An Unexpected Encounter

It was already past three o'clock when they left the Mountain Metallurgy Institute. It seemed they were really running out of time.

This made Lizer secretly feel a bit regretful; he wouldn't be able to properly tour the first city full of witchcraft civilization he had seen since arriving in the wizarding world.

He hurried with Felina to the Crimson Soul Machinery Group Gele Branch....

It was probably around four o'clock. Since the forging machinery had a single function, the order was placed very quickly.

However, because Lizer's factory needed to produce weapons like knight swords, arrows, and knight armor, and also planned to produce corresponding bicycle parts, the functions required for the machine tools were quite complex.

Therefore, the branch's receptionist prepared to take Lizer on a tour of the branch's machine tool exhibition center so he could choose the combination of machine tools himself.

The staff member led the two of them to the exhibition center....

The huge exhibition hall was empty, displaying more than twenty different types of finished machine tools.

Lizer stepped forward to inspect the first machine tool. It had cutting, milling, and grinding functions, which were necessary for forging knight swords.

Branch President!

The staff member beside him suddenly spoke up. Obviously, someone else had arrived.

Yes. Pavar, we have an important guest visiting right now. You will have to ask your clients to leave for the time being. If they still need to purchase machine tools, they can come back tomorrow.

The branch president instructed hurriedly. It was clear he had also just received the notice of the VIP's visit.

Judging by his title, he was the person in charge of a military-affiliated organization in Gele City. It was hard to imagine what level of VIP would require him to personally clear the venue.

However, Lizer looked at his pocket watch. It was almost five o'clock, and he still had to rush back to Grey Mist Mountain Town tonight. There was clearly not enough time. If he had known, he would have handled the business yesterday before going to the hotel.

Lizer sighed, just about to leave and figure out another way, when a crisp and clear female voice suddenly rang out:

There's no need! I will tour with them; consider it making some new friends.

The afternoon sunlight outside the door scattered like shattered gold, outlining the young girl's slender and upright figure. A bright and delicate face caught his eye:

Her porcelain-white skin revealed a faint cherry blossom pink, like thin porcelain kissed by the sun. Her willow-leaf-like eyebrows were finely curved, with the tips slightly raised, carrying a bit of careless agility.

Those almond eyes were like obsidian soaked in clear water, with shattered starlight seemingly hidden deep within the pupils. When she looked at someone, there was always a faint trace of exploration and slyness.

Her long, thick eyelashes were like two small fans, trembling slightly with every blink.

Below her perky nose, her pale coral lips were plump and soft, with a faint yet striking smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

She had fluffy, soft pink short hair that covered her ears, the strands shimmering with a delicate velvety glow. The slightly curled ends made her cheeks look even more petite and exquisite.

She wore a matte black tight leather suit that clung to her exquisite curves, the material resembling the leather of a magical beast. The edge of the stand-up collar was inlaid with dark silver patterns, and a wide belt around her waist was fastened with a silver wolf-head badge.

She had a white fox fur coat draped over her, the fluffy fur covering her shoulders, forming a sharp contrast with the black attire.

She wore a black beaded bracelet on her left wrist, and the fingers of her right hand were slender and long, with clear nail polish applied to the nails.

Overall, she was like a rose blooming in the darkness. She possessed both the bright agility of a young girl and the mysterious aloofness of a wizard apprentice, making people want to approach but afraid to touch lightly.

Felina leaned close to Lizer's ear and whispered, An intermediate wizard apprentice!

Oh!?

Wizard apprentices were not rare animals, but they weren't so common that they could be found everywhere on the streets. Suddenly encountering another intermediate wizard apprentice was quite unexpected.

Hello! I am Felin. I am interested in these machines. If you don't mind, let's tour together.

Felin smiled brightly with a cheerful voice, but it was obvious that she was more interested in Felina, who was also an intermediate apprentice.

Felina looked obediently at Lizer, clearly deferring to his opinion.

Seeing that they could stay and complete the purchase without having to worry about the machine tools anymore, Lizer naturally nodded in agreement.

Noticing their strange dynamic, Felin then looked at Lizer with a bit of curiosity. The lively girl secretly guessed at their relationship.

Aside from the machine tools they had just seen, Lizer also needed machines for stamping, drilling, polishing, and bending.

