So Simple, Yet Something Feels Wrong!

But this time, no flames or light ignited on the flight attendant's body.

"Did I miss my chance?" the voluptuous flight attendant wondered to herself.

At that moment, a line of text reappeared on the light screen above the gate: [Stop taking pictures of me! If you do, I'll get angry!]

The voluptuous flight attendant was startled; she was genuinely startled and jumped backward, nearly knocking Tubo to the ground behind her.

About two minutes later, the heavy, massive metal door slowly began to lift upwards.

However, the gate did not open fully; it only opened to a height of about two meters before stopping.

The height of about two meters was enough for everyone to get through—but passing through the city gate was a little scary. With such a massive metal gate hanging overhead, it felt like it might fall at any moment. And if it did fall... how horribly would the people below die? Would they be crushed to a pulp?

So the passengers hurried through the city gate that was suspended in mid-air, afraid that the gate would crash down halfway through their journey.

After safely passing through the city road, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, everyone curiously looked into the city gate.

Inside the city gate was a wide official road leading all the way to the inner city. Neatly planted on both sides were ancient trees over ten meters tall, and a clear river flowed along it...

At the entrance to the Ancient City, an elderly man dressed in ancient costume stood, seemingly waiting for everyone.

Behind the old man were fifteen strong and powerful men.

"Welcome, heroes from afar, to our home!" The elderly man in ancient costume greeted them warmly, starting with Joseph at the front, and shook hands with each passenger enthusiastically.

His enthusiasm caught the remaining passengers off guard for a moment.

When the old man in ancient costume finally grasped Song Shuhang's hand, Song Shuhang frowned slightly— his Eye Aperture had been opened, and he could see the details of things.

He had just noticed that the old man in ancient costume shook hands with each passenger with exactly the same posture, smile, and tone of voice.

Especially when the elderly man in ancient costume said, "Welcome, welcome," even the rhythm and pace of his voice remained almost unchanged.

This feeling reminded Song Shuhang of the sound that was playing repeatedly from the speakers on the city wall—the movements of the old man in ancient costume were like the sound of the speakers playing on repeat!

After taking Song Shuhang's hand, the old man in ancient attire said excitedly, "Thank you all, heroes! It was you who helped us withstand the giant eagle's attack!"

After saying that, he clapped his hands vigorously.

Behind him, the fifteen strong and muscular men also clapped vigorously.

Song Shuhang's strange feeling became even more pronounced—when the fifteen strong, ancient-dressed men clapped, their movements of opening and closing their palms were exactly the same, as if they were precise robots.

"No need to be so polite, sir. We were just defending ourselves," Song Shuhang said tentatively. He had always suspected that this enormous 'Mysterious Island' might be some kind of 'Real Illusion.' So he wanted to test the waters and see if the old man could actually talk to him.

If the other party's reply is incoherent and illogical, it is very likely Real Illusion.

"Regardless, you are all heroes, and we are eternally grateful!" the old man in ancient attire replied fluently. Then, he added, "I wonder if the heroes would agree to let us bring in those few hairy beasts. Although these hairy beasts often cause us trouble, they are indeed a rare delicacy. The heroes are weary from their journey and need these hairy beasts to nourish themselves and relieve their fatigue."

"We'll leave everything to the old man, and we're quite hungry anyway. Also, could you please arrange a place for us to rest for a while?" Song Shuhang asked again.

"No problem, we may lack other things in this city, but we have plenty of empty resting places." The old man in ancient costume chuckled. Although this Ancient City was large, most of it appeared empty.

As he spoke, the old man in ancient attire waved his hand gently, and fifteen strong and powerful men walked out of the city in an orderly manner. Ten of them split into two groups and carried the two giant eagles that Song Shuhang had killed. The remaining five walked along the city wall to the left to bring back the first eagle that Song Shuhang had killed.

"Heroes, please follow me. I will lead you to a place to rest," the old man in ancient attire said again, then turned and led the way.

The passengers looked at Song Shuhang with suspicion.

Song Shuhang replied, "Let's follow. We've finally made it into the city, so we naturally want to go inside."

Throughout the journey, the elderly man in ancient costume remained enthusiastic, constantly introducing the magnificent Ancient City to Song Shuhang as he led the way.

The elderly man in ancient costume gave a very detailed introduction, even describing a Stone Stele in the Ancient City in great detail, full of historical significance—the passengers next to him felt they couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Song Shuhang chatted and laughed with the old man, nodding in agreement.

Then... as they were talking, suddenly, Song Shuhang smiled and asked, "Old man, have you taken a dump?"

"Haha, young friend, you think so too." The old man in ancient attire stroked his beard and laughed.

