A young soldier from the 19th century died from the war and was unable to return to his beloved's arms.

The first mention in the historical literature of the mountains of light dates back to the 10th century AD. In the writings of Narhashi.

Mountains "Light" they got their name in the days of Arab rule. How did the mountains build up before? Nobody remembers. But in the same mountains there are also old extensions, Lake Tangri. But there are many Arabic names in the most remote from the steppe roads, mountain gorges and passes.

One of these names are "Rabaty" spread out over the ridge. In the days of the Arabs, they served as caravanserais and mountain outposts. But he crossed the border between the Arab Caliphate and the steppe.

Now for the most part only toponymic names have been preserved from them, but in some places you can still find individual stone ruins. Alas ... no one can seriously take on their restoration, and you could create a good tourist route. But...

In the mountains of "Light", rather even the southwestern extremities of the ridge, the graves of Arab soldiers on guard at the border have been preserved. Times 7-8 centuries. There is now a National Park.

If we talk about the influence of empires on Small-An, then these were the Persians, Greeks, Chinese, Arabs, Mongols and Russians, Turks. Other great empires of the 19th century only indirectly exerted their influence - the French, Germans, Austrians, Japanese.

In the 20th century after the first world war in Small Ahn, there were many foreigners - Belgians, Hungarians, Italians, Austrians, Germans, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Japanese. Some left to live in this country. The last descendants of which went into another world in the 80s of the last century.

Since the 15th century, there have also been settlements in Small An, including Abisins, Persians, Greeks, earlier even Arabs, Mongols, Chinese, Hindus, Afghans, Bulgarians, Kashgars ...

After the Second World War - Japanese, Germans, Italians, Romanians, Americans.

There were American professors in mathematics, a boxing trainer who created their own schools, and went into another world in the 70-80s of the last century.

Still in the countryside south of the Svet Mountains, Persian and Arab villages have been preserved. True, the Arabic language is very different from modern. Residents of the villages speak old Arabic, which was supplemented by local dialects. According to scientists, the Arabic language that is in those villages corresponds to the language in the 8-11 centuries of our era. And Persian - 16-18 centuries.

For example, the Persian word "Darya" is translated from them as a sea and not a river. 

Trade routes, caravanserais, fortifications, customs points, wells, underground reservoirs are still preserved in places in the form of ruins and place names.

This is a very interesting topic that needs research.

COMPLETED

The Silk Road ... it is inevitable the emergence of wells, caravanserais, guard fortresses, postal stations, local bazaars, regional bazaars, the emergence of new jobs:
- robbers (there were whole settlements)
- caravan guards
- changed
- merchants

Just about them and will be discussed.


About their life, tricks.

Alas, English is still the same ... there are mistakes, I am sure of it.

I hope over time I will be able to fix them.

I just wanted to share information about such an interesting topic as the history of the development of the Silk Road.

----
And also a series of stories about treasures, treasure hunters.

--------------------------------
This is a work of art. Any resemblance to real people or real events is purely coincidental.

Under the persuasion from Li Du, Hans expanded the area of their operations. With that, there would be more storage companies for them to choose from.
It was nearing the end of July. After the heavy rains, Flagstaff once again returned to its warm weather.
With a back full of sweat, Hans found a new storage company. The location was in Kingman, a small city northwest of Flagstaff.
After having been free for a few days, Li Du commanded them to set off after receiving the info. Thus, the Iron Knight once again returned to the highways.
Kingman was about 150 miles from Flagstaff. With the speed of the Iron Knight, they would reach there in two hours.
"It’s a small place, brother. The population is only about 30,000, mostly white people. There aren’t many other races besides quite a number of people from the middle-east who immigrated here."
Along the trip, Hans explained to Li Du about the culture and history of Kingman.
"I know about this," Li Du exclaimed. "Allahu Akbar— if we respect their faith and culture, everything will be peaceful."
Hans shrugged and said, "Right, that’s how it is."
Kingman was in the center of Arizona, where Mohave County was. It was once thought to be the most barren area in West America; the landscape was wild and open, with little architecture.
It was due to these reasons, that some immigrants chose to live in Kingman.
Though it did not seem like a well-off place, the population was low. There was less job competition, so for immigrants that were lacking social networks after coming to America, Kingman was a great choice.
Many immigrants were tenacious. With their strength and knowledge, even a desolate place like Kingman could become a place of potential after their efforts.
To get to Kingman from Flagstaff, they had to travel on Route 66. The highway was about 2,500 miles long, and was famous all over the country, nicknamed the "Mother Road."
Route 66 started in Chicago, and went through Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, cutting to Los Angeles and stretching to Santa Monica. Across eight states and three time zones, it was incredible!
As for the nickname, not only did the highway connect the east and west regions of the country, it had once saved the economies of the villages along it.
In the 19th century, Route 66 had just been a bunch of different roads for horse carriages.
In 1926, the American government’s investment had connected the roads together after decades of labor.
During this period, it had become the "Silk Road" of the Western World.
This engineering had created tens of thousands of jobs during a tough time in America, and construction on the road became a lifeline for the workers in nearby towns.
Many legends had spawned from this road. Hans told them to Li Du for the entire two-hour road trip, and time passed quickly. When Hans was about to stop talking, the city districts of Kingman had appeared.
Li Du looked out the window. The place felt like an ancient town to him.
Route 66 had penetrated the town and become an arterial road. Several rustic motels and gas stations were on both sides of the road, along with a multitude of antique buildings; Li Du guessed that they were possibly built in the 19th century.
He pointed them out to Hans, who replied with a laugh, "You’re correct. They are leftovers from the 19th century, national treasures now."
Amongst the old buildings, there was a museum, which was the Historic Route 66 Museum.
Li Du was exclaimed in amazement, "This highway is really popular. There’s even a museum for it."
Hans said lazily, "Of course, didn’t I’d just introduce it to you on the road?"
There were free parking lots in front of the museum, and Godzilla decided to park there. There were motels and restaurants around. Even the storage company whose auction they were going to attend was nearby.
Since they had parked here, Li Du went to purchase a ticket to tour the museum.
Since the last time he had been with Sophie, hearing her talk about the states outside of Arizona had changed Li’s work attitude.
Due to the nature of the storage auction business, treasure hunters had to travel all over America. Li Du wanted to learn more about the nation’s geography and culture while he was treasure hunting.
He was considering that perhaps, in the future, he could have a road trip around the western regions of America, or even the whole of America.
Although the museum was mainly about the highway, there were still quite a number of exhibitions.
Once he entered, he saw a bunch of manuscripts in a showcase.
"This is the manuscript of ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’ by John Steinbeck," Hans introduced. "It was written in 1939, which he was then awarded the Pulitzer Prize for.
"The nickname of Route 66 also originated from it. Steinbeck was the first to call it ‘The Mother Road.’ Everyone started using this nickname after him."
Besides literary manuscripts, there was also a musical manuscript. It was a piece of work from Jazz composer, Bobby Troupe.
While driving down Route 66 to California, this composer wrote one of the most famous songs of his life, "Get Your Kicks On Route 66."
Through another famous singer, Nat King Cole, the song became an instant hit, and brought Troupe to the height of his career.
Besides literature and music, there were also other things relating to the highway in the museum.
CBS Station had once aired a television series called "Route 66," from 1960 to 1964. A television in the museum was replaying this series.
There were also some documentaries on Route 66. These could be recorded by visitors as long as they had a ticket, which was one of the ways for the museum to attract visitors.
Li Du burned some of the documentaries into some discs.
Before attending the auction, there would be lots of free time. Watching these documentaries would be a good way to pass the time.
"Where will we be staying?" Li Du asked as he packed up the discs.
Hans pointed to the south and said, "Neon Motel. If you want to properly experience the West, then you have to stay there."
The motel had outrageous neon lights on display; the whole motel was decorated with them. Although it didn’t look like much in the day, once night fell, it was an unimaginable sight.
However, the building itself was fairly aged. The renovation style seemed to be of the last century: rough, simple and practical, like the homes of cowboys from the West.
After Hans made the payment, they had lunch in the motel.
"The food’s pretty good, buddy. Neon Motel has been in operation for a century. They have been hiring cooks and waiters from the countryside since they opened, which has preserved the original flavor of the West."
As he listened to Hans’s explanations, Li Du flipped open the menu, and started laughing.


