Chapter 172 Earth-shaking Changes in the East, Sang Zhi Tao Shen...
Sang Zhitao's request to meet up with a friend was approved in less than two minutes.
“We’ve been worried that you, Tao Tao, are lonely because you don’t have many friends. Since you’re going to see your good friends, of course we won’t stop you.” Li Mingguo made a special phone call to Sang Zhi Tao.
"Since you're going out with friends, you should look your best and feel free. So I had your brother-in-law find you a female bodyguard, and your sister-in-law prepared a new dress for you. Have fun, okay? Don't worry about spending money. Not only your brother's money, but even the base's money is yours to spend." Li Mingguo gave detailed instructions, fearing that Sang Zhitao wouldn't have a good time on her trip.
"Yes, don't worry, my brother gave me a black card, enough for us to spend." Sang Zhitao nodded with a smile, "I received the clothes, they're so beautiful."
"I'm glad you like it. I know you like our traditional clothing, so I specially ordered a batch for you. You can wear it and have fun." Li Mingguo looked at Sang Zhitao with the same doting gaze he would give his most beloved granddaughter.
The base and the high-ranking officials of Dongguo already doted on Sang Zhitao, this national treasure, but when she came back this time, she still looked like an eleven or twelve-year-old child. It wasn't just doting; they were practically pampering her to the heavens.
Sang Zhitao naturally knew that she always acted obediently towards these elders who were old enough to be her father and grandfather, and sometimes even showed the coquettishness of a little girl. She truly treated them as her elders.
Human emotions are always reciprocal. If you are good to me, I will be good to you. If you are sincere to me, I will reciprocate with sincerity.
After nearly two years of living together, Sang Zhitao and everyone at the base had come to regard each other as family. In particular, since she was the youngest, she was pampered and loved by everyone as a younger sister, daughter, and granddaughter.
On the day of departure, the security guard who had accompanied Sang Zhitao on several outings was waiting for her at the base gate in his car early in the morning.
Sang Zhitao wore a pink and yellow gradient embroidered modified horse-face skirt, paired with a cream-yellow round-neck cardigan with lace decorations, a cream-colored beret, and custom-made leather shoes, which made her youthful face look even more charming.
After getting into the car and driving forward until they were far away from the base, the scene that came into view made Sang Zhitao exclaim in surprise.
On the ground are cars flying low in the air, and in the sky are various transparent pipes, through which public transportation speeds by like sharp swords.
Various screens float in mid-air, interspersed with strange buildings, giving it a futuristic, sci-fi feel at first glance.
"I haven't been out for... half a year, not a year, right?"
Sang Zhitao silently calculated in her mind that the last New Year was before the Beastman World. Although she hadn't stayed in the Beastman World for long, it had been two or three months here and there.
In the game world, about two or three months have passed, and it is now the end of June on Earth.
"Thanks to you, otherwise we would never have seen such a world." Guard Qin Lang said with a smile. "Speaking of which, foreign countries are still the same as before. Every time a foreigner comes, they say it's like traveling to the future."
"It's so nice..." Sang Zhitao leaned against the car window, looking at the scene outside, and felt that all her efforts had become real and even more worthwhile.
"Speaking of which, what happened to that cultural relic?" Sang Zhitao asked curiously after seeing a short advertisement about cultural relics on the road.
Qin Lang hadn't really paid much attention to what was happening outside the base, but he had learned some things during several missions: "We recovered a lot of cultural relics, and those countries, wanting our technology, have actually started returning the relics to us one after another."
As he spoke, he pointed to another short advertisement in mid-air: "Look, the country has held different themed exhibitions of cultural relics based on the return time. This should be the seventh batch."
"Strange, I see everyone likes to use self-driving cars, why do you drive manually?" Sang Zhitao stared blankly at the cars speeding past, then realized that the cars were a little different from her own.
“Things are different now. Only rich people drive manual cars, and only poor people drive self-driving cars.” Qin Lang laughed a few times and continued, “Besides, for your personal safety, manual driving makes it easier for me to stay alert.”
“Okay.” Sang Zhitao nodded thoughtfully.
As they spoke, they arrived at the place she and Ruoyin had agreed upon.
After parking in the automatic parking lot, the two went directly into the restaurant in the mall.
Ruoyin was a girl in her early twenties. She wasn't very tall, about half a head shorter than Sang Zhitao. She was already young and pretty, with a baby face, so she looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.
Sang Zhitao, who should have been a few years older than her, was only eleven or twelve years old due to a slight accident. However, her eyes held an experience that was beyond her years, making the two of them look like they were about the same age when they stood together.
"Peach... Peach?!" Ruoyin was wearing a modified cheongsam, her long hair held back by a jade hairpin. When she saw Sang Zhitao's current appearance, she couldn't help but look her over several times before speaking in surprise.
"It's nothing, just a little accident." Sang Zhitao sat down opposite her and said to Qin Lang, "You can find a place to sit too, order whatever you like, it's on my tab."
Without hesitation, Qin Lang walked over and sat down, then started looking at the electronic order screen.
"I know you love peaches, so I ordered you a glass of freshly squeezed peach juice." Ruoyin didn't ask any further questions about what had happened to Sang Zhitao.
This is their tacit understanding: they tell each other about dangerous things, difficult things, and happy things; everything else depends on the situation.
Just like Sang Zhitao never asked why Ruoyin would appear alone at the orphanage, or why she suddenly disappeared for three years.
