A farming master in Stardew Valley

Chapter 556 Worthy of being the City of Elements

"Actually, this isn't a big deal. Ma Long's requests are all quite reasonable. Every time he asks for extra fees, it's because he's solving problems that are beyond the employment objectives but still have an impact on the employer. However, some people only see the present and can't see beyond it. So, in their eyes, what Ma Long does is extortion."

As if he felt that what he said was not complete, Roche added another sentence.

Lyon was quite surprised to hear this. From Roche's perspective, Malone seemed to be a pretty good person.

Lyon thought about his impression of Malone and found that apart from being a little calculating, this guy was actually quite reliable in both his work and his personal life. Of course, this calculation was not really a calculation if you really think about it. After all, Malone's only idea for Lyon was to let Lyon grow up and take over his responsibility as the president of the Stardew Valley Explorers Guild.

"Let's stop talking. If we continue, I'll be unable to resist revealing Ma Long's past. We're at the shopping street. Take a look around first. I'll be standing guard one meter behind you."

Roche parked his motorcycle in an open space outside the shopping street. In addition to Roche's motorcycle, there were also horse-drawn carriages, bicycles, and even steam tricycles. It seemed like a parking lot.

But this place doesn’t look very formal. It is open-air, without fences or security. It looks like just an ordinary open space.

"Stop here. Aren't you afraid that when you come back, there won't be any wheels left for you?" Leon teased Roche after getting out of the car.

"The land in the shopping street is not cheap, but there is a space like this. Can you guess why?" Roche asked Leon with a smile.

"I don't know." Leon shook his head.

Roche smiled and said nothing. He just took out a real gold coin from his body and threw it into the mud.

The gold coin fell to the ground and the soil began to roll. It seemed that something was hidden under the shaking ground. As the land rolled, the gold coin was swallowed by the soil.

"The Elemental City isn't just home to intelligent creatures," Roche said with a smile. "This is the home of a lord-level earth elemental. It loves gold mines, but due to the rules, it can't leave. So, just leave it a gold coin as a gift when you come, and it will help you look after your transportation."

"I see. Then are there other elements?" Lyon understood instantly after hearing that.

"Of course, but most elements are hidden in various corners of the city and will not actively interfere with our lives, so if they don't show up, we generally can't find them. Only the earth element is fixed in the earth, so it is the easiest to find. It is also the elemental creature that people in the city have cooperated with and witnessed the most." Roche explained to Leon.

"I've learned something new."

Lyon sighed.

"It's just some common sense about the Elemental City. It's normal that you don't know much about it since it's your first time here. Let's go. In addition to the elements, the shopping street is also a major feature of the Elemental City." Roche gestured for Leon to leave with him. The two of them left the land where the Earth Elemental Lord stayed. After stepping onto the flat cobblestone road, Roche took the initiative to fall two steps behind Leon.

Lyon was not surprised by this. After all, Roche had said in advance that he would follow him instead of protecting him closely. Although he did not understand why Roche did this, Lyon believed that if he encountered danger, Roche would not ignore him, so he simply stopped paying attention to Roche's situation.

Although the shopping street is called a street, it is actually more like an open market. The road is not straight, but winding and has many forks.

On both sides of these roads, which are like blood vessels in the human body, there are street stalls and shops interlaced.

Lyon found that many passers-by stopped in front of the relatively shabby stalls, but few made any purchases. On the contrary, the shops with storefronts were crowded with consumers, and some shops selling popular products even had queues in front of them.

Lyon glanced at these shops and found that most of them were war preparation stores selling medicines, weapons and armor. Interestingly, Lyon saw something he had been thinking about in the window of one of the shops.

A weapon that was completely out of place in the Elemental City. This shop had much less traffic than other stores, but it wasn't empty; most people were just looking. Leon didn't see anyone handling the weapons, let alone buying them, so he walked in curiously.

Once he saw the price tags on the guns hidden in the glass counter, he understood why no one bought them.

The most common pistol costs 3000G. Even if Leon doesn't know the price of guns in this world, he can be sure that this is definitely a malicious rip-off.

"Guest, are you interested?"

Seeing Leon come in, a fat man in a vest in the store came over enthusiastically and asked.

"I had it before, but it's gone after I saw the price," Lyon answered truthfully.

"The price is indeed a bit premium, but these are smuggled goods. As you know, firearms are strictly controlled in human society. We put in a lot of effort to obtain these, so the higher price is reasonable."

The fat man explained helplessly, but his eyes were no longer focused on Leon, and his expression became much more indifferent.

"Forget it, I can't afford it." Leon smiled, then turned around and left the store.

He didn't quite believe what the boss said, and he didn't want to be a sucker. Instead of chatting with this fat man who looked cunning, Lyon might as well go to the Far Travel Chamber of Commerce to place an order. At least the latter had credibility and reputation, which was much more secure.

And when Leon came out, Roche actually came over and said, “You didn’t buy it, did you?”

"No, I just want to go in and take a look." Lyon explained.

"That's good. Don't be fooled by the fact that they sell toys here. These are just gimmicks. What this store really sells is assassination services." Roche explained.

"Huh?" This explanation made Leon open his mouth wide.

"You can't tell at first glance. Do you think he really sells guns? Each type of gun actually corresponds to a mercenary of the same price. Facing every stranger, he basically asks if you are interested. At this time, no matter whether you answer yes or no, he will know that you are not the target customer, and then he will casually say a few perfunctory words to you and let you leave on your own." Roche explained.

"The only way to continue the conversation is to ask him directly how much a bullet costs."

"Who is the target of this business?" Lyon asked with a frown.

"Theoretically, any race." Roche knew what Leon was really asking and answered immediately: "It's just that if the target is human, the price will be very high, so most of the targets who place orders here are non-human intelligent races."

“I guess this kind of business is legal in the Elemental City,” Lyon complained.

"Yes, but their people abide by the rules and will not take action in the Elemental City, so they can take over the shops here and operate normally. Those merchants of the same type who do not care about the rules of the Elemental City and act recklessly can only live in the Dirty Street." Roche added.

"As expected of the Elemental City, it didn't disappoint me."

Lyon couldn't help but shook his head when he heard this. He had heard that this place was chaotic and disorderly, but now he realized that this was not an exaggeration. This city really has talent.

(End of this chapter)