Chapter 346: The Little Girl on the Airship

After retrieving Tuanzi, Gao De took out all the tree seeds he had collected during this period.

He was planning to take advantage of this mission to return to the Northern Realm via an astral portal, bring back a batch of new supernatural materials, and sell them directly in Lagos City.

He sorted the tree seeds into small cloth bags, packed them into one large bundle, and strapped it to his back.

Most of the collected seeds were from ordinary trees, with a tiny fraction being low-rank magic tree seeds.

The importance lay in the diversity of the species.

Therefore, it hadn't cost Gao De much money; altogether, it was only about 10 gold coins.

Gao De had a clear plan: first, use the different types of seeds to catalyze the growth progress of Yujia Te Xila as quickly as possible, and only then consider stacking quantity and quality.

Afterwards, he brought along the 【North Wind】.

If the 【Ice-Sealed Blade+】 was his trump card, then the 【North Wind】 was his last resort—the thing that could truly save his life at a critical moment. There was no reason not to bring it.

With everything prepared, Gao De officially set off.

Given the well-developed transportation network of the Jin Quehua Dynasty, there were multiple ways to travel from Doen City to Lagos City.

Water, land, and air were all options.

Water meant taking a boat, land meant a specialized long-distance carriage, and air, naturally, was the airship.

The fastest was, of course, the airship, though the price was also the highest.

However, for Gao De, there was only one choice.

The airship!

It wasn't that he was particularly enthusiastic about the mission, nor was he wealthy; it was simply because it could be reimbursed.

Since it could be reimbursed, wouldn't he be a fool to endure the hardships of a boat or a long-distance carriage when he could take an airship?

From Doen City to Lagos City, the aerial route distance was 361 kilometers.

He bought a direct airship ticket from Doen City to Lagos City, costing 2 gold coins, 1 silver coin, and 60 copper coins.

Of course, this was the price for a standard cabin.

The Hai Shao Bing Society would not reimburse for a luxury cabin unless one's military rank reached that of a lieutenant or higher to enjoy such high-level treatment.

When boarding the airship, the staff member responsible for "security checks" stopped Gao De, as expected.

"According to regulations, carrying other creatures onto the airship is generally not allowed." The staff member pointed to the capybara bag on Gao De's back.

Gao De took out Tuanzi's "registration certificate" and handed it to the other party.

The staff member took the certificate, checked the magic seal of the Hai Shao Bing stamped on it, and then asked Gao De to open the capybara bag to confirm it contained a capybara before returning the certificate to Gao De.

Then, he saluted Gao De, "Master Mage, I wish you a smooth mission."

Being a Hai Shao Bing mage and traveling far with a capybara meant he definitely wasn't going on vacation, but was instead executing a mission.

Gao De smiled and thanked him, then put the capybara bag back on, carefully tucked away the airship ticket to be used as a reimbursement voucher, and walked along the corridor to board the airship.

For some reason, the occupancy rate of this airship was exceptionally low.

As soon as Gao De stepped into the standard cabin, a casual glance revealed that more than half of the seats were empty, making it appear unusually desolate, a stark contrast to the airship he had taken from He Xi Town to Doen City.

However, upon closer thought, it seemed reasonable.

With the depletion of spirit marrow resources, Lagos City was gradually returning to its original state.

During that period of "spirit marrow fever," people were so obsessed with the wealth and opportunities brought by spirit marrow that a massive amount of labor and capital had flooded into spirit marrow-related industries.

Meanwhile, Lagos City's two traditional pillar industries, agriculture and fishing, had been pushed to the margins, resulting in farmland left uncultivated and fishing boats abandoned on the shore.

But in fact, these two industries were the pillars supporting Lagos City's economy.

Therefore, as the spirit marrow fever ended, the prosperity of Lagos City dissipated as quickly as a bubble.

Unlike before, however, the once-thriving agriculture and fishing industries were struggling to recover their former vitality.

In other words, the current Lagos City was even more depressed than before the discovery of spirit marrow, serving as the "countryside" of Luo Jun.

Thinking this, Gao De carried his bundle, sat down in his slightly cramped seat, closed his eyes, and entered a state of focus.

