Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

As the first person stepped into the post office.

Those post offices that had gone two days without business because of the city lord's warning...

They welcomed wave after wave of guests.

There were ordinary people, refugees, and adventurers wearing tattered leather armor.

They hunched their necks, lowered their heads, and moved as quietly as thieves, their footsteps barely making a sound.

But they all came.

Someone clutched a crumpled piece of paper, their fingers repeatedly stroking the edges, as if afraid it would fly away.

Some people stood at the door for a long time, taking several deep breaths before stepping over the threshold.

The original plan to stay for three days before departure was also postponed by two days.

The booming business didn't last long.

More than forty years of separation is enough to sever many longings.

In Dragonbone City, out of tens of thousands of people, only a few hundred ultimately have the desire to deliver messages.

In Baiya City, during the four-day stay, the number of letters received did not exceed one thousand.

The subsequent two-day frenzy suggests that the number of letters received should not have been limited to just a few hundred.

Even in New Testament City, when Lin Gui returned and set off for Karan again...

They received 1,600 emails in just half a day of popularity.

White Cliff City is much larger than New Testament City.

The reason for this discrepancy is quite simple.

because……

One more teller was added to the post office after the trial by burning at the stake.

A beautiful and charming blonde woman.

That figure, that appearance...

Is this something that this tiny Baiya City could produce?

Is it something that these people at the bottom of society can see and come into contact with?

As a result, Elvia's fame for her beauty spread far and wide.

This brought a lot of... invalid traffic to the post office.

Those people crowding at the doorway, peeking and looking around...

Eight out of ten people aren't there to send a letter.

They came to see the beautiful women.

Someone was standing on tiptoe, peering into the counter, their neck stretched out like a goose being lifted up.

Someone pretended to look at the price list on the wall, but kept glancing at Elvia out of the corner of their eye.

There were also a few young adventurers standing at the door, pushing and shoving each other. No one was too embarrassed to be the first to come in, but no one wanted to leave.

Their faces showed an awkward mix of wanting to look a little longer and being afraid of being discovered.

When Lin Gui realized the problem, his face turned dark.

Elvia, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle of being captivated by her beauty.

Left with no other option, Lin Gui had to establish the rules.

Do not enter the post office if you are not going to send a letter.

At the same time, it allowed Elvia to demonstrate her immense strength as a knight.

He lifted the heavy wooden sign weighing over a hundred pounds by the door with one hand and shook it expressionlessly.

The wooden plaque felt as light as a plank in her hand, but when it hit the ground, it shook the ground.

The onlookers' eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Some people instinctively took two steps back, while others stared wide-eyed for a long time.

then……

There was no one at the post office.

They weren't scared away; it's just that the onlookers didn't dare to come.

And those who truly wanted to send letters, those who were meant to come have already come.

Lin Gui knew it was time to prepare to leave.

We've stayed much longer than expected, it's time to leave.

He instructed Elvia to stay and watch the shop.

Then he left the post office and headed into the city to begin preparing supplies for the journey across the wilderness.

as well as……

A golden map for your journey.

Dragonbone City does not have a Transport Guild, so it is naturally impossible to purchase gold maps.

As a transportation hub city-state, Baiya City has a transportation guild.

We walked along the main street and entered the commercial district.

Finally, they arrived at the Transport Guild in White Cliff City.

The Transportation Guild's building is even more magnificent than the City Lord's Mansion.

Huge stone pillars, a towering dome, and two stone statues standing at the entrance.

The stone statues depict ancient transporters, carrying goods on their shoulders, gazing into the distance with resolute expressions.

It's like a relic left over from the Golden Age.

At this time, there wasn't a single transport team in the guild.

The transport sign hanging high indicates that the most recent transport team is expected to arrive in 10 days.

But the arrival time of the transport team was never accurate.

Unexpected events in the wilderness are countless.

Almost every time they appear, they encounter one or two unexpected events.

Small or large.

This caused the transport team to arrive in a certain time.

We might arrive a day or two earlier than planned.

It may be delayed, by one or two months.

or……

It will never arrive.

Even with a legendary expert leading the team, the mortality rate of the transport team was still very high.

The wilderness won't make an exception for you just because you're a legend.

Even players with epic titles have died in the wilderness.

Although no transport teams have arrived, the guild hall is now full of people.

They were all merchants waiting for the transport team to arrive.

Communication is now cut off and transportation is expensive.

The number of merchants far exceeded the number of transport teams.

Whenever a caravan arrived, the merchants would pounce on it like hungry wolves.

They're scrambling for slots, for cargo space, for that pitiful little bit of transport space.

Some people spend hundreds of thousands of gold coins to grab a spot.

Some people have to beg others in a humble manner just to get a spot.

If someone can't get one, they'll just have to wait for the next batch.

I don't know when the next batch will arrive.

I don't know if I can come.

Inside the hall, several businessmen were gathered together, discussing something in hushed tones.

Some sighed, some shook their heads, and some stared blankly at the list in their hands.

Their fingers slowly traced across the paper, as if they were counting their last chips.

Footsteps came from the doorway.

A black-haired mage walked in.

Grey robes, oak staff, and a bulging backpack.

It's that guy who runs the post office.

The merchants in the hall all turned their gazes toward it.

Then they all moved away in unison.

His expression was somewhat subtle.

It feels like constipation.

It's like I ate something unclean.

Someone picked up a teacup and pretended to drink water, pressing the rim of the cup to their lips, but secretly peering at the person from above the cup.

Someone lowered their head and flipped through the account book, their fingers lingering on the pages for a long time, without actually reading a single word.

Someone turned to the side and spoke to the person next to them, lowering their voice even further, so low that even their companion couldn't hear them.

The news that Lin Gui had a transport team behind him had already spread throughout the upper and middle levels.

As businessmen, they naturally knew this as well.

but……

They won't proactively offer prices or try to curry favor with the members of the transport team.

because……

They still wanted to survive in Baiya City.

The status of merchants has been greatly diminished in the post-apocalyptic city-state.

The disruption of transportation rendered independent merchants a thing of the past.

The obstruction of commodity circulation has rendered the merchants who were once incredibly wealthy during the golden age a thing of the past.

In terms of social status, merchants were only slightly better off than commoners.

The division of the seven districts in Carter's capital is the most direct manifestation of the clear class distinctions in this post-apocalyptic city-state.

Refugees, commoners, mercenaries, adventurers, merchants, knights, nobles, royalty.

merchant?

Caught in the middle, neither here nor there.

Therefore, they would not proactively seek out the post office transport team that had a falling out with the city lord.

Even if the other party's path includes the largest sales location for Baiya Stone...

The City of a Thousand Towers.

Even if it's a route that could make them a fortune.

They won't either.

Because it's not worth it.

Offending the city lord for a little money.

not worth it.

Someone sighed softly, turning their gaze away from Lin Gui and back to the goods list they had already looked at countless times.