CHAPTER 1453: CHAPTER 1454 UNEXPECTED SITUATION

Early the next morning, Little Husky suddenly shook its ears, and with a flick of its tail, it hit Xiao Ji on the head. Xiao Ji opened its eyes groggily and complained, letting out a dissatisfied chirp. Little Husky stretched, wagging its tail and hitting Xiao Ji’s head several more times, prompting Xiao Ji to prepare to peck at Little Husky, but it transformed back into its original form.

Picking up Xiao Ji, Feng Yuan looked at Big Cat and the others and said,

"Let’s go, let’s hurry and have breakfast before heading out~"

"Huh? Xiao Ji, what’s wrong with you?"

It was only then that Feng Yuan noticed that Xiao Ji was puffed up with anger in his arms, lifting its head in disgruntlement while chirping, appearing quite furious. Agunas glanced at Feng Yuan and said,

"You just deliberately hit its head with your tail; what do you think happened?"

"Did I? I don’t recall... Hehe~ Xiao Ji, don’t be mad~"

Lightly rubbing Xiao Ji’s head, Feng Yuan attempted to appease it while speaking in a coaxing tone. Despite his words, Feng Yuan didn’t stop walking and soon found himself outside Qi Chen’s room. At that moment, Qi Chen opened the door, stepping out with a surprised expression and said,

"You’re actually awake? Are you okay?"

"No problem~ A good night’s sleep did the trick~ Have the others gotten up yet?"

"We’re meeting in the lobby; want to join us?"

"Let’s go~"

It wasn’t just Feng Yuan and his group; other guests seemed to choose to meet in the lobby as well. The hotel lobby quickly became bustling with activity. Feng Yuan surveyed the tourists in surprise and said,

"I didn’t expect there to be so many people. I thought it was just us staying here~"

"This hotel has many rooms, and with the Flower Festival, there’s a large influx of people. According to local news, the rooms in Tiraya City were fully booked by yesterday afternoon, even with Holly Flower Park opened as a temporary campsite, it wasn’t sufficient to accommodate all the tourists."

While feeding the three little ones, Qi Chen explained. Feng Yuan looked at Qi Chen in surprise and asked,

"That’s incredible? Wait, a lot of people this time? Why? Isn’t the Flower Festival a once-a-year thing?"

"I’m not sure, but that’s how the reports stated. Apparently, this year’s visitor numbers to Tiraya City are significantly higher than in previous years. Parks like Holly Flower Park, Filian Park, and Shujin Flower Park have all been opened for camping to barely accommodate the tourists. Oh, and the Flower Festival this year is being held simultaneously at eleven main venues."

After hearing this, Feng Yuan was taken aback and said,

"They’re able to manage all those performances?"

"This time, it seems they’re using projections for the performances. The treasure hunt on the first day was made public, and the ceremony changed to an invitation-only event."

Veronia walked over and informed Feng Yuan, who scratched his head and said,

"There probably aren’t many people interested in the ceremony, right?"

"If you’re not planning on forcing your way in, you’ll be fine. The treasure hunt and the ceremony are happening at the same time. The main venue closest to us is the Hollett District, and during the Flower Festival, those streets are under control. I reckon the merchants there will be quite troubled."

Glancing at Feng Yuan, Veronia remarked. As they conversed, Dou Yanlan and the others arrived. After a brief discussion, they decided to participate in the treasure hunt, skipping the small activities at the venue, which focused primarily on specialty foods and small performances.

Knowing the sheer number of tourists participating in the Flower Festival, they didn’t plan on squeezing into the venue with the crowds.

"I’m sorry, please refer to the instruction manual for details. If there’s anything unclear, you can ask the staff nearby for assistance."

A staff member responsible for registration handed a special ID card and an instruction manual clipped to a passport over to Feng Yuan, signaling the next person to step forward. Holding the items, Feng Yuan moved to the side, marveling at the bustling staff. He didn’t expect that even with the event divided into eleven main venues, things would still be this hectic. Could the treasure hunt possibly result in scenes packed with people?

"As expected, when it comes to the Data Domain — hmm, this is interesting. Are they using the multi-layered space of the Data Domain? That’s okay, but as for the race later on, I’m curious how they’ll handle it."

