It is a city located at the northernmost tip of the world. It is the capital of the old Fearless Empire, where the ancient walls, streets, and totems are all well preserved.
In this old city, there are many young ethnic groups living.
There were Yao people who migrated here very early to participate in local construction.
Most of them are now farmers, herdsmen, glass workers and traders.
There are bully locusts who become city tour guides.
They have been hanging around in and around the city all year round, and they know the streets, alleys, accommodation, food and celebrity anecdotes of Crystal City best. Relying on their flexible and sharp minds, these small Zerg residents are at home in the city.
There are plenty of ghosts left over from the Empire.
The ghost warriors became increasingly famous and became an important professional group. Ghost scholars traveled around the country and gave lectures in towers and colleges, passing on knowledge and ideas to every settlement.
The Jade Rabbit clan also lives here.
They abide by their duties, are good at running around, and have their own place.
However, as the number of ghost warriors continued to increase, they quickly replaced the Jade Rabbit and almost monopolized security and defense work.
The reason is also simple. Ghost warriors grow very quickly in the early stage, and most of them have rich combat experience, excellent individual combat capabilities, and can adapt to various environments.
Although the Jade Rabbit clan is physically strong, they are not a fighting nation.
Everyone has discovered that the Jade Rabbit is big, but in a life-and-death fight, it basically wins less and loses more. They are gradually being replaced by more professional practitioners such as ghost warriors and war cats.
Not only Baiding, but the entire Jade Rabbit clan is facing severe employment problems.
The Jade Rabbit's long-distance running ability has come in handy in the past, such as sending messages across cities, or transporting some small items, etc.
But now that we have steam carriages, sky lanterns, and crystal gates, we no longer need to hire a transporter who runs on his legs.
The advent of the crystal structure era has opened the door to a new era for many ethnic groups, but for the Jade Rabbit tribe, it has been hit head-on by a wave of unemployment.
Today, there are two most common jobs for Jade Rabbits in Crystal City.
One is to grow mushrooms and berries in the forest and then sell them at a stall in the city.
The second is to wear fancy clothes customized by the store and run around the city to promote the store - this is Bai Ding's job, and this industry is called running rabbits].
"There's no point in running fast!"
Jade Rabbits often lament this.
Due to their natural habits, the Jade Rabbit tribe all live alone. They are keen on lifting stone chains and discus to exercise their muscles. If they get together, they are prone to fights and conflicts.
Coupled with the fact that they are born nocturnal and their hearing is too sensitive, resulting in excessive vigilance and nervousness, the jobs that the Jade Rabbit can find are indeed limited.
Bai Ding was very envious of the clan of sword bearers.
As a race that was enlightened by gods during the same period, those with swords are now representatives of martial monks and models of practitioners.
There are only a small number of them, and their style of life and death and challenging the limits are admired by the younger generation of the Yao people.
As soon as the Sword Bearers appear, many people will take the initiative to strike up a conversation and treat them to dinner, just to chat with them and learn about their cruel cultivation and life-and-death battles.
Two races at the same time.
The Jade Rabbits fell into the unemployment wave and were worried about their livelihood, but the Sword Bearer became a star of the Yao people and has been implementing his ideals.
Why does this happen?
Is it nature, choice, or just bad luck?
Bai Ding couldn't understand.
At the age of nineteen, Bunny the Rabbit decided to change his life.
It packed its bags and left its hometown with the migrating army, rushing to the forefront of the newly developed city, Shacheng.
…
It is said that the Sword Bearer clan arose from Shacheng.
The Huayun Monk outside Shacheng lost many sword-bearing men to his men, but it also gave birth to the legendary swordsman Bearing the Sword Bei.
He once rushed to the battlefield of the Kingdom of God, single-handedly entered the enemy camp, stabbed the enemy apostle to death and then escaped without a trace.
It is said that he later challenged the Eighteen Disaster Beasts - but during the challenge, he lost his sword and became enlightened. He no longer persisted in fighting and swordsmanship, and disappeared without a trace.
