Paper City

They stepped into a strange city built of paper. The sky was the color of gray-blue rice paper, the ground was covered with yellowed newspaper, the outlines of the buildings were outlined with crude ink lines, and everything exuded the smell of damp pulp.

The rules were played repeatedly from the loudspeakers on the street corners:

"Rule One: Find the 'Paper Bride' before dawn.

Rule 2: After midnight, do not answer calls from behind.

Rule three: Don't look directly into the mirror in the paper shop.

Rule Four: Don’t let the paper doll take your place before dawn.”

"Paper bride?" Yun Shuo frowned. "Is it an object, or a person?"

Yuheng didn't answer. His ability allowed him to see the danger three seconds later. He grabbed Yunshuo, and the two of them barely avoided a paper figure that "fell" from the wall.

They came to a paper-made shop, where paper-made brides and grooms were displayed in the window.

"Rule three says don't look in the mirror..." Yun Shuo noticed the mirror in the store and looked thoughtful.

"We can use the rules." He analyzed in a low voice, "Sometimes, the most dangerous place is the safest."

At this moment, the sound of gongs was heard in the distance, and someone was shouting: "Welcome the bride——"

A flash of inspiration flashed in Yun Shuo's eyes. "A 'paper bride' isn't a person, nor is it an object. It's a position. What we're looking for is that 'empty seat' in the wedding procession."

"Then we have to find the starting point of the team first." Yu Heng said.

They followed the sound of gongs and drums and found a temple. The temple was filled with the smoke of incense and had big red wedding characters on the walls.

"This is the starting point," Yun Shuo said confidently, "What we need to do is find that 'open spot' before the team sets off."

"How to find it?" Yu Heng asked.

Yun Shuo looked at the mirror in the temple, a smile on his face: "Use rule three."

He took a deep breath and looked straight into the mirror. The scene in the mirror was distorted, and he saw the reflection of the wedding procession, but the position of the "bride" in the procession was empty!

"I found it," Yun Shuo said, "but how do we 'become' her?"

"Use this." Yu Heng picked up a piece of red silk from the altar. "This is the only thing that can connect to the 'location'."

Just as they were about to move, the gong sounds outside the door suddenly stopped, and a faint voice sounded behind them: "Yun Shuo - Yu Heng -"

Yun Shuo and Yu Heng looked at each other, and neither of them turned back.

"Rule two." Yun Shuo reminded.

They quickly tied red silk around each other's wrists and stepped into the wedding character in front of the mirror together.

Just then, a rooster crowed in the distance.

"It's dawn?" Yu Heng was surprised.

No, that was someone imitating the crowing of a rooster, trying to make them think the time limit was up and give up.

Yun Shuo didn't hesitate and pulled Yu Heng along, stepping into the empty space in the mirror that belonged to the "paper bride".

The world stopped again.

【Clearance conditions have been met.】

[Reward: Life Point +1, Fragment +1.]

[Next instance: Wind Chime Hall.]

[Countdown: 23:59:59]

After a moment of dizziness, they returned to the rainy night of the real world. The red silk on their wrists had disappeared, but the cold fragment confirmed that everything that had just happened was not an illusion.

"We will meet again." Yun Shuo looked at Yu Heng with a calm tone.

"We will go all the way together." Yu Heng replied.

The rain stopped and the city returned to its bustle. But they knew this was just the beginning.