Close-in weapons

Three days ago, a shipment of goods from the Shrewd Gear Chamber of Commerce arrived at the port.

Accountant Xiyabeite received an accounts payable voucher for a staggering 12,000 gold coins. He meticulously checked the contents of the voucher, confirming that it perfectly matched the contract amount kept by the Chamber of Commerce, and that the approval and review process was flawless.

But the payment still struck him as unusual. The large amount was secondary; what struck him most was the goblin guild leader's swiftness, which seemed very off.

In his experience, even if a strict agreement was made beforehand that payment would be made upon delivery, the goblin guild leader would always find a way to find fault, using excuses such as "damaged packaging" or "defective goods" to deduct a small portion of the final payment, or at least delay payment for a few days.

This time, however, the full amount was paid off decisively. In all the years that Xiyabeite had been in the Shrewd Gear, she could count the number of times she had encountered this situation on one hand.

Out of caution, he reviewed all the documents again, but his doubts remained. Finally, Xiyabeite personally reported to the vice president to confirm the authenticity of the transaction before signing off in the financial review section.

"To", hand it over to the cashier for execution.

Although the process was somewhat unusual, it was just a small part of Xiyabeite's busy daily work.

In the afternoon, another batch of vouchers arrived at his desk. These were all small daily expenses, which did not require his review; he only needed to record them in the books and make the corresponding cost allocation.

This is what Xiyabeite is best at, and it is also his main responsibility.

However, one of the receipts caught his attention—it was for a unloading fee of 3 silver coins and 93 copper coins, with the note stating eight boxes.

In terms of timing, its occurrence coincides perfectly with that shipment of 12,000 gold coins.

"Unloading fee?" Rupert's voice came through the mask, tinged with incomprehension. "What's so special about that?"

The unloading work at the dock is naturally handled by a handling team. The Chamber of Commerce only needs to pay according to the amount of work done each time, which is much more cost-effective than hiring a group of people long-term.

The unloading process includes unloading the cargo from the ship, short-distance transport to the warehouse designated by the Chamber of Commerce, or other locations.

"The port association has long established a standardized method for calculating unloading fees," Xiyabeite explained.

He picked up a quill and wrote down a calculation on the paper, "The cost of unloading and transporting a standard medium-sized long heavy box is 41 copper coins each, so eight boxes would cost 3 silver coins and 28 copper coins."

The chamber of commerce accountant's pen flew across the rough paper. "100% overweight, pricing rate multiplied by 1.5."

Then, if the goods are loaded onto the truck locally, 20% of the original cost of transporting them to the warehouse needs to be deducted.

He wrote down the final calculation result—393.6, which, after removing the tail, is 3 silver coins and 93 copper coins.

"This is the only combination of all the types of goods and methods of handling that could possibly reach this payment figure!"

Xiyabeite affirmed.

Rupert's work at the docks during this time hadn't been in vain; he immediately discovered the problem.

Using heavy crates and handling them with care to avoid collisions is the standard treatment for transporting alchemical items.

A standard medium-sized long rectangular box is over two meters in length and has a weight limit of 1500 kilograms. Exceeding this weight limit by 100% means the density of the contents is extremely high, severely restricting the variety of items that can be stored.

The phrase "loaded on-site" indicates that the goods were not temporarily stored in the port warehouse after being unloaded from the ship, but were directly transported away by vehicles—which perfectly matches the common operating mode of smuggling contraband.

Rupert gasped. He had only intended to catch a big fish, but instead, he hooked a whale shark!

"I need substantial evidence." Rupert tossed the two gold coins he had been playing with to Xiyabeite.

Xiyabeite raised his hand and steadily caught the gold coin. At this moment, his face was ashen, and his tone was unusually calm. His previous bewildered and lost appearance had vanished without a trace, and he had clearly made up his mind.

"I can give you evidence and continue to help you investigate this matter thoroughly." He weighed the two gold coins in his hand. "The owner of the Shrewd Gear Chamber of Commerce, although he is a calculating person, has indeed treated me well over the years."

