Strange Book City

"Welcome to the Wonderful Book City Paradise. This is an extraordinary paradise built by hundreds of scientific and technological talents and a huge sum of money!

It was different, absolutely different!

Here, you can go up the mountain and go down the sea.

They could travel through the past and explore the future!

You can find the treasure of the bandits with Ali Baba.

He could also help Sun Wukong fight demons!

There were always unexpected adventures here. This was a paradise for young adventurers!

Come to the Sea of Wondrous Books Paradise and have a brave adventure!"

This was the advertising slogan on a flyer.

Today was the official summer break. After receiving the notice and walking out of the classroom, Ai Ya grabbed Lu Yi. When she saw Zhu Kaihuai of the Sports Administration behind her, she pulled Lu Yi to the corner and then mysteriously took out a color-printed flyer from her bag to show Lu Yi.

"This is a new amusement park by the sea. It seems to be really different. How about we go have some fun and have a brave adventure?" AiYa looked at Lu Yi eagerly, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Is it true? Why do I feel that this advertisement is a little mysterious? Is it reliable?" Lu Yi frowned as he looked at the flyer. Although he was moved after reading these few sentences and was a little excited, he felt that it was unbelievable and hard to believe.

"It should be reliable. This flyer was given to me by my mother's cousin, who is my uncle. He is a doctor and works there. Besides, we'll know if it's true or not when we go and take a look."

" Hehe, you can even help Sun Wukong fight demons. Which one of us is Zhu Bajie?"

"I am. You are Monk Sand. Hehehe." Ai Ya wanted Lu Yi to go to the Mystical Book City with him and was willing to be Zhu Bajie.

"Alright, let's go and take a look." Lu Yi agreed.

"That's great, Junior Brother Sha!" AiYa said happily," Tell your parents when you get home. Try to go tomorrow. It's finally summer vacation. I have to have some fun!"

"Alright, Second Senior Brother." Lu Yi put the flyer into his school bag.

When they got home, Lu Yi showed the flyer to his parents and said that he wanted to go to this " Strange Book Ocean Paradise " tomorrow. His parents agreed readily.

His mother also said," You should go out and play more. If you keep playing games at home, your glasses will get stronger."

The next morning, Lu Yi's father drove Lu Yi to the neighboring neighborhood to pick up Aiya. They followed the address on the flyer and finally found the " Wonderful Book City " after nearly two hours.

After getting out of the car, they saw a very cartoonish building. In the middle of the hall was a blue, translucent glass hall with the words " Wonderful Book City " on it. On both sides of the hall were two tall, cylindrical white buildings. The shorter ones were like tree roots, while the taller ones were like mushrooms. The surroundings were well greened, clean and tidy, and looked quite comfortable.

However, Lu Yi felt that it lacked a sense of technology and mystery, so he was a little disappointed.

AiYa was very excited." Wow, what a beautiful building. It must be fun inside!"

He followed Lu Yi's father into the hall and a young man immediately greeted him with a smile.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Wonderful Book City Paradise." As he spoke, the young man led them to a sofa next to a desk and sat down.

"My surname is Dong. You can call me Little Teacher Dong." The staff member smiled and introduced himself." I'm a primary school language teacher. I'm working part-time here during the summer break."

"Hello, Teacher Little Dong!" Lu Yi and Ai Ya quickly said. In school, male teachers were a rare breed.

Mr. Little Dong first gave a brief introduction to the general situation of the Wonderful Book City. It was almost the same as what was described in the flyer. Then, he asked,"Do you two children want to play here for five days or seven days?" Five days for two people, 1000 yuan. Seven days for 1200 yuan."

"What?" Lu Yi's father stood up immediately." Five days? Seven days? But I have to go to work. How can I play with them for so long?"

" It's like this," Ms. Dong said." Parents are not allowed to play here. The children play by themselves. Moreover, the City of Wondrous Books is very big. You can only play one game in five days."

"No, absolutely not!" Lu Yi's father said and was about to leave. Lu Yi and Aiya's hearts immediately turned cold.

" Wait, Mr. Father," Ms. Dong stopped Lu Yi's father and said," Can I talk to you in private?"

Mr. Dong led Lu Yi's father into an office. After a while, Lu Yi's father came out and called Aiya's father. Then, he and Mr. Dong went back to their desks and sat down.

Lu Yi's father gave Mr. Dong 1,000 yuan and signed another contract. Then, Mr. Dong took out a watch and a card." This is the park card. One thousand yuan is stored in this card. It's equivalent to one hundred park coins." This was actually the living and transportation expenses of the two children for the past five days. If they couldn't use it, they could refund it. If you're lucky and smart enough or know how to do business, you can even earn money by playing in Strange Book City."

