Chapter 3: Longshande

After passing through the riverside jungle, a wide road appeared before him.

Lei En remembered that this road was one of the main routes into the city; a few kilometers north lay Longshande. At this moment the sky was fully bright, and farmers were pulling wagons along the road, the wagons loaded with fresh vegetables and food, ready to be taken to the city market to sell.

There were also pedestrians like Lei En, all hurrying along, rushing for a living.

Walking on the road, Lei En sensed that his physical condition was quite good, his stamina strong, at least much stronger than in his previous life, suggesting that the three years he spent at the academy were not wasted.

Whether it was a benefit of the transmigration or his excellent physique, the wound on the back of his head seemed to be healing rapidly, no longer painful at all. If he didn't touch it, there would still be a faint ache; Lei En began to suspect that the wound might already be fully healed.

As he walked, Lei En's attention swept over Little Red Flower, which instantly enlarged into an interface before his eyes, and a quick glance revealed a change.

"Hmm? The battery level rose by one notch; so physical recovery is like charging."

This discovery made Lei En overjoyed; he no longer had to fear running out of power.

"It must be that the healthier my body is, the higher the battery level."

Lei En pondered, yet found it somewhat illogical.

Based on his current physical state, even if fully recovered, the battery could only reach about 10%; so how could it ever rise to a full hundred percent?

And what changes would occur when the battery reached a full hundred percent?

There were too many questions left to explore.

While pondering, a commotion came from behind.

Lei En turned his head and saw a black automobile driving along the road, apparently in a hurry to enter the city; the driver kept honking, shooing away the wagons and pedestrians blocking the way.

Four attendants flanked the car on both sides and behind, wearing light armor and bearing long swords at their waists; they rode skillfully on horses, keeping a proper distance to avoid collision yet staying close enough to protect the car's owner at any moment.

The road fell into chaos; the farmers hurriedly pulled their wagons to the side, and people stepped aside.

Lei En also quickly stepped aside.

Soon the automobile sped past, kicking up a cloud of dust, and the riders galloped after it, leaving a trail of hoofprints on the ground.

Watching the group depart, Lei En felt a strange sensation.

He knew that this world possessed a fairly high level of industry, especially in steam machinery, even surpassing Diqiu, yet seeing a car drive past him with several riders alongside felt oddly out of place.

In the words of his past life, the aesthetic just didn't fit!

When the automobile passed, he deliberately took a closer look.

The vehicle's shape resembled that of cars on Diqiu, with only slight differences in details; the windows were lavishly decorated and covered with canvas, the interior unseen, and white vapor puffed from the rear without a distinct odor, appearing like steam, since it was powered by a steam engine.

"Being able to craft a steam‑powered automobile to this level, with a decent speed, is truly marvelous."

In Lei En's memory, he had never ridden in a car.

Because automobiles are among the most advanced mechanical products, their price is exorbitant; only nobles, magnates, or transcendents can afford them, and an ordinary person might never have the chance to ride one in a lifetime. He hadn't seen who was inside the car, but presumed they were either rich or noble.

As they approached the city, the road widened, pedestrians increased, and the farmlands beside the road stretched endlessly, already filled with many farmers working the fields.

This was already the outskirts of Longshande, where beyond the fields stood factories, plantations, ranches, and private estates of the nobility.

Shortly after, a massive city came into view.

From afar, countless buildings formed an endless cityscape,

The nearer one got to the city center, the taller the houses became. Though there were no skyscrapers exceeding a hundred meters as in Diqiu's metropolises, the level of prosperity was no less, and the population was extremely dense.

This is Longshandecheng, one of the Empire's most prosperous major cities, with a permanent population exceeding one million!

Longshande has no city walls, yet its defensive strength is formidable.

Lei En immediately noticed that every few hundred meters within the city stood a conspicuous stone tower, thirty to forty meters tall, its top resembling a gun platform.

The towers bore weapons, though they were covered with waterproof oilcloth, concealing their interiors.

Lei En knew that beneath the oilcloth lay steam crossbow cannons, extremely powerful weapons said to have a range of five hundred steps, serving as the city's guardians.

There were no walls, but checkpoints were set up on the main road entering the city.

Since it was still early after sunrise, the influx of people was not crowded, and the guards at the checkpoint did not inspect every wagon or person, only occasionally stopping a few to ask a few questions before letting them pass.

Lei En often left the city and had nothing to fear, so he walked through with a normal expression.

"Stop."

A fully armed guard suddenly blocked his path, eyes scanning Lei En.

Lei En instantly realized that his clothes were still damp and wrinkled, unexpectedly drawing the guard's attention.

"Sir, I set out before dawn this morning, couldn't see the road clearly, and accidentally fell into the river."

Lei En proactively explained, pulling a white card from his jacket pocket and handing it over.

On the way back to the city, he examined everything he carried; aside from his clothes he had no money, only a key and this peculiar card.

The card was about the size of an ID, made of extremely hard material, difficult to damage, bearing Lei En's black‑and‑white portrait and brief identity information. Most importantly, dozens of tiny holes on one side allowed a large precision machine to read it, distinguishing authenticity.

