Chapter 103: Chapter 99: Departure! Capital City!
"No need to see me off, if you keep this up you’ll have to buy a ticket and come with me."
The next day at noon, Wu Liang stood at the airport feeling a bit helpless as he looked at He Zhan and the others who came to see him off.
Director Li truly lived up to being the strongest healer Awakener officially in Chengyang City. In just two days, He Zhan’s skin, which had been blasted beyond recognition, looked completely normal.
He Zhan smiled, patting him on the shoulder, saying, "Remember I told you before that our second team has two people furthering their studies at headquarters? One is named Jin Chenghua, the other Fu Juan. I’ve already told them in advance to look after you at headquarters."
"Thanks a bunch, Captain He... why is everyone acting like it’s a life-and-death parting? I’m just going for training, not to Hell, I’ll be back next month!"
"Hehe, you’ll definitely be surprised when you meet them, I guarantee it," He Zhan said mysteriously.
"?"
After chit-chatting at the airport entrance for a dozen minutes, Wu Liang finally managed to go inside and board the plane.
Although he said he didn’t need to be seen off, the actions of the second team’s Awakened didn’t make Wu Liang feel nagged or annoyed.
After all, this was the first time he’s traveling far and someone came to see him off.
This feeling... is quite nice.
After boarding, following the crew’s reminder to fasten his seatbelt, he felt the slight tremor and pressure change as the plane swiftly ascended.
It was Wu Liang’s first trip to the skies.
Through the window, he saw the people on the ground getting smaller, the whole city coming into full view, and finally rising above the clouds with only the thick, white clouds visible.
At that moment, his imagination ran wild, and he thought of a rather abstract question—
What to do if there’s a supernatural event on the plane?
The next second, he heard the flight attendant starting the usual announcements, ending with, "In case of a supernatural incident on the plane, an emergency parachute is located beneath your seat, instructions are available in the booklet on the side, passengers can now read them."
This was the airline’s helpless response after the great disaster.
As a convenient means of transportation in modern society, it’s impossible to eliminate the use of airplanes.
But you also can’t expect everyone to know how to use a parachute, the best they can do is provide equipment along with instructions to avoid liability.
Fortunately, as human society restored order and civil planes resumed operation, the probability of supernatural incidents happening on planes has become absurdly low.
In the past two or three years, only one such incident occurred on a plane.
Of course, the mortality rate was... one hundred percent.
First-time flyer Wu Liang persistently observed the clouds through the window.
Time quietly slipped away as he observed.
Three hours later, the plane began descending below the clouds.
Looking at the outline of the Capital City, which was countless times larger than Chengyang City, Wu Liang felt a slight excitement, recalling some past memories.
"Heh, Dad used to say he’d bring me to the Capital City to watch the flag-raising ceremony when I turned eighteen, but now I’ve come myself first," Wu Liang thought with a smile.
Stopover, retrieve luggage.
After disembarking, breathing the air that wasn’t any sweeter, Wu Liang took out his phone and dialed the number Minister Long had given him.
"Hello, I’m Shadow. Minister Long said to contact you upon arrival in the Capital City. Could you please come pick me up to go to headquarters? Is this a good time?"
As usual, when meeting strangers for the first time, Wu Liang tried to act normal to avoid any eccentric or abstract behavior.
At least He Zhan and Minister Long wouldn’t think I like being obnoxious right from the first impression, right?
"Hello, Yingzi! I’m already outside the airport, at the North Plaza exit holding a sign. It’s me!" A strange voice came from the other end of the line.
The tone fluctuated greatly and the accent was erratic, creating a sense of familiarity yet unfamiliarity for Hawk Country’s people and clarity yet unfamiliarity for Huaxia’s people.
Wu Liang: "?"
Whoa, this brother’s Mandarin needs improvement? What kind of dialect mixed with Mandarin is this? I almost thought I dialed the wrong number.
Conveniently, I just came out from the North Plaza side, seeing the dense crowd of people waiting, thinking there are quite a few holding signs.
How should I find him...
Damn! Found him!
While Wu Liang was struggling to find the sign, he suddenly saw a blonde-haired, blue-eyed foreigner in the crowd, his high nose and protruding cheekbones smiling brightly, standing out at around 1.9 meters tall.
The sign in his hand was probably about a square meter, with the word "Shadow" scrawled lopsidedly.
"Uh... hello, I’m Shadow, you’re the one here to pick me up?" Wu Liang approached, his mouth twitching awkwardly as if he had a toothache.
No wonder there was that weird familiar yet strange feeling just now.
Turns out it’s a foreigner speaking Mandarin... and seems like he hasn’t been learning it for long.
"Oh! Nice to meet you, I’m Magician, and in Huaxia my name is—Jin Chenghua!"
The foreigner was exceptionally enthusiastic, dropping his sign and stepping forward to give Wu Liang a big hug, as if they were old friends meeting after years.
Wu Liang, who thought he was already social anxiety-inducing enough, seeing the surrounding people avoid looking at them out of the corner of their eyes, suddenly felt his skin might not be thick enough.
Huh? Wait a minute?
Jin Chenghua... that’s it, Jin Chenghua!
This person is not only the one sent by Minister Long to pick me up, but also one of the second team members at headquarters that He Zhan mentioned?!
Looking again at this blonde tall fellow, standing more than a head above him, Wu Liang finally understood why He Zhan said he’d be surprised to meet him.
Damn, who would have guessed!
"Ahem, Jin Chenghua, never mind, I’ll call you by your code name then, Magician, right? Are we going straight to headquarters now?"
The other party released the enthusiastic embrace, his smile still radiant, giving a thumbs up and said, "Yes! I’ll drive, you relax!"
Bro, with your accent, I’m not very reassured...
If we get stopped by traffic police for a license check, will they really understand you?
With an extremely complicated mix of feelings, Wu Liang followed Jin Chenghua to the parking lot and got into a pretty decent-looking BMW.
Have to admit, this foreigner has some impressive driving skills, managing to weave through the congested lanes with ease.
If only he didn’t open his mouth to chat with me...
"Yingzi, how’s He Zhan recently?"
"Pretty good, just got resuscitated."
"Yingzi, are there still many supernatural activities in Chengyang City? Busy but worthwhile?"
"It’s alright, even Fierce Ghosts call me boss."
"Yingzi, I just got word that there’s a supernatural incident nearby, let’s go check it out first."
"Sure, no problem... huh? Wait, what did you just say?"
Wu Liang was dealing with Jin Chenghua’s awkward Mandarin when he suddenly realized that this guy might have just mentioned a nearby supernatural outbreak, intending to drive him there for a look?
Vroom—
The car that was previously cruising leisurely suddenly roared as Jin Chenghua stomped the gas pedal, turning the steering wheel and driving directly onto a side path.
Speeding wildly towards the supernatural incident location he mentioned...