The plane landed on schedule at the airport in Prisoner Continent.
As the plane taxied to a stop, Li Xingkong had time to look through the window at the buildings outside, whose style was completely different from those in the Divine Land.
Prisoner Continent had few urban areas. On his way in, Li Xingkong had seen stretches of large farms or deserted wilderness in many places. Only near the airport had there been any hint of a city.
Compared with the enormous cities in the Divine Land, whose lights could illuminate the sky beyond the atmosphere at night, this place didn't look nearly as advanced at first glance.
"What are you looking at? It's pretty different from the Divine Land over here, isn't it?"
Guan Zhenzhen, who was sitting beside him, had also woken up. Seeing Li Xingkong staring out the window, she struck up a conversation with him.
"It really is. Before I came, I read about this place in books a lot. They said it was some kind of developed country."
As Li Xingkong spoke, he gestured toward the window. "You'd never be able to tell from how it looks."
"Is it different from what you imagined?" Guan Zhenzhen shifted in her seat a few times and loosened the seat belt around her waist.
"You can't get a real look at Prisoner Continent from the plane alone."
Li Xingkong glanced at Guan Zhenzhen out of the corner of his eye, then quickly turned his head away.
It felt a little rude to look at her as she was now. Perhaps she had moved a little too much while loosening her seat belt, but Li Xingkong could even glimpse places he shouldn't have been looking at.
Resting along the way had left Guan Zhenzhen's clothes somewhat disheveled, and when she moved like that, Li Xingkong was clearly drawn to the more appealing scenery.
He had to admit, well, the girl really had the goods.
"Once we're off the plane, I'll take you around if we get the chance. I'll show you the real Prisoner Continent."
Seeing the way Li Xingkong wanted to look but didn't dare, Guan Zhenzhen was a little amused and straightened her clothes.
"Sure, let's go together if we get the chance."
Li Xingkong was a little flustered and could only keep staring out the window. But clearly, his mind was no longer on the scenery.
At that moment, several flight attendants emerged from the crew area at the front of the plane and took their assigned positions.
"Dear passengers, the plane has landed safely. You may now collect your belongings and disembark in order."
So it was time to get off.
Li Xingkong let Guan Zhenzhen, who was seated on the aisle side, gather her things first. Only then did he take down his own luggage and prepare to follow the crowd off the plane.
"Hold on. I come to Prisoner Continent often, so I'm practically a host here. Never mind anything else, let me take you out."
Guan Zhenzhen slung her bag over her shoulder and called Li Xingkong back.
"Sure, thanks so much."
He was a stranger in an unfamiliar place, and having someone he knew a little to guide him was undoubtedly much more convenient.
Once most of the passengers had left the plane, Li Xingkong and Guan Zhenzhen got off one after the other, took an airport shuttle bus, and arrived at the arrivals hall.
There were still many people ahead of them waiting to exit, so neither of them was in a hurry.
"Could you watch my bag for me?"
As they slowly moved forward at the back of the crowd, Guan Zhenzhen suddenly spoke.
"Sure, I'll wait here for you." Li Xingkong took her bag and stepped aside.
"I'll be right back." Guan Zhenzhen seemed to be in a real hurry to use the bathroom and rushed off in its direction.
Li Xingkong waited where he was, taking out his phone to let his family know he had arrived safely.
Before he had waited long, someone tapped him on the back. Li Xingkong turned around, and there was Guan Zhenzhen.
"Sorry for the trouble, and thanks, handsome."
Li Xingkong handed her bag back. "It was nothing. Compared to what you're doing for me, it's no trouble at all."
"The worst thing about the airport in Prisoner Continent is the bathroom. Once you go out, you can't find one for ages. The public facilities here are a lot worse than in the Divine Land," Guan Zhenzhen complained.
"Now that you mention it, I'll have to trouble you too."
Hearing that, Li Xingkong realized he didn't have anywhere to go once he got outside yet, so he had better hurry and use the bathroom first too.
"Go on, go on. I'll wait for you." Guan Zhenzhen smiled. She was already beautiful, and when she smiled, she looked even more ethereal.
Li Xingkong left his luggage with her and headed toward the bathroom.
Mom's always telling me to be wary of people when I go out, but there are still plenty of good people out here.
As he relieved himself, he thought that everything had gone smoothly since he had set out on his long journey, so presumably his path to creating spiritual energy would go smoothly too.
After Li Xingkong came out of the bathroom, two police officers on duty at the airport stopped him before he could reach Guan Zhenzhen.
A fat white police officer who looked to weigh three hundred jin sized Li Xingkong up and down and waved the electric baton in his hand. A trace of ill intent showed in his eyes.
"Hello, sir. We suspect you've brought illegal items into the country. Please come with us."
"How is that possible? I went through security before I boarded the plane."
Li Xingkong sensed that something was wrong. There was something off about these two crew members.
"Whatever security check you went through before boarding is the Divine Land's business. You're in Prisoner Continent now, and we call the shots here."
As the other officer, a tall, thin white man, spoke, he had already started shoving Li Xingkong.
"If you're going to search me, let me get my luggage first, all right?"
The two officers' attitude made Li Xingkong a little angry.
"My advice is that you'd better follow our instructions," the fat officer warned, pointing to the handgun hanging at his waist.
"Move when you're told! What's with all the crap?" The other officer had already started pushing him.
"Fine, I'll go."
Seeing this, Li Xingkong didn't resist. Escorted by the two officers, he entered the duty booth nearby.
The two officers sat down opposite him and took out a stack of documents.
"All right, answer our questions nicely now! Name."
As the fat man looked through the documents, he lit a cigarette and held it in his hand, then flopped back and sank into his chair.
"Li Xingkong."
Li Xingkong had no choice but to cooperate obediently. But as he answered the officers' questions, he saw someone waving to him outside the window.
It was Guan Zhenzhen. With her bag on her shoulder and Li Xingkong's luggage in tow, she had already exited the terminal and was now just outside the duty room's glass curtain wall.
When she saw that Li Xingkong had noticed her, she waved harder, a smug smile on her face. She opened his luggage, took out his passport, waved it in her hand, and tossed it beside the wall outside the booth.
Li Xingkong suddenly had a bad feeling. Damn it, I think I've been tricked.
This woman seemed to be a habitual offender. After getting off the plane, she had first found an excuse to hold Li Xingkong up, then swaggered away with his things.
Li Xingkong grew anxious. He stood up, ready to chase after his belongings.
"Nonono, don't move! What are you doing?"
The tall officer at the door immediately pulled his gun and aimed it at Li Xingkong, making him stop what he was doing at once.
"Fuck, she's a thief!" Li Xingkong pointed at Guan Zhenzhen outside the window.
"Whatever happens outside the airport isn't our business. But you, move one more time and don't blame me for shooting!"
Li Xingkong had no choice but to watch helplessly as Guan Zhenzhen took his things away.
Guan Zhenzhen didn't even hurry off. Instead, right in front of him, she took her time deleting him from her V contacts. She even waved her phone at him and looked at the screen before swaggering away with his things.
"Yellow-skinned boy, answer my questions!"
The officer across from him was still pressing him aggressively, so Li Xingkong had to deal with the interrogation first. "I'm from the Divine Land. I came here to work..."
By the time he had gone through round after round of questioning and emerged from the airport, half a day had passed. Guan Zhenzhen had long since gone who knew where.
Li Xingkong had no choice but to walk over to the outside of the booth where he had just been questioned and pick up his passport.
He opened it and found a small handwritten note tucked inside.
"Welcome to Prisoner Continent. This is a little welcome gift from big sister. Do you like it?"
A faint red lip print had been left where the note was signed.