It turned out that Yuanxi's thoughts were a bit too much. Not only did he not have to pay for the room, but the beautiful attendant also said he could stay as long as he wanted. It was a long-term guest room.
Yuanxi breathed a sigh of relief, but he had no intention of staying here for long. Although he couldn't understand how he ended up here, he was certain that this place didn't belong to him. He had to hurry back. He might have missed his early morning shift at the shop, but he still had two other jobs. He couldn't delay any longer.
So he hurriedly walked towards the door. But the moment he stepped outside, he froze as if he had been hit by a petrification spell. The scene in front of him was too unfamiliar.
Tall skyscrapers reaching into the sky, various flying cars flowing in the air, numerous massive holographic projections, and even transparent shops floating in the air... The scenes were lively, yet orderly.
Yuanxi couldn't snap out of it for a long time. This wasn't the city he knew, no... none of this belonged to the Earth in his memory. It was more like a futuristic society that would only appear in movies.
Even someone as thick-skinned as Yuanxi found it hard to accept at this moment.
He could handle the "spring breeze" part... no problem, he had already turned eighteen. Being taken advantage of... also not a big deal, it didn't hurt and it was quite enjoyable.
But... what was going on now? How did he inexplicably end up in a different place? It was just a spring dream, was it really necessary? Was it really necessary?
Deep inside, Yuanxi felt as if there were ten thousand little buddies roaring and shouting, "We're shocked, we're all shocked!"
At that moment, a sapphire-colored flying car suddenly stopped in front of him. A blond young man poked his head out and said enthusiastically, "Hey buddy, need a ride?"
Yuanxi stood there like a wooden stake, and the young man raised an eyebrow, understandingly saying, "First time in Beijing? Get in, I'll give you a 20% discount."
Beijing... Beijing... Yuanxi's mouth twitched. Damn it, he had studied in Beijing for four years, how come he had never seen this kind of Beijing before!
He stood there dumbfounded, and just like that, he was graciously invited into the flying car by the enthusiastic blue-haired young man. Yes, you read it right, he was really invited into the flying car.
The passenger seat moved conveniently under Yuanxi's bottom, and with a swish, he was pulled into the car.
Yuanxi's bottom: *sob* This place is terrifying, why am I always being bullied?
When Yuanxi finally snapped out of his daze, he found himself sitting in the flying car, touring the unfamiliar Beijing.
The blond young man was a typical chatterbox. He didn't stop talking even when Yuanxi didn't respond, carrying on by himself:
"Hey buddy, where is your home planet? Judging by your appearance, you must be from our Federation, right? Speaking of which, when I first came to Beijing, I was just as shocked as you. This is one of the busiest capital planets in our Federation, it's really awesome. Compared to my home planet, this place is like a poor and backward place..."
Yuanxi couldn't say a word. He wanted to tell himself that he was dreaming, but unfortunately, his limited brain cells couldn't come up with such a realistic dream.
The blond young man continued to babble, enthusiastically introducing the various districts and streets of "Beijing" as well as some gossip that Yuanxi couldn't understand.
Finally, Yuanxi shifted his gaze to the blond young man, and his heart skipped a beat. If he remembered correctly, this flying car should be a taxi. Taking a taxi wasn't a big deal for him in the Beijing he knew, but now that he didn't even know what kind of place this was, would his ten large red bills work here?
Just as this thought flashed through Yuanxi's mind, he suddenly saw a big red bill.
It was a hundred-yuan banknote, and it was huge, as big as a floor. Yuanxi blinked and took a while to realize that it was actually a three-dimensional holographic advertisement...
Sure enough, the blond young man spoke up, "Tsk tsk, collecting ancient coins again? Do these outdated paper bills really have so much value? They've been skyrocketing in price. If an average person had one or two, they wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing for the rest of their lives..."
Food, clothing, no worries!
Yuanxi's eyes lit up. He had always strived for these four words. In his pocket, he had a total of ten large red bills! Could it be that he had encountered a stroke of luck, becoming a tall, rich, and handsome guy in a second?
Stay calm, Yuanxi reassured his money-throbbing heart. He discreetly stuffed the ten hundred-yuan banknotes into the small pocket inside his underwear, then pulled himself together and decided to ask what was going on.
Because the blond young man was speaking standard Mandarin, Yuanxi had no trouble responding.