They love gold, and they love silver. Even more so, they love gems that dazzle, like stars across the skies. 
Firearms, jewelleries, and precious metals; A collector’s world will not be complete without antiques.  
Storage auctions, old goods trade, re-estate sales and gold-digging. But the truth is, if one wants to make money, then the supreme way is through searching for the legendary treasures. 
Holding the fort, there’s an ocelot, a wolf, and an Andes condor. At the side, there’s a loyal hound, an irascible ape, and an African honey badger. Who said that you can only rely on humans when treasure hunting?! 

Zhang Zian was surprised and flattered by Old Time Tea’s solemnity. He had no idea what Old Time Tea was going to ask of him. Was it something to do with science?
He laughed, "Grandpa Tea, no need to be so polite. Just ask me anything, and I’ll see if I know the answers."
Old Time Tea pondered and said, "From what you said, I gathered that Scottish fold cats originated in foreign countries, then were introduced into China, right?"
Zhang Zian nodded. "Yeah, it is said that this kind of cat was accidentally cultivated by breeders from a small European country."
"Do you know in what month and what year exactly?" asked Old Time Tea.
"Well..." Zhang Zian was not a cat history expert. He picked up his phone to do a quick web search before replying, "In 1961, more than half a century ago."
"That is not right." Old Time Tea shook its head in doubt, "I clearly saw a lop-eared cat before that time..."
"What?" Zhang Zian was stunned. "Grandpa Tea, when you say 'before', are you referring to the end of the 19th century?"
He had met Old Time Tea in the Hidden Fog Mountain, where there were many dense woods. He initially thought that Old Time Tea had encountered the lop-eared cat in the forests of Hidden Fog Mountain. Now it seemed that this was not the case. 
"That’s right." Old Time Tea was even more confused. "I was at my prime age when I met the cat, and I’m confident that I was right. But you say that this cat breed has only been around since 1961… This is so strange..."
"What did the cat look like? Was it the same as the Scottish fold?" Zhang Zian asked for more details. 
Old Time Tea shook its head. "No, not the same. This cat had longer white fur, kind of like Snowy Lionet. Its body was more slender, and its tail was more robust than that of a Scottish fold."
Snowy Lionet was taking a nap. Upon hearing its name, it opened its sleepy eyes, and shouted, "What are you doing? Why did you call me?"
Zhang Zian and Old Time Tea ignored it. He sat back in the recliner, contemplating this issue. 
He was sure that Scottish fold cats had only been around since 1961. 
However, Old Time Tea could not be wrong either. It wouldn’t have said anything if it was not certain. 
The problem was this: how could Old Time Tea have seen a lop-eared cat before 1961?
As time passed, Old Time Tea stopped watching TV, and Fina stopped her napping. Both were curiously staring at Zhang Zian's face.
Snow-white fur... lop-eared cats... Scottish fold cats... 1961… the end of the 19th century...
He arranged and combined the few key words together, searching hard for clues. After a long time, he shouted, "Ah! I know now!" Zhang Zian slapped his thigh and stood up. "Grandpa Tea, I know what the cat you saw was!"
"Oh? Do tell me, Zian!" said Old Time Tea with surprise.
Zhang Zian swallowed some saliva excitedly, and organized his words, "I used to read rumors about this, but I didn’t take it seriously at that time, and now I recall since you mentioned it... "
Fina interrupted him impatiently, "Cut the nonsense!"
"Okay..." Zhang Zian thought this was a chance for him to show off his knowledge, but snapped at by Fina, he had to omit the words he wanted to say, and got straight to the point. "Grandpa Tea, what you saw was not a Scottish fold cat, but an ancient Chinese lop-eared cat, whose English name was Sumxu. No specimens of Sumxu have ever been found — in fact, its very existence was controversial, for it was most recently spotted before the liberation in China…"
Old Time Tea stroked its whiskers and asked with confusion, "Before the liberation... do you mean before 1949? This could be the case — the timing is right."
Fina made a grumpy face. "An ancient cat? How come I have never heard of such a cat? Did you just make that up? Should I remind you of the consequences if you lie to me?"
"Castrated! Castrated!" As soon as this topic was brought up, Snowy Lionet was inexplicably excited.
Zhang Zian explained to Fina, "Although it was an ancient cat, it appeared much later than your era. Take it easy, I will explain it to you slowly."
Zhang Zian lay back on the recliner, telling the legends he had heard to Old Time Tea, Fina, and the other elves. 
The Chinese lop-eared cats were discovered and recorded by Western missionaries in the 17th century. In their writings, this kind of cat was described as having white fur and droopy ears, and was very popular among Chinese ladies. Even in China at the time, lop-eared cats were uncommon, and only a small number of them were circulated through the upper class.
Some people doubted whether this type of cat existed because no record of them had ever been found in local Chinese literature. Others supposed that the lop-eared cat was not a cat, but a creature similar to a mink, or a hybrid of a mink and a cat. No conclusion had been reached so far. A considerable number of Europeans were interested in this peculiar cat, and even offered a reward at the European cat show, hoping that someone would bring a Chinese lop-eared cat. Unfortunately, no one had ever taken that bounty.
Chinese lop-eared cats were last covered by the media in 1938, and since then, the mainstream opinion was that even if this cat breed had really existed, it was now extinct. 
Fina's curiosity was aroused, and she kept urging Zhang Zian to continue, but that was all he knew.
Old Time Tea exhaled a long breath, "Oh, so the cat I saw was indeed a lop-eared cat…?"
"Well… Grandpa Tea, the name ‘lop-eared cat’ was created by Western missionaries, and it’s unknown what it was called locally in China, probably a homonym of Sumxu. In addition, according to the missionaries’ records, although the Sumxu’s ears were droopy, the reasons for that were different from Scottish fold cats. Scottish fold cats’ ears droop because of a genetic mutation, while Sumxu’s ears droop due to their long-term domestication and the loss of ear function, which made their ears degenerate gradually. Scottish fold cats and Sumxu represent two different directions of evolution," Zhang Zian corrected it.
As for what evolution was, Zhang Zian inevitably had to painstakingly explain this to Fina and Old Time Tea, though they could barely understand. 
He got thirsty, and opened up a bottle of Evian spring water as a reward for himself. Fina glared at him without saying anything.
After drinking, he wiped his mouth and curiously asked Old Time Tea, "Grandpa Tea, so you have met this kind of lop-eared cat?"
Old Time Tea slowly nodded. "I think so. Only once did I see such a cat in the jungle at the junction of the Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces, and I was deeply surprised. I knew nothing about the origin of a creature that looked like a mixture of a cat and something else. It couldn’t understand the common cat language either. I think it indeed may have been a Sumxu."
Zhang Zian thought bitterly, Grandpa Tea, you should have caught that cat and brought it to Europe in exchange for a reward. You could have hid the huge gold and silver prize in a secret place, and I could go dig up the treasure right now…
With Old Time Tea’s testimony, this kind of lop-eared cat probably existed, but may have gone extinct during the wars of the early 20th century. It’s hard to say whether it was a cat or a mink. Zhang Zian was inclined to believe that it was a mink. As Old Time Tea said, it did not understand the common cat language. 
He did not quite believe that this animal was a descendant of cats and minks. Lions and tigers could give birth to ligers, and horses and donkeys could make mules. But what was the deal with cats and minks? What about the reproductive isolation factors?
Fina sneered, "If I were there, I would have been able to tell whether it was a cat or not at first glance."
Zhang Zian did not argue with her because what she said was true.
It was no use regretting a mysterious creature that had gone extinct so long ago that not a single specimen had been left behind.
He stood up with a teapot. "Grandpa Tea, I'll go prepare some more tea for you."
"Thank you, Zian." Old Time Tea smiled and was relieved that the doubts in its mind had been cleared up. 


1. Download a suspicious game
2. Catch a few magical pets as partners
3. Go through interesting daily routines and lead the pet shop to a whole new level

