A series of changes and accidents that occurred early in the morning made everyone in the caravan feel panicked. Several managers found Nord and suggested setting off on the road earlier.

  Nord quite agreed with this idea and immediately made the decision.

  Whenever he thought of what Gamor had said, that there might be two seventh-grade professionals fighting nearby, Nord couldn't help his legs trembling.

  Under repeated urgings, the caravan set off in a hurry. It wasn't until they had traveled for half a day without any more accidents that Nord's heart, which had been hanging in the air, finally fell back into his chest.

  Due to the crossing, the Frozen Rabbit in the game had become a familiar spirit in this world. Then, what had happened to the optical brain that had crossed over with him? Chen Yue had been researching this problem these days. When he first crossed over, the optical brain seemed to have suffered some damage during the process and had no reaction at all. However, after the familiar spirit summoning, it finally reacted. Unfortunately, the access point kept flashing red, preventing Chen Yue from entering the virtual space. He didn't know exactly what had changed about it.

  On that day, because he was in a coma, Chen Yue didn't see a force flying to the corner where he had stored the optical brain. Otherwise, he would surely have linked the abnormal change of the optical brain to that summoning.

  However, to Chen Yue's excitement, after observing it for a few days, he found that the red light had dimmed a little. He thought that when it fully recovered, he would be able to know the changes of the optical brain.

  In the following few days, the caravan was calm. Originally, several people who were gloating over others' misfortunes wanted to see Chen Yue's bad luck, but unexpectedly, Gamor seemed as if nothing had happened and didn't come forward to trouble Chen Yue at all. This made many people feel suspicious and at the same time a little afraid of Chen Yue.

  Invisibly, Chen Yue's status in the caravan had risen a bit.

  From the attitudes of some people, Chen Yue quickly sensed this.

  "Chen Yue, going to exercise again?" At the entrance of the camp, the guards greeted him enthusiastically, with smiles all over their faces. You know, in the past, whenever Chen Yue entered or left, at most he would just nod coldly as a greeting, looking as if he didn't care at all. Sometimes, on a whim, they might even make things difficult for him.

  But now, not only did they greet him from a distance, but their enthusiastic attitude could almost melt people.

  Inside the camp, most people were smiling, and the indescribable friendliness in their eyes was completely different from their previous treatment.

  This was the difference brought by status.

  Chen Yue understood that they had made these changes because they thought he had a powerful background. If these people knew his identity as an apostle, their attitude would probably be several times more enthusiastic. Just think about that greedy and short fat man. He might even be eager to kneel down and kiss the soles of his feet.

  Disdaining to see the disgusting faces of these people, Chen Yue concealed his identity as an apostle. And under his strong request, Ling Yue'er also agreed to help him conceal it.

  After experiencing a memorable summoning incident, Ling Yue'er was extremely regretful in her heart and hated her random ideas to death. She finally calmed down under Chen Yue's comfort. In these days, she obeyed Chen Yue's words.

  Under the silence of the two, no one knew that there was an apostle in the caravan.

  After a peaceful half day, in the afternoon, everyone got excited because the caravan's first destination, Chia City, had arrived.

  Chia City was an indispensable part of the trade route. The caravan had a large number of goods to sell in Chia City and also needed to purchase a batch of local products in the city to be shipped to other places.

  Outside the south gate of the city, the caravan stopped. Several managers entered the city first. An hour later, they led a group of people into the camp.

  Ling Yue'er and Chen Yue stood side by side, looking at this group of people dressed as the Chia City Defense Army. At the front was a fat man comparable to Nord. Beside him was a middle-aged man dressed as a clerk. Both of them were full of arrogance and looked as if they didn't care about others, surrounded by several managers like stars surrounding the moon.

  "Brother Chen Yue, the fat man in the middle is the financial manager of Chia City. This person is the most annoying. Every time, it's him who wants to deduct a large amount of our taxes." Seeing this group of people, Ling Yue'er couldn't help showing a look of disgust.

  She was holding a cute snow-white rabbit in her arms and teasing it from time to time. After restraining the halo of life, no one could tell from the appearance that the rabbit was a familiar spirit. After the successful summoning, Chen Yue could command the Frozen Rabbit as easily as moving his fingers. After it obediently restrained the dissipating cold air, the Frozen Rabbit was very cool to hold, and Ling Yue'er couldn't put it down, hugging it all day to cool off.

  Chen Yue nodded understandingly. Taxes were paid before entering the city. Specialized personnel would estimate the caravan's goods and collect taxes based on the approximate profits. Of course, the estimated profits were fluctuating. However, according to Ling Yue'er, this fat man usually chose the higher estimated profits to collect taxes, which was really hateful.

  The merchants all took out their goods. No one dared to hide them. If they wanted to hide their valuable property to avoid taxes and were found in the city, the fine alone would be enough to bankrupt them.

