Chapter 100 - 101: Show Love, Accumulate Virtues and Do Good Works
Several villages near New Night City supply various goods and assistance specifically to travel agencies so that the guides can bring tourists in and out of the outer region.
As agreed, Gu Fan and his group arrived at one such village. They had received information containing a house number, and after some inquiries, they finally found the place.
As they entered to see the simple courtyard and old houses, it made them question if they had time-traveled into the past; everything seemed so backward.
Professor Luo, however, was unfazed. He said, "In any country, irrespective of how developed it is, there are always poor and backward places. This is nothing unusual."
Teacher Liu at his side chimed in, "In some places, they deliberately preserve their past for the sake of tourism. It’s called nostalgic charm."
After hearing this, everyone paused for a while; all the houses they saw in the village were more or less dilapidated. Were they preserved for a touch of nostalgia, or was it real poverty and backwardness?
Gu Fan decided not to dwell on this. He knocked on the door and waited. When no response came, he felt a chill running down his spine and hurriedly knocked again, but still, there was no response.
"Damn it!" Lu Yi, standing beside him, got quite anxious. She feared that they might have been stood up. This was unacceptable; she wouldn’t be able to explain this to Professor Luo.
Concealing his growing tension from the group, Gu Fan felt cold sweat trickling down his face. He muttered to himself that the worst had happened at the worst possible moment.
After a long wait without anyone answering the door, Professor Luo asked, "Did our guide step out?"
"He probably had to run an errand," Gu Fan replied, not daring to turn around. He didn’t want them to see his anxiety and panic, and kept reminding himself to stay calm and find a solution.