High Above

Looking at the Baisen Mountains from the edge of the Great Onyx Plain, the first thing you see is the endless forest.

The dark green forest stretches to the end of the sky. Behind the dense sea of ​​trees are towering mountains, while the white sea of ​​clouds lingers around the ridgeline, casting vast cloud shadows on the land.

The sun shines through the gaps in the clouds, and a mighty motorcade walks under the mottled light and shadow. The newly built asphalt road is smooth and wide, which astonishes the merchants who come here.

Asphalt roads are not a rare thing, but they usually only appear around big cities to serve civilian alchemy vehicles.

In a remote newly developed area like Shanling, it really surprised everyone that there were nobles willing to invest money in this area. They couldn't help but look forward to the next journey and meeting.

Passing through the evergreen forest and golden leaf forest, and then crossing a forest river and hills, you can see the sea of ​​flowers around Xiahui City from a distance. It is like the sky is full of rays of light condensed on the ground, with light purple and bright red colors in the sky. Painted on the ground, it forms a magnificent picture.

"Huh?"

A bachelor with a foreign accent, who should be from the Capital of Knowledge, wondered: "It's not that Nanling suffered from the biological warfare of Feiyan Land, and almost all the crops withered and rotted. How come everything is still normal in the sea of ​​​​flowers in Xiahui's territory? "

"Mr. Cowling, you don't know this, do you?"

Another well-informed foreign businessman laughed: "Some time ago, the alchemists of Xiahui Ling, under the leadership of their lord, developed a new 'rich nutrient culture solution', specifically for Xiahui grass. The design... plus the fact that the disaster in Xiahui Territory was not serious in the first place, it quickly restored its scale."

The businessman who spoke with the accent of the Seven Cities Alliance looked at the city in the distance surrounded by a sea of ​​flowers, his eyes burning: "I came here this time just for it."

"I was originally thinking whether Boyin Workshop would exaggerate for the sake of sales promotion - now it seems that what they said was true."

This was a small episode. The convoy continued to approach Xiahui Ling. Before entering the city, they first saw a brand new building being built on the flat land outside Huabei. On the edge of the busy construction site was a tall tower flashing with thunder. Next to them, there are three rather crude, not yet fully carved statues of knights bowing their heads to the tower.

There are also many mountain people praying around their 'Victory Tower'.

It seems that just like the rumors, the genius lord of Xia Hui created a brand new alchemical defense tower after returning from the imperial capital. With the full support of the mountain people, he even used it to defeat a team of construct knights and win for himself. He became known as the 'Thunder Prophet'.

At first, the businessman from the City of Knowledge narrowed his eyes, his pupils rotated slightly, and looked at the details of the defense tower.

As a nearly landmark building, the 'Tower of Victory' is not a simple magnetic storm coil. It has a silver metal exterior and a light blue electromagnetic crystal layer inside as the main structure. The golden sunlight shines on the tower, majestic, simple and So solemn, no wonder there are mountain people praying to it, because it is the best embodiment of technology, power and the authority of the Dragon God's messenger.

After confirming that this was indeed the technology he wanted, the businessman named Kaolin nodded slightly, with a kind expression on his face: "It's worth my trip."

Foreign businessmen who are willing to travel thousands of miles, even over mountains and ridges, to reach Nanling must have their own goals.

They either got information and guarantees from reliable partners, or they keenly got the information they wanted from news and rumors, so they made their judgment immediately.

Of course, there are indeed those who simply want to 'take a gamble' or 'see the world'.

But no matter what, those who are willing to accompany Viscount Taymor Decas to Xiahui Territory as soon as possible can definitely say that their sincerity in cooperation is the greatest.

As for Xiahui Ling, they naturally responded with the most sincere feedback to this sincerity.

As soon as the convoy arrived at the edge of the city, the welcoming team was already ready.

An elite magnetic storm armor squad and two squadrons of guard knights stood on both sides of the road. The flags of the Setal Empire, the Seven Cities Alliance, the Capital of Knowledge and Canaan Moore were flying.

