Over a month later, at the top-tier dock district of White City, a cold sea breeze blew in from afar.
If one were to look down from the apex, the entirety of White City would resemble a towering citadel, stretching straight upwards until its sharply pointed summit subrged itself into the churning ocean.
Angles as sharp as a blade's edge cleaved through the surging tides, piercing shallowly into the sea.
Here, up and down seed like particularly blurry concepts.
As one of Current Circumstances' few large open border cities, the entire bustling tropolis resembled a mountain. Tier upon tier of buildings piled up, reaching all the way to the very top dock district, and even genuinely subrging into the Endless Sea above.
Should one gaze upwards from this place, they would feel as if they were hanging upside down. One could see the grey-black sea being torn apart by the tower's pinnacle rely inches above their heads, splitting the waters and emitting thunderous roars.
If one were to look down, they would see the bustling city beneath their feet—like a sandcastle in front of the tide, as if it could collapse and be crushed at any mont by the sea above the sky do.
The white towers set off against the sea's surface, leaving the whole world in a stark dichotomy of black and white.
This was one of White City's famous attractions.
As a transit hub for many routes, and to streamline cargo handling and loading/unloading as much as possible, the Creator was beseeched to adjust and modify the frawork here repeatedly. This resulted in an extended band of altered gravity.
The miracle that erged was the few ters of the tower's tip subrged beneath the sea's surface.
What seed a trifling distance had in fact overlapped the entire Border with the Endless Sea. It maintained maximum contact while avoiding the collapse of the frawork, which could have led to a comprehensive breakdown.
The design could not be more ingenious.
Huai Shi rrily took photos here, adopting the touristy scissor-hands pose for several snaps before he contentedly pocketed his phone and dragged his luggage towards the waiting area. He had been here for more than half a month now.
Unlike his previous hurried visit, this ti he truly soaked in the local flavor of the Border.
As one of the bustling tropolises that could be ranked within the top five Borders, the citizens of White City possessed a peculiar sense of superiority towards those from Current Circumstances and other Borders.
Upon learning that Huai Shi was from Current Circumstances, there was always a very restrained warmth in their expressions. It was as if they were saying, Ah, since you're here, have fun and take a good look around. It's good to broaden your horizons...
Having grown accustod to the presence of the Endless Sea, the locals could hardly imagine the empty skies of Current Circumstances.
With but a few Coral Clouds drifting here and there, wouldn't it feel empty?
Lacking a lid, it always seed like one might fall off.
Unlike the balanced Source Substance of Current Circumstances, here the abundance of Source Substance fluctuated, creating tidal-like cyclical phenona. Additionally, its distance from Chalatustra's secret device in the central area and the less oppressive effect of the Sea of Silver were among several reasons. Consequently, the success rate for Sublimators in the Border was actually far higher than in Current Circumstances.
Even those who had not Sublimated possessed bountiful Source Substance to so extent.
Although aside from certain Border species, most physiological structures were not significantly different from those in Current Circumstances, it was still possible to distinguish them at a glance.
At least the locals could tell, and even people from different Borders could usually identify each other's origins from first contact, relying on experience and intuition.
However, judgnts could sotis be mistaken, given that intuition is often unreliable unless characteristics and accents are particularly pronounced.
The variety of Border cultures was truly eye-opening, including their foods.
Contrary to his expectation, the locals did not eat seafood but instead revered vegetarian cuisine.
Upon reflection, it made sense; while the Endless Sea appeared liquid, it differed greatly from seawater, with few normal marine life able to thrive in it comfortably.
What could be caught en masse was either unpalatable or toxic, and if one carelessly hauled up sothing dreadful, the entire boat might be dragged into the sea.
Moreover, it was also mixed with sedint from the Abyss, and eating it over ti could suddenly turn soone into an Erosion species, sprouting gills and jumping into the sea... Of course, this was just an urban legend of White City.
The source of the legend, perhaps, were the rmaid Tribes that road the ocean above?
This large group, recruited by White City from the Abyss, had served as White City's security force for over two hundred years. This was longer than so local families had existed, essentially making the tribe a part of White City.
Huai Shi often saw burly Naga Warriors and patrol teams with scales and gills behind their ears on the streets.
As a rare sapient group from the Abyss, so of their mbers were even more intelligent than most humans.
It was just that their upbringing led them to disregard the complex knowledge of humans—though, of course, there were quite a few who beca assimilated.
For instance, the manager at the hotel where Huai Shi stayed had once mysteriously slipped him a business card for the ninth floor. He hinted that if Huai Shi couldn't sleep at night, there was a place to engage in deep conversations about life with Misses from various races...
Truth be told, Huai Shi was quite tempted to take a look—purely out of confusion about life, hoping to gain so insights.
Besides, he would just be looking, without spending a penny!
But every ti he turned to see the mysteriously smiling Raven perched on his shoulder, he wisely quelled that thought.
