At first light, just as dawn cracked open the sky, the guards stationed at Xi'an Prefecture's East Gate witnessed a scene so strange that several of them rubbed their eyes in disbelief.
Outside the city walls, a vast crowd of workers surged toward the ruins of the East Outercity.
Every one of them wore a bright yellow hat.
The East Outercity had been abandoned for years. Once bustling, it had long since decayed into a wasteland of rotting wooden houses, collapsed storefronts, and broken beams—like a city after the end of the world.
The Yellow Hats charged straight into the ruins.
They didn't repair.
They didn't inspect.
They smashed.
Sledgehammers rose and fell. Rotten beams snapped. Walls that were already half-collapsed were reduced to splinters. Dust and debris billowed into the air as the entire Outercity was methodically flattened.
The gate guards stared, stunned.
"Good heavens…" one muttered.
"What are they doing?" another exclaimed. "The Outercity is already ruined—are they trying to make it worse?"
Someone hurried off to report the matter to the Prefect.
But when the news reached the Prefect of Xi'an, he barely lifted his head.
"Leave it," he said, waving lazily. "That land belongs to the Prince of Qin's estate. The Prince's people notified us this morning—they plan to rebuild a market street there."
He paused, then added indifferently, "It's his land. If he wants to smash it flat and rebuild it ten times over, that's his business. Not ours."
And so, the guards returned to their posts, curiosity replacing concern.
They watched as the Yellow Hats finished demolishing every last remnant of the old Outercity.
Then came a new group.
This time, Blue Hats.
These men didn't swing hammers. They paced the cleared ground, measured distances, pointed, argued, scribbled furiously on sheets of paper, and sketched lines no one else could decipher.
Soon after—
The Yellow Hats returned.
Only now, they brought carts of materials.
Wood. Beams. Cloth canopies.
Construction began—but not the kind anyone expected.
They weren't building solid houses.
They raised frames.
Simple frames.
Each structure was erected quickly, topped with a rain canopy, and left at that. No walls, no heavy foundations.
Fast.
Efficient.
Within just a few days, the entire Outercity had transformed.
Where there had once been ruins, now stood vast, orderly rows of makeshift stalls, stretching as far as the eye could see.
Then—
WHOOSH!
A massive steam train thundered to a halt.
Merchants poured out.
Not ordinary vendors—but hardened survivors of Gao Family Village's brutal commercial battlefield. These were elite hawkers, veterans who had clawed their way through cutthroat competition.
And their goods?
Utter madness.
"Celestial Realm snacks for sale! Oreo cream cookie crumbs—personally bestowed by Dao Xuan Tianzun! Five catties left in the entire world! Once they're gone, they're gone!"
"Chips Ahoy chocolate mini cookies! General Lao Nanfeng earned these through great merit! He couldn't finish them, so they've entered the market! Only three catties remain worldwide!"
"Xi Zhi Lang jelly! A special grand prize from the Gao Family Village Huanglong Mountain Labor Reform Camp Fighting Competition! Ten catties left—no more!"
"Sachima! Unique under heaven, unseen by the world!"
"Crispy Shark Wafers!"
"Daliyuan Chocolate Pies!"
"Want Want Senbei! Last ten catties!"
The entire Outercity exploded into noise.
The city guards gawked.
"Are these people insane?" one whispered.
"This place has been dead for years. Who would ever come out here to shop?"
Indeed—no foot traffic, no population, no safety. What use were the rarest goods in the world if no one came?
But that very evening—
On the Immortal Treasure Mirror in Xi'an's vegetable market square, the final segment of the Gaojia News Broadcast began.
"Next—business news," Gao Yiye announced cheerfully.
"A large number of vendors have entered the East Outercity outside Xi'an's East Gate…"
The image shifted.
A sweeping aerial shot revealed a transformed Outercity—clean, orderly, and brightly lit. Uniform rows of stalls lined a wide commercial street, dazzling goods displayed everywhere.
The crowd watching the screen went silent.
Then erupted.
Among them sat Zhu Cunji, heir to the Prince of Qin.
He had developed the habit of watching Gaojia News every night—and had even bought the house directly opposite the Immortal Treasure Mirror, turning its second floor into his private viewing platform.
At that moment, the candied fruit in his hand suddenly tasted bland.
"What are those?" Zhu Cunji demanded, eyes wide.
"Why have I, the Prince of Qin's heir, never tasted any of them?"
His steward hesitated. "Your Highness… you have tasted chocolate. Your servant acquired it from the salt smuggler Xing Honglang."
Zhu Cunji froze—then lit up.
"Ah! Yes! Chocolate! It was heavenly!"
He swallowed hard. "But after that, nothing. I heard Xing Honglang ran off to become a bandit, then got pacified. She hasn't appeared in ages!"
His mouth began to water uncontrollably.
"What are we waiting for?!" he roared.
"Prepare the carriage! I'm going to the Outercity!"
But outside, the vegetable market square was packed shoulder to shoulder with viewers. A carriage couldn't move—even a person would struggle to squeeze through.
The guards dared not clear the crowd by force. Governor Lian Guoshi himself was present.
Zhu Cunji fumed.
Then the broadcast ended.
The screen switched to "Corn Planting Methods."
With a thunderous roar, the crowd scattered.
And they all ran in the same direction.
East Gate.
Zhu Cunji's heart skipped. "They're going to buy the snacks!"
"Move! Move!" he shouted.
Abandoning the carriage, he mounted a horse.
"Faster!"
The streets were still clogged.
"Cut across!" Zhu Cunji snapped.
"Go to the wall!"
He raced to the city wall, climbed up, and looked down.
The gate was already jammed solid.
Blocked.
"Rope!" Zhu Cunji barked.
The guards tied one around his waist and lowered him straight down the wall.
The moment his feet touched ground outside the city, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! Still, I have my ways!"
He sprinted forward—
SPLASH!
Straight into the moat.