Upon entering the shop, Nova saw a couple of yellow mana crystals on the counter, seeing each one for 71,432.50 yuan, which was about ten thousand dollars. Nova was willing to spend that much money since he was offered a contract by Marcus, which gave him a sufficient amount of money, so spending ten thousand to recover his still decent.
It was the cheapest way of recovering, since they were in a foreign land, didn’t even speak the dialect, and were stranded for their lives.
Nova pointed at the yellow crystals, hoping the gesture was clear. The man quinted, then spoke sothing in Chinese, sharp and fast, which seed unintentionally aggressive. Nova didn’t understand a single word.
"Uh... crystals," Nova said, pointing again at them, slower this ti, guiding the man to look at his finger and then see where it was landing.
The man frowned, repeating himself louder, like volu would bridge the gap, like an average bodybuilder on steroids. Nova’s jaw tightened, as he wasn’t used to feeling helpless.
Back in Inner Heaven, a snap of his fingers could’ve turned this shop to dust. Now, he was just an ordinary guy with no language skills, stuck in a foreign country, and an even bigger foreign city.
Elesch tugged his sleeve, since she was acting like a ten-year-old, confused. "What’s he saying, big brother?"
"No clue," Nova muttered, rubbing his temple. "I don’t speak Chinese."
The man gestured widely, pointing at the crystals, then at Nova, then holding up fingers, seven, then one. Nova guessed he was confirming the price, so he nodded blindly, pulling out a wad of cash from Marcus’s advance.
The man’s eyes widened, as if he had never seen this much money in his life. He shook his head, pointing at a card reader instead.
"What? How is cash not good?" Nova asked, voice sharp with frustration. The man simply shrugged his shoulders, since even he didn’t seem to know, then said sothing else which Nova wasn’t able to catch.
He felt his patience slipping by the second, his body screaming for those crystals, to clear the fog, the fatigue put on his mind and body.
He pointed at the crystals again, then at the cash, raising his voice: "Take it!"
Elesch giggled, teasingly telling him the obvious, which he didn’t seem to have understood: "You’re yelling at him, like he’ll understand if you’re louder."
"Not helping," Nova snapped, but her grin made him soften.
The man sighed, grabbed a calculator, and typed out the price: 71,432.50. Nova shoved the cash forward, and after a tense stare, the man reluctantly, happy on the inside, took it, muttering under his breath.
He handed over two yellow crystals, one free, their light brightening in Nova’s palm. He felt a faint pulse of mana already, easing the ache in his bones.
"Thanks," he said, not expecting the man to understand. He turned to Elesch. "Let’s go."
They stepped out into the streets, noises raking from every corner, from every inch of the city. The air slled of street food, grilled at, soy, and sothing tallic, spicy to the bone.
Carts rattled past, vendors shouted from the bottom of their lungs, and people moved in waves, dodging bicycles and scooters. Elesch’s eyes sparkled, taking it all in. She spun in a circle, her hair catching the sunlight.
"This place is so alive!" she said, voice bright with excitent. "Everyone and everything is moving in near unison. And the slls, the sounds, it’s too much stimulus."
Nova smirked, despite his exhaustion. "It’s just a normal city, El. Mortals live like this every day."
"But it’s so different!" she exclaid, grabbing his arm. "In Inner Heaven, everything’s too perfect, floaty, quiet. Here it’s loud and ssy and so much more... real. Look at that!" She pointed at a street perforr juggling fire, the flas dancing in her aquamarine eyes. "He’s playing with fire like it’s nothing."
"Yeah, he might be able to control fire, or since he is a mortal, he might just be reckless," Nova said, guiding her through the crowd. "We need a phone. Gotta call the guild, figure what where in China we are."
Elesch tilted her head, confused by this new term "phone." "What’s a phone?" she said curiously, her face displayed her curiosity, as if she urgently needed to know, to not die.
"A thing to talk to people far away," he said, scanning the street.
Shops lined the road, signs in Chinese characters he couldn’t read. His head ached, throbbing harder and harder by the second, as the crystals rattled in his pocket, not yet used.
He needed a quiet spot to absorb the mana, but first, he needed a phone.
They walked past noodle stands, an electronics shop, and a guy selling roasted chestnuts. Elesch stopped every few steps, distracted by everything: a kid with a balloon, a dog chasing its tail, a sign flashing red and blue.
"Slow down," Nova said, being pulled by her. "You’re like a puppy. Way too much energy."
"I’m just excited!" she said, pouting. "I’ve never been mortal before. Everything’s so heavy. My feet hurt already."
"Welco to the club," Nova said, his tone dry, filled with sarcasm. "Mortal bodies suck."
They turned a corner, and Nova spotted a small shop with phones displayed in the window. He pushed open the door, a bell jingling, making the sound as though Santa had co.
Inside, a young woman looked up from her counter, smiling. Nova pointed at a cheap phone on display, hoping she’d get the idea. She nodded, saying sothing in Chinese, then switched to broken English.
"You want a phone? This one, good price."
Nova exhaled, relieved, his tone gentle and soft, calming himself down: "Yes. That one."
She rang it up, and Nova paid with the last of his cash. The woman handed him a basic phone, already charged. He stepped outside, Elesch trailing him, still staring at everything like it was a miracle by Father.
"How do you use it?" she asked, poking the screen.
"You press buttons, call soone," Nova said, dialing the guild’s number from mory. It rang, but no answer. He cursed under his breath. "No signal, or they’re busy."
"What now?" Elesch asked, bouncing on her toes.
"We keep moving," Nova said, putting the phone in his pocket. "Find a place to rest, use these crystals, then figure out how to get back to Boston."
Elesch nodded, her excitent undimd. "This mortal stuff is fun! Can we get food? I sll sothing good."
Nova chuckled, saying in a promising tone: "One thing at a ti, El."
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