"Why is Storm City, a major city in the area, so sparsely populated?"
After walking for a while, I hardly saw any people.
The little boy breathed on his hands, trying to warm them up. He didn't have gloves, and his hands were tucked inside his clothes.
"Honored guest, Storm City is too cold; everyone is underground."
The city was built underground, and the temperature in the underground city ten meters below rose. At least now the surface temperature is 5 degrees Celsius, while the underground city temperature is over ten degrees Celsius. He wouldn't feel cold living in the underground city, but it wouldn't be enough on the surface. He has to hurry up and make money, otherwise he won't be able to enter the underground city this winter. He still has to pay taxes and fees there, and he has a younger brother and a younger sister to support!
He led the way, and at an elevator entrance covered in snow, he scanned faces, and Qin Yiyi and the others went inside.
"Honored guests, there is usually a fee to enter the elevator, but I won't charge you if I take you through. However, the underground city is too heavily guarded, and I really can't take you through. There is also a head tax of 2 silver coins per person inside, but after you pay, the machine will recognize your information, and you can come and go freely for a month!"
Good heavens! This Storm City has a head tax of one silver coin upon entering the city and another two silver coins upon reaching the underground. That means each person pays three silver coins and can only stay in the city for one month, which is three silver coins in head tax per month!
Her little finger twitched behind her back, prompting her to calculate—good heavens, she needed to go back and pay more! More! Her head tax was only one silver coin per person, and it lasted for the entire winter!
A winter lasts at least five months!
She lost out big time!
She needs to add at least more!
Yes! She'll add another silver coin! To let these people feel her evil as a lord!
snort!
She's the most exploitative lord ever!
Qin Yiyi remained outwardly calm, but inwardly she was experiencing a raging storm.
Four silver coins were thrown into the Pixiu's mouth, and the gate to the underground world opened.
Qin Yiyi couldn't help but sigh. This is what a big city is like. It looks much more impressive than that small, chaotic city. Even the Pixiu at the entrance is so majestic and imposing. She wondered what kind of creature it was. She wanted to build two of these gates in her own territory in the future.
She reached out and casually touched the Pixiu.
One of the Pixiu's eyes moved, and it turned its head to look at Qin Yiyi.
"Miss, please don't touch the male Pixiu's body without permission, okay?"
"We are not just any random Pixiu!"
Qin Yiyi's hand stiffened, and she withdrew it. A strange red tinge appeared on her face, which was covered by a black lace veil.
Inside, however, I was screaming with rage: What a joke! Is this Pixiu even real?!
Although she appeared stiff and calm on the surface, she was screaming inside. The tentacle monster was also aroused by the Pixiu, and its two tentacles pried at the Pixiu's body and slid over it.
The little boy quickly stopped him, saying, "Honored guest, this electronic Pixiu is very expensive. I heard it costs over 100 purple gold coins to make!"
!!
That would be ten thousand gold coins!
Qin Yiyi quickly told the tentacle monster to let go.
What a joke! She came here to make money. There's no reason for her to lose 10,000 gold coins before even entering the gate!
She was pulling the tentacle monster along.
"The gate is open, hurry up and get out!"
The creaking steel gate opened, revealing a steel underground city beneath Storm City.
"Grain for sale! Low-pollution grain, one silver coin for two taels!"
"They're selling armor! All homemade snakeskin armor, even better than bulletproof armor. How many mutants do you have to kill before you see one snakeskin mutant? Think about it!"
It's not unusual to kill the alien species and use their hides to make armor, because beastmen who have become beast-like spiritual beings can directly transform into beast forms and be skinned and dismembered like monsters. Their hides can also be made into armor and other items.
These items possess various defensive and offensive attributes, somewhat similar to zero-pollution boosting food.
However, since not every slain mutant or berserk orc can be used as armor, such items are as rare as zero-contamination amplification food.
Currently, firearms are still the primary means of combat.
"Hey! New customer, would you like to try some dried sweet potato? 10 silver coins a tael!"
The little boy jumped up and down when he heard the price.
"Old Rod, don't overbid, this is my guest!"
Upon hearing the little boy speak, old Rod laughed heartily: "That's five silver coins per tael!"
Half gone in an instant! Qin Yiyi gasped in disbelief. These despicable, unscrupulous merchants! Seeing these merchants, she couldn't help but miss the lovely Kade. Kade never lied to her and even gave her discounts. If only Kade could settle in her territory, she could just let Kade handle the negotiations when buying things, and she wouldn't have to go through all that trouble, having to haggle and test whether it was the lowest price offered.
Waaaaah~
Purchasing is exhausting; she just wants to be a retired lord who can lie down and relax!
Who knows?!
She was internally screaming that she was forced to work for the territory to build and expand it so that she could retire, lie down and do nothing, but she honestly tossed out twenty silver coins.
"Give me five ounces of dried sweet potatoes! That's the price, are you interested?"
Soon, Qin Yiyi received half a pound of dried sweet potatoes.
The little boy was following along and was lucky enough to get a sweet potato slice, but he hid it inside his clothes and didn't eat it.
"Honorable guest, Old Rod's sweet potato chips are all pure and additive-free, you can eat them with peace of mind!"
What kind of talk is this? Are there any other foods that require advanced technology and ruthless techniques?
"Look at those candies over there, they're actually made from waste materials. Oh, and that lemonade over there is just water, no lemon, because it's made from a special crystal found in an abandoned mine. Orange crystals give off the smell of oranges and lemons. If you put it in water overnight, it'll be either orange juice or lemonade. Whatever it looks like, that's what he sells the next day!"
!!
Help!
Turns out you can't just eat anything in the city!
"These cheap things are never good! Old Rod may sell you four silver coins for a tael of dried sweet potato, but it's definitely genuine!"
However, people have experienced both joy and sorrow for too long, and even if some people know it's fake, they will still buy a cup of tea for a copper coin.
"Don't worry, although it's fake, it won't kill you. We half-orcs and orcs aren't as fragile as pure-blooded humans. Our stomachs are quite resilient. A drink made from a piece of ordinary waste ore won't cause any major problems. At most, the pollution index will increase by 0.001%!"
The little boy continued talking to himself, completely oblivious to Qin Yiyi's expression.
"A fragile creature like a pure-blooded human would probably vomit and have diarrhea if it ate this water, and might even need emergency medical attention! Sigh~ Pure-blooded humans are really too weak!"
He sighed, completely unaware that he had offended the pure-blooded human guest beside him.
Qin Yiyi gained the strength of the Kraken through the power of the blood pact, but the internal structure of a pure-blooded human is still that of a pure-blooded human. She is that fragile pure-blooded girl who will be in emergency care if she eats random things.
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