Since then, some people said that they had seen him in the Yancheng Museum, others said that he haunted the port of Yaocheng, and some people saw a figure suspected of carrying the sword Bei outside the dragon's nest... The heroic swordsman in the past has become
A hermit.
If you can recognize him and succeed in your apprenticeship, you might be able to become the next Grandmaster Tai Xi.
After Bai Ding arrived in Shacheng, his expectations were quickly shattered by the cold reality.
The competition in this city is even more terrifying than Crystal City!
The influx of a large number of Lu people and Bamboo people caused all kinds of jobs in Shacheng to be snapped up. Compared with people from the Yao world, the Lu people and Bamboo people cherished the opportunity to stay in Shacheng more.
Bai Ding could only return to his old business and became a local running rabbit].
Every day, it carries the sign on its back and runs around the streets and alleys of Shacheng.
The sign said "Mina Antique Shop, sincerely buy all kinds of treasures".
The owner of the antique shop is called Mina. She is a kind and elegant lady with long burgundy hair, but she always puts it in a bun behind her head. She is low-key and capable.
Boss Mina has had two husbands, and it is said that each of them had a small fortune.
All the two husbands left her was cold and heavy money.
The Swordbearer clan has a very good relationship with her, and the famous swordsman of Shacheng, Bearer Jianyu, would often visit here.
The boss likes to acquire all kinds of rare and rare treasures, but the so-called treasures actually depend on her personal preference.
If Boss Mina likes it, then she is willing to pay a large sum of money even for an ordinary stone. If she is not interested, she will not look at it even if it is an out-of-print handmade Twin Cities armor or an ancient book.
Boss Mina would sometimes joke: "Bai Ding, aren't Yutu very brave? Why are you scolded by those guys who bring fake goods, but you don't dare to expose them?"
Bai Ding smiled a little awkwardly.
This is also its fatal weakness.
Bai Ding has been very timid since he was little. He is naturally thinner than other jade rabbits and is afraid of arguing and fighting with others.
Even if it discovers that someone has been deceived or treated unfairly, it cannot stand up and speak out like other Jade Rabbits. It can only tell the victim or comfort the victim much later.
This is also the reason why I left Crystal City.
Even among the Jade Rabbit clan who didn't get along well, everyone looked down on Bai Ding. Even if he had nothing, Jade Rabbit at least still had the heroic spirit left by his ancestors!
Everyone often scolds Bai Ding.
"How come you are such a coward in our clan? If someone bullies you, fight back and stand up when you see injustice. This is what Yutu should do!"
"What about you? You know how to run away. What a waste!"
Bai Ding has the courage to escape.
It really doesn't dare to face danger directly.
"But, being timid is not a bad thing."
Boss Mina also said: "To survive, you must learn to avoid disasters and threats. In fact, this world has never defined each ethnic group and what each person must do... Lord Yao Shen has never given such an order."
"Perhaps the strength of the Jade Rabbit is too conspicuous, and everyone seems to have forgotten that the earliest rabbits and cross-country rabbits are timid species, and they live by running and identifying dangers."
"These things that we take for granted now, after stretching the time line, were not like this in the past, one or two hundred years ago... The wilderness is full of dangers, and meddling in other people's business is a fool who dislikes longevity. All kinds of life have their own way out.
, everyone just took different paths. Don’t pay too much attention to it.”
Although he knew this was the boss's comfort, Bai Ding was still very grateful.
…
During a daily run at work, someone suddenly stopped Bai Ding.
"Is it Mr. Bai Ding? Please wait a moment."
The person who greeted it was a strange man wearing a yellow cloak.
This man wears a pointed hat and looks like a mage. He has a tall and straight body and a stiff face. No matter what expression he makes, he has a look of trying his best but not cooperating well with his muscles.
Feel.
He claims to be Yazdan, a magician from the distant Resurrection Kingdom.
"Thanks to the kindness and gift of the gods, I am able to make up for the incomplete body here. Recently, I am still getting used to my new right hand."
Yazdan raised his right hand, revealing a metal arm from his sleeve. His Yao language was very difficult to pronounce, and his foreign accent was even worse than that of Bai Ding.
