Chapter 457: What About the Load-Bearing?

The opening of the large door on the wall revealed another mysterious world, stunning everyone who saw it. 

Xiaoxiao was dumbfounded. 

With so many years of travel reviews under his belt, he had seen a lot, but he had never encountered a hotel that set up its entrance in such a bizarre way. 

Although he had already been shocked once by the door behind the bookstore, when he saw the dawn-lit corridor behind the bookstore door, he thought he was hallucinating. 

"Wow, this wall is actually alive!" 

"What about the load-bearing? Won't the building collapse?" 

"Damn, I'm seriously doubting my sanity. There's actually another path behind the bookstore wall!" 

The door slowly closed. 

In the camera frame, the back of the door blended perfectly with the hotel's perimeter wall, resembling a medieval castle. It was impossible to tell that the wall concealed a door. 

"This design is absolutely brilliant!" 

"Movies wouldn't dare… well, actually, movies would!" 

"Who designed this hotel entrance? It's genius!" 

"Compared to the Lion Lake Castle Hotel, the Colorful Holiday Theme Hotel is just weak!" 

"Now this is what a magical hotel should look like!" 

The live stream room erupted once again. 

The green grass, the blue sky above, the high towers of the Lion Lake Castle's cream-colored walls in the distance, and the black carriage intertwined with the white pebbles on the lawn created a breathtaking landscape painting. 

Just as Xiaoxiao was immersed in the scene before him, a horse's neigh suddenly rang out. 

Xiaoxiao followed the sound and looked toward the carriage ahead. 

Two black horses with lush manes, long and sturdy limbs, standing about 1.7 meters tall, raised their beautiful heads high and gazed affectionately at Xiaoxiao. Their gentle and friendly demeanor was evident at a glance. 

"Wow!" 

"So beautiful!" 

"Does anyone know what breed these horses are?" 

"Oh no, I'm messed up. I actually think a horse is really good-looking." 

"If my girlfriend looked at me like that, I'd definitely want to ride…" 

"Upstairs, moderator warning!" 

Although there were many jokesters in the live stream room, the horses were undeniably beautiful. 

"Can I touch them?" Xiaoxiao tentatively asked the carriage employee. 

"Of course, sir. They're very friendly," the carriage employee replied with a smile. 

Xiaoxiao reached out and gently stroked the horse's forehead, running his hand down its mane. The silky smoothness of the horse's hair was incredibly soothing, making it hard to let go. 

"I'm in love! These horses are clearly well taken care of!" 

"Some horse ranches in the country are dirty, but these horses are impeccably groomed. Even their fine fur is fluffy." 

"Does the hotel have many horses like these? If it's just these two constantly shuttling guests, wouldn't they get tired?" 

"Upstairs, second moderator warning! Exceeding three warnings in a day will result in a one-day ban from the live stream room." 

The moderator's warning flashed prominently across the live stream room. 

Xiaoxiao also posed the same question to the carriage employee. 

The carriage employee smiled and said, "Sir, you don't need to worry. Our hotel has a total of eight carriages for transporting guests outside the park, which fully meets the demand. Our horses won't be overworked." 

"Sir, shall we get going now?" the carriage employee asked enthusiastically. 

"Sure!" Xiaoxiao replied, promptly sitting down in the carriage. 

Unlike the carriages typically seen in movies, where the driver's seat is at the front and the passenger compartment is at the back, this carriage was the opposite. The passenger compartment was at the front, and the driver's seat was at the rear. 

At the back of the compartment, there was a raised platform. The carriage employee had to step onto the platform via the carriage's rear steps to drive the carriage. 

This setup allowed passengers in the compartment to enjoy an unobstructed view of the surroundings. 

The carriage resembled a rounded beetle in appearance. Although it looked compact from the outside, the interior was surprisingly spacious. Apart from a two-seater sofa, there was also a small white table in front of the sofa for placing items. 

As the reins were pulled, the carriage slowly moved forward. The grass on both sides receded, and even through the compartment, Xiaoxiao could feel the rhythmic, springy sound of the horses' hooves hitting the ground. 

Xiaoxiao held his phone and shared his experience with the live stream audience. 

"Brothers, this is my first time riding a carriage in my life. It's a completely different feeling from riding in a car." 

