Chapter 547: Festival (1/2)
Chapter 547: Festival
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Liao San could not help but to return to the base camp with bitter resentment.
Curses! If it was not because I had no other choices…
He whined, expressing his hatred towards the merchant who had just pulled a daylight robbery upon him. Fifty million? Was he out of his mind? Was he aware of how many tons of weapon one could purchase with fifty million? Those thieves at the logistics were as if angels compared to this satanic entity!
If he did become the head of the logistics, hell knows what could happen…
Liao San shuddered at the thought of it.
Well, the story was not as terrifying as Liao San had described. Liao San only enquired Ye Chong regarding those funny toys he had at his lawn, whether Ye Chong could sell to him one of them. Ye Chong did nod to the request promptly, ”Only at a cost of fortune,” he said. Liao San was overjoyed, it was not going to be a problem as long as the pennies could seal the deal for him. The royal guards had all the money they wanted so no hassle if it only involved money. Yup, not a problem, till Ye Chong made his offer directly, ”50 million, per piece.” There were 5 of them, so that would be a whooping 250 million for all 5. ”Oh, and you only get to make the purchase once. Only once, I would not sell them anymore after this.”
Such bargain…
Liao San froze at the offer. This was not a daylight robbery anymore. This was clearly a daylight pillage! The royal guards might be very well-off, that did not mean they would agree on a mindless deal! No way in their pride they would withdraw that large portion of their funds just for a few pieces o- ”Well apparently you aren't that interested, I'm sorry…” That was when Ye Chong shrugged, looking regretful. Liao San almost launched his fists on that pretentious thief! But he remembered that this very thief was also the very master who defeated 12 Level 6 shooters single-handedly. His fury then was nowhere to be found.
Eventually he just watched Ye Chong nonchalantly leaving on his moving sprinklers.
In actual fact, he had not recovered from the shock just now. Ye Chong did finish constructing a training ground within two hours. If only such efficiency was found in military construction, the kingdom would be formidable, terrifyingly formidable. Well, if he had those machines in the first place that is.
This became his fantasy at last. Even the military would hesitate at the price of these machines. It was 250 million after all, only to be boomed into nothing by a single missile from the enemy if unlucky.
Unlike Liao San, Ye Chong found his offer rather reasonable. These automated engineering units contained far more precise and advanced design compared to those he sold to Sun Sieha. Well, even the cannons were sold at 20 million. How would these fully automated engineering machines be much cheaper then? It took Ye Chong great effort to craft them too, since most minerals in the recipe were not local. He had to eye those in his inventories, which were limited from the beginning. But he did not, he had to preserve them. So he succumbed to the use of woods at the place, though obviously both the quality and versatility would be very inferior compared to metals. These wood pieces might add up to something but the process was not simple. Moreover, the machines had a built-in processor, low grade, a good stuff still. 50 million was totally fine for the magnificence.
Ye Chong did not feel anything in particular regarding the rejection. He was not in need of filling up his pocket anyway. His pockets were both full in fact, with the 150 million he won from the gamble last time and the monthly income of 40 million from the royalty. He had not maximized these newly crafted machines too. He would not want to sell it away only to go through the tedious process of crafting new ones again.
Currently, Ye Chong's manor was too crude to be called a base so, there will be renovation. An underground base it would be! It would not only be much safer, but a more concealed spot too. Furthermore, he only needed these machines to do all the jobs for him. He did also think of adding more members to the construction team so he could get his base faster.
…(Meanwhile back at Sun Sieha)…
”What?!” The moment when his majesty heard the report from Liao San, the entire palace could hear his raging scream. ”Liao San are you from Stone Age or something? Have you never seen this much of money at our royal account before? And you backed away from a mere price like this?” Unlike Liao San, his majesty could well recognize the value behind these machines. He would buy them at any cost, even twice the price Ye Chong offered. He had heard from Master Karu before, Ye Chong did possess a craftsmanship of technology 50 years ahead of them at the very least, thus the high respects towards his every craft as they were rather intrigued to study them.
The only chance to buy probably the greatest invention of the decade had just been swept to the drain under the hasty decision of his own man. How would his majesty not rage at this?
