He had offended Fusuida to the point of no return; there was no way that guy would let him off.
Therefore, he couldn't return to White Bear City and walk straight into the tiger's den anytime soon.
“Damn it. I had already planned to 'borrow' some spending money from the boss of that White Feather Merchant Association.
“Now I have no choice but to give up on that target.”
In his heart, Li Xiuman had never given up on the idea of making a fortune off the boss of the White Feather Merchant Association.
The White Feather Merchant Association was thriving in White Bear City.
As an ambitious skeleton with grand ideals, how could he possibly abandon a walking vault like that?
“Fusuida's pursuers will definitely never guess that I could use the Dungeon Core to teleport to the Iron River City Dungeon.
“They probably still think Lucia took me away.”
Li Xiuman began putting himself in Fusuida's shoes.
“Even if Lucia tells him now that I escaped, Fusuida won't believe her.
“He'll just think it's the despicable succubus making excuses.”
Li Xiuman's eye sockets lit up.
Under these circumstances, it seemed he had bought himself precious time to develop.
As long as Lucia drew all the attention for him, he could take full advantage of this window to power up.
“I really am a genius.
“Having too many enemies actually has its benefits!”
At this moment, Li Xiuman felt his intellect had reached the high ground.
He had provoked so many foes that Fusuida thought he was in Lucia's hands.
Meanwhile, Lucia thought he had been snatched halfway by that notoriously destitute Red Dragon.
Now, as long as he kept a low profile, nobody would know where he was.
Let his enemies drown in mutual suspicion.
Returning to White Bear City was out of the question.
White Crystal City, as the most prosperous city in the region, boasted the Grand Cathedral of the Goddess of Light as well as an exceptionally deep dungeon.
After storing Number Zero into his spatial storage, he produced the Dungeon Core.
“Teleport—Floor 1!”
Teleporting from the 30th floor to the 1st floor, Li Xiuman swiftly exited the dungeon and entered Iron River City.
Stay at an inn?
No, no, no.
All the gold coins on Li Xiuman's person had already been sacrificed to that goat-eyed octopus creature.
As for his other gold, every bit of it was deposited in the Reby Merchant Association.
Therefore... he had become a penniless pauper once again.
He had no money to stay at an inn at all. Damn it, was this some kind of malicious curse?
A curse doomed to never have enough money to get a room—how bloody vicious!
Li Xiuman had no choice but to head to Red Dwarf Blacksmith and look for Master Kuntu Bal.
“Ah, long time no see.”
Kuntu greeted Li Xiuman, appearing quite cheerful.
Li Xiuman also noticed that the blacksmith shop didn't seem as deserted as it had been last time.
All the blacksmith apprentices were enthusiastically swinging their hammers, forging iron in full swing.
What was going on? Business had improved?
Judging by the look of it, had she landed a massive order?
At this moment, Li Xiuman had no idea that these orders were all placed by his vampire.
This batch of fine equipment would be transported from here through White Bear City to the prosperous White Crystal City, and then distributed across the kingdom.
As a newcomer just starting out, Jetis had offered generous profit margins to reach agreements with numerous merchants.
This particular deal wouldn't generate much profit, but it would help the White Feather Merchant Association establish plenty of partners and connections in White Crystal City.
From there, they could gain a solid foothold.
Li Xiuman knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about any of this.
He had no clue that the ten thousand-plus gold coins he had recently ransacked from Fantes had already been completely all-in spent by Jetis down to the last coin for the expansion of the White Feather Merchant Association.
He was still marveling at how rich the financial backer behind this order must be to place such a massive commission.
“Business seems pretty good lately, Master Bal.”
Kuntu took a deep drag from her pipe and said, “Isn't this all thanks to you?”
After all, so many orders had been placed through their partnership with Li Xiuman's White Feather Merchant Association.
In the beginning, when a group of people had rushed into Iron River City claiming to be Li Xiuman's subordinates wanting to collaborate, it had left her somewhat baffled.
However, such a massive deal, complete with a long-term contract and prompt payment, had made Kuntu sign the long-term contract with great satisfaction.
Having always been at odds with nobles and suppressed from securing wide sales channels, Kuntu found her worries instantly banished.
It was a win-win partnership.
She would also periodically forge high-grade magic items to help build a strong reputation for the White Feather Merchant Association.
Kuntu's words left Li Xiuman utterly baffled.
What did she mean, "thanks to me"?
Was she grateful because forging Crystal Orchid for him had improved her crafting skills?
Li Xiuman didn't dwell on Kuntu's words.
After all, he had important matters to attend to.
He needed to purchase materials to repair Number Zero, finish restoring her here in Iron River City, and then set off for White Crystal City.
“...Do you have these materials here?”
Li Xiuman rattled off a long list of mineral ores.
Since Number Zero had suffered such severe damage this time, he figured he might as well grit his teeth, spend a bit more, and give her a comprehensive upgrade.
Having been outfitted with a Second-Generation Golem Core, Number Zero could easily handle higher-intensity components.
“I do.
“That comes to a total of 1,598 gold coins.
“I'll round it off for you: let's make it an even 1,600 gold coins.”
Kuntu's words made Li Xiuman's non-existent heart skip a beat.
It really was unexpectedly expensive.
Damn it, that many gold coins was practically equivalent to one Red Dragon Orfen's entire wealth!
“Rounding up? You can't be serious.”
“Just a joke. Let's call it 1,500 gold coins.”
Kuntu's generosity caught Li Xiuman off guard.
A discount of 98 gold coins! For that price, Li Xiuman would've willingly let her rent him for the night!
No, no, no. He was now a tycoon with over ten thousand gold coins!
How could he hold his own body in such low esteem?
An overnight stay with him should at least cost 100 gold coins or more!
If she threw in extra, he could even pole dance...
“Can I pay with raw ores instead?”
“Of course.”
The stash of Octagonal Fire Crystals and molten refined iron ore in his hands shrunk by another portion.
As for the Red-Faced Square Gold, half had been used to synthesize Red Dragon Alloy last time, and the remaining small pieces were kept at the bottom of his stash for emergencies.
Materials in hand, Li Xiuman found the entrance to the sewer.
After checking that no one was around, Li Xiuman resolutely squeezed into the sewer.
A chilly, damp sewer was far more comfortable to stay in than a three-silver-coin inn!
That was three whole silver coins!
Once you paid, no room could ever feel comfortable anyway.
Locating a neat stone wall, Li Xiuman used magic to carve out an opening and a covert private room.
Besides, it wasn't wise to expose himself right now, lest he draw Fusuida's attention.
He closed up the entrance and shoved his wand into the wall to serve as a light source.
He retrieved Number Zero, along with the ores and alloys.
“Golem Creation!”
He began carrying out the repairs step by step.
Unsurprisingly, the most severely damaged parts were both arms, which had been severed clean off by that old swordsman.
They would have to be remade entirely from scratch.
The rest of the damage had been inflicted by goblins and only required minor patching.
Rate on N.U.
