Chapter 37: What Is The Internet?

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: What Is The Internet?

By the time the Huo family’s private aircraft began its descent, the darkness of the previous night had already faded.

A faint blue light stretched across the horizon, slowly brightening as dawn approached.

The first rays of sunlight touched the clouds, turning their edges pale gold.

Inside the aircraft, the passengers had begun preparing to disembark.

Xi Yunxui stood beside her seat, carefully gathering her belongings.

Her small backpack hung over one shoulder, while King C rested comfortably in her arms.

The little creature had spent most of the latter half of the flight sleeping.

Apparently, even an alleged mountain god became tired after causing trouble.

Xi Yunxui glanced down at him.

"You caused quite enough trouble yesterday."

King C’s golden eyes opened lazily.

[I am an exalted god. Trouble naturally follows me.]

Xi Yunxui’s lips twitched.

"You mean you naturally cause trouble."

[That is not what I said.]

She shook her head.

There was no point arguing with him.

Ahead of them, Huo Jingchen had already risen from his seat.

He walked toward the front of the aircraft to speak briefly with the pilot before they completely finished preparing for their arrival.

Zhou Rui followed him.

He was helping with the arrangements inside the aircraft.

Xi Yunxui waited patiently.

Then, just as she was about to move forward, a flight attendant appeared from the service area.

It was Qing Xi.

She was still wearing her professional flight attendant uniform, her expression composed and pleasant.

She walked past Xi Yunxui carrying several items.

Then—

Their shoulders lightly collided.

"Oh!"

Xi Yunxui instinctively stepped back.

Qing Xi immediately turned around.

"I apologize."

Xi Yunxui shook her head.

"It’s alright. I wasn’t paying attention either."

The incident seemed completely ordinary.

Xi Yunxui even gave her a polite smile.

"Please be careful."

"Of course."

Qing Xi continued toward the front.

Neither Zhou Rui nor Xi Yunxui noticed the tiny movement of Qing Xi’s fingers.

When they collided, she had quietly attached a thin tracking talisman to the back of Xi Yunxui’s clothing.

It disappeared beneath the fabric almost immediately.

Xi Yunxui remained completely unaware.

Qing Xi kept walking.

Her expression did not change.

Inside, however, she was satisfied.

Done.

She had finally placed the talisman on her target.

---

The aircraft landed smoothly a short while later.

The wheels touched the runway, and the enormous machine gradually slowed.

Xi Yunxui looked through the window.

The airport stretched out around them.

Runways.

Large buildings.

Vehicles.

Workers.

Other aircraft.

Everything fascinated her.

She had already learned that airplanes existed, but seeing an entire airport operating around her still made her curious.

Huo Jingchen returned from the front.

"Let’s go."

Xi Yunxui nodded.

She picked up her backpack and held King C securely.

Then she followed him toward the exit.

---

Once they stepped outside, the cool morning air greeted them.

Several vehicles were already waiting.

One large black car stood closest to the aircraft.

Huo Jingchen walked toward it.

Zhou Rui followed.

Xi Yunxui climbed into the same car as Huo Jingchen and Zhou Rui.

Huo Jingchen sat in the back, with Xi Yunxui beside him.

Zhou Rui took the front passenger seat.

Lin Wei, had initially been preparing to enter the same vehicle.

Xi Yunxui looked toward him.

"Assistant Lin, you can sit here."

Lin Wei had barely begun moving toward the rear door when—

"No."

Huo Jingchen’s voice was calm, but noticeably cold.

Lin Wei stopped.

Huo Jingchen looked at him.

"You take the second car."

Lin Wei hesitated.

"President Huo, I—"

Huo Jingchen gave him a single look.

It wasn’t an angry look.

It wasn’t particularly intimidating either.

Yet Lin Wei immediately understood.

"Yes, President Huo."

He turned and hurried toward the second vehicle.

Xi Yunxui watched him go.

She didn’t understand what had just happened.

She glanced at Huo Jingchen.

He looked completely calm.

Perhaps there’s some business matter involved.

She shrugged and settled into her seat.

King C curled comfortably against her lap.

The door closed.

The vehicle began moving.

---

Country Z immediately captured Xi Yunxui’s attention.

The city was already awake despite the early hour.

Tall buildings stood on both sides of the roads.

Cars moved steadily through the streets.

Bright digital screens displayed advertisements.

People hurried along the sidewalks.

