Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1021 - 1114: Buying Gifts

Chapter 1021: Chapter 1114: Buying Gifts

Luo’er’s words caused Wadulan’s face to change abruptly. He dropped his smile, and, looking angrily at Luo’er, he asked, "What do you mean by this, Captain Luo’er? Do you think I need this small amount of money? If that’s the case, then you needn’t bother returning it. From today onwards, we are no longer friends, and there’s no need to see each other again!"

With that, he forcefully flung his robes and, holding his rotund belly, turned and walked toward the ship.

"Hey, hey, hey, Captain Wadulan, please calm down, forgive my clumsy tongue for any discourtesy," seeing this, Luo’er quickly reached out and grabbed Wadulan’s clothes, apologizing profusely, "Since it’s Captain Wadulan’s kind gesture, I will accept it. I hope Captain Wadulan won’t be angry with me."

"Ah..." Seeing the antics of the two, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but sigh, then whispered to Hu Daoke, "He should have just accepted it straightforwardly, no need to put on a show, making it awkward for both sides. Wadulan clearly needs something from Luo’er, giving money is the simplest and most direct method, why can’t Luo’er see that?"

"Boss, this is called playing hard to get, what do you know." Hu Daoke rolled his eyes and said.

"Haha, it’s funny, it’s clearly Wadulan playing hard to get, Luo’er obviously just overdid the politeness and crashed." Upon hearing this, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but reveal a knowingly amused smile.

Indeed, as soon as Luo’er gave in, Wadulan immediately turned around. The angry expression on his face instantly transformed into a full smile, a change of face so quick it might rival a Sichuan opera master.

"Ah, this is more like it, Captain Luo’er, accept this gesture of mine. Let’s not talk about repayment. With the remaining money, treat everyone well; on such a long journey, you cannot neglect yourself," Wadulan caught Luo’er’s arm, and said with a glowing smile.

"Then, I must graciously accept..." Luo’er replied with a bitter smile, then nodded in agreement.

With that, he waved his hand without looking back, and Hu Daoke, understanding the cue, stepped forward to take the wooden box from the sailor’s hands.

"Ah," Wadulan suddenly exclaimed, then displayed a sad expression, gently patting Luo’er’s arm as he said, "Upon parting, I do not know when we shall meet again, Captain Luo’er, you must take good care of yourself."

"Thank you for your concern, Captain Wadulan, the same to you. The sea journey is perilous; proceed with cautiousness." Luo’er replied with a smile.

"Well, then, let us part here," said Wadulan, releasing Luo’er’s hand, then stepping back slightly, sighed, and said, "Should Captain Luo’er encounter any trouble in Blue Bay, please come to me. Whatever I can do, I will go through fire and water, at all costs!"

"I will, Captain Wadulan, farewell, take care," Luo’er said, raising his hand in a fist salute.

"Oh, farewell, farewell," Wadulan, seeing Luo’er’s gesture, suddenly brightened and hastened to raise his hand in return with a fist salute.

However, his stance seemed improper. The traditional fist salute involves the right hand in a fist, with the left hand over it, but Wadulan did the opposite. This constitutes a hostile salute, rather unlucky.

Luo’er, however, did not correct him, accepting it instead. Wadulan really was remarkable; talking with him felt like talking with a fellow countryman, his words adhering to the rules of Chinese composition. Though his language might seem convoluted, it had a unique charm in this Otherworld.

As the group left the dock, Cheng Ziang shook his head in exasperation and said, "You two really can drag on a conversation endlessly."

"How should I put it," Luo’er smiled, glancing back at him and said, "It feels like meeting an old friend in a foreign land."

"He flirted with you more today than I’ve managed in a month," Tangmo said, looking frustrated and muttering.

"You admit you like to flirt with me and take advantage of me, huh?" Luo’er gave her a glance and said.

"What’s there not to admit? I confess I’m a flirtatious fool, and I’m smitten by you," Tangmo said unabashedly, tilting her face upward.

Her words made Luo’er blush, leaving him speechless for a long moment, only able to sigh in resignation.

