BIZS Chapter 3

After a few days, on a gloomy and rainy afternoon, Mr. Luhn came again. As he entered, he took off his hat and gestured for Rubin’s apprentice, Matthew, to polish his shoes.

 

Once his leather boots were thoroughly polished, he leisurely sat down and said to Rubin, “Your little invention is somewhat useful.” He then pulled out a half-worn sheepskin coat, saying, “This is a reward from the lord for you.”

 

Rubin stood up to receive it and whispered, “It’s just a stroke of luck. Thank you, Mr. Luhn, for your hard work.”

 

Luhn rubbed the new deer antler ring on his hand and continued, “Since the time for forging iron has shortened, and fuel is more economical, should we consider adjusting the prices of iron tools?” Without waiting for Rubin’s response, he continued, “The forging time for a longsword is now longer, reducing the cost by 10 copper coins each. Arrowheads will be 5 copper coins less each.”

 

Seeing Rubin clench his fists, Luhn said, “Rubin, you know, making weapons for the lord only charges the cost of materials.” An impatient expression appeared on Luhn’s face, and Rubin, with a forced smile, continued, “The longsword can only be reduced by a maximum of 3 copper coins, and the arrowheads already require occasional additional materials, so I can’t reduce the price further.”

 

Luhn stood up, took his hat, and said, “Reduce the longsword by 8 copper coins and the arrowheads by 2. Serving the lord is your honor.” Without waiting for Rubin’s response, he left.

 

The room fell silent. Rubin’s other apprentice, Tom, even sobbed, “Mr. Luhn is too unfair. That sheepskin coat is obviously his own old clothes, and the ring on his hand is new. It’s probably a gift from the lord, and we don’t even know if the price is his own or…”

 

“Enough, don’t say anymore.” Rubin interrupted him, continuing to forge with a stern face.

 

Listening to the rhythmic sound of iron beating from outside, each strike seemed to hit Ren Yinian’s mind one after another.

 

Is it because what he brought out is not suitable? No, improving productivity is undoubtedly a good thing.

 

Is it Luhn’s fault? Not entirely. A lord who cares about the life of commoners cannot tolerate such parasites. The oppression in this territory stems from the lord himself, who must have issues for the territory to be oppressive to the people. Why not leave? Change to another territory…

 

“Changing to another territory won’t make a difference.” It was his mother, Gillian, who spoke. Ren Yinian realized that he had spoken his thoughts out loud. Gillian continued, “Lords are all the same. Running away might be even worse.”

 

Just as Ren Yinian was about to retort, Gillian closed her eyes and said, “Virgil, the stonemason behind the church, escaped from another territory with his wife and daughter. When they arrived here, he offered precious gems to the lord. The lord accepted but, to maintain friendship with another lord, Virgil was publicly severed from his left hand, his daughter was taken by pursuers, and his wife was turned into a serf.”

 

“So, he went mad.” Ren Yinian finished the sentence. In a single day, losing family, future, and struggling against an inescapable fate would drive anyone mad.

 

“Louie, I heard your father say that you are a talented child, but the life of commoners is like this. We can endure.” Gillian patted Ren Yinian’s head.

 

The cry of a baby came from the inner room, and Gillian went to comfort the child. Ren Yinian pressed his forehead and, in his heart, silently countered, “This is not right. We shouldn’t endure such exploitation just because we haven’t been pushed to a dead end.”

 

In a state of confusion, he felt a surge of anger and wanted to do something, even if it was secretly beating up the arrogant Luhn. Suddenly, the system in his mind rang out, “[Combat emotions detected, threshold reached. Would you like to open the connection interface?]”

 

Ren Yinian was momentarily stunned but quickly realized and silently thought, “Open.” An Interface unfolded before Ren Yinian, displaying images of various monstrous creatures, mostly in shades of gray.

