Chapter 517: Product (1/2)
Chapter 517: Product
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Ye Chong could not help but to shake his head. Design-wise, there was nothing particularly stunning about the these energy based weapons. The striking performance should be because of its superior materials. And regarding those, to be frank, Ye Chong had never seen such bizarre-looking woods and crystallization, while they did convince Ye Chong that they could be the best candidates to produce energy based weapons.
Nevertheless, he felt it was a total waste of decent materials when they were used to make such weapon type, especially when the design was poor to begin with. It was never humanistic to begin with. It looked crude, there was not even an aiming assisting device installed on every weapon. No wonder they were meant for spiritual shooters, nobody could aim their arrows even at a giant without neurokinetic aids.
Certainly the marksmen well-trained on their parapsychic would be perfect for this overly innovative weapon. They would need no assisting device in aiming. Their powerful spirits would be more than enough to help them reveal the enemies within the proximity at the shortest time possible, while producing firing at a humbly 100% accuracy.
But that was only if the enemies were *within* the proximity.
How about a distance farther away from their proximity?
Ye Chong had always been fighting in the galaxies, where wars between spaceships and mechs in the void were so far the most common, in which each unit would be easily over few hundreds, even thousands kilometers away from each other. Would this weapon-design be practical? He remembered Huang Baiyi once taught him that, the chance of somebody expanding their parapsychic senses hundreds meters beyond their proximity would be hardly 1 / 120,000,000. Even the teacher himself could only sense things at most 60 kilometers away from him.
Well, perhaps, the Mentalists here might be godlike but only godlike. They could have performance like a god but they were still human and there would always be a limit in the anatomy, a slope hindering the growth at a point, where it would be too hard to further improve their spiritual sensitivity.
Furthermore, the designer should be focused on maintaining the performance of the weapon while minimizing the demand on the user's mastery, or the weapon would have no point to exist. It was the thumb rule that every weapon designer should abide by. No use of create a giant toothpick that was too hard to use.
”Mhm? Not of your taste eh?” ridiculed Kristen, which shocked Ban Meng awake.
Ye Chong did not lift his head, he just gently placed the weapon down. ”Just checking it out a little,” he said.
That was when someone came to knock on the door.
”Who the-” Kristen frowned as she stormed towards the door.
”Greetings, Ms. Kristen,” greeted a man with his partner. The man was in a dark-green patterned skirt, standing next to a lady in a pretty chivalrous attire.
Kristen's brows loosened, ”Mr. Mo, what brought you here?” Mr. Mo was a wealthy merchant, well-known for his gentle and courteous nature in the city.
”Ms. Kristen.” Mr. Mo smiled, ”This... is a friend of mine. She just got back from the Mist, well you see, she might have gotten back alive, but her weapon was damaged during a fight with the beast. So she wishes to get a fitting weapon from a talented designer, so we came to you, Ms. Kristen, you are known for your god-given hands. I hope our visit did not cause you any inconvenience.”
”Hmm...” Kristen gave a nod, ”Well, if it's Mr. Mo's friend, then it's my friend too. No problem. Well, all these are available, take any you like. But before that, as you know, I don't do purchases here. I only do trades. So you'll need something special to exchange.”
Mr.Mo took a look at the lady next to him, who nodded as she replied, ”Alright, I wonder if you are interested in the amapolla wood...” Her voice was hoarse and deep.
”Amapolla?” There was glow in Kristen's eyes, ”Okay, no problem. Pick anything you like.”
The lady nodded and began browsing the weapons on the rack in silence.
She had rapid eyes, it was as if she was seeking that fateful moment of connection with one particular weapon among the crowd, instead of actually inspecting them. Well she did take a few of them to have a look but she, like Ye Chong, would place it down right after. A few minutes lapsed and she looked at Kristen.
”That's all you have?” She sounded disappointed.
”Uhhh...” Kristen halted for a moment, ”Sec.” She walked to the other room and brought out a few boxes onto the table, ”These are the precious of my works. Some of them were my old masterpieces.” She opened up the boxes and the lady expressionlessly moved to the table.
This time, instead of a quick window shopping, she gave a careful inspection on every piece. She would give a grip, a brandish, a caress before placing them down. 10 minutes lapsed, ”Well, you have good weapons but they do not fit my hands well,” she shook.
Kristen was feeling helpless. She would love to grab that amapolla wood but it was very difficult for a shooter to get a weapon that felt nice to the grip. It almost felt like a real need of fate or fortune sometimes. Nothing technical there.
