104 Desert: I want to call the police
110.
"So," Aria's eyes sparkled, "is there anything I can do to help?"
Her tone was warm and sincere, as if she was ready to charge into battle at any time. But in Tim Drake's opinion, the best "help" she could do at this moment was to stay here and not let the situation get any worse than it already was.
According to Reguxiao, no one could leave the temporary base he had built until the trial was over. He would provide them with daily necessities, and his ninja would announce the content of the test at the appropriate time.
"No," Tim Drake politely but decisively refused. "Just focus on completing the task assigned by Mr. Qi."
If this were a children's adventure movie released at Christmas, he would probably be the kind of character that is not so "true, good and beautiful". Later in the plot, he would be briefly alienated by the protagonists because of being too rational or arrogant, and then his values would be sublimated - and finally the problem would be solved perfectly and the movie would end.
But reality is not a movie. Red Robin does not need to be accepted by the protagonists. Red Robin only needs to ensure everyone's safety.
Red Robin coughed twice. He found that the little movements he had subconsciously made due to embarrassment had become more and more frequent. "Did Mr. Qi talk to you about anything else in private?"
Based on Drake's understanding of Reguxiao, the Demon Chief would never remain indifferent while he continued to try to divide the relationship between the farmer and Reguxiao - Reguxiao has always been happy to mislead people, so he was not surprised by this.
As soon as he said that, Tim Drake realized his tone was too critical, perhaps betraying a hint of distrust. This would be detrimental to future collaboration, so he quickly explained, "Of course, it's not that I don't trust you. It's just that the situation is a bit complicated right now, and we need to get as much information as possible."
"I know!" Aria laughed. Her pointed fangs occasionally revealed themselves when she smiled, easily reminiscent of a carnivore. Yet, her appearance was quite harmless, the word sincerity etched across her face. "You're Batman's assistant. I trust you just as much as I trust him."
Now it was Tim Drake's turn to be stunned.
This sentence… Of course, it sounded perfectly normal, and could even be considered an affirmation of him. But for some reason, Red Robin felt a strange feeling deep down, like a tiny noise disrupting his previously orderly train of thought.
"You're Batman's sidekick."
Sure, he's Batman's sidekick, there's no denying that, but he never wanted to be just "Batman's sidekick."
He respects Bruce and even regards him as a spiritual and life mentor, but this does not mean that Red Robin will accept and rely on this halo with peace of mind.
Perhaps at the beginning he took the initiative to approach him and take on the responsibility of assistant just for the sake of "Batman's stability", but as he learned and grew, Tim Drake saw more possibilities - he could do much more than he initially expected.
So Tim decided to build on this foundation by taking one step further.
He knew better than anyone that trust gained through others could not last long, especially trust based on Batman's identity - it came quickly and disappeared quickly. As long as Batman was no longer the bridge between them, this trust might collapse in an instant.
So, if this incident is successfully resolved, after confirming the credibility of the farmer's identity - why is he already presupposing a friendly attitude towards Aria? Is it because he is sure that her IQ is not enough to set up such a situation? In short, this is not a good sign. Perhaps the initial calculation was wrong, and even if she doesn't accept the gift, it will be affected by her "favorability" - the detective will have to start thinking about how to make her trust "Tim Drake" purely, rather than the Red Robin standing behind Batman.
…
As Red Robin attempted to incorporate gaining the other party's future trust into her plans, Aria's mind wandered off to who knows where. She pondered Mr. Qi's previous words and actions, but didn't seem to find any explicit or implicit meaning—or perhaps there was? But given Mr. Qi's Riddler style, it would be a problem if she understood it immediately.
The farmer shook his head and said, "If he told me something in private, wouldn't that be breaking the rules of the game? Mr. Qi wouldn't do such a thing. He always values fairness."
The round-eyed dog with slightly droopy eyes stole a furtive glance at Red Robin. Perhaps only Aria thought her movements weren't obvious. "Red Robin...you're not going to do anything to ruin the game, are you?"
After all, Batman always gives people this feeling - I always feel that after he figured out the game, he would start to find loopholes in the rules. If there were another mini-game like finding Easter eggs, Aria would definitely not compete with him.
Tim Drake: Where's the trust?
Never mind, that's not important.
Red Robin gave a formulaic smile, as if someone had programmed that into his personality long ago—then he opened the door and slid Aria out.
Ignoring someone's attempt to regain his attention by scratching at the door, Tim Drake put away the momentary relief he felt at the farmer's joke, put on gloves, and opened the regional incense burner in the room.
