Secrets of the City
The soles of my shoes made a muffled sound as they stepped on the floor. I went down the stairs and found that the first floor was also empty.
There was a yellowed notice on the counter. Mason read it carefully in the dim light from the window.
【Hotel Accommodation Rules】
[1. Foreign guests are requested not to go out at night, and local residents are required to wear crystal when going out]
【2. If you hear a knock on the door at night, please confirm the identity of the other party. If you hear the voice of a waiter, be sure not to open the door. 】
【3. The waiter will not hurt you. If it hurts you, then it is not a waiter. Please kill it or run away.】
[4. If you encounter an uncontrollable situation in the hotel, please point the crystal at the dangerous creature and leave before the crystal turns black]
The little boy's "follow the night rules" obviously refers to these things. There is no such paper in the hotel during the day. Judging from these rules, the hotel staff has had problems more than once or twice, and the crystal is something that can suppress the other party. However, the other party is now dead and it is difficult to tell whether it is true or false.
Mason took these rules to heart and walked out of the hotel.
The crystal light from the building opposite refracted on the water drop at the collar, which then diffused a soft glow. Along with the light, some shadows appeared in Mason's field of vision.
Residents floated in the air, walking along the light path made of crystal. Crystals were embedded in different parts of their bodies, reflecting the light.
Some souls were holding their heads, and some had their stomachs ripped open with half of their intestines hanging out. It was as if everyone had suffered misfortune, and each person had his or her own way of dying.
The residents still had a faint smile on their faces, greeting each other. Some souls nodded when they saw Mason and Oreius. The boy raised his hand and touched the crystal pendant. It seemed that it was a member of the city.
The Luo family soul sighed in the sea of consciousness: "I haven't seen so many souls outside for a long time. It's strange that they died so miserably, but they look harmless."
The Luo family souls have been passed down from generation to generation, and they have never been so "healthy" in such a long time. There are not even many traces of the black mist on them, which allows the souls to maintain their sanity to the greatest extent.
Walking forward along the long roads in all directions, the long stream of souls finally converges at the square.
A huge crystal fountain stood in the center of the square, and the highest white spire could be seen from all directions. It was the shadow that Mason had seen earlier on Commercial Street. On the flowerbed in the square, Mason saw a notice.
【wf%h!w*u1!Residence Rules】
【1.Wf%h!w*u1!is the best country in the world. You can live here with peace of mind. The king is worthy of respect. He will lead the knights to protect you. Master Ham is the king's messenger. You can ask him any questions.】
【2. If you see a traveler at night, please do not approach him. He is not a guest. Please kill him or run away. 】
【3.wf%h!w*u1! is a loyal believer of the Twelve Gods. All residents please attend the night prayers on time and keep a pure heart.】
【4. If anything happens in the city, don't worry, everything will be fine after dawn.】
The name of the city was replaced by random characters. The boy carefully wrote down these rules, and his eyes fell on the first one, which gave him a vague feeling of weirdness.
This rule seemed to be set up for outsiders like him. Only such people needed to visit the king and Ham, and the local residents did not need to emphasize that this was the best country in the world.
The crowd was still moving forward. There were so many souls gathering in the square that Mason was dazzled for a moment. The red-haired young man held the boy with his hand to prevent them from getting separated. They followed the crowd to the front, right in front of the crystal fountain.
A little boy stood by the fountain. He looked very familiar. He was wearing overalls and carrying a bulging package across his shoulder. He looked very ordinary. There was a bullet hole on his forehead, and the blood from it stained his cheeks red.
But when he spoke, the whole square was silent. The souls listened.
He spoke solemnly: "Those who come here are all saints who are pure in body and mind. Holding the wreath of golden laurel branches, they have not forgotten the name of life."
The souls then chanted: "Those who come here are saints who are pure in body and mind. They hold wreaths of golden laurel branches in their hands and have not forgotten the name of life."
He said: "Those who are born here have no fear of the way out; those who rest here have no concern for the way back."
The souls said: "Those who are born here have no fear of the way out; those who rest here have no concern for the way back."
The great sound waves reverberated in the air, and the sacred words gathered into a sea of praise. If you look down from the sky, you will find that at some point, the souls formed a circle around the square.
The light refracted from all directions passed through the crystals inlaid on the soul, gradually focusing in the complex reflection process, and finally projected onto the linen-haired boy and the red-haired young man.
The crystal pendants on their chests became the final link of the ceremony. The almost dazzling light was cast on the crystal fountain, like a furnace melting a pool of overlapping crystal liquid.
No, this was not an illusion. As they watched, the crystal fountain actually began to flow slowly, with the transparent liquid flowing onto the floor of the square, and the air twisted and stretched. The fountain split outward from the middle, forming the shape of a door.
The little boy shouted, "Be quiet! His Majesty the King is going to hold a ceremony tonight!"
The souls bowed their heads in awe, and footsteps were heard from the high door. Mason looked up and saw a majestic castle standing on the other side of the door. The knights guarding the king stepped out of the door. The king stood in the front, with a burly figure, a loud voice, and a shining crown on his head.
