Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 85 Financial Loss
Compared to the Glowing District, the Dock District is like another world altogether.

Cheap oil lamps were lit only in front of a few shops; in most areas, it was truly dark after dark, and walking in the alleys required constant vigilance against backstabbing and pickpockets.

"It seems you're doing well."

Within Dimon's gang, he personally cooked and set out a feast.

Although it couldn't compare to the luncheon at the Radiant City conferment ceremony, it was still quite a feast with meat, wine, and vegetables.

In a sense, this was the long-awaited victory celebration for the substitutes' team.

Originally, we should have gathered after the war a long time ago, but after the war, some were injured and others were busy, so it was postponed again and again (mainly Rean). Now everyone has finally settled down. Talia didn't come; she's still working overtime and it's not appropriate for her to get too close to Dimon in public (between government and bandit).

However, Larry and Rean had wine and meat in front of them, while Dimon, as the host, only had water and black bread in front of him.

However, he had a smile on his face from the moment he took his seat.

Seeing the gradual changes in this area and recalling the grand occasion of the past two days, this man, who is usually angry, was unusually happy, as if he could get drunk just by drinking water.

“Viscount Salim is a trustworthy person. She has already sent people to invest in dyeing workshops, textile workshops and weaving factories. You have no idea how many people came when we recruited textile workers during the day! At least half of the women came to the entire dock area, and many men came to ask if they could be hired exceptionally. Those bureaucrats even brought business licenses.”

Upon hearing this, Rean was somewhat surprised, but mostly delighted.

Suliman acted really quickly. Well, it's possible that Dania intervened personally, otherwise things wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

He subconsciously glanced at Larry, who was grinning foolishly beside him. This matter was actually directly related to her, but this guy was really intolerant of alcohol; he was almost drunk after just two sips.

Uh, all she's drinking is coffee? Spider-people getting dizzy from coffee is one thing, but spider-people drink coffee like it's alcohol?

"Ha. It's alright, it's alright, my father doesn't care about these things." His tongue was numb; he seemed completely drunk.

But what she said undoubtedly relieved everyone present.

At least half of the textile industry in the entire city of Radiant City belongs to the Weaving Baron family, which is why Labor was able to become a newly rich man.

If Labour really wanted to destroy these small workshops, he wouldn't even need to resort to illegal competition; he could simply dump low-quality goods in the surrounding area to drastically reduce their income or even cause them to lose money.

However, Baron Labour's easygoing nature still seemed a bit off.

When did this vampire duo of aristocrats and capitalists, pure profit-driven individuals, actually develop a conscience and a bottom line?
“My father said that if he were given 5% of the shares, he would be willing to contribute some of his technology as equity and also send some skilled workers to help train the newcomers.”

“I think it’s a good idea,” Dimon said directly, indicating that they had already discussed it privately.

Dimon looked at Rean, wanting to ask for his opinion.

After all, Rean could be considered his behind-the-scenes boss.

"Okay, go ahead and do it. From now on, you can decide these kinds of things yourself."

Rean nodded immediately; there was no reason to refuse, it was a great thing.

These shares and profits are actually worthless; how much money can these industries in the dock area make?

Small workshops lacking advanced technology, equipment, and a suitable environment are destined to produce only low-end products.

Rean and his group were not there to make money, but to use these job opportunities to gradually sort out the chaotic dock area.

The Labour family really didn't lose out; in fact, they might even have made a profit.
"For the Baron, losing a little money is nothing; the key is to help his daughter and his family take a step further."

Larry Labour is the "eldest son" of the Labour family, the face of the family, and a future political asset.

This newly emerging aristocrat, who rose to prominence as a wealthy merchant, has reached a point where he can start using money to gain status and pursue political influence.

The loss of these industrial profits in exchange for Larry's prestige in the benevolent faction and the paladin society is well worth it.

In particular, the knight squad centered around Rean has become Princess Larry's direct subordinate. Larry's ability to infiltrate the squad is an opportunity for the entire Labor.

