[Morning, Longevity County Bank]
"Tendo, I feel like this place is strange."
In front of the Longevity County Bank, Jing Liuli frowned, looking at the bank before her, a nameless unease rising in her heart.
Following Jing Liuli's line of sight, the dimensional audience on Site 13 quickly saw the full appearance of the bank.
It was an old, ordinary county bank.
The aged red brick walls were covered in moss, and the six gilded characters for 'Longevity County Bank' hung high atop the bank, weathered by wind and rain until only the outline remained.
But what was even more bizarre were the two stone lions at the bank's entrance.
The left lion was missing half an ear, the broken stone edge resembling solidified scabs. The stone sphere beneath the right lion's paw was covered in spiderweb-like cracks, with a piece of faded blue cloth stuck in the crevices.
Several villagers carrying vegetable baskets walked past. Seeing them stop, they paused, their eyes full of curiosity, but they quickly walked away with blank expressions, as if the area near the bank was a forbidden place one should not look at too closely.
"Let's go. You'll understand in a moment."
Without much explanation, Tendo walked straight inside.
Caroline followed immediately without a word.
Jing Liuli, though still feeling uneasy, quickly followed the two out of absolute trust in Tendo.
The moment she entered the bank lobby, a stale odor mixed with ink and dust assaulted her, making Jing Liuli shiver subconsciously.
She looked around. Although there were many people in the quiet lobby, the only sound was the 'buzzing' of an old-fashioned ceiling fan, a sharp contrast to the lively atmosphere outside.
Passing through the main hall, what met Jing Liuli's eyes was an ordinary 'counter.'
The bulletproof glass of the counter was polished bright. The staff member behind the glass wore a faded blue work uniform, a stiffly starched tie knotted at the collar of his shirt, and his hair was meticulously combed, without a single loose strand.
What was strange was that the person's eyes seemed to be covered by a thin mist; his pupils had no focus, and a standard smile hung on his face, the curve of his mouth so precise it was rigid, as if his so-called 'smile' had been drawn with a ruler.
Meanwhile, two villagers sat on the long bench in front of the counter. One was hunched over counting small bills, wetting his fingertips with saliva and turning the bills one by one very slowly, the edges of the bills frayed.
The other stared blankly at the wall calendar, lost in thought.
"Hello, I'd like to process an exchange."
Tendo walked up to the counter and lightly tapped the glass with his finger.
Jing Liuli wasn't sure if it was her imagination, but although Tendo's voice was not loud, it caused a brief silence in the hall; even the ceiling fan above everyone paused for half a beat.
A moment later, the staff member's gaze 'floated' toward Tendo.
His misty pupils reflected Tendo's figure.
"Certainly, please wait a moment."
The staff member's voice was flat. He reached under the counter and pulled out a yellowed 'Application Form' with brittle edges, handing it to Tendo.
"Please fill in the details of the service you require and some identity information."
Tendo nodded, then picked up a steel pen lying on the counter and started filling in the form familiarly.
Jing Liuli leaned in behind Tendo, her round eyes vigilantly fixed on the staff member, fearing he might suddenly attack.
But Tendo seemed particularly composed. He unscrewed the pen cap, ink bled into a small dark stain on the paper, and with a flick of his wrist, he swiftly wrote.
Jing Liuli glanced at it curiously and was instantly stunned.
She had expected Tendo to play some trick, perhaps by filling in false information.
But to her surprise, Tendo filled in entirely real information—such as 'Name, Code, Age, Affiliation'—as if he were genuinely there to conduct business, without any deception, seemingly unconcerned that this might cause him any trouble.
Although Tendo had warned her to speak less, ask less, watch more, and listen more after entering.
Still, looking at the lifeless staff member behind the counter, Jing Liuli couldn't help but whisper, "Tendo, you..."
She was cut off mid-sentence by a look from Caroline.
Caroline gently shook her head, signaling her to trust Tendo.
Since she had known Tendo, he had never done anything meaningless.
Trust first, question later.
In less than half a minute, Tendo finished the application form, clipping it and handing it over.
