"Little brother, we've arrived at my hometown! Come with me, I'll show you around," Taona shouted excitedly.
Gu Ya was in no mood to entertain her.
[Flashbang] [Overclocked Drive] [Active Mind], all usable skills were activated.
The next second, You Yin appeared far away.
"Ah! Gu Ya!" Taona yelled unwillingly.
"Damn it, I don't believe I can't catch you."
Gu Ya blocked all her communications. She could shout all she wanted. Once he reached Zhuoyuan City, he would buy some disguises and then use an untraceable bracelet.
With You Yin at full performance, coupled with Gu Ya's skills, they quickly reached a place about ten kilometers outside Zhuoyuan City.
Gu Ya looked up.
If Caihua City was a painting of rugged mountain ranges,
Then this place was the epitome of hard technology.
The horizontal expanse of this city wasn't large.
Gu Ya raised the mecha's flight altitude for a far-off view. Good heavens, there was a vast urban area further east.
Horizontally, from north to south,
At the north of the city stood many giant funnel-shaped buildings, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. Gu Ya had seen them in books; they were equipment for collecting fluid materials from the air.
Further south were undulating low-rise buildings that gradually rose higher, reaching dozens of skyscrapers in the city center.
The southernmost part of the city was covered by five giant transparent domes.
Two of the giant domes were shrouded in mist, obscuring the interior.
The roofs of three of them were split open into five petals, with rolling white smoke billowing out.
From one of these three, a giant mecha, estimated to be about two hundred meters tall, was flying out amidst the white smoke, slowly ascending towards the clouds before disappearing into them.
Countless skyscrapers stood tall, with aerial walkways of various colors connecting the buildings. Tiny figures of pedestrians could be seen on them.
What surprised Gu Ya the most was the centrally located building, shaped like a spring and spiraling upwards.
By normal standards, such a building was impossible in real life.
There were many other details that Gu Ya never imagined seeing in this city.
"Vroom—!"
Tao Xi was flying from a distance behind him.
Its speed was also very fast. Gu Ya hadn't finished observing the general appearance of the city yet and had to enter the city quickly.
Passing through a giant identification archway, You Yin landed smoothly at a sparsely populated airfield.
Gu Ya quickly ducked into the deserted bushes, recalled You Yin,
And then turned off the bracelet. He took out a set of forged identity equipment, including a bracelet, an ID card, and a bank card.
Of course, there was also a facial morphing and disguising device, and a new set of clothes.
When he emerged from the bushes again, he looked like a fashionable traveler.
Pink short hair, paired with yellow gear-shaped earrings, and a small, shiny silver metal nose ring.
He then wore a pair of small sunglasses that drooped to the tip of his nose.
A golden gear-shaped pendant hung around his neck.
He wore a dreamlike jacket on his upper body that could change its colorful patterns at will.
His slender legs were clad in loose black casual pants and a pair of large black boots for ease of movement.
A small black bag was slung over his left shoulder, containing the mecha's starter and some small items.
"One needs some accessories to carry around, or it might arouse suspicion from pedestrians," Gu Ya murmured.
Gu Ya walked out of the airfield quickly and quietly. Passing by a large mirror, he turned his head and sighed, "Hmm~ Dressing up a bit and changing my appearance isn't bad. I wonder what Ye Ying would think if she saw me like this."
"Would she not recognize me~"
So many words wasted, why not get to the plot quickly! (A roar from the author's second personality!)
Gu Ya casually hailed a single-seater hovercar and set off towards the location on the note.
"Gearwheel Street, number 333, thank you!"
The hovercar let out a faint and pleasant engine startup sound, slowly flying into the air and merging into the hovercar traffic.
From outside the city, it didn't seem like much.
But after merging into the traffic flow and being in the city's core, he truly experienced the city's style.
There were traffic streams above traffic streams.
Between the traffic streams were aerial walkways wrapped in holographic advertisements.
Pedestrians walked at varying paces. Most of them had half-holographic screens in front of them. Some were talking softly, some were video calling, some were watching funny short videos.
Gu Ya wondered if they wouldn't trip while walking and watching their holographic screens.
Mechas were rarely seen here. Gu Ya guessed this was likely a residential area, and mechas, being disruptive, were probably in those giant transparent domes in the southern part of the city.
What surprised Gu Ya was that spiral buildings shaped like springs were everywhere.
Pedestrians could use escalators to ascend these buildings.
Inside the buildings were rows of ascending rooms.
"Apart from being aesthetically pleasing, are these buildings practical?" Gu Ya sighed lightly.
"Esteemed guest, your destination, Gearwheel Street 333, is still an hour's journey away. You are welcome to ask any questions, order music, or take a nap. You may even select paid services."
The hovercar's system voice came through. Compared to the mechanical voice of Wuxu City, this very gentle female voice made Gu Ya's blood surge.
Coupled with the novelty of just arriving here, Gu Ya's brain gradually became excited.
"Paid services!" Gu Ya said without hesitation. He had enough money anyway. He had just transferred a hundred thousand White Star Coins from his bank card; it was a waste not to spend it.
"The paid services range from 980, 1998, up to 4999 White Star Coins..."
"The most expensive one~" Gu Ya said with a smile.
As soon as he finished speaking, the car window instantly turned opaque, and the interior became pitch black.
