Chapter 164 Smuggling on Board
In the early morning humidity, Liu Xingquan walked out of Ross Ross's cabin.
The vast land was bathed in purple-red mist, and two bright suns were rising. Everything was quiet, and a few red clouds were slowly wandering among the distant mountains. Even in his dreams, he always longed to go home, and Liu Xingquan was still moved by the beautiful scenery of this other world.
Liu Xingquan sniffed the dry air as the hot wind from the wasteland blew in his face. It hadn't rained here since the heavy rain he and the crustaceans encountered that day. Liu Xingquan was curious about the geographical location of this place. Was there a sea nearby? If there was a sea, then the sea breeze would bring moist rain, and rain meant there were conditions for nourishing life to thrive.
Ross Ross looked like a farmer from another world. This was Liu Xingquan's inference based on the large tracts of cultivated land near Ross Ross's hut, but he didn't know what he was growing. Having received Ross Ross's favor, Liu Xingquan wanted to do something to help him. He has always been a self-conscious and sensitive boy. He always feels uneasy when he owes others a favor. After dinner that day, he wanted to help Ross Ross wash the dishes, but when he brought the dishes into the kitchen, he couldn't find a tap. A small robot hopped in and stuffed all the bowls into its body. When it was taken out again, the bowls were brand new.
Liu Xingquan tried his best to appear calm. He didn't want Rosros to think he was an ignorant barbarian. In the following days, Liu Xingquan tried to learn and study Rosros's language. If he wanted to get help and go home, communication was the first priority. He thought he had some talent for languages. He had always found it easy to learn English in the past. But after two days of hard work, his progress in Rosros was: zero.
No matter what Rosros said, the sound was like a vague "Rosros". Liu Xingquan believed that Rosros might express different meanings through changes in tone. He tried to imitate some of Rosros's intonations to confirm the meaning of certain objects. But after some practice, he found that just for the teacup on the table, Rosros pointed at it and said "Rosros" with a different intonation every time. This shows that intonation is not the breakthrough point of Rosros.
Liu Xingquan despairingly discovered that the same sentence of Ross Ross with the same tone could represent different meanings in reality. Based on the tone, he was completely unable to guess the grammatical logic of Ross Ross.
Maybe the Ross Ross language is not the "Ros Ross" that Liu Xingquan heard? He was keenly aware that the physiological structure of the creatures in the other world Ross Ross was very different from that of traditional humans, so the sound he received as a human was likely to be completely different from the sound emitted by Ross Ross. For example, the frequency of sound that bats can hear is 1000 Hz to 120,000 Hz, which is far beyond the range that humans can receive. The sound world in the ears of bats is completely different from that of humans. Then Ross Ross is likely to be the same. Liu Xingquan made an inference that perhaps in the wide range of Ross Ross language sounds, poor humans can only receive the pronunciation of "Ros Ross".
After realizing this reality, Liu Xingquan was depressed for half a day, but soon he cheered up. He tore off his homework book and drew the sun, the earth, and the moon on it. Since sound could not communicate, he could use images to express his meaning.
Ross Ross is a friendly intelligent creature. When facing the painting Liu Xingquan handed him, he would utter a series of soft "Ros Ross". But judging from Ross Ross's expression and posture, he probably didn't know where the planet Liu Xingquan drew was.
On the third day, Ross Ross brought back a new family member. He was smaller than Ross Ross, and his face looked just like a little Ross Ross. Liu Xingquan called him Little Ross. Little Ross was as friendly and enthusiastic as Ross Ross. He should be the young version of this intelligent creature. Little Ross was full of curiosity about Liu Xingquan. He carefully stroked Liu Xingquan 's hair, sniffed his smooth skin, and then pulled Liu Xingquan to play outside with him.
Liu Xingquan then discovered that this alien world actually had many wonderful things. In the wasteland behind Ross Ross's house, Little Ross could dig out a kind of rhizome. When the rhizome was put into the charcoal fire, the rhizome would make a voice like a female singer. As the flame burned, their tones were high and melodious, like a tuneless song. This reminded Liu Xingquan of the legendary mandrake. After burning for a while, Little Ross used a tool to pull out the burnt black rhizome and motioned Liu Xingquan to eat it.
Liu Xingquan looked at the black tuber cautiously, but didn't dare to touch it. Little Ross picked up a piece and bit into it.
Liu Xingquan said, "It's chirping!!" Different from the tone in the fire, the black stem made a low chirping sound in Little Ross's mouth. Little Ross ignored the chirping sound of the black stem and ate it with relish. He made a vague sound to let Liu Xingquan eat it too. Faced with Little Ross's hospitality, Liu Xingquan had no choice but to pick up a black piece and carefully took a bite.
So sweet.
