The Rules Here

At the Twilight Chapel, Zheng Yichen raised an eyebrow as he looked around. People could live in a city for years or even decades without visiting every part of it. Sometimes, when they heard others mention some local place they'd never been to, it still felt unfamiliar.

Seeing this grand cathedral gave him that same feeling. It was basically, Holy crap, Longcheng has a place like this?

The Twilight Chapel wasn't anything like he'd imagined. There weren't hunters setting up stalls outside like they were at a flea market, hawking all the goods they'd laid out.

In reality, there were a fair number of people, but not too many, and the place was quite peaceful. The chapel had an overall dusk-colored hue, and that feeling grew even stronger once he went inside. He'd arrived close to noon, but after entering, he felt as if time had somehow slipped out of joint.

It was as though he'd gone straight from the blazing midday sun to dusk.

The chapel's interior was extremely spacious. Some hunters sat casually in the pews, chatting. A few had spread cloths over the long tables in front of them and laid out various things: the horns of some creature, prepared hides, claws, and so on.

There were also a few cold weapons that looked quite impressive.

Aside from those, Zheng Yichen could see a few women moving about inside the chapel. They wore uniforms somewhat like the nun's habits he knew of, though they weren't quite the same. Their uniforms clearly set them apart from the hunters, so nobody would mistake them for one another.

There were no statues or murals inside the chapel, either. The only theme was "dusk," everywhere. Its colors weren't harsh or dark, and in that setting, it was easy to feel pleasantly drowsy.

Zheng Yichen thought it'd be nice to come here and take a nap when he had nothing to do. The chapel was so spacious—could he lay out a bedroll somewhere?

Besides, they didn't worship any god here. They worshipped only "dusk." Zheng Yichen didn't know why this chapel worshipped a "landscape," but faith was a personal choice. As long as it didn't affect him, people could believe whatever they wanted.

After all, plenty of people believed in a little bit of everything. When it came down to it, whichever one worked was the one they'd stick with.

"Hello. Is there anything I can help you with?" A nun—or, well, someone who seemed to be a nun—approached Zheng Yichen and asked with a faint smile.

"This is my first time here."

The nun nodded gently. "Are you looking for treatment, or do you need a weapon repaired?"

Whoa, straight to the point. Seeing the nun put it that way, Zheng Yichen took out his Fishing Rod. He'd had it custom-made with money, and though the material was decent, it was basically like paying a decent blacksmith on Earth ten thousand yuan or so to make a sword.

It was definitely better quality than the kind of sword you could buy online for a few hundred yuan, but it wasn't exactly a top-tier weapon.

Besides, most of the time, it really was just a fishing rod in Zheng Yichen's hands. When it came to fighting, it wasn't the Fishing Rod doing the work.

"Can you repair an Exotic Weapon too?"

"Of course." The nun glanced at the transformed Fishing Rod in Zheng Yichen's hand. Her smile didn't change at all.

"Are there any rules here?"

The nun took out a thin handbook and handed it to Zheng Yichen. It contained some "introductory information" about the Twilight Chapel. That section was about as useful as the tourist information in a visitor's guide—it was the sort of thing he could skim once and forget.

The important part was the section on rules. The chapel provided trash bags and had trash cans, so littering was forbidden. Smoking was allowed, but only in designated smoking areas. Cursing was allowed, but you couldn't be too loud. Fighting was forbidden. If you were skilled in hand-to-hand combat, using those skills to attack someone counted as fighting with a weapon.

All forms of harassment toward the nuns were forbidden. The nuns had undergone professional training and possessed considerable Martial Force. They could treat injuries, but not illnesses. Corpses were outside the scope of treatment.

The Twilight Chapel could repair damaged weapons, but it didn't make weapons to order—not any kind of weapon. Junk couldn't be repaired.

You could spend the night in the chapel, but you had to bring your own bedding and choose a suitable place to lay it out. You couldn't bed down somewhere that obstructed passage or other people's movement. The long tables were for putting things on; lying on them or propping your feet up was forbidden, unless you were doing so as spare parts. Staying overnight cost money. Spending two nights in the chapel within one week counted as consecutive nights.

The chapel didn't provide meals. Anyone worried about getting hungry had to bring their own provisions. There were taps if you wanted water, and the treated water was safe to drink.

Graffiti and deliberately damaging the chapel's facilities were forbidden.

Those were all the rules at the Twilight Chapel. In short, it was pretty free. As long as you didn't hit anyone, cursing was fine. Harassing the nuns was just asking for trouble. Zheng Yichen glanced at the young nun in front of him.

She had bright orange-red eyes, close to the chapel's color scheme, and hair the color of autumn maple leaves.

The young nun didn't seem uncomfortable at all under Zheng Yichen's gaze. She met his eyes calmly and asked, "Any other questions?"

"Not for now." Zheng Yichen really wanted to ask what happened when someone broke the rules here. And when they said the nuns had considerable Martial Force, just how strong were they?

If someone seriously violated the rules, would the nuns pull some intimidating weapon out from under their skirts to lay down the law?

Treating injuries but not illnesses was generally fine, but unfortunately, his injuries had nearly healed already. He'd been struck by some rocks earlier. Thanks to his Protective Suit, his back had only turned a large patch purple, without bleeding. The impact to his arm had only caused internal muscle damage.

He could recover naturally, and his healing ability was pretty good. He was still in some pain, but it didn't interfere with movement or combat.

"If you have any other questions, you can ask any of the nuns in the chapel."

Zheng Yichen looked again at the other nuns in the Twilight Chapel. Some were holding tools and sweeping the floor. He noticed one little detail: aside from their different hair colors, all the nuns seemed to have the same eye color.

Did they have a requirement like that for hiring here?

The people in this world were a mixed bunch, and Zheng Yichen had long since gotten used to it.

He found an empty seat and sat down, taking out his phone. The Wi-Fi here was good, with a strong signal. Not even half an hour later, the nun who'd left earlier came back and handed him his Fishing Rod.

The Fishing Rod's tip had been bent out of shape, its overall structure damaged, and its telescoping mechanism had been stiff. Now it was completely repaired. Aside from the damaged parts not being repainted, it looked as good as new.

It cost a little over three hundred. That wasn't a very good price. A Fishing Rod wasn't a blade; if he found a suitable craftsman in Longcheng and haggled a little, he figured he could get one for just over a hundred. The Twilight Chapel didn't haggle.

The nun accepted the money and left without a word. When she passed the hunters, they acted as though she didn't exist, not even sparing her a glance.

That was probably how people who came to the Twilight Chapel regularly were supposed to react.