzzzzz—”
Xiao Rui operated something outside the massive silver door, and soon, the enormous door opened to both sides.
Xiao Rui gave Lu Yuan a look, and he understood, slowly walking inside.
The space within the silver door was vast.
Extremely vast.
And exceptionally empty.
The first thing that caught Lu Yuan’s eye was an expanse of extraordinarily blue sky, layered with a magnificent sea of clouds.
Without many layers of clouds filtering the light, the illumination here was much stronger than anywhere else.
The dazzling golden sunlight streaming through the fully transparent floor-to-ceiling windows was almost blinding.
Lu Yuan couldn’t help but recall what Xiao Rui had told him—Lord Tong loved sunny days.
“So she lives above the clouds so she’ll never see rain?” Lu Yuan pondered.
Turning his head, he saw a large sky-blue long table at the far end of the room.
Muffled sounds were coming from behind the table.
With a curious expression, Lu Yuan took steps toward that direction.
As he got closer, the sounds became clearer.
The voice was familiar… but he couldn’t be sure.
Finally…
Lu Yuan reached the blue long table and fully took in the scene.
On the table were seven or eight virtual screens, with five of them lit up.
A girl with exceptionally fair skin, wearing an oversized white T-shirt, black-rimmed glasses, and a hair bun, was sitting cross-legged on a large chair.
On her lap was a large pink keyboard, and she was typing away happily.
Lu Yuan’s first reaction was disbelief.
When he saw that all five lit screens were displaying the same MOBA mecha game, his disbelief deepened.
Lord Tong? Playing games? An internet-addicted girl?
Lu Yuan blinked, feeling as if all his preconceived notions were shattering into pieces.
All the opening lines and conversation starters he had thought of beforehand were now useless.
He opened his mouth but didn’t know what to say.
At that moment, the girl with a hair bun, who looked very pretty and seemed about the same age as Lu Jing, turned to glance at him and said, “You’re here. Wait a moment, I’ll be done soon.”
“Oh, okay.”
Lu Yuan nodded woodenly.
He then noticed that the girl with a hair bun was nearly pushing her game character to the enemy’s base crystal.
Looking closer, he realized something even more astonishing.
All five characters on her team were being controlled by her alone.
Her gaze flicked between the five virtual screens, and her fingers danced across the keyboard with lightning speed.
Lu Yuan even saw her not only controlling five characters, dominating the four lanes, but also intermittently switching out of the game to chat with different people on a messaging app…
My god.
What kind of top-tier processor does she have in her brain?!
Lu Yuan was mesmerized.
Suddenly, the girl with a hair bun tossed something his way.
“If you’re bored, have some snacks first.”
Lu Yuan caught it—a palm-sized candy box.
Xiao Rui had said not to refuse any goodwill from the other party.
Obediently, Lu Yuan prepared to open the box and eat a candy to show his respect.
But as soon as he opened the box…
His hands shook violently, almost dropping it.
Inside the candy box, there were seven or eight thumb-sized beads, scarlet in color, resembling the eyes of a crow.
They looked exactly like the red beads that had exploded from the Divine Servants of the Crow Deity sect!
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