Chapter 125 - 124: Eerie Paper City

Chapter 125: Chapter 124: Eerie Paper City

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As Gu Su neared the trading post on the north side of Ghost Valley, he looked up and saw that more than twenty people had already gathered. They were scattered about in twos and threes, creating a scene that was bustling yet strangely eerie.

Their attire was incredibly varied. Some were wrapped in heavy black robes, their hoods pulled so low that their faces were completely hidden in shadow, revealing only their pale chins.

Others were clad head-to-toe in polished White Bone Full Body Armor that glinted with a cold light. Faint wisps of black energy seeped from the gaps between the plates, and their movements produced the CLACK-CLACK of Bone Joints knocking together.

One person was dressed in a simple Daoist robe and held a Peach Wood Sword, their hair tied in an immaculate topknot. Yet their eyes were sinister, a stark contrast to the transcendent air of an ordinary Daoist.

Still others had their faces coated in thick white powder, their lips painted crimson, and twisted patterns drawn across their skin. Every single move they made was bizarre.

Of course, Gu Su hardly looked normal himself. He was wearing a set of faded Miner’s work clothes and had none of the air of a City Lord, making him indistinguishable from a common Miner.

In any case, this trading post had all sorts of people, and every one of them exuded the traits of a player.

Wariness, greed, or nonchalance.

Everyone was busy with their own affairs, each with their own unique demeanor.

Those gathered in groups of three or five huddled together, whispering. They were most likely inquiring about each other’s goods or discussing how to trade with the Paper City Lord later.

The more impatient ones had simply found an empty spot to set up a stall, laying out their goods one by one and waiting for customers.

Others with more active minds strolled around with their hands behind their backs, their eyes darting about as they sized up the people and wares. They were clearly calculating how to gain a small advantage or snag a good item someone else had overlooked.

Gu Su’s purpose here was to scout for architectural blueprints and purchase necessary supplies. For him, as long as he could buy what he needed, it didn’t matter who the seller was.

So, before the Paper City arrived, he decided to take a slow stroll through the trading post, his gaze sweeping over the items at the various stalls.

If he saw something that looked potentially useful, he would walk over and casually pick it up to inspect its Attributes and quality.

This was the convenience of trading in the Game World. Basically, everything put up for sale—so long as it came with an Attribute Explanation, even the lowest-grade Gray or White Quality items—had its uses and attribute bonuses clearly detailed. There was no fear of missing out on a great item simply because you didn’t recognize it.

Of course, that also meant you couldn’t expect to find a steal by exploiting an information gap.

Trading here followed an unwritten rule: items of each quality had an established price range. Buyers and sellers could negotiate to some extent, but prices were never pushed too low or raised to absurd levels. Everything operated with a certain tacit understanding.

Although Gu Su had brought eighty percent of the Graveyard Demon’s cash with him—a sum that would have been more than enough to live lavishly in any ordinary place—but here, he roughly estimated, it was only enough to buy four or five White Quality pieces of equipment or items, or perhaps a single Green Quality one. It was hardly a fortune.

Only now did he truly understand why Liu the Ninth had been so thrilled to find a Green Quality raw stone back then, declaring that he had struck it rich.

’Considering Liu the Ninth didn’t have a Golden Finger and couldn’t level up or develop, the money from that one Green Quality raw stone really would have been enough for him to live comfortably until he died of old age.’

’But for me,’ he mused, ’I’m in command of a Mobile City. I have Undead to raise, facilities to build, and blueprints to find. This amount of money is just a drop in the bucket. I can’t afford to squander it.’

The White Quality items on the stalls were mostly common consumables or basic equipment, none of which Gu Su urgently needed. Naturally, he wouldn’t spend his money carelessly. He simply gave each stall a passing glance before moving on to the next, maintaining a calm, unhurried pace.

Just then, a faint RUSTLE of scraping paper carried from the distance, accompanied by the indistinct sound of gongs and drums. The once-noisy trading post instantly grew quieter as everyone’s gaze turned in unison toward the source of the sound.

The Paper City was finally, slowly, approaching.

Only now did Gu Su get a clear look at the Paper City’s full appearance, and an involuntary chill ran down his spine.

When he had glimpsed it from afar, he had merely thought its craftsmanship was exquisite and grand.

Now that the blurry image was replaced by a clear view, its eerie and immense presence far surpassed his expectations.

The Paper City was far larger than he had imagined—a full forty meters tall, equivalent to a dozen-or-so-story building, three hundred meters long, and over eighty meters wide. Its entire structure was meticulously pasted together from yellow and colored papers. The city walls were printed with a neat, simulated brick pattern, and between the lines were beastly symbols cut from gold foil that shimmered with a faint yet bizarre luster in the dim light.

The Paper City was clearly divided into five vertical layers. Each layer was encircled by a paper wall about half a person’s height, and atop these walls stood neat rows of small, paper-craft gatehouses.

From the four corners of each paper gatehouse hung lanterns made of colored paper. When the wind blew, the lanterns swayed gently, their paper-cut tassels rustling. The sound mingled with the scraping of paper, adding a strange rhythm to the air.

Gu Su’s gaze swept over them, and he clearly saw that an Artillery piece of a different style was mounted atop every gatehouse.

Some were made of paper, matching the city’s material, while others were made of Metal, creating a bizarre sight.

On the city walls below the gatehouses stood numerous paper-pasted soldiers. They were clad in armor cut from colored paper and held weapons folded from paper. Though completely lifeless, their neat formations exuded a grim, murderous aura. Only upon looking closer did Gu Su discover that someone had used Cinnabar to paint ghastly, demonic faces on them, making them even more sinister.

But the most bizarre part of all was the base of the Paper City.

From a distance, it had seemed to float weightlessly. Only now did he see the truth: it had no wheels, no foundation. Supporting the massive Paper City were countless Papermen dressed in gray sackcloth.

These Papermen were densely packed and innumerable. Each was expressionless, its body pressed flush against the bottom of the Paper City. They stood rigidly upright with their feet planted firmly on the ground, moving as if they were one with the city. Their steps were perfectly synchronized, their movements mechanical and slow.

It was the synchronized effort of these countless Papermen that allowed the seemingly cumbersome Paper City to move without any sluggishness, gliding along as if it were weightless.

As the Paper City moved to the side of the trading post, it maintained its airy quality, showing no sign of heavy dragging, as if blown by the wind.

With every rise and fall of the Papermen’s steps, the entire city swayed slightly. The RUSTLE of scraping paper, the CREAK of the Papermen’s joints, and the swishing of the lanterns’ tassels all echoed the faint gongs and drums in the distance, creating an indescribably bizarre symphony.

A moment later, the Paper City slowly came to a halt, settling steadily into the open space beside the trading post. The eerie aura surrounding it grew even thicker.

Immediately after, the massive main gate at the front of the Paper City, pasted together from thick paper, swung open with a CREAK. A neat troop of Papermen marched out from within.

These Papermen were dressed in uniform red paper armor and carried long paper sabers. Their steps were orderly and their faces were blank as they marched toward the trading post. Wherever they passed, the surrounding players instinctively took a few steps back, their eyes filled with a mixture of wariness and curiosity.