"Ah, no need to thank . It's my pleasure to help you after everything you've done, Master Leo."
"Please call just Leo, I'm not a master of anything, Lord Ming. I am not like Lord Yang Ji either, I have no wealth nor power."
"Hahaha, how can the strongest man in the Central Plains say that? Everyone will be jealous hearing you saying this." Ming Yuchan said, "Also, call Yuchan. There's no need for honorifics between us, right?"
Leo nodded, laughing as well.
"You're right. I'll just call you Yuchan then. No need for honorifics anymore, right?"
"Yes, Master Leo—no, just Leo."
Leo turned to Astrid who sat in front of him, her expression showed her boredom. She fiddled with her hair and looked at the outside of the carriage through the window. Her gaze was unfocused as she stared blankly into the distance.
"Hey." Leo patted her shoulder, "Don't worry about your reunion with your family. If it doesn't work out well, we can do sothing about it."
Astrid nodded, sighing softly. She didn't speak at all, but Leo knew she was worried and anxious about eting her old family.
After all, she was declared dead without hesitation by her father, the Peng Clan patriarch, in the past. Her father also forced her into marriage with the bastard Tang. This matter made Astrid lose her faith and trust in her family, and caused her to resent her father.
If Leo was in her position, he would surely be pissed.
However, this was a necessary step to expand the rcenary Union. With the Murim Alliance destroyed, the world experienced great changes.
There were many wandering martial artists and sects that had no place to go.
Not only that, the 9 Great Sects and 5 Great Clans began to expand their influence too. They wanted to take control of Central Plains' resources, and the conflict began to break out.
Naturally, they needed more manpower and hired more people to expand their army. Death count increased, the refugees beca holess, and more people turned to cri. As the world was slowly turning into chaos, there would be many more quests for the rcenary Union to take.
"Anyway, we're almost in Qin city." The middle aged coachman said. "We'll reach the gates in less than 10 minutes."
"Thanks for the hard work." Ming Yuchan replied, "The trip was smooth thanks to you, Old Man Hu."
"Hahaha, Lord Ming, it was an honor to drive a safe and comfortable carriage. The new suspension made it much easier for the horse too." The coachman laughed, "This is the first ti in my life I ride a horse without having my butt hurting! Master Leo, you're really amazing. Lord Ming has the right to choose the partner for the oil business!"
"Thanks, but I don't do anything. The blueprints are in public, so anyone can use them." Leo shrugged and smiled, "I don't mind it."
Ming Yuchan and Old Man Hu looked at each other and sighed.
To be honest, the rchant still couldn't understand Leo's train of thought. Sotis, he gave him a way to use his technology to make profit. While on the other hand, he released so technology for free in public. He had no care about his wealth or profit, sothing Ming Yuchan still didn't understand. He wondered what his goal was, if not for profit?
"Master Leo, what is the purpose of releasing the blueprint of the suspension? I know you don't have any reason to help others for free. What's your purpose?"
Leo looked up and shrugged, "Nothing much, just making the world better is all." His eyes turned cold as he continued. "There's nothing else. I don't need to care about money now, and I'm sure you can understand what kind of people are using it, right? They are rchants and normal people who need to go around."
All Leo wanted to do was not to beco a dictator like the ga companies in his old world. They monopolized all technologies and created an unequal world, making the gap between rich and poor even wider.
That wasn't sothing he wanted.
"By releasing the technology, I can make sure the technology will continue to exist even if I am gone. And the hidden geniuses with strange innovations that could help the world might be born too."
Ming Yuchan looked enlightened, and he nodded. He couldn't help but sigh. Leo was a genius, no, he was above a genius. He could plan for decades, if not hundreds of years.
A simple move had many underlying plans under it. The rchant couldn't explain this man's existence with words. Sly? Shrewd? Or arrogant? From the look of it, Leo didn't think highly about the technology, or he didn't want it to monopolize in his hand. He didn't seem to be sly either, or arrogant.
He was simply kind, and Ming Yuchan could feel that kindness.
"Maybe my biggest gain by throwing away my pride that day is this. I am glad that I made that choice that day. You are an interesting person." Ming Yuchan smiled, "I can feel the kindness in you. My father had once told , "kindness is the most dangerous and scariest weapon."
"Kindness, huh?"
"Yes. Because it is the only weapon that is unpayable. If you are being helped by a kind person, and that kindness is real, then it becos impossible to pay it off, because kindness cannot be repaid. Well, I shouldn't say that, don't I? It sounds like a hypocrite because I often used underhanded tricks in business."
The rchant laughed and sighed. "Master Leo, the world will be better if there are more kind people. And if there's anyone that will make this world a better place, that is you. I will serve as the other side of the coin, as I have always done that. I'll make sure you won't get bothered by trivial things like money."
