Chapter 30 30:Happy Partnership

A lean and thin-looking man sat on a bench outside the shop. Cradling a cup of coffee, he took a sip.

"Bitter!"

Giving the cup a bitter look, he chugged it down.

Bitter or not, he needed to take it cause it helps to keep the drowsiness and headache away.

Coffee was a big no for him and even his mom didn't allow him to take a sip fearing he may stay awake the whole night watching anime or reading novels however there was no one to forbid him here.

He misses the little nagging of his mother.

Finishing the coffee, he crushed the paper cup and threw it towards the dustbin.

The cup made a parabola and fell straight into the trash can.

"Hmm...I am improving."

"With a few more days of practice perhaps I can have a marksmanship tag under profession."

Ring...Ring...

Lucas picked up the call and answered"Hello, I am at the edge of the outer district at the Milkman latte shop."

"Okay...I got the location."

"I will reach there in approximately 20 minutes or so but how will I identify the place?"

''Gps won't take me to the exact location and I don't think the map of that place would be correct," Lucas questioned the man.

Lucas heard several sets of instructions and then cut off the call and thought this man seemed weird.

He just shrugged his shoulders cause people in this category are mostly weird.

The Capital City of the Cyprus Empire has three zones.

The inner zone is mostly inhabited by nobles and shops in the Inner zone or district are mostly for noble customers or rich customers.

The outer zone is where commoners and poor people like him reside and the last is the outskirts of the outer edge.

A place filled with deceits and filth.

That's how Aristocrats describe that place.

Hoodlums, swindlers, illegal slave traders, black marketers and all kinds of baddies inhabit the area however that area holds great significance to both nobles and others as that is where they keep their pawns who do their dirty work.

....

The White District is located at the periphery of the outer zone.

At the shabby place, a man sat on the chair with a blank expression.n0vELUsB.c0m

His hands were trembling and his stomach was grumbling.

Two hollow sunken eyes with a face filled with a wrinkled forehead gave him an elderly look.

Fiddling over his unkempt beard from where a few white lines were cascading towards the neck, he sighed deeply with beads of tears squeezing out from his eyes.

Five months...

Within five months James Gosling, who was chief incharge of the mana core energy conversion project and had dreams of becoming an acclaimed scientist had been reduced to this state.

His cards had been blocked, due to illegal charges and breach of contract, and all his saving funds and houses were forcefully taken away.

He tried to look for a labour job to sustain his life but how can a scientist who had not taken his feet out of his laboratory for years take on a heavy load?

Worst of all, he is awakened and at the 1-Star stage.

He is 31 currently and the last time he did any physical work was when he was 21.

Depression, betrayal, and the emptiness of being unable to do anything when his research was taken away were eating him slowly and steadily.

Just when he was contemplating over his sad life, he heard the door ball and frowned.

"Who this might be?"

"Did someone from the company come to look for trouble?"

James was perplexed for a moment and was in a state of panic.

It was then he heard someone's voice.

"Sir James, are you there?"

"I have been trying to contact you but you did not pick up my calls so I came to meet you personally."

James did not want to interact with the person as who knows this might be a trap however his thoughts change a bit.

"The tone of the speaker is quite young."

He got from his seat and peeked through the keyhole and frowned seeing a boy in his teens.

His cautiousness lessened a bit and he opened the door.

"Why are you looking for me?"

Lucas stepped back a bit, as the putrid rotten smell assaulted him. He tilted his head and saw the mess that was inside.

Instead of a house, it looks more like a dump yard.

"I have a business proposal."

"I want to talk to you about that. But before that, I had brought some food for you."

"I don't need f...."

GRUMBLE!

"If you don't want to, I can give it to the poor and needy," Lucas said with a pitiful gaze while smiling inwardly.

James, who wanted to shoo away Lucas, trailed off due to hunger.

James quickly snatched the packed food and asked Lucas to get inside.

....

James graduated from Horizon and he specialized in Magical Engineering which is a branch that integrates magic into machines.

The vehicles and many devices around us are products of this field.

The cars and trains are fuelled by mana cores.

The production process of electricity is mostly similar to Earth but instead of coal, mana cores obtained from monsters and beasts are used, and other than that wind, water, and solar energy are also converted into electricity.

And the reason Lucas visited James was to make a weapon and invest in his ideas.

Lucas wants a modern and mechanized version of the gun.

Unlike his previous world where research was focused on weapons to make them as deadly as possible, the researcher of this world focuses on supporting the awakened ones so they lack creativity when it comes to crafting weapons that don't use mana.

