Santa's Bizarre Mall~

June 6, 2018, 1:00 a.m.

In the silent city of Beijing, several black figures traveled through the buildings at a very fast speed, quietly marching in the direction of the Eastern District. Their silhouettes almost merged with the night color, and as the breeze blew by, they disappeared in the blink of an eye. By 5:00 AM, there were already more than thirty players gathered near the Temple of Heaven in the Eastern District.

Since Black Tower 2.0 was updated with Rally Copies, almost every month, Black Tower releases a Rally Copy.

Most of the rally copies were not life threatening. Each Rally is different, with different quests, different bosses, and different rewards. Tang Mo has participated in two Rally Duplicates, one in Shanghai and one in Beijing.

This copy, however, is a little different.

Tiantan Park is located within the city center of Beijing, and is a flat area without many buildings to hide behind. A week ago, after the Black Tower released a copy of this gathering, Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo unanimously decided to participate in the game. Even if Bai Ruoyao hadn't deliberately provoked them and sent them a letter of war, they would have chosen to enter. Because there was a prerequisite for entering this copy--

"The entrant must have received the 'Christmas Tree Branch' reward in the 'Christmas Surprise Replica' six months ago."

In the past half a year, Tang Mo had participated in and heard of the assembly duplicates, but only the "Circus of Wonders Duplicate" in Shanghai had restrictions on the entrants. According to Tang Mo's experience, this kind of replica with entry thresholds would usually offer very generous rewards, and the contents of the replica would be related to some secrets of Wang Guo, the underground man, and he would be able to contact with some higher level monsters of the Black Tower. Tang Mo calls this kind of assembly copy "special copy".

As the sky brightens, Tang Mo hides in a small building in the Temple of Heaven Park, quietly staring at the Temple of Heaven Park not far away.

Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo have both seen Santa Claus before, and the difference in strength between them is so great that neither of them dare to underestimate it. Fu Wenduo hands over his gun to Tang Mo, who also brings the King's gold coin.

"Special copies are different from normal set copies, and the possibility of death is high." Tang Mo whispered. In that rally copy of the Freak Circus, a total of 23 players entered and only nine survived in the end. "In this kind of replica, saving your life is important. Combined with previous experience, rally copies are mostly not dead even if they fail, and there's still a chance to turn around." So the most important thing was to stay alive.

Chen Shanshan and Fu Wen nodded in unison.

The clock ticked away, getting closer and closer to 6:06.

Fu Wenduo pressed his body against the window, and his eyes calmly scanned the entire Temple of Heaven Park. The park was silent, the dark trees swayed slightly in the wind, other than that, there was not a single sound. Fu Wenduo's eyes lingered on a tree for a moment, then looked at the Temple of Heaven and the other two bungalows.

Fu Wenduo took Tang Mo's hand and wrote the number "9" on his heart.

He then wrote the same numbers on the backs of Chen Shanshan's and Fu Wen Sheng's hands.

Tang Mo froze slightly and looked at him in surprise.

Fu Wenduo put his index finger to his lips and made a "shh" motion while pointing to the ceiling. Tang Mo instantly understood what he meant.

Tang Mo took his cell phone out of his pocket and typed a line.

Anyone?

Fu Wenduo took over the cell phone: [came earlier than us, I just realized they were there].

Tang Mo's expression sank.

Chen Shanshan took out a pen and paper from his bag and wrote: "Those who are qualified to come here are players who have received the "Christmas Branch" reward. The returnees should not have participated in the Christmas replica, and half a year down the line, many of the players who received the reward have died. There shouldn't be more than 50 players in Beijing who have the chance to enter this assembly copy.

However, this also means that every player in this copy has above-average strength.

Fu Wenduo has just written down "9", meaning that he has found nine people hiding in the Temple of Heaven Park. But they knew that there were more players who were so well hidden that even Fu Wenduo couldn't find them.

Tang Mo thought for a moment and knocked down one word: [Wait.]

The crowd nodded softly.

The sunrise completely leapt out of the horizon, and in the Temple of Heaven Park, it was still empty. Just as the time was approaching 6:06, with only one minute left, a black shadow was seen suddenly leaping over from behind a large tree and jumping into the square in front of the Temple of Heaven. The next moment, another dozen or so figures jumped over and landed steadily on the platform.

In the last ten seconds, a total of twenty-five players stood in front of the Celestial Altar, staring warily at the people around them.

