On New Year's Day, the capital of knowledge at midnight has a special flavor. The city is brightly lit, and even the most remote corners are illuminated. The crowds on the streets are no longer as crowded as they are at night, but they still maintain a significant number, and most of the people roam the streets in the costumes of their homeland to celebrate the New Year, and even the cold winds of the winter night cannot quench the enthusiasm of the people.

"Happy New Year. A goblin in a purple jumpsuit ran past several people. The number of tenacious goblins has been reduced to a dangerous number for a race after the divine punishment of the Second Age and the shattering of the earth in the Third Age, but even so, it is still common to see these small men who are born researchers and mechanics in the City of Knowledge. The purple-clad goblin ran past and stretched out her hand while greeting, and Catherine naturally reached out to high-five him, which is the etiquette of the goblins, and they should act when greeting each other.

"Happy New Year. A lizardman walking upright approached him and held out his tail at the group. Lizardfolk are inhabitants of the Whispering Swamp, and are few in number, and it is rare to see them outside of the swamp. As a result of walking upright, their hind limbs are more developed, and their joints have undergone some subtle changes to adapt to their body posture, but other than that, most of their bodies are indistinguishable from lizards. Some scholars once believed that the lizardmen should be classified as a branch of the orcs, but both the orcs and the lizardmen strongly objected because they were created by different gods and could not belong to the same race.

Catherine looked at the lizardmen in embarrassment, and the lizardmen greeted each other by entwining their tails with each other, but it was obviously a slightly more difficult action for Catherine. Just when Catherine didn't know what to do, Pannis walked up, stretched out her hands to hold the lizardman's thick tail and shook it vigorously, and greeted the same way, "Happy New Year." ”

"Is this how humans respond to the lizardmen?" Seeing the lizardmen grinning and happily leaving, Catherine asked quietly, "How many times do you hold each other's tails?"

"Yes, to be exact, this is how tailless races greet lizardmen. Pannis explained: "Races with tails can just do the same with their tails. ”

"What an interesting race. Catherine said, "It's very interesting. ”

"Whew. An unpleasant howl rang out. A few orcs swerved out the other street with their shoulders hooked. The wolf clan, the bear clan, the tiger clan, the deer clan, the cow clan, there were seven or eight different groups of orcs mixed together, drunkenly wandering the streets. One of the bears happened to see Pannis's group and staggered over. Huge fists were stretched out at several people. Catherine smiled and swung her fist in the same way, and the two fists, which were twice as apart, met in the air with a dull crashing sound.

"It's a lot of work. The bear man shouted in a stiff lingua franca, and ran back to his friend with his fist clenched, rubbing his fist pitifully as he accepted the ridicule of his friends. The orcs of the bear clan are often like this, they compare their strength when they meet, and if they are strong enough, they are good friends.

Along the way, they met countless people head-on, and everyone they met, regardless of their same race, knew each other or not, would show a sincere smile and greet each other with a happy new year. At this time, in the capital of knowledge. Everywhere there was a scene of harmony and warmth.

"It's so hilarious. The extroverted Michelle shouted, "I wish every day was the New Year." ”

"I don't want that, that means I only have seven or eight hundred days to live, it's terrible. I don't know from which corner came an urn with a sound of urns, although I couldn't see the responder, but when I heard the meaning of the words, it was obviously a dwarf with a lifespan of about seven hundred years. The dwarf's timely response provoked a kind laugh from the people around her, and Michelle blushed with laughter, hiding behind Lina and not daring to show her head.

There are not only people on the streets, but countless shops, even at midnight. The vast majority of shops are still open. On this special day, no businessman is willing to give up this once-a-year opportunity to make money, and the shopkeepers have put out all the styles of goods in their stores, and the counters are not enough to put them on the ground. Anyway, it must be seen at a glance, after all, no one knows if any customer will take a fancy to those strange goods that have not been cared for a long time.

"Haha, that's fun. "We have just passed by a group of strangely dressed tourists, dressed as the evil devil who took the princess from the fairy tale, and the heroic knight who goes on a crusade against the devil. The two camps, which should have been incompatible, were surrounded by girls dressed as princesses at this time, giggling and running around the streets, occasionally reciting a few lines aloud, pulling out their weapons and making a few gestures, which attracted a round of applause.

"You're really interested. The charming voice suddenly appeared in everyone's ears, and two women who had been standing in the shadow of the light, but seemed to have been inadvertently ignored by everyone, poked their heads out of the shadows: "I haven't had enough fun." ”

"Happy New Year. Catherine greeted her: "You haven't left yet, I thought you'd already gone back." ”

"I had to do something, and I delayed it for a few days. Indulgence gave Pannis a charming look, and then replied, "I didn't expect to run into you." ”

"That's right, I'm still looking for you. Catherine said, "I'm sorry for something I want to apologize to you." ”

Indulgence was taken aback by Catherine's formal apology, and asked puzzledly, "What's wrong?"

