Winter Arrival City sat on the edge of the industrial belt in the north of the Tianyuan Kingdom, on the East Emperor Continent. Though it was only a medium-sized industrial city, it enjoyed a uniquely advantageous location, with the Winterlin Mountains to the north and the Longbridge Canal to the south. It was both an important port on the canal and an unavoidable stop for anyone heading to the Winterlin Mountains. A vast quantity of goods passed through every day, and countless adventurers bound for the mountains gathered here. The city wasn't large, but it was bustling.
Early that morning, Old Zhang, owner of Zhang's Herbal Medicine Shop on the edge of the city, went on his usual two-kilometer run. Since he wasn't an Esper, he couldn't absorb spiritual energy properly, so daily exercise was the only way he could build up his strength.
"Hey, Old Zhang, heard the news? Two people from the Si Nan Family died on the outskirts of the Winterlin Mountains a few days ago!" Old Li, who was out running with him, said with an expression that practically begged for trouble.
"People from the Si Nan Family? Who would dare challenge the number-one family in the Tianyuan Kingdom?"
"Sounds like they were just unlucky. They ran into an adult Bone Armor Lion that had wandered out to the foothills."
"What a tragedy... But the Si Nan Family doesn't live in the imperial capital. What were they doing out here?"
"I heard the family's Patriarch sensed a powerful Spiritual Energy Shockwave in the Winterlin Mountains, so he sent a group of people to investigate."
"Even that was enough to get the Si Nan Family involved?"
"Seems like a lot's been happening overseas lately. The Si Nan Family has been on edge these days, but that's just hearsay. I don't know the details."
"Whatever happened, it has nothing to do with us."
But when Old Zhang got back to his shop and prepared to open for business, he discovered that something had happened after all—his work robe, the one he wore while mixing medicines, had been stolen.
Old Li returned to his shop, settled behind the counter, and leisurely puffed on a cigarette. In this world, shops served many purposes: selling goods, pawning and purchasing items, and selling things on commission. But most shops were small, privately run businesses. Large-scale shops were generally called exchanges.
When would his first customer show up today? Old Li was wondering when the shop door opened, and his first customer walked in.
The newcomer wore a wide cloak and a hood that concealed most of her face. The cherry-red lips and graceful chin peeking out from beneath the brim made it clear she was a young woman. And... Old Li glanced at the ample chest the cloak couldn't quite hide. This girl was a peerless beauty, no doubt about it...
The cloaked woman fumbled around for a moment, then pulled out an object and set it on the counter. "Boss, name your price."
Her voice rang like a nightingale's song, melodious and lilting. Old Li was briefly entranced, but quickly focused his attention on the item she'd brought in, lest he embarrass himself in front of a young woman.
"Huh?"
After examining it, Old Li couldn't help feeling surprised. It was the core of a Bone Armor Lion, and it was very high quality. The lion must have been an adult. If she had killed it herself, she had to be an expert.
But at the same time, Old Li found it strange. Bone Armor Lions ranked among the fiercest demon beasts in the entire Donglin Mountains, and their cores had many uses. Whenever one hit the market, it was always a seller's market. He'd bought these cores before, and every time, the seller acted as if they couldn't care less whether he bought it or not, named an outrageously high price, and left him begging them to come down.
This woman wasn't just not asking for a high price—she was letting him name one. How unusual. Based on his years of experience, she was almost certainly a young scion of some great family, strong but inexperienced, and clueless about the market price of a core.
In that case... why not fleece her?
Having made up his mind, Old Li put on an impatient expression and casually set the core on the counter. "This core may have come from a Bone Armor Lion, but its quality is too low, which really hurts the price. It's probably worth six thousand Tong Coins. So, what'll it be? Do you want to sell it now, or leave it with me on consignment?"
The woman fell silent for a moment. Her body trembled slightly, as if she were hesitating over something. Then, all of a sudden, she lowered her hood.
"Uncle... This core should be worth more than that, right? Give me a little more..."
Her soft, lilting voice could make a person's bones go limp. And with it came a face of breathtaking beauty. Her glossy black eyes narrowed, mischief dancing in their depths. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, as if she were upset at being treated unfairly, while her cute little mouth puckered into an irresistibly tempting pout.
An angel's face, a devil's figure, and an expression so cute it was almost unfair. Old Li's defenses crumbled in an instant!
"Tell me... How much do cores like this usually sell for?"
"G-generally, around fifteen thousand Tong Coins..."
The truth slipped out before he could stop it. Old Li suddenly came to his senses. Oh no, he'd fallen for her trick!
