Time in a collapsing world

Led by the waiter, the three of them came to a window seat, from where they could clearly see the street outside and the buildings in the distance, and the winter sun shone through the window onto the table, adding a touch of warmth to the dining environment.

"Please order whatever you like. Every dish here is unique." Vita handed the menu to the two of them. There was a hint of anticipation in her tone, as if she was waiting for them to praise the food at Star Wish Pavilion.

Yaeri and Su took the menus and without much hesitation, directly selected the food that was easier to eat. Vita had an idea early on and quickly called the waiter again and handed him the selected menu.

While the food was not yet served, Su asked Vita for detailed information about this world.

"Eh? Are you asking about the scope of this city?"

Vita tapped her mask chin and replied, "Xinghui City is very big, much bigger than the villages outside... Eh? Do you want to know the fastest way to get out of the city from here?"

Hearing Su's further question, Vita seemed to be surprised, and then said with a little regret: "Is that so? It seems that you are not that interested in this city itself... What a pity, I was thinking of introducing a house here to you, it seems that the commission fee is gone~"

"..."

Is this guy a middleman? Once again, this guide has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.

Yaeji thought so, but as he listened to Su and Vita's further conversation, the vague sense of weirdness in his heart became stronger.

Is there anything you overlooked?

While Yae Li was thinking, Vita answered Su's question, "If we want to leave the city, it will take a day. After all, when I say this city is big, I'm not just exaggerating. It's really big. We are still in the city center. If we want to leave, even if we take the fastest high-altitude rail, it will take 27 hours~"

"But why do you want to leave the city? It's so good here, and seeing that you can sit in this restaurant without changing your expression, and you don't seem to be short of money, I'm a little curious about the reason... Ah, of course, it's okay if you don't want to tell me. After all, I'm just a little guide you met by chance. The bond between us is so thin if it's only maintained by money~"

Vita seemed to be very concerned about the commission she received for introducing the house. During the period of communication, Su and Yaeli had almost figured out each other's personalities and had a slight liking for each other. After all, her tone of voice was particularly close to that of Alicia.

However, the two were still determined to leave the city, because their purpose was only to set up an anchor point, and this world bubble was just a transit station for them and they would not stay there for long.

They prefer to work in sparsely populated rural villages rather than in bustling cities.

"Well... okay, since the two tourists have made up their minds, I, a guide who has been working hard for a living for half my life, can only give up earning this little extra money~"

From her tone, Vita looked extremely disappointed, but she answered their questions, "If you want to leave this city, you must first go to the central hub station of Xinghui City, where there is a high-altitude rail train that goes out of the city. However, since the train runs are limited, you may need to book your tickets in advance."

As Vita spoke, she took out a map of Star City from her pocket and spread it out on the table. Well, as a guide, it makes sense to carry a map with you.

"Here is the location of the central hub station." She pointed at a mark on the map with her finger. "It takes about half an hour to walk from here. Of course, if you don't want to walk, you can also take the automatic walkway here, which will be faster..."

Vita explained each step in detail. Perhaps because she was afraid that the two did not understand, she paused from time to time, just like a teacher who patiently taught children knowledge. She seemed to be enjoying it very much.

However, both Yae Li and Su had smart brains, so Vita didn't have to pause at all. They could even remember the superluminal words.

Almost as soon as Vita finished speaking, the dishes were served. Vita quickly recovered from the sadness of seeing off two friends she had just met by chance, and introduced each dish to the two of them.

The meal was eaten very quickly. It was worthy of being the largest restaurant in the city. Today's delicacies were the best that Yae Li and Su had tasted for tens of thousands of years.

After leaving the restaurant, Yaezaki was thinking, now that they have learned the general situation of this world and have determined the next goal, should they and Su say goodbye to this guide?

"Ms. Vita, we..."

Su started to speak, but was interrupted by Vita before he finished speaking, "You should call me 'Sir', don't forget this. Of course, for me, I still hope that you two friends will not be so formal and just call me Vita~"

"..."

"If you want to leave now, then please settle the fee first. A total of 20,000 gold coins. Thank you for your patronage~"

"? Why is it so expensive?"

Even though she wasn't the one paying, Yaeri still asked.

"Because I have condensed all the information into the half hour of dinner. Is there a problem?" Vita put her hands on her hips.

No, no, no, we only spent 500 gold coins on a meal...

Yae Li didn't bother with this little problem. Just as she was about to pay and leave, a sudden alarm broke the tranquility of the city.

It was a harsh, rapid sound that echoed in the air, penetrating every street and every building. The tone of the alarm was sharp and continuous, as if constantly reminding people of the impending danger.

At first, the sirens seemed to come from afar, faint and distant, but soon they became louder, as if the whole city was enveloped by this sound. Sirens were distributed in every corner of the city, and their sounds converged to form an almost unbearable noise.

As the sirens sounded, people on the street began to become nervous.

Shop owners quickly pulled down the iron gates and drove all customers out of the store. Vehicles began to rush through the streets, and drivers tried to leave the place where sirens were constantly sounding as soon as possible. The rhythm of the entire city was disrupted, and an atmosphere of tension and uneasiness spread among the crowd.

"What's going on?"

Yaeri looked at Vita, who was not that flustered. She looked at the people who kept running past them and sighed.

"Oh my... Looks like it's finally here, [Skyfall]."