That's right, the boy couldn't confirm Lanji's position.
Even though Lan Ji gave the boy a lot of help, the boy was also very grateful to her.
But the boy was still not sure what the consequences would be if she knew that he helped the slaves rebel.
This woman has always been among the top leaders of Tieyu City and was reused by the city lord Feng Ze.
Although she seems to be at odds with the second-in-command Wu Gang, she is indeed the management of Tieyu City.
Just when the boy was hesitant, Bai Feng suddenly said: "Go and have a good chat with her!"
"Uh? No problem?"
If Lan Ji is the enemy and learns the information on his side, the boy believes that all the preparations they have made will be in vain.
"Since he is someone you trust, I think there will be no problem."
"Um, this..."
This is too trustworthy for me.
The young man didn't know how to answer for a moment.
"Anyway, how would you know if you don't try? You taught me this."
After saying that, Bai Feng pushed the young man's shoulders and pushed him to the door.
"Go! It's not too late! Talk to her quickly!"
"Uh! Okay!"
The young man followed the force of Bai Feng's push and ran forward.
"As expected...are we still human?"
Bai Feng's slightly resentful words disappeared into the sound of wind in the young man's ears.
...
It was already getting late, and he was already approaching the gate. The young man bribed the guard and came to the ground from the underground city.
The boy went to a prostitute.
The young man asked the prostitute at the door: "Is Miss Lan Ji here?"
The prostitute with a somewhat downcast expression said, "Miss Lanji is in her room now."
"What happened here? Why do you seem to..."
The boy found that the mood of these prostitutes was a little low, some even had red and swollen eyes, and did not take the initiative to welcome customers. This was taboo for the "Huansha Spring", which always emphasized a gentle, optimistic and enthusiastic external image.
The prostitutes at the door sighed:
"Our Lisha is dead..."
"Alas, another good sister has passed away."
"Really... when will you be the boss!"
...
The young man remained silent and walked towards the top floor of "Huansha Spring" with heavy steps.
As he went upstairs, he took a look at the ornately decorated private rooms. The thick walls blocked any sounds that might come from inside.
However, the boy seemed to hear the woman's painful moans and the man's wanton laughter at this time. He remembered what a prostitute said in a chat a few days ago: "If you have a choice, who would want to be raped by a group of people who don't know each other at all?"
Ride on it?"
"There is no better choice. If you spread your legs, you can eat well and wear warm clothes, and you can live a carefree life. There is nothing better than this..."
"It's not like we're willing to be debauched, we have no choice."
"It seems like your old lover isn't here anymore."
"Tsk, that stinky man would be better off dead."
"Then why are you crying?"
"Am I crying? I'm laughing! Haha!"
...
"Tsk!"
The boy covered his ears and quickened his pace to get rid of these sounds.
However, in the past, he blocked too many sounds, just like hiding garbage in a cupboard, which would be drowned out once he opened the cupboard door.
"Ha ha......"
Panting heavily, the young man ran to Lan Ji's door in one breath, but the short distance actually made him exhausted.
The young man knocked on the door and said, "Miss Lanji, are you there?"
"Come in..."
Lanji's voice was a little tired and lacked the confidence it had before, but it was still so gentle and tired.
"Miss Lanji, what exactly are you doing here...?"
The books and various collections that were originally neatly arranged in Lan Ji's room were randomly thrown on the floor, and the map fell off its stand. It was as if two barbarians had come and had a fight.
The boy wanted to say something after entering the door, but when he saw the messy room, he couldn't say anything.
"I failed to protect that child..."
Lan Ji sat in front of the window, holding a glass of red wine in her hand. She looked at the moonlight outside and murmured to herself.
"Well, actually...I haven't protected anything."
The boy hesitated for a while and then asked: "Is it Lana too?"
"Um."
Lan Ji nodded, she looked very weak now.
The boy clenched his fists and asked, "Actually, you know the murderer of Lana, right?"
"Yes, I know."
"Who is the murderer?"
"Maria Siegel, the guard captain you taught, was Lana's last guest."
"Why didn't you tell me before?"
"What can we do? Let him deduct some salary? Then let the guards make things difficult for us everywhere?"
"..."
The young man fell into silence and loosened his hands.