"It's wonderful~ truly wonderful!" 

"This feeling is somewhat similar to riding a bicycle, like sitting on the back seat of a bike." 

At first, the live stream reactions were normal, but when he said this, the comments exploded. 

"Wait!" 

"So the wonderful feeling you're talking about is just riding a bicycle?" 

"Why would you be sitting on the back of a bicycle? Isn't that usually where girls sit?" 

"I get it now. It must have been Huadu who rode the bike with you!" 

… 

Sigh… here we go again! 

Seeing the live stream comments veer off course once more, Xiaoxiao felt exhausted, utterly exhausted. As a male content creator paired with a female partner, he was tired of being forced into this kind of shipping narrative. 

But as he watched the surge in live stream viewers and the gifts flooding the screen, he felt he could muster the energy to keep going! 

Although the Magic Century Theme Park where Huadu was staying was more famous than the Lion Lake Castle Hotel, some information had already leaked during the hotel's internal testing, diminishing its sense of mystery. 

Moreover, Huadu wouldn't officially start exploring the park until the next day, and the Colorful Holiday Theme Resort Hotel was relatively small, with limited rooms. Once everyone got over the initial novelty, there wasn't much else to see. 

However, the Lion Lake Castle Hotel was making its debut in the public eye. In fact, Xiaoxiao's video was the groundbreaking introduction to the hotel. The number of viewers in the live stream room was steadily increasing. 

Xiaoxiao, following the live stream camera, chatted with his fans. 

"Brothers, I estimate this lawn is at least the size of a football field." 

"Earlier, when I started from the subway exit, it took me over two hours just to walk halfway around the Lion Lake Castle Hotel." 

"And according to the hotel staff, the lawn we're seeing now isn't even the main area of the hotel. It's just a transitional zone." 

"Can you imagine how big this hotel is?" 

Xiaoxiao held the selfie stick, capturing the surrounding scenery. 

"Damn, I didn't realize it until the host mentioned it. Xiaoxiao has been walking along the hotel's perimeter this whole time!" 

"This hotel is enormous!" 

"If it were someone else, they could've built an entire hotel on this land, but here it's just a transitional zone?!" 

"This is completely unnecessary!" 

"The hotel owner must either have been hit in the head or has too much money to spend." 

"With such a large area, you could easily build a few small buildings, but instead, it's just left empty. Is this some kind of sickness?" 

Someone in the comments raised doubts. 

But the next moment, someone replied: 

"Don't talk nonsense if you don't understand. This area is clearly modeled after the moat of a medieval flatland castle. The pebbles on both sides serve as the moat bridge." 

"This is a hotel that not only replicates the appearance of a castle but also captures its cultural essence!" 

Seeing the newly posted comment, another user with a different ID fired back: 

"I'm laughing." 

"The empty space from the gate to the castle is the moat? And two lines of pebbles make it a moat bridge???" 

"Have you ever been abroad? Have you seen a castle? How many castles have moats?" 

"Most castles abroad are on mountains, designed for easy defense. The moat water is either mountain spring water from higher elevations or pumped from the base. Do you have any idea how massive and difficult that engineering is?" 

"Even if they exist, they're mostly castles built on cliffs. Their moats are called 'seas.' As long as they guard the entrance, they're secure!" 

"This area in front of us is clearly a secular evolution of the strategic castles of the Roman Empire." 

"The open area with grass is part of the castle's wartime defense strategy, not just for aesthetics." 

As the educational comments popped up, a wave of "Big boss 666" comments flooded the screen in perfect formation. 

Xiaoxiao read the comment aloud and then asked, "What can a large patch of grass defend against?" 

"You should read more… ever heard of 'every blade of grass and tree can be a soldier'?" 

The big boss commented in the live stream room: "But 'every blade of grass and tree can be a soldier' doesn't really apply to flatland castles. With flat terrain, no trees, and no tall grass, where would you hide? It's hard to even set fire to the base of the walls!" 

"Makes sense!!!" 

"Big boss 666…!!" 

"This is a rare sight. I'm actually seeing an educational post in Huadu and Xiaoxiao's live stream room." 

"It's true. With such a large flat area, you couldn't even hide a 100-yuan bill if you dropped it." 

