Mystery: Good Witch

Chapter 937: City Laws

"Welcome to the 'City of Dreams'."

Angel pushed open the heavy black archway, and just as he stepped out of the door and walked down the tall stairs that seemed to be designed for giants to the ground, he heard a unified shout.

In front of her was a wide horizontal street. A row of black street lamps gradually disappeared along the sidewalk. The dim lights illuminated the street at night. On both sides were rows of black houses, most of which were two or three stories high, asymmetrical buildings with higher left sides and lower right sides. They were similar in style and design, and were obviously built at the same time.

In front of her, two strangers, a man and a woman, were bowing to her. They were dressed in gorgeous but somewhat strange clothes, and behind them stood two rows of guards in neat military uniforms and holding wooden spears.

At this time, everyone shouted in unison in Ancient Feysac again:

"Welcome to the 'City of Dreams'!"

The sound was magnificent and layered, echoing throughout the entire street.

What is this… Am I not in the “Ghost Empire”? How can it be a city? Is the legendary description of “bigger than a city” true?
Seeing so many strangers, Angel subconsciously wanted to hide in the "mirror world" and spread the plague by the way, but she soon found that these people in front of her were really just welcoming her and did not make any unnecessary movements.

Moreover, although their movements seemed to be in unison, there were actually some subtle differences, and their expressions were very vivid, and it was obvious that they were all living people, not secret dolls or illusions.

"The Dreaming City?"

she repeated doubtfully, her eyes fixed on the female among the two bowing greeters.

The latter was short, but had an unusually full chest, long black hair, eyes of the same color as her hair, and soft features, which reminded Angel of the Orientals of her era. Her dress was black with handmade lace, and her round-toed leather shoes had exaggerated curling tips, but against the monotonous color, she looked solemn and old-fashioned.

The architecture was asymmetrical, but the clothing was very "conventional", somewhere between the distorted aesthetics of the Solomon Empire and the orderliness of the "Emperor of the Night"... Angel analyzed secretly, and noticed that the other party had a black metal card on his chest, which identified his identity. On it was an ancient Fesak word inlaid in brass.

Valentina...is that her name?
Hearing Angel's question, the woman named Valentina raised her head, and the respect in her eyes was gradually replaced by envy and obsession. After a moment, she replied in a respectful tone:
"'City of Dreams' is what we call this city. It is built according to everyone's dreams and realizes everyone's dreams. There is no war or conflict. You will definitely like it here."

It sounds a bit like an advertisement... Angel frowned and asked:

"Wasn't this built by the Trunsoste Empire?"

She wanted to say the name "Ghost Empire", but then she remembered that this was actually the name given by the adventurers and pirates of the Fifth Epoch to the ghost ship that sailed into the depths of the ocean. When the Trunsost Empire built it, it must have had a more formal name.

"Tren, Soest..."

Valentina pronounced the word with some pause, as if searching for its trace deep in her memory.

At this time, the man next to her, who was also wearing a black suit and a black top hat, seemed to have just gotten rid of Angel's appearance and temperament, and quickly took over the conversation and said:
"The Dreaming City was originally built by the Trunsost Empire, but now we have our own laws and our own future, no longer bound by the Empire."

It means that you have already achieved "self-governance"... Angel nodded, not too surprised.

After all, the "Trensost Empire" that everyone was talking about disappeared more than a thousand years ago, and there was no Night Emperor to rule them again. Even though the magnificent building behind them enshrined a statue that might be that emperor, it could be seen from the deserted hall that he was no longer respected.

She glanced at the nameplate on the man's chest, recognized his name as "Cliff", and asked:
"You showed up not long after I arrived here. Is it because you knew in advance that someone would come to this city?"

This time it was Valentina who answered:

"When a new guest arrives, the reception desk will send a greeting person based on the identity of the guest. We received the notification about five minutes ago and rushed here immediately."

"Who are you? Do you know me?" Angel asked in surprise.