The staff member took the application, his fingers tracing the paper, as if verifying something.
Moments later, his gaze finally settled on the 'Service Requirement' column.
[Service Requirement: Small Bill Exchange]
"Sir, this is the exchange rate for small bills in our county. You may decide the quantity of small bills you wish to exchange based on your needs."
He took out a laminated exchange sheet from under the counter and pushed it toward the glass.
Tendo reached out and picked up the exchange sheet, then casually handed it to Caroline and Jing Liuli.
The two took the sheet and immediately looked at it with curiosity.
After clearly seeing the exchange content on it, Jing Liuli couldn't help but gasp, covering her mouth to suppress a shout.
And just as the dimensional audience wondered what Jing Liuli had seen to elicit such a reaction.
The Galaxy Production Team provided a close-up shot of the exchange sheet.
[Longevity County Bank Exchange Rules]
This bank only accepts "Life Equivalents." Non-life items such as Star Energy Crystals, metal weapons, and energy blocks are not accepted.Life Equivalents include: Live creatures (must possess vital signs), Lifespan (calculated by natural years), Memory (must be complete and possess "value").
[Real World - Site 13 Bullet Chat Area]
'What the heck? Exchanging life for money? What kind of dark rule is this?!'
'Live creatures can be exchanged too? Do the Corrupted Vine Corpses outside count as live creatures?'
'Is Old Tendo going to exchange his own lifespan? Don't do it, Old Tendo!'
Just as the dimensional audience was still discussing, Tendo took out three fist-sized objects from his coat.
They were two 'hearts' tightly wrapped in pale purple vines. The suction cups of the vines were firmly attached to the dark red muscle tissue and were slightly wriggling, as if alive.
With just a glance, Caroline recognized these as the hearts of some kind of plant-based creature, containing extremely rich life energy.
Seeing the three hearts, the staff member's previously misty eyes instantly lit up like a dust-covered light bulb suddenly connected to power.
He leaned forward, his finger pointing at the three hearts through the glass. For the first time, his voice carried an emotional fluctuation.
"These are... high-level life cores! Extremely high purity!"
He quickly pressed the calculator beneath the counter, calculating diligently, and spoke excitedly to Tendo: "Sir, these three can be exchanged for 3 large bills (units of currency). If you open our bank's 'Current Account,' you will also receive an additional check-in voucher for the guesthouse, which is valid for all accommodations in the entire town. You must present this voucher to check-in after dark."
"I'll take it."
Tendo answered without the slightest hesitation.
The staff member swiftly took out a red-covered passbook. The steel pen wrote rapidly on it; the ink was a dark red that smelled of rust.
He then took a stiff cardboard voucher from a drawer, printed with a black-and-white photograph of the guesthouse. Next to the photo was a simple, rough yet accurate portrait of Tendo.
"Here you are, please keep these safe."
After processing all the services for Tendo, the eerie staff member pushed the passbook and the voucher toward him.
Perhaps out of good intention, or perhaps believing Tendo was a rare, high-quality client of Longevity Bank.
The staff member suddenly lowered his voice, as if conveying a secret, kindly warning: "Sir, please store these two items securely. Curfew is enforced in this county, and walking alone in the county at night... is very dangerous."
"Mm."
Tendo nodded nonchalantly, seemingly already aware of these rules.
He took the passbook and the guesthouse voucher. The passbook cover was hard, and the voucher was stamped with the bank's red seal, the ink smelling strongly.
After all this was done, he turned to face Caroline and Jing Liuli.
"Let's go. If you have any questions, we'll talk outside."
As he turned, his peripheral vision caught the staff member quickly stuffing the two Corrupted Vine Corpse hearts into a metal box under the counter. The clasp clicked shut, as if sealing away some priceless treasure.
As soon as they stepped out of the bank's blue-stone threshold, Jing Liuli, like a little animal that had been cooped up, quickly caught up to Tendo, lightly pulling his sleeve.
"Tendo, when did you get those two hearts?"
"Also, why weren't you afraid at all just now? You filled in all your real information. Aren't you worried about something going wrong?"
