Chapter 19: Chapter 19: Clue revealed
The fireworks at Dragon City lasted until midnight.
This century and a half old custom has survived and spread in the Eastern World. The human race is undoubtedly fragile - for a century and a half, plague, war and famine nearly wiped out the entire human race from the face of the earth; but the human civilization is also resilient and tenacious, as right after those difficult years, the once glittering civilization of the human world took root and eventually grew into a flourishing forest in this very land.
Many cities around the world today are committed to technology, building on the science and technology inherited a century and a half ago and blossoming all over the place.
The Attic World represents one of the most advanced technologies in the world today. Although this game, which many politicians call "fancy" and "impractical", has not become as powerful a deterrent as aviation technology, detection technology or airship manufacturing technology, the Attic has permeated the lives of everyone in the world today. The consortium and money deals that have emerged in response have undoubtedly made it a key player in shaping the world.
In addition to the recent bombshell about "Hidden Treasures" by the Mystery Man, for a while, the Attic World has taken on a whole new level of popularity.
Many of the war-torn islands of the Thousand-Island Sea have even stopped fighting and started exploring the "Hidden Treasures" for clues.
The first clue is currently known only as the Rally, and it remains to be seen how to win, and how to get the second clue.
When the first Rally took place, Merry and her team were at the "Shirley Technologies" and missed it, but there were no winners in the first Rally and no one had got a clue about how to win, despite the chaos on the internet, with discussions everywhere and some people even confusingly putting out rumors that they have got a clue. However, the final conclusion, based on Bob's years of experience and contacts in the Attic, was that no one had the first clue after the first race, nor did they know what the outcome of the Rally would be.
"When is the second game going to be held?" Merry asked.
"Don't know yet, no info, will keep you posted." Bob replied.
"Seeing how things are going, we shouldn't be able to get into Dragon City for a while either, so why don't we just rest here." Merry said.
The others nodded as well, the long journey had been very tiring indeed for everyone.
There were quite a few people outside the Dragon City, basically people who had come from far away, travellers from the Western World and Easterners returning home from business in the Western World. Merry asked the people in front of her and was told that the Dragon City would not be opening its gates for the next few days as the department guarding the walls had recently been on spring holiday. Access to Dragon City would not be possible until the end of the holiday.
Some people had set up tents outside the city and were prepared to wait for Dragon City to open its gates.
As the night progressed, lights were lit up everywhere and the Dragon City patrol airships flied quietly overhead, reminding visitors of their safety every hour.
"Dragon City is closed during the Spring Festival, please take care of your safety and your personal belongings while waiting outside the city, if you need help, please contact the Dragon City guard station and have a happy New Year."
After the Newton landed, Master Wu had Robo open the folded rest area, which then turned into a small house.
"Wow. Master Wu, that's awesome of you." Jason said excitedly.
The unfolded rest area, not only for everyone to rest, but also equipped with very complete facilities, had three small rooms, a simple kitchen and bathroom area. The exquisite Newton has drawn frequent looks from the people setting up tents next to it.
"If I wasn't afraid of being too conspicuous and being watched, I could turn this little airship into a villa!" Master Wu proudly bragged.
"Why don't we come and celebrate New Year too!" Cici suggested, looking really cute with her hands clasped together and her wide shining eyes.
"Yes, yes. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Let's join in the fun." Jason chimed in.
"We're not in the Rome yet." Bob corrected coldly from aside. The seriousness of his tone managed to amuse everyone.
So everyone got busy. Cici looked like a diva, but she was really good at cooking, and with Robo's "Spring Festival recipe", it didn't take long to make a decent New Year's Eve dinner.
Master Wu and Jason had opened a bottle of wine and were already sipping, while Bob and Dao were busy helping Cici and Robo.
At the table in the dining room, Mimi sat gracefully, watching Coffee entertain the sleepy Rum.
Merry sat by the window with a glass of wine in her hand, watching everyone play and feeling extremely relaxed inside. Outside the window, the fireworks burst into bloom in quick succession. It was impossible to hear the sound through the window, all but to see the brilliant fireworks bursting into the night sky one after another, big and small. The small ones were luscious and chic, and the big ones were overwhelming, the falling fireworks seemed to be falling into Merry's arms.
It was snowing outside the Newton but very warm inside. By the time Merry finished her glass of wine, Cici and Robo had not yet prepared the food and she simply leaned against the window and closed her eyes to rest. It had been too long since she had felt such warmth, such homelike warmth.
Everyone at the table was very happy and after a few glasses of wine, Jason talked more and insisted on asking everyone make a New Year's wish.
Merry said that she wished to find out Dao's origin as soon as possible and that everyone would be safe.
Dao said he wished to be with Merry forever, and to be with everyone forever.
Master Wu said he wished to discover more "mysterious forces" in the Eastern World that could help him in his research.
Cici said she wished to collect more exquisite dolls at the Attic World in the new year.
Bob said he wished to meet the founder of the Attic World.
Robo turned his mechanical head to look at the team, seemingly unaware of the word 'wish', but he made a wish that he would one day really be like everyone else.
"Silly, you guys! That's really silly!" Jason heard everyone's wishes and slapped the table again shouting, "Silly! What is our top priority now!? Money! Have you forgotten about the hidden treasures? Get the money first!" He had a look of expecting too much.
Everyone's faces were flushed from the alcoholic atmosphere and after Jason's antics, everyone laughed happily.
Cici, who usually had a low bar, laughed so hard at Jason's antics that tears were falling out of her eyes. Even Bob, who was always calm, had a smile on his face.
It would have been wonderful if time had stopped at this moment.
For the next few days, everyone was busy running their own accounts in the Attic World while running to the walls of the Attic World, where the Rally was held, whenever they could, looking for clues.
On January 26, 2222.
"This isn't the way we're going to find them." Merry said.
"Do you have any ideas?" Jason asked.
"We can team up and go for a lap, the track won't change like last time, and the starting point was set last time. Let's start at the starting point and try to run two laps, on the one hand we can try to play together and help each other when in the Rally, and as soon as one person inside the team gets through to get the clues, we can share information. On the other hand, I watched the video of the last Rally, there were not a few warframe airships in the game that were extremely fast and resilient, but in the end, none of them passed the first level without even seeing the finish line, so the clue to the pass is most likely on the track, we can try to find it." Bob took the lead in the analysis. With so many words in one breath, it was clear that he was really focused on the Rally these days.
"I think Bob has a point, plus we can measure the performance of our cars and see if there are any areas that need to be improved. Then we can make an allocation based on the field and everyone's cars." Merry said.
"Good. With ten of us, we really need to meet up more at the Attic World." Jason said.
"Ten?" Merry asked.
"What, you allow your rich family's cats to be sexy little catwomen inside the game, but not our slum Tom, Dick and Harry to get rich inside the game too? Who are you looking down on?" Jason muttered.
It was only then that Merry responded that he meant that Rum and Coffee also had their own accounts. Although it was not uncommon in the Attic World for owners and pets to team up to fight monsters, for example, Mimi was indeed a veteran player in the Attic World, and half of the credit for Cici's peace of mind in collecting dolls in the game went to the fierce Mimi! However, it was out of Merry's expectation now.
When she turned her head to look at Coffee and Rum again, the two, who used to make a lot of noise, were now staring at her. Regardless of knowing whether it was psychological or real, Merry felt that they had a very serious expression on their faces.
Merry apologized for the conversation and nodded awkwardly at the two.
And so it was agreed that the rest of the course would be a two-lap run around the track as a team, and they wouldn't stop until they found the clue to the pass!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone