Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1020 - 113: Reluctant to Part

Chapter 1020: Chapter 113: Reluctant to Part

By this time, Blue Bay had arrived in May, and the weather had begun to heat up, a stark contrast to the Snow Domain north of the Northern Domain Mountain Range, where snow covered everything.

Stepping onto the soil of Blue Bay once again, Luo’er couldn’t help but feel profoundly moved by nostalgia. He vaguely remembered their last visit here, which was almost three years ago now, and it seemed that nothing had changed.

The dark-skinned Bobulu guards, dressed in splendid military uniforms, patrolled the streets with Otland bolt-action rifles slung over their shoulders. Their helmet styles had not changed and were still just as peculiar.

As a hub for north-south trade, Blue Bay bustled with activity, its streets thronged with people despite the shipping routes being blockaded by the Beastman Race pirates.

Although Oudallo also embraced the teachings of the Church of Light, their secular government was relatively strong, limiting the influence of the Church Court here, which made this location both a starting and ending point for north-south trade.

Restricted Odelanqi merchants would transport goods to this place via Winter Harbor, then either resell them or send them south through their local enterprises, circumventing the Church’s prohibition against trading with the people of the Ancient States.

It was said that Ilanadale was also recently considering joining the West Coast shipping lanes, leading to the construction of docks at their deep-water harbor, significantly increasing the goods transported from the north to the south.

Economically, if industrial products from Earth wanted to reach the south from here, they must first travel by land within the territory of Odelanqi, then via waterways, and finally from Winter Harbor to Blue Bay to be exported to the south.

On the other hand, exporting from the East Coast was much more convenient. Yazhi City was built alongside the river, allowing industrial products from Earth to be loaded directly onto ships, almost eliminating the need for transshipment and enabling direct access to the sea southward, vastly more economical than the West Coast route.

However, as the saying goes, there is a reason behind everything. Even though the East Coast route was economical, it also had many restrictions, such as those imposed by the Church. The Church’s control here was much stricter than in Oudallo, otherwise Saint Basaya would not have presented the Anti-Magic Blade to beg the Church’s favor.

Oudallo was no pushover either. Noticing Saint Basaya’s predicament, they proposed a Free Port plan, exporting from here with tariffs nearly half lower than the average of the East Coast, an immensely attractive discount for merchants.

Such favorable tariff concessions also compensated for the losses incurred from Yazhi City to Blue Bay, making the trade competitiveness of Blue Bay comparable to the East Coast’s Golden Port and White Beach, hence traders still frequented Blue Bay.

Recently, Blue Bay had introduced several plans to improve trade, beginning with the government initiating the formation of trade fleets to resist the pirates from the Kabarguru Peninsula. Moreover, the military also collaborated with Winter Harbor to establish a navy fleet specifically for protecting the trade routes, greatly enhancing the trade safety of the West Coast and further elevating the trade value of Blue Bay.

After disembarking, Wadulan followed closely behind, grasping Luo’er’s hand, reluctantly saying, "Captain Luo, why not stay a few more days? You see, Blue Bay is just preparing a new round of trade fleet formation. If you plan to go south, I could join the trade fleet and follow southward, and you could all go together directly."

"Heh, we appreciate your kind thoughts, Captain Wadulan," Luo’er smiled, then patted his hand reassuringly, "We actually came to Blue Bay for some private matters, otherwise we would have already landed at Winter Harbor. Don’t worry about what comes next, headquarters has already arranged transportation for us, we can head south by ourselves."

"Ah," Upon hearing Luo’er’s words, disappointment crossed Wadulan’s face, and he sighed, saying, "I’ve always wanted to keep you all a bit longer, but alas, time flies too swiftly, bidding farewell like this is truly unbearable."

"Don’t say that, Captain Wadulan," Luo’er said with a reassuring smile, "As the saying goes, fate brings people together no matter how far apart they may be. Let’s remember this friendship, parting now, we will surely meet again."

"Ah, well, if Captain Luo says so..." Wadulan shook his head, then covering Luo’er’s hand sincerely said, "Captain Luo, if it’s convenient, I will bring my son to pay a visit in person, I wonder if Captain Luo might be available then?"

"Eh, uh..." Hearing this, Luo’er was clearly taken aback for a good while, then he caught on to Wadulan’s intention.

Clearly, bringing his son was not a simple visit; if Luo’er remembered correctly, he guessed that Wadulan hoped headquarters might take in his son, thus connecting their family with headquarters.

Wadulan clearly knew some things about the headquarters, so he must have heard about the Mingming Plan the headquarters was about to implement. For him, this was undoubtedly a godsend opportunity.

The Blaiqi people had always wanted to become new Earthlings, and the Mingming Plan initiated by the headquarters was undoubtedly another godsend opportunity. As long as they let their descendants receive education from the Earth people, their progeny would basically be considered Earthlings.

"This, we are the Advance Team, and we often have to go out on missions. I’m just afraid that when Captain Wadulan arrives, we might still be out on missions, which would be troublesome," Luo’er said with a troubled expression.

"Oh, I see, ah, no, no problem," Wadulan showed a forlorn look but still mustered a forced smile and waved his hand.

Seeing his disappointed expression, Luo’er paused, then softly coughed and said, "If Captain Wadulan does come, we can report to headquarters first. Then once we receive the report, we’ll stay at the base awaiting Your Excellency’s arrival, so as not to delay Captain Wadulan’s time."

"That would be best. My time is unimportant, if Captain Luo’er is inconvenienced, then we can just wait in Yazhi City," Wadulan said, overjoyed.

"This..." Luo’er let out a wry laugh, and it seemed like Wadulan was intent on having his way.

"Ah, Captain Luo’er, don’t be so modest. I am the visitor, and it’s only right to adhere to the guest’s manner. How could I make the host wait for us?" Wadulan dismissively said.

"Then we shall await the grand presence of Captain Wadulan," Luo’er resignedly shook his head, then followed along with his words.

Wadulan smiled, then waved his hand toward someone behind him. A sailor, carrying a wooden box, came over and opened it right in front of Luo’er. Inside was a heavy bag of gold coins and some odd jewels and medicinal herbs.

"This is..." Luo’er pointed at the wooden box, hesitantly asking.

"Just a small token, please accept it with a smile, Captain Luo’er," Wadulan extended his hand, grinning.

"No, no, that won’t do, pack it up," Luo’er hastily objected.

"Ah, Captain Luo’er, there’s no need for such courtesy. This is merely a small expression of friendship from me. After all, Captain Luo’er helped ’Ride the Winds, Break the Waves’ get through such a severe ordeal. This small gift really can’t express all my gratitude, so please don’t refuse," Wadulan held his belly, his language polished.

"No, no, one does not take money from a friend. Captain Wadulan, please don’t do this, I would feel too ashamed," Luo’er continued to object.

"Oh, Captain Luo’er, this is not only a personal token from me but also the intention of the main office, to provide some funds for your team’s activities. Since we are friends, I don’t want to see you suffer, so I added a few more coins. Please accept, Captain Luo’er."

"This, just a few more coins?" Luo’er grimaced as he looked at the wooden box. The heavy coins were difficult for the sailor to hold, and to say only a few were added, he clearly didn’t believe that.

"Money, you cannot take it with you in birth or death, and it can always be earned back, but a capable man like Captain Luo’er is truly worth connecting with. Please do not refuse, and just accept this token of my goodwill!" Wadulan continued to persuade.

Now that the conversation had come to this point, any more objections from Luo’er would seem overly insincere, so he gently sighed, then helplessly shook his head and said, "Since that is the case, I will reluctantly accept them for now. Whatever is not used, I will certainly return to you one day."