"I, I don't quite understand..." Sarah's face was illuminated by the light reflecting the sea water, and her expression was confused, "What on earth is going on?"
Solomon was also shocked, but his condition was slightly better than Sarah: "Ocean City is indeed located at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean...
"The game just now, just as Mr. Dirac predicted, was Verne's test!"
People who were shocked by the underwater scene suddenly realized one thing: due to their selfishness and blindness, the "pragmatic" Christopher and his fiancée would never have the opportunity to see such a scene in their lifetime and step into the dreamy city. Already...
Is this what happened just now? Looking at the undersea city getting closer and closer under his feet, Sean had mixed feelings in his heart.
The elevator finally entered the building, and the sea water was isolated from the outside.
As if to give people entering Ocean City a deeper shock, outside the sightseeing elevator, there is a huge statue of a steel giant holding the earth. On top of the statue, artistic fonts full of design are written: "Precision alchemy and modern industry." The crystallization of brilliance – welcome to Ocean City!”
The elevator stopped at the bottom, and through the glass, only the closed wall could be seen.
The vision suddenly becomes narrow, making people feel a little depressed.
The doubts have not completely dissipated, and this sudden confinement has once again fermented fear among this group of passengers.
Everyone became silent and uneasy
Soon, with the sound of the air seal being released, the hatch on one side of the elevator opened.
Bright lights and warm applause poured into the elevator at the same time.
The group of people looked out of the elevator nervously.
The outside looks like the interior of a large station. There are more than a dozen young men and women in navy blue uniforms standing in line outside the elevator. They smile warmly and applaud enthusiastically under the leadership of a woman at the front. .
The woman in the lead has orange hair tied into braids, and the freckles on her face are very obvious in her navy blue uniform. She wears braces, which makes her smile look particularly warm and bright.
"Welcome to Ocean City." After the braces girl stopped the applause, she said with a smile, "You may have experienced a relatively intense emotional experience just now, so the adrenaline content in your blood is still relatively high..."
Vierto angrily pushed aside the people standing in front and walked to the front.
During this process, Sean smelled an unpleasant smell—a smell like rotting meat.
Carmen's bodyguard pointed his thick finger at the girl with braces: "You'd better give me an explanation!"
Victor seemed to have spoken out everyone's thoughts. Everyone, including Sarah, walked out of the elevator and almost surrounded the smiling staff member.
After getting out of the elevator, Sean realized that this seemed to be the elevator center for entering and exiting Ocean City.
The shape is very similar to a long-distance station in the New Testament, but the dome is made of transparent glass, and you can see the blue water illuminated by lights above you.
The girl with braces looked quite apologetic, raised her hands, and explained: "This is the 'city entry ceremony' designed by the mayor - he only welcomes tourists who believe in their dreams to enter the city...
“Also, he places great emphasis on ‘experience’.
“In order to give all visitors to the city a sense of ‘rebirth’ the moment they see Ocean City, he designed such a thrilling little theater.
"Don't you feel that when everyone's beliefs are shaken, seeing this city under the sea is an experience that will be unforgettable in this life?"
Carmen raised her black eyebrows and walked to Victor: "Are you doing this to give us an experience that we will never forget in this life?"
The orange-haired girl nodded vigorously.
Solomon seemed to have figured something out and shook his head: "Well... it's like a haunted house in an amusement park. When you walk out of the exit, you really feel like you're reborn...
"Plus the moment I saw Ocean City..." Solomon looked up at the transparent dome, where several fish were swimming by. "I will never forget that scene in my life."
"But..." the detective shook his finger and showed a preaching expression, "This link of yours is too dangerous.
"There are also old people and children in our group..." Solomon pointed to Aunt Sarah and her group, "What if something happens?!"
"We have the most professional medical team..." the girl pointed to the staff standing behind her, "and some emergency plans - there are actually staff in the lighthouse.
"In order to create such an experience, we have made sufficient preparations..."
