Chapter 576: Chapter 411 Back to Camp_2
Zachary and Madeline, filled with curiosity, purchased their tickets and, following the signs, walked directly to a place resembling a roller coaster in an amusement park. After the staff instructed them to sit down, they brought over an ancient creature and secured it to the carriage.
Expecting the staff to leave, the two were surprised when one of them jumped onto the creature like a horseman and led them into a Cave.
Only after entering the Cave did they discover a world unlike any they had imagined before. Far from being dark and damp, the interior of the Cave was entirely different.
It turned out that an underground tunnel had been dug between Pengcheng and Saxon County Camp. Although there were only two lanes in each direction, the frequent traffic suggested it was quite a bustling place.
While waiting to depart, Zachary chatted with the rider and learned that Pengcheng had not only survived the Bug Disaster without much damage but the forest creatures had also remained largely unscathed, resulting in no significant reduction in the number of ancient creatures living there.
During the Bug Disaster, it was discovered in Pengcheng that some people had tamed ancient creatures. Therefore, the Officials organized some Awakeners with taming abilities to try and domesticate them.
As such, with a number of small ancient creatures gradually being tamed, Pengcheng developed several projects to make effective use of them. Their current special vehicle was one of those initiatives.
The wait to board was not long, and it was soon their turn. As soon as they entered the dedicated lane, the ancient creature pulling the carriage tensed its legs and suddenly lunged forward a great distance.
While this creature did not gallop on all fours like a horse, its powerful hind legs allowed it to run at an impressively high speed.
Not only was the ancient creature extremely fast, but its stamina was also remarkable. It pulled the carriage at high speed the entire distance from Pengcheng to Saxon County without taking a single break.
Before the disaster, under normal circumstances, it took an ordinary person about half an hour to drive from Pengcheng to Saxon County, while taxi drivers who earned their living on this route typically spent about fifteen minutes one way.
After the disaster, as Blue Star expanded, the distance between Pengcheng and Saxon County had doubled. Even so, the ancient creature-pulled carriage took only half an hour to complete the journey.
Although they were on a dedicated lane and there were no traffic lights to slow them down, it was still impressive to think that the ancient creature was a carbon-based life form that ran the whole way without rest. The fact that it could match the speed of professional drivers who made their living on this road was quite remarkable.
After disembarking the underground station, the two were greeted by a sight just like the entrance to a train station in their previous life, with many ’taxis’ pulled either by people or ancient creatures waiting outside for passengers.
Upon reaching Saxon County Camp, the first order of business was for everyone to go their separate ways and find their own families—other matters could be put aside until the next day.
Zachary casually hopped into a rickshaw pulled by an ancient creature, gave his home address, and after a jealous glance from the ’driver’, he was brought to the entrance of his neighborhood.
Zachary gazed at the imposing gate nearby, wondering if the driver had made a mistake, since when he had left, this area, though consisting of standalone villas, did not have security or barriers; all the roads were open to the public.
When the rickshaw puller heard that Zachary had left before the property management and the big gate were in place, they realized he must have been away for a while, certainly before the area had been enclosed and turned into a separate community.
After Zachary gave his home address, the security made a call to confirm his identity before opening the gate and letting him in.
After all the hassle to get inside, a car stopped at the gatehouse, the occupants didn’t bother to get out, and simply honked the horn a few times. The guard scurried over and obsequiously said, "Welcome home, homeowner. I will lift the bar right away."
"Speak," the security guard promptly unlocked the gate and respectfully ushered the vehicle into the residential area.
As soon as the security guard saw the rickshaw stop by the roadside upon entering the residential area, he quickly jogged over to inform them that parking was not allowed there and started to shoo them away.
The rickshaw didn’t stop there on purpose. As they say, nature calls, and ancient creatures have their urges too. However, because it had been trained, it didn’t behave like its wild relatives who could relieve themselves anytime, anywhere without restraint.
Whenever it needed to relieve itself, whether solid or liquid, it would let out a roar as a signal to its rider that it was time for cleanup.
Having been together for such a long time, the rider obviously knew what his mount wanted to do.
If it had been outside, it wouldn’t have mattered, but the residents here were either rich or noble. Any one of them plucked from here would be someone influential in Saxon County Camp.
Therefore, the rider immediately took out professional tools and quickly assisted his mount with its urgent needs.
That was the reason they stopped by the roadside right after entering the residential area rather than rushing to take Dong Tianyu home.
Only after approaching did the security guard see the rider’s actions and just went up to him and said, "Hurry up and clean it well," before turning away and leaving.
After dealing with his mount’s issue, the rider apologized profusely to Dong Tianyu and hastened to bring him to his doorstep.
When it came time to pay, Dong Tianyu suddenly realized he didn’t have any of the camp’s currency on him. When he had been with Ye Liuyun, she had always taken care of the payments, so Dong Tianyu had forgotten to get some money exchanged from her.
But this issue wasn’t a big problem. Dong Tianyu took a gold Ingot weighing about an ounce from his Storage space and offered it to the rider, explaining, "I’ve just returned and forgot I don’t have any of the camp’s currency. If you are willing to take it, I have this gold Ingot. Will it do?"
Initially, when Dong Tianyu mentioned he didn’t have money, a look of displeasure appeared on the rider’s face. But before the rider could react, Dong Tianyu’s words caused him to show a conflicted expression.
Although there was a distance between the station and the villa area, the fare required was significantly less than the value of the gold Ingot Dong Tianyu had handed over. It might have been only about an ounce, but since gold had found a new usage, its value had not only held steady but had actually firmed up.
In theory, choosing the gold Ingot was a no-brainer, but in practice, the rider was worried that Dong Tianyu might be trying to deceive him with a fake.
After wrestling with the thought for a while, the rider eventually decided to take a chance. After all, even if he didn’t make any money from this transaction, his actual costs were minimal since the beast was his and all that was needed was some extra feed for exertion.
And if the little gold Ingot Dong Tianyu had given him was real, then even though it was small and wouldn’t make the rider wealthy overnight, at the very least, it meant the rider had made a significant profit.
With that in mind, the rider took the gold Ingot from Dong Tianyu, bit down hard on it, and noticed that although its surface had deformed, the color inside was still gold. Seeing this, the rider guessed the Ingot in his hand was probably real, and with that thought, he waved goodbye to Dong Tianyu with a cheerful smile.
Reaching the steps by the door, Dong Tianyu had been gearing up to knock when a snide voice suddenly sounded from behind. Hearing this voice, Dong Tianyu didn’t rush to locate the speaker but instead pulled out a large full-length mirror, preparing in advance to prevent him from escaping.
As for why he took out a mirror, that was because Dong Tianyu had guessed what that snide original owner might be.
