Heilong-kou (Black Dragon-Mouth/Pass)
Heilong-cheng (Black Dragon-City)
Censorate (Supervisory Court)
Yuling City (Jade City)
Jingui Town (Golden Turtle Town)
Xuanwu City (Black tortoise City)
...
The table was filled with fresh vegetables and fruits from the human world, stirring up a memory deep within the Empress.
In her youth, naïve and curious, she had once descended to the mortal realm. There, she had fallen in love with a scholar at first sight, pursued him relentlessly, and eventually married him. They lived together for over thirty years, but when the scholar grew old and lost his charm, she lost interest. Using a faked death as an excuse, she returned to the Qingluan Tribe.
That was why she recognized the items on the table.
"These were sent from Black Dragon City? Looks like it's time we pay a visit there ourselves."
The Sixth Princess was holding a sample bottle of perfume and turned her head with a puzzled look. "When are we going?"
The Empress mused, "In a few days. The letter mentioned that the little prince of the Winged Tiger Tribe is also in Black Dragon City—no one knows who spirited him away."
The Sixth Princess gasped, "Who would dare to do something so outrageous?"
The Empress idly stroked her crimson-painted nails. "No idea. Send our fastest messenger to inform the Winged Tiger Tribe."
Black Dragon City.
Yin Jixue received news from the outskirts: Tiesheng had successfully built a cargo truck. It had already been road-tested—fully loaded with coal, it didn't slow down in the slightest.
She also received updates from the logistics department. The airfreight box had reached its destination, and the recipient had confirmed delivery.
Turns out, after the airfreight box takes off, a transparent panel detaches from the base, revealing a touchscreen-like interface—its control panel.
Even if one couldn't understand the text, one could still follow the route map to track the box's movement.
Both of these developments were important, so Yin Jixue personally drove out of the city.
When she saw Tiesheng again, he looked more rugged than before—likely due to carrying heavy parts around every day, his muscles had grown impressively strong.
"Your Highness, this is a cargo truck. It can carry far more than a tricycle, and it doesn't even require much effort."
Yin Jixue praised him, "Well done. You can consider expanding the cargo bay next time—to load even more goods. I believe you're more than capable."
Tiesheng now had apprentices, so once a prototype was complete, they would mass-produce it while he buried himself back in the lab to work on new inventions.
Old Mo, seeing that the mechanical plant no longer needed him, returned to teaching at the newly built school campus. It was designed to help adult demons catch up on education and take specialized courses. Recently, they had nightly literacy classes specifically for Shadow Demons and Night Demons.
Foreign merchant caravans had been coming and going from Black Dragon City—some leaving, others arriving.
A merchant who was loading goods for departure caught sight of the cargo truck driving out of the city and was dumbfounded.
"What kind of vehicle is that?" They could tell it was related to automobiles, but unfortunately, Black Dragon City wasn't selling them.
The driver stuck his head out of the window. "This is a cargo truck. If your caravan needs help transporting goods, you can hire us."
What? They could hire them?!
Why were they still using those wooden carts and paying a fortune for beast labor when they could hire this?
Following instructions, the driver told them that if they wanted to hire a cargo truck, they had to go to the city's logistics management center and place an order. A designated driver would be assigned to handle the delivery.
The merchants who were still packing their bags quickly ran off to consult with their familiar contacts.
"Should we hire a truck?"
One of them hesitated. "What if our goods go missing? And are they even secure during transit?"
That question cast a silence over the group.
"You think the Black Dragons are pushovers? One of their kids can take on three opponents after dinner."
"Heh, right. I forgot we're in Black Dragon territory."
They couldn't decide on the spot, so they decided to check out the logistics center.
And that was a whole different surprise. The entrance was packed with demons—mostly merchants who had just entered the city.
They glanced at each other in disbelief. "How did they find out so fast?"
At the city gates, visitors now received a Black Dragon City Tour Guide, which not only introduced local specialties but also featured cuisine and cutting-edge inventions.
Lou Zhao had even decided to print promotional flyers. One side featured food; the other, an introduction to Black Dragon City. He'd assigned Qingyuan to command a flock of birds to distribute the flyers.
The images were illustrated by Qinghe, whose realistic art style rivaled photography.
Since logistics was now a key development focus, express delivery ads were placed on the very first page of the tour guide.
Black Dragon Express
"Offering next-day delivery service to all demon races. Tenfold compensation for late deliveries."
No one even knew what Black Dragon Express was yet, but the promise of tenfold compensation had everyone hooked.
So, for most new merchants arriving in town, the very first stop was the logistics center.
Correction—the first stop was currency exchange.
From now on, any business with the Black Dragon Tribe requires the use of Black Dragon Coins. That was the only currency they accepted.
At first, the merchants were reluctant, but the moment they saw the shimmering coins infused with demon crystals and black dragon aura, none of them could resist.
Ah, the sweet scent of profit!
After finishing her business, Yin Jixue finally had some time to herself. She wanted to send something to her family in the Yin Dynasty using the airfreight box.
As the daughter of the queen, her status wasn't exactly secure or precarious. At the very least, she'd been given 80 trunks of dowry when she married off, along with shops, estates, and ten thousand acres of fertile land in the capital.
Royal family bonds were complicated. Her younger brother, the future monarch, had been raised under strict discipline and wasn't particularly close to their mother, the Empress.
Yin Jixue, being the daughter, had become the Empress's confidante—but she wasn't fond of gossiping with her mother.
Every conversation revolved around palace drama. The Empress, a queen of a kingdom, still fretted over possibly falling out of favor someday. Yin Jixue didn't get it. Though she had to admit, listening to all the gossip was kind of fun.
Yin Jixue was a straightforward person, not one for scheming. She preferred a good brawl or just keeping her mouth shut. As a result, she had mostly stayed out of palace intrigues.
Now the question was—what to send?
She nudged the man beside her. "What do you think I should send home?"
Lou Zhao was scribbling away beside her. Her push made him smear his writing.
He ruffled her hair. "For the women, send toiletries and perfume. For the men, send paper and pens. Don't overdo it—too much is just a burden to them."
Yin Jixue looked up at him. "Can I include a Black Dragon Coin?"
"Of course. Aren't your human emperors supposed to be 'True Dragons'?"
Yin Jixue shook her head. "That's all made-up nonsense. You believe that?"
Lou Zhao chuckled. "Real dragons only exist among the Black Dragons."
The nearly transparent airfreight box soared into the sky from the royal palace.
By the time the caravans queued up, Black Dragon Express was fully booked until the end of the month. Only regular cargo trucks were still available, and they only ran the Black Dragon Pass route.
The merchants hesitated again.
Going through Black Dragon Pass… would their goods even survive?
None of the foreign demons knew yet that Black Dragon Pass was undergoing development.
As they were wavering, the logistics center posted a new advertisement.
Cargo trucks could now transport fresh produce, but due to route constraints, the service was limited to deliveries to the Xuanwu Tribe, passing through Black Dragon Pass.
The Xuanwu merchants were overjoyed. They didn't care about the Pass—five hundred pounds of fruits and vegetables were ordered on the spot.
"Hold that truck for me—I'm off to find a vegetable seller!"
And right at that moment, the gates leading to Black Dragon Pass swung open.
Those gates had always been reserved for locals. Visiting merchants had never been allowed anywhere near them.