Zhonghai City is situated in the eastern part of the Dongxia Federation, adjacent to the East Yue Sea. It lies on the easternmost coastline of Dongyue Province and is the largest city within the province.
However, it was not the only city in Dongyue Province, nor was it the province’s only Special Level City.
Besides Zhonghai City, the prosperous and populous Dongyue Province had two other Special Level Cities, and over a dozen Tier One Cities.
These two cities were Zijin City, located northwest of Zhonghai City, and Qianshan City, located to its southwest.
The three Special Level Cities formed a triangle, reinforcing one another. This triangular area was also the most prosperous region in all of Dongyue Province.
The distances between the three Special Level Cities were not particularly great, and transportation was very convenient. They were all connected by high-speed rail, Flying Ships, and even Teleportation Arrays.
The next day, around noon, Li Qian arrived at the building that housed the Transmission Center. He had deliberately chosen to come this late.
After all, he was planning to use the Teleportation Array to facilitate an evolution, and noon was the most convenient time, when there would be the fewest people.
Of course, the fact that the Sky Realm Cultivation Base was quite far away also played a part. The entire Transmission Center was located in the northern district of Zhonghai City.
Perhaps because it was nearly noon—and certainly because a mystical travel method like the Teleportation Array was an undeniable luxury for most—the number of Beast Masters entering and leaving the Transmission Center building wasn’t particularly high.
At least, it was a far cry from the bustling throngs of people he had expected, the kind of scene one would find at a high-speed rail station or a Flying Ship Base.
Li Qian was a bit dumbfounded when he saw the majestic, thirty-plus-story building, which resembled an iron tower. The Transmission Center building was quite different from what he had imagined.
To be precise, it wasn’t a normal building at all, but a tower. Logically, seeing a tower shouldn’t have been surprising; after all, tower-like structures were common in cities.
The strange part was that it was an iron tower, clearly uninhabitable. As he slowly approached, filled with curiosity, a look of sudden understanding finally dawned on his face.
It turned out that the base of the Transmission Center’s iron tower was different from a normal one. It wasn’t a hollow, open-work design, but completely enclosed. From a distance, it looked as if a silver pedestal had been installed beneath the iron tower.
The silver base occupied a spacious area, but it only seemed to be three stories high. ’For the Transmission Center of a Special Level City, that seems a bit small,’ he thought.
With that thought, he walked straight into the base of the tower. Upon entering, the look of sudden realization returned to his face.
After a quick scan, he realized that this iron tower structure—or more precisely, its base—was just a service lobby.
The actual Teleportation Arrays were located Underground. After completing the necessary procedures in the lobby, dedicated elevators would take passengers down to the Underground space where the arrays were housed.
Because he had always focused his energy on reading books and materials about cultivation, Li Qian was completely clueless about such things. Seeing it for himself was a moment of sudden understanding that also broadened his horizons.
Instead of heading straight for the Underground space with the Teleportation Arrays, Li Qian began to look around the lobby.
Neither the staff in the lobby nor the other travelers seemed to find his behavior strange in the slightest.
After all, a Teleportation Array was not a mode of transport everyone could afford. There were plenty of first-timers like Li Qian; some even shouted and exclaimed in the lobby, taking pictures to commemorate the occasion.
Someone like Li Qian, who was merely looking around, was considered quite composed by comparison.
Having taken a look around and familiarized himself with the lobby’s layout, Li Qian decided not to waste any more time.
He headed straight for the ticketing area. It was very spacious, with few people. A few figures could be seen here and there, but a closer look revealed that most were robots; there were hardly any real people.
Li Qian watched how other travelers did it, then followed their example and walked up to a self-service terminal.
The terminal’s operation was very simple, practically foolproof. The screen displayed just two words: "Purchase Ticket." Li Qian reached out and touched the "Purchase Ticket" button.
"Please enter your destination." After he touched "Purchase Ticket," this message popped up, accompanied by several options: "Domestic," "International," and "Hong Yue."
When he saw "Hong Yue," Li Qian’s eyes narrowed slightly. Hong Yue was similar to the moon of his past life—a satellite orbiting the Ancestral Star.
Li Qian hadn’t read many books or materials on the subject, but he had certainly heard of the renowned Hong Yue.
Hong Yue, one could say, was the Ancestral Star’s transfer station for traveling into the cosmos and to the Outer Heaven Battlefield.
It was said that several large-scale Space Transmission Arrays were deployed on Hong Yue, capable of teleporting people directly out of the Rainbow Star System.
Distances of several, tens, or even hundreds of light-years could be traversed in a short amount of time.
No single Federation could hope to construct such a Teleportation Array on its own. The three arrays on Hong Yue were said to have been a joint project, completed by the combined efforts of the Ancestral Star’s Eight Great Federations. One could say... they were the culmination of nearly all of humanity’s collective wisdom.
Averting his gaze, Li Qian shifted his attention from "Hong Yue" to "Domestic." Without hesitation, he tapped the screen again.
After his light tap, more information appeared, filling two whole pages. It covered nearly all the Tier One and Special Level Cities in the country, and even some of the larger Second Level Cities.
After a quick search, Li Qian saw several familiar city names on the page: Kyoto City, Shazhou City, Nandu City, Yunlan City...
Out of curiosity, Li Qian opened the page for travel to Yunlan City. When he saw the teleportation fee, he was completely stunned, unable to process it for a moment.
3,500,000!
The one-way trip from Zhonghai City back to Yunlan City actually cost a staggering 3,500,000. Even though he was already quite well-off, Li Qian couldn’t help but be taken aback.
To put it in perspective, a Flying Ship from Zhonghai City to Yunlan City only cost a little over one hundred thousand, and that was for a first-class ticket. An economy class ticket was even cheaper, just over ten thousand. Sometimes, during a sale, you could even find a ticket for a few thousand.
The terrifying price made Li Qian click his tongue in amazement and sigh. ’With such an outrageous fare, no wonder even wealthy families don’t use the Teleportation Array for every trip.’
After a moment of reflection, Li Qian went back to the previous screen and started over. Soon, he found his destination for this trip on the third row of the first page—Qianshan City!