Buses, motorcycles, delivery vehicles and countless other machines moved around them.

Xi Yunxui’s eyes moved constantly.

Every few seconds, she discovered something new.

"That one..."

She pointed toward a large bus.

"A moving room."

Zhou Rui glanced backward.

"A bus."

Xi Yunxui nodded seriously.

"A bus."

She repeated the word to herself as though memorizing it.

Then she noticed a train in the distance.

Her eyes widened.

"That one is even longer."

"A train," Huo Jingchen explained.

Xi Yunxui nodded.

"Train."

She stored that word away too.

She looked outside again.

For several minutes, she remained fascinated by the city.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to her.

She mentally called for the system.

"System."

[Yes, Host.]

Xi Yunxui looked out at the endless buildings and streams of traffic.

"How did humans come up with all these things?"

She gestured toward the road.

"These machines can move without horses."

Then she looked toward the sky.

"There are creatures that can fly."

She pointed toward a building.

"People built houses that reach the heavens."

Her expression filled with genuine admiration.

"How were humans able to think of such things?"

The system remained quiet for a moment.

Then it answered.

[Humans developed these inventions through observation, experimentation, accumulated knowledge and technological advancement.]

Xi Yunxui blinked.

The answer was technically reasonable.

But somehow, it didn’t satisfy her curiosity.

She continued staring through the window.

"Humans really are extraordinary."

The system added after a moment:

[You can search for information about these inventions on the internet.]

Xi Yunxui’s expression changed.

"Internet?"

She frowned.

"What’s an internet?"

The system went silent.

Xi Yunxui waited.

Nothing.

She waited another few seconds.

Still nothing.

Her expression became suspicious.

"System?"

No answer.

"You introduced the word. Explain it."

The system remained stubbornly silent.

Xi Yunxui finally gave up.

She turned her head toward Huo Jingchen.

"Young Master."

"Hm?"

"What is the internet?"

The driver unconsciously pressed the brake.

The car jerked slightly.

He immediately recovered and continued driving.

Zhou Rui slowly turned around in his seat.

His eyes were wide.

The expression on his face practically screamed:

What?

He looked at Xi Yunxui.

Then at Huo Jingchen.

Then back at Xi Yunxui.

She doesn’t know what the internet is?

Huo Jingchen was equally stunned.

He stared at her.

Xi Yunxui looked completely serious.

She clearly wasn’t joking.

"What is it?" she asked again.

For several seconds, Huo Jingchen simply looked at her.

Then—

He laughed.

It was unexpected.

A genuine laugh escaped him.

Xi Yunxui froze.

She had rarely heard him laugh like this.

His usual restrained expression disappeared, replaced by amusement.

Zhou Rui looked back toward the road quickly, pretending he hadn’t witnessed anything.

Xi Yunxui stared at Huo Jingchen.

"Why are you laughing?"

Huo Jingchen shook his head.

"I’m not laughing at you."

"You are."

"No."

"You definitely are."

A faint smile remained on his face.

He looked at her again.

"Have you really never been to the city before now?"

Xi Yunxui blinked.

She searched through the original Xi Yunxui’s memories.

Technically, the young woman had visited the city before.

But she had never explored much.

She had been too busy working.

And she certainly had never learned how to operate or understand most of the modern technology surrounding her.

Xi Yunxui nodded slowly.

"Not really."

Huo Jingchen stared at her.

She looked completely serious.

The man suddenly wondered just how many other things she didn’t know.

Cars.

Elevators.

Airplanes.

Phones.

The internet.

Perhaps there were hundreds.

He glanced at her.

Xi Yunxui was once again staring out of the window, fascinated by a giant digital billboard.

Huo Jingchen’s expression softened.

A strange thought surfaced.

She really needs someone to teach her about this world.

He didn’t know why the thought came so naturally.

But strangely enough...

He didn’t dislike it.

In fact, the idea of showing her the things she didn’t know seemed surprisingly pleasant.

Meanwhile, Xi Yunxui was still trying to understand the mysterious word.

Internet.

It sounded like the name of some kind of enormous modern machine.

She glanced at Huo Jingchen.

She was going to ask another question.

Then she hesitated.

Perhaps she should learn one strange thing at a time.

After all, modern life had already proven itself more than capable of overwhelming her.

And she had a feeling the internet would be another completely different battle.

A/N: Don’t forget to drop a comment!