Chapter 69

Chapter 69: City-State Life

After checking all the test items, Duncan had a clearer understanding of AI’s transport ability and of the nature of the things on the Vanished.

AI could carry several different items at once. Those items could be organic, inorganic, supernatural, or ordinary. The type of item did not affect the stability of the transport process, and the transport did not change the nature of the items themselves.

Some things on the Vanished that clearly had “the ability to act” were actually sub-units under a larger controlling consciousness. For example, the cannonballs were sub-units of the ammunition system. Once these sub-units left the Vanished, they lost their active nature and became plain, ordinary objects.

AI’s transport process did not seem to cost it much “energy.” Whether it carried only the ritual dagger the first time or a whole pile of items now, the bird still came back lively and bouncing around. Of course, this might be because the total “cargo” he had asked it to carry so far was still too small and far from its limit.

For now he had only tested different kinds of items. He still did not know whether AI’s transport ability had limits on “weight” or “size.” That needed further testing.

Duncan summed up the known information point by point. After making sure he had thought through everything, he finally let out a breath and slowly leaned back in his chair.

He knew his current tests were still far from perfect. There were many possible variables he had not considered carefully enough. Even just from the angle of “types of test items,” his samples were too few. They were not enough to build up valid data.

In the future, he would at least need to choose more types of items. He would also have to use different weights and sizes to test AI’s transport limits and the stability of repeated transports. Only with enough control samples would his test data be reliable and trustworthy.

He was very careful in this area, and that caution was not for nothing—because he had a very bold plan… or rather, a very bold idea.

Since AI could teleport items between land and the Vanished intact, and without being limited by the type of item, then… could it deliver a person?

If it could deliver a person, could it deliver someone who did not quite count as a person? For example… Alice?

Duncan knew a single person’s ability was limited. If he relied only on his own power to walk through the Spirit Realm and act as a link between the Vanished and the city-states on land, sooner or later he would run into problems—too few hands, too many things to watch. If he had a helper, things would be much easier.

The teleportation ability AI showed gave him a very good idea.

Of course, Alice was not a very good choice for a helper. This “Anomaly 099” with a high-rank designation might look elegant and mysterious when she sat quietly, but as soon as she moved, she revealed just how weak and useless she was. For now, though, Duncan really had no other candidate.

Thinking that his only usable crew member was such a helpless good-for-nothing who might even stew herself while cooking, Duncan could not help sighing.

The “enemy of the whole world” status of the Vanished really gave him a headache. Duncan guessed that he had almost no chance of finding allies in the human world. If he insisted on looking, he would probably only draw in a group of edgy villains—the kind of people who opened their eyes every morning hoping for the world’s doomsday, who spent Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays cutting gas pipes, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays holding demon sacrificial rites, and Sundays fighting guerrilla battles with Church guardians…

Those types could probably team up with Goathead very quickly. They would have a great time together planning which city-state to invade next, but they were absolutely not the kind of help Duncan wanted.

“…Sigh, at least Alice is obedient,” Duncan muttered to himself as he stood up, talking under his breath. “If I train her carefully, she might grow into something… maybe.”

Even if she could not become a helper, it would still be good to let that Doll see the human world. After all, she had been locked in a coffin for so many years. She had no idea what the outside world looked like.

After sorting out his thoughts, Duncan began putting away the pile of things he had brought over. He would not return to the Vanished for now. Many of these things could not be carried with him, so of course he had to leave them in the shop.

There were not many hiding places on the second floor of the antique shop. Nina might come upstairs at any time to help tidy the room. Some things that clearly did not look like daily necessities would be especially suspicious if left in the bedroom—for example, a cannonball from a century ago. But after a short think, Duncan found reasonable homes for them all.

The Sun Charm amulet could simply be kept close to his body. The salted fish could go straight into the kitchen, which looked perfectly natural. As for the century-old cannonball and the century-old sailor’s dagger, those were even simpler—

Duncan brought those two things down to the shop on the first floor and set them in an inconspicuous corner beside the counter. After all, this was an antique shop. There were as many odd-looking things here as anyone could want. Nowhere could hide a dagger and a cannonball better than the pile of shabby fake junk on the first floor…

As for the last item, the piece of cheese from the Vanished’s galley, Duncan also found a very suitable place for it.

The trash bin.

After finishing all this, Duncan patted the nonexistent dust off his hands and felt very satisfied with his arrangements.

Then he glanced at the sky outside.

The Sun, sealed and bound by two rings of runes, hung high in the sky. It was just noon.

