“Furthermore, the women on this island all take special long-term contraceptives, and having children requires approval.”

Where did that common sense come from? It's problematic no matter how you think about it, right? Are you guys actually practicing population control?

Qi Xing tried hard to suppress the urge to make a snarky comment. However, just as he felt that the people on this island were truly impossible to communicate with—he suddenly noticed that the light-Brown-haired Girl in the bikini frowned slightly and didn't follow the Blonde Girl's statement.

Volume 5: Welcome to the █ █ █ Paradise! : 188 : Shocking █? Intercourse

Buying a phone didn't take much time.

Although Qi Xing went to great lengths to successfully refuse the "Love █? Pleasure ? To Death" data discount package that the clerk highly recommended, even until he walked out of the store, he still didn't quite understand which aspect of the "service" this package was discounting.

The sky was darkening, but the bustle on the streets had yet to dissipate; there were still people █?█? in the shadows everywhere. Although the number was much lower than during the day, strange "facilities" could still be seen operating in various places.

For example, by the glowing █?█?█? fountain, there was a group of people who were █?█? engaged, actively █? producing.

"Master Leipu, are you going back to the hotel for dinner? Although the hotel's meals are not bad, would you like to find a shop nearby? There are a few places around here with quite unique flavors~"

The Blonde Girl happily led the way for Qi Xing, beaming with smiles, and from time to time she would try to lean in to hook her arm into Qi Xing's, rubbing her huge headlights against him.

Qi Xing tried his best to avoid her. However, the girl's offensive was continuous and persistent, almost pestering him with a kind of enthusiastic spirit of dedication.

In contrast, the Brown-haired Girl was clearly not as proactive as the blonde, always maintaining a small step's distance. However, Qi Xing observed quietly and carefully, seeing that she wasn't actually truly resistant to █? either—just not as enthusiastic as the Blonde Girl.

As for eating?

To be honest, on this crazy island where everything can be ?█?, Qi Xing had absolutely no appetite.

Anyway, immortals don't get hungry just from drinking wind. In the end, eating on such an island, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to taste his food.

However, on the other hand… returning to the hotel would be quiet, and there wouldn't be so many horny lunatics to disturb him; but if he found a restaurant nearby and took a few more looks at the human customs on this island, it might be more helpful for him to figure out the nature of the [Labyrinth]…

Thinking of this, Qi Xing didn't dawdle and nodded directly to the Blonde Girl: "You find a place."

The Blonde Girl immediately giggled and pulled Qi Xing into a restaurant that looked quite uniquely decorated.

Labyrinth Island was a tourist destination, and the restaurant and the food sold inside were, of course, in a local style for tourists to see. The shop was named "Minos's Ball-Swallowing," and the white lime outer walls were painted with dolphins and minotaurs in an ancient Cretan style.

As soon as he entered, he could smell the faint aroma of olives, honey, and charcoal fire, floating in the air mixed with the scent of strange herbs. The mural on the inner wall was of a Great Mother Goddess with broad shoulders and a thick waist, big buttocks and giant █?, quite in the style of the Çatalhöyük Goddess, rising from a spiral labyrinth, surrounded by groups of men and women who seemed to be dancing and kneeling to her.

Qi Xing glanced at it and couldn't help but frown silently.

"Welcome~ Are there three of you in total?"

A waitress wearing a Greece-style tunic came up to greet them, her blonde hair curled, revealing a bright smile with white teeth, her steps light, barefoot, leading the way while enthusiastically saying:

"Would you like to sit in the 3? zone?"

"There are three of us, but the 3? zone won't do; guests will complain." The Blonde Girl in the bikini answered first, her tone light, "Please, we want the no-intercourse zone."

Originally, Qi Xing was worried that he would really be taken to some seat where everyone was desperately ?█?, but when the waitress heard the Blonde Girl's words, she nodded and took them to a corner seat. The area nearby was empty, quiet to the point of being deserted, with no other guests.

On the other hand, the seats at the diagonal corner were quite lively, crowded with figures who were ?█? unclear and indulging in █?█?.

"No-intercourse zone?"

Qi Xing couldn't help but turn his head to look at the Blonde Girl in the bikini.

"It's just a seat where you can't ?█?." The Blonde Girl explained with a smile, "Restaurants and the like will have these kinds of places. Because they received complaints from tourists before—'I ordered a cappuccino, but it was mixed with █? fluid, and I accidentally drank it!' That kind of complaint. I heard the customers were super angry."

