Liang Lidong drove the internal affairs system around the busiest part of the city, and then sat in a rather luxurious tavern.
Because it was a commercial town, not only were there many merchants coming and going in Sisilia, but nobles from other cities would also come here for sightseeing, play, and even buy some of the precious goods they needed. Because there were so many high officials and nobles coming here, luxurious taverns were born.
Unlike the noisy and bustling of ordinary taverns, this place was very quiet. Each private room was very spacious, and the tables and chairs were made of the best cold wood. After this wood was dried, it would naturally emit a strange fragrance. Moreover, this wood was pale gold in color, with a trace of white grain. It did not need any processing at all to be an excellent luxury.
Furniture made of cold wood, any low chair could be exchanged for several cheap lives, and all the wood in this tavern, including the beams, was made of cold wood. At a glance from the outside, one could see that the entire tavern was pale gold, and then there were white curved lines embellished on it, making it look grand.
Not to mention commoners, even wealthy merchants would not dare to easily set foot in such a tavern. Without an invitation from the nobles, they could only loiter outside this large tavern.
This was not so much a tavern, but in essence, it was more like a manor. Liang Lidong sat in front of the window on the third floor, looking down at the nobles who were socializing in the garden below.
Although the two sides were far apart, he could still hear the nobles' voices, and then these words were collected, filtered, and screened by the internal affairs system. By evening, the internal affairs system had listed some of the values of Sisilia City, and at the same time, it also gave several internal affairs policies that were being implemented, and one of them aroused Liang Lidong's interest.
Sisilia City was planning to build a new large Temple of Light in the city center. Construction would start within a month, but at present, not many people knew about this news.
Liang Lidong's eyebrows twitched, and he was somewhat tempted. To build a large temple, a lot of stone would be needed, and the terrain around Sisilia City was mainly plains. There were very few quarries, and even if there were, it would only be a small hill, and not much stone could be produced. If a large-scale shrine was to be built, they would have to purchase stone from other cities. Moreover, the heavy stone would be transported from other cities, and the price would be extremely high.
Therefore, the price of the stone produced by the quarries around Sisilia City was bound to rise. Only the person in charge of the construction of the Light Palace would consider buying building materials from other cities.
He didn't know if anyone had thought of this. Liang Lidong planned to buy those small quarries in advance. If no one bought them and the price was reasonable, he planned to buy one or two as soon as the Temple of Light was built. He would be able to make a fortune.
After paying the fee of two gold coins, Liang Lidong left the tavern. When he returned to his hotel, Kail and the others were already waiting for him in the room.
"Teacher, we've established our own mercenary team." Kail took out his mercenary coat of arms quite happily, which was the emblem of the Gemini Goddesses with a shield pattern. "Our team will be called the Round Table Knights, and on the registration information, teacher, you are the captain."
Mercenary … Liang Lidong took a coat of arms and revealed a nostalgic look. When the game server first opened, he was a rookie, following behind his cousin, and gradually grew into a well-known character on the server. And now, it was his turn to lead a few rookie mercenaries to "conquer the world." What a reversal of fortune!
The position of captain was generally hung on the strongest person. It stood to reason that Emma's apparent strength was much higher than Liang Lidong's, and the position of captain should have been hung on her. After all, she was a level 12 Saintess. Although her offensive power was lacking, with basic offensive divine spells and a large number of support spells, she was already able to walk unhindered in the human world.
But when Kail was asked by the staff in the Mercenary Guild what the captain's name was, he blurted out Liang Lidong's name. Whether it was him, Alice, or even Emma, there was no doubt about it.
"You will go to the Mercenary Guild tomorrow to accept the mission. Emma, although you are the youngest, you have much more 'experience' than the other two. You should know very well what level of mission they can accept, so you will be directly responsible for leading them tomorrow."
Emma thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Kail seemed very excited. Becoming a mercenary had always been his dream, and now that his dream had begun to set sail, it was almost like a dream to him.
