Gwen left the apartment in borrowed clothes, a nondescript pink miniskirt and a lace white tank top. What happened last night weighed heavily on her, especially her left ring finger, and now a silver band acted as a guardian and ankle monitor.

Today, Gwen is bathed in cloudless skies, bathed in the soft autumn sun. With some free time, she decided to spend a few hours going for walks and thinking. Her first stop, City Hall, was where Gwen set off for Hyde Park. Once at the park, she was back under the old cypress tree that had collapsed half a year ago. There, she found a wound covered in old sap, where her uncontrolled cavity blasted away large chunks of ancient wood.

Today she touched the wound and vaguely realized that she had become indifferent. Adorable sixteen-year-old, she amuses herself with this meaningless number. What is the passage of time for a person who is not sure about her future? She feels like a plastic bag for an American beauty, behaving like the wind.

She wanted to see Yue and Avia more than ever, even though the two girls preferred to be with their families. Xiaoyue and her father have a regular activity every two weeks, and Avia either visits her family or works with her uncle and mother at a charity clinic on the edge of the city. Gwen rejects her immature desires and decides to unnecessarily disturb her friends' family-oriented schedules.

Family, those upset syllables made Gwen shudder. She has a body that has a family in this world: brothers, fathers, mothers, uncles and aunts. However, in this world of monsters and men, she is a lonely traveler whose path is divided in two, but not parallel to the others. That's its reality;

A second life, alone?

She didn't want that.

Walking down George Street, she lets the smell of cafes and restaurants distract her from depression. Gwen feels conflicted, focused on her growing hunger. She had a light breakfast, and it was almost noon now. She is in the middle of George Street, dividing Pitt Street in two, with restaurants in every few storefronts. The setting is familiar but exotic to her, and the décor is no different from her old world, despite the different signage of the shops and the fact that many businesses cater specifically to those with magical powers.

Curiously, the pedestrian zone where she is located seems to have abandoned modernization. There are no fancy glass shops on the street, and there are no high-end fashion stores.

Gwen realizes that the obvious difference is that her former home of Sydney was once a top city, and now Sydney is a frontier region that has recovered from the Mermaidgate occupation 30 years ago. Most of its buildings are the facades of the old town, made of earthen deformers, made of sandstone piles. For Gwen, while the two cities are aesthetically similar, there is a rundown air to the city, which speaks harshly about the "quality of life" here. Even on the main street, she could see that the alleys were full of garbage and garbage.

To her surprise, she stumbled upon an old place not far from the cinema.

In Gwen's Old World, the café used to be a quaint, chic little place that was popular with hipsters and fashionistas alike. The owner is an old man who always wears a loud waistcoat and his hairstyle changes with the mood of the day. He has a daughter who wants to take over the company, but finds love elsewhere to let the old man spend the rest of his life with his Arabica. Gwen was quite fond of the old man who flirted with her during his lunch break.

But Gwen's reference to a "hole in the wall" is deeply suspicious. The only indication that something was open was a rusty iron plate swinging on its last leg that read "Here's Coffee".

With nostalgia, Gwen convinces herself to drink coffee, no matter how bad. In addition, she was curious to know if the old man was here and if his daughter was still working part-time as a waitress in this parallel world.

"Hey?" she walked over. Thankfully, the interior was clean and tidy.

"Oh hi!" Welcome," Gwen was greeted by a girl her age, with short shoulder-length hair and a waitress's miniskirt rising above her knees. Fiona, her name is on the label.

Gwen flattened her skirt and sat down in the corner.

"What do you want?" another voice shouted. Gwen felt her heart pound. The old man is here!

"Hi, Greg," Gwen said in her usual fashion, trying her luck on pure white, extra, skimmed without sugar. ”

Seeing the dissonance between the strange figure of the girl in pink and her apparently familiar way of ordering, the old man stopped, and then continued his business.

Coffee arrived.

