That's the subway, a coal-burning subway!
When he was on the road before, Qi Ji had already noticed that there were many pipes exposed on the ground in the city, pointing straight into the sky, and they were covered with green plants next to them.
These are the ventilation ducts in the subway tunnels, used for ventilation to prevent people in the underground space from suffocating or poisoning due to burning coal.
However, even so, the air quality in the subway and subway stations is unbearably poor, the environment is quite dirty, and the people are extremely mixed. Thieves, pickpockets and even robbers appear from time to time.
Qi Ji, as a character who has read hundreds of millions of books, knows all this information.
"Phew... finally here."
After saying goodbye to the driver, Qi Ji finally stepped into the lower city and came to the vicinity of the "Hibiscus Bar".
"The environment here... is really not good enough."
Sniffing the nauseating smell in the air, she couldn't help but frown and hold her breath.
As the downtown area is half a slum, there are not so many industrial facilities, so there is no dirty and gray smog.
But this doesn't mean the air quality here has improved.
If the smell of smog is industrial exhaust with rust, sulfide and burnt smell...
The smell of the downtown area is that kind of stench that is a mixture of excrement, decay, swill, and sourness. It is completely undisguised and is the most offensive odor to the human sense of smell.
People who are used to fresh air would probably feel dizzy if they were suddenly in such an environment.
The scene here is also a mess. Whether it is the ground, the houses or the walls, they are all dirty and greasy. Everything is gray and black, like a hastily built garbage dump.
The "Hibiscus Bar" is located in such an unbearable environment.
Looking at the dirty wooden exterior wall and gate, Qi Ji hesitated for a while, but finally sighed, walked forward and pushed the door open.
As soon as I entered the door, the strong and pungent smell of sweat and alcohol rushed straight into my head, and at the same time, a burst of extremely chaotic and noisy shouting came at me.
Shirtless burly men, ragged homeless people, hoodlums with wretched looks, scantily clad call girls, and shabby old men were all crowded in this not-so-spacious space.
Under the dim and unstable lights, all the dark sides of this glamorous, prosperous and developed metropolis together form a picture of the lives of the lower class people.
"This kind of place... well, it's really suitable for some shady transactions. No wonder Vincent chose to meet here."
Qi Ji walked into the bar, closed the door that was casually made of wooden boards, and walked towards an empty seat in the corner.
When she first came in, she didn't attract anyone's attention. In such a messy place, not many people would pay attention to who came in and out.
But as someone accidentally glanced at the door, he froze as if he had been electrocuted, causing the people next to him to subconsciously look in the direction of his gaze, and then they were also completely attracted by the black-haired figure with new and beautiful clothes and an extraordinary appearance...
More and more people quieted down and stopped making noise. They turned to look at Qi Ji, their mouths opened idiotically, their eyes wide open, their expressions dull, and they did not say a word for a long time.
Such a reaction was, of course, within Qi Ji's expectations.
She walked through the motley crowd as if nothing had happened, and amidst all the astonished or greedy gazes, she came to an empty seat in the corner and sat down.
He lifted one leg and placed it on the knee of the other leg, leaned his back against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest, lowered his head, closed his eyes slightly, and let the front brim of his hat block out the light.
He looked as if he was at peace with the world and was resting his eyes.
She could have been more low-key. Even if she wanted to come in person, she could have worn the cloak and put on the hood, at least she wouldn't be so conspicuous.
But she didn't do that, not because she wanted to cause trouble, nor because she had any special fetish for exposing herself to attract attention, but because of the current situation...
It will be conducive to the implementation of her subsequent arrangements.
Chapter 259 Myth
今日四更，还有三章分别于18:00，20:00，22:00左右上传。
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The sun gradually sank into the west, and the golden sunlight also changed into a warm and gentle dusk.
The twilight slanted down from the star realm, traveling across an incalculable distance, and gently sprinkled on the simple yet exquisite buildings of the Imperial National University.
In a beautifully decorated single dormitory on campus.
A fifteen-year-old girl with amber hair sat at the desk.
The youngest daughter of Octavius VIII, the glorious Emperor of the Plantagenet Empire, the third princess of the royal family, Candice Octavius.
