Viktor pressed down the doubt in his heart and sat down at seat number ten in the third row, according to the number on his ticket.
“You are from the Lothar family…” someone suddenly said beside him.
He turned his head, slightly surprised, and found that the other person was a gorgeously dressed woman. Unlike Linglong, this person looked like a seasoned veteran of the dating scene, able to display her most alluring side at any time. “Viktor Lothar, may I ask who you are?”
“I have heard of your great name for a long time,” the woman said with a smile, placing her hand on her chest. “My name is Denise Payton, from Dawn Radiance City.”
“So you are the young lady of the Payton family,” Viktor said with a sudden realization. “I didn’t expect to see a merchant from the same city in a foreign land.”
“I also didn’t expect to meet the rumored business genius here,” Denise pointed to the person beside her. “Let me introduce you, this is Your Excellency Yokou, who once served as the Dawn Radiance ambassador. He is the one who invited me here.”
“Pleased to meet you, pleased to meet you.”
What followed was a round of polite conversation.
While talking with Yokou, Viktor also got to know a group of Graycastle's upper-class figures.
As he expected, those who could enter the theater for the premiere were mostly rich or noble. For example, the audience sitting in the front row were mostly powerful figures from the City Hall. According to Yokou, their tickets were all given by His Majesty and they didn't need to spend a single copper eagle themselves. The back rows were filled with wealthy merchants and distinguished guests from various places. He even saw members of the Graycastle royal capital theater troupe in the crowd.
The threshold of forty gold dragons turned the theater into a small banquet. If he could interact with these people, the gains would be worth the ticket price.
After everyone arrived, more than ten attendants pushed small carts out of another door in single file, placing bags of strange-looking paper into the recesses next to the armrests of the recliners.
“Is this something for us?” Linglong curiously picked up a bag and looked it over. “Uh, the word written on the top seems to be pop… popcorn?”
“There are also french fries and milk—so these are all food?” Viktor noticed that the bag labeled with the word milk had a rather special texture. It looked like parchment, but felt incredibly soft to the touch. However, they all looked the same, making it difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, there was a diagram below the large characters showing how to use it, which undoubtedly took into account that it was the first time for the guests.
When he followed the steps in the diagram, inserted a transparent straw into the seal at the top of the bag, and sucked out the milk inside, a sense of accomplishment that was hard to describe welled up in his heart.
This is so interesting!
Even the usually bland milk seemed much sweeter.
Thoughtful reminders, ingenious design, and packaging he had never seen before—even if it was filled with water, it could sell for a good price!
The person who designed it must be an outstanding businessman.
Moreover, Viktor realized that this was not just for novelty and fun. Unlike traditional porcelain and glass containers, which were angular and sharp, these two types of bags were obviously difficult to use to harm people. Considering the identities of the viewers, this move was particularly important. At the same time, the storage slot next to the chair fit perfectly with the bag, so that even if the opened paper bag was placed inside, nothing would spill out.
Such a mature combination was hard to imagine appearing in a new product that was being shown for the first time.
Just as Viktor was about to try what the bag of popcorn tasted like, an ethereal voice suddenly rang out above the hall, “Welcome everyone to the Graycastle Magic Shadow Theater. The play *Wolfheart's Destiny* is about to begin. Please return to your seats and carefully listen to the viewing rules. If you encounter any problems during the viewing process, please act according to the rules to avoid accidents.”
A commotion immediately broke out in the hall, because the audience could only hear the voice, but couldn't find where the speaker was.
“First, the Magic Shadow will last for a total of two hours and fifteen minutes, which is one *shichen* and one *ke*. There will be no breaks during this time, and you are not allowed to leave your seats on your own. If you need assistance, pull the summoning bell cord under the seat and wait in place.”
“Secondly, this will be an unprecedented viewing experience. No matter what happens, please do not panic. You must remember that it is only a special play, and not something that is actually happening. If any third-party losses are caused due to your own reasons,
the Neverwinter City Police Department will pursue your responsibility.”
Hearing this, Viktor couldn't help but chuckle. Come on, are there really people in this world who would take a play seriously? They even used the word panic, which seemed a bit self-praising. He took this opportunity to glance behind him, and sure enough, those theatrical colleagues all showed deep sarcasm on their faces.
On the other hand, Linglong didn't think there was anything wrong with it at all, and even nervously grabbed the armrest of the recliner.
Perhaps to allow time for digestion, the voice rang out again after a few breaths, “So, please enjoy this dreamlike time.”
“Now, let the show begin!”
As the voice fell, four clusters of glowing magic stones slowly rose and disappeared into the dome, and the hall suddenly became dim.
What does this mean? Whether the light source is sufficient will directly affect the overall effect of the play. The reason why open-air theaters are so popular is because of this. Without light, how can people appreciate the details of the performance? The arc of Viktor's mouth grew even larger. He was increasingly curious about how they would wrap things up in the end, after making things so mysterious at the beginning.
However, before he could put away his smile, he was directly stunned in place the next second.
After a flash of white light, his vision instantly turned pitch black—this was definitely the blackest black he had ever seen. It would be no problem to describe it as an abyss. Not to mention front, back, left, and right, even the seat under him had disappeared without a trace! If it weren't for the feeling under his buttocks, he probably would have jumped up.
But what was even more incredible was yet to come. Viktor discovered that his body was also completely submerged in the darkness. Even if he put his hand in front of his eyes, he couldn't see anything different. He couldn't tell whether it was because it was too dark, or whether he had been completely deprived of his vision.
The commotion in the venue proved that he was not the only one who was surprised. The shouts and screams of each other filled the air with a tense atmosphere.
Panic was not just a word!
If it hadn't been for the warning before the start, the crowd would have been in complete chaos by now.
At this time, a soft light shone down from above, dispelling the darkness and illuminating the hall again—but the audience who had regained their light did not calm down because of this, but instead collectively gasped.
Oh my god, Viktor also widened his eyes. What… what's going on? The scene in front of him was no longer inside the theater, but had moved to the sky!
He could hear the cold wind blowing in his ears, and he could clearly see the snowy sky. There was nothing under his feet, and he was at least a thousand *zhang* away from the ground. The mountains and forests had turned into gray and white spots, like children's doodles. This unprecedented experience made Viktor tremble all over. He used almost all his strength to hold on to the armrest and curl himself up into the "invisible" recliner, as if it was the only thing supporting him. If he lost his grip, he would fall from the sky and be smashed to pieces.
“In a mountain city in the far north, there live two lively and lovely princesses, and our story begins here…” It wasn't until the narration sounded unhurriedly that he realized he was still watching a play, and not being summoned to heaven by the gods.
「Are there really people in this world who would take a play seriously?」
Viktor wanted to cry but had no tears. Who would have thought that Magic Shadow would be like this?
For the next two hours, the jewelry merchant experienced the most incredible time of his life.