Steel steam and flame

Cognition, coping, and alternative methods and measures are all theoretical knowledge because they are on the train. It can also be seen as Isa and Muriel sharing their experiences. The content does not cover a wide range of areas. From Cassia's own understanding, it explains the impact of the hard power of power in buying and selling. Isha said a lot about this.

As for how to use words and attitudes to resolve the oppression caused by the other party's strength and status as a seller, Isha asked Cassia to satisfy the other party's inner vanity as much as possible without touching her own bottom line. "This is not an open transaction. The rule of customer first will never work in the dark world. The number of buyers is far greater than the number of sellers. Due to the control of various countries, many goods can appear in the dark world. It is not easy to explain things clearly. Regardless of the quantity of goods, the channels and difficulty of obtaining them, the seller is destined to have an inherent advantage from the beginning. "

Isa's summary of some products in the dark world reminded Cassia of the cannonballs and artillery being produced by Waters. The actual situation is no different from what Isa said, perhaps to a deeper extent.

The four days on the train did not seem to go by quickly. When the train stopped midway, the four of them would take advantage of the short time to go for a walk. The air inside is indeed dull. Compared with the high-speed trains within the empire, the air circulation system is only two or three levels different.

During this period, Isha told Cassia about the emergency mission on the third day. The opponent is not considered a big tribe in the Flame Alliance, at best it is mid-range and inferior, but after all, in the Flame Alliance, the strength cannot be underestimated at all. The main industry is the breeding business, but the animals raised are domesticated and modified second-class creatures. Such as silkworms and spiders with huge amounts of silk, and also breed crustacean creatures. Most of the bone structure of the body contains rare metals, which is a main material for advanced alloys.

This time, we used large quantities of silkworm cocoons and spider silk to make materials for special body armor and combat uniforms. The improvement in strength and functionality was huge. In addition, it also plays an important role in other fields, but Isha did not explain it in detail. The focus was on explaining the importance of this transaction to Cassia.

"Because we received the news temporarily." This was probably the reason. There was a somewhat unstable emotion on Isa's face. "So we are not the buyers invited by this tribe. Whether we will be received after we go there depends on question, let alone whether we can successfully negotiate this transaction in the future.”

"But we have to try. We have other sources of this kind of goods, but the quantity we can get cannot meet the internal demand gap of the organization." Speaking of these, Isa's face often has an expression of melancholy and distress. Cassia unknowingly remembered the situation at the laboratory base, where the members regarded the work at hand as a kind of glory, for the glory of making the "Light" project bloom.

This aura about Isa is even stronger. It is not without reason that the organization can be based on a small country and survive in the cracks between giant countries. But Cassia thought of her own conjecture - the establishment and existence of the organization had the hands of some giant countries involved. Perhaps when the secret is exposed one day, the truth may make many members of the organization despair. They wanted to use the light project to allow this small country in the gap to gain real freedom and development. However, in the end, Cassia did not have optimistic thoughts for some reason. It is he who knows how strong the barriers of the three giant countries are, Cassia thought.

Perhaps in the end, the organization is just an experimental platform secretly created by many hands and not subject to the supervision of their respective countries. Everyone restricts each other and gets what they need from it.

The train finally stopped at a small country bordering the Flame Alliance. This place has been completely assimilated by the Flame Alliance and has no name as a small country. After getting off the train and traveling to another city, Isa asked Cassia and Toyinbi to stay in a hotel, while she and Muriel left immediately.

"Deal with communication matters, I'll probably be back tomorrow afternoon." Toynby dragged the three of them's luggage and said to Cassia before entering his room, "Have a good rest this day, and then there will probably be an uninterrupted long distance journey." Running. There are many forces that have received the news. I don’t know if it was done intentionally or if the news was leaked. But be careful. Except for the necessary trade areas, most of the borders of the Flame Alliance are dense forests. There will be many situations there. If something happens, some radical people may stir up unnecessary disputes.”

Cassia responded pretending to have basic understanding. After going to his room, he immediately took out the communication machine and contacted Adolf. Originally thought that Adolf and the others should know, but Cassia was very suspicious that Isha got the news not recently, but on the night she arrived in Larsa.

Adolf's surprised tone at the beginning confirmed his guess. Hearing that it was a team mission, Adolf didn't have too many thoughts, other than asking Cassia to be careful.

