Hotte held her hand and led her to the elevator at the landing pad.
The moment the doors closed, the howling wind was completely blocked out.
The elevator descended several dozen meters.
Its speed made Cheng Xi feel slightly dizzy and a little short of breath.
Fortunately, it only lasted a few seconds before the elevator stopped.
When the elevator doors opened again, it was as if they had been transported to another world.
They were now inside the bird’s nest.
From the outside, its top was transparent, but you couldn’t see what was inside.
However, once inside the bird’s nest, she realized she could see the sky clearly just by looking up.
She could even see flying vehicles passing overhead.
Seeing this for the first time, Cheng Xi couldn’t help but be a little stunned.
‘So high-tech.’
Hotte, still holding her hand, continued to lead her toward a towering gate up ahead.
Cheng Xi looked at the gate, a little confused.
‘Didn’t he say it was a plaza?
Why does this look like an enclosed space?’
Two male Aliens stood guard at the gate.
When they saw them approach—or more accurately, when they saw the person beside her—the two guards adopted extremely respectful expressions.
Placing their right palms on their shoulders, they bowed slightly in a salute.
“Please register, my lord.”
Hotte gave a slight nod and docked his Light Brain with a device.
One of the guards asked respectfully, “Respected Duke, what limit would you like for the consumption card?”
‘Duke?’ Cheng Xi caught the title they used.
She was slightly surprised.
‘My master sounds like he has a very high status.’
It was Hotte’s first time here as well, so he wasn’t very familiar with the place.
He asked casually, “What are the available limits?
How much would it take to spend a day here?”
The guard replied, “The minimum limit is 10,000 Star Coins.
Generally speaking, most human pets spend around 100,000 Star Coins per month on average.
You can use that as a reference.”
Hotte let out a soft “oh.” “In that case, let’s start with a million.”
“Very well.
You just need to load the funds.” The guard took out a device, and Hotte scanned it again.
This time it was a transaction; one million Star Coins were transferred from his account.
Cheng Xi, who suspected she’d misheard, was speechless.
‘H-How much?!’
‘One million, I didn’t mishear that, did I!
Is there massive inflation here, or…’
The guard quickly issued a consumption card.
“My lord, your beloved pet will need to register her fingerprint.”
Hotte grunted in acknowledgment and said to her, “Cheng Xi, go register your fingerprint.
Once that’s done, you’ll be able to use the card to make purchases here.”
Soon, a palm-sized, gold-gilded consumption card was in her hands.
Looking at the thin card in her hand, she couldn’t help but wonder suspiciously, ‘Is there really a million in here?
My master is actually that rich?!’
She couldn’t quite describe the feeling.
Before she could even get a good look at the card, the gate in front of them opened.
Cheng Xi couldn’t hide her surprise.
Behind the gate was a passage wide enough for a dozen people to walk side-by-side.
The passage wasn’t long, maybe about a hundred meters, but what was astonishing was that the other end opened up into a vast and bustling community!
She stuffed the consumption card into her pocket and dumbly followed behind Hotte.
After walking out of the passage, she realized her initial impression had been far too narrow.
How to describe this place?
It was like a giant commercial street, seemingly divided into three levels that stretched out to an unknown distance.
They had entered on the second level.
It was her first time seeing such a peculiar architectural style.
If you weren’t standing at the edge, you wouldn’t even notice there was another level below.
Each floor was like an independent street.
This wasn’t a traditional stacked-floor building but a series of intertwined, intersecting loops.
No matter which level you were on, you could see the same sky just by looking up.
The space was immense.
A quick glance showed the second and third levels were filled with all sorts of shops.
She even thought she saw a sign on one of the shops written in Chinese.
She saw many humans here.
Not just humans, but also many Aliens in their beast forms.
The crowd was bustling, and yet humans and Aliens coexisted in this space with an extraordinary harmony.
“Stunned silly?” Hotte snapped his fingers in front of her face.
Cheng Xi looked up, her attention returning to him.
Hotte said with an amused laugh, “Come on, I’ll show you around first. See? Those are your own kind over there. Or perhaps you don’t need me to lead you? Want to go play on your own? Hmm?”
He pointed to a spot where, sure enough, a large group of humans had gathered.
Seeing this, Cheng Xi’s heart stirred.
She noticed that not every human here had an Alien with them; many were gathered in small groups of two or three.
The sheer number of humans left her speechless.
She clearly remembered that there weren’t nearly this many humans captured along with her.
So how could there be so many people here?
She desperately wanted to find a human and ask about the current situation.
“Um, I’d like to look around by myself.” She gestured to the person beside her, trying to convey her desire to go off on her own.
Hotte chuckled lightly.
“You want to look around by yourself?”
“Alright. Go play with your own kind, but don’t get lost. I’ll be waiting for you at… hmm, that bar on the third floor. Come find me when you’re done playing.”
Cheng Xi followed his pointing finger and saw a huge wine glass logo seven or eight meters up and to the side.
Although she couldn’t read the words on it, the shop was very conspicuous and easy to spot.
She nodded to show she understood.
As if he still wasn’t reassured, Hotte added, “You know how to buy things, right?”
Cheng Xi nodded again.
‘I know,’ she thought, ‘isn’t it just swiping the card?’
Seeing that she understood, Hotte didn’t say any more.
He waved his hand, letting her go off and play on her own.
The moment she was free, Cheng Xi immediately and eagerly rushed toward the area with the most humans.
Hotte watched her retreating figure with a half-smile.
Just as he was about to turn and head upstairs, he suddenly heard a surprised voice.
“Duke Hotte?
Is it really you?”
“What a coincidence, to run into you at the Pet Plaza!
Don’t tell me you’ve raised a human pet as well?” A blonde, green-eyed woman was walking toward them.
It was Heluo, the daughter of Marquis Bos.
In contrast to her surprise, Hotte’s reaction was lukewarm.
“Hello, Miss Heluo.”
His gaze swept past the face of the human male beside her.
Heluo seemed both shocked and surprised to see him here.
“Y-You… you also brought a human pet out to play?”
Hotte gave a slight nod.
“Yes. The Beast King gave me a human pet for my hundredth birthday.”
Hearing this, Heluo’s eyes lit up.
“Really?
I happen to have a human pet as well!
Where is your human pet, my lord?
Perhaps they could become friends.”
Hotte said regretfully, “Perhaps we’ll see her another time.
She’s gone off to play by herself.”