Chapter 115: So, the Far-Dusk Town is *this* Far-Dusk?

So, the Far-Dusk Town is *this* Far-Dusk?

Cheng Shi returned to the bar once more and finally struck up a conversation with that veteran fellow prisoner.

After chatting for a few sentences, the doubts in his heart grew even heavier than before.

After this fellow prisoner was pardoned, the Bureau of Affairs had rearranged a sightseeing assistant for him, and the two had already held the ceremony.

He had left another child behind in Far-Dusk Town.

Yesterday, one would clearly be imprisoned for malicious bestowal; how could one not only be pardoned today but also be allowed to bestow again?

What exactly did the so-called Special Political Decree mean?

In such a rush to have children?

Could it be because too many blasphemers had died, and the town was replenishing its population in a planned manner?

It sounded somewhat reasonable, but this plan was undoubtedly a bit rash.

Wouldn't such morning-order-evening-change policies stir up public resentment?

Just as Cheng Shi's train of thought was obstructed, the Ranger returned.

She brought back an extremely important clue.

"Guess where I went?"

Cheng Shi looked at the travel-worn Li Bola and guessed as he spoke:

"The Special Political Decree is easy enough to inquire about. Since you already know that Far-Dusk Town has reset the travelers' right to bestow, you must have wondered if they were replenishing the population, so you went to investigate the town's population?"

Li Bola hadn't even finished the wine in her hand before setting down the cup, asking with a look of astonishment:

"You really aren't a Hunter?"

Cheng Shi cast a standard Refreshing Spell, hitting Li Bola's body to sweep away her fatigue.

"It's about to get dark. If you don't share your discovery, I'm going to go cheer for Hu Xuan."

"......

You guessed right. I went to the Far-Dusk Town Administration Bureau, wanting to investigate the town's population data, but unfortunately, I didn't find it.

But when I returned to the Traveler Affairs Bureau, I discovered the town's population statistics in their archives, and placed alongside this statistical data was a traveler count statistic.

Guess again what I discovered."

"The town's population hasn't changed?" Cheng Shi guessed casually.

But he didn't expect that with just this one remark, Li Bola's face turned black instantly.

"You've looked through it? When? Why didn't you say so?

Cheng Shi, you are wasting my time."

"......"

Huh?

It really is that?

Cheng Shi scratched his head, not knowing how to explain.

I really just guessed randomly.

Looking at Cheng Shi's awkward expression, Li Bola knew in her heart that he must have just guessed right.

But this feeling of having worked all day, only to have a colleague randomly guess the result, was truly unpleasant.

She nodded with a dark face:

"Yes, and no.

The town's population has always maintained a very stable state, but it is not unchanging.

It's just that the overall deviation is controlled very well; the number of people fluctuating up and down will not exceed 100.

You have to know that this kind of terrifyingly precise population control is almost impossible for an ordinary town with tens of thousands of people.

Because you never know which day someone will die, or which day someone will be born."

Before she could finish, Cheng Shi immediately replied with a solemn face:

"But Far-Dusk Town is different. Their reproduction can only rely on travelers, so as long as the number of travelers is controlled, the number of births is completely controllable.

I think the traveler data you obtained shouldn't have much fluctuation either, right?"

Seeing Li Bola nod seriously, Cheng Shi continued:

"And their deaths, heh, are probably the so-called 'punishment of the blasphemers'?"

"Spot on!

Remember the corpses in the Eternal Church? There were big ones and small ones, but uniquely, no elderly people.

At first, I didn't find the problem, but after seeing this population data, I went to investigate many families, and then I discovered that we had overlooked a very important fact:

That is, in Far-Dusk Town, there are almost no elderly people!"

Cheng Shi's pupils shrank; he finally realized the reason why he had always felt this town was so strange.

Indeed, among the town residents he had encountered over the past two days, there were simply no elderly people.

The oldest were just some charming older sisters and vigorous older brothers.

As for the reason......

Naturally, it was because residents about to grow old all died under the so-called "divine punishment," with no chance to walk into their twilight years.

So all that "Night Crow sings a dirge" was a lie. The murderer wasn't following the Night Crow to kill at all; he had already picked his targets, and the Night Crow was just his signpost!

He can tame beasts?

"He is controlling the town's population, and also controlling the quality of life of the town's population. Why?" Cheng Shi wondered.

"Why?

Perhaps there is no need to think about it; Hu Xuan should be able to find the answer for us."

The two looked out past the window and discovered that the dim setting sun on the horizon had quietly set.

"Time to go. Where is the Singer?"

As soon as the Ranger finished speaking, Qin Chaoge's figure appeared at the bar entrance.

Her gaze toward Cheng Shi was not very friendly. Cheng Shi, who could bend and stretch, offered an apologetic smile.

"My hands were just itching for a moment; I didn't think you really liked girls."

