Chapter 85: Bleeding Money

Compared to the Radiant District, the Dock District was practically another world entirely.

Cheap oil lamps only lit up in front of a few shops; in most areas, once night fell, it was truly pitch black, and walking through the alleys meant staying on guard at all times against backstabs and pickpockets.

"Looks like you lot are doing pretty well."

Among Dimon's gang, he personally took to the kitchen and laid out a spread of wine and food.

Though it couldn't compare to the luncheon at the Radiant City investiture ceremony, there was meat, wine, and dishes — already enough to be called a feast.

In a sense, this was the Candidate Squad's long-overdue victory celebration.

Originally, they should have gathered right after the battle, but afterward the wounded were wounded, the busy were busy, and it was postponed again and again (mainly Li En), and only now had everyone stabilized. Talia didn't come — she was still working overtime, and it wasn't appropriate for her to be seen getting too close to Dimon openly (officials and bandits).

Yet before Lari and Li En there was wine and meat, while before Dimon, the host, there was only clear water and black bread.

But he, from the moment he took his seat, had been smiling the whole time.

Seeing the gradual changes in this district, recalling the grand scenes of the past two days, this man who was always glaring rarely smiled so happily — he seemed as if even water could make him drunk.

"Miss Shaliman is truly a woman of her word. She's already sent people over to invest in dyeing workshops, textile workshops, and weaving factories. You don't know how many people came when we were recruiting textile workers during the day! At least half the women in the whole Dock District showed up, and plenty of men came to ask if they could be hired as exceptions. Those bureaucratic lords even sent over business licenses."

Hearing this, Li En was somewhat surprised, but even more, he was delighted.

Miss Shaliman really moved fast — uh, probably Dai Niya personally stepped in too, otherwise it wouldn't have gone so smoothly.

His gaze instinctively drifted to Lari grinning foolishly beside him. This matter actually had a direct connection to her, but this girl really couldn't hold her liquor — how was she already half gone after just two sips?

Uh, in front of her was just coffee? Spider-folk being dizzy from coffee is one thing, but do Arachne also drink coffee like it's alcohol?

"Ha. It's fine, it's fine, my father doesn't care about these things." Her tongue was already numb — looks like she was thoroughly drunk.

But what she said undoubtedly made everyone present breathe a sigh of relief.

At least more than half of the entire Radiant City's textile industry belonged to the Weaving Baron family — this was also the reason Lapor could rise as a nouveau riche.

If Lapor really wanted to crush these small workshops, he wouldn't even need to resort to illegal competition — he would only need to keep dumping low-grade goods in the surrounding area to make your income plummet, or even run you straight into the red.

But the Baron Lapor being this easy to talk to still seemed a bit off.

Since when did the vampiric combination of aristocrat and capitalist, the ultimate profit-driven types, suddenly have a conscience and a bottom line?

"My father said that if you give him a 5% share, he's willing to put up some technology as a stake, and can also send some skilled workers to help train the newcomers."

"I think that's fine." Dimon spoke up directly — looks like he'd already discussed it privately beforehand.

Dimon looked at Li En, wanting to ask his opinion.

After all, Li En could essentially be called his behind-the-scenes boss.

"Sure, go ahead. From now on, decisions like this, you make them yourself."

Li En nodded directly too — there was no reason to refuse; this was a great thing.

This bit of shares and earnings was actually worthless — how much money could these industries in the Dock District make?

Small workshops without high-end technology, equipment, or environment were destined to only produce low-end products.

Li En's group wasn't here to get rich either — they were relying on these kinds of job opportunities to gradually sort out this chaotic Dock District.

And the Lapor family really didn't lose out either — they even vaguely came out ahead.

"For the Baron, losing a bit of money really doesn't count for much. What matters is being able to push his own daughter and his own family up another step."

Lari Lapor was the "eldest child" of the Lapor family — the figurehead, and the future political mainstay.

This nouveau riche aristocrat who had risen from great merchant status had also reached the point where it was time to start trading money for status, pursuing political influence.

Losing this bit of industrial profit in exchange for Lari's reputation among the Good God faction and the Holy Knight society was simply too worth it.

Especially this knight squad centered on Li En, which had already become the Princess's direct line. Lari being able to mix into it was an opportunity for the entire Lapor family.

