The Beach And Sea Water

After eating and drinking, exhaustion washed over Li Teng again. He fell asleep immediately after he lay down.

Even if the helicopter was sending him into great danger, no one could stop him from having a good nap.

At least, it was warm there, and he was not thirsty and hungry anymore.

…

Li Teng did not know how long he had slept. It could be a few hours, or perhaps even longer.

When he woke up again, the helicopter's cabin door was open.

There was flat ground outside.

After consuming the bread, biscuits, and beverages, he had regained some of his strength.

Li Teng climbed out of the cabin and stood on the flat ground below.

It was muddy.

When Li Teng landed on the ground, the helicopter rose into the air and left.

ALi Teng took a few steps on the flat ground, wondering if he was dreaming.

He felt as though he was floating as if walking in an illusion.

Was he finally back to the surface?

The problem was—what was this place?

There was no snow or rain here, and the temperature was moderate, around 20oC. He felt very comfortable.

Li Teng looked around and came to an understanding. This place seemed to be a beach or an island.

He stood on the helipad, with the beach and sea behind him. In front of him were many buildings. Undoubtedly, he had to enter the buildings in order to figure out what this place was.

Although Li Teng only had a set of smelly pajamas on him, and had not brushed his teeth and washed his face for days, now was not the time to care about his image.

Let's have a look.

If I can find someone, I can learn the truth about everything that's happening to me.

…

Li Teng arrived at the empty street and shouted several times, "Is anyone there?"

There was no response.

Next to the street entrance was a cafeteria. Its signboard only had the word 'Cafeteria' written on it.

Although there was no money in his pockets, Li Teng walked in after seeing the cafeteria. His hungry stomach had long digested the bread and biscuits he had eaten on the helicopter.

He was starving now.

A clock hung on the cafeteria's wall, indicating that the time was 10:03 in the morning.

If the time was accurate, Li Teng estimated that the helicopter might have been flying in the air for three or four hours.

It could also be shorter.

There was an LCD screen next to the clock.

The LCD screen displayed a countdown timer, with 1 hour and 57 minutes remaining.

It seemed that the countdown would end exactly at 12:00.

"What's the countdown for? Is that when the cafeteria will open?

"Isn't it a little late to open at noon?

"It can't possibly be the closing time of the cafeteria?"

The entire cafeteria was empty. At least, Li Teng did not see a single soul after glancing around.

"Is anyone here?

"Can I order some food?"

Although Li Teng was wearing a set of pajamas and had no money on him, he was forced by hunger to eat on credit.

There was no response.

Li Teng took a closer look around the cafeteria.

The cafeteria had an ordering counter, with a machine next to it.

Could this be buffet-style?

Li Teng walked over.

It was indeed a self-service ordering machine.

The menu was shown on display. There were all kinds of delicacies on the menu, such as steamed buns, porridge, rice, all kinds of noodles, fried pancakes, braised eggs, and other homemade breakfasts.

One could also have rice with other dishes like home-style stir-fry, roast chicken, roast duck, pig's feet, braised pork, lobster, hairy crabs, and even all sorts of exotic delicacies.

Li Teng salivated after seeing this, while his stomach couldn't help but growl.

These delicacies could not be purchased with money. Instead, a membership card was required, using the points in the card to redeem the food.

He could apply for the membership card with the machine in front of him.

After performing face recognition, the machine automatically filled out Li Teng's name.

This was not unusual. WeChat and Alipay already had this function. Maybe the cafeteria and those systems were linked. Nevertheless, now was not the time to think about all these.

The membership card was a piece of white-colored card with no words on it.

After applying for the membership card, Li Teng could use the card's points to redeem food. Unfortunately, Li Teng's membership card did not have any points.

He did not know how to get points.

Could they be exchanged with cash?

After speculating for a while, Li Teng discovered that his membership account had a function similar to that of Ant Credit Pay.

He could make an advance of 100 points to his account.

Although he was famished and wanted to have a sumptuous meal of roast chicken and duck, Li Teng ultimately resisted his cravings.

The more enticing the food, the more points it cost. Moreover, his stomach had been hungry for several days, so he shouldn't be eating greasy food.

In the end, Li Teng only made an advance of five points.

The points were exchanged for a bowl of hot noodles, steamed dumplings, a bowl of porridge, three steamed buns, and a small plate of salted vegetables.

After confirming the exchange, the conveyor belt at the sales counter sent out the food.

Li Teng tried to see what laid beyond the sales counter and discovered that it was pitch-black. He could not see anything.

Although it was not clear where these dishes came from, they were really hot and did not smell strange.

Despite that these were just hot noodles, steamed buns, and the like, they were supremely delicious to Li Teng—even eating steamed buns with salted vegetables was also a form of ultimate enjoyment.

Soon, he consumed everything and was full.

Li Teng still wanted to continue eating, but resisted, as overeating would destroy his severely damaged and fragile stomach, and ruin his weak body.

It's better to sit back and relax.

"Thank you for the food. I will definitely find a way to pay the bill later," Li Teng yelled several times into the cafeteria.

Although nobody may hear him, the attitude of keeping promises must be expressed clearly.

After he was done eating and drinking, Li Teng returned to the street.

There was a clothing store next to the cafeteria. Next to the clothing store was a bathing center.

Li Teng looked at the smelly and dirty pajamas he had been wearing for a few days and swiftly entered the clothing store.

Like the cafeteria, there were no employees in the store, only automated self-service machines. Also, similar to the cafeteria, there was a clock on the wall and a countdown on the LCD screen.

It looked like something big was going to happen here at 12:00?

What would that be?

Let's buy the clothes first.

The most important thing was to buy a pair of socks and a pair of shoes. He had been barefoot all these days on the top of the stone pillar.

There were both cheap and expensive clothes in the store.

Li Teng did not have many points in his account. Thus, he chose the cheapest set of clothes—a suit on sale, pants, shoes, and socks. In total, he only consumed 12 points.

Including the points for the meal earlier, Li Teng had spent 17 points on credit.

After choosing his clothes, Li Teng did not immediately change into them but entered the bathing center next door.