Putting away the communicator, Cassia lay on the bed and filtered the information obtained on the train, wondering whether there were other intentions behind Adolf and the two people behind Trivikan that she was suddenly assigned to Larsa. But just thinking about it, Cassia knew that without enough information, she could not get results that she could believe. So I turned to think about whether I could use the convenience of this position - because I would be in contact with many sellers - to help Waters and others. But the circles of the two are different. He only deals in weapons and ammunition, and he is more biased towards the empire. And just the distance from Larsa is enough to make many ideas impossible.

"I can only look for my own needs. Dragon blood is probably not accessible. Isa and the others are just a small entrance and exit for the internal needs of the organization. This important raw material should be purchased by specialized personnel. I can only target the target here. Concentrated blood positioned in the second category of organisms."

He didn't do anything all night long. Cassia was so energetic that there was no need to rest. She only read a few books she brought in the room. The next morning Toyinby came to knock on the door at about nine o'clock, and went to the neighborhood with Cassia to collect information about various hotels and inns. Most of the other buyers who came here took the nearest long-distance trains, and their temporary destinations were in nearby areas.

In the middle of the journey, news came from Isa that half of the team had already arrived at the Flame Alliance's border location, but they were all carrying out the task of transporting and protecting other goods, and the team assisting this operation was still on the way.

After returning to the hotel in the afternoon, I chatted with Toyinbi for a long time. Out of care for the newcomers, Toyinbi told Cassia a lot about the situation when performing tasks in the Flame Alliance. "The Flame Alliance has established several centralized buildings in the regular trade area. The place is like a city with very complete facilities. However, most of the exported goods are civilian products, and there are very few things related to our circle. In fact, in these concentrated places, some of the goods we need can be sold, such as this time Silkworm cocoons and spider silk are regulated goods in the Flame Alliance and are designated as secondary controlled items."

"The first-level control is the highest level. Not only does it need to report all information to the managers at the centralized location, but the buyer must also be registered. The second-level control is not so strict, but it still needs to be recorded centrally, and every transaction, Both buyers and sellers have to pay varying amounts of import and export taxes to the centralized place. Fortunately for us, it is only 30% of the purchased goods. Sellers also need to add controlled commodity taxes, which adds up to about About 55% of the selling price of the goods. After calculation, it means that after a batch of goods is successfully sold, only 45% will be in your hands. After deducting various costs, the profit can be imagined Got it. This is true for both the Flame Alliance and the Far Sea Commonwealth, which is why many sellers have to set up their own private strongholds in various border locations to sell goods bypassing centralized locations."

"But the territory of the giant country is too vast, and the border lines are very long. We can only use the method of setting up points and patrols to inspect and protect, and we cannot take care of every location all the time. The borders of the Flame Alliance are not yet in sight. Most of the dense forests are mined, and it is easy for these sellers to find suitable locations." When talking about this, Toynby looked at Cassia, "But you can probably guess it, trading on the border, except for some with the same needs, Buyers, where else will the danger come from?”

"Inspection team." Cassia answered a very simple question, "There should be a patrol route map and timetable."

"There is indeed such a thing, patrol route, patrol time, when and where you pass by. It is like a standard map, but there is no force in Larsa that can get it. Within the Flame Alliance It may be possible, but its own energy must be strong enough." Toynby, who was lost in thought, was thinking about something, "But this has only happened in the past two years. In the past, in Larsa's power in China, a small number of people could rely on their own strength. However, since two years ago, these routes have all failed. When they did not fail, the patrol team also set up traps and killed many people. So far, the patrol route map and timetable only exist in history. "

"It should have brought some danger to the Flame Alliance. We had suspicions at the time, but no useful information was found during the investigation. After that, missions similar to this one became dangerous, and the sellers also Huge pressure, and then converted these pressures into high prices for goods. But I still found a way to cope with inspections, but it depends on personal luck. Some inspectors will let people go after receiving the money, and some are not so easy to talk to. . In short, it is not a good thing to encounter the patrol team, just remember this." Thinking of Toynby in the past, he felt quite emotional.

After saying this, the two went back to their respective rooms to rest. Isa and Muriel returned to the hotel around ten o'clock in the evening. With a tired look on her face, Isha said, "Be ready to leave at noon tomorrow" and then went straight to a room to rest. Muriel then explained that during their trip, they got the news that the patrol team had passed through the nearby border area just the day before. In addition, they also obtained detailed maps of the seller's stronghold location in highly reliable places.