Tang Mo heard a crack of wind coming from above his head, and he knew that the man hiding above them had set off as well.

Without delay, Tang Mo: "Go!"

The four of them brushed and leapt down from the upper floors, Tang Mo carrying Chen Shanshan on his back, Fu Wenduo carrying Fu Wen Sheng, and the two of them ran at a terrifying speed to the square in front of the Temple of Heaven. Just as Tang Mo stood still, he saw Bai Ruoyao's disgusting smiling face emerge from behind the Temple of Heaven, giving him a cheeky smile and winking at him and Fu Wenduo.

Tang Mo squinted his eyes, and by this time there was only one second left.

Suddenly, a figure that shouldn't be here popped up in Tang Mo's vision, and he looked at the other person in dismay, and before he could see the other person's face, a blinding white light flashed past his eyes. The Black Tower's crisp childish voice rang out -

"Dingdong! Player Tang Mo has successfully entered the rally copy 'Santa's Curious Shopping Street'. As of 6:06 PM on June 6, 2018, a total of 31 players have successfully entered the replica, 20 regular players, 1 reservist, 7 stowaways, and 3 returnees."

The Black Tower's voice reached the ears of all the players, and although there was a white light in front of them, Tang Mo could hear a gasp of surprise coming from his side.

Surprisingly, there are preppers?

...... Surprisingly, there are returnees?

So was that really Ning Zheng?

"Ding Dong! Rally copy of 'Santa's Curious Commercial Street' Previously on Santa's Curious Commercial Street, Santa Claus had never experienced such a bad Christmas. A good holiday of giving out gifts to children was ruined by some shameless Black Tower monsters. This incident made Santa Claus so bad that he hadn't slept a good night in six months. So today, Santa decided to give a real reward to those good kids who were cheated by the bad boss. All the children who liked Santa Claus and played Santa Claus's games were good and honest children. This time, Santa will not mess up the 'Special Surprise of Christmas'."

Tang Mo violently felt a sharp sensation of falling, and when he was about to fall to the ground, he subconsciously propped up the ground with one hand, trying to stabilize his body. The place where his fingers touched was actually soft and flexible. Tang Mo lowered his head in surprise, only to see that the ground was a large trampoline, pink and white checkered, and his body bounced a few times after falling down, before landing steadily.

Once on her feet, Tang Mo quickly checks her surroundings.

He saw the Fu Wen sound!

Fu Xiaodi's speed was a bit slower than Tang Mo's, and after he stabilized his body, he also saw Tang Mo, revealing a look of surprise. Tang Mo wanted to take a look at the others again, when the mechanical voice of the Black Tower rang out in the room---

"Ding Dong! Players have officially entered the Curious Commercial Street. Violence, the use of psychic powers and all props are prohibited in the commercial street. In the magical Curious Commercial Street, players no longer have special identities such as official players, reservists, stowaways and returnees, and all players' identities are tentatively labeled as reserve customers. Friendly reminder: players are requested to look for the right way to become an official customer of the Curious Commercial Street at an early date."

As those words fell, Tang Mo finally got a good look at the other two people in the room.

It's a candy-like little house, with a bouncy gumdrop trampoline on the floor, walls made of cookies, and windows made of icing sugar. The ceiling is a giant dome of chocolate, the room is unfurnished, and the sweet scent pierces Tang Mo's nose, making him cringe.

There are only four people in this candy house.

Tang Mo, Fu Wen Sheng, a strange woman in black, and Ning Zheng.

That's right, Ning Zheng.

All four men steadied themselves on the trampoline and stood at the four corners, calmly surveying the others.

Fu Wen Sheng was initially very happy to see Tang Mo, but when he realized that there were other people in the room, he quickly put away his surprised expression. He stared warily at the three adults in the room as if he did not recognize Tang Mo.

Ning Zheng also did not expect that he would actually land in the same room as Tang Mo. He suddenly felt a little pain in his neck, and remembered his Eve's apple. He stared coldly at Tang Mo, thinking for a moment, and instead of making a move, he observed the house.

The young woman looked curiously at Tang Mo for a few moments, then at Ning Zheng, and finally her eyes landed on Fu Wen Sheng, and she smiled a little, "How can there be such a thing?"

Tang Mo raised an eyebrow: Cantonese?

The woman, sensing Tang Mo's gaze, smiled brightly at Tang Mo and also turned to look for other clues in the room.