"Luo’er, what should we do next?" Baiyue stepped forward, looking expectantly at him and asked.

"What else can we do, of course, we must hire a carriage to go to Meila Village." Luo’er replied with a smile.

"That’s great..." Baiyue clenched her fist, quietly cheered with a "Yes," then contentedly stepped back.

"But if we go there, what should we do when the airboat from headquarters arrives?" Ziang asked.

"Well, don’t worry, I deliberately reported a later arrival time for us to Blue Bay, and with Wadulan’s ships being so fast, the airboat should have just set off. By the time we are at Meila Village, it wouldn’t be too late to call the airboat to divert to the village," Luo’er replied.

"That’s quite bold of you..." Ziang said with a laugh, shaking his head.

"What’s there to be afraid of? Right now, headquarters should really be taking cues from us," Luo’er responded with a shrug, unconcerned.

"I’m glad you think that way; I thought you were almost becoming a lapdog for headquarters," Ziang said, nodding with relief.

"That analogy..." Luo’er said hesitantly.

"That’s too disrespectful!" Tangmo interjected.

"Since we’re going to visit, we naturally can’t go empty-handed, shall we split up?" Ziang looked around at everyone and then turned to Luo’er.

"No, there are too many people here, and splitting up might lead to accidents. Let’s find an inn to rest first, then consider arranging separately afterward," Luo’er suggested.

"Luo’er, I want to be in your group!" Tangmo clung to Luo’er’s arm and spoke in a coquettish manner.

"I’m not exactly presentable in this kind of city," Luo’er said with a bitter smile.

He was a Half-elf, and whenever he came to a city of the Human Race, he had already prepared himself to face discrimination.

"No worries, I’ve got you covered. If anyone dares to look down on you... I’ll slap them hard!"

As Tangmo spoke, her tone suddenly shifted, frightening Luo’er into freezing on the spot, then shaking his head, "How do you two switch without any signs?"

"Isn’t it better this way? No matter what we do, both of us sisters can enjoy it at the same time," Tangmo said with a seductive smile, reaching out to pinch Luo’er’s cheek.

Unlike her sister, Momo, as the younger sister, was much bolder. Normally, even Luo’er would criticize and restrain Momo, but with her sister, he was helpless.

The group left the port area and found an inn to stay in temporarily. Then, Luo’er asked the Elves to stay and had Feng protect them, while the Advance Team split into groups to hit the streets; some rented carriages and others went to buy gifts.

The funds provided by Wadulan were indeed a big help for Luo’er, perfect for purchasing these items. Although Luo’er was polite in spoken terms, the sight of so much money was still tempting.

Being out and about, the saying "money makes the man" was something Luo’er understood. Although they mostly weren’t short on cash thanks to headquarters’ support, when they truly were, even the Advance Team struggled.

Besides purchasing weapons, Luo’er also had Hu Daoke buy some firearms and ammunition to send to Meila Village. Being the most familiar with Earth’s firearms, Hu Daoke made it difficult for those profiteering tradesmen to charge exorbitant prices.

After a busy period, everyone finally regrouped at dusk. The gifts and carriages were ready; they just had to head directly to Meila Village the next day.

The gifts mainly consisted of Earth’s inexpensive industrial products, including some essentials like kerosene lamps and matches. Although these were considered cheap by the Advance Team, they were actually not cheap in the Otherworld, where due to their popularity, prices had started to rise.

Luckily, the Advance Team, having grown up on Earth, knew these industrial products well and could handle haggling confidently, well aware of their costs.

Regarding firearms, Hu Daoke managed to find some nicely conditioned American Springfield bolt-action rifles and bought over five hundred Springfield rounds. He had always kept a Browning that he hadn’t wished to purchase, so it remained on him, perfect for giving to the Sub-beastmen for use as a machine gun.

However, upon acquiring the firearms, Hu Daoke noticed a trend in Blue Bay’s weaponry preference, namely, that American equipment seemed more prevalent while the initially dominant German market had drastically declined—a worrying trend.