Hello, is this a letter addressed to Demon Fortress?

When Lin Gui returned to the temporary post office on the seventh floor, it was already late at night.

Inside the simple wooden building, the candlelight had long since gone out.

Only a few scattered specks of light from outside the window seeped in, outlining the general shape of the interior.

Shea sat quietly on a wooden box piled high with letters, as if she had become one with the darkness.

She made thorough preparations to conceal her appearance.

A large black cloak covered her completely from head to toe.

A heavy veil hung down from the edge of the hood.

Even those distinctive pointed ears were nowhere to be found.

If Lin Gui hadn't sensed her familiar aura...

It almost looked like a silent sculpture.

"Have you been waiting long?" Lin Gui's voice broke the silence.

He sat casually on the oak staff that floated in mid-air.

Upon hearing his voice, the "sculpture" instantly came to life.

Shea stood up, and a soft, slightly reproachful hum came from beneath her veil, which then turned into a light laugh.

She took a step forward with practiced ease and leaped lightly into the air.

He firmly embraced Lin Gui's waist from behind and sat sideways on the extended part of the staff.

"If you hadn't come soon, I would have assumed you'd been invited out for tea by some noble lady."

Her voice sounded somewhat muffled through the veil.

Lin Gui didn't reply, but simply manipulated his staff and quietly floated out of the post office.

The refugee quarter was shrouded in a dim darkness.

Only a few scattered candle flames stubbornly burned behind the dilapidated window.

In stark contrast to this desolate scene is the upper-level area in the distance.

The place was brightly lit, and the magical light illuminated the mountaintop and the layers of city walls as if it were daytime.

The sounds of singing and dancing seemed to travel across a great distance.

Lin Gui led Shia through the gaps where light and shadow intertwined.

They silently passed through heavily guarded barriers.

We entered the commercial area on the fifth floor.

The view before me suddenly opened up.

The commercial district remains bustling even at night.

Shops lined both sides of the street, their magical signs gleaming with light.

The wide stone-paved road was illuminated as bright as day.

Well-dressed pedestrians thronged the streets.

The air was filled with the mixed aromas of food, spices, and wine.

"Wow……"

Shea couldn't help but let out a soft gasp; even through the disguise, her anticipation was palpable.

Although I sneaked in once in the morning, I bought some clothes and rushed back, so I didn't have time to look at them carefully.

At this moment, looking around at the dazzling array of shops.

Her attention was instantly drawn to the food stalls wafting enticing aromas.

"Delicious food!" she murmured, full of longing.

However, Lin Gui took out a map of the capital city from his pocket and glanced at it under the lamplight.

He then manipulated his staff to change direction and flew towards the area that Fal had marked for him.

He avoided the main roads bustling with people and instead chose to travel along quiet side streets.

The surrounding scenery gradually changed, and the prosperity and luxury receded like the tide.

Soon, they arrived at a street that was completely out of place with the main commercial area.

The buildings here are low and dilapidated, and the roads are full of potholes.

The lights were dim, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of cheap food and garbage.

Compared to the areas we passed through before, this place was several levels lower.

Lin Gui removed the [Night Veil] that had been covering the two of them.

His figure appeared at the dimly lit street corner.

"Huh? You just took it off like that?" Shia was taken aback and subconsciously tightened her hood.

"I haven't fully mastered demonic energy yet..."

Lin Gui smiled faintly.

"It's alright. This place is the most remote corner of the commercial district, specifically set up for lower-class commoners and homeless people... 'Grey Street'."

He specifically emphasized the name "Grey Street".

The term itself carries the undisguised contempt of the upper class for the lower class.

A place where gray, inconspicuous, insignificant people, like dust, gather.

Whether it's a self-important gold adventurer.

They were still the extraordinary city defense troops with their noses in the air.

Or perhaps they are arrogant members of the transport team.

Even any nobleman of any standing and his servants.

They wouldn't lower themselves to set foot here.

"Hmm~~" Xia poked Lin Gui's back with her finger, her tone teasing.

"This doesn't seem like something the usually cautious Lin Gui would do~"

She leaned forward slightly, her voice carrying a hint of slyness.

She had already prepared herself for Lin Gui to protect her with the veil of darkness throughout the entire process.

But the other person actually managed to untie it, so it seems they had another purpose for this date.

"A romantic date where you and a stunningly beautiful girl go shopping together, deepen your feelings, and eventually become a couple... I suggest you don't mix in too many other unrelated things~~"

Lin Gui chuckled and explained.