After dinner, the four of them went back to their respective rooms to sleep.
The next day, at dawn, Kail and the others set off. In fact, Kail was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night, and he got up before dawn to prepare his equipment.
After leisurely eating breakfast, Liang Lidong went to the business club. In this world, there was the Mercenary Guild and the Assassin Guild, so naturally, there were also business clubs.
Of course, the status of the business club was far inferior to the other two. After all, merchants were often not very well received by the upper class. Although the business club's streets and offices were decorated with gold and jade, and there were people coming and going in front of the door, there was not a single noble.
Therefore, the arrival of Liang Lidong shocked a lot of people.
The director of the business club personally received him. He was a middle-aged man who looked very smooth and slick. He had very fair skin, blond hair, and blue eyes. This kind of appearance was usually that of a noble. Liang Lidong guessed that he should be the descendant of a declining noble, and in order to restore the glory of his ancestors, he had no choice but to become a merchant.
Sure enough, the moment this middle-aged man opened his mouth, there was a unique aristocratic tone in it. When most aristocrats spoke, they liked to control their tone. Over time, it evolved into a more unique speaking tone. This kind of tone could easily distinguish aristocrats from commoners.
"May I have your name, sir?" The middle-aged man slightly bowed and then invited Liang Lidong to sit down.
The furniture in the business club was inlaid with gold and silver. Looking at it would dazzle the eyes. But compared to the tavern yesterday, which was all made of cold wood, it was too cheap. Not only was there a big difference in value, but in terms of art and connotation, it was thrown eight streets away.
The luxurious decoration of the business club could scare ordinary people and inexperienced merchants, but in front of aristocrats, it was simply a joke.
Liang Lidong sat on the chair and gently replied: "You can call me Beta."
"Your Excellency Beta. It's a pleasure to meet you. May I know what important matter you have for coming to our business club? If we can help, please let us know. We will do it for you free of charge. "
For a business club, any aristocrat was a very troublesome customer. Because this group of people not only had a high status, but also had strange requirements. If things were not done well, the business club would have to bleed to apologize to them. But they could not refuse the request of the aristocrats. So many times, when the people in the business club saw the aristocrats' servants coming to their door, they would be extremely depressed.
And aristocrats like Liang Lidong, who came in person, rarely appeared. They rarely appeared, unless there was a special business requirement that was difficult to explain to outsiders.
No one doubted that Liang Lidong was not an aristocrat. That hair color, that temperament, and most importantly, he was a spellcaster. It would be strange if such a person was not an aristocrat.
"No need for free. Just follow the rules. " Liang Lidong knew why the middle-aged chairman asked for free. He knew how low the status of merchants in the eyes of aristocrats: "I need to buy one or two small quarries. Can you help me contact and see if there are any owners who are willing to sell? "
As the chairman of the business club, the middle-aged man was very sensitive to business. He naturally knew that Sisilia was preparing to build a large Temple of Light, and that the price of stone would definitely soar after a period of time … Not many people knew this news, but those who knew had already taken action. So you have to find the right price.
It was almost impossible.
The middle-aged man explained the reason, and then said apologetically, "Lord Beta, we really can't do anything about this. The quarry is now under the control of the well-informed nobles."
Liang Lidong nodded. In fact, before he came, he had already considered this possibility. He only came with the thought of seeing if there was a chance. He stood up and was about to leave when the middle-aged president spoke again.
The middle-aged merchant suddenly thought of something and said, "Please wait a moment, sir. There's actually another quarry that hasn't been purchased yet."
Liang Lidong was confused. "Oh? Is the quality of the stones in that quarry not good? "
"The quality is quite good."
"So the owner of the quarry asked for too much?"
"The price is very low. The quarry is on the land of the owner's family. He intends to sell it along with the manor. The quarry and the manor are only 300 gold coins."
