Chapter 257: Chapter 251: A Successful Conclusion
The Wizards gathering around had all been drawn by the power displayed in the video moments ago.
Allen didn’t sit down. He stood where he was, leaning back against the edge of his table, and began his enthusiastic sales pitch.
"Armor-piercing rounds. Ten per set, for fifty thousand Low-Level Magic Stones." Allen held up a finger. "I have fifty rounds in total, already divided into sets. First come, first served."
"I’ll take two sets!"
"Three sets! I’ll take them all!"
"Apologies," Allen said politely. "There’s a limit of one set per person. This is all I have. Please buy one set to try out first. If you find it useful, you can contact me later to purchase more."
The few Wizards exchanged glances, and each purchased only one set.
All five sets of armor-piercing rounds were sold out within three minutes.
"Are the armor-piercing rounds gone? What kind of weapon is the Micro-Dust Bomb?" a Wizard leaned in, his voice low. "I see on the list it says five units, ten thousand each?"
"Correct. But this one is rather special. I suggest you take a look at its effects first."
Allen pulled up another test record. On the screen, a faint cloud of dust drifted into a cage. Within a dozen seconds, the goblin’s eyeballs transformed into white crystals. As it fell to the ground convulsing, the sound of shattering glass could be heard from within its body.
The Wizard’s Adam’s apple bobbed visibly.
"Crystallization from the inside?" His voice was a bit dry. "Is this... effective against Wizards?"
"As long as they need to breathe," Allen replied concisely.
"Five units. I’ll take them all." The Wizard sealed the deal and transferred the payment, his actions so swift it was as if he feared Allen would go back on his word.
On the trade list, the entries under the crystal weapons section turned gray one by one.
The final "Big Boy" wasn’t traded for any technology. Instead, a Second-level Wizard from the inner circle bought it for four hundred thousand Magic Stones. The man didn’t say another word, simply taking the item and turning to leave.
’Dealing with Second-level Wizards is so hassle-free.’
When the final transaction was complete, the weapons section on Allen’s list was completely empty.
Nine hundred thousand Low-Level Magic Stones were added to his account. Combined with his previous funds, the number on his balance sheet was looking better and better.
’Time to spend some money.’
Allen switched roles, from seller to buyer.
He reconnected to the public network for the trade list. This time, instead of filtering for training resources, he focused his gaze on the material entries priced in Magic Stones.
’Deepsea Sunken Silver, Starfall Iron, Crimson Tungsten Crystal... I’ll take them all.’
These high-grade metals rarely circulated on the regular market. They were either monopolized or produced in such small quantities that there was a price but no supply.
But the trading fair was a special occasion. Many Alchemy Wizards would happen to dig up things they couldn’t use while mining, and rather than letting them rot in a warehouse, it was better to bring them out and exchange them for Magic Stones.
Allen stood up and began to move through the venue.
First stop: a Wizard with a full, bushy beard. His list had three large pieces of Deepsea Sunken Silver. This metal could withstand extreme Magic Conductivity loads, making it an ideal material for crafting high-level Rune Conductors.
"How much for all three together?"
"It’s on the list. One hundred fifty thousand for one," the bearded man瞥 at him.
"How about four hundred thousand?"
The bearded man thought for a moment, then nodded.
Second stop: Starfall Iron. The seller was a taciturn Female Wizard. She had dug up a small batch of this extraterrestrial substance from a meteorite crater. The characteristic of Starfall Iron was its natural affinity for spatial Runes. Allen had no use for it at the moment, but his intuition told him he definitely would in the future.
Secured for eighty thousand Magic Stones.
Third stop, fourth stop, fifth stop...
Allen moved through the venue like a procurement machine, operating with peak efficiency. Every transaction was crisp and decisive. He didn’t drag things out, nor did he haggle to the point of offending the seller, but he was by no means a sucker.
About an hour later, his storage space now contained seven types of rare metals, two schematics for obscure transmission structures, and a small vial of high-quality, high-grade magic-conducting etching material. He might not have a use for these things now, but as his workshop’s technology iterated, they would sooner or later become the cornerstone for a new generation of Golems.
The two transmission structure schematics were a pleasant surprise. One concerned a brand-new design concept for multi-axis linked joints, and the other involved a miniaturized Magic Power hydraulic system. Neither was stunning on its own, but if integrated into his existing Golem framework...
Allen suppressed the thought, deciding to study it further back at the workshop.
The clamor of the trading fair gradually subsided.
"DONG—"
Adjutant Gordon’s figure appeared again, striking the bell to signal the end of the trading fair.
"The trading fair is over. Everyone, good luck with your ventures."
As his voice faded, Gordon’s figure dissipated.
The Wizards inside the venue began to leave one after another.
Allen sat in his chair, in no hurry to leave. He closed his eyes and quickly took stock of the day’s gains in his mind.
Most important strategic objective achieved: He had traded seven Geocentric Flame Marrows for the "Deepsea Echoing Conch," a wondrous object that could shorten training time.
The most important piece of the technological puzzle slotted into place: He had traded one "Big Boy" Crystal Bomb for the complete schematics of the "Composite Magic Power Scanning Lens." The detection range of the Celestial Net would be drastically improved.
Side acquisitions: A large number of rare metals and a few obscure schematics, which greatly enriched the workshop’s technical reserves.
Financially: crystal weapons sold for nine hundred thousand. The material haul cost six hundred and fifty thousand, and the wondrous object cost 1.15 million, leaving a balance of 25,536,000 Low-Level Magic Stones.
As for the seven Geocentric Flame Marrows, they had been dug up at zero cost to begin with.
’Trading fairs are great. I can’t afford to miss them from now on.’
By now, there weren’t many people left in the venue. Allen stood up, preparing to leave.
"Mr. Weisren."
A voice came from behind him.
Allen turned his head. It was the Wizard who had bought the Micro-Dust Bombs earlier.
"Just call me Perry." His tone was probing. "Pardon my asking, but your armor-piercing rounds and Micro-Dust Bombs... are they produced on a regular basis?"
"Depends on the inventory," Allen gave a non-answer.
Perry was stunned for a moment, then laughed. He asked for Allen’s contact information.
"If you produce more, please contact me first. I’ll buy in bulk, and I can even prepay a deposit."
Allen nodded. "I look forward to working together again."
As he walked out of the trading hall, Allen’s fingertips brushed against the deep blue conch. A cold sensation spread up from his fingertips, and faintly, from the depths of his consciousness, he seemed to hear the sound of tides crashing against reefs.
He returned to his cabin on the Odyssey and laid out all of today’s acquisitions to take inventory.
Finally, he began to read the memory crystal.
All the data on the Composite Magic Power scanning technology flooded into his mind, and several mental threads began to analyze it simultaneously.
’The core optical correction Rune can be transplanted directly. The Magic Power wave reflection module will need to be recalibrated. With full integration, the effective detection radius of the Demon Eye III will increase to...’
’One hundred and twenty kilometers. If I lower the observation precision, it can reach over two hundred.’
One hundred and twenty kilometers was excellent. The old Demon Eye III only had a fifty-kilometer range.
’If I deploy the Demon Eye at an altitude of tens of thousands of meters...’
"Dseek," Allen’s voice suddenly became very soft. "Help me run a feasibility analysis."
"If I send the Demon Eye out of the atmosphere."
He looked up, his gaze passing through the cabin’s ceiling, as if piercing through the metal hull to see the deep, starry sky above.
"Could I build a satellite?"