It's true that I don't know Lanji's situation, and of course I can't understand why she wants to avoid it at every turn.
Lanji was burdened with too many things, and the boy knew that because she had too many things that she cared about, she couldn't spread her arms and legs at all.
"It can't be solved. I tried, but it didn't work."
Lanji smiled, holding up the wine glass and looking at the bubbles rising from the dark wine inside.
"We are too weak. I try to let myself learn more things so that I can change something."
"The result... is just from a 'slave' to a 'useful slave'."
"What did you put in the drink?"
The boy found an empty medicine bottle at Lan Ji's feet, and the color of the glass of red wine in her hand was a little off.
Lanji looked at the boy and asked, "Have you ever heard of 'Kukal'?"
"I've heard that it's drugs."
Regarding the boy's answer, Lan Ji laughed, shook her head and said, "Haha, is it drugs? In my opinion or the opinion of many people in this city, this is a good medicine."
"Have you used it before?"
Lan Ji was not in a very normal state of mind right now, and the boy started to take steps without leaving any trace.
Lan Ji looked at the dark red liquid in the wine glass, squinted her eyes, and said with a smile on her lips: "To be precise, I have to drink a little before going to bed every day, otherwise I won't be able to sleep."
"Then this cup of yours is..."
The young man frowned, the alarm bell in his heart was ringing.
"I put Kukal's essence in it, a lot of it..."
Lan Ji looked at the wine glass with more and more confusion.
She has been hesitating whether to drink it. She still has many things she wants to do and many unfulfilled wishes.
But this heartbreaking pain seems to have no limit. Do I really want to hold on?
One mouthful, just one mouthful, and after taking it, the mind will be completely anesthetized, without any thinking, and without any pain.
Those beautiful fantasies hidden in the subconscious will cover up everything, and she will stop breathing in the mellow hallucinations.
The cold and transparent crystal cup is getting bigger and bigger in the field of vision, and the dark red liquid has some tiny bubbles, churning on the surface and then exploding.
"stop!"
The boy rushed towards Lan Ji like a leopard and grabbed her wrist that was holding the wine glass with his backhand.
"Well!"
Before Lan Ji could react, or her current consciousness and reaction were extremely slow, the young man not only spilled the wine in her hand that was mixed with a large amount of Kukal's essence on the ground, but also dragged her from the dangerous window sill.
Come down.
"Are you crazy?!"
The young man roared angrily, and after pressing down Lan Ji, who was already unconscious, he raised his hand and gave her a crisp slap on the face.
The boy didn't want to hit a woman, especially Lan Ji, and he still respected her. However, the irrational Lan Ji now was not the Lan Ji he knew, and he had to wake her up.
"You obviously still have a lot of things you want to do, right? You obviously still have a lot to bear, right? You still have a lot of people who believe in you and care about you, right?"
"Human life is so short! Why don't you cherish it?! If you don't live on, how will you know there is no dawn? How can you wait until the future you expect?!"
The young man asked a series of questions to the astonished Lan Ji. He roared like a trapped animal, his voice hoarse and heavy.
Lan Ji's eyes gradually regained their luster. She looked at the black-haired boy in front of her who was so angry that his cheeks were red. For some reason, tears flowed out of the corners of her eyes.
"if......"
Lan Ji reached out to touch the boy's trembling cheek, and wiped away the tears that were also flowing in the corners of his eyes with her fingers.
"If you grew up with me, maybe I would have fallen in love with you already?"
"ah?!"
Lan Ji's sudden confession made the young man look stunned.
Perhaps because he was aware of the red mark he left on Lan Ji's beautiful face, perhaps to cover up his embarrassment, or perhaps simply because he noticed the tears in the corners of Lan Ji's eyes, the young man also reached out to touch her cheek.
She wiped away her tears.
"Ugh!"
However, at this moment, Lan Ji suddenly stood up and threw the young man above her under her.
Originally, the young man should have had enough strength to counterattack, but his whole body was stiff and he did not resist Lanji's actions.
Lan Ji's long hair was spread out and fell on the young man's face. The fragrance of flowers and plants came from the tips of her hair and wrapped around the tip of his nose.
I... was knocked down?