Not only the businessman, but even Viscount Ducas was slightly moved - although this magnetic storm armor team and guard knights still have many shortcomings according to the most stringent standards, they are definitely up to the level of the Imperial Legion in active service. , It’s just not as good as those front-line troops and long-term combat elites.

Especially the equipment. Before seeing the real thing, Viscount Ducas thought that the so-called magnetic storm armor was just a thunder armor with an alchemy furnace forcibly mounted on it. It was just barely usable, but he never thought it was this kind of all-round exoskeleton armor. , with high practicality visible to the naked eye.

In addition, although the guard knights looked like ordinary city defense troops, Viscount Ducas keenly noticed that these soldiers were quite 'rich'.

Each guard knight is equipped with a conventional firearm, while the squad leader will have an alchemical firearm. Their armor is complete and they have plenty of ammunition. In addition to a few grenades, they even have a 'pharmaceutical belt' around their waists.

Viscount Ducas doesn't quite think that Ian would hang up this potion belt for the knight today just to show off. It seems that in Xiahui Territory, perhaps every guard knight has the support of alchemical potions. If nothing else, those potions There is a high probability that it is the 'highly effective healing potion' that Ian showed in the imperial capital.

"I didn't expect it and I'm not lying here - Ian led the team to seize the weapons and equipment of an entire mountain army, all of which are active weapons from the Flying Flame... No wonder the soldiers are so high-level, rich and have just won a battle The spirit of our army is indeed different."

The businessmen in the convoy did not have the keen observation ability of Viscount Ducas. Their entire minds were shocked by the welcome song that sounded at the end of the road and the huge armor that appeared in the welcome song.

It was a black, heavily armored vehicle with a strange prism muzzle on the shoulder. The red one-eye locked on the entire convoy, and even some of the more sensitive businessmen subconsciously turned their heads, not daring to look directly at the gaze.

At the edge of the city, many citizens have gathered here. They were already very excited when they saw the appearance of the magnetic storm troops. Those crackling and flashing currents quickly heated up the atmosphere, and the appearance of the black one-eyed armor made the atmosphere reach a climax. Let out a cheer.

During the recent period, the lord has been working in his mansion and the alchemy park and has rarely appeared. Today is the first time that Ian has appeared in more than half a month. Both the mountain people and the residents of Xiahui City are eager to see him. Come to him.

"Citizens, be careful not to get close and stay quietly within a safe area."

The white-haired lord came out of the cockpit. He stood on his armored shoulders, smiled and waved to the enthusiastic crowd, which immediately caused a wave of cheers, making many businessmen in the convoy doubtful for a moment. Was it a welcome scene to welcome them, or a meeting between sect leaders and believers?

Oh, it really is. That's okay.

The businessman with better eyesight became more clear after seeing Ian's appearance clearly - although rumors say that the appearance of this Lord of Xiahui is almost comparable to the aurora in the far north sky, with a kind of quiet and gorgeous beauty. Now it seems that it is really not an exaggeration at all.

With both strength and appearance, he has brought peace and wealth. It is no wonder that he is loved and even worshiped fanatically by the people.

"Everyone, it's really hard for you to come all the way."

During the welcome song, Ian took off his armor and stepped forward to shake hands with the businessmen who got off the car one by one. These people are all the empire leaders of large multinational chambers of commerce. Each of them is a sublimator. In terms of their status, theoretically, He is taller than this country noble.

But the businessmen who were shaken by the hands were all flattered. They had never expected to receive such a grand reception in Nanling. And this young lord was not like other young geniuses with eccentric temperaments and various quirks. Instead, he was quite approachable. It makes people feel close to each other subconsciously.

"I have long admired my name, Baron Yinfeng."

"First meeting, Viscount Ducas."

Viscount Ducas was the last one to shake hands with Ian. This is a tradition and a personal habit. He had been observing Ian's every move just now and found that the other party did not make any mistakes.

Not only is the name and origin of each businessman clear, but his pronunciation of Common Language can even be freely switched according to each person's nationality, without any dullness or jerkiness.

