Just like always, Zone 011 was unchanged. The return ticket Xu Huo bought was directed to another city, so he had to take an aircraft back to the base city. He chose not to use a teleportation prop and instead treated this journey as a time to relax and take in the scenery of other cities.
There was no news from the Girl in the painting, Zone 039, or the Suitcase Man; even Yan Jiayu, who entered a high-risk instance, hadn't replied—everything seemed to have hit a unilateral pause button.
It wasn't until evening that Xu Huo arrived at the Rose Castle.
The flowers in the garden were in full bloom; due to his change in identity, there were no longer tourists coming around to take pictures, though quite a few players disguised as ordinary people wandered nearby.