He began to continue attempting to construct the spell model for 【Disguise】.

This was a spell he foresaw needing immediately, so Gao De didn't want to waste a single moment, seeking to master it as quickly as possible to facilitate his upcoming actions.

The airship Gao De was riding was a specialized passenger vessel; its starting station was Doen City and its final destination was Lagos City, stopping at airship bases in several small towns along the way for passengers to embark and disembark.

The airship itself was quite stable, though there was always some turbulence during takeoff and landing.

However, this did not have much of an impact on Gao De.

The blessing of the 【Body of Mage Endurance】 allowed him to ignore most external disturbances whenever he wished.

That was until Gao De sensed something strange "crawling" near him.

He opened his eyes in alarm, looked down at his feet, and then involuntarily gasped.

Because Gao De saw a little girl wearing linen clothes, crawling under his feet in a peculiar posture.

The little girl looked only five or six years old, with very large, bright eyes, though her face was a bit dusty.

At this moment, she was staring at Gao De with those big eyes, her clear blue irises revealing an emotion of nervousness and pleading, much like a poor stray cat.

"Help me."

Her mouth opened and closed without making a sound, as she whispered to Gao De.

*Little one, you should add a 'please' when asking others for help; that's polite. * Gao De looked up and noticed an airship staff member in the aisle looking around, as if searching for something.

It didn't just look like it; combined with the behavior of the little girl hiding under his feet, it was clear they were looking for her.

Without a doubt, turning the little girl in directly was the wisest choice, as Gao De had no idea who she was or why she was hiding from the staff.

If he played the good guy recklessly, he could very likely be dragged into unnecessary trouble.

Gao De was prepared to do just that.

However, just as he was about to call out to the staff member, the little girl seemed to sense something and tugged weakly at his pant leg.

Those innocent eyes were now filled with tears, appearing incredibly delicate.

Watching this scene, Gao De's heart softened for no reason.

If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have softened so easily, but this was a child.

Regarding children, Gao De, who had received a modern education, found it hard to be "cruel."

"Help me." The little girl lowered her head slightly, two teardrops sliding down her long, curled eyelashes, looking incredibly pitiful, as she requested in a childish, barely audible voice.

Gao De clenched his fists, then helplessly relaxed them.

He spread his legs and placed his bundle on his lap.

The little girl was smart; she instantly reacted to Gao De's meaning and nimbly crawled between his legs.

Afterward, Gao De closed his legs, and the bundle perfectly shielded the little girl.

Just then, the staff member arrived at Gao De's seat.

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but have you seen a little girl, about this tall, wearing..." The staff member gestured while describing her to Gao De.

He could clearly feel his pant leg being gripped tightly as the staff member described the girl's appearance; clearly, the little girl was very nervous.

"I haven't seen her," Gao De shook his head, then asked "curiously," "What's wrong?"

The staff member didn't seem in the mood to chat with passengers; seeing Gao De shake his head, he crouched down, seemingly prepared to conduct a further inspection.

However, Gao De chose this moment to subtly and slightly open his cloak.

Because the Hai Shao Bing uniform was too conspicuous, to maintain a low profile and avoid attracting attention, Gao De had put on a common, knee-length, hooded thick wool cloak to cover the uniform.

With this movement, the Hai Shao Bing uniform underneath was suddenly revealed.

The staff member, who had been somewhat "indifferent" a second ago, had his expression change slightly, immediately becoming enthusiastic, "Master Mage, someone is trying to stow away."

"Stow away?" Gao De frowned, "A little girl?"

"Yes," the staff member said helplessly, "I don't know if the machine is broken or what, but she passed the machine check at the boarding gate and snuck onto the airship. Children of this age only need to pay half price, so it's not about the money; it's mainly that she isn't accompanied by an adult, and we're afraid something might happen..."

"I see," Gao De nodded, then said, "If I find her, I will inform you immediately."

"Thank you, Master Mage." The staff member placed one hand over his chest and said politely.

The original inspection was not continued.

Within the territory of Luo Jun, Hai Shao Bing mages naturally carried a certain degree of credibility and prestige.

Watching the staff member finish checking the standard cabin and leave, Gao De placed the bundle on the seat beside him and spread his legs.

