Chapter 183 Zootopia
"2,000 soul coins are too expensive, how about 1,800? A lot of players have come to Zootopia recently, and there's a lot of cheap labor, so you have to lower the market price."
"Hey - don't disrupt the market here. If it's 2,000, then it's 2,000. It's not easy to capture a prisoner."
People around started bidding one after another, and Qiao Song's guess was soon confirmed.
"Okay, okay, deal. But which field did you capture this guy from? When the time limit is up, will you just throw him to the border?"
"Of course, according to the old rules, we will release them back to the border when the time is up, and let them pay the ransom in the dog territory before taking them back."
Qiao Song stood in the back in a low profile, not thinking of shouting out a bid to join in the fun. After all, according to her observation, when these people were trading, those who took the initiative to quote prices were all completely cow-like NPCs.
They had no masks on their faces and looked more like cows that had transformed into human form, with strong physiques.
"Here, this is a chain. It's only valid for 24 hours. If you don't return the person to me by then, he will become a living cow in your hands. You will have to get him an ID card by then."
The NPC who bought the player's right to use the game said with a strange smile: "It's okay not to have an ID card. Once you turn into a cow, you can just kill it and eat its meat."
There was a burst of laughter all around: "Beef transformed from players is not tasty, you might as well just go to other people's territories and eat the players. At least you can eat a rabbit or a chicken, which is better than facing a cow's head..."
This guy was only halfway through his words when someone next to him suddenly bumped into his shoulder, pointed quietly in the direction of Qiao Song, and whispered a reminder:
"We have always had trade relations with the Rooster Territory, so be careful with your words."
Qiao Song was indeed very conspicuous in the market wearing a chicken-face mask, but she didn't really care about the looks from people around her. As long as they didn't attack her actively, it didn't matter.
Of course, the pendant given to her by the system is only effective before midnight, and she must return to her area with the goods before then, otherwise she doesn’t know what is waiting for her.
The athlete player who was suspected to be in the Dog field was put on a chain and handed over to a Minotaur.
"Remember the time. Here, I'll give you the rope. Payment and goods are settled."
After counting out the 2,000 soul coins in cash and reaching a deal, the chain that locked the player was handed over to the buyer.
Only then did Qiao Song notice that it was not an iron chain, but a straw rope of a slightly lighter color.
"You are an old customer, you know all the precautions. First, you cannot loosen the rope, otherwise the player will turn into a cow faster and faster. If you can only be slaughtered as a beef cattle, you will face a large fine. Second, when the usage time is up, you must release the person to the border for ransom, otherwise you will be fined. Third, the captives are only used for hard labor, not for real killing."
The man who bought the player waved his hand impatiently: "I know, I know, it's just the same few words over and over again. The residents on the Xugou side are so hypocritical all day long and look down on people. Logically, we should have attacked them earlier!"
"Well, there is no other way. We are close to Yinhu, and that tiger is very fierce. If we hadn't helped each other, we would have been swallowed up by that guy a long time ago."
"Has the map of the city center been refreshed? How large an area does the tiger occupy? Can it really defeat the old dragon this time?"
"Hiss, I can't tell. The monkeys and pigs are chasing us pretty closely."
"Chen Long is no pushover. He has been in office for many years. Who knows, he might have something big to hide this time. I heard that not only the players, but also some dungeon administrators from the periphery are involved this time."
"Isn't this just asking for help? It's a crooked way! In my mind, the ox should be the first of the twelve zodiac signs!"
"That's right, all animals except cows should be treated as livestock!"
"Use slaves as food and as our labor force!"
These guys were just like the middle-aged men in the real world who were obsessed with politics. As they chatted, they started shouting and heading towards a certain area in the vegetable market. It was said that there was a large screen there that would display a map of the changes in the land area of Zootopia in real time.
In fact, you can probably see it clearly from this position now. The area occupied by Chenlong is golden, and its shape is a bit like a dragon, like a thick rope, dividing the entire Zootopia into two areas, north and south.
"I don't know which of the monkeys and pigs in the south will come out on top, but for us, we probably have to solve the tiger problem first."