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  Nord went up to them nervously, with a big smile on his face, and exchanged greetings with the financial manager. Seeing that the other party didn't respond at all, his face froze, and he secretly handed over a money bag.

  After weighing the weight in his hand, the financial manager showed some satisfaction on his fat face. He gave Nord a look that seemed to say "you're quite sensible" and winked at the clerk beside him. The man nodded in understanding and immediately took a team of city defense troops to check the goods on both sides.

  After a series of trivial calculations, the clerk reported the estimated profits.

  Shaking the paper full of data, the financial manager showed a surprised look and said, "Nord, you have a lot more goods than usual this time. However, friendship is friendship, and the tax is set by the empire. Not a single penny can be less. 1536 gold coins. When do you plan to pay it?"

  Everyone immediately focused their attention on Nord's fat face.

  In the past, this was always the most difficult moment. Nord always felt as uncomfortable as if a large piece of meat had been cut off by a knife. But at this moment, the financial manager actually saw a trace of calmness on his face.

  This was really strange. The manager muttered to himself.

  "Manager sir." Nord straightened his barrel-like waist, chuckled, and his fat face showed an indescribable calmness. "This time, I'm lucky to have invited a distinguished magician to accompany us. You see, according to the laws of the empire..."

  "What? A magician?" The financial manager trembled all over, and his arrogant expression disappeared immediately. He immediately understood. No wonder this kid was so calm. It turned out that he had found a backer.

  "Quick, take me to see him." The financial manager hurriedly grabbed Nord and didn't dare to neglect at all.

  The privileged class was the privileged class. Although he had considerable power in Chia City, he still felt inferior psychologically compared to them. Although these fighters and magicians were usually only keen on improving their own strength, it was hard to guarantee that there wouldn't be one or two exceptions.

  Nord didn't dare to let him invite in person. There would be many days of interaction in the future, but how could he be so lucky to have a magician accompany him every time? It was he who invited Gamor and his servant.

  Gamor was dressed in formal clothes and wore a beautiful magic robe with two stars inlaid on his chest, representing his professional level.

  Seeing that Gamor was only a second-order magician, the financial manager breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't that he had to bow and scrape to every privileged class. The privileged class was just their status, and few of them would directly exercise power. For a first- or second-order beginner like this, he could treat them equally.

  Reaching out to the clerk, the financial manager personally instructed, "Since there is a magician accompanying you, according to the laws of the empire, only 30% of the tax will be charged. You calculate the amount..."

  Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Gamor.

  "Wait, tax reduction? What's going on?" Waving his arms, Gamor shouted in an exaggerated tone, "President Nord, you never told me about this before."

  "What... what?" Nord looked at the "excited" Gamor blankly, with an innocent expression.

  Everyone was stunned by Gamor's inexplicable outburst and didn't react for a while.

  In the distance, Chen Yue snorted disdainfully. He knew that Gamor was starting to make trouble.

  The financial manager's face immediately darkened, and he said coldly, "According to the laws of the empire, when a caravan invites a magician to accompany them, they need to inform the details. Nord, what's going on?"

  "Manager sir, this..." Sweat kept flowing down Nord's forehead, and he didn't even have the heart to wipe it. "Lord Gamor, didn't we agree that you would take 300 gold coins..."

  "Nonsense! Do you think I would be greedy for such a small amount of money from you?" Gamor interrupted coldly, ignoring the sweating Nord. He looked at the financial manager and said, "Manager sir, my attendant and I were traveling outside. We were almost at Chia City. On the way, we met this caravan. They welcomed me warmly and invited me to travel with them. I didn't think much about it at that time. I didn't expect that President Nord had such an idea. How clever he is! Humph."

  "Plop." Nord's legs gave way, and he sat down on the ground directly. His chest heaved violently, and he pointed at Gamor but couldn't say a word.

  Being bitten back like this was a serious crime.

  "Having violated the laws of the empire and knowingly committed the crime." With a cold smile, ignoring the uproar of the people, the financial manager waved his hand backward, and his voice was icy cold. "Arrest them all. Confiscate all the goods."

  Gamor showed an extremely smug smile. Yes, his lie was full of loopholes, but so what? With his status as a privileged class, it was easy for him to deal with a group of common people. Moreover, he had such a good excuse.

  The financial manager wasn't stupid either. His eyes were very sharp. He could tell at a glance who was real and who was fake between the caravan and Gamor. However, between a group of common people and the privileged class, anyone with a brain knew what to do.

  The camp was in chaos. The merchants were crying and hugging their goods tightly, but how could they defeat the fierce city defense troops?

  "Ha ha~~"

  The sudden sneer attracted everyone's attention.

  "What is acting in collusion with each other? I finally saw it today." With a curve at the corner of his mouth, Chen Yue's expression was full of sarcasm...