Security Check

Zijin frowned slightly, and her Magic Power rippled silently around her. She casually stomped her foot lightly.

"Snap!"

With a muffled thud, the wooden floor beneath her feet instantly cracked, a fine, spiderweb-like pattern spreading rapidly. The shelves and displays throughout the shop tilted precariously, bottles and jars clattering. The entire room shook violently, and fine dust fell from the ceiling.

The goblin shopkeeper's eyes widened instantly, his mouth gaping open wide enough to fit an egg, all his shouts stuck in his throat. He had indeed heard a commotion outside, saying that a terrifyingly large ship had arrived, carrying many, many mages. He had secretly chuckled at those country bumpkins who had never seen the world, making a fuss over nothing.

But what he was seeing—was this just an ordinary mage?! That seemingly effortless kick must have belonged to at least an arcane mage! Cold sweat instantly soaked his forehead.

"Thirty... thirty copper coins!" The anger on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a sincere, almost obsequious smile that seemed to ooze honey, and he bent over at a ninety-degree angle.

"Do you need us to compensate you for this floor?" Zijin tilted her head slightly, her eyes as kind as if she were caring for a child.

"No, no, no! Absolutely not, esteemed guest!" The goblin shopkeeper shook his head vigorously. "It's our shop's floor that's old and in disrepair, of poor quality. It just hurt your esteemed foot! It's truly our shop's fault! Our apologies!"

With Zijin's example of "making an example of someone to scare the monkeys," subsequent purchases in the trade zone went much more smoothly, and no more tactless goblin merchants dared to ask for exorbitant prices or make a ruckus.

"Most goblin merchants in Green Thorn Port are like that," Zijin explained to Su Ming as they walked along the stone path. "Overcharging is their main business; cunning and deceit are their way of life and their source of pride. If they start doing business with you honestly and respectfully..." She paused, "Then they must have been forced into a corner, like just now."

"I understand." Su Ming nodded in deep agreement.

"However," Zijin seemed to suddenly remember something, glancing casually at the small cloth bag containing the cat-ear hat that Su Ming was carrying, her expression somewhat blurred in the afternoon light and shadow, and her voice lowered, "That women's hat... what did you buy it for?"

Su Ming answered frankly, "Because I like looking at it."

"But you can't wear it—" Zijin stopped mid-sentence, her voice unconsciously rising, "Are you planning to give it away?"

"I didn't plan to give it away." Su Ming asked, somewhat puzzled. "Can't I keep it as a collectible?"

"... Anyway, I'm not going to wear it." Zijin turned her head. "Don't even think about it!"

Su Ming shrugged. "Is there absolutely no room for negotiation?"

"... certainly!"

****

The Pansy, a colossal warship, rests quietly between the sea and the sky.

Yumier followed the second group of trainees who were granted permission to disembark and make purchases, setting foot on the land of Green Thorn Port. Unlike the others, she didn't head straight to the market, but instead asked the locals for directions and found the port post office. At the slightly worn counter, she carefully filled out a mail order application form and sent it to the address of the branch of the Sang River Illustration Publishing House in the Eastern Continent.

In this world, ordering books by mail remains a rather cumbersome and time-consuming process. The back-and-forth shipping of payments and the long wait for delivery can easily take months.

But Yumier didn't care at all; for those picture books, the wait was absolutely worth it!

However, some people asked her to buy things for them, Yumier did not refuse.

"A group purchase of fifty books gets a 10% discount!" She was slightly pleased. "That saved me some money."

Meanwhile, the first batch of students who went to Green Thorn Port to make purchases have begun to return one after another. Some of them used flight spells to fly directly from the dock back to the deck of the Pansy. However, many others had too much and too heavy a purchase to bother with flying, so they chose to take the slow ferry boat back.

However, when the small boat was still some distance from the giant ship, the trainees did not wait patiently for it to come to rest. Instead, they used their magic to leap up and land on the wide deck when they were close enough. Soon, a not-so-short line formed on the deck, with the trainees waiting in an orderly fashion to register for leave.

In the group, a particularly short member carried a huge backpack that was disproportionately large for his size. As the group moved slowly forward, they finally arrived at the checkpoint.

"Please place your backpack on the conveyor belt over there," the security staff member reminded them in a businesslike manner.

The short trainee immediately did as instructed, laboriously placing the bulging, heavy backpack onto a wide conveyor belt that was moving steadily and continuously, before stepping through the dimly lit security gate.

The moment he passed through the security gate, a piercing "beep beep" alarm sounded!

"Are you carrying any prohibited items?" the security officer asked sternly, while taking out an empty basket and gesturing for him to take out all his belongings for inspection.

However, on the other side, the staff member in charge of baggage inspection sitting behind the monitor screen suddenly changed his expression and pressed a conspicuous red alarm switch!

The security guard, who had been merely going through the motions with a relatively calm expression, suddenly took several steps back the moment the alarm sounded, simultaneously drawing his staff from his waist with a "whoosh." All the security personnel on standby around him reacted just as swiftly, their weapons flashing coldly in an instant.

A circle of people quickly formed around the short man, leaving an empty space between them. Everyone was on high alert, watching him intently, and an invisible pressure instantly spread.

"State your real identity!" the security captain shouted sternly, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.

"Interesting!"

Having his disguise exposed, the newcomer decided to drop the pretense. He chuckled and abruptly ripped off the elaborate disguise spell, revealing a goblin with dark green skin, a hunched back, pointed ears, and cunning eyes.

"Saxon the Trickster!" Ruixiuli's figure appeared at the front of the group like a ghost, a long, narrow bone blade formed from stark White Bone instantly materializing in his hand, its tip pointing directly at the opponent. "What, did those guys from the Temple of Light hire you to cause trouble again?"

Saxon's initial eagerness to make a move was abruptly halted after assessing the strength displayed by Ruixiuli.