The little girl took the opportunity to prop herself up with her hands on Gao De's legs, looking up and staring earnestly at Gao De with her big eyes.

Gao De looked at the little girl's palm-sized face, which was dusty but still appeared exquisite, and said expressionlessly, "Tell me, what's going on?"

The little girl immediately lowered her head in grievance, as if harboring endless grievances, and bean-sized tears threatened to roll down again.

"Stop acting; I know you're actually very happy right now." Gao De was helpless.

Although he had softened toward the little girl's pitiful posture, he had been in this world for over two years; perhaps the kind foundation remained, but Gao De was no longer that "clear and foolish" college student.

In a world possessing supernatural power, who could guarantee that the little girl was truly just an ordinary, harmless child?

Therefore, he had cast 【Sense Emotion+】 on the little girl at the first opportunity.

Among the emotions Gao De received, there was some nervousness, some anticipation, and some worry, but no malice.

It was under these circumstances that he chose to help.

And after the staff member left, Gao De noticed the little girl's emotions had changed to happiness, smugness, craftiness, and anticipation.

There was absolutely no "pitiful" state as she was currently displaying.

No wonder they say women are born actors.

For a girl of such a young age, her acting skills were already natural; if not for 【Sense Emotion+】, he would definitely have been fooled.

"Fine..." The little girl pouted helplessly and muttered, "You mages just rely on spells to act shamelessly."

【Grievance】.

Receiving the emotion of grievance from the little girl's heart, Gao De nodded.

Hmm, very good, this grievance was actually real.

"I want to go to Lagos City to find my sister, but I don't have money, so I could only..."

"Find your sister? What about the others in your family?"

"Only my sister is left in my family. She entrusted me to a friend of my father's from the old days and went to Lagos City to make a living, but I just want to be with my sister."

"Do you know where your sister is making a living in Lagos City?"

"I don't know." The little girl blinked her big eyes.

Gao De helplessly rubbed his forehead.

This little girl was somewhat precocious, but essentially, she was still just a child.

"What is your name?" Gao De pursed his lips and asked again.

"My name is Anna, and I'm five years old this year." The little girl looked up, extended her right hand, spread five small, delicate fingers, and looked straight at Gao De.

"Anna... How did you get on the airship? The boarding gate has machine checks." Gao De asked again.

"By relying on this." Anna took out something similar to a card from her pocket.

Gao De took it and looked, only to find several simple basic runes drawn on it.

"What is this?" He subconsciously frowned.

"A little gadget; if you insert it into the slot of that big machine, it can make it temporarily malfunction for a while." Perhaps because Gao De's help had already won Anna's trust, she frankly confessed her method of "stowing away."

"This thing..." Gao De examined the small card for a while, confirming that what was drawn on it were indeed several simple small runes, and felt slightly surprised in his heart, "Who gave this to you?"

"I drew it myself."

"You drew it yourself?" Gao De was astonished.

"Yeah!" The little girl named Anna opened her big eyes, feeling puzzled by Gao De's astonishment, and tilted her head to ask, "Is this very difficult?"

*Drawing a line isn't difficult; what's difficult is knowing where to draw that line. * A very famous story from his previous life inexplicably popped into Gao De's mind.

"Uncle, thank you." Anna said again.

【Craftiness】.

"Call me brother." Gao De flicked Anna's forehead lightly.

It was very obvious that Anna was doing it on purpose.

"You don't even know where your sister is making a living in Lagos City; how are you going to find her?"

"Oh, yeah... How to find sister..." Anna looked up, blinking her eyes, "Brother, you will help me, right?"

【Craftiness】.

"How can I help you?"

"Brother, you are a Hai Shao Bing mage; you must have a way." Anna tugged at Gao De's Hai Shao Bing uniform and said in a small voice.

Gao De looked at her expressionlessly.

Although there weren't many passengers in the standard cabin, he wasn't the only one.

Yet Anna had specifically chosen him; it was clearly not a coincidence.

Gao De reasonably suspected that Anna had discovered the Hai Shao Bing uniform he was wearing, which was why she had approached him.

This little girl, small as she was, was quite sharp.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 347 =====