Chapter 100: Off to School

The jolting ride in the cart spoiled Chen Fan’s pleasure of gazing up at the sky. He had wanted to chat with Li Peijun to kill the boredom, but the other man seemed as though he had been struck rigid; after ages, he could barely squeeze out a few words, and even his movements were so sluggish they were maddening. In the end, Chen Fan gave up.

“How did you end up like this? You’re not even a seal, are you? Strange…”

Chen Fan could not make heads or tails of it. With no other choice, he tried chatting with Wu Qiqi instead, but she was happily occupied with a group of chicks in the cart and had no time to pay him any mind.

“Hey, little chick, how old are you this year?” Chen Fan said, reaching out with his fluffy bear paw to stroke it.

The chick drooped its head and said, “I’m one month old. I’m going to elementary school today.”

Chen Fan nodded. “That’s good. Get an education early and become a cultured chicken.”

“Kids, we’re here.” With a sudden brake, Uncle Hippo dumped the animals in the cart out in a heap. Before leaving, he reminded them, “Remember to go home together after school. Kangaroo and Ostrich will come pick you up.”

“Okay, got it.” Chen Fan lifted his heavy paw and made an O.K. gesture.

“There’s actually rail service here too. Looks like this instance is even bigger than the Warring States one.” Chen Fan looked along the tracks in both directions, unable to see the end.

A long, drawn-out whistle sounded from far away. There was no choking black smoke; as the train drew nearer, it looked roughly like the kind of harmonious special train one might expect, only a little short, with just three cars in all. It seemed as though it could barely fit a few elephants.

“Get on, get on.” Chen Fan stayed behind, using his tail to herd all the chicks onto the train before following after them himself.

“Hey, Li Peijun, why are you moving so slowly? The train’s about to close its doors. Hurry up and get on.”

Seeing that Li Peijun still had not boarded, Chen Fan stepped half his body outside and reached out, directly hauling the slowpoke onto the train.

“Wow, this train is just like the ones in the movies. It even has two doors, one big and one small.” Wu Qiqi bent down and pointed at an arched doorway only about eight inches high. At that size, ordinary animals really would not be able to squeeze through.

“Hmm? Why bother making a small door on purpose? If it was to avoid crowding, wouldn’t it make more sense to add a few more big ones?”

Chen Fan looped his tail around the wandering chicks and settled them against his waist; since there was not enough room, two of them ended up hanging from his fluffy ears.

“This car is full of dogs.”

Chen Fan turned his attention to the train’s passengers. Judging from their indifferent expressions, they were probably all NPCs: a lady-dog dressed like a refined matron, an Akita in hip-hop clothes, a goofy husky, and a Teddy with a sly, furtive gaze...

“Because the previous stop was Dog Village, so there are especially many dogs on board. Woof woof,” said a sheepdog in a suit and tie.

Chen Fan asked again, “Oh, so that’s how it is. Then how much longer until we get into the city?”

The sheepdog pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said, “The next stop is it. Once we cross that bridge, it should only be about five minutes, woof woof.”

“Alright, thanks.”

Chen Fan bared two adorable little fangs.

“You’re welcome. Life is hard. It isn’t easy for you all to come into the city to study and make the round trip every day. Do your best,” the sheepdog encouraged.

“Well, well, this NPC’s humanization is pretty well done. He can dish out motivational soup without even trying.”

Chen Fan turned to look at Li Peijun. The other man was clutching the handrail, standing motionless as if he were a statue.

“What kind of animal is he, anyway?”

Chen Fan did not understand the setting of Crazy Animal City, so he asked Wu Qiqi for guidance.

Wu Qiqi answered at once, “A sloth. The same one Rabbit ran into at the traffic bureau, Flash the sloth.”

“Huh? A sloth? What’s a sloth?” This was the first time Chen Fan had ever heard of such an animal. Before he could ask more, the train rang out with the announcement that the next stop was approaching.

“When it gets crowded, remember to hold me tight.”

Chen Fan wrapped the chicks up with his tail and reminded them one by one.

He received a chorus of chicken-like bobbing nods in return.

The train doors slowly opened. Unexpectedly, no animals tried to push past Chen Fan; everyone conscientiously stepped aside to make a green lane, letting Chen Fan be the first off the train.

“Hey, Li Peijun, why are you still on the train? Come down already.”

Turning his head, Chen Fan saw that the guy had only just taken two steps and had basically been squeezed out by the flow of dogs.

“Kids, hurry up and board the school bus.”

Their escort was a giraffe, though what Chen Fan was curious about was where on earth that neck went when he was driving...

“Is it really okay to leave your head outside?”

Sitting in the school bus, Chen Fan looked at the city scenery outside. The line between reality and illusion was distinct: the near distance had a tangible, touchable feel, while the far distance shimmered with a hazy dreamlike beauty.

“No problem. I’ve been driving for years, always like this. With a build like mine, there’s no vehicle made to suit me. I even suggested to the school that they remove the roof from the bus, but they worried the children would get soaked on rainy days, so they turned me down. I’ve gotten used to it now, so it’s fine, no bother.”

Uncle Giraffe rolled the front window all the way down and poked his entire head outside.

“But if you do that, how can you see the steering wheel? How do you drive?” Chen Fan still did not understand.

“Hey, an old hand like me has reached the highest level. Of course it’s a wheel in the hands, a car in the heart. Once you’ve driven enough, the feel comes naturally. You can drive without even looking at the steering wheel. Seat belt fastened? Ready to roll.”

Uncle Giraffe slammed his foot on the accelerator. The school bus gave a fierce roar of engine noise, while the burnt smell of friction and evaporating diesel mingled in the air. Yet the vehicle remained rooted in place.

“Heh heh, my bad. I forgot to release the handbrake.”

Those words sent a chill down Chen Fan’s back. He shut his eyes tight, praying only that he would reach school safely.

The bus raced all the way there. Fortunately, there was a dedicated school-bus lane on the road, and they eventually arrived at their destination safely.

“Look, that billboard for the antelope celebrity is up there too.”

Wu Qiqi pointed at the scrolling announcement board on the building. Not only were the songs of the antelope singer displayed, but the important remarks of the lion mayor were also faithfully shown on the electronic screen.

“Only five minutes until class. Do your best today.”

Uncle Giraffe encouraged them. It took him several minutes just to get his head back in through the window.

“Feels like we’ve barely been in the game for any time at all. It should be about the same as the last time in Linzi.”

Chen Fan did the math. The journey in this instance seemed far, but the game itself deliberately sped up the passage of time. Unless the player was consciously aware of it, it was hard to notice.

The only thing that could be felt directly was the brief night: close your eyes and it was already morning, and even the first set of eye exercises had not been finished.

After escorting the chicks into the school gates, Chen Fan turned and ran toward his classroom, only to discover that Li Peijun had fallen behind again.

“You... you’re not a turtle, are you? Even moving both hands and feet in slow motion shouldn’t make you this slow.”

Chen Fan had no choice but to carry Li Peijun along with him.

“I... fi... nal... ly... know...”

“Don’t say it. By the time you finish one sentence, it’ll be dark. Just act normal when we play the game later.”