In truth, most people in this world had long grown used to that ancient fireball hanging overhead, so accustomed to it that they habitually overlooked its beauty.
But to Hua Xi, who had grown up in the Wasteland, it was truly beautiful.
At the Training Ground.
Lin Tuo fell silent upon hearing this. Then he cleared his throat, withdrew his gaze from the east, said, "Come with me," and led Hua Xi into the bedroom.
After briefly showing her how to use the bathroom fixtures, he said:
"Wash up first. It's summer here right now, and it's hot. I'll find you something to wear. Mm, I don't have anything suitable for you at home, so I'll take you out to buy a set later."
After saying that, Lin Tuo turned and left, leaving the bathroom to the little girl.
Hua Xi followed his instructions. Though she was bursting with curiosity, she said nothing and merely nodded.
Only after Lin Tuo had left did she cautiously remove the thick, filthy cotton clothes from her body one piece at a time, slip into the bathroom, and awkwardly twist open the showerhead.
"Splash..."
Hearing the sound of water from the bathroom, Lin Tuo silently let out a breath. He opened the wardrobe and found a pair of shorts he had bought before but never worn.
Then he picked out the smallest shirt and grabbed a pair of slippers.
"This will have to do for now," Lin Tuo muttered. He placed the clothes outside the bathroom door and said, "The clothes are here. Put them on when you come out."
"Okay."
Hearing her reply, Lin Tuo returned to the study. He checked the Potted Plant and confirmed that everything inside was calm for the moment. Only then did he release his Avatar, change out of his down jacket, and return to the bedroom, leaving his main body in the study.
"I'm done washing."
When Lin Tuo, now dressed in summer clothes, entered the room again, he heard Hua Xi's voice. Then a tiny figure slowly approached.
Her messy hair was dripping wet.
She wore an oversized shirt on her upper body, its hem nearly covering her shorts. Her feet were stuffed into Lin Tuo's slippers, and her scrubbed-red toes curled tightly with nervousness.
Lin Tuo was stunned at first, then frowned tightly, somewhat surprised.
He had not expected... Hua Xi to be so tiny and thin.
Though he had known in the Wasteland that she was not tall, she had been wrapped up so tightly that she had looked, at most, somewhat short and plump.
Only now, after peeling away those layers of old clothes, did Lin Tuo finally realize just how thin Hua Xi was... Her frame was tiny too, clearly the result of hunger.
Perhaps sensing the change in Lin Tuo's gaze, Hua Xi visibly grew even more nervous.
Several seconds passed before Lin Tuo gently exhaled. Turning around, he handed her the baseball cap and sunglasses in his hand.
"Put these on too. Later, I'll take you... teleport to a nearby city for a walk. Remember, the language here is different from the one you know, and the Rules are different too.
So watch more and speak less. If there's anything you don't understand, ask me quietly."
Only after giving her these instructions did Lin Tuo lead Hua Xi through the Evolution Sandbox and directly "teleport" to a secluded alley near Yang City's commercial district.
"Beep beep!"
When one large and one small figure emerged from the alley, the city's clamor—car horns, human voices...—came rushing at them, swallowing Hua Xi whole.
It was daybreak, the morning rush hour. Traffic packed the streets, pedestrians hurried by, and the shops lining the roads opened one after another. The entire city abruptly awoke.
Scene after scene filled Hua Xi's eyes almost to bursting, leaving her dazzled.
She could only cling tightly to Lin Tuo's side while widening her eyes, pricking up her ears, and trying with all her might to understand this world through the experience she had accumulated in the past.
"A city..."
Hua Xi was not unfamiliar with that term.
For instance, she had visited Black Stone City near Mine Town many times.
There were shops there too, as well as vehicles and pedestrians on the streets. In her original understanding of the world, Black Stone City had already been a very "prosperous" place.
Yet compared to the "city" she now stood in, the two were practically not even the same concept.
The vehicles controlled by Burning Fire Company, which they would never use unless absolutely necessary, were here in numbers too great to take in, and their shapes were even stranger and more varied.
Those towering skyscrapers rising from the ground made her tremble instinctively.
But compared with all that, what struck her hardest were the humans.
The humans hurrying along the streets, dressed in all sorts of ways, yet without exception possessing normal appearances and tall, sturdy bodies.
One had to know that Evolvers were not numerous in the Wasteland. Far more common were refugees who were hunched, malformed, or afflicted with all manner of mutations.
Yet here, such people seemed not to exist at all.
