Chapter 438: The Little Girl on the Airship

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

He had already planned to use this mission as an opportunity to return to the Northern Frontier via the Star Realm teleportation, bringing back a batch of new arcane materials to sell directly in Lagos City.

He sorted the seeds into separate small cloth bags, then bundled them all into one large package and slung it onto his back.

Most of these collected seeds were ordinary tree species, with only a tiny fraction being low-tier magic tree seeds.

The emphasis was on diversity of types.

Thus, Gao De had spent very little money—altogether just about ten gold pieces.

Gao De had a clear plan: first, use the variety of tree seeds to rapidly accelerate Yujiatexila's growth, then later consider increasing quantity and quality.

Then, he would bring along 【North Wind】.

If 【Icebound Blade+】 was his trump card, then 【North Wind】 was his last resort—the true lifesaver in critical moments, and there was no reason not to bring it.

With all preparations complete, Gao De set off officially.

Thanks to the Jin Quehua Dynasty's advanced transportation network, there were multiple ways to travel from Duoen City to Lagos City.

By water, land, or air.

Water meant taking a boat, land meant specialized long-distance carriages, and air meant airship.

The fastest, of course, was the airship—and also the most expensive.

But for Gao De, there was only one choice.

The airship!

It wasn't because he was particularly enthusiastic about the mission, nor because he was wealthy, but because it was reimbursable.

If it could be reimbursed, why endure the hardship of boat or carriage when you could ride the airship? That would be foolish.

The aerial distance from Duoen City to Lagos City was 361 kilometers.

He bought a direct airship ticket from Duoen City to Lagos City for two gold, one silver, and sixty copper stones.

Of course, that was the price for standard class.

Luxury class was not reimbursable for Sea Sentinels unless one held the rank of Commandant or higher.

When boarding the airship, the staff member responsible for "security screening" unsurprisingly stopped Gao De.

"According to regulations, transporting other living creatures aboard is generally prohibited," the staff member said, pointing at the capybara sack on Gao De's back.

Gao De pulled out the "registration certificate" for the dumpling and handed it over.

The staff member took the certificate, checked the magic seal of the Sea Sentinel stamped on top, then asked Gao De to open the capybara sack to confirm it contained only a capybara, before returning the certificate.

Then he bowed to Gao De. "Master Mage, may your mission go smoothly."

A Sea Sentinel Mage traveling far with a capybara was clearly not on vacation—this was a mission.

Gao De smiled and thanked him, then re-shouldered the capybara sack and carefully tucked away the airship ticket as his reimbursement receipt before stepping onto the vessel through the gangway.

For some reason, the airship's occupancy rate was unusually low.

As soon as Gao De stepped into the standard cabin, a casual glance revealed that over half the seats were empty, making the cabin feel eerily quiet—completely unlike the packed airship he'd taken from Holde Town to Duoen City.

But upon reflection, it made sense.

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

In fact, during the spirit marrow frenzy, people had been obsessed with the wealth and opportunities it brought, flooding labor and capital into spirit marrow-related industries.

Meanwhile, Lagos City's two traditional industries—agriculture and fishing—had been pushed to the margins, leaving fields untended and fishing boats abandoned on shore.

Yet these two industries were the true pillars supporting Lagos City's economy.

Thus, when the spirit marrow frenzy ended, the city's prosperity vanished like a bubble.

But unlike before, the once-thriving agriculture and fishing sectors could no longer recover their former vitality.

In other words, present-day Lagos City was even more desolate than before the discovery of spirit marrow—it had become a backwater of Luo Jun.

As he thought this, Gao De sat down in his cramped seat, carrying his package, closed his eyes, and entered a state of intense focus.

He resumed attempting to construct the 【Disguise Shu 】 spell model.

This was a spell he would need soon, so he didn't want to waste a moment—he needed to master it quickly to proceed efficiently.

The airship Gao De boarded was a dedicated passenger vessel, departing from Duoen City and terminating at Lagos City, making intermediate stops at several small towns' airship terminals to pick up and drop off passengers.

The airship itself was relatively stable, though each takeoff and landing still caused some jolts.

But these had little effect on Gao De.

The 【Mental Endurance Body】 enhancement allowed him to ignore most external disturbances if he chose to.

Until he sensed something strange "crawling" near him.

He snapped his eyes open and looked down at his feet—and involuntarily opened his mouth.

Because he saw a little girl in a coarse linen dress, crouching in an odd posture beneath his feet.

She looked about five or six years old, with very large, bright eyes, though her face was smudged with dirt.

At this moment, she stared up at Gao De with those wide eyes, her pale blue irises filled with tension and pleading—like a pitiful stray cat.

"Help me."

Her lips moved silently, not speaking aloud, but mentally calling out to Gao De.

Little one, if you want help, you should say "please." Gao De looked up and noticed an airship staff member glancing around, as if searching for someone.

No need to guess—combined with the little girl hiding under his feet, it was obvious they were looking for her.

Clearly, the wisest choice was to hand her over immediately, since Gao De had no idea who she was or why she was evading staff.

Playing the hero could easily drag him into unnecessary trouble.

Gao De had planned to do exactly that.

But just as he was about to call out to the staff, the girl, sensing his intent, weakly tugged at his pant leg.

Her innocent eyes were now brimming with tears, appearing utterly fragile.

Seeing this, Gao De inexplicably felt his heart soften.

He wouldn't have been so easily moved by anyone else—but this was a child.

Having received modern education, Gao De found it hard to be "cruel" toward children.

"Help me," the girl whispered, lowering her head slightly as two tears slipped down her long, upturned lashes—heartbreakingly pitiful, her voice a faint, childish plea.

Gao De clenched his fist, then helplessly unclenched it.

He spread his legs apart and placed the package on his thighs.

The girl was quick—she instantly understood his intent and slipped nimbly between his legs.

Then Gao De closed his legs again, the package now fully concealing the girl.

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

"Sir, sorry to disturb you—have you seen a little girl, about this tall, wearing—" The staff member gestured as he described her.

He could clearly feel the girl gripping his pant leg tighter as he described her appearance—she was terrified.

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

The staff member seemed uninterested in chatting with passengers. Seeing Gao De's denial, he crouched down, as if preparing to search further.

But Gao De had already, at the perfect moment, subtly opened his cloak.

Because the Sea Sentinel uniform was too conspicuous, Gao De had worn a common, knee-length, hooded wool cloak over it to remain inconspicuous.

Now, with this motion, the uniform beneath became visible.

The staff member's expression shifted instantly from cold to warm. "Master Mage, someone has boarded without a ticket."

"A ticket?" Gao De frowned. "A little girl?"

"Yes," the staff member sighed helplessly. "We don't know if the scanner malfunctioned or what, but she slipped through the boarding check. Children her age pay half fare, so it's not about the money—it's that she's unaccompanied. We're afraid something might happen."

"I see," Gao De nodded. "If I notice anything, I'll inform you immediately."

"Thank you, Master Mage," the staff member said, placing a hand over his chest in a respectful bow.

He abandoned the search.

Within Luo Jun, Sea Sentinel Mages naturally carried a degree of credibility and authority.

Only after watching the staff member complete his inspection of the standard cabin and leave did Gao De place the package on the adjacent seat and spread his legs.

The girl promptly pushed herself up with her hands, squatting between his legs, looking up at him with wide, earnest eyes.

Gao De stared at the girl's small, dirt-smudged but still doll-like face, expressionless: "Explain. What's going on?"

The girl immediately lowered her head, looking utterly wronged, tears welling up again.

"Stop acting," Gao De sighed. "I know you're thrilled right now."

Though he'd been moved by her pitiful appearance, he'd been in this world for over two years. He might still have a core of kindness, but he was no longer the "naive college student" he once was.

In a world of arcane power, how could he be sure this girl was truly just an innocent child?

So at once, he cast 【Perceive Emotion+】 on her.

The emotions he received included some tension, some anticipation, and some worry—but no malice.

Only then had he chosen to help.

After the staff member left, Gao De noticed her emotions had shifted to joy, triumph, cunning, and expectation.

Nothing like the "helpless victim" she'd portrayed.

No wonder they say women are born actresses.

A girl this young already had flawless acting skills—if not for 【Perceive Emotion+】, he'd have been completely fooled.

"Fine…" the girl pouted, muttering, "You mages always cheat with your spells…"

【Wounded】.

Receiving the girl's inner feeling of woundedness, Gao De nodded.

Hmm, very good—this time, the grievance is real.

"I want to go to Lagos City to find my sister, but I have no money, so I can only—"

"Find your sister? What about the rest of your family?"

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

"Do you know where in Lagos City your sister works?"

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

Gao De sighed and rubbed his forehead.

This little girl was somewhat precocious, but still fundamentally a child.

"What's your name?" Gao De asked, pressing his lips together.

"I'm Anna, five years old." The girl looked up, extended her right hand, and opened her five tiny fingers, staring directly at Gao De.

"Anna, how did you get on the airship? The boarding gate has machine checks."

"With this." Anna pulled out a card-like object from her pocket.

Gao De took it and saw it was drawn with several simple basic runes.

"What is this?" He frowned instinctively.

"A little gadget. Plug it into the slot of that big machine, and it'll temporarily disable it." Perhaps because Gao De's earlier help had earned Anna's trust, she frankly revealed her "fare evasion" method.

"This thing—" Gao De examined the small card for a moment, confirming it bore only a few simple runes, and felt a faint surprise. "Who gave this to you?"

"I drew it myself."

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

"Yes!" The girl named Anna widened her eyes, puzzled by Gao De's shock, and tilted her head. "Isn't it easy?"

Drawing a line isn't hard; the hard part is knowing where to draw it. An old, famous story from his past life suddenly surfaced in Gao De's mind.

"Uncle, thank you." Anna added.

【Cunning】.

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

Clearly, Anna had done it on purpose.

"You don't even know where your sister works in Lagos City—how are you going to find her?"

"Oh right… how do I find my sister…" Anna looked up, blinking her eyes. "Brother, you'll help me, right?"

【Cunning】.

"How can I help you?"

"Brother, you're a Sea Sentinel mage—you must have a way." Anna tugged at Gao De's Sea Sentinel uniform and whispered softly.

Gao De stared at her without expression.

Though the ordinary cabin had few passengers, he wasn't the only one.

Yet Anna had chosen him specifically—clearly not by chance.

Gao De reasonably suspected Anna had noticed his Sea Sentinel uniform and approached him because of it.

The girl might be small, but she was sharp.

(End of chapter)