By the time they left the conference hall, the banquet table had been cleared.

Mina lies uncomfortably on a mahogany bench with one white leg exposed on her hips, trying to unwind herself from the old hip-torturing device. Gwen noticed that her hand fiddled with a new information device hanging from her wrist, disguised as a bracelet with an ornament.

Tao was listening to music as tinnitus-like highs and bass came from an oversized pair of headphones.

More examples of consumer-grade magic devices?Gwen tried to get another glimpse of the cup-shaped things around his ears, or were they electromechanical devices?So far, in this world, she hadn't seen any meaningful manifestations of scientific knowledge from her old world, and the appearance of condensed energy in the form of mana crystals and spell symbols ensured that these inventions were superfluous.

But it also meant that Noams lost the magical miracle created by his magicians, succumbing to the margins of labor, technology, and living standards. Even if the Noems live meaningfully and safely in Shanghai, it is because of policy and politics, not any personal contribution. How do these nouns fit into social class? Gwen wonders—maybe they have taken up positions through other means, such as creative arts, education, or entertainment? What is their life like, when a doctor is more important than a million names? How does the current state of the world remain stable? Is the threat of destruction so great that life and life are given to a few?

She was also completely bewildered by the power of the various forces in Shanghai. How influential is the Chinese People's Liberation Army? How powerful is the Politburo? Where is the tower of globalization in a closed country like China? What does Shanghai have to do with satellite borders like Singapore, Vietnam, and Malaysia? What does it do with Seoul, Kyoto, or superpower blocs like the United States or the Commonwealth?

There's a lot to learn and a lot to figure out before she puts the plan into action.

First, she had to find a way to graduate – think she was going to lose her high school diploma!

Next, she must build personal wealth, or find a guarantor for college tuition, or exercise her scholarship options. She didn't know how these things worked in a first-tier city, which made her anxious.

In this world, knowledge is more than just a power, and Gwen "must" understand her patrilineal family's place in the hierarchy of things—who she should avoid, who she should support, who can repay favors, and who should trust whom.

Gwen's thoughts were interrupted by the Tao.

"Yo yo yo!" Tao withdrew his headphones and walked slowly towards her. His progress was cautious and measured, as low jeans hindered freedom of movement. "So, how about the grill, Gul? They grill you in three ways and then slice you like a steak?"

"I'm still whole, Peach. Gwen wasn't sure if it was a deliberate change in the translation of the Chinese word for "dao," but he felt that the name fruit was a good fit for Tao. "On the face of it, I'll be in your hands for the next few days. ”

"What!?fuck it!?That's the fuck, because. ”

"Mina!" Jun cleared his throat and raised his voice. She had been ignoring Gwen.

Unexpectedly, Mina turned off her device and approached beautifully. Gwen could tell in Mina's eyes that her baby-faced cousin had an adoring look when Joon spoke.

"Yes, Uncle Jun, can I help?" she replied shyly.

Jun patted Mina on the head, no different than Gwen patted her dog, Linny, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. The look he gave her was a mixture of doting and helpless criticism. This is very different from the way Guan Yu treats Gwen. The man always weighed her as real estate.

"I want you and Tao to take Gwen around town for a few days – show her around and show her some interesting sights. Be sure to give her a feel for the city. ”

"I'll do my best, uncle. Mina's eyes floated to Gwen, and the passion in her eyes vanished instantly. "But I have classes most of the time. ”

Mina tilted her head and smiled knowingly at Gwen, her buttoned nose writhing cutely, suggesting something rather insulting and unpleasant.

Oh, my God. Gwen had an epiphany.

She's a country cousin who has never seen the city, dropped out of high school! In this world, she's a Beverly Hills redneck! Is she going to bring a moral, austere, minimalist lifestyle to the funky, narcissistic, and superficial neighborhoods of her Shanghai cousins?

"Mina, don't do this," Joan comforted her calmly. "Gwen will teach you to live in the real world that you can't even imagine. She's been through more hell than you and Tao. She's in Sydney, you know, when the city fell. ”

The news prompts Mina to turn to Gwen, who has an expressive "O" on her peachy lips.

"You fought the merfolk? there, at the border? Mina took a second look at her cousin. That means she has an incredible story, right? She should have introduced Gwen to her friends, and the story of a hillbilly surviving in the bush, or a story in the Australian countryside, would surely impress them.