"That"

As Xiyabeite spoke, she looked up, her gaze fixed on Rupert's mask. "So, more money is needed!"

"----How much more?"

"Ten times!" Xiyabeite said, her tone very firm.

Rupert closed his eyes and quickly weighed his options. He had originally planned to develop Xiyabeite into a long-term informant, but given the current situation, he definitely couldn't keep this Shrewd Gear Chamber of Commerce around.

Naturally, there's no need to consider a gradual, long-term approach.

"Deal!" Rupert opened his eyes and agreed readily. He then pulled out five more gold coins from his pocket, and together with the three remaining on the table, pushed them in front of Xiyabeite. "This is a 20% deposit; the rest—"

He stared into the accountant's eyes, his tone laced with a stern threat, "But you'll have to see your excellent performance afterwards!"

****

Later that day, Su Ming received a communication from Rupert, who quickly reported what had just happened.

The fact that he was able to successfully find a pawn within the "Shrewd Gear" Chamber of Commerce was not unexpected for Su Ming. However, intercepting such crucial and dangerous information did exceed his expectations.

Based on the specifications and weight data of the crates provided by Xiyabeite, it can be almost certainly concluded that military alchemical weapons were smuggled into Dragon Valley.

Judging from the shape of the box, the possible weapon types are not many, but the one that best fits the characteristics is the alchemical rocket, which is most popular among goblins!

A box costs 1500 gold coins, and even with the premium for special items, the price is within the corresponding range.

"I have personally verified the original transaction stubs that Xiyabeite brought out," Rupert added. "They are indeed authentic. Copies of the stubs and the photographic images of the documents are now in my possession."

Su Ming nodded slightly, "It seems this Xiyabeite has a plan: to use us to get rid of his goblin boss completely!"

The dragons have only one way of dealing with goblins who dare to smuggle weapons—annihilation. Occasionally, if their technique isn't up to par, they might leave behind some remains.

"This way, Xiyabeite won't have to cover the huge deficit on the books, and he can still enjoy the generous reward we're offering." Rupert had already guessed the accountant's plan. "I suspect that the actual amount he embezzled is probably more than one hundred gold coins."

"To be able to extract so much profit from a goblin Goblin Chamber of Commerce that's as cunning as a devil—" Su Ming rarely exclaimed in admiration, "He's a real talent!"

****

After ending his communication with Rupert, Su Ming immediately summoned Zijin and Newman, who were already resting.

"Eight crates of goblin rockets have flown in?!" Newman's soul fire trembled upon hearing this. "Are they coming for us?"

"Could it be that those goblins suddenly spent 12,000 gold coins to go and blast dragons?" Su Ming retorted irritably.

Zijin frowned and pondered for a moment, analyzing the current situation. "If the enemy's target is to attack the core chemical production area of Ruby Base, triggering a chain reaction of explosions, it could indeed cause catastrophic consequences and bring us enormous trouble."

To be fair, given the mountain of chemical raw materials and flammable and explosive intermediate products currently piled up in the factory, even if no one touches them, Su Ming himself is often worried that something might suddenly go out of control and explode.

During this period, he invested a great deal of manpower and resources in safety issues, and often even preferred to have lower production efficiency and choose more outdated processes.

This is why chemical warehouses are specifically located on the relatively edge of the site.

However, this also means that if the goblins were to launch a rocket attack on this area, they would be very likely to succeed.

A single successful attack would be enough to wipe out the large amount of chemical consumables that Su Ming had painstakingly accumulated over this period of time.

"I've raised the alert level and urgently increased patrols around the perimeter," Su Ming said. "But that's only part of the job; we also need to set up a defense system against the goblin rockets."

In the short term, high-intensity patrols may be able to contain enemy activity. But in the long run, the enemy will still be able to find weaknesses in the defense chain.