Moreover, although he shook hands, the businessmen were guided by Ian's momentum one by one. Before they had time to try and talk, they were led by other knights to the Lord's Mansion in the city center, where they were ready to welcome these guests from afar. At the dusty banquet, everything was organized and prepared.

He holds the core of the entire scene, just like a king, and everyone acts according to his will.

Among the people who visited Xiahui Ling this time, there were a total of five real core figures.

From the Seven Cities Alliance, Mr. Domuer is the envoy of the ‘Thin Green Chamber of Commerce’ who is famous for his alchemy potions and sublimation plants.

From the City of Knowledge, the representative of the ‘Molten Iron Spire’ who specializes in the development of alchemical weapons and new energy sources, is the Grand Bachelor of Kaolin.

From the Firestone Group, the head of the professional arms group and Ian's old sponsor, Colonel Maris.

The fairy from Paradise Township, Ms. Bo Moss (this lady did not write which department of Paradise Township she was in, and she didn’t even write down her last name. Ian was too embarrassed to ask the other party if he had forgotten it).

And the last and most important one is the member of the Imperial Noble Hall and the envoy of the eldest prince Carlos Sertal, Viscount Taymo Dicas.

On the way to the Lord's Mansion, everyone was shocked by the urban area of ​​Xiahui City - due to the civil war between the mountain people, many street entrances were seriously damaged, and the renovated urban area was due to the demolition of many old buildings. The buildings have extended the street, so it looks surprisingly wide and clean.

At the intersection, under the guidance and care of the escort knights, the newcomers' convoy was in an orderly manner. Not only was there no chaos common in other border cities, there were not even any vagrants or beggars to be seen.

A businessman asked this question, and the accompanying staff member’s answer was simple: “The disabled are sent to the orphanage to take care of them. Every day we make baskets, package goods, and do some handicrafts. There will be dedicated people.” Eat with exercise and rest your body.”

"As for those without disabilities...hey, there's not enough work to do in the city, let alone the land reclamation outside the city. How can homeless people like them beg for money when it's their turn?"

The banquet itself was also full of surprises: due to the food crisis, even this welcoming banquet could not be called sumptuous, but all the dishes were very exquisite, especially a kind of Xiahui grass custard, which was mixed with the milk of the best Beisen giant cow. Made from smoked and dried Xiahui flower powder, it has an elegant and sweet taste. When you hold it in your mouth, you can still feel a faint floral fragrance, which was welcomed by everyone present.

"Welcome to Xiahui Territory."

Ian doesn't usually drink, but this time the wine is a bit special. It is the 'skill wine' developed by Isengard. Some time ago, Isengard improved a new style of 'Shu Liquor'. After all, for things like physical strength potions and concentration potions, even a small cup is enough for a sublimator. Any more is not enough, so even if it tastes like Shu Liquor, It's quite good, but not entirely enjoyable to drink.

Taking this into consideration, Isengard used Ian's 'reuse technique' to reduce the effective sublimation content in the potion, creating a product that was worse in effect but greatly improved in taste, and the cost was reduced to Originally about one-twentieth of the 'Second Generation Jutsu'.

Ian obtained a brand-new alchemy formula and production rights from Isengard, and planned to use Xiahui Ling's high-quality origin advantage to create a leading product in the beverage industry - making money in one place cannot all rely on military industry and Alchemical potion? Having everything is healthy.

The taste of the art wine is indeed excellent. Not to mention ordinary businessmen, even the eyes of Archmaester Corrin and Viscount Ducas in the City of Knowledge were slightly enlightened. They are often exposed to alchemy potions, so naturally they are very aware of the benefits of this kind of wine. , it does not affect the concentration of the alchemist, but can actually improve it, but it does not burden the body like a real alchemical potion. As long as you drink it slowly, this improvement will last for a long time.

Of course, in this way, the burden of detoxification on the body's liver becomes the burden of the stomach and bladder. How to choose depends on the individual.

——Another extra surprise.

Along the way, the businessmen who had received many surprises enjoyed their meal very happily. During the banquet, as a representative of the merchants' chambers of commerce in the Seven Cities Alliance, Mr. Domr of the Bolu Chamber of Commerce was the first to find Ian for communication.

