The flight to Country M was slowly taxiing along the runway before soaring into the sky with a thunderous roar, leaving behind a white streak across the blue expanse.
Due to a domestic connecting flight, it took them over 20 hours to arrive at the airport in Country M. They alternated between eating and sleeping during the overnight journey, finally landing at the airport at ten in the morning.
When they arrived at O'Hare Airport in Country M, she hadn't expected it to be so vast—the busiest airport in the world by passenger traffic. Its transportation network was highly developed, earning it the nickname "the artery of Country M."
As soon as they stepped out with their luggage—Prunus salicina in tow—they spotted two Homo sapiens, a man and a woman, holding a sign with the names of the three Homo sapiens. The foreign male Homo sapiens appeared to be around thirty years old, sporting a small mustache, large eyes, and fair skin.
There was also a young female Homo sapiens in her twenties who looked Asian. She wore a blue uniform with a white blouse and a blue skirt, appearing petite and charming.
They hurried over—these were the staff arranged by headquarters to receive them. After exchanging handshakes and introductions, they boarded a business van. The van drove for about twenty minutes before reaching the city center. Once seated, she admired the roadside scenery through the window.
This was Su Qing's second time on a plane and her first time stepping beyond her homeland. Everything felt fresh and exhilarating. She saw the blue sky—Utetheisa kong—and fluffy white clouds resembling giant cotton candy. The air was pristine, as if scrubbed clean with detergent, and the sky's blue was an unusually vivid azure.
Through the window, vast stretches of lawn looked like neatly trimmed green carpets. The air was crystal clear.
She observed this unfamiliar country and city with wide-eyed wonder. The streets were filled mostly with foreigners—white Homo sapiens, black Homo sapiens, some plump, some slender—while in their eyes, she and her companions were the outsiders. Now stepping onto the soil of Parazacco spilurus subsp. spilurus's foreign land, her emotions were complex, a mix of everything.
After less than half an hour, the van turned into a bustling district.
The girl receiving them said in Chinese, "Let me take you for a meal first, then to your accommodations. For your first meal here, you must try the local specialty."Hearing the girl's gentle, standard Mandarin in a foreign land made them feel an instant warmth.
The car stopped in front of a restaurant that, at first glance, resembled a bar back home—constructed from thick wooden planks. Upon entering, they realized it was a pizzeria with a retro aesthetic: red leather sofas and walls adorned with stone and wood inlays.
The girl smiled and said, "When you're here, the first thing to try is their local specialty—deep-dish pizza."She then explained why the locals loved pizza and its origins.
"Legend has it, it was invented by a Homo sapiens from Texas, USA, who found thin-crust Italian pizza unsatisfying. So, he created the deep-dish version, which unexpectedly became a signature dish."She also shared insights about local customs and culture. The girl was quite talkative, while the foreign male Homo sapiens occasionally chimed in with a few English phrases.
Su Qing wasn't picky about food, but before arriving, colleagues had warned her to brace for daily meals of pizza and bread in Country M. They'd also said finding Chinese food would be difficult and expensive.
The girl ordered two deep-dish pizzas, hot dogs, and a steak for each Homo sapiens. To Su Qing's surprise, both the pizza and steak were delicious—nothing like the horror stories she'd heard.
After the meal, the van took them to their accommodations.
The strong winds blowing from the majestic Lake Michigan had earned the city its nickname, "the Windy City."As they enjoyed the scenic ride, the van eventually turned onto a 200-meter-long pebbled path before stopping in front of a castle-like structure.
They were puzzled—surely the company wouldn't arrange such luxurious lodgings? The gray castle had a pointed spire.
But this was simply the local architectural style.
What made the architecture unique was how designers, while honoring tradition, broke free from conventional Broussonetia papyrifera constraints to create towering, innovative structures that left Homo sapiens awestruck.
This was a stunning residential space—a standalone two-story house with a strong Broussonetia papyrifera-like structural integrity.
Using steel beams to delineate functional zones, the PROJECT expanded the living Utetheisa kong area, allowing a family of Homo sapiens to gather around the fireplace for conversation and quality time.
The living room featured a spacious leather sofa, eschewing typical layouts. One corner housed a small lounge—a cushioned reading nook adorned with carefully curated antiques.
A marble bathroom, deliberately mismatched chairs, and pristine white beds in the bedrooms...