"Don't tigers have trade with us?"
"Business is business, ranking is ranking. We have a pretty good relationship with the Xu Dogs. If we catch their illegal intruders, we have to bring them over to do free labor."
After saying that, the guy deliberately pulled the rope on his hand, causing the player who was tied around the neck and wrists to stagger.
Qiao Song could clearly see that the player who turned into a cow had a dull expression and slow reactions since being tied up with ropes. Before, when he was stripped of his shirt in public to show his chest muscles and physique, he wanted to cover his face, but now he had become a little silly.
Before, the iron chain only bound the players, but the straw rope after the transaction was completed was so powerful?
The player who turned into a cow seemed to have no power to resist at all. He was led forward by a rope, with a car towed behind him.
The human with horns on his head was pulling the cart at the back, while the cow, who was standing and walking, was the buyer, chatting with his friends nearby.
There is a very strange sense of perversion.
Qiao Song followed silently, looking at the surrounding stalls from time to time.
Like an ordinary vegetable market, it also sells some common vegetables. If it weren't for the fact that most of the stall owners were in animal form, it would be almost the same as the real world, until Qiao Song passed by a butcher shop.
The tender pink pieces of meat are cut into small balls and arranged neatly. The ribs are also cut and placed in order. The large pieces of meat that have not been cut yet are hung on iron hooks for customers to choose and cut at any time.
It was already afternoon, but the amount of meat in the butcher's shop was more than that in the vegetable store, and it was so fresh that it looked like it had just been slaughtered.
Qiao Song observed for a while, assuming the worst, and his brows gradually relaxed.
You can tell from the bones that they are not human bones, nor do they look like human flesh.
But it wasn't like pork either, the meat was too powdery.
There are no additional red lights in the butcher shop in the vegetable market, only the uniform light source overhead, which makes the meat look like some kind of artificial meat.
Qiao Song had just had the idea of buying some meat to test it, and had only taken two steps toward that direction when he suddenly slowed down and dodged to the side.
There was a sound of breaking wind, and something like a ball bounced past where she was standing and quickly hit the ground.
The thing was moving very fast, and with Qiao Song's eyesight, he could only see a few strands of golden hair.
"Catch him! This guy stole my cow!"
Qiao Song felt that the shouting sounded familiar. Sure enough, he soon saw a minotaur with red eyes, holding his hands high in the back and roaring: "Catch the thief! A monkey is coming in!"
This was the man who had just spent 2,000 soul coins to rent a sports student to pull his cart.
A golden monkey holding a bubble gun soon appeared at the place where Qiao Song had just dodged.
"You bunch of bastards, don't move. It's not like I didn't give you money. You spent 2,000 to buy my brother for 24 hours, and I left you 3,000!"
"This is different, this is humiliating the residents of our Ugly Cow Realm!"
The senior brother that Monkey mentioned is the athlete player who was bought?
Qiao Song looked around. It didn't look like the player who turned into a cow could escape easily based on his previous condition. Sure enough, when everyone's attention was distracted by the monkey and the minotaur, Qiao Song saw a gym student with a khaki sack on his head in a corner where vegetables were being sold.
The strange thing is that the NPCs around were either watching the fun or something, and they didn’t even notice this stupid cow. He even had the hemp rope around his neck.
Feeling that something was about to happen, Qiao Song moved his hand, and a small paper man the size of a palm jumped out from his sleeve.
Qiao Song soon found out why the NPCs didn't notice the cow that was about to escape.
The monkey that almost hit Qiao Song was so angry that he jumped up and down. He pressed the switch of the bubble gun in his hand. In an instant, a large number of bubbles flew in the air. Under the white light, a faint rainbow light could be seen.
[Bubble Gun of Children's Playground Set]
[It would be fine if no one had bubbles, but once one person had them, as soon as one bubble was found, everyone's eyes would trace back to the source of the bubble, and they would stare at it uncontrollably for a minute.]
[Note: Please blow as many bubbles as possible. If there are no bubbles in the air, this ability will not take effect.]
Qiao Song only felt his body stiffen for a moment. Even though he had tried his best to avoid it, his body still stiffened the moment he saw the round bubble appear in the air.