"This time we were originally just here for inspection."

The tall but soft-spoken red-haired businessman clinked glasses with Ian with a smile. His eyes were bright: "But now it seems that if you don't make a decision immediately, you will be a step behind others, so if you allow me, Baron, We want to start working together and the follow-up visit process as soon as possible.”

"No problem." Ian called Scott: "This is my deputy. He will lead you to visit the projects you want to know about."

Even before the Chamber of Commerce arrived, Ian already knew their purpose: there were several fairy mentors behind the Bolu Chamber of Commerce. The reason why they brought other small chambers of commerce to Xiahui Ling was precisely because Ian was in Azure City. Because a group of goblins were rescued there.

Of course, if they only have favors but no benefits, they won't get much real help. Fortunately, Ian is really strong and he has many projects that they are interested in.

At first, what they were interested in was the 'High Energy Crop Culture Solution' developed by Adebert and Amber, a new type of fertilizer that was effective on most sublimated plants. Although the Seven Cities Alliance also had similar technology, Precisely because there are, we need to draw parallels and cooperate.

However, during the introduction along the way, Domuer also became interested in Xia Hui Ling’s ‘Shu Liquor’ and ‘Xia Hui Grass Extract’. He wanted to know how much could be produced if they really cooperated.

"The most important thing is stability, my lord."

The leader of the Chamber of Commerce said: "Although we know that you fought off the bastards of the Flying Flame Land - forgive me for swearing, but the Flying Flame Land deserves it - but they are like stink beetles in the sewer, and there is an endless supply. If they Another food disaster has struck, and the Xiahui Territory will definitely suffer heavy losses again."

"That's actually not the case."

At this moment, the banquet was almost over. Ian noticed that everyone was very enthusiastic, so he simply took people to Xiahui Lake to visit the 'three-dimensional hydroponic farm'.

In a few days, the hydroponic farm building, which originally had only one skeleton, already looked impressive from the outside, and the nearly 100-meter-high building could indeed accommodate many people.

Ian took several interested caravan representatives into the building, visited the hydroponic racks inside, and let them see with their own eyes the vegetable petri dishes that had sprouted: "This is the new planting method I recently developed - Move the plantation into the building, manually control the feng shui and lighting, and maintain the most suitable temperature and humidity, and you can harvest it in a month."

"The growth of sublimated plants will be slower, but compared to the wild environment, this kind of indoor cultivation is safer, more reasonable and scientific. After calculations and verification, the Xiahui grass, which originally matures once every one to two years, can be grown in a special culture medium with the help of It can be accelerated to mature in about half a year.”

"In addition, the farm building is under closed management, and every ten culture racks have separate compartments. Even if a spy sneaks into it and poisons it, it will take more than ten times to poison the first floor, and the entire building... It would be easier for him to call in a third-level powerhouse to attack and cause physical destruction."

Ian led the representatives of the Chamber of Commerce to the top floor of the training building. They looked down at the bases of the eleven surrounding farm buildings, and introduced with a smile under their shocked eyes: "This is the first batch of farm buildings, twelve in total. After waiting for the funds to come back, I will build twelve more buildings on the Chaohe land. In this way, Xiahui Ling will have plenty of raw materials, so there is absolutely no need to worry."

"Even if it's the third level..."

Ian raised his hand and pointed slightly in the direction of Lone Flame Peak.

A vague dragon shadow was flashing around the clouds, seeming to be playing with invisible things and amusing itself.

Xio, who is learning to fly without mechanical prosthetics for rehabilitation, obviously shocked all the businessmen present, and the young man smiled and said: "With our greatest guardian dragon, the prince of the mountain, Xio Mireska present, even if He is a third-level Construct Knight, and he absolutely cannot threaten the production safety of our Xia Hui Territory!"

The three-dimensional hydroponic farm, the protection of the real dragon, the brand-new planting techniques and the profound background instantly made the businessman who already valued Ian think highly of him even more.

Scott took Domuer and his party to the sea of ​​​​flowers to see the effects of high-energy crop culture fluid. Archmaester Kaolin from the Capital of Knowledge temporarily resigned and said he wanted to visit Xiou.

