With these thoughts, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel even more annoyed.
He muttered to himself, "No, I can't let Fang Ze lead me by the nose! Just because he says he'll send me a note, he sends it, and if he says he won't, he doesn't? I need to find someone to investigate what he's really up to and then take the initiative to strike!"
Thinking this, Jiang Cheng stopped in his tracks on his way back to the lounge. He turned around and said to the female officer who had been following him, "Help me check what Fang Ze is up to right now!"
The female officer was Jiang Cheng's personal attendant and knew well of the recent covert struggle between Jiang Cheng and Fang Ze. So, she quickly saluted and said, "Yes, Young Master."
After she spoke, she gestured to the others with her eyes to continue protecting Jiang Cheng, and then she quickly left the fourth floor...
Meanwhile, as Jiang Cheng wondered why Fang Ze hadn't sent him a note, Fang Ze had already arrived at the Provincial Government of Xida State after a lengthy five-hour drive with a convoy escorting him.
This was the first time Fang Ze had ventured this far since arriving in this world.
Previously when Bai Zhi rescued him from Qingshan City to Emerald City, they traveled quickly on express roads, so he hadn't had the chance to observe the roads and outskirts of this world.
Now, traveling from Emerald City to the Provincial Government, Fang Ze realized how incredibly desolate it was beyond the cities.
Even though there were large expressways connecting the cities, and the roads were very new and smooth, high fences separated the highways from the wilderness. These barriers extended from the ground up into the sky and closed off the area, making it look like a long cage...
Looking beyond the cage-like structure, one could see that the wilderness was not the lush, grass-covered landscape Fang Ze had imagined, but bleak and dusty, which didn't match the normal outdoor environment.
Add to that the checkpoints needed to enter the expressways, and the frequent inspection stations along the way meticulously examining whether the vehicles could proceed to the Provincial Government. Without official documentation, they would be turned back or detained.
All these unusual aspects deepened Fang Ze's concern about the human situation in this world.
He felt as if these low-level cities, high-level cities, and even the Provincial Governments were not so much cities as they were shelters after some apocalypse. The world before him, seemingly normal, appeared as if it was in the midst of a post-apocalyptic era.
And so, he finally arrived at the Provincial Government. Fang Ze got his first glimpse of its prosperity.
If asked to describe it, Fang Ze would be honest with just two words: familiar.
If Qingshan City was like a county town from the 1990s and Emerald City was like a regional center city from the early 21st century, then the Provincial Government was like the metropolis Fang Ze knew before he traveled to this world.
Everywhere he looked there were buildings of over a dozen stories, neat streets bustling with public buses, wild motorcycles, and a stream of private cars; sidewalks filled with people dressed fashionably and hurrying along, wearing headphones, holding smartphones. There were commercial supermarkets, private shops, hotels, and restaurants all around.
Fang Ze truly felt as if he were worlds apart.
When he had first arrived, his "colleagues" told him that with each step up from a low-level city to a high-level city to Provincial Government and even to the Federal Capital, there would be a complete difference in technological level and material life.
At the time, he had been somewhat skeptical. Now... he believed it.
The expression of nostalgia and shock on Fang Ze's face was caught in its entirety by Bai Zhi, who had been sitting next to him the whole time. She clearly misunderstood Fang Ze's thoughts and gently took his arm, then whispered, "Welcome back, Si Ze."
The name "Si Ze" took Fang Ze completely off guard.
He coughed twice, looking at Bai Zhi. Bai Zhi was looking at him tenderly.
The words he had wanted to say ultimately softened into just one phrase, "Right, I'm back."
Bai Zhi smiled and then reached out to Bai Ling beside her.
Bai Ling quickly took out three devices resembling smartphones from her bag and, with a "hehe" smile on her bun-like face, she eagerly handed them to Bai Zhi. She was distinctly adorable.
Bai Ling had insisted on coming along after learning that Fang Ze and Bai Zhi were heading to the Provincial Government the previous night.
According to her, the Provincial Government was the economic center of the entire Xida State with many great things! She had just received over three million Lini from Fang Ze and planned to buy a batch of goods in the Provincial Government to sell back in Emerald City! She was sure to make a fortune!
Fang Ze and Bai Zhi had indeed tried to persuade her otherwise, but her display of cuteness had ultimately triumphed over the two of them.
Taking the mobile communicators from Bai Ling's hands, Bai Zhi pressed a button to turn them on. As the devices activated, she powered up all three, then handed the black one to Fang Ze, "This is a smartphone. It can be used for communication within the Provincial Government. With some apps, you can also go online to look up information, making it convenient..."
Before she could finish, she saw Fang Ze, with familiarity, tapping the screen to browse various apps in the software store.
She halted what she had been about to say, ultimately adding just one thing, "Within each state's Provincial Government, you can freely contact people from other states."
"But once you leave the Provincial Government, the smartphone will no longer work. You'll have to switch back to the communication devices of each individual city."
At this, she paused, "Of course, the Security Bureau's special communication lines are not subject to these restrictions. But that's all for official business. This one is for personal use."
Fang Ze listened silently, nodding from time to time as he started to browse the news online.
As communication between different Provincial Governments was possible, there was quite a lot of information from other states available on the internet.