Chapter 2818: Flowing Gold City
"There are always some people who aren't quite normal." Xu Huo raised his glass toward him.
Tang Xu smiled, finished the wine in his glass, and then said, "But some local archons in Zone 003 have already issued bans, so there's still progress. Let's not talk about these unpleasant things anymore. Flowing Gold City is here."
Xu Huo turned his head to look ahead. The front window of the aircraft became transparent. Under the bright sunlight, a massive city made of metal, shaped like an eggshell split in two, appeared in his field of vision.
Half of the eggshell sat on the desert, its base buried deep in the sand, while the other half hovered high in the sky. Both the upper and lower halves had city buildings, with jagged edges facing each other. At this moment, the two halves of the city were separated, but it looked like the entire eggshell could be joined together as one.
From a distance, the buildings inside the city could be seen, and the city was not small. An outer barrier covered it. The sunlight was too intense, causing the outer barrier to visually distort, but the lush greenery inside the city was still visible. The people coming and going had dry faces and rarely wore sun-protective gear.
Aircraft lined up to enter through a tunnel beneath the jagged edges of the eggshell. After the outer hatch closed, the inner hatch would open. Passing through this transition tunnel, the aircraft could enter Flowing Gold City without disturbing the protective barrier.
"Flowing Gold City is quite large." Xu Huo looked up. The upper half of the eggshell was similar to the lower half, except the buildings were inverted and suspended. However, there were noticeably fewer people visible. There were some public platforms for walking, but not many, and most were transparent, allowing people below to see the feet of those above.
However, most building bases were opaque. Occasionally, an aircraft would fly up and directly enter a building, unlike the ground where they could park anywhere.
A massive projection screen appeared ahead. On the projection, dozens of meters high, a pair of hands placed on piano keys were shown. Floating text beside it advertised an upcoming concert, and the performer was actually listed as "Genius Hands."
"Is that a stage name?" Xu Huo asked.
"No." Tang Xu's expression was somewhat complicated as he said, "What's famous is just these hands."
"This performer comes from a musical family. The family has power and wealth, considered among the top tier in Zone 003. But someone took a liking to his hands and wanted to buy them."
"His family lacks neither money nor power, so why would they sell their own hands?"
"Then, within a very short time, almost the entire family died. Their assets were divided up cleanly. You can imagine what happened next."
"He sold his hands, and the buyer promotes these hands. They don't even mention the performer's name at the concerts."
"So I usually don't like staying in Zone 003." Tang Xu sighed. "I saw that family when I was a child. Back then, I followed my parents and tried every way to get an invitation. In the corner of the banquet hall, I watched them surrounded by admirers. Who would have thought that in just a few years, it would end up like this..."
You think you're at the top of the food chain, but in reality, you're just prey for someone stronger.
"Ah, ah!" After a couple of sighs, he pointed at another projected advertisement appearing in the distance. "I'm really lucky. There's a hunting performance in a couple of days!"
Tang Xu said to Xu Huo with slight excitement, "There's probably another sand whale maturing. This is a famous event in Flowing Gold City!"
Xu Huo watched him hurriedly instruct his secretary to reserve seats, even generously inviting the secretary to come along.
However, the secretary only calmly operated his communicator. "Every hunting performance has deaths. I'm not a player, so I don't dare to join in the excitement."
"Is that so? Haha!" Tang Xu didn't seem to care much and had already started contacting his friends in Flowing Gold City.
Soon, they arrived at Tang Xu's residence. He lived alone in a luxurious villa. As soon as they entered, he told Xu Huo to pick any room and ask the robot for anything he needed.
Not only could he order late-night snacks and breakfast, but he could also choose different room lighting and humidity based on his mood and personal preferences.
"The food on the train is decent, but the variety isn't rich enough. Let's have a big meal first, then go out for some fun." Tang Xu showed off his hands. "I'm going to take a bath and get a manicure while I'm at it."
Xu Huo chose his room, and the robot brought new toiletries. He also soaked in the bathtub, which was comparable to a small swimming pool, and changed into clean clothes only after he felt comfortable.
When he went downstairs again, the dining table was already covered with various foods. Tang Xu said these were the famous dishes of Flowing Gold City. Since he didn't know Xu Huo's taste, he simply put everything out.
"Help yourself, help yourself." Tang Xu sat down with a cheerful smile.
The meal was enjoyable for both host and guest. Their conversation brought them a bit closer. Tang Xu had to go renew a new contract in the afternoon, so he arranged for a new secretary to accompany Xu Huo. Of course, he also arranged some activities for him, all of which were quite famous in Flowing Gold City.
After asking about his preferences, the new secretary made some adjustments to the itinerary, removing the casino and fighting arena, and replacing them with quieter activities.
It was worth mentioning that Flowing Gold City was famous for its mental healing therapy, which was also a must-do activity for visitors.
Xu Huo looked at the introduction. Roughly, with the assistance of doctors and evolvers, combined with instruments that released comfortable spiritual power, the instruments consumed sub-class stones, making the treatment expensive and hard to get an appointment. When he mentioned wanting to do the mental healing therapy, the secretary was visibly troubled for a moment, then said he would try to find a way to secure a slot for today.
"Mr. Xu, I'm very sorry. This activity can't be booked today. The earliest available slot is two days from now." The secretary apologized. "I wonder if you'll have time in two days."
"Book it for me." Xu Huo had the time.
The secretary breathed a sigh of relief and then activated the aircraft to accompany him out.
That afternoon, Xu Huo had a great time. Tang Xu was willing to spend money, so the activities were all expensive and naturally offered a good experience. Here, he also saw some particularly drought-resistant fungi—yes, fungi that grew in the desert.
As for other mutated species, there was no need to mention them. Flowing Gold City had many animal venues where they were raised, including all kinds. As for the sand whales Tang Xu mentioned, they weren't real whales but insects that looked like whales.
The adult insects were about the length of a human finger, but they liked to move in groups. When most members of a group matured, they would frequently hunt in the desert. At such times, even many large mutated animals were no match for them.
Thus, the sand whale hunting performance was one of Flowing Gold City's popular events.
There were quite a few recreational activities in the desert, but many required signing a risk disclosure form, as there was a certain mortality rate.
The venue sold live sand whales. Xu Huo bought two to play with. Although these creatures were small, they were extremely brutal. When eating, they habitually bit through the prey's throat first and tore it apart. Of course, given their size, there weren't many prey they could tear apart alive.