Chen Lin appeared beneath the Grand Theater.
He immediately looked around.
The surroundings had not changed much, but there were more unfamiliar faces.
There were still a few days before the Story Contest began. Chen Lin declined two puppets' requests to perform and headed for Big-Ear Rabbit's Story Cottage.
Before leaving last time, he had asked her to keep an eye on changes in Fairytale Town, saving himself the trouble of investigating.
Although she was timid, asking her some routine questions was still possible.
After walking a while, Chen Lin noticed that the number of tourists really had increased. He encountered several along a short stretch of road.
After two Story Contests, he had some impression of almost all the town's residents, so he could easily distinguish tourists from locals.
There were also considerably more performing puppets than before.
Some were contestants eliminated in the last Story Contest, while others were faces he had never seen. He did not know whether they had been transformed from tourists.
He continued straight on and soon reached the Banana Cottage.
Chen Lin froze.
A long, snaking queue had actually formed outside the little cottage. Business seemed to be booming.
He had not come to take part in the cottage adventure, so he did not queue and went straight to the door.
After explaining himself to the alien creature at the front of the line, he pushed the door open and entered.
"The customer inside hasn't come out yet. Please wait in line outside."
Barbara was sprawled across the table, gnawing a banana with her two front teeth. Hearing the door open, she spoke lazily.
Then she glanced back.
"Ah, my lord!"
Seeing Chen Lin, Barbara immediately hopped off the table and came forward in delighted surprise.
"Haha, business at the Rabbit Fairy's Fairytale