When Tianyi stepped into the area again, the sight before him left him frozen in place.
"Th-This is..."
He rubbed his eyes, making sure he had not seen wrong.
The once cold, metallic warehouse had completely changed.
The ground was covered in fine yellow sand, several meters deep and stretching as far as the eye could see.
A few drought-resistant plants dotted the landscape, and there was even a small oasis—an artificial one, of course.
A realistic blue sky and white clouds were projected across the dome, while artificial sunlight poured down warmly.
The air carried the dry scent of the desert, and the temperature was just right.
At the center of it all, that enormous tanuki lay lazily on the sand.
Shukaku!
But its current state was utterly different from the furious Tailed Beast of a few days ago.
It lay on its side, one front paw tucked beneath its head as a pillow, while the other held a massive metal cup.
A thick straw protruded from the lid, and it was slowly sipping something through it.
Several large words were printed on the cup: Bubble Milk Tea · Extra-Large · Mixue Special.
Nearby, several staff members in protective suits were pushing carts loaded with boxes of food.
Whole roasted cattle, whole roasted sheep, mountains of rice balls, and buckets upon buckets of sauces.
What left Tianyi most dumbfounded was—
A massive screen stood directly in front of Shukaku.
That was right, a screen.
A giant LCD display, currently playing a television drama.
Onscreen, two people in ancient costume gazed deeply into each other's eyes, exchanging unbearably cheesy lines.
Shukaku watched with rapt attention. Its golden slit pupils did not blink as they stared at the screen, and it had even forgotten to sip its milk tea.
Tianyi: "..."