Chapter 18

n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Nighttime. 7 o’clock.

Sister Qi returned.

When Chen Yu saw her face, he knew that the thing about “school” had been a bust yet again.

“I went to another four high schools, but it was the same old story.” Sister Qi slumped down onto the sofa by the wall and shrugged her shoulders. “The College Entrance Examination is around the corner, so this is bound to be hard.”

“Is that so…”

Chen Yu poured a glass of water and handed it over to Sister Qi. In his mind, he started to come up with countermeasures.

If he really didn’t have to go to school again, he should have made plans long ago...

“Among the high schools in Green City, the ones that I still have to visit are No. 9, No. 12, and Experient High School. I’ll go ask them tomorrow.”

“What if it still won’t work?”

“Then…” Sister Qi took a sip of water. “We can only go to other cities.”

“…” Chen Yu narrowed his eyes but didn’t say anything.

Due to the threat of wild Foreign Beasts, humans were currently based in separate cities.

Cities were minimally dependent on each other, and it was inconvenient to travel back and forth between them.

Whether roads, railways, or air, there was a danger of being attacked by Foreign Beasts.

Traveling with the “Express” motorcade on the highway should be the safest way of getting around. But the price was definitely not something that the current him could afford.

Hence, going to school in another city wouldn’t be a good choice.

After exchanging a few words, Sister Qi suggested closing the store and having dinner together. Chen Yu cheerily agreed.

The two chose a barbecue buffet.

They feasted from 7 o’clock all the way to 9:30 in the evening.

During this period of time, Chen Yu did nothing but eat, eat, and eat.

The more he ate, the hungrier he got, and the more he could eat.

It wasn’t until the owner of the barbeque shop and many of the shop’s employees started giving Chen Yu hostile looks that he finally left, albeit reluctantly…

“Do you have the ability to eat while you piss?” Sister Qi asked solemnly when they returned to the cigarette shop.

Chen Yu: “…”

...

After bathing and whatnot, Chen Yu went into his room and played on his Switch for a while.

Close to 11 o’clock in the evening, after confirming that Sister Qi was fast asleep, he opened the window, leaped down agilely, and vanished into the darkness, which the streetlights were unable to illuminate.

With the power of a Level 0.4 Warrior, Chen Yu could run very swiftly.

Using the “wicked map” for navigation, he arrived in the vicinity of Space Portal [No. 341B] in a little more than ten minutes.

This place had originally been a mega mall.

Half a year ago, [No. 341B Space Portal] had appeared inside the mall out of thin air, causing some serious casualties.

Space Portals would randomly appear anywhere on the earth.

Land, sea, mountain, swamp, dessert, mid-air… everywhere.

But [No. 341B] was one of the few Space Portals in recorded human history to pop up in a human building.

When experts identified this Space Portal as “Accessible,” the Green City government immediately mobilized police and construction forces to alter the shopping mall into a plaza lobby.

It attracted many “Express” companies, “Equipment” companies, “Medicine” companies, the entertainment industry, shopping industry, real estate industry, and many hospitals.

When [No. 341B Space Portal] opened by itself, everyone thought Green City had gained a cash cow…

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out too well.

Nobody had expected that the sh*tty little portal would be poisonous…

The first batch of “Legally-appointed warriors” who entered all died a miserable death.

With a radiation dose of 8000mSv, warriors below Level 1 died instantly.

Warriors above Level 1 suffered heavy casualties.

And for warriors above Level 2, despite not displaying any “distinct injuries,” they were all queued up for body inspections.

Faced with this situation, the government and surrounding major companies panicked, afraid that all their investments would be lost.

However, the few hospitals couldn’t be any happier…

Halting his steps and hiding behind a tree to observe for a moment, Chen Yu put on the mask he’d prepared and walked through the plaza gate.

The decorations in the plaza were magnificent and luxurious.

Hundreds of chandeliers illuminated the room like daylight.

Every floor tile, every floor stand, every decoration, every bonsai... was rather exquisite. It all had to be expensive.

However, there was no one there.

It was empty.

“That radiation was really unfortunate.”

Looking left and right, Chen Yu pouted his lips regretfully.

As a native of Green City, he felt sorry that his hometown industry had been hit so hard.

Pinching the wire of the mask at the bridge of his nose, Chen Yu walked straight to the service counter and asked the staff at the counter in a lowered voice, “Is entry still permitted?”

“Yes.” The female staff glanced up at Chen Yu.

“How much is a ticket?”

“Tickets are free now. But you have to purchase or rent a set of protective gear.”

“Free tickets?” Chen Yu was surprised.

Whether inside or outside the city...

Accessible Space Portals had always been an industry that many forces vied for.

Among them, ticket revenue was a very important source of revenue.

Now, the city government had abolished ticket fees. Evidently, they were in a state where they were “giving dying kicks.”

“Hmm…” Chen Yu pondered for a moment and asked, “What is the rental fee for one set of protective gear?”

“100 dollars per day.”

“Give me a set then.”

“Hold on.” The female staff nodded and took out a set of thick, heavy protective gear from under the counter. “Mister, it has to be clarified in advance that this protective gear is manufactured by Green City off-the-cuff. It has not been professionally modified and tested, so its effectiveness in guarding against radiation isn’t guaranteed. Are you sure you wish to proceed with the rental?”

“Yes.” Chen Yu took out a hundred-dollar bill. “Cash.”

“Alright. Hold this. Go to Hall 1 on the left. There are temporary changing rooms over there.”

“Thank you.”

Grabbing the protective gear, Chen Yu turned around and left.

Vaguely, he heard the silent muttering of the female staff behind him.

“Another one who isn’t afraid of dying…”

Chen Yu: “…”

He walked into the hall and came to the changing room.

Chen Yu took off his mask, tore off the plastic packaging of the protective gear, and put it on, one item after another.

“What the… this is heavy as sh*t…”

Standing up, he roughly moved his shoulders, feeling as if his entire body was being constrained.

“This surely takes a toll on mobility. Is there lead in it?”

“Thud thud!”

He knocked on the backplate, put on a fully enclosed helmet, and spun around a few times.

“It doesn’t even have an oxygen supply system. No wonder that girl said that I’m not afraid of dying. It’ll be a miracle if radiation doesn’t slip in.”

But Chen Yu had come on this trip precisely for the “radiation.” Naturally, then, he wouldn’t back out.

He walked out of the changing room and placed his phone in a tiny cabinet.

He grabbed the key, staggered out of Hall 1, and under the watchful eyes of all the staff, walked into the elevator...

And arrived on the second floor.

Chen Yu saw the Space Portal ahead of him at a glance.

It was 10 meters tall.

And at least 20 meters wide.

Instead of a door...

It looked more like a distorted space fissure!

A torrent of suction came from the fissure, making Chen Yu feel like even his blood was being sucked to his front.

“Is that a Space Portal…”

After a long moment of silence, he gulped and took a dozen steps forward. When he looked up, his entire field of vision was occupied by the space fissure.

Inexplicably, Chen Yu’s legs were shaking mildly.

He was filled with the instinctive fear all small creatures feel when faced with the great power of nature...

“Hooh!”

Taking a deep breath, Chen Yu glanced at the few warriors around him who wanted to go in but weren’t bold enough to. He gritted his teeth! Made a giant leap!

“Whoosh!”