This planet cannot be connected to the star network, and there are no road signs. Wang Zhiba and the others were here for the first time, so they had to randomly choose a direction to go.
After walking for about half an hour, a rock suddenly flipped over right in front of us. There was a soft sound of "Bi Bo", and a white light curtain popped up quickly. A few strong men who didn't look like good guys at first glance ran through the star gate without thinking. Then, several more emerged from the light curtain and looked even less like them. The good and strong men, the former fleeing and the latter chasing, were all gone in the blink of an eye.
After walking for a while, white light curtains popped up at the three o'clock and five o'clock directions at the same time. Several girls emerged from the white light curtain at three o'clock. They had green hair, red eye shadow, black lipstick, and blue nail polish, and looked at them in a family style that made Bai Zhi stunned. An old man with white hair in dark blue work clothes emerged from the white light curtain at five o'clock. The old driver looked up and turned around in a circle, choosing the nine o'clock direction without any hesitation. The girls gathered together to play with a circular instrument, and soon they also chose the direction to move forward - parallel to the old man.
Legend has it that the landing points are random, and within a long time, I encountered two with the same landing point as them. This coincidence rate is so touching. Wang Zhiba cursed and changed the direction to nine o'clock.
After climbing over the rolling sand dunes, they approached a canyon when it was dark. A huge placard was nailed to the cliff of the canyon, which read in multiple languages: "The airbus to the airport comes once every three weeks of the planet's rotation." The shadow of the cliff There were more than a dozen bonfires. The girls and the old man they saw earlier were each sitting on a bonfire. They were far away from each other and other bonfires or small groups. Wang Zhiba cursed "random shit" while choosing a recess under the cliff to rest, which was also far away from those people.
Early the next morning, a tattered driverless bus landed not far from the alcove, and their group of more than twenty people got on the bus first. In the blink of an eye, the 100-seater bus was packed to the brim, and even the aisles were filled with people. The few small groups who arrived later could only squat on the roof of the car and hang it on the wall.
In the air circulation system, in addition to the weird cosmetic smell of those girls from the love-burial family, there is also the smell of old salted fish that has lost its ideals for many years and the smell of sweat that may have been caused by not taking a shower in half a year.
Lin Yunlai started sneezing non-stop as soon as he got on the bus. He took out a box of mask-type filtering respirators from his pretend backpack and distributed them to everyone. Jin Zhu looked at Yun Lai pitifully, wishing he could stretch out his little hands from his eyes and ask him for help.
Wang Zhiba rolled his eyes hard at Jin Zhu from between the waists of the two lovable girls standing in the aisle. Unfortunately, the rolling eyes were ineffective because of the obstacles. Jin Zhu still looked at her deeply and infatuatedly.
After all, everyone ran in a group, and a few filter respirators were not a good thing. Bai Zhi took the box and handed it over at an angle, saying, "I want you to talk."
"Thank you." Lin En rushed to take the boxes and distribute them to his friends. The smell in the carriage was so terrible that even Wang Zhiba took one away.
There are thirty respirators in a box, and each of them has a few extra respirators. When Lin was about to close the lid of the box, the white-haired old man sitting in front of him handed over a transparent test tube more than ten centimeters long and as thick as a finger, and said, "Change another one."
There were more than a dozen small dark blue stones the size of rice grains soaked in a transparent oily liquid in the test tube. Linn couldn't recognize what they were, and he didn't dare to exchange things whose origins he couldn't tell. He shook his head and returned the box to Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi couldn't tell what it was, so she shook her head at the old man, hooked one and threw it to him. The old man handed the test tube to Bai Zhi again and shook his head. He said thank you and took back the test tube.
The airbus swung across the desert. The sun is rising higher and higher, the temperature inside the bus is getting higher and higher, and of course the smell is getting worse and worse. A guy who was full of courage took out a tool and tried to pry open the sealed car window. His companion used a dialect to stop him. Bai Zhi didn't understand it, but the guy who didn't have any brains must have understood it. He held a pointed wrench. His backhand was a wrench, and blood spattered more than three feet from his companion's head. He covered the wound and yelled and fought back.
In such a narrow space, accidental injuries are inevitable with fists and kicks. People who were stained with blood on the front, back, left and right were very unhappy. The fight between two people quickly escalated into a group fight.
In the chaos, no one knew who threw a big fireball, which burned the two unlucky men into black charcoal and burned a hole through the wall of the bus. The high-speed airflow poured into the hole, and the car was instantly torn into two pieces and rolled in the high-speed airflow.
Bai Zhi grabbed one of the hands stretched out to her, which was Lin Yunlai's hand.
The crowd that was originally packed into sardines dispersed in an instant. Yun Lai pulled Bai Zhi through countless somersaults in the air and landed on the top of a sand dune.