300 gold coins was a very high price, but if he could buy a small quarry and a manor, it was indeed very cheap.
"Then what's the reason?"
The middle-aged president hesitated for a moment, but finally said, "The quarry and the manor originally belonged to the Todd family, but three years ago, for some reason, the people of the Todd family disappeared one by one. Later, their bodies were found near the family quarry. All the blood in their bodies had been sucked dry, and they became dry corpses. For some reason, the rest of the people got a serious illness with pus all over their bodies. Now, almost all the people of the Todd family are dead, leaving only a young son and a maidservant who has been raised since childhood. But the two of them are dying now. "
"Oh, go on. I'm very interested." Liang Lidong sat down again.
"When the Todd family found out that their people had died near the quarry, they spent a lot of money to hire the people from the Temple of Light to exorcise the evil. In the end, no one was sucked dry, but they got a serious illness with pus. Although they went to the priests of the Temple of Light every day for treatment, they couldn't cure it. Just like that, most of the people of the Todd family died. Two of the priests of the Temple of Light also got infected with pus because they had too much contact with them. Although they were barely cured, their appearances were ruined. From then on, no one dared to treat the people of the Todd family.
"The youngest son of the Todd family went to the Mercenary Union every day to buy hydrotherapy scrolls to treat himself and his maidservant. The people from the Mercenary Union threw the scrolls far away into the yard of the Todd family, so they definitely didn't dare to come close. Although they were barely alive, they couldn't get rid of the pus. Magic scrolls are very expensive, and after more than two years, the Todd family was defeated. Now, for treatment, the youngest son of the Todd family said he would sell the quarry and the manor, but no one dared to take it. More than a year ago, his original fiancée also broke the engagement and left him. "
"What's the name of the youngest son of the Todd family?"
"Joshua Todd."
What a good name. Just by hearing it, one could tell that he was an extraordinary person. Liang Lidong thanked the president for the information and left the business club. He came to the east. According to the middle-aged president, the Todd family's manor was in this area.
There were a lot of people in Sisilia, but no one dared to come to this area. Liang Lidong found that the people who approached here even had fear in their eyes.
Following the somewhat deserted stone path, Liang Lidong soon arrived in front of a manor. The manor was surrounded by a white stone wall about four meters high. The stone wall was covered with weeds, and it must have been a long time since anyone took care of it.
At the entrance of the manor was a tall iron gate, but it was so rusty that its original color could not be seen. The gate was lightly closed, and Liang Lidong gently pushed it open and walked in.
Weeds grew wildly in the garden of the manor, almost swallowing up the stone path in the garden. There was only the sound of insects and birds and a light breeze in this place. There was no sound of people at all, and the silence was a little scary.
Liang Lidong walked to the door of the manor's villa and faintly heard a woman's voice coming from the room on the second floor. "Young master, just drink this bowl of oatmeal. I'm not hungry."
"No, you drink half first, then I'll drink …" It was the young man's voice, weak.
Liang Lidong gently knocked on the door … the voice upstairs immediately quieted down, and then a figure appeared on the balcony, dressed in a woman's clothes. She lowered her head and asked, "Who … are … you?"
There was fear in the woman's voice, but after Liang Lidong saw her face, even if he had a good temperament, he could not help but be a little surprised.
The woman in front of him no longer had any hair, and she was not covered by clothes. The exposed parts of her body were densely covered with thumb-sized pustules, some of which had already burst, and were oozing yellow-green pus. It was very disgusting.
For such a person to be able to survive, just how strong was his will to live?
Liang Lidong looked at this monster-like woman and tried to make his voice as gentle as possible so as not to scare her. "I heard that you want to sell the manor and the quarry, so I came to see the situation of the quarry. Do you mind?"
The woman was stunned for a moment, then her eyes sparkled with hope. She rushed back into the room, shouting, "Young master, someone outside said they want to buy our quarry and estate, we won't go hungry anymore!"