Gazing at the guards who threw up their hands, Chen Yu glanced at his wristband, checking the details of his ticket purchase.
His entry ticket clearly indicated the period between 18:00 and 19:00. He had successfully purchased it and the payment had been deducted, yet now these guards claimed the transfer specialist was off duty.
"Buddy, are you sure about this?"
Chen Yu pointed to the projection on his wristband, his gaze fixed as he spoke in a low voice.
"The ticket I purchased clearly shows this time slot. Your civic service platform allowed me to buy a ticket, deducted the payment, and issued a successful ticket. The current time is 18:25, and I haven't even said I'm late or early. Now you're telling me he's off duty?"
"He is indeed off duty."
The guard continued to shrug. "The specialist's working hours are from 9:30 to 17:30. After this time, he is off duty."
"If that's the case, then why could the civic service platform still issue tickets?" Chen Yu asked, his eyes filled with confusion. The guard maintained his indifferent demeanor. "It's no use telling me this. The specialist is off duty, and that's that."
Chen Yu and his companions were not the only ones facing this issue.
During this time, a steady stream of other ticket-holding citizens arrived. The outcome was invariably the same: the specialist was off duty, and they could not proceed to the upper city.
No matter how anxious these people were, the response was always the same.
Off duty!
Chen Yu stared at the scene unfolding before him, a flicker of anger igniting within him. Nuo Yi clenched her fists.
"Brother?"
She was prepared, ready to act the moment Chen Yu gave the order. As a formidable Necromancer, she was poised to unleash her abilities.
Licking his lips, Chen Yu signaled to young Nuo Yi to remain calm and approached the guards again.
"Can you let us go up?"
"How could I? I'm just a doorman," the guard replied, shrugging. "How could I possibly handle such specialized work?"
"Then what about our tickets?"
Chen Yu pointed to the successful purchase page displayed on the projection.
"A refund?"
"No refunds," the guard stated, still shrugging. "Either you wait until tomorrow morning. When the specialist arrives, perhaps he can let you go up. But getting a refund is impossible."
"Buddy, isn't that a bit too overbearing?"
Chen Yu shook his head, finding the conduct of those in the suspended city quite peculiar.
"Anyone wanting to enter the city at this hour must surely have urgent matters. By tomorrow morning, the matters will have long been delayed. Moreover, some people might only have this one night and need to leave directly tomorrow morning. A ticket for 200,000 is not a small sum, is it just going to be wasted like this?"
"That's right, we're in a real hurry!"
"Indeed, indeed!"
"Please, we implore you, let us enter the city. We have truly important matters. Could you possibly contact that specialist?"
Others who had come seeking entry also chimed in, but the guards standing below the city remained unmoved.
"This has nothing to do with me."
At this point, Chen Yu's temper began to simmer. He looked up at the guard for a long moment before stepping aside and leaning against a nearby tree trunk, silently observing the guards and the crowd of citizens gathered before them.
"These people are truly detestable,"
Young Nuo Yi said indignantly, her fists clenched tightly.
"They still sold tickets when we couldn't enter, and now they won't let us up and won't give refunds. What kind of unfair terms are these? Chen Ge, why don't you let me beat them up? I see those guards, at most they're peak Gold rank, not even close to Obsidian. Liam could easily deal with them, and it would be no problem for me to handle them."
Chen Yu watched calmly, observing the citizens still arguing with the guards, and shook his head with a smile.
"Dealing with them is simple, but is it meaningful?"
"At least it would be satisfying," young Nuo Yi replied matter-of-factly. "Besides, didn't you say you wanted to cause a big scene when we came here? This is a perfect excuse."
"That was the initial idea, but plans have changed," Chen Yu murmured.
When he first arrived in the suspended city, Chen Yu had little understanding of this royal city in the Tatu Kingdom. His initial thought was to act in an overbearing manner to make the royal family of the Tatu Kingdom wary of him and focus their attention on him. This way, he could deal with the Elderton family's affairs while they were caught off guard.
Now, the Elderton family's issues had been resolved.
And he had met Liam.
Therefore, Chen Yu's trip to the Tatu Kingdom naturally needed to adapt accordingly.
His previous overbearing approach was a necessary tactic.
Since he had a better plan of action, there was no need to take such risks.
"Ah?! We're not causing trouble anymore?"
Young Nuo Yi's spirits deflated instantly, like a frost-bitten eggplant.
"Who said we're not causing trouble?" Chen Yu raised his hand and ruffled young Nuo Yi's hair. "I said if you follow me, I'll never let you be wronged, and I mean it. It's just that we can't be so brainless about it anymore. Everything needs a method and a reason. We need to show that we're forced to act."
"How should we do it?" Nuo Yi asked, her gaze fixed.
"What bad idea are you hatching now?" the little devil asked, crossing her arms. "I felt you were a bit annoyed just now, but then I saw you smile."
"I was indeed a bit angry, but I also genuinely wanted to smile."
Chen Yu smiled and shook his head. "I didn't expect the underground world to be so similar to the world I lived in before. I've encountered similar things outside."
"Encountered them?"
"Of course, I have. We have so many of those things." Chen Yu whispered softly. "Just before I came to the underground world, we had to wear masks every day and undergo checks."
Both the little devil and Nuo Yi were natives of the underground world and were not very clear about what Chen Yu was saying.
They did not speak and listened silently.
"Once, I was in a hurry to return to my hometown. My flight was already booked for the next day. At that time, my residential compound couldn't do the checks, so I planned to get it done at the hospital. I went to 'Mouchang' and had a single check-up, and I paid the fee. Guess what happened? When I got there, a security guard told me they were off duty."
Chen Yu spread his hands, a mocking smile on his face.
"Online, you could still make an appointment, and it showed 24-hour service. Yet, the First Affiliated Hospital of 'Mouchang' was off duty, closing at 17:30. And there was no way to get a refund through the official WeChat account. When I asked the security guard, he knew nothing."
"What did you do in the end?" Nuo Yi raised her eyebrows.
"What else could I do? I had to consider myself unlucky," Chen Yu shrugged. "The outside world isn't like this underground world where you can just resort to violence. And outside, I was just an ordinary person. How could I go up against such a large hospital? I'm not saying this for any other reason; it's just that I find it too ridiculous. I never thought the underground world and the world outside could be so similar."
Chen Yu sighed, tilting his head back and looking at the gray sky above.
"This world, it's truly laughable."