Chapter 158 The Seven Fungi Manipulation Technique <TOC> Chapter 160 The Way of the Marauders
Translator: SumTLMan
“Previously, there was a guest who came to purchase materials for a great governor, and he needed a hundred kilograms, just as Mr. Russell had mentioned.”
After walking away, the bodyguard spoke to Li Mu.
“Whenever someone seeks his help, he always sets up some minor obstacles, making the other party run errands so that the task can be successfully completed.”
Most people who sought help from Mr. Russell were filled with trepidation and anxiety, utterly cautious. However, Li Mu’s attitude was completely different, as he placed himself on an equal footing with Mr. Russell.
“What is Mr. Russell’s status?”
Li Mu, leading Dao Li, asked curiously.
The bodyguard glanced at him, confirming that this person was just recklessly bold.
“Mr. Russell is one of the twelve stewards of Raginbeard.”
He proudly said, venerating Mr. Russell’s noble status.
Raginbeard was composed of countless marauder gangs. Among them were deserters, fallen security contractors, and hunters.
The ruler of Raginbeard resided in the inner city, not directly involved in its administration. Instead, Raginbeard was divided into several districts, assigned to various marauder gangs to manage, and taxed accordingly.
Each gang could only manage one district, and new gangs wanting to acquire management rights had to defeat the existing gang and take its place.
In this way, the marauders within Raginbeard would always be immersed in internal strife and suspicion, never able to unite and form a powerful force to oppose their ruler.
Among them, Raginbeard had twelve core districts that were much larger and more prosperous than the others, from which vast wealth could be earned.
Only the most formidable gangs could occupy these core districts.
Most marauder leaders were not adept at managing districts, and living in Raginbeard was not safe, as they were vulnerable to assassination by other marauders. Therefore, they would hire stewards to manage their districts for them.
These stewards may not necessarily possess great power, but they held immense authority, at least until they were abandoned by the marauder leaders backing them.
“I see. What does Mr. Russell like? If I have the opportunity, I will certainly apologize to him.”
Li Mu said to the bodyguard.
The bodyguard merely coughed a few times, as if his throat was uncomfortable, and did not answer Li Mu. He had personally witnessed Li Mu give a bartender a gold lasu coin.
Understanding the situation, Li Mu took out a gold lasu coin from his pocket and flicked it to the bodyguard.
The bodyguard caught the gold lasu, blew on it to verify its authenticity, and, satisfied, tucked it into a small pocket in his lining.
“Mr. Russell’s favorite items are pre-cataclysmic art pieces. If you give him one, you can become his friend, and then purchasing any amount of heavy metals won’t be an issue. The gang behind him is the notorious Black Dragon Breath.”
To occupy a core block, a gang must have at least one third-level awakened.
Due to a stable supply of slaves, Black Dragon Breath has a deep relationship with the United Agricultural Production Association, and access to channels for procuring scarce materials in Raginbeard.
The heavy metals required for refining the Great Elixir are nothing to Mr. Russell.
Soon, the two arrived at Black Dragon Breath’s warehouse in Raginbeard. Numerous slaves were busy loading and unloading cargo, transferring heavy loads of wheat, salt, and sugar from hovercrafts into the warehouse.
A slave, weakened by hunger, accidentally fell to the ground, dirtying the bag of salt on his back.
Before he could beg for mercy, his throat was severed with a single slash.
The pungent blood gushed from his body like a fountain, while other slaves continued walking numbly, ignoring the blood that sprayed onto them.
The bodyguard disdainfully avoided the blood on the ground.
“Can’t you do your job properly? Couldn’t you have killed him further away, so the blood wouldn’t dirty the goods?”
He scolded loudly before leading Li Mu into the warehouse.
The warehouse occupied a vast area, but the various goods were neatly arranged by category. Dozens of fully armed marauders guarded the place.
The bulk goods were in the outer area, making it difficult for even the marauders to steal much.
After all, no one would believe that marauders could keep their hands clean.
The valuable items were stored separately in a reinforced concrete warehouse, with only one sturdy alloy door guarded by a fierce-looking marauder.
His muscular body lounged on a tiger skin chair, guzzling potent sugarcane liquor, reeking of alcohol.
The bodyguard approached with Li Mu, adopting a more submissive demeanor.
“Mr. Zacharias, this is Mr. Russell’s friend. He wishes to purchase a batch of heavy metals from the Black Dragon Breath.”
He then reported the quantity that Li Mu needed.
“Hmph, a bunch of sycophantic rats with many ‘friends.'”
Naturally, Black Dragon Breath could not entrust all of their affairs in Raginbeard to Russell, and had placed their own people in key departments.
Though his words were harsh, Zacharias still picked up his pen and hastily scribbled a note on a piece of paper, which he slipped through the small crack in the alloy gate.
Moments later, a small door opened in the alloy gate, and a conveyor belt delivered the metals listed on the note.
“A total of 350 gold lasu coins,” announced Zacharias.
Only large corporations had the capacity to mine ores or purchase scrap metals from scavengers, and then refine them. Under their deliberate control, the prices of various heavy metals remained high.
Li Mu was prepared to inspect the metals first, but he was stopped directly by Zacharias.
“You must pay before inspecting,” Zacharias said, his breath reeking of alcohol.
Li Mu’s eyes narrowed, glinting dangerously. It was impossible to discern with the naked eye whether heavy metals had been contaminated by psychic energy, but their value would differ drastically.
His Illusion Breaker Eyes immediately detected a faint psychic energy shimmering on the metals, indicating they had already been tainted and were unsuitable for refining the Great Elixir.
“Is this how Mr. Russell treats his friends?”
The security guard shrugged indifferently, unfazed by Li Mu in the Black Dragon Breath’s headquarters.
In his view, Li Mu was just preparing to construct a psychic pathway, while he had already completed three. In a fight, he could easily defeat Li Mu.
If it weren’t for the prohibition of brawling in Raginbeard, he would have slaughtered Li Mu like a fat lamb.
“Apologies, but you are not yet Mr. Russell’s friend. Gather some pre-cataclysm artwork first. Then, Mr. Russell will give you another chance.”
Zacharias took another swig of his potent sugarcane liquor:
“Pay or don’t pay, but if you don’t, don’t expect to leave. Don’t think about appealing to the arbitration court. When you requested the transaction, you didn’t specify any requirements for the metals.”
The two of them had swindled money using this method before. With almost no cost, they could easily amass wealth. Most people would choose to compromise, swallowing their pride.
Not just anyone would dare to provoke the Black Dragon Breath.
Moreover, those seeking to purchase heavy metals were small fry who had not yet constructed psychic pathways. Zacharias, on the other hand, was an expert who had completed nine psychic pathway constructions.
Li Mu remained silent, activating his Divine Eye technique and sweeping his gaze around to assess the strength of everyone in the warehouse.
“Haha, is this poor fellow so frightened he can’t even speak?”
Chapter 158 The Seven Fungi Manipulation Technique <TOC> Chapter 160 The Way of the Marauders