Nina would return home later today. Before that, he planned to go out and walk around a bit, to learn more about this city.

Anyway, it did not look like the antique shop would get any business today.

The weather was a bit cool. Duncan put on a dark brown coat, and before going out he tidied his somewhat messy, decadent hair, trying his best to make this body—once tormented by alcohol, drugs, and sickness—look a little more spirited. Then he left the antique shop.

As soon as he stepped out the door, he heard wings flapping from the second floor. The pigeon AI flew out of the room on its own and landed on his shoulder. It rocked its head and, full of pride, chattered: “Go to Twin Immortals Bridge, take Chenghua Avenue…”

Duncan gave the bird a sideways look at once. He had originally planned to leave the pigeon on the second floor to watch the house. After all, having a pigeon on your shoulder when you went out drew way too much attention and felt strange. Besides, Duncan and AI were linked by spirit flame. If anything happened, he could always summon it with his spirit form fire at any time. There was no risk of delay.

He just had not given the order before leaving, so the bird had “gotten on board” by itself.

Looking at the smug expression of this crafty bird, Duncan finally sighed with a helpless smile: “…Fine. Follow me if you want.”

With the pigeon still on his shoulder, he walked to the main road across from the antique shop. After following the main road for only a short distance, he heard the clear chime of a bell mixed with the sound of a steam engine drawing near. He looked up and saw a brown double-decker bus with blue stripes along its sides driving down the main road and slowly stopping at a nearby stop.

It was a very common public transport in the city-state of Pland, driven by a steam engine. The fare was six peso and it could reach most parts of the Lower City. According to the route map on the back of the bus, the line’s last two stops also passed along the edge of the Upper City, at a place called Crossroad District.

Duncan had an impression of “Crossroad District” in his mind. He knew that street and the area around it were seen as the “border zone” of Pland. It had fairly busy businesses and fairly respectable housing. Many residents of the Lower City took Crossroad District as the goal and dream of “moving up a level in life.” Many mid-level citizens who could not afford the high costs of the Upper City but still wanted a decent life also lived there. There were also cinemas, the City Museum, and several higher-end restaurants in that area.

Nina’s school was near Crossroad District, and the City Museum she had mentioned was also next to it.

Duncan thought for a moment, then quickly walked to the stop and boarded the bus before it started moving.

There were not many people on the bus. More than half of the seats on the lower deck were empty. Beside the driver’s seat stood a young conductress in a dark blue uniform. She had shoulder-length hair and light makeup. When she saw someone get on, her hand went to her ticket pouch out of habit, but then she noticed the pigeon on Duncan’s shoulder.

“Sorry, you can’t bring pets on the bus, that’s the rule,” the young woman said, raising her hand to point at the pigeon on Duncan’s shoulder. “That includes pigeons.”

Duncan looked at AI. AI flapped its wings innocently and tilted its head at him.

“Go cling to the roof.”

“Coo, coo.”

AI flapped its wings and flew out of the bus, “coo-coo-coo” cursing all the way.

The young conductress-Miss stared blankly at the man who could talk with a pigeon, and at the pigeon that really seemed to understand human speech. For a long moment, she could not say anything.

“Is it okay now?” Duncan had to remind the conductress, who seemed a bit dazed. He pointed up toward the roof: “You can’t control a bird sitting on the roof, right?”

The conductress finally came back to herself: “Ah… yes… the fare is six peso, full ticket.”

Duncan reached into his pocket, took out two coins, and traded them for a blue ticket. Then he found a seat by the window, sat down quietly, and got ready to enjoy his first bus ride in this world.

The steam engine started. With a light vibration and the sound of machinery grinding, the bell at the front of the bus rang out clear and bright. The bus gave a gentle jolt, and the view outside the window began to slide backward.

Duncan leaned back comfortably in the seat and felt the tremors and acceleration as this piece of mechanical engineering moved.

Steam engines were a good thing. Civilized society was a good thing. Technological progress was a good thing.

If he had the chance, he definitely wanted to install a set on the Vanished too—even just a boiler that could heat water. Then people on the ship could take hot baths in the future.

Just as his thoughts were spreading out, Duncan felt the bus suddenly jolt. The scenery outside the window slowly stopped.

The young conductress-Miss pushed open the window near the front, leaned out, and shouted to the street: “Getting on? There are seats! All big seats!”

Duncan blinked, then let out a soundless laugh.

In that moment, he suddenly felt that this city-state, which was still unfamiliar to him, was filled with the breath of everyday life.