To be honest, there weren't many things piled up in the alley. After all, Duncan was alone. Even if he bought a bicycle in advance to carry goods, there was a limit to what he could pull at one time. Ai's reaction was actually easy to understand.

This guy is bargaining, he wants some more fries.

From a certain perspective, this bird is so easy to understand.

"Do you know what this is?" Duncan grabbed the pigeon and brought it to a basket of potatoes. "This is called potato, also called potato."

Ai blinked his green eyes and stared at the basket for a long time. He actually realized what was happening and stretched his neck hard: "It smells so good! It smells so good!"

"That's all you need to know. Work hard. This basket is all for you. The French fries we'll make later will be enough to kill you dozens of times." Duncan chuckled and threw the pigeon out. "Send these things back to the Lost Hometown. Just put them on the deck. I'll be there to pick them up."

Ai flapped his wings in the air, and before he landed, he was already wrapped in a ball of dark green fire. He turned into an undead bird and circled around the pile of things twice. The "goods" between the flames quickly became ethereal, but he suddenly stopped again, landed on the pile of goods, and tilted his head to look at Duncan: "Do you need to specify the next memory address?"

Duncan was stunned for a long time before he realized that the bird was asking him what to do next...

Then he couldn't help but mutter in his heart - this bird's vocabulary is too complicated and weird. He might have stored all the things that humans on Earth have created on the Internet in its brain. Although he can more or less guess what it means from its words after getting along with it for a while, most of the time his communication with Ai is just around the edge of his own knowledge reserves... Can't it try to learn a few normal words?

But despite his grumbling, Duncan nodded and replied to Ai: "Send these away first, I need to buy some more..."

This time Ai was really frightened. He flew up into the air, and a huge ball of fire swept away everything on the ground in the blink of an eye. Then he quickly disappeared from Duncan's sight while shouting loudly, "How terrifying! How terrifying!"

Duncan just shrugged and walked towards the bicycle he had just bought.

It was a very ordinary bike, with a black frame, shiny silver wheels and handlebars, a brand new bell, and a sturdy and practical basket and back seat - it didn't have any special features, it couldn't be called good-looking, but it wasn't ugly either. Probably its biggest advantage was that it was of good quality.

Duncan had wanted to carefully select a beautiful women's bicycle for Nina, but after looking around in the shops in downtown, he gave up the idea - because there was none.

In the downtown area, a bicycle is just a bicycle. It helps in life, but it is also a production tool. All bicycles are similar. There are no specially designed men's, women's, mountain, road and other types of bicycles. People of different body shapes can adjust the handlebars and seats to facilitate riding. Apart from that, bicycles have no other functions or positioning.

Most ordinary people in this world don't seem to have much spare time to pursue or customize a "more sophisticated life".

In this city-state of the "Deep Sea Age", many things are ultimately different from the "other world" Duncan is familiar with - even if they look similar, many of their details are always filled with the unique "characteristics" of this world, and it is these seemingly similar places... that always remind Duncan of the fact that he is "in a foreign land".

He climbed into the car. This brand new means of transportation was light and easy to use. It carried him quickly out of the alley and toward the more prosperous commercial district not far away.

Nina would love this car.

Leaving the Cross Street District and heading northwest, riding towards the higher streets, you will actually reach the Upper Town area - generally speaking, the citizens of Pland would call this place "the boundary of truly decent life", unlike the Cross Street District, which can only be regarded as "a place for middle-class citizens to decorate their facades."

Unlike what Duncan had initially imagined, although Plande had a clear administrative boundary between the "upper town" and the "lower town", there was no physical barrier between the two town areas. To get from the lower town to the upper town, one only had to pass through some completely open intersections - although there were sheriff's booths at these intersections, they obviously did not prohibit citizens from passing through each other.

Of course, this is the situation during the day. According to what Duncan learned, there will be a strict ban on traffic between the upper and lower urban areas after dark - even if you have a night travel permit, additional procedures are required to cross the checkpoint between the two urban areas.

It is daytime now and the intersection is clear.

Duncan went straight into the Upper Town—this was his first visit here since he set foot in this city-state.

I have to admit that the upper town is indeed a completely different place from the lower town.

