Anyway, Minnie couldn't do it!
"If you're only chasing after the shape," Minnie suggested, "why not use cardboard, plastic, or wood?"
"Hmm..." Li Pu suddenly felt that what Minnie said made a tiny bit of sense.
After about one second of thought.
"No, I still have to make it according to this," Li Pu insisted. "I won't consider any other materials. Whatever material is used on this is what will be used."
"From the armor, to the lining, to the clothes, I want to achieve the highest possible restoration."
"What I want is just this feel."
"If it can't be made, then forget it."
Minnie looked at the thing again, then raised her head to glance at Li Pu. Right now, the young man in front of her didn't seem like he was here to commission a cosplay costume.
Instead, he seemed like he was here to make props for a historical drama.
And the extremely meticulous kind at that.
"We can't make this thing," Minnie pushed aside the reference materials in her hands and said. "We only make cosplay costumes and props, and we're truly powerless against this level of complexity."
If it were just ordinary props and cosplay costumes without a high demand for accuracy, they could still make them.
However, something with this level of high fidelity and seemingly very complex craftsmanship...
Things like metal armor really couldn't be made.
Even that great treasure sword was beyond their capabilities.
"But I can find someone for you," Minnie suddenly added. "I know Changkong City's number one armor maker, Huben! He and his club should be able to make this."
"Huben?" This time it was the chubby guy's turn to be surprised. "That's a big shot in the armor-making world."
"How do you know him?"
A welfare ji and an armor-making club rarely had any connection.
"Some small parts," Minnie said. "Small metal parts that I can't make myself, so I ask Brother Huben to help me make them. Of course, it's not just small parts."
"If someone wants all-metal crafted swords or weapons and I can't do it here, I'll also have Brother Huben help make them."
"Some people have demands that aren't low at all, completely ignoring whether they can actually wield them or not."
Even a welfare ji didn't rely purely on welfare to make a living. Minnie had some skills of her own and also knew many people who did handcrafting.
She was considered somewhat well-known in certain circles.
"Hehe~" The chubby guy squinted and smiled cheerfully. "Then let me get to know him next time, too."
"I also really like the armor that Brother Huben makes."
"But those things are very expensive," Minnie said. "If you go with your kind of requirements, a whole complete set won't stop at just tens of thousands, oh."
"..."
Li Pu stopped making a sound; he genuinely hadn't expected it to be so expensive.
He had thought a whole set would cost around ten thousand yuan or so, but with Minnie saying tens of thousands wouldn't stop it, was it going to float upwards toward a hundred thousand or even two or three hundred thousand?
Was his bonus going to be entirely dumped into this?
It hurts! It really hurts!
"Let me think about it," Li Pu felt a bit cornered. He had already boasted earlier, and acting like a big shot only to say he had now run out of money seemed really embarrassing.
Besides, fidelity was also one of the ways to boost the 'Understanding' value...
"Then let's find Huben," Li Pu gritted his teeth, slapped the table, and stamped his foot. "Big sister, help me contact him."
"See if this thing can be made!"
Money... what is money? Money is...
Just a bastard! It's completely useless...
Sob, sob, sob...
Chapter Sixteen: I'm Saying This From the Bottom of My Heart
In this world there are always some truths that are harsh.
For example, money is always more important than...
Messed up, life is always more important than money!
When you lose money you can think of ways to earn it back, but once you lose your life you really have nothing left! So money is a bastard, money is a bastard! Money is...
"Sigh..."
Li Pu rubbed his face.
The bonus hadn't even arrived yet, but how to spend it had already been arranged clearly.
Huben hadn't quoted a price yet, only setting a time for next Monday at 4:30 PM over at Racecourse Road. He would discuss the price in detail after looking at the blueprints.
Li Pu had never looked into how much a set of armor cost in Changkong City's armor-making circle.
Yet he knew the approximate price of a set of armor from that former world: a set of general's armor, roughly the price of General Gan's armor in a certain Twelve Hours, was creeping upwards of 10k.
The custom piece he wanted wouldn't be cheap either, and would definitely exceed ten thousand.
His bonus could certainly cover the custom commission, but before the money had even arrived and warmed his hands, a portion of it would already fly away.
This truly made one's heart ache.
"Brother looks like..." Seeing Li Pu's forced smile, the chubby guy wasn't really sure if he should go comfort this cosplayer.
The whole cosplaying thing, if you took it seriously, was indeed quite expensive.
This young brother should have thought of that long ago, right?
Especially since he looked like the very serious type who needed the real deal to be satisfied. In that case, this couldn't be brushed off with just a little bit of money.
He looked like someone with worldly knowledge and no shortage of cash.
How could he end up looking like this?
"Do you know any actors?" Li Pu snapped back to his senses, cutting off what the chubby guy was saying. "People who run in the entertainment circle?"
