Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1382 - 6: Heroes of the Past

"Boss, please give me two fried dough sticks and a bowl of tofu pudding to eat here, and pack a sesame pancake with egg and ham to go."

"Wow, you’ve got a good appetite. Pay after you eat, no rush."

The breakfast stall owner swiftly served the tofu pudding, turned around and picked up two freshly fried dough sticks from the oil pot, put them in a plastic bag and placed them together on the small wooden table. Gongsun Ce thanked him and first had a spoonful of tofu pudding. The snowy white tofu in the salty soup was steaming, surrounded by wood ear mushrooms, daylily, shredded preserved vegetables, and tiny shrimp; with one bite, the warmth traveled from the throat to the stomach, the best way to drive away the morning chill.

Gongsun Ce exhaled a cloud of white mist in satisfaction, poured some spicy oil into the tofu pudding, ate the fried dough sticks gleefully while observing the street view of the empire’s capital from thirteen years ago. Qin Qianbai said the empire’s layout hadn’t changed much in two thousand years, and it seemed quite apt; those matchbox-style tube buildings still emitted a staleness, and the pathways paved with square stone and bricks bore cracks, the tangled wires in the alleys hadn’t reduced much compared to thirteen years later, and the cypress trees lining the streets remained lush and green even in winter. In a trance, you’d feel like time had frozen in this ancient city, except for the dates on the newspapers and the prices at the breakfast stalls, thirteen years seemed to have changed little.

But the differences were obvious and unavoidable. Youngsters rushing to work mostly rode bicycles with front baskets, as thirteen years ago, electric bikes weren’t yet popular, small queues still formed by public phone booths, and at this time, smartphones were high-tech beyond most people’s imagination. At the neighboring table, a few elderly men gathered, commenting and directing criticism at the "latest international situation" blaring from the radio, as the announcer’s voice rang out passionately: "Always be ready to fight against the incursion of combined capitalism!"

In this era, the secret wars hadn’t ended, and the world situation remained tense, the term "Superpower User" was still a word found in fantasy works, with many from later times still ungrown, let alone deceased. If someone who understood future situations with capabilities came here, they could easily stir up the situation... and guide the future in a different direction. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Gongsun Ce took out the free gray rabbit keychain, the symbol indicating the world’s direction still hovered steadily in the center. He chuckled softly: "This temptation is really hard to resist."

"Yo, what temptation?" The breakfast stall uncle passed by and bantered casually.

"I’d say, your stall is too careless with eating first and paying later, be careful I might dine and dash." Gongsun Ce teased casually.

"Young man, you’re not from around here, are you?" The uncle laughed, "In our Divine Capital City, honesty matters. Right under the emperor’s nose, I’ve never seen anyone run away with a few bucks’ worth of breakfast."

"You’ve got quite the city pride." Gongsun Ce also laughed.

"Got to love the job you do, you know? Us bakers are among the first stops where travelers experience the city, so we can’t tell outsiders our capital’s bad." The boss noticed he was almost done eating, turned to the cart to fry eggs and bake pancakes, "Visiting as a tourist, are you?"

"Visiting friends and touring the capital. Do you know how to get to Divine Capital University?"

"Wow, a scholar, eh!" The uncle rose in respect, "The bus across the street goes to Zhongguang Road station, get off and walk north a few steps, and you’ll be there."

"Thanks so much."

Gongsun Ce finished his breakfast, counted some coins to pay, and left with the warm pancake. From this breakfast, he confirmed two things: first, the quality of life of the people in the Divine Capital was decent; second, the virtual history of the Fan Ding Realm is likely no mere fantasy. He truly ate the material and converted it into energy, indicating that this place is a "parallel world" hardly different from reality.

"Just like truly returning to the past..." Gongsun Ce muttered to himself, "But unfortunately, my greatest goal is to ensure history proceeds smoothly."

He boarded the bus and headed towards the center of Divine Capital City.

·

Empire’s Divine Capital in 1997 was indeed a gathering of talents, with numerous figures who would stir up storms in the future. Gongsun Ce himself had seen the visionary Emperor Chong Xiao, the True Martial General who governed solo, and Shiyu Genmi, who would later join the congregation, was still a student in the empire’s capital, and the elusive Hidden Law Master was likely in town as well. There were too many people and events that could potentially cause historical shifts, even if a hundred sociology experts held meetings overnight, it would be impossible to pinpoint where the pivotal disjunction influencing the world’s trajectory would lie.

Yet neither Liu Zhongwu nor Gongsun Ce had considered this issue in their plans, for in their eyes, only a few truly capable individuals could decide history, and thirteen years ago, they were all gathered in one place.

Tianshu District, Imperial Academy Supervisor.

The northernmost edge of Zhongguang Road hosts the nationally renowned Divine Capital University, and simultaneously serves as the apparent cover of the ancient organization, Imperial Academy Supervisor. Having had experience at the Royal Museum, Gongsun Ce’s thoughts were now clear. After getting off the bus, he casually found the barrier separating the inside and outside, didn’t disturb the regular students outside, and slipped like mist into the true academy.

The noise from the external dormitories suddenly faded away, the view inside the barrier resembled historical landmarks from hundreds of years ago. The low wooden dormitories stretched into two rows on the east and west sides, with cypress trees whose ages were unknown swaying gently in the wind, the bamboo blinds between the dormitory windows were all drawn, sealing the students and their reading inside. Far away on the playground, there were the coarse commands of the instructors, teams of students without classes ran silently, as if the shadow of secret wars had seeped into the ivory tower, forcing the students to take on the killing aura.