“Chapter 51: City of the Foxes 01”

"Chapter 51: City of the Foxes 01"

"Pei Yi looked at his wristband, which read 'Area A, Group F, Team 10,' followed by the names of members, totaling 10 people. Familiar names were listed: Starlight, Starshine, Lu Zai Chuan, Red Nine, Zhou You, Chen Mo..."

"Chen Mo made sense, as he had registered early. As for the others... Only Lu Zai Chuan knew his wristband ID, could it be that he helped him register?"

"Seeing him teamed up with Lu Zai Chuan, many people looked their way."

"'Oh my God. Teamed up, aren’t they a sure win for the championship?'"

"'Not necessarily. Remember the speed competition? They hardly agreed on anything.'"

"'Another rule-based mystery! Oh no! Just thinking about it is already frightening me.'"

"'Shh. The CG is starting.'"

"A giant fox appeared on everyone’s screens, eerily smiling at the crowd, its mouth curling up like a human, spreading its furry paws."

"'Humans, do you desire immortality? Follow me. Follow! I shall grant thee eternal youth!'"

"This was followed by a line of text."

"[You and your friends will embark on a seven-day journey.]"

"As the message ended, the screen gradually enlarged, growing bigger and bigger. Finally, a powerful beam of white light shone towards everyone, causing them to involuntarily close their eyes."

"When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves on a stone bridge. A fine drizzle was falling from the sky, and in the distance lay what appeared to be an ancient city, now shrouded in a haze of smoky gray."

"Pei Yi looked around and, besides the familiar faces, surprisingly spotted two acquaintances — Ying Jun and Jiang Meili. What a coincidence. Could the system automatically match familiar people?"

"'Are you all okay?'"

"Ying Jun, seemingly not very fond of Pei Yi, nodded indifferently. It was Jiang Meili who exchanged a few pleasantries with Pei Yi."

"After talking to them, Pei Yi turned to Zhou You. Despite his questionable character, Zhou You knew how to behave and speak courteously."

"'Zhou You. Are you alright?'"

"'Yeah. Just a bit dizzy when I came out, but otherwise fine. I spent some points on medicine. Ah... I was so worried, afraid I wouldn't make it through. Brother Pei, you’re really strong, clearing the instance and all!'"

"'Just lucky.'"

"'This time, you have to lead me. I've decided, I’ll just follow your lead.'"

"Having acquaintances made the instance feel less terrifying."

"Lu Zai Chuan was there too, and Pei Yi nodded to him."

"Once everyone had gathered, Lu Zai Chuan suggested, 'Let's introduce ourselves first. After that, we can enter the small city.'"

"Hearing Lu Zai Chuan say this, everyone started introducing themselves, somewhat excited, probably due to suddenly meeting two big names."

"'Ying Jun. My score is 273, and my wife's is 260.'"

"A girl with high ponytail and red hair said, 'Code name Red Nine, score 841. I was the one who partnered with Lu God in the 24-hour endurance race that day.' She pointed to the person beside her, 'And this is my sister, code name White Seven, score 721.'"

"Their names were quite interesting. The one called Red seemed very enthusiastic, while White, Pei Yi seemed to have seen somewhere before."

"White Seven then proactively said, 'Brother Pei, we were in the cliffside parking instance.'"

"Pei Yi chuckled, 'Oh... what a coincidence.'"

"'It’s not a coincidence,' said Lu Zai Chuan. 'The system automatically selects teammates who have been closest to each other recently. Because the instances are so difficult, the death rate is high.'"

"Pei Yi: '...' You’re the boss, you’re always right, 'Pei Yi, score 152.'"

"Chen Mo, a bit embarrassed, said, 'Chen Mo, 98 points.' He felt awkward because his score was relatively low."

"Just as Lu Zai Chuan was about to introduce himself, Zhou You interjected, 'Lu God, how many points do you have? We still don’t know. After you, the last two.'"

"The last two were the twin brothers, 'Starshine and Starlight, score 1030.' They even spoke in unison, a bit too twin-like, perhaps."

"Out of the ten people, Pei Yi and Chen Mo had the lowest scores."

"After introductions, they started walking into the city. Just as they stepped off the bridge, a system announcement sounded:"

"[Main quest triggered: Find a guide named 'Ali.' Reward: 10 points.]"

"Zhou You wondered, 'With so many people, how do we find them?'"

"Pei Yi pointed ahead, 'Isn’t that a person up there? Maybe that's Ali.' The man stood under a giant locust tree."

"It seemed he was the only one there."

"Zhou You had already gone up to ask."

"But when the man turned around, all ten of them were startled."

He was a very thin old man, his gauntness most apparent in his face, his cheeks severely sunken in, devoid of any flesh. His eyes were quite large but murky, as if he had lived many years, incongruent with his face.

"Are you also here looking for the fox?" he asked.

Zhou You found it strange but nodded. Gathering courage, he asked, "Are you Ali?"

Ali replied, "Yes, that's me. Visitors from afar, I'll lead you into the city."

Red Nine looked around, seeing only ordinary ancient city architecture, and couldn't help asking, "Why is this place called the City of Foxes? I don't see any foxes here. Do you raise foxes?"

"Once you enter the city, you'll understand," Ali turned, the dim light casting shadows on his face, his mouth twisted more severely than before, revealing his blood-red tongue. "You'll soon know the benefits of worshipping the great fox. You'll fall in love with this place!"

