Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

The dwarf looked around to make sure no one was paying attention, then quietly tugged at Lin Gui's sleeve and pulled him deeper into the workshop.

Lin Gui found the furtive appearance rather strange, but he didn't break free. He followed the dwarf through rows of parked transport vehicles, around a large, steaming furnace, and into a narrow workshop in a corner.

The workshop was small, with all sorts of hammers, pliers, and other tools whose names I didn't know hanging on the walls, and the air was filled with the smell of machine oil and rust.

The dwarf closed the door, turned around, and lowered his voice.

"Don't tell anyone what I'm about to say."

He paused for a moment.

"Even if this news isn't exactly a secret among the adventurers involved in the transport team, I don't want the Transport Guild to know that I'm the one who leaked it."

He rubbed the corner of his clothes with his fingers.

"I don't want to lose my job at the foundry."

Lin Gui nodded.

The dwarf pulled a tattered newspaper from the workbench and handed it to him.

The newspaper was stained with machine oil, its edges were curled, the paper was yellowed, and it smelled of stale ink.

"This is a tabloid from last year."

The dwarf rubbed his hands together.

"Take a close look at the message inside."

Lin Gui took the newspaper and unfolded it.

The newspaper's masthead featured a flamboyant name in distorted font, accompanied by an illustration of a semi-nude woman.

Night Weekly.

Lin Gui raised an eyebrow.

This is a very obscure tabloid; aside from some trivial gossip about the red-light district, there is almost nothing noteworthy.

He patiently flipped through the pages one by one.

Just when he thought the dwarf had taken the wrong thing, a juicy detail caught his attention.

That section was in a very obscure corner, sandwiched between two anecdotes about romance; you wouldn't notice it unless you looked closely.

The column is labeled "Exclusive Scoop from the Elite Circle".

The content appears to come from a very high-ranking young man who claims to be a regular at the red-light district.

The text boasts about his noble status from beginning to end, describing how influential he is in the Alliance Council and how his family controls power.

Lin Gui glanced at the worthless content and his gaze fell on the picture below.

That was a photocopy of a document.

The document's header bore the logo of the Transport Association.

An open book, with a star floating above it.

The title is:

[Dark Ages 43rd Year Transport Squad Personnel Loss Report - Draft for Internal Review by the Alliance Council]

The image is small and the text is blurry, but the content is barely legible.

Lin Gui squinted and read through the lines one by one.

[January, Twilight Forbidden Lands, Epic Demon Riot, Eagle Transport Team, all members missing, Soul Lamps extinguished, confirmed dead.]

[January, the Wasteland of Bones, a demonic uprising, the Iron Hammer Transport Team, all members missing, their soul lamps extinguished, confirmed dead.]

[January, Far North Wasteland, Demon Riot, Silver Moon Transport Team, all members missing, soul lamps extinguished, confirmed dead.]

[February, Scorched Stone Hills, Demon Riot, Rock Transport Team, all members missing, Soul Lamps extinguished, confirmed dead.]

【...】

Row after row, densely packed.

Lin Gui's expression was initially calm.

It's not uncommon for powerful transport fleets led by legends to perish en route.

Legends may be powerful, but they are nothing to demons.

The legends of the forbidden land are practically commonplace.

Every year, no fewer than ten transport teams die on the road.

Especially the Lieyang Transportation Team, apart from those three teams, almost every year one of them who is selected dies.

But as he read on, Lin Gui's expression changed.

The death toll continues to rise.

Ten, twenty, thirty...

A single, secretly taken photo already contained the names of more than ninety forbidden areas, along with corresponding death reports from transport teams.

Moreover, all of them were confirmed to have died in the 43rd year of the Dark Ages, which was last year.

More than ninety transport teams.

They all died in 43.

Moreover, they all seem to have died in the demon riot in the forbidden area.

"What's going on?"

Lin Gui stared at the newspaper in horror, his brows furrowed tightly.

The dwarf sat down and sighed.

"In 43 years, demonic uprisings have occurred in many forbidden areas, something that has never happened before."

He paused for a moment.

"According to the adventurers and bards, epic demon riots have broken out in almost all the forbidden areas."

"Including those forbidden zones of life, the Red Desert, the Wall of Sighs, Mount Herlos, the endless snowfields of the far north, and other notorious forbidden areas."

