Mage? Spell Engineer!

Click click click When Alek came down from the airport tower, he couldn't see the mechanical transmission, but he could hear the sound of operation in the elevator cabin. The closer to the ground, the warmer the heat, and finally it condensed into water droplets on the sunglasses.

It is humid and warm here, and two systems of burning transmutation dust and burning coal are operating at the same time.

People come and go in the huge transportation hub, where nearly half are humans and dwarves. The latter are mostly remnants of the Dwarf Confederation. The lord, the Earl, generously accepted these homeless people after the Black Sun Disaster.

So in Dalburg, you can see the traces of dwarves and their construction everywhere. Rugged cement and gray stone are exposed both inside and outside the building, as well as rivets and brass tubes scattered on the ceiling and walls. They not only serve practical functions, but also show the aesthetics of these dwarf craftsmen.

But there are parts that are not dwarves.

Tall golems carry heavy goods, as well as forklifts and trucks driven by transformed dust. The more exquisite and complex magic circuit continuously flashes the arcane light, providing functions such as lighting, instructions, temperature control, monitoring and warning, etc.

The mixed style of the two starts from the transportation hub and the Earl's Mansion as the core, and extends in circles. In fact, the entire Dalburg is a huge military fortress, with factories, residential areas, and commercial streets packed in the gaps and underground.

A group of fully armed air cavalry trotted past Alek. He took off his glasses and watched with envy as these aerialists disappeared behind the turnstile.

"What, you want to go to heaven too?" Vog, who was touching the wine bottle, raised his head and glanced sideways at the boy he had brought up.

"Well, I mean, we can get two sets of mobile devices, which are better than ropes." He carefully took off and put away his sunglasses.

"Impossible, do you know how expensive this thing is?! Even if it is a second-hand, previous-generation product, a set costs 140,000 yuan! And they only charge alliance coupons!"

Vog's shouting made passers-by look sideways. After all, they were still within the empire, but no one cared about it soon. You must know that traces of Byrne are everywhere here. It has long been in the form of an alliance.

"Dear passengers, please note that due to weather conditions, all flights are suspended from now on. The train to the Imperial Capital is tentatively delayed by one hour. We apologize for the inconvenience." The radio in the lobby rang and the announcement was repeated.

"There are still passengers going to the Imperial Capital. Aren't they all Star Realm guys?" Vog muttered for a while.

What scavengers do is the business of astral men. In addition to the astral dwarves who are willing to buy the inheritance of their ancestors from them, there are also many idle humans and elves who return to the ground from other planes or astral realms, and then charge high prices for speculation. these cultural relics.

The prosperity of Dalburg, or rather the entire empire's border counties, is based on this. They sell these gadgets to Star Realm guys and develop "nostalgic tourism". The foreign exchange they earn is returned to those people in exchange for food and other strategic materials to maintain their presence on the ground.

Food Alek is at an age where he can eat a cow, but what he and the dwarves eat most is "star dry food", which is said to be a product from the air elemental plane. Just thinking about it makes Alek lose his appetite. However, this does not change the physiological need for calories and the desire for food. The growling belly allows the dwarf to receive the signal to feed the half-grown human child.

"Let's go to the old place."

After walking out of the transportation hub, they did not return to the ground. Instead, they came to a closed pedestrian street. The surrounding shops served tourists from the astral world. Only locals knew which shops were less deceptive.

The "not that bad" store must be dirty and dilapidated. After all, Dalburg has almost lost its production capacity. Almost all the factories that are still running are producing weapons and ammunition to maintain the defense line. There is still a little capacity left to maintain the operation of the city. The rest Almost all goods are imported from the sky, which is horribly expensive.

If the scavengers are unable to collect the items that are favored by the astral gangsters, they can also collect the most common items from the ruins of the dwarf cities, and then appear in and outside the shabby shops to be bought by less wealthy residents.

They opened the store door and saw a crowded and dirty bar, where guys with similar professions gathered to drink. There is a crooked signboard hanging on the wall. Through the oil stains, I can barely read and guess the content of "Adventurers Association - Dahlberg Branch". I don't know if this is the boss's collection or it is revealing the original nature of this shabby bar. 's true face.

Anyway, it is now an integrated gathering place for waste pickers to sell stolen goods and consume.

"Oh, a wine flask. What else is there?" The elf boss with only one ear left took over the only remaining spoils of the trip. Then he pushed out a tin pot for the dwarf, a plate of food and a glass of water for the boy.

"No more."

"No more?" The boss glared, then withdrew his gaze. He still looks like an elf, but his throat has been damaged by tobacco and alcohol into an unpleasant raspy voice: "It's okay, it's good to have it. After all, the others didn't go out. They just drank here and I don't know how much they have to pay on credit." ”

Vogel couldn't believe it: "They didn't go out?"

"Yes, we were all informed, after you got drunk."

"Hell!" Vog shouted, and the tavern was suddenly filled with a happy atmosphere.

Alek silently gnawed on the "Star Realm Dry Food". Sometimes it is off-white, sometimes gray. The latter looks like old goods at first glance, but there is no big difference. They are all tasteless things. He chews them. It will rob all the moisture in the mouth, leaving a strange aftertaste.

In Vog's words, it tasted like mushrooms, but Alec had never eaten food called "mushrooms" and couldn't imagine it. But he was sure that he hated mushrooms, just like he hated the sliced ​​dry food he was eating now.

"Okay, the estimated price is 78 coppers"

"Look carefully for me, this is pure gold! Don't be fooled by the silver plating on the outside."

"Oh, there are cautious dwarves who like to hide it like this, let me see, it's interesting." The boss came to his senses, and after a careful look, he didn't bargain, but gave a condition that was more difficult for Vog to accept than bargaining: "You can put it up for sale here, and wait for the dealer or the star man to buy it, and I will give you a share."

"No! No, no, no, I want cash, I have to receive the money after I give the goods."

"But I can't afford the price. Unless you accept the offer I can afford." The boss was very calm: "You see, not everyone is a straightforward uncle Vog who can pay for my wine immediately." At this point, the one-eared elf raised his eyelids a little: "Ladies and gentlemen, you have been sitting here for too long!"

"Oh, don't do that." "Hey, you are driving away your customers!"

The boss had expected these customers who would stay in the tavern for as long as they wanted after ordering a glass of watered-down wine: "From today on, the store will only provide 10 credit quotas, first come first served."

"Me, me, me!" "I remembered that the heating at home was not turned off, boss, I'm leaving first." "Goodbye, boss!"

Instantly, people swarmed out of the small broken shop, and a pile of messy currencies were scattered on the bar, including currencies issued at the end of the empire, daily necessities exchange coupons issued by the earldom, and alliance coins and hearth coins of the Star Dwarf Confederation.

The boss was too lazy to count them, anyway, he would definitely not be able to collect them all. He was about to gather them all together and throw them into the drawer, but was stopped by Vog: "How about exchanging these for the pot?"

"You will still lose money."

The dwarf said unusually: "It doesn't matter. You still have money, right? Can you lend it to me?"

"Are you in urgent need of money?" The elf frowned.

Vog took a deep breath and looked at Alec: "I want to send this kid to the star world in the next few days. I have saved enough money for the ticket, just a little bit, understand? The nearest star ship is the day after tomorrow." He pinched his thumb and index finger.

"Ah?" Alec almost choked while chewing dry food.