Chapter 78 Colorful City 7 "My legs have turned into plastic..."...
"How was your time last night?" An Rao followed Bai Chuan's footsteps, lifted her skirt and stepped onto the escalator. Her long, straight and beautiful legs were wrapped in delicate white lace stockings. The soft and delicate lace skirt edge kept rubbing against the jingling silver armor of the medieval knight. Even if An Rao didn't want to, she couldn't help but think of Su Ming's evaluation yesterday.
The princess abducted by a dragon and the knight who slayed the dragon.
"I didn't go out last night. I sat in the room and observed the sentry situation in the castle." Baichuan said.
"Did you find anything?" An Rao looked at Bai Chuan. The beautiful white feather beside his ear gently stroked his silver armor, adding a touch of tenderness to his hard armor.
"There are guards outside the castle. The one patrolling outside my window was Monday, whom we saw. Three hours later, someone came to replace him. So I think the guards outside the castle should be on a shift basis. Considering that Monday said there were six of them, it is very likely that there are three people in a shift, and each shift changes every three hours. Each person has his or her own patrol area."
An Rao was shocked. In just one night, Bai Chuan had already figured out the details of the Holy Light Castle's visit. Although his inferences were only based on guesswork, they always convinced An Rao.
"I'll pay attention tonight, too. Sorry." An Rao felt a little ashamed. He was so tired last night that he fell asleep right after curling up in bed. He didn't have the energy to observe anything. On the contrary, Bai Chuan was the most tired in the circus. But after such a night, he was still able to stay alert in the colorful city. It was indeed inhuman...
"It doesn't matter. It's enough for one person to do these things." Baichuan didn't care.
An Rao walked with his head down. The combat boots on Baichuan's feet, made of high-quality leather and metal, made a heavy sound as they stepped on the thick carpet, appearing steady and powerful.
"The crystal hourglass that was empty yesterday is now full today. Let's see how many players are left in a while." Baichuan looked up at the top of the stairs. The early morning sun gave him a layer of golden light, and his silver armor was shining.
"How many people do you think are left?"
After a pause, the two said in unison: "Twelve."
An Rao subconsciously pinched his completely plasticized arm, and changed the subject with a guilty conscience: "I met the citizens with Papa this morning, there was a meditation class in the afternoon, and there was a sculpture class after the dinner. Papa has arranged his schedule really tightly!"
"I'm the opposite of you. I sculpt in the afternoon and meditate at night."
"We're not really going to study hard and see who gets first place in the exam, right?"
"No," An Rao was moved by Bai Chuan's confidence, "The crystal hourglass and those strange colors should be the key factors to breaking the deadlock."
"Did you...try to go out last night?" An Rao asked.
"I have tried it," Baichuan glanced at Anrao, "I believe you have done the same, and walked around with Papa."
Then, in An Rao's shocked eyes, he continued, "It seems that he can go out for a stroll with everyone at the same time. Going out in the middle of the night won't work."
As expected of Kashiwa.
An Rao nodded, agreeing with Bai Chuan's conclusion. An Rao did not tell Bai Chuan about the abnormality of his body. Looking at Bai Chuan's appearance, he did not seem to have any discomfort. An Rao began to be unsure whether the abnormality of his arm was a punishment for accidentally triggering some rules yesterday. If so, he did not want Bai Chuan to lose his pace because of his puppetization.
The two walked in silence all the way and soon reached the platform on the third floor of the castle. Some players had already gathered on the platform. Their strange clothes made the platform seem crowded and noisy, but everyone's expression was very natural, which made An Rao once again doubt whether his puppetization had really triggered some rules.
Looking down through the stone fence of the platform, An Rao felt for the first time what it felt like to have his eyes hurt by noise.
It's only seven o'clock in the morning, but the huge plastic lawn in front of the Holy Light Castle is already crowded with citizens. Looking down from the third floor of the castle, those rainbow-colored hair seem like rainbow jelly beans scattered on the green lawn, dazzling people to the point of making their scalps numb.
"Papa is here!" A strange voice that was neither human nor mechanical was heard from the puppet butler. All the players quickly dispersed and crowded against the wall, leaving a wide aisle for Papa. No one wanted to become the second unlucky person for no reason.
