After the initial euphoria and excitent from exploration settled a little, a very real and urgent problem rose to the surface like a thorn stabbing into Luke's overstimulated nerves.
Language barrier!
How the hell was he supposed to deal with that?
Yes, he could tell it was so variant of English.
Although Luke ca from a rural background, he used to be a top student! With a high school English score of 148 on the gaokao and years of watching Arican dramas, he had a vague familiarity with the vocabulary and grammar.
But after graduating, his English had plumted. He barely passed CET-4, and all his university English exams relied on leftover knowledge from high school.
Listening comprehension? He struggled with normal daily conversation, let alone this heavily accented "Westerosi Common Tongue" full of archaic words and unique place nas.
Speaking? Other than "Hello," "How are you," "Thank you," and "Fuck"… he couldn't even introduce himself properly right now.
Not understanding and not being able to speak clearly was a fatal weakness in this dangerous world where laws were weak.
Trading? Gathering information? Building connections? The first step was blocked by language.
Luke sat on a small stool in his rental room, a piece of paper spread out in front of him filled with every solution he could think of:
Self-study — too slow and no environnt. Finding a linguist — unrealistic. Hoping for sudden language talent — nonsense…
In the end, his eyes landed on "Technology Assistance." Blue Star tech should have a way to solve this.
He picked up his phone and opened the "Kan Yi Dao" shopping app.
Search keywords: "translator offline multilingual simultaneous interpretation."
Dozens of products popped up, from cheap toys to professional business models costing thousands.
He needed sothing that worked offline — the other world had no Wi-Fi — with strong battery life and preferably discreet.
After comparing specs and reading reviews repeatedly, Luke's heart bled.
He settled on a model that claid offline support for hundreds of languages, photo translation, super long battery, and Bluetooth earpiece connectivity for hidden listening.
Price: 498 Dragon Coins (RMB).
He gritted his teeth and opened the paynt page.
"Huabei password-free paynt!"
"This is an investnt! Necessary early capital!"
He encouraged himself, fingers trembling as he chose installnts. The 498 was instantly deducted, and he could almost hear his wallet crying.
"Fuck, I have to earn it back tenfold, a hundredfold!"
Luke stared at the paid order and swore viciously.
The delivery speed didn't disappoint this ti.
The next morning, a plain cardboard box arrived at his door.
Luke practically snatched it and tore it open.
The device was smaller than expected, with a black matte finish, clear screen, and decent button feel.
He impatiently powered it on, connected to ho Wi-Fi, and downloaded the required offline language packs — mainly English and several European ones.
He tested recording translation, photo translation, and even tried it on screenshots from Ga of Thrones saved on his phone.
The screen accurately recognized and translated "Iron Throne" and "Red Keep."
"Done!"
Luke carefully stored it away and dug out a pair of half-in-ear Bluetooth earphones.
In the afternoon, he changed into the most inconspicuous outfit he could manage: a plain black long-sleeve shirt, black pants, and dark sneakers.
Looking in the mirror, although the style was completely different from dieval fashion, King's Landing was a port city that gathered rchants and travelers from all Seven Kingdoms and even Essos. Strange clothing wasn't rare.
He could only be described as "exotic style." As for the exact design? No one here could really tell.
He took a deep breath, checked that the translator was fully charged, Bluetooth connection stable, earphones properly worn, and pulled his collar up slightly to hide the wires.
With a single thought, the weightless feeling hit.
Flea Bottom — that relatively secluded end of the alley.
Afternoon sunlight barely squeezed through the narrow alley. The stench seed slightly milder now that he was getting used to it.
Luke leaned against the wall, pretending to look around aimlessly. In reality, he pressed the recording button on the translator and pointed the mic toward the crowd.