After blowing out a large number of bubbles in one breath, the monkey decisively ran towards Qiao Song, as if it had been eyeing her for a long time.
"Excuse me, beautiful lady, can you lend me the security document around your neck?"
Qiao Song, who was wearing a chicken-faced mask, had realized that the golden monkey should also be a player, but the other party was not wearing a mask. Instead, his body had completely turned into a monkey, with only a mask-like watch on his wrist.
"With this, we can escape safely..." The monkey licked his lips and reached one hand to Qiao Song's neck.
Bang—bang—bang—
There was a sudden loud bang, and the bubbles blown by the golden monkey in the air suddenly seemed to be lit, rubbing and colliding with each other and exploding directly.
The out-of-control chain reaction caught the monkey off guard and caused him to roll twice on the ground.
When he looked up, Qiao Song had already taken out a bundle of ropes and quickly tied it up.
"You are so brave, you came to rob me."
The little monkey was still shocked that his soap bubbles suddenly exploded. At this time, Qiao Song had already pressed his head into a bamboo basket.
[Chicken cage·Upgraded version·Anyone can put it there as long as it is not a human]
really.
When doing business with Mr. Chai, I had stockpiled several chicken coops in advance, and they actually came in handy.
Qiao Song could also put the person directly into her own shrine or toolbox, but she had no intention of letting this monkey be a companion to Jin Jiaqi for the time being.
"Wow, what are you doing? What did you lock me up in?"
Qiao Song took out a hammer with his left hand and said, "Shut up. If you don't want to become a calf pulling a cart with your brother, then stay quietly in the cage."
The bubbles flying in the sky have changed from their previous transparent state to pure black.
This was not Qiao Song's ability, nor was it caused by her. The golden monkey saw Qiao Song staring at the bubbles in the air with a serious expression and realized that something was wrong.
"It's over. I don't have the amulet that makes me immune to attacks. It seems like I violated the market rules."
Qiao Song was the opposite of him. Because he had a short period of pardon safety, he could not see the so-called rules and would not be attacked. He could only feel that the bubbles suddenly changed color for some reason.
The little paper man who went looking for the big stupid cow has successfully caught his target and is pulling the straw rope around his neck.
The color of the bubbles in the air is getting darker and darker. There are only about 10 seconds left before the stillness effect disappears.
The golden monkey keenly realized that his only chance of survival at this moment was in Qiao Song.
"Big Boss, please help me! I am willing to pay 10,000 soul coins, oh no, 20,000 soul coins, to buy the lives of me and my senior brother, is that okay?"
"As long as you take us out of the market and take us to the boundary between any two animal territories, we can get out of here on our own!"
Qiao Song didn't think about agreeing. Although she had a neutral amulet on her, the amulet would become ineffective if she intended to actively attack the local NPCs.
"Shut up and eat this mushroom."
Qiao Song stuffed an imitator mushroom into the gap of the chicken coop.
She was now only three steps away from the butcher's shop. She quickly went over, picked out a piece of meat, threw it into the chicken cage, and paid for it, all in one go.
The control effect caused by the bubbles completely disappeared, but after the transparent bubbles disappeared, the black bubbles were still suspended in the air.
After the color of those black balls reached its extreme, a little red suddenly appeared. Pupils like ripples appeared little by little. The bloodshot on the balls condensed and rotated, and finally turned into eyeballs covered with bloodshot.
Qiao Song didn't turn around to look at these eyeballs. She subconsciously felt that they looked like cow's eyes.
The monkey in the cage was not stupid either. After realizing that Qiao Song handed over the mushrooms and meat, he immediately ate the mushrooms and then hugged the meat tightly while trembling.
Soon, the golden monkey turned into a big lump of meat similar to a pork knuckle.
The NPC who lost the cow started moving again.
Qiao Song didn't look at those eyes and continued to stand in front of the butcher shop as if nothing had happened: "Boss, the money is here."
The butcher shop owner, who had just escaped from the control state, reacted a little late and put away the 200 soul coins.
The NPC who lost track of the player had his eyes completely turned red and his body had doubled in size.