It's really sweet. In terms of taste, it's like sweet dark chocolate, a little astringent, but not pungent. Ignoring the strange sound of the black stem fragments in the mouth, this is a very delicious snack. As a teenager with a good appetite during his development, Liu Xingquan certainly would not refuse such a delicious snack. He and Little Ross quickly ate up the black root fragments.
After eating the black block, Little Ross took Liu Xingquan to a stream and kept hitting the stream water with a stick. At first, Liu Xingquan thought he was fishing. After hitting it for a while, semi-transparent bubbles rose from the water and fluttered in the air. When he looked closer, he saw a jellyfish-like creature in the transparent bubble, shaking its semi-transparent tentacles. The crystal bubbles floated in the air with the wind, and Little Ross laughed and pushed them around. Sometimes two bubbles would collide with each other, and the two bubbles would merge into a larger bubble, and the two jellyfish-like creatures would entangle and fight each other.
Some bubbles would burst, and the jellyfish would fall to the ground. Without exception, they would crawl back to the stream. While following a jellyfish that crawled back, Liu Xingquan unexpectedly saw creatures that he was familiar with. They were the crustaceans that had accompanied him in this world at the beginning. But they were very small, not even as big as Liu Xingquan's hand. Their shells were very light in color, and their legs were also very slender. Liu Xingquan picked up one and examined it in his hand. This little crustacean looked clumsy, and its legs gently touched Liu Xingquan's palm, which felt a little itchy.
Are these your children? Liu Xingquan thought to himself, they are really small.
He bent down and put the little crustacean on the ground, and it crawled into the cave and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
…
That night, Ross Ross brought back a piece of equipment similar to goggles. He held various tools in front of the workbench and tested the goggles for a long time. Ross Ross looked very serious, and Little Ross also stood beside him and handed tools to help debug. The robot chirped and exchanged electronic sounds to debug various data. Liu Xingquan watched them work curiously, not daring to disturb them. Finally, Ross Ross smiled, and he picked up the goggles and gestured to Liu Xingquan to put them on.
As soon as he put on the goggles, Liu Xingquan felt a needle piercing his head. The intense pain made him cry out.
"Your nerves may hurt at first, but you get used to it," said Ross, who was adjusting his goggles.
Liu Xingquan was surprised and said: "I can understand what you are saying!!"
"I got it from the market. It has an intelligent language library that can translate most of the galaxy's languages, but the goggles themselves are broken." Ross Ross pushed the goggles onto Liu Xingquan's forehead, "If you wear it like this, you can talk to us."
"Thank you!!! Ross Ross!!" Liu Xingquan shouted excitedly.
"What is Ross Ross?" Ross Ross asked puzzledly.
Ross Ross is of course not Ross Ross, and the same is true for Little Ross. But the real names of these two are a bit long to Liu Xingquan, and it is not convenient to call them, so he simply calls them Uncle Ross and Little Ross.
After being able to communicate, Liu Xingquan immediately told Uncle Ross about his origins. He introduced his world, his home planet Earth. Uncle Ross replied that he had never heard of this planet.
"What about the solar system? Have you heard of it?"
"No."
Liu Xingquan asked Uncle Ross if he could ask the local government for help.
"Do you have a StarNet account and a pass?"
"What is that?"
Uncle Ross looked a little troubled. He told Liu Xingquan that people like him who did not have a StarNet account and a pass would be identified as illegal residents by local law enforcement agencies. Illegal residents who could not prove their identities would most likely be sent to a refugee camp.
“Refugee camp?”
"Once you are sent to a refugee camp, it is very difficult to get out," said Uncle Ross. "You are still young and should not go to such a place."
"..." Liu Xingquan fell silent. What should he do? Will he have to stay on this deserted planet forever? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but fall into complete panic. What should his mother do? He has missed several weeks of classes. If this continues, he won't be able to take the final exams, or even the high school entrance exams, let alone go to college. I will be completely abandoned by society. He screamed in despair in his heart.
Little Ross suddenly said, "He can go with me! Uncle, let me take him on board."
Uncle Ross seemed a little hesitant.
"Where are we going?" Liu Xingquan asked.
"Everyone calls it the Land of Hope. It is a dream city full of opportunities," said Ross. "I came to my uncle's place to take a boat to the Land of Hope."
"But you only reserved one spot."
"I've already arranged it, and since you and Mu Ke are familiar with each other, it won't be a problem to have another partner." Little Ross turned to Liu Xingquan and said, "There is a ship heading to Hope Township. Hope Township is a famous galactic trade center, where there are merchants and travelers from all over the galaxy. Maybe you can find out the location of your hometown there, and maybe even get a pass."
"There are a lot of people there..." Liu Xingquan gestured, "People like you?"
