Weapon seller in the world of magic

"Oh, it looks like you have another servant, Owner Lu." The customer casually commented while staring at the back of Chang Bo.

"He\'s the only one, Mr. Zheng." Mark clarified him. "Allen and Alina are my siblings. Don\'t group them with him."

"Ah, that\'s right. I apologize," The customer clearly didn\'t believe it, considering the behavior of the Androids towards the owner but he cannot mess with the owner either. So, he gave a fake apology and waited in silence.

Zheng Ha never bought any weapons except for P-226 and his overall transaction amount is down below 200 gold coins. So, he wasn\'t an exclusive customer.

However, he visited the store more than anyone else. Even when Mark was away, he regularly made a visit to the store to buy 9mm bullets. Every time he comes, he buys 100 of them.

And now, after seeing the demonstration of RIP bullets, he ordered a hundred of them too. With each RIP bullet costing 50 silver coins and a normal bullet costing 20 silver coins, this order of 70 gold coins brought a smile to Mark.

Because Zheng Ha has a commoner background, Mark had a good impression of him.

With no customers around, Mark initiated the conversation with this wealthy merchant of spices and tea, "Say, Mr. Zheng, I was wondering, you import silk, tea, spices, and tobacco, right?"

"Yes," Zheng Ha nodded.

Mark then asked, "Do you know any traders who deal with oil? I don\'t just mean cooking oil. Other kinds of wastage oils too."

Zheng was visibly surprised by Mark\'s question. He wondered what a weapon seller wants to do with the oil business. Nevertheless, he answered truthfully, "Yes, I\'m a member of the merchant and traders association. I\'m also in the Elite group. So, I was acquainted with the oil tycoons."

Mark then said, "I need oil, huge amounts in that, at least 50 barrels, a day. Buying in the market will cost too much. So, I was wondering if you can recommend me someone who can provide me with such amounts without failure. If needed urgently, this person would be able to spend even five to times of that."

"50 barrels a day?" Zheng Ha gasped in shock. He looked at Mark in disbelief, "that\'s like 8000 liters. Why do you need so many amounts?"

Such an amount is used by the Imperial palace to spend it on the whole army if they eat three meals a day.

Mark expected that Zheng Ha will be shocked. Everywhere he bought a few barrels, the sellers in those markets, also looked at him suspiciously.

He didn\'t explain his needs to the customer. Mark tried to be mysterious as he replied, "It\'s for my experiments. You don\'t need to know it. Just recommend a name."

Zheng Ha thought for a bit and said, "Sending atleast 350 barrels of oil every week without failure… Only one person in the Phoenix Empire had the ability to do that, Yuan Zhou. He\'s a merchant prince who not only owns several mills and estates but also had a huge political influence at the Imperial court.

However, as you can see, he\'s from Yuan Clan, where the Empress is hailed from. If you are uncomfortable with him, there\'s always Yao Yang and Shao Tai. Both of them were commoners and have a considerable reputation in the market but I don\'t think either of them will be able to fulfill your requirements.

I mean, it\'s not that they don\'t have the capacity to produce 50 barrels a day but they will have to consider the civilians too. If they send a majority of the portion to you, then, a common man would suffer.

I think it\'s best if you make deals with multiple oil traders or just regularly import them in bulk from the Dragon Empire for a cheaper price. It was so that the prices of the oil remain stable."

"Ugh… I guess I expected too much." Mark mumbled to himself. He mistakenly believed that the oil production ability of this world is also at a similar level even if there\'s no production of crude oil and natural gas. After all, the uses of cooking oil should be the same everywhere.

Mark forgot that it is not only a world of magic but also in the 18th century.

While he was still thinking about what to do, Chang Bo returned with two boxes that has separate labels on them. "Lord Lu, here…"

A sales robotic assistant was assigned to double-check the items to match with the order so that Mark wouldn\'t have to do it.

So, he just took it from the teenager and hand it to Zheng Ha, "here are your goods."

Handing over the pouch of gold, Zheng Ha then said, "When you come to the decision, please send anyone with a letter to my residence. I live in the Maolu district. Everyone in the district knows my place. Anyway, once I know that you are interested, I will arrange a meeting with the…"

*Screeeee*

All of a sudden, his words were interrupted by a high audible pitch from the outside. It appeared to be very near, and even though the sun hasn\'t set, the space outside became darker as if it was covered by a huge shadow.

Zheng Ha turned around and glanced at the entrance for a moment, "What beast is that?"

As the store indefinitely blocks the aura from outside, Mark also didn\'t know which beast it is.

He left the counter and walked towards the exit, peek his head outside, only to see a troop of soldiers coming towards the store. Meanwhile, there\'s a huge purple-colored beast floating above the store. Due to its enormous size, Mark couldn\'t figure out its appearance but his Sage eyes did the job.

*

Amara

Grade: King

Title: None

Rank: 6 (peak-stage)

Species: Stingray

Type: Offense

Attribute: Water/Wind

Loyalty: 66%

Owner: Shang Fu

Description: A six-circle beast king from the plane of water. It is currently contracted to the Emperor of the Shang Dynasty.

***

"Emperor?" Mark\'s expression changed right away as soon as he read the details. He glanced at the soldiers on their way. With his Sage eyes, he found that the weakest of them is at intermediate-5-circle.

As for the strongest one, who is one of the four generals of the Empire, he is at peak-6-circle.

Mark fell into thoughts.

"Unless that Ji Clan\'s brat is too much important to the Emperor, the latter wouldn\'t make a move against me." Mark threw the thought away in the next moment, "No, even if it is, the Emperor wouldn\'t send his mount in person and risk its death. Bai Xun will be the one that will come here. Perhaps, there\'s Emperor standing above this beast? Was he making a personal visit?"

As Mark was trying to figure out the intentions of these guests, Zheng Ha hurriedly left the store, feeling ominous about the situation.

The Imperial guards eventually arrived at the store. They didn\'t enter but just stood on either side with their general stepping inside the store.

Like everyone, he was surprised just the same when he felt the suppression followed by the unexpected interior design. "It\'s just like the rumors said…"

Meanwhile, Mark, who already returned to the counter, took his seat, and said, "State your business, General Ye."

"His majesty is arriving with Queen Consort Lan. Get ready to welcome him." Ye Yin replied.