A Phosphorus

Chen Miemie was very fond of this inn's name.

"Fireflies" were creatures brimming with childlike joy in his memories. As urbanization advanced, they seemed to exist only in his childhood, and he had not spotted one for ages.

Dentist stepped forward, pushed the main gate open, and walked in first.

Her voice was loud, not being low-key at all.

"Kid, I brought a paying customer for you. This time it's a real big... rich guy."

"Really? Thanks a ton, Dentist." A teenage boy rose to his feet from the rattan lounge chair behind the inn's front desk.

Chen Miemie had just stepped through the door at that moment, and he found himself facing a carefully tended small front courtyard garden.

Most of the flowers hung from the walls in hanging baskets, while the ground was covered with a thin layer of soft green grass.

Chen Miemie did not recognize most of these plants. They must be special coastal varieties, moisture-resistant and capable of being submerged in water.

Chen Miemie and the boy who had just stood up locked eyes.

The boy looked to be around 20 years old, with fluffy, slightly messy brown hair, a fine and delicate face, green eyes, and faint dark circles under them. He still had the drowsy look of someone who had just woken up, wore loose, comfortable clothing, and gave off a thoroughly laid-back vibe.

Chen Miemie walked over, and the very first sentence he said perfectly matched the "rich guy" label Dentist had pinned on him.

"Show me the rooms first. I want the largest, best suite you have. If I'm satisfied, I'll book it for half a month straight."

The boy was wide awake now.

All traces of sleepiness vanished from his face. "Got it, guest. My name is A-Lin, I'm the owner of this inn. Please follow me."

Firefly Inn was a standalone small building. Aside from the extremely elevated foundation that all buildings here had, it had four floors of its own.

A-Lin led Chen Miemie and Dentist straight up the stairs.

As he walked, he introduced the place. "My inn has been around for 200 years, and I'm the eighth generation to run it. I only took over not long ago.

The first floor has the dining hall, lounge, garden, and my living quarters, so you can find me here anytime.

The second floor has smaller guest rooms, the third floor rooms are a bit more spacious, and the fourth floor has the biggest ones. There are only two suites on the entire top floor, with the best views around. Every day when you pull the windows open, you can watch the tides rise and fall.

Above that is the rooftop, which we usually use to hang laundry, and occasionally for barbecues or small get-togethers."

Chen Miemie observed the stairwell as he climbed.

The combination of stone walls and wooden handrails gave the space an antique, timeless feel, and it had a sense of history without coming off as run-down.

"A-Lin, why is there a layer of vegetation covering every single surface, including the stairs, the floors, and the wall exteriors?" Chen Miemie stepped on the grass under his feet, finding it surprisingly comfortable.

"Haha, that's this inn's signature feature.

You can't see it clearly during the day, but once night falls, glowing fireflies will emerge from these patches of vegetation. It makes you feel like you've stepped right out into a natural, open countryside, super relaxing. That's where our name 'Firefly' comes from.

But don't worry, the fireflies won't go inside the guest rooms. They only stay in the hallways, on the rooftop, and in the garden."

Chen Miemie looked around the fourth floor, and found that both suites were unoccupied right then.

It wasn't just the fourth floor either; the second and third floors also seemed nearly empty of guests.

"Why is there nobody here? Is it the off-season for tourism?"

Dentist answered his question.

"This is actually the peak time for tourism. The problem is the city is facing the threat of war lately, so most tourists have already left, and those who were planning to come have canceled their trips one after another. Even the Tidal Palace released a public notice advising people not to visit the city for the time being."

Chen Miemie had heard Chen Miaomiao mention the Tidal Palace before he arrived.

The Tidal Palace was the official governing body of Foam Harbor, the combined name of the Tide Administration and the Tide Hall.

The Tide Administration was mainly responsible for major matters like policy-making, urban planning, foreign relations, and formulating laws and regulations.

The Tide Hall functioned like the specific operational departments in charge of everything from household registration, marriage registration, property transactions, to even mediating disputes between residents.

A-Lin had finished showing Chen Miemie around the fourth floor, and was looking at him eagerly, waiting for his decision.

Chen Miemie walked out to the small balcony and pushed open the full-length French window.

Sea breeze blew gently from outside the balcony. Looking up, he saw a clear, spotless blue sky, and looking down, he saw a street scene crisscrossed with small bridges and flowing water, so beautiful it looked like a painted scroll.

"In my old city, buildings only had louvered windows. How come you can have such a large opening here?"

"Actually, we follow the same building codes. That opening on the balcony isn't a regular window, it's a specially designed door. Once you close it, it seals completely tight and becomes a solid wall. You must never open it during dusk, dawn, or the No-Sun Days."

Chen Miemie sat on the rattan chair on the balcony, enjoying the breeze for a while, before standing up slowly.

"I'll take this one. Book it for half a month first."

A-Lin lit up with joy. "So you've decided on this suite?"

Chen Miemie shook his head. "I'm taking both suites on the fourth floor."

"Huh?" A-Lin froze. "But you're traveling alone, right?"

Dentist also spoke up. "Chen Miemie, per our tour guide contract, I go home to rest at night. You don't need to prepare a room for me."

Chen Miemie waved his hand. "This isn't for you. I just love having lots of space, and one suite feels too small for me."

This left both A-Lin and Dentist hesitating.

A-Lin wanted to make the sale, but he had the old saying "anything out of the ordinary must hide a trick" in mind. Chen Miemie's request was obviously unreasonable, and these were turbulent times for the city. If he ended up hosting a suspicious character, it could lead to huge trouble.

Dentist was thinking more or less the same thing.

Aside from working as a tour guide, she was also a high-tier mystic. She had been observing Chen Miemie this whole journey, and had already confirmed that he was a mystic too. If a mystic decided to cause destruction, their destructive power was simply unimaginable.

Everyone wanted to earn money, but if you let greed make you turn a blind eye to hidden dangers, you would be letting a wolf into the house, and the loss would far outweigh the gain.

A-Lin voiced the doubt he had been holding. "Mr. Chen, forgive me for being blunt. You're alone, and one suite already has three bedrooms plus a living room, which is more than enough for one person. Renting two just doesn't make sense."

Chen Miemie thought about it. Admitting that one person wanted two suites did sound rather odd, so he adjusted his explanation a little. "It's just me for now, but my companions will be arriving soon."

Even if that was just a made-up excuse, it at least sounded reasonable on the surface. Besides, there was no law stopping a guest from staying in one suite and leaving the other empty, so A-Lin proceeded to check him in.

But Chen Miemie's final request still left him feeling something was slightly off.

After Chen Miemie paid the room fee, he told A-Lin that during the entire rental period, no one was to come up to the fourth floor to clean the two suites, and no one was to enter them at all.

And just like that, Chen Miemie had found his temporary place to stay.

Dentist sat around for a short while before leaving Firefly Inn. Chen Miemie had given her a task that day, telling her to clock off early and go back to draft a custom half-month itinerary for him, covering all the food, fun, and sightseeing spots.

By noon, A-Lin was at the front desk on the first floor, eating his meal.

The inn's main gate was pushed open.

He was just about to stand up to welcome the guest, but the moment he got to his feet, he saw what the newcomer was wearing.

It was a woman fully clad in blue-purple armor, her head enclosed in a sealed metal helmet, with a seahorse emblem printed on her chest.

A-Lin's expression turned grim. "Knights of the Seahorse, what are you doing here?"

The visitor stepped inside, flipped open half of her helmet to reveal the lower half of her face from the nose down, and curled her lips into a smirk.

"Chen Miemie lives here, right?"