Gwen took a sip of her coffee. The milk was watery, and the beans were acidic, not at all like the pale white she had expected. Oh well, there are things that shouldn't have happened in the first place. She thought sadly, feeling stupid.

“!“

The sudden consciousness stung Gwen's spine.

She carefully moved her hand into her back pocket, only to realize that she was indeed wearing Alexia's dress.

Her currency card!her purse!she left it in Alexia's apartment!Her keychain had a student logo on it and was used for public transportation, school meals, and academic activities, but all private expenses had to be spent from the account her mother had set up for her years ago.

Will she be able to leave her contact information? Will Greg accept it?

As Gwen pondered the terrible coffee and her embarrassing mistake, two young men wandered into the store, their roars disrupting her train of thought.

"Two cappuccinos, hurry!" they didn't particularly shout rudely to anyone.

Gwen frowned, the old store had never had customers like this, which was one of the reasons she liked the atmosphere. When Fiona, the waiter, brings two menus to the men, Gwen can tell that they are more interested in her outfit.

"I told you the service here is good," one of them shouted to the other, dear, what's your name?"

The waitress smiled and said nothing.

"Hey, what's your name?"

One of them read her label.

"Is it Fiona?"

"Fiona, are you still in school?"

"Come and sit with us, Fiona. ”

Gwen felt anger burn in her chest.

She watched as the waitress ran away with the man's orders. When Fiona returns with Cappuccino, Gwen yells at her master's carelessness. Greg: What are you doing? You should take it out yourself! In Gwen's opinion, this world's version of Greg is somewhat incompetent.

Gwen wonders if she should help father and daughter, despite the fact that there are too many unknowns. Greg may have been her friend in the Old World, but here he is a stranger. With conscious hypocrisy, Gwen put aside the motto she put forward as "noble in power."

"Sir, let go

Her predicament escalated with a scream, a cry of pain and panic. Gwen looked up from the cup and saw a man grab the girl by the waist and force her to sit with them. During the struggle, a cup was spilled, and now, the two firmly blame Fiona.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Greg shouted angrily from behind the coffee machine, pulling out what looked like a wooden stick.

"As I thought," one of the young men smiled from ear to ear, "Jody, they're all pseudonyms. ”

Soon, his companion's demeanor changed from irritable to downright arrogant.

"What are we doing?" the mage pushed Fiona into his chair and knocked her to the floor.

He held up a finger, and a ring of water surrounded her father.

"Do you dare to attack the mage, Noam?"

Old Man Greg glared indifferently at the two men who had attacked him. Compared to what they might have done to him, his wooden baton made a joke.

"What... What do you want? You can't use the magic company against us!' it's against the law!" Fiona screamed at the two on the floor. I'll inform the police!"

The threat seems to have worked.

"Watch your back, slut!" Jody rudely spat at the girl who was still prone on the ground.

The two young men moved away, and that's when they met Gwen.

Fucking!alarm bells rang in Gwen's head. I should go.

"Hey, Miss," Jody's eyes lit up, and you work here too?"

Gwen immediately headed for the door. With or without obligation, she will not participate in these catwalks. As soon as she went out, she called the police. If a bystander called the police, there was no reason for these bastards to harass the shopkeeper.

But she underestimated the motives that drove these two hot-tempered scoundrels. The two dollars were already enraged by their failure to pick up the waitress, and they stared at the girl with pink flowers in front of them with wide eyes, like an orchid Jody hurriedly ran to the exit. As soon as he saw the girl, his heart was filled with longing. Something about this girl, prettier than all the girls he had ever seen, prompted him to act. The young man thought lasciviously that it would be nice if he could get the girl to go out with him, and that it would be nice for his friend to have a look of jealousy! It didn't matter if she was a pseudonym or not, he just wanted to have her.

At the same time, Gwen was appalled by the man's audacity. Really? Did they strike up a conversation with her in broad daylight?

"Hurry up!" she stated in a tone suggestive of mass murder.

The young man instinctively backed away. Gwen took the opportunity to escape from the coffee shop.