"Upstairs, you're naive. A 100-yuan bill might not work, but a 50-yuan bill would definitely go unnoticed!" 

"I don't believe it. Try dropping one!" 

… 

At this point, Xiaoxiao was completely unfazed by the comments in the live stream room. 

He was truly, utterly, and completely starving, exhausted, and parched. 

While walking, he had managed to keep going, but once he sat in the carriage and stopped moving, he didn't want to budge an inch or say another word. 

So, Xiaoxiao simply switched the camera view to the hotel, played "The Moldau" as the live stream's background music, and prepared to offer a "immersive cloud travel" experience. 

Although Xiaoxiao's silence made the live stream seem quiet and monotonous, it also provided the audience with a unique viewing experience. 

The carriage slowly passed through a massive arched city wall passage. 

The bright sunlight dimmed instantly, and the air grew moist, with a chilling coolness seeping into Xiaoxiao's body, making him sneeze. 

"Isn't this hotel newly built? Why is there moss inside the arched wall?" 

"Yeah, and the bricks don't look new either. They seem like they've been around for decades. You'd think this castle was built long ago and left here!" 

"This hotel is amazing!" 

… 

As the carriage exited the city wall passage, the noise of modern machinery and technology seemed to fade away. 

The entire horizon was a sea of green, with the grass on both sides trimmed into various patterns. The white pebbles stretched across the lawn like ribbons, and carriages occasionally passed by at a leisurely pace. 

In the distance, the towering Lion Lake Castle Hotel stood at the center of the lawn. Its cream-colored walls were reflected in the emerald-green lake, and the sunlight hitting the stained-glass windows created a dazzling glow. 

Sculptures, gardens, fountains, exotic flowers… vibrant blossoms dotted the green lawn, creating a grand and enchanting scene. The layout was intricate yet bold, with dewdrops on the grass glistening like diamonds in the sunlight. 

Not far away, a few deer were grazing. 

"I just came from Huashao's live stream. This place is so much better…" 

"The Magic Century Theme Park is just packed with people. You can't see anything." 

"This place is so much more relaxing!" 

"Clip-clop, clip-clop…" 

The rhythmic and springy sound of the carriage echoed on the pebbles. 

"This path is the hotel's Squirrel Carriage Road. There are many small animals along the way," the carriage employee explained, becoming more talkative as they entered the hotel grounds. 

"Look, there are a few chipmunks over there." 

Xiaoxiao quickly followed the employee's pointing finger. 

Sure enough, a few plump chipmunks were crouching in the grass, their fluffy tails tucked behind some yellow flowers. Their shiny black eyes were round and bright, watching the passing carriage shoulder to shoulder. 

One of them seemed particularly timid, peeking out from behind its companion's head and cautiously observing its surroundings. 

"Ah!!!" 

"I feel like they're secretly watching us!" 

"I can't take it. They're too cute!" 

"Ahhh, look at the little squirrel on the left! Its tail just moved!" 

"…That's clearly a chipmunk." 

"Come on, it's a squirrel. Didn't you hear the road is called Squirrel Carriage Road?" 

"Haha, if this road were called Unicorn Carriage Road, would you call those little rodents unicorns?" 

Just as the comments sparked another debate over the species of the small animals, the little creatures in the grass noticed the carriage getting closer. They turned their heads and darted away, disappearing in the blink of an eye, seemingly heading toward the lake. 

Xiaoxiao was a bit disappointed that he didn't capture the chipmunks on camera, but as the carriage ventured deeper into the hotel, his innate sense of direction kicked in. 

"Is the lake over there the entrance to the subway?" Xiaoxiao asked curiously. 

"You're absolutely right," the carriage employee replied with a smile. 

"Our hotel has two entrances, each offering a different way to check in." 

"If you enter through the subway gate, you'll take a boat to the hotel castle. But if you come through the bookstore entrance, like you did, you'll take a carriage. Both options are excellent." 

"You can take the carriage when you arrive and the boat when you leave, experiencing both." 

"Amazing!!!" 

"A boat ride to check in?! That reminds me of a certain foreign owl magic school! Host, please take the boat once so I can see it!" 

"Upstairs, are you sure that foreign owl magic school… is a vocational school?" 

"It's clearly a top-tier institution!" 

…