Little Ross smiled and said, "That is a large urban planet with many people from other alien races. It is much better than this remote countryside. Come with me. Someone will definitely know about your planet."
As long as I can go home. Liu Xingquan nodded vigorously to Little Ross.
…
The next day, Uncle Ross took them to the port on a hoverbike.
The person who met them was of the same race as Uncle Ross, but he was completely different from the friendly Uncle Ross. He was mean from head to toe, and little Ross called him "Muk".
"Why is there one more Homo sapiens? This is different from what we agreed on!" Mu Ke stared at Liu Xingquan coldly.
Uncle Ross walked up and stuffed something into Muke's hand, saying something respectfully.
"Okay, where did you pick up these refugees from?" Mu Ke muttered, his expression softening a little.
Uncle Ross turned to Liu Xingquan and said, "The journey will be difficult. I am always worried about that child. I will leave him in your care."
"What are you talking about! I am an adult now, and I will take good care of this little Homo sapiens brother." Little Ross said loudly.
Under Uncle Ross's reluctant gaze, little Ross's originally excited face also showed sadness of parting. Until the end, Liu Xingquan could only say goodbye to this friendly uncle with a simple thank you.
Goodbye, Uncle Ross, I will always remember your kindness.
The two of them followed Muk into the harbor.
As soon as they entered the port, they saw the magnificent starship. Liu Xingquan couldn't help but stare with wide eyes. It was a huge thing that was hard to describe in words. It stood proudly under the sky, like a huge and brilliant white bird. When approaching it, the endless and vast hull made Liu Xingquan feel like a tiny ant, who could only lie in the dust and admire the grandeur and extraordinaryness of the starship.
This is a ship.
This is a beautiful starship.
Even if he had read many science fiction novels in the past, Liu Xingquan could not imagine that one day he would be able to see a real interstellar ship sailing in the galaxy, and now he could step on this spaceship and sail with it. This is a dream, Liu Xingquan thought, a dream that is too crazy and happy.
"It's really big," said Ross Jr.
Liu Xingquan saw the shock on little Ross's face, and he was as excited as himself.
"If it hadn't stopped temporarily for supplies, you wouldn't have seen a ship like this in your rural area for decades." Mu Ke said proudly, "You all should hurry up."
They climbed up a narrow escalator. When they stepped into the ship, Liu Xingquan couldn't help but take a breath. Above the ship's grand interior was a clear blue simulated sky, and on the ground was a bright and wide avenue. All the decorations were extremely luxurious, and he felt like he was in a magnificent palace. Some aliens in gorgeous clothes were laughing and talking on the side of the road. Liu Xingquan looked at them curiously, he wanted to observe whether there were any Homo sapiens among them.
"Don't dilly-dally! This isn't the place for you!"
Then, Muk led them into a dark and narrow alley and into a creaking elevator. After sinking down an unknown number of floors, the elevator door opened. They walked along the alley for a while, and finally Muk pulled open a door. It was a dark and dirty little space, with a few dirty mats on the floor. Several aliens sat on the mats listlessly. There were two kettles on a small table. This could hardly be called a room, but just a stuffy and dark prison cell.
"You two are right here."
Little Ross shouted, "This is not what we agreed on! We agreed it would be a double room! I paid for it!"
Mu Ke sneered, "You don't have the choice on this ship. If you don't want to, you can get off the ship now. If you change your mind after the ship leaves, a stowaway like you who doesn't have a pass and can't afford a ticket will have to wait for the ship police to send you to jail."
Little Ross endured the anger and said, "But I gave the money."
" Do you know how many country bumpkins without a pass want this opportunity from you? They would fight over this bed. You even brought an extra Homo sapiens with you. I am being very polite to you because of your uncle."
Muk slammed the door shut. Little Ross found an empty berth and sat down sullenly. Liu Xingquan followed suit and sat down. He opened his schoolbag and found a bag of something inside. He took it out and saw that it was the dried viscera of the crustacean. He broke off a piece and put it in his mouth. It tasted like biting jerky. It was very fragrant and crispy. This was Uncle Ross's farewell gift to him. He grabbed a few pieces of dried viscera and handed them to little Ross.
"Thank you." Little Ross bit his internal organs and said dryly, "Don't worry, everything will be fine when we get to Hope Land."
Our situation should be similar to that of illegal immigrants on Earth, and Mu Ke is the snakehead, Liu Xingquan thought to himself.
The cabin they were in had no windows and was always in a drowsy and dim state. The ventilation system in the room would only be turned on briefly occasionally. Liu Xingquan sat against the wall, and the stinking air was filled with buzzing electronic sounds from somewhere unknown. The alien lying next to him would occasionally make strange snoring sounds.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep unknowingly.
When he woke up, he found a new message in a bottle from his pen pal.
