Chapter 13: Bulldozer

Bumblebee's behavior made Liang Xiaoyu's face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

The two professors exchanged glances and then looked away.

Wang Lang blinked, and suddenly burst out laughing.

Zhang Fei remained expressionless.

Qiao Mian was so furious he wanted to curse.

"Shut up," he flew over and kicked Bumblebee in the head. "Don't feel like working anymore?"

Bumblebee replied innocently, "I was just joking."

"Take the three of them," Qiao Mian ordered.

Bumblebee crouched down. "Get on."

Qiao Mian nodded to Liang Xiaoyu, Wang Yangzhe, and Yang Xu.

The two professors felt a little embarrassed, but they were truly exhausted, so they obediently climbed onto Bumblebee's back.

"I don't need it," Liang Xiaoyu said, blushing and gritting her teeth.

She shot Bumblebee a fierce glare, thinking, "I never expected you to be this kind of Bumblebee. Hmph!"

"Alright," Qiao Mian said. "Once the park officially opens to the public, I'll build several sightseeing routes. You can choose to ride the whole way then."

Soon, they returned to the road.

The two professors immediately got off Bumblebee's back.

They circled around the streetlamp once more, asking about its material and purpose.

The group strolled and paused, and quickly reached the square in front of the office building.

"Fantasy Park..." Wang Lang muttered to himself.

The half-day experience had left him shaken, and he already anticipated that everything here would inevitably bring earth-shaking changes to the entire planet.

"Would you like to visit the office building?" Qiao Mian asked.

"We'd love to," Yang Xu replied promptly.

"What about the adjacent annex?" Wang Yangzhe asked.

"It's the hatchery for dinosaurs and pythons," Qiao Mian explained. "It's part of the Dinosaur Park and Python Pavilion."

"The ecosystems in the Dinosaur Park and Python Pavilion seem quite complete already. You still need to artificially hatch young animals?" Wang Yangzhe asked.

"The species diversity isn't sufficient yet," Qiao Mian answered casually, "and once the shops are open, they can also be sold."

"Dinosaurs and pythons from the hatchery are gentler than those born in the wild," he added.

"I have to buy a python!" Wang Yangzhe clenched his fist lightly.

"You'll have your chance," Qiao Mian smiled.

They entered the first floor of the central office building.

Before them was a hall spanning several thousand square meters and over twenty meters high.

As soon as they entered, the hall lit up instantly.

Though no light source was visible, the hall was as bright as daylight.

"Welcome to the Fantasy Park Office Center," a glowing sphere appeared before them. "I am Steward Zero."

"Zero, give our guests an introduction," Qiao Mian requested.

A three-dimensional virtual projection quickly appeared in the hall, displaying a map of the entire park.

Qiao Mian took the opportunity to quietly slip outside.

He stood at the front of the square, lifted his helmet visor, took a deep breath, and gazed up at the towering trees, stretching lazily.

"Life won't be this leisurely in the days to come," he sighed.

Having spent five years building all this from nothing, he felt quite accomplished.

But thinking of the troubles that would follow once everything was exposed, he felt a headache coming on.

"There won't be any danger for Mom and Dad, will there?" he pondered.

His parents were honest, hard-working farmers.

Back when he wanted to drop out halfway through college to run Fantasy Park, his parents were furious.

He had mentioned the park before, but his parents didn't believe him—after all, he had just acquired it then, with nothing to show for it.

Even so, they eventually compromised: first letting him drive trucks with his father, and when he was reluctant, spending their modest savings to let him run a farm.

But over the years, they hardly managed it, and the farm languished.

By deliberately keeping a low profile, he became, in his parents' eyes, a good-for-nothing who relied on them and lacked ambition.

Yet he was their only son, so no matter their dissatisfaction, they had to accept him, even helping him arrange blind dates.

"Now that all this is revealed, Mom and Dad will probably remember what I said back then," Qiao Mian thought.

After weighing it over, he felt his backup plan was not secure enough; it would be safer to bring his parents here.

Though this would expose his identity even faster, there was no alternative.

If need be, he just wouldn't return to the village.

Besides his parents, there was no one else in the world he cared for more.

Just as he was thinking this, Zero sent him a reminder, and he quickly put on his helmet again.

He turned to see Liang Xiaoyu walking towards him.

He looked closely: the female streamer wasn't holding her selfie stick.

"Hi," Liang Xiaoyu waved at him.

"Why aren't you with the others?" Qiao Mian asked.

"Not much to see," Liang Xiaoyu replied.

Not much to see?

"Zero," Qiao Mian called silently.

Zero promptly sent over some footage.

Qiao Mian saw Yang Xu and the others' faces frequently flashing with astonished expressions, and couldn't help but wonder.

Was it that men and women focused on different things?

He remembered back in college, he had pursued a girl and gave her a keyboard and mouse set he'd coveted for her birthday, only to be rejected angrily. He accepted it himself.

Later, the girl's friend gently told him that she felt he lacked heart—what girl would want such a gift for her birthday?

Qiao Mian was indignant then, feeling the girl was making things difficult; his affection plummeted, and he decided he had nothing in common with someone whose values were so different.

His later online "girlfriend" told him men and women naturally cared about different things, and explained how girls liked to be wooed... For a while, he thought he'd found true love.

Unfortunately, she turned out to be a married scammer after in-game skins!

"In your world, do men and women get married?" Liang Xiaoyu sidled up to Qiao Mian and asked cautiously.

"Of course. Not just men and women, but men and men, women and women, humans and ghosts, humans and beasts, ghosts and beasts..." Qiao Mian replied offhandedly.

Liang Xiaoyu's eyes widened in shock.

"Good thing I'm not streaming," she thought.

She cleared her throat and asked, "What about you, Mr. Qiao? Do you prefer women, men, ghosts, or beasts?"

"There are often natives from barren worlds who try to cozy up to our unofficial citizens, hoping to rise overnight," Qiao Mian looked back at her. "You understand, right?"

Blushing, Liang Xiaoyu said, "I'm just curious."

"I see," Qiao Mian drawled. "My dream is to become a formal citizen—then the whole universe's species would be mine to choose from, wouldn't they?"

"Bulldozer?" Liang Xiaoyu blurted out.

"Hmm?" Qiao Mian was puzzled.

"Haha, I just thought the roads here are so smooth, they must've been leveled with advanced bulldozers, right?" Liang Xiaoyu said awkwardly.

Qiao Mian caught on and snorted lightly.

"Are you green-skinned, Mr. Qiao?" Liang Xiaoyu asked again.

"If you'd like to become a green-skinned goblin, I can arrange a species-changing surgery for you," Qiao Mian offered generously. "Free of charge."

"Then why do you always wear armor? Aren't you hot?" Liang Xiaoyu finally revealed her fox's tail.

"You want me to take it off?" Qiao Mian asked meaningfully.

Liang Xiaoyu softly replied, "Mm."

"Then you take yours off first," Qiao Mian said mischievously.

Liang Xiaoyu blushed deeply. "Then take me to your office..."

...