The young man looked at the pretty face so close in front of him. Lan Ji's hands held the young man's arms respectively. However, at this time, he could not muster any strength to resist the gentle and light strength of this woman.
No, it's not that he couldn't exert any strength, it's that his body and mind were intoxicated by the scene, so he couldn't muster the will to resist.
Lan Ji possesses a transcendent charm. Her charm comes not only from her stunning appearance that is both pure and charming. She is also the most gorgeous woman in the city.
At this time, she had her hair disheveled, her clothes were messy, and she was as angry as an orchid, staring at herself with blurred eyes, with such a soft and charming body pressing on her body.
The delicate face, the floral fragrance in the hair, the mature and plump body, plus the satin-like smoothness felt on the little skin that came into contact, finally deprived the young man of his thoughts at the moment.
Only this beautiful creature was left in the young man's field of vision. The swaying firelight illuminated her delicate and white skin, showing the texture of red agate and white jade. The side face that flickered in the firelight gave this
The nearly perfect woman adds a bit of coquettish mystery.
At this moment, this charming face approached him with its hot breath.
Now there is a little surprise in the young man's eyes, as well as some inexplicable... expectations.
The young man even simply closed his eyes and felt the warm and sweet scent of the breath coming towards him.
Just like flowers and plants in the sun, they are charming and fragrant. Being able to touch and indulge in them must be a great happiness, right?
"Haha~"
Lan Ji chuckled like a silver bell, and then stood up from the boy.
"Well?"
The boy who was still lying on the ground touched the wet mark on his forehead with a puzzled look on his face.
"Am I... being teased?"
"Haha! Is this a return gift?"
Lan Ji put her hands on her back and winked mischievously at the boy on the ground.
"As a gentleman, he treats a lady so arrogantly. He must be punished!"
"Uh, haha..."
Is this punishment definitely not a reward?
The young man stood up from the ground with a wry smile, and then he and Lan Ji each found a chair and sat face to face.
"You came to see me if you had something to do?"
Lan Ji, who had returned to her normal posture, was sitting on the chair, with the gentle smile still on her lips, as if what happened before had never happened.
"Well, that's right."
The young man nodded, and then asked: "I have to know one thing first. If you knew that something bad for Feng Ze was happening, what would you do?"
"Oh? I'll probably stand by and watch... maybe even applaud."
Lan Ji frowned. At first, she was a little hesitant about whether the young man was Feng Ze's person, but she knew that the young man's nature would not be liked by Feng Ze.
Out of caution, she did not reveal the fact that she hated Feng Ze to the core.
"It seems that you hate him."
However, this kind of statement is enough. The young man is also a cautious person, and he does not intend to directly reveal his plan.
"Then can you tell me why you hate him?"
"If you don't tell me what you said, I won't tell you."
After saying that, Lan Ji picked up the black tea that had long since gone cold on the table, looking like "What can you do?"
"Well..."
Is this woman playing tricks on herself?
The young man's cheek twitched, hesitated for a while, and decided to "don't be suspicious of people who are suspicious of others" and trust Lan Ji.
"Okay... let me tell you..."
About a quarter of an hour later, the boy told Lanji the slaves' rebellion plan from beginning to end, but he concealed the fact that the main force was orc fighters.
"It's interesting."
Lan Ji listened attentively throughout the whole process. When the boy said everything, she was also holding her chin and thinking about something, and nodded from time to time, but did not interrupt.
The boy asked: "What do you think is the probability of success?"
"About 30%..."
"Uh? So low?"
"It's already pretty good. If you people in the middle rebel, they will all be wiped out."
"this......"
"Don't underestimate people's hearts. Besides, Iron Feather City's defense force is 13,000, and all of you slave fighters only have less than 600. Even if you are armed, you have no chance of winning in a head-to-head confrontation."
Having said this, Lan Ji paused for a moment and then said with a complicated expression:
"And you must be careful of Wu Gang and his 'Xiao' Guards Regiment. Although the total number is only one hundred, they are the elite of the elite, and you cannot confront them head-on."
After hesitating for a moment, the young man asked again: "What level do you think their strength should be? Can it be compared to a Noah's Legion?"
"It should be about the same strength as the Badafener Legion, a first-line legion. Ah, don't look at me like that, I'm not exaggerating."
