Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Lisheng knew that at the moment when he left, the chances of other tribes intruding Tudenan would basically be near naught so when he heard Tugra’s solemn answer, he did not say anything and merely smiled noncommittally before walking out of the bark house.
It was already mid-August now. Even though the sun at noon was still burning hot, the evening here was already filled with a cold breeze. Sheltering his head with his hands as he looked at the sky that was not longer early, Zhang Lisheng commanded Ghostface to jump onto the ground and reveal its true form. Riding on the wizard gu, he charged towards the distant jungle amidst the prayers of countless aborigines.
Ghostface moved in stealth yet quickly in the jungle. After two hours of running, Zhang Lisheng finally managed to reach the human gathering place on Shrimp B1 Island before the gate was closed and entered the gathering place.
After leaving for more than two months, the gathering place had become more prosperous than before, giving off a feeling that it was somewhat overcrowded.
The young man pretended to breathe a long sigh of relief and patted the dirty clothes on his body. Then, he mingled in the crowd and came to the meat shop opened by the LS Group.
This time, the workers in the shop did not chase their ‘big boss’ away as they did last time but it still took them some time of observation before they could finally recognize him from the windbreaker that was full of pockets.
Tony was absent so a tall and sturdy employee, who looked like the stand-in manager, asked respectfully, “Mr. Zhang, you’re back! Do you still want freshly grilled steak and ice Coke?”
“That’s right! Is there any message for me lately?”
“Yes, your girlfriend and her two good friends have been waiting for you on the island for more than a month. They come to the store every day, and today, they’ve only just left!” The tall and sturdy employee wearing a white uniform like a chef dexterously packed a few thick and juicy steaks and six cans of ice Coke together as he answered at the same time.
“They’ve been waiting for me for more than a month? Where do they stay? Is it still the Four Seasons Hotel on this island?”
“No. From their conversation, they must be staying at the Hilton Hotel that has just been recently opened. They have this single villa suite so during lunch time, a lot of our shop’s customers are those rich people from that hotel who come to do some sightseeing on Shrimp B1 Island!” As the tall and sturdy employee was speaking, he passed the paper bag stuffed with food and beverages to Zhang Lisheng.
“Sightseeing on Shrimp B1 Island? Is it really just a simple sightseeing?” Zhang Lisheng took the paper bag and asked.
“Yes, Mr. Zhang! Recently, the US Tour Company has already launched a luxurious travel package to Shrimp B1 Island and its business is very good. Even though right now it’s necessary for all the guests to possess US citizenship, it’s said that they would gradually open it up globally.”
A few months ago, thousands of Earthlings had died due to the outbreak of the Emperor Molasses on Shrimp B1 Island and because of this, it had become deserted for quite some time. However, right now, it had become a tourist attraction and it made Zhang Lisheng feel incredible.
However, as his train of thought changed its course, he recalled that the danger he encountered in the depths of the Amazon jungle a few years ago seemed to be no less dangerous than that on Shrimp B1 Island. Yet, there were still people going for sightseeing in the Amazonian cannibal tribe. On top of that, the Shrimp B1 Island even had this attractive ‘foreign world’ name on it so all of these made sense as well.
“The Earth has no lack of madmen who have both money and time!” He shook his head and walked out of the meat shop as he muttered to himself.
Eating the steak on the street and sipping on some Coke leisurely without any regards to his appearance, he returned to his residence on the surface. After that, he took a hot bath and started to shave his beard and long hair, before putting on clean shorts and a sweatshirt before leaving the house.
After walking for a while on the street, he casually found a pedestrian who looked amiable and asked, “Sir, do you know where Hilton Hotel is?”
“Hilton? Oh, other than being particularly expensive, it’s actually a really good place. Turn right on the street ahead and you can see it at the end of the road.” The white-bearded pedestrian, who was nearly at his middle ages, laughed.
“Thank you,” the young man thanked him and walked briskly to the intersection not far away and walked straight. A few minutes later, he saw a bustling resort hotel appear in front of him.
There were many tourists, who appeared to be wearing casual but actually tasteful clothes, sitting on the tables and chairs made of logs under the pergola covered in grapevines as they tasted the dishes of both the foreign world and Earth’s cuisine. When the grapes on top of them shone and radiated colors, only then would they realize that the grapevines were actually an exquisite and interesting decorative lamp.
A band that could perform symphonies was playing beautiful music outside the pergola. Several violinists in tuxedos and bow ties would enter the pergola from time to time, shuttling back and forth between guests who were enjoying their meals. When they came across a pair of man and woman who were dining in by themselves, they would purposely play a short happy song for them, attracting applause from the surroundings.
