Chapter 1750: Jiusang City and Amber
This city, renamed from "Ember Town" to "Jiusang City" and later changed back to "Ember City," has now made the "Ember Maiden" the pillar of its tourism industry.
Upon entering the city, one is immediately confronted with everything related to the "Ember Maiden." Besides some shops using "Ember" for advertising, the streets are filled with people soliciting customers under the name of the "Ember Maiden," claiming they can take people to find clues about her, absolutely guaranteeing authenticity, and emphatically stressing that Jiusang City was originally called "Ember" before being renamed and then changed back.
Because of the name "Ember," both players and tourists come here, but to be honest, most places related to "Ember" or Master Solan don't talk such nonsense or exaggerate to make money off the painting.
Xu Huo hadn't walked a hundred meters before he had sent away at least five enthusiastic people offering to take him to find the painting.
The situation was similar for other players, with some even going so far as to prepare group tours to take them.
Since everyone received the same treatment, naturally not many people believed these overly aggressive street solicitations.
"Jiusang City" was indeed not small. Xu Huo walked alone for about half an hour before he hitched a ride on a "guide's" small vehicle.
The vehicle was clearly an outdated model. The flying cars coming and going on the streets were all relatively new models with higher safety coefficients.
Seeing him staring at the car, the guide quickly said, "Taking a flying car is inconvenient, especially since we'll be stopping and starting. Once we get off, the flying car won't wait for us. My car may not look pretty, but it's convenient."
His reasoning convinced Xu Huo, but not the others who also wanted to go. A couple turned and left, leaving only two tourists who seemed to be in poor financial shape. They didn't appear to be from District 019.
Afraid of waiting any longer and ending up with no one, the guide immediately started the vehicle.
Xu Huo and the other two got on. During the ride, he learned through conversation that these two financially struggling tourists were, strictly speaking, half-residents of District 019. They had been brought into District 019 by some wealthy individuals or players. Although they had undergone identity verification, they weren't covered by District 019's welfare system. So once abandoned by those who brought them in, they basically became the lowest social rung. Of course, they could work, but in an era of mass-produced robots, jobs weren't easy to find.
Therefore, like players, these two were here to try their luck.
As for why every industry in Jiusang City was using the "Ember Maiden" name to attract customers, the reason was simple: the city's overall economic level had declined.
Government welfare was enough to keep people alive, but not everyone was content to live that way, especially in Jiusang City. It had once relied on amber production for rapid economic growth, and everyone lived well. Later, when the amber was exhausted and there wasn't as much money, the city's residents naturally found their circumstances tightening.
It's hard to go from luxury to frugality, so the people of Jiusang City were very keen on working to earn money.
It was the polar opposite of a city like Dingding Flower Town.
The guide arranged a tour route, starting from the origin of the name "Ember" to its subsequent development, then to the traces of the name "Ember" preserved within the city. Along the way, they would visit some elderly people, mainly to corroborate that "Jiusang City" was indeed once called "Ember." The finale was a place where Master Solan had once gathered inspiration and lived—this point was yet to be confirmed, because the "Lifetime Route" of Master Solan published on the Message Collection Terminal did not include Jiusang City.
"That's incomplete," the guide said confidently. "Master Solan definitely came here. I've seen her twice myself."
"When did she come? Where did she go?" the two men traveling with them quickly asked.
"It was over twenty years ago," the guide said, sighing. "I was rich back then. I even treated Master Solan to a meal!"
"Really?" Seeing his confident expression, the three in the car were skeptical.
"Of course it's true," the guide said with a grin. "Master Solan is very famous. The people who could treat her to a meal weren't ordinary. I treated her, so how could I not remember?"
It wasn't just the people on the street; at least three or four flying cars passing by were discussing similar topics—brushing shoulders with Master Solan, gathering inspiration with her, serving as her guide... Everyone spoke as if it were true, as if it had really happened.
Soon they arrived at their first stop: the origin of the name "Ember."
"A museum?" the tall man traveling with them asked suspiciously, looking at the guide.
The guide chuckled and led them inside.
The museum was quite crowded, with the queue extending all the way to the square outside. The guide patted his chest, claiming to have a cooperative relationship with the museum and could take them through the back door to skip the line. But when they found the so-called "back door," the person there stopped them and shot them a dirty look.
The guide was red-faced with anger, while the "back door" warned that if they didn't leave, they would be blacklisted by the museum. In the end, Xu Huo handed over a thousand White Notes to resolve the "crisis" and successfully enter the museum.
This was an amber exhibition hall. The display cases held amber pieces of various sizes. Unlike the amber Xu Huo had seen before, Jiusang City's amber even came in multiple colors. The most eye-catching weren't the pale yellow ones, but colors like pink and light green, like gemstones. They contained some rare insects and plants, exceptionally beautiful.
The guide proudly introduced these ambers, saying, "These are all masterpieces, not for sale. You can only see them here."
Then they came to the display stand for the museum's treasure.
The so-called museum treasure was a huge, naturally formed purple amber. Purple amber itself was very rare, a mutated product of evolved trees. This massive piece of purple amber happened to encase a pair of intertwined white snakes. These mating white snakes had been wrapped in resin, preserved forever.
"They look fake," the tall man said quietly, clearly having never seen such amber before.
"Fake amber doesn't sell for much," the guide said. "What instrument in District 019 can't detect anything these days? If fake amber could fetch a high price, would I still be running errands?"
"What does counterfeit amber look like?" Xu Huo asked.
"That stuff counts as crafts, worthless," the guide said, opening his Message Collection Terminal to show them some pictures. "These are all fakes. You can put any insect or beast inside. Some people have their deceased pets made into amber for permanent preservation." (Chapter End)