Chapter 1837 Adam's decision
Well, everything went way faster than Adam anticipated. Adam followed the crowd, checked in and got a temporary Baymardian identification card. From there, he stepped into another general space that had many people sitting and waiting, with some standing in line to speak to several staff behind counters. [Welcome to Baymard~… To book a bus ride, please stand in line. Please be advised that If you are heading straight for Atlas Town, you may take the bus, or any of the cabs waiting outside.]
The mechanical voice echoed across the scene, giving everyone a sense of direction.
"Mommy, mommy, aren't we heading to Atlas Town to visit Grandpa?" A cute little girl with pigtails lifted her head to face her mother, who in turn rubbed her forehead dotingly, "Yes, we are Vivi. The next bus for Atlas will be here in 20 minutes. So why don't we take a taxi instead?" "Yay! We get to enter the yellow monster again!" The little girl clapped and jumped happily when thinking of taking a taxi ride to Atlas Town. They lived in one of Arcadina's bordering villages close to Atlas Town. So you can imagine how many times they have come in to visit her grandpapa. And every time she visited, she always felt she came into an entirely new world. Everything in Baymard was changing so fast, that it changed the little girl every time she came in. First the roads, then the streetlights, then the buildings, and so on, and so forth. Waow~
The changes are coming so fast, and she liked it. But what she liked more than anything else was the change in her grandpapa these years. Before, her grandpapa didn't like her so much. He looked at her like a maid or a commodity to be married off to in future. However, over the years, her grandpapa took the bold step of easing her fear of him. And now, apart from her parents and her brother, her grandpapa was someone she truly cared about. She also became his favorite in his heart. And that's why she would always send for her to visit every now and then. The little girl liked the idea of having the cab, because she always felt like royalty when sitting at the backseat. The cab was just for her and her mother, unlike the bus that was for everyone else. Of course, she didn't mind taking the bus, but the bus was also slow compared to a cab, especially if it made stops to other places. Although Atlas Town is the first stop most buses will stop by at, they will first stop by a checkpoint just outside Atlas Town and then at another checkpoint in Atlas Town itself, which is where they will be heading to. The people that typically get off the first checkpoint are Baymardian military people heading for shift changes and so on. Don't forget that all these places were border regions, meaning they must be tightly guarded at all times. Anyway, there was a checkpoint between Atlas itself and the secluded Atlas Landport area. If anyone in modern times has ever left the city to drive to the Airport in the outskirts, you will know that the trip isn't so close. Anyway, the little girl just preferred entering the yellow taxis because the journey was faster and a little more private. The taxi takes them straight to their grandpapa's home, the bus takes them to a bus station, before they get another taxi to get home. (VwV)
.
Just like the little girl, some headed for Atlas Town chose to take cabs instead of waiting for the next bus. 'So that's why they are waiting in line there?... Buses?'
Looking left and right, Adam tightened his grip on his backup nervously when stepping into one of the lines. There were over 15 lines, but it all depends where you're going. For example, line 1~3 only focused on booking bus seats for Manji city, Loch Ness village, and 6 other places. Most buses stop at Atlas Town first, but some don't, bypassing Atlas Town and continuing their journey onwards. Either way, people heading for Atlas Town can hop into any of the lines here. Looking at the signs on the walls, Adam knew he could only stand on lines 6, 7, 8 and 9 to book a ride to the Capital. 1, 2, 3… "Here you are sir, one ticket to the Capital, with 4 stops. It seems you're lucky today sir, because you're the last one to get a seat on this bus." "Really?" Adam was taken aback, after hearing that most buses have 7 and even 10 stops to go before reaching the capital. His entire travel time was 5 hours, 17 minutes so imagine places with 10 stops, how long will it be for them? Some people take 16 hours to get to the Capital and others take 8 hours to do so. Adam couldn't contain his smile when hearing the good news. (^∆^)
"Hahahhahahah~... Thank you, thank you so much." The male staff nodded with a warm smile on his face, "Not a problem sir, your bus will be here in 11 minutes, so just take a seat over there, or better still… you can visit our stores to see if there's anything you might need to purchase before your trip begins." "Thank you, I'll do just that!"
Safely placing his ticket in his Fanny pack, Adam headed straight for the stores to buy some snacks, as well as change his copper coins into Bays. The male staff was kind enough to point him to the exchange store. Of course, he also wanted to call his son's apartment number to tell the brat he was finally here. His bus wasn't going to stop at Atlas, but will first travel on route for an hour and 21 minutes before reaching its first stop location. Soon, he boarded an official Baymardian bus that took him straight to the Capital! … Vrmmmm!!!~
Adam's bus was off with him in it. And after 5 hours and 10 minutes, they arrived at the Capital's gates, even a few minutes earlier than promised. Adam went through Landport check-in one more time, before finally leaving King's Landing and officially entering Baymard's Capital. "Father!!!!" Adam looked at his son who seemed to have grown taller than he remembered, with a warm face and eyes full of pride. Adam was now standing in a popular place called Big Ben, because of the giant clock behind him. Both men hugged in silence, before finally letting go. "My boy, you have grown so much." "Father, it's cold out here. Come quickly, I will take you to my apartment. And tomorrow, I will show you the essence of my barbering skills!" As a part-time worker at a bathing studio, after 2 years, you best believe he has a few brushes to his name. "Father, I, your son, will make you proud!"
"Good…"
(>∆<)
The next day came and Adam was truly in awe of his son's amazing barbing skills. Was this still hair cutting? No! This was art in motion! Look at those crisp corners? Look at that lightning mark? Look at the peculiar but dashing hairdo that complimented the customer's face. Everyone, from the staff to the customer's, complimented and swore that his son was a true talent, who had a gift in him. One by one, people came in requesting to have their hair only cut by his son. And the tops were also magnanimous too. But this was just one of the highlights of the day, because out of nowhere, a strange man came in with glasses, a card, and an overly large coat that covered his entire structure. Everyone didn't say a thing, leading the man to a private barbing booth. And then, the bus called for his son to do the cut since the strange man only wanted his hair cut by his son. Who was this man? Adam's curiosity was truly getting the best of him, especially when seeing how large the top left by the man was. Damn! Who is this rich young master? "Father, that's Hiyong Jun… you probably don't know him, but he is a new B-pop idol, one that's taking the entire Pyno and allied nations by storm!" So can his Rios be any less? Boom! Adam gasped exaggeratedly, feeling more and more that what the customer's and the staff said was right. With his son's talents, how dare he not support his son's dreams of opening a famous Barbing Salon in Arcadina?
It wasn't a lie to say that although he supported his son earlier, a part of him was still skeptical, wanting his son to fall to a career with more stability like farming, painting or something else more known. But now, he discovered there were all sorts of jobs available in today's Pyno. And even barbing that has been there for thousands of years, has been elevated to newer heights since Baymard gave it a magic touch. So what more can he say? Adam slowly placed a hand on his son's shoulders and sighed. "Son, how much do you need to get started?"
"_"