Moreover, the guards performing monotonous defensive tasks will inevitably become less vigilant over time; this is an irreversible law.

"We were already short of Magic Power crystals!" Newman lamented. "Intercepting high-speed goblin rockets requires a detection-capable, active-attack magic array. Our reserves are far from sufficient to cover such a large area as the base!"

"I don't intend to use a magic circle to solve this problem." Su Ming stood up. "Let's go to the workshop; I've already devised a solution."

****

Previously, after the preparation of nitric acid and ethanol, the production of mercuric fulminate officially began.

The core reaction involves the reaction of mercury with nitric acid to produce mercuric nitrate, which then reacts with nitrogen oxides in an ethanol medium to produce the target product.

The preparation process of this initiating explosive is both complicated and dangerous. Fortunately, it is only used as a primer to ignite the propellant inside the bullet, and the amount required is not large.

Mercuric fulminate is corrosive and has many drawbacks, such as being susceptible to moisture and having poor long-term stability. It has long been replaced by more advanced detonating agents on Earth.

However, mercury fulminate had dominated the field of ammunition detonation for over a century, and in the absence of better alternatives, its performance remained usable.

Jisu specially produced a batch of unloaded bullets equipped with "downgraded" primers for Su Ming.

Inside the bullet production workshop at the Ruby Base, in addition to mercury fulminate, materials such as copper, iron, and aluminum are also ready.

Su Ming unleashed "Summoning of All Things." Material information from Earth descended across dimensions, and the materials in the otherworldly workshop were shaped and combined, reconstructing a nearly 3-ton 14.5mm bullet with a brass casing and alloy bullet head.

Transporting matter on this scale no longer posed a significant burden for Su Ming. After calming down for a few minutes, he regained his composure.

Newman stepped forward, extended his bone claws, and picked up a spent cartridge case and a matching bullet, examining them carefully against the light. The smooth surfaces, precise dimensions, and impeccable tolerance control drew his sincere admiration.

"Are our existing localized production facilities capable of achieving this level of manufacturing?" Newman inquired.

Su Ming has already transferred a batch of basic lathes and processing equipment. Currently, the metal processing workshop at the Ruby Base has basic metal cutting, drilling, and simple forming capabilities.

Many simple small items and daily necessities displayed on the supermarket shelves were produced in this way by the workers of the Final Bone Mad Machines. Su Ming intended to use this as a way to train workers to learn techniques and hone their skills.

Su Ming shook his head. "These cartridge cases and bullets may look simple in structure, but the material processing, precision stamping process, dimensional tolerance control, and surface treatment behind them are incredibly complicated."

Bullets are not simply made by simply forming them. Not misfiring, not jamming, and not leaking are merely the most basic and minimum requirements.

Of course, the situation of a certain YouTuber, one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, is another matter. They should be very grateful that they didn't kill too many of their own people.

In the world of normal people, in order to improve combat effectiveness, bullets must have excellent ballistic stability so that the dispersion range after firing will be small.

Therefore, the requirements for material consistency and manufacturing precision in bullets are virtually limitless. Every step of the production process must control variables as much as possible to ensure that the performance of each bullet is infinitely close to that of the previous one!

Only in this way can it perfectly cooperate with various advanced ballistic prediction and tracking systems on the technology side to unleash powerful combat capabilities.

"Newman, your task is to process the smokeless gunpowder we produce to a sufficiently uniform consistency," Su Ming instructed. "The combustion speed must also be precisely controlled to the ideal level."

As the propellant in bullets, the burning rate of smokeless powder must be properly controlled. Too fast a rate will damage the firearm or even cause a barrel explosion, while too slow a rate will result in insufficient chamber pressure during the explosion, weakening the bullet's power.

"No problem!" Newman replied. "What about the loading and sealing of subsequent bullets?"

Su Ming pointed to the bullet packaging production line in the corner of the workshop, "Those machines will handle it; Beianqi will be in charge."

"Understood."