"It's so unlucky that we got into a fight." Yun Lai ignored himself and brushed the sand off Bai Zhi's body first.
"The bus is so shabby, but it still has no driver. There should be quite a lot of this kind of thing." Bai Zhi squinted at the black spots falling rapidly in the sky.
"Plop", the white-haired old man fell headfirst dozens of meters away from them and plunged into the sand.
Those who opened the temporary star gate and ran away were not mediocre. Neither Yun Lai nor Bai Zhi had any intention of helping. They looked at each other, Yun Lai warned, and Bai Zhi looked at the notes.
Zhang Tianzhao: Hao Xing and I are together, and Hai Fengqiu and Hao Lang are very close to us.
Yue Dongting: Wang Zhiba is not far from me.
Hai Fengqiu: Dongting, you and Wang Zhiba are together. Should we join them or stay together to see what happens here.
Bai Zhi wrote: Yun Lai and I were together, and the old man with white hair was very close to us.
She had just finished writing the note when several strong men fell from the sky. The nearest one was less than twenty meters away from her, and the splashed sand almost jumped into her eyes.
Yun Lai pulled Bai Zhi back and away. The strong men got up and formed a circle to surround the white-haired old man. A thick green mist sprayed out from the coat pocket of the white-haired old man. The two strong men closest to the old man got a little green mist and jumped away in fright. Several other strong men also ran upwind.
The white-haired old man ran a few steps away and turned in the direction of Lin Yunlai and Bai Zhi. He looked very old, but he didn't run slowly. He ran past Yunlai in the blink of an eye, shouting as he ran: "Run! We cannot fall into their hands!”
Yun Lai threw Bai Zhi onto his back, ran after the old man with his long legs, and shouted as he ran: "You old man, we don't know each other, why are you cheating us!"
"Virus, there is no cure for airborne infection within three minutes!" After saying this, the white-haired old man noticed that the wind direction had changed, and he took out a small machine as big as a fist and opened it. With a flash of blue light, a small portal appeared in front of him. He grabbed Lin Yunlai behind him and pulled hard, bringing the two of them into the portal.
On this side of the portal, the sky was foggy and dark. In the distance, countless black crystal pillars towered into the clouds and were twisted and ferocious. The black earth under their feet was also semi-crystalline. It seemed that a large-scale nuclear explosion had occurred on this planet.
The white-haired old man stared behind him nervously. He breathed a sigh of relief until the white halo disappeared. He pulled off the filter and said, "Those are habitual robbers. Fortunately, they were afraid of death and did not dare to chase after them."
The virus may not be real, and those people may not really be habitual robbers. But the old man just tried to use them to block the gun without blinking an eye, so dragging them through the star gate was unlikely to be a good intention.
Bai Zhi wrote a note without saying a word to tell her friends what she and Yun Lai had just experienced.
Lin Yunlai also took off the breathing filter and asked politely: "Where is this?"
"Yunxu, Habitable Star No. 3 in the Morrowind Galaxy. In the past, this was one of the most beautiful planets in the universe." The old man looked at the ugly crystal pillar forest and was filled with emotion.
"Grandpa, where was that just now?" Bai Zhi asked according to Haifengqiu's notes, deliberately pretending to be innocent and ignorant of the world.
"The Sea of Stars in Star Ruins," the old man said with emotion again, "Tens of thousands of years ago, the Sea of Stars was the greatest airport in the entire universe. Even now, there is a one-twentieth chance of opening a temporary star gate. Randomly landed on six habitable stars in the Sea of Stars."
The landing points of these temporary star gates must have been determined when they were manufactured. The random landing points are just an exaggerated gimmick of the organization selling temporary star gates - after all, for desperadoes, random teleportation sounds easier to escape the pursuers.
Bai Zhi still asked in Haifengqiu's rhythm: "Grandpa, is Xingxu far from Yunxu?"
"The actual distance between the Nine Ruins is very far, but with the Star Gate, it's not far away." The white-haired old man happily shook the sand on the outside of the respirator, "You want to go back to find your companions?"
Yun Lai replied coldly: "Of course."
"But I just used the last random portal." The old man frowned, looking so bitter and stingy that he deserved a beating.
Lin Yunlai said coldly: "If you hadn't poisoned them, I might not be able to kill those habitual criminals if we join forces."
"If you weren't desperate, you wouldn't have opened a temporary star gate to escape." The old man thought he was humorous and winked at Bai Zhi, "The airport in the Sea of Stars is a gathering place for desperadoes from all over the universe. How could such a cute little sister cry after being scared by bad guys? What to do? The Morrowind Galaxy is much safer than the Sea of Stars."
Bai Zhi didn't seem to have much force value, and she had no chance to show her force value after crossing the temporary star gate. Even when she ran away just now, Yun Lai was carrying her on his back. Apparently this old guy misunderstood that she needed someone else to protect her.
