In the underground human city.
Li Wenxi and Xu Ying were standing in the plaza beneath the statue, looking up at the towering figure nearby.
"...Seeing it up close, the statue really is so tall..."
There was a fence surrounding the statue at about fifty meters, and outside the fence stood several armed security personnel, preventing anyone from approaching the statue.
"Yeah, itâs my first time coming close to this statue too." Xu Ying looked around.
The plaza around the statue was very crowded, mostly with tourists who came from far and wide.
Nowadays, the underground world has over a billion people, naturally making the living space quite vast, with an area comparable to a large country on Earth in the past.
Of course, on todayâs Earth with its surface area a hundred times larger, this space seems rather insignificant, but for humans, itâs a distance that cannot be easily crossed under normal circumstances.
Not to mention this is underground, where the overall height of the underground world is only about one to two thousand meters, with the highest point just over three thousand meters.
Combined with the technological gap, even after developing for a thousand years, there still arenât affordable public air transportation facilities for ordinary people.
So for most ordinary people from out of town, coming to this cityâs central area to see these statues isnât easy, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the human activity zone underground.
On the plaza, you could see people of all skin colors, wearing various forms of clothing.
The atmosphere here was like that of an international metropolis.
"You havenât been here either?" Li Wenxi looked at Xu Ying, somewhat surprised. "Isnât this statue..."
"Hey, hey!" Xu Ying quickly raised her hand to cover Li Wenxiâs mouth, which was masked, and whispered, "There are so many people around, be careful what you say!"
Li Wenxiâs words didnât attract attention, but Xu Yingâs action drew curious glances from the nearby tourists admiring the statue.
Even the armed security personnel stationed by the fence turned to look.
"Ah haha." Xu Ying withdrew her hand and looked up at the statue.
"...Have you really never been here?" Li Wenxi asked curiously.
"No." Xu Ying shook her head. "If I wasnât bringing you here, I wouldnât come. With this face of mine..."
"Ah... Thatâs true!" Li Wenxi realized. "It would indeed pose some trouble."
"Right? Um..." Xu Ying glanced around and then at the security personnel who were sizing them up, feeling a bit uneasy. "Have you seen enough, sister-in-law? If thereâs nothing else, letâs move a bit farther. There are so many people here."
"Huh? We just got here." Li Wenxi continued to gaze up at the statue, feeling quite amazed, and softly exclaimed, "It really resembles... But this statue is much more maturely carved."
"Ah haha, itâs a statue; it has to be carved maturely to earn respect." Xu Ying chuckled awkwardly.
She hadnât told Li Wenxi the complete truth yet.
Li Wenxi knew that Earth was invaded by alien invaders, and that they, the survivors, were sent here from a thousand years ago. This city was developed by humans after they were relocated underground.
As for Xu Yingâs identity, she conveniently used the identity of a "previous generation of survivors."
Regarding who sent them a thousand years into the future, Li Wenxi didnât know this yet.
Hence, she also didnât know the story behind these two statues.
Nevertheless, it wasnât something Xu Ying intentionally hid; she simply felt that dumping all this information onto Li Wenxi at once might not be believable. Itâd be better to let her witness it first, and then explain later.
Just like now.
"Um, so..." Li Wenxi turned to Xu Ying, "Can you tell me the story behind the statue?"
"About this, letâs move a bit further away first; itâs too..."
"The two girls over there!"
At this moment, the armed security personnel suddenly walked towards Li Wenxi and Xu Yingâs position, "Please wait a moment, you two."
"Huh..." Li Wenxi looked around. The only ones fitting the description of two girls should be them. "Are they calling us?"
"Oh no..." Xu Ying rubbed her forehead and whispered, "Sister-in-law, donât say anything later."
"Oh, okay." Li Wenxi didnât know what was happening, but seeing people dressed like special forces and armed walking towards her, she felt a bit uneasy.
What was going on? With so many people around, why were they targeting just the two of them?
The security personnel were very stout, almost two meters tall, making even Li Wenxi, who was over one meter seventy, look quite small by comparison.
"Why are you wearing masks and sunglasses? Please remove all face-covering accessories." The security personnel said sternly. Though wearing helmets that obscured their eyes, their words carried little conviction.
"...Huh?" Li Wenxi was a bit confused.
Was it because their outfits looked suspicious?
But Yingyingâs face...
"Um, Mister Security!" Xu Ying spoke now. She didnât remove her mask or sunglasses but clasped her hands together with a smile, "Itâs the flowering season, and we both have pollen allergies. Inhaling pollen or getting it in our eyes is really uncomfortable."