Chapter 85: The Midnight Puzzle

Chapter 85: Chapter 85: The Midnight PuzzleIt wasn’t until late into the night that the bus finally returned to the town.

The Town Mayor’s Office Building was on the west side of town, a two-story building where the second floor housed the mayor’s office, and the first floor was an exhibition hall containing a scale model of the town and some exhibits.

This time, it was Lin Pei who accompanied Xu Huo, fumbling to turn on the main switch of the office building, and the small two-story building lit up at once.

"There’s still electricity here?" Xu Huo stopped midway through pulling out his lighter.

"The entire town, apart from those riddle mechanisms that activate at irregular intervals, only this office building has power. These places must have a separate wiring system," Lin Pei explained before walking over to the model, "We’ve looked at this model many times already."

The model on top was a perfect miniature of the town, scaled down to a precise ratio, and just by looking at this model, one could roughly outline the structure of the town.

"All the places with little flags inserted have puzzle mechanisms?" Xu Huo paid close attention, noting there were too many puzzle mechanisms in town, almost half the buildings had them.

"That’s right," Lin Pei nodded, "In the background of the game, the clockmaster Master Niese is the mayor of this town. In his later years, he became obsessed with puzzle games, and there are riddle notes scattered all over the town."

"But to be honest, those riddles are hardly puzzles, just some common knowledge questions that should be very simple for the NPCs in the game, like how many clocks Niese made in his lifetime, his favorite flower or color."

"Some are even stranger, like whether Niese wore reading glasses or nearsighted glasses, how many plants there are in the mayor’s office, what time Niese went to bed yesterday, or how many stuffed buns he had for breakfast."

Xu Huo was mentally matching the model with the buildings he had seen in the town that day when he suddenly looked up, "These aren’t riddles."

"Of course not," Lin Pei laughed, "It’s probably the childlike nature of a great master."

"These questions are targeted at children," Xu Huo pondered for a moment, "They’re not real puzzles, just meant to amuse little kids."

Lin Pei gaped for a moment and then realized, "So that’s it, no wonder you get a chocolate candy for answering incorrectly."

He had wondered if Niese was an overly narcissistic person or if all the town’s residents were fervent fans of Niese, even paying attention to trivialities like his eating and sleeping habits.

"The puzzle mechanisms are fixed, but their content is about everyday life details. Niese didn’t come to settle in the town alone; at the very least, he brought a child," Xu Huo asked, "Have you seen Master Niese’s residence? It’s not on the model."

Lin Pei shook his head, "There is a residential area in the center of town, but we haven’t searched it thoroughly."

"Shall we go check it out now?"

The bus had already gone far, and it was inconvenient to move around at night; they had planned to spend the night in the office building when they got off the bus.

"Let’s go tomorrow," Xu Huo said, "To see if there are any clues to open the doors in Niese’s residence. The people in town must have a way to get in and out."

From the windows of the office building, one could clearly see the gate on the western wall. Lin Pei shook his head, "You can’t talk loudly, can’t go out in groups; to put it bluntly, even a child being born can’t cry, and the gates are sealed. This doesn’t seem like living out one’s final years peacefully, it’s more like being in prison."

Xu Huo’s gaze flickered, and he returned to the model, examining the marked photos carefully. Besides the basic necessities, the other shops in town catered to a very young audience, with children’s clothing stores, doll shops, craft stores, galleries, crayon shops, and, coupled with the riddles scattered throughout the town, it seemed as if the town was built for children.

Moreover, just by looking at these, the town ought to have been filled with childlike wonder, but the addition of a fence outside and these peculiar rules in the town, as well as hiring a highly paid Security Guard... If one equates the Aliens with the Security Guard, that’s not for maintaining order in the town; they’re actually killing the people who don’t follow the rules.

Master Niese didn’t get along with the town’s residents.

The town was built for children, yet a group of people whom Master Niese didn’t care about their lives moved in. With such strict rules that could cost you your life if you were not careful, people still chose to stay.

This town is full of contradictions.

Yet the more contradictory a place is, the more likely it is to hold the key to solving the problem.

Xu Huo casually tore off the riddle posted on the handrail of the stairs, glanced at it, stuffed it into his pocket, and went upstairs with light steps. seaʀᴄh thё Novelƒire(.)ne*t website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Pushing the toys scattered on the floor aside, he entered the Town Mayor’s Office Building.

Like the clock shop, the walls here were covered with various clocks, the potted plant in the corner had withered, the bookshelf was carelessly filled with books about clocks, along with some picture books and fairy tales.

On the office desk, there was an unfinished clock, various tools were scattered across the desk and the floor, drawers were all opened and empty as could be. Aside from the bookshelf, there were no other paper materials in the office, not even a sheet of white paper could be found, as if it had been plundered.

"After all, he was a master clockmaker, his manuscripts must be worth a lot. It’s normal for the town residents to steal a bit before moving away," Lin Pei said.

Xu Huo nodded slightly and walked to the windowsill behind the desk. As he looked out, he could see the West Gate.

In the faint moonlight, he saw a dim glow reflected on the wall, and the light spot kept moving.

"It must be the reflection from the second hand of the large clock on the roof," Lin Pei observed his gaze, "The tip of the second hand of the rooftop clock has a reflective surface."

When the second hand completed a full circle to the twelve o’clock position, the doll hanging behind the office door suddenly started playing music, "Twelve o’clock, twelve o’clock, the pleasant night arrives, this is Master Niese’s favorite time."

"Today’s question is, how many clocks did the clock-loving Master Niese make in his lifetime?"

Xu Huo picked up a picture book from the shelf and found the largest number, "20,001 clocks."

"Beep beep! Answer correct!"

"The puzzle solver has given the correct answer, and Master Niese has decided to reward you with a Hand-folded Little Star."

Xu Huo reached out to catch it; it was a thumb-sized origami pentagonal star, the kind that kids liked.

"Seems like this is also for amusing children," Lin Pei couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed.

But the doll didn’t declare the end of the questions; instead, it continued, "Clever puzzle solver, the second question is, what is Master Niese’s favorite flavor of pie?"

"Strawberry," Xu Huo said, glancing at the strawberry doodle next to the picture book.

"Beep beep! Answer correct!"

"The puzzle solver has given the correct answer, and Master Niese has decided to reward you with a small strawberry-shaped mirror."

The mirror he received was a strawberry-shaped makeup mirror, half the size of a palm, and patterned with strawberries.

Then came the third question, "What is Master Niese’s favorite game?"

"Solving riddles."

"Beep beep! Answer incorrect!"