The card was issued by the academy, serving as a pass for entering and exiting the academy.

Academy passes were relatively precious, unattainable for ordinary people, symbolizing status; therefore they were accepted in many places—show the card and one would be allowed through.

As expected, the guard lowered his guard the moment he saw the card, confirming the portrait matched Lei En, and immediately cleared the way.

Lei En tucked the card away and proceeded along the road into the city.

The main road inside the city was extremely wide, accommodating several wagons side by side; every ten or so meters a gas streetlamp lit the way, with wagons and automobiles traveling in the middle, while pedestrians were confined to the sidewalks on both sides.

The stone‑paved boulevard bustled with traffic; the houses lining both sides were densely packed, mostly stone foundations supplemented by wooden planks and a few bricks, the lower ones only two or three stories, the tallest reaching five or six, topped with red tiles, all sharing a uniform architectural style.

The street teemed with people coming and going, bustling, most footsteps hurried.

All sorts of people passed by: mail carriers delivering letters, housewives buying vegetables, apprentices working, wagon drivers loaded with cargo, playful children. The houses along the street included both common homes and numerous shops—clothing stores, restaurants, grocery stores, blacksmiths, bookstores, markets, taverns, inns, newsstands… every trade was represented, and the whole city exuded the atmosphere of daily life.

Walking through the exotically styled city, Lei En curiously looked around.

He recalled cities of medieval Europe.

But the two were decidedly different. First, the sanitation here was excellent; well‑designed drainage channels lined the streets, and the ground was paved with even stone slabs, never turning into a mud pit when it rained. Moreover, unlike Europeans who would dump waste barrels onto the street, creating foul odors—so much so that even in Paris, the proclaimed heart of Europe, a careless passerby could be drenched by a large "load" of excrement.

Secondly, the architectural style here was vastly different from that of medieval Europe.

Lei En knew little of architectural history, unable to pinpoint the exact differences.

Speaking purely from personal sensation, Longshande's architecture is more grandiose, favoring large stone blocks as the main material, then carving patterns on the stone and adorning with various statues, striving to make the house more spacious and bright, giving a solemn, reverent feeling.

This architectural style carries an extremely strong religious color, somewhat similar to Baroque architecture, yet more like ancient Greek architecture, grand and magnificent.

Suddenly, a waft of fragrance drifted from a roadside eatery, making his stomach growl and interrupting Lei En's thoughts.

He felt his empty pocket and couldn't help letting out a God's Curse: "Damn it, killing someone still requires searching the corpse, they've taken all my money, this debt will surely be settled."

After swallowing his saliva, Lei En could only hasten his steps back to his apartment.

In his memory, the previous occupant had hidden a sum of money in the apartment's wall crack, saved earlier; though not much, it was enough to live on for a while.

Lei En's apartment is in Luos District, not far away.

The residents of Luos District are ordinary civilians, only slightly better off than the slum area, with cheap rent, so he could afford it.

After several minutes, Lei En finally arrived at the apartment building's entrance, went in through the main door up to the third floor, took out his key at the end of the hallway, and opened the door.

The room is not large, simply furnished with only a bed and a set of table and chairs, plus a wardrobe against the wall, and beside it a rudimentary bathroom.

Lei En took off his uncomfortable wet clothes and threw them into the bathroom; on the table lay a bag of bread bought yesterday, which he picked up and stuffed into his mouth.

He had never felt this hungry before, as if he hadn't eaten for several days.

Chewing the cold, hard bread with a cup of water, Lei En wolfed it down, quickly finishing the whole bag. Though the bread was meant for three days' breakfasts, he was still only half‑full, feeling he could eat more.

At least he was no longer that hungry, and his strength was gradually recovering.

After his hunger eased, Lei En finally took off his last pair of shorts and entered the bathroom, comfortably took a cold shower, dried himself with a towel, and emerged refreshed.

Walking to the wardrobe, he was about to change into clean clothes when he noticed a half‑person‑tall mirror on the wardrobe door, clearly reflecting his current appearance.

He paused his actions and carefully examined his reflection in the mirror.

This body stands close to 1.8 meters tall, slightly slender yet well‑proportioned, with fairly distinct muscle tone, the result of three years of training at the academy.

Most importantly, his foundation was also solid; Lei En glanced down and wore a satisfied smile.

The downside is his skin is mottled with blue and purple bruises everywhere, shocking to behold, as if he had been beaten, which also explains why he felt pain all over when he first arrived; as for the injury on the back of his head, he found a palm‑sized mirror in the desk, stood before the dressing mirror, and by cross‑reflection finally saw the wound's appearance.

The wound has largely healed; lifting his hair reveals only a bloody, fuzzy depression, roughly circular, with stark contrast between the skin at its edges and the surrounding tissue, clearly caused by a heavy blow from a blunt instrument.

Lei En lowered the mirror, his eyes clouded over, for he knew exactly what had happened.