[Earth Era, August 21, 2010] [Western Calendar, Saturday] [Xia Calendar, Gengyin Year, seventh month, day twelve-five, auspicious for betrothal gifts, travel, marriage, formalizing engagements, and praying for blessings; inauspicious for excavation and breaking ground]
For a trip Outside the Safe Zone, today did not seem entirely ideal.
Although [auspicious for travel] meant it was a good day to go out, [inauspicious for excavation] and [inauspicious for breaking ground] did not favor Qin Siyang's method of traveling by Drill Pod.
But he had no time left.
Tomorrow, he had to head to District 134, a neutral territory outside every faction's control, to prepare for his paper's hearing.
In the hours before dawn, Qin Siyang drove his Drill Pod at breakneck speed underground.
He finally chose an area roughly a hundred kilometers from the Safe Zone.
First, he brought the Drill Pod to the surface and quietly observed his surroundings from inside it for an hour. After confirming there were no signs of people or gods, he put the Drill Pod away, arranged a hundred pieces of small god disc carapace in a ring on the ground, and placed two pieces of medium god disc carapace in the center.
Finally, he stripped naked and lay down on them.
His Sequence Level Five body could no longer feel the biting chill of the wind. Still, lying there naked felt rather awkward.
After a moment's thought, he picked up a piece of clothing and covered his belly button.
"Mm, that's much more comfortable."
Then he emptied his mind and waited quietly.
"An hour seems a little long. But there's nothing else I can do."
The night was as dark as ink, enveloping the boundless wasteland and Qin Siyang, who lay upon it.
After slipping into meditation, Qin Siyang experienced a strange sensation,