She held a valuable and exquisite dark-tipped fountain pen in one hand, her fair and slender wrist pressed on the table, and her slender white fingers tapped rhythmically.
With his other elbow resting on the table and the back of his hand supporting one of his cheeks, he looked out at the setting sun in the west through the large and transparent floor-to-ceiling windows with clear amber eyes, looking a little depressed.
At the end of the sight in that direction, the setting sun was approaching the horizon little by little, merging with the warm yellow halo emitted by the "Dusk Palace" in the distance that was as majestic as a mountain range.
It forms a dreamy, beautiful, romantic and spectacular picture.
The third princess of the royal family, who was born into a noble family, just quietly gazed at the picturesque scenery for a long time without moving, as if she was lost in some deep mystery.
There is a layer of inexplicable depression covering the pretty face.
"call……"
After an unknown amount of time, she suddenly let out a long breath, withdrew her gaze from the window, and returned it to the table where her study materials were placed.
The delicate eyebrows wrinkled for some reason:
"What on earth does that guy mean..."
She muttered softly, tapping the end of her dark-nib pen on the table, making a rhythmic yet somewhat irritating sound.
"She said I wouldn't live for more than a year... How could there be such a vicious person? I don't even know her..."
Muttering with great dissatisfaction, her thoughts couldn't help but wander.
Candice herself was fully aware of quite a few of the things said by the girl in the cloak of unknown origin.
For example, there is a disharmony between one’s spirituality and physical body, and there is almost no possibility of improvement or treatment.
This abnormality has brought her many impacts.
The most direct and obvious effect is that her extraordinary talent for cultivation has become extremely low.
Because whether it is a magician or a warrior, they are essentially tempering their own spirituality, so as to transcend the limits of the flesh and gain extraordinary powers.
If the relationship between the soul and the body is not harmonious, then such a process will become extremely difficult and the difficulty will increase dramatically. Compared with those with ordinary talents, not only will the upper limit of the realm be greatly lowered, but the probability of breaking through levels and bottlenecks will also become extremely low.
Candice herself was a beginner level righteous mage, which seemed to be a very commendable achievement for a childish girl of only fifteen years old.
But this was only possible because Emperor Octavius VIII devoted a large amount of human and material resources to cultivation. The huge amount of financial investment even caused the royal family to face financial difficulties in a short period of time.
In a horizontal comparison, even an ordinary farmer's son could probably be promoted to a high-level regular mage, while she, a royal princess, is only at the beginner level.
"Come to think of it, why does Father seem so anxious for me to improve my realm? I clearly don't have any talent at all..."
In order to allow Candice to practice, Emperor Octavius VIII spent an unimaginable amount of manpower and material resources, purchased various extremely expensive and rare potions and materials from all over the world, and hired a group of the best teachers in related fields.
Even Candice, who had grown up in luxury and had never known what money was, realized that her father was spending too much resources in this regard.
Because during that period, she often overheard that some ministers and officials complained about her father's behavior, which was tantamount to squandering the national treasury.
Although she was dissatisfied with the fact that someone was secretly speaking ill of her father, she did not choose to complain because she felt the same way herself, and she knew that the ministers' original intention was mostly for the sake of national finances.
It's not that she hasn't raised her doubts to her father, but the king of the empire just looked at her with an indescribably deep gaze, and after a long time he said vaguely, "This is all for your own good."
This troubled Candice for a long time, but with her successful promotion to a master of the true magic last year, her father became less obsessed with it and significantly reduced his investment in her cultivation, thus calming down the controversy in the court.
As time went by, she gradually forgot about this matter, until now when she was in a state of endless association, she recalled it again.
"Clement has already ordered someone to investigate. I don't know when the results will come out and the rude guy will be caught..."
Thinking of the bastard who suddenly appeared and cursed her to die, she couldn't help but pouting unhappily.
It was only last year that my father confessed to me about the abnormality of his health.
According to his father, he accidentally contracted an extremely special infectious disease when he was young. Although he was cured later, he was left with a root of the disease, which led to the disharmony between his spirit and body.
In addition to her low talent for cultivation, her natural lifespan will also be shorter than that of ordinary people. It is estimated that she can only live to around sixty years old.
