pappabearbooks Chapter 690 - 50: The Snail Walker
Chapter 690 - 50: The Snail Walker
Alive, capable of communication, and not dangerous.Han Zhan was not angry because he was interrupted; instead, he quickly tagged the young man opposite him with a preliminary judgment.
Then he continued to ask: "Why are you all standing motionless on the street?"
At that moment, the young man turned his head towards Han Zhan, a hint of superiority in his tone.
"Motionless?"
"You must be new here; every newcomer to Pure Beauty Star has the same confusion."
"Since you’ve asked, I’ll kindly tell you."
"We’re not standing still, we’re walking our pets."
Walking pets?
Where are the pets?
Just as Han Zhan felt puzzled, Shang Jianyue had already used full-scene scanning to discover the "pets" they were talking about.
They were—tiny snails no bigger than grains of rice!
"You keep snails as pets? That’s one thing, but you actually walk them on the street?"
This discovery was even more surprising than seeing the giant roses at first glance.
The speed at which snails crawl is well known; walking snails on the street means waiting for them to slowly move forward, taking a long time to cover the distance of a single step.
What kind of bizarre practice is this?
Seeing the confusion in their eyes, the young man spoke with a proud expression on his face.
"That’s right."
"It’s snail walking. You’re new outsiders, so it’s normal not to know Pure Beauty Star’s customs."
"On Pure Beauty Star, walking snails symbolizes status and is considered an ’elegant’ activity. Here, everything becomes very prolonged, especially time."
"You will understand this once you’ve lived on Pure Beauty Star for a while."
"Alright, I won’t chat with you anymore; I need to continue walking my snails."
With that, the young man turned around and resumed his original posture.
After taking a step forward, he leisurely closed his eyes, standing still, quietly waiting for the snails to crawl the next step.
Many young people on the street were doing the same.
As he said, they weren’t motionless, just moving at a frequency proportional to snail crawling speed.
Watching the scene, Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue remained silent.
This was indeed beyond their understanding.
In Han Zhan’s view, time is incredibly precious, and any behavior that wastes time is unacceptable, let alone the bizarre and time-consuming activity of "snail walking."
Once again, the Pure Beauty Star people challenged their perception.
Han Zhan shook his head, choosing not to continue inquiring with the young man, and instead turned his gaze to the nearby shops, particularly a coffee shop.
"Let’s go over there and ask."
The two of them distanced themselves from the snail-walking crowd and headed to the coffee shop.
As they pushed the door, a clear ringing sound echoed, signaling the arrival of customers.
"Huh?" The coffee shop manager, a young man with a tuft of golden beard, looked up curiously when he heard the bell, looking towards the door.
"Strange, it’s not yet tea time; shouldn’t everyone be out walking snails now?"
He muttered to himself and, upon seeing Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue enter, a look of realization mixed into his puzzled gaze.
"Ah, it’s two travelers from another planet."
"But it’s rare; a place like this old street town usually isn’t of interest to travelers like you."
The café manager said as he turned to pour two cups of coffee from the machine, "Would you like two cups?"
The manager’s muttering was heard by Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue, both Tier Nine Ultimate Powerhouses.
Han Zhan nodded in agreement.
"Is this the only coffee available?" Shang Jianyue asked with a furrowed brow, glancing at the coffee handed to him.
The café manager nodded naturally, "Pure coffee beans freshly ground, with no additives."
The taste was truly bitter.
"This is the taste of gentlemen," added the café manager.
His remark successfully made Shang Jianyue relax his furrowed brows, and he gladly accepted the bitter freshly ground coffee.
"Boss, what currency should we use for payment?" Han Zhan asked while taking the coffee.
He wasn’t worried about currency issues on an unfamiliar planet.
With the ability of the Nuwa Stone of Heavenly Origin, if Han Zhan wished, he could create endless currency at any moment.
A human printing press, basically.
"Currency? No, Pure Beauty Star doesn’t use currency," the café manager shook his head. "We typically pay with lifespan."
He raised a finger and said, "One cup of coffee, one year of lifespan."
The café manager’s words made Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue lean back universally.
Good heavens, we only wanted a cup of coffee and perhaps some information.
Turns out you want our lifespan?!
What kind of planet is this, where a cup of coffee costs lifespan? This coffee could really cost you!
"What’s wrong? Can’t you afford it?" The café manager, noticing Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue’s reaction, replaced his enthusiasm with seriousness and somberness.
"Not exactly."
Han Zhan and Shang Jianyue exchanged a glance and ultimately decided to pay.
Firstly, a year’s lifespan isn’t much for Tier Nine Ultimate Powerhouses like them; even at the minimum, they have hundreds of years to live.
Secondly, to gather more information, one must pay a price, after all.
Upon receiving their affirmative answer, the café manager returned to his enthusiastic demeanor.
He took out a peculiar-looking device and placed it in front of the two.
"Go ahead, place your hand on it, one year per person."
Shang Jianyue stopped Han Zhan and first extended his hand, "Let me go first."
Han Zhan saw this and didn’t object.
Shang Jianyue placed his hand on the device, and soon, a bright green light appeared on its surface, followed by a notification sound:
"Ding! One year’s lifespan payment successful!"
Han Zhan, through Heaven’s Origin, sensed that as payment confirmed, something he had never perceived was extracted from Shang Jianyue and absorbed into that special device.
This unknown essence must be "lifespan."
Pure Beauty Star possessed special devices capable of extracting human "lifespan."
Han Zhan marveled; once Shang Jianyue completed his payment without any anomalies, he also followed suit.
The café manager put away the device, stood leisurely, and with a smile again asked, "So, dear travelers, what would you like to inquire about?"