don't read this I'm just spamming some shit for a badge

Ten minutes prior, when Invincible Champion was still alive, Feng Bujue was inside the cellar. Feng Bujue knocked on the coffin lid and said teasingly, "Hey, Miss Madeline, are you there?"
He did not expect a reply to come from inside the coffin because he knew that the coffin was supposed to be empty.
After finding the first stanza of The Haunted Palace, Feng Bujue had begun to suspect that the house was inspired by the House of Usher in the short story. When he arrived at the cellar and saw the coffin and the fifth stanza on the wall, his suspicion was confirmed.
Feng Bujue read many books, but that did not mean that he had a photographic memory. Other than the memories that were pushed out of his mind as trash, for the rest… like stories that he had once read, he could recover around seventy percent of the memory. To have the man stand there and recite all six stanzas of The Haunted House from pure memory was impossible. Therefore, he needed Xiao Tan and Brother Long to issue some words to jog his memory before the other two stanzas become more clarified in his mind.
Of course, Feng Bujue could remember the general plot of the short story quite clearly.
Many people knew of the name Edgar Allen Poe; he was the founder of detective novels. His 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' was deemed as the first actual detective novel in modern literature, and he was the man who popularized the term detective novel when he published the story. But that was 1841, and The Fall of the House of Usher was written before that. It was a Gothic thriller story, and the whole passage was steeped in a dark, scary atmosphere.
The summary of the story was as well; it detailed the story of the main character's dead friend, Roderick Usher. Roderick's family suffered from a mysterious hereditary disease. The house that he lived in seemed to be tainted by some kind of weird curse as well. Over hundreds of years, the lineage of the Usher family had continued in spite of all these problems, passing from father to son. Soon, the original name of the house was forgotten, and the house itself was equated to the name of Usher. When people mentioned the House of Usher, they were referring to both the house and the family.
One day, Roderick wrote a letter to the main character, saying that he was going to die soon. He was tormented by his illness, swaying between the physical and hallucinatory realms. The mysterious power within the House of Usher destroyed his rationality, draining him of his life.
The main character came to visit his old friend, hoping that his visit would breathe some life into the ailing man. However, on the night of the main character's arrival, Roderick's little sister, Miss Madeline, 'died from an illness'.
She was the only family that Roderick had left in the world, his only companion for all these years. Miss Madeline had been sick from a young ages, and the doctors had announced that there was no treatment for the girl. However, she continued to fight the disease, spending most of her time in bed. The curious depression and collapse of Roderick's mental state was mostly due to her condition.
Before Roderick died, he made a request. He wanted them to find a cellar to store his sister's body for fourteen days. The main character personally helped to fulfill his friend's dying wish. He placed Miss Madeline inside the coffin and placed her down in the cellar, but no one knew that she was actually still alive.
After eight days, the distraught Roderick fell into madness. That night, the main character came across the scary-looking Miss Madeline roaming the house, and she scared her big brother to death before finally dying. After the main character escaped from the House of Usher, he saw the house crumble into the pond next to it with his own eyes.
There were many 'unscientific' plot points in the story. For example, how could no one realize that Madeline was still alive when she was placed inside the coffin? How could a woman who subsisted on nothing inside the coffin for eight days have the energy to crawl back into the house? Why did the house collapse? Was it due to an earthquake or explosion?
But the readers in the 19th century would not have had questions like that. It was not until the end of 20th century when 'criticism' became an actual professional career, especially in the field of literature where Poe's works were questioned. If Poe was alive in the 21st century, any 'professor' who dared to call himself a critic would have some choice words for this famed author. Let's not dwell on this subject; it's about time we got back to the story.
Based on the plot of the story, the coffin had to be empty. Whether the spirit that Feng Bujue saw in the tunnel was Madeline's spirit or not, her body was not going to be inside the cellar but inside the house.
Feng Bujue pushed open the coffin, and it was empty, devoid of a dead body. He waved away the dust that flew all over the place and shone the flashlight inside the coffin. On the board inside the coffin near the head, he soon discovered that a small row of letters had been carved. It looked like it had slowly been gouged out using one's fingers.
It read "he knows" without any punctuation, and the letters were toppled all over. Placing himself in her shoes… there was no light inside the coffin, and Madeline would not have known whether her handwriting was neat or not. Furthermore, she had to maintain a fixed posture to carve those words, so the fact that it was legible was already a miracle.
"Hidden quest triggered." When Feng Bujue heard the system, he immediately opened the menu and saw a window floating at the forefront. "The hidden quest in the scenario will provide you with considerable rewards, but the difficulty for discovering and completing the hidden quest will be much harder than the main and side quest.
