Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 531 - 362: Business (Part 2)

Chapter 531: Chapter 362: Business (Part 2)

Leaving the scene to the old man to handle, Malin had no objections. In fact, he never took these short-sighted fellows seriously. To him, these clueless guys were just passersby in life. Mortals need food, clothing, shelter, and transportation, and of course, the fastest way to get rich in this world could never be through hard work. In Malin’s previous life, someone said that quick money-making trades were all listed in a book called the law.

In this world, there’s a saying that the most profitable trades are all on the Security Bureau’s prohibited list. As for whether making money with one’s life and not having a life to spend it has any inevitable connection, that was not something Malin could clearly explain.

If selling certain unspeakable items on Earth could be considered hugely profitable, then in this world, Transcendent potions are the real moneymakers.

The money Malin made from arms dealing and selling canned goods was only play money in Rewo’s eyes. What really made her see Malin as a partner was his unique position as the sole seller of the holy Acorns.

Perhaps there might be other holders of the World Tree Sapling in this world, but none could threaten Malin. After all, before Malin’s meteoric rise, no one on this earth ever had four World Tree Saplings.

And because of this, Malin faced far less trouble when doing things—at least no one dared suggest that Malin had ties with Chaos.

Anyone daring to say so wouldn’t need Malin to intervene, as they would be promptly killed by their own leaders—such a foolish teammate would not be left for Malin, the opponent, to deal with.

As for harboring ill intent, that’s an interesting subject. Suggesting that a young man, favored by four World Tree Saplings, bears a hidden malice seems like a roundabout way of slapping one’s own face—who would a follower of the Lord of Justice harbor ill will against?

The answer would probably be quite intriguing, as even the Nobles of the Eastern Kingdom, with their love-hate relationship with the Church of Justice, would smirk at the notion.

Although the Church of Justice is an adversary, they never show up unless you’ve done evil. This is a fact that even the dignitaries of the Eastern Kingdom have to admit.

So, Malin had a natural advantage in everything he did. No matter how eccentric his actions were, and coupled with the Church of the Goddess of Harvest recently touting him—the responsible entrepreneur, the protector of children, the young and promising red-robed Assistant Priest, honors falling on him like free money.

To be honest, Malin felt a bit embarrassed. It was a bit too much flattery, like calling him the protector of children—Heaven knows, Malin was never the protector of the child group.

He was willing to protect obedient, sensible, and innocent children. As for those who prematurely inscribed sin into their life’s record, they were not under Malin’s protection. He didn’t mind saving someone from suffering, but he also didn’t mind if someone sought trouble. Everyone must pay the price for their own actions.

In other words, they were the masters of their own lives, and Malin was but a guest. Life or death, the guests follow the hosts’ wishes.

The topic returns to Latindro City, a city far removed from the inland urban circle and one of the few coastal cities in the Farol Principality. Compared to other cities, it felt to Malin like a smaller version of Carterburg. Aside from the absence of daily visiting fleets, it often felt like living in Carterburg.

It did have better food than Carterburg, though, because everyone was eating multi-eyed dumplings. These huge creatures were easy to catch, and there seemed to be an endless supply. This city of roughly 17,000 people relied almost exclusively on sea Spirits for sustenance, with livestock farming as their best means to earn money.

Malin believed they would soon have better ways to make a living. As for the multi-eyed dumplings...well, tough luck being Spirits, but if you’re delicious, it’s your own fault.

The next day in Latindro City, the hospitable City Lord planned to invite Malin again, but this time he was bound to be disappointed—because Malin had new guests.

The Church of Justice and the Mage Tower had sent a joint investigation team that would come over. Malin’s information about the mountains in the North led both organizations to decide to conduct a carpet-style investigation of the entire range. In this period, they had identified roughly fifteen ancient ruins. Four were completely destroyed, seven were heavily damaged, three were partially damaged, and one appeared completely undamaged on the outside.

This particular site was the investigation team’s intended target. They were coming to recruit Malin to the team. To quote the person in charge: four words—"recommended by my Lord."

Malin sighed. With the team consisting of individuals of at least level five and the rest being level fourteen or fifteen, including a half-step Legendary, did they really need Malin?

"Of course, we need you. We’re also waiting for the weapons from your workshop." The person in charge was a young man who looked to be in his twenties, and had a charming smile. Malin could only shrug his shoulders at this and say, "Alright."

He then asked the girls for their opinions about this guy.

