The Derivation of a Strange City

(Mystery + adventure + puzzle-solving. No invincible hero, no System, no brainless plot. The characters are smart.)

I, Jiang Tianchen, was drawn into a mystery laid out over generations because of Plan 0736. To find the answers hidden within it, I set out on a journey. Along the way, I met all kinds of people. Each of them was a piece of this mystery, or perhaps part of the Strange City Project. We were all at the same gambling table, under constant surveillance.

I was drawn into the game at Lake La'angcuo.

I took a seat at the table in the phantom city of the Lop Nur Desert.

But it was at the site of the 0736 incident, in the Central Archives, that I discovered where the problem lay.

In the Devil's City and the Kunlun Mountains' Valley of Death, I glimpsed a corner of the world.

In City 704, I saw the end of the world and began to put my plans in motion.

The world is full of myriad forms, all seemingly real. It is our subjective delusions and attachments that alter the appearance of external things.

A mountain seen once is a mountain; seen again, it is no longer a mountain; seen once more, it is a mountain again. The mind changes, and so does what the eye perceives.

All things in the world have their time. Flowers bloom and fall according to their own laws.

All things are empty, but cause and effect are not.

The finite is real; the infinite is illusion.

Between illusion and reality, the two are intertwined.

And I am right where they meet.

Illusion and reality are separated by only a hair's breadth.

Life is like a dream. All worldly splendor is an illusion; only inner peace and tranquility offer a true refuge.

Desire and loneliness are trials everyone must face.

Some things must be done, and some answers must be sought.

The winds rise, the land stirs, and every story begins with a thrilling start.

(This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real events or people is purely coincidental.)