Chapter 347: Similar People

From Doen City to Lagos City, there was a total straight-line distance of 361 kilometers.

For an airship, this was not a very long journey.

So, the airship soon reached its destination and landed smoothly at the airship base in Lagos City.

Compared to Doen City, the landscape of Lagos City appeared far more backward.

Not to mention the dilapidated buildings and streets, the number of airships coming and going in the sky was pitifully small, less than one-fifth of Doen City's, and most were old-fashioned airships.

Gao De walked off the airship generously, carrying his luggage in one hand and holding Anna in the other.

There were corresponding checks for boarding, but there was no such process for disembarking.

He followed the corridor and left the airship base.

Gao De also had the intention of asking about the specific situation of Anna's family, but Anna couldn't say anything specific, not knowing if it was intentional concealment or if she truly couldn't say.

He also had the intention of handing Anna over to the airship staff so they could send her back.

But every time he had this thought, Anna would look at him pitifully, and tears would threaten to fall.

Although there were some elements of acting in it, the emotions of 【Grievance】 and 【Sadness】 were indeed present.

The point was that there were only these two emotions, and no negative emotions like 【Resentment】 or 【Anger】 were produced.

This made it difficult for Gao De to harden his heart.

"What is your sister's name? What is she good at?" At the entrance of the airship base, Gao De hesitated repeatedly before finally asking.

Anna was slightly stunned, then very cleverly understood the meaning of Gao De's inquiry and laughed happily, her big eyes squinting together like a crescent moon.

"Sister's name is Aisha, and she can do everything!" Anna said loudly and proudly.

"That's the same as saying nothing."

"Anna only knows this."

Gao De was even more helpless, but he had always been a straightforward person; since he had decided on something, he wouldn't easily change his mind.

And besides, the little girl's full trust did indeed make him feel somewhat gratified.

"However, I have a mission to execute here, so I must finish the mission first before I can help you find your sister. Before that, you must obediently stay by yourself and not run around, okay?"

"Of course, brother, your own business is important; I am very obedient." Anna made a very "obedient" appearance.

*If she were truly obedient, she wouldn't have snuck out by herself. *

Complaining aside, Gao De still put on a gentle smile.

Anna was very talkative, and perhaps because she knew that "acting" was useless with Gao De, she soon exposed her "naughty child nature."

But logically speaking, a child who dared to sneak onto an airship alone must have a "naughty" streak; she was definitely a stubborn child.

Amidst Anna's bird-like, chattering, trivial descriptions, Gao De gradually learned some information about Anna.

The little girl, like him, was not a native of the Jin Quehua Dynasty but came from another country.

Previously, she should have been born into a wealthy family, but for some reason, the family declined, and her parents died, so she was brought by her sister to flee to the Jin Quehua Dynasty to rely on a good friend of her father's who lived here.

However, because there was still a large debt owed, and the creditor could come to collect at any time, after settling down, Anna's sister had rushed to Lagos City to make a living.

According to Anna, her sister could do everything and was good at everything, so it was possible she was engaged in any industry in Lagos City.

And she, herself, was only good at drawing and playing with toys.

Yes, the little girl called drawing runes "drawing" and called alchemy machines "toys."

However, could a family that could come into contact with a large number of alchemy machines be summarized by just the two words "wealthy"?

Of course, this was not important; no matter how deep the foundation of Anna's former family was, it had now declined.

For a Hai Shao Bing apprentice mage going out to execute a mission, the daily accommodation subsidy was 3 silver dragons, in addition to a 1 silver dragon meal subsidy and a 1 silver dragon city transportation subsidy.

Exceeding this standard meant paying out of one's own pocket.

Under normal circumstances, this subsidy standard was sufficient.

After all, even in Doen City, where the price level was the highest, 3 silver dragon coins could get a decent hotel room.

And in Lagos City, which was already in a great depression, 3 silver dragon coins could even get a night in a hotel in the city center.

However, it could only be the lowest-grade single room.

Walking on the streets of Lagos City, there were far fewer pedestrians than in Doen City, and their clothing was clearly a grade lower.

The humid sea breeze, carrying a foul odor, rushed toward them, proving that the hygiene of Lagos City was also unsatisfactory.

The setting sun cut the clock tower, the landmark building standing in the very center of Lagos City, diagonally into two halves, and homeless people curled up between the pillars with peeling wall plaster.

Dark-skinned barefoot children ran on the street.

Gao De walked along the street toward the direction of the Municipal Square, seeing "Vacant Room" and "Today's Special" iron signs hanging at the entrances of the hotels he passed.

During the spirit marrow fever, hotels in Lagos City had followed a period of brief prosperity, but now they had entered a more desolate stage.

Gao De counted all the way, only stopping in front of the eighth hotel hanging a "Vacant Room" iron sign.

The faded brass sign showed the name of the hotel:

Palm Tree Hotel.