Perfume evaporates too quickly in the climate here and is far less suitable than incense. In addition, the area is a famous spice producing area, and spices of all grades can be found here. Many local families still retain the traditional habit of burning incense.
Lei Guxiao has lived for so long, and the years have left too many traces on him. It is not an easy task to change them one by one.
Tim Drake had already searched the room thoroughly before Aria came up. There were no bugs, but there might not be other things—
"It just so happens that the Assassin's League purchased a new batch of sleeping spices. If that doesn't work, let's try that one."
Given the Devil's Daughter's personality, she probably wouldn't specifically care about whether someone slept well or not - after all, the Assassin's League has always believed in the survival of the fittest, and ninjas with poor sleep quality who can't get enough energy within three or four hours will be eliminated in the first round of selection. This may have a deeper meaning.
Tim Drake put on a filter respirator, opened the intricately carved Arabian incense burner, crushed the coin-sized incense bricks inside with his gloves, and dipped it in incense powder - the mellow oud scent and the sweet aroma of honey lingered together, with a little spiciness of oriental spices. There was nothing special about it except that the price must be high.
We can roughly determine the location of this place based on its origin... and then we can take it down.
...Wait, Red Robin took out the neatly stacked incense bricks from the incense burner and scraped the powder into the palm of his hand - the texture of this part was slightly different from the incense crumbs, it looked more delicate and soft, but further testing was needed to determine the composition.
Drake: “…”
…
After scratching the door for a while, Aria felt a little bored and left Red Robin's residence to go somewhere else.
Mr. Qi's base was quite large, but considering this was the first time the farmer had visited his home—which was actually a home, right? If Aria hadn't seen it with her own eyes, she would have always thought Mr. Qi was just a homeless gaming enthusiast who slept in the Walnut House and the Casino.
But thinking about it carefully, it seems that Mr. Qi never said that he needed to sleep... It is known that Mr. Qi and Grandpa are not old friends, but at least they are acquaintances. Grandpa is very old and has passed away. Mr. Qi does not look young either, and his face is still blue...
There is also a high possibility that the other party is not human.
…
But this has nothing to do with her. It's normal for Star Valley to have a few talented people! Do you think she's normal? It would be more fun if there were more Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon NPCs.
Since there is nothing else to do, why not improve the NPC's favorability before the mission starts?
The civilization here is far more complex than that of Krypton, where Kara originally lived. Ever since Mr. Qi showed up, Kara clearly felt that his thoughts and ideas were nourished by another culture.
Dealing with natives of different cultures required extreme caution. Just as the people of Selmu believed standing on only two tentacles was disrespectful to the earth, Mr. Qi might also have cultural taboos of one kind or another. The consequences of triggering taboos were often unpredictable. Although Aria was certainly more familiar with this world than she was, seeing her reckless attitude towards life, the Kryptonian girl felt the need to give her an extra warning.
She waited for the farmer to return from discussing the issue with Red Robin - after a period of deliberate training, Kara was now able to control her hearing to a level that would not give her a headache.
Aria's footsteps were quite recognizable. The farmer never seemed to worry about strength. No matter how heavy the things she was carrying, the frequency of her footsteps never changed. It was always that brisk, burden-free rhythm, like a heartless - no, full of energy.
Kara had read about similar creatures in the catalog of extinct animals on Krypton. They had huge horns and were as lush as branches. They roamed freely in the wild areas of Krypton, foraging for food as they pleased, and they always looked extremely happy. So, as she walked closer, a little smile also appeared on the corners of her mouth.
"Kara!"
Before she even got close, Aria called out her name excitedly, her voice rising high, as if she had found some treasure and couldn't wait to share it with her.
Kara smiled as she opened the door—and then her smile froze.
What appeared before her was a towering mountain of objects, piled high on top of each other: bottles and jars, scrolls and books, fragrant sachets, bizarre weapons, and even a dagger inlaid with gems...
Behind this pile of "trophies", Aria was almost completely blocked. One could only imagine her eyes shining with excitement from her tone, and see her hands reaching out from the gaps between the objects, desperately holding up the top pile of books.
"Look what I brought back!" the farmer announced happily.
Kara: “…”
She had originally intended to remind Aria of the taboos, but she ended up taking her entire culture with her?
"No one wants these!" Before, the farmer was still worried about what gifts to give to win the favor of the NPCs here, but now she is not worried anymore!
"We can sort these things out and give them to them!"
————————
Kara: ...Are you sure it's unwanted rather than unguarded?
There are still a few more chapters today (bow
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