Gwen felt a premonition of unwelcomeness, and Mina's eyes turned into a pair of crescent-shaped half-moons, and she laughed at herself happily.

What did Mina see in her beautiful head? Gwen wondered. Does Mina think that Gwen rode a kangaroo into battle, leashed the empty bear on a leash to obey her orders, wading through the merfolk's guts and wading over her knees while casting spells with both hands?

"Well, I think I could have gotten out of class earlier. Mina pulled out a slate and examined any projections it displayed. Gwen's eyes were focused on the seemingly inactive device. Maybe it's an illusion that is aimed directly at the user? What does it use for a CPU? Is there such a thing as artificial intelligence? "yes, I think I can do that. ”

Mina packed up the slate. Gwen promised herself that she would buy one, or something like that, too. This handheld-like device is a very interesting technology that cannot be forfeited with proper examination, and it may even provide some unexpected opportunities in the future.

"Alright, alright, alright!" Tao punched excitedly. "Gwen, I'm going to show you the best time of your life! We're going to stay with my crew, drink some ice cream, go see the jewelry, we're going to cross the Huaihai Road, bitch, it's going to explode!"

"Thanks, Momoko. Gwen hugged him.

Tao stiffly accepted her hug, embarrassed by the unexpected physical outpouring of affection, and a little intimidated by Gwen's overfamiliarity. It was then that Gwen remembered that in her old world, in Asian culture, public displays of love were rare, and perhaps the same is true here?

Mina rolled her eyes.

"Okay. "I'll let you do it. Jun nodded affirmatively. "I'm going back to base. I'll pick you up, kids, and wake up at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning. It's a long ride from the ferry port to the island. You don't want to annoy the referee this year. It will be the Paris of the Shanghai Tower.

Mina nodded, a passion for her uncle. Tao Yuanming's expression was complicated and difficult to understand, implying that he did not have good memories of "Hengsha" Island.

They watched Jun disappear behind the landscape fountain outside the front door.

"Alright, cousin, let's go. Mina gestured outside with her thumb. "We're going to 'show you Shanghai'. ”

Gwen said to the inner chamber. "Shouldn't we say goodbye to our grandparents?"

"No, it's too much trouble. Mina looked at her watch. It was exactly 1400. "Mom is taking care of them, and it's only getting more annoying. I want to take you to an interesting place. ”

Mina is gone.

"Gramp is a nuisance!" Taozi shook her head wisely as she followed her sister. "He hates games, he hates games

"Mina, can you drive?"

"What, you don't know? You have cars at the border, right?"

"We usually deal with roosters. We tied them up and rode through the road outside. "The pioneers used to run for miles and handcuff them with their fists before they had to stop," Gwen replied, "seriously."

"Oh?" Mina thought, visions of a giant rat-like creature fighting hand in hand with a man. "Okay. ”

Mina's car is a convertible. Not a sleek classic convertible driven by Alessia, but a shiny convertible with four concentric rings as a logo. Gwen was not very impressed with this car, it was better to say that there was an "Audi" in this world. So, if there are consumer goods such as Gongmiao and Prada in the fashion industry, why shouldn't other brands from her old world be unveiled?

However, Mina uses Gwen's moment of contemplation to show that she has never seen such an expensive car before. Sure, she was happy, but also a little sympathetic to her simple cousin who was stunned by a 700HDM5 taxi.

Tao sat behind the two girls and stretched out, legs apart, hat covering half of his face.

Gwen sat dignifiedly, her clothes folded over her long legs, tucked between her thighs. Mina started the engine and the car pulled out of the parking lot of her grandparents' gated community, accompanied by the creaking sound of gravel.

"You are now exiting the Hamlet of the club," a sign written in Chinese. "Safe driving creates a safer community for all. ”

Of course, Mina messed it up.

Quattro Turbo Mana Core screams and launches three people down the avenue. Mina seems to be a veteran on wheels, cruising through traffic, not breaking once.

The third track highway soon gave way to the second, and then, the superstructure of Shanghai Company A, turned into the first track loop, rising like a mountain.

The tallest building that caught Gwen's eye was a zigzag pyramid that occupies a quarter of the skyline, and like a three-dimensional sculpture, it looms over the city, displayed in a gallery dedicated to curved steel and arched glass.

