953 If It's Too Expensive, I Shall Dine And Dash

"Mr Mag's advice is all on point. You've solved many problems that troubled us for a long time. We should've consulted you sooner." Bourell kept the paper solemnly and looked at Mag sheepishly.

He had serious reservations when he first undertook the steam engine locomotive project. But, as the project went on, he began to admire Mag, the designer.

Mag had immediately pointed out the crux of the problems after his assessment, and provided the simplest solutions. This made Bourell admire him even more.

A far-fetched idea, yet he was able to make it work. He was definitely a genius.

"You're being too kind. Although there are problems to be solved, we should be able to run an on-center handling test if there are straight tracks here." Mag smiled. He didn't feel he should be proud of others' achievements. On the contrary, Bourell, who made a steam engine locomotive in such a short time with just a drawing and a simple model, was worthy to be called a great engineer.

"There's a straight track about 1 km long in the base." Bourell was ecstatic, but he quickly lowered his volume. "However, we should clear the site before we run the test."

Mag nodded. Apparently, classification was done even within the engineering department.

The two of them returned to the ground, and reported to Scheer briefly before they started clearing the site.

The busy dwarf blacksmiths and magic casters were swiftly ordered to leave via a lane at a side. The entire cave became quiet and empty.

The hanging platform lowered the steam engine locomotive gradually to the ground.

The workers entered the interior of the locomotive, and started to throw shovels of coal into the furnace. Black smoke was rising from the chimney.

"The pressure has reached the threshold."

"Start!"

"Wooo…"

A loud whistle sounded along with the voices of the workers. Steam was pouring out as the steam engine locomotive began to move forward slowly.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!…"

Attrition between the train wheels and tracks made deafening noises. The ground was vibrating as if a huge beast was awakening slowly.

The steam engine locomotive began to accelerate and move forward stably.

No animal power was used, and no magic casters and knights needed to control it. Only a group of normal people was enough to make this giant move.

The spacious carriage could hold more goods than any goods-carrying horse-drawn carriage. The most important aspect was it didn't need to rest. As long as there was enough coal, it could continue to run. This was not achievable by any current logistic methods.

Scheer's and Michael's eyes lit up.

They had already drawn up a blueprint in their mind.

Due to the track constraints, it began to slow down even before it reached its maximum speed. It finally stopped at the end of the track.

Michael started clapping, and the others quickly followed suit.

Bourell and the workers alighting from the steam engine locomotive couldn't hide the excitement on their faces. Their efforts weren't wasted after toiling for two weeks in this dark cave.

Michael passionately shouted, "I believe this big guy is going to change the world in the foreseeable future, and you guys are the people who make it happen. I'm honored to witness this important moment."

Loud cheers erupted in the cave again.

Mag declined Scheer's invitation to join the celebration party, and left the production base in advance. He was sent back to Mamy Restaurant by the same secretary who'd brought him away.

Compared to the celebration party, of course it was more important to cook dinner for his customers.

"Actually, you only want to earn the money," the system said in contempt.

"Isn't it only natural to bring happiness to customers while fulfilling our life values?" Mag said righteously.

It was already four o'clock when Mag returned to the restaurant. He immediately started the preparation of ingredients.

He couldn't gauge how much reward 10% of steam engine locomotive shares and 20% of steam engine products shares could bring him. At least there wasn't a chance for him to cash them out any time soon.

They were like the stocks of Tencent and Alibaba in their early days. Holding them for the long term was the smartest thing to do. Nobody was as sure as him that once the age of steam began, it would be unstoppable.

Of course, Mag had also considered negotiating with Scheer directly. If he decided to give up the two shares, he might be able to get enough money to buy points to recover his body's strength to the top form from the system.

He had been entertaining that idea for a long time. However, he wasn't confident that he could get enough money from Scheer and Michael if he decided to negotiate right now.

This was a system which he could just pay for his upgrade. But, the difficult part was the amount needed to buy the strength points would increase exponentially, and nobody knew how much the system would charge the next time.

"System, calculate for me. If I continue to open my restaurant for business, how many years do I need before I can earn enough money to buy points from you to restore my strength to its top form?"

"I really wanna live for another 500 years. I really wanna live for another 500 years…" A haggard voice singing this phrase began to play in a loop in Mag's mind.

Mag: "…"

"System, you will be killed by me sooner or later." Mag rolled his eyes. It seemed like he should be more cautious.

"You don't actually need 500 years when ElephantPay is here to help! Because Host hasn't been using ElephantPay much, the system decides to have a month-long promotion. We will give you a huge reward free of charge as long as you are able to promote Elephantpay. If they search: 568, 464, and 257, you shall receive extra reward!" the system said enthusiastically.

"Crazy! I'm the only Elephantpay user as I am the only person using the system! Whom am I supposed to promote it to? Scram!" Mag rolled his eyes. The system alway acted impulsively without much consideration. When he was an active Weibo user, there were many people using his name to do that, but he wasn't interested at all.

The sun was setting, and Amy had also returned to the restaurant. After having their dinner, it would be the start of the longest and busiest dinner service.

Hmm, this restaurant is so packed. Something must be nice here? Father told me that people always gather when there is good stuff available. I wonder if it is expensive? I'm not willing to pay too much… A dragon that was shrunk to a five-meter-tall height was gazing at Mamy Restaurant from afar.

If it's too expensive, then I shall dine and dash. Father taught me this!