Those who face the wall, but are in the Nascent Soul stage.

Chapter 256 I'll Wait Until You're Full

Crisis Era 203 Years.

Six months after the end of the expedition.

Earth, Beijing.

The afternoon sun slanted into the alley entrance, casting dappled shadows on the two people. The man was wearing a plain cloth shirt, the sleeves of which were commonly worn by people in the Yuan Dynasty, with the cuffs casually rolled up to his forearms. The other woman, who was tall and slender and about the same height as the man, was wearing sneakers and an ill-fitting off-white dress, walking very uncomfortably in the Earth's environment.

"What's wrong? Not used to Earth's gravity?"

"Who said that? I'm at the Great Perfection of the Innate Realm!" The woman bent down and repeatedly pressed down the hem of her skirt, which was being lifted by the draft, insisting on following closely behind the man in front of her.

"You'll get used to it. Two hundred years isn't enough time for the new humans to undergo genetic changes. Your great-grandmother used to be able to walk briskly in Beijing's 40-degree heat. Even I couldn't keep up with her. She didn't have your level of ability back then."

"People in the Common Era are all monsters, and so was my great-grandmother... I shouldn't have come to Earth with you. Floating around in space is so comfortable, my feet are getting blisters!" Dongfang Yanxu muttered under his breath.

Zhang Beihai pretended not to hear and continued walking through the alley. The old-style Beijing alley before him, reminiscent of the Common Era, was clearly built by people from that time. Over two hundred years had passed; Beijing's housing prices had gradually leveled off; the era of household registration and visas had disappeared; restrictions based on nationality and race had gradually vanished; and large-scale natural population movement had occurred. Most of the new-era humans chose to settle in underground cities, emerging space cities, or even colonies on Earth-like planets, and some even broke away from the United Government to become members of Fleet International.

Under Hayek's leadership, Beijing, China's century-old capital, has become one of the major cities with the lowest average housing prices in the world.

Therefore, this place has become one of the old cities with the highest population density in the Common Era.

In Beijing, these old-fashioned hutong courtyards can be seen everywhere.

It was the height of summer in the year 2210 AD. Zhang Beihai heard the cicadas singing, a sound he hadn't heard for over two hundred years, which brought a faint smile to his face.

An old man sat on a small stool, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan. Beside him was a bamboo stick wrapped in thick straw, from which were stuck familiar candied hawthorns. As someone approached, the old man's gaze drifted over his reading glasses. The moment Zhang Beihai met the old man's eyes, he was struck by a sense of familiarity, but quickly recovered from his daze.

"Is it okay to eat these red egg skewers?"

"How much is a skewer of candied hawthorns?"

Zhang Beihai and Dongfang Yanxu spoke at the same time, and the latter gave Zhang Beihai a sheepish smile.

"Five yuan a skewer, the hawthorns are real hawthorns, they're like newly awakened hibernating soldiers, standing there like poles. If you have a personal terminal, scan it; if not, scan it with your phone. There's a QR code here, the usage is the same as back then," the old man said lazily.

Zhang Beihai paid with his wristwatch, took a string of candied hawthorns coated with glistening sugar, and handed it to Dongfang Yanxu.

"You don't want it?" Dongfang Yanxu blinked.

"I got tired of eating it when I was a kid."

Bright red hawthorn berries are strung on bamboo skewers, and a sweet aroma wafts over when the wind blows.

Dongfang Yanxu hesitated before taking it, touching the shiny candy shell with her fingertips. She found it was a little sticky because of the high summer temperature, so she immediately withdrew her fingers. Then, she mustered up her courage and took a big bite, tearing off three hawthorns and putting them in her mouth.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Beihai shook his head repeatedly: "After the technical discussion meeting back then, your great-grandmother and I went back to the Space Force Headquarters together. On the way, we met a vendor selling candied hawthorns. She boasted to me that she could stuff five in one bite, and then she demonstrated it... Some of you people with the surname Dongfang have a talent for eating. We ordinary people eat candied hawthorns one by one."

"I've never tried it before, I'll only know what it tastes like after taking a big bite." The latter's voice came out indistinctly. The sugar coating melted on the tip of her tongue, so sweet that Dongfang Yanxu felt a little nauseous, but the strength of a congenital martial artist suddenly erupted, and her teeth broke through the 'defense' of the hawthorn ball. The rich sourness burst out, and the two flavors collided violently, causing her to subconsciously frown, and then her eyes lit up.