The holographic projection system immediately displayed a sexy and alluring virtual beauty sitting between Gu Ya's legs, posing seductively.
A device that conformed to ergonomic principles popped out from under the seat, directly clamping Gu Ya's lower body.
The device even had an automatic disrobing robotic arm...
"My heavens, change! Change to another one!" Gu Ya exclaimed.
Is technology meant to satisfy humanity's private desires? Gu Ya thought to himself in shame.
"Guest, do you not like females?"
"Let's listen to music..." Gu Ya never imagined that his first intimate encounter would almost be with a virtual person.
The holographic beauty disappeared, the device under his lower body retracted into the seat, the car window brightened again, and soothing music began to play inside.
The vehicle continued to move forward, and the scenery outside gradually became desolate. It was probably entering an old district or something similar.
There were no more traffic streams above, nor as many aerial walkways.
Gu Ya glanced at the time; it was already past 4 PM.
He was hungry, and the music was making him a bit sleepy.
As he was dozing off, the hovercar's voice said, "Guest, you have reached your destination. The fare is 800 White Star Coins, of which the paid service time was one minute..."
Gu Ya hurriedly paid and got out of the car.
Standing on the ground, Gu Ya's heart finally settled.
He looked up and around. It was indeed desolate here.
The old metal road made a "clatter" sound as his boots stepped on it.
There was no bustling street scene either.
Only scattered single-story buildings of varying heights lined both sides of the road, extending towards the end of the side streets.
The street was deserted. Only a few of the single-story buildings had lights on; the rest had their doors tightly shut.
As evening approached, the setting sun was hidden by heavy dark clouds, adding a touch of desolation to the area.
The pale streetlights cast a weak glow.
Gu Ya's attire brought a touch of vibrancy to the deserted street.
Directly ahead was Gearwheel Street, number 333.
Just like in the holographic map, it was an old brick house, with the paint on the walls almost peeled off, making it impossible to discern its original color.
It began to rain lightly, a pitter-patter sound. Gu Ya smelled a faint acrid odor in the air.
He took out a testing instrument and detected it.
It was acid rain. The acidity was not strong enough to harm the skin, but it made him feel itchy all over.
Gu Ya walked quickly towards the old house, pried open the mechanical lock, and slipped inside.
As expected, it had been emptied.
Both the walls and the floor were bare.
The wallpaper was torn in a mess.
Moss-like plants occupied the corners, the wooden floor had started to mold and warp, and a musty smell filled the air.
A small mouse scurried along the corner, stopped, raised its head to look at the intruder for a few seconds, and then slowly ran away.
"There's nothing here, what are you looking at?" Gu Ya felt a bit disappointed.
He released a micro-drone and sent it to the second floor to explore.
Gu Ya stayed on the first floor, searching room by room.
"Empty, empty, still empty." Gu Ya searched all around, finding only empty rooms.
The holographic images transmitted by the micro-drone were also the same.
Gu Ya was unwilling. He spent 600 system coins from the mall to retrieve a scanning robot and sweep through the rooms together, looking for any hidden rooms.
It actually found one: a door leading to the basement in an inconspicuous room on the first floor.
Gu Ya took out his light saber, used its crimson glow to clear the path, and descended into the basement.
The same disappointment followed. Apart from rat droppings, there was nothing to be seen in the basement.
"Xuan Heyi really came here."
Gu Ya walked out of the house in disappointment. The acid rain was still falling.
He opened an umbrella and walked to the neighbor's house, knocking on the door.
Soon, an old woman came out, her face kind, and asked, "Who are you looking for?"
"I'd like to inquire about the former owner of number 333."
The old woman led Gu Ya into the house, poured him a cup of hot tea, sat in a rocking chair, and slowly said, "It's been empty for a long time, about 11 years."
"The original owner seemed to be named Gu Hui. It was originally a family of three, and they later took in a little girl."
"That little girl wouldn't smile when she first arrived, just staring blankly at people. I remember it most vividly."
This old woman seemed to be talking about Sister Ling, whom her father had found in a junkyard.
"What happened then?" Gu Ya asked.
"I heard they got rich and moved to Wuxu City, a thousand kilometers away," the old woman said with a smile.
As she spoke, she actually started to doze off. Her eyelids closed, and after a minute or two of drowsiness, she suddenly became alert again and said, "I remember, Gu Hui came back later."
As she spoke, she stood up and walked into the inner room, calling out, "He left me ten thousand White Star Coins and a tin box, instructing me to give it to a child named 'Gu Xing Chi' if he came looking for it. He explicitly said not to give it to anyone else."
Gu Ya suddenly realized, "I haven't even given my name yet."
"You must be surprised, you look very much like him," the old woman called out.
But I'm wearing a disguise mask.
Gu Ya immediately stood up, summoned his exoskeleton and light saber, and quickly headed for the exit.
Suddenly, the front door was heavily rammed open.
Two burly men in black entered, holding glove-type micro-firearms in their hands. Judging by the muzzles, these were energy-charged electromagnetic guns with stun effects.
The old woman also emerged from the inner room. At this moment, her back was no longer hunched, and she was holding a gun.
She tore off her fake face, revealing her true appearance.
A woman with a calm expression, sharp eyes, and a slender build appeared.
Without a word, Gu Ya flew towards the woman.
Start with the weakest!