This is not surprising to Ian - because the recommender of the Chamber of Commerce in the Capital of Knowledge is the King of the Mountain.

The Tower Master of this generation of Molten Iron Spire has a teacher whose name is not well known. His name is Skalesemoor. As the name suggests, he is a true dragon. This fourth-generation true dragon walked the earth in a human body, and finally chose to settle in the Capital of Knowledge, becoming a well-known great teacher of freedom. He had many disciples, including Romani Molten Iron, the master of this generation's Molten Iron Spire. It is the most famous one.

The coincidence is that the King of the Mountain has a very good relationship with Grand Instructor Sika. They were comrades, good brothers and best friends many years ago. But this time, Archmaester Kaolin brought Grand Instructor Sika to Xiou. The greetings came to celebrate the recovery of this friend’s son.

It sounds like every caravan that comes to Xiahui Ling has a connection behind it.

But that’s right!

If Ian didn't want to manage interpersonal relationships and rely on his ability to gain sponsorship, he would have transformed into a swarm of insects and grown alone on the seabed (and then been blown up). He would also be engaged in attracting investment, building sects, and establishing territories. Farming?

It means relying on relationships to accelerate development as much as possible, attract investment through various relationships while the insect swarm is still struggling, accelerate technological development, obtain resources from all over the world, and get as comprehensive assistance as possible without sequelae. Only by doing this can we achieve Ian's goal as quickly as possible.

After the two representatives from major foreign chambers of commerce temporarily left, the only ones left were their own people.

"You should be busy first~ I'll go and play with Hua An and then come back~"

Ms. Bomoss, this goblin with long dark green and light green gradient hair and a pair of round glasses lazily greeted Ian, and then used her mushroom umbrella-like wings to jet towards the supersonic speed. Flying in the direction of Harrison Port, Ian couldn't help but sigh, this is the power of the goblin.

After all, they are a race with supersonic speed per capita. The distance between Xia Hui Ling and Harrison Port is about the same as taking a walk after eating.

"Besides, you really made the fairy wings by yourself, right? There are even mushroom styles? When will we see fairies with normal butterfly wings..."

Shaking his head slightly, Ian looked at Colonel Maris.

"Baron Yinfeng, the group is very satisfied with your research and results."

The representative of the Firestone Group with short blond hair and military attire showed Ian a standard eight-toothed smile: "We won't lie, the group also knows why you invited us here - tell us how much time it will take for further research. ?The funding is easily negotiable.”

"good!"

As soon as his eyes lit up, Ian liked this kind of military style, clean, simple and direct.

As for the time, he thought about it and raised two fingers: "It will be completed within two years!"

Colonel Maris was slightly startled and frowned: "Two years? Hmm..."

He shook his head: "Time is running a little slow, Baron. The battlefield in the West is changing rapidly. Two years is really too long. We need to install more new alchemical plating agents as soon as possible. Can we speed it up a little?"

"Impossible." Ian shook his head: "For each alchemical potion to be plated, the adaptability of the armor and the compatibility of the related systems need to be considered. Apart from anything else, the alchemy furnace should at least add related functional ports. , it will take two years to develop a coating agent suitable for most of the empire's armor..."

"baron."

Colonel Maris interrupted Ian's words. This man who had seen too many scientific alchemists did not say anything else. He just skillfully raised a hand and raised two fingers: "This number, How much faster can it be?”

"Twenty thousand thalers?"

Ian was stunned for a moment. He hesitated for a moment: "To be honest, this is a purely technical issue. It is impossible to simply increase research funds..."

"Two hundred thousand thalers."

Colonel Maris said in a serious tone: "How much faster can it be?"

At this moment, Ian's heart stopped for a beat.

It was a feeling of happiness called "being knocked unconscious with money".

——What a big dog, those who sell arms are rich!

"Two months."

After a brief silence, Ian said decisively: "Two months later, wait for the results."

“Whatever potion you want, there’s whatever potion you want!”

Damn, I forgot to update automatically!