Papa was wearing a pure white wide robe today, his shiny colorful hair was combed meticulously, and the cuffs and collar of the robe were embroidered with intricate lace with gold thread, looking holy and solemn. He walked with standard steps, motioning the players to line up on both sides behind him and follow, and then walked gracefully like a leading goose to the semicircular balcony protruding outward from the large platform. His mere appearance on the balcony was greeted with overwhelming cheers from all the citizens on the lawn.
Papa raised his hand gracefully, and the cheers that had just been deafening stopped instantly. The citizens on the lawn obeyed the orders in unison, like soldiers who had received some special training.
"My dear people, good morning. Today, we welcome the first big day since the Colorful City entered the blood moon. From today on, we will enter the full moon preparation day. I know that the night of the blood moon is a nightmare for every citizen, but I believe that through our concerted efforts, we will definitely defeat the full moon nightmare! From today on, the Holy Light Castle will represent the Seven Colors Holy Light Church and distribute soothing dolls to every devout citizen. May the blessing of light be bestowed upon every one of his people, giving you the power to defeat the nightmare."
After this paragraph was finished, a thunderous cheer broke out on the lawn. A clergyman in a rainbow robe walked forward with a bowl of water. Papa took off his gloves and looked around. An Rao, who was standing aside, immediately took a step forward and walked behind Papa, respectfully raised his hands, waiting for Papa to put the gloves on his hands.
Papa raised an eyebrow in surprise, whispered a thank you, and then placed the gloves into Apprentice No. 1's respectfully raised hands.
The cold, wet fingertips stroked An Rao's hand meaningfully and stickily, but An Rao didn't even raise his head, but just lowered his head and concentrated on holding the white gloves in his hand.
Religions are full of complicated rituals, and a holy father will not make things difficult for a believer who provides him with timely services, and his behavior just now did not violate any apprenticeship rules. An Rao bet that he would not be punished again, and compared to not being punished, he was betting on a chance to get Pap's favor.
Papa dipped his hands in holy water and sprinkled it under the castle, which caused another round of insane cheers. Then he waved to everyone and slowly retreated back into the castle.
"Every morning, I pray with the citizens of the Colorful City. It is my unshirkable responsibility as a Papa to start a new day of beautiful life for everyone." Papa crossed his fingers and let his hands hang naturally in front of his chest, looking pious and humble. "In your future apprenticeship, you will also follow me to participate in various ceremonies of the Seven-Colored Holy Light Church. This will help you further understand and comprehend the significance of our doll making. Only the most outstanding apprentices will be able to receive my full teaching."
What a PUA master! An Rao, who was exploited during his internship, scoffed at this remark, but it was obvious that some players took it seriously, and their eyes towards their peers began to become full of aggressiveness.
"Next, please start your day according to your own schedule." After saying that, Papa left in a hurry. It seemed that there were other important things that needed him to take care of, and all players also needed to start their first day of apprenticeship according to their own schedule.
"Hey, everyone," a player suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, "This old bastard is obviously pretending to be a liar. Everyone must not be fooled by him. We must unite. Let's exchange information now!"
This person is called Li Ke, he is a programmer, the second apprentice, and lives next door to me.
"Exchange information? Are you deaf and didn't you hear the last words Papa said yesterday?" said another player, "We are competitors, competition! You want everyone to exchange information now?!"
“We can’t let him lead us by the nose. What if we are all excellent and he can’t choose the first place or we are all first? Then can’t we all go out?” Li Ke’s words made sense, and he found a huge bug in Papa’s rules. What if everyone tied for first place?
"I agree," An Rao adjusted his glasses and said, "We can't be led by Papa. The information I can share at the moment is my schedule. I have a meditation class in the afternoon and a sculpture class after dinner." Even so, An Rao still did not reveal the key points that he and Baichuan had agreed on.
"Me too," Li Ke nodded, "Also, I wonder if everyone has made any new discoveries. Any new discoveries will do, your own or the dolls', do they all count?"
As soon as this question was asked, An Rao immediately felt that the expressions of many players had changed slightly. It seemed that he was not the only one who had turned into a puppet. An Rao turned around and looked at Baichuan, but could not read any expression on his face.