Never going to a sneaky café in search of nostalgia, Gwen assures herself that she rushes to the boulevard, where pedestrian traffic will ensure that she can call the police without restraint.

Gwen had barely taken a dozen steps before he felt someone tug hard at her ankle, a soaking wet thing tugging at her left foot, soaking through her wedge sandal. She turned around coldly and saw Jody with a silly smirk on her face, very pleased with a watery mage's hand.

"I don't know your name yet," he said with a smile.

"Hand of the Sorcerer!"

Gwen turned on her spell signal, hoping that a dust of lightning would exist where the man was smiling and standing. The air beneath Jody's feet was electrified, and an arc gripped his ankle.

"Aha!" shouted Jody, jumping into the air, twitching uncontrollably before clumsily landing on the dirty sidewalk, forcing him to perform a freestyle "Bugs."

His friend stepped back with his hands held high, and his face suddenly turned gray. He didn't want to anger a quasi-elementalist.

"I don't know him very well, he's just an office worker," he explains, and we just happen to be resting together. ”

The man told the truth. They are the common mages of the manufactory. From the man's expression, Gwen could tell that making himself scarce was his greatest wish at the moment.

"Don't move," she ordered, showing her best impression of Gunther.

She wanted a lightning-fast mana particle to circulate through her body, and her iris glowed, forming two concentric rings of cobalt.

"ID card," she said coldly. Jody's frightened companion took out the IDs of the two after filming Jody moaning.

Gwen glanced at it, the workers of the two manufacturing factories were low-level mages, and their talents only allowed them to operate enhanced machinery, which was worthless in the wilderness or when confronting monsters.

"Don't come here again, and don't bother the shopkeeper," she continued, throwing their ID cards back, or the rough people will do to you what I'm too lazy to do. ”

"Of course, ma'am... Of course!" begged the two, one on his knees, the other on his knees.

Gwen observed that the man was covered in a thin layer of transformation mana, giving him enough power to pick up his spasmodic friend and quickly retreat. Gwen turns to leave, though the click of a sandal ruins her exit from the film.

"I'm sorry... Madame Mage......" a voice shouted. It's the hostess, Fiona.

Oh, I haven't paid yet!Gwen's face was on fire. Should she eat and sprint? Everything has a first time, whether it's threatening to electrocute a bastard or escaping from a $4 white apartment.

"Thank you......" the waiter bowed deeply.

"Nothing. Goodbye!" Gwen said as she stepped back, stomping her foot down the alley.

As soon as she got out on the street, she took the opportunity to stand in the sun, one foot sticking out of her sandal, her eyes fixed on her bare feet, waiting for the damn thing to dry.

She wanted to go somewhere else.

The pedestrian area of Pitt Street has always been a luxury district. Here, huge, flashy shop windows frighten those with weak wallets. Although Gwen has a weakness in handbags, she has always had a preference for handmade and boutique products.

A block later, she came to an old Victorian arcade street, and she was excited to see another place being replicated in this parallel world.

Unsurprisingly, this place has shops that she has never seen before. What was once a boutique of hats, shoes, ties and vests reigned supreme, and here, in this reality, crystals, magical trinkets and magical jewels flooded the enclosed venue.

As Gwen walked through the arched gate, a guard in a bright blue uniform gave her a warm and seductive smile.

"Welcome, ma'am, please have a great time at the mall. ”

Gwen welcomed the man back. She glanced over the guard's head and saw a detection device.

"This is to keep it from anyone else, ma'am," the man said in a cordial and polite tone, wishing you a pleasant journey, and if you have any questions, I will be happy to answer. ”

"Thank you. Gwen walked uneasily past the guards.

Is there a segregation of shoppers here? Gwen's objection reminded her of her segregated analogy to the world in which she lived. It was the first time she had seen a bar from the entrance. In her old home in Forresterville, there had never been a shop that banned the use of pen names;

Now inside, Gwen's eyes scanned a series of windows. She could feel the density of the mana in this place, so pronounced that she could almost touch it. Gwen approached the first store, where a large window displayed a dozen pairs of delicate earrings studded with philosopher's stones. Each item has a short description, what it does, and a price tag.

