Sitting at the back of the taxi, Zhang Lisheng would put his hand into his clothes from time to time and caress the Island Dragon and wyrmdragon that had shrunk to less than 30 centimeters and were only as thick as a pencil. They were as soft as rubber. He could not help but put on a cautious expression on his face.
Fortunately, there were no accidents along the way. He arrived at the terminal of JFK Airport more than 30 minutes before 11 o 'clock.
Since Edward had booked a first-class ticket, the young man successfully brought his two toy-like wizard gus onto the plane when he passed through the VIP passage.
Half an hour later, the American Airlines TU098 flight from New York to Johannesburg, South Africa glided straight into the sky on the runway, leaving Zhang Lisheng's worries on the ground and soon disappeared into the vast sky.
Ever since Zhang Lisheng had been flying continuously in the supernatural realm for a few days and nights on the wyrmdragon, he realized that he no longer had the interest to stare at the sea of clouds outside the window when he was flying.
Sitting on the spacious and comfortable seat of the first-class cabin, he watched a movie out of boredom and reached out to order a glass of Coke. As he drank it, he put down the chair and began to close his eyes to rest. Just like that, he spent the long journey in contemplation and arrived at Johannesburg International Airport.
Johannesburg was the most prosperous city in the Republic of South Africa. It might be a little far-fetched to describe this city located in the world's largest gold mining area as an international metropolis, but if the word 'international' was replaced with 'Africa', then Johannesburg with a population of close to four million could be said to be worthy of its name.
It was already night when he got off the plane. However, South Africa, which was warm all year round, was not cold at all. The young man took a deep breath of the warm and humid air unique to African winter and took out his phone to send a text message to his mother and Tina. Then, he turned off his phone and strode to the bus that transported passengers at the airport.
When he took the bus to the outer passage, Zhang Lisheng inadvertently found that there were ATMs on both sides of the spacious passage. He touched his pocket and had less than 1,000 dollars in cash. After pondering about it, he withdrew 5,000 dollars in one go with the credit card of the US Union Bank that was widely used around the world.
After walking out of the airport, the young man did not look for a hotel to stay. Instead, he stopped a taxi and asked, "May I know if there's an apartment with better rental conditions nearby?"
English was Johannes' main language. The young man's English sounded a little out of tune in the ears of the black driver who had a fat, square face and white teeth when he smiled, but the meaning was not difficult to understand.
The driver said enthusiastically, "Sir, I can tell that you're an American from your accent. Please get in the car. I know what kind of place you need."
"Oh, I'm so lucky then." Zhang Lisheng got into the taxi.
The driver started the car. "Oh, I can't tell the age of a foreigner. Are you here to work or to study, sir?"
"There are still people coming here to study?" Upon hearing this, Zhang Lisheng blurted out in astonishment, "Erm, I didn't mean that. Really, you know, it's just that …"
"It's alright, I understand. I understand. In the eyes of most Americans, America is the center of the world's economy, culture, and technology. Of course, Americans shouldn't come to South Africa to study.
What's more, the best University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg is not even considered an 'international school'. " Although the driver said so, it was obvious that his expression had turned ghastly. He did not say anything more until he drove Zhang Lisheng to a side street close to the bustling main road of the city and parked the car in front of a few connected high-rise apartment buildings.
Since the driver ignored him, of course, the young man would not ask for a rebuff, let alone explain that he was a Chinese and bring shame to China. After the taxi stopped, he tossed out 50 dollars and ran out of the car.
It was Zhang Lisheng's first time stepping on the streets of an African city. He looked around and realized that even though the street he was on was a secluded street, it was still brightly lit. It was the scene of a modern city.
The streets were bustling with many pedestrians, most of whom were black. However, they were not as rude and uncouth as Zhang Zian had imagined. Other than some differences in their attire, the way they talked and behaved was not much different from the black people on the streets of New York. In fact, they seemed to be even more educated.
"Such a civilized city really doesn't look like Africa, but thinking about it, this is Johannesburg after all, a window of African civilization." Zhang Lisheng mumbled to himself and walked into the apartment building with a signboard that read 'Antelope's Nest'.
The space in the building was very narrow. Other than a front desk that could only accommodate one person sitting at the back, there was nothing else. It was completely different from the front hall of the noble apartment that the young man remembered. If it was not for the fact that he saw that there were elevators in the corridor on both sides of the front desk, he might have just pushed the door open and left without even asking anything.
"Do you need to rent a room, sir?" Seeing that there were customers, a girl with big breasts, big eyes, thick lips, curly hair, and skin so dark that it was shiny stood up from the wooden chair and asked while leaning on the front desk.
"I do want to rent an apartment, but I'd like to see your room first."
"I'm sure you'll be satisfied with the room. Not only that, you can also enjoy the special service of the front desk lady's discount if you rent our room," The black girl said while licking her lips.
"I don't need any special service, I just want a clean single room with its own bathroom and a king-sized bed."
