A Day Out in the City, an Unexpected Giant Rocket

"Grandpa, Grandpa, get up! The sun's already shining on your bottom!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, Grandma made yummy noodle soup! Hurry up and come eat!"

Early that morning, Lele and Wenwen rushed into Zhang Hongxing's room one after the other. Ever since he had promised yesterday to take them to the amusement park, the two children had been competing to see who could be more excited.

If their mothers hadn't put on stern faces and pretended to be angry, they might have stayed awake all night.

After a quick breakfast, Zhang Hongxing cheerfully took his two little darlings by the hand and headed out, hiring a taxi to take them straight into Xinzhou City.

Naturally, a small place like Shimen County couldn't possibly have an amusement park.

Still, the drive from Shimen County to Xinzhou City took only an hour.

Xinzhou City's amusement park was called the Big Kid Amusement Park. Apart from the attractions designed specifically for children, half its facilities were intended for adults.

Classic rides such as roller coasters, Ferris wheels, pirate ships, and bumper cars were staples of every amusement park.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, I want to ride the pirate ship!"

"Grandpa, Grandpa, I want to ride the carousel!"

The moment they entered the amusement park, Lele and Wenwen each picked their favorite ride and tugged at Zhang Hongxing's hands from either side.

They weren't very strong, but they were certainly determined.

"The pirate ship!"

"The carousel!"

"All right, Wenwen, Lele, we'll go on both. And if there's anything else you want to try, Grandpa will take you on those too."

"Then the pirate ship first!"

"The carousel first!"

Seeing that neither would give in, Zhang Hongxing hurried to intervene.

"Wenwen, you're the big sister. A big sister should let her little brother have his way, right? And Lele, you always say you're a real man, don't you? How can a real man refuse to give way to a girl?"

"Grandpa, let's ride the carousel first. I'm a real man. I won't argue with a girl."

"Grandpa, let's ride the pirate ship first instead. I'm the big sister, so I should let my little brother have his way."

"Yes, Lele, Wenwen, you're both wonderful. Let's ride the carousel first this time."

Smiling, Zhang Hongxing led his two little darlings toward the carousel's ticket booth. Resolving this little squabble between the children actually left him feeling better than he had when he first broke through to become an Immortal Venerable.

"Hello, two tickets for the carousel, please."

"Sir, we're currently running a promotion on our park cards. Top up 100 yuan in one transaction and you'll get an extra 100 free. The card also works for every attraction in the park, so you won't have to queue for tickets again."

"I see. How much would it cost to try every attraction here?"

"Sir, would that be for you alone, or with the children?"

"With them, of course."

"That would probably cost around 5,000 yuan. Of course, if you top up a card, you'll only need about 2,500."

"Then put 3,000 on a card for me."

"Certainly! I'll get that set up right away."

When Zhang Hongxing said he wanted to top up 3,000 yuan, the attendant's smile grew considerably brighter.

Once everything was taken care of, Zhang Hongxing led his two little darlings straight to the carousel. Perhaps because it was the weekend, the amusement park was fairly crowded that day.

Even the carousel had a long line.

From their position, Zhang Hongxing and the children would have to wait another two rounds for their turn.

The first round passed without a hitch, and the three of them moved forward with the line. But just as the next round was about to end, something happened.

A little girl of nearly ten sitting on the carousel refused to get off.

No matter how the attendant tried to persuade her, the girl clung stubbornly to her carousel horse.

"Excuse me, could this child's parent please come forward and help persuade her to get off? If she wants another ride, please join the queue again. Thank you."

The attendant picked up a loudspeaker and began calling for the little girl's parent.

Only after the third call did a somewhat overweight middle-aged woman finally come over. After briefly asking what had happened, she raised her hand and slapped the attendant who had made the announcement.

Smack!

The slap was hard. It came so suddenly that the attendant couldn't dodge it.

"What are you doing?"

"What am I doing? My daughter just wants another ride on the carousel! Did we not pay you or something? Did you really have to shout about it through that huge loudspeaker for everyone to hear? Huh? Don't I deserve some dignity?"

"You... everyone's waiting in line. What gives you the right to special treatment? If everyone acted like your daughter, would anyone else get a turn?"

"How dare you argue with me! Get your manager over here. I'm filing a complaint!"

The woman stood with one hand on her hip, spittle flying as she ranted. Holding back the pain in his face, the attendant turned and headed toward the card top-up booth.

"Where are you going? Start the carousel for me right now! If you upset my daughter, believe me, I can have you kicked out of here on the spot!"

"I'm getting your damn manager!"

The attendant finally lost his patience.

"Oh, so now you're swearing at me? Just you wait! Just you wait..."

The woman angrily pulled out her phone, looking as though she intended to call someone important. Just then, Zhang Hongxing suddenly stepped forward, seized her hand, and flung her away.

Then he swiftly approached the little girl on the carousel, grabbed her, and tossed her onto the fat woman sprawled on the ground.

He had used carefully controlled force throughout.

Lele and Wenwen were both there, and he didn't want them to see his vicious side.

"Please start the carousel for me. My grandson and granddaughter have been waiting a long time."

"Y-yes. I'll start it right away."

Compared with that shrew, Zhang Hongxing was far more frightening. The attendant didn't dare refuse him.

"Lele, Wenwen, come on. It's our turn on the carousel."

"Grandpa, were you standing up for justice? When will I be able to do that too?"

"Grandpa only gave a little punishment to people who wouldn't follow the rules. It's just like a teacher smacking a naughty child's hand. It's nothing special. Lele, as long as you study hard, you'll definitely be more capable than Grandpa someday."

"Grandpa, Grandpa, they're coming back! I'm scared!"

"Don't be scared, Wenwen. They must be coming to apologize."

"Really?"

"Of course. When has Grandpa ever lied to you?"

The woman stormed over, dragging the little girl with her. Naturally, she hadn't come to apologize. But the moment they came within five meters of Zhang Hongxing, he suddenly enveloped them in his Golden Core Realm aura.

How could ordinary people withstand the impact of such an aura?

"You... I..."

"All right, there's no need to apologize. Since you know you were wrong, get lost."

The woman certainly hadn't intended to apologize. Zhang Hongxing's aura had simply frightened her so badly that she was somewhat at a loss.

"Hmph! We're leaving."

In the end, the woman left. Zhang Hongxing simply felt far too terrifying to her.

Thankfully, there were no more unpleasant incidents for the rest of their visit. The grandfather and his two grandchildren really did try every ride they could.

"Grandpa, look! There's a rocket flying toward us!"

Just as the three of them were about to leave the amusement park, Lele suddenly pointed at the distant sky and shouted.

They looked in the direction he was pointing.

Something resembling a rocket, flames streaming from its tail, was hurtling toward them at tremendous speed.