"You mean that old man? He seems kind of annoying." That was Clovis’ opinion.

"That old lady is too much. I’m definitely sending the bill to the Church of Justice." This was Faye’s unhappy response.

"That uncle looks weird when he smiles. He seems handsome, but he turns ugly when he smiles. I just can’t stand it," Jessica complained.

"Too ugly, not fit for my direct gaze." This was Lillim’s remark.

"He must have engaged some Spell Formation; I saw a twenty-something woman." Matilda said discontentedly, "Must be a stealth tier."

"It was a young man in his twenties." Maya looked at Malin and said, "What did you see, Brother Malin?"

"A young man in his twenties, Maya should be the closest to the answer aside from me," Malin responded before turning to the young man and extending his hand, "Hello, I’m Malin. May I ask...?"

"Dante, Dante Mercedes, a Follower of my Lord. Your eyes are truly as sharp as the legends say," the young man replied with a smile, shaking hands with Malin, "My Lord did indeed pass along a message, needing your provision of equipment. But I feel that only the old weapons used for many years can be trusted, so actually there’s no need for you to go to any expense."

"May I take a look?" Malin asked with a smile, like a trustworthy arms dealer of many years.

Ah, the people of this world have yet to understand the monumental achievement the Malin Workshop has made for the global arms market.

Then, this gentleman brought out his revolver.

Hmm, it looks well-maintained, but it is a single-action revolver, the loading and shooting of which are extremely... artistic, to say the least.

In any case, it has nothing to do with being fast or efficient.

Next came his shotgun.

12-gauge, enough for zombies, but the only issue is that the shot is lead pellets; at medium to long range, they can’t even tear through their skin, and most importantly, this shotgun is double-barreled and not even pump-action.

It scores full points for artistry, but there’s simply no way to compare it to pump-action and magazine-fed shotguns.

Lastly, he brought out a black powder muzzleloader.

"My grandfather passed it down to me; he used it to kill a lich," said the fellow.

Malin turned to look at his girls, garnering six beautifully shaking heads.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve decided to let you witness one of the firearms from my family’s workshop." With that, Malin created a portal.

Before leading everyone through, Malin made sure the men from the Church of Justice were watching over his train cars—if he came back to find even one of Spotty’s pups missing, there would be trouble.

.........

Mr. Mercedes seemed to have no faith in Malin’s words whatsoever.

Malin understood, because even though he was a Follower, as a stranger, there was no need for anyone to believe him, not to mention his name marked his origin from the Holy Kingdom. People from the central kingdom never had much in the way of expectations for a place like Sydney, which was on the fringe. To him, no weapon could possibly be better than his weapon of choice.

Such a belief reached its peak upon seeing those strange firearms.

He stood with his arms crossed, looking like he was waiting to watch a spectacle.

"Come, let me demonstrate to you gentlemen the effectiveness of this new model of firearm, which I’ve named the M14. ’M’ is the abbreviation of my name, and ’14’ is the number of the rifle sketch I drew." After speaking, Malin picked up the firearm and fitted it with a long magazine.

Mercedes stood with his arms crossed, waiting for Malin’s performance.

Malin raised the gun and then fired 21 bullets at the target in one breath.

When he put down the gun, all the investigators present were in a state of shock.

Each of them began to doubt the performance of the firearm in Malin’s hands, eager to try it out themselves, and were then captivated by its sustained firepower.

And then Malin began his familiar sales pitch.

A shotgun with a suppressor, an M1911 that held eight rounds, and pulley crossbows and bows.

And when Mr. Dante walked off the shooting range with a satisfied look, holding a newly tried semi-auto shotgun from the Malin Workshop.

"I apologize for my earlier arrogance, Mr. Malin."

"Don’t worry about it, Your Honor. Please remember, every weapon here is designed to deal with enemies quickly and efficiently," Malin replied with a smile.

To be honest, the combat shotgun that can hold a 20-round drum in the world of radiation has firepower that far surpasses all active weapons in this world.

Especially when such a weapon can be fitted with an electrum-made special suppressor, there’s nothing better than being able to fire 400 rounds while maintaining its suppressive effects.

Except for... Malin turned around and took what looked like a very crude weapon from the hands of a dwarven master: "Your Honor, would you like to try this one?"

"What is this?" Mr. Dante asked, looking at the strange firearm in Malin’s hand.

"This concept came to me on the first of August last year, so let’s call it the ’Model 81’," Malin said with a smile, raising his eyebrows.

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