"The system hints related to the hidden mission, including the voices and words in the game menu, are only viewable to the player who triggered the hidden quest. If the hidden quest is triggered within the company of many players, then all the present players will gain the update to said quest. But hidden quest cannot be shared. While the player with the hidden quest can share the information with other players, and the other players can obtain the quest details and progress in their menu, it will not be counted as accepting the quest, and they are unable receive any rewards from completing the quest.
"Above is the information provided when the player triggers a hidden quest for the first time. If you have any more questions, feel free to look through the game manual."
"In other words… finders keepers," Feng Bujue murmured to himself. He closed the window and glanced at the quest. "Rescue Miss Madeline's soul."
"Oh… What is this?" He had a brief idea of the scenario and its plot, but the main problem was, how was he going to escape from this cellar?
He raised the flashlight again and made a closer investigation of his surroundings, but he found nothing. He turned his gaze back to the coffin. Other than the sentence and other scratch marks left on the wood, there was nothing worthwhile.
Feng Bujue leaned the flashlight against the wall of the coffin, pointing the side that gave off the light upward. Then he bent down to pick up the heavy coffin lid and lean it against the wall. He looked on both of its sides, but there was nothing special about it.
Wait a minute… Feng Bujue suddenly stopped moving and thought, The person inside the coffin should have been facing up, and technically speaking it, is more convenient for the person to carve on the coffin lid. Even if she was worried that someone might overlook the carving on the lid, so she decided to carve it on the coffin itself, why isn't there any sign of a struggle on this lid? There are signs of kicks and scratches on the coffin itself, but the coffin lid looks brand new.
Feng Bujue grabbed the flashlight and shone it on the lid leaning against the wall. He squatted down and focused his sight on this wooden board.
"Hmm…" He knocked on it again. The lid produced a sturdy sound of wood; it did not sound like it was hollow.
Then, Feng Bujue made a very daring decision. He raised the lid and slid it over the coffin, closing it two thirds of the way. Then he climbed into the box. He used his hands to move the lid close from within. Lying inside, he did not feel that comfortable, not because of any psychological effect but because the wooden boards were extremely hard. It felt like he was lying on top of a hard, wooden floor.
Feng Bujue placed himself in the position of Miss Madeline. He shone the flashlight at the lid and then said, "How did you get out of here?"
Then, he raised one of his hands to push at the lid. To his surprise, the lid would not budge.
"Oh?" Feng Bujue was shocked. He placed the flashlight next to his head and used all his limbs to push. He even kicked at it several times, but the lid simply would not budge. After some struggling, just as he wanted to take a breather, on the coffin lid, the piece of wood that was facing him suddenly bulged forward and slowly morphed into the shape of a human face.
The gender of the face was hard to tell, and its voice was like that of an old witch. It told Feng Bujue, "Dying man, do you want to leave here?"
"Yes," Feng Bujue replied. He did want to see what kind of tricks this coffin monster could be up to.
"What can you give me?" the coffin lid asked.
Then the system audio sounded. "You can sacrifice a piece of equipment that is of normal quality or higher to have the monster teleport you out of the cellar."
Oh… So, I 'can' sacrifice, is it? Feng Bujue thought. In other words, I can choose not to sacrifice. That must be right… Because if the player doesn't have any appropriate equipment, then would they be trapped here forever? That doesn't seem likely… there has to be another exit.
"Coffin, I have nothing to give you," Feng Bujue said. The face suddenly underwent a drastic change; the lips and eyes peeled open, and the face turned scary. If this was a normal person, they would have been scared, but in reality, it was merely a human face floating on a wooden board; it was unable to attack the people lying inside the coffin. At most, it could only scare them, which would not work on Feng Bujue.
"Then you'll be trapped here forever, before wasting away in fear and hunger. Even when your nails are bloody from the scratches, even when your knees and ankles are cracked from the kicks, you'll never be able to…"
Feng Bujue removed the M1911A1 pistol from his backpack and switched the safety lock off.
"Let me introduce you to a friend of mine…" Feng Bujue aimed the barrel at the space between the face's brows. "It's a little thing that was made after the second industrial revolution."
"The damage caused by the weapon in your hand is not enough for you to escape. One or two small wounds is nothing," the lid replied.
"I know you can change and recover, but what about the coffin boards next to me, above my head, and underneath me?" Feng Bujue asked.
The face on the lid laughed, and at the same time, the carved handwriting near Feng Bujue's head and the surrounding scratch marks disappeared. "What about them?"
"Oh… So that's it. Since the quest has been received and the secret of the coffin has been discovered, the hints of the scratch marks can be removed," Feng Bujue said as he put the gun away.
"Now, have you changed your mind?" the lid said again. "You can give me the weapon you were holding earlier, and I'll let you out immediately."
Feng Bujue pulled out the kitchen knife and Mario's Wrench without stopping to take a breath. "Now you have two choices, one is to teleport me back into the house and end this happy conversation."
He raised his arm to left a deep cut on the coffin board. "Or two, I will cut you up into pieces and feed you into the oven."
Several seconds later, Feng Bujue successfully reappeared inside the house, but he was not back in the living room where he disappeared from but in a corridor. There was a painting on the wall next to him, but the painting was not of an underground tunnel but a twisted and ugly human face.
He did not stop to waste his time. He checked his Life Points, which were still full, and Stamina Points, which were high and continued his exploration.
 


