NOVEL SIMPLE 0055 – The Travel Plan Set
On the morning of February 7th, Zoe had already arrived in PebbleStone County, Hamshire City, Hamilton Province by car. Her main agenda: an adventure styled after the Special Forces.
The sheer joy experienced during wilderness training prompted her to embark on this impromptu journey. After all, she was carefree at present, with nothing constraining her newfound freedom.
Had it not been for her commitment to bail out Benny at the station on February 6th, Zoe would have set off right after planning on the afternoon of that same day.
Early on the morning of February 7th, upon confirming Benny's return, Zoe entrusted him with Platinum and set off directly. She boarded the C5663 train from Sun East Station, reaching PebbleStone Station in just over an hour.
Subsequently, she sought out a driver familiar with Lawrence Mountain outside the train station.
Her destination for this trip was Lawrence Mountain. PebbleStone County's highest peak, Lawrence Mountain, originally named Arbiter Mountain, derived its name from local folklore, which claims that the Supreme Arbiter achieved absolute power of justice here making him an immortal god despite being a mortal.
Lawrence Mountain is part of the Wustershire Mountain range, an eastern extension of the Angola Mountains in the Rousseou Plateau. It constitutes the Wustershire Mountain system of the Alphine Mountains, with the highest peak reaching an elevation of 2203 meters, making it the highest peak in southern Hamilton.
Zoe did not intend to visit the tourist spots of Lawrence Mountain but rather aimed to venture deeper into the mountain range, beyond the areas guaranteed to be safe.
She avoided using taxi platforms to prevent being misled because the place she wished to visit was indeed challenging to locate via navigation. After all, what she sought was a destination beyond the confines of the Lawrence Mountain scenic area.
Most taxi apps would only take her to the entrance of the Lawrence Mountain scenic area.
After chatting with a driver outside the train station for quite some time, she successfully utilized her empathetic abilities from Transparent World 2.0 and inadvertently pressure the driver in fear to negotiate a considerably lower price.
Though she currently had minimal financial concerns, it didn't mean she could be taken advantage of. Bargaining was still necessary.
Then followed the lengthy journey.
It wasn't until nearly ten in the morning that the car finally came to a halt.
"The road ahead becomes treacherous. The road built a few years back only reaches here."
"You can follow this road to Howards Village ahead, then head north from the mountain on the village's northern side, and you'll roughly enter the undeveloped depths of Lawrence Mountain."
"A few years ago, there were even black bears coming down from the mountain to Howards Village. It made the news back then."
The driver pointed northward and spoke to Zoe, who had gotten off the car.
He didn't care whether Zoe was camping or doing something else. In fact, interpersonal interactions among modern people rarely involved much concern. He only cared about the few hundred euros he would earn from this trip.
So, he didn't inquire much about Zoe's purpose for coming here. In the modern era, people wandering around aimlessly out of boredom, having their fill, wasn't at all surprising for Westerners.
"Alright, thank you."
Zoe nodded, confirming the driver's authenticity through empathetic perception.
Then, with a backpack containing who-knows-what slung over her shoulder, she proceeded toward Howards Village.
Listening to the fading sound of the driver's accelerating engine behind her, Zoe squinted her eyes slightly, strolling along the mountain road far from the urban hustle and bustle.
Approaching the Foot of the Mountain wasn't an easy path.
For Zoe, however, it was a path she could traverse with her eyes closed, and indeed, her eyes were shut. Utilizing Transparent World 2.0, she perceived her surroundings, each step taken with exceptional steadiness.
It was evident that Zoe was genuinely excited about this more natural environment.
She liked it here. Though this excitement wasn't overtly expressed, it undeniably existed.
From the subtle stirrings at the flower and bird market to the slight excitement atop the mountain, and now, this excitement was unmistakable. Zoe didn't understand why. The feelings of inner turmoil and exhaustion amidst the hustle and bustle were nonexistent for her. She shouldn't have harbored such a longing for nature. Yet, Zoe's affection for nature persisted, akin to a traveler in the desert yearning for a spring or a bird in the dark of night longing for dawn.
At this moment, Zoe vaguely understood. Perhaps it was because she no longer needed to worry about anything that she found herself yearning for a lifestyle she had never considered before.
She felt that she must include such plans in her long-term planning: She longed to stroll across vast grasslands, allowing her soul to soar freely in the boundless green ocean; she anticipated scaling steep peaks, engaging in a dialogue between her soul and the heavens at lofty summits; she yearned to linger in deep forests, letting her thoughts settle in a world of towering trees and entwining vines.
No intricate interpersonal relationships, no trivial work pressures, only symbiosis with all living things, and harmony with nature.
She could personally cultivate a vegetable garden, witnessing seeds sprout and life bloom at her fingertips; she could sit quietly by the lake fishing, enjoying the detachment and transcendence of "a solitary boatman with a straw cloak, fishing alone in the cold river snow"; she could gaze up at the sparkling starry sky, allowing her soul to be purified and uplifted in the grandeur of the universe.
She could do whatever she wanted, simply because she, herself, had embarked on a path radically different from ordinary people. She had the capital and the ability.
However, before that, she must possess a certain level of strength. Otherwise, Zoe truly hesitated to venture out for long travels. As she was now, with only a makeshift physique, super-speedy physical recovery, Transparent World perception, impeccable coordination, around a ton of consistent strength, and a hint of murderous intent, she couldn't be considered to have enough self-preservation ability.
If a missile were to come her way, she'd still have to finish the game right where she stood. Zoe felt that if she were to embark on travels in the future, she should at least undergo a couple more rounds of sleep-induced evolution, or seven or eight rounds wouldn't be too few. Otherwise, it couldn't be considered safe in any way.
In any case, the world was vast, and she wanted to explore it. But before that, she needed to become a tad stronger.
Pondering thus, Zoe halted her steps at the entrance of Howards Village, surveying her surroundings.
Unexpectedly, there seemed to be fewer people in this village than she had anticipated, with only a few elderly individuals sitting outside on stools basking in the sun.
From the perspective of a mountain village, it wasn't surprising for the workforce of middle-aged and young adults to dwindle. However, Howards Village wasn't strictly a mountain village.
As early as the 2000s, electricity and water had been provided here. In recent years, during the efforts to alleviate poverty and achieve economic progress, roads accessible by vehicles and networks had been connected to this village at the foot of the mountain. Howards Village was no longer as impoverished as before, nor could it be considered a remote mountain village.
However, it seemed to be an inevitable trend of the times. Young people always yearned more for the glitz and glamor of big cities and the neon lights.
To earn more money and leave the mountain village had long been engraved in the minds of most people.
Compared to these ordinary folk, Zoe felt particularly different. Urban life was like a walled city: those inside wanted to get out, and those outside wanted to get in.
Lost in thought, tinged with a hint of melancholy, Zoe didn't enter Howards Village but instead headed straight up the mountain along the northern foothills.
