Similar to the development situation of most urban areas in the old era, the closer the place is to the transportation hub, the more prosperous it is, while the further away from the transportation hub, the more desolate and deserted the place is.
This point is particularly prominent in the northern district of Beta Town.
As the distribution center for goods and people in the North District, the North District Pier is undoubtedly the largest transportation hub here. Therefore, a prosperous area that is slightly abnormal compared to the entire concave area has been formed near the terminal.
However, walking along Pier Avenue towards the interior of the North District, it doesn’t take long to break through the ‘emperor’s cloak’ of this prosperous area and start to get in touch with the reality of the concave area.
Rough wooden partitions, dilapidated signboards that were whitened by rain, exposed steel bars on the walls, moldy bamboo huts, and tents filled with pudding. As far as the eye can see, this is a place that seems to be similar to Beta Town.
The name has nothing to do with the sight.
The blank walls on both sides of the street are covered with strange graffiti flashing in various colors - incomplete runes, spells in a messy order, malformed magic circles, and curses with unknown meanings - many of which are flashing with eerie colors.
The chilling scarlet color. These graffiti clearly show the guests the chaos under the silence of this neighborhood.
Except for Xiao Xiao, Zheng Qing felt that no one would be interested in this neighborhood, and he couldn't understand the purpose of Dr. Xiao Da's copying of the weird graffiti on both sides of the street.
"Knowledge and insight...are hidden in places we can't see every day." Dr. Xiao Da explained.
Zheng Qing pouted, disapproving of this explanation.
He urgently needs a secret corner where he can pluck out the frog's tongue from his wrist and throw it away. A corner not far ahead seems to be the place he needs.
Turning the corner, Zheng Qing's arm that he had just raised froze in mid-air. The relaxed smile that appeared at the corner of his mouth quickly faded away and turned into a wave of annoyance and frustration.
An old man with a dark complexion and wrinkles on his face was wrapped in a dirty robe, hiding in the concave barrier at the corner of the street. Zheng Qing took a step back slightly and looked around.
Yes, he was 80% sure that this place should be a garbage dump. Moreover, the scattered debris, medicinal residues, etc. in the block also well supported his judgment.
But who would sit peacefully in a garbage dump as if it were his home?
Seeing the old man's calm attitude, Zheng Qing had some doubts about his own judgment.
The sudden appearance of the stranger did not panic the old wizard who seemed to be sitting in the garbage. He even had time to perform a hand gesture, and a string of crackling sparks burst out from his fingertips, like a bunch of tiny sparks.
It looked like fireworks, and Zheng Qing was terrified as he watched, fearing that he might accidentally cause a fire and cause a catastrophe.
Xiao Xiao turned the corner expressionlessly, and just popped out a copper and threw it into the felt hat that was turned upside down in front of the old man. Only then did Zheng Qing notice that there were some old coppers and moldy bread slices in the felt hat.
and bits and pieces of peel.
"If you want to get rid of that frog tongue, this is a good place." Fatty Xin said casually as he passed by Zheng Qing.
The young wizard hesitated for a moment, then took off the so-called amulet made of the frog's tongue from his wrist, then took out a copper coin from the gray cloth bag and threw it into the old felt hat in front of the old man.
"Merlin bless you, kind-hearted young master." The old man seemed to be awakened by the crisp sound of rolling copper, his eyes barely opened, and a dry, insincere smile appeared on his face.
This smile scared Zheng Qing and ran away.
"Is this the living conditions of magicians?" Zheng Qing jogged a few steps to catch up with his companions not far ahead, and asked in a low voice, "It's worse than I thought... Why does he look like a beggar?!
"
"He is indeed a beggar," Fatty Xin glanced at him with a surprised tone. "Did anyone say that wizards cannot be beggars?"
Zheng Qing's expression was suffocating.
In his subconscious mind, wizards are all capable of magic, and the essence of magic is to make the impossible possible. With this premise, he never thought that wizards would become beggars, even if they were magicians.
"Why doesn't he want to go outside? A little trick like the one he did just now is enough for him to become a good magician outside...I mean the tricks of the idiots." Zheng Qing muttered, expressing his thoughts.
"There are various reasons - history and reality, external laws and self-selection." Xiao Xiao did not respond perfunctorily to Zheng Qing's question, and answered quite seriously, "Just like the old magician just now, what you saw
That string of sparks is the magic he is best at after playing for a lifetime... This place is called the concave area for no reason. As for the reason for not going out, regardless of the cumbersome and legal process of submitting an application, some magicians are because
Those with poor conduct are restricted from leaving the country by the Wizards' Alliance; there are also some who stay here voluntarily."
"Voluntary?" Zheng Qing felt that he couldn't understand.
"I have lived here all my life. When I was young, I never had the courage to go out. Why do you think that when I get older, I will have the courage to touch that unfamiliar environment? The comfort zone of life and the comfort zone of spirit are two different things.
Concept." Xiao Xiao's answer was a bit sharp.
"As for when you were young...when you were young, who didn't have any dreams!"
"Young magicians naturally have dreams. They are more ambitious than most wizards and hope to touch the true meaning of magic. When you are in the well, you can accept the sky as big as your palm; but you can see the endless starry sky
When you are young, you cannot accept that you will die in a dry well. When dreams slip by your fingertips, do you try your best to catch them, or do you remain indifferent?"
"Of course I will try my best to catch him." Zheng Qing replied immediately.
"So they are trapped here." Xiao Xiao stopped, looked around, and sighed softly, "So, this is a concave area and a mountainous area. People at the foot of the mountain want to climb up, but people on the mountain are always out of reach.
And most of them are the poor souls who froze to death on the mountain road and turned into stone monuments."
"I'm going to write this paragraph of yours into the investigation report, as an introduction, no, as a concluding statement, no, no, let me think about it again." Fatty Xin quickly recorded Xiao Xiao's comments just now, and he was delighted.
said.
Dr. Xiao Da glanced sideways at him and spread his hands in front of the fat man.
The fat man was stunned for a moment.
"Moisturize your pen." Xiao Xiao summarized his request in one short word.