More than a dozen waiters dressed in uniforms were standing next to the band. They were made up of both males and females and all of them looked professional. Whenever a guest walked out from the brand new hotel lobby, or the standalone villa suites next to the lobby behind them and stopped for a while, one of them would immediately walk up to greet the guests to provide an appropriately excellent service.
These scenes in front of Zhang Lisheng would not be surprising if it was in Hawaii, Guam or any island resort on Earth. However, he was stunned for a moment and turned to look at the street pedestrians behind the medieval country-state behind him, he could not help but feel that the Hilton Hotel was like a dream.
After making a rough calculation on how much it would have cost to create such ostentation on Shrimp B1 Island, the young man muttered to himself, “Looks like the management team of the Hilton Group has gone mad! To think that they actually made such a huge gamble!”
Then, he walked into the hotel lobby.
When he was only halfway, he suddenly heard somebody shouting under the pergola, “Lisheng! Oh my god! You’re finally back! We’ve been waiting for you for almost forty days now! Come here! We’re here! Come over…”
When Zhang Lisheng looked towards the direction of the sound, he saw three tall girls waving at him at an inconspicuous corner at the crowded diner at the same time. It was none other than Tina, Trish and Sheila so, he quickly walked up to them.
“I’m sorry, Tina, Trish, and Sheila! I’ve been caught up with some things in the jungle.” When the young man walked up to them and realized that there were a few strangers on the round wooden table next to the walls of the hotel lobby, he shrugged. “I’ll tell you guys the reason later. I believe that the three of you will definitely forgive me.”
“Baby, I’ve waited for 40 days! If you want me to forgive you, you must have a very valid reason!” Tina hugged Zhang Lisheng and gave him a deep kiss before whispering with a smile.
“If my reason is to learn how to turn forty days into a ‘four-day’ approach, can you forgive me?” the young man whispered.
“Oh? You mean you’ve found a ‘wormhole’ on this island that can travel through time and space?” Tina exclaimed in a whisper.
“Of course not!” Zhang Lisheng looked at the three girls who surrounded him and shook his head in bafflement. Then, lowering his voice, he said, “I don’t have the ability to reverse the time but I can more or less lengthen lifespans and shorten forty days by ten times from a philosophical point of view.”
The hint in the young man’s words made Tina, Trish and Sheila, who knew him very well, have their mouths agape at the same time.
“It’s not dangerous? Wouldn’t one turn into a monster?” After a while, Sheila, who loved excitement and challenge, was the first to snap back to reality and pulled at Zhang Lisheng’s arm excitedly. Shaking it hard, she asked.
“Of course it would be dangerous but it has been confirmed that you wouldn’t turn into a monster! Or at the very least, you’re free to choose between the state of being a monster or a normal person!” Zhang Lisheng smiled. “On top of that, there’s also another good side effect — you’ll stay young forever.”
“Oh dear Lord! Are you pulling our legs, Lisheng?” Sheila could no longer suppress her ecstasy this time and exclaimed loudly. In the eyes of this New York socialite, being able to stay young forever was more important than having her lifespan extended by a few times.
Inevitably, the girl’s fuss attracted the other diners’ attention. Zhang Lisheng frowned and waved his hand before placing a finger on his mouth, no longer talking anymore.
Right at this moment, among the few unfamiliar young men and women who were sitting together with Tina, Trish, and Sheila for dinner, a tall bronze-skinned boy with a tall nose suddenly stood up from his seat and said enthusiastically, “Tina, Trish, Sheila. This must be that Mr. Zhang Lisheng of whom you three have been waiting for, right? Stop standing there and chat. I’ll ask the waiter to add another chair and we can get to know each other…”
“Get to know each other? No, Robin, Lisheng doesn’t need to know you. Ah, damn it, we have a very important thing to talk about and also, aren’t you full already? I thought you guys wanted to go to that ice cream house to talk about your boring jungle adventure so in that case, can you leave now? Just make the seats empty for us, I’m begging you!” The guy thought that he had already forged a friendship with the three girls after a few days of contact and he had spoken very politely as well. However, Sheila, whose heart seemed to be on fire upon hearing the magical word of ‘forever young’, broke his confidence and said arrogantly.
“Sheila, you really like to joke around…”
“I’m not joking! Listen, Robin! Leave now! Stop wasting your time…” Sheila was about to say more but Trish had already placed a hand on Sheila’s mouth.
At this time, despite the far distance, the waiter at the hotel’s open-air restaurant had noticed that a new guest had appeared on the corner table so he took the initiative to take a chair for them.
As though not hearing the dispute just now, Zhang Lisheng sat between Tina and Trish and ordered three main dishes made from a combination of the foreign world’s ingredients and the French’s cooking skills that was only available on Shrimp B1 Island. Then, he just remained quiet while waiting for the waiter to serve the dishes.