Su Ming raised his arm, and Magic Power, carrying the surrounding materials, gathered together once more. A 14.5mm sniper rifle, gleaming with a cold, hard metallic luster, materialized and landed in his hand.

He casually tossed the weapon to Newman. The halfling skeleton quickly stretched out his bony arm to catch it, but was knocked back several steps before staggering back to regain his balance.

"This is for you to test the bullets," Su Ming said.

"Hey, can't you have a little pity for my old back?!" Newman protested.

****

Afterwards, Su Ming and Zijin walked out of the workshop side by side, leaving Newman to work the night shift alone. Anyway, as an undead, he didn't need sleep.

"If the bullet problem is solved, stopping those low-speed rockets from the goblins will be a piece of cake," Su Ming said.

"Then I plan to start by investigating and tracking the transportation routes to try and find these lurking enemies," Zijin interjected. "In addition, I want to start rebuilding the customs at Dragon Gorge Port. This defense line has to play a practical role; it can't just be a useless decoration."

Zijin's affairs in the Dragon Race's administration were equally complex. Although individual dragons were few in number, they ruled over this vast territory and millions of people of other races. Many of the administrative bodies that dealt with other races were led by dragons, who would then lead groups of other races.

As a result, key locations like Dragon Gorge Port Customs have long been thoroughly infiltrated by various forces, becoming as sieve-like as a sieve.

Fortunately, Su Ming's "consumption stimulus" strategy has indeed begun to affect the mindset of the dragons. Those department heads who were previously indifferent to their responsibilities are now starting to pay attention to their performance evaluations, especially the wages and bonuses linked to them.

All sorts of desires are always the primary driving force.

Su Ming nodded. "So, how do you plan to deal with this ' Shrewd Gear ' Chamber of Commerce?"

During this period, only the "Labor Chamber of Commerce" has openly stood up to oppose the new policies of the Dragon Race. Most of the other foreign merchant guilds in the Dragon Kingdom have cunningly disguised themselves as "normal commercial competition" and carried out covert soft resistance.

Such tactics as sabotaging others and feigning compliance while secretly opposing them were completely unsurprising to Su Ming.

However, the Ruby Base's current reliance on local resources is mainly concentrated in the procurement of primary raw materials. These chambers of commerce have no way to obstruct it further, nor dare to do so too openly.

With their keen intuition, the goblin merchants concluded that the Dragon Race's leadership had definitely been replaced!

No longer is Ge Lie, Gelie had a fiery temper but didn't care about local affairs. Instead, a new dragon has risen to power, ruthless and adept at using both administrative and physical force to strike!

Su Ming remained wary of these chambers of commerce and their potential clandestine actions, which is why he arranged to send Rupert to infiltrate them.

"The Shrewd Gear is a large chamber of commerce, and the chain of evidence we currently have is not enough." Zijin shook her head. "Ideally, we should catch them red-handed, seize the alchemical weapons that have been smuggled in, apprehend the specific individuals responsible, and solidify the evidence completely!"

"Why are you suddenly playing hard to get?" Su Ming asked, puzzled. This was really not like Zijin's behavior lately.

After all, everyone knows that nowadays, if a dispute arises between the Dragon Race and the dragons themselves, as long as they are in the right, there is still room for negotiation.

But when it comes to that mysterious and unpredictable necromancer force that has suddenly appeared, it's a completely different story— the Dragon Race will never reason with you.

Especially if they are caught using their weakness against the Final Bone Mad Machines —then their fate is either three-tenths cooked or seven-tenths cooked.

"The core assets and foundation of the 'Shrewd Gear ' Chamber of Commerce are all in Gray Ridge," Zijin explained. "If we only destroy their branch in Dragon Gorge Port, it's merely a minor injury. They can easily abandon this arm and then make a comeback."

Su Ming narrowed his eyes; Zijin wanted to resolve the problem more thoroughly.

"So what are your specific plans?" he asked.