The dialogue... doesn't match!

Song Shuhang thought for a moment, then tried to ask a more impolite question, "Grandpa, is your mother a big monkey?"

Song Shuhang said that his pronunciation was unclear and his speech was a little fast—if something went wrong, he could explain that his tongue had suddenly become tangled and that he meant to say, "Old man, do you have any big monkeys?"

The surrounding passengers were suddenly stunned, wondering what Song Shuhang was doing.

However, the old man in ancient costume seemed not to have heard Song Shuhang's words and still had a smile on his face.

He warmly took Song Shuhang's hand and continued to kindly introduce a grove of Song Shuhang trees ahead, "Come, hero, look how well those willow trees grow. Don't underestimate them; they have a history of over a hundred years. It is said that their new shoots, picked each year and combined with a few medicinal herbs, can be made into a wonderful tea that strengthens the body."

The question was ignored? But the conversation... still didn't connect.

Feeling somewhat apologetic, Song Shuhang tentatively asked with feigned enthusiasm, "Your dad is a gorilla."

"Haha, even a hero thinks this willow tree is quite nice, right?" The old man in ancient costume stroked his beard with satisfaction.

Song Shuhang nodded, his face full of admiration. "You're Big Macaque."

"Haha, what the hero says makes sense!" the old man in ancient costume replied with a smile.

The passengers nearby were dumbfounded. They picked at their ears, wondering if Song Shuhang had twitched, or the old man in ancient costume, or their own ears, or perhaps the whole world had twitched.

Sure enough, the conversation completely fell apart.

Song Shuhang rubbed his face vigorously. The old man in front of him was indeed suspicious... He was clearly operating according to a set 'program'.

The old man at the city gate was able to answer questions fluently, clearly because, like a chatbot AI, he could choose the correct response based on keywords and the other person's facial expressions.

Upon entering the city, the elderly man in ancient costume began his tour of the Ancient City, tirelessly introducing everything within it, leaving the others with almost no room to interject.

Even if it's not a 'Real Illusion,' this old man could be some kind of AI puppet.

Forget it, there's no sense of accomplishment in bullying such a chatbot AI.

Just ask yourself what you want to know.

"Sir, I'd like to ask, were the passengers who pressed 'yes' on the city gate taken home?" Song Shuhang inquired.

"The choice on the city gate? What's that?" The old man in ancient costume turned around and asked in confusion.

Is this question outside the answering authority of the elderly person in period costume?

Song Shuhang asked again, "Old man, how do we leave this place?"

This time, all the passengers looked on with anticipation.

"Leave this place?" The old man in ancient attire pointed to the tallest tower in the Ancient City: "See that tower? Inside is a huge trading place. Anyone can enter the trading place with their belongings and exchange them for what they want. Fair and honest, absolutely equal exchange!"

"Where can I exchange my opportunity to leave?" Song Shuhang immediately asked.

The old man in ancient attire shook his head. "We agreed on fair dealings and equal exchange. How could we possibly use the opportunity to leave to blackmail someone? All you need to do is complete a transaction in that tower, whatever it may be. Once it's done, you can leave."

Song Shuhang was slightly taken aback.

Is it that simple?

If it's that simple... then why did the seniors in the Nine Provinces Number One Group experience various calamities on the Mysterious Island? Although they weren't seriously injured, they still went through several fierce battles.

In the end, did I leave with my memories sealed? Did the predecessors enter a different place than I did? Or perhaps, did the predecessors open the instance incorrectly?

"We've arrived. This is my territory, and everyone is free to stay in these houses. In a little while, once those young men bring over the hairy beast, I'll show you all what I can do," the old man in ancient costume chuckled, even striking a cooking pose.

"Thank you for your trouble, sir," Song Shuhang replied.

Although it was just an AI character, it did help them a lot by showing them how to get back... After resting for a while and recovering his physical and mental strength, he could bring Zhuge Yue and Zhuge Zhongyang back and then return through the tower.

"Then, heroes, please rest well. I won't disturb you any longer," the old man in ancient attire said warmly with a smile.

The group quickly and politely greeted the old man.

The old man in ancient costume turned to leave, but... after taking two steps, he suddenly froze.

Then, he inexplicably came to Song Shuhang's side, took Song Shuhang's hand, and shook it warmly.

At the same time, he said in a voice only Shuhang could hear, "Welcome to 'Heavenly Island,' Song, Shuhang. Hope you have a good time."

Song Shuhang froze upon hearing this. Was this old man not an AI? And why was he pronouncing his name so deliberately?

Wait a minute, if he's not an AI, I just verbally abused him several times! Is the old man holding a grudge?

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