Although Candice felt sorry that she would probably only be able to become a beginner level mage for the rest of her life, she was not too upset.
As for a short life... She is still too young and has no concept of aging and death which are decades away, so she is not too worried.
But being cursed in person by an inexplicable person and having only one year to live, how could she, as a royal princess, not be angry?
What's more, this guy even dared to cast negative spells on his own bodyguards. This was simply a challenge to the royal family's reputation!
"Hmph, just wait and see..."
She angrily threw the pen on the table, stood up from the desk, and looked up at the clock in the corner of the dormitory.
"It's about time... we should be able to make it in time."
The expression on her face suddenly changed, from the original depression and anger to a kind of expectation with a bit of trepidation.
It was as if...she was about to embark on an exciting adventure.
She turned and dived into the closet beside the bed, rummaged around for a while, and picked out a few new sets of clothes that were still on the bed.
The movements seemed a little hurried, as if... he couldn't wait any longer.
Half an hour later, on the pedestrian street outside the main gate of the Imperial University.
A short figure, wrapped tightly in a low-key cloak, appeared silently in a corner.
A few strands of amber hair were faintly visible from under the hood that was pulled low.
The man waited there for seven or eight minutes, then stopped a passing carriage and got on it in a few steps.
After he sat down firmly in his seat, a somewhat immature, yet cold and slightly arrogant voice came from under the hood of the cloak:
"Let's go downtown, to the Hibiscus Bar."
Chapter 260 Trading
The setting sun shines brightly on the earth, casting a yellow curtain over the chaotic and dirty downtown area.
Outside the simple and narrow "Hibiscus Bar", an ordinary horse-drawn carriage was parked nearby.
As the curtain of the car was opened from the inside, a petite figure wrapped in a cloak and with no visible face walked out.
"We're finally here... Damn, it's so hot..."
No one could have guessed that this sneaky little figure was actually the emperor's daughter, the princess of the empire, Candice Octavius VIII.
She endured the pent-up heat in the cloak. Her small face, hidden by the shadow of the hood, was covered in sweat. Her amber hair stuck to her forehead wetly, making her very irritated.
I wanted to take off this large and dense cloak right then and there and throw it on the ground, so that my body could feel the cool evening air again.
"If I had known earlier, I should have prepared some spiritual items that can cool things down... Damn it, I'm not a wizard who is good at evocation spells, so I can't use the 'ice spell' on myself..."
While muttering to herself, Candice walked quickly towards the Hibiscus Bar.
Instead of going in, she walked around it and turned into an alley behind the bar.
"It's so dirty... so smelly... Why do these people like to meet in places like this? Isn't it better to go to a hotel in the upper city?"
Controlling her breathing so as not to be overwhelmed by the stench composed of various bad smells, she moved her eyes in the dark and damp alley, as if searching for something.
There was no one in the field of vision, only some fat and dirty little figures flashed by from time to time in the piled up garbage and slop. They were rats that were fat and strong fed by all kinds of rotten things.
Candice fumbled under her cloak with one hand and took out a golden pocket watch engraved with delicate patterns. She opened it with a click, and three gorgeous and luxurious hands came into view.
"It's 6:13 pm... Only two minutes left, why hasn't that guy shown up yet? Is he trying to stand me up..."
She tapped the ground restlessly with the tip of her shoe, her eyes occasionally observing the empty alley, and occasionally staring at the ticking second hand.
His delicate and handsome eyebrows couldn't help but frown, and obvious dissatisfaction and impatience appeared on his face.
"Tick, tick..."
Time passed second by second, and before long, the minute hand pointed exactly to fifteen.
"Tick!"
At the moment when the minute hand and the second hand overlapped, Candice suddenly noticed out of the corner of her eye... a faint shaking occurred in the darkness deep in the alley.
She subconsciously raised her head and saw a figure walking out from there.
The other person was tall but not stout, half a head taller than Candice, and walked leisurely, appearing well-educated.
Her clothes were similar to Candice's, also a long black cloak, but the hood was not pulled down as low as hers, so her head was exposed.
But a black mask that only revealed the eyes completely obscured the man's face.
