Chapter 54 Chapter 55 Goblin Prototype Machine (Part 1)
The next day at noon,
In the market area of White City.
Jima was wearing a hooded cloak to conceal her face, leaning against a white wall, revealing a pair of straight legs, while passersby occasionally glanced at her legs.
Laiwu spotted Jima from a distance and jogged over, glaring at a nearby passerby who had glanced at Jima’s black stockings.
He shouted to Jima, “Xiao Qiao!”
Jima, feeling sleepy, yawned and looked around, not knowing who had called her.
Laiwu ran in front of Jima, his gaze uncontrollably sweeping up her straight calves, lingering for a second on her shorts before finally meeting her face. He waved and smiled, saying:
“It’s me, Xiao Qiao. It’s been a few days; you don’t remember me?”
Jima looked at him closely; most of the white pus-filled acne on his face had vanished, leaving only a few marks. She asked:
“What happened to your acne?”
Laiwu perked up and said, “It’s gone. I was afraid of scaring off my future love interest, so I put in a lot of effort to get rid of this ugly teenage skin.”
After saying this, he couldn’t help but shake his foot, hoping Jima would notice his custom-made leather shoes and newly bought clothes. After receiving five gold coins from Jima, he immediately spent it all on his appearance.
Unfortunately, Jima didn’t notice anything at all.
Why is this guy so happy, like a love-struck dog, with desire oozing from his eyes? Who knows, maybe when he gets back, he’ll use my black stockings for his fantasies.
Jima felt disgusted, standing up and letting the hem of her cloak cover her stockings, asking:
“Have you read the letter I gave you?”
“Of course,” Laiwu hurriedly boasted, “The letter said I have a talent for reading. I can easily understand the implications of texts. It gave me a story called ‘The Golden Goose.’ Do you know it? I understood right away that it talks about greed leading to shortsightedness…”
“Stop!” Jima felt something was off, “You don’t need to explain a story that every elementary school student knows.”
Laiwu didn’t understand what she meant by ‘elementary student,’ chuckling, “I just wanted to share an interesting story with you. The letter said that only one in ten can understand it.”
However, in Jima’s eyes, Laiwu, who had only begun to learn reading and writing as an adult, was barely half-literate.
“Do you really understand the letter I wrote?”
“Of course.”
Seeing the joy on his face, Jima asked again:
“Really?”
Laiwu exclaimed excitedly, “Really!”
“I think you misunderstood.”
“No, I didn’t.” Laiwu gazed at Jima earnestly and said, “I understand your difficulties.”
Jima felt her stomach twist. She said:
“People like you are truly unbelievable.”
“People like me?”
“Yes, I’m talking about you.”
Laiwu’s eyes lit up, “You’re starting to trust me like a faithful dog trusts its owner.”
Jima was taken aback, then remembered that in this region’s culture, dogs didn’t have a derogatory meaning.
Suddenly, a wave of frustration washed over her. Jima irritably said:
“I’ll just say it plainly. The letter I wrote is literal. I know you have feelings for me, but that’s impossible. Don’t pursue me; your advances will only make me uncomfortable. To be honest, your behavior just now has already made me lose half my appetite.”
As she spoke this last part, Jima contemplated whether her words were too harsh and would drive Laiwu away. She even braced herself to use her charm if needed.
But surprisingly, Laiwu looked at her with deep affection and said:
“I understand.”
Jima turned her head away, took a deep breath, and asked, “What do you understand?”
Laiwu looked around and said softly, “I know you’re trapped and have to stay by the so-called Hero’s side. Don’t worry; I will always be loyal to you. Sooner or later—”
“Stop!” Jima interrupted, “I’ll say it again: I’ve slept with the Hero.”
Laiwu was so moved he almost cried. He said, “I don’t care.”
“Ha ha.” Jima laughed coldly in anger, “Whether you care or not is irrelevant because I would never let you touch my body.”
Laiwu was stunned.
“Stop deluding yourself.” Jima suppressed her urge to punch him in the face, “In fact, I have no feelings for you at all. Your affection is as disgusting to me as dog feces.”
Laiwu forced a smile and said, “I know you’re just shy.”
Jima took a deep breath, reached for her waist, and grabbed nothing. She said, “I like George.” And hated him too.
At this point, Laiwu’s extraordinary comprehension had failed him. He felt as if he had been struck in the head, with a terrifying thought rolling in his chest: Is there really no ulterior meaning in the letter?
His face twisted with rage, and with a hint of pleading, he looked at Jima and asked:
“Tell me, did you go to bed with George willingly? Do you love him? Was your encounter with him born out of love?”
That was merely an “accident” caused by impulse and lust.
Of course, Jima couldn’t tell the truth. She opened her mouth but felt something lodged in her throat. The honest domain of the market area was at work; using her lying ability, she said:
“George rescued me from the Demon King’s basement. He protects me and took me to break the slave contract. I have a life-and-death bond with him….”
The logic was laid out, and the lie could flow forth.
But just then, a squad of temple guards passed by, and the leading soldier glanced at Jima, recognizing her.
Right now, my relationship with George can’t be made public, or I will get into trouble.
Jima immediately changed her tune: “So… I have a good relationship with him; it’s normal.”
Laiwu also noticed the passing temple guards and meaningfully said, “I understand.”
Unless I break this idiot’s delusions, he won’t truly understand.
Jima felt utterly powerless, but she suddenly had a better way to handle the situation. She said, “Never mind; saying more to you is pointless.”
Laiwu smiled, “I understand.”
“I heard there’s a progressive sculptor, a high elf sculptor.” Jima said, handing over a letter of introduction, “She needs an assistant, and the address is written on it. I believe she will appreciate your artistry.”
Laiwu took the letter, once again convinced that Jima liked him but was too shy to say so. Otherwise, why would she use so many resources to nurture him? He would have to become better so Jima would eventually admit her feelings.
She must be hoping that when I succeed, I will take her away with me.
Laiwu excitedly clenched his fists and said, “I will definitely take you away from this hypocritical temple.”
“Those upright people who are secretly villains in stories are so clichéd.” Jima said coldly, “I don’t need anyone to take me away.”
But Laiwu was not disheartened at all; he seemed to find it quite pleasing.
Jima added one more truthful remark: “By the way, I absolutely hate people who mess around with the opposite sex and then pursue me. I will never get involved with them.”
Laiwu, who had been single his entire life, became even more excited: “I’m very pure.”
Before he could finish, Jima turned and left. The longer she stayed here, the more it hurt her stomach.
When Jima returned to the inner city and washed her face in her yard, she went to bed.
She entered a dream, finding herself in the shared dream of Litice, who was also napping.
“I made an agreement with that self-important ‘dog on a leash’; he’ll be heading your way today. Remember, you are a progressive sculptor.”
“Hmm~~.” Litice asked, “I have a question.”
“Go ahead.”
Litice suddenly thought of perhaps a thousand phallic objects modeled after her own anatomy. Her eyes glinted with excitement: “Why not just use my mold instead?”
“Not a chance.”
“Ten gold coins, no, twenty gold coins.”
“No way, I can’t give up my pursuit of art for money.” Jima said, “Just the thought of that crowd of fools, believing in the existence of a fairy queen being gang-raped, taking out their filthy desires on a mother goblin, makes me want to roll on the ground laughing.”
“You say such things without a hint of emotion; hurry up and express something heartfelt.”
“Because I’m really tired right now. To keep the rumor mill alive, I always exhaust my magical power.” Jima yawned again and said, “And there’s one overly sentimental ‘dog on a leash’—that is, a pursuer—who’s driving me crazy, sticking to me like chewed gum, showing off. My poor stomach.”
“What’s gum?”
“Never mind, I have a favor to ask you. Please either lure him into a trap or force him; he looks quite…” Jima couldn’t remember what Laiwu looked like, so she said, “He seems rather delicate, still young, with a full face of youthful vigor.”
“Money.”
“Not happening.” Jima said, “Even if I didn’t mention it, you’d still go after him because you need to keep an eye on him making a lot of peripherals.”
The peripherals are codenames.
Litice didn’t understand why Jima used that term as a codename.
“If he’s too ugly, I won’t be interested, and I’ll just avoid him a few times.”
“Make sure to drain him dry.” Jima said, “If he’s ugly, I’ll consider giving you a little tip as a bonus.”
“Alright, deal.”
…
…
In a remote back street, a book vendor shouted loudly:
“The sequel to ‘The Fairy Queen in Distress’ is out! Out now! A noble queen battles eighteen strong orc boys!”
A brawny man named Sam, wearing a hood, walked up to him and shouted:
“Who are you to dare slander a noble ruler? If the high elves truly decided to fight for honor, I would be the first to behead you and offer it to them to quell their wrath.”
Seeing the exquisite sword at Sam’s waist, the book vendor nodded and bowed, saying, “My lord, it’s just a book; I won’t dare do it again.”
Sam nodded, “That’s more like it.”
After saying this, he slowly walked away.
The book vendor shouted, “Books for sale! Books for sale! The nightly wailings continue!”
Sam turned around and said, “Give me one.”
“Aren’t you…”
“What’s the problem? This isn’t slandering a ruler.” Sam extended his hand, “I was just drawn in by your nightly wailing sales pitch.”
The book vendor smiled, “Alright, just one silver coin.”
Sam took out a silver coin, received the coarse book, and muttered to himself, “Why has the binding become so poor?”
“To increase sales, we sped up the printing.”
Sam glanced at the author, seeing the work of a white-haired writer. He believed it halfway and impatiently flipped through the book while walking.
The more he read, the more tightly his brows furrowed.
The writing was fuzzy and the prose verbose; when the first orc just thrust a spear at the fairy queen, it took a full seven pages of paper. Even more painfully, the author filled it with various self-important life philosophies.
He suddenly threw the book to the ground and shouted, “Another fraud!”
Sam, bristling with anger, turned around to find the book vendor and punched him twice in the face.
