Chapter 158 The Boundary of the Inner World
Yan Shi: ?
No wonder Lin Cai recognized the Longevity Lock and was so excited when she found the fragment in Euphemia's hand.
It turned out she was the one who pulled it down.
"It's nothing," Yan Shi said.
Her memories of her childhood have always been vague.
Only a few memories related to my grandmother are particularly clear.
Even if Lin Cai hadn't pulled it down and caused it to fall into the sea, Yan Shi didn't think he would necessarily keep it forever.
So finding the longevity lock that had been lost was an unexpected bonus.
Lin Cai doesn't need to blame herself so much.
"But, but, this is very important to Teacher Yanlan." Lin Cai lowered her eyes.
Yan Shi: "It's enough that we've found it now."
Lin Cai let out a long sigh and revealed a somewhat relieved smile: "Mm!"
"By the way," Yan Shi suddenly remembered and asked curiously, "Chu Mengfu sent you to do your school year practice, and also had you lead a team to protest in front of the Governor's Mansion. What was Chu Mengfu doing?"
Lin Cai pondered for a moment: "I only know that Senior Sister Chu should be in the East City Free Trade Zone right now...?" she said uncertainly.
Chengdong Free Trade Zone?
That sounds interesting.
Yan Shi visited the inner world very few times, but he was interested in everything.
She suppressed the eagerness in her eyes, stretched, and stood up from her chair. "Let's go take a look."
Most of the refugees in front of the Governor's Palace in Garcia had not yet dispersed and were solemnly guarding the area.
Guided by their servant, Yan Shi and Lin Cai slipped out through the back door.
The area around the Governor's Mansion was mostly filled with large mansions, but at this time the gates were tightly closed and the streets were deserted.
Four streets further out, to Ling Yanshi's surprise, the area became lively.
Despite the recent tense situation, the city did not remain secluded; on the contrary, as a port city, its bustling trade continued unabated.
Passersby come and go, their faces displaying a variety of expressions, a microcosm of human nature.
Yan Shi suppressed his initial excitement about being here for the first time and cautiously glanced at the street stalls.
This place is quite different from Duan Yunchen's Weil Hub.
As a transportation hub, the Weier Hub mainly serves as a rest and supply point, and the vendors outside the Yuntu Airport Tower mainly sell food.
The street vendors in Porto Novano sell all sorts of things.
From high-end alchemical products, magical treasures, and rare materials to inexpensive gems and novel trinkets, it operates on a Taobao-like model, selling everything imaginable.
Lin Cai was also visiting the city in the Otherworld for the first time, and she was just as curious.
She quickly stopped in front of a stall where Yan Lan's gaze lingered for a while, and smiled. "Boss," Lin Cai said, pointing to a daisy-shaped brooch on the stall, "how much is this?"
The boss first looked Lin Cai up and down.
A pure human, his clothes were clean, and his shoes had a little dust on them, but not from long journeys. His hair was not long, and the color was even from root to tip, without dryness or split ends. His eyes were clear and bright.
"50 silver coins," the shopkeeper said.
Lin Cai: "What?"
Doubt.jpg
She still has a rather vague understanding of the other world. The future Lin Cai is always asleep, and when she wakes up, she controls her body to go to some strange places.
In other words, she doesn't understand the other world.
So how much is 50 silver coins?
She was bewildered when Yan Shi noticed the commotion and approached from behind. "What's wrong?"
"Teacher Yanlan," Lin Cai turned around, "how much is 50 silver coins?"
Yan Shi: ?
As the director of the General Administration, Yan Shi hasn't learned much else since taking office, but he has a very clear understanding of the monetary system of the Underworld.
The fiscal policies of the Foreign Exchange Administration were quite complex. Although the Foreign Exchange Administration unified the currency, this was only the official policy. Private currencies varied widely from place to place, so controlling various exchange rates was naturally an important fiscal tool for the Foreign Exchange Administration.
One silver coin could be exchanged for about twenty dollars at a normal exchange rate.
50 silver coins equals one thousand yuan.
How can such expensive things be sold at such a small stall?
"What do you want to buy?" Yan Shi asked.
Lin Cai pointed to the brooch.
Yan Shi looked up at the shopkeeper: "What is the purpose of this brooch?"
Don't tell her it's just a decoration.
The boss lowered his head nervously.
The woman who came later was completely different from the girl who came before.
The orange-haired girl may be an adult now, but she is still a naive, sheltered child, untouched by life's hardships.
The black-haired woman behind her is the drawn sword. She is equally languid, but more like a resting cat, unable to conceal the chill beneath her casual demeanor.
"Five silver coins," the shopkeeper said. "It has a small recording function, and that's the bottom line I can offer."
Yan Shi: ...
She looked at the daisy brooch on the stall with a blank expression. It wasn't very delicate, but it was still quite pretty. She didn't quite understand it for a moment.
Yan Shi had a feeling when he heard the price that the boss was overcharging Lin Cai.
So she suspected that the brooch might have some other function.
She only asked about one function and didn't say anything else, so why did the boss automatically give her a huge discount?
But five silver coins, or one hundred pieces, for a brooch.
"Two silver coins," Yan Shi tentatively said.
The shop owner immediately replied, "Sure. How will you pay?"
Yan Shi: ...
Sure enough, there was still profit inside.
I should have quoted one silver coin.
Prices in the Otherworld seem normal; a small brooch does indeed cost around several tens of yuan.
Lin Cai looked to Yan Shi for help.
"Forty yuan," Yan Shi whispered in her ear. "Open Lingxin, click on your personal profile, bind your bank card, and scan the QR code to pay. The amount will be automatically deducted based on the real-time exchange rate."
The owner had two battle-damaged QR codes hanging on his stall.
It's dilapidated.
