Chapter 102: Meanwhile, on land...
Translator: Pluto Editor: Tehrn
This was the time of the day when the sunlight was the strongest. The ground was covered by countless deep cracks, and the air, filled with dust and sand accompanied by the vicious heat, made breathing so difficult that it felt like one would die of suffocation the very next minute.
Usually, most survivors would look for a shady shelter and sleep during these hours, they would not act like these survivors here. About twenty to thirty people, around a white tent, were sitting directly under the sun, clearly enduring the torturous heat.
Even though all of them were sweating profusely and were visibly suffering, for some reason, none of them showed any sign of standing up to leave. They all sat under the sun earnestly and threw a glance at the white tent every now and then.
The height of the tent was about the height of a man. It was made of heat-resistant material, so it was definitely very cool inside. At that time, the entrance of the tent was tightly shut.
"That pretentious guy really knows how to put up a show. It’s so hot, I could die."
The thing beside the thigh of a young man with a cultured appearance let out a soft complaint. The young man quickly held the thing that was speaking, revealing a pair of gray mittens on his hands which were clearly modified from socks. "Don’t cause any trouble! If they hear us, we’re finished," he rebuked softly.
A rabbit’s head popped out from his palms. B.Rabbit, whose fur was still covered with the little pink carrot symbols, clicked his tongue in a disgruntled manner.
"Damn it. It’s just a sh*tty ability. How dare he act like a tyrant…" he grumbled.
Hu Changzai actually felt the same way, but unlike the unruly rabbit, he continued sitting upright and proper.
After sitting under the intense sun for quite some time, there was suddenly some movement from the tent. There was the sound of rustling clothes which was followed by heavy breathing sounds. A slight commotion arose among the people sitting outside the tent, then everyone lowered their heads as if they did not hear anything.
After about ten minutes, the entrance of the tent opened, and a woman with a flushed face walked out. She pulled up the zipper of her mini skirt with one of her hands before she stepped out. The moment she came out, a person said aptly, "Miss Meihuan, has Mr. Ark woken from his afternoon nap?"
The woman called Meihuan looked at the person speaking with her dewy eyes, "Mr. Ark just woke up. He is a little thirsty. Anyone who can provide Mr. Ark with some fresh fruits may enter the tent to get a visa."
Once she said that, the twenty to thirty people outside the tent were stunned, including Hu Changzai.
In the past, getting fresh fruits could be effortless, but now they were in Hyperthermal Hell...
"Miss Meihua, as you know, we can’t store fresh fruits here. What about juice? I have quite a few flavors with me," a middle-aged man immediately asked.
Fruit juice was really the best option available in such a situation. The others in the group only had some bottles of mineral water. Thus, no one spoke for a while. Meihuan re-entered the tent without saying a word. She poked her head out after some time, "The person with the juice may enter!"
The middle-aged man entered the tent with a happy expression. But that was expected since this Consular Officer with the last name Ark was known to charge a lot for his visas. The man definitely got a deal being able to get a visa for a few bottles of juice.
"I wonder what he will ask of us." Hu Changzai sighed softly feeling a little worried. "We only have a few presentable special items."
After he said that, Meihuan walked over to him holding a small booklet in her hand. She gestured to him with her chin, "Hey you, how many visas are you applying for?"
"Oh, I… I am not here to ask for a visa. We want to look for two people’ names. We want to see if they’ve gotten any visas…"
"Looking for someone?" Meihuan stopped writing and eyed him. "That’s expensive. What are the names?"
"One of them is Lin Sanjiu, the other is Hai Tianqing. Um, the jiu used is the word for wine, and the Hai is the word for sea."
—
Lin Sanjiu’s kick had really sent him flying to the skies. When Hu Changzai got up and walked for half a day, he realized that he had landed in the neighboring province. Even though he had landed so far away, he had been lucky and quickly met B.Rabbit.
But after that, both human and rabbit could not find a trace of Lin Sanjiu and Hai Tianqing."[1]
They were running out of ideas when they coincidentally heard that a Consular Officer from another world was nearby. Thinking that Lin Sanjiu might be searching for a Consular Officer, both human and rabbit came to this place holding onto a glimmer of hope.
—
After recording the requests, Meihua returned to the tent. She brushed past the middle-aged man when she entered the tent, the latter had quite a terrible expression on his face. Someone immediately asked, "What’s wrong? You didn’t get a visa?"
