Chapter 336: Rose Castle
In the end, Xu Huo bought two items from Deng Xuan: a "Self-Producing Cloth Weaving Machine" and a "Dazzling Dance Ball."
The former, as the name suggested, was a small weaving machine that could spit out one meter of cloth each time, with the daily output depending on luck. The Dazzling Dance Ball was a magical rave tool—stick it anywhere, and it would immediately emit the colorful lights of a dance hall, weakening eyesight.
He offered a decent price, but Deng Xuan felt a bit embarrassed to keep pushing other items on him, so he left his contact information and hinted, "If you want to buy other things, you can find me privately, but instances exist independently at the station and might not be able to be brought in."
Xu Huo waved his hand and boarded a low-altitude public transport vehicle.
This small car was also driverless, with only six seats inside, each a sealed independent pod. Once a person sat down, the spherical glass door would automatically close, and the curved inner surface displayed menu buttons, including a brief introduction to the Garden Castle Station.
He listened through it from start to finish.
The city where the train entered the station was called Central City, the most avant-garde city in the Garden Castle Station. The Game Government had an office here, bringing technology from other worlds, leading to rapid development.
At the same time, this was a world with high acceptance of players. Players could take on any profession, and some were willing to hire players. Companies with better treatment would offer safe tickets—instance tickets with higher clearance rates and lower risks.
Both White Notes and local currency were accepted. Smart service terminals were available on every street, and if exchange was needed, it could be done at the terminal with simple, foolproof operation.
Additionally, in this station, the sale of stimulants was legal. Unlike the drugs Xu Huo originally understood, these potions were byproducts of evolution agent development, capable of stimulating the brain to secrete happiness hormones without harming the human body.
There were also various tournaments and competitions specifically for players, as well as adventure activities, which were quite popular.
There wasn't much information about the Game Government here, but both ordinary people and players lived in this city. The government had also promoted several handsome and beautiful player images, specifically attending various events and celebrations, existing like mascots.
In short, in this city, players and ordinary people were almost the same.
Naturally, there were also strict laws targeting players, especially regarding harassment of ordinary people.
Under the circumstances of highly developed technology, everyone in the city was under comprehensive surveillance. Any hint of trouble would be reported.
"If you violate the laws and regulations of Central City, the first time is a warning, and the second time, the patrol team will arrest you. Players, please be aware."
A rough look showed this was a very livable city.
Xu Huo quickly got off the car, found a service terminal at random, and checked rental and purchase information. The prices were prohibitively high. Even renting a small house on the edge of Central City cost up to five thousand White Notes per month, and the closer to the Game Government base building, the more expensive the rent.
He also searched for instance information in the Garden Castle Station, but there was a large and mixed amount. Before reaching the instance location, he wasn't sure which instance to enter. The locations given by the game might not define the instance's scope, because there was no pattern to instance opening and closing. Simply put, coming back to the same place next time might not mean the same instance.
So he randomly picked a few close D-rank instance guides to buy and read.
With a clear idea in mind, Xu Huo followed the route given by the game to the city where the instance was located.
Taking an express car only took a few minutes. After getting off, the first thing he saw was a modern scene almost identical to where he lived, and he also received a game prompt:
Welcome to the Garden Castle Station. This is a city famous for its garden castles. According to incomplete statistics, there are more than ten castles of various sizes within the city. Each castle has undergone historical sedimentation. The oldest castle is over five hundred years old, mysterious and ancient.
Many renowned figures have rated this place a sanctuary for tracing the past, saying that coming here involuntarily immerses one in ancient times.
However, antiquity means that transportation and communication here are relatively backward, becoming a breeding ground for crime...
Please have player Passerby A go to Rose Castle to complete the instance "The Vanished Guest."
Instance Task One: Find the vanished guest. (Any one)
Instance Task Two: Uncover the truth behind the guest's disappearance.
Instance time limit: Five days (game time). Players must arrive at Rose Castle with an invitation before midnight tonight (game time).
Attached below is an invitation, and not far away is a bus stop sign, showing the schedule for the direct route to Rose Castle.
Not in a hurry to leave, Xu Huo found a small eatery and chatted with the customers inside.
He learned that Rose Castle was a two-hundred-year-old castle. The owner was once a famous philanthropist, but had faded from public view in recent years.
It was now the season for roses to bloom. If it were a few years ago, the castle would be open to the public at this time, and the whole city would go to admire the roses. But now, the castle owner rarely appeared due to illness, and the castle no longer received guests.
"Hasn't anything strange happened at the castle?" Xu Huo asked. "Generally, old buildings like this have accompanying legends."
"You young people sure talk interestingly," an old lady said with a laugh. "There really wasn't anything before, but in the last two years, I heard someone secretly climbed over the wall to pick roses and saw bones in the soil. Oh, they said it so vividly, even a human head!"
"When I was young, I went to the castle every year to play and never saw anything happen. Those young people are all scared out of their wits by those evolvers and players."
The other customers laughed along.
But a middle-aged man in the corner sighed, "My neighbor's niece came to see the roses during summer break and ended up disappearing just like that."
"Did she disappear at Rose Castle?" Xu Huo asked.
"No, someone found her bag in the southern part of the city and reported it to the police, who returned it."
"Isn't the southern part of the city the only way to Rose Castle? That place is chaotic." The customers clicked their tongues, then talked about how you mustn't linger outside after dark, because while public safety in this old city was fine during the day, at night, evolvers and players might appear.
Noticing that they were accustomed to instances and players without fear, Xu Huo paid and left. He found a place nearby to go online and discovered that this small city had no information about random instances.
Random instances that could directly threaten ordinary people's lives simply didn't appear in this city!
Could it be because the Game Government had built a base at this station?