The Secret Code of Monsters.

Chapter 197 Ch.196 Time Waits for No One
Regarding the naming, Roland didn't understand why some people didn't like it.

It's obviously very interesting.

Rose just clicked with him.

"Then... Hammer... Ahem, Mr. Hammerhead." The lantern bearer coughed a few times and turned to lead Roland. "Before we reach the city gate, you can try to use the 'secret' to create a brand new face that can only be used in Golden Island."

"Of course, if you don't do anything, then it will just look like a blur."

It seemed that Roland's name, "Very Interesting", reminded him, and the lantern bearer, who was not too old, said one more sentence:
"…Since some people have faces that only their mothers like. Sir, you can definitely make a more beautiful mask, or an elegant and chic feature."

“No one will ever hate beautiful things.”

He was afraid that when he reached the city gate, he would turn around and see the novice gentleman with only a hammer around his neck.

"When will I give you the secret?" Roland asked.

"After arriving at the city gate," said the lantern bearer, "I belong to the Private Alliance - if you have heard of it, you will know that we are a loose organization with few rules."

He paused for a moment and added: "At least it's much less than the Church of Justice."

Roland asked if all three organizations would send people here to pick up the "entrants", or if they would... take turns?
"You are right, it is a rotation. But when you reach the city gate, you will see three parties."

Perhaps because most of the private alliance members were businessmen, the man holding the lantern and leading the way spoke without much ceremony or pretense, and he answered almost every question Roland asked.

"Since you came to Jindao, you must have understood the 'rules' - lying is not allowed here, so most of the answers you can give are true."

The oil lamp flickered.

They were moving away from the soft sand and onto the hard, uneven cobblestones.

The trail is very narrow and keeps deviating to the right, gradually winding into the mountains.

"What about the remaining half?"

"The remaining half is a lie wrapped in truth. I can't teach you to tell the difference, and I have no responsibility to teach you how to survive on Golden Island. Every ritualist has his or her own way. Maybe this place is suitable for you, or maybe not."

Roland turned the silver ring on his little finger again and again, thought for a moment, and quietly took the ring off.

It fell slowly behind the man holding the lantern.

"I would also like to remind you," he continued after he finished talking about his 'identity': "Golden Island does not allow mutual attacks. Perhaps you will feel it immediately, sir - no one can sense the mystery in the city, that is, if you insist on trying to attack someone with your fists and feet..."

"Once discovered."

“Will be expelled.”

"Finally, the Wanderer Camp, the Church of Justice, and the Private Alliance - the organizers do not guarantee that you will obtain authentic and effective rituals or knowledge here, nor do they guarantee the safety of you and the traders when trading outside the Golden Island."

"That is, if you can lure someone to the waking world to meet you, no matter who survives, it will not affect your status on the Golden Island."

"I think I should make myself clear, sir."

The last one is already clear.

"That's clear. What should I call you?" Roland asked.

"You can call me 'Pointer'." After finishing the necessary terms, Mr. Pointer was obviously relieved: "To be honest, I haven't met many new people recently. You are the first one I met this week."

When the uneven pebbles gradually turned into flat slabs, Roland indeed realized that the "secret" in his body that could be easily moved had turned into a sticky quagmire.

Going further, they gradually solidify.

Like a solid and heavy rock, it no longer responds to its master's call.

"You feel it, don't you?"

Pointer smiled. "I remember when I first came to Golden Island, I tried many times - 'Maybe I'm the only one who can do it.' Some novices would be afraid of suddenly losing the 'secret' that is almost equivalent to a limb, just like a person with clear eyes suddenly can't see anything."

As the stone road gradually widened, the oil lamp gradually became dimmer.

Roland saw the city gate.

The metal door built against the stone wall, similar to a checkpoint, is made of heavy copper, thick and tall. In addition to the gems inlaid on it and the intricately carved patterns, there are three emblems branded from left to right in the center seam of the closed copper door.

Homeless camps, churches of justice, private alliances.

"Here we are, Mr. Hammerhead."

The lantern bearer stopped.

The black fog dissipated at the sound.

Roland raised his head, and the sudden view made him exclaim uncontrollably:

"It's so beautiful..."

This magnificent and mysterious dream city was finally unveiled before Roland. It was made almost entirely of natural rocks, and was illuminated not by oil lamps or gas lamps, but by irregular crystals that shone brightly in the dark. They were inserted into the mountain, or had originally grown inside the mountain, and were wrapped in rocks.

It was like a snow made of meteors, and the fragments of the exploding stars were buried deep in the mountain, guiding the sleeping mountains to breathe with the brightness and darkness of the light.

Like a living city.

"Very beautiful, isn't it?" said the pointer, holding the lantern and walking towards the bronze door.

Next to the bronze door is a stone house carved out of nothing.

When he passed by, the people in the house came out to greet him:
Two people used 'normal' faces with slightly modified eyes or mouths, which looked weird.

After Pointer went over and talked to them for a few words, the three of them walked towards Roland together.

"Then, in the presence of the Wanderer Camp, the Church of Justice, and the Private Alliance, Mr. Hammerhead, please pay a secret as a ticket."

Roland saw one of them take out a diamond-shaped crystal - like the ones in the mountains.

He handed it to Roland and asked him to hold it.

"I fell in love with a woman who is twelve years older than me." Roland revealed the secret.

The crystal in my palm hummed.

It lit up for a moment, then dimmed again.

Pointer glanced at the person next to him, and after he nodded, he asked Roland to put the crystal away and said that this was his "identity card" on Golden Island.

"No problem, Mr. Hammerhead. Please follow me."

After saying goodbye to his two colleagues, Pointer led Roland to the bronze door. This huge piece of metal was almost impossible for one person to push, but he just touched it lightly with his fingers, and the two doors slid silently inwards.

Seeing that Roland was curious, he gave up his seat and let Roland try.

No weight.

"Anything can happen in a dream, right?"

The place behind the bronze door is no longer desolate.

This made Roland feel like he was back in the bustling Petticoat Harbor in the East End: only without the chaotic hawking.

On the stone-paved road, figures holding oil lamps passed by silently, or gathered in front of a drawing board, discussing in low voices or arguing with the person writing on the drawing board.

It is a harmless thing to illuminate each other's faces with oil lamps.

"Are you really in love with a woman twelve years older than you?"

As I was walking, the pointer suddenly said something.

"Indeed." Roland smiled and said, "Jin Dao can't lie, right?"

"But it can be packaged." Pointer changed the subject: "I guess that's your sister, right?"

Roland said nothing.

"It seems you are much faster than I thought."

"What's a lot faster?"

"Accept, understand and learn how to use the rules of Golden Island reasonably." said Pointer.

He stopped, turned around and handed the oil lamp to Roland.

"This lamp will dispel the black fog for you. It is the proof that you purchased the ticket." The pointer coughed twice and asked in a low voice: "...Not my sister?"

Roland took the oil lamp and looked at the masked man: "It seems that you and I have the same fate."

He was a little embarrassed.

Roland stopped and said, "I want to know where Helen Hawkins often appears."

"Helen Hawkins?" The pointer was stunned and looked in a certain direction subconsciously: "... She has an independent house in the left half of the inner city. I have to remind you that the woman is as cunning as a fox."

"Not my sister."

Roland shook the oil lamp and turned around.

"I suggest you be brave and tell her what you want to say, just like you did in Jindao..."

"Time waits for no man, Mr. Pointer."

(End of this chapter)