The reason for the strange look in the young man's eyes was simply because Lan Ji actually compared it with the Badafinger Legion that he was familiar with. He continued to ask: "Is it at the level of the War Lions?"
"Do you actually know about the War Lion Team? It should be slightly weaker than the Golden Lion's War Lion Team... I'm not sure."
Lanji recalled those black-armored soldiers. She knew very well that these soldiers were definitely not comparable to ordinary guards. However, she didn't know much about the Badafinger Legion. There were many legends about this legion, so she also
Can't give a definite answer.
"That's really strong."
In the boy's impression, the average strength of the members of the Fighting Lions Team is basically the same as that of the original pioneer officer Heimer. Perhaps the older members of the Fighting Lions Team are even stronger. After all, they all followed the Golden Lions in their wars.
Elite, if the Flame Witch hadn't used forbidden magic to reduce the number of the War Lions by more than half before the war started, the tragic battle situation would have improved.
"Well, what you mean is, do you need me to provide a city defense map?"
Lan Ji is not entangled in the issue of the young man's combat power. She has already given him a reminder and believes that the young man will make his own plan.
"Yes, do you?"
"Of course I don't have such a thing."
"Well..."
That's right, the probability that non-military Lan Ji would possess such a blueprint recording top-secret information is indeed low.
Lan Ji looked at the disappointed boy and covered his mouth with a smile, "But I can draw one."
"Ah! Is this okay?"
Is it an illusion? The boy felt that Lan Ji seemed to be more evil-minded than before.
"Well, no one should be more familiar with this city than me. I have remembered all the buildings in the city, even the structure and fortifications of the city walls."
"Can you draw now?"
"sure."
After saying that, Lanji stood up and walked to the workbench. She looked quite confident.
The young man watched Lan Ji take out a large piece of parchment and draw with charcoal. It would take quite a while to draw this drawing, so the young man suggested: "Can I tell you something by the way?"
"Is it my business? Yes, I agreed after all. Although I don't want to mention this story, it doesn't hurt to tell it to you."
Lanji was answering the boy's questions and drawing at the same time, doing both tasks without any pressure.
"I am actually Julia Shay, the daughter of the previous city lord Heinrich Shay. Lanji is actually my nickname. Of course you can continue to call me that."
"Ah?? Are you the daughter of the previous city lord?"
The young man recalled the beheaded city lord in his memory, but looking back, it seemed that Uluka's memory span was a bit long, so he probably wasn't the unlucky child.
"Yes, are you surprised?"
"certainly."
The young man nodded.
Is this not surprising? The daughter of the previous city lord actually became the chief prostitute. What exactly happened in this city?
"It's a long story. My father was a refugee who survived the city's fall to the Black Kingdom. After the Black Kingdom was destroyed, he returned to this city that had become ruins."
"And my father was originally an architect. He accumulated a lot of prestige when he led the aborigines to rebuild their homes. After most of the buildings in Tieyu City were renovated, he was elected as the city lord of the new city, and he also
I met my mother during the construction of the city, and I was born on the day he was elected as the city lord. My father regarded me as his good luck, so after I was born, he always held me in the palm of his hand and could not bear to put me down.
"
"Then for the development of the city, my father used preferential land prices to attract foreign businessmen and ordinary people to live there, and opened up ports and highways, making Iron Feather City the most prosperous city on the northern border of mankind at that time."
"But because our city is located on a traffic thoroughfare, we don't have enough troops, and we lack strong people to settle in. So after a few years, all the ethnic groups gradually recovered from the shadow of the 'Black Tide', and they began to attack us.
I was interested in a fragile but wealthy boomtown. Because my father
I hope that Tieyu City can become a peaceful and neutral city and do not want to get involved in any disputes between forces, so he rejected all the olive branches that were offered to him. The result of this is that the caravans coming and going from here are often robbed.
, some people even attacked ordinary residents in the city."
"So our city was facing a major crisis. My father realized that we needed stronger city defense troops and garrison troops to protect our businesses and residents, and we also needed strong men who could calm the situation. So he spent a lot of money
Recruiting experienced mercenaries and capable people."
"After doing enough publicity, he recruited a capable person who is strong in his own right and has many talents."
"Um, let me guess...Feng Ze?"
