Although there were not many people on the road where Ji Huan and the others came, the road seemed to be just one of the many roads. Before leaving the passage to reach the exit, he found that there were multiple exits around the area. The people who came out of the branch exits all came together to a general exit, so it seemed crowded there. Â Ji huan and the others lined up for a while before finally leaving the dim tunnel.
About five minutes later, he saw a scene that stunned him.
At that moment, in front of Ji Huan was a wide plaza.
Hustling and bustling, roadside stalls were everywhere. There were food sellers, clothes sellers, umbrella sellers⊠It looked extraordinarily dazzling. Many vehicles were present, which made Ji Huan almost thought he was at the train station!
Ji Huan noticed that the monster that was walking in front of them was now in the plaza. A group of stall owners surrounded him one by one, pulling the poor monster around, which made him looked very flustered.
Alas, he followed a tall woman. He was not following her, actually. It would be better to say that he was taken away.
He was slaughtered-Â For a moment there, those three words appeared in Ji Huanâs mind all of a sudden.
For first-time-comers who were not familiar with the place of life would be easily fooled when arriving at a big city, especially for country folks. That was the case in the human world. Ji Huan never knew that it would be the same for the world full of monsters.
Ji Huan was a little worried about what was happening next.
Raising his head, he looked at Ah Jinâs side-profile.
Sure enough, the people in front of them were taken away one after another. Some were taken to buy clothes, some were taken to buy food, and some were taken directly to a car.
Soon, it was Ji Huan and the groupâs turn.
The vendors who could not find customers surrounded them all at once.
The moment those people approached, Ji Huan immediately knew why the monsters had been taken away by them so easily: Oppression! When their eyes glanced at him, he was generally overwhelmed by the substantive oppressive force.
Fortunately, the other party only batted him an eye as they immediately focused on Ah Jin who was taking the lead.
âΚĐÏ?â In a language that Ji Huan could not understand, they started talking in unison.
The pressure of five to six monsters coming together was relatively powerful, especially when they did not understand each otherâs language. Those monsters at their front previously must have chosen one of them quickly under the same pressure. For them, getting rid of the oppression force as soon as possible was more important than anything else.
Ah Jin was surrounded by the vendors which came group by group.
They did not question Ji Huan and the horned monster that stood behind Ah Jin. All they did was just surrounding them with their group of people.
When it was found that something was wrong, Ji Huan discovered that his group was parted away from the group behind him by those monsters. He was unsure if they were intentionally or not.
The coercion of high-ranked monsters was quite astonishing. It made Ji Huan had a terrible headache, and his legs began to weaken again. He wanted to tremble, but he resisted it desperately. The long cloak was the best cover so Ji Huanâs situation was unclear to others at the moment.
âĐŒÏÏÏĐĐ«!â As soon as he voiced those words, several monsters immediately turned around and ignored them. Ji Huanâs eyes flung wide open as he watched those monsters instantly joined the entangling army of vendors that surrounded the group of people in queue behind them.
Ah Jin took the opportunity to take Ji Huan and the others to the right. They encountered a number of entanglements with monsters on the way. After hearing Ah Jinâs repetitive word a few more times, no one was stopping them. Â Ji Huan and the group continued moving forward until they reached a place similar to a bus stop.
It really was a bus stop.
A vehicle similar to a bus but larger drove in their direction not long after as the people that was scattering around got on the bus in an orderly manner.
Ah Jin also took Ji Huan and the others into the vehicle. They were one of the first ones to enter, so Ah Jin sat directly in the last row of window seats.
âSit.â Looking at Ji Huan who was still standing in the middle of the carriage, Ah Jin pointed to the seat beside him.
Ji Huan looked around, put his familyâs luggage away, and guided Grandpa to a seat. Then, he finally sat next to Ah Jin.
âYou⊠know how to speak the language here?â After thinking about it, Ji Huan insisted on asking.
âYes.â Ah Jin admitted in a casual way.
âWhat did you say just now? Why did they suddenly disperse?â He was a little curious.
âI told them I would take the bus.â Ah Jin said to him, while slightly tilting his head.
âHuh?â Ji Huan was stunned.
After that, he heard Ah Jinâs sudden laugh.
âIt was you, who told me that, âWhen first arriving at a place, itâs actually the safest to take the bus.ââ
Ji Huan was astounded, that was when he finally remembered that. Before the time he knew that Ah Jin was the owner of the house, Ah Jin and him once mentioned about taking the train to find his sister.
Facing Ah Jin, who said that he had never taken a train, Ji Huan had generously shared his own experience and also the experience of foreigners who first arrived in other places. One of them was âthe bus is the safest choice.â
âThose people wanted me to ride in their cars, so I told them that I would take public transportation. Soon, they dispersed.â
Ji Huan could not believe how Ah Jin actually remembered it. Not only did he remember it, he also applied it on their journey as well!
Ji Huan thought for a while, âEven so, you should have made sure that thereâs a bus here first-handâŠâ
âYes, I did. When I was chatting with that person at the registration office, I noticed that there was a bus information map on his desk and no one placed any charges. The bus here is free for newcomers, but Iâm not sure about those who were pulled away though. Imagine how much money it would cost for themâŠâ Ah Jin said, as if he was thinking of those people outside. He proceeded to praise Ji Huan, âYour method is really useful indeed.â
Ji Huan was completely speechless.
