"Fine, I might as well go home. After all, whether I’m at home or in the dorm, I’m alone. Staying in the dorm doesn’t make much sense either..."
Zhang Yanhang didn’t feel lonely being alone; on the contrary, he found joy in solitude, free to do what he pleased, a sense of unfettered liberty.
As for why he wanted to go home, it wasn’t because he suddenly thought of the female ghost and wanted to urgently dissipate his abundant spiritual qi. He simply wanted to play video games, but without a computer in the dorm, he could only play at home.
Moreover, Zhang Yanhang had no thoughts about exploiting the non-human nature of the female ghost for wanton antics or using her to alleviate the solitude of living alone. Such bizarre ideas simply didn’t exist in his mind.
"I find the mere mention of ’female ghost’ rather amusing, so I might as well hurry home. It’s just too boring staying in the dorm."
Zhang Yanhang sat up from the bed, and his equipment, previously in stealth mode, instantly switched to normal mode, covering his entire body. No skin was exposed, whether on the wrists or the neck. It must be said, the standard police equipment in Raccoon City was exceptionally comprehensive.
Zhang Yanhang walked alone through the dormitory corridor, his loneliness stark against the lively atmosphere around him. Given that it was eight in the evening, most people were inside their dorm rooms. Apart from his room, 604, which was dark, the rest were brightly lit and bustling with noise.
Despite the dorm being a significant distance from the main school gate, with Zhang Yanhang’s speed, even on foot, he swiftly exited the campus and found himself pondering a serious question at the nearby bus stop, "Should I take the bus home?" ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ novel⚑fire.net
Feeling quite lazy today, Zhang Yanhang was hesitant. Although the bus was slower compared to his running speed, a notable advantage was that he wouldn’t have to move at all.
"If only I could acquire a skill related to flying, that would settle this dilemma of whether to take the bus or run home. I could just fly straight home from school."
Flying ability was quite important to him, and Zhang Yanhang felt he should pay more attention to this in the future.
While contemplating flying skills, a bus pulled up right in front of Zhang Yanhang, exactly the one heading to Xingfuli District.
With the bus right there, Zhang Yanhang no longer hesitated and tapped his card to board. Once on the bus, he continued to think about how he might acquire the ability to fly.
The bus had only just started moving when Zhang Yanhang suddenly felt a noticeable drag in the air, and a familiar yet unfamiliar text box appeared before him.
The familiarity lay in the format of the text box that Zhang Yanhang found quite recognizable, while the unfamiliarity was in the content of the text box.
[Option One: Yes (Immediately smash the bus window and leave the bus flamboyantly by jumping through it. After you leave, the bus driver will quickly pull over and call the police.
A minute and a half later, a police car patrolling nearby will arrive, and the officers will arrest you. Upon seeing your Awakener Certificate and verifying that you are an Awakener, they will redefine the nature of the incident and decide to hand you over to the relevant authorities for further processing.)]
[Option Two: No (Feeling still quite tired and not fully recovered, you are not keen on leaving the bus at this moment. You will stay on the bus until it reaches Xingfuli District before getting off.
After an uneventful journey home, you’ll lie down in the master bedroom’s big bed, contentedly sleep until the next morning, and then get up to go to school.)]
[Option 3: Wait a bit (After the bus reaches the station, you immediately get off and walk back to East River District and enter it. At the forefront of East River District Building 6, Unit 3, you linger for a moment, and seeing no one around, you choose to use Alchemy to crack the door lock and successfully enter the building.
Once inside Building 6, Unit 3 of the East River District, you continue up the stairs to apartment 702 on the seventh floor. Upon discovering that it’s unoccupied and free of surveillance cameras, you use Alchemy once again to crack the door lock and quickly enter.
Inside the living room of apartment 702, you unexpectedly find a Transmission Channel leading to Ashen World.)]
"Is this some sort of stroke of luck? Have I just stumbled upon a brand-new Transmission Channel to Ashen World? This channel certainly doesn’t lead to Raccoon City, and most likely not to anywhere near Raccoon City either, but to an entirely new area."
Despite the fortunate discovery, Zhang Yanhang sighed quietly.
"It seems I am fated yet estranged from the female ghost, with such a massive Transmission Channel before me; now is not the time to go home. I definitely have to explore it."
If the new area linked by this Transmission Channel wasn’t beyond Zhang Yanhang’s capability, it would provide him with yet another option for hunting monsters.
Additionally, if the operational times of this new Channel could alternate with those of the existing one, he could spend even more time in Ashen World.
After all, the old Channel to Raccoon City needed four days between openings; once he left Ashen World, he had to wait another four days to re-enter.
This new Transmission Channel, however, might allow Zhang Yanhang to utilize these interim four days better, ideally opening every two or three days, or even daily. If so, Zhang Yanhang could freely enter Ashen World whenever he wished to hunt monsters, though the odd of a daily opening were admittedly slim.
Even if it opened every two or three days, that would still be far better than the old portal to Raccoon City, which only opened every four days, creating a significant workload. Once committed to staying in Ashen World, he had to work continuously for four days.