This is reflected in almost every aspect - cleaner and wider streets, taller and more magnificent buildings, newer and more advanced urban facilities, and a significantly greater number of gas street lamps and "night shelters" than in the downtown area.

Duncan slowly stopped the car in front of a small booth near the intersection.

This is a night shelter, which is used to help citizens who are unable to return home in time after nightfall due to various reasons. The sign at the entrance of the small pavilion has a simple description:

〖Provide shelter at night, with gas lamps, sacred oils and "Storm Codex" inside. Please lock the door after entering and wait for rescue. The night watchman holds the safety key.〗

Duncan had also seen similar facilities in the downtown area, but there were only one or two in almost an entire block, and they looked old and shabby, and he didn't know if they could still be used.

Duncan withdrew his gaze, got on his bike, and continued to move slowly along the street.

His eyes occasionally swept across the shops on both sides of the road.

The bright windows and the elegant displays inside were incomparable to the shops in downtown, but Duncan was not concerned with these insignificant details.

He still had a lot of things to buy. Purchasing supplies for the Lost Homeland had been delayed for too long, and...

Duncan stopped the car, looked up in front of a street shop, and a smile appeared on his face.

There are some things that cannot be bought in the downtown area - only the "decent people" in the upper city will spend a lot of money and energy on things that have nothing to do with survival, such as this one.

He locked his bicycle, walked forward and pushed open the door of the shop. With the sound of a clear and pleasant bell, a plump old woman who was reading a newspaper behind the counter raised her head, a kind smile appeared on her face, and she stood up and said, "Welcome to the Rose Doll Museum... Oh, a gentleman, are you here to choose a companion for your lover or younger generation?"

"Just take a look first." Duncan simply replied, then raised his head and looked curiously at this store called "Rose Doll House".

Everywhere you look, you see all kinds of dolls - exquisite, elegant, mysterious, cute, playful... dolls.

When he was outside on the street, he saw the situation in the store through the window, but it was not until he entered the store that he found that the space inside was larger than it looked from the outside, and almost every place visible to the naked eye was filled with things related to dolls. Even under the stairs was filled with various types of storage boxes and support racks, as well as accessories of all sizes and "bodies" waiting to be assembled.

This is a store that specializes in selling dolls and doll-related items. It has a classic style and a quiet and mysterious atmosphere.

In this huge puppet shop, there was only a kind-looking old lady watching over the shop, and Duncan was the only customer at the moment.

A classic shop filled with dolls, with a smiling old lady as the only customer.

Duncan's attention was attracted by the dazzling array of dolls, while the owner of the shop looked at the strange customer with some curiosity.

It is not uncommon to see men visiting doll shops. Respectable men in the upper city often give exquisite dolls as gifts to their partners or younger generations. Some men also have a hobby of collecting dolls themselves. What really makes the old lady, the shop owner, curious is the simple attire of this customer.

Duncan was wearing an old coat that he was used to wearing on a daily basis. He didn't look like a wealthy man living in the upper city - and collectibles like "dolls" are not cheap consumption.

However, the old woman just took a curious look and quickly looked away.

It is not polite to look at the customer's clothes, and a mature businessman should not judge customers by their appearance - besides, everyone has the right to appreciate the goods.

After looking around for a while, Duncan finally looked away and let out a sigh of relief.

He admitted that he was a little overwhelmed.

The puppet craftsmanship in this world was more advanced than he had imagined. The myriad of "accessories" that he couldn't even name... had already exceeded his understanding of puppets.

——His understanding of puppets is that they are useless crew members who are cowardly, weak, have problems with their cervical spine, and have a slow brain.

Duncan looked at the plump old lady and thought that he should humbly ask professionals about the ins and outs of dolls - especially about joint care and hair transplantation.

But before he could speak, he suddenly froze.

He looked at the old woman in front of him in a daze, but the old woman quickly reacted and pointed to her ears with a smile: "Elves in the Plande city-state are indeed rare."

Duncan: “…”

He admitted that the elves in the city-state of Plande might indeed be rare, and this was the first time he had seen an elf in his life.

But the bigger reason for his daze was that he didn't expect that there would be a fat old lady in this world...