On the seventh day, after discussing the final route of the tracks with Sean, Lind welcomed his first guest.
“Can this magic powered train provide us with one? We also need a railway built.”
Faced with a request from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance that could be described as outrageous, Lind rubbed his face, doubting whether he was still dreaming.
“Are you serious?”
The more they collaborated, the less Lind understood this group of merchants.
To be honest, being able to open a chain store under conditions like before, and quietly transport weapons to Isha during the worst relations in the Northern Border, indicated that the power behind this group of merchants was not simple.
But Lind didn’t expect the other party to come right out of the gate with such a demanding request.
The person making this request was also one of Lind’s old friends, that shop owner who liked to pull things out from her chest.
This shop owner still elegantly pulled out her smoking pipe from her chest and lit it as she usually did.
The smoke was still not pungent as before.
“We’re not asking for it to be built right now. We can wait until you finish your business and then build the railway for us; we are not in a hurry.”
Although this shop owner’s demeanor was still as polite as it used to be, Lind had a vague feeling that her attitude was somewhat different this time; it was no longer the attitude towards a customer but rather placing her at the same level as him.
“I’m sorry, but the technology for the magic powered train is not yet perfect, and we do not intend to share it.”
Although Lind didn’t know what power was behind the other party, the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance had always cooperated very harmoniously with him and had never pried into his technology. Although there were some small side jobs for extra income, compared to those greedy merchants, the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance seemed to simply want to do business.
Thus, even knowing that the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance might have a complex background, a fact that even Lucanus was secretive about, Lind still chose to collaborate without reservations.
“So, as I said, we are not in a hurry; we just need you to build a segment of the railway and create a train for us.”
This “just” was the dream of countless merchants in the territory.
At this moment, Lind began to understand, asking, “So, does this mean that the power behind you wants to make contact with me?”
This world had many strange powers, but all were under the so-called constraints of the “tower,” and were very honest and straightforward, adhering to certain specific rules.
However, there were occasionally organizations like the Black Crow Society that played tricks and exploited loopholes.
“You are still as direct as before.”
The charming shop owner gave Lind a teasing glance, but noticing he had no reaction, she lost interest and said, “According to your understanding, it can indeed be interpreted that way. We believe you have value, hence we plan to engage in deeper cooperation with you.”
“So, what exactly is your organization?”
Lind grew increasingly curious about the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance. To be honest, since arriving in this world, he had only directly interacted with strange organizations like the Lantern Dream that split from the Church; the other magic organizations were either assimilated by the authorities or just wandering mercenaries.
“What organization?”
The shop owner looked somewhat confused, but then slapped her snow-white thigh as she understood Lind’s point, saying, “Just as our name suggests, we are the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance, a commercial alliance formed by merchants, but the merchants within the alliance are just a bit special.”
Then the shop owner added, “We only engage in legitimate business.”
Lind was speechless and asked, “Is delivering weapons to others also legitimate business?”
“Weren’t we just saying? Those weapons were accidentally misplaced by us.”
Indeed, this shop owner, who liked to earn side income and take private jobs, seemed a bit out of place with the image of a supposedly enigmatic organization. It seemed the merchants of the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance only cared about money; they were solely focused on profit and showed no interest in technological resources, thinking only of earning, even if it was just a little profit.
For this reason, they would even ignore rules and slightly interfere with the wars between lords.
Lind had begun to understand that when speaking with the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance, he didn’t need to worry about the power behind them and could consider everything from a merchant’s perspective.
“So, what can giving you a railway and a magic powered train bring me?”
In the end, Lind gave up on investigating the force behind them and shifted the conversation to serious matters.
Although he could not help them build the railway at this stage, they had already said they were not in a hurry.
“Let’s look at the map first.”
The shop owner from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance skillfully pulled out a map from her chest and laid it on the table.
As soon as this map was revealed, Lind’s eyes gleamed; it was an aerial view map of the entire continent, marked with lines similar to latitude and longitude.
Whether it was the detailed markings visible on the map or Lind’s intuition, they all indicated that the precision of this map might surpass any he had seen in this world, including military maps.
Rather than a map, it resembled a photo taken from a high angle with exaggerated clarity, and then they simply marked it up to use it as a map.
Unfortunately, it seemed that some magic had been applied to the map; all he could see was the area of the Cape Kingdom, while other regions were shrouded in a faint mist, almost like a fog of war.
However, soon, the shop owner lightly poked the map with her hand, and the mist in one area quickly dissipated, revealing a location outside the mountains of the Southern Border, a region not belonging to Anju or Cape.
