Under the gaze of the crowd, Shu Juan took a quarter of an hour longer than before to calm down and capture the faint magical fluctuation in her mind.
When she opened her eyes again, she was already in the narrow "archives."
Phyllis also appeared beside her – in the guise of a young witch. Hundreds of years had left no trace on her; although Phyllis had lived far longer than she had, at this moment she seemed like the elder one.
"What should we do next?" Shu Juan asked.
"Leave it to me." Phyllis revealed a confident smile, then opened the iron door and walked out of the room.
She hurriedly followed.
The bustling and noisy grand city appeared before her eyes once more.
Phyllis looked around and quickly locked onto a young man walking towards them. She took Shu Juan's hand and directly stopped him.
"Hello."
The man, hearing the greeting, stopped and shifted his gaze from a small box in his hand, raising his head with some confusion. But the moment their eyes met, a clear look of surprise appeared in the man's eyes. "Uh... well, what is it?"
"Excuse me, I lost my phone and can't contact my friends. Could you possibly—"
"I understand, is one hundred yuan enough?" The man quickly pulled out his wallet and handed her a red bill, with a hint of regret in his tone. "Being scammed is just being scammed... but your outfits, the ringleader is really investing a lot."
Phyllis's smile stiffened considerably. "No, I just want to borrow your phone to make a call."
The man was taken aback, realizing he had said the wrong thing. He awkwardly handed over the small box while repeatedly apologizing to both of them.
Phyllis shrugged and pressed a series of numbers.
Shu Juan hadn't figured out what was going on and didn't know what to say, so she forced herself to remain calm, standing in place, but feeling extremely nervous. This place was too different from the world she was familiar with, the intense feeling of unfamiliarity was everywhere, pressing down on her like a wall, making it hard to breathe. Many people around them had already noticed them, and their undisguised gazes were sweeping towards them, some with malice—which made her couldn't help but think of the sisters exposed to the public during the Co-Assistance Society era.
"Don't worry, all they can do is look." Phyllis seemed to notice her unease and turned to comfort her. "You just have to glare back, and they'll back down faster than anyone."
At that moment, the small box made a "beep" sound.
"Hello, is that Phyllis?"
It was indeed His Majesty Roland's voice.
In an instant, Shu Juan felt relieved.
This was indeed the dream world, and His Majesty was not far from her.
The feeling of unfamiliarity was still present, but not as oppressive as before, and even those naked gazes were no longer as embarrassing and uncomfortable as they had been at first.
Shu Juan took a deep breath and looked back at those gazes. As Phyllis had said, people quickly avoided eye contact, looking away guiltily.
The crowd on the street seemed to start flowing again.
"It's me, Ms. Shu Juan is right here with me. The address here is... yes, that's how it's shown on the map. Only two kilometers from the Tongzilou Residential Area? That's great. Yes, I'll wait for you here, Your Ma—brother." Phyllis ended the call and handed the small box back to the young man. "Thanks."
"Y-you're welcome," the man hesitated for a long time before hesitantly saying, "Um, can we add each other as friends?"
Phyllis casually rattled off a series of numbers.
The man recorded it as if he had found a treasure, bidding farewell to them with a face full of joy.
"The small box you borrowed just now, could it be the wireless telephone that His Majesty always thinks about, capable of communicating across thousands of miles?" Shu Juan asked.
"That's right, the technological level of this world has already enabled wireless telephones to be widely available to everyone, not just for making calls, but also for locating directions and finding information. It's almost impossible to move an inch without it." Phyllis explained, "That's why, as long as you remember the number, you can contact the other person at any time. If you encounter someone you don't want to deal with, just refuse or randomly give a number."
"I see." Shu Juan realized, no wonder His Majesty said that if the two of them were really in the same world, they would soon reunite.
"As for you, your adaptation speed is much faster than I expected, you truly are a mentor of the Witch Union." Phyllis smiled.
Shu Juan gently shook her head, not replying further.
She knew where her courage came from.
He's already a king, but he still hasn't made any progress—the only person who would say something like a king protecting his subordinates is probably His Majesty Roland, right? Really, how long will it take for him to become a qualified monarch?
And herself, ever since she was sheltered by the Co-Assistance Society, she should have been standing in front of the king, but until now, she was still receiving his protection, which really wasn't a qualified performance.
But... if everyone is like this, it doesn't feel bad.
In that case, let the status quo continue for a little longer.
"Hey, hey, look at those two over there."
"Those are medieval robes, are they playing spy?"
"Speaking of which, the two of them are really beautiful!"
"They don't feel any less impressive than celebrities..."
Occasional whispers came from around them, but Shu Juan no longer felt uneasy.
About ten minutes later, a rounded vehicle stopped in front of the two of them.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." His Majesty poked his head out from the driver's seat.
"Get in." Phyllis opened the car door and pulled Shu Juan into the car.
Then the group drove away amidst the incredulous gazes of the onlookers, disappearing into the traffic on the main road.
"Our luck is really good," Ling, sitting in the passenger seat, turned her head. "If Ms. Shu Juan's domain docking point is only two blocks away from Tongzilou, then Faldi's flying insects can monitor this area twenty-four hours a day."
Faldi nodded. "This place has already been cleared before, and there are no new Fallen Ones active now. Safety should be guaranteed."
"That's good." Roland smiled. "So, as the first witch to voluntarily enter the dream realm, Shu Juan, how do you feel right now?"
"This is the vehicle of the dream world?" Shu Juan touched the seat behind her and knocked on the car window. "The seat is softer than a sofa, it runs silently, and the speed is so fast, it's much better than a steam truck... How wonderful it would be if we could also build such high-end transport tools."
For some reason, she suddenly felt that Roland's smile was a little stiff, and the other three God's Punishment Witches were also pursing their lips, seemingly enduring something.
"Um... did I say something wrong?"
"No, cough... this day will come sooner or later." Roland cleared his throat.
"By the way, Your Majesty, where are we going?" Shu Juan looked at the changing scenery outside the window. "Aren't you going to test the consciousness domain?"
"That can wait, haven't you noticed yet, the two of you are too eye-catching in your current outfits." Roland said without turning his head. "Phyllis's clothes are in the car, you can change them later, but there aren't any suitable for you at the moment. So the most important task right now is naturally to get you a change of clothes first!"