Civilization: Beyond Two Worlds

How difficult was it to travel alone in another world?

"Loneliness is no longer our greatest enemy… The lack of technology is."

Late at night, in the wilderness, under the starlight, a Hummer SUV stopped in a quiet col.

The car was lit with a gentle light.

Kang De lay on his back and put his feet up on the driver's seat. He held a pen and wrote in his notebook.

"Xiaoman, I'm writing to you under the sky. Above me is the starry sky of the other world. I have an important mission to protect the weak princess like in the story."

"However, the fairy tale did not mention anything. Where did the knight who chased the princess get the map?"

"There's no GPS. The road conditions are terrible and communication is backward. Tina has been gone for dozens of days. She's been doing some big things these days, but the news is extremely slow. At the very least, the information channels I can find are really extremely slow. I don't know the route Tina took or where she went."

"I can only set off to chase after her. At the very least, she's advancing with the main group, and I'm traveling lightly. In theory, I'll definitely be able to catch up to her quickly."

"But I was wrong, because the Empire is very large, and I… don't know the way."

"The accuracy of the map is extremely poor, at least for civilians. That's the best map you can buy in the nearby city. I asked them why the mages who can fly and know the Eagle Eye Technique did not do some surveying and mapping. The natives of the other world looked at me dumbfounded as if I had said that I wanted the mages to dig out feces."

"I roughly understood something."

"Xiaoman, we once discussed how an alternate world with magic should develop. We once felt that mages who grasped the power of heaven and earth could smelt, build roads, build canals, and so on. It must be an extremely advanced world, but now it seems that we're all wrong. Our idea is too idealistic."

"The reality is much colder. The status of the mages is extremely high. As guests of the country, they participate in military missions and enjoy supreme reverence. They don't have the motivation to change the world, because now, they're supreme and far above mortals. Why would they do rough work like repairing canals and smelting metal?"

"The resources obtained by the country bumpkins from their hard work are already enough for them to enjoy. Then, why did the mages lower themselves to research more efficient production methods for the country bumpkins?"

"The development of technology has never been independent but is restricted and affected by many factors. It's definitely not something that can be done step by step in a civilized game… National policies will affect it, the social atmosphere will affect it, and class composition will affect it. It's not inevitable, but it's filled with many coincidences."

"Ah, if this continues, I'm going to become an expert. After all, there's such a huge social sample to observe. The trajectory and method of development of another civilization…"

At this point, Kang De smiled, picked up the thermos flask placed in the neighboring seat, and drank two mouthfuls of hot water.

"Let's return to my journey. Under such circumstances, hiring a guide or joining a caravan is the wisest choice. However, I don't believe in otherworldly people, let alone letting them know my secret. If I join a team, the journey is really too slow. I don't want to waste time on a long journey and chatting with a group of otherworldly people… It might have been possible in the past."

"If I join a mercenary group and encounter the daughter of a duke or an Empire princess who ran away from home, it's a very kingly plot. Otherwise, the teammate I encounter will be a hidden plot NPC with a dark past…"

"In the past, I would indeed look forward to it."

"But the current me… won't."

"Because I'm still wary of them, because I'm still cautious of them, and because I still despise them. When I first returned here, I experienced another massacre. These native dogs can't change their ways and are blinded by greed. They actually dared to show their fangs to the lion, so I killed them all."

"Really, I don't know how to interact with these people."

"It was the same when I went to the city to gather information."

"Communicate with them nicely and they think that you're weak and can be bullied. If you're not stingy with money and rewards, they think that you're a fat sheep. You have to press them against the wall with their necks and break their bones one by one. Only then will they call you lord respectfully and fearfully and work for you obediently."

"The funny thing is that if you treat them like dogs from the beginning, kick them first, and then bluntly start to order them around, they will also obediently work for you. In the end, they will be overjoyed and worship you…"

"I understand this mentality and know that human nature is this lowly, but I'm just… not used to it."

"Or rather, I don't like it."

"Be it those people in Glory Sand Town or those people I've seen in the past few days, when I see them and see a good person actually living like that, I feel… very wrong."

"But now… I don't want to change all of this anymore."

"That day, just as I arrived at Glory Sand, I saw a Cathayan called Hong San and a little beggar called Liszt. At that time, I thought that Earth and you were both dead, so I was anxious to find a new goal in life. At that time, I was ambitious to change the fate of these suffering and ignorant people. Now, those hurried and empty ambitions have already disappeared."