"Speaking of which, the changes in China are really huge. When I came back, I almost thought I had traveled through time." Ruoyin sipped her juice, a happy look on her face. "It's so great."
"You've been abroad all these years?" Sang Zhitao was a little surprised. The last time she contacted Ruoyin, Ruoyin was still in China. She didn't expect that he had been abroad for more than a year.
Ruoyin nodded, a hint of helplessness in her expression: "There's nothing I can do, I had to go out for some company business."
Seeing that she was unwilling to say more, Sang Zhitao naturally did not press her further.
"I asked you out because I wanted to meet you in person. I'm glad you're alright." Ruoyin sighed.
"Looks like you're doing really well, you even have bodyguards now." She glanced at Qin Lang and couldn't help but tease him.
“You’ve met my brother before. He’s so important, so naturally he has to arrange a bodyguard for me.” Sang Zhitao said with a helpless expression. “We’ve been separated for so many years, he can’t bear to let me wander around alone.”
Ruoyin couldn't help but laugh out loud: "I was actually relieved when I saw him at the police station that day. After all, he's a tech tycoon with a net worth of billions. I thought he wouldn't kidnap an orphan like you."
She paused, her expression turning grim for a moment: "I met a young girl abroad, and later..."
She sighed: "So even though I know that such a thing shouldn't happen in the country, I'm still worried that you've been deceived."
Sang Zhitao had also heard about the dark side of foreign countries, especially how those countries were so lenient in managing the rich that the exploitation of the poor by the rich was no longer just physical exploitation, but literally sucking their marrow and blood.
“My sister is a PhD in agriculture, and my brother-in-law is a soldier stationed on the border. I believe in their loyalty to the Party,” Sang Zhitao couldn’t help but reassure her brother.
Ruoyin chuckled and teased, "Don't worry, I'm a fiercely protective brother."
After finishing their drinks, the two decided to go shopping.
After browsing two stores, when Sang Zhitao touched Ruoyin's hand, she suddenly felt a warm sensation in her chest, just like when she met Zhen Shi. Her expression froze.
Ruoyin noticed her unusual behavior and looked at her with a puzzled expression: "What's wrong?"
Sang Zhitao shook her head and looked around: "Speaking of which, why don't I see any sales staff?"
Ruoyin raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "You look like you've been on the mountain for a long time, even more than I have."
"Now only high-end luxury stores and jewelry and gold shops have sales staff; ordinary stores have long been self-service shopping."
As she spoke, she pointed vaguely to a mirror: "You can scan your image directly on the mirror and then use gestures to select and try on clothes in the store. There's even an AI that provides suggestions, which is much better than salespeople who just try to fool you."
Sang Zhitao suddenly realized: "It's like how only rich people drive manually operated cars?"
Ruoyin couldn't help but nod emphatically: "Yes, using artificial intelligence can demonstrate one's status."
As she spoke, she glanced sideways at Sang Zhitao and said, "You wouldn't be driving manually, would you?"
Sang Zhitao felt a little uneasy under her gaze and couldn't help but nod slightly backward.
Ruoyin couldn't help but mutter, "Damn rich people."
"Just because I'm rich doesn't mean you're rich. Tell me what you want, and I'll buy it for you." Sang Zhitao couldn't help but chuckle as she pulled a card out of her bag and waved it in front of her.
Ruoyin took the card with some surprise and looked at it for a while before she couldn't help but laugh and say, "I've finally fulfilled my childhood wish: to let you become rich and support me."
“Let’s go, let’s go to the jewelry store and then the luxury goods store, and enjoy the service of the rich.” Sang Zhitao said, stepping forward and taking Ruoyin’s arm, that familiar warmth filling her chest once again.
Ruoyin sighed, somewhat embarrassed, "I can't today, I have things to do this afternoon."
"Alright then." Sang Zhitao was a little disappointed, but she continued to hold the other person's hand, feeling the warmth in her chest slowly increase.
Ruoyin glanced at her watch and said, "Let's go have afternoon tea. I'll head back now."
"Do you want me to take you?" Sang Zhitao couldn't help but ask, wanting to investigate the temperature issue further.
Ruoyin shook her head: "Never mind, I haven't been back for a long time, so I might as well experience our high-tech gadgets."
Hearing her say that, Sang Zhitao knew that it would be useless to persuade her again, so she didn't say anything more. After having afternoon tea with Ruoyin, she returned to the base with Qin Lang.
"What's wrong?" Seeing that she didn't look well, Sang Lezhi asked with some concern, "Did you not have fun with your friends?"
Sang Zhitao shook her head, hesitated for a long time, and then said, "When I touched Ruoyin, my chest started to heat up, as if I saw the real Ruoyin."
Sang Lezhi's expression changed: "She's connected to the source of the pollution?!"
Sang Zhitao shook her head repeatedly: "No, she... she doesn't have that evil feeling, and if she were contaminated and touched me, she would definitely be automatically purified. But when I touched her, she didn't react at all, and I even felt a sense of intimacy with her."
Sang Zhitao paused, then said, "Just like... my former teacher..."
Sang Lezhi naturally knew that the teacher she was referring to was the former world consciousness, not her teachers from when she was in school. She sighed softly and said, "Alright, I'll report it first and arrange for someone to investigate."
Sang Zhitao nodded obediently, glancing at the otherworld information beside her. She had a premonition that the next world might not be a fortune-telling world...
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