CHAPTER 55: CHAPTER 52: BLACK HAIR—IT REALLY IS LIN RAN

No one knows what kind of time-space technology is used by the Celestial Wings Space-Time train.

It’s like magic; you blink your eyes, the door opens, and you can reach any corner of the world.

Even the poles of the world, the darkest and most silent seabed, or even inside a volcanic eruption!

Of course, most people wouldn’t do such a life-threateningly stupid thing.

This train usually only travels between Nest Cities, and it’s the only means of transport between them.

There is very little interaction between the Nest Cities, especially for remote and undeveloped ones like Corrupt Nest City.

It’s almost impossible to reach other Nest Cities using ordinary means of transport like private cars, trains, or planes.

Each Nest City is separated by hundreds of thousands, or even millions of kilometers, like two entirely different worlds.

The desert areas between Nest Cities are called the Wastelands, the ultimate life forbidden zones, where it’s nearly impossible for anyone to pass through on their own.

Not to mention the harsh survival conditions, the countless bizarre and dangerous creatures and miraculous fissures that roam the Wastelands are enough to shred anyone attempting the journey.

Many bloggers have ventured alone into the Wastelands for the sake of traffic and attention, most of whom disappear without a trace after entering.

The furthest recorded distance a blogger has traveled on foot in the Wastelands is just over thirty kilometers. During a live broadcast, he seemed to have wandered into some miracle, triggering an extremely disastrous event.

In the eyes of all viewers, the blogger turned into a substance between liquid and solid, with his spine detached from his body and flying into the sky, gray fine hairs covered his entire body, and he screamed in total mental collapse, ’They saw me, they saw me!’

Amidst the screams, the live broadcast image was replaced by bizarre colors, and the electronic devices recording the broadcast sprouted strange tentacles, with most breaking down on the spot. All those who watched the broadcast were somewhat mentally affected.

Some went insane, a few, like the blogger, had their heads float freely like a balloon in the city sky, while more people fell into psychological trauma in the following years, often triggered by similar scenarios.

After that incident, most Nest Cities ordered a strict ban on ordinary people entering the Wastelands, with anyone caught intruding being shot on sight.

Most of the time, there is no interaction between the Nest Cities, with virtually no exchange of information or materials.

Only a small number of people, those in power in the Nest Cities and executives of large companies, can freely travel to another Nest City.

This opportunity is very precious to her; if she misses it, she might never get a second chance in her lifetime.

For someone like her, at the bottom, wanting to leave this Nest City is really difficult. Simply saving up to buy a ticket for the Celestial Wings Space-Time is unrealistic, as a single ticket often sells for hundreds of thousands of credit points on the black market, and they’re not even easily available.

This ticket is crucial for her; she must seize this opportunity to leave this Nest City.

The company’s internal employee ticket selection event will end next month.

She has one month left.

If she can complete one more Grade A debt collection, she might catch the attention of those big figures.

Xu Xiaoyou shook her head, temporarily setting aside her chaotic thoughts.

She had just collected a debt, earning over ten thousand credit points in rewards; staying tense could lead to mistakes. She planned to relax well in the coming days.

Xu Xiaoyou couldn’t remember when she started walking home, the cold wind piercing through her collar.

Xu Xiaoyou shivered, suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable, her head burning and dizzy.

"Seems like I caught a cold," she thought, taking out her phone and groggily finding Lin Ran’s avatar, intending to send a message.

Yes, the avatar is a black-haired girl.

It is Lin Ran, no doubt.

Xu Xiaoyou thought so.

Xu Xiaoyou: I’m feeling a bit uncomfortable, a bit dizzy, and possibly caught a cold. Can you meet me at the door?

Xu Xiaoyou: Can you prepare some warm water and a change of clothes for me?

Xu Xiaoyou: Has Anya gone to bed? Had dinner? How can she sleep without training!

Xu Xiaoyou: I’m at the door.

In the room, the black-haired girl watched over the sleeping little girl, curiously examining the environment of the house and looking contemplatively at the photo of the three people on the table.

Just then, several messages arrived, and Bai Youyou, somewhat puzzled, picked up the phone. Before she could see who the messages were from, the doorbell rang.

Opening the door, a blonde girl stood there, her small face still in a daze, the coat draped over her shoulders made her look so small that she seemed she might topple over in a breeze.

"You, are you feverish?" Bai Youyou had just started to ask when the figure fell straight into her arms.

The black-haired girl was slightly taken aback, instinctively holding the girl, a faint smell of liquor wafting over. Just as she was panicking and somewhat at a loss, Xu Xiaoyou’s faint voice came through:

"I’m leaving here next month."

Bai Youyou glanced over to see Xu Xiaoyou looking at her very seriously.

"When do you plan to go?"

"Me?" Bai Youyou pointed at herself: "I’ll leave as soon as I catch the criminal."

"Criminal?"

Xu Xiaoyou showed a moment of hesitation on her small face but quickly shook her head, seemingly not caring much.

"Where are you planning to go?" Bai Youyou asked.

"I don’t know..." Xu Xiaoyou murmured.

Bai Youyou gazed at the girl’s dazed little face, seeing such an expression on her face for the first time, it looked rather cute.

You’s inner self isn’t as steady as she outwardly appears, after all; there’s actually such a contrasting vibe.

She’s almost beginning to wonder if this You is some spirit from a tree, with that distinctive refreshing scent of You, probably the fragrance of body wash?

Bai Youyou tried pinching Xu Xiaoyou’s face, and she just let out an ’um’ without much reaction.

Just as Bai Youyou found it amusing and planned to give another pinch, the girl suddenly hugged her tightly, burying her entire head into her chest.

Bai Youyou: "!"

Before she could steady herself, the two of them tumbled into the room.

She lay back, her head bumped against the cabinet, her arms protecting the girl from any knocks or bumps.

The girl’s messy hair rubbed against her neck like a little animal, causing a subtle tickle.

"We’re good friends, right?" Xu Xiaoyou sniffed and asked.

Bai Youyou, slightly puzzled, then nodded: "Yes."

"Haven’t you always been curious about what I did before?"

"Want to hear the bittersweet past of Xu Xiaoyou the King?"

"Can I really listen?"

"It was in a junkyard..." Xu Xiaoyou said, like a mystic, in a deliberately mysterious tone, "a stinky and smoky junkyard..."

"Pfft." Bai Youyou couldn’t help but chuckle, reaching out to stroke the tangled hair on the other’s head.

There’s something quite endearing about You; she doesn’t act crazy even when she’s out of her senses, instead appearing more honest and well-behaved. What’s going on?

With such a rich imagination, what kind of pleasant dream is her brain whirling about?

Her body is so soft, hugging her feels like holding a talking figurine; Bai Youyou almost misses the chubby bear plushie on her big bed at home.

Just as she was thinking about how to settle the increasingly nonsensical girl, Xu Xiaoyou’s subsequent words plunged her into an icy chill.

"I almost died today, I was really, really, really scared."

"I just want to survive, to make something of myself, that’s why I’ve been taking so many risks."

"Those three guys... I didn’t have a choice!"