"My health is none of your business!"
"Exactly, why should I tell you?"
"Boss," Su Ming quietly tugged at An Rao's skirt, "My legs have turned into plastic..."
"Shh-" An Rao stopped Su Ming.
Papa said that only the first place can become a puppeteer. Let's assume that this means that only one player can escape. What is the easiest way to become the first place? Of course, it is to kill all the competitors, and then you will naturally be the first place. In this way, telling others about the changes in your body is obviously showing your weakness. The puppet body is much easier to destroy than the human body.
So, what about Kashiwa?
"By the way, I counted, there were twelve people attending the ceremony on the platform with Papa today, but there were clearly thirteen people after we had dinner yesterday. Where did the other person go? Does anyone know his whereabouts?" An Rao asked.
Everyone looked at each other, and none of them had any impression of the missing player.
"Okay," Li Ke shrugged, "I have another question. Can everyone tell me the specific location of your room?" Li Ke asked again.
An Rao and Bai Chuan glanced at each other. Li Ke was obviously aware of the relationship between the hourglass and the players, but he did not hint to anyone and easily changed the subject. Begging everyone to tell the location of the room was a very gentle and compromising suggestion. It was neither as sensitive as the previous question, which could easily touch the sensitive nerves of the academic masters who were keen on involution, nor would it harm anyone.
But compared to looking for a stranger player who has disappeared, everyone is much more sensitive to their own interests.
"Where I live is none of your business."
"Isn't it obvious where to live? Aren't they all in the same building?"
“What’s the point of clarifying this?”
"It's very meaningful. This determines how we can find our companions." Li Ke was very serious. "The plot has not made any progress so far, and it can be said that it has not yet entered the theme. Regarding the exit and the stamp, I guess there are two possibilities. One is that the stamp is on Papa and the exit is in the castle, and the other is that the exit is somewhere in the city and the stamp is not on Papa."
"You're just talking bullshit!"
"That's right. Listening to your words is better than reading them."
"I trust you more than Papa to study hard and get first place in the exam!"
An Rao looked at Bai Chuan. Bai Chuan did not speak, but nodded slightly. He agreed with Li Ke's point of view. Li Ke was not talking nonsense. According to the general logic of the game, the boss of the Colorful City should be Papa, so the exit and the stamp will of course revolve around Papa and the castle. But there is always a chance of something happening. Since the butler guards everyone so strictly at night and there are sentries outside the castle, does it mean that the exit and the stamp may be far away where no one can go?
"I live in the outermost room on the third floor. I have to pass through four doors after coming out of the stone stairs." An Rao said.
"I know, I live next door to you." Li Ke smiled at An Rao.
After that, one or two more players hesitantly reported the location of their rooms.
"So now we can be sure that our rooms are arranged strictly in the order of the letter Z according to the order in which we were checked by Papa." Li Ke said.
An Rao nodded heavily in agreement. This meant that his room and Baichuan's room were diagonally opposite each other in the entire building. They were so far apart!
"What's the use of knowing the location of the room?" Shao Yun, who was wearing a purple cheongsam, chuckled. "Are you thinking of visiting each other for evening self-study?"
“The more information you know, the better. You never know when it might come in handy.” Li Ke was wearing a very retro plaid suit. He had a calm expression and did not show any major emotional fluctuations when faced with other players’ confusion and contempt. He was a very good gaming partner.
There was not enough time for everyone to chat for long and everyone soon dispersed for their respective courses.
According to the schedule, An Rao needed to pass through the lobby on the first floor again to go to the meditation room. While passing by, An Rao found that many crystal hourglasses had accumulated some sand grains since some time ago. Some were just a few grains, and some were a thin layer. But the strange thing was that the newly added sand grains were almost all orange. The rare warm color was very eye-catching among the green and purple.
And there are a few crystal hourglasses that are always empty.
An Rao pushed open the door of the meditation room, and instantly fell into a scene he had never been in before. He turned into a child, sitting on a swing and being swung high up. The one who helped him swing was the child's gentle and amiable mother, who was looking at the giggling child on the swing with love - An Rao.
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