  Lu Yi's father said," Hehe, I don't expect them to make money. Just have fun and come back safely."

"Don't worry." Mr. Little Dong continued," This watch is actually a summoning device. If you get someone's summoning card, put the red side of the summoning card close to the watch and say the password. You can immediately summon that person to you. Put the yellow side close to the watch and you can send that person back. However, each Summoning Card could only be used once for free. If he summoned the same person a second time, he would have to deduct 10 to 100 Park Coins based on the distance. If you don't have enough money in the park card, you won't be able to summon the same person again."

"In addition, it also has positioning and communication functions. If you encounter danger, press the red button on the side and shout for help. However, this means that your trip has ended early."

"It's fun!" AiYa said.

  Lu Yi's father said to Lu Yi and Aiya," You two have fun. Be careful. It's best to avoid all dangers."

With that, he smiled and left alone.

  Seeing Lu Yi's father walk out of the hall, Little Teacher Dong said to Lu Yi and Aiya," You two can be considered a group. You can give your group a name."

"Name it?"

"What should we name it?"

Lu Yi and Ai Ya couldn't think of a satisfactory name for a long time.

" How about this," Mr. Dong said." How about we call it 'Wanli Team' for the time being? I wish that you can 'read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles' both inside and outside the Wonderful Book City. If you can think of a better name, you can change it."

"Alright then." Although Lu Yi and Ai Ya felt that this name was a little old-fashioned, they couldn't think of a more suitable one at the moment, so they nodded in agreement.

"Alright, now let's discuss how you two should play. As I said just now, the Book of Wondrous City is very big. You only have five days and can only go to one place to play."

" The nearest one to us is Fairy Island, followed by Chang 'an City and the Magical Coast. Let me test you first and see where you are suitable to go."

Test us? Lu Yi and Ai Ya looked at each other and thought,'Teacher Dong, you're indeed a teacher. You even have to take a test in the amusement park!'

"Do you know Nie Yin's mother?" Teacher Little Dong asked.

"I don't know." Lu Yi and Ai Ya shook their heads blankly.

"Does Elder Zhang know about it?" Mr. Dong asked again," Why did Old Zhang Guo ride a donkey upside down?"

"..." Lu Yi and Ai Ya didn't say anything, but Zhang Guolao knew that they were one of the Eight Immortals. However, who knew why he was doing this?

Alright, next question." Teacher Little Dong thought for a moment and said," An old fisherman saved a crane that was caught in a fishing net. Do you know what the crane gave the old man?"

“……”

" Then do you know what the price for a mermaid to become a human is?"

"I know. The price is her voice!" AiYa immediately replied," That damned sea witch cut off her tongue!"

"Correct. " One last question," Teacher Little Dong said," What are the three national treasures of the King of Jin Shan?"

"The King of the Golden Mountain's national treasure?" Lu Yi thought for a moment and said," This is a story from Grimm's Fairy Tales, right? I've read it. It's a sword, an Invisibility Cloak, and boots."

" If only I had an Invisibility Cloak. I'll definitely find a way to borrow it." AiYa said with a smile.

"Can I borrow the Invisibility Cloak to play with?" Teacher Little Dong also smiled and said," This matter…is a little difficult. How can a Nation's Treasure be lent out so casually?"

"A little difficult?" Lu Yi's eyes lit up." In other words, it's possible?"

"Of course!" Teacher Little Dong said," In Strange Book City, anything is possible!"

" Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find the King of Jinshan. I want to borrow the Invisibility Cloak!" AiYa said anxiously.

"Looks like you guys are the most suitable to go to Fairytale Island. The King of Golden Mountain was on Fairytale Island. "But…" Teacher Little Dong was a little hesitant.

"But what?" Ai Ya asked.

" There have been sea monsters on Fairytale Island recently. It's said that several people have been kidnapped by the sea monsters." Teacher Dong said," It's your first time here. I'm afraid it'll be dangerous."

"We are bold but cautious, we are not afraid of danger!" AiYa patted her belly and said.

"Is that so?" Teacher Little Dong looked at Ai Ya and then at Lu Yi.

"Yes." Ai Ya pointed at Lu Yi." He is meticulous, but I am bold."

" Alright then." Ms. Dong smiled." I'll take you to Fairy Tale Island." In fact, there is no absolutely safe place in the Strange Book City. You might encounter demons and ghosts wherever you go. It's all an adventure."

Teacher Little Dong stood up and led Lu Yi and Aiya out of the hall. They turned right and walked towards the huge mushroom building.