"You want your own bathroom and a king-sized bed? That'll cost at least 900 rand a month. Judging from your accent, you're an American so you can pay US dollars too. If you rent it by the day, it'll cost 45 rand a day …"
Such a rent was definitely not cheap in Johannesburg, but Zhang Lisheng nodded without hesitation. "That's not a problem, but I need to see the room first."
"You're so rigid and not lively at all. I really don't know if you're an American or a German. Do you think I'd lie to you?" The black girl helplessly took a few room cards from the front desk and brought the young man to see the room.
The layout of the apartment was basically the same. The best single room was a single room with an area of nearly 20 square meters. It had a king-sized bed, a bedside table, a wardrobe, and a computer. It also came with a small bathroom that only had a shower.
However, the decoration inside was very exquisite. There was a fashionable blue ceiling lamp and a thatched carpet with a South African indigenous style.
In order to disappear completely, Zhang Lisheng, who did not choose to stay in a top resort hotel, looked at the environment of the apartment and immediately paid a month's rent in satisfaction. He then moved into the innermost single room in the west corridor on the first floor.
From then on, he settled down in Johannesburg. Other than cultivating every day, he would pay attention to the movements of the strange armed forces that were fighting against the government forces in Cape Town, South Africa on the computer. Sometimes, he would go to a small park near the apartment building to practice the five Xingyi stances of 'chop, bang, drill, blast, and horizontal'. Just like that, he lived a leisurely and comfortable life for two to three months.
Spring gradually came. Even though the temperature difference between the four seasons in Johannesburg was not big, the weather still inevitably became warmer.
When Zhang Lisheng came to South Africa, he did not bring any luggage with him. All of his clothes and shoes were sold on the spot. Not only that, after several dozens of days of cultivation, he could already imitate the local's accent vividly. Right now, when he put on the loose thick gauze breeches and short-sleeved shirt, he no longer looked like a New Yorker.
On this day, the young man cultivated a secret method for a night. After he woke up, he watched the news on the Internet for a while and found out that the South African government forces and the mysterious invaders were still fighting in Cape Town. For this reason, he turned off the computer out of boredom.
"It's such an obvious invasion from the supernatural realm, but there's no intervention from any big country. Looks like everyone is already in a difficult position, so I'll have to take care of my own business first …" The young man muttered to himself and hummed a song as he took a hot bath.
After walking out of the apartment building, he bought a few beef trotters from a fast food restaurant called African Cottage that sold South African specialty food on the street. As he gnawed on them, he came to the street park and began to practice his boxing stance with the morning sun.
In the morning, many Johannesburg locals of various skin colors were exercising in the small park. Influenced by Zhang Lisheng in the past few months, there were also a few black people who slowly imitated his movements by stretching their legs and moving their feet to practice boxing.
From the outside, these people's punches were full of strength and their moves were even more exciting than his. However, in the eyes of an expert, the movements of both of them were completely different.
When the young man practiced the few stances in a circle for a while, and then performed the 'chop, smash, drill, blast, and horizontal' style of fighting without leaving his own space, he was just about to leave when he suddenly heard a praise in Mandarin resonating from the side. "Good! This is really good! This boxing stance is not bad at all!"
Zhang Lisheng was stunned. Looking towards the direction of the voice, he saw a Chinese old man in his sixties, who had a tanned face that was covered in the sun and rain, awkwardly wearing a tailored suit of good quality, giving him a thumbs up.
"Uncle, you also know boxing?" Upon seeing that it was an old man from his homeland, Zhang Lisheng asked politely in Mandarin with a Western Sichuan accent.
"Y-You can speak Mandarin? Judging from your accent, you seem to be from Western Sichuan. Don't tell me that you're Chinese?" The old man asked in surprise.
"I'm a native of Western Sichuan, and I'm traveling to Johannesburg."
Upon hearing this, the old man took a good look at Zhang Lisheng and said with a grin, "Traveling? Who would dress like you early in the morning and practice martial arts in the park? If you're here to work, then so be it. You're a labor export, and you're relying on your strength to make a living. What's so embarrassing about that?"
Zhang Lisheng was stunned and smiled noncommittally. He picked up the cow's hoof and placed it under his feet. "You can think whatever you want, I'm leaving now, uncle."
"Don't go yet. Both of us have traveled thousands of miles from China to Africa to meet each other. What kind of fate is this? Stop eating that cow's hoof, there's no meat at all. Let's go, I'll treat you to a good meal." The old man's coarse fingers clasped Zhang Lisheng's wrist as he said.
"Sigh, I can't believe that uncle is also a martial artist." Zhang Lisheng was secretly surprised. He instinctively stomped his feet and shook off the old man's palm. "Thank you, but I've been wanting to eat this cow's hoof ever since I came to Johannesburg. It's fine with me."
"That won't do. I'll treat you to a meal then." The old man's eyes that were staring at the young man suddenly had a strange yellow gleam in them as he said slowly.
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