Those people spoke a language she could not understand. They busied themselves, or held strange palm-sized objects and tapped away at them.
Occasionally, someone looked over, but their gazes lacked the ferocity of Wasteland people and quickly moved away.
Everything here was so fresh.
"Are they... all Evolvers?" As they walked, Hua Xi finally could not resist asking in a lowered voice.
"They aren't... In truth, they're all ordinary people."
"They... seem not to know you?"
"Yes... It's complicated, but they really don't know me. In this world, I'm just one of the countless masses."
"Why aren't they carrying weapons? Is there no war here?"
"Of course there is. Where there are people, there is conflict..."
The two walked slowly along the street like that, asking questions and answering them without end.
Hua Xi's questions also grew increasingly complicated and increasingly hard to deal with.
"Why is that man wearing a skirt? And... stockings?"
"...Personal preference, probably."
"Why does that woman have a tail?"
"Uh... It's just her master's mission."
"?"
"Ahem, enough. Stop talking for now. Come inside and buy some clothes. Don't say anything—pretend you're mute." Lin Tuo forcefully ended the topic, then led the puzzled Hua Xi into a mall.
After spending some time buying the little girl several sets of clothes to change into under the shop assistants' slightly strange gazes, Lin Tuo fled as though escaping and headed toward a nearby park.
He also took the opportunity to investigate how widespread the Azure Spirit Breath Technique had become.
For the past few days, he had been wholly immersed in the Wasteland and had not had the energy to pay attention to Yang City.
When he occasionally checked through the Evolution Sandbox, he found that after peaking during the first two days, the number of people practicing had plummeted off a cliff. Later, however, it began slowly rising again.
The logic was clear enough.
At first, many people would certainly try it out of curiosity and other reasons. But after all, not everyone had talent. After several attempts without noticeable results, they naturally would not continue trying.
Only those with better talent, who genuinely received positive feedback, would persist and spread it among friends and relatives. Like word-of-mouth fermenting, this created a slow-growth effect.
Across all of Yang City, the number of people practicing was still very limited.
"There's no need to rush. Judging by the laws of development, as long as it keeps growing, it will explode sooner or later."
Lin Tuo took a lap through the park and successfully found two elderly people sitting cross-legged on benches, apparently practicing the Breath Technique. Then he left in satisfaction.
Next, he took Hua Xi onto a bus and wandered aimlessly around the city, helping her adapt and teaching her some common knowledge. The overall principle was to learn to keep a low profile.
They strolled around until noon. The two found a buffet in the business district and ate heartily. As Lin Tuo put it:
"Eat as much as you can at this place, as long as you don't eat yourself sick. You're so thin—you need nutrition."
When Hua Xi heard the words "eat whatever you want," her eyes nearly turned red.
As she ate, she activated her ability, consuming the food to repair the hidden injuries in her body.
By the end of the meal, not only had the many minor injuries she had accumulated inside her body all healed, but her whole person seemed to glow with health.
Of course... she was still very thin.
That was not an injury. It could only be dealt with slowly.
Considering that Hua Xi needed time to digest everything she had learned, Lin Tuo took her back to Li Mountain after lunch. They did not use "teleportation" but rode in a car instead, making it easier for her to learn the route.
By the time the two got out of the car, carried their purchased daily necessities through the small town, and reached the foot of Li Mountain, even Lin Tuo felt a wave of exhaustion.
Not physical exhaustion, but mental exhaustion.
"See that building on the mountain? That's where I live. You'll live there from now on too. When we get back, I'll buy you an online course so you can learn this world's language. That way, it'll be easier to communicate when you go out later..."
Carrying bags large and small, the two walked along the mountain path beneath the summer sun. Lin Tuo spoke as he walked, and Hua Xi listened as she walked.
There was no one else around anyway, so they did not need to speak so quietly. They could be as unrestrained as they pleased.
Just as they were about to reach the Martial Arts Hall, Hua Xi, who had been silently listening all along, suddenly said:
"Can I ask that question now?"
Lin Tuo froze for a moment, then gently sighed. "Ask."
Of course he understood what Hua Xi wanted to ask.
And over the course of that morning, he had also figured out how to answer.
"So, are you a Deity?" Hua Xi asked seriously.
On the mountain path.
Lin Tuo raised a hand and wiped away his sweat. Feeling the wind blowing from the Taihe Mountain Range, he firmly shook his head and said frankly:
"I'm not a God. I'm only an ordinary person with somewhat better luck."
Before you continue