When I arrived at the base of the villa, it was just getting dark.

Inside the hall, Dyer and Waters looked at the information gathered in their hands with sad faces, and discussed in a whisper.

Seeing Kasia return, the two of them stood up to say hello, finally showing a little joy.

"The recent rapid expansion of business on the black market has brought bad trouble, and it has touched the interests of some fixed forces. There are many threats that have reached us in various forms, but fortunately there has not been a head-on firefight, and they themselves have some concerns. Derya waited for Kasia to sit down at the table as well, and explained the specific question directly.

"It's a good thing and it's a bad thing. "On the bright side, these threats are exactly what we don't want to see, confirming that our current development is indeed working, and that the results are even better than we expected." But the downside is that we had expected this kind of situation to be unavoidable. The predictable time period will be more than half a year later. That is, now we are not fully prepared for this scenario. ”

"There are indeed enough people, but in terms of quality, there is no way to compare with other fixed forces. With the superiority in weapons, we are not afraid of them. But if there is a real clash of firepower, what has been built up with great difficulty will regress to the very beginning stage. If they don't respond, they will do something even more out of line in the future. Neither is what we want to see. Derya had a headache, and she had thought about it for a long time.

"I've talked to Waters about a few options, and the best one is to shrink our power first. In other words, it is to cut one's current business, give up some of the benefits, and show weakness to others. Wait until a few months, when our own strength is enough, to get back all the lost parts at once. ”

Waters showed a worried look on his face at this time: "It's just that even if we do this, we are worried that the forces on the other side will not let go." Because the threat has been revealed, will they really give us time to grow after eating this benefit, or will their minds continue to swell and do it directly against us after they get that part of the benefit? I can't figure out what they think, so now I have been struggling with the deputy head of the regiment for the final decision. I thought about informing you about this matter a few days ago, but there is no way to contact the head of the group, and we also know that the head of the group has more important things to do at the school, so we didn't rush over to look for you. ”

"It was a good decision not to come to me. Cassia didn't answer the two of them first, saying something that seemed unrelated. But the reason is only known to him, "I will think about the communication in the future, which has really caused a lot of trouble." I'll ask my friends to help us build a more secure communication network. You need to inform me of important things in the future, and it is best not to come to the military school. At the moment we have a relationship, there are very few people who know about it except me and you. The military school is now a dangerous group, and you will only get into more trouble in the past. And these troubles can't be dealt with in time now. ”

At this point, Kasia paused. Dyer and Waters also showed understanding. The trouble that Kasia was talking about was probably what he was dealing with right now. What kind of people are in the military school, both of them know. The background forces behind them, they can't afford to provoke any of them.

"How long can you maintain the current situation?" asked Kasia after reading most of the information gathered, "I'll figure it out, it will take time." It was supposed to bring you something, but it takes more time to cultivate. In a few days, you should be able to make a final decision. ”

"It won't be more than half a month. We can drag our feet by curtailing business on the black market. Waters thought for a moment and replied, "Now that the factory is also undergoing a plan for industrial transformation, it may be more appropriate to focus on that side first." After the transformation, some industries are new fields for us, and in the past, opening up their own markets will not pose a threat in the early stage. Now, and for a long time to come, the main part of our business will be on all types of weapons. The only thing is not just quantity and quality. Steam machinery and airships, the lack of technology is terrible. Most of the core is in the hands of the Empire, and the rest of the technology that can be used for production is now just a simple competition within the Empire for production and cheapness. ”

"That's the rough conclusion we came to after a recent investigation. Waters did not forget to add his words, "In the black market, only weapons, energy, and surgery-related things have the attribute of profiteering. And we only have a little bit on the weapon, and the energy is roughly the various types of light tubes, which are hard to find. The mining of white limestone ore not only requires a large number of top geographers, but also the investment in mining machinery in the early stage is also a bottomless pit. And in post-production, mature machinists are indispensable. It's a dead end for us. Not to mention the surgery, you may be able to cooperate with some doctors in the dark world, but that can only get the technical aspect. It's not the core of profiteering, it's the raw material of surgery. ”

Kasia shook her head first as she remembered the spider-shaped mining machinery assembly she had seen under the Gerun Oasis.

