Chapter 47: The Fifth Day of Opening

It had taken Qiao Mian quite a bit of effort—even going so far as to promise his parents that, should their cultivation prove successful, he would allow them to meet certain individuals—before he finally quelled their disguised attempts at matchmaking.

“I still need to find a way to send them back,” Qiao Mian mused to himself. “With nothing to do here each day, all they can think about is having grandchildren.”

As for how to send his parents back, the key was to ensure they were capable of protecting themselves. Yet even a century’s worth of internal energy was no match for the firearms of Earth.

The best solution would be to open more dimensional planes and seek out truly extraordinary items that could grant them supernatural power.

“Or perhaps I could bury a Cybertronian spaceship beneath the village?” Qiao Mian pondered aloud.

When he first connected to the “Transformers” dimension, he had used the “Dimensional Item Seeker” to locate a Cybertronian ship. However, at the time, he didn’t have a single penny to his name, so he hadn’t chosen to materialize it.

Now, though the price was steep, if he saved up for a while, he should be able to afford one.

He could bury the ship underground in the village, then, should anything happen, activate it instantly and obliterate any would-be intruders.

After careful consideration, Qiao Mian discarded the idea.

The village wasn’t far from Yunling Mountain. Only a couple of days ago, his parents had video-chatted with a neighbor, who mentioned that officials from the town had come to register information because a relocation might be happening soon.

If the entire village was being moved, what use was a buried spaceship?

The area had already drawn the world’s attention; even if it were hidden underground, it would likely be discovered. Moreover, his parents wouldn’t stay in the village forever—any trip outside would be just as dangerous.

Qiao Mian racked his brain but couldn’t come up with a better solution. He could only take things one step at a time.

He decided to let them treat this as an extended vacation, though with so few people to talk to, boredom was inevitable.

Now that there were more tourists, perhaps he could consider letting them blend in with the crowd? But none of these visitors were ordinary people; each could be looked up in the encyclopedic archives. If his parents showed themselves, their identities would be exposed at once.

Should he open up a special quota for ordinary people? But those lucky few would draw even more attention.

Lying in his hammock, Qiao Mian gazed up at a sky full of stars, and as he pondered, he drifted off to sleep.

……

The next day.

The park continued its operations.

Qiao Mian lounged on the office sofa, playing video games while monitoring the park’s activity through Camera Zero.

What reassured him was that, thanks to his careful planning and the help of a few volunteers, the entire operation ran much more smoothly.

Tourists from all over the world, guided by volunteers, toured the park in an orderly fashion along the designated routes.

Each held a small booklet.

This was something Wang Lang had mentioned the previous day—a guide compiled by the relevant departments of the Rabbit Kingdom, based on suggestions from volunteers and the first batch of visitors. It detailed park rules and recommended routes.

However, the biggest change from the day before was that many now made the fitness plaza their first stop.

This kept the Dragon Lady and Granny Sun far busier than before.

Neither minded in the slightest. Their residence was within the fitness plaza, and the daily meditation and exercises increased their progress tenfold, leaving them full of energy each morning.

Especially the Dragon Lady; practicing the Jade Maiden’s Heart Sutra on the ice bed had often left her feeling uncomfortably hot, but here, her cultivation was unimpeded, her body clear and light, and her progress swift.

They quickly realized this was a paradise for cultivation—a place anyone in the martial world would fight tooth and nail to reach if word got out.

On the third and fourth days, the park’s operations became ever more streamlined.

Aside from an incident on the third day, when a man from White Elephant Country was expelled for relieving himself in public, there were almost no violations.

Online, the world’s networks buzzed with popular Q&A threads about the Fantasy Park.

Question: How can you win favor with the Dragon Lady and Granny Sun so they’ll teach you martial arts more earnestly?
Answer: Flatter Mr. Qiao.

Question: How can you make money in Fantasy Park?
Answer: Keep an eye on King Kong and the Rampaging Dragon when they relieve themselves—their droppings are worth more than gold.

Question: Can you obtain Dugu Qiubai’s legacy by increasing the Divine Eagle’s affection?
Answer: Try letting it kill you a few hundred times first.

Question: Who gave the Dragon Lady those leggings?
Answer: I will never forgive Liang Xiaoyu!

Question: How can an ordinary person enter Fantasy Park?
Answer: Dream on.

……

Qiao Mian found these exchanges both amusing and exasperating.

Still, his mood stayed bright. Each day brought in hundreds of millions in popularity points, which naturally lifted his spirits.

During this period, he helped his parents begin training with the Nine Yin Manual. Once they became proficient, he purchased two hundred “Bussqu Snake Gallbladders” for them.

Although both Jo Lin and Su Yueling found the taste unbearable, they knew the benefits. It took them three days to finish the supply and gain a full century’s worth of inner strength.

This made them look a bit younger, and their movements acquired the distinct bearing of martial arts masters.

Their bickering now turned to sparring, causing chaos at home more than once.

Even the two pet baby dinosaurs would sometimes cower in the corners, trembling. With their timidness, they’d probably be rejected even as police dogs.

But the novelty was bound to fade.

By the fifth day of park operations, just as Qiao Mian was two experience points away from reaching a million and upgrading the park to level two, his parents brought up an old topic again during dinner.

“You promised that once your father and I had trained successfully, we’d get to meet the Dragon Lady, right?” Su Yueling casually asked as she placed a dish of stir-fried bitter melon and eggs on the table.

Qiao Mian’s hand, holding his chopsticks, paused for a moment, but then he silently reached for the eggs.

Just as his chopsticks were about to pick up an egg, a swift shadow intercepted him.

Jo Lin had made his move.

“Your mother asked you a question,” Jo Lin said to his son.

Qiao Mian tried to twist his wrist, but his father blocked him again.

“Dad, let me eat first!” Qiao Mian protested, frowning.

Jo Lin stared at his son, his expression stern and silent.

Su Yueling gently tapped the table. “Answer the question.”

Qiao Mian had no choice.

“Fine,” he said. “I’ll find an opportunity tomorrow.”

“And Xiaoyu as well,” Jo Lin added.

Seeing Su Yueling glance his way, Jo Lin stuck his neck out and said, “Give our son more options.”

Noticing his wife’s displeasure, he explained, “They’re all Earthlings.”

Su Yueling considered this, her expression softening.

Qiao Mian managed a wry smile. “How many times do I have to say it? I’m not planning on finding a girlfriend right now. Stop overthinking it.”

He knew what his father was getting at.

Jo Lin had expressed concern before about the possibility of reproductive isolation between beings from different dimensions.

What nonsense—reproductive isolation?

True, the Dragon Lady was breathtakingly beautiful, but she was only eighteen. Not to mention his current focus was entirely on the development of the park; even if he were tempted, he couldn’t possibly contemplate having a child with an eighteen-year-old girl.

He had no desire to become a father so soon.

“We just want to meet her and thank her for all the help she’s given you. As for what you want, that’s up to you,” Jo Lin said.

Qiao Mian knew further explanation was pointless, so he resigned himself. “I’ll arrange it in a few days. I’ve been busy lately.”

……