A few clusters of ferns poked out from the cracks in the porch pillars; walking through the front door, the landlady behind the counter was applying palm oil to her curly hair for maintenance, and a piece of old handwritten parchment was placed on the table.

On the parchment were recorded some wanted criminal information and simple portraits hand-drawn by the Lagos City authorities.

Although the lines of those portraits were simple, they outlined the characteristics of the wanted criminals very clearly, and the name, place of origin, crimes committed, and reward amount of the wanted criminals were also marked in detail on the side.

And on the last page of the parchment, some major news would also be written, such as the dynasty's decrees and policies and some major war news.

However, the focus was still on the information about the wanted criminals, to facilitate hotel owners and customers to discover suspicious persons and report them in a timely manner.

The price list for hotel rooms was hung high above the counter, written on a wooden board with black ink, making the prices clear at a glance.

Gao De glanced at it and said, "Please open a street-facing single room for me for three nights; I need a receipt."

This world did not have anything similar to the "invoice" of his previous life, but most formal hotels would provide handwritten receipts.

Receipts usually used the hotel's specially made stationery, which would have the hotel's corresponding mark, and then the receipt would also specify the stay date, room number, and cost breakdown, and finally, the hotel staff would sign and stamp the receipt.

Hearing Gao De's request, the landlady made an indistinct, pigeon-like cooing sound in her throat, while her purple-red painted fingertips quickly took out a blank receipt from the drawer and wrote it down with a swish.

While waiting for the landlady to write the receipt, Gao De picked up the handwritten parchment on the table.

"War broke out between the Principality of Efuja and the Principality of Xidian, and the Principality of Xidian was destroyed..." Finally, his gaze fell on a short briefing on the last page.

The Principality of Efuja and the Principality of Xidian had long harbored grievances due to territorial disputes and resource allocation problems, and this time the conflict had completely intensified and erupted.

The Principality of Efuja assembled elite troops, cleverly used strategies, bypassed to the rear of the Principality of Xidian, and raided its supply lines, causing the Principality of Xidian's army to be short of supplies and the military morale to be in chaos.

Later, in the key decisive battle on the plains, the alchemy weapons of the Principality of Efuja exerted great power, causing the defense line of the Principality of Xidian to collapse completely.

In the end, the capital of the Principality of Xidian was breached by the army of the Principality of Efuja, declaring its destruction, and the royal family was even beheaded.

The reason Gao De noticed this briefing was that these two principalities, just like the Principality of Saint Xi En, were located between the Jin Quehua Dynasty and the Holy Empire, standing in that land where principalities were numerous.

The Principality of Efuja even shared a small border with the Principality of Saint Xi En.

But that was all.

Now, he was a genuine Jin Quehua Dynasty person, with the status of a Hai Shao Bing mage.

"Street-facing single room, hot water supplied all day, free breakfast provided, 3 silver dragons per night, total three days, charging you 9 silver dragons." The landlady said while writing the receipt.

Gao De put down the parchment, took out a shiny Jin Quehua coin, and pushed it over.

The landlady skillfully swept the Jin Quehua coin into the drawer with her fingertips, returned a silver dragon to Gao De, and at the same time, handed the written receipt to Gao De.

"Officer, here is your receipt."

——Except for those official personnel who needed reimbursement, generally no one would ask for a receipt.

It was just that she couldn't help but look at Anna, whom Gao De was holding in his left hand, a few more times, feeling somewhat puzzled in her heart.

The officer in front of her looked too young, not to mention that it was unlikely he had such a big child, but why bring the child along when going out to execute official duties?

Truly strange.

In the chaotic shanty, dim light squeezed with difficulty through the cracks in the dilapidated wooden boards, pulling the shadows of several men in the room into twisted shapes.

They were sitting around a table, with a few glasses of ale placed on it, each with a bored expression on their faces, taking a sip from time to time.

*Da da da. *

Rapid footsteps sounded, approaching from far to near.

Those few men immediately put down the wine glasses in their hands and looked toward the door with vigilance.

The door of the shanty was pushed open, and a wind carrying a foul odor poured in.

"News came from above that the Lagos City water beast expulsion mission has already been issued by the Hai Shao Bing side. According to the news, the mission was issued yesterday, so people should be coming in the next two days. Everyone, stop for these few days." The person who entered said loudly.

"Close the door first." The man in the room who had already covered his nose shouted.

"It's been so long, and you're still being pretentious here." The man who entered later cursed, but his hands quickly closed the door.

"It's like this again; those above want to force these lowly people to leave, but they don't dare to take harsh measures, so they have us do these small actions all day, releasing some bugs and octopuses to disgust people..." One of the men muttered with dissatisfaction, his face full of annoyance.

"Take harsh measures? How would those above dare? Once large-scale casualties occur, the Hai Shao Bing won't just send a mage to expel water beasts, but will come down to investigate thoroughly. Harming the common people is a serious crime!" Another man took over the conversation, and while speaking, he also waved his hand, seemingly emphasizing the severity of the matter.