In a sense, this also proves that the Labour family is clearly opportunistic; as long as the interests are sufficient, they can switch sides between the "liberals" and the "conservatives (royalists)" without any pressure.

"They didn't actually lose much, and they can use this opportunity to wash away the stain of the previous murderer's name."

Moreover, Labor's most profitable products have always been various high-grade fabrics, such as mage robes, various protective fabrics, and high-end fabrics for nobles, etc. These are things that ordinary people cannot make.

"Tsk, they're so poor they only have money left."

Rean glanced at Larry instinctively and immediately spotted the boots under the table, worth about 15,000 gold coins.

He was practically drooling.

After returning, Rean thought about it and was glad he hadn't bought the "Jump and Featherfall" set. That might fool novice warriors who had never used the Speed ​​Spell, but in reality, it was a completely different thing.

Speed ​​boots are the kind of thing you don't really notice until you use them, and then you just can't live without them.

While Feather Drop and Jump can indeed close the distance to the opponent in a short time, it actually requires at least three actions: "activating Feather Drop to reduce weight", "tearing open the scroll to release Jump (this is a zero-ring trick)" and "jumping towards the target".

So, because the preparation time is too long and the aircraft needs to stay in the air, the next move might make the aircraft an easy target for the enemy.

The speed boots are simple, just run.

It's not just about increasing movement speed; it's about a perfect connection with the nervous system, allowing you to accelerate without distorting your movements.

In actual combat, a single conscious reaction is all it takes to accelerate the entire body over short distances, greatly increasing agility.

Inside is a perfect neural connection, as if you were born a high-speed creature like a giant spider, seeing everyone in slow motion.

That sudden acceleration can be used to kill or to save oneself, combining offense and defense.

It is said that in the hands of experts, it can even achieve a near-bullet time effect in actual combat.

And for this reason, its main consumers are not just warriors.

No professional or superhuman would ever think they were running too fast, but for ordinary people, being a step earlier or later meant a matter of life and death.

Even archmages, when they have no other choice, will opt for speed boots.

On the one hand, the spellcaster's boots were indeed not very useful; on the other hand, when caught off guard, rolling away to escape was better than being split in two.

Production was far too low while demand was virtually unlimited, creating a situation where there was a price but no market for it. Even if Rean had been determined to spend a huge sum, the other party would probably have had to spend a long time sourcing the goods, and in the end, he might not have been able to get them.

"I can do it! I can do it!" Kuku said, indicating that he could do it.

"Really? That's great! I can't wait!" Rean agreed, saying, "Yes, yes, you're right, Kuku."

"The core materials are hard to come by! The tendons and nerves of top-tier supernatural creatures! Ideally, they should be from a real dragon!" Kuku took it seriously and started ordering.

"Uh," Rean suddenly realized that the high price made sense.

Materials for the nervous system are very fragile, and sometimes what you acquire is even "dead".

The success rate of alchemy using it as a material is not high; a single finished product may require the material consumption of several scrap items.

Looking at Larry, who was fast asleep on the table, Rean still felt uneasy. Most of the great knights couldn't afford her outfit.

Even with that greatsword spider mount, she's better than even sixth or seventh-tier powerhouses.
She's asleep, but that won't affect your business conversation. Anyway, she's just following orders and doing what's asked. Both Damon and Rean are quite busy, so they won't waste any time.

“There’s one more thing, which is our militia.” Dimon looked troubled; some things were indeed difficult to handle.

The saying goes, "The poor study literature, the rich study martial arts." Training warriors and knights requires resources, time, and, more importantly, a great deal of money.

Salim is allowed to invest in shops and properties in the dock area, but she absolutely cannot invest in the local militia, otherwise it would be a sensitive act of supporting a private army outside her residence.

What are you, a nobleman, planning to do by secretly recruiting soldiers on the outskirts of the city?

If Suliman were to get involved with the dock area in this regard, it wouldn't be good for either of them, so she naturally avoided any appearance of impropriety.

"How much do you want?" Rean sighed. It seemed he would have to come alone.

“5030 gold coins is enough. The first batch will only have about thirty people, which should last for half a year.” Dimon said this with some shame.