Seeing Yuanxi finally respond, the blond young man became even more enthusiastic. Although the topic of collecting ancient coins was distant to him, he couldn't escape the constant bombardment of advertisements, so he knew quite a bit about it.
From the long-winded talk, Yuanxi barely managed to gather the information he wanted.
If he ruled out the possibilities of dreaming, hallucinations, and split personalities, then he could basically determine that he had traveled to the future, many years after his time.
This was Beijing, but it was completely different from the Beijing he knew. This Beijing was no longer just a city; it was an entire planet classified as an M-class terrestrial planet in academic terms.
The blond young man praised Beijing incessantly, saying it was like his paradise. But that was it; he couldn't provide any other information about this planet. He was just amazed and proud to be able to live here.
As for collecting ancient coins, it was similar to what Yuanxi had imagined. Just as there were people in his time who were keen on antique collecting, in this era, there was also a group of people who did the same. And his brand-new hundred-yuan banknotes had instantly become antiques.
To be more precise, he himself seemed to have become an antique.
Yuanxi was slightly stunned and brought his thoughts back. He shifted his gaze to the front. The windows of this blue flying car were 360 degrees panoramic, allowing him to see the outside scenery from any angle. The lifelike three-dimensional holographic images inside showcased products that he couldn't even imagine in his dreams.
The latest high-speed flying vehicle that could shrink to the size of a ring, a "phone" that was transparent, smooth, and capable of transmitting various information and projecting three-dimensional images in the air, and even intelligent robots that advertised themselves shamelessly and begged for adoption...
Yuanxi's mouth twitched. He reluctantly averted his gaze from the intelligent robot, which had a beautiful girl's face but a man's body. He was afraid that staring at the robot for another minute would blind his eyes.
The scenes before him overwhelmed Yuanxi, a true "country bumpkin," and it wasn't until the flying car came to a stop that he looked at the blond young man with confusion.
The blond young man seemed a bit annoyed, muttering, "Is this the twelfth time they've done inspections this month? How can there be so many space pirates? This is Beijing, and the defense system in the airspace is one of the best in the Federation. If pirates can sneak in, then it's really something..."
Although he complained, his actions were disciplined as he stopped at the designated spot to undergo inspection.
Yuanxi didn't pay much attention to this little episode. Space pirates? What did that have to do with him, a clueless old-fashioned guy?
The top cover of the blue flying car opened, and although the blond young man had complained, he was all smiles again when faced with the inspector in the dark blue uniform standing beside the car. "Deputy Li, thanks for your hard work. We've been inspected twelve times already. Everything is in order, all the necessary documents are here..."
The man called Deputy Li raised an eyebrow, glanced at him, but didn't say much. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Yuanxi.
"Please deactivate all defenses and scan your affiliation chip for verification." Deputy Li's voice was formal, and although his words were polite, his tone was weary. Clearly, it was just a formality.
Yuanxi was at a loss for words. What defenses? What affiliation chip? Wait a minute, a bad premonition rose from the depths of his heart.
Times had changed, but it seemed like the methods of apprehending criminals were more or less the same? An affiliation chip... Although he didn't understand it, he had seen it in movies. It couldn't be something like an identification card, could it?
He was a model citizen, with all the necessary documents and identification in China, but he had no idea what an affiliation chip looked like!
Seeing his silence, Deputy Li repeated his words.
Yuanxi pursed his lips, and countless thoughts ran through his mind.
The blond young man, in his earnestness, interjected, "Don't be nervous, buddy. Didn't we go through security checks when we arrived in Beijing? It's just a routine inspection, they'll only check your basic information. They don't have the authority to access your personal information."
Yuanxi was already roaring in his mind. Dude, the problem is I don't have a chip!
In this stalemate, Deputy Li finally dropped his weary demeanor and became serious. He took something out of his pocket and pointed it at Yuanxi. "Scanning will commence in three seconds."
Yuanxi stared at the rectangular object in his hand, his mouth twitching. Dude, why are you pointing a remote control at me... Although he knew rationally that a policeman wouldn't use a remote control for his work, it was probably some futuristic advanced weapon. But the shape was just too out of place...
Compared to Yuanxi's calmness, the blond young man was terrified. He hurriedly urged Yuanxi, "You... you better agree. This... this could be life-threatening."
Yuanxi looked expressionlessly at the blond young man and then turned to Deputy Li. He awkwardly spoke, "I don't have..."
Although it was a cultivation novel, the protagonist is a guy, and a pure one at that. That's where the contrast lies.