Because Felin was present, the branch president took over and gave a detailed introduction to each of these machine tools.

Lizer listened with great interest. These machine tools were somewhat similar yet different from the ones he commonly used in his past life; what was similar was their functions.

However, their structures and principles were vastly different. The brilliant and bizarre witchcraft civilization had borne a different kind of magnificent flower in the field of machinery.

Lizer had basically chosen his machine tool combination.

But thinking of the Feiting Federation's borrowing a hen to lay eggs plan, it was obviously impossible that they would only produce cold weapons like knight swords and armor.

He predicted that once the production capacity of the first batch of products was verified, the other party would definitely require Lizer's side to continue producing standard muskets!

Thinking of this, he asked the branch president:

President, I wonder if the machine tools we just looked at can produce muskets?

Hearing this, the president and the others all looked at him. Felin asked curiously:

Are you planning to build an arsenal?

Felina looked thoughtful, while Lizer smiled and answered vaguely:

Well, my family might receive some military orders. As you know, there are more and more military orders nowadays, and the existing factories are too busy to handle them.

Felin took another deep look at Lizer, as if to remember this young man, and then nodded quickly, answering in place of the president:

The machine tools here won't work. These machines only offer medium precision. Manufacturing musket barrels requires deep hole drilling, rifling broaching, and fine grinding, all of which require high-precision machine tools to meet the requirements. I am quite curious myself. Logically, the city-level branch of the Machinery Group should have high-precision machine tools. President, why don't you have any here?

The president hesitated for a moment and replied in a low voice:

The current Viscount Weissman restricted high-precision machine tools from entering Gele City on the grounds of preventing the proliferation of firearms and other dangerous goods.

Lizer had originally thought that if they had them, he would just buy them all at once. Hearing this, he felt slightly disappointed.

He frowned slightly, wondering to himself if he would have to go to a farther place just to buy these machine tools.

Seeing this, the president expressed his helplessness. Felin originally didn't want to get involved, but looking at Lizer's disappointed expression, she suddenly changed her mind:

Leave your contact information. Once I return to the academy and sort out the lathe procurement, I will arrange for someone to contact you.

Lizer was overjoyed. Judging by the president's restraint, her identity was definitely not ordinary, and she knew the Crimson Soul Machinery Group very well.

With her help, it shouldn't be a problem, so he left his and Felina's contact information.

After thinking for a moment, he also asked for her contact information so he could thank her if there was a chance in the future.

Felin was noncommittal. Although she felt there would be no chance for the two of them to meet again, she didn't put on airs and generously left her address:

Lanwei Province, Lanwei Alchemy Academy - Felin.

Lizer was surprised in his heart. This was a famous higher wizard academy in the principality, and the other party was actually still a student!

Afterwards, Lizer and Felina took the initiative to thank the president and Felin, said their goodbyes, and followed the staff to sign the purchase contract and pay the deposit.

With things proceeding this way, his father had already gathered the blacksmith apprentices, the land would be approved soon, and the equipment needed for the factory had already been ordered. He believed that the production for the academy's equipment and the Feiting Principality's weapon orders could begin very soon.

However, he needed to urge Rice to pay for the Feiting goods.

As for the production of the Little Magic Donkey and the three-wheelers, just to be safe, it would be best to wait until their patent rights were officially approved.

The evaluation of the loot from the previous mission to capture Rice should also be finalized by now. Sven would pass it on to Gloria through his friends in the police system.

It seemed that after he and Felina returned to Gray Mist Mountain Town, they would need to pay Gloria a visit.

This time, purchasing equipment in Gele City had greatly exceeded the budget, and he had almost needed to borrow gold coins from Felina.

Those were the coins she was preparing to mail to that senior necromancy apprentice, and Lizer really did not want to touch them.

By the time they finished all their business and left the branch office, the silver moon had just chased away the blazing sun...

Colorful neon lights slowly lit up the streets of Gele City one by one, kicking off the bustling urban nightlife.

With romantic ladies and couples visible everywhere on the streets, one could easily tell that the citizens of Gele City lived quite happy lives.

Lizer and Felina agreed to drive the Magic Box straight back to Gray Mist Mountain...

It was a good time to find Gloria and collect their share of the loot. They could always come back to experience Gele City's nightlife when they had the chance in the future; after all, a round trip only took a little over a magic hour...