Chapter 1380: Preparation of David Strings, the Elves Come Again

Seventon, Arcane Union.

In the laboratory, Xia Duo, who had been working for nearly twenty hours straight, had just received a message from Iolum sent from Evereska, saying that he would be back this afternoon and wanted him to prepare to participate in the evening's experiment.

Looking at the thirty-two thin, standard "David Strings" sitting motionless in the stasis field before him, Xia Duo left the laboratory with satisfaction.

The preparation of "David Strings" is not an easy job; first of all, the spell to create them is a 5th Circle Spell, and if it were Daiwei himself who came, he wouldn't even meet the threshold for casting it.

Secondly, a David String without energy passing through it cannot exist stably; even the 5th Circle version improved by Iolum has this problem.

Compared to the "material projection of Magic Net Strings onto single elements" that Daiwei originally researched, which was almost impossible to preserve, this version is already much better.

But if it is not connected to an energy circuit immediately, it still needs to be kept in a stasis field.

And the stasis field is another difficult point in the process of preparing David Strings; there is no fixed-operation stasis field generating equipment in the Iolum Laboratory, so Xia Duo had to set one up temporarily.

It is fortunate that he had previously learned the 8th Circle version of this 9th Circle spell, otherwise, even if he created the David Strings, he would have no way to store them!

On the way back to his residence, Xia Duo couldn't help but wonder: when Iolum returns and sees the thirty-two David Strings preserved in the laboratory, will he change his previous mind and let him truly participate in the design and manufacturing process of the Mythallar Energy Core, rather than just doing the work of a Magic Technician!

"He probably will, right? Otherwise, wouldn't it have been enough to just show me the data on the improved David Strings? Why give me the design drawings for the Independent Arcane Fire Device as well?"

Although the key to the Independent Arcane Fire Device lies in the special material of the David String, Iolum could have chosen not to give it, as it also contains his unique design ideas.

However, Xia Duo also knows that Iolum is not a stingy person; giving him the complete blueprints might truly be for the sake of sharing and reciprocation, and so, calling him over might really just be to have him do the work of a Magic Technician.

That would be looking down on him a bit!

……

Returning to his residence, Xia Duo was just preparing to rest when he suddenly received a Sending from Niya; the content of the message made his sleepiness vanish instantly, and he sat up from the bed.

Niya said that another Elf Mage had arrived at the Territory; she was not yet sure of the other party's strength, but the other party claimed to be entrusted by that previous investigator from the Moon Crown Family, Tuofu, to handle matters regarding cooperation in the spice trade.

While pondering the potential impact of this matter, Xia Duo quickly got out of bed and went to the communication room opened by the Arcane Union for external use.

Some things are more convenient to communicate in real-time; while one can certainly communicate in real-time by casting spells directly, in terms of encryption, it is far inferior to a communication magic array that can be pre-set with nearly infinite encryption measures.

After connecting, Niya's half-body image appeared in the large Crystal Ball at the focus of the communication magic array; due to the addition of numerous encryption measures, the image looked somewhat blurry, but this did not affect the communication itself.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Xia Duo immediately brought up the serious business; he asked Niya: "Is the other party's identity real? What does Patriarch Aoruipusi say?"

"We don't really have much influence in Cormanthor, and we have no way to investigate the authenticity of the other party's identity, but Patriarch Aoruipusi seems very convinced; he said that in Cormanthor, no one would dare to impersonate the identity of the Moon Crown Family."

Xia Duo was silent for a moment; in fact, he had also been suspicious of the identity of that investigator Tuofu, but only because the other party was indeed a gifted senior Mage, making it unlikely they came from the bottom, did he accept the other party's identity.

"Since that's the case, then let's treat it as real!"

Assuming they really are a subordinate of that investigator Tuofu, Xia Duo added silently in his heart; that investigator Tuofu, whether or not they are a member of the Moon Crown Family, has an identity that is certainly not simple.

Smuggling spices is not permitted by the Cormanthor authorities, but he and Lord Collins are already doing it, so it doesn't matter if the other party is hiding their identity.

As long as it can bring real and tangible benefits, then what does it matter if the other party is misrepresenting their identity?

"What else did the new Elf say?"

"He said that investigator Tuofu has already opened up some channels with powerful figures within Cormanthor, but we need to show greater sincerity on our side. I think he is hinting that we should provide higher-end spices; the profits from Ivory Pepper and Laurel Leaf are not low, but if the volume is too high, even if the other party is truly a member of the Moon Crown Family, they would not approve of such a frequently operated smuggling business."

Although Niya did not say it explicitly, she still had the idea of smuggling high-end spices; they hadn't done so in the past because doing so would make it easier to be exposed.

But now that someone can help cover it up, doing a little bit won't have any impact; after all, they were already smuggling before.

"What you say makes a lot of sense. If it were me, I would also prefer things with low volume and high added value, but smuggling is different from normal trade, and we are not just pursuing profit itself."

"This matter still needs further consideration; at the very least, I must wait until I have discussed it with Lord Collins before saying anything. Let's stall him first; if they want sincerity from us, they also need to show a certain amount of sincerity, right!"

Xia Duo briefly stated his views, mainly focusing on two points: one is that the other party needs to show sincerity; after all, it is smuggling, and if there is no sufficient mutual trust, there is no need to play along, and the sincerity the other party has shown so far is too little.

The other is that he must consider the opinion of the other collaborator, Lord Collins; after all, the spices belong to them, and his side only provided temporary storage services and the Silver Leaf Family's low-end channels in Cormanthor.

Although conducting high-end spice smuggling with low volume and high profit might lead Lord Collins to cast him aside and cooperate with the Elves alone, notification is still necessary; this is a basic issue of integrity.

Xia Duo believes that with Lord Collins's Wisdom, they should not make the decision to cast him aside; to say nothing else, from a utilitarian perspective alone, if the other party casts him aside, are they not worried that he might report them, or even retaliate?

Not to mention the constraints of the Lord of Radiance Holy Contract; this thing plays a much greater role than general threats of retaliation!

However, this matter also made Xia Duo smell danger, not because of the smuggling, but because of Daxia Territory; there are too many things that are inconvenient to make public, especially the New Natural Philosophy, which is almost impossible to see the light of day.

If the Elves found out, no matter what the other party's identity is, it would be very dangerous.

So he instructed Niya again, "Let Patriarch Aoruipusi entertain the other party well, and have him try his best to keep the other party in the town and not let them run around everywhere."

Seeing that Xia Duo was speaking seriously, Niya also nodded earnestly.

……

After interrupting the communication, Xia Duo couldn't help but feel a lingering fear; fortunately, after investigator Tuofu left at that time, he had instructed Yatewude not to display the New Natural Holy Power again, and not to mention the New Natural Philosophy, especially the word "Nature" in Elvish.

Otherwise, it might have already been discovered by now.

At the same time, Xia Duo also thought that informing Iolum about the New Natural Philosophy could no longer be delayed; he had been delayed by other things before, but now he must speak.

Some things are better shouldered together by everyone!