The sound of the door opening

On the way to the exchange office, you can see many busy shops and houses. A closer look will reveal that this city is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

The light grey buildings are inlaid with crystal-like decorations, reflecting the faint light. The residents also wear crystal ornaments, mostly as buttons or belt accessories. Low-key, simple and common.

Compared to Partington, this city has a military atmosphere. Mason immediately thought of the West. They have the same temperament as the people in Nail Town, but they are more peaceful.

The boy was obviously familiar with the city and led them to their destination. It was a three-story shop with an old sign hanging on it. The yellowed wooden door gave it a certain charm. The boy led them in and the wind chimes at the door rang as the door opened.

"Master Ma Xiu, I've brought people here."

The old man was wearing a formal suit and a pair of glasses. He had a neatly trimmed white beard and was wiping the counter with a rag in his hand. He raised his eyes when he heard the wind chimes ringing, and his voice was low and steady.

"Welcome, what would you like to exchange?"

The red-haired young man took out a pearl bracelet and placed it on the table, which immediately made the old man stare in amazement.

"Your Majesty, are you really going to exchange it for money?"

Looking at the beautiful pearl bracelet, the shop owner's eyes flashed with surprise. He carefully picked up the bracelet and examined it, exclaiming from time to time.

Regardless of its lethality, the appearance of the [Dark Gun] is extremely exquisite. The round and delicate snow-white pearl is flawless, otherwise it would not be kept by a high-level bloodline. The shopkeeper spent a long time confirming the value and finally gave a shockingly high price.

"I'm willing to pay a thousand gold coins!"

One thousand gold coins! ?

The boy opened his mouth into an O shape, his face full of disbelief. The red-haired young man nodded. If he guessed correctly, these things would eventually come back, and there was no need to hesitate here.

Hearing the answer, the shopkeeper quickly completed the transaction. Oreius threw a silver coin to the boy and said lazily, "Is that enough? Tell me everything you know."

The latter asked in disbelief: "Are these all for me?"

"As long as your answer is satisfactory, I will not hesitate to reward you."

Hearing what Aurelius said, the boy immediately smiled brightly: "No problem!"

He knew that this business was profitable!

"Coming here is your wisest choice. The black fog is spreading outside, our country is united, and His Majesty the King has made wise decisions. The mechanics have provided a large number of weapons, and the military and civilians live in harmony. There is no safer place than here!"

"From the looks of you two, you seem to be adventurers. I recommend the works of Master Ham. He is a researcher from the Mechanical City and usually sells his works on consignment in the store. The store is right in the commercial district, so you can buy what you need."

Machinery City.

Mason's heart skipped a beat when he heard the name. After going through so many things, no one would think the Mechanical City was too simple.

"Who is Master Ham?"

"He is the chief mechanical master of the kingdom, and his weapons are in great demand. But he is most famous for this, not his weapons."

As the boy led the way, he took out a small piece of crystal from his arms and showed it to the guests.

"You have to bring it with you if you want to live here. You two gentlemen can buy it in the business district."

“What if you don’t buy it?”

"Of course you can't live here then."

The boy's expression turned serious.

"This is the best country and the most harmonious town. It has always welcomed outsiders. If you two just want to stay here for a few days, go to bed early at night, close the doors and windows and don't wander around. The city will be under strict martial law at night, and it would be terrible if you were arrested by the guards as a suspicious person."

"If you want to live here, you must wear crystals. Only those who wear crystals can go out at night. Citizens must be harmonious and friendly with each other and abide by the rules of the night."

"Following the rules of the night?"

"Only those who join here can know the rules. Do you two gentlemen want to join us?"

The boy smiled and looked at them expectantly. If you looked closely, you would find that his eyes were very bright, shining like agate. Mason gently but firmly rejected his suggestion, heard a small sigh from the other party, and then cheered up and continued.

"We are now at the Commercial Street. What would you two gentlemen like to buy?"

The commercial street is located in the most prosperous area of ​​the city. The walls are inlaid with crystals of different shapes, which are spliced ​​into beautiful flower patterns. There are many people coming and going on the street. Women are standing in front of the stalls to select ingredients, and children are running around in the crowd. Soldiers in uniform patrol the streets, and the scene is orderly.

A white spire could be vaguely seen in the distance. Mason pointed his finger and asked, "What is that?"

“That’s the square where prayers are held at night.”

“Who should I pray to?”

"Of course it's the Twelve Gods. We are loyal believers of the gods!"

The Mechanical City, Master Ham, the fallen twelve gods...

Mason narrowed his eyes and asked calmly, "How can I meet Master Ham?"

"Master Ham lives in the King's palace and comes to pray at night. He can be seen in both places." The boy stopped and pointed to a shop. "That's where they sell crystals."

It was a shop with simple decoration. The uniformed waiter nodded to the customer and said, "Welcome, what can I buy?"