"How much? Only 50 gold coins?" Having just returned from the Radiant District and Mage Street, Rean was momentarily stunned.

But this is the normal price level in this city. This amount of money is not only enough to support the people in the dock area, but also enough for them to practice martial arts and eat well.

"Why don't you sell her boots? They'll last at least a hundred years," Rean joked casually.

"Ah, okay, I'll take it off right away!" Before Damon could respond, Larry, who was already drunk, heard Rean's voice and immediately came to his senses.

She stood up abruptly and took off her boots on the spot.

"No, no, we're eating here." Rean regretted it a little. He knew perfectly well that this was a genuine child. What a joke.

The drunken spider unleashed a flurry of punches from its six arms, sending its socks and gloves flying.

The scene was chaotic for a while, but after a long time it was restored, a bag of gold coins had appeared in front of Dimon without him noticing.

"Here's 100. Prepare some equipment for them besides wooden sticks. Cheap, secondhand stuff should be enough. Let them see some blood. We don't have time to raise useless people." Rean said meaningfully. Since they were training "candidate paladins," they needed at least some evil as sacrifices.

Dimon didn't say anything more and nodded to accept it.

"What's this?" Outside the money bag, Dimon also saw a stack of blueprints.

"Try finding a reliable carpenter." These are blueprints for wooden looms from Earth, including some improved versions of steam looms.

Rean had tried to go through his memories and even tried to recreate Jenny's spinning machine, but the diagrams he drew were completely useless.

But now that Kuku is here, he also has Li Ensu's memories, and as a great alchemist, it shouldn't be difficult for him to come up with some blueprints for new types of looms.

"Uh, don't rush into mass production. Make sure there are no problems and it won't explode before promoting it." Luckily, Kuku had already disappeared somewhere, otherwise, if he heard that Rean didn't believe him again, he would at least kick him first.

But this isn't the only reason Dimon needs money.

"The underground passage under that ship graveyard? Damon, are you planning to get into that business?" Upon hearing this, Rean was a little surprised. "You're quite well-informed."

"Yes, that's a gold mine. In your words, the miners may not make money, but those who buy them shovels and provide them with food and water will definitely make a fortune."

This was a sudden incident; it was information sent to us privately by Talia, so Dimon had no choice but to ask Rean about it.

Is this a worthwhile project? What kind of trouble might it cause? After thinking it over, Rean realized it actually seemed promising.

The underground cave had been thoroughly cleaned, but warriors still guarded the passage to prevent any monsters or demons from escaping from there.

Originally, this would have been a long-term destabilizing factor; the garrison would have definitely left, and the locals would have been the ones to suffer afterward.

However, after Her Highness decided to develop the underground ruins, it became a new resource site.

"They plan to clean up the underground river and install a steam locomotive and steamship in it, using cables and tracks to make it a stable passage and a safe entrance to the underground ruins." With policies from above, business opportunities naturally arise below.

To be honest, after thinking about it, Rean realized that it actually worked.

Apart from the beast cubs, the underground ruins were actually quite clean, which meant that the area across the dark river should be considered relatively safe.

The other known entrances to the ruins are all quite difficult and dangerous to navigate.

Reality is not a game. The opponents you encounter in dungeons are highly random. Some ruins have a boss right outside the door, and the known entrances to the ruins are not easy to navigate.

But right now, there are only those known entrances to the ruins, and a whole host of supporting services around them. Dimon is thinking of doing business in this area, and it really has a lot of potential.

“If our militia is trained, they can go there to gain experience. At least personally, I really need evolution materials.” Considering the long term, Dimon also plans to step into this new era.

Having obtained the inheritance of the heroic spirit, he could not afford to slack off.

"Okay, we'll go together then. You can use this money to buy some low-level materials to improve your bloodline." Rean handed over another red envelope.

Rean thought about it again, gritted his teeth, and handed over another 100 gold coins.

To keep things under control, Dimon needs not only to improve his skills but also to have reliable people in his team.

"Take this too, hire some adventurers to protect ourselves, and have them help train our militia."

(End of this chapter)