After a short processing delay, the Bluetooth earphone delivered chanical but clear Chinese translations:
"…Flour prices went up again… damn rchants…" "…Heard there are Ironborn near Crab Bay…" "…Prince Joffrey's na day next month, there'll be a feast at the Red Keep…" "…Lace from Myr… prices are terrifying…"
Information fragnts poured in like snowflakes.
He moved carefully, capturing more conversations.
When he reached a slightly more open intersection with several stalls, clearer sentences with titles ca through:
"…Winter in Westeros… who knows when it'll co…" "…Slave markets in Essos… any new stock lately?…" "…The Seven Kingdoms are still peaceful thanks to King Robert…" "…After the Baratheon and Lannister marriage alliance… the royal treasury…" "…Gold cloaks are coming! Hide your stuff!"
Luke's heart jolted. He looked in the direction of the growing commotion and saw a squad of soldiers in chainmail with yellow cloaks embroidered with the golden city guard emblem patrolling down the street, sharp eyes scanning the vendors and pedestrians.
Gold cloaks — the City Watch of King's Landing.
He suppressed his excitent, waited for them to pass, then took a deep breath and decided to take the next step: attempt real conversation.
He first approached an old woman selling crude clay pots and turned off the simultaneous translation. Using his stumbling, heavily accented English:
"Hello… Good day."
The old woman raised her cloudy eyes, muttered sothing vaguely in response.
Luke pointed at the smallest pot: "How much?"
She held up two dirty fingers and said a word. Luke didn't catch it, but combined with the gesture, it was probably two coppers.
He shook his head to indicate he didn't want it and left.
He then tried talking to a skinny man sunbathing against a wall who looked idle.
"My na is Luke. What… your na?"
The man looked at him with so surprise, clearly finding his accent and phrasing weird, but still answered slowly: "Mord."
"King… now?" Luke gestured. "Who is king?"
Mord looked at him like he was an idiot: "King Robert. Robert Baratheon."
"Hand… of the King?"
"Jon Arryn. Old man in the Eyrie."
Simple Q&A, but the information was extrely valuable.
Luke's heart pounded wildly.
Robert I on the throne. Jon Arryn as Hand.
This ant the grand, blood-soaked story had not officially begun yet!
War of the Five Kings, Red Wedding, Battle of the Bastards, the Others' invasion… none of the gears that would shake the continent had started turning madly.
For a transmigrator who knew the plot, this was both dangerous and an unparalleled opportunity!
The ti window was wide open!
Suppressing his nearly boiling emotions, he wandered around Flea Bottom and the nearby Old Town for a long ti, using the translator to capture more background chatter and scattered conversations, confirming his earlier judgnt.
By evening, he returned to his Blue Star rental room with a head full of information and indescribable excitent.
Sitting on the familiar hard bed, Luke slowly cald down.
He picked up the translator and the used Bluetooth earphones, lost in thought.
These electronic devices had been to Westeros.
Although they seed to function normally for now, who could guarantee there weren't hidden tracking, recording, or even reverse data transmission backdoors?
Once connected to the internet on Blue Star, might they accidentally upload abnormal data?
He couldn't take that risk.
Especially since he planned to profit from information asymtry and future knowledge. Any potential leak had to be plugged.
With a thought, the translator and Bluetooth earphones disappeared from his hands and were safely stored deep inside the 27-cubic-ter personal space.
He decided: All electronic devices that had been to Westeros would never be brought back to Blue Star unless absolutely necessary and after strict physical isolation (battery removed, signals shielded). They would only be used as dedicated tools in the other world, or sleep forever in the corner of his storage space.
After making this decision, Luke felt a wave of relief.
The security risk was temporarily isolated.
He opened the planning paper again and put a checkmark next to "Language Problem."
The next goal burned clearly in his eyes: Starting capital, and the first safe, low-risk trade.
What should he bring from Blue Star to the other side, and what should he bring back from Westeros, to complete this crucial "first bucket of gold"?
The sky outside gradually darkened as city lights turned on one by one.
But Luke's eyes shone brighter than any lamp.
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