Sure enough, the Guide heard that remark, and her eyes immediately returned to calmness, the whites of her eyes showing once again.
She turned her head and smiled brightly at Su Luo, saying, “You’re right; we can’t hold up your sightseeing!”
With that, she clapped her hands and said, “Our destination has arrived. Please, all passengers, disembark.”
Su Luo looked out the window and, as expected, the bus had stopped.
The moment Su Luo stepped off the bus, she saw a very luxurious gate directly in front of her.
On each of the gate’s pillars, a lifelike mermaid was carved.Â
Countless jewels and shells were inlaid on them, dazzling and overwhelming to the eyes.
‘This must be the Mermaid Aquarium’, Su Luo thought.
After she steadied herself, Su Luo habitually scanned her surroundings.
She keenly noticed that although the area was packed with people, resembling a bustling tourist spot, there were no solo travelers.
Everyone had arrived in large groups by bus, coming in one batch after another.
The Guide was the last to disembark.
She opened the storage compartment under the bus and began handing out luggage.
Su Luo and Yun Feibai each received a backpack, but neither of them showed any intention of opening theirs in front of the crowd.
They quietly stood aside, waiting for the Guide to finish distributing.
Su Luo glanced around and, unsurprisingly, saw some thoughtless players openly rifling through their bags, as if wanting to show everything to everyone.
What if those people had special items inside?
Acting like that would only bring them trouble sooner or later.
But Su Luo was too lazy to warn them—there always had to be some fools making the game easier.
Those people took out clothes, food, money, and an ID card without exception.
It was obvious what Su Luo’s own bag contained as well.
After handing out everything, the Guide took a small megaphone and shouted, “Dear travelers, the next phase is free sightseeing time. Enjoy your visit!”
Su Luo twitched the corner of her mouth.
Free sightseeing?
More like free delivery to their deaths!
But this was fine—at least they wouldn’t be forced to pass any checkpoints.
She sighed and, along with Yun Feibai, walked to a corner to inspect their bags.
Unsurprisingly, they found the same things as everyone else: 50 yuan in activity funds.
The two shared their observations from the journey so far.
The difference was Yun Feibai had made a special discovery.
“Earlier, I saw the Guide take out a wallet, and I vaguely noticed that the money inside looked different from ours.”
Su Luo thought for a moment and said, “Then it seems what was handed out to us must be game currency.”
Yun Feibai nodded, and with that, the problem became clear.
Traveling without real money?
Seven days of sightseeing with only backpacks and no suitcases?
They obviously weren’t here for tourism—it felt more like they had been sent for reformation.
Moreover, the currency here differed from that of the outside world, seeming specially designed for these travelers in this particular space.
That was about all they encountered along the way.
The two exchanged helpless glances, each wearing an expression of determined sacrifice.
There was no point in dragging things out.
Reluctantly, they walked through the luxurious gate.
To their surprise, after passing through the gate, it wasn’t the aquarium that greeted them, but a commercial street.
Apparently, the true gate to the Mermaid Aquarium was at the end of this street.
So, was this commercial street set up to get them to spend their game currency here?
Su Luo and Yun Feibai looked around; there were many things for sale.
It looked just like any typical commercial street.
They observed the NPCs nearby and found most of them rushing anxiously toward the aquarium’s inner gate.
From past experience, other players had learned their lesson and were imitating the NPCs, heading straight inside.
But Yun Feibai said, “Let’s take a look around first, shall we?”
Su Luo smiled, thinking alike.
The NPCs were clearly eager to get inside, but the Guide lingered over every stall outside.
Whether following colleagues or a leader, anyone with a keen eye could tell what was going on.
The real question was: what should they buy?
There were plenty of goods sold here, but since the Guide stopped at every booth without offering any hints, the choice was entirely up to them.
Su Luo studied the items carefully and found they could be generally divided into three categories: food and drinks, support merchandise (such as flowers and glow sticks), and toys.
Su Luo and Yun Feibai decided to buy something from each category.
Each had 100 yuan in total, so their budget was 50 game currency each.
After all, they didn’t know if there would be other places inside the aquarium where they’d need to use the game currency.
After careful selection, they bought:
– A shark plush toy for 20 yuan.
– Two flowers that wouldn’t wilt, one for 5 yuan each.
– Two hamburgers, one for 10 yuan.
Yun Feibai politely placed all these items into his own backpack.
After preparing these, the two finally stepped through the next gate.
