Chapter 403 Unofficial Deals
Mystic Mist Art!
Inala poked holes in a bunch of excess Prana-rich Prana Bombs and caused the fluid within to come out as a cloud. Wittral took control of the cloud and seeped it through a heap of powder—purple in colour.
He poured the powder into a large, inert container to form the fusion process and heated it first. The cloud hovered above the container and rained down droplets of fluid rich in Prana.
As the fluid mixed into the powder, Wittral gathered heat from the warm earth and seeped it into the mixture, turning it molten. Through psychokinesis, he kept stirring up the mixture until it was uniformly molten, with all portions of the mixture maintained at the same temperature and pressure.
At the side, using Subtle Terrain Domination, Inala transformed the empty Prana Bombs into a fluid and poured it into the container, watching Wittral mix everything up seamlessly.
The container was the size of a pool, cylindrical in shape with a radius of forty metres and a height of thirty metres.
At a ratio of seventy-four to twenty-six for the Prana Bomb and the mineral, Wittral kept the mixture molten and continued to stir it from different directions through psychokinesis until there was a uniform distribution of both elements.
Any air trapped within it seeped out in the form of bubbles thanks to the heat, keeping the mixture homogenous. The process lasted for a total of six hours, following which Wittral used Subtle Terrain Domination to cool it down and broke it down into uniform bricks.
"That was exhausting." He wiped his sweat, observing that all the empty Prana Bombs had been used up. There was still a bit of mineral left, which he planned to bring back to their residence. That would be used up for any repairs that crop up during the tea house's operation.
"Now, to take care of this." He sighed and stared at the hill of Prana-rich Prana Bombs, beginning to reshape the shells to form large cylindrical containers while the fluid rich with Prana was safely stored within, unblemished.
Each cylindrical container resembled a barrel, having a storage capacity of twenty litres. Wittral did the same for the Life Bombs too. And finally, he applied a coat of wood over all the barrels, ensuring they became less eye-catching.
If Inala did that, the result wouldn't be perfect. Only Wittral had enough experience in using Subtle Terrain Domination to transfer the wood from a tree trunk into a coating of the same over the cylinders to ensure the end result made the cylinders appear and feel no different from barrels of wood.
"This reserve is more than sufficient for at least two years," Wittral commented once he was done. Following that, he used Subtle Terrain Domination on the nearby trees to build robust trailers to carry the barrels and the beetred alloy bricks.
"Are you sure they'll allow us to attach these trailers to the rear end of their truck?" He asked, unsure about Inala's idea.
"Yeah, we'll just pay them extra," Inala said casually. "It has been a day since our arrival. The four drivers ought to have rested enough to recover all their Prana. Their Human Avatars are geared in Prana recovery and load bearing capacity for psychokinesis, which is why they are in this business."
"This is…" The drivers were playing cards in their truck, having parked it in a safe place frequently used by many trucks. They weren't alone there, accompanied by six other trucks.
Satellites were an expensive commodity in the Brimgan Empire. Hence, raid teams visited the region frequently. These trucks belonged to one such team.
Seeing their employers arrive while dragging in large, wooden trailers, they were stunned, "How did the two of them gather so much?"
The lead driver jumped out of the truck and rushed toward the duo, asking Wittral, "Sir, may I know what you gathered in such large quantities?"
"I'm not obligated to answer, right?" Wittral smiled in response.
"Yes, you're right." The driver smiled awkwardly, "I apologise. I lost my cool in seeing the staggering amount of goods."
"This isn't the end." Wittral said casually, "We have more of them. I made these wooden trailers to attach to the end of your truck so that we can bring them all to the Brimgan Empire. Please don't worry about the price. We'll compensate you fairly as stated in the contract."
"There's…more?" The driver hesitated before saying, "Sir, compensation isn't an issue. I'm not sure if we're able to even carry that much."
"Hmm, this is indeed a pickle." Wittral frowned. He then noticed Inala approach the nearby truck and knock on its door.
"Yes, what may I do for you, madam?" The driver in the truck happily jumped out upon seeing Inala, asking enthusiastically.
"We need a couple more trucks to bring our load." Inala said and extended a bad of Briga, "We'll pay you the market price for the trip."
"This…" The driver hesitated a bit, "We're already employed."
"I know. They're a raid team targeting Satellites, right?" Inala stared at the empty trucks, "They'll be camping here for at least another day. You'll be able to drop us and return here well in advance before their raid concludes."
Inala then turned around, intending to approach another truck, "Well, if you're not willing, I can always ask the others."
"Please wait a minute, madam." The driver said and rushed to discuss with his comrades. He then returned to ask, "Will this be uncontracted?"
"Pretty much." Inala nodded.
"If you pay us twenty Briga more than the market price, you have a deal." The driver laid out his condition, "We too are taking this risk. So please compensate us a bit accordingly."
"Alright, get ready then." Inala nodded and pointed at the trailer, "Can you load them on your truck?"
"Of course!" The driver nodded happily and got to work with his comrades. An uncontracted job means this wouldn't be registered in their records, which implied that all the money they get from Inala could be shared between the drivers alone, not needing to pay a commission to the company they were a part of.
As Inala said, they would be waiting until the raid team returns. It was a waste of time. By making a quick trip to the Brimgan Empire, they'll be making a sizeable profit.
The market price was 180 Briga. And now, they were getting paid 200 Briga. Without needing to pay their company for this job, each driver would be making 50 Briga. That was a lot of money, especially since even a decent meal cost less than one Briga.
"Madam, are there more goods to be transported?" Upon seeing this transaction, a driver from another truck approached them, unwilling to lose out on the chance to make some money.
"Of course," Inala made a knowing smile, watching the drivers happily load the goods brought by Wittral onto their truck. Soon, all seven trucks were filled to the brim with goods.
As all drivers enthusiastically boarded their respective trucks, Wittral approached Inala to ask, "Did you calculate everything before making so many Prana Bombs?"
"Yeah," Inala nodded, "They came with us. So, I knew we could use them for a return trip, which is why I decided to make so much. Now, we have as much as we need for two years from this one trip. It's cheaper this way."
"You're indeed right." Nodding as such, Wittral accompanied Inala to board their truck, "I still have a lot left to learn from you."
"Of course." Inala smiled and gave a bag of twenty Briga to the drivers they hired, seeing them break into smiles. They were the ones officially contracted by Inala for a sum of 180 Briga. But the ones hired by Inala at the scene were being paid 200 Briga.
So, they were discontent, since the others were making a profit for the same trip. But once Inala handed them a tip of 20 Briga, all their discontentment vanished, instead replaced by giddiness. After all, these 20 Briga wouldn't be recorded, which meant they could divide it among themselves and not pay a part of it to their company as a commission.
"This is also to ensure none of them says a word about this, since they're now our accomplices in this unofficial trade agreement." Inala smiled and whispered, "When the other raid team returns, they'll have six trucks waiting for them, unaware of this trip ever happening."
"You're meticulous," Wittral said in awe as all seven trucks made the return journey to the Brimgan Empire.
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