"The entertainment circle?"
The chubby guy seemed to suddenly understand something. Could this mean...
"Brother's standards aren't low at all," the chubby guy gave a weird smile and said. "Speaking of this topic, then I..."
Wasn't tired at all anymore.
"If we're talking about people I know, I do know a few," the chubby guy said somewhat incoherently. "It's just that this involves an even greater investment."
The chubby guy held up a hand and said, "Of course, first-tier ones are definitely out of the question, and don't even think about second-tier ones."
"This... and that..." the chubby guy said. "Celebrities, whether you can actually afford to hire them..."
"No, you've got it all wrong," Li Pu crossed his arms over his chest and leaned heavily against the chair. "I don't want that kind; I'm genuinely asking for pointers."
It was pretty much consistent with his expectations, with a few garbled characters thrown in.
He could drag any two sentences into that sort of direction.
Even if Li Pu wanted to...
Did he have money?
If you have no money, stop craving it. Be honest and go learn things! Craving someone else's figure...
Could you actually get a taste of it?
"Genuinely?" A trace of displeasure appeared on the chubby guy's face as he spoke. "If that's the case, why don't you go be a background extra? Go straight to the film set to learn?"
Turns out this trip meant not a single one of the multiplayer activities he had gathered could get underway?
In that case, hadn't he lost out big time?!
"We're all decent men," the chubby guy placed one hand on the table and also leaned deeply back into his chair. "Let's talk about something decent."
"If you're looking for someone to take you on as a master, among today's first-tier actors, how many do you think have any acting skills left besides the older ones?"
"And those older ones might not necessarily be willing to teach you."
"Besides, those people don't have any intersection with me either," the chubby guy said with slight displeasure. "Second-tier ones are just so-so, and as for other things—I'm just saying if you genuinely want to learn skills."
"You might as well go be an extra, observe up close, and look at the actual set."
"What's the use of talking to me about this here?"
"But if we're talking about local ones," the chubby guy regained a shred of anticipation and said, "don't think too much about those people's acting skills. Unless you plan on playing something high-end."
"Take role-playing and all that, these few young ladies can do it too."
"And as for women, being too thin isn't good; they need to have a bit of meat."
"That gives them a good feel."
The chubby guy really was an old hand, and he still pushed hard, recommending: "Those minor celebrities really aren't as good as these cosplayer girls."
"That's right~ Little brother~" the medium tank who hadn't spoken the entire time chimed in with a sweet, coy voice, "We're no worse than celebrities."
Li Pu didn't feel a shred of warmth; in fact, he even wanted to laugh.
Everyone understood this deal, except this time he really wasn't here to fool around with these things.
"The situation is a bit hard to explain," Li Pu stood up, no longer waiting for the food to be served to freeload a meal. "So~ it's easy enough if it's just me."
"It's just that it gets a bit tricky since it's not only me."
Anyway, Li Pu felt it wasn't appropriate to just walk out directly, so he'd casually make up a lie and muddle through. He had already obtained what he wanted.
As for finding an actor, he genuinely wanted to learn acting rather than lusting after someone's body.
"Next time, once things are finalized over there," Li Pu said with the air of a righteous gentleman, "I'll definitely look for you."
He made a slick exit. Originally feeling disappointed enough, Li Pu really didn't want to stay a moment longer.
He felt that if he stayed any longer, today's meal would truly result in a massive hemorrhage of cash.
The chubby guy was left somewhat bewildered in the wind.
He truly had never seen such a strange person, but he quickly gathered his composure. Since he had made a trip out, he couldn't leave empty-handed; if someone wasn't willing to play this multiplayer game,
he was willing.
Coming out on a date with these welfare jis wasn't just to eat a good meal and be done with it!
At the same time, another person was equally baffled.
"King Arthur?"
Otto propped his head with one hand and said with some puzzlement, "Why is he thinking about cosplaying King Arthur? She's the Valkyrie who once fought against the Honkai, and this is the first time anyone has ever wanted to cosplay her."
"The Sword in the Stone, the Lady of the Lake Sword—where did he get the reference materials for these two swords?"
Otto gazed at the high-definition pictures sent by the spy camera, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
This time he had bet right!
King Arthur's true identity was a Valkyrie who fought against the Honkai. Later, to cover up the Honkai, the authorities blended her into Celtic mythology.
The armor's reference materials and styling were both wrong.
The only correct things were the designs of the two swords: the Lady of the Lake Sword and the Sword in the Stone!
That made things very intriguing.
These two swords truly existed, but information regarding their data and locations was top secret. Even he, Otto, only knew some of it, not all.
Now, the reference data for these two swords had just appeared in the hands of this young man.
This young man...
Was truly as he had estimated.
Before you continue