Chen Shouyi felt his hair stand on end; he dared not stay here any longer and decided to leave immediately.
Before leaving, he untied the rope, scooped up the Shell Lady along with the shell, and quickly walked out of the passage.
Leaving the Shell Lady here—if she died, or escaped—it would be a pity.
In no time, he left the unfinished building.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the busy street, with people coming and going, and cars flowing like a river, Chen Shouyi softly sighed in relief.
Compared to the treacherous and unpredictable alternate world, Earth gives him more a sense of security. There are no mysterious creatures or ghosts here, which puts him at ease.
He looked at the shell in his hand and found that the magical, colorful shimmer it once emitted had now completely dimmed, the vibrant colors gradually fading, the surface becoming mottled.
Chen Shouyi was momentarily stunned, suddenly realizing.
No wonder this shell was so beautiful, and no wonder the Shell Lady chose it as her home—this shell was anything but ordinary.
Regrettably, after arriving on Earth, its extraordinary features had faded, leaving only the mundane.
However, he did not feel regretful.
All along, he did not even know what use the shell had.
Thinking of the Shell Lady inside, he gently pried open a small gap in the shell.
Fortunately, she was still alive; she was just curled up inside, her face full of fear, trembling all over, evidently terrified by the change in environment.
Seeing she wasn't dead, Chen Shouyi felt reassured.
Passing by an accessory store, he suddenly had an idea and went inside.
It was the first day of National Day holiday, and the store was quite crowded. Most people inside were women, though some men were accompanying their girlfriends. There were very few like Chen Shouyi, who entered alone.
He browsed slowly, quickly picking out a roll of tape, a roll of nylon rope, a small pair of scissors, and found a few sets of small-sized Barbie Doll clothes. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any underwear, so he had to make do.
While paying, the cashier couldn't help but glance at him after seeing the five or six Barbie Doll outfits.
Half a minute later, Chen Shouyi walked out of the accessory store expressionless and headed to the supermarket to buy a bottle of honey.
Earlier, he had noticed the Shell Lady seemed to eat flower nectar; he figured honey should be fine too. Given her appetite, she should be easy to feed.
...
When he walked out of the supermarket, it was only three in the afternoon. The sun remained scorching, and Chen Shouyi suddenly felt at a loss.
Seeing his still fair skin, despite nearly half a day of sun exposure in the alternate world, seemed to have little effect. His thirteen-point-five physique nearly made him immune to ultraviolet damage.
He turned on his phone, chatting with Zhang Xiaoyue while aimlessly wandering around until dusk, deciding then to head home.
"Mom, I'm back." After greeting, Chen Shouyi quickly walked upstairs while Mrs. Chen was not paying attention.
This time of day, when the restaurant was busiest, Mrs. Chen was carrying dishes when she saw a flash of movement and heard footsteps running up the stairs. She shouted crossly after his retreating figure, "You're not eating?"
"I already ate at a classmate's house." He suddenly stopped, thought of an idea, and decided to tell a harmless lie.
The stairs had no light, the darkness being his best cover, as he confidently turned around, "Oh, by the way, Mom, my Martial Arts Apprentice physical test has passed; only Swordsmanship and Archery need a bit more work."
"Really, son, you passed the physical test?" Mrs. Chen was overjoyed to hear it. She had always been worried about her mediocre son, concerned he might achieve nothing in life. She hadn't expected such a pleasant surprise after he entered his third year of high school.
"Mom, haven't you noticed I've gotten much stronger recently? So I'm planning to take a break from school.
In the past few days, I've done some research and found a crash course training institution that offers intensive pre-test training with a high success rate, so I want to enroll."
"If it's helpful, then by all means enroll. How much does it cost?" She was frugal in some areas, but when it came to her children's education, she was incredibly generous.
"It costs about eighteen thousand, for fifteen days." Chen Shouyi hesitated briefly before naming a price. There were many such pre-test training courses; this price was reasonable and not too low to arouse suspicion.
"But I need to stay out!" he feigned hesitation lastly.
"You're already grown and still afraid of staying outside? When should you enroll?" Mrs. Chen, in good spirits, playfully teased him.
"Tomorrow morning."
"That soon? Luckily, I still have some funds in my account. I'll transfer the money to you once I'm done with the chores!"
In the darkness, watching his mother's face full of smiles, so gratified, Chen Shouyi suddenly felt a lump in his throat, feeling like crying.
In his memory, nothing had ever made his parents feel gratified; it was only disappointment after disappointment.
"But it will never be so again. You will be proud of your son." He wiped his eyes, turned, and returned to his bedroom, locking the door behind him.
...
He sat in front of the desk in a daze, lost in thought.
Suddenly, he remembered something and quickly took the shell out of the plastic bag.
The Shell Lady lay inside, motionless, her eyes swollen and empty, devoid of any spirit.
Her mouth had been taped shut, and her hands and feet were bound together.
Chen Shouyi gave a dry laugh, thought for a moment, then picked her up from the shell. Under her numb gaze, he cut the nylon rope binding her hands and feet with a small scissors.
Then he tore off the tape from her mouth.
He picked up the Barbie Doll clothes he had bought earlier, deciding to dress her.
Being stark naked was extremely distracting and often made him feel awkward—putting on clothes was more natural.
He gingerly lifted her arm to put on the shirt, fearing he might accidentally break her.
In truth, there was no need for such caution; she was sturdier than he imagined. After all, she was a creature from a three-times gravity environment, not as fragile as she seemed.
As he dressed her, the Shell Lady remained motionless, allowing him to pose her at will, her spirit seemingly broken.
Since feeling the change in her surroundings and realizing she had lost all her abilities and could no longer fly, she had become utterly despairing and numb.
After finally managing to dress her in a princess gown, Chen Shouyi wiped the imaginary sweat from his brow and exhaled a sigh of relief.
"Oh, right, I almost forgot about the honey."
He quickly took the honey out of the bag, scooped a small spoonful with a metal teaspoon, diluted it with some warm water, and placed it in front of her.
The teaspoon was longer than her height, and the spoon was three times the size of her head.
The Shell Lady's nose twitched slightly, then she turned her head away, remaining motionless.
Seeing her unwillingness to cooperate without force, Chen Shouyi couldn't help but poke her a few times with his finger, making her roll around on the desk, but the Shell Lady remained silent and unmoving.
Finally, Chen Shouyi gave up and stopped paying attention to her; after all, starving for a day shouldn't kill her.
He took the Wooden Sword from beneath the bed and resumed Swordsmanship practice.
He had barely completed a single forward stab.
The Wooden Sword pierced through the air, producing a sharp whistling sound, and he promptly stopped.
A moment later, there was a knock at the door.
"What's up?" Chen Shouyi said in a low voice with his body pressed against the door.
"Brother, you're back! What was that noise in your room just now?"
"It's nothing, just something from outside. I don't know what it was either."
"Oh, it startled me!"
His sister quickly left, and Chen Shouyi sighed in relief.
He looked at the sword, then at his own hands; while practicing in the alternate world, he hadn't had a clear sense of his own strength until now, realizing the extent he had reached.
That strike just now probably approached the speed of sound.
He suddenly realized how wise it was to have an excuse to leave for a while; staying here longer would even make practicing Swordsmanship a problem, to say nothing of other issues.