A middle-aged man in researcher's clothes followed him, with a very cold expression and a crystal brooch on his chest. He must be the legendary Ham. He scanned the crowd, his eyes briefly glanced at the two people, and then slid past them naturally.
It turns out that the king's castle is hidden in the crystal fountain and can only be opened at midnight. No wonder the researchers can only be seen at this time.
The king smiled at the boy, who had a serious expression on his face, standing by the king's side like a loyal little knight.
The Supreme Ruler said loudly: "My people, I am glad to see you all gathered here tonight. I will lead you to pray to God and cleanse the filth of your body and mind."
Ham's eyes paused for a moment on the two men, and then he leaned over and whispered something to the king. The latter looked at Mason with a smile on his face.
"In the beginning, the world was in chaos. Until a seed took root and sprouted, giving birth to the first world tree..."
The king told the story slowly and the audience fell silent. Mason listened carefully and found that what he said was the canon of the twelve gods. All the crystals flickered as the king told the story, and before he knew it, the surroundings fell silent.
The souls stared at the king in the center with pale eyes, their bodies frozen in place. Mason only felt something pouring out of his body and continuously pouring into the crystal, and his thoughts slowly stopped.
Sweet emotions surged in his heart, weaving an intoxicating dream. The boy's eyes gradually sank, and he stood there like a sculpture. After confirming that they had lost their response to the outside world, Ham walked down the platform and walked towards the direction where the two were.
He walked through the crowd silently and reached out his hand to the boy. When he was about to touch him, he was stopped by another hand.
"What do you want to do?"
"Why are you still awake?"
Two voices rang out at the same time. The red-haired young man chuckled and held the other's wrist even tighter.
"Of course, it's to see if you will take action."
"…There is no need for us to conflict."
Ham lowered his voice, as if afraid of awakening something: "I have no ill will towards you. This is for your own good. If you wear it for too long, you will become a member of this city."
Seeing that Oreius didn't believe him, he continued, "What I said is true. Since you are from outside, you should know the situation of this kingdom. The things you wear are not simple crystals, but devices used to absorb pollution. It will absorb the pollution of the soul until it turns black. If it is not replaced in time, the soul will be swallowed by the black mist and turn into a vengeful spirit."
"Unlike these souls, you have been thoroughly polluted by the Black Mist, so crystals are poison to you. Wearing them for a long time will only lead to assimilation."
Oreius raised his eyebrows. "Impossible. Pollution comes from human evil. How can it be eliminated?"
Ham didn't fall for his trick and continued calmly: "You seem to know a lot. It's true that a simple mechanical device can't purify pollution, but these crystals are different. They come from the kindness of people."
Seeing that the other party still looked unconvinced, Hans sighed inwardly and had to start the story from the beginning.
"It seems that you will not let this go even if I explain it to you. The people who came here before also accepted my help. I learned about the situation in the outside world from them."
"I was born in this country. After returning from studying in the Mechanical City, His Majesty the King invited me to become the kingdom's chief mechanical master. Since the kingdom values martial arts, I developed many excellent weapons at that time, and I have always been proud of it. Until something strange happened in this country, by the time we reacted, we had completely lost contact with the outside world."
"In order to reconnect with the outside world, we built many trains, hoping to use them to find people in other areas. But as soon as the trains entered the black fog, they disappeared. Later, we had to abandon this plan. We chose other ways to extend the life of this city."
"For this purpose, I developed a device. The human soul is composed of good and evil. I extracted a part of the good and materialized it into crystal. By neutralizing it with the collected evil of the people, the development of the city can be maintained. But as time goes by, this city gradually has its own will."
"will?"
"That's right. A country is a place of residence built on a certain order. People recognize certain rules, culture, language, and history, and thus form a community within a certain range. Do you see those rules? The rules of the night are the embodiment of the will of the country, and they reflect the voices of everyone in the country. As long as you follow these rules, you will be recognized by the capital and become its citizens."
As he said this, Ham pointed to the pendant the young man was wearing.
"Every night's prayer is crucial. If you don't want to have any problems, it's better to take it off."
This is a dilemma. If Ham's words are true, if they don't take off the crystal, they will most likely be affected by the city, just like the legend says, "he will never come back." But if this is a lie, then according to the rules, after taking off the crystal, they will become the target of the souls' attack.
The red-haired young man did not hesitate and directly pulled off the pendant on himself and the original body. The air seemed to be permeated with ice at this moment, and the souls who were originally praying peacefully turned their heads and stared at them without blinking.
If you don't wear your crystal and step into the light, you won't be able to see these night spirits.
What would happen if you were in it and took off the crystal?
The souls in the entire square began to change. The bodies emitting pearly white light gradually twisted and turned into vengeful spirits with blood flowing out. Amid the hoarse and wailing cries, Oreius remained calm, suddenly reached out and grabbed the crystal brooch on Ham's collar and pulled it off.
Since you are not sure whether it is true, why not take the person who said it with you to try it out.
He smiled provocatively at the latter. Ham was indeed the most special one among them. His body remained unchanged under such circumstances. He said solemnly, "Give it back to me."
"Want it? Then accompany me to walk among these natives."