AZI Volume 5 Chapter 19

A few days later in the airport of GC012's third ward, on its second floor, where one of its boarding areas is—

"You were really planning to leave without saying a word, my dearest?"

"…"

Facing Wu Xiao, who has her hood raised over her head, Long Hua sighs, as he looks up to the ceiling, which is made up of numerous glass panels incased within a colossal snowflake frame.

"…"

Standing behind Long Hua is Tian Cheng, and a few meters behind her are the other members of the office.

"For real, that's the wife?"

"Surprisingly, they feel kind of natural together…"

Making these remarks are Ye Chen and Li Xue respectively, whereas Yu Ji and Qing Yue can only blink their eyes.

(Surnamed Long became the proprietor of the Lan Si Restaurant?)

Just as Qing Yue had thought of this—

"Come now, my dearest, say something."

With an impatient look on her face that is hidden by her hood, Wu Xiao tilts her head, to which, Long Hua asks—

"Is there really a need to put this much effort into an act?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Wu Xiao replies—

"I'm bored. Playing around with you helps to shave off time."

"For a worthless reason like that, you'd drive yourself over to the airport?"

"Why not? Besides, isn't it natural for a wife to see her husband off? You could even praise me by saying that I'm dedicated in this situation."

"…"

Turning around, Long Hua says—

"Surnamed Mo, remember, I'm something that you can never hope to obtain."

"What a cheesy ass line to say…"

As Long Hua begins to move towards the others, Wu Xiao adds—

"Remember our deal. Any flutes you find-"

"Are yours."

"Good."

Having confirmed this, Wu Xiao turns the other way, and heads off.

As Long Hua approaches them, Ye Chen asks—

"No hugs, no kisses, no nothing? Only words that sound like two people, who are already fed up with their marriage life?"

"Piss off, surnamed Ye. When you realized there's more to life than love and marriage—that is when you've actually grown up."

"…?"

Being told this by someone who looks evidently younger than himself, causes Ye Chen's expression to turn odd.

"…"

Staring out at the window of the boarding area, Yu Ji nervously asks—

"…So that's our ride?"

"…Yup."

The white body of the high-speed jet is rather narrow, reminiscent of a missile.

Momentarily, a staff member walks over, and says—

"Please follow me."

"…Right, let's go."

With no time left to waste, the group is guided by the staff member—to board the high-speed jet, which had been reserved to take them to the airport closest to the ruins.

The ruin itself is located west—more than 4,000 miles away from GC012.

After getting off the jet, the plan is to board a military transport, which will drop them off at the designated coordinates—situated somewhere within the wastelands.

"…"

"…"

Guided into the jet's interior, one sees a row of seats on each side; altogether there are eight passenger seats total.

"…This feels a bit extreme?"

As soon as Yu Ji sits down on one of the seats, she discovers the seatbelt to be the seven-point type.

Not only that, but the seat itself is equipped with its own parachute, as if the designer of this aircraft expects it to go down.

"…"

Looking out the small window, Long Hua sees the aircraft's wings, which had two thrusters attached to them.

Walking over to Qing Yue—

"Put this on."

Li Xue passes her a brown-colored vest, and receiving the unfashionable wear, Qing Yue asks—

"What's this for exactly?"

"It's an airbag vest."

Towards the answer, Qing Yue widens her eyes.

And rather quickly, a similar vest is passed out to the others, who are expected to wear them before launch.

"This thing… It's stable, right?"

Towards Yu Ji's concern, Ye Chen casts his eyes downwards, and answers—

"…Theoretically it is."

Hearing this, Qing Yue is quick to shout—

"I'm getting off! Uh?"

However, just as she begins to undo the seatbelt, she finds it impossible to unlock them, to which, Li Xue remarks—

"Once you're locked in, there's no getting out of it until the people upfront disengages the locks."

"I didn't sign up to be a guinea pig for this thing that might kill me!"

"Relax. It's nothing unusual."

"You two…-?"

"…"

Noticing how calm Ye Chen and Li Xue are, Yu Ji and Qing Yue realized that this must be a common occurrence for them, and the two must have long gotten used to it.

Momentarily, an announcement comes from the speakers, saying—

[Five minutes until takeoff. Please do not have your mouth open during the launch, and lean your head against the headrest as much as possible. We shall now begin moving to the runway.]

...…

For the most part, Long Hua slept through the three to four hour long jet ride.

If one had to describe the riding experience, "far from pleasant," would be the first phrase to come to mind.

Due to how bumpy the ride itself had felt at all times, it was as if the entirety of the aircraft was on the verge of tearing itself apart at every second.

That being the case, right after getting off the jet, both Yu Ji and Qing Yue had the urge to throw up—with the ensuing two-hour ride on a military transport worsening that urge.

Subjected to such rough modes of transportation—by the time they had arrived at the site of the ruins, pretty much everyone had a fed-up look on their faces, aside from Tian Cheng.

"…"

Getting off the military vehicle, Ye Chen takes in the sight, and mutters—

"Finally…"

The site is rather flat with no traces of grass in sight.

Tents have been setup throughout the area, so that people can maintain a watch over the site—to prevent the uninvolved from approaching.

Glancing at Li Xue, Ye Chen asks—

"You want to do it, or should I?"

"As the holder of the highest military rank in our group, it's only appropriate for you to deal with it yourself, right?"

"Ai…"

Heaving a sigh, Ye Chen makes way for the largest tent in the vicinity—to exchange a few words with the military officers in charge.

As soon as formality related matters are dealt with, they should be allowed into the ruins.

Paying no heed to Ye Chen and the others—

"…"

Long Hua spreads his divine senses, and is quick to notice the ruin's entrance.

The entrance into this specific ruin is different from the first one, as it takes on the form of two stone pillars with a swirling purple rift in between them.