Life is tough, so Honglong resorts to performing?

Chapter 71: An Unexpected Encounter with an Old Friend and the Reinforcement of Stereotypes (4k)

On Monday morning, Loren woke up from his deep sleep on time, only to realize that there seemed to be no free breakfast today.

Not only today, but it seems that I won't get a free meal on any of my days off in the future.

The mage's powerful mental strength allowed him to remember the gnolls, goblins, and bears who played evil creatures in the zoo theater with exceptional clarity.

When he arrived that day, they were cooking for themselves!

This means that even if you live in the zoo, the staff doesn't provide meals when the zoo is closed on Mondays!

But animals will definitely be fed!

But I only have an employee contract!

That guy Morris must have given me an employee contract because he was afraid I'd eat too much!

As expected of a cunning human businessman, the zoo's head steward. I'll remember this grudge.

Loren thought for a while and then laughed at himself.

He felt that he had been acting a bit childish lately.

However, this is clearly not a bad thing.

Whether it's learning magic or physical training, the recent pace of progress far surpasses that of the past.

This indicates that you are in a virtuous cycle.

"It is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality."

Loren murmured to himself, "It's only been a few days, just two or three days."

He was dissatisfied with and found it hard to tolerate his lifestyle of the past ten years, which consisted of eating breakfast with a magic crystal in the morning, using the magic crystal to build a stone at noon, and using the stone to build a magic crystal in the evening.

"Are human desires truly like a boulder rolling down a mountain, and even I, a dragon, am no exception?"

Loren thought about it and decided to go out and find something to eat.

When Old Deng tricked him into eating a cannibal's grilled vegetarian meal, he also learned about the list of the top ten vegetarian restaurants in Greenleaf City that the other party mentioned. One of them was a breakfast shop run by halflings, which was touted as amazing and located in the central district.

He decided to give it a try.

If you're going to eat your fill in terms of quantity, then go for quality and eat something delicious!

Before setting off, Loren packed all the magic crystal ore that he had crushed the night before into his storage equipment and carried it with him.

He planned to sell them all after the black market opened at noon.

After much deliberation, Loren decided not to bring the stolen goods from their previous double-cross.

He suspected that the item was being used as bait by the city's safety committee.

Those bastards are all truly mad dogs.

If they were to actually drive around the city in military-grade magic crystal armor and chase after us with armor-piercing rounds, even our high legal resistance wouldn't help!

You want to pay a hefty sum of compensation to the dragon girl who abandoned you in the sewer when you were three years old?
Letting her make money is worse than me getting shot to death by an armor-piercing bullet!
Having made up his mind, Loren packed his gear and headed out.

After checking the transfer portal on the magic crystal terminal, Loren cast a spell on himself as usual and ran towards the portal.

After several rounds of slightly dizzying teleportation, Loren landed and began to weave and leap through the crowd.

He quickly spotted his target.

It was a storefront completely different from those of typical halfling shops.

It was tall and spacious, with several windows constantly selling goods.

Several of the windows, which had small ladders, were clearly intended for the halflings.

There were long lines of people at each window, some carrying large and small bags. On a Monday when everyone is busy going to work, this was quite a sight.

Loren thought for a moment, then found a window and started queuing. He wanted to see just how delicious it was.

However, a short while later, he heard a familiar but tired female voice behind him.

"Is your vacation still going?"

Loren frowned and turned to look back.

Sure enough, it was that former half-elf inspector, Miss Sally, who had tried to capture him.

However, her appearance has changed drastically.

She had lost a lot of weight, and her once heroic and spirited demeanor had completely disappeared, replaced by a haggard, dejected appearance with no light in her eyes.

She was wearing casual clothes today, instead of the standard magic crystal armor worn by the patrol station in the past, which made her look much better than usual.

Before Loren could even consider whether the other person had been fired or was on vacation, Sally answered on her own.
“I am no longer the inspector. Because of what I did in the past, my community has abandoned me, my sisters have cut ties with me, and even my newly rented house was smashed to pieces by some thugs I used to interrogate, who somehow got hold of the information…”

Sally rambled on slowly, while Loren frowned and made a sarcastic remark.

"None of this concerns me. Are you telling me this so I can pity you?"

Should I offer you some words of comfort?

Loren wondered if the woman in front of him was confused about the situation and didn't understand his relationship with her.
We're enemies, even if we're not irreconcilable enemies, we're enemies to the point of imprisonment, okay?
This imprisonment is only because I am a minor and a protected animal, and therefore have some legal recourse. Otherwise, we would be mortal enemies, okay?

In the days before the Federation, I should be using Dragon Claw, Dragon Breath, and Magic Triple Combo to make you even more impressive than Burger King.

"What an oblivious brat."

Sally licked her lips, dropped her pitiful look, and instead puffed out her chest as if to show off something.

"Do you need a dog? In any sense of the word. I've never had one touched before."

Lorenlong was completely numb.

This is a breakfast stall, not a chat room on Magic Crystal Network.

Let's be more careful with our words and actions, and follow the laws on public order and social customs, okay?
What exactly are you misunderstanding?

Loren frowned. Greenleaf City was truly a vibrant place where everything thrived; it had all sorts of things!
So, since they can't become corrupt cops, they're offering themselves up to a suspected mob boss they recently offended?
How many people have you said this to? Are you planning to start something new?

In the era of magic crystal technology, we must be wary.

Loren's thoughts became increasingly divergent.

To be honest, Loren found that the other party was truly a talent in terms of being flexible in his stance, clear in his goals, and quick to change course.

No wonder you managed to become an inspector!
“There’s no misunderstanding. First, your potential is great enough. Second, we have a foundation of affection. Hatred is also a foundation of affection, and it can even last longer than love.”

"Don't you feel good about trampling your enemies of the opposite sex under your feet and making them wag their tails and beg for mercy?"

Sally continued her narration without a care in the world.

It was as if she were the one trampling her enemies underfoot, not the one about to bend down and become a dog.

Loren looked at the woman before him. In his eyes, this beautiful half-elf was no longer human, but a snake.

A cunning, fiery, rather than cold, venomous snake.

She stared intently at the red dragon before her, neither concealing her fangs nor hiding her graceful figure.

She never hides her ambition to improve herself; she can change her mind faster than turning the pages of a book, and can decide between giving you money and taking your life in the blink of an eye.

With no hope of revenge, they surrendered directly to their former enemies, attempting to become their lackeys.

"What a confident old woman! Does she think her intelligence and abilities are enough to make us tolerate her?"

Loren thought about it and quickly gave a heartfelt answer.
"I reject!"

I'm a little red dragon who advocates for gender equality, and I would never do something as tasteless as killing male villains and letting female villains enter the palace! I'll kill men and women the same way!

"OK then."

Upon hearing this, Sally sighed with regret and, surprisingly, did not continue to pester him, but instead walked away on her own.

This is completely different from when she was an inspector.

Perhaps she also realized the vast difference she would be in without that identity?

Or perhaps she was already aware of the vast difference between their identities, which is why she was able to be so domineering and arrogant before?

Seeing the other person leave, Loren quickly composed himself and continued queuing.

Soon it was his turn.

Following the old druid's advice, Loren ordered their signature crispy roasted moss, triple root soup, and other dishes.

The baked moss has a texture similar to seaweed from a previous life, but it lacks the roughness of sea salt and sea breeze, instead adding a unique flavor of mountain rocks.

The Triple Root Soup features three different root vegetables with distinct flavors. The large, edible pieces are from a local potato-like crop. One of the other two is a slimy, yam-like crop, while the third is quite unique and Loren couldn't identify it.

In short, both were quite delicious, and not inferior to the cannibal's roasted mushrooms.

All I can say is that Aaron, that old geezer, really loves to eat and knows how to eat.

After breakfast, Loren decided to head to the zoo and take advantage of the Frostfire King's popularity for a while to study some more.

In fact, Loren had already decided that unless he had something to do outside, such as reselling magic crystal ore, he would stay away from it.

For the rest of his life in Verdant Leaf City, he will be living inside the head of the Frostfire King!

Although the demiplane is hidden and independent, it's not as comfortable as the Frostfire King's head!

The design here is absolutely perfect for Red Dragon's life!
With that thought in mind, Loren stepped onto the teleportation array that would take him back to the Emerald Leaf Rare Zoo.

As soon as Loren returned to the Emerald Leaf Rare Zoo, he bumped into Morris, who was rushing over with a magic crystal terminal in hand and a worried look on his face.

"What's wrong?"

Loren asked.

"The online situation is getting more and more heated, but the Druids don't seem to have made any moves yet. I wonder how they plan to retaliate."

"That's why I came to ask Aaron about the situation."

Morris spoke with a worried expression.

"It's okay, don't worry."

Loren nodded nonchalantly; he wasn't worried at all.

Ultimately, everything in this world comes down to power.

In this place, the demons' forces cannot reach, and the officials of Greenleaf City are biased towards the druids, so it seems they cannot lose.

"But this is the first time the druids have fought such a battle, and the demons are the most adept at manipulating people's hearts."

"I'm not afraid of losing, what I'm afraid of is wasting time, missing the hype, and then never being able to get back up."

"To become popular, you have to seize the opportunity; it's not enough to just have the ability."

Morris spoke earnestly, leaving Loren completely stunned.

You actually wore the Crossover costume, supported your brother and sister's fans, and were involved in the fandom, right?
You've even mastered the art of capitalizing on trending topics?

"Fine, I have something to do with Aaron anyway, so I'll take you with me."

As Loren spoke, he cast a flight spell on Morris and then cast a flight spell on himself, taking to the air.

Soon, they found old Aaron, who was treating the lions in the park.

Old Aaron had anticipated their arrival, though he was somewhat surprised that they came together.

But it just so happens that his news can be shared at the same time.

So it doesn't matter.

"Aaron, how are things going with the druids?"

Morris quickly asked.

"Not bad. The demon team that just organized the Abyss Blood War has quite a few members. After the three-day assembly period, they should be able to break through the first level of the Nine Hells and throw the head of that devil who caused you trouble to you."

Aaron said it casually.

"what?"

"What?"

Loren and Morris were deeply shocked.

No, how do you play it?
The most straightforward business battle, right? Just take the head off the opponent's boss.

Loren realized that, indeed, stereotypes do have an origin.

You druids really are a bunch of green-skinned monsters!

Who would run to the Ninth Hell just because of a business war and directly help the demons start an abyssal bloodbath?
Did I ask you to help, so you help now?

"Isn't there any risk? Wouldn't doing something like this invite retribution from the devils?"

Loren, who had recovered from the shock, was the first to ask a question: Did they think this was going a bit too far?

"The devils are willing to abide by the federal order, but are unwilling to truly integrate into the federal system."

“The druids are less willing to abide by the order designed by the Federation, but we are willing to fight for the Federation that represents all living beings.”

"That's the difference between the two of us. Which one do you think the Federation will favor?"

Aaron posed a question, and Loren suddenly understood.

Outsiders who are willing to follow the rules and brothers and sisters who always argue with you because they are worried about you?

The order of precedence between the two is self-evident.

"And even the higher-ranking demons are willing to abide by this rule, right?"

Loren asked, "As beings that naturally abide by order, the various messy unspoken rules of the devils are also within the scope of their order."

This is why even the devils are constantly fighting amongst themselves.

"Of course, and they're also wearing fourth-tier military magic crystal armor. They're comparable to mid-tier legendary figures in the abyss, so they'll be fine."

Aaron explained, and Loren breathed a sigh of relief.

Morris, standing to the side, was completely dumbfounded.

He knew before that the world of professionals was fascinating, but he never imagined it would be this fascinating.

Even today, after the establishment of the federation, is this kind of decapitation-style business warfare still being practiced?

"What's the online buzz about?"

Morris stammered a little, realizing that as the head steward of the Emerald Leaf Zoo, his actual role was quite limited. After all, he was just an ordinary person with no extraordinary powers.

"Don't worry about it for now. Once that guy is dead and the money distribution stops, you can find someone to bring things back on track. Among us brutes, you're the only one who can do this kind of thing."

Aaron patted Morris on the shoulder and spoke earnestly.

He knew exactly how the young man felt; he had personally watched him enter the park when the other man was just a naive boy!
(End of this chapter)