Bai Ding hesitated for a moment: "Mr. Yazdan, I don't have money to watch your magic... I am just a running rabbit. If there is nothing else, I will continue to work."
"Wait a minute."
The magician in yellow said: "I want to hire you."
"ah?"
Bai Ding was a little confused. He tied the rope tied to his shoulders tightly to ensure that the promotional board on his back would not fall off.
The other party said: "I am the chief news collector of Shachengdi Newspaper Office, and I want to hire you as my assistant."
Bai Ding has heard of the name Di Newspaper Hall.
Boss Mina frequently mentioned this word when chatting with Negi Jianyu.
It is said that this is a brand new institution of the Sand City Temple. It will change the notice board in the past to paper printing, thereby turning it into a regularly issued newspaper, allowing all kinds of news inside and outside the city to spread faster.
But so far, I haven't seen any newspapers.
Yazdan said that turning wooden notice boards into newspapers will have a huge and far-reaching impact.
In the past, the notice board could only accommodate the most important notifications, such as disaster reminders, talent recruitment, opening of access to Yao cities, etc.
The content of newspapers is more than ten times that of notice boards.
The above includes not only important notices, but also various detailed trends in the city: such as when the rose garden will be opened to the public, what kind of goods are sold in the store, when will the registration for the latest martial arts tournament be registered, when will the academy enroll students, and how many people will be recruited?
...In addition, it will continue to report on the trends of the entire Yao Kingdom, as well as various major events occurring in the outside world.
The duty of the collector is to collect materials from everywhere, organize and record them, and then publish them in the latest newspapers.
The most important thing is that newspapers can be printed quickly enough, and an issue will be published every few days.
All this attracted Bai Ding deeply.
But it still doesn't understand what the relationship between it and the collector is.
After thinking about it, running fast is probably the only thing that has anything to do with it.
"Being good at long-distance running is certainly an advantage, but the most important thing is that you are very timid and will not take risks or cause trouble. Caifeng will experience a lot of things, and if you fall into it, it will be very troublesome."
Yazdan said: "In addition, I also need your evaluation."
"evaluate?"
"right."
The magician said: "Due to racial characteristics, I cannot judge whether the feelings brought by certain information are good or bad, whether they are in line with people's likes or dislikes. In the end, my position only concerns the belief in gods...
…And you, born as a descendant of heroes, have a keen sense of what makes people angry and afraid.”
"In short, I need an assistant who can distinguish right from wrong, but will not provoke and get involved in right and wrong."
"And you, Bai Ding, are my ideal candidate."
"To me, you alone can be like a thousand soldiers."
Bai Ding was still touched by the other party's polite compliment.
The boss is really right.
There is a way out for being timid.
After confirming Yazdan's identity and the truth of what he said, Bai Ding quit his job as a rabbit runner and resolutely became a collector and served as Yazdan's assistant.
As Yazdan said, the salary of the collectors is quite good, they have freedom of movement, and they can travel to many places at public expense reimbursed by Shacheng.
Then, Yazdan's words gave Bai Ding the urge to resign.
"We may go to the Twin Snakes Empire to collect information."
"Don't worry, it won't be that fast, but it is indeed a big action on the schedule. We will wait until the situation is relatively safe before making detailed arrangements."
A smile appeared on Yazdan's face: "The Twin Snakes Empire is the main civilization of the Resurrection Kingdom, and it is also the partner of the Yao people. We will go there as the Yao people's sand city collectors, and there will be no big problem. The apostles have already dealt with it.
Hello."
"Just a little trouble."
"There is a war breaking out there right now, so when we go there, the accommodation conditions may not be that good along the way. We have to overcome these difficult conditions."
Bai Ding couldn't help laughing.
Is this an accommodation issue?
The war between the Twin Snakes Empire was said to have broken out as a rebellion. But rumors spread in the newspaper office that it was actually a fight between the electors for the position of emperor.
After going there, can you really come back alive?
Bai Ding expressed doubts.
Yazdan finally promised: "If you are really worried... I can go there alone. Don't force it. It's not that time yet, it's still very early."