Chapter 97

"Whoo~~~" Accompanied by the high and melodious whistle of the steam engine, the train slowly pulled into Zhabei Station. No longer needing so much power, the boiler room stopped adding coal, waiting for the steam to dissipate. At the same time, the steam valves opened, and a thick white mist, like clouds in the sky, quickly enveloped the entire train.

Although they couldn't see clearly for a moment, before the train had even stopped, the passengers who were sitting on the roof, hanging on the exterior walls, and squeezed into the steam compartments quickly jumped off the train, carrying large and small bags, and freely dispersed to both sides of the train.

It was like a dam breaking, with floodwaters rushing out.

Unfortunately... this spectacular scene was neither seen nor experienced by Dugu Fu and his group.

They had jumped off the train before it entered the station, leaving the back carriages for Gu Shaodong and the others to explain.

"Is that Shanghai?" The innkeeper put her hand over her eyes and looked along the railway that sloped southeast, unable to help but sigh. It was nearly noon, almost the same time they had boarded the train. The charming spring sunlight shone on the innkeeper's face, casting a beautiful golden edge over her fine downy hair.

From this place, the outline of Shanghai was already clearly visible, with tall buildings standing in rows, a bustling scene that was hard to describe.

Following the innkeeper's gaze, Guo Xingxing looked down at her phone: "Sis Wei, that's the concession area, where the tallest Tianren Pavilion in this world is located, along with many other players' buildings. It spans different eras and can't be used as a reference. That... " she pointed in another direction, "is where we can go."

It was also very bustling, with tall buildings, but compared to the skyscrapers in the concession area, it was much less impressive.

After several days of immersion, Guo Xingxing was becoming more and more like a modern person, calling the Tianren players and looking things up online when she had questions.

"That place..." The innkeeper pouted, a bit disappointed.

While they were chatting, a loud shout came from behind, accompanied by the sound of galloping hooves: "You guys, stop! Stop!"

Turning around, they saw a group of cavalrymen, wearing narrow-brimmed police caps, in uniform with armbands, and carrying long guns and riding horses, charging over aggressively.

"That's..." Guo Xingxing tried to identify them, comparing them with her phone, "patrolmen? Like the constables in big cities?"

"What are they going to do?" The innkeeper moved closer to Dugu Fu, "Did they find out about us?" She was a bit uneasy.

"Look at your courage. Women!" Li Shier took the opportunity to mock, leaning on his cane and stepping forward, "Gentlemen, is there something wrong?"

The patrolmen reined in their horses in front of the four, looking them up and down. At this moment, Dugu Fu and Li Shier were dressed like country folk, and the innkeeper and Guo Xingxing also looked like rural women, trying to hide their beauty as much as possible. There should be... no loopholes, right? What's going on? Dugu Fu was also puzzled.

Until the patrolman sternly said, "Tickets, show me your tickets."

"..." Dugu Fu suddenly understood, gesturing for everyone to take out their tickets.

Taking the tickets, the patrolman checked the train number, the stamp, and examined them thoroughly before returning them, puzzled: "You have tickets, why did you jump off the train early?"

It turned out these were ticket inspectors.

Dugu Fu smiled sheepishly: "We're from the countryside, first time to Shanghai, heard that getting off at the station would be like being squeezed into a pancake..."

The patrolmen laughed: "That's true. Alright, go on, go on, nothing to worry about." They mounted their horses and galloped along the railway to continue their patrol.

Watching the patrolmen quickly disappear, the four looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, it's almost noon. Let's find a place to eat, then go into the city."

The areas on both sides of the railway were densely populated, and it didn't take long for them to find a market. Following online recommendations, they ordered three main dishes: soup buns, hundred leaves, and fried bean balls. The soup buns were Shanghai-style small steamed buns, the hundred leaves were a snack made from bean sheets, and the fried bean balls were deep-fried bean pastries...

Although it was a game world, after years of meticulous care by the Shadow Clan, it was like a tourist attraction, fully recreating history.

The four hadn't had a proper meal in days, and this feast was thoroughly satisfying. Li Shier loved the small steamed buns but complained that they were too small, one tray was only enough for two bites; Guo Xingxing preferred the hundred leaves, which were light and tasty; the innkeeper liked the fried bean balls, which were oily but not greasy, sweet and smooth.

In the end, they devoured over twenty trays of buns, more than ten side dishes, and desserts, and the vendors were busy as bees to keep up with the demand.

After a satisfying meal, the four held their bellies and headed into the city.

On the way, Guo Xingxing chatted with the innkeeper about the dangers of fried foods, saying how many calories they contained and how eating too much would make one fat.

The innkeeper glanced at her, head held high, "If you keep getting thinner like this, you'll have even less to offer."

One sentence almost made Guo Xingxing choke.

Laughing and joking along the way, the innkeeper's gaze wandered: "Hey? Why can't I see the city gate yet?"

Guo Xingxing saw an opportunity and proudly shook her phone: "Sis Wei, you really should use this search function more. Shanghai doesn't have a city wall. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, it was built to resist the Japanese pirates, but later, with the establishment of the concessions, to facilitate trade, many gates were opened in the wall, and it was eventually abandoned..."

Just as she was explaining, she suddenly paused.

Following her wide-eyed gaze, they saw the tall and majestic city gate of Shanghai appear around the corner.

"Ha ha!" Seeing Guo Xingxing's dazed look, the innkeeper couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Guo Xingxing tugged at her hair, muttering to herself, "How could this be? How could this be?"

Dugu Fu's lips twitched, but the expression quickly disappeared. He cleared his throat and said solemnly, "Now you know, right? What you find in searches isn't always the truth; it could be a deception. You can use it as a reference, but you can't rely on it. Shanghai originally didn't have a city wall, but with the large influx of Tianren players, to ensure security, a wall was added in recent years."

Guo Xingxing stared at Dugu Fu with wide eyes: "You deliberately changed the search results. Didn't you?"

Dugu Fu looked up to the sky: "Am I that bored?"

"Yes, you are!" Guo Xingxing puffed her cheeks, angry.

"Alright, alright, we're about to enter the city, let's talk about the important things." Li Shier mediated, "Do you remember what to pay attention to in the city?"

"There's a Tianren barrier in the city, unauthorized firearms can't be used, either use designed weapons or forget about the guns; non-players can't enter the Tianren concession area, remember that..." The innkeeper and Guo Xingxing recited in unison.

Li Shier asked again, "What about each person's mission?"

The four repeated their missions one by one. They had repeated them many times, confirming there were no issues, and then turned to enter the city. At the city gate, a small, thin newsboy with a large bag of newspapers was waving and shouting in a childish voice—

"Extra, extra, Shanghai Grand Theater, Mr. Mei Lanfang's 'Drunken Concubine' is showing tonight!"

"Extra, extra, Hongkou Arena has refreshed, Tianren groups are about to start the battle!"

"Extra, extra, the Bund Park tournament registration for this quarter is about to close! Hurry up and sign up!"

"Extra, extra, Sword God and God of Guns clashed last night, Sword God is on the brink of death, God of Guns is severely injured and fled!"

!!!

"What did you say? That's impossible!" The newsboy, who was shouting as he passed by, was suddenly grabbed into the air by a man with a distorted face, as big as a tower, and he was so scared that he started crying.

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