Behind them, the Guide nodded with satisfaction and a look of admiration.
Upon entering, they did not see a vast blue expanse but rather a reception hall.
Su Luo and Yun Feibai had been outside for a while, so the hall was already empty of their fellow passengers.
Su Luo’s gaze swept the room as she prepared to cross it.
Yun Feibai pulled her back and gestured for her to look toward a corner.
Su Luo turned and saw a children’s choir.
Only then did she realize the whole hall resembled a church.
Puzzled, Su Luo looked at Yun Feibai, wondering why he wanted them to approach.
Seeing her confusion, Yun Feibai explained gently, “Look at the choir members—there’s one who looks exactly like someone from our bus.”
Su Luo was surprised and indeed spotted a child whose face resembled that of a player from their group.
This clearly wasn’t a coincidence.
The two promptly moved toward the choir, thinking it might be a hidden quest!
They stood at a slight distance and observed.
That child was likely a player, no doubt about it.
Moreover, Su Luo noticed something unusual about the choir.
First, it was entirely composed of children, including the conductor.
All were dressed uniformly in black tailcoats as they practiced vocal exercises.
What was even more curious was that these children seemed to live within a small society of their own.
The fatter the child, the higher their status appeared to be.
Other children bowed and submitted to the chubbier ones.
Only the conductor, though slim, held a position above them all—like an adult among children.
Su Luo considered this and thought it probably wasn’t just fatness that dictated status.
The conductor was likely a special case.
She guessed that status here was determined by ability.
Because the chubbier kids sang better, and the conductor was indispensable, their positions were so elevated.
They practiced so intently they didn’t notice Su Luo and Yun Feibai approaching.
Suddenly, the conductor raised his small hand, and all the children began to sing in perfect harmony.
Ignoring the children’s expressionless faces, Su Luo had to admit their singing was beautiful.
Their slightly childlike voices sang hymns praising heaven, as if purifying the entire world with their lovely harmony.
When the song ended, Su Luo couldn’t help but praise, “These children really sing beautifully!”
The conductor turned toward her, bowed gentlemanly, then smiled and said, “Thank you, madam, for your appreciation.”
For a child to display such a serious expression while bowing in this way was an adorably strange contrast.
Su Luo hesitated, then took a rose from Yun Feibai’s backpack and handed it to him softly.
“Thank you for your wonderful performance.”
Yun Feibai didn’t stop her.
He was also deeply moved by the song, feeling refreshed afterward.
Such beautiful music deserved a flower.
At her words, the conductor looked up with a hint of surprise and cautiously asked, “Are you really giving this to us?”
At that moment, he finally showed a bit of childishness.
Su Luo smiled and nodded, “You sang so beautifully, of course you deserve a flower!”
The conductor beamed happily and said joyfully, “Thank you both, you’re truly kind-hearted people.”
Curious, Su Luo asked, “Why do you want this flower so much?”
The conductor hesitated and replied, “Sorry, that’s a secret. I can’t tell you.”
Though a little disappointed, Su Luo had expected this.
She kindly said, “It’s alright, I was just asking casually.”
Then, thinking of something else, she asked, “How did all the choir members come here?”
The conductor glanced at them with disdain and said, “They are all bad children, brought here so the singing can purify their hearts.”
The little boy turned his head away, unwilling to say more.
Su Luo guessed this player had likely offended some powerful figure.
Since the quest had to continue, after the questions, she turned to leave with Yun Feibai, but suddenly felt a slight resistance.
Looking down, she saw a small hand gripping the corner of her clothing tightly.
It was the conductor.
Su Luo turned back and bent down, asking, “Is there something else?”
He said, “The right side is always lucky, you know?”
Su Luo thought for a moment and replied, “I know now. Thank you.”
The conductor smiled and waved, “Goodbye, sister!”
Su Luo smiled back and bid him farewell.
They walked a few steps, and Yun Feibai turned back thoughtfully to glance at the boy, who was now leading a thousand children in tidying up…
***
The two pushed open the third gate.
This time, they finally saw a stretch of blue beyond the door.Â
It truly looked like an aquarium, with a huge water tank positioned in the center.
Inside the tank swam many colorful and exotic fish, darting back and forth.
If this place was truly meant for tourism, Su Luo wouldn’t mind coming here.
The massive tank divided the space into two paths on either side, with water stains covering the left path.
Each path had a signpost.
Su Luo and Yun Feibai each went over to check and saw: