Chapter 13: Finding a Temporary Parking Lot

Mali listened to the half-elf girl tell about the great battle more than a hundred years ago.

Going to look at the ruins covered with green grass and stone moss in the distance, he had new feelings.

It was as if he could glimpse a corner of the tragic battle from those broken walls and ruins, the roars of warriors and the desperate screams of the troll clan at sunrise, hovering over the dilapidated ancient castle together.

And witnessing this history with his own eyes was also part of the journey.

Speaking of travel, Mali had plans in this regard before, and there were many places he wanted to go both at home and abroad. It was just that because of work, he hadn't been able to make the trip, only able to satisfy his addiction in games.

Later, because of continuous overtime and irregular schedules, his health had problems, and he resigned from his original company, which unexpectedly freed him from the heavy work.

But his body wasn't suitable for long-distance travel, and the uncertainty of the future also made him lose the mood to play.

He didn't expect the arrival of the red mist to unexpectedly set him on a journey.

Mali held the steering wheel, feeling the bumps transmitted from under the seat.

Driving on unpaved roads required extra caution, but on the other hand, this also made the driving experience no longer monotonous.

It was like a close conversation opened with the earth.

The driver needed to decipher the secret messages transmitted through the chassis suspension, which might also be the fun of off-roading.

About half an hour later, neither the village nor the ancient castle could be seen.

Disappearing with them was the sound in the passenger seat.

Xia'er was taking a car to Yingzui City for the first time. At first, she was indeed very excited, not only actively acting as a tour guide, explaining the local customs, history, and allusions to Mali, but also occasionally letting out exclamations like "The trees are retreating!" or "Flying up!"

Sometimes she would lower her voice and ask Mali quietly, "Is there a fairy imprisoned under the car, desperately pedaling the wheels?"

But soon she began to yawn. Xia'er had also not slept for a night, and she wasn't like Mali who had drunk coffee.

Accompanied by the shaking of the car, the half-elf girl soon couldn't resist the constantly surging sleepiness and fell into a dream.

Her sleeping posture was strange, curling her body into a ball on the seat, with one arm resting on her head, just like a little hound.

After bumping her head against the glass several times, she changed direction and leaned against the armrest box on the other side.

Xia'er didn't know how long she had slept. When she opened her eyes, she found that the off-road vehicle had stopped.

The main driver's seat was empty.

The half-elf girl gave a start, but soon she saw Mali outside the window again.

The latter was holding two small cylinders in front of his eyes, walking back and forth.

The girl rubbed her eyes while pushing open the car door, and just at this time her stomach growled again.

"Eh, it's meal time again. What to eat tonight, canned food?"

When she said the last two words, her tone had an obvious upward inflection, looking very expectant.

However, Mali said, "No, let's eat after entering the city."

"Enter the city?" Xia'er was stunned.

"Ahead should be Yingzui City." Mali pointed to a direction beside him.

The half-elf girl subconsciously wanted to refute. She spent a full five and a half days on her last trip to Yingzui City, and that was when it was relatively smooth and she didn't encounter any trouble along the way.

And now the time since they set off was at most half a day, and it wasn't even dark yet, so how could they be almost there?

But when Xia'er looked in the direction Mali pointed, she really saw a town under the mountain.

Was this newly built? No, impossible. A new city couldn't be built overnight.

First, there had to be a castle. Around the castle, some basic living areas and trading areas would appear. Next was the long wait, waiting for population growth to gradually form a town. This process might take decades, or even hundreds of years.

Afterward, the half-elf girl also took the small cylinder Mali handed over and learned from the latter to place it in front of her eyes.

The next moment, the blurry town in the distance suddenly became clear.

Xia'er felt as if she had flown to the city gate, scaring her so much that she almost dropped the little thing in her hand, but afterward, she saw the tall towers on both sides of the city gate, paired with red spires, looking like a pair of sharp eagle beaks.

It was really Yingzui City!

The half-elf girl was dumbfounded, feeling for the first time in her life that the small village she lived in wasn't that far from the big city.

"Since we are almost there, why stop again?"

"Oh, I'm looking for a temporary parking lot."

"Temporary... parking lot?"

Mali didn't intend to drive the G300p into the city, at least not until he obtained the alchemist status. Otherwise, if he couldn't explain it clearly or was targeted by the dignitaries in the city, and they found some reason to detain the off-road vehicle, he would lose out.

Money was a small matter. Now the entire LY City was empty, and theoretically, he could drive any car he wanted.

It was mainly that if this happened, he could only walk back.

He would have to walk through the forest, canyon, and red mist, and he wouldn't be able to come down for at least ten days or half a month.

For the sake of insurance, it was better not to drive into the city, find a place to hide the G300p, and come back to get it after finishing the business.

It was just that Mali looked at many places, but didn't know which one was safer and not easy to be discovered by passersby.

Fortunately, Xia'er on the side was an expert in this regard. Years of hunting experience allowed her to easily distinguish the footprints of humans and beasts on the ground, and it was also easier to find safe places to stay in the mountains and forests.

Finally, Mali drove the off-road vehicle into a cave on the hillside that was rarely visited and quite hidden. The half-elf girl didn't know where she found some dry bear feces and sprinkled them outside the cave entrance.

According to her, this could drive away other beasts, and experienced hunters would also stay away when they saw them.

After locking the car, the two found some branches and stones to cover the cave entrance, ensuring that it wasn't easy to be discovered from the outside, and then set off again.

The half-elf girl led the way in front, and Mali carried his mountaineering backpack, holding a trekking pole and following behind.

The two arrived at Yingzui City before dark.

Along the way, because of the blue windbreaker, work pants, and hiking shoes he was wearing, Mali was looked at by many people, but it was already very close to the town here, so no one took action.

It was just that they encountered some trouble when entering the city.

The guards at the gate searched his backpack after discovering that Mali was a foreigner, finding a pile of things that looked mysterious.

Finally, they took away a few things and said they would send them to the Alchemist Association for further identification, and if there was no problem, they would return them.

Xia'er was a bit dissatisfied and wanted to find the captain-like person to reason, but was pulled by Mali.

"Forget it." He signaled the half-elf girl to look at the corner of the wall, where the cargo of a dwarf caravan was also being searched. The caravan leader—a burly dwarf with his beard tied like a small braid—was yelling angrily, but it was of no use.

And Mali didn't know how those guards judged suspicious items. They picked away the bear spray, compass, and a box of Ocean brand oil-soaked canned tuna, but left the camping knife and a small can of natural gas. ===== CHAPTER 14 =====