Chu Tian saw the substantial sum of gold in his mailbox, 536,941 gold coins.
He gleefully collected his earnings into his inventory.
Turning to the胖子 (Pàngzi - fatty) on the video call, he said,
"Mobilize your people and continue helping me collect gold. As for the price, I assure you won't lose money. The more you get, the better, but... you must keep it confidential. Don't let anyone know it's me buying!"
Upon hearing Chu Tian's words, the eyes of the shrewd merchant, [Integrity First Zero Zero Seven], gleamed with interest.
After all, merchants like him feared receiving gold only to be stuck with it due to market fluctuations.
Chu Tian's statement was akin to pre-ordering gold from him. This meant that no matter how much he acquired it for, Chu Tian would ensure he profited and would take it off his hands.
[Integrity First Zero Zero Seven]: "Alright, don't worry... I'll update you every three hours!"
[I Am Not a Druid]: "Good, go ahead. Don't worry about the money."
After they ended the video call, Chu Tian oriented himself. His first stop would be his own shops.
For this Fortress Conquest event, his ace... the Master Mage [Can't Bring Toilet Paper With Me] would be put to good use.
He arrived at the bustling center of Shengjing City.
As usual, the area was packed with people.
His three shops, forming a triangle, encircled the city's central plaza.
Chu Tian's lips curved into a smile.
During the earlier land acquisition phase, he had leveraged his level advantage.
He had directly secured all the prime locations in Shengjing City.
The land prices now were not the mere tens or hundreds of gold coins they were when purchased from the system.
Conservatively speaking, his plots of land could easily fetch over ten thousand gold coins each.
In a few more years, a single plot of land could appreciate to hundreds of millions, or even billions, in real-world currency.
The direction of the auction house was a hive of activity, with people constantly entering and exiting.
At the pharmacy, long queues stretched along the streets from all three sides.
At the front of the lines were the windows selling medicine.
As for the engineering shop...
When Chu Tian looked over, he noticed a peculiar sight.
All three windows were closed, with a "Temporarily Closed" sign hung up.
What was going on?
He quickened his pace to the shop's entrance. As the owner,
He could enter his shop even if it was closed.
Pushing the door open, Chu Tian found the first floor of the shop completely empty.
Had they taken a holiday?
Anger immediately flared within Chu Tian.
He recalled the last time he saw that Master Mage kid, neglecting his duties and dressing up flamboyantly to chase girls.
Thinking of this, Chu Tian was about to open his friend list to settle accounts with him.
He had seen the kid online earlier.
However, at that very moment...
*Boom!*
A tremendous bang echoed from above.
"Damn it, it blew up again! Are you all useless? How many times have you blown things up today? Does the boss have infinite money to let you waste it!"
Hearing this voice, Chu Tian's anger subsided considerably.
This voice belonged to no one else but the kid, [Can't Bring Toilet Paper With Me].
Curiosity piqued, Chu Tian began to head upstairs.
He knew that the upper floor was the workshop area.
Moreover, each workshop was an individual unit.
Even if something exploded while being manufactured in a workshop, the sound shouldn't travel downstairs!
The commotion just now was significant... what exactly had happened?
With curiosity in his mind, Chu Tian reached the staircase leading to the second floor of the engineering shop.
As soon as he arrived, his eyes widened...
What the hell was going on here?
The entire second floor, which should have been divided into many partitioned workshops,
Was now completely dismantled. Where were the partitions?
The entire second floor had been torn down, revealing a large hall.
In reality, demolishing all the internal walls like this...
Relying solely on the exterior walls for support, this building would surely collapse.
Fortunately, this was within the Tian Dao world, where removing all internal walls had no adverse effects.
However...
Chu Tian saw about a hundred people busy working around a massive machine.
The moment he saw this machine,
His heart began to pound violently...
"Holy cow... Demonized Giant Mobile Battle Tank!" Chu Tian exclaimed in shock.
His outburst caused everyone to turn their gaze towards him.
The Master Mage, who was directing the assembly of the over ten-meter-tall battle tank from its top level,
Also noticed Chu Tian. The guy, who had been stern-faced, issuing angry reprimands and directing the engineers,
His expression changed drastically.
"Boss..." The kid's face broke into a wide smile.
Then, he scrambled down the ladder.
Midway down, his foot slipped, and he tumbled down...
Landing on the ground with a groan...
However, the engineers saw this and their facial muscles twitched...
Yet, not a single one dared to laugh.
Chu Tian couldn't help but smile. This kid... seemed to have quite the presence.
"Boss... you finally showed up... I missed you so much!" He said, lunging towards Chu Tian.
"Stop..." Chu Tian raised his hand, blocking the kid's chest.
"Speak your mind, or get lost."
Although he hadn't logged into the game for a while,
Chu Tian didn't think this kid would act like this.
His excessive enthusiasm surely hid something.
"Uh..." [Can't Bring Toilet Paper With Me] saw Chu Tian's expression,
And awkwardly scratched his head...
"Hehe, Boss, can you give me some money? We're running low on funds..."
The kid looked at Chu Tian pleadingly, as if afraid Chu Tian would be angry.
However, Chu Tian was actually stunned by his words.
He then proceeded to open the shop system.
And checked the balance...
120 gold coins...
"What the..." Chu Tian's eyes widened like saucers.
It was important to remember that Chu Tian's shop system tracked not just this single engineering shop.
It accounted for... all his shops.
Don't forget, in the Northern War Zone, there were three main cities.
He had shops in each main city.
Although the shops in Siji City and Heitu City had lower incomes, and he had to share profits with the Shengjing City Lord,
That agreement was signed by the Little Dragon Girl. Even though Little Dragon Girl now belonged to him, she couldn't change it.
That portion of money was equivalent to paying taxes to the system.
But... after so much time, having only 120 gold coins remaining was too much.
Besides him, only the kid in front of him could access the shop funds.
Of course, he couldn't directly withdraw cash.
He could only use shop funds to purchase materials and so on.
But Chu Tian quickly realized something.
Looking at the half-finished machine behind [Can't Bring Toilet Paper With Me],
Chu Tian knew... This thing was a money-devouring machine.
But what made him even more curious was,
The timing of this Demonized Giant Mobile Battle Tank's appearance.
Under normal circumstances, it should have appeared after the start of the national war.
And only after the Master Mage's level had reached a certain point could he have comprehended such a skill.
How could he have created it now?