Five hawthorn pills were swallowed whole.

Dongfang Yanxu ran over and bought three more strings of skewers, which he held in his arms.

"How about it? The snacks of the people of the Yuan Dynasty are more sophisticated than nutritional pastes, aren't they?" Zhang Beihai looked at the other party's reaction and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"It's cloyingly sweet, not really. I don't like it. Three more skewers would be enough," Dongfang Yanxu mumbled, but he held the candied hawthorns even tighter.
"But to be fair, candied hawthorn berries taste much better than the synthetic sugar recycled in the fleet."

The sound of an old-fashioned bicycle bell drifted from the depths of the alley, growing louder as it approached. A little girl with pigtails rode the bicycle, a large basket filled with freshly bought watermelons tied to the back seat. As she passed by, she curiously glanced at Dongfang Yanxu's ill-fitting dress, cheerfully called out, "Hello, Aunt Gao," and then pedaled her bicycle into a side street.

Dongfang Yanxu choked on his words when he heard "Auntie," asking, "Who is Auntie Gao?"

"Maybe it's because you're so tall," Zhang Beihai said quietly, looking at Dongfang Yanxu, who was a little taller than him.

New humans, especially those who grew up in space, tend to be very tall, regardless of gender, because they have hardly experienced gravity.

“Then I can’t call her Auntie. I’m only 29 years old. In Fleet International, I’m just turning 18. In the entire Solar System Fleet, there’s no captain younger than me.” Dongfang Yanxu pointed to his sun-reddened face.

(Note: New Humans reach adulthood at age 26)
Zhang Beihai shook his head: "In our time, 29 years old was already the age of aunts and uncles. That kid rode a bicycle so skillfully, he must be from the Yuan Dynasty, maybe even 180 years older than you."

"How rude." Dongfang Yanxu secretly held a grudge.

Zhang Beihai suppressed a laugh, "In the Common Era, this was the greatest courtesy. I like children who are so outgoing and natural. Nowadays, children raised in socialized environments don't even greet people on their own initiative."

As Dongfang Yanxu chewed on a candied hawthorn skewer, following behind Zhang Beihai, the sweet and sour taste masking the discomfort of the ultraviolet radiation and the gravity-induced environment, the two walked through one alley after another. Zhang Beihai's voice drifted over slowly: "Because of the fire in Taiyuan two centuries ago, Beijing was incredibly hot back then. Actually, it wasn't just Beijing that was hot; the whole of Asia was hot. Even the glaciers brought by the Wallfacers couldn't quell the heat. It stayed hot for many years until it finally cooled down when I went into hibernation. Before the subterranean fire, your great-grandmother always said that Earth's summer was alive, there..." Her voice had a certain quality, even the wind seemed to carry a force. Later, when the temperature rose to forty or fifty degrees Celsius, she stopped saying such things. Your great-grandmother truly experienced the deepest low point of the world, passing away before the arrival of the disaster relief workers. From her perspective, humanity was in its most difficult time. But I think she foresaw the future developments and the birth of this new era. She also made many efforts for the birth of this new era, just as I did, especially in the technical debate between working fluids and non-working fluids at that time, where she did much beneficial work…”

Dongfang Yanxu was listening intently to her great-grandmother's story, and the three strings of candied hawthorns in her hand slowly turned into three skewers, but unexpectedly the other person suddenly stopped, almost causing her to bump into her.

"arrive."

Zhang Beihai stopped.

The endless alleyways in the vicinity finally disappeared, replaced by an old, ancient building. The shape of this building felt very familiar to Dongfang Yanxu; she had seen it many times in her history textbooks and could almost recite it off the top of her head.

"Wow, an ancient rocket! It's a Long March 5 rocket!"

After saying that, she became puzzled again: "Why is it the architecture version?"

"This building is modeled after the Long March 5 rocket. Its official name back then was the China Aerospace Development Center Building, but everyone called it the Aerospace Tower. In the early days of the Crisis Era, it was the center of the power struggle between the Space Force and the aerospace sector. This building is still playing a role today, and it is the place where we were invited here."

"Let's go! Let's go straight in, you lead the way!"

Zhang Beihai grabbed the hurried guy, "There's a stall selling ice jelly at the right intersection, buy some and eat it before you go." After saying that, Zhang Beihai walked to the shade of a tree, and looking at Dongfang Yanxu who was staring blankly in the sun, he urged, "Go on, it's not easy to come to Earth, I'll wait for you to finish eating."

(End of this chapter)