"I have a good friend who is getting married, and her father has asked us to take her to Free City, so we may have to go to the City of Innocence a few days later. Catherine explained to the indulgence: "I promise your commission, I wonder if it can be postponed for a few days?"

"I thought what was the matter? Indulgent sneered, pouted and said: "This is also worth your formal apology? A few days later, a few days later, that murderer doesn't commit murder every day, you may not be able to do anything if you go a few days earlier, it doesn't matter, as long as you can go within a month." There are a lot of things going on in the New Year, and we were expecting to give you some time to take care of the things at hand. ”

"That's so much appreciated. Catherine said embarrassedly, "Thank you for your understanding." ”

"Okay, okay, that's what I don't like the most about you knights, it's too rigid to do things and talk. Indulgently waved his hand: "It's okay, let's go first, see you in the city of innocence." ”

"They're really free-spirited, and they just leave. Seeing the two ladies join hands and lean against the wall before disappearing into the shadows, Lina muttered, "But now it's okay, there's plenty of time to send Freya to Free City." ”

"Let's hope everything goes well. Catherine was not as optimistic as Lina: "I've done the math, if you take the road to Free City here." It takes fourteen days for the convoy to go, and from the free city to the city of innocence, it will take six days for us to travel lightly at the earliest, and the time is actually quite tight. And don't forget about the intimidation letter. In case of any trouble, there may not be enough time. ”

"Sister, don't worry, what can happen, it seems that someone is jealous of that Wesker marrying a beautiful woman, and deliberately wants to make trouble so that the wedding can't happen. Lina said nonchalantly, "Don't worry, there won't be a big problem." Anyway, the day after tomorrow, no, it should have been said that it was tomorrow, and we will leave early tomorrow morning, so it will definitely be in time. Hey, Vivien, that's what you just saw. ”

"What?" Vivien asked, confused, "What did I just see?"

"The bookstore. Lina pointed to a nearby shop: "Didn't you say you saw a bookstore on the way to the show?"

"Oh, you said that. Vivien looked around, "That's right, this is it." Almost all shops are open on New Year's Day, with the exception of bookstores. So this one with the door open is very conspicuous. ”

Vivien was right, bookstores and library scroll spots tend to be closed these days. Because these establishments have a common characteristic, which is quiet, and the New Year's is characterized by a warm atmosphere, the two are completely incompatible, so the merchants simply avoid these days so as not to disturb the atmosphere of the store.

Walking into the bookstore, you can see that the bookstore has obviously not been opened for a long time, and the door and interior decoration look new. The owner, a middle-aged man in his 40s, revealed that he was not familiar with the industry, so he chose to open today based on the experience of other stores. But it's okay, although the bookstore is open. But no one came in and made a noise, and occasionally a few guests kept quiet.

As soon as Lina entered the bookstore, it was as if she had seen her long-lost lover, her eyes shining with warmth, and she gently stroked the cover of each book.

"Is that young lady okay?" the bookstore owner saw Lina's performance. Somewhat overwhelmed, he asked Pannis, "Why does it seem that something is wrong?" ”

"It's okay, she'll just take a look, don't worry. Pannis looked around and said, "If only she didn't exist." ”

But unfortunately, the boss obviously can't treat Lina as if she doesn't exist, because she didn't have long to walk around the store before pulling him by the boss's clothes to a locked display case: "Help me open this, I want to read the book." ”

"That's not going to work. The boss resolutely refused: "This book is different from other books, it was handed down by my great-great-grandfather, it is said to have a history of three hundred years, it is considered an antique, and if you want to sell it, you will sell it at the price of an antique." ”

"I had to look at it first to make sure it was genuine. Lina insisted, "What if the cover and the contents are not the same book? ”

"I am a member of the Chamber of Commerce, which is a guarantee of integrity. The boss proudly said, "It is absolutely impossible to treat customers by deception." ”

"How much do you say?" asked Lina, "I can pay first, but I want to see the book right away." ”

"Absolutely. The boss opened the display case, carefully took out the book with gloves and wrapped it in flannel: "Five hundred gold coins, don't bargain, this is an out-of-print book, maybe there is only this one left in the whole Yala, this price is really not expensive." ”

"You ......" Lina gritted her teeth hatefully: "Okay, I'll buy it." Eldest sister, lend me some money first, and pay you back when I get home. ”

"Isabella, I've finally found you, hehehehehe. As soon as she took the book after the transaction was completed, Lina immediately couldn't wait to open the cloth bag, opened it directly in the distressed eyes of the boss, flipped a few pages casually, and immediately walked out with the book in her hand, letting out bursts of weird laughter as she walked.

"It's stupid to dare to let me out. As soon as she walked out of the door, Lina's footsteps suddenly stopped, the smirk on her face disappeared instantly, her expression became indifferent and numb, and her eyes were full of mockery and looked around at the people around her: "But it's okay, I've been hungry for more than ten years, although the soul in this body is stupid enough, but I can still fill my stomach if I eat it, thank you for your hospitality." (To be continued.) )