Integrity is a fine thing, for once lost, it can never be retrieved.
As the deep tones of the waiting area's clock marked the ti, Huai Shi's half-month journey in White City was drawing to a close.
He found this exceedingly incredulous.
Though this latter half of the year had been uneventful—shockingly calm compared to the period before the year's end—he found it incredible that after staying this long at the Border, he hadn't gotten entangled in so sort of chaos...
No one fell from the sky, no bombs suddenly went off, and even the few greedy rchants he occasionally encountered only tried to swindle him out of a small amount of money. Alarmingly safe!
This left Huai Shi feeling deeply uneasy, fearing so breaking news would erupt before his departure.
Huai Shi only snapped out of his daze when an attendant entered the lounge and inford him that the direct line from the Ivory Tower was about to arrive.
Incredulously, he lifted his head and looked around the lounge.
The gloomy old man sitting in the corner, the waiter behind the counter who occasionally peeked at him, the few n with nacing looks who had hurried past outside the luxurious lounge, and the middle-aged traveler across his table, who was playing cards with him with great interest...
There was a sense of loss, as if he had missed triggering so task. Had he misunderstood sothing?
But nothing happened, even as he finally picked up his luggage and left.
As soon as he had stepped out of the lounge, the gloomy old man in the corner seed to collapse, slumping into his chair and breathing a sigh of relief.
The waiter who had been covertly watching Huai Shi saw the young man off into the distance and began to scrutinize the next custor who ca in, pursing his lips and swallowing hard.
In the distance, the sounds of a brawl erupted. The malicious Sublimators who had rushed past just a mont ago were now clashing with the Naga Warriors. Amid the vague chaos, a thin figure with a tucked-away parcel slipped unnoticed onto a cargo ship from a distant port, silently departing.
Thus, oblivious, Huai Shi brushed shoulders with escaped Current Circumstances felons, a Serial Killer seeking his next victim, a Fanatic preparing a Blood Sacrifice attack, and a Thief who had stolen treasures from White City.
Huai Shi finally saw the direct line that had co to pick him up. A... truck.
At the twisted, winding end of the bizarre gangway, with a clever shift in gravity, the Endless Sea had moved from above his head to beneath his feet.
Standing at the edge of the pier, Huai Shi stared in astonishnt as the water in front of him went BLUB, BLUB, BLUB, sending up layers of bubbles.
Then, a massive truck rose up, its four wheels facing the sky.
It looked like an accident, as if the truck had inadvertently fallen into the sea.
Just as Huai Shi was hesitating, wondering if he should call for rescue, the large truck righted itself—much like a drunkard rolling over from the curb—and ca to a steady stop on the sea's surface.
Although it was still dripping, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, the fantastical nature of the event had at least returned to a level an average person could accept.
A bearded man poked his head out from the driver's side window after rolling down the glass, looked down, saw the young man on the pier, glanced at the list in his hand, and then recognized him, "Mr. Huai Shi, right? I'm Raymond, the driver who's co to take you to the Ivory Tower..."
"Ah, hello, hello," Huai Shi hurriedly raised his hand and shook hands with Raymond, who had leaned halfway out of the window.
During the polite exchange, both n raised their eyebrows slightly, sensing the calluses on each other's fingers.
Heavy weaponry, profound skill. Judging by the distribution of calluses and the emphasis on muscle groups in the palm, it must be a long weapon... a cavalry spear? A scythe? Long-handled Shackles? A hamr? Or a Roman spear?
Their minds raced, but their handshake was brief; both n exchanged knowing smiles.
Then Raymond looked over Huai Shi's shoulder, "Dr. Ye? Are you also with us?"
Huai Shi frowned and then looked back in surprise, only to find that, unbeknownst to him, soone had appeared behind him—the very traveler who had been playing cards with him in the lounge.
The middle-aged man called Dr. Ye had an air of world-weariness, yet his eyes were calm and gentle, and he spoke in a refined and soft manner, leaving a very good impression on Huai Shi.
The two had been seated quite close in the lounge and had even played a couple of rounds of Card of the Ages to pass the long waiting ti. Unexpectedly, they were to be fellow travelers.
"Hello, let formally introduce myself. My surna is Ye, Ye Su, the school doctor at the Ivory Tower."
Dr. Ye took off his hat and smiled warmly, "You must be Mr. Huai Shi, who just arrived this sester, right? I've heard a lot about you, and I'm honored to et you today."
"Not at all." Huai Shi politely shook his hand, though he felt slightly uneasy. "It's my good fortune to et a colleague in advance."
After exchanging pleasantries, the two climbed aboard the truck using the gangway that unfolded from the truck's enormous cargo bay.
The cargo bay turned out to be an elegantly decorated, narrow long hall, much larger than it appeared from the outside, and arranged quite comfortably.
Perhaps annoyed that the two had wasted too much ti outside, a cold HUMPH sounded from a sofa in the hall before Huai Shi could even sit down.
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