Over the next few days, the ticket office of Ning’an Ancient City experienced a rare break from its streak of zero visitors.
The female tourist returned the very next day. She entered the Ancient City first thing in the morning and didn’t leave until it was nearly closing time in the evening. Before departing, she asked Sun, who had returned to his post at the ticket office, a few questions. According to Sun, the woman looked quite disappointed when she learned that the scenic area didn’t offer annual passes.
The third day was even more incredible—six new tourists arrived all at once. They were all young adults. From their conversations, it was clear that they had connected through the female tourist’s short video and decided to visit the spot together. As soon as they entered the Ancient City, they started complaining. They criticized the dilapidated buildings, the empty streets, and the fact that such a massive scenic area didn’t even have a single sausage vendor.
However, the moment they walked onto West City Street and found the Yongtong Bridge from the video, their complaints abruptly stopped. The group of young people acted as if they had just unearthed a treasure. Their eyes lit up as they crowded around the bridge, snapping photos non-stop. Some even tried to replicate the exact angles and lighting from the woman’s video.
When a burly guy in a white T-shirt leaned over the bridge railing to take a break, everything changed. In the very next second, he suddenly froze. By the time he snapped out of it, his eyes were red with tears, startling his companions.
Chen Yan, who was on a ladder nearby cleaning the roof beams, was equally startled.
Ever since the female tourist’s short video went semi-viral on Notes, Chen Yan realized this was a golden opportunity and immediately took action. His first step was a massive spring cleaning. He planned to thoroughly clean West City Street inside and out while also checking for any hidden safety hazards. Yongtong Bridge was located right in the middle of West City Street, meaning tourists had to pass through it to check in. Whether it was to leave a good impression on the visitors or simply to prevent accidents caused by years of disrepair, it was absolutely necessary for him to renovate the street, even if it was just a basic fix.
Afterward, he intended to dust off his amateur photography skills, systematically capture every detail of Yongtong Bridge, and post the content on Notes while paying to drive traffic to it. At the same time, he planned to redesign the Ancient City’s promotional brochure using the bridge as the cover. He had only one goal in mind: to fully leverage the only resource in the entire scenic area capable of attracting visitors! He had even considered hiring a few travel bloggers to tour the place, but quickly abandoned the idea after checking their rates.
In short, even if it was just a minuscule chance, he would go all out as long as he saw a glimmer of hope to revitalize the Ancient City.
What he hadn’t expected, however, was that six new tourists would show up all at once while his plans were barely off the ground. This influx of visitors easily ranked in the top two highest daily turnouts in the three years since he took over the scenic area. The all-time record still belonged to that large family who had gotten lost and stumbled in by accident—a serendipitous event that couldn’t be planned.
But what surprised him even more was the profound emotional impact the Resonating State of Yongtong Bridge had on the tourists! That guy was a strapping, six-foot-tall grown man, yet after leaning against the railing for just a short moment, tears were streaming down his face.
As a system notification popped up in his vision indicating someone had triggered emotional resonance, Chen Yan looked at the striking [High] label next to the resonance level. He began to understand why the man was bawling so fiercely. It seemed this bro had a lot of bottled-up feelings hidden away.
No longer in a rush to clean the beams, Chen Yan stayed perched high on his ladder, deciding to closely observe the tourists’ reactions. He had regretted not witnessing the female tourist’s state when she first stepped onto the bridge. Now that a full group of six new visitors had arrived, there was no way he would miss this chance to spectate.
He had already tested it himself after the Ancient City closed a couple of days ago. No matter what he did on the bridge, he felt no emotional fluctuations whatsoever. Thinking back, when the system forcibly sent him to Qinghe Street, he had to complete a mission. Not only did he learn the complete history of Yongtong Bridge from the proprietress, but he also nearly lost his life on it. Theoretically, he was likely the person who understood this bridge better than anyone else in the world. It was completely normal for him to be unaffected.
Therefore, these six tourists had arrived at the perfect time. Not only could they help him gather more information about the Resonating State, but their genuine reactions would also allow him to tweak his future plans.
A moment later.
Once the guy in the white T-shirt wiped his tears and steadied his emotions, his companions immediately bombarded him with questions about what had happened. Because he wasn’t close enough, Chen Yan couldn’t quite hear their conversation. However, he soon saw the others exchange skeptical looks before stubbornly placing their hands on the bridge railing to test it for themselves. Then, Chen Yan witnessed a spectacle.
There were three guys and two girls left. Aside from the guy in the white T-shirt, the demeanors of the other five drastically changed the moment they touched the railing.
A short guy in a blue shirt, who had been loudly pontificating about twenty different techniques for photographing bridges just a second ago, suddenly went completely silent. Resting his elbows on the railing, he stared blankly into the nearly dry river channel below.
Another girl, who wore a creamy-white princess dress and had been chattering like a lark, slowly crouched down after touching the railing. Extending a slender finger painted with bright nail polish, she began drawing absentminded circles on the smooth stone tiles.
The reactions of the other three weren’t quite as dramatic, but they all fell silent nonetheless. Six people were squeezed onto the modest-sized Yongtong Bridge, yet not a single one spoke. The atmosphere felt rather eerie.
DING—
[Yongtong Bridge (Resonating State) has triggered emotional resonance.]
[Resonance Level: Medium]
[Anchor stability slightly increased.]
DING—
[Yongtong Bridge (Resonating State) has triggered emotional resonance.]
[Resonance Level: Low]
[Anchor stability marginally increased.]
DING...
In stark contrast to the unnaturally quiet Yongtong Bridge, a barrage of system notifications echoed incessantly in Chen Yan’s mind. The corner of his vision was nearly overflowing with continuously refreshing messages. He tried silently chanting "Quiet" in his mind. In the next second, the piercing DING DING sounds instantly vanished, and even the text in his peripheral vision became much more concise.
He thought, "Aren’t you quite smart?"
Having accidentally unearthed yet another new system feature, Chen Yan curled his lip. He pushed off studying it for now, and his gaze fell back onto the six people on the bridge. Through his observations, he had largely figured out one thing—the Resonating State of Yongtong Bridge impacted everyone’s emotions to varying degrees.
The previous female tourist and the guy in the white T-shirt who first touched the railing had both triggered a [High] level resonance, resulting in the most intense reactions. The guy in the blue shirt and the girl in the princess dress had likely triggered a [Medium] level resonance; although they looked weighed down by heavy thoughts, they hadn’t lost their composure. The other three were all at a [Low] level resonance; aside from becoming less talkative, they didn’t display any obvious abnormalities.
Chen Yan guessed that the weight of a person’s inner burdens was the core factor in determining the level. The more carefree a person was, the smaller their emotional fluctuations would be. Conversely, unless someone had extraordinary willpower, those deep-seated emotions were bound to be stirred.