As the shop owner’s finger continued to move, a line on the map illuminated following the area her finger traced.
“Essentially, we want to build a segment of railway along this route and have a magic powered train.”
Although Lind wanted to take a closer look at the high-precision map of Cape Kingdom, he understood that it was time to discuss business with the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance.
In the area where the Southern Border of Cape Kingdom bordered the Anju Kingdom, there was a mountain range to the east of it, and the railway needed to be constructed from within the mountains to the outside.
Although the distance was not long, it was mostly mountainous terrain. After careful consideration, Lind said, “The distance may be short, but the difficulty is quite high; there are too many mountains.”
“Materials are not a problem; just let us know if you have any requirements.”
Uncharacteristically bold compared to her usual antics for small profits, the shop owner now seemed unfazed by money, as if she only cared about getting the job done.
“Once the Northern Border is unified, I can send people to help build the railway, and the magic powered trains will also be open for civilian use in the future. However, this particular train won’t be cheap.”
The shop owner nodded in agreement, saying, “We are aware of that, so this is the down payment.”
Saying this, the shop owner pulled out a ring from her chest and tossed it to Lind like a coin.
Lind hurriedly caught the ring, which seemed to be made of mithril yet also mixed with other magical materials, and it felt extraordinary just to touch.
“A spatial ring?”
Combining that high-precision map, Lind immediately had a startling guess.
Unfortunately, the shop owner’s response of “What is that?” disappointed him, as it seemed that this world wouldn’t have such convenient items.
However, the shop owner continued, “With this ring, it means you are our cooperation partner. This ring contains a sealed magic that will activate when you receive a lethal injury.”
Listening to what sounded like a death curse, Lind touched the ring and asked, “Will this save me from lethal injuries?”
“It’s not that intelligent of magic. You know how powerful your rune formations are.”
The shop owner exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, “But it can keep you alive, and our people will come to rescue you afterward.”
Lind understood. It was somewhat similar to a platinum membership card for a trauma team, but with an added emergency rescue function.
However, the thought of a group of merchants coming to save him from lethal injuries seemed rather fantastical, although Lind knew that the existence of this ring and this service indicated that these merchants were not ordinary.
“Can’t really call them people though.”
As if sensing Lind’s confusion, the shop owner from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance added, “Our dragon will come to save you.”
“Can this magic powered train provide us with one? We also need a railway built.”
Faced with a request from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance that could be described as outrageous, Lind rubbed his face, doubting whether he was still dreaming.
“Are you serious?”
The more they collaborated, the less Lind understood this group of merchants.
To be honest, being able to open a chain store under conditions like before, and quietly transport weapons to Isha during the worst relations in the Northern Border, indicated that the power behind this group of merchants was not simple.
But Lind didn’t expect the other party to come right out of the gate with such a demanding request.
The person making this request was also one of Lind’s old friends, that shop owner who liked to pull things out from her chest.
This shop owner still elegantly pulled out her smoking pipe from her chest and lit it as she usually did.
The smoke was still not pungent as before.
“We’re not asking for it to be built right now. We can wait until you finish your business and then build the railway for us; we are not in a hurry.”
Although this shop owner’s demeanor was still as polite as it used to be, Lind had a vague feeling that her attitude was somewhat different this time; it was no longer the attitude towards a customer but rather placing her at the same level as him.
“I’m sorry, but the technology for the magic powered train is not yet perfect, and we do not intend to share it.”
Although Lind didn’t know what power was behind the other party, the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance had always cooperated very harmoniously with him and had never pried into his technology. Although there were some small side jobs for extra income, compared to those greedy merchants, the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance seemed to simply want to do business.
Thus, even knowing that the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance might have a complex background, a fact that even Lucanus was secretive about, Lind still chose to collaborate without reservations.
“So, as I said, we are not in a hurry; we just need you to build a segment of the railway and create a train for us.”
This “just” was the dream of countless merchants in the territory.
At this moment, Lind began to understand, asking, “So, does this mean that the power behind you wants to make contact with me?”
This world had many strange powers, but all were under the so-called constraints of the “tower,” and were very honest and straightforward, adhering to certain specific rules.
However, there were occasionally organizations like the Black Crow Society that played tricks and exploited loopholes.
“You are still as direct as before.”
The charming shop owner gave Lind a teasing glance, but noticing he had no reaction, she lost interest and said, “According to your understanding, it can indeed be interpreted that way. We believe you have value, hence we plan to engage in deeper cooperation with you.”
“So, what exactly is your organization?”