The prices of crystals in the store varied. Mason looked around and bought two crystal pendants. The waiter smiled and said, "If the crystal turns black, please come to our store to replace it with a new one immediately, otherwise it may affect normal use."

“What happens if you don’t change?”

“It won’t work properly.”

"I see. Once we find any problem, we will come and replace it immediately. By the way, there is no time limit, right?"

"As long as you are in the city, you can come to us anytime to replace it. This is our responsibility."

Driven by a silver coin, the boy arranged everything properly. He took the two of them to buy new clothes and led them to the best hotel in the city before leaving happily.

The waiter was a round-faced girl with dimples when she smiled, sweet and lovely. Perhaps because of this, the business of this hotel was obviously better than other places.

She looked at the new guest and her eyes lit up. After the red-haired young man put on new clothes, he looked even more slender and handsome. The young man next to him had a gentle smile, which made people love him.

The waiter had excellent eyesight and could tell at once that the two people were wearing bashful and expensive clothes, and that they both had snowflake-shaped crystal pendants around their necks, which would cost a hundred gold coins in a store!

"Do you two want to stay in a hotel?"

"One room for three nights."

Aurelius answered casually, lowered his eyes and asked the person beside him: "Do you need anything else?"

The linen-haired boy tilted his head and asked, "Will they provide meals here?"

The waiter said hurriedly: "It only costs one silver coin, and we can provide three meals a day. If you have any dietary restrictions, please let us know in advance."

"Then let's settle here. I'm not picky about food, and my brother likes to eat meat."

"I'll just eat the same thing as you."

The red-haired young man patted the other's head, and it seemed that they had a good relationship. The waiter silently remembered the guest's request and handed them the room key.

"It's the third room on the left on the second floor. You two can go up there by yourselves. The room has been cleaned."

The elder brother took the key and led his younger brother to the second floor. The oak wood board looked quite old, and it would creak when stepped on from time to time, which was very consistent with the feeling of the old aristocratic house in the horror movies of the last generation.

Mason dismissed those strange thoughts. The red-haired young man walked forward and opened the door. Inside was an ordinary guest room, which was spacious and bright. The window faced the street view and had a good view.

Money makes the world go round, if not, then just pay more.

One thousand gold coins were enough for Mason to live comfortably during this period. The wound on Orelius' body had not healed yet, so Mason took off his ring and put it on his vest, letting him rest in the hotel. He went out to continue gathering intelligence.

Relying on his obedient appearance and witty speech, he got a lot of information from the people here. Mason didn't see anyone wearing a watch on the road, but everyone seemed to have a clock in their head, and when the time came, they immediately began to urge him to return to the hotel.

"Here you go. Be careful of the burns. It's getting late. Go home quickly."

The steaming pea soup exuded a warm aroma. The middle-aged man sprinkled some salt on it and added long strips of toasted black bread.

Mason smiled and said, "Thank you for your reminder. I'll be back soon. Are you going to close the stall?"

"Yes, we have to go back before dark."

The stall owner said this and packed up the stall very neatly. Mason said goodbye to him and walked back to the hotel with two bowls of pea bread soup. People along the way were in a hurry, busy going home. The shops on the roadside were closed one by one, and dim lights were faintly cast from the cracks in the doors.

The hotel was no exception. The waiter stood at the door, raising his hand to adjust the crystal street lamp. Seeing Mason coming back, he smiled and said, "You are back. Dinner has been placed in the house. Go to bed early after dinner. The floor of the hotel is old and will make noise if you walk at night. Please try not to come out and disturb other guests' rest."

"I understand. I'll tell my brother when I get back."

The boy nodded, his harmless expression turning cold until he entered the room. The red-haired young man sat alone by the window, bandaging his wound. Mason put down the pea soup, took the bandage and tied a beautiful bow for him. On the table were wheat porridge, salad and buttered bread, all of which had lost their temperature and looked like they had been there for a while.

Neither of them spoke, but stared out the window intently. The damp air of impending rain poured into the room, bringing with it an oppressive chill.

Heavy clouds piled up overhead, the crystal street lights went out one by one, and the whole city fell into darkness from far to near. This scene was like a silent drama on the stage, silent, precise, and meticulously crafted. The darkness was a heavy curtain that silently swallowed up the entire city. Two people, one sitting and one standing in front of the window, stared at this scene without blinking, almost blending into the night.

“——”

After everything fell silent, the crystals inlaid on the building began to shine one after another, becoming the only source of light in the darkness.

Mason narrowed his eyes subconsciously and suddenly heard the sound of a door opening.

Then there were clang, clang, clang sounds, and the sound of doors opening approached the room they were in. It was like someone was opening doors one by one, and finally, the sound stopped at the door of Mason's room.

Click.

The doorknob turned slightly.