"The Transport Guild only discovered this shocking event when it was compiling the transport fleet's whereabouts at the end of the year."

"Almost half of the transport fleets lost their operations last year."

"And in the forbidden area, epic demons have gone berserk, something that has never happened before."

The dwarf remained silent for a moment, then finally looked at the forest ghost.

"Perhaps it's because the last piece of pure land has fallen."

Lin Gui raised his head and looked at him.

"You mean, the Black Tide has emerged in the borderlands?"

The dwarf nodded and tapped his knee twice with his fingers.

"The borderlands are the last place where the Kuroshio never existed."

"So in 43, many people speculated that the Kuroshio Current would be born there."

"And it really happened."

He paused for a moment, then lowered his voice.

"And from now on... no one can predict what will happen next."

"Last year's mass riot in the forbidden area seems to foreshadow that the dangers in the wasteland are constantly rising in the future."

He looked up at Lin Gui.

"So a lot of people came to this selection meeting, but very few actually signed up."

"Because you become a transport team, you are required to meet a certain number of transport contracts each year."

"And those transport contracts almost all require crossing restricted areas."

"But now it seems that the forbidden area is becoming increasingly dangerous."

"The status and resources of the transport fleet are no longer sufficient to mask the risks it represents."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked out at the transport trucks that filled the workshop.

"The transport association had predicted this outcome long ago."

"Last year's report may have greatly dampened the influx of fresh talent."

"So they kept that report a secret."

He turned around, looked at Lin Gui, and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"If that stupid human noble hadn't revealed this thing, we would still be in the dark."

His tone carried a smug satisfaction.

"I heard that the young master was later severely punished by the Transport Guild and was exiled to the frontier to guard a city-state."

Halfway through his laughter, his peripheral vision caught sight of the transport trucks parked all over the workshop outside the window, and his smile suddenly froze.

He rubbed his hands awkwardly and lowered his voice.

"Forehead……"

"If it weren't for his revelation, perhaps our transport trucks wouldn't be facing a sales slump."

The dwarf gave an awkward laugh, picked up a clay pot from the table, and poured two cups of ale.

The golden liquid swayed gently in the glass, releasing tiny bubbles.

He handed one of the cups to Lin Gui, and kept the other one for himself.

"Oh right, after saying so much, I forgot to introduce myself."

"My name is Thorin Ironforge."

He raised his glass and gestured towards Lin Gui.

"Sales Supervisor, Tongmencheng Foundry"

Lin Gui responded to the other party and introduced himself.

When asked about his identity, he said he was the manager of the Tongmen City Seven Copper Coin Post Office.

Since they were already at the post office, Lin Gui subconsciously handed a flyer to Thorin from his mailbag.

Thorin took it and stared at Lin Gui with a strange expression.

That expression seemed to have appeared the moment Lin Gui mentioned the name of the post office.

Does the other person know the post office?

Lin Gui was somewhat surprised.

Aren't Elvia's flyers only circulating in the refugee district?

How come people in this prosperous city all know about the Seven Copper Coin Post Office?

Lin Gui frowned.

A feeling of unease welled up inside me.

Unlike Baiya City, Tongmen City is a true central city-state.

Sending letters to refugees at extremely low prices, enjoying a service originally reserved for nobles at such low prices, was an extremely conspicuous act in the eyes of some high-ranking nobles.

Baiya City had been given a lot of trouble, but in the end, they were temporarily fooled by Lin Gui's fabricated identity as a transport team.

Copper Gate City... is actually guarded by a real transport guild.

His lies may not last long.

Seeing Thorin's hesitation, Lin Gui asked him directly if he knew anything.

Thorin finally sighed.

"I suggest you check out the Adventurers' Guild."

Thorin didn't finish speaking.

Lin Gui finished his beer, slung his bag over his shoulder, and ran outside.

Thorin the dwarf chased after him and shouted.

"Which transport vehicle do you want to choose? You haven't even mentioned your requirements for the transport vehicle yet!"

Lin Gui replied loudly.

"As long as you meet the competition requirements, that's fine!"

After saying that, he slung his staff over his shoulder and flew out of the city.

Thorin stood there, watching the other person's figure fly swiftly through the sky, muttering to himself.

"As long as the competition requirements are met?"