Tang Mo and Fu Wen sounded no exchanges as they each looked the room over.

I'm sure that thirty-one players, should have entered different rooms upon entering the game. Tang Mo was walking around the room, while being on the lookout for Ning Zheng and the young woman to make a sudden move. However, they did not make a move, the four of them walked around the room once each, and returned to the center of the room in unison.

Ning Zheng looked at Tang Mo silently and did not say anything.

Fu Wen Sheng pretended that he didn't know Tang Mo at the moment, so he couldn't say anything.

Tang Mo thought about it and was about to speak when a clear, clean female voice spoke up in front of him, "Looks like everyone's looking good?"

This person seemed to be in a good mood and her tone was pleasant. Tang Mo gave the woman a strange look. It was the first time he had seen a player who could still maintain such a good mindset after entering the Black Tower game. Why did it feel as if she was here to play the game, not afraid of failing the game at all ...... Was she not afraid of death?

Fu Wen sounded and nodded, "Watch it."

The young woman laughed, "Is the little friend thirteen years old yet?"

Fu Wen Sound reflexively replied, "I am twelve this year." Only after he said that did he realize that this was a completely unknown player, and he didn't have to answer the other player's question at all. Fu Wen Sheng was a bit annoyed, but the tone of this woman's voice was exactly like a nagging conversation, making him unguarded.

"So small." The woman in black rubbed her chin.

Ning Zheng interrupted their chat, "Tang Mo, what's Eve's reward."

The young woman's body gave a start and she looked up at Tang Mo in surprise.

Tang Mo wrinkled her nose.

Ning Zheng's statement sounded like a casual question with a lot of resentment, but in fact it was very tricky. Fu Xiaodi was not present when Tang Mo and Fu Wenduo grabbed Ning Zheng, so he did not know that Tang Mo knew Fu Wen. But after he said that, the young woman knew that Tang Mo had Eve's reward.

Eve's reward is something that is enough to make a high-level player's eyes glaze over. It was like a Pandora's Box, everyone thought that there was something good inside and wanted to get the treasures inside. Even if Tang Mo told them that he had lost his memory and didn't know what Eve's reward was, these players wouldn't believe him.

Ning Zheng's words put Tang Mo in opposition to the three players in the room.

Tang Mo thinks for a long time, but only a few seconds pass. He calmly replied to Ning Zheng, "A very nice prop. However, the use of any props is prohibited in Santa's Gathering copy, and coincidentally I didn't bring it with me. Ning Zheng, why are you here, you're a Returner and you have a Christmas tree branch too?"

At those words, the young woman looked at Ning Zheng again in surprise.

All players in Beijing know that Ning Zheng is the last surviving returnee on the time charts in Beijing. Tang Mo's reputation is extremely high in China, and Ning Zheng is no less famous. If Tang Mo has Eve's reward, it makes him a public enemy. If Tang Mo has Eve's reward, it makes him a public enemy of the players, but Ning Zheng's identity as a returnee makes him an enemy of the Earth survivors.

If you kill Ning Zheng, you will definitely get a fine prop, which is the rule of the game in the Time Ranking.

Ning Zheng wanted Tang Mo to be ostracized by the players in the room, and Tang Mo did the same.

The woman in black looked at the hidden hostility between these two as she laughed, ''Tang Mo, Ning Zheng, I never thought I'd be so lucky as to run into two famous high-level players all at once. It looks like you guys don't need to introduce each other, you all know each other. My name is Mo Xue, what's this little friend's name?"

The reaction of the woman in black was unexpected by Tang Mo and Ning Zheng.

...... She actually just brushed it off?

Fu Wen said, "My name is Chen Sheng."

The woman in black laughed, "The game is still on, and the Black Tower just said that it was recommended that we find the right way to become official customers sooner rather than later. What do you guys think about that?"

With Ning Zheng's cautious character, Tang Mo knows he won't make a move here. As both of them can't use their powers and props, Ning Zheng doesn't have the certainty of defeating Tang Mo. By the same token, Ning Zheng also knows that Tang Mo will not make a move.

Ning Zheng said, "There are four windows in this room. Two on the left and two on the right, and one door. I tried to open the door just now, but it didn't open. The door was locked. Looking out from these four windows ...... there are four stores each."

The four walked over to a side window and looked out through it, only to see four identical stores standing outside. Each store had beautiful glass windows with delicate gifts and cakes and cookies. They then walked to the other side and there were four identical stores outside the windows on the other side.

