Chapter 91

"Sir? Is something wrong?" Owen saw He Ping standing by the roadside, staring at the surroundings in a daze, and thought he had noticed something unusual, so he asked.

"Nothing, nothing." He Ping snapped back to his senses. For someone who didn't belong to this world, there were too many questions, so he wasn't in a hurry: "Ah, right, my name is He Ping. You can just call me He Ping, no need for formalities."

"Then... Sir He Ping, please get in the car."

He Ping opened his mouth but gave up. Owen not only looked and dressed like a soldier, but his personality was also just like a soldier, the epitome of stubbornness. It seemed that changing his mind wouldn't be easy, so He Ping didn't say anything more and got into the back seat of the car by the roadside. Owen sat in the passenger seat, and the driver was one of the dozens of people who had come with Owen, dressed the same way, presumably one of Owen's team members.

The others walked to the dozens of machines parked beside the car, which looked like motorcycles, with two wheels, and seemed no different from motorcycles in the main world. Both the car and the motorcycles had designs that were more advanced and stylish than those in the main world at this time, especially the streamlined design, which would be the main trend in the main world for the next few decades.

One street lamp after another, smooth streets, tall buildings, and other vehicles running on the streets made He Ping feel as if he had returned to the main world. However, he soon noticed the differences. First, the car they were in felt completely smooth, and the engine sound was very light. Most importantly, he didn't smell any pungent fuel odor.

Fuel! He Ping felt he had grasped the key point, which was the energy issue. He looked out the window, and the sense of incongruity he had noticed earlier finally found its source. In the main world, although street lamps were common, there was something even more common on the sides of the streets: power poles! The power poles that provided energy to every household. But here, He Ping didn't see any power poles at all.

Are they all laid underground? That's unlikely. If this were a city on land, it might be possible, but this city was on the back of a giant crocodile beast. Although he didn't know how thick the ground was, it would be better to avoid digging underground as much as possible. If there were no cables underground, what energy were the residents of this city using? What powered the street lamps? And what powered this car?

"Can I ask you a question?" He Ping couldn't suppress his curiosity and asked Owen.

"Of course."

After a moment's thought, He Ping asked, "What is the energy source for this car? How is it powered?"

Owen was taken aback, seemingly surprised that He Ping asked such a simple and common question. Then he said, "The energy source, of course, is the Seven Luminous Crystals."

Seven Luminous Crystals? What are those? He Ping was a bit stunned. His basic knowledge was completely different from theirs. What Owen considered a simple, common knowledge question, something even a child might understand, was completely foreign to He Ping. After all, this was a Level 4 civilization, very different from the Level 2 military world. The energy usage here had reached a certain level, and it wasn't something an outsider like He Ping could quickly figure out.

Realizing that asking many questions would be futile and might confuse the straightforward soldier in front of him, He Ping closed his mouth and stopped talking. He just kept looking out the car window at the scenery. The scenery in this world was indeed different, not on the same level as the exotic landscapes in the main world. Although this scenery might not be very beautiful and might be mundane to the locals, it was all very fresh to He Ping. Even a bench by the roadside was new to him.

With the motorcycle escort leading the way and both the motorcycles and the car moving at high speeds, they hardly stopped at all. After about ten minutes, the motorcycles and the car began to slow down. He Ping noticed that they seemed to have arrived at a quieter area compared to the previous urban area. Finally, they stopped in front of a building that looked like a temple or a sanctuary.

He Ping got out of the car and looked at the building in front of him. Although he didn't understand the architectural style of this world, he could see a sense of solemnity, sanctity, and purity. The building had a strong religious atmosphere. Could this be the so-called Senate? But the surroundings were really quiet. He had expected the Senate to be a grand and bustling place, but it turned out to be like this.

At this moment, an old man standing at the entrance of the Senate caught He Ping's attention. He was an elderly man with snow-white hair, beard, and eyebrows, wearing a white robe and holding a white cane. He was smiling at them. If He Ping had to describe this old man with one word, he would definitely shout out— "Gandalf"! Well, it wasn't an adjective, but this old man really looked like the wizard Gandalf in a white robe.

"Great Elder." Owen bowed his head in respect. He Ping naturally understood that this old man was the Great Elder he had heard about. He Ping walked up and looked more closely at the Great Elder. The white hair gave him a somewhat ethereal and wise appearance, but the wrinkles and age spots on his face made him look more like an ordinary old man. However, his eyes, which seemed to see through everything, gave He Ping a different feeling.

The Great Elder nodded at Owen and then turned to He Ping, saying, "Young friend, I am the Great Elder of the Senate of Gals City, named Nehru. I'm sure you have many questions, and so do we. Please come in."

Owen stood at the entrance of the Senate and didn't follow inside, watching the Great Elder disappear inside. He Ping didn't insist and said goodbye to Owen before following the Great Elder into the Senate. Outside, He Ping had thought the Senate was quiet, but inside, it was even more so. Were the people of the Senate living here? This was like a place for ascetic practice!

The Great Elder walked in front, and He Ping followed behind. Before He Ping could ask, the Great Elder said, "Where should I start? Hmm, let's start with the story of the Landon Empire a few hundred years ago..."

[PS: Today is the Mid-Autumn Festival. Are you ready to go out and admire the moon?]

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