Chapter 1439: Variables and the Group of Seven

After hearing Lord Xia Duo's explanation, Charles Halan fell into deep thought for a moment.

Intuition told him that Lord Xia Duo must be hiding something; but reason told him that if there really were some method for rapid production, Seventon would have heard wind of it long ago.

Prince Baside's request needed to be taken seriously, but the relationship with Lord Xia Duo needed to be maintained even more.

With almost no consideration, Charles Halan made his choice: "Prince Baside is just too worried about the war, which is why he made such a request. Lord Xia Duo, I will convey your answer to Prince Baside exactly as it is; I believe he will be able to understand."

From Prince Baside, he could only gain benefits in terms of money, while from Lord Xia Duo, he could gain much more.

Charles had never forgotten that the reason he was able to speak with Prince Baside, and to a certain extent gain the other party's respect, was precisely because Lord Xia Duo provided him with a continuous and stable supply of Demon-Slaying Amulets.

If this line were broken, the one with Prince Baside would likely be broken as well.

He could not judge which was lighter and which was heavier.

Charles saying that Prince Baside would be able to understand was not just empty words; perhaps the other party could not understand, but he would have to pretend to understand.

This was the situation; after all, even the other party himself called it a request and a hope, not a demand or a transaction of any kind.

……

After the small interlude regarding Prince Baside, Xia Duo and Charles discussed the order quantity for Demon-Slaying Amulets for the next month. When Xia Duo proposed that production might double next month, Charles was truly both surprised and delighted, and also felt a lingering fear.

What delighted him was that production would double, which increased his influence with Prince Baside; what surprised him was that the Tower of Time might truly possess some secret method for rapid production, though that was none of his business.

As for the lingering fear, it was that if he had used Prince Baside to pressure the other party just now, he might be regretting it bitterly right now.

"Lord Xia Duo, cooperating with you is the thing I am most fortunate about."

"Let us hope so. The future is still very long; I hope our cooperation can also be long-lasting."

In truth, Xia Duo did not have a very good impression of the Halan Territory leader—too impatient and too focused on immediate interests—but as a current collaborator, he still had an obligation to remind the other party of a few things.

……

Regarding the specific tiered pricing for the Demon-Slaying Amulets, there had been negotiation plans previously, so this time Xia Duo did not entangle himself too much with the Halan Territory leader and maintained the previous negotiation results.

After sending the Halan Territory leader away, Xia Duo sat in the Reception Room for a while, carefully pondering the impact of Prince Baside's request. It would be simple to find an excuse to refuse now.

The fear was that the other party might make a scene at the Northland Alliance; if it became known to everyone, perhaps mass production would no longer be a secret.

In fact, as of now, many Mage Tower organizations had already touched the threshold of division of labor and cooperation in the production of Magic Items, but perhaps they had not yet done any specialized mass production design, which was why they could not lower costs to a level that had an overwhelming advantage over individuals.

As for standardized mass production, that was another threshold. Xia Duo only had the background of an inhabitant of the industrial era before his transmigration, which allowed him to prioritize standards from a high vantage point.

In reality, the process of standardization on Earth only gradually developed after the Industrial Revolution; it did not appear at the very beginning.

Earth was like this, and if things developed naturally here, presumably it would not be much different.

"I am the variable myself!"

Xia Duo thought about how every time he hoped to obtain an opportunity for stable development, various matters would come knocking at his door. The Mythallar was like this, and the current industrialization preparation stage was also like this.

Perhaps he could use that passage about "Heaven will place a great burden upon a person" to comfort himself, but Xia Duo truly did not wish for variables that were too far beyond his control to appear.

Having one variable like himself was enough; too many was truly troublesome!

……

After pondering for a moment, Xia Duo set off for Iolum's Laboratory.

"Teacher, I left in a hurry just now and didn't have time to ask: what problem occurred with the construction of the Daiwei String Component automatic manufacturing machine?"

As soon as he arrived at the laboratory, Xia Duo saw Iolum busy working within the Levitation Field in the center of the laboratory. As for the other students the other party had mentioned earlier, there was not even a shadow of them.

At this moment, he had every reason to suspect that Iolum just wanted to trick him into coming back.

Of course, this was just a joke; upon seeing Iolum's face, he knew that this cheap teacher of his had likely made up his mind this time.

The eye sockets were almost red, and his gaze revealed a deep exhaustion; Xia Duo even suspected that Iolum might not have rested at all during the two days he had been away.

"You've come!"

Just as Iolum spoke, the hoarse voice seemed to startle even himself. He gave a heavy, dry cough before adjusting himself and saying:

"I asked Buluode just now; he said that the plugin for the component design drawings was hard to understand. Buluode and the others are in the laboratory next door. They have been studying the Daiwei String Component automatic manufacturing machine blueprints you left behind for two days and haven't even started actual production yet. Go help them!"

"Alright! But—Teacher should go and rest!"

Xia Duo glanced at the experimental prototype of the Independent Arcane Fire Device behind Iolum, which was already more than half finished, and reminded him, "Don't let several days of work be destroyed by working while fatigued."

"I know. You go over first!"

Since Iolum acted this way, Xia Duo did not insist further. After all, he had only fulfilled his duty to remind him; everyone was an adult and had to be responsible for their own decisions. Presumably, Iolum knew the gravity of the situation.

……

Arcane Union, Laboratory No. 012.

When Xia Duo entered, he only saw five people, including Buluode, and could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. Iolum had lived for hundreds of years, so of course, the number of his students would not be countable on one hand.

But in the current situation, having more people was not necessarily a good thing. Previously, he had truly been worried that Iolum would call over dozens or even hundreds of people at once, in which case he would have to re-evaluate Iolum's current mental state.

He did not want to be tied to a broken ship destined to capsize.

Fortunately, Iolum had not been blinded by the urgent craving for the Independent Arcane Fire Device and knew that in the current situation, the fewer people who knew, the less likely it was to reveal flaws.

At this moment, in the laboratory, Xia Duo's arrival undoubtedly attracted everyone's attention, and Buluode strode toward him:

"Xia Duo, you're finally here. Let me introduce you."

As he spoke, he led Xia Duo to the side of the four people who were attempting to manufacture the Daiwei String through personal Spellcasting, and then introduced them one by one:

"These are the teacher's students—Luowei, Bogesi, and Aersong; the remaining one is both my student and my brother, and of course, he counts as the teacher's student—Gawani. Among them, Luowei is a Senior Arcanist, and although the others lack some timing, their talent is not inferior to Luowei's."

"Nice to meet you all!"

"Nice to meet you!"*4