After being tricked and taken to a completely unfamiliar place, it is good to maintain this misunderstanding. Yun Lai smiled and said, "The old man has really thought carefully about us."
"I have lived to be over eight hundred years old, and I have never received gifts from others in vain." The old man folded the mask filter in half and put it in his coat pocket. "You two little guys look like they are going out for the first time. I will take good care of you until your elders find you. My name is Regan, what are your names?"
Yun Lai was also reading the notes, while Bai Zhi kept relaying the text. Hai Fengqiu told Bai Zhi to pretend to be a little white rabbit, stop talking, and let Yun Lai play tricks on the old man.
"My name is Alai, and she is Xiaobai. Grandpa Regan, other than opening the temporary star gate, is there any other way to leave here?"
"Follow me." Regan's two white eyebrows shook happily, and he took out a hover motorcycle with a bucket.
Yun Lai climbed into the carriage and sat down, leaving a third of the seat for Bai Zhi. When Bai Zhi came up, he said happily: "Grandpa Rui Gen, don't drive too fast."
"It's great to be young." Regan sighed as he raised the motorcycle more than ten meters into the air.
The terrain of this planet is very monotonous. Apart from the towering black crystal pillars, it is the semi-crystalline black earth. There is no second color as far as the eye can see. It seems that there is no other life except the three of them.
The motorcycle flew into the area with the densest crystal pillars, nimbly drilled into a passage, and flew around in the twists and turns of the complicated passage for more than half an hour. The passage gradually changed from black crystallized material to rusty. metal texture. After flying for a while, they saw a well-shaped tunnel and an elevator with six dilapidated cars as big as ordinary buses. It looked like it was abandoned. The old man drove the motorcycle directly into a car, put the motorcycle away when he landed, and entered a password on the keyboard at the door.
The car just opened its door and staggered down.
"People who come here for the first time will be shocked when they see Black Mirror City below." Regan squatted at the door with a smile and motioned for them to come closer. "Every time I come down from the ground, I am willing to take another look at Black Mirror City." Mirror City.”
"Black Mirror" is a proper name in interstellar lingua franca. It refers to the use of a grid structure to solidify the physical defense that hangs over the city when certain living conditions do not meet the standards of a habitable star and settlements or even cities need to be developed. cover. When Hao Xing was collecting information, he first discovered "Black Mirror", a technology that was lagging behind the defensive shields they copied on Earth. He made a fuss and summoned his friends to watch. So not only Bai Zhi, but also Lin Yunlai also knew something about Black Mirror. This thing is not so much a physical defensive cover as it is an energy-saving version of the defensive cover. The grid structure and solidified physical defense shell are very cheap and consume only one-twentieth of the energy of ordinary defense shells. In comparison, in places where energy is extremely scarce, the disadvantages of troublesome installation and the need to monitor and maintain at any time are not big disadvantages.
Although Bai Zhi and Yun Lai had both seen the live video of Black Mirror, they were still shocked when the huge underground space and the underground city that could not be seen to the edge appeared in front of them.
The buildings in this city are distributed according to the terrain. The cornices and carved door and window railings are similar in style to ancient Chinese wooden buildings. The roofs of the lower buildings are covered with sidewalks and even street gardens. Under the bright lights, everything is green. A river runs through the entire city, and buildings on both sides of the river must hang lanterns if they have cornices. The reflections of colorful lanterns with different shapes make the riverside extremely beautiful.
"It's so beautiful." Bai Zhi exclaimed. The sudden switch from a lifeless and barren surface to such a vibrant and colorful ancient city was really shocking.
"Where is the black mirror?" Yun Lai looked around. They were still some distance away from the city and were descending along the vertical cliff.
"Above." Regan pointed to the top of his head. Yun Lai looked up, and Bai Zhi also looked up. Although the tops of their heads were pitch black and there was no light, they both had good eyesight and could clearly see the solidified rock layer.
Bai Zhi immediately understood that Black Mirror City built the city in a huge space underground, and of course there was no need for a grid structure. The shell of the defense cover was installed in the mezzanine below the surface, which was equivalent to adding an additional layer to the shell. A protective layer of rock and soil also reduces maintenance costs and difficulty.
Bai Zhi once lived in an underground cave for more than a year. She didn't like living underground without seeing the light of day. This planet can breathe outside, and the sky is always cloudy, which is more comfortable than living in an underground cave. If she were the city lord, she would definitely choose to build the city where she lives on the ground and the agricultural production base underground. Building an entire city underground is still a source of energy shortage.
"It is said that in the past, the entire habitable surface of the Morrowind galaxy was filled with beautiful cities like this." Regan stared at the lights on the river.
