The heavy rain also shrouded the city of Ampton in mist. After walking quietly for half an hour, Ampton City appeared in front of Zhang Tie.
Ampton City is an unwalled and undefended commercial city. The prosperous commercial trade in the north and south of the Blackson Human Corridor has allowed the city to grow larger and larger over the past two hundred years. Today, as the Free Business Alliance The capital and most important stronghold and city, this city has expanded into a large city covering an area of more than hundreds of square kilometers.
This city is much more prosperous than Black Flame City.
The flow of people rolling south has caused Hampton to appear in a state of abnormal prosperity, like a fire cooking oil and ice and fire.
On both sides of the city streets, as long as there is some shelter from the wind and rain, refugees with simple tents or bedding are gathering everywhere. And next to or not far from these refugee gathering places, those apartments, hotels, and hotels have hanging Advertising signs can be seen everywhere.
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"No. 76 Levins Avenue, two-bedroom apartment for rent, with water and heating, monthly rent of 10 gold coins..."
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“Warm family hotel, clean and comfortable, daily rent is 600 silver coins (note: breakfast is not included!)”
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"The rent for a suite at the Dark Horse Hotel is 3 gold coins per night..."
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"The stairwell on the fourth floor of the Wall Building is for rent, a ten-square-meter room, and the monthly rent is 2 gold coins..."
According to Zhang Tie's understanding, such rent is simply robbery, far beyond the affordability of ordinary families, but in the current city of Ampton, it has become a very common thing.
In addition to these advertisements for residences that can be seen everywhere, there are most scammers in Apton at this moment. Zhang Tie has just entered the city of Apton, and he has already met three scammers using the same trick. Those three Scammers all have something in common. The clothes are all dressed as neatly and classy as possible, and they all talk eloquently. Their "business" is the same, as long as you can give them a little money. They will be able to help you contact and "book" a space on the airship leaving Ampton.
"Sir, our Yinzhou Airship Company is definitely a large and powerful company. You may have encountered other scammers, but please believe me, we are definitely different from those people. We are an airline company with our own airship. We have been operating many routes from Apton City to the south. For 10 silver coins, I can take you to see our company's airship. You can decide whether you want it or not after seeing the airship. Book a cabin..." A man in his fifties held an umbrella and followed Zhang Tie, chattering in Zhang Tie's ear. It seemed that in order to make Zhang Tie believe, the man spoke solemnly. He took out a few photos and some information from a somewhat worn briefcase. to show the truth of what he said.
"Can you get yourself a cabin?" Zhang Tie stopped and looked at the man.
"Ah, of course, sir, as an employee of Yinzhou Airship Company, this is a piece of cake for me!" The guy was stunned for a moment before replying.
"Then, hurry up and get yourself a cabin!"
"why?"
"If you don't leave Apton City, your life may be in danger!"
"Ah, sir, you are really good at joking. How could my life be in danger?" The guy forced a smile on his face.
Zhang Tie didn't speak, but raised his chin in the distance, and the guy turned his head. He saw several aggressive men pointing at him, and several people were walking towards him quickly. Those men also had things like pipe heads and wooden sticks in their hands.
He turned his head. Just enough for those people to see his face.
"Get him, get him, get that damn liar..."
"Give me back the gold coins..."
The men shouted and rushed over. The guy's expression changed, he threw down his umbrella and ran away...
Several men crossed Zhang Tie and chased the guy. The group disappeared in the rain in the blink of an eye.
Seeing the umbrella abandoned on the street, a teenage boy wearing a raincoat emerged from a nearby alley. He quickly ran over, grabbed the umbrella in his hand, and turned around to run away.
"Wait a minute!" Zhang Tie called to the little guy.
"Ah, I picked up this umbrella. It belongs to me now. It's not yours..." The little guy hid the umbrella behind his back and looked at Zhang Tie warily.
"I know, you picked it up, I just want to get some news from you!" Zhang Tie put on a gentler expression.
"I'm sorry, I don't know anything!" The little guy shook his head in a sophisticated manner, and then slowly retreated into the alley.
Zhang Tie turned his hand and took out a silver coin. The little guy stopped immediately, looked at the silver coin in Zhang Tie's hand with bright eyes, and hesitated.
"You should know something now, right?"
"What do you want to know, sir?"
"Take me to the most well-informed place in Apton City, and this silver coin will be yours!"