"The current me is not interested in their encounter and fate. It doesn't matter if the people here are rotten to the core. I only want to fulfill my promise and go home…"

Under the warm light of the car, Kang De calmly wrote.

Earth was safe and sound, allowing him, who had once been crazy, to finally calm down. This was naturally a great thing, but there was a side effect—because his hometown still existed and was extremely closely related, this further tore apart the distance and sense of identity between Kang De and the other world.

In short.

Unknowingly, Kang De had gradually stopped treating the people of the other world as humans…

It was not the so-called sense of superiority, nor was it the arrogance of being high and mighty. Instead, it was indifference and unconcern.

"I don't want to hire a guide, and I can't get a more precise map. I have no choice but to use the stupidest method. The location of the ground on the map is correct. I think the final destination must be Goethe. Then, it's the same to go to the border of the Empire and enter Goethe before looking for Tina."

"It's a very reckless method, right? It's indeed very reckless. I directly took out that off-road vehicle from the white fog space and went out at night. I'll travel carefully and occasionally take shortcuts. It's quite fast."

"This place is already far from Glory Sand Town. Although the off-road vehicle is very novel, I drive on the road at night and hide during the day. It's not a big deal if I keep a low profile… This risk is worth it. Otherwise, it'll be much slower to travel on horseback. After all, I don't know how to take care of the horses. I don't know how many animals will die from running."

"This also makes me very unhappy. In the other world, I have to drive secretly…"

At this point, Kang De sighed silently.

D*mn, he was still so lonely.

Rather than saying that these letters were written for Old Wang, it was more like a diary for him to see. If he really showed them to Xiaoman, he would be very embarrassed.

It was simply shameful.

Speaking of shame, there was something that made him very glad. Fortunately, the white fog world was not Earth, but a third mirror world. Otherwise, when he transmigrated back that day, he discovered that the white fog had dissipated and the people outside had rushed in. Therefore, everyone saw the civilization tombstone he had carved, his various graffiti, his diary and recordings, and so on…

Then he could consider the problem of burying himself alive.

"But it's really lonely…"

Kang De opened the glove compartment on the top of the passenger seat and pulled out a calendar. "It's been five days… Calculating the time, it's probably after midnight on Earth? Should I go back and take a look after dawn?"

…Forget it.

Although it was very lonely and he wanted to see Old Wang a little, if he wanted to return after returning to Earth, he had to wait a day until the transmigration mechanism cooled down. The extremely high time flow ratio of the two worlds meant that at least five to six days would pass in the other world. Such a vacation was clearly too extravagant…

Kang De shook his head, put away the diary and calendar, and started the Hummer's engine.

Amidst the rumbling and low sound, the engine started.

The two headlights suddenly lit up and broke through the deep darkness.

Those lights were simply like two pillars of light, and they were strong, pure, and hot white, causing people to be unable to look straight at them.

This was because the headlights had been enchanted by Kang De.

The set of Templar armor he had obtained from the Goode family's treasure room circulated with the light of divine runes. It could also be analyzed by elements and used by Kang De for various light enhancements.

However, the light that had been strengthened by elements seemed to have the effect of promoting the recovery of wounds. Unfortunately, the effect was not too obvious, and Kang De's self-healing ability was too strong, so it was impossible to verify.

At the same time, Kang De also felt that if this headlight shone on undead like skeletons and zombies, the effect would probably be quite good… However, he had never encountered the undead.

He had encountered a ghost on Earth.

Ah, in the future, he would enchant a flashlight and find a haunted house on Earth to try. In any case, he had already asked Old Wang to pay attention to the strange news in this aspect.

In the future, catching ghosts and subduing them could be his job… He felt that he could earn a lot of money.

As Kang De's thoughts ran wild, he gently stepped on the accelerator. The Hummer shook, then slowly drove away from this hidden col and prepared to drive into the main road.

However, the next moment, the car stopped.

This was because not far away stood a gray-haired old man dressed as a butler.

"Honorable alchemist."

He bowed politely to Kang De in the car and spoke. His voice sounded through the car window and clearly sounded in Kang De's ear, "On the orders of my little master who is obsessed with the beauty of machinery, I send you the most humble and sincere suggestion and plea. Can your work, the carriage, be sold to the Vidal family?"

…