"I got it." The middle-aged man waved the paper in his hand but looked downcast. "I gave him three crates of fruit juice, but I only got a visa for a B-level world."
"Oh sh*t, a B-level world! That’s a little dangerous. You might as well leave it to random chance… Where did you actually want to go?"
"Where else? I just want to go to Twelve Worlds Centrum!" the middle-aged man didn’t say another word. He sighed and left.
Hu Changzai, who had been listening by the side, couldn’t really make any sense of their conversation. When he heard the middle-aged man footsteps much further away from them, he pulled the other man over and asked quietly, "Does the destination on the visa make a difference to the Consular Officer? Why didn’t the Consular Officer give that man the visa he wanted?"
The man, with a head of long hair, lifted his brows and sneered, "You are a first-timer?"
Hu Changzai nodded.
"No wonder," the long-haired man muttered. He didn’t say anything else to Hu Changzai but instead just concentrated on playing with two glass balls in his hands. Hu Changzai waited for a while, but noticing that the man did not have the intention of saying more, he felt a little anxious. Just when he was about to question him again, he heard the middle-aged man stopping.
Hu Changzai looked up and scanned his surroundings. The middle-aged man was standing at the end of the street and was looking into the distance.
"Puppeteer!" the man’s terrified voice traveled to the people surrounding the tent.
Hu Changzai’s heart froze for a second.
"Puppeteer, is that really him?"
"Why is he here?"
"F*ck! Let’s escape…"
Shortly after, the people around them stood up, and everyone started whispering to each other. Everyone was suddenly feeling extremely restless and unsettled. One street wasn’t quite really that far. Before all the whispering stopped and before the people who had decided to escape could make a move, Puppeteer already appeared before everyone. He stood in front of the tent as if he didn’t even need to take a step.
Puppeteer’s appearance didn’t change much from the time they saw him at the pier: he was still wearing the strange outfit, his skin was still a sickly white, but the powder dust around his eyes was now red instead of gold. The biggest difference was the entourage behind him.
There was a single mannequin in sight.
Whether it was a woman in her thirties, the 1.9m bloke, or the small, petite girl… Each of them looked like a living, breathing person, from their hair and skin to their pores. There was a pimple on each one of the young men. They were definitely not plastic mannequins.
Unfortunately, they all had the same vacant look and were walking very stiffly. Each of their necks was twistedly sewn with a thick, ugly thread. It was as if all of them had undergone a throat operation.
The whole place fell silent. Someone in the crowd gulped, and everyone heard it clearly.
There were a few people who did not recognize Puppeteer, but they were also shocked by the entire atmosphere. For a moment, no one dared to speak or even move. Puppeteer was known for his unpredictable moods, so no one dared to make any foolish moves.
Meihua walked out of the tent with a pale face. "Master Puppeteer, what brings you here?"
"Are you the Consular Officer?" Puppeteer asked without a stoic expression.
Meihua looked at him furtively. "No, Mr. Ark is…" The next moment, a gust of wind struck her, and she was flung violently into the tent. The tent could not withstand the force, and its frame broke as the tent fell to the ground.
"Since you are not one, then why didn’t you call the Consular Officer out?!"
A fat man covered in sweat crawled out from under the cloth material of the tent. "Oh, it’s Master Puppeteer. I am Sian Ark. Do you need a visa?"
Puppeteer squinted his eyes, and the fat man immediately smiled solicitously. " Do you want to return to Twelve Worlds Centrum? Just state your offer, and I will give you—"
It was quite ridiculous that the fat man actually had the guts to ask Puppeteer to state an offer.
"Wait," Puppeteer stopped the man from backing away. "Before you give me the visa, I need you to help me look for someone’s name," he said unhurriedly.
The fat man wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Go ahead."
Puppeteer suddenly looked around him, as though he sensed something. He frowned and slowly said a name: "Lin Sanjiu."
"Jiu as in the word used for wine?" Meihua blurted out unintentionally as she paused while trying to get out from under the tent.
Puppeteer’s piercing gaze immediately fell on the woman. "Do you know that person?"
"No. No. It’s… like this. Another person also mentioned that he wanted to check that name..."
She immediately pointed out without looking, wanting Puppeteer to take his eyes off her, "He’s there. He has a rabbit with him… Huh?"
A yellow-haired man immediately leaped away from the direction she was pointing, exposing an empty spot behind him.