The little guy's eyes moved, "Two silver coins, sir, if you can give me two silver coins, I will take you there!"
"Okay, let's go!" Zhang Tie nodded.
"Sir, can you pay me this silver coin first? It counts as half of the deposit. I can't run away from you anyway!" the little guy said after rolling his eyes.
It was indeed the capital of the Free Business Alliance. A child had such business acumen. Zhang Tie smiled and threw the silver coin into the little guy's hand.
The little guy took the silver coin, glanced at it, and quickly put it on his body, looking relieved.
"Sir, come with me!"
…
More than twenty minutes later, the heavy rain slowly subsided. After walking for almost two kilometers, the little guy had brought Zhang Tie to a place.
"Is this here?" Zhang Tie looked at a building not far away and suddenly realized something.
"Yes, that building is the headquarters of the mercenary union in Apton. The mercenary empire Ames and the Free Business Alliance are the best partners. Many mercenaries take tasks there. The tavern next to the mercenary union It’s the most well-informed place in Apton City. Apart from the mercenaries, many people will go there to have a drink and get some news!”
Zhang Tie smiled, reached for his body, took out a gold coin and threw it into the little guy's hand, "It's for you!"
"Ah, thank you, sir, you are truly the best person I have ever seen!" The little guy looked at the gold coin in his hand in disbelief, then bowed to Zhang Tie, as if he was afraid that Zhang Tie would regret it. , after finishing speaking, he quickly disappeared into the street next to him.
Zhang Tie smiled and walked directly to the tavern next to the mercenary union.
That little guy is right. There are indeed a lot of people coming and going here. Those who come in and out of the tavern all have weapons such as swords on their bodies. They feel very tyrannical. Opposite the tavern, there are two weapons and armors. There is also a large-scale grocery store, and next to the pub is a street that is full of temptation for many men.
The heavy rain had just stopped. On that street, there were already many women with heavy makeup wearing coats, exposing a section of white legs below the knees. They were standing on the street holding a cigarette or carrying a bag. Those women Zhang Tie had also seen her posture and charm on the streets near the Black Flame City Railway Station. When he saw those women, Zhang Tie thought of Mrs. Anna, so he knew what those women were doing without asking. of.
There were always big men with weapons whispering to a woman while passing by that street, and then they would put their arms around the woman and walk into the small hotel next to her.
The mercenary with the blade licking blood and the wandering warbler standing on the street smiling are a perfect match wherever they go.
Zhang Tie did not go to the headquarters of the mercenary union in Apton, which required officially registered mercenaries to be eligible to enter, so he came to the door of the pub.
The name of the tavern also has a mercenary vibe, it's called "Gold Coin Tavern". It looks pretty good and has some style. Zhang Tie guessed that this may be an informal communication window for the mercenary union, which is a lot of inconvenience. Things happening in the mercenary union or news spread are done through such unofficial channels.
In and out of the tavern, in addition to many mercenaries wearing obvious mercenary regiment badges on their chests, there are also many people whose identities and origins cannot be seen. Some of those who cannot see their origins look like pioneers. Some look like rangers, while others are dressed like free mercenaries, with the pioneer's multi-purpose cloak and pioneer sword, the ranger's feathered hat and hand shield, and the free mercenary's crossbow and white gloves. It is the signboard of these people, but it is just a signboard. For Zhang Tie, since a person can even change his appearance, he himself often changes, then those so-called signs have no meaning, so, For veterans, judging someone's identity based on their outfit is very childish.
Zhang Tie looked like both a ranger and a pioneer at the moment.
Zhang Tie walked into the tavern, took off his poncho, hung it in a cloakroom on the left side of the tavern entrance, and then walked inside.
There were many people in the tavern, and the atmosphere was noisy and lively. There was a unique tavern-specific smell of alcohol mixed with various drinks, as well as the smell of men's cigarettes, but it was still orderly. A half-naked stripper was having sex. Under the light of the pink fluorite lamp, on the stage in the middle of the tavern, she was holding a pole and twisting enchantingly. The maids with their thighs and half of their breasts exposed were carrying drinks and walking around the tavern. Make a joke with the guests who come here.
Zhang Tie took a look and found that most of the places with tables in the tavern were occupied by people at the moment. Only the circle of seats next to the stage was still empty, so he walked over and found it next to the stage. I found a seat and sat down...