Everything they made was to help the awakened ones. Their initial goal of supporting unawakened ones is lost.

This approach has made the world lack deadly weapons.

Atomic bomb...

No matter how strong the 9-Star was, Lucas was sure that it could damage them or at least it could kill a 7-Stars if not an 8-Star, and when it comes to guns, cannot a machine gun at least be effective on higher ranker monsters?

The development of guns is still quite primordial and it needs upgrades. Lucas at least wants to produce something like an Ak-47, M16, or a sniper.

The gun might be a secondary weapon but Lucas could surely put it to good use somewhere.

Recently Lucas had to tone down his exercise routine, so he thought that this was the correct time to focus on the gun and improve his shooting.

James, who was rolling in the garbage, made contact with Frederick somehow and drew Duke's attention.

He made a compressed suit size of a small orb which when activated would cover your whole body. It was a hot-selling product for low-rank hunters, mercenaries, and normal people who cannot spend so much money on enchanted armour.

'How can he eat in this place? I lost my appetite the moment I entered.'Lucas muttered seeing James pouncing on food like a maniac.

'His mouth reeks of cigar and wine.It is giving me a headache.'

Lucas, who waited for James to finish his meal said, "Since you have your fill, can we talk?"

"Okay, tell me what you want."

Seeing his tough attitude, Lucas thought inwardly, this guy is seriously a pushover so why is he showing so much attitude?'

"There are two reasons I came here."

"First reason, I want to invest in your research of orb armours, and second is that I want you to redesign a weapon."

"Redesign weapon" James frowned and then shook his head.

"No...No...what did you say first.."

"Research..what research.... Who told you about it?"James' eyes flashed with cautiousness.

He had been thinking about his new plans but he was sure he had not leaked them out.

This guy doesn't seem noble but what if he is an underling of some noble bastard?

'Did these damned people try to steal my ideas again even before I started to work on it.'

James started to sweat profusely.

"Sir James, why are you getting agitated? Just listen to me first."

"I don't know about your new research. I just heard from one of your friends about your situation. He knows you well and he said that you will not let this setback cloud you and with your knowledge, you might be working on a new project again."

"Who is this friend you speak of?"

"Why? Do you want to curse him? He asked me to keep his identity secret."Lucas asked raising his brows.

"He studied with you in the academy and he is the one who gave your address."

It was a blatant lie.

Lucas spends 5000R..whopping 5000R and hired a member from the information guild to reach James so if he doesn't earn ten times back from James by this year, then he swears he will cut this guy's kidney and sell it in the market to earn the money back.

Though it was not entirely a lie as James met one of his friends to whom he disclosed his plans after being drunk in the future but for now it was a lie.

James has been relying on drinking and cigars recently so it was hard for him to remember the event. He had met some friends months ago who consoled him over a drink.

He scratched his head in embarrassment.

'This is why you are soft rice. I did not think that you were so easy to fool.'

"Okay, I will not ask you about him but how can I trust you and do you even have money to invest in research."

Lucas took out something from his back and placed it before James.

"A contract. I don't believe in..." James's speech halted.

"It's a mana contract.."

Jame's eyes enlarged and he pointed at it with trembling hands.

"Who the hell uses Mana's contract in business deals, you just need to make me trust you so why resort to this?"

"Listen, Sir.."

"I don't want to waste my time to convince you and act as a saint. You have been scammed even though you signed the contract."

"You don't trust me neither do I. It may change in the future but the present scenario is different."

James picked up the contract.

There was only one page without many conditions.

He can't diverge, Lucas's information.

He needs to make things Lucas wants.

He would receive 30% off the sale.

More clauses were there but they did not mean much.

"30%...You are quite generous.."

"I am not a leecher.70% is more than enough for me."

"But do you have money to invest? You look quite poor."

"I have my means. You just focus on making things I ask for."

'I am helping you and this guy is telling me poorly on the face,' Lucas's lips twitched for a moment.

"Okay.."

"Then happy partnership.."

"Happy partnership."

Both of them shake hands and James signs the contract.

James stared at Lucas for a moment and then asked him in a meek voice.

"Hey, Lucas, can you lend me 5000R? You see, my living conditions are not good and I don't have any reserves and my cards are blocked."

Lucas gritted his teeth seeing this guy's shamelessness cause if this guy had no money then how did he survive until he met Frederick which was months away?

'It seems one kidney wouldn't suffice and he needs something else as a guarantee. Should I also add an eye to the mortgage?'