Aunt Sarah, who was originally angry, saw tears on her face, but she raised her head and looked at Anna in the transparent dome with full surprise. Her anger was mostly dissipated. She held Anna's hand and said softly: "Actually, think about it carefully. , apart from being scared into a cold sweat, we had nothing to lose...
"However, compared to these, I can see the expression on Anna's face when she saw Ocean City in the elevator just now...
"I think it's worth it."
The dream was not shattered, Anna really entered the huge underwater world at this time.
"Maybe," Mr. Nash shrugged, "the mayor is a childlike person."
Moonlight echoed: "Without extraordinary imagination and genius, it would be impossible to create such a city in this era."
"Geniuses are always a bit strange." Sean also comforted him. "Although his 'welcome ceremony' was a bit excessive, it was indeed very...unforgettable."
Finding that Carmen's mood was stable, Verto's anger had almost dissipated. He stopped talking and retreated behind Ms. Carmen.
Seeing that the mood of this group of tourists slowly relaxed, the orange-haired girl smiled and said: "Let me introduce myself first.
"I am your tour guide, you can call me Randy.
“In the first two days after arriving in Ocean City, you will all be traveling together as a tour group.
“After visiting the Ocean City Fair tomorrow, you will be free to move around the city.
"The length of stay for all your visas is two weeks. If you need to extend it, you can go to the Ocean City Management Bureau..."
After introducing some travel precautions, perhaps because of the friendly attitude of the tour guide, Miss Randy, the leisurely and relaxed feeling gradually returned after experiencing the frightened crowd.
"I have a question, Miss Randy." Detective Solomon said, "The man who was with us before, Mr. Christopher, can he still enter Ocean City?"
Randy shook his head: "No.
“The above-ground hotel he stayed in was a hotel built downwards and immersed in the sea water.
"Mr. Christopher can see the lights and outline of Ocean City from the distance from his room...
"But he will be permanently disqualified from being here."
Everyone was a little surprised when they heard this.
Although it was Sean who guided him into the white shell, so that he would not encounter the same sad situation as Christopher, but due to the passive influence of Naiya Shenyu, everyone unconsciously forgot this detail, and was just glad that their previous choice was correct.
As a detective, Solomon has a strong spirit of curiosity, and he continued to ask: "Ocean City is a tourist attraction, wouldn't this reduce the number of tourists?
"I mean, there should be many people choosing black shells, right?"
Randy led everyone towards the outside of the elevator center and said, "Actually, everything we set up on Avalon Island is giving some positive hints.
“For example, the words on the door of the lighthouse: Believe what you see.
"So, before the voting game begins, most tourists will feel that what they are facing is just a gimmick or a test.
“So, almost all groups will have a situation where most people will drop white shells that represent belief.
“Of course, there are also some smart-aleck people in many groups…
"Like 'Smart' Mr. Christopher.
“When everyone works together, the interests of others are sacrificed for the greater good.
“There are not many such tourists—and one of Mr. Verne’s original intentions was to exclude them.
“So, it’s not going to have a huge impact on the tourism industry in Ocean City.
"What's more..." Randy walked ahead with his hands behind his back and took the lead in stepping out of the elevator center door, "Ocean City does not need tourism to bring in revenue. The reason why it is open to tourism is just to allow people to continue to choose to 'believe'——
"Believe in the dream."
People walk out of the elevator lobby and into the "bubbles" seen from the outside that connect the building to the base of the building.
The colorful water light ripples around, and countless underwater creatures shuttle and play in the sea illuminated by the lights.
You can see several tall buildings rising from the ground around you, bursting out of the bubbles, and standing in the sea water. The fonts and signboards made of neon lights are faintly glowing in the sea water.
In the distance, the towering skyscrapers cannot be seen clearly in the water, and their silhouettes formed by lights are swaying seductively in the water...
Being there, I felt even more shocked.
For the first time, the people who looked up at all this had the same expression as Anna's on their faces.