"Once the evidence is irrefutable," Zijin said in a cold tone, "I will lead the dragons in a cross-border raid, uprooting the Shrewd Gear Chamber of Commerce's headquarters in Gray Ridge and confiscating their assets!"

"Gray Ridge certainly won't stand idly by," Su Ming said. "A stalemate will definitely ensue."

"Of course." Zijin had naturally anticipated this. "We'll use the excuse that Gray Ridge's supervision was inadequate and that it allowed illegal merchants to infiltrate the Dragon Race's territory to argue with them."

Su Ming nodded in agreement. When it comes to power struggles between nations, one shouldn't rush things. It's always good to establish a plausible reason first.

"I have a feeling," Su Ming said, "That sooner or later, the Dragon Race and goblins will fight each other."

Zijin did not deny this, saying, "This is one way to solve the problem."

****

A night breeze swept by, carrying the warmth of spring and the fragrance of earth and flowers.

Su Ming has been busy lately, and sometimes his thoughts still linger on the feeling that he just left the world of ice and snow.

Zijin had changed out of her daytime clothes and was now wearing a comfortable lake-blue floral lounge dress, with a soft knitted cardigan draped over it. The cardigan's sleeves were slightly long, gently covering half of her fair hand, exuding a lazy and casual vibe.

The thin hem of her skirt rippled in the night breeze as she swayed her legs.

The girl's long, smooth, light blue hair was tied into a loose, low ponytail with a flaxen hair tie, and a few unruly strands playfully fell beside her ears.

Noticing Su Ming's gaze on her, Zijin raised a finger and gently tapped the back of her head. "Have you forgotten the hair tie you gave me?"

Su Ming withdrew his gaze. "I was wondering why he looked so familiar."

Although they were still discussing matters involving war, he suddenly became somewhat absent-minded, and he sighed softly to himself.

However, since it was currently a rest period, Su Ming stopped talking about work.

The commercial district in the distance was dimly lit, and most shops had begun to close, with only a few still keeping their signs lit and continuing to operate under the cover of night.

Su Ming invited Zijin to go for a walk over there. However, considering the safety risks, she decided to give up before even saying it.

"Su Ming," Zijin suddenly called out.

"Hmm?" Su Ming responded.

The two left the relatively quiet workshop area, where more workers began to pass by. They all stopped and greeted each other respectfully, "Hello, Chairman!"

Good evening, Scholar Bay Owl!

The two nodded in response to the greetings.

A moment later, Su Ming turned to look at Zijin, "What were you trying to say just now?"

"How about asking if you want to take a walk together?" Zijin sighed softly, her gaze sweeping over the occasional glances from those around her, her interest waning. "But given the current situation—maybe I'll pass."

"Too."

"Hey! You two, that's rare!" Stacy's voice came from not far away.

Su Ming looked in the direction of the sound and saw the doctor struggling to pull on a leash, the other end of which was attached to a brown Newfoundland dog.

She tried to pull the stubborn dog this way, but the Newfoundland was clearly unwilling, gripping the ground firmly with its paws, creating a standoff with Stacy.

The dog weighed at least 50 kilograms. Stacy clearly couldn't move it by sheer physical strength.

Although it was unclear where she had adopted this large dog, Su Ming had indeed not seen a dog in a long time.

He stepped closer and reached out to pet the dog's head.

The Newfoundland dog, which had just been arguing with Stacy, seemed startled. With a nimble movement, it quickly hid behind Stacy, peeking out only half its head to warily observe Su Ming.

Su Ming then gave up. "You really like keeping animals," he said to Stacy.

"Pet therapy, it's said to be able to solve many psychological problems," Stacy patted the big dog's head gently and explained earnestly, "I found it in a book."

Su Ming felt that their conversation seemed to be on different wavelengths.

"Good luck then, we're going back to rest now!" Su Ming said.

"Okay, bye-bye!" Stacy waved to the two of them while holding the dog leash with one hand.