”Is there... anything else?” asked the lady as she looked at Kristen with expectations. Those masterpieces were indeed excellence so she seemed more interested now. She was truly in need of a fitting weapon.
Kristen wanted to shake her head and cancel this deal remorsefully but something came into her mind - that imagery where this strange boy also shook his head upon seeing her crafts. Perhaps...?
”I'm sorry. I have no other weapons here.”
”I see...” The lady was literally disappointed, ”Well, can't help it I guess. At least I manage to behold these masterpieces today.”
”BUT!” The tone changed drastically on Kristen.
”Ms. Kristen, do you happen to have one more thing in the drawer?” The lady returned to her attentive self.
”Perhaps, he could help you out,” said Kristen, with her finger pointed at Ye Chong.
Wow, poor boy.
Ban Meng was terrified by Kristen's behavior. It seemed like she got a new target to shoot, and it was the cold-hearted man too. Someone would be hurt, really soon.
The lady looked at Ye Chong in bewilderment, ”You mean... this young man?”
”Yes. This young man seems to have a unique understanding on weaponry. Perhaps he could give some help,” said Kristen.
Ye Chong was not astonished by the plot twist. His expression remained frozen. And it was this frozen expression that convinced the lady that maybe the young man was in fact a master craftsman in disguise.
”Hello, sir. I wonder if you could help me out?” she asked, with a formal bow upon Ye Chong.
”How much?” asked Ye Chong after a moment of consideration with his head tilted, ”How much is amapolla wood?”
It was an unexpected question which resulted a total dead silence in the next 30 seconds.
It was unexpected because a real professional craftsman would not ask such silly question. Premium materials like amapolla wood were obviously something that not a man could afford simply because he had enough money for it. No mechanic would ask a question like this! Only an outsider, a novice, a layman would question the value of amapolla.
Like really, if he doesn't know the value of amapolla, how would he possibly be a good craftsman?
That was what everyone had in mind.
”Well.” Kristen was the first to react, she said, ”If you could get that piece of wood, I'm willing to buy it with 1,000,000 Ao.”
Hmm... sounds expensive?
Ye Chong lacked the concept of the value of Ao but it looked like a colossal amount. He did need more pennies in his wallet, compared to some precious piece of wood from nowhere, considering how he had a full inventory of premium materials in his ring.
”Okay,” said Ye Chong.
The girl, upon realizing the whole intention of Kristen's little gesture, could feel the blood fading away from her cheeks. The atmosphere was cold, as her eyes popped at Kristen.
Kristen too had a pale expression, with regrets tinting her face. She could sense it! The upheaval in the atmosphere, the brewing blizzard, this lady, she must be an expert, at least a Level 5! Only somebody Level 5 and above could exert such pressure! She was playing with fire the whole time?!
Ban Meng was looking for a rathole at the corner just to make sure he could run away in time.
Mr. Mo was calm, as expected from a merchant, but there was somebody else, unaffected by the storm.
That was Ye Chong.
Mr. Mo was naturally unaffected since he was in a kind of association with the lady. But Ye Chong? The boy who did not even comprehend the value of amapolla wood was actually feeling nothing in the atmosphere?
The lady was finding this boy strange as she withdrew her expression.
The atmosphere lightened, as calming as before.
”I would need to borrow the facilities here, the materials too,” said Ye Chong.
”Alright.” Before Kristen the owner could give her approval, the girl had already nodded her head and replied. She then glanced at Kristen who acted like a poor scalded kitten by then.
”Any requirements for your weapon?” asked Ye Chong.
”Penetrability. High frequency of shooting, with sufficient accuracy. Adaptability in different climates,” she stated her requirements.
”What about sizes? The weight?”
”Not too huge, preferred it portable, a weight less than 40kg.”
”Are you left or right-handed?”
”Left! I'm left-handed!” The lady sounded a little excited now, well that was probably why she could not find a fitting weapon without a hassle. She was left-handed and weapons for left-handed person were hard to find to begin with.
”Lay both of hands, with arms wide spread.”
The lady obeyed the request and spread her arms across, ”Alright, done,” said Ye Chong after a quick glance.
Kristen was stunned by the conversation between this layman-looking boy and this clearly talented shooter. She never imagined of having such inquiry before a purchase. She usually just made whatever that popped up in her mind and placed the products on the rack for the customers to choose.
Ye Chong went to Kristen's seat before. He would need the materials here.