After a quick glance at the instruction manual, Feng Yuan soon understood how to operate the thing since he was quite familiar with the Data Domain. Before long, Qi Chen and the others completed their registration, gathering together. Long Boduo looked at the ID card, puzzled, and said,

"How do we use this thing?"

"There’s a door over there you can use to enter the Data Domain. Judging from the rushed work, I’d guess those people were busy all night."

With a casual point, Feng Yuan explained. Qi Chen sighed and said,

"I didn’t expect there to be so many people. Just seeing the reports didn’t convey it, but witnessing it is truly frightening. Why didn’t we notice all these people yesterday?"

"Maybe they were dispersed, but still, they didn’t calculate the arriving tourists in advance, leading to so many plan changes at once. Although treasure hunting in the Data Domain is pretty fun, I’d rather it be combined with reality."

Waving the ID card, Feng Yuan couldn’t help but complain. Originally, it was planned to solve treasure hunt puzzles in the real city, combined with local culture, and then switch to the Data Domain for exploration at the destination.

Unfortunately, they unexpectedly discovered an unanticipated number of tourists. This caused the event to be urgently changed to purely within the Data Domain. Otherwise, it would definitely have resulted in a strange scene of many people crowding a single place for treasure hunting.

"With this many people, there’s really nothing they can do. I’m guessing the race will also have issues, as well as the competition. Suddenly notifying that the competition had been rescheduled probably means they found the arrangements unmanageable."

With a flick of its tail, Agunas said. The feeling this venue gave them was chaotic, as if hurriedly thrown together. Regarding this, Feng Yuan and his team weren’t surprised, and Long Boduo asked Feng Yuan,

"So, shall we head out now?"

"No need for that device. This ID card itself acts as a temporary ID for Data City. Big Cat can get us in just fine."

Looking at Big Cat, Feng Yuan nonchalantly replied. He wasn’t interested in waiting in line to enter, and with Big Cat around, entering and exiting the Data Domain was a simple matter.

Big Cat looked at Feng Yuan, let out a few cries, and spread its wings as if saying something. Agunas looked at Feng Yuan and said,

"Big Cat says it can’t open the gate to Data City. This area’s Data City is protected, or rather, because it doesn’t have the corresponding identity, it can’t do it."

"Hmm, then can you do it? Just construct a passageway; as for the permission requirements, use the rule recognized after passing. Wait, I remember it’s the main rule..."

Speaking to Agunas, Feng Yuan tried to make it understand how to proceed. However, Agunas didn’t have a deep understanding of the Data Domain and couldn’t perform the operations Feng Yuan described. Luckily, Big Cat understood. Before long, a special gate composed of numerous floating light blue transparent blocks appeared before them.

Patting Big Cat’s head, Feng Yuan laughed and said,

"You’re truly amazing~ Well then, let’s go~"

Seeing Feng Yuan lead Big Cat and the others through the passage, Qi Chen asked Agunas,

"Is this thing really okay?"

"No worries, he understands the Data Domain better than you might think. But who would expect there to be such loopholes, and no one managing them?"

"Probably they can’t manage it. I don’t fully understand it, but I feel this loophole stems from the Data Domain itself, whereas they can only control Data City."

Displaying a strange smile, Veronia remarked to Agunas and then took Belusir’s hand, stepping into the passage. Long Boduo also rushed in, prompting everyone to follow through the unusual passage. Once the final person entered, Agunas followed suit.

The surrounding tourists who noticed Feng Yuan and his team’s actions wanted to follow, but as Agunas entered the passage, it quickly dissipated.

The people maintaining order noticed the situation but didn’t have the bandwidth to dwell on it as ensuring venue order consumed most of their energy, leaving them unable to handle anything else.

In Data City, as soon as Feng Yuan and his team landed, the ID card emitted a faint glow, and a panel quickly appeared before them.

"Hmm, is there only one treasure map route?"

Surveying the surroundings, which bore a resemblance yet difference to the style of Tiraya City, Feng Yuan gently patted Xiao Ji’s back and said,

"Let’s go, treasure hunting~"