Elvia's body trembled.
With a gulp, she swallowed hard once more.
Then she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.
"No wonder..."
"That lot from the Central City-States hate the Spark Revolution so much."
"I thought it was because you were touching the interests of their nobility."
She paused.
"Who would have thought..."
She looked at Lin Gui.
Her gaze was complicated.
"You're after their lives."
Lin Gui replied indifferently:
"No."
"They never wanted to."
"I did."
"But I didn't have the ability back then."
"I wasn't a member of the Spark organization either, so I couldn't influence their decisions."
He paused.
"But now..."
He gave a cold laugh.
He didn't continue.
But Elvia understood the meaning behind that laugh.
Her face was full of lingering fear, and her voice tightened slightly:
"You want to..."
"Continue that mad plan?"
Lin Gui smiled faintly:
"Rest assured, that will only be a last resort, not our actual weapon against the Alliance."
Lin Gui narrowed his eyes, his gaze filled with suppressed rage.
"It could drag all the nobility into hell, but it wouldn't bring those big shots who truly caused that tragedy to their deaths along with them."
"And..."
Lin Gui looked at Elvia, then turned his gaze toward somewhere in the west.
"I promised her I'd go back to see her."
"So, it will only be my means of deterring the Alliance, not a weapon to fight them with."
Cold sweat broke out on Elvia's back.
That wasn't a deterrent, it was... mutual destruction.
And that post office she had never quite understood.
It truly could become a crucial link in realizing that plan.
Thinking of the post office's eerie route map.
Could it be that Lin Gui had already begun...
Elvia quickly reached out and took the messenger bag hanging at the head of Lin Gui's bed.
Then she rummaged through it and pulled out the city-state map.
She spread it out.
She laid it on the bed.
Then she pulled out the route map the post office followed.
She compared them, looking through each city-state one by one.
Southern Tundra, Whitecliff City, Wind-Whisper Canyon, Watchtower Keep.
Withered Wood Wasteland, Withered Wood Town, Serpent-Spine Ridge, Coppergate City.
Twilight Woods, Aspen Keep, Cursed Swamp, Green-Shade Court.
Bone Highlands, City of a Thousand Towers, Crimson Terrace, Twin Springs Oasis.
Ashstone Plains, Yellow Sand Court, Ash Rift, Sandthorn Hills.
Red Clay Territory, Red Clay Desert.
Her finger traced back and forth across the map.
Her brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
Then it smoothed out, and she looked up at Lin Gui with an odd expression:
"The city-states this route passes through..."
"They don't seem to match up with your plan at all."
Lin Gui looked at her speechlessly:
"With my current strength..."
"And a Mana Reserve that requires me to rest after flying a short distance..."
"Do you really think I can launch that plan?"
Elvia was stunned for a moment.
"Huh? Then why did you just say..."
Lin Gui spoke helplessly.
"When I said 'having the ability,' I was referring to my future self."
"At the very least, I won't attempt to start that plan before I reach the Transcendent rank."
Elvia still found it strange:
"But since you aren't launching the plan yet..."
"What's with this delivery route?"
"Why is it so bizarre?"
Lin Gui asked:
"Is it bizarre?"
Elvia rolled her eyes at him.
Pointing at the map, she began to explain:
"Let's ignore the Red Clay Desert side for now."
"For the road to the Magic City alone..."
"The safest way should be..."
Her finger traced a line on the map.
Starting from Dragonbone City, heading north to bypass the Withered Wood Wasteland, going through Wind Wolf Ridge, Ironanvil Keep, and Greyrock City, then turning east to reach Coppergate City.
It passed through seven or eight city-states, with the transport teams' Golden Route covering it the whole way.
Although the journey was long, the safety factor was high.
The city-states passed along the way were far more numerous than those on Lin Gui's route.
And the abundance of city-states also proved the safety of that route.
"This is the road most transport teams take," Elvia said.
Her finger traced another line:
"And theoretically, the shortest route to the City of a Thousand Towers..."
"Isn't your route either."
That line cut straight southeast from Dragonbone City, passing through a small section of the edge of the Withered Wood Wasteland, going through Blackstone Pass, and arriving at Coppergate City in about two months.
Although it also passed through a Forbidden Zone, it only skimmed the border.
"But this one of yours..."
Her finger pointed at Lin Gui's route.
"Entering the western Withered Wood Wasteland from Watchtower Keep, crossing the entire wasteland to Withered Wood Town."
"Then coming out of Withered Wood Town only to enter the Cursed Swamp."
"Coming out of the Cursed Swamp only to enter the Bone Highlands."
"What are you even after?"
She looked up, staring at Lin Gui.
"What are you after?"
Ever since she first saw Lin Gui's route in Dragonbone City, through the agonizing travel later.
She had been thinking about the significance behind this route.
In the end, almost every deduction she made was wrong.
She hadn't asked then, as she had intended to stay away from this dangerous guy.
But now, she had joined him.
So, she was quite curious about what the real answer was.
Lin Gui looked at her.
Her finger was still on the map, resting on the words for the Withered Wood Wasteland.
Her familiarity with the routes surprised Lin Gui somewhat.
As expected of a princess with actual power from the Carter Royal Capital.
When it came to transport, she really knew a lot.
And as for her question...
Actually, Lin Gui himself really wanted to know why as well.
[So, why choose this route that is neither short nor far more dangerous?]
Lin Gui asked the System in his mind.
That was right.
The second route for the post office was actually planned by the System for him.
Lin Gui had only locked in the final stop... Caran City.
The other city-states passed through were provided by the System.
If Elvia hadn't pointed it out, he truly wouldn't have known how strange this route was.
In response, the System only calmly replied:
[The System's route maps are all based on the assessment of the Host's strength... and represent the best choice.]
"Is that so?"
Lin Gui glanced out of the corner of his eye at the several large wooden boxes in the corner.
"How come I feel like you're sneaking in a personal agenda?"
[Pure slander.]
Lin Gui smiled faintly and didn't pursue it further.
As for Elvia's question, he only said:
"I simply want to see those three Forbidden Zones."
"They might be useful later."
Lin Gui wasn't lying with those words.
It truly would be useful for the future Lin Gui.
Assuming...
Caran City truly still existed.
And that it could become the base for his revolution.
Rate on N.U.
