Lin Zhao stepped into the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, a sword hanging above his head, its hilt clutched by a beautiful young girl.
"That's enough!"
Lin Zhao's forehead bled as he looked at Xu Qingyi with an embarrassed expression.
"Brother, am I flat?"
Luoman, holding Lin Zhao's wrist chain with one hand and the sword hilt with the other, smiled at Lin Zhao, her face like a peach blossom.
"..."
Xu Qingyi looked at Lin Zhao and Luoman with a look of astonishment.
"Stop messing around."
Although there was a sword above Lin Zhao's head, there was no damage in city PK, so it was all an illusion. Lin Zhao beckoned to Luoman and said with a smile, "Slowly, come here, I'll tell you a story."
"Oh?"
Luoman leaned closer, and Lin Zhao, without warning, cupped the back of her head and pressed Luoman's pretty face onto the counter with a "smack," using it to help Miss Xu wipe the counter. Luoman waved her hands in a muffled protest, her slender jade legs kicking, but she was not as tall as Lin Zhao, so her efforts were in vain.
"Do you yield?"
"I yield."
Lin Zhao let go, and Luoman immediately followed behind Lin Zhao like a tamed, beautiful kitten, but her sword was still held above Lin Zhao's head. The sight of him bleeding was a little frightening.
Lin Zhao cupped his fists towards Xu Qingyi and said with a smile, "Miss Xu, long time no see, how has business been lately?"
"Good, good."
Xu Qingyi nodded with a smile.
"Mm!"
Lin Zhao also nodded with a smile, "I'd like to ask Miss Xu if there are any useful weapons in the Mohist shops suitable for fighting cavalry? I'm talking about heavily armored cavalry, even stronger than the Yunzhou cavalry."
Xu Qingyi's heart tightened. A hundred years ago, there was a saying circulating among humans: "The Yunzhou cavalry is the best under heaven." In all of humanity, only the Cangnan cavalry under Chen Wanli could contend with Yunzhou back then. However, the Cangnan cavalry never clashed with the Yunzhou cavalry, so it was unclear who was stronger. Now, Lin Zhao directly mentioned cavalry stronger than the Yunzhou cavalry, so who else could it be but the well-equipped demon cavalry?
It seemed that the news from the Mohist ancestral hall was true, the demon cavalry had indeed moved south, and this young man in white was the one who had clashed with them.
"Young Master."
Xu Qingyi calmed her emotions and said, "The Zilong Spear manufactured by our Mohist school can adjust its length and is extremely resilient, but it is expensive. Usually, only experts who use spears will buy it."
"Mm, that won't do."
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I need something that can be mass-produced, gathered together, can cause devastating damage to heavy cavalry, and decide the outcome of a battle. Do you have anything like that?"
"Yes."
Xu Qingyi smiled and said, "Please follow me."
As she spoke, she glanced at Luoman, and her heart felt a little unhappy. Who was this short-haired woman? Her features were so exquisite, she was too beautiful. What was her relationship with the young master in white?
Luoman also looked at Xu Qingyi and frowned. This NPC was looking at her strangely, what did she mean? But she didn't say anything and continued to follow Lin Zhao like an obedient kitten, accompanying him on his shopping trip. Anyway, dinner would be soon, and she had nothing else to do online, so she would accompany her brother. What if her brother missed her?
She looked up at Lin Zhao, only to see his eyes constantly scanning the Mohist treasures, not even looking at her.
Miss him my foot! This is infuriating!
...
Lin Zhao followed Xu Qingyi to a piece of machinery. The machine looked like a huge wooden box made of steel. One end of the box had dense holes, filled with crossbow bolts as thick as a thumb. The arrowheads gleamed coldly, extremely sharp. At a glance, it was obvious that it was a repeating crossbow device.
Immediately, Lin Zhao's eyes lit up. This thing could unleash a large number of crossbow bolts in a short period, and the killing power of the Mohist-made machinery was beyond question. As long as the distance was appropriate, it would definitely be able to shoot down the demon cavalry. So he asked, "What is this device?"
"A repeating crossbow."
Xu Qingyi smiled and said, "In our Mohist school, we have a nice name for it, the Divine Dragon Crossbow. It can load ten rows of a hundred crossbow bolts at once. The arrowheads are tempered with Mohist inscriptions and are extremely sharp, capable of piercing armor one finger thick. However, the cost is slightly high, and the manufacturing process is complicated, so not many people know about it."
"Effective range?"
"The optimal killing range is five hundred paces, and the effective range is about eight hundred paces."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao took a deep breath and said, "What is the price of this Divine Dragon Crossbow?"
Xu Qingyi pursed her red lips and said, "The price is 50 flying fish coins per unit..."
In fact, she had understated it, because when the Divine Dragon Crossbow was transported from the Mohist ancestral hall, its retail price in various places was set at 70 flying fish coins. After all, it was the masterpiece of a famous craftsman from the Mohist ancestral hall, and it couldn't be sold any cheaper.
"50 flying fish coins..."
Lin Zhao frowned, "So, two Divine Dragon Crossbows would be worth one gold chaser coin."
"Mm."
Xu Qingyi nodded with a smile, "Yes."