Her round eyes were full of worry. As she spoke, she subconsciously glanced at the bank behind her, clearly wary of the bizarre institution.
Jing Liuli knew well that names and information were just designations, but in this world where Star Source effects were incredibly diverse, sometimes just knowing a person's name... was enough to cause them great trouble.
Facing Jing Liuli's questions, Tendo explained them one by one.
"Liuli, this place is indeed very complex, but it's also very simple."
"You just arrived, so you don't understand the situation here. One of the rules here is that you cannot 'lie.'"
"Cannot lie?"
Jing Liuli looked at Tendo in confusion. They had arrived on the island on the same day, and Tendo had even stayed behind to cover their retreat.
Yet, he had not only arrived at Longevity County before them, but his words were also filled with knowledge about Longevity Island.
It was as if he had been here before.
However, Jing Liuli understood the reason instantly, her gaze settling on Tendo's deep blue eyes, obscured by a black eye patch.
For the 'Star Eclipse Eyes' that could see through the future, anticipating the rules of this fallen zone seemed like no difficult task.
Thinking of this, Jing Liuli couldn't help but say, "No, I always thought your eyes were special, but I never expected they could now foresee the rules of a fallen zone in advance. How can any fallen zone challenge you now?"
Tendo smiled at her words, then shook his voucher.
"Even without these eyes, it wouldn't be difficult for me to figure out the rules here."
"Let's go to the guesthouse first. The county area is different from the suburbs. Even for me, the night in Longevity County feels a bit troublesome. We must find a safe place to settle down first."
Although Tendo's tone was very relaxed, it caused Caroline, beside him, to adopt a grave expression.
The night in Longevity County, troublesome even for Tendo?
Thinking of this, Caroline instinctively turned to look around the bank.
Although the surrounding shops and the pedestrians on the street made Caroline feel that this was just an ordinary small county town.
The fact that Tendo made such a comment indicated that this place... was definitely not as ordinary as it appeared on the surface.
At the same time, she hadn't forgotten the exchange list the bank staff had just presented.
The exchange items included not only life cores but also the ethereal lifespan and memory.
This made Caroline vaguely realize something.
Led by Tendo, the trio quickly arrived at the 'Longevity County Guesthouse,' which was an entire county away from the Longevity County Bank.
Though called a guesthouse, to Jing Liuli and Caroline, it looked more like an old, small hotel.
Seeing three guests arrive, the guesthouse owner, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, immediately stood up.
His smile, like that of the Longevity County Bank counter staff, was mechanical, rigid, and cold.
In the dim light of the guesthouse, the owner's smile was bright, but it gave a strange sense of dissonance.
It was as if the person standing before Tendo and the others was not a living human but a 'puppet' identical to a living person.
"Three guests, are you looking to stay?"
"Yes."
Tendo nodded, then placed three large bills (units of currency) and his guesthouse voucher on the counter.
"A large suite, please."
Seeing the three large bills, the guesthouse owner's eyes instantly lit up.
However, he didn't rush to take the money. Instead, he looked up at Tendo, saying faintly, "What about the guesthouse vouchers for the other two guests?"
To this, Tendo seemed to have known he would ask this, answering plainly: "Having me is enough. After all, you know the rules here, don't you?"
The guesthouse owner was first taken aback, then shook his head and smiled helplessly.
"It seems the guest is very familiar with this county. Then I have no issues."
With that, the guesthouse owner swiftly processed the check-in procedures for Tendo.
In a short time, a key was handed to Tendo.
"The last room on the top floor. One large bill secures one day's stay, settlement is at 12 noon every day."
Tendo took the key, said nothing more, and led Caroline and Jing Liuli toward the top floor of the guesthouse.
Just as their figures disappeared at the end of the hallway, the scene on the screen switched to Chen Kong and Mi Yao in the town square.
In contrast to Tendo's easygoing and casual demeanor.
Chen Kong and Mi Yao had encountered quite a bit of trouble.
The core reason was simple: after eating at a stall in the square, the two were surprised to find that they... had no money to pay with!