Smiling bitterly, Leo only nodded.
A good guy? Him?
In his standard, he wasn't a good guy. At least, not as kind as Ming Yuchan had said. He only wanted to avoid repeating the mistakes in the past.
"Alright, enough about that. Let's focus on our work." Leo clapped his hands, "We're going to arrive soon."
As usual, there were many carriages trying to enter Qin City. However, with Ming Yuchan around, they were given a free pass and the guards quickly checked them.
They passed the queue and entered Qin City.
Ming Yuchan and his caravan headed to their building in the city, while Leo and Astrid got off after they entered.
The duo looked around and observed their surroundings.
"It's so different now..." Astrid mumbled as she looked at her surroundings. The city looked so different compared to the last ti she ca, "Everything looks so... peaceful. Is it because there is no martial tournant right now? The city feels less crowded than before."
"Or it could be because the situation around the continent has worsened." Leo added, "Let's go. We will stop by the area near the red light district where the rcenary Union building is built. Jack should be there already. I'm quite sure the building is almost done."
"Alright."
Astrid followed behind him, still observing the city. Her mind wandered back to the ti she was still a mber of her clan.
As the Princess of Peng Clan, her life had been really good. Everything she wanted, her parents and brothers would fulfill it. Anything that she asked for, her clan would give it to her. However, she had never felt any love from them.
Astrid wasn't a spoiled brat, despite how her clan mbers treated her. Maybe a little, but that wasn't the point.
In fact, Astrid had been a really responsible young girl that helped the clan with her work. She did her duties as a daughter of the patriarch without complaint, but the relationship between her and her father had been cold since the beginning. They rarely spoke to each other, but she didn't care as long as she was useful to her clan.
Her dream had been shattered the day her father tried to marry her off to a bastard of a clan.
'What should I do if I et him? Punch him?'
Without her realizing it, her train of thought had changed greatly since the last ti she ca to this city.
"Let's walk faster. The road to the red light district in this city isn't exactly a good place." Leo said.
"Un." She nodded and walked faster.
The two arrived at a small district located near the red light district of the city. This district was filled with many stores, inns, brothels, bars, and other shady places.
Even though it was still noon, girls dressed in skimpy clothes stood outside their buildings. They smiled and flirted, inviting custors to enter the building to have so fun.
The girls tried to lure the two but their effort was wasted since Leo wasn't interested, while Astrid didn't want to go in there.
Sll of alcohol, sweat, and perfu assaulted their nose. The loud voices of n shouting and laughing filled the street, followed by the sound of glass breaking.
It was a pretty normal sight in the red light district.
Astrid covered her nose and frowned.
"This sll..." she muttered under her breath. "It slls like a cheap alcohol."
"Yeah." Leo chuckled and pointed to one of the buildings, located right outside the district. "And this is our building."
Unlike the buildings with many windows that allowed people walking down the street to see the sexy ladies dancing, their building had a simple appearance. The two-floor building wasn't built like the usual building in this world.
It had a modern design with glass windows on the second floor. The glass was made with a one way glass that allowed people to see outside, but not from outside to see inside. They were also reinforced and bulletproof.
There were many security devices and asures installed in the building to prevent intruders and keep it safe from thieves or other dangers. It wasn't sothing a common person would buy.
Astrid was surprised by this building, especially when she saw that it wasn't made from concrete but glass and steel. It was also protected with tal plates on all sides.
She couldn't believe that such structure existed in this world. It looked so different than other buildings in the area. The exterior walls were painted black, making it stand out even more. And the large board with 'rcenary Union' written on it was an easy indication that this building belonged to the union.
"Isn't it...too conspicuous?" Astrid asked.
Leo laughed and nodded.
"Yes. I deliberately ask them to design it like this. The more conspicuous the building, the more likely people will recognize it."
"I see... but still..."
Astrid looked around again before following him into the building.
They were greeted by the sight of people working hard at their jobs. They wore dirty clothes with tools in their hands. It looked like this building was manually constructed instead of using any magical technology she didn't know.
"Leader!"
One of them, who looked familiar to her, called out.
It was Jack.
"Oh, you're here." Leo nodded and greeted him back. "How is the situation? Anything that I need to know?"
"Well, it's been almost a month since we built it and the work has been going well. Everything is almost done." He said with a smile. "And we also found a good place to open the second branch here. Making it near the red light district will help the city's public safety improve and make entering anonymously easier."
With a nod, Leo looked around and inspected the place. "That's great. We need to start operating soon. And you're right. With the branch in this kind of place, it'll make it easier for the prostitutes to find jobs that suit their ability."
Jack nodded and led them to the second floor.
"Let's talk more about the plan upstairs. We need to talk about many things before the grand opening of this place. I'll introduce you to the people we have hired as receptionists and guards, Leader."
"Lead the way."
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