Not long after they entered the vehicle, other monsters got on the bus one after another. The monsters seem to have an instinctive habit of keeping a distance between them. Aside from Ji Huanâs group who were sitting in the last row, very few monsters were sitting together. Even the closest monsters had also some distance away from each other.
That made Ji Huan heaved a sigh of relief.
It was strange to say but, whenever he faced the high-ranked monsters or being surrounded by them, Ji Huan always felt very uncomfortable by the pressure exuded by those monsters. However, when facing Ah Jin, it was clear that he never felt that uneasy.
Maybe Ah Jinâs rank was not high enough? Although it did not seem to be due to that, but all the reasonable explanation he had was just that.
Just when Ji Huan was able to breathe temporarily due to the distance of other monsters, the slimy soft monster he had seen on the road also got in the bus.
Ugh⊠the reason that fellow could find the bus⊠was probably because the monsters outside did not want to do his business.
Inexplicably, that idea suddenly appeared in Ji Huanâs thoughts, and he hurriedly stopped it from escalating further.
When that monster entered, the whole vehicle seemed full.
Finally, the number of monsters that got into the bus was not many. Among the many new S-ranked monsters that came to the high-dimensional for the first time, most of them were pulled away by the monsters at the exit. Among those newly arrived monsters, how many of them could understand the language there like Ah Jin? Also, how many were there who could resist such high-ranked monsters?
In human society, if a newcomer was slaughtered in a new place, it would only be a loss of property at most, but hereâŠ
Ji Huan could not imagine the fate of those monsters.
As if feeling Ji Huanâs tension, Grandpa quietly stretched out a paw. The moment the paw and hand were held together, their palms of the grandparent and the grandchild were cold.
Hei Dan seemed to be aware that the surroundings were safe now. He peeked out of his uncleâs cloak. As soon as he raised his head, he just met Ah Jin who was looking condescendingly, which made hei Dan the black egg froze all over.
Fortunately, Ji Huan always paid attention to Hei Dan. Knowing that they would probably be in the bus for a long time, he immediately released Hei Dan that was tied to his chest, placed him on his knees, and passed it a bottle of water filled in a baby bottle. Making himself comfortable under his uncleâs cloak, Hei Dan immediately hugged the bottle and drank the water forcefully.
Ji Huan also drank some water, and took out the portable food prepared in advance. Everyone divided some of it as they finished the first meal when they arrived in another world.
When the quad was eating, the vehicle finally departed. It drove quickly, almost to the point that Ji Huan, who originally wanted to obseve the other world, could not see anything. Luckily, the bus took longer breaks before every departure.
One after another, the bus stopped in many places. It stayed at every place for a long period of time. Almost every time there was a stop, some people would go down. Some would enter soon after they got down, and some people who got down never returned.
Only then did Ji Huan vaguely realize that the bus was actually looking for a suitable place for the newly-arrived monsters to stay. It would make stops in many places. If it felt right, they could leave the vehicle. If it did not or thought that they should take a look, the passengers could continue the ride. However, the bus would not stay at those locations for the second time. When choosing to continue the ride, passengers would have to bear the consequences of âPast this village, you wonât find this shop (*meaning: This is your last chance).â
They got out of the bus when it stopped for the tenth time.
Ji Huan thought that the house Ah Jin was talking about was there. Just when he thought it was the place where he wanted to live in the future and had already began to take a serious look around the place, Ah Jin brought him to a shop on the roadside.
It looked like a mobile phone storeâ Â Ji Huan was taken aback when he found that the store was equipped with a mobile phone-like machinery. He thought the object just looked the same as mobile phones, but after Ah Jin handed him a complete one and explained its uses later, Ji Huan discovered that it was actually a mobile phone!
It was a mobile phone of another world.
After registering the ownership of a phone, Ah Jin took him and others to the clothing store next door. After replacing the original clothes on Ji Huan with local clothes, Ah Jin glanced at them and asked Ji Huan to wear the usual cloak. With an assuring nod, Ah Jin led them out again.
After leaving the store, Ji Huan immediately noticed the difference. He realized that his current attire with a cloak actually looked very similar to the pedestrians on the side of the road.
Wearing normal clothes, revealing left arm, and having the rest of the body covered by the cloak. The people there were all wearing cloaks! Was this style of dressing unique to locals?
Ji Huan thought:Â It seems that Ah Jinâs initial destination is here.
However, he soon found out that he had guessed wrong. After coming out of the clothing store, Ah Jin took them back to the station. This time, their destination was not the bus stop. There was a smaller car parked near a license plate. Ji Huan guessed that it should be the taxi there.
According to his expectations, Ah Jin really made a casual arm-waving move as a âtaxiâ stopped in front of them. Ah Jin immediately lowered his body and said to the driver, which might be to report an address. After reporting the address, something unexpected happened that shocked Ji Huan.
The car that was parked in front of them drove away instantly!
âHeâs not willing to go.â Ah Jin shrugged and explained.
He quickly stopped a second car. There were numerous cars so another car stopped shortly after Ah Jin did the wave. However, after Ah Jin reported the address, that car also drove away.
In a jiffy, the same reaction was repeated by the drivers of three cars in a row. Ji Huan began to feel that something was wrong.