"Don't worry, the chances of running into that person are not high."

Seeing that Xia was still confused, he had no choice but to explain further.

"It was here that Rogge met the 'madman' who instilled the existence of Avalon in him."

"I want to recreate the scene of his first arrival in Gray Street. A person, a half-demon." Lin Gui paused.

"According to Far, when the Royal Knights were blocking Rogge, the half-demon slave beside him cast a spell containing demonic energy... just like you, Shia."

"So," he said, looking at Shia.

"In a moment, we don't need to deliberately control the leakage of demonic energy. Let's try to see if we can lure out the person who guided Rogge back then."

Lin Gui did indeed have this ulterior motive in his date with Xia.

But he didn't hold out much hope.

Following the Rogge incident, Grey Street underwent several brutal purges.

Many people died as a result of being implicated in the case.

Even if that "madman," or rather, the person guiding Rogge, is still in the capital.

It's also highly unlikely that he'll ever appear in this troublesome place again.

Even if that "madman," or the person behind him, is still in the capital, it's highly unlikely he'll ever appear here again.

As Lin Gui had predicted, the subsequent shopping trip yielded no particularly interesting discoveries.

Gradually, Lin Gui also temporarily forgot about his purpose and enjoyed this rare moment of leisure with Xia.

Although the streets are dilapidated and the goods are cheap, they are far from comparable to the boutiques on the main streets.

But the atmosphere here is exceptionally vibrant and lively.

People of all races mingled together.

There were lizardmen who could breathe fire and dog-headed men who were beating broken tin drums.

There are also stalls selling all kinds of handmade woven ornaments.

The air was filled with the aroma of various cheap yet delicious snacks.

Like a curious child, Xia pulled Lin Gui through the various stalls.

I bought some skewers of grilled insects that were crispy and fragrant, and tried some strongly flavored peas.

They also picked out two bracelets woven from colorful bird feathers and broken gemstones, and forcefully put one on Lin Gui's wrist.

She started talking non-stop, recounting all the interesting stories from the Elf Forest.

When talking about the eccentric adventurers he encountered while wandering, he chattered on and on.

Lin Gui mostly listened quietly, occasionally responding with a few words.

Seeing her relaxed demeanor, I recalled her talkative nature.

It seems that staying in the refugee area for the past two days has really bored her.

They were indeed enjoying the simple pleasures of the date.

After a while, Xia suddenly grabbed Lin Gui's hand and pointed to a dark, deserted alleyway next to them.

"Lin Gui, come here and do me a favor."

"We're deep in the alley," Xia said softly.

"Cast the largest [Night Veil] to cover this area."

Although Lin Gui was puzzled, he did as instructed.

An invisible magical fluctuation spread out, isolating the entire alley from the outside world.

"Then, use the Warmth spell to create many small orbs of light, just like we did at the base before," Shia continued.

With a slight thought, Lin Gui conjured up fist-sized orbs of light emitting a soft white glow.

Like fireflies on a summer night, they floated lightly in the dark alley, dispelling the heavy darkness.

Bathed in a hazy, warm glow.

Shea took a deep breath and removed the black cloak that had been covering her body.

The cloak slipped off.

It revealed a light green, elfin-style long skirt underneath.

And her breathtaking beauty, which needs no embellishment.

Her long, silver hair shimmered softly under the sphere of light.

Fair skin is like the finest jade.

Those emerald eyes, now filled with a hint of shyness and even more anticipation, shone brightly.

She twirled slightly, her skirt billowing gently.

He gave Lin Gui a bright, captivating smile.

"How about it? Doesn't this beautiful elven girl make your heart flutter?"

Lin Gui stared at her, momentarily lost in thought.

A few seconds later, he responded with a smile, his tone unusually calm yet exceptionally earnest:

"My heart is fluttering, it's pounding!"

Shia trembled slightly.

A blush quickly spread across her fair cheeks, reaching all the way to her pointed earlobes.

Bathed in the soft glow of fireflies, the shy, elfin girl with her eyes lowered was breathtakingly beautiful.

Lin Gui stared blankly, as if something in his heart had been gently touched.

But then, a barely perceptible hint of sadness flashed across his eyes.

He knew what Xia felt.

But he knew all too well that at the end of this long journey, they would be separated.

This is not something that can be decided by enthusiasm alone.

The current alliance of city-states is sliding into a deep abyss of tolerance for half-demons.