"No, but the closer the guests are to the center of the city, the more distinguished they are." Cliff answered solemnly, looking up at the tall building behind Angel. "As far as I know, you are the only guest who appeared in the memorial hall. Most of the guests appeared in hotels or cafes outside the city, and some even appeared in the suburbs."

"Are there other guests? I thought we were the first to arrive here," Angel was dumbfounded. "Oh, there are some... guests who came here with me, and a boat, but there are no other people around me. Do you know where they are?"

"From time to time, people will mistakenly enter our city, about every few years. They all end up staying in the Dream City and become part of it." Cliff withdrew his gaze from the memorial hall and looked at Angel again. "As for the companions you mentioned, if they are as distinguished as you, they should appear in other buildings not far away, and there will be other reception staff to greet them. If they are of lower status, they will stay outside the city."

No wonder there has been no news about the "Ghost Empire" from the outside world. It turns out that people can only enter but not leave here. But I don't know whether they are staying here sincerely or they are forced to stay by you... As for the "honor" that Cliff mentioned, it doesn't refer to the sequence, right? Klein was forcibly separated because his sequence was lower than mine, and Anne might appear in a location closer to the city center?
Angel thought about it, and looked away from the honor guard in front of him, looking at both sides of the street. He was surprised to find that many people in these black buildings were leaning out of the windows, or directly walking out of the door, looking over here without any concealment, their eyes full of surprise and exploration.

She felt like a foreigner being watched... Just as she was expressing her feelings, Cliff spoke again:
"It's already late at night. Please come with us to our temporary residence. The consul will meet you tomorrow and grant you an official identity. After that, you can move freely in the city without being restricted by the law."

Archon, official identity, law... words that obviously contained some important information came out of the other party's mouth one after another, making all kinds of thoughts flash through Angel's mind, but she knew that the most important thing now was to follow the other party and learn everything about the "Dream City" during the conversation, rather than directly confronting them or the entire city.

This was completely different from what she had thought before entering the "Ghost Empire".

Watching the uniformed and armed soldiers forming the "honor guard" in front of them walking silently to the side of the street, Cliff and Valentina led the way with a gesture of invitation, and Angel followed with emotion.

She brought all the magical items and spells with her and came here fully prepared. She thought there would be a difficult battle, or a thrilling adventure in a ghost ship that was several times larger than the Queen Anne's Revenge. However, she did not expect to land in a huge city, with a memorial dedicated to the "Night Emperor", a grand guard of honor to greet her, and even onlookers from the residents.

Not to mention that it was several times larger than other ghost ships, the street she was on was about 300 meters long, three times longer than Anne's. In the distance, buildings hidden in the night were faintly visible, and it was unknown how far they extended. The night sky above was bright and cloudless, with stars all over the sky, and the nearly full red moon cast its faint light on the earth. Except for the slightly stronger wind, the style of the surrounding buildings was also different from any country in the northern continent. Angel almost thought he was in a small town in Loen.

"I originally thought that this was just a bigger ship..."

She spoke casually.

"Everyone who has just arrived here says so," Cliff, who was leading the way, smiled and looked very relaxed, "You will slowly fall in love with this city... as long as you don't break the law."

"Law?"

Angel finally found an opportunity and immediately asked back.

"This is a set of laws that has been gradually supplemented and improved by successive consuls at the suggestion of the parliament. It applies to the entire 'Dream City' and all citizens must act within its rules... Of course, this does not make everything rigid and inflexible. It only lists some things that cannot be done and stipulates the punishment for violators. Other than that, you can do anything that is not prohibited by law." Cliff replied.

It's quite humane... Angel curled his lips and asked casually:
"What are the specific rules? As a 'guest' who just arrived here, do I have the right to know?"

"Of course, although the law does not contain many regulations, it is still a thick book. I only carried with me a simplified version that excerpted the important contents."

As he spoke, the man in formal attire took out a piece of black paper with copper-yellow handwriting and framed around the edges, and handed it to Angel.

The latter took it and browsed it with the help of darkvision under the dim street lights.