Lin Zhao pondered in his heart. The demon cavalry charged in numbers of tens of thousands, and the speed of their northern horses was extremely fast. The only chance for the Divine Dragon Crossbow to shoot them would be once. They wouldn't give you a second chance to reload. If the quantity was too small, it would be useless. To effectively kill the demon cavalry, there must be batches of Divine Dragon Crossbows fired in succession, so that very few demon cavalry would remain by the time they reached them. Only then could they truly achieve the effect of deterring the demons.
Therefore, let's assume that each salvo of Divine Dragon Crossbows consists of 50 units. It would probably take at least 5-6 rounds of dense volleys to completely annihilate tens of thousands of demon cavalry. This would require 300 Divine Dragon Crossbows, costing 150 gold chaser coins. This was not a small sum! Many medium-sized human sects would not have that much money even if they went bankrupt!
Moreover, the private money that Shu Zhi gave him was not much left after constant expenses, and the bounties he just exchanged for demon heads were only 42 gold chaser coins.
However, Lin Zhao desperately wanted these Divine Dragon Crossbows. Once he had them, the combat effectiveness of the Snow Region Legion would be greatly improved, especially when facing the demons. It would definitely give them a hard time.
He carefully calculated and found that there was still a deficit of at least 30 gold chaser coins!
Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I want to order 300 units. Please try to gather them as soon as possible. I'll go and gather the money immediately. Miss Xu, what do you think?"
"300 units..."
Xu Qingyi was stunned. This was no small business! However, upon hearing that Lin Zhao still had to gather money, Xu Qingyi felt a pang of sympathy. The Lord of the Snow Region Legion, dressed in white, actually had to scrape together money to buy weapons to fight the demon cavalry? How could such a thing be? Wasn't he doing it for all of humanity?
But reasoning was useless, and Xu Qingyi could only feel sorry for him. The amount was too large, and she, a young lady, could not make such a decision on her own.
"Understood."
Xu Qingyi said, "We have a lot of stock in our shops in Bai Di City. I'll have someone transport them over right away."
"Alright."
...
Lin Zhao left the shop and landed on a stone pier next to the blacksmith shop with Luoman, then sent messages to summon Shen Xingchen and Chen Xue.
"How much money does the studio have right now?"
Lin Zhao felt a bit embarrassed, scratched his head, and said with a smile, "I know I'll get yelled at, but I still want to withdraw 30 million universal coins. I really need them urgently."
"Ah?!"
Chen Xue was astonished, "Why do you suddenly need so much money? I've been transferring you the daily funds of two Qingxin Rocks."
"To buy a Mohist device called the Divine Dragon Crossbow."
Lin Zhao was a little embarrassed and said, "Recently, a demon cavalry has moved south, and there's a high probability of a battle with the Snow Region Heavenly Pool, so I want to buy 300 Divine Dragon Crossbows to prepare. You've all seen the background story, you know that the demon cavalry is unparalleled under heaven and their combat power is extremely strong. Without these Divine Dragon Crossbows, after a major battle, my hard-earned fortune will likely be depleted."
Chen Xue said, "Currently... the studio has 46 million in funds. Originally, these had specific purposes, but since you are the alliance leader, then... Xingchen, what do you think?"
Shen Xingchen smiled leisurely, placing her staff across her snow-white legs, and said demurely, "I don't really have any ambitions, but a game is a game and a dream is a dream. If Lin Zhao thinks it's worth spending 30 million, I think we shouldn't worry too much and just play along with Lin Zhao. When it comes to games, overthinking makes them less fun."
She looked at Lin Zhao and said, "Besides, he rarely makes any requests of us. Since he has spoken, it means this matter is indeed very necessary. We two vice-alliance leaders shouldn't set any obstacles for him. We should wholeheartedly support him."
"Alright."
Chen Xue smiled happily, "Then I'll re-do the budget. Should I transfer 30 million universal coins to you now?"
"Okay~~~"
Lin Zhao nodded with a smile.
...
The next moment, 30 million universal coins were transferred to his account. According to the current exchange rate between universal coins and gold coins, this 30 million was approximately equal to 3 million gold coins. And one gold chaser coin was currently equivalent to 100,000 gold coins in the secular dynasty. So, the huge sum Lin Zhao had just obtained was almost 30 gold chaser coins, exactly filling the gap. But with this, after obtaining the 300 Divine Dragon Crossbows, Lin Zhao would be almost penniless.
It didn't matter. Money could be earned again. But if the 6,000 cavalry soldiers of the Snow Region Heavenly Pool were wiped out by the demon cavalry, then everything would be lost. No amount of money could buy it back.
...
Dinner was approaching.
Lin Zhao entered the Hundred Treasures Pavilion again, placing the heavy money bag on the table, and took a deep breath, "Miss Xu, all my belongings are here..."
"Mmm~~"
Xu Qingyi smiled with dimples and said, "Young Master Bai Yi, I have good news for you."
"What good news?"
"I just spoke with the people from the Mohist ancestral hall. The amount of this business is too large, so on the premise that you purchase 300 Divine Dragon Crossbows for 150 gold chaser coins, we will also gift you an additional 100 Divine Dragon Crossbows. You will receive a total of 400 Divine Dragon Crossbows!"
"Really?!"
"Mm!"
Xu Qingyi nodded heavily.
Lin Zhao was overjoyed and hugged Luoman, who was by his side, tightly, vigorously ruffling her short hair.
Xu Qingyi was completely petrified. Half of those 100 Divine Dragon Crossbows were bought with her own private money... If you're happy, hug me, why are you hugging her?