Isn't that obviously something to be angry about?!

But her words made Qi Xing suddenly have a realization—all in all, this island is a tourist destination. If Island Master Xue Ning wasn't spouting nonsense, it meant that the economic structure of Labyrinth Island relied entirely on the tourism industry: ticket money, shopping, dining, accommodation on the island… and so on. The entire island had to rely on the consumption of outsiders to maintain itself.

As a small country in the tourism industry, they seemed to take what customers said quite seriously. Perhaps it wasn't just Qi Xing, this [Master Leipu] who came to crash the place, but even ordinary visiting tourists were not to be slighted by the people on the island; they would deal with them cautiously.

Although it seemed like their brains were in their little heads, the people on this island were definitely not without the ability to think, not without rationality, and certainly not incapable of weighing pros and cons.

"What would you like to order~"

The waitress showed an enthusiastic smile, winked at Qi Xing, and her fingertips brushed across the back of Qi Xing's hand.

But Qi Xing dodged her fingers and just glanced at the menu: "I want the Minotaur Explosive Chicken Red Wine Stewed Meat."

"I want the Charcoal Grilled Triple Raw █? Honey Owed █? To Juice Platter~"

What kind of dish names are these?

The content on the menu was diverse, with terms like "Sacred Honey █? Stewed Meat," "Self-Sacrificing Deep Sea Giant █? Clam," "Double █? Symphony █? Tendon Skewer," which sounded very suspicious as to whether they could actually be eaten.

However, on Labyrinth Island, these names were completely legal, even officially certified "tourist cultural assets." There was not a hint of suspicion, nor would they cause any disturbance.

Why do it this way?

More accurately, why deliberately design it like this? Just to attract the curiosity of tourists and act as a gimmick for the tourism industry?

Qi Xing felt that it was probably more than that.

He was instinctively resistant to these strange terms with excessive █? hints.

However, having been on this island for only half a day, even if he saw a dish name like "Sacred █? Pot Stewed Meat" now, the feeling of "Only a fool would take these seriously, right?" began to subconsciously emerge in his heart.

The original sense of resistance in his heart had already begun to gradually disappear. This was truly terrifying.

When humans think rationally, language is essential, and language is precisely the easiest medium to control.

First, erode from language, implant hints in the way of expression, making every vocabulary word become "interesting"—then with just a little time, it can slowly penetrate into the mind.

Over time, even if he saw something like "Love █? Teppanyaki," he would take it as a matter of course and turn a deaf ear to it.

Even Qi Xing had to admit that the methods of Island Master Xue Ning were indeed clever.

Back to ordering, the waitress held the ordering PAD with a beaming smile, her fingers recording quickly on the screen—but suddenly, she froze.

"…Eh?"

Because her gaze landed on Qi Xing's face, as if she had suddenly received some kind of toxic radio wave, her slow cognition suddenly completed the puzzle.

"Wait, wait, you are—you are… Lei, Leipu, [Master Leipu]?! Wow—"

A surge of uncontrolled surprise rushed onto her face, her bright smile even greater than before, and for a moment, it seemed like she couldn't even breathe properly!

"Can you give me an autograph? It doesn't have to be █?, even just a █? massage stick is fine!—"

As a result, in this extremely excited state, she wanted to turn and run to get the █? massage stick, while wanting to notify her colleagues, and not paying attention to the mop at her feet. With a loud "bang," she crashed headfirst into the vertical ice bucket beside her, instantly sending the whole box of ice cubes flying.

The next second, she "plop" fell to the ground and fainted.

…Is this some kind of gag manga?

"It's okay, it's okay, she gets like this every time she's too excited."

The Blonde Girl in the bikini was unfazed, leaned down to check the waitress's pupils, and then smiled as she easily carried her up and walked toward the kitchen.

"I'll take her to the staff lounge and stick a pain relief patch on her, and she'll be fine~"

In the corner of the restaurant, only Qi Xing and the Brown-haired Girl remained, speechless.

But this was also a rare opportunity.

"You're not from this island, are you?"

Turning his head to look at the Brown-haired Girl, Qi Xing suddenly spoke, asking straight to the point.

Just this one sentence immediately made the Brown-haired Girl shudder. In an instant, she bristled like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

But Qi Xing just glanced at her indifferently and continued, unconcerned:

"Most of the people on the island are blonde and blue-eyed, which is already very strange in the Mediterranean area."

