8 I Can Only Rely on You (1/2)
Chapter 8: I Can Only Rely on You
That night, Shi Xiaobai accompanied Riko and One-Pun to a huge villa. It was said to be a residence Riko had bought in this city. After having a simple meal, Shi Xiaobai went back to his room to sleep. During this period of time, Riko did not mention much regarding [Gaia]. She only said that she would bring him to their headquarters, Gaia Base, tomorrow.
Shi Xiaobai fell asleep soon after going to bed, but was woken up by Riko with a kick in the morning. While he was having his breakfast in a drowsy state, he saw a helicopter land in an empty spot in front of the villa.
By the time Shi Xiaobai gathered his thoughts, he realized he was sitting in the helicopter. Riko was sitting across him, but One-Pun had already disappeared.
“Where’s Uncle Baldy?” Shi Xiaobai asked as he caught sight of the white clouds amidst the blue sky outside the window before he began humming, “Puny world, shiver before This King’s feet!”
Riko rolled her eyes and snapped, “Teacher One-Pun left early because he has something going on. In a while, when we reach Gaia Base, don’t you keep saying ‘This King’. Not everyone possesses a temperament as mild as mine.”
Shi Xiaobai had his reservations regarding Riko’s remarks about her mild temperament, but he was still afraid of being violently beaten up, so he whispered, “This King..”
“What?” Riko cast a murderous look at him.
“Tch!” Shi Xiaobai imitated Riko’s tone, but immediately suffered a beating. As he covered his head, he said in a wronged manner, “Enough, enough, This Emperor will not claim to be This King in the future…Ouch!”
Moments later, Shi Xiaobai, who had finally succumbed to Riko’s authoritative power after enduring several beatings, said in a melancholy timbre, “Girl, you must be a demoness sent by the God of Darkness..”
“Hmph!” Riko waved her fist as her face brimmed with a smile. She never expected bullying Shi Xiaobai would be such a pleasant thing.
……
The helicopter flew all morning before it descended at noon. From the helicopter, Shi Xiaobai was able to see Gaia Base in its entirety.
High-rise steel buildings loomed like cold mountains, reflecting the sun’s blinding light. Iron-paved roads crisscrossed and differed from the silver-surfaced high-rise buildings. The roads were built with black steel, and looked like black, bottomless rivers from the sky.
“Welcome to Gaia Base—Steel City.” Riko playfully winked at him.
Shi Xiaobai sneered, “This will be the first fief This King will own in this world. Using it to be the base of Xiaobai’s Hero Squad would barely qualify…Ouch!”
Pulling back her fist, Riko began to space out as she looked at the approaching steel ground.
After disembarking the helicopter, Shi Xiaobai treaded cautiously on the steel surface. He realized that while it was sturdy and solid to the touch, it had a degree of flexibility. Furthermore, the ground was not hot as he had expected, instead, a sense of coldness seemed to linger above the ground. After bouncing and walking on the steel surface a few times, he realized it produced very little sound.
“The ground is produced from the shells of the Astral Calamity Beast, ‘Astral Steel Giant Beetles’. It possesses a hardness above ordinary metals, and its heat dissipation and noise reduction attributes are extremely good.” Riko involuntarily explained to Shi Xiaobai when she found him looking at everything with awe.
Shi Xiaobai was secretly astonished as he quietly took note of what Riko said.
As the two of them walked, they encountered a number of people who were driving past them. Many of them stopped to greet Riko with a “Miss Riko” and would also give Shi Xiaobai a complicated look before driving away.
“I am quite famous in Steel City.” Riko raised her eyebrows while glancing at Shi Xiaobai.
Shi Xiaobai sneered in response. He felt animosity as well as mockery from the looks he was given.