Life is tough, so Honglong resorts to performing?

Chapter 38 Time Flows, Preparation for Settlement

For the next few days, aside from going out to buy herbs to aid in spellcasting and depositing the pile of paper money and copper coins into the bank run by the goblins, Loren chose to stay in the demiplane.

His schedule began to cycle through the following:

I woke up early to consume magic crystals and put on magic-suppressing handcuffs to convert magic power;
Then hone your physical skills and calm your mind;
Then I took online classes to supplement my magical knowledge, looked at the latest cutting-edge theories on the Mage Kingdom forum, and purchased the optimized new magical configurations;
Then put on the fully charged anti-magic handcuffs and continue converting magic power.

Feeling sleepy? Meditate, go to sleep, or watch Legacy of the Dragon.

Day and night flew by in this way, with time for studying and exercising flying by.

Aside from occasionally checking the news on the Magic Crystal Terminal to prevent himself from becoming out of touch with the world, he did almost nothing else.

Fortunately, nothing major seems to have happened in Cuiye City during this short period of time.

There was no further news of upper-city half-elves, or elven councilors committing suicide, nor any major news of their arrests or disappearances.

The only two relatively significant news items were: one was world news.

The Steel City Dwarfs are said to have dragged back an asteroid from space containing over 90% iron and about 2% other rare metals.

The Dwarf King, as a former representative of the royal family, delivered an important speech, saying that the future of the dwarves lies in the stars and encouraging the high-ranking dwarves to break with tradition and actively expand outwards.

The other item was internal news from Greenleaf City.

It's said to be one, but it's actually two, and they're even somewhat related to Loren:

The half-elf chief of the Midtown Patrol Office in Verdant City has resigned, taking responsibility for the incident. Gru, the human chief of the Lower Town Patrol Office, was attacked and is currently recovering.

Although the Cuiye City government has denied any conflict between the two directors, please do not make any connections.

However, most tabloids, seeking sensationalism, still put the two news stories together to create a sense of conspiracy.

However, as someone who experienced the events firsthand, or rather, one of the first to experience them, Loren genuinely did not believe that these two events were simply coincidences.

But this matter should no longer concern him.

If there's anything left undone in this incident, it's that he hasn't dealt with the half-elf inspector named Sally, who was quite hostile towards him.

As a typical evil creature, the Red Dragon's vengeful nature is an innate virtue.

Even if you calculate it, the conflict between him and the other party isn't that big.

All things considered, she was actually helpful to Loren.

After all, that's forty magic crystals, equivalent to four hundred thousand copper coins, and even more on the black market.

But Loren also knew that if he hadn't saved that wood elf nobleman and triggered a chain reaction, he would have been the one in trouble.

Moreover, for an evil creature like the Red Dragon, things like kicking someone when they're down, taking advantage of someone's misfortune, and fanning the flames are things he'd do without hesitation.

Forget about the psychological burden, this is actually good for his mental health.

Does he still remember what Gru, the director of the human resources department, once said:
Within three days, that guy will be kicked out of the patrol officer system.

Three days have passed now.

Given Gru's methods, the other party should have lost their patrol officer status.

After all, Loren hadn't received any harassment from that woman in the past few days, which showed that she was clearly too busy to handle it.

Without the patrol officer's cover, they lost the right to use the military-grade magic crystal armor and the protection of official status.

"However, not now, at least for the time being, I won't go looking for trouble."

Loren, who had stopped exercising, smiled. Today was finally Monday, and as promised by the old druid, he could go to the Emerald Leaf Zoo later to check on the progress of the Lava Heart enclosure renovation.

Although he didn't know when the complete cleansing that the wood elf Denise had mentioned would arrive, he was certain that the ghost storm would definitely come.

It hasn't arrived yet, which means it's still in the gestation stage.

The longer the gestation period, the greater the risk.

The less likely Loren would get caught up in it at this time.

This little red dragon, who seeks to protect himself, accumulate resources, and delay declaring himself king, will only venture into danger within his own comfort zone unless the benefits are great enough.

Like the raid on the Speed ​​Hands Brotherhood last time, if he had known beforehand that such a small fry gang was actually connected to the Upper City of Greenleaf City...

He would most likely not take action until he knew what benefits the Wood Elf could bring.

As for the reason, well, I still want to pursue the future and save up a safe growth fund to become a Gu Long (a famous Chinese writer).

I don't want to die in such a ridiculous power struggle in the city.

But there's no use saying all this now, since Loren has already made his fortune, a huge windfall, and to be coy now would be hypocritical.

Moreover, at the root of the matter, isn't the responsibility entirely on that half-elf inspector?
If she hadn't squeezed forty magic crystals out of those petty thieves in order to fish and quell the trouble, would I, Loren, have been so greedy?

Loren was well aware that, due to the special properties of magic crystal coins, their use was completely traceable and verifiable.

This tracking doesn't even require special permissions; you can simply remember the magic crystal coin's serial number and check it yourself.

The reason the other party prepared such a large sum of magic crystals for me was to investigate my asset flow and find out my problems.

Unfortunately, things happened too fast, and changes came too quickly.

Before the money could even be used, a major case, the likes of which only come around once every ten years, occurred: not only murder, but also the burning of the body.

And she herself, the target she suspected, had just had a conflict with the victim group, which she had just dealt with herself.

To be fair, if Loren were in her position, she would probably also wonder if heaven was helping her get promoted and make a name for herself.

Driven by greed, and given that her fighting style is similar to Loren's, she was blinded by greed.

Once a decision is made to strike, the opponent will seize the initiative and launch a fierce attack, aiming to crush the opponent with a single burst of energy and gain quick profits.

What if the all-out attack fails to secure the victory?
Loren's usual answer is to call the police in the city, since he is a minor and a protected animal, and at worst he won't be detained for more than a few days.

In the gray area, you should take advantage of your flight units and try to escape as much as possible.

And that half-elf lady...

It must be her identity as an inspector.

In a place like the Federation, there's really no one who dares to directly challenge the Inspector.

In previous years, a legendary thief once pulled off some fancy tricks, clearing out several city patrol stations in a row, and leaving behind comments like, "The patrol agencies are nothing special."

As a result, they were chased into the wilderness and riddled with bullets by the patrol headquarters, who were driving the latest generation of anti-shadow armor that was still in beta testing.

"We will meet again someday, even if we are separated by mountains and rivers."

Loren smiled, then perked up and prepared to go out.

His exclusive enclosure at the Emerald Leaf Zoo, the Heart of Lava, is said to be nearing completion!

(End of this chapter)