Zhao Guang, under the puzzled stares of everyone, pushed the pink shopping cart all the way back.
Honestly, although it looked small, the materials used were really solid. It was still very easy to push with five sacks of table salt, and the structure of the cart was extremely stable without any sign of falling apart.
In the end, seeing there was still space, Zhao Guang simply bought two large buckets of chili oil.
Under the strange looks of the men, Zhao Guang somehow managed to haul everything upstairs.
"Thank goodness I'm only on the third floor, if it were the sixth, I would have died of exhaustion."
Not to mention the staircase was narrow and there was no elevator. If he ran into someone on the way, he would have to squeeze through. It seemed that in the future he would need to time his shopping trips carefully and choose less busy times to come back.
As soon as he shut the door, Zhao Guang was ready to open the "Space Gate".
These past few days, he'd opened the 'Space Gate' frequently, but only for testing.
He had no idea what the situation was on the other side, but fortunately, no one had come through. Through testing, Zhao Guang discovered that when he went through the 'Space Gate,' it wouldn't close immediately; even the time seemed to extend.
It wasn't like the gate would close exactly ten minutes after opening.
Instead, the door started counting down the time only after Zhao Guang stopped interacting with it, closing almost ten minutes later.
This way, he didn't have to worry about being cut in half by a closing 'Space Gate' while halfway through.
"Wait a minute, something's missing." Just as Zhao Guang was about to go through, he suddenly remembered his old friend, the porcupine—called the 'Hard-haired Pig' by others. He wondered if he might still get attacked if he went over like this.
Thinking it through, Zhao Guang ran downstairs to purchase a set of work clothes, fully arming himself.
The gear was sturdy, absolutely puncture-proof. Then he thought again and ended up strapping two metal plates to his rear— now he was completely fail-safe. Somehow, Zhao Guang didn't understand why, his injuries seemed to heal incredibly fast these days.
It hadn't been long, and he hadn't even taken care to rest properly, yet the pain was gone.
The wound on his foot had already scabbed over, and at this rate, it would heal within a couple of days.
Maybe this was some kind of perk from his transdimensional travel, Zhao Guang thought as he opened the 'Space Gate'. Pushing the small cart, he stepped through instantly. The cart was great, but it was way too small; he had to bend over with his one-meter-eight stature.
"Grunts, grunts…" Just as he came through, that familiar sound rang out.
Upon seeing Zhao Guang, the 'Hard-haired Pig's' eyes lit up, and it rushed over excitedly. Zhao Guang's eyes sparkled just as much, and he ran toward the 'Hard-haired Pig' after putting down the small cart.
In the moment of contact, Zhao Guang leaped up, spun half a circle in the air, and turned his rear towards it.
The 'Hard-haired Pig,' seeing the rear, was drawn to it as if by a magnet and charged towards him. Then, with a 'clang,' its spikes made contact with the protective clothing, failing to pierce through, thanks to the sturdy metal plates inside.
The fully charged 'Hard-haired Pig' was suddenly dazed from the impact.
"Haha, see if you dare to charge at your boss now." Watching the dazed 'Hard-haired Pig,' Zhao Guang kicked it aside.
"Ouch, they even left a mark here." While Zhao Guang was figuring out which way to go, he suddenly noticed a huge arrow etched on the rock. Needless to say, it must have been a mark left by Jack and Hans, worried that he would lose his way.
And they were right to worry— he really couldn't tell the difference.
"Next time, I'll bring a compass," Zhao Guang said, and started pushing the cart forward.
Just as he rounded a rock, Zhao Guang looked up, stunned. A group of people had just come around the corner, walking upright in human form, but with heads of wolves, lions, and some with human faces but animalistic features.
"This damn place can't be occupied by Beastmen, can it?"
Those guys, wanting to do business with me, don't they know enough to provide some security? Setting up a post here would have been nice, but what now?"
Both sides stared at each other, big eyes locked on smaller ones; after a long while, the Beastmen finally reacted.
A group of Beastmen hustled over, surrounding Zhao Guang in the middle.
"Who are you, and what are you doing?"
Seeing that these men were about to get violent, Zhao Guang remembered that these Beastmen were at war with Humans.
Thinking quickly, Zhao Guang hurriedly raised his hands, "Wait, wait, misunderstanding, one of us, one of us. I'm a smuggler, specifically smuggling goods to your side."
Zhao Guang was even impressed with his quick thinking as the lion's huge club stopped just ten centimeters above his head.
Had it shaken even slightly, he would have had to shake along.
"Smuggler, don't you all claim to be merchants?"
"My biggest virtue is honesty; since I'm smuggling, then that makes me a smuggler," Zhao Guang said, nodding vigorously with a proud look that scorned other smugglers.
This act completely baffled the Beastmen; they had never seen anything like it.
"Then, why are you running towards the Human side?" Finally, one of the Beastmen spoke up.
"Why would I be running towards the Human side? This is my first time doing this, and I got lost. Right, I got lost. Is that direction Human territory? Really, if I were to run back there, wouldn't I get caught?"
A Werewolf had already made his way to Zhao Guang's cart and pierced a sack with his hand.
Inside the sack were small packets of salt; Zhao Guang had no idea it was packaged like that.
As for the writing on them, whatever, they saw it and what could they do about it now?
"It's fine salt, actually fine salt!"
"What, fine salt? The kind that common Humans can't even afford?"
"Great, brother, my name is Kapas, and you're our friend now. Those damn smugglers, each one sells us salt that gives diarrhea if you eat too much, but you, you're honest."
Oh, this world has fine salt, just that common people can't get it. Clearly, it's due to a technological embargo.
"Of course, since we are partners, we should engage in long-term trade. How could I give you something substandard?"
The group of Beastmen was thrilled. They'd seen many Human merchants, but few thought of their welfare. They were unaware if Humans lacked salt, but their own shortage was severe.
But they couldn't help it; Beastmen couldn't produce it themselves. At most, they could only lick the salt mines, which was even more intolerable.
"Come on, come with us back to camp, brothers, bring him and the cart." Another lion-man approached, lifting the cart and its contents as though they were as light as an empty plate.
Looking at the way he handled it, it seemed as if it weighed nothing at all.
Looking at the other spoils carried by the rest, they appeared just as weightless.