 

Focusing on the first illuminated image, a 3D projection of the creature appeared automatically above the image. It resembled a cockroach, with a black exoskeleton covering its entire body. Unlike a cockroach, it had two large and robust pincers at the front.

 

Beneath the image was an introduction: Stone Armor Beetle, feeds on stone, with a hard body suitable for both offense and defense.

 

While Rubin and Gillian were busy, Ren Yinian was alone in the room. He decided to click the “Summon” button. Instantly, a stone armor beetle, over two meters long and almost a meter high, appeared before him, nearly filling the cramped room.

 

The bright and sturdy exoskeleton clinked as it moved, and the sharp pincers gleamed. The crucial part was that the creature followed commands; if told to move forward, it did so, if told to lift a leg, it complied. If Luhn were present now, releasing such a creature would surely scare him out of his wits.

 

However, battles… what a joke! Children might play at fighting, but adults only cared about profits. Ren Yinian’s mind was focused on one thought: “I’m going to make a fortune! Release this thing to mine, safe, discreet, efficient, energy-saving, and cost-free. Rubin’s iron ore production costs will be slashed!”

 

As for the territory’s minerals, they all belonged to the lord. Ren Yinian expressed that it was the proletariat’s duty to fleece the capitalist’s wool.

 

Just when Ren Yinian was fervently preparing for a major operation, Gillian called him for dinner. His heated brain suddenly cooled down. He could send the creature to mine, but how would he explain the mined ore?

 

He had to establish a clear path for this creature in front of Rubin and Gillian. Nothing could stop someone who wanted to make a fortune. While going out for dinner, Ren Yinian had already concocted a plausible lie in his mind.

 

Ren Yinian finished dinner in a few bites, then blinked his eyes and stared at Rubin and Gillian, waiting for them to finish eating.

 

Rubin’s mood wasn’t very high. Seeing Ren Yinian fidgeting in his chair, as if he had something to say, he directly asked, “Louis, do you have something on your mind?”

 

Ren Yinian unleashed his big move right away, “Mr. Luhn, the manager, came this afternoon, and I was so angry that I seemed to awaken some psychic abilities.”

 

This was the fabricated lie Ren Yinian had prepared to deal with his parents. It wasn’t entirely baseless. Based on the various hero stories he had heard at the church over the past month, most psychics in this world awakened between the ages of eight and fifteen, with various unique abilities.

 

For example, the devout hero, Cleric Kra, who fervently believed in the Star Church. When she activated her ability, ordinary people with weak wills would instantly bow down, grateful for everything the stars had given them. On the battlefield, seasoned and resolute warriors would experience a brief daze when she used her ability, and a few seconds of distraction on the battlefield could be deadly.

 

Then there was the Bloody Knight Kedra, who had recently won a war for the kingdom. He started going to war at the age of twelve, and his ability awakened from countless killings. When he activated his ability, his enemies would be trapped in fear, unable to escape.

 

There was also the renowned scholar, Lynn Gracey, who awakened psychic abilities in his fifties. His ability stemmed from his profound knowledge. Decades of knowledge accumulation made his soul incredibly heavy. Not only ordinary people, but even some psychics would feel immense pressure under his ability.

 

There were also many abilities unsuitable for the battlefield, such as being close to plants, adept at cultivating exotic flowers and plants; having an extremely sensitive sense of taste, easily training oneself into a top chef; and a healer who, for some unknown reason, awakened the ability to treat infertility and had now been invited to the capital, becoming the guest of many wealthy ladies desperate for an heir.

 

In short, among so many bizarre abilities, Ren Yinian felt that making up one that could connect to another world and summon insect creatures was probably not surprising at all.

 

At this moment, Rubin and Gillian were stunned by the “ordinary” ability demonstrated by Ren Yinian. Especially Gillian, who, upon seeing the stone armor beetle summoned by Ren Yinian, let out a short scream and then collapsed on the ground, frightened. Ren Yinian hurriedly withdrew the creature and rushed to support Gillian.