The angry bull scanned every suspicious guy in the market with bloodshot eyes, but found that he could not find the sneaky monkey again.
Qiao Song passed by him carrying a chicken coop, and went to the vegetable stall next to him very naturally, as if he wanted to buy something else to go with the meat he just bought.
The NPC's eyes swept across the Rooster mask on Qiao Song's face, then to the safety amulet on her neck, and finally to the chicken coop in her hand.
The minotaur snorted, cursed, and started rushing in other directions, digging deep into the ground to find the damn monkey.
The golden monkey was shivering in the chicken coop. His appearance was almost the same as a pig's trotter stick, but he finally felt relieved when he found out that the NPC really didn't care about him.
"Boss... can my senior brother also..."
The golden monkey spoke without confidence this time, and his voice was as thin as a mosquito.
Qiao Song glanced at the cage, his cold gaze piercing through the Youji mask and into the gap in the cage from top to bottom.
"Be quiet. In my eyes, you are no different from a piece of meat."
The golden monkey immediately fell silent. There were big guys everywhere in Zootopia, and he couldn't be sure whether the other party was a friend or an enemy. He just hoped that Qiao Song could at least get him out of the vegetable market. There was a rope around his neck, so he shouldn't be discovered for the time being...
However, while he was still thinking this, he found that Qiao Song had already walked to a vegetable stall. While squatting down to pick vegetables, he quickly grabbed a thread from behind a box of potatoes.
She directly pulled up a thick hemp rope, along with the stupid cow tied behind the rope.
Golden monkey player in the cage:?
No, brother, why are you here? Weren't you almost at the store at the entrance of the vegetable market? !
He had just taken great pains to divert the NPC's attention in order to create an opportunity for his senior brother. Why did this stupid cow come back again?
"Before the rope is untied, he can only be manipulated by others. If you let him run out of the vegetable market, you will only leave the opportunity for the next NPC."
Qiao Song finished speaking in a low voice, picked up a few carrots and tomatoes, and paid for them together.
The vegetables cost a total of 58 soul coins, which was a bit expensive, but Qiao Song was a little curious about what the food on this farm tasted like. After all, the dishes for the Rooster Domain Tavern were all sourced from here.
Judging from the previous conversation between the NPCs, there will be exchanges of agricultural and sideline products and other materials between different fields, so these things are very likely edible by humans.
The golden monkey in the cage was a little anxious.
"But he is stolen property now. If you bring him out openly like this, he won't be recognized—"
The Golden Monkey player's words came to an abrupt end, because the cow that was pulled out from behind the hemp rope had completely changed.
The muscles on its body have become much thinner, and the color of the horns on its head and the hair on its body has changed. The luster is not very good, and it looks like a sick old cow.
But the face didn't change.
The golden monkey understood something instantly: "Is this possible?"
At this time, heavy footsteps were heard from behind. The NPC with red eyes, who looked like a fighting bull, walked around again from the back. With sharp eyes, he followed Qiao Song's hand and saw the bull transformed from a gym student behind him.
In the few seconds when the golden monkey's heartbeat suddenly accelerated, the other party just glanced at it with some disgust and immediately walked away.
Qiao Song walked back silently with the vegetables in his hand: "Have you ever seen a cat in a pet store? If a completely unfamiliar cat has changed its fur color, it would be hard to recognize it just by looking at its face."
The same goes for looking at cows.
Qiao Song simply used a small paper figure to briefly change the appearance of the cow.
And from what I heard from the NPC before, he wanted to find some stronger players to work like slaves to pull goods for him. Of course, the other party looked down on this guy who looked thinner deliberately drawn by Qiao Song.
[White box·Current switching mode: makeup box]
[Makeup is a great visual magic trick. Fine-tuning eyebrows and eyes, changing the color and shape of hair, and adding a little bit of the right shadow can not only shape abdominal muscles, but also make people's cheeks look thinner~]
Although Qiao Song's makeup skills have not reached professional level, it is still easy to achieve the effect by making the person look a little sloppy, changing the color of the hair, adding more shadows, and making the guy look thinner.
call.