This is a game beyond dimension–the pursuit of truth. 
The unknown seal, the gambit between gods and demons… 
The defiance against data, the retribution of human… 
In a virtual world connected with reality, consciousness dictates us, consciousness chooses us, and consciousness dictates our consciousness. 
Now, throw away you fear. 
Throw away your selfish interest, question, and disbelief… Free your thought. 
Welcome to Thriller Paradise. 
Feng Bujue lost his ability to fear because of an unknown psychological disorder. Through a virtual reality game designed for players to experience fright and despair, he began his search for his lost fear. Could he finally regain his ability to fear? Could he outwit the scenarios presented to him? Could he finally uncover the truth hidden inside Thriller Paradise?  


As the professor of history at the university told us, sometimes treasures can be found right under your feet in the city, it's even unnecessary to travel far to the mountains or steppes.

Somehow, in a house built in the late 19th century, they decided to make repairs and surprisingly found in the basement behind the stucco, an arch of bricks, it was a doorway. Behind her, they found a staircase that led to the lower floor of the basement. And there is a room. It contained old Russian and Arabic manuscripts of the 15-19th centuries, gold images of icons, precious stones, gold coins from Holland, England, Russia, Persia, silver rupees and rubles in decaying bags. Rough diamonds and rubies. Weapons, guns, rifles, and even a couple of Maxim machine guns with a lot of rounds. Pictures of European masters of the 16-18 centuries.

Probably it was a stash, one of the rich people or officials of the past era, at a turning point, he decided to leave it and then come back for it, but failed.


Sometimes when cutting old trees, when their roots are removed, they find treasures right in the city, it is either a weapon - pistols or jugs with gold and silver coins. Less commonly jewelry and books. Findings were previously recorded, they were handed over to the police, and then received their percentage of it. Therefore, we, as historians, had the opportunity to study such findings. And now, almost nothing is heard of such finds.

In the city, unexpected finds can sometimes be found in canals, water washes away the secrets of the Earth. They sometimes contain gold, copper, silver and bronze coins, sometimes even flint flakes of the Paleolithic or Neolithic times. Where did the water come from, no one will know? But somewhere, probably, was the treasure that the water found.

When analyzing old attics or basements of houses of the 40-50s of the last century, you can find pistols and machine guns, knives from the Second World War. Trophy weapons, which apparently their owners did not surrender to the police. And they hid it on a rainy day, in reserve. Sometimes it can be paintings taken out by soldiers or officers from Germany from World War II ... caskets, porcelain figurines, old cars or motorcycles ... but in a very shabby condition.

Sometimes we found paintings of the 20th century and under them were paintings of the 14-16th century.

Sometimes, when one of the students helps his grandfathers and great-grandfathers in the old plots, when they expand the plots or dig in the kitchen gardens, they find coins near the walls. Silver or copper, beginning of the 20th century, 1904, 1905, 1910, 1920-30s. Did someone hide them? What for? It's not clear yet.

Sometimes in old houses under wooden floorboards, old books of the 17-19th centuries, gold coins are found.

The most common places for finding caddas are tree roots, wells, places near walls, places near brick or wooden fences, cellars, attics, places under floorboards, canals, hollows of old trees, forest-park areas.

Sometimes in old books, which are sold in second-hand bookstores, you can find on the margin notes made with a pen or pencil. Sometimes they are in Hebrew, English, Farsi, Arabic or French.

Somehow I was not too lazy to read and was surprised to find on two such books ...

Anna's Point of View

I stared at Kaito at a distance while he's talking with his friends. I'm getting irritated because I don't like waiting! How can I teach this prick if he is not caring about it?