Today at the Adventurers' Guild, he inadvertently caught a glimpse of the wanted poster plastered on the door.

Of the 346 wanted criminals, 295 were half-demons!

This includes Shea.

The punishment after capture was not imprisonment, but execution.

To make matters worse, at the city-state alliance meeting at the beginning of the year...

Regarding the issue of whether to include half-demons in the "evil race" category, the support rate has exceeded 50%.

If the year-end regulations take effect, all half-demons will be forcibly expelled from any city-state within the Alliance.

This was undoubtedly a milder yet far more thorough genocide against half-demons.

Therefore, regardless of whether he felt any attraction towards Shia.

After safely delivering her to Avalon, separation was almost inevitable.

If Avalon can truly accept half-demons, and there is true equality as described in the poem.

He hoped that once he arrived there, Shia would settle down safely there.

Never leave.

He didn't tell Shea all of this.

He hoped that this trip would leave her with many beautiful memories.

After leaving the alley, the two strolled around for a while longer.

Just as they were preparing to leave Grey Street and return to the refugee district.

Xia suddenly leaned closer to Lin Gui, her voice extremely low:

"Someone is following us... and it seems like I'm their target."

Lin Gui remained expressionless and asked calmly, "Adventurer? Or city garrison?"

"I don't know." Shia shook her head slightly. "He covered his face like us, but judging from his clothes, he shouldn't be rich. He looks like a homeless person. Also, he's very short, like a human child."

A faint light appeared before Lin Gui's eyes.

Refugees? Could it be that we've stumbled upon a clue related to the group that guided Rogge?

Am I really that lucky?

Shea frowned and said in a low voice.

"Oh no, he seems to be planning to leave. Lin Gui, should we chase after him?"

"Can you tell how strong the opponent is?" Lin Gui asked.

"It's too far away; I can't sense any energy or magical fluctuations."

Lin Gui hesitated for a moment, then said, "Follow him from a distance for now."

The two immediately followed the gray figure that had blended into the crowd.

The other party was clearly very familiar with the lower area, deliberately choosing to walk along the complicated paths.

They followed each other, traveling from the gray streets of the commercial district all the way back to the sixth-floor commoner's area.

The houses here are more orderly than those in the refugee areas, but they are still crowded and dilapidated.

Most of the pedestrians looked tired from struggling to make a living.

Occasionally, you can see a few drunken mercenaries leaning against the corner of the wall.

Or it could be scantily clad women soliciting business on street corners.

The tracking lasted for nearly half an hour.

The gray figure eventually disappeared into the seventh floor.

That even more chaotic and filthy refugee neighborhood.

Finally, they witnessed the man disappear in a flash.

They crawled into a junkyard haphazardly constructed from discarded planks, rags, and rusty sheet metal.

Surprisingly, some blacksmith tools were laid out on the open ground outside the landfill.

And some pre-crafted adventurer equipment.

Longswords, daggers, leather armor, and so on.

The materials they use are very common and readily available.

However, the forging and sewing techniques are exceptionally exquisite.

The lines are smooth and the structure is reasonable, far exceeding the general level in this area.

Shia pointed at the equipment in astonishment: "These..."

Before she could finish speaking, her toes had just stepped into the area of ​​the landfill.

"jingle!"

A crisp yet piercing metallic bell suddenly rang out!

It's an alarm trap!

Before Lin Gui and Xia could react.

"Clang!"

A loud crash as a window shattered came from deep within the landfill!

"Oh no, he's trying to escape!" Lin Gui exclaimed immediately.

Xia reacted even faster; before Lin Gui could finish speaking, she had already dashed in like an arrow.

The figure flickered a few times in the storage room before disappearing into the darkness.

A moment later, Shia returned with a strange look on her face.

She was also carrying a figure that was a whole head shorter than her, struggling incessantly.

The other person's gray camouflage jacket had been torn off.

Lin Gui stepped forward and ripped off the dirty, tattered hat from the other man's head.

When you see the other person's face, covered in dust and grease, yet still revealing strong, defined features.

Especially those eyes, even in dim light.

His eyes were also clearly visible, as red as burning charcoal.

Lin Gui was stunned.

This is not a human eye.

"Dwarfs?" Shia exclaimed in surprise.

But then he noticed the bloodshot color in the other person's eyes, similar to the color he had when he was demonized. "No... it's..."

The small girl, lifted into the air by Hia, struggled desperately.

With a gruff voice befitting his size, he angrily cursed:

"Put me down! You long-eared stinky elf!"