In a sense, this also proved that the Lapor family was clearly a fence-sitter — as long as the profit was sufficient, they could switch between the "Liberal Faction" and the "Conservative Faction (Royalist Faction)" without any pressure.

"They actually didn't lose much either, and can use this chance to wash off the stain from that murderer before."

Moreover, what made Lapor the most money was always the various high-end fabrics — mage robes, various protective cloths, nobles' high-grade fabrics and so on — things ordinary people couldn't produce.

"Tch, really so poor all that's left is money."

Li En instinctively glanced at Lari, and at a glance spotted beneath the table those boots worth roughly fifteen thousand gold coins.

He was practically drooling.

After coming back, Li En thought it over and was also glad he hadn't bought that "Feather Fall plus Jump" combo set — it could fool newbie warriors who'd never used Haste before, but in reality it was a completely different matter.

Boots of Speed were the kind of thing where you didn't feel you needed them until you had them, and once you did, you really couldn't do without them.

Feather Fall plus a big jump could indeed close the distance to an opponent in a short time, but in reality it required at least three actions: "activate Feather Fall to reduce weight," "tear open the scroll to release Jump (here it's a zero-circle cantrip)," and "jump toward the target."

Then, because the preparation time was too long and you'd be hanging in the air, the next action might very well be becoming the opponent's target.

Boots of Speed were simple — just run.

It wasn't merely a matter of simply increasing movement speed — what mattered more was the perfect link with the nerves, speeding you up without distorting your movements.

In actual combat, you only needed a single conscious reaction to trigger full-body acceleration over a short distance, greatly increasing mobility and flexibility.

Inside it was a perfect neural link, as if you were born a high-speed creature like a Great Sword Spider, and everyone else looked like they were moving in slow motion in that instant.

That sudden burst of acceleration could kill or save yourself — offense and defense in one.

Rumor had it that in the hands of an expert, it could even produce a quasi-bullet-time effect in actual combat.

And precisely because of this, its main consumers weren't just the combat classes.

Every profession, every transcendent, wouldn't complain about running too fast — for those in cloth armor, a step earlier or later was the distance between life and death.

Even those great mages, when they had no other choice, would also choose Boots of Speed.

On one hand, there really weren't any good boots for spellcasters; on the other, when ambushed, rolling on the ground to escape was still better than being split in two.

Output was too low while demand was nearly infinite, creating the reality of having a price but no market.

Even if Li En had steeled himself to bleed money back then, the other party would probably have had to spend half the day sourcing the goods, and in the end he might not have gotten his hands on them.

"I can do it! I can do it!" Kuku declared that he could do it.

"Really? That's great, I'm super looking forward to it." Right, right, right — Li En indicated that everything Kuku said was correct.

"The core materials are the hard part! Tendons and brain nerves from top-tier transcendent beasts! Preferably from a true dragon!" Kuku took it literally and started ordering like at a restaurant.

"Uh..." Li En suddenly realized there was a good reason for the high price.

Nerve-related materials are very fragile; sometimes, even when purchased, they are already "dead."

The success rate of alchemy using them as ingredients is low; one finished product might require the consumption of materials from several failed attempts.

Looking at Larry, who was already fast asleep on the table, Li En still felt a strange sensation; most of her equipment was something even a Great Knight couldn't afford.

Add the Great Sword Spider mount, and even a sixth or seventh-tier expert wouldn't be as well-equipped as her.

Since she was asleep, it wouldn't affect everyone discussing serious matters; after all, she was just there to follow orders. Both Dimon and Li En were quite busy and naturally wouldn't waste time.

"There is one more thing: our militia..." Dimon showed a look of difficulty; some matters were indeed hard to handle.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors"; cultivating warriors and knights requires resources, time, and, most importantly, vast amounts of money.

Miss Shaliman could invest in shops and industries in the Docks District, but absolutely not in the local militia; otherwise, it would be a sensitive act of raising private troops outside the mansion.

A great noble privately recruiting soldiers in the suburbs—what do you intend to do?

If Miss Shaliman got involved in such matters with the Docks District, it would be bad for both sides, so she naturally avoided any suspicion.