"The foundry's transport vehicles all meet the requirements, so why didn't you just pick one randomly?"

Muttering to himself, Thorin sighed and then opened the contract.

Then he froze.

"kindness?"

"Blazing sun??"

Lin Gui manipulated his staff, which floated up from above the foundry and flew towards the outskirts of the city.

The wind swept past his ears, making his robes flutter loudly.

He felt uneasy when he first flew over Tongmen City.

Promotional leaflets for the Seven Copper Coins Post Office appeared in the city.

He knew exactly what this meant.

Those high-ranking nobles, those powerful figures who monopolized the transmission of information, would not tolerate the existence of a post office that delivered mail to vagrants.

Even if its target audience is only the grassroots level, even if its price is so low that it is almost free.

Because this is a provocation.

A challenge to their status, their power, and the class barriers upon which they depend for survival.

When he was in Baiya City, he temporarily fooled the other party by pretending to be a member of the transport team.

But Tongmen City is different.

Here you'll find the Transport Guild, real transport fleets, and those behemoths that hold seats in the Alliance Council.

His fabricated lies won't last long here.

Lin Gui took a deep breath, suppressing his surging emotions.

Just then, a buzzing sound came from my pocket.

He reached out and took out the communication stone, infusing it with magic.

Elvia's voice came from the stone, tinged with a hint of laziness.

"I've got it sorted out on my end."

She paused for a moment, speaking slowly.

"Morgan's name has been added, and the application form has been completed and submitted."

"I changed the original Morning Star route to Blazing Sun."

"Also, I've gotten my hands on the golden route map for the Blazing Sun route this time."

She paused.

"What about over there?"

Lin Gui did not reply.

Elvia's voice came through the sound transmission stone.

"Feed?"

"Lin Gui?"

"How's it going on your end?"

Lin Gui was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"I'm on my way to the post office."

There was an instant silence on the other end of the communication stone.

There was no noise, no breathing, nothing at all.

A few breaths later, Elvia's sigh came.

"It seems you already know about the post office matter."

"I'll be waiting for you there."

The communication stone disconnected.

Lin Gui stuffed the stone back into his pocket, gripped his staff with both hands, and increased the output of his magic.

The dark gauze robe unfolded silently, like a thin mist enveloping his entire body.

His silhouette blurred in the air, then vanished completely.

I can't even sense their presence.

The staff sped up, weaving through the towering buildings and flying towards the city gate.

At the city gate, the guards were conducting a routine inspection.

People lined up to come and go, carriages rumbled, and there was a great deal of noise.

The ghost flew silently over their heads without attracting anyone's attention.

He passed through the city gate, through the slums of the outer city, and flew towards the refugee quarter.

Elvia had given him the post office address before she went to Deadwood.

In order to avoid attracting the attention of the city's nobles, she deliberately set up the post office in a remote location.

It's not on the main street, nor next to a bustling market, but at the end of a small alley deep in a refugee district.

It was far from the sight of the nobles, far from those in power and influence.

But it is also the place where the most displaced people are concentrated and who need the most help.

Lin Gui manipulated his staff, moving through the alleyways.

On both sides are crooked wooden buildings with dilapidated windows and rags hanging to dry.

The air was filled with a damp, musty smell, mixed with the odor of garbage and sewage.

The deeper you go, the shorter the buildings become, the narrower the alleys, and the darker they are.

The staff slowly descended, landing at the end of the alley.

An eerie silence enveloped the surroundings.

The sounds of chaos, cursing, and vandalism that were unique to the refugee areas seemed to have been paused here.

The surrounding wooden houses were in disarray, with their doors and windows tightly shut, not a single ray of light could be seen.

Lin Gui took a deep breath, got off the staff, and strode forward.

At the end of the alley, a beautiful blonde figure stood blocking the way.

Elvia stood there, her long golden hair gleaming dimly in the light.

The lazy, nonchalant smile that usually graced her face was gone.

His lips were pressed into a thin line, and his golden eyes held a complex emotion that was hard to describe.

Behind her, the masked Hewittley and Eileen, who had put her staff away, looked puzzled.

I don't understand why Elvia would rush here from the city center; very few people come to the refugee area.

Here, they encountered Lin Gui, who was supposed to be preparing the transport truck.