"'Dream City' Provisional Law (78th Edition)

"This law will take effect immediately after it is revised on May 1336, 5, and all residents and guests of the Dreaming City must abide by it.

"Article 1: This law is enacted to maintain urban stability and protect the lives and property of residents. No resident may violate it, otherwise he will be punished in accordance with the regulations!
"Article 2: The Archon is the highest official of the Dream City, and is responsible for managing the residents of the entire city. Those who do not obey will be severely punished, up to and including the death penalty, except for orders that violate the law.

“Article 3: No resident may leave the city without permission, and violators will be sentenced to death.

"Article 4: The following acts are considered felonies and may be sentenced to death if tried by a court of law: murder, robbery, offering sacrifices to evil gods, and resisting law enforcement units...

"Article 5: The following acts shall be misdemeanors, punishable by fine or imprisonment upon trial by a court of law: theft, fraud, intimidation..."

This is not much different from the laws of other countries. Except for the "strict" prohibition of leaving the city, all other things are real crimes. Of course, this is just a simplified version. The "complete version" mentioned by Cliff may have more and stranger restrictions... Angel quickly scanned the contents on the paper and found something unreasonable.

"This law has been revised more than 70 times, and the last time was 14 years ago?"

She looked at Cliff and asked curiously.

The latter glanced at the "Law" in Angel's hand and nodded:
"That's right. Although most residents are law-abiding and spontaneously support rules and abide by order, there are still a few people who like to exploit loopholes in the law. The current laws are perfected through continuous trial and error, and by checking for loopholes and filling gaps... The most recent time, I remember, it was because a guest who had just become a resident found a loophole and attempted to replace the archon. Afterwards, new laws were enacted."

Alternative consul... No wonder a new version of the law was urgently introduced. I wonder if the person who took advantage of the loophole was eventually traced back and sentenced to death... Angel forced a smile, looked at the paper in his hand again, and memorized all those "serious crimes" in his heart.

At this moment, the guard of honor and two receptionists had taken her up a gentle slope and arrived at the entrance of a four-story hotel with an exterior wall decorated with large black slabs of stone.

This should be where I stay tonight. I have to say that as a "distinguished guest", this city has been pretty good to me. I just don't know if Klein has been treated this way. If my guess is correct, as a Sequence 4, he should also be properly accommodated. But the same cannot be said for his puppets that were transformed from ordinary pirates. They might appear at the outermost part of the city, or even in the suburbs...

After taking a look at the magnificent hotel, Angel felt relieved and looked back at the road she had come from. According to her guess, that direction should be the outer part of the city.

Having walked up a slope, Angel now stood at a high place in the city. Her view into the distance was no longer blocked by the low street buildings. Her dark vision also gave her the ability to see in the dim moonlight, so the outskirts of the city could finally be seen clearly by her eyes.

In the lower part, there were neat rows of black buildings with tops of different heights. From a high vantage point, they looked like sawtooth lines cutting through the horizon, which made Angel, who had high demands for neatness and symmetry, very uncomfortable.

Further away are the woods surrounding the city, with scattered man-made buildings between them, representing that the forest is also part of the "Dream City".

The more Angel looked, the more surprised she was. In her imagination, no matter how big the "City of Dreams" was, it should follow the rules of floating on the sea. It should be a "ghost ship" bigger than the city. But when she looked around, there was nothing but the urban area and the suburbs, and no sea area could be seen at all.

She glanced at the guard of honor, Cliff and Valentina who were quietly waiting. A crystal clear ice mirror quickly condensed dozens of meters above her head. Bound and ejected by invisible silk threads, it flew into the sky at an extremely fast speed and reached a height of hundreds of meters in an instant.

Then, a dim light flashed in Angel's eyes, and he had formed a mystical connection with the "mirror".

With the ever-rising and rotating perspective, she finally saw the entire picture of this "City of Dreams". Beyond the vast forests and hills surrounding the city, there was no ocean, nor any land stretching into the distance. There were only clouds so low that they were almost level with the ground.

This is a floating city that floats above the sea, leaving the clouds at its feet!

(End of this chapter)