"Get lost!"

"Alright, alright, I'm getting lost, I'm getting lost."

When Cheng Shi stood before Hu Xuan again, he discovered that she had changed again.

Her temperament had become more ethereal, and she had become even more beautiful.

One only needed to take a single look at those deep eyes to sprout endless impulses, wanting to pin her beneath oneself.

Eww—

The power of reproduction is truly terrifying.

Cheng Shi's gaze fixed, and he guessed something.

"Speaking of which, I know your mother, and I even helped deliver you when your grandmother was giving birth. Calculating it this way, should you call me Uncle, or should you call me Grandfather?"

Hu Xuan smiled gently and replied softly:

"That depends on what role you want to play in our interaction.

As for me personally, I am not opposed to either form of address."

"......"

You simply cannot talk nonsense with someone who talks nonsense with a straight face.

This would give you the illusion that I am not crazy enough and simply not worthy of her.

It was just... very uncomfortable.

Thus, Cheng Shi decisively changed the subject.

"Why didn't you conceive a new life with your mother... your past this time?"

Hu Xuan shook her head:

"I have already inherited everything of hers; she no longer has the strength to nurture me."

"Every one of your sentences clearly sounds normal, but I always feel a sense of horror. What's going on?"

Hu Xuan smiled, ignored Cheng Shi's banter, and said to everyone:

"The time has come. I promise to take you to find the answer."

Li Bola raised an eyebrow and voiced a guess in her heart:

"The Eternal Church?"

Hu Xuan nodded with a smile:

"Follow me."

Saying this, she leaped high, stepping on the rooftops step by step, flying toward the church.

Cheng Shi looked at Hu Xuan, who had flown away on her own, with black lines on his face.

What, is being able to fly so great?

He quietly turned his head to look at Qin Chaoge, only to find that this Singer had glanced at him coldly, didn't give him a single song, and likewise jumped high, flashing away in pursuit.

Helpless, he could only look at Li Bola.

Li Bola couldn't hold back her laughter, transformed into a gust of wild wind, and swept Cheng Shi into the sky.

"Yo yo yo yo, holy crap, Big Sister, slow down, grass grass grass grass, I'm going to fall!! Ah— blow faster, blow faster—"

"......"

Being rolled by the wind was quite interesting, but it was not recommended to play often.

You'll vomit.

When they arrived at the station, Cheng Shi's face was pale.

Hu Xuan led the crowd around the front door to a spot near the back door, closed her eyes, and began to feel the strangeness around her.

A few minutes later, she opened her eyes with a smile, reached out her hand, and muttered toward a certain place in the void:

"Sense the pregnancy of life, derive and nurture nature!"

A force of nature permeated, wrapping everyone's bodies. Before long, everyone felt a tiny change in their bodies.

On everyone's arm, a palm-sized ball of flesh bulged out.

"???"

"No need to panic. I just used the 'power of new life' to make you carry the 'rhythm of pregnancy.' Only in this way can we see the truth behind the fog."

As soon as the words fell, a void gate shimmering with colorful colors slowly appeared on the wall at the back door of the Eternal Church.

Everyone looked at all this in shock, speechless for a moment.

"Where does this door lead?"

"Unknown.

But I know, He is right there, waiting for me."

Hu Xuan smiled firmly and took the lead in stepping inside.

Cheng Shi looked at this scene, his expression unusually solemn.

This was a door leading to the void!

He felt the call of fate within it, which meant that what was hidden behind this door was precisely the answer to the trial:

The node of fate!

Who could have imagined that the node of fate would be in the void!?

In any previous trial, the answer had always been a concrete person, object, or scene in reality.

And this time, He placed the answer in the void!

"If... I mean if, without this 'power of new life' from Hu Xuan, how would we have found this door?"

This question was asked by Cheng Shi, and the targets were naturally Li Bola and Qin Chaoge.

The two of them clearly realized the severity of this problem.

Not to mention that they hadn't found any clues about the information and location of this door, just the step of making the door appear was somewhat inconceivable.

You have to know that the power used to trigger this door was clearly the power Hu Xuan fused after stealing the authority of the 【Eternal Sun】.

And this meant that as long as the players had taken one wrong step before and let Hu Xuan miss this power, then they would only be able to think of other ways.

But the problem was, under the wrong guidance of empiricism, did they have the time?

This trial only gave them three days.

Li Bola thought of this point, and she sighed with a complex expression:

"This is fate.

It seems that this time, fate has favored us.

At least we should be glad that Hu Xuan is not the murderer who killed the teammates, and we have also successfully walked together."

Speaking of the murderer......

Right, where did Ji Ran go?

Cheng Shi looked at Li Bola abruptly, only to see Li Bola's face sink, and she shook her head.

"Before opening the door, my wind told me he was still at the inn.

And now, he......

has disappeared." ===== CHAPTER 116 =====