I walked to the group to tell Kaito that I need to tutor him now so we can go home earlier.

"Kaito? I think we should study now at the library"

I said with confidence. His friends just stared at me, like they're observing my whole body.

"Okay, sorry guys, see you later"

He waved goodbye to his friends as we walked together to the library, which I don't know where it is located.

"Hey, Kaito, is this your new girlfriend?"

All of a sudden, another guy approached us.

What does he mean by girlfriend? I'm not anyone's girlfriend! And is this Kaito popular in this school? Because every students probably know him.

"Nah, she's just a teacher's pet, teaching me just because I got the lowest score in class"

Kaito answered and messed up my brown hair. What was that for? But atleast you're didn't lie that I'm your girlfriend.

"Ah I see, okay then good luck handling with each other!"

Said the guy and sprinted away from us. This generation sure is different from my generation.

"Are we going to the library or are you just going to stare at that guy?"

Kaito interrupted me. I didn't answer and continued to walk. I just realized how gentle I am here in the 19th Century.

"You know, you're such a quiet and mysterious girl and that's the reason you're being clowned here in school"

Kaito pat my head. It's because I've got to be careful with my words and actions. And yes, I'm truly a mysterious person because you don't know that I'm from the 21st Century. I'm afraid I'm going to act like this so I won't mess up the present.

"So you're not going to talk to me?"

He added. I might as well make him shut up.

"We don't need to act like we're friends, we're here to learn, not to be friends"

I answered back without looking at him. I heard him laughing after that. Somehow, I felt awkward with this guy but at the same time, I felt a relief.

We went to the school library by taking a staircase to the second floor. Kaito offered to open the door of the library for me which I denied and open it for myself. 

As we got inside the library, several students was seen silently reading books, pretty plenty than the students who are reading in our library in present. It's probably because mobile phones already took the roles of books in the 21st Century, which is sad.

We sat on the table next to the desk of the librarian. So what am I going to do? How can I teach this prick? I guess the Kaito failed in Grammar so I have to bring out Chieko's Grammar notebook, I hope I can read the handwriting of Chieko.

As I brought out the notebook, I noticed Kaito looking at me, as if he was observing me.

"What are you looking at?"

I asked him seriously. This guy is creepy, staring at random people's souls.

"I already got bored so I stared at your face"

He carelessly said while looking at his fingers. I don't know why but it made my face slightly red from saying that.

Well, to be honest, Chieko is a very beautiful woman, though I'm still more beautiful than her. And because of that, this hour became more interesting, maybe because Kaito's in a different personality.

-•-

We spent 45 minutes learning with him and no moments were awkward when I was teaching him. He was able to understand the lessons clearly and quickly. I'm proud of myself for being able to share knowledge to other people.

"Where do you live, Chieko? I can walk you home"

He asked me while we were putting our things in our bag. I can't let him see that my house is ugly! I need to deny his offer to walk me home.

"No, it's fine. I can go home safely"

I declined his offer and carried my bag. He nodded as a response and we both walked out the library silently. 

I was about to pull out my phone from my bag until I realized I'm in the 19th Century, so using a phone here is useless because you can't text anyone! And that makes me feel more miserable here.

Kaito and I went outside the gate of our school silently, but I somehow didn't feel awkward with him.

"See you again, Chieko. It was great learning from you rather than that old woman, I mean our teacher"

Kaito waved his hand and smiled genuinely at me. I smiled back at him and waved good bye and we part ways, both of us walking on the opposite direction.

Now, Kaito seems to be a gentleman and an ideal man in the 21st Century since no man is loyal in that century. But I still hate men in general whether I meet a fine man or not.

"Is that Kaito who was with you at the gate?"

All of a sudden, Ami appeared out of nowhere smiling weirdly.

"Yes. Ms. Chin gave me a responsibility to tutor Kaito"

I answered while both of us walked in the same path.

"Oh, well then that's good. Just do what you think is right and you'll lead Chieko to her right destination"

Ami patted my shoulder. Everyone loves patting here in the 19th Century, I don't know why.

"Tell me, Ami. How long are you here in 19th Century?"

I asked her softly just in case a stranger may hear our conversation.

"Almost 11 months, maybe?"

She quickly answered and looked at me, giving me a genuine smile.

"Oh, look, you have arrived at your home now"

She pointed at my house. That doesn't look like a home and I hate it. I can't bear this home especially if I can't feel the love of the parents. I would rather be bullied than to sleep with ants on the ground.

"Alright, goodbye. See you tomorrow!"

I sighed and waved goodbye to Ami. Ami jumped and waved back goodbye to me as well. We both parted ways as she is going to her home which is approximately 60 meters from here.

After that, I turned to look at our house's door telling myself to face the harsh reality that I'm poor, Chieko's poor.

Suddenly, I hear a breaking of glasses inside. I got nervous and went inside to check it out.

"If you're not so lazy, we could have earn more!"

"But I needed to rest because I got tired!"

I saw Chieko's mom and dad fighting, with plates broken on the ground. My heart is beating fast and I can't do anything about it but to stare at two persons who are supposed to love each other fight and hurt each other.

Then, my dad pushed my mom that made my mom lose balance and eventually fall on the ground.

"You're not going to rest unless I say so. If killing is legal, I could have been drinking blood"

My father said and walk out the house. He didn't look at me at all. I quickly went to my mom who is weeping from what she have heard. I tried comforting and patting her shoulder because that's all I can do to her.

"Chieko, you might as well go to your room and rest. I can take care on my own"

Before I stood up, I decided wheter I should obey my mom or now, because I know she's feeling hurt and I just can't leave her here epecially when dad walked in again. But in the end, I still went to my room.

I put down my bag in the corner of my room and quickly sat down on the long chair. Being Chieko is a very hard responsibility. You have challenges and obstacles you need to clear before achieving a desire and every happiness is a sadness in disguise.

I have to try harder.

[Slow Updates]

It was year 2016...

When Anna Shizuki was adrifted back to 1877 due to her naughty actions in a body of another person.