Red Nine wanted to ask more, but Lu Zai Chuan shook his head beside her. Clearly, this NPC wasn't quite normal. Asking too much might put them in danger.

As they left the ancient locust tree, Pei Yi looked back. He had never seen such a large locust tree, likely centuries old. The green tree cast a dense shade, its branches sprawling out like a giant umbrella overhead. It took them a good ten minutes to walk out of the tree's shade.

Beyond it, they saw the ancient city's walls, surrounded by many unnamed but lush trees. From inside the city, it was nearly impossible to see the outside; the view was completely blocked by the trees, not to mention the massive locust tree.

In front of the wall was a small river, its depth unknown. Following the river’s course, it seemed as though they had seen the entire City of Foxes.

The city was really small; the road beside the river likely the main street of the Fox City.

Pei Yi observed so carefully because he remembered the system’s condition for clearing the instance — find the blue key and escape the City of Foxes.

Setting aside whether they could find the key, from what they saw, once they entered Fox City, it seemed they wouldn't even be able to escape. The entrance was a forest path surrounded by trees, only wide enough for one person. Unless they climbed the walls or trees, they would be trapped if the path was blocked.

But the instance started in Fox City, so they had to enter. As they bypassed the forest path, the system voice sounded.

[Ali has been found, reward points: 10.

Main quest updated: Participate in the first night's revelry in the City of Foxes.]

The only consolation was the high reward points for S1 official instances. Such a simple task already yielded 10 points.

The first night... that meant there were several more nights to come.

"Ali said, 'The festival starts at 7 PM tonight, you can stroll around as you wish. The accommodation is in Fox Village, just go straight through this business street to reach it. The journey officially starts tomorrow at 8 AM, I’ll come to pick you up. First, I'll take you to change clothes.'"

"The business street he mentioned was the one by the river, where they could already see many shops."

"But change clothes, into what exactly?"

"After speaking, he pointed to a promotional window by the river, 'There you'll find the rules of our City of the Foxes. Every visitor must read them carefully, remember, it’s a matter of life and death! Read carefully! Lord Fox will bless you. Look first, and then I’ll take you.'"

"The group approached the promotional window and indeed found the visitors' instructions mentioned by Ali."

"Zhou You and Ying Jun read aloud while Pei Yi took notes."

"[City of the Foxes]"

"[Welcome to the City of the Foxes! We hope you enjoy your time here. In the City of the Foxes, you'll have the chance to experience a feast of colors, participate in festival activities, witness a water burial ceremony, taste various free drinks, and maybe even see Lord Fox... Don’t hesitate, come and join the fun!]"

"[Upon entering the City of the Foxes, there are several rules you must adhere to."

"First, the City of the Foxes worships Lord Fox, and there are fox temples everywhere. Please show respect when you see them."

"Second, you must wear the colorful clothes we provide before entering the City of the Foxes. This is our custom."

"Third, no outside food or drink is allowed! Food and accommodation inside the City of the Foxes are free. We recommend staying within the city; any incidents occurring outside the city boundaries are not our responsibility!"

"Fourth, you can visit any place in the City of the Foxes, except for the central ancestral hall, which is for locals to worship Lord Fox. All attractions are open, except for the Fox Folklore Museum, which is under maintenance. Please avoid this area."

"Fifth, the area behind the city is where the indigenous people live, please do not disturb them."

"Sixth, all attractions have specific visiting hours; please do not linger outside these times."

"Seventh, there are many mentally disturbed fraudsters around the city. Do not believe anyone who is not from the City of the Foxes and do not wander far from the city."

"Seventh, do not insult or curse Lord Fox! As long as you respect Lord Fox, Lord Fox will surely bless you!"

"If you violate any of these taboos and encounter any problems, the city takes no responsibility for the consequences.]"

"After Pei Yi finished jotting down the rules, he felt a chill. These rules were truly bizarre... The City of the Foxes, even the name exuded an air of strangeness."

Zhou You said, "Brother Pei, this doesn’t feel quite like our snowy mountain instance. **** (censored) seems we can’t mention previous instances."

Lu Zai Chuan suggested, "I think there's something off about Fox City. For tonight's revelry, let's split into groups."

Zhou You glanced at Pei Yi. In the snowy mountain, Pei Yi was the absolute leader. But in this instance, the leadership naturally fell to Lu Zai Chuan. However, Pei Yi himself didn’t mind; it didn't matter who led.

Zhou You: "I'll go with Brother Pei."

Chen Mo: "Me too."

Starlight and Starshine: "We'll go with you, God Lu."

Red Nine: "God Lu, we'll follow you too."

Pei Yi: "..." Why is everyone rushing to join?

Lu Zai Chuan: "Let's split into three groups, balancing strengths and weaknesses. Zhou You, Chen Mo, Pei Yi; I’ll take Starlight and Starshine. Red Nine, you’re strong, lead a group too."

Red Nine shrugged, "Alright then."

"If no one objects, that's settled."

As soon as Lu Zai Chuan finished, Ali approached, "Have you finished looking? Let's go change clothes. It’s getting dark. Get ready for tonight's revelry. Hurry up, the great fox is waiting for you! You'll love it here. Trust me, trust the great fox!"

After speaking, his face, resembling a fox's, smiled at them, a perfect imitation of a fox.