I, the Guide to the Omniverse, Usher in Blue Star's Great Ascension! - chapter 21

Chapter 21

As long as it’s something from the Otherworld, even a cup of dirt holds great sentimental value.

However, considering that it’s simply unrealistic to take many things back, the tourists could only reluctantly bring along some of the more beautiful and unusual flowers and plants.

Aunt He was even more extreme-she had brought two sets of clothes to change into when she arrived.

Now, knowing she couldn’t take them back, she left all her clothes except the ones she was wearing to the Toad Spirits.

Because the Toad Spirits were truly pitiful, having never seen anything nice.

Even the leftover potato chip cans were cherished by them.

They said these were gifts from the tourists.

Naturally, the tourists were also given quite a few gifts in return.

Most of them were pretty little stones, leaves, and flowers.

In a place as poor as Xiaomi Mountain, you couldn’t expect anything too fancy.

As for the Stinky Fruit, it was too heavy, and once the tourists learned they could buy it from online shops after returning, none of them took any Stinky Fruit with them.

Carrying the backpack she had brought, Tian Youyue sighed, “If I didn’t need my backpack to carry things, I’d want to leave it for them too.”

Tang Yuanhang was reluctant to leave: “Who knows when we’ll see them again?”

Wu Qian looked at Sheng Ai with hopeful eyes: “Guide, when will you start a new journey?”

Sheng Ai replied vaguely, “That’s hard to say. I’m not sure right now.”

“You must tell us first!” Tian Youyue wished she could pay a deposit in advance. “No matter where you go, we’ll go!”

Sheng Ai waved her hand, “We’ll talk about it when the time comes. If I can notify you, I definitely will.”

That way, she wouldn’t have to rush around looking for people later.

But judging by the System’s approach, she could already guess a bit-next time, the journey probably wouldn’t be with the same tourists.

If repeat visits were allowed, they wouldn’t be keeping the destination a secret now.

Xiao Ma and a large group of Toad Spirits were also very reluctant to see the tourists leave after learning they were departing.

“Wuwuwu, Aunt He, you must come next time! I’m still waiting for that laundry detergent you mentioned that can get clothes really clean…”

This was a large female Toad Spirit, who looked a bit older.

These past few days, Aunt He had seen her washing the tattered cloth she’d picked up by the riverbank, so she taught her how to make the cave more convenient, and told her about what people do in human society. The Toad Aunt listened with longing.

“I’ll definitely study the pinyin you left for me.”

This was a Little Toad Spirit, hugging Pei Qiu’s arm, eyes brimming with tears.

These past few days, Pei Qiu had nothing to do, so she taught the interested Little Toad Spirits how to read. Considering three days was too short, she only left them the pinyin chart, telling them to first learn the sounds of the alphabet.

This Little Toad Spirit was especially diligent.

Pei Qiu was also reluctant to leave: “Alright, if I get the chance, I’ll definitely come again!”

She looked back at Sheng Ai expectantly: “Right, Sheng Ai! We’ll definitely be able to come back, won’t we?”

Sheng Ai thought for a moment, but in the end didn’t dampen the mood, and nodded: “Yes, it’ll take some time, but we’ll come back.”

As soon as she said this, the Toad Spirits were all delighted, and the sad atmosphere finally lightened a bit.

They kept busy until after six in the evening. Worried that being late might cause problems, the tourists all gathered by the bus stop.

When it was time to leave, Xiao Ma was still in charge of seeing them off.

At 6:55, the big bus with its horn blaring arrived right on time.

It was still the Auntie Driver. When she arrived and opened the door, she asked with a big smile, “How was your three-day trip?”

“Great, great, it was wonderful.”

The tourists responded enthusiastically. After boarding the bus, Xiao Ma stood by the bus, waving goodbye.
He Zhou turned back and said to Xiao Ma, “You all have to take good care of that little sister.”

The little sister she was referring to was the Mortal girl, Ah Yao.

Xiao Ma patted his own toad chest. “Don’t worry, I guarantee we’ll raise her well!”

Raising a human girl was a new experience for the Toad Spirit clan.

When the coach bus started up and gradually drove away from Xiaomi Mountain, Xiao Ma was still standing outside, watching the bus leave until it disappeared from sight.

Pei Qiu looked on, feeling rather sad. “Sigh, these Xiao Ma Toad Spirits are only two or three years old themselves. We’ll definitely be able to come back next time, right?”

“We probably will.”

At this moment, Sheng Ai’s attention was on the System.

Because the System had said that once they returned, it would settle her rewards.

She was about to gain a Spiritual Root-she would be able to cultivate!

So she was even more eager than the others to return to Blue Star.

Unfortunately, she couldn’t let anyone know about this exciting news.

The other tourists were still immersed in the journey to Xiaomi Mountain, and on the way back, they kept pestering Sheng Ai about when the next trip would be.

They only gave up when they couldn’t get an answer.

At this moment, Wu Qian remembered something crucial: “When we get back to Blue Star, it really will have only been three hours, right?”

Sheng Ai nodded. “Yes!”

Because of this, even though Tian Youyue and the others had bought phone time, when they called their friends to tell them about it, everyone thought they were crazy.

No one paid them any mind.

And Aunt He, finding the phone fee of one hundred yuan per minute outrageous, didn’t even consider notifying He Weiguang and the others.

After all, they’d be home in three hours anyway-about the same as a regular shopping trip.

What could possibly happen in three hours?

Even so, when they returned to the old bus station beneath the mall, everyone was quite excited.

After all, they’d spent three days on Xiaomi Mountain, but only three hours had passed on Blue Star.

Everything they had experienced and seen in those three days was so magical-they couldn’t wait to show off and share it with others!

This time, upon returning to the station, Tang Yuanhang also took some footage of the station’s scenery.

Then he handed the phone back to Tian Youyue. “Send me those videos later, and I’ll pay you a bit for the footage.”

“No need to be so polite, it’s just a phone,” Tian Youyue said carelessly. “We’ll all support your videos when the time comes.”

Everyone chatted excitedly, carrying the souvenirs they’d brought back from Xiaomi Mountain.

They arrived at the familiar elevator. As the elevator doors opened, they continued chatting about everything that had happened along the way.

Little did they know, at that very moment, a huge commotion had already broken out in the mall building.

After being unable to contact the group for three hours, the mall, fearing they couldn’t keep things under wraps, had chosen to call the police.

The police arrived on the scene to investigate.

Despite efforts to keep things low-key, word quickly spread that eleven people had entered the Tianhu Center mall and gone into the elevator, but never came out.

A major news story broke out in Hu City.

The general manager of Tianhu Center immediately flew over, frantic and at his wit’s end.

If something happened in their mall, there would be no way to explain it, no matter what they said.

Their reputation in Hu City would be ruined!

To thoroughly investigate the elevator incident, all three elevators were temporarily shut down, and visitors in the mall could only use the long escalators.

A large group of people gathered at the elevator entrance to investigate and ask questions. At that moment, the previously out-of-service Elevator No. 3

suddenly gave a crisp “ding” on the first floor.

It was the sound of the elevator arriving at the floor.