The Flying Ride, an Egoistic Dad

At last, Ling Jiu chose a maglev motorcycle with a 20-million-dollar price tag.

This ride had a max power output of 600KW, a weight of 242 pounds, and a maximum speed of 310 miles per hour. It had a pretty high performance-to-price ratio.

It was worth noting that solar energy was the primary energy source of this world.

Not that the world had other choices. As the wilderness had reclaimed the hydroelectric dams, wind farms, oil wells, and other energy sources, the world lost its power source.

What was left was only solar energy.

Thirty years of research and development had pushed solar energy technology to an advanced level of development. Solar power was widely used by various industries.

Just like this Cheetah Model 3 maglev motorcycle that Ling Jiu had bought, it ran on solar power. It could recharge its battery while running during the day, and it took just an hour to recharge when it was stationary. It could fly over 620 miles in just a single charge.

This excellent mileage stemmed from the fact that it was flying in the air. It also showed the excellent range of solar-powered batteries.

After placing the order, Ling Jiu finally bought the 20-million-dollar maglev motorcycle for 14 million dollars. By then, it was noon. Ling Jiu and Li Kai left the company and filled their faces at a restaurant before they parted.

In the afternoon on the same day, the Arcana manuals and maglev motorcycle that Lin Jiu ordered had arrived. After taking the delivery, Ling Jiu could not wait to check them out.

First, it was the maglev motorcycle, the cool frontend of which looked like a running cheetah with a high-tech vibe.

There were no wheels under the platform but just a layer of super-elastic rubber materials.

This rubber material had excellent elasticity. It protected the motorcycle from damage when the motorcycle hit the ground abruptly.

Shrouded inside the rubber layer was a super-conductive magnet, which was the power source of the motorcycle. It interacted with the Earth's magnetic field, using the principle of the magnet where the same poles repel each other to make the motorcycle fly.

It was love at first sight for Ling Jiu. He used to be a car enthusiast in his past life. But monetary constraint limited his choices; he could only afford a cheap model to quench his interest.

Little did he expect that he could afford to own the legendary maglev motorcycle in this life. How could he not be excited?

"Try it out?"

As Ling Jiu hopped onto the motorcycle, a pleasant voice came from the dashboard. "Hello, my honorable master, welcome to Pangu Cheetah Model 3 maglev motorcycle. I am your safety assistant. How would you like to call me?"

This motorcycle had an AI—artificial intelligence—system, just like the smart home system in his mansion.

"Xiaojiu!"

"Thank you for the name, Master!"

Xiaojiu, the AI, continued. "My honorable master, please allow Xiaojiu to introduce the functions of the AI system!

The system is divided into five major modules: AI Driving System, Ai Navigation System, AI Safety System, AI Self-Diagnostic System, and AI Remote Vehicle-Control System!" 

"AI Driving System…"

"AI Navigation System…"

Ling Jiu was very pleased with the personalized AI system of the motorcycle that could drive itself, navigate itself, self-diagnose, take care of its safety, and remote control itself, just like the fiery motorcycle in the sci-fi movie Ghost Rider.

Following that, he went into the settings, such as setting his biometric thumbprint, facial-recognition, voice, and language settings. And he went on for a test drive.

"Left hand for altitude control!"

"Right hand for speed control!"

"Left foot for braking!"

"Right foot for reversing!"

Having gotten a rough understanding of how to handle the motorcycle, Ling Jiu applied a slight force with his left hand and the motorcycle lifted off with a low hum.

He twisted the left hand to keep the motorcycle rising until 20 meters from the ground, higher than the mansion before it stopped rising.

Then, Ling Jiu twisted the right handlebar, and the motorcycle sped off at warp speed at once.

The flight was steady without a trace of bumpiness, which was something unmatched by land-bound vehicles. 

"Brake!"

"Make a turn!"

"Speed up!"

Ling Jiu excitedly test-drove his new ride for the remaining day. Unlike the vehicles he had driven in his past life, riding a maglev motorcycle was an entirely new experience; the thrill of flying was indescribably fun. 

After all, he was flying for real.

"Fun!"

"Absolutely fun!"

"Woo-hoo!"

Before Ling Jiu's excitement could last long, the security personnel in the neighborhood came up to him.

"Driving a vehicle is not allowed in the neighborhood, sir. Please stop immediately!"

"Driving is not allowed? Fine!"

There was nothing Ling Jiu could do about it. So he went home indignantly, then parked his ride in the redundant garage, which obviously had found its purpose from now on.

Once arriving home, Ling Jiu found that his dad had been and was still busy with something since this morning. 

Looking at his dad, whose back was facing him, Ling Jiu went over after a moment of hesitation. "Hey, Dad!"

"What's up, son?"

Ling Tianci looked back. The wound on his face had not fully healed yet, his eyes bloodshot from staring at the computer screen for too long since this morning.

"I have made some money after going to the wilderness last time—"

Ling Tianci interrupted him before Ling Jiu could finish. "It doesn't matter how much you have made. Those are your hard-earned money. Keep it for yourself!"

Ling Jiu forced a smile. This father of convenience had got a big ego. "Could you please listen to what I have to say? It is not much, just about five billion dollars. I have used one billion and left with four billion dollars!"

"How—how much? Five—five billions?"

Ling Tianci's heart skipped a beat, his eyes wide open. After being in business for over ten years, he set up his own small company and the most money he had in his life had never exceeded 100 million dollars. Yet Ling Jiu had made 5 billion dollars by just making a trip to the wilderness?

You have got to be kidding me!

"You heard it right: it is five billion dollars!"

Ling Jiu repeated himself. "I have everything I have wanted: the Gene Arcana secret techniques, Arcana manual, Dimensional Pocket, weapons, and transport. I don't need that money for now. You can use it if you want to!"

"How can I?"

Ling Tianci declined without even thinking. But Ling Jiu was adamant. "Don't reject this so quickly. I know you haven't given up and want to give it one more shot. You can take the money and treat it as a loan or my investment!"

"Son!"

Ling Tianci's eyes reddened.

At last, he still declined Ling Jiu's generosity. As he said, no matter how much Ling Jiu had made, Ling Jiu got it with his sweat and blood. As a father, he was not as shameless as wanting to take his son's hard-earned money.

"Don't worry, Son. I have contacted a few friends. They all are interested in investing in me. As long as I work harder, I am confident of making it!"

"All right, I will leave you to it. If you face any problem later, my offer still stands. You are my father; my money is your money!"

"You are my good son!"

After the conversation with his dad, Ling Jiu returned to his room to study the Rock Giant  manual.

He wanted to master this Ultimate Arcana manual as quickly as he could, elevating his combat strength and returning to the wilderness.

He loved going to the wilderness where he could hunt the Direbeasts and enjoy the thrill of making big money.

There was only one word to describe these feelings: fun.