The young man thought that he had heard the beginning of all this tragedy.
"Well, that's right. In my father's opinion, Feng Ze is a very capable young man. The city is in urgent need of talents, and my father wants to use Feng Ze's identity as a foreigner to promote our Iron Feather City to attract more people.
of the foreign population, so he was quickly re-employed.”
"Then it was rumored that the 'Desert Owls' of the desert gang, led by Wu Gang, came to Iron Feather City. The arrival of their elite warriors made my father very happy, and under Feng Ze's suggestion, my father will
The training of the city defense army was handed over to Wu Gang. Later, the weakened Tatars took a fancy to our Tieyu City and wanted to plunder it. However, under the command of Feng Ze, the city defense army led by Wu Gang was quickly defeated."
"After that, orcs or other barbarians tried to seize the city, but they were all defeated by the already powerful city defense army. Therefore, my father had great trust in Feng Ze and Wu Gang. Later, sister Mayena, who was the high elf archmage, also came to Tieyu
City, she was quickly reused by my father and was hired as the chief mage of Iron Feather City."
Mayena was actually the chief mage of this city? This was something the boy had never thought of.
"Due to the pressure from foreign enemies, my father wanted to build fortifications in the city, improve the city's underground structure, and rebuild the underground city. This would require a huge amount of expenditure, and the residents in the city mainly engaged in business or made simple handicrafts.
They gave up their business and needed a very high commission. The city defense army and the garrison occupied most of the young labor force, so there was not enough cheap labor in the city. So at Feng Ze's suggestion, my father agreed to buy slaves as slaves for the city.
labor to save money.”
"Later, as the city expanded and the population grew, my father hoped to turn Tieyu City into a large neutral trading city that was inclusive and open, and could continue to attract foreign tourists to spend money. He also began to build buildings in the city, hoping to build some wonders.
.”
"But because my father has adopted low taxes for the city, he has also provided welfare guarantees for city residents including medical care, housing, college studies, etc. At the same time, he has to maintain the expenses of the city defense army, so the amount he can mobilize is very limited. So, maybe,
With Feng Ze's suggestion, in short, my father ordered the city's trade office to start issuing steel coins, replace gold and silver currency with steel coins, and increase some tax rates."
"The implementation of steel coins went very smoothly. Businessmen both inside and outside the city recognized the steel coins. Because the gold and silver contents of gold and silver coins issued by various countries were not uniform, after unifying the use of steel coins, trade also became
More convenient. And because of the circulation of steel coins, a large amount of gold and silver currency has been recycled, as well as the expansion of urban business scope and the increase in tax rates
, my father had considerable funds that could be mobilized. However, with the construction of many wonders, especially the Great Temple of Light, the development of underground cities, moat excavation and other large-scale projects, a lot of money was spent. During this period, the city also
With the continuous purchase of slaves for labor, Iron Feather City gradually gained the title of 'Slave City' from that time on."
"About two years later, Iron Feather City's steel coins were suspected of being overissued. Someone used the steel coins to exchange a large amount of gold and silver in the city's inventory. At this time, the gold and silver in the warehouse were basically exhausted. My father
In the end, they could only stop the exchange of steel coins for gold and silver because they could not be exchanged. The result was a great devaluation of steel coins. Complaints arose among the people. They blocked the gate of Iron Helm Castle and held cart after cart of steel coins to demand
In exchange for the same amount of gold and silver coins that my father promised."
"My father was unable to fulfill his promise and could not save the value of steel coins that had fallen to the bottom. The people in the city who trusted my father and exchanged their accumulated gold and silver for steel coins were equivalent to losing most of their property."
The boy noticed that Lan Ji's shoulders seemed to be shaking at this time.
"In order to appease the public's anger, my father had no choice but to die to apologize."
"..."
The young man was silent. He understood why there were so many abandoned commercial streets in the city.
Due to the great depreciation of steel coins, Tieyu City's business reputation has plummeted. Merchants holding large amounts of steel coins have found it difficult to sustain their businesses. They can only exchange large amounts of steel coins for small amounts of gold and silver, declare bankruptcy, and leave the city.
