Chapter 940: Art Gallery

940. Art Gallery

Lin Ye sat in a chair, took the orange-red Book, and opened it for a glance.

When he came to his senses, he was standing on a city street.

Only a few scattered pedestrians were on the street. There was no sign of a festive atmosphere at all.

A comfortable breeze blew by, and several red leaves fell at Lin Ye’s feet.

This body was not Lin Ye’s true body, but its appearance was exactly the same as his true body’s.

This city was probably some kind of special area. Lin Ye couldn’t sense spiritual energy or mental energy, and could only observe his surroundings like an ordinary person.

A dinosaur about the same size as Lin Ye came out of a nearby snack shop and handed him a snack resembling an egg roll.

“Why are you a dinosaur?”

Lin Ye took the snack and bit into it.

It was a dessert with a crispy outer layer and a partially melted egg filling. The egg had a distinctive flavor, and it tasted quite good.

“Can’t be helped. This isn’t a purely mental world, so I need a temporary body.”

Mia chewed on her egg roll and swished her dinosaur tail.

“This is the festival celebration you mentioned? I can’t feel any festive atmosphere at all.”

Lin Ye glanced at the snack shop beside them. Its flyer showed a strange-looking creature, along with a brief slogan:

Only the freshest bird eggs.

“It hasn’t started yet. We can look around the city first. The festival celebration probably won’t begin for a while. Come with me, I often wander around here.”

Mia led the way. She seemed very familiar with the place.

Lin Ye followed behind Mia. As they passed the egg roll shop’s entrance, he glanced at the strange bird outside, which had neither a head nor feathers, and decided not to dwell on what he had just eaten.

“This is an art gallery. There are lots of interesting exhibits inside. Want to take a look?”

Ten minutes later, Mia stopped outside a two-story building with a floor area of over a hundred square meters.

Lin Ye had been observing the buildings on both sides of the road. Most of the buildings in the city were only a few dozen square meters, and there were even plenty of shops just a few square meters in size. This art gallery was already one of the largest buildings in the area.

Its structure, however, looked quite ordinary, just as orderly as the other buildings on the street.

“Since we’re already here, I hope it won’t be too boring inside.”

Lin Ye was a system-certified Artist, after all, and had his own understanding of art.

“Don’t worry. The owner here is no ordinary person. You’ll see when we go in.”

Mia answered with complete confidence.

The two entered the art gallery. Its interior was vast, and the hall alone covered several thousand square meters.

A Giant Plant covered in flowers of every color grew in the center of the hall. The vaulted ceiling soared thousands of meters overhead.

Many visitors sat in the Rest Area near the Giant Plant. The air in the hall was exceptionally fresh, filled with a delicate floral fragrance.

Mia led Lin Ye toward the ticket window. She came here often and had an annual pass to the art gallery.

Lin Ye glanced at the price list beside the window. A single-day ticket for one person cost 50 Trade points.

The price wasn’t cheap, but that many Trade points meant nothing to Lin Ye.

“Hello. We always welcome Artists like you to visit the gallery. You may use any of our facilities free of charge.”

A Staff Member came over to Lin Ye and respectfully invited him into the hall.

“Thank you.”

Lin Ye didn’t refuse. He entered the hall through the express lane. This was probably an effect of his system title.

“Wow, you’re an Artist? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have bought an annual pass.”

Mia, who had followed Lin Ye into the hall, exclaimed.

“You can use it when you come here by yourself.”

Lin Ye walked over to the Giant Plant. There was a Rest Area nearby where visitors could buy products made from the Giant Plant.

“Ah, that pink juice tastes great, and the bath products made from its petals are really nice too. We can take some back when we leave. I’ll help you deliver them to the Shelter.”

Mia’s eyes lit up. Anything related to art was expensive, and even she rarely spent money here.

“They have quite a variety.”

Lin Ye saw over a hundred kinds of juice alone, along with many other types of products.

“When I’m short on money, I sometimes think about robbing this place.”

Mia said it with a hint of seriousness.

After getting two free cups of chilled pink juice, the two walked around the Giant Plant. The hall connected to a complex array of structures containing many different exhibition areas.

“Come with me. I’ll take you to my favorite exhibit first.”

Mia led the way, and they turned into a shadowy corridor.

Paintings hung on the walls on both sides of the corridor. They looked lifelike, like moments in time frozen in place.

Just looking at them made Lin Ye feel as though he were experiencing the scenes himself. It was as if he were one of the figures in the paintings, living through some crucial moment.

“If you step inside the yellow line, you can experience these paintings in a different way, without being disturbed.”

Mia pointed her tail at the yellow line on the floor. That was the best place to view the paintings. Stand there, and you could immerse yourself in the scenes depicted while being protected by the art gallery.

Of course, it wasn’t free.

“Forget it. There are too many works on display here. If I experience them one by one, I might never make it out of this corridor.”

Time was limited, so Lin Ye decided to find some genuine works of art to appreciate.

The paintings here were good, but they still didn’t quite measure up for him.

“Fair enough. My favorite painting is just inside. You’re sure to like it.”

Mia quickened her pace, full of anticipation.

Perhaps the art gallery was simply too large, or perhaps this wasn’t a popular exhibition area. There were only a few scattered visitors in the corridor.

As Lin Ye admired the paintings on both sides and moved slowly forward, one visitor followed behind him, gradually drawing closer.

Side passages appeared occasionally along the corridor. They led to enclosed exhibition rooms.

Mia led Lin Ye down one of these side passages. There was nothing particularly special about it. Lin Ye pushed open the exhibition room’s door, and inside stood just one painting.

The painting was displayed in the center of the room. It depicted a young girl lying in a hospital bed. Her face was indistinct as she gazed out the window, beyond which lay a courtyard in full bloom.

The girl turned to look at Lin Ye and greeted him.

“...Uh, did you paint this?”

Lin Ye gave Mia a strange look. She had gone out of her way to bring him somewhere to see a scene she could look at every day... Wasn’t that a little too clingy?

“Of course not. I’m no Artist.”

Mia gazed at the girl in the painting, lost in thought, completely ignoring Lin Ye’s expression.