Genius Club-Chapter 278 - 5: The Last Man of the East Sea

So.

How exactly does one get to Rhine Sky City?

Is there a special flight?

Or is there an elevator somewhere unknown to oneself?

Lin Xian looked around...

"Hmm?"

He saw the crowd and lights gathered together in the distance once more.

He had already noticed that place when he was at the spawn point.

It looked like a flat ground, and from a distance, it seemed that at least a hundred people were gathered, as if they were having a party.

Moreover, that was the only place within sight where lights were present, making it particularly conspicuous; even the little boy Lin Xian had met on the way had run towards that crowd after they parted.

The reason why Lin Xian expressed confusion...

...was because a huge hot air balloon was slowly rising from where the crowd and lights were gathered!

Hot air balloons were something Lin Xian had seen only in movies and on television; he had never actually seen one in real life.

It was a type of aircraft that ascended using hot air or helium.

But since it lacked sufficient directional control and the ability to move horizontally, most hot air balloons could only go wherever the wind took them... Therefore, they weren’t very practical in daily life, and were more often used for extreme sports or sightseeing.

And now.

There was a hot air balloon rising specifically at the base of the City in the Sky.

It went without saying, it was definitely a means of transportation to the City in the Sky.

"I didn’t expect the mode of transportation to be so primitive."

Just a hot air balloon... could it really fly safely to Rhine Sky City?

Lin Xian had his doubts.

But he began to jog toward the crowd, hoping to catch a ride... oh no, catch a breeze, rather.

However.

Because of his random running before, the distance was just too far.

Lin Xian watched helplessly as the hot air balloon gradually swelled and then slowly ascended into the sky...

By the time Lin Xian finally reached the gathering spot, the huge hot air balloon had already lifted the small passenger basket dozens of meters into the air and was still slowly accelerating.

Lin Xian looked up.

And he found...

This was not a traditional hot air balloon, but a helium balloon.

Normally, hot air balloons are filled with air, and a large flame gun is used to heat the air inside, reducing its density to gain lift from the air.

Helium balloons are different.

They have no heating device, nor do they need any.

The density of helium itself is lower than that of air, so simply filling a huge balloon with helium and sealing it well provides ample buoyancy without any other equipment.

But...

The height of Rhine Sky City seemed to be only a few thousand meters; using a helium balloon to ascend seemed like overkill.

For that distance, a traditional hot air balloon that burns air to lift would have been more than adequate.

Could it be...

The actual height of Rhine Sky City was higher than he had estimated?

Lin Xian recalled the geography knowledge he had learned in junior high school.

It seemed unrealistic if the height was much higher.

He remembered that the geography book stated that for every thousand meters in altitude, the temperature would drop around 6 degrees Celsius, so a height of a few thousand meters would be the most suitable for residents of the City in the Sky, without being too cold.

Moreover, as altitude increases, air pressure also decreases, not only lowering the boiling point of water, causing unnecessary trouble for daily life, but also the thinning oxygen could easily lead to altitude sickness.

Of course.

This was all from the perspective of the year 2023.

By now, Rhine Sky City had undoubtedly conquered controlled nuclear fusion; they had endless sources of energy and heat, so temperature and air pressure issues were not really a concern and could be easily solved.

So, he couldn’t rule out the possibility that he had really underestimated the height of Rhine Sky City.

However.

Soon.

Lin Xian noticed another unusual detail—

He saw the "passenger" in the basket beneath the huge helium balloon... was fully armed at this very moment!

They were wrapped tightly from head to toe, appearing bulky as if wearing a simple, sealed astronaut suit.

This comparison wasn’t exaggerated.

The "passenger" was puffed up like a Michelin Man, with the most important detail being the large astronaut helmet on their head; they really looked like an astronaut.

This made Lin Xian even more perplexed...

A helium balloon + astronaut suit, what exactly was this person intending to do?

Were they not heading to the Sky City? Why go through such a troublesome and ostentatious process?

Lin Xian decided to ask someone.

He scanned the crowd...

Quickly.

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He spotted three familiar figures that were both unexpected and yet not surprising!

Ah Zhuang!

Er Zhuzi!

San Pang!

They were the three underlings of Big Face Cat from before!

Finding old acquaintances in a foreign land, Lin Xian couldn’t help but smile.

These three underlings had been gunned down countless times by him and Big Face Cat in The First Dreamland; in the Second Dreamland, they had turned over a new leaf and started working with Big Face Cat and Boss Lee... It was really unexpected to see them here in the Third Dreamland.

In that moment, Lin Xian felt that perhaps there was indeed some inevitability in history.

Certain people, certain events, just like inevitable nodes in history...

Inevitably exist.

Inevitably happen.

Could this be... a new Space-time Law?

Lin Xian couldn’t quite figure it out just yet.

But now wasn’t the time to ponder this; it was better to ask them what all these people were gathered for first.