There are eight stores in all, symmetrical on the central axis of this house. The stores on the left are a cake store, a candy store, a cookie store, and a gift store, and the four stores on the right are the same four.

In colorful neon, all four of these stores have their respective store names circled on their store signs - the

"Santa's Cake Shop, Santa's Candy House, Santa's Cookie House and Santa's Gift Shop." Fu Wen pronounced the four names.

The door wouldn't open and the windows were simply sealed.

Violence was banned in the Street of Curious Commerce, but the Black Tower didn't say whether it was banned player-to-player violence or all violence. So Tang Mo doesn't dare to open the door violently and can only wait quietly in the house for the Black Tower to announce the new rules of the game.

The four players in the room, except for the black-clothed woman who didn't know the bottom line, the other three were high-level players who had experienced many games. The three were not in a bit of a hurry.

The Black Tower never gives an inexplicable puzzle, they've figured out all the clues they can, there must be other clues that haven't been released.

But before that, Tang Mo asked Ning Zheng a question that Ning Zheng didn't answer.

Tang Mo lowered his eyes and gave Fu Xiaodi a wink.

Although Fu Wen did not have the same tacit understanding with Tang Mo as his big brother, after a while he also understood what Tang Mo meant. He was like a curious and timid child, staring nervously at Ning Zheng, the Returned, and quietly shrinking his body towards Tang Mo. His behavior didn't arouse Ning Zheng's suspicion; after all, Tang Mo is the official player and Ning Zheng is the returnee. After all, Tang Mo is the official player and Ning Zheng is the returnee. It's clear who the kids will choose.

Fu Wen voice whispered, "How did the Returners get into this game."

Tang Mo followed his words and asked lightly, "How did you get in? Did the returnees also experience a Christmas surprise copy?"

Ning Zheng leaned against the icing window and when he heard Tang Mo's words, he asked back with an icy look, "Christmas surprise copy?"

Tang Mo : "How did you get a Christmas branch without going through a Christmas copy?"

Ning Zheng looked at Tang Mo with a strange look in his eyes, then suddenly he sneered and muttered to himself, "You don't want to know what kind of Christmas replica we're going through", and then said no more, looking away and quietly observing the four stores outside the window.

Tang Mo captures the key messages.

The returnees also experienced Christmas copies.

The Christmas copy that the returnees experienced doesn't seem to be a very good memory.

Tang Mo looked to Ning Zheng's neck, "You've become an official player now?"

Ning Zheng's neck is without the golden numbers.

Ning Zheng looked at Tang Mo steadily, and after a moment, he said, "Did Xu Yunsheng say anything to you when he died."

What should she say? Tang Mo said, "Said it."

Ning Zheng's body stiffened, and he watched Tang Mo's expression carefully for a moment before letting out a chirping sound from his nose and sighing in relief, "She didn't say."

Tang Mo's heart fluttered.

There were only four people in the room.

Tang Mo and Ning Zheng's relationship was definitely not considered a friend, Fu Wen sounded afraid to blatantly get close to Tang Mo. that woman in black called Mo Xue stood by the side all the time and didn't get involved in their conversation. Even she looked like she didn't care about Tang Mo and Ning Zheng's words, she reached out her hand and touched the wall of cookies, gently broke off a piece and put it into her mouth and chewed on it.

"Hmm? Sweet."

Tang Mo: "......"

Ning Zheng: "......"

The world is full of strange things! How can any kind of strange player appear.

The next moment, however, Tang Mo suddenly saw the woman picking off a small piece of icing sugar from the window with her empty hand, and with a slight push of her foot, she nimbly jumped to the ceiling and broke off a piece of chocolate. She moved as beautifully as if she were walking to dinner, coming and going as she pleased on the bouncy gummy trampoline.

Tang Mo and Ning Zheng realized in unison: this woman's strength was not simple.

Just as the eerily stagnant atmosphere in the room was about to last five minutes, a familiar child's voice rang out, finally breaking the silence.

"Dingdong! All one hundred virtual customers are in position."

"Please prepare for thirty-one reserve customers, in five minutes, the first wave of customer frenzy will come to the Curious Shopping Street. Players are asked to look carefully to find the store that truly belongs to Santa Claus. After three rounds of customer frenzy, players can choose the store they want to enter."

"Attention! The only way to turn into a full customer is to walk into the right store."