Anti-aircraft earrings

Enhance your ability to shape and control elemental air. Provides a significant efficiency increase in mana conversion equivalent to 2-3 layers.

Layer 5 Blue Wind Fox, Orange Zone, Indonesia.

Master Crafter R.J. Tillerson, 4 English. Chapter IV.

~45H. D. Rice crystal

If Gwen was drinking, the shopkeeper would have to wipe the juice off the window. According to Gwen's recollection, her summer job selling ice cream on the beach was in Australian dollars, which could only be used to buy non-magical items. The last time she got the news from Helena was that her father earned no more than 90 HDM units a month, which translates to less than $50,000. However, conversion rates aren't a reliable indicator, as names often don't get access to magical items and services. In addition, Gwen suspects that the magician-controlled border government is taking advantage of the quid pro quo to keep the Nome in their place.

She glanced at the price again and felt her breathing quicken. Gunther has said that Edgar's emergency teleportation ring could be between five thousand and ten thousand HDM companies. Anyone with that much money doesn't feel pain because of the loss of an arm and a leg.

"Miss?"

Gwen looked up and saw the salesperson smiling calmly, she was a beautiful blonde woman with lovely sky-blue eyes, wearing a whole set of glamorous earrings and a necklace, which was breathtaking.

"Do you want to try these things? We have a polite cognitive resonator where you can test the efficacy of these items. ”

"No, thanks, I'm just looking," Gwen replied. The woman nodded hurriedly to her before returning from behind the counter.

Passing through four stores, Gwen finds what she's been looking for since she found out that these stores existed – storage rings. There are dozens of this "luggage shop", all of which vary in shape and size.

Storage Ring (Micro)

Allows storage and retrieval of small items. Maximum capacity 0.3 liters.

Layer 3 high-density spatial crystals, orange zone, Australia.

by Master G.D Cooper, 5 English. 3T.4E。

ABOUT 80 H.D. M CRYSTALS

She looked at the selected ones with an increasingly serious expression.

Storage Rings (Medium)

Allows storage and retrieval of large items. The maximum capacity is 3000 liters.

Layer 8 high-density spatial crystals, black area, South Africa.

Master craftsman P.J. Cali Jr., 8 English. 5 tons 6 amps.

~1990H. D. Rice crystal

“...“

Gwen wondered if she had ever had so many liquid assets even in her past life. 1990 HD Crystals?If her father gave up two years' salary, he could buy one.

Needless to say, touching the crystal will greatly help her spells. In her past life, her consulting firm made a lot of money, and she created a team of experts who came up with efficient and creative solutions, but how did her knowledge of finance, creative accounting, marketing, and international business help her? They lubricate the pinions of the economy, but the mages pull the levers.

The bigger problem is that she's a high school student. She can't be a mage, and also works under a pseudonym, right? Where did she get the crystal investment? The only person in her family who has money left over is Uncle Guan, who inherited his fortune from a wizarding grandfather

Grandpa Huang!

She stopped. Maybe she can talk to her grandfather about it? She can pay off the sponsorship in a year or two. She remembered seeing him a few years ago, and the old man was very pleasant. According to Helena, the old magician's teeth are getting longer and longer, and his mind is not what it used to be, but he is still a fifth-tier enchanter! Not only that, but he also lives separately from his uncle and her mother's new home in the Huang family's country estate. Between her charm and his aging – he has no reason to ignore a much-needed granddaughter!

Gwen glanced miserably at the ring in the warehouse again, ignoring the clerk's rapid blinking of eyes in an attempt to catch her eye. Think of a twenty-kilometer-long poisonous snake that could destroy the city in one fell swoop, and here she is, with the sorrow of money.

She sighed.

Some things never change.