"How much?" Li En sighed; it seemed only he could handle this.

"5030 gold coins should be enough; the first batch will be about thirty people, and they can last half a year without issue." Dimon said this with a bit of shame.

"How much? Only 50 gold coins?" Just returned from the Radiant District and the Mage Street, Li En didn't react immediately.

But this was the normal price in this city; this money was not only enough to feed the people in the Docks District but also enough for them to practice martial arts and eat well.

"How about you sell her boots? That should be enough for a hundred years," Li En casually made a joke.

"Ah, okay, I'll take them off right now!" Before Dimon could respond, Larry, who was already drunk and numb, heard Li En's voice and immediately reacted.

She stood up directly and took off her boots on the spot.

"No, no, we're eating!" Li En regretted it slightly; knowing full well she was a straightforward child, why make such a joke?

The drunk spider threw a flurry of six-arm punches; socks and gloves flew into the air.

The scene became chaotic, and just as order was barely restored, a bag of gold coins had unknowingly appeared before Dimon.

"Here's 100; prepare some equipment for them beyond just wooden sticks. Cheap second-hand goods should be enough. Let them see blood; we have no time to raise useless trash." Li En hinted meaningfully; since they were cultivating "Reserve Paladins," they at least needed some evil as an Offering.

Dimon didn't say any more nonsense and nodded to accept it.

"What is this?" Outside the money bag, Dimon also saw a stack of blueprints.

"Try finding a reliable carpenter." These were blueprints for wooden looms from Earth, including even an improved steam-powered version.

Li En had previously tried to search his own memories and even tried to recreate the Spinning Jenny, but the drawings he produced were completely useless.

But now Kuku was here; he also possessed Li En Sudar's memories, and as a Great Alchemist, it shouldn't be hard for him to figure out blueprints for a few new types of looms.

"Uh, don't rush into mass production; make sure there are no problems or explosions before promoting it." Fortunately, Kuku had already run off somewhere; otherwise, hearing Li En distrust him again, he would have at least kicked him.

And for Dimon, the places needing money were not limited to this.

"The underground passage beneath the Ship Graveyard? Dimon, are you planning to do business with that?" Hearing this, Li En was somewhat surprised; your information network is quite sharp.

"Yes, that is a gold mine. To use your words, the miners might not make money, but those who sell them shovels and provide food and water will definitely make a huge profit."

This matter was an unexpected event; it was intelligence sent privately by Talia, so Dimon could only come to Li En to ask.

Whether this could be done and what troubles it might cause? Li En pondered for a moment; it actually seemed to have potential.

Previously, the underground caves had been cleaned thoroughly, yet warriors still guarded the passage to prevent any demons or monsters from emerging from that side again.

Originally, this would have been a long-term unstable factor; the garrison would surely leave, and afterwards, the locals would be the ones suffering.

But after Her Highness the Princess confirmed the development of the underground ruins, that place became a new resource point.

"They plan to clean out that underground river and install a steam locomotive and a steamship within it, using cables and tracks to turn it into a stable passage, making it a safe entrance and exit for the underground ruins." With policy from above, business opportunities naturally arose below.

Actually, Li En thought about it; this really could work.

Besides the beast cubs, the underground ruins were actually quite clean, which meant the underground ruin area on the other side of the river should be relatively safe.

And the other known ruin entrances were all quite difficult and dangerous to traverse.

Reality is not a game; opponents encountered in dungeons have high randomness; some ruins have a BOSS waiting right at the exit, and the known entrances are all quite hard to navigate.

But now, even around those known ruin entrances, there is a host of supporting services; Dimon thinking of doing business in this area really does have great potential.

"Our militia, once trained, can also go there to gain experience... At least personally, I need evolution materials." Considering the long term, Dimon also intended to step into this new era.

He had obtained the Heroic Soul Inheritance and could not slack off like this.

"Mm, we'll go together then. Take this money first to buy some low-level materials to upgrade your bloodline." Li En handed over another red envelope.

Li En pondered again, gritted his teeth, and handed over another 100 gold coins.

For Dimon to hold the ground, he needed not only to upgrade his strength but also reliable personnel.

"Take this too; hire some adventurers to guard yourself and also let them help train our militia."

(End of Chapter)