Following Yan Shi's instructions, Lin Cai successfully scanned the QR code and made the payment step by step.
"The message has arrived, two silver coins."
The owner's phone vibrated on the chair at her stall. She handed the brooch to Lin Cai, sighing, "I really don't have much profit margin. It's hard to make a living with a small business."
As she spoke, she secretly glanced at Yan Shi's expression, fearing that this big shot might be in a bad mood and cause trouble for her.
Lin Cai took the brooch and asked with some curiosity, "The situation in Novano Port has been tense lately, how come you're still so relaxed going out to do business?"
She looked around.
The streets were really lively.
"I have to make a living." The shopkeeper took a jasmine-shaped brooch from a bag under his stall and placed it in the empty spot where the daisy brooch had been. "The fighting in the city is all the business of powerful figures and geniuses. I might not actually die."
"But if I don't go out to do business or set up a stall, not having money will definitely kill me, or even make my life worse than death."
She counted on her fingers, "Rent, utilities, protection fees, tuition and food expenses for the young children at home... there are just too many basic living expenses."
Lin Cai's eyes widened in shock: "Life in the Otherworld is this simple?"
"Is there no cultivation, adventure, or excitement?"
“Cultivation, adventure, and excitement?” The shopkeeper chuckled. “That’s what the life of an ordinary being is like.”
“Everything is predetermined from birth.” She said calmly. “Being a commoner with exceptional talent or being born into a powerful family is essentially the same lottery. In most cases, you are just a nobody.”
"We have to work very hard just to stay alive."
Yan Shi listened quietly, then suddenly spoke up, “You don’t actually care who’s in power in Novano Port.”
"Who's in power?" Perhaps the conversation had opened up a bit, and the boss relaxed a little, shrugging: "For someone like me, at the very bottom of the social ladder, who's in power is actually irrelevant to me. I'm more concerned about whether the protectors of this region have changed."
Yes, the situation in Novano Port is chaotic. Garcia's governorship is cruel and inhumane. The displaced people in the city have already surrounded Garcia's governorship. For the ordinary people at the bottom of society, it has little impact.
The so-called exploitation actually has a huge impact on the spiritualists, mages, and merchant groups in Novano Port.
Therefore, most of the refugees, while not necessarily fierce in combat, were at least quite strong.
And the protector.
This is yet another new term that Yan Shi has never heard of.
Lin Cai clenched his fists. "Once everything in Novano Port is settled, you won't have to pay this extra protection fee!"
boss:?
Her expression gradually turned to terror: "Are we going to be abandoned? Actually, it's not that we can't pay the protection money; I can squeeze it out if I try hard enough."
"Who exactly are you people?"
Yan Shi lowered his eyes and interrupted her: "How long have you been paying protection money?"
Boss: "It's always been like this."
"Always." Yan Shi pondered the words with an ambiguous meaning.
The Bureau of Foreign Affairs only began its decline twenty years ago.
If it is "always", it means that during the period when the administration was in power, the political integrity that was widely praised around the world did not benefit the grassroots.
Yan Shi was now truly bewildered as well.
She felt as if she had touched some of the boundaries of the underworld.
“Boss,” Yan Shi said, “take me to your house.”
The boss's expression turned wary: "What do you want? Let me tell you, the protectors of this area are the Freedom Alliance!"
"You know the Freedom Alliance, right? Its leader, Master Meng, is a renowned alchemy master throughout the underworld!"
Yan Shi: "...Master Meng?"
How could that baby-faced man with the buzz cut be connected to this place besides the Jaw Plain?
Master Meng, your meddlesome business is far too extensive.
"How could I not know?" Yan Shi smiled. "We're old acquaintances."
---
The layout of the port city of Novano is not complicated. The core area is located on the west side, where the powerful and influential, including Governor Garcia, and important agencies, including the branch of the Bureau of Foreign Affairs, are located.
Further east lies the central business district, the most bustling commercial area of Novano Port. Adjacent to the central business district on the other side is the residential area, where Euphemia lives.
Continuing east past the residential area, the houses gradually become faded and low-rise. This area is located on the easternmost side of Novano Port City, which is also the back side of the city.
Yan Shi strolled along with the stall owner through the complex alleyways.
Lin Cai followed closely behind her, her eyes filled with unease.
"Teacher Yanlan," Lin Cai whispered, her lips barely moving, "I feel like something's not right around me."
It felt like I was being watched by many eyes.
Yan Shi nodded, "That's definitely not right."
After saying that, she stopped and raised her voice, "Don't go any further. We'll have to walk back later, it'll be too tiring."
"I'll wait here. Once you're all here, get started. Don't dawdle and waste everyone's time." She suppressed her impatience and took out the Necromancer's Halberd from the spatial gap.
"Since we can only talk properly after we've taken action, let's finish this quickly."
Author's note: I took a break yesterday because I was hesitant about whether to write this part of the story.
As seen in this chapter, this is Yan Lan's personal storyline. The original design of this story was one main storyline plus two character storylines for Director Yan and Yan Lan. However, due to insufficient writing skills, it was not possible to fully explain the stories of the two characters and the main storyline within the limited space. Therefore, Yan Lan's character storyline was significantly cut.
This also makes Yanlan's character one-dimensional and pale, completely dependent on Yanju for existence.
I was actually preparing to wrap things up recently, resolving foreshadowing and setting the stage for the climax, but halfway through I started writing, I felt a bit reluctant and hesitant. The characters came to life from my pen, condemning my excessive actions. I went back to my old posts and remembered that a long time ago, when I first decided to start writing a story, it was only to write about the characters.
I was extremely excited and smug, thinking, "I'm going to write a really memorable character!"
In the end, we decided to present Yanlan's original story and explain the whole world clearly.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement along the way.
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