Five forty in the morning, there was an army of people standing before Ye Chong's manor. No one would certainly miss such a great chance of ascending as one of the talented members of the society for they lacked the gift in mastering parapsychic sense. They also thirsted strength, authority, wealth, glory like the shooters but it was that lack of gift which had given them the capital punishment of their life in the first place so Ye Chong's tutorial came like a silver lining in the sky for them.
The crowd cloaked the manor like a cluster of dark clouds, yet there was only silence, concealed in a certain obedience as the royal guards watched with stern solemnity.
It was 6 in the morning as Ye Chong nodded at Liao San.
”Time's up!” Liao San's scream echoed in the midst of silence, brutally like his voice rang, the guards broke into a line of formation, blocking the latecomers after the master's nod.
”Order!” Ye Chong raised his voice. ”You have 30 minutes to break them into groups of 50, each with a leader.”
Liao San had an eyeroll upon seeing the slothful folks. It was not an easy chore to place these slow rolling eggs into different baskets but Ye Chong was the commander, his order stood and absolute obedience was expected from Liao San. Liao San was still an experienced commander after all, ”Yes sir!” Liao San replied on top of his lungs as he turned to the folks with a threatening glare, ”The 400 of you punks get over here! Each of you pick a number of 50, by hook or by crook, I want to see groups here!” Well he had 4000 subordinates, so he only needed to that the 1/10 of them to get the lambs into the pens.
The 400 soldiers came out of the team promptly as they sprinted towards the people at a speed of a beast, a brutality of a beast too. If someone decided to not obey them, violence would be served. The soldiers sank into the crowd and dragged a number of ladies, putting them into a team, including the Shu sisters.
In no time 400 teams could be discerned at the field.
Ye Chong was going to hold a class of 20,000. Assuming he did recruit the students by traditional interview and the mundane meet-and-greet, it would take him forever. So these are the things to be discarded for efficiency, especially when these people came from all walks of life, all colors of soul, a military approach would be better, something that was considered bread and butter for him - just like the time he did with the Sangs. The approach would be the most secure, with the least likelihood of seeing rebellion.
The group of people marched into the newly built training ground. No doubt they were fascinated by the magnificence, they had never seen a training field such colossal, a visual impact clearly it was. There were all sorts of strange machines, the ground was polished like mirror yet felt sturdy like rocks. ”Such budget…” some people whispered. They could not imagine the potential amount of investment behind this foundation. Moreover, the training ground was situated at the valley between two slopes, making it more mysterious.
As there were the actual military soldiers leading their way, everybody got into their position almost immediately after. Ye Chong was on the stage of rock at the front of the ground.
It was going to be an assembly, with a speech from Ye Chong. Everybody expected that as they lifted their head, including the royal guards who were as curious of what inspiring words would come from the great master.
Ye Chong gave a look around. ”I am Ye Chong, and I'll be your teacher today onwards,” he spoke slowly, ”which means, the entire valley would be off-limits. Nobody would be allowed to leave. Training would be touch but no failure would be allowed, no one would be retreating, no one I repeat.”
The folks were shocked but they remained calmed as pressured by the constant glare from the soldiers nearby.
”All of you might have not been exposed to close-combats, but it is totally fine, learn it today onwards but I must warn you, it would have a much higher physique requirement compared to those shooter trainings. So, for starters, there would be physical training to boost your base stamina.”
”Move!”
The crowd boiled as they were shouted to jog. Well, that sounded really simple, even the folks felt bewildered, annoyed of the pointless-looking training.
That lasted till the close-50th round of the jogging session, during which most of them almost tripped themselves fainting, that was also when they were informed that food would not be provided to anyone who failed completing the run
Liao San skillfully pressured these folks like his own soldiers and it was quite a sight to see a crowd of twenty grands running in the dusty field. One could hear the roaring gasps along with the frantic splashes of the soldiers' whipping.
These folks were just a bunch of spoiled brats grown up in wealth and their physique was weak to begin with. A number of them just suffered a force shutdown and collapsed during the run. But no unconsciousness could salvage them as a splash of cold water was given by Liao San, ”RUN!” The command rang thunderously again.