The legend of Phantom City.
Just as Tai Chi has yin and yang and a coin has front and back, there must be shadows under the bright world. On the other side of the world we know, there is also a world with completely opposite rules and laws. This world, in countless mysterious traditions, is called the Kingdom of Shadows.
Same as the kingdoms on earth.
The Kingdom of Shadows also has countless nobles, and the Duke of Phantom is one of the best among them. In the distant past, he even left the Kingdom of Shadows and established his own territory on the earth with a huge number of subjects, and his castle was called Phantom City by the people.
The Phantom Duke possesses terrifying witchcraft that can turn stone into gold and summon spirits and control ghosts. Everyone fears his power and envies his wealth.
But... even the greatest of reigns will come to an end in time.
With the establishment of the Xia Kingdom.
The rolling red wave swept across this great land, and even the Phantom Duke could not stop it. With the changes of the times, the Phantom Dukedom also went to destruction.
However, the proud Phantom Duke was unwilling to accept his defeat, and in order to avenge those who destroyed his rule, he left a horrible curse in his castle, cursing the people who occupied his castle, indulged in pleasure there, and trampled on his dignity.
"When the clock strikes midnight, the evil spirits I have raised will break out of their cages and hunt recklessly in my castle. Only those who survive will receive my gift."
From now on.
This castle became a famous haunted house. No one who entered it could leave alive the next morning. The terrified people tried every possible means and held a grand sacrificial ceremony, which eventually sent the Phantom Duke's castle back to the Kingdom of Shadows.
Since then, the castle has disappeared.
only... ..
Countless years have passed, and the constraints formed by the old sacrifices have become increasingly fragile. Under the bright light of the moon, this legendary castle finally reappeared in the world...
"The whole article is nonsense!"
"People nowadays are so bored."
"Do you all like this tune?"
After hearing the legend of the so-called Phantom City from Hua Qiong, Gu Moli became even more disdainful, and the gloomy expression that Hua Qiong could have put on instantly collapsed.
"Eh... I also know that this legend is not very credible."
"But the Phantom City does exist!"
"Aren't we here just to uncover the trick?"
"... .snort."
Gu Moli sneered and waved the folder in his hand: "Come to think of it, do you know who sent this commission?"
"Hey, this is obviously your commission, don't you know?"
"nonsense."
Gu Moli said without hesitation: "When the computer memory is full, you have to delete junk files, not to mention the human brain. My smart brain needs to consider other more important things. Commissions like this one that are put in the junk pile have basically been deleted from the folder in my brain."
"More important things? Playing games?"
"Ugh! Didn't your teacher tell you not to answer questions with questions?!"
"hehe."
Hua Qiong rolled his eyes at Gu Moli, but still explained: "The client did not sign his name. It was a rare anonymous commission, so I noticed it."
"anonymous?"
Gu Moli frowned, but didn't say anything else.
The office itself is located on the outer ring of Guanghui City, so it’s easy to take the bus to the construction site Hua Qiong mentioned.
In terms of the area it occupies, this piece of land is quite large. It is hard to imagine that the Guanghui Municipal Government has no intention of intervening in such a place. Around the construction site, there are many young men and women carrying cameras, selfie sticks, and flashlights, and some are even wearing Taoist robes.
God knows what they want to do.
As for the construction site itself, it had been abandoned, the fence had long been dilapidated, and there was no one watching, so people could enter and exit freely.
"Boss, do you want to go take a look?"
"Let's go."
Although it was night, there were not so many idle people after all. Most citizens would not look for trouble, so there were not many people on the construction site.
However, Gu Moli was not in a hurry to enter the construction site, but walked around the construction site first.
Overall.
"There were curtains around it, but they were too old and basically useless. It must have been idle for too long. There were no large machines on the construction site. There were only a few hollow concrete pillars and a crudely built wooden house..."
"... It should have been originally reserved for the workers on the construction site, right? But as the construction site was abandoned, the cabin was locked up and can't be opened."
"The problem is that the ground here is standard concrete, without any gravel, and it actually looks quite nice and neat. I don't know what this construction site was originally intended for, and the site itself is very open, with no extra obstacles."
Gu Moli roughly surveyed the entire construction site.
Finally, the conclusion was drawn.
"So they are using some kind of holographic projection device."
"For a place like this, even if we just build a three-story villa model and decorate it at night, the feasibility of completing it in a short period of time is almost zero."
Of course it is not impossible.
However, the cost and benefit are completely disproportionate. In other words, in order to meet the above conditions, a lot of money is needed to prepare materials and equipment. However, it would be too boring to spend so many resources just to scare people in the middle of the night.
"Are you sure this photo isn't fabricated?"
"No!"
Hua Qiong said dissatisfiedly, but she was by Gu Moli's side when he was investigating and analyzing just now, so she also knew the reason for Gu Moli's suspicion.
"... In that case, why not go and see it with your own eyes?"
"With your own eyes?"
"That's right."
Hua Qiong nodded and said, "Boss, you haven't forgotten, tonight is the night of the full moon. I hired a few agents before, and I plan to do it strictly according to the urban legend. There are 1,001 people. If there are too many, I will stop them, and if there are too few, I will find someone to make up for them. Let's see if I can summon the phantom city."
"... .Kid, I know you are a little disillusioned with the detective industry, but don't indulge in such a chuunibyou dream."
"An experiment! Just an experiment!"
"ah."
Gu Moli felt more and more bored: "Okay, since you want to try it, I don't mind."
"Well! Anyway, I must give it a try! Regardless of whether the Phantom City exists or not, since there are photos, there must be a mystery behind it! I will definitely find it out!"
“Come on, come on…”
Gu Moli casually said a few perfunctory words, and then said: "Then you work hard, I'll go to the snack bar across the street to wait for you. Coincidentally, I haven't had dinner yet."
“Eh…!”
"Goodbye!"
After leaving the last words, Gu Moli left the construction site without looking back, leaving Hua Qiong alone there, and then had a big meal at the snack bar.
Time flies.
While eating dinner, watching variety shows on my mobile phone and playing mobile games, a few hours passed quickly, and it was just past eleven o'clock.
“Boss! Boss!”
“It appeared!”
“It really appeared!”
Hua Qiong rushed into the snack bar with a look of surprise and a bit of panic on her face, and then directly grabbed Gu Moli's hand.
"Boss, follow me!"
“Eh…”
Gu Moli just dragged Hua Qiong out of the snack bar by force. Before leaving, Hua Qiong threw a hundred-dollar bill on the dining table of the snack bar.
As a result, this step was taken out of the snack bar.
“… ..!!!”
Gu Moli's eyes suddenly widened, and there was actually a rare hint of horror in his eyes.
And at the end of his sight.
The other side of the street.
It turned out that the empty construction site had disappeared, and in its place was a square three-story villa, standing quietly under the bright moonlight.
Phantom City.
Appearing out of nowhere.