The Office could not vacate a room for a chamber of commerce that had already moved in, but it was responsible for arranging accommodation for the White Flag grocery store. The liquid metal man inquired for a while, and temporarily handed over an old warehouse that belonged to the office.

"It's a bit of a hassle to clean up the warehouse, but it's a big place. If you weigh the pros and cons, warehouses are actually a good place to go. "The liquid metal man flipped his palm, and part of it bubbled up like a fountain, forming the shape of a key, which then transformed into a solid state. "Manager Raisa, our office believes that the warehouse will be a good new starting point for the White Flag grocery store. ”

"If the original room of the White Flag is vacant, we will have a limited leaseback. Seeing that the liquid metal man nodded in agreement, Raisa picked up the key, asked for the address, and led the way out.

Qian Jing hurriedly pushed the wheelbarrow and followed. He couldn't wait for what the world outside the room was like.

The Stronghold used to be called Sand Star because of the harsh desert climate that dominates here. For as long as civilization has been recorded, the inhabitants of Stronghold have relied on scattered oases for their livelihood, and the progress of civilization has been slow until they discover a starry portal from the depths of the desert that they don't know who left here.

Giant starry portals can be activated by solar power and can only lead to a fixed location. Fortunately, this one of the strongholds leads to a peaceful, friendly, developed and conservative civilization, avoiding the possibility of enslavement, cleansing, or assimilation. Through his association with that friendly civilization, Stronghold gradually learned to use magic to transform the environment with the power of the ubiquitous earth element. They carefully cultivated oases, fought the desert with great difficulty, and reversed the process of desertification by building fortresses of sand energy. Now, they have become a magical civilization with great power, and the desert is no longer in the majority, so they have been renamed Fortress Stars.

The Ring Alliance Chamber of Commerce office is entirely wooden, which is a very luxurious thing in Fortress Star. However, from the very beginning, the Strongholders attached great importance to their connection with the outside world, and felt that they could not overestimate their respect for such a powerful and neutral, friendly and cautious organization as the Ring Alliance. Outside the office, the rest of the houses here are all masonry, with golden lightning flowing from the foundations to the roofs on the flat yellow facades. Houses here are generally built high, and the jungle of masonry buildings creates a large cool shadow on the ground. On Earth, only steel structures work, and here, magic supports everything.

Walking in the shade like the money mirror is a group of people with more slender bodies, squinting eyes, long eyelashes, short nose bridges, small nostrils, and thin and inward lips. They wore some sort of leather robe, fitted with animal scales, and most of the clothes were designed to be airy, except that the boots under their feet were tightly wrapped and the soles were thick. Seeing Qian Jing and the others, they took the initiative to smile and wave, and said in their mouths: "Welcome, hello", obviously very hospitable.

If you don't pay too much attention to the camel-like beasts with thick scales that look like lizards, the ground has an ordinary market feeling. Everyone was chatting at the door of the store, chatting about the shortcomings of the parents, chatting anecdotes, and making a business from time to time - Qian Jing was very interested in the kind of meat slices cooked on hot stones. However, if you look up, you can see a different picture. Many people flew in the sky, followed by a series of boxes and baggage.

Qian Jing estimated that these were deliveries, and those sitting on chairs next to them with sun umbrellas on their heads should be ordinary pedestrians. After a while, Qian Jing also saw a giant snake at least thirty meters long flying through the sky, twisting its body to nimbly avoid the flight trajectory of others. There was only one person sitting on the snake, and that person was shrouded in a brilliant rainbow light.

"Those are the magicians of the Sand Star, and flying is a common ability here. "The last time I was here, I was in their flying competition, and I was hit by a sandstorm. They were all blown away, and I was fine, and I won the championship. My trophy is still at home, and I'll show it to you when I get back. ”

These words came in and out of Qian Jing's left ear and out of his right ear, because his attention was completely attracted by a huge building. If the surrounding masonry houses are tall and dense jungle, it is clear that the conical structure is Mount Everest. It is round at the bottom and sharp at the top, rising from the ground and reaching into the sky. Its tip is too far from the ground, and it emits a light no less than the brightness of the sun, so it can't see clearly even if you try to squint. The entire building has no windows or landings, and the façade is completely smooth and level. It was clear that it was drawing energy from the earth, sending it to the top in the form of golden lightning to feed the light.

"That's the fortress, a special kind of magic tower, a super-giant elemental energy device used to change the climate and environment. The ghost not only said to Qian Jing, but also said to Laisha: "The earth element energy of the sand star is very rich, and the fortress continues to absorb the earth element energy, and then uses ingenious methods to resist the invasion of the earth element, so that the area of the oasis continues to expand. The mages here are very powerful, you are flesh and blood, don't be petrified by a spell. ”

Qian Jing reacted immediately and immediately raised the flagpole. The white flag fluttered in the hot wind, and the golden circle slowly descended, protecting the group in it. "I was a little distracted just now, I should have unfurled the flag as soon as possible, and I wouldn't make this mistake next time. It's not just that you have to be careful of the local magicians, but I think that little Japanese contempt should be more guarded. ”

Raisa nodded first and then shook her head: "Actually, he is not from Japan, or even from our earth." The headquarters of the Group is built in the asteroid belt, which is an organization of another world. But one thing is true, its roots do come from an island nation – an island nation on another planet. ”

"Another Earth? Parallel World? I was just wondering how the multiverse is so small that you can still see those guys after crossing over. ”

"It's true that we came from a parallel world, and our White Flag Grocery Store is fortunate to be on the Origin Earth, and in many ways we are born with an advantage. Well, these advantages are not manifested at the moment. Raisa said as she walked, "Actually, there is a high probability of meeting them here." Generally speaking, when civilizations learn from and collaborate with each other, they pay more attention to interconnectedness. The native species of Stronghold have a lot in common with humans, so they have an advantage to learn from. The species are too different, and many times they can't learn if they want to, and the products can't be used, let alone bought and sold. So, you're going to see more humans here, or humanoids more generally. ”

"Oh, I see. Manager, what kind of business are we doing this time?"

"You don't need to worry about this, I have my own plan. Raisa led a man and a ghost through the alley to a two-story brick house. The key in her hand kept flashing blue, and the building's door lock was flashing accordingly.

"This is it, it looks pretty good, it's not a simple warehouse, it's a form of storage in the front storefront and the back of the storefront, which occupies a large enough area and is close to the main road. Raisa breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the house: "At least the receptionist didn't lie to us, he ran independently here, and he had more freedom and privacy than huddled in the office." Qian Jing, ghost, you two clean up here, I'll ......"

Before she could finish her sentence, she was interrupted by a familiar voice. Captain Chang Sheng walked out of the house across the street and raised his right hand high: "Store Manager Laisha, I didn't expect us to be on the opposite door!