He and Dya laughed helplessly at this time. The main raw materials for the operation come from dragons, and there are many hormones needed for modulation, etc., and most of these things are sourced in extreme regions. Even Kasia had only heard of either of them until now. Dragons have seen half of them. But trying to get them at the source is tantamount to a joke.

It is certainly impossible to raise dragons, and it will be the same result for a long time to come. That can be one of the cores of the empire. Most of the dragon-like stuff that is now flowing out of the black market comes from the Quartet forces and the Imperial Military Department. As for the raw materials for extracting hormone ingredients, it seems that the extreme area is not a place where you can easily enter and exit at will.

Even if you get these, the precision machinery that is extracted and produced is an unimaginable price for each one.

Kasia smacked her lips, and there was no taste in it.

"Have you ever thought about doing positive business?" asked Kasia suddenly, the Dark World was just one component of the Empire. The number of people involved is not much compared to the huge population base of the empire. It was the regular business in the empire that fed most ordinary people.

Dyar had an inexplicable smile on her face, and Waters didn't know how to answer for a moment. They knew in their hearts that this was just an idea that Kasia had come up with for a while, as if it were inspiration, but they still couldn't find the right words in their heads to answer.

"Probably not. Most of the methods in the empire that can make huge profits in a short period of time are in the dozens of thick legal documents of the empire. The reason why the dark world continues to attract people is precisely because it is not regulated by these laws and rules. Commander, you know this very well. Dya thought for a moment and said tentatively, "We have the funds to do positive business, but there are too many hard conditions that are lacking." Even if we want to go to the frontal arms trading business, we won't be able to get past the first point. It is necessary to submit documents to the Imperial Governing Body to apply for the corresponding qualifications, just like the Knights. It's just that there are more terms and restrictions. In order to dredge up the processes and relationships, you have to go around to unclean means in the end. ”

"The Webley Arms Company is an exception, the highest authority of the Empire, and they are already present in the Imperial Parliament. When the most basic laws of the empire were formulated, they were personally involved. This is something that no one can compare. Moreover, we are more able to adapt to the environment of the dark world and survive. ”

Kasia knew that what she had just said was just talking, and that she would not get any results. In the end, it came back to how to deal with the troubles of the black market business. Kasia also considered going back to school this time and asked Yeterin and the others for help. It's just that the threat from Delrin's side needs to be carefully watched, and it is not a wise choice to go out of the military school at this time. Yeterin's team had only left Manoma for a short time, and Atohuan's side had only intelligence help. Finally, there was Selmer, who didn't have to think about anything but himself.

If you want to spend money to hire a strong mercenary, you can see results in the short term. For nearly half a year, Dyar also has enough funds on her side.

"All of them are converted, and it's probably around six billion holy coins. ”

"So many!" Cassia herself was surprised.

"It's all the stuff, most of the money, or the factory itself that Webley has taken over. Derya said something rather discouraged, "The actual money available now is only billions, and it will be less." Many customers have not paid off the money for the goods and have been owing it. There's a lot of money, but it's not included in our actual earnings. Because once they die, they are destined to not be able to recover them. This has happened a few times, and there is no way to fix it now, and we are also involved in the loop. ”

"Because if they get more weapons and survive in the near future, not only will we receive the money owed, but the reward will be huge enough. This has to make us often choose between the two, whether to continue transporting weapons to the past, or not to try to collect the arrears and stop in time. There was a glint of enjoyment on Waters' face, "That's the Du Bo nature." In the arms business, in addition to new customers, some long-term people are trading with them in this way. One-off buying and selling is something that a lot of people want to encounter. ”

Kasia became more and more incomprehensible to Delja and Waters, and he had never understood the details of the black market business except for a simple exchange of equivalents.