41 Angelic voice (1/2)

”Who are you?” Seeing a suspicious person clothed in black entering their nightclub, Manager Doug was alerted. He felt the person came to cause trouble, considering the person was concealing their identity.

”It's me.”

”Ahh, Boss, you are finally here.” Manager Doug instantly recognize his voice.

Leon had stop by some stores and bought himself some new black outfit and bamboo hat to hide his identity. The color also blends well into the night. However, walking around in the open like he was doing, even if his identity was hidden, he stood out like a sore thumb. They moved to the underground floor to talk.

”How has my arrangements been progressing?”

”There were a lot of resistance when we decided to cut off all our good source of money. A lot of the outer members have left the gang to join the other gangs. Our gang has weaken as a result, while our rival gangs have grown stronger.”

”Let them leave. I don't need people who have forsaken their conscience for profits. Sooner or later, the other gangs will fall into my hands as well. If they do not know how to repent at that point, then they can all go to hell.” The results were as he had expected. ”Has the things I ordered to you to fetch arrive yet?”

”Yes, they are all stored in the vault below.”

On the 2nd underground floor was the treasure vault, where the gang store all their collective valuables. Among the miscellaneous goods stored, there was a pill cauldron, some herbs and a set of acupuncture needles like the one Lynne has.

”Good.” The pill cauldron was something Leon wanted for convenience. He did not want to bother the Cromwell family every time he needed to refine pills. It was better that he had his own. He also wanted to open his own pill store, which would become the main source of revenue for the gang. He retrieved the three items into his world space, while manager Doug waited outside.

”It seems you weren't able to procure much herbs.”

”Yes, boss. Most of the herbs in the hands of the merchant guilds. We were only able to purchase a limited number of herbs. The merchants sell most of their herbs to the noble alchemists. Unless we can establish a good relationship with the merchants, it would be difficult to increase our purchase quota. As their attention are mainly focused on nobles, they deign to do business with commoners.”

”I see. You don't need to worry about this problem for now and can go attend to your own business. I will figure something out.”

”Yes, boss.”

The underground floor had barely started on its renovation. Leon found himself a seat and started tapping on the table with his finger, while he was thinking.

Leon took out the pill cauldron and started concocting some more True Awakening pills. It was at this point that he realized how convenient it was to awaken as a fire user. He had absolute control over his fire, and it was much easier than searching for an earth-fire to tame. 15 minutes later, 12 high-quality tier 1 pills were successfully refined. The amount and quality of his pill concoction had improve by a huge leap.

He divided the 12 pills evenly and stored it in two different bottles. He would send one bottle to the old man later. He could rely on the Cromwell's connection for his supply of raw ingredients, but it would put a strain on their liquidity if he wants to purchase large volumes of rare herbs through them. The Cromwell family is rich, but they wouldn't be making any money out of this deal. The pill he supplies them are used to strengthen themselves and weren't sold outside. So, they are taking money out of their pockets to purchase the herbs. Taking out too much would affect their own businesses.

It was better to depend on himself in dealing with the merchants. Once the money starts rolling in, he could rely on the Cromwell's connection then to establish another supply chain for his pill store. He wasn't planning to refine every single pill the store would sell. It would tire him out and he didn't have that much free time. He plans to train some people who would do the refining, when he finds some suitable candidates.

”Boss, miss Aria is here again.” Manager Doug came back and reported.

”Alright, I'll go see her.”

The underground floor was restricted to gang members and related matters. It wasn't a suitable place to receive guests. Leon headed back to the ground floor.