"That's the tower of the People's Liberation Army," Mina said helpfully, fulfilling the task she had promised Jun, "it's scary, isn't it." It's not so much a tower as a bunker and bunker. In an emergency, they say, the superstructure below it can accommodate nearly 2 million people. ”

"Is there a shielded station in Shanghai?" Gwen asked. The air was hot and suffocating excess mana pollution, but it wasn't the stuffiness she felt in Singapore.

"No, those are unique to the Frontier. Shanghai is located on the main trunk line of the Asia-Pacific region, we are surrounded by border cities, and at the same time under the protection of the People's Liberation Army, so there is no need. ”

"The city has never been attacked?"

Mina replied, "If you're asking about monsters, you're not monsters." ”。 "However, there have been several times when it has fallen on people, such as the Japanese. None of the half-humans dared to touch us, because we had two doctors sitting on top of the tower. One is the People's Liberation Army and the other is the Shanghai Tower. ”

"A doctor!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Two," Mina corrected. Big Marshallson from the People's Liberation Army, the commander of the Shanghai Tower.

"So, their presence ensures the safety of the city?"

Mina looked at Gwen with an increasingly impatient look on her face.

"Either one can ensure that the fish, the mountains, the air or the inhabitants of the underground do not dare to come into conflict with the city, that is, unless they want their settlements to turn into ruins. The doctors control each other here. The Communist Party doesn't trust Westerners very much, and Westerners don't trust the Communist Party. Lord Sun's actions were in the interests of the Politburo, while Lord Huo represented the mages of the City and Tower Alliance, not all of them, including pseudonyms. ”

From the voice, Gwen thought to herself. She needs to find another "tower" ruled by Prince Huo. Maybe they have a connection with Gunther's people and can give her some leverage if the situation is critical. Of course, there is a price to pay, but Gwen prefers to pay the price to the devil she knows.

When the shadow of the convertible turned into a geometric aura, they slowed down.

"As for the magical competition, how much do you know about Pudong?"

"Pudong?"

Gwen knew that in her past world, Pudong was Shanghai's main new financial district, with the tallest buildings and the most expensive restaurants.

"This is a special economic zone separated from downtown Shanghai, carved out of the Yellow River. Nowadays, foreigners in the international and French concessions mostly live there, but there are also other ethnicities. ”

"Xenon!" Gwen's voice raised an octave. She knows nothing about the half-human race, and the one on her body has been conditioned and brainwashed, fearing and loathing them. "We can...... Can we see them?"

"In time, while you need a special permit to enter Pudong, you also need to undergo orientation training before allowing additional person-to-person contact. Maybe grandpa can sponsor you for a license?

"Okay. Gwen turned to marvel at the city and its superstructure. It seems that this glyph structure is not as dense as it seems. Instead, it is a honeycomb lattice, with empty domes towering over the commercial district below.

But other races!Gwen can't wait to meet a walker who can talk in real life. A clever mermaid, perhaps, a human-sized bird? Can there be elves? That's the real good ball. She had seen the Lord of the Rings many times in her old world. It would be a pleasure to see a real deal. Hopefully, the elves in this world are romantic supermodels, not those little little things, tinkering toys, or pebble shoes.

Their car was transformed into a building made of bent glass and fibrous steel strands. Mina sat in a parking space, and a handsome waitress addressed them.

"Waiter, ma'am?"

"Go ahead. ”

Mina led them out of the car. Tao Yuanming seemed to have fallen asleep and woke up at the beginning, and when his senses were concentrated, he snored chaotically.

"Momoko, get your ass off my car. ”

"What? yes. Where are we?"

"CBD 27," Mina replied.

"Again, we just arrived this morning," Tao frowned.

"I know, I want to introduce Gwen to some of my friends. ”

"Yes, is Mr. Lin still there?"

"How do I know?"

"......" Tao looked around cautiously, as if this "Fred" Lin would jump out and ambush him.

Gwen swung her legs out from the passenger's side and stood behind the two arguing pairs, half a head taller than both of her cousins. Mina took the calligraphy and painting tickets from the waitress and led them to a revolving door. There were many more attendants inside, all under pseudonyms, well-dressed and polite, opening door after door for them. There's even a well-dressed waiter in the levitation.

The glass platform rises silently into an open floor with a view of the sea in downtown Shanghai. Gwen couldn't help but notice that, unlike her previous world, the rivers here were still bean-green and blue, without any of the ochre-yellow seaweed that haunted Shanghai in spring and summer.