"Lin, are you giving the responsibility of taking care of this gate survivor to me or?"
'So this is about who gets stuck babysitting me,' Shen thought with faint amusement.
Lin's body stiffened for a moment before he recalled a thing and replied with a shrug," Look at the kids with me, I'm a professor, and these are the next generation that will protect humanity. Do you want me to delay their progress?"
Without waiting for a response, Lin kept walking till he reached the barrier that stood between him and the dead forest. Looking at the young man right behind it for a split second, he took out an eagle-shaped badge before throwing it in front of him and kept moving.
The badge made contact with the barrier, and for a split second, it was as though dozens of ripples spread throughout the entire barrier before a gate that could fit several people with ease opened.
"You can leave, kid. Azona will take you to where you need to go." Lin instructed without bothering to give a second glance at him as he pointed at Azona behind him.
Feeling the terrifying energy of the woman behind him, Lin quickened his footsteps as he soon vanished into the forest.
Only after he went a bit deeper into the forest did Lin finally exhale.
'Oh, Azona… you poor soul. No one will ever marry you with that personality.'
The thought earned a wry smile, one he would never dare show her face-to-face.
Walking through the gate, Shen made eye contact with Azona and spoke in a low voice," Are you Miss Azona? Just now the..."
"Less talking, more action. Just follow me, and you have the right to ask three questions." Azona nonchalantly said before she looked at her wrist watch, made a few hand moves in front of her and waited in her spot.
Shen was gonna ask when Azona abruptly interrupted him.
"Before you ask, did you lose your memories, or are you still fine?"
"I lost all my memories except for my name and some other bits of information." Blatantly lying with half-assed truth, he continued," As for the first question, are there any dragons?"
Shen's heart tightened as he prayed that the answer would be no.
He knew it would be extremely unlikely for dragons to exist here, which is why he desired to go back to earth. Still, that lingering fear that gates would force such monsters into the earth still lingered.
Azona was stunned for a second as she turned back and looked at the frail young man behind her," No, they don't exist."
Shen was about to sigh in relief but when he heard her next words, his heart almost jumped out of his throat.
"I think."
'What do you mean you think? Aren't you a great commander or whatever that title is?'Shen dismissed the impulse instantly.
Losing composure over words was for weaker men.
He was very much composed in all situations given his vast experience, but when the conversation came to dragons, he would always react this way. Some people in the Murim world might get the wrong idea that the dragon race was no issue for him, hence Arnold made the request of going there.
Funnily enough, such thoughts only surfaced because he defeated a few dragons like the one he slapped at the end of his teleportation phase. Only, what people didn't know was that those dragons were merely infants of cast-out dragons in the Murim world.
The real dragons, on the other hand...
Shen shuddered each time he thought about those creatures and instantly brushed away such thoughts,' There is no way they exist in here or else...'
Seeing the beautiful scenery far aheadand the tall skyscrapers, Shen visibly relaxed.
'Now that I think about it, this earth is vastly different.' Now that he had to think about his current situation, Shen couldn't help but find this scene a bit astonishing. He, for a moment, felt like he was watching a sci-fi movie back on Earth.
Besides the tall skyscrapers, he even spotted several flying objects moving at a speed that even he found astonishing. That's except for the fact that around the entire city, there existed a gigantic orange barrier separating it from the forest around it.
'Those are even faster than boing jets, now that's interesting.'
Hum!
As he was immersed in the view, A low sound could soon be heard from the distance.
Shen lifted his gaze.
From beyond the city's barrier, a sleek black aircraft descended soundlessly, its underside glowing with faint lights as it slowed midair. It hovered for a brief moment before lowering itself toward them.
"Our ride is here, let's go to get you registered. After that, you will be on your own." Azona explained as she opened the door and went inside, her long hair flowing behind her.
As Shen stepped inside after her, his gaze briefly swept over Azona.
She had black hair that reached her waist, sharp eyes framed by long lashes, thick lips, and a high nose bridge. A small mole rested near the left side of her mouth, adding an unexpected softness to her otherwise cold presence.
If one encountered her on the street, it would be instinct to glance back.
Nevertheless, her beauty wasn't important to Shen right now.