She thought it would be a great experience but little did she know, she was unlucky for having a hard task. She was forced to act like a girl living in 19th Century, she was forbidden to make huge actions that will affect the present and she was invited to join a rebellion against the Lydrenian Empire.

So while she was waiting for her time to go back to the present, she had to deal with all the problems that will occur in a body of Chieko Yun.

Lin Sanjiu and the brothers looked towards the source of the sound.
The gas lamps on the sides of the street went out one by one. The young man lowered his face so that he could mask his facial features from the other three people. He wasn't tall, and he wore a high-shouldered vintage denim jacket that didn't really go well with his scrawny body frame.
"How did you know that this is 19th-century London?" One of the potato brothers asked.
Both brothers had round eyes with black and large irises. Their faces were somehow different, but they looked very similar. Whenever they were talking, they always stared at you, making you want to avert your gaze away. After all, it was uncomfortable for most people to maintain eye contact.
Lin Sanjiu looked around, and she found out that the elder brother's height only reached her eyebrows. Although she was a woman, she was the tallest amongst four of them.
The young man seemed to be an introvert. He shrunk back a little when he heard their query, but soon lifted his face again, "... Because I've always been interested in Jack the Ripper and read a lot about him, so I knew it at first glance. When did you guys arrive here?"
He spoke with a slight Cantonese accent. Having a pair of phoenix eyes with double eyelids, he had a stunning androgynous outlook. It was no wonder Lin Sanjiu mistook the old man's description as her grand prize.
"We have been waiting here for a long time," the elder brother said impatiently. As he averted his steely gaze away from the young man, Lin Sanjiu could sense the latter relaxed, "So, when will the whatever-Jack go murder people? How should we capture him?"
The young man shook his head, "I'm afraid I have no idea… It all happened hundreds of years ago, and until now no one knew who Jack the Ripper was. Even the London Constabulary had a hard time tracking him down… It's not that easy to capture him."
The younger brother let out a sigh. He surveyed around and said to himself, "... Don't you guys feel this place is a little bit… creepy?"
"Not only that," Lin Sanjiu chimed in, drawing attention to her. She rubbed her temples and sighed, "... I suppose this pocket dimension is not as safe as the old man claimed. At the very least, I think we can't use either of our Evolving Abilities or Special Items."
As she said that, she had secretly put the [Battle Item] into her pocket. It now looked like ordinary porcelain. Initially, she wanted to put it into her card, but she was unable to do so. Her [Planar World] would not reply to her call no matter how many times she tried to summon it.
The other three people looked at each other. None of them spoke.
None of them knew each other (aside from the potato brothers). They were there merely because they had entered the same Pocket Dimension, and it was impossible for them to trust a stranger. Hence, it was considered reasonable if they refused to say their Evolving Abilities had been sealed away.
After they had a short discussion, the group of four decided to go down the street to see if they could find anything useful. Their appointed characters were inconsequential—ordinary residents that resided in the slums of the East End of London. They walked for a while, and the brothers were the first to get "identified" when they bumped into a heavily drunk Eastern European immigrant. It turned out that their roles were owners of a tavern nearby.
The immigrant kept asking them, "What's up peeps. Are you guys on your way to open the tavern now?"
The clear blue sky in the morning was darkened by the drizzle and mist. Although the young man had read a lot about Jack the Ripper, it was apparently his first-time visit to London. The group went round and round several times before they finally stumbled upon the infamous Whitechapel in East End. According to him, Jack the Ripper's first victim was a middle-aged prostitute. Her body was found here, and according to the autopsy, it was said that she had suffered 39 stab wounds in the breasts and genitals.
The rain continued to fall, and the alley seemed even darker. The air in the 19th-century London was often poisoned with a pungent sulphuric smell, and the entire capital was covered in a dense fog that not even rain could wash away. Silently, the four of them traveled down the hazy alley, which looked extremely unreal. All of a sudden, after they had walked for some time, there was the sound of heels hitting the cobblestone.
Click, clack, click, clack, it went like this.
They all were stunned, then they saw a young woman coming out from the rain and fog ahead. She wrapped her shoulders with a time-worn shawl, walking with hasty steps. After turning down a corner, she was startled by the group of people blocking her way. She hitched up her skirt and recoiled a few steps back. However, she seemed to heave a sigh of relief when she saw Lin Sanjiu.
"Carol," she called. There was a dark circle below one of her eyes. The corner of her lips had swollen up, blood was seeping out. A cheap-priced perfume hung about her, and her make-up was smudged. Judging from the woman's attire, it wasn't hard to tell her occupation.
The young woman walked a few steps closer to Lin Sanjiu and looked at the young man. She pressed nearer and asked, "... Are you going home? Are they your two new customers?"
Exchanging glances, Lin Sanjiu, and the young man was torn between tears and laughter. They had never expected that the game had given them a Dutch widow identity.
Since Lin Sanjiu had no idea how to reply, she just answered, "Ah."
"You guys have to watch out," the young prostitute said, her voice teetering on fear. She used her hand to cover the dark circle under her eye, "... There is a killer here. He has killed two people around here. If you can go home early, please do yourself a favor and get home as early as possible!"
Hearing this, the few posthumans looked at each other.
"It feels so nice to have a place to stay," the young prostitute smiled dryly, "I thought the man from yesterday was going to let me stay at his place, but who knew? Anyway, I'm going to try my luck at the pier, perhaps I can still get somebody before the sunsets."
After that, she left without waiting for Lin Sanjiu them to reply. From a closer range, her high-heeled shoes no longer produced the crisp clicking sound; it sounded more like spoiled high-heeled shoes of inferior quality where the toebox hit the outsole.
The young man withdrew his eyes from the young prostitute after she had gone far. He turned around and whispered to the other three people, "What should we do now? Jack the Ripper has already murdered two people."
"All of them are prostitutes?" Lin Sanjiu asked, her brows creased in concern, "How many people did he kill?"