"So they have us stay in this kind of place all day... God damn it, if I stay any longer, I'll be pickled. It's too smelly here. How can these lowly people live here?" Another man complained.

"If they had a choice, would they be willing to stay here?"

"Endure it; once the matter here is finished, the reward won't be small."

"Sigh, even if we don't want to endure it, what can we do? It's good that people from the Hai Shao Bing are coming; at least it will allow us to rest for a few days."

"Rest for a few days, and then we'll have to come back and continue working. The smell is one thing, but if we accidentally get bitten by these bugs, we'll have a hard time." One of them said, his gaze involuntarily falling on a huge water bucket in the shanty.

In the water bucket, swarms of larvae were swimming wantonly.

These larvae were strangely shaped, with slender bodies about the thickness of an adult's finger, and their whole bodies presented a nauseating dark green color, with a layer of sticky, foul-smelling mucus on the surface.

Their heads were extremely small, with a pair of almost invisible small black eyes, and their tails were wide and flat, swaying in the water, causing turbid ripples in the surrounding sewage, and their whole bodies emitted a stench similar to a rotting corpse.

"Release this batch of larvae tonight, and then we'll withdraw first."

Finally, the man who seemed to be the leader in the room made the final decision.

Using a key to open the slightly mottled wooden door, a musty atmosphere rushed toward them.

Gao De held Anna and walked into the room, simply put down the luggage, then put down the little girl, and changed to holding Anna's small hand as they left the Palm Tree Hotel.

Having traveled for a long time, it was already mealtime.

Anna, needless to say, children were naturally easier to get hungry.

It was time to experience the local specialty food.

This was not hard to find; just finding any small restaurant would be completely fine.

Anna tore off a piece of fish meat with her hand, put it into her mouth, and chewed hard, then made a *siha siha* sound, clearly not adapting to the food in front of her.

Placed in front of them was a strange grilled fish covered in red spices.

This was a banana leaf-grilled giant catfish obtained by wrapping a local specialty catfish in a type of banana leaf that was extremely heat-resistant in Lagos City, sprinkling it with a special dipping sauce, and then roasting it over a fire.

Beside it were five or six smoked fish that were connected head to tail, looking like squid rings.

Gao De looked at the earnest expression on Anna's small face and couldn't help but laugh, "If you don't like eating it, don't force yourself; just change to another dish."

"Sister said that now is not like before; we can't be as picky as before." Anna shook her head and sighed, like a worried little adult.

Gao De laughed while lowering his head to stuff a mouthful of fish meat; the texture was indeed strange, but the education he received was to cherish food, so unless it was truly difficult to swallow, he generally wouldn't waste food.

He stuffed two more squid ring-like smoked fish; the texture of this was much better than the grilled catfish.

"If there is a chance in the future, I will take you to eat something good; I am not familiar with this place."

"Thank you, brother." Anna nodded her small head earnestly; although when her father and mother were still alive, she had basically tasted all the good things and had no great expectations for food, she was still happy about Gao De's casual promise, feeling that the other party was truly a good person.

After finishing this local specialty meal, Gao De took Anna back to the hotel.

It was not early today, and he was not a workaholic, so naturally, he would first rest well for the night and then set off to execute the mission tomorrow.

However, before resting, daily cultivation and rune practice could not be dropped.

This was the basic skill.

Gao De did not avoid Anna; after casting 【Divine Guidance+】 on himself, he directly took out lacquer jade paper and a rune pen and began to practice with focused attention.

And Anna sat obediently on the bed, quietly watching Gao De's every move.

When, after a long time, Gao De came back to his senses from the runes in his hand and looked up, he realized that Anna was still watching him earnestly, just as she had been at the beginning.

This seemed to be an incredible thing for a child.

"Brother, are you done?"

"Done." Gao De put down the rune pen in his hand.

"Brother, are you a rune constructor?" Anna asked again.

"You could say that, although I haven't made a set of rune constructs yet..." Gao De suddenly realized and looked at Anna in surprise, "How do you know?"

"I've seen my teacher practice this," Anna pointed to the lacquer jade paper on which Gao De had just drawn runes, "He said he would teach me this later, after I become a formal mage."

Speaking of this, Anna scratched her head cutely and said in a childish voice, "I already knew the things the teacher could teach me, and the remaining things have to wait until I become a formal mage to continue teaching, so I could only play with those big toys."

"However..." The little girl tilted her head and looked at Gao De, innocent and puzzled, "Brother, your rune range and level have reached the second-rank level, yet you haven't made a set of rune constructs?"

Gao De looked at Anna's big eyes full of confusion, his heart full of surprise.

He never expected that a five-year-old girl would know so much.

Looking at it this way, her previous family environment should have been much more affluent than he had previously guessed.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 348 =====