"I originally thought that the people on the island might all be specially cultivated by the Island Master, but looking closely, that's not quite right; it seems not everyone is the same. There are still a very small number of people on the island with different appearances and temperaments."

Qi Xing paused here, his calm gaze sweeping over the Brown-haired Girl's face,

"And you don't talk much, clearly maintaining a sense of distance from the environment. Before I spoke, you didn't even deliberately approach me."

"I guess you were also just an outsider who came to travel, and were 'absorbed' by this island."

"Did they do anything to you, or say anything to you?"

…Originally, the more Qi Xing spoke, the more nervous and scared the Brown-haired Girl became.

But strangely, as soon as she heard Qi Xing's last sentence, she seemed to deflate all at once and wasn't as scared anymore.

"Master Leipu, please don't say such things."

The Brown-haired Girl shook her head instead, her voice not loud, but unexpectedly calm for Qi Xing.

"You… have no idea what this island is about."

Her tone wasn't refuting, but carried a strange sense of exhaustion and helplessness.

"To you, maybe this is an absurd and dirty place, but not everyone… thinks it's terrible here."

Looking at the table, she paused, as if she wanted to say something but held back, only saying wistfully,

"Being able to eat hot food, take a hot shower, sleep peacefully and comfortably, not having to worry about what to do tomorrow, not needing to worry about medical expenses, not having to worry about rent and debts, not having to worry and fret about the days to come… this is already very good."

"So, no matter how strange this island is, I am still willing to stay. As long as I can choose, I will choose this place."

To make a living, came to this island from outside… is that so?

This made Qi Xing frown even deeper. To say he wasn't touched, that would be impossible.

But this wasn't something Qi Xing hadn't completely anticipated either.

"On the island, there's nothing to worry about… you mean, the island will arrange work for you, as long as you █?█? with tourists… but isn't this collective prostitution?…"

"No. Master Leipu, that's why I said you don't understand."

However, the Brown-haired Girl shook her head again.

"Look over there and you'll know."

Qi Xing looked in the direction of her gaze.

It was the Blonde Girl in the bikini from before, who had carried away the fainted waitress.

For some reason, at this moment, she had taken off her bikini and put on a simple, lightweight shop clerk uniform, moving nimbly back and forth in the store, holding an ordering board, helping newly arrived guests order food, pour water, and serve drinks, with movements as skilled as if she had always been a regular employee here.

For a moment, Qi Xing was slightly stunned.

Because he even had the illusion: it was as if that girl was originally the daughter of this restaurant, helping out here since she was a child, knowing everything in the shop like the back of her hand, and very adapted and at ease.

However, although this shop was recommended by the Blonde Girl, the facts shouldn't be like this…

"…Your work isn't just that one thing, no."

He said in a low voice,

"Each of you can… become any role on the island?"

How is this done?

Need to ask? By now, it should be easy to guess, right?

The Brown-haired Girl nodded gently, not saying anything more.

Her gaze remained on the Blonde Girl, but her eyes revealed a trace of complexity, unclear whether it was envy… or a little fear she dared not admit.

Volume 5: Welcome to the █ █ █ Paradise! : 189 : Voluntary Registration, Voluntary Participation

The meal was tasteless.

Leaving the restaurant, on the way back to the hotel, Qi Xing couldn't even remember what he had just eaten.

Assuming he had ordered lion's head meatballs—even if what was served on the table was a drill head, Qi Xing probably wouldn't have noticed.

In short, after eating the drill head, Qi Xing quickly took the two girls back.

Along the way, his gaze swept over the islanders he encountered from time to time.

Those islanders—

the guys who were just cooking and washing dishes, turned around to greet guests on the street, becoming tourist guides.

The man who was a waiter in the restaurant just now, Qi Xing saw at a glance that he had taken off his apron, put on a uniform, and appeared behind the counter of a drugstore, recommending "Goddess Anti-█ Fragrance Set" with a professional smile.

The artist who performed ██ fire dance on the side of the road during the day was now wearing a shop clerk uniform at night, selling cold drinks.

It wasn't "part-time" or "shift work."

It was a seamless connection like interlocking gears.

It was as if everyone on this island had been trained to fill anyone's vacancy at any time. Whoever fell, whoever was absent, whoever disappeared, someone else would immediately take their place.