"My father jumped from a high tower in the old city. In his suicide note, he considered himself a sinner and asked my mother to throw his body into the moat and not to build a tombstone. My mother was beaten on the street by thugs shortly after my father left.
Killed, and I... also completely lost everything I had."
Lan Ji sighed, and after calming down for a while, she continued:
"Then the economy regressed for ten years, and Iron Feather City, which was almost in a puddle of mud, was taken over by Feng Ze, my father's right-hand man. He tied the steel coins that were to be abandoned to the slave trade that was about to be banned by various countries and violated the laws of other countries.
He made huge profits in the smuggling industry, thereby restoring part of the prosperity of Tieyu City back then, and slowly Tieyu City became the current Tieyu City."
"At that time, someone maliciously shorted steel coins, right?"
The boy looked at the window where Lan Ji was drinking. Through that window, he could just see the tall tower in the old city. It was hard to imagine the pressure and pressure Lan Ji would feel every day as she looked at the place where her father jumped.
idea.
She was the daughter of the city lord who was loved by many, but her family was ruined overnight.
The originally highly respected old city lord was ruined and had to die to apologize.
The former trading capital that symbolized freedom and openness has also turned into a cruel and dilapidated slave city.
If there wasn't a huge conspiracy behind all this, the young man wouldn't believe it.
"Yes, someone overissued a large amount of steel coins, and the person who maliciously exchanged them in the first place probably has something to do with him."
"You already know who it is, right?"
"Um."
Lan Ji put down the charcoal pencil in her hand and the city defense map had been drawn.
"It's Feng Ze and his accomplices."
"Feng Ze's position in the city is general manager. Although he cannot directly order the trade office, he recommended the craftsmen who made the steel coin molds. And when a riot broke out, not a single battalion of the city defense army that my father spent a lot of money to train was moved. , only the garrison tried to protect our family, but they failed."
"After Feng Ze became the city lord, he immediately surrendered to the Noah Empire and obtained the autonomy granted by Emperor Noah in the form of tribute. He was also canonized as a baron. Then he reduced the number of city defense troops and garrison troops. Only the most loyal ones were left to continue to be his lackeys, and the wealthy gentry and chambers of commerce in the city that originally opposed him were eliminated. Within a year, he completely took control of the city that my father spent his whole life building."
"And I... wasn't too sensible at the time. I even thought he was my savior. I thought he would replace my father and realize my father's unfinished ideal."
"Obviously, I was very wrong. In order to gain the support of the residents, he often brought me with him to take advantage of my father's last bit of popularity, and I naively supported him..."
Lan Ji, who was a little out of control with her emotions, suddenly stood up. She held the parchment scroll and looked at the young man in front of her with a complicated expression.
"I still can't forgive myself. I also tried to resist and defeat him within the rules. So I learned a lot of things to give myself more abilities. In order for Feng Ze to reuse me, I proposed I made a lot of suggestions, including giving slaves the qualification to use steel coins. This not only stabilized the slaves but also made them work hard. After implementation, the effect was remarkable. Later, Feng Ze often accepted my opinions, and I gradually became his Kingdom Builders.”
"..."
The young man remained silent.
Did Lanji turn out to be one of the architects of this perfect system that exploited all the value of slaves?
"However, these are the rules he set, and I have no chance of winning. I tried to find the actual evidence that he caused the tragedy that year, but he handled it so cleanly that I almost died because of it, if it weren't for Sister Mayena who has been helping me , I’m afraid I’m already dead.”
"So the current situation in Tieyu City is partly caused by me."
Lan Ji looked into the boy's clear eyes and asked, "Do you hate me?"
"You are not wrong, Lan Ji. It is not you who are wrong, but the person who caused all this."
The young man couldn't hate Lan Ji anymore. The weeping woman in front of him was not the source of sin at all. She had been stained by sin for many years, but she had never really decayed. She had endured humiliation and burden to this day, but he admired her.
"He should pay the price for all this!"
"Okay! Although I would like to do it myself."
Lan Ji, who was trying to calm down, handed the city defense map in her hand to the young man.
"But I don't have the flint to light this 'torch', so I give this 'torch' to you."
The young man took the drawing with a solemn expression. He stared at Lan Ji's aqua blue eyes and said as if he was swearing something:
"Not only do I want to light the torch, I want to make this fire..."