"Five, all are harlots," the young man replied softly, "All the murders happened between 31 August and 9 November 1888. After that, he vanished."
"That means the game would end very soon even if we do not do anything," the elder brother said, "Well, the truth is I'm not particularly interested in capturing a serial killer. I suggest we find a place and wait until the game ends. What do you guys think?"
Before Lin Sanjiu could give any comment, the young man's cheeks flushed, "Well, it's not easy to have such a chance… I--I really want to know the real identity of Jack the Ripper."
"How about you? What's your thought?" The elder brother looked at Lin Sanjiu.
"Let's move in a team," Lin Sanjiu said after some contemplation. She turned to the young man and tried to talk him down, "Let's find a place to settle down first. After that, you can go out and investigate who Jack the Ripper is."
The young man lowered his head, and Lin Sanjiu took it as a yes.
It wasn't hard to find a place to stay, but it wasn't an easy task either. In the end, the young man gave a suggestion, "Hey guys, I have a suggestion. Why don't you two pretend to be drunk and ask around for the location of your house? I suppose tavern owners should at least have a house to stay, right?"
Though the suggestion was a little bit stupid, and the process was kind of tedious, they still found their rented house.
However, it seemed that life was difficult for the two tavern owners as well. They rented the house together with an old coachman and a cobbler. The backyard was full of the ammoniacal smell of the horse's excretion and leather odor. The smell was so strong that even when they closed the window, they still could smell it inside the house.
After the four of them had settled down in the ill-lit, claustrophobic living room, Lin Sanjiu heaved a long sigh of relief. The air in the house smelled damp and dusty. It was as if the house had been left vacant for a long time. Lin Sanjiu allowed her gaze to jump from one person to another. She found that, aside from the young man, whose eyes were brimming with excitement at the prospect of meeting Jack the Ripper in person, the brothers had the same blank and lost expression on their faces.
"Why are you so interested in this serial killer?" The elder brother asked, slouching into a single sofa. They could only see his eyes, which glowed mysteriously in the dark.
The young man shrunk back a little, then he spoke plaintively, "... He's very famous. Movies, songs, literature… There are a plethora of works about Jack the Ripper."
"Since we're here, can you tell us more about this whatever-Jack?" The younger brother asked, sitting in an almost identical fashion as his brother.
Lin Sanjiu could tell this was the topic the young man had been waiting for. It was obvious that he had done plenty of research about Jack the Ripper. The moment the younger brother told him to tell them more about his idol, his timid self disappeared, and his confident side took the stage. He told them everything about Jack the Ripper, from his origin to his criminal motive through the entire case. He remembered every detail, and he even could point out the different origin.
"Every time I talk about Jack the Ripper, people would say I am a freak," the young man realized that he had been too agitated when he was about to come to an end of the chronicle about Jack the Ripper. He lowered his head in embarrassment and said, "But there are a lot of people out there who, like me, are serial killer fanatics; it's no rare thing. I've also heard that some admirers communicated with serial killers through letter-writing after they had been arrested and imprisoned. Some of them even tie the knot in prison…"
Lin Sanjiu had heard about this as well.
"Hey, the sky is getting dark," the younger brother glanced out of the window and called out to them.
The other three people followed his gaze and they were all stunned. It seemed that the time flow in the game was faster than the time in the real world. They were merely listening to the young man talks about Jack the Ripper and the sun had already set. As the day turned dark, prostitutes, hooligans, drunkard, all came out from their lairs and began to gather under the gas lamps, filling the alley. All kinds of women of different ages and appearance stood beside the street in groups, shivering in the cold and waited for their customers to arrive.
"You can go now if you want to search for the murderer," the elder brother said to the youngster. He pointed at the shadow that hid under the lamps, "We two can accompany you if—"
He couldn't finish his sentence as he was interrupted by a rapping on the door. Four of them looked at each other, and since Lin Sanjiu was nearest to the door, she got up and went to open the door. Once the door was opened, the woman outside stunned.
"Carol? Didn't Mr. Dalton called me over?" The woman had a pair of bright red lips, and her face was white. Though she had put on heavy make-up, she couldn't hide her saggy skin and wrinkles. The woman raised her voice, assaulting Lin Sanjiu's ears with her sharp tone, "Why are you here, Carol? Did you undercut me?"
The commotion at their house had caused the neighbor to open his door. An elderly man poked his head out and smiled at her, teasing, "... Annie, I guess Mr. Dalton is not very fond of an aged woman. Why don't you come over to my place instead—"
"Ptui! Close the door and get your ass back into that filthy room of yours! My service demands money!" The prostitute spat phlegm next to Lin Sanjiu's shoe.
It seemed that Dalton was the name of the brothers in the game. The woman was giving Lin Sanjiu a headache, and just as she turned around to have the brothers sent her off, she was first met with a pair of bright eyes.
"Annie?" The youngster stammered, "Are you, Annie Chapman?"
The old prostitute turned her head and asked, she felt confused, "... Yes, I am. What's wrong with that?"
Lin Sanjiu and the brothers looked at the youngster. The youngster turned to face them and talked in an extremely low voice, "She is the third victim."


Lin Sanjiu is a normal woman in modern-day society. Everyone admires her outstandingly handsome, gentle, and rich boyfriend. However, Lin Sanjiu feels vaguely afraid of this "perfect" boyfriend. She's always felt that her boyfriend looks at her like she's a tasty piece of meat...

The transformation happened one night. Sanjiu got into an argument with her boyfriend, and he finally revealed his true colors. As it turns out, he was a being with special abilities from an apocalyptic world who wanted to eat Sanjiu to help him evolve. To his dismay, he ended up being the one killed by Sanjiu with her hidden abilities instead.

However, Sanjiu's troubles don't end with her dead boyfriend. In fact, the world she resides in is starting to go through unusual changes. This world is becoming a scorching hot hellhole...

19th century literature

19th January

A Soul of A Lifetime

Stories about merchants or cunning merchant

Treasure Hunt Tycoon

Pet King

The Mighty Intern

Thriller Paradise

Traveler notes

Transported In The Past

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