Stepping into the starport, a vast area surrounded him as he followed the crowds inside.
Countless amounts of traveling people blanketed the grounds and the skies as they followed the holographic signs. Security mechs constantly roamed the place and kept public order in effect.
Travel agencies and different variety of stores were everywhere as well.
Observing the surroundings, Hong grew cautious while he maintained a neutral look. The surveillance systems in starports is very advanced, and can detect anything suspicious the moment you take it out of your console space including abnormal movements. If he were to pull out a weapon, they would swarm him in an instant.
Without stopping, he went to the first checkpoint to get his starport ticket as shown by the signs.
Hong approached a small pillar which sustained a holographic interface. He inputted a code emailed by the airport company to allow him access. Selecting himself and his carry-on baggage, he inputted another code before pressing his console against the top of the tiny pillar.
Checking his console, he was given the starport ticket which resembles a QR code. His name, destination, time of departure, boarding, group number, etc. were listed around the ticket which showed definitive proof.
Hong began his walk again and stepped onto a moving walkway which drastically sped up his movement speed. He stepped off the end and arrived at an airport security checkpoint.
Countless people stood in line as their ticket was scanned before getting in another line meant for security checks. The line was quite long so Hong had to patiently wait in line so he observed the surroundings while slowly gaining interest.
People in social groups chatted with each other while either sitting or walking. Even officers in security mechs chatted with each other in ease. Even if there is nobody around, people chat online with others.
"In a world where individuals cannot get stronger individually, they have to overcome this issue by forming connections with others and working together. This has led to the creation of technology, which allows everybody from across the galaxies to connect, and give the mortals a great social life."
Hong couldn't help but think of the memories back in the cultivation realm, where blood splatters at every corner, and people fight for heavenly materials and herbs. Where the mortals suffer in medieval societies while being ruled by nobles and cultivators. Such a deep contrast to this gave him a hint of jealousy.
"These mortals don't have to worry about the law of the jungle, where the weak have to rely on the strong. Even if one is homeless or extremely poor, they can get by with government welfare and live a simple life. They don't have to worry about those in power, since the population decides who runs the government. If it wasn't for my connections with the cultivation realm, I would love to stay here." He thought with a sneer.
"Mommy mommy! Look at this!" Yelled a little girl in excitement. She was playing on her console with a game, and showed it up to her mom, who was an average but charming beauty.
"Oh? Let me take a look." The mother joined in with a sweet smile.
Looking at those two, he couldn't help but recall Chen's memories.
"Now that I think about it, where the heck are Chen's parents? They essentially just left him to a friend and took off somewhere for many years..."
As he pondered this, he realized it was his turn and cleared the thoughts away.
Walking up to the security officer, he activated his console and pulled up both his identity and the starport ticket. The security officer scanned both of them and looked at Chen's face for confirmation. Then he pulled out a small device with a dent that formed one's console.
"Insert your console." He said casually.
Hong inserted the console and waited for the officers confirmation before taking it out.
"Have a good day." He then waved to the girl and mother behind him.
Hong walked over in line towards the security checkpoint and waited once more for around ten minutes. He then checked his console space and his body for any weapons in case there actually was one. He did not feel like being interrogated for an hour and miss his ride.
"Activate your console space and insert your console into a port! Any weapons inside will be confiscated and you will be pulled to the side! Once you are cleared, please step in line for the detector!" Yelled an officer over the noisy crowds while behind a line of pillars with ports on the side for consoles.
Every time a person inserted, a blue light would blink on the pillar before turning green, and the person would pull out the console. When it was Hong's turn, he inserted his console and the pillar turned green, allowing him to sigh in relief.
He went in line once more as people stepped into an arch-shaped detector one at a time.
When it was his turn, his listened to an officers instruction and walked through the arch-shaped detector. The officer held him back for a second before giving him an all clear.
With the security out of the way, he could walk about in a relaxed manner. Stores and restaurants passed him as he walked towards his terminal number. The glass windows showed the many spacecraft coming in and parking beside their terminal before people would walk out.
After twenty minutes of walking on moving walkways, he finally arrived at his terminal which did not have a lot of people since he was early. The terminal was so big that the seating was arranged into floors. The floors aside from ground floor floated above each other and were made of visible energy.
Hong sat down in a random one on ground floor and loosened up a little while listening to the intercom that occasionally buzzed.
Closing his eyes, he maintained a calm state as time passed.
Gradually, thousands of people began to fill in the area as they sat down and chatted. Some of them defied the artificial gravity by activating special shoes they wore, while others activated a flight module to fly up.
A few curiously looked around while chatting which were newcomers who never left the city. The majority were experienced and just sat down without care.
Humanity is always on the move whether it's to visit a relative, get a job, spread business, relax, vacation, etc. which is apparent in places like these which are far from humanity's home galaxy.
The terminal gradually filled as the seats of each level were occupied. Some had no choice but to stand up or hover in the air while chatting.
A hologram beside the entrance showing the destination changed from Astraeus - Puabula 234 to Astraeus - Western GB Portal. A large spacecraft pulled beside the terminal as shown from a glass window. A few minutes later, hundreds of thousands of people pooled inside from the space bridge.
The terminal was luckily gigantic, and meant to accommodate these numbers. The people chatted as they filled the moving walkways and disappeared. Hong watched in awe at the sheer numbers.
"These amounts of people would be enough to overrun a kingdom in a heartbeat. Very few mortal cities in the cultivation realm could have these numbers!" He thought in awe.
Such a large amount of people leaving takes a lot of time. Everybody had to wait half an hour before the last trickles finally came through. The space bridge to the spacecraft was closed off for several more minutes as they did checks.
"Groups one and two can come up for boarding. All mechs and spacesuits are to be put away before passing the force-field. Please have your starport passes on view as you enter the star bridge."
His number was 3, so he continued to sit. But hundreds of thousands came down and swarmed to the star bridge which was now open once more. The people passed through an energy field which automatically scanned the starport tickets on their consoles thanks to an advanced AI. If this was done manually, it would take eternity.
Several minutes went as the numbers thinned out. Hong got up and quickly went to the restroom before this, as he had been constantly reminding himself that he's now a mortal.
"Groups three and four can come up for boarding. All mechs and spacesuits are to be put away before passing the force-field. Please have your starport passes on view as you enter the star bridge."
"I guess that's me." He thought as he stood up.