Chapter 289: A Strange City
"Can we really trade for high-quality space crystals here?"
Annie Silverleaf murmured softly, her pure eyes showing traces of weariness.
The middle-aged steward, Paris, sighed inwardly, recalling their failures along the way but still mustering his spirits:
"There's an old saying in the East—'Heaven never seals off all exits.'"
Annie nodded, though she had already lost much of her hope.
If there were any other choice, who would place their hopes on something as elusive as fate?
The carriage continued forward, arriving at the city gate where a line had formed.
Leon, having received a message, approached them and guided them to another gate.
Two massive sentry golems, eyes glowing with faint red light, assisted the soldiers in inspecting the goods inside the carriage.
The middle-aged steward Paris, looking tense, followed Leon closely, speaking in a low voice:
"These are elven artworks, along with some herbs and grains."
Leon opened the carriage door and glanced briefly at the small vine-woven objects inside, finding them hard to appreciate.
He politely declined the gold coin offered by Paris and smiled:
"This must be your first time in the Bay Territory, right?"
Hearing this question again, Paris felt a mix of confusion and unease.
It seemed as if everyone here knew their background, giving him a deeply unsettling feeling.
"Have we been exposed?" he wondered. "Impossible, Star Song Master's spells can't be seen through, not even by legendary professionals..."
"The soldiers here are so strange..."
"They're not like soldiers elsewhere, who excel in extortion and bribery."
Paris didn't dare to offer more, fearing the other party might get greedy, as had happened before.
Trying to remain composed, he nodded and straightforwardly asked:
"How does everyone know it's our first time here?"
He couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss.
If something went wrong and the other side turned hostile, they needed to be ready to flee.
Leon closed the door, uninterested in the elven crafts, and moved to the cart filled with herbs, opening it up.
Inside, heaps of dried herbs released a strong fragrance. Leon, delighted, picked up one:
"What herb is this?"
Unsure of Leon's intentions, Paris explained honestly:
"This is Seven-Night Grass, a specialty herb from the elven region, classified as a mid-level magical plant."
"It can be used as a substitute for rare herbs in high-level awakening potions and mid-level mana potions."
Leon glanced at the herb list, flipping through it briefly, his face lighting up with joy:
"Not bad. This is a new herb, and it seems of high quality. Next time, bring more."
"Actually, our Bay Territory has a higher demand for fresh herbs, and seeds or fresh herbs can earn extra contribution points."
Contribution points?
Finding Leon so approachable, Paris asked directly, "What are contribution points used for?"
Leon handed him a list: "Contribution points are extremely useful. You can exchange them for anything here!"
Paris glanced at the list and felt his heart skip a beat: "Space crystals?"
The first row of the list:
High-tier magical equipment, exchange conditions: 20,000 gold coins, 10,000 contribution points!
High-quality space crystal, exchange conditions: 1,000 gold coins, 5,000 contribution points!
Stunned, Paris followed Leon as he inspected the cart of grains.
After confirming there was no danger, Leon allowed the caravan to enter the city.
Once the caravan was guided to a public parking area by patrolling soldiers, Paris finally snapped out of his daze.
He rushed to the first carriage, excitedly whispering:
"Miss, we can really get high-quality space crystals here, and the conditions are simple!"
Annie, who had been observing her surroundings, snatched the list and, seeing the space crystals listed, clenched her fists in excitement:
"Great, as long as they have it, we'll pay any price to get it."
Calming down, Paris suddenly remembered something and pointed at the list in Annie's hand:
"The exchange conditions are listed, and they don't seem particularly difficult."
Fighting back her excitement, Annie carefully reviewed the list, her face gradually showing surprise as she murmured:
"Selling 100 tons of grain earns 1 contribution point, at 110% of the normal market price."
"Selling 100 units of basic magical herbs earns 1 contribution point, at 110% of the normal market price."
"Selling 100 kilograms of basic magical materials earns 1 contribution point..."
"Selling 100 basic spell scrolls earns 1 contribution point..."
"Selling 10 kilograms of intermediate magical materials earns 1 point..."
"Selling 10 kilograms of intermediate magical herbs..."
"Selling 10 intermediate spell scrolls..."
Annie's joyful expression faded as she read the exchange list, hesitantly asking:
"Why is there no direct way to exchange for contribution points?"
Paris, now calm, looked over the list again:
"These are all about selling goods to earn contribution points, with the contribution points being an added bonus. The 10% price increase is just a lure for caravans."
"These are the trading conditions for caravans; there must be other ways to earn contribution points."
He remembered Leon's words clearly.
"Fresh magical herbs or seeds that can be transplanted should be able to exchange for more contribution points."
Annie frowned slightly, her gentle demeanor eliciting pity as she said with some reluctance:
"They've sealed off space, blocking teleportation. These goods were brought here with great difficulty..."
Paris studied the list carefully, noting certain patterns and said excitedly:
"Miss, don't worry; I think I found a way."
"Besides, we might be able to gain other resources..."
Seeing Annie's confused gaze, Paris patiently explained:
"If you look closely at the list..."
"Bay Territory clearly needs a lot of grain, yet they continue to cultivate new land. Isn't that odd?"
"But since they need grain, we can sell our grains as high-quality seeds!"
"And I noticed something else."
"This city has a considerable number of soldiers, but they don't seem to need iron or weaponry. Isn't that strange?"
Annie raised her eyebrows in surprise, eagerly saying:
"So they can produce their own iron and weapons!"
"Exactly! And I suspect that's not all..."