Lind grew increasingly curious about the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance. To be honest, since arriving in this world, he had only directly interacted with strange organizations like the Lantern Dream that split from the Church; the other magic organizations were either assimilated by the authorities or just wandering mercenaries.
“What organization?”
The shop owner looked somewhat confused, but then slapped her snow-white thigh as she understood Lind’s point, saying, “Just as our name suggests, we are the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance, a commercial alliance formed by merchants, but the merchants within the alliance are just a bit special.”
Then the shop owner added, “We only engage in legitimate business.”
Lind was speechless and asked, “Is delivering weapons to others also legitimate business?”
“Weren’t we just saying? Those weapons were accidentally misplaced by us.”
Indeed, this shop owner, who liked to earn side income and take private jobs, seemed a bit out of place with the image of a supposedly enigmatic organization. It seemed the merchants of the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance only cared about money; they were solely focused on profit and showed no interest in technological resources, thinking only of earning, even if it was just a little profit.
For this reason, they would even ignore rules and slightly interfere with the wars between lords.
Lind had begun to understand that when speaking with the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance, he didn’t need to worry about the power behind them and could consider everything from a merchant’s perspective.
“So, what can giving you a railway and a magic powered train bring me?”
In the end, Lind gave up on investigating the force behind them and shifted the conversation to serious matters.
Although he could not help them build the railway at this stage, they had already said they were not in a hurry.
“Let’s look at the map first.”
The shop owner from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance skillfully pulled out a map from her chest and laid it on the table.
As soon as this map was revealed, Lind’s eyes gleamed; it was an aerial view map of the entire continent, marked with lines similar to latitude and longitude.
Whether it was the detailed markings visible on the map or Lind’s intuition, they all indicated that the precision of this map might surpass any he had seen in this world, including military maps.
Rather than a map, it resembled a photo taken from a high angle with exaggerated clarity, and then they simply marked it up to use it as a map.
Unfortunately, it seemed that some magic had been applied to the map; all he could see was the area of the Cape Kingdom, while other regions were shrouded in a faint mist, almost like a fog of war.
However, soon, the shop owner lightly poked the map with her hand, and the mist in one area quickly dissipated, revealing a location outside the mountains of the Southern Border, a region not belonging to Anju or Cape.
As the shop owner’s finger continued to move, a line on the map illuminated following the area her finger traced.
“Essentially, we want to build a segment of railway along this route and have a magic powered train.”
Although Lind wanted to take a closer look at the high-precision map of Cape Kingdom, he understood that it was time to discuss business with the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance.
In the area where the Southern Border of Cape Kingdom bordered the Anju Kingdom, there was a mountain range to the east of it, and the railway needed to be constructed from within the mountains to the outside.
Although the distance was not long, it was mostly mountainous terrain. After careful consideration, Lind said, “The distance may be short, but the difficulty is quite high; there are too many mountains.”
“Materials are not a problem; just let us know if you have any requirements.”
Uncharacteristically bold compared to her usual antics for small profits, the shop owner now seemed unfazed by money, as if she only cared about getting the job done.
“Once the Northern Border is unified, I can send people to help build the railway, and the magic powered trains will also be open for civilian use in the future. However, this particular train won’t be cheap.”
The shop owner nodded in agreement, saying, “We are aware of that, so this is the down payment.”
Saying this, the shop owner pulled out a ring from her chest and tossed it to Lind like a coin.
Lind hurriedly caught the ring, which seemed to be made of mithril yet also mixed with other magical materials, and it felt extraordinary just to touch.
“A spatial ring?”
Combining that high-precision map, Lind immediately had a startling guess.
Unfortunately, the shop owner’s response of “What is that?” disappointed him, as it seemed that this world wouldn’t have such convenient items.
However, the shop owner continued, “With this ring, it means you are our cooperation partner. This ring contains a sealed magic that will activate when you receive a lethal injury.”
Listening to what sounded like a death curse, Lind touched the ring and asked, “Will this save me from lethal injuries?”
“It’s not that intelligent of magic. You know how powerful your rune formations are.”
The shop owner exhaled a puff of smoke and continued, “But it can keep you alive, and our people will come to rescue you afterward.”
Lind understood. It was somewhat similar to a platinum membership card for a trauma team, but with an added emergency rescue function.
However, the thought of a group of merchants coming to save him from lethal injuries seemed rather fantastical, although Lind knew that the existence of this ring and this service indicated that these merchants were not ordinary.
“Can’t really call them people though.”
As if sensing Lind’s confusion, the shop owner from the Shuo Jin Merchant Alliance added, “Our dragon will come to save you.”
