Outside the Jiang family's grand doors, Xu Mu and his two companions walked briskly, soon arriving at the Golden Silver Merchant House.
Gazing at the familiar building, its opulent decorations, Xu Mu couldn't help but sigh with a tinge of admiration.
"The branches of the Golden Silver Merchant House, they truly are the same all over the world."
"The first and second floors are for buying weapons, the third and fourth for medicine. Let's split up."
Without hesitation, Jiang Sheng strode towards the staircase.
Qian Qian glanced at Xu Mu, then followed Jiang Sheng's steps upstairs.
Xu Mu's expression remained calm as he turned, approaching a weapons rack filled with common, traditional armaments.
"Take what you need. Ten taels of silver, no bargaining," a shop assistant lazily drawled from his chair, half-opening his eyes to glance at Xu Mu before closing them again.
"Ten taels, is that for this entire rack?" Xu Mu looked at him and then asked playfully.
"Of course, it's for one. What good fortune are you dreaming of?" The shop assistant's eyes snapped open, and he looked at Xu Mu impatiently. "Are you buying or not!"
"Not buying."
"Hey, are you trying to cause trouble? If you keep this up, I'll call someone!" The shop assistant, eyes wide, stood up as if to shout for help.
"I'm not buying weapons, I'm buying metal," Xu Mu said, smiling at the assistant. "Gold, silver, copper, iron, steel, meteorites, gemstones, diamonds, and so on."
The assistant, surprised, looked Xu Mu up and down, then asked with suspicion, "Are you sent by one of the blacksmith shops to procure goods?"
"If I'm not, does that mean I can't buy?" Xu Mu asked with a smile.
"Certainly not. That stuff has too little profit margin. We don't sell it if the quantity is below a certain amount," the assistant said with disappointment, then patiently added, "Go out, turn right, walk straight, and find some other shops."
"Quantity... I actually need quite a lot. What's your minimum profit requirement?" Xu Mu pursed his lips and asked. He hadn't expected the Golden Silver Merchant House to have such a rule, that they wouldn't sell if the quantity was too small.
However, the sheer volume of metal he needed was immense. To reconstruct Charles's highly advanced technological body required incredibly complex procedures, and countless scraps would be wasted.
"Kid, listen carefully. This much: five hundred taels of silver. If the profit is less than this, we don't sell," the shop assistant stated.
"Five hundred taels..." Xu Mu frowned, calculating for a moment, then looked at the assistant and said seriously, "If your prices aren't too high, this single order of mine could let you earn..."
"Fifty thousand taels of gold."
...
Xu Mu became a VIP guest of the Golden Silver Merchant House.
After a brief verification of Xu Mu's financial capacity, the shop assistant immediately hurried to find the manager.
He reported that a big fish... a customer... had arrived.
"I am the manager here. You can call me Xiao Liang," said a short, stout middle-aged man, trotting over to Xu Mu with a fawning smile moments later.
"Mr. Liang, there's no need for formality. Here is a list of what I need. Please take a look, and then take me to retrieve the goods," Xu Mu said, handing over the newly written note. The other party nodded subserviently and agreed.
As he opened the note, his dark eyes froze, and then his entire body began to tremble violently.
"Iron, thirty thousand jin, steel, thirty thousand jin, gold, sixteen thousand jin, silver, one hundred thousand jin, meteorite, obsidian, and other special hard stones, one hundred thousand jin, with no upper limit?"
The manager of the Golden Silver Merchant House, Liang, was stunned. He had never seen anyone buy so much metal at once. Even the combined annual inventory of all the blacksmith shops nearby didn't match what this young man required.
"This... could the esteemed guest reveal, for what purpose you need so much?" Manager Liang swallowed and, suppressing his shock, looked at Xu Mu with a sense of awe.
He guessed that this young man was likely sent by a top-tier family or power to procure armaments, as only such super-clans or forces would have the means to consume such quantities of metal to forge weapons.
However, he was unaware that much of what Xu Mu was requesting would ultimately not be much.
According to Charles's requirements, his own height was only three meters, with a normal width. A robot of such specifications would weigh at most five tons.
Five tons was but a drop in the bucket compared to the materials he was requesting. But Xu Mu didn't mind asking for more, knowing that his craftsmanship, compared to that of the Blue Star, was far inferior. Even a part as small as a fingernail's thickness, mere feathers, might require hundreds, even thousands of jin of steel to refine.
If calculated in this way, the items he bought from the Golden Silver Merchant House would not only be used up but would likely fall far short.
"What I need it for is none of your business. Just tell me if you'll sell it," Xu Mu said, looking at Manager Liang, his voice calm.
"Sell, of course, we'll sell! With a distinguished guest like you, how could we refuse?" Manager Liang's smile reached his eyes. He quickly walked in front of Xu Mu, leading him to a corner, and then pushed open a door.
"This is the warehouse of our Golden Silver Merchant House. Normally, outsiders are absolutely forbidden, but for esteemed guests like you, we make an exception."
As Manager Liang spoke, Xu Mu followed him, taking in the warehouse, which was as large as a town square.
Within this warehouse were many smaller storage rooms, each with guards stationed outside, clearly indicating that the items stored within were extremely precious.
In various corners of the warehouse, various weapons and herbs were casually placed, evidently insignificant items from the third or fourth tiers.
"The area for material storage is ahead," Manager Liang said, suddenly stopping. He respectfully stepped aside.
He squinted, and before him, gold ingots were piled into towering peaks, reflecting blinding golden light. Beside them, silver bars were neatly arranged into countless walls, numbering in the millions of taels at a glance. Beneath these mountains of gold and silver were piled various stones and metals.
"This is Western Regions Cold Iron, found by esper-users in mountain peaks frozen for millennia. It's exceptionally effective for crafting ice-attribute weapons," Manager Liang said, picking up a piece of iron emitting a cold aura and handing it to Xu Mu.
"And this is extraterrestrial meteorite. Weapons forged from this material are impervious to blades and fire. However, if you use it in conjunction with obsidian, your weapon will be like a valiant general donning armor, becoming even more robust."
"And these are all rare treasures. According to your requirements, we can begin now, payment and delivery on the spot."
Manager Liang said, rubbing his hands with a smile.
He was overjoyed. As Xu Mu had said, this single transaction would net the Golden Silver Merchant House at least fifty thousand taels.
And, most importantly, as the manager responsible for the sale, he would receive twenty percent of the profit, which amounted to ten thousand taels of gold!
"I don't have money," Xu Mu said, and then, from his spatial ring, he produced a long section of Shore Flower root.
"This item can aid in comprehending the Great Dao of Death. It is priceless. You can have it appraised by experts. If there are no issues, please pack everything in front of me."
Manager Liang took the large section of Shore Flower root. Sensing the deathly aura that made him tremble, his face turned ashen with fear, and his legs immediately went weak.
When he heard Xu Mu's request, his face grew even paler.
"All... all of it?" Manager Liang looked at Xu Mu in disbelief. Before them stood a mountain of gold, a mountain of silver, and piles of precious metals and gemstones. And this young man, with just a single root, wanted to trade for all of it?!
"Yes, all of it," Xu Mu nodded, then added with utmost seriousness, "If the appraisal finds my item to be too expensive, you can compensate me with other spiritual herbs."
"Of course, if it's money, that would be even better."
...