Bai Zhi imagined the beautiful picture of the river below reflecting the stars and clouds, the breeze blowing on her face, and the sunlight falling on the carved windows, and she was fascinated.
"I will build you a city like this when you go home." Yun Lai promised softly against Bai Zhi's ear.
Bai Zhi smiled and nodded in agreement. Although she resented Yunlai and Zhang Tianzhao's mutual understanding, Zhang Tianzhao was definitely the one who could say such things.
Yun Lai lowered his head and placed a gentle kiss on Bai Zhi's forehead, then another kiss and returned to the original position.
Regan sighed again: "It's great to be young."
Half an hour later, Regan took the two to what was said to be the only bar in the entire Black Mirror City that could use a special brain to connect to the star network. He discussed with the old bartender about borrowing the brain to send a message to the young couple to report that they were safe.
"Your old face is worthless." The old bartender wiped the wine glass with a rag while observing the beautiful children from the corner of his eye.
The little girl's snow-skinned lips were soft and inexperienced. Although the young man has a serious expression, his beautiful peach blossom eyes make people think he is suave no matter how he looks at him. Several waitresses in the bar were walking back and forth, always brushing against him intentionally or unintentionally, but he didn't take it seriously at all. The jackets, trousers, and shoes worn by these two people are all commercial products that can be bought anywhere, but the collars of the shirts that are slightly exposed are hand-woven and sewn from pure natural materials. The bracelets they wore on their wrists were exactly the same. They were not couple bracelets, but large storage bracelets that fetched sky-high prices on the black market.
In a word, this young couple are two naughty children from an unlucky noble family. They may have eloped, or they may have been tricked by their opponents or enemies. They passed through a random star gate and ended up here, leaving the lucky Regan. I picked up a big leak.
Bai Zhi is in charge of the text live broadcast, and the three friends who are not present are watching the live broadcast and posting comments.
Yun Lai was responsible for speaking: "Connect to the Star Network and I can transfer the money to you."
"We are too far away from the sixty regions. No matter which region's currency is used here, we have no use." The old bartender always glanced at Yunlai's hand resting on the bar counter intentionally or unintentionally.
"You do one good deed a day, Luo Dabao." Regan tapped the wine bottle on the table, "When their elders come to pick you up, you can't say anything at will."
"You were the one who took care of these two children and led them to the safe zone. I have no shame in accepting the favor of my elders." It was not the first time that the old bartender got the advantage of being a partner with Regan. The two of them sang and harmonized perfectly.
"I want you to buy me a drink if I am poor now. If I have money to provide them with Internet access, I will accept this big favor all by myself." Regan began to cry about being poor.
Even if they have access to the Internet, they cannot change themselves into elders who can answer communications. Yunlai pretended to be embarrassed and said: "Grandpa Rui Gen has already helped us a lot, so I can't trouble you anymore. We... are actually not in a hurry to contact our elders."
So, this is a naughty kid who eloped? The old bartender raised his eyebrows, wrinkles appearing on his forehead. If a child eloped, the adults would definitely take him back quietly. So there would be little benefit in letting the child inform the elders on his own. It would be better to leave someone to squeeze out the pair of storage bracelets, find out the details, and get their Whereabouts sold.
"In that case, please come back. I'll treat you to these three glasses of wine." The old bartender made a gesture, telling Regan that the benefits of selling information would go to him.
"Hey, young man." Regan shook his head. "Your currency cannot be used in Black Mirror City, and you are unwilling to contact your family. What do you eat and where do you live? Are you full of water?"
Bai Zhi paused for a moment, pretending to be shy and lowering her head, but she was actually looking through the items in the bracelet that could be sold.
Yun Lai winked at Regan triumphantly, "Grandpa Regan, what is the hard currency in Black Mirror City?"
Hey, this guy came prepared!
Regan subconsciously answered: "Energy."
The old bartender stopped pretending, turned around and supported the bar with his arms, leaned out half of his body, and said: "High-quality energy block."
Taking out other things may reveal their status as migrant residents. But they only received three thousand pieces of high-grade energy when they arrived at the Frost Empire. Haifengqiu later gave some to everyone. These energy blocks cannot be used openly in the Frost Empire, but there is no problem in using them in Xingxu and Yunxu, which are far away from the sixty regions.
Bai Zhi immediately made a note: The high-grade energy blocks mistakenly sent to us by the Star Gate Management Office of the Frost Empire are hard currency in Jiu Xu and can be spent as money.
Yun Lai nodded and said nonchalantly: "Who goes out for a walk without bringing a few spare energy sources."
"High-end ones? How many are there? I want them all!" The old bartender lowered his voice, "I guarantee the prices are fairer than others."
Yun Lai looked at Regan with a smile, "Grandpa Regan, how do we go back to where we came from?"