I walked out of the shop with a thick wad of cash in my hand. Being beautiful sure had its advantages... Even if I'd seen through the shopkeeper's trick, would he really have admitted it? Still, using my looks as a tool... I was a little uncomfortable with it. I'd been a man before, and doing this felt kind of undignified.
Misgivings aside, making some money put me in a great mood. I'd changed out of the robe I'd stolen to avoid unwanted attention and into the new clothes I'd just bought. Over them, I wore a dark red hooded windbreaker. Beneath it was a gray long-sleeved shirt, and I had on tight black pants and leather boots. Deep down, I was still a guy, after all, so I'd picked my clothes by men's standards. But pairing men's clothes with a face even more feminine than a woman's made for a strange mismatch. Was I wasting a perfectly good face...?
I checked the things I'd bought: a fairly large backpack, a change of clothes, water, and dry rations... That shop really did have everything. I was still wearing my hood to conceal half my face. Judging by the shopkeeper's reaction, my looks were stunning even in this world. Better keep a low profile. A low profile.
Everything was new to me, and I was curious about it all. I'd assumed that in a world with spiritual energy, the local customs would be like the ancient Chinese settings in cultivation novels. But seeing it for myself, I realized it was nothing like that. This world was highly industrialized. I was on the outskirts of the city, where large factories stood everywhere, indistinguishable in appearance from factories on Earth. The architecture blended Chinese and Western styles. Architects on Earth who championed a fusion of East and West would probably have died of excitement if they'd seen it.
Maybe because this was an industrial district, the streets weren't particularly pretty or clean, but they had a strong modern feel. The road surface looked a bit like asphalt, with traffic lines painted on it, though the markings were much simpler than on Earth. Streetlights lined the roadside, but instead of bulbs, they held stones that looked like luminous pearls. Vehicles passed from time to time. They looked like antique cars from the nineteen-thirties or forties on Earth, with elegant lines, but they were clearly much slower than Earth vehicles.
It was probably working hours, because there were few pedestrians on the streets, and only the occasional car passed by. Suddenly, I felt lost. My current goal was to learn everything I could about this world. Since asking people would be too inefficient, I figured I should find a library, but there was obviously no place like that in this district, with factories everywhere. So what should I do? Take a cab downtown? But did this world even have taxis?
Just as I hesitated, a car horn went, "Beep-beep—" I looked to the side and saw a car pull up beside me. A kind-looking, middle-aged woman leaned out of the window. "Miss, are you new around here?" When I nodded, she went on, "Well, I'm heading downtown to visit a relative. If you need a lift, I can drop you off along the way."
...Suspicious.
There was no such thing as a free lunch. I'd read plenty of webnovels where the protagonist got picked up by an unlicensed cab. The first person to inexplicably offer the protagonist a helping hand in a new place was usually no good.
Still, when I thought about that Bone Armor Lion I'd dismembered, I could handle demon beasts with ease. What did I have to fear from a few petty crooks? All right, I might as well take the ride...
"Thank you so much! This is my first time traveling far from home, and I had no idea what to do."
She took the bait! Granny Wang was secretly delighted. She hadn't expected her target to be so easy to hook. The moment she'd seen her carelessly walking out of the shop with money, she'd figured she'd be an easy mark. She hadn't expected her to be quite this defenseless!
But Granny Wang didn't notice that a young girl not far away had seen the whole thing—the moment she led her target into the car...
In the car, the middle-aged woman kept up an air of warmth, chattering away at me like a machine gun. She was just like the never-silent taxi drivers back on Earth. I answered her here and there while taking the opportunity to observe the car's interior.
There was nothing special about the passenger compartment. The driver's seat was the interesting part. Where the steering wheel ought to have been was a smooth, round stone slab glowing with a pale blue light, almost like a touchscreen. The woman controlled the car effortlessly just by placing her hands on it. There were no pedals, no gears, and no handbrake. There were two gauges, though—one for speed and the other, apparently, for the remaining fuel... even if fuel definitely wasn't what powered this car.
By Earth standards, there was a lot that needed improving about this car. I wondered if I could make money by consulting for the manufacturer.
"We're here!"
I'd been lost in my thoughts when the woman suddenly announced we'd arrived. Looking around, I saw high-rises everywhere, dense crowds of pedestrians, and traffic crisscrossing the streets. The roads were much cleaner, too. There was no doubt about it—we were downtown.
"Thank you, Auntie. You can drop me off here."
"Don't rush. I'll help you all the way and take you to a hotel..."
The little car took a series of turns and, in the blink of an eye, entered an inconspicuous alley before driving into a small building. The moment it went inside, the building's gate shut behind us. I got out of the car and saw six or seven burly men closing in, their faces hostile.