The golden monkey in the chicken coop let out a breath and completely shut up. He understood that he had really run into a big guy this time.
Qiao Song did not leave immediately with the cow, but walked around the market again. The price of the ghost cloaks here was not too cheap, about the same as the prop cards he had bought before, and they could not be directly transformed into cards. Qiao Song only bought a few as backup.
There are also some other small commodities that are more common but not as affordable.
The buyer of the golden monkey was a little nervous. This big guy didn't look like he was short of money. Would the other party really be willing to accept the 20,000 soul coins he mentioned as a reward?
Qiao Song led the cow and carried the chicken coop back to the store where he had signed the order.
The man in the high-necked windbreaker kept his hat firmly on his head and his collar erected even when he was working in the store. He quickly sorted out all the goods one by one.
Seeing a guest coming, his eyes from under the brim of his hat looked towards the door, and then subtly moved around the sports bull behind Qiao Song.
"It seems that there is no need for me to recommend a helper to pull the cart for you."
Qiao Song didn't expect that there were so many more goods than she had imagined, at least twenty boxes.
But at the same time, she also realized a problem: "In addition to bringing things to the pub, can I place an order here in my personal name?"
The tavern's task list for the player did not give her any subsidies to rent a car. You know, the previous NPCs had to spend 2,000 soul coins to rent a car. Moreover, players wearing masks might not be able to rent one.
Not every player has the space props to hold a full truck of cargo.
For most people, it is a great achievement to have a secret space to hide weapons.
Qiao Song had no intention of showing off the powerful storage capacity of his toolbox.
The man in the windbreaker looked at her and smiled. "Of course I am happy to have someone do business with me, but I would like to remind you that you have to find a market for the products after you buy them. Don't be greedy. The residents of the Ugly Ox territory do not welcome people who waste food."
Qiao Song understood the implication in his words, but in the end he bought enough food to feed ten people for a week.
After waiting for a few more minutes and packing up all the remaining supplies, Qiao Song rented an ox cart from the boss's grocery store.
After all, when the golden monkey wanted to run away with his senior brother, he left the NPC's car behind. Otherwise, if he stole the cattle and took the car with him, there would be no point in running away.
The man in the windbreaker helped pack all the goods into the car. Qiao Song followed him to the previous rolling shutter door. After the other party opened the door, he did not come out, but pressed the button to close the door.
The rolling shutter slowly dropped down, and the man in the windbreaker did not sneak out to smoke this time.
"Say hello to the bartender for me. If you come again next time, you can bring me a few bottles of wine. I will give you corresponding compensation."
The rolling shutter door gradually closed, and the noisy market atmosphere was isolated behind the door. She was the only one left on the quiet street again.
Qiao Song was carrying a chicken coop and leading a cow, with a cart following behind. When he went back, he had a lot more things than when he came.
The color of the talisman paper around his neck had faded a lot, as if it was about to melt into the air.
Even though Qiao Song was standing on a street with few street lights this time, he did not have the weird feeling as before that all kinds of strange things were hiding in the darkness and staring at him.
After all, she has now barely obtained a safety pass to the Ugly Ox territory.
Of course, if she couldn’t get back before midnight, it would probably be even worse than before, after all, she was still carrying the goods.
On the dim and quiet street, there was a very unmodern ox cart being driven, and the one pulling it was a bull-headed athlete with a dazed expression. It looked weird no matter how you looked at it.
Fortunately, there was no one on the street, otherwise the feeling of social death would be even stronger than the dangerous atmosphere.
We returned along the same route. This time, everything was normal, including the traffic lights and the road. It took us 20 minutes to reach the border line that we had crossed before.
The golden monkey in the chicken coop was extremely excited: "Boss! This time it's really thanks to you! I won't lose a single cent of the 20,000 soul coins you promised me! Drop me and my senior brother off at the border line to the west..."
Qiao Song held the ox cart's hand without stopping for a second.
Her tone was calm, and she stared at the man in the chicken coop through the mask: "Did I ever tell you that I would let you go when we reach the border?"
The golden monkey player felt the blood in his body run cold.
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