Part 2 The Faceless Man Chapter 81 The General above the Stars
Tinker!
Klein rode Repard’s recently completed pedal bike around the lawn behind his house a few times.
”Not bad, just as I expected, but there’s no need to get a separate rattle, it’s hard for the rider to pull his hands out when in a situation, it’s perfectly fine to combine the bell with the handlebars, it’s easier and cleaner and more in keeping with the way things are.” Klein squeezed the brake together with his right hand, causing the pedaled bike to slow rapidly and come to a stop.
At the same time, he returned the rattling bell, which he held in his left hand, to its original position.
Lepard pondered for a few seconds and said:
”Yes, that’s indeed how it should be, I was simply mimicking the wagon rattles, forgetting that this is a whole new mode of transportation for us.”
With that said, he watched with slight puzzlement as Klein skillfully got out of the car and got the stand:
”You give me the impression that you’ve ridden a similar mode of transportation before, and that you ride it well …… I’m sure that all the other pedal bikes on the market have major flaws, and there’s a clear difference between this one and mine.”
Sharing a bike to understand …… As a “clown”, I should actually ride a unicycle …… Klein spat out a couple of silent words and laughed slightly:
”It has nothing to do with experience, excellent balance and athleticism is the key.”
He whirled around and digressed, “But listening to what you just said, the cost is quite high, and there is no small contradiction with the positioning of our products, you must come up with a plan as soon as possible to reduce the cost, you have to know that the nobility, the rich and other upper class people with status will certainly not choose to ride their own bikes, this is a loss of decency, and the same goes for the middle class people who earn more than 300 pounds a year. ”
”We’re aiming at the junior clerk, the letter carrier, the so-called working aristocracy, the class that earns between £70 and £300 a year.”
”This is just a ‘prototype’, well, a term invented by Rossel the Great, it’s normal for the cost to be high, the subsequent factoryization part, if it goes well, I don’t think it’ll be a problem to get it down to less than £6, and if we can find a cheaper material that can replace the natural rubber, that’s the most expensive part of the equation, so much the better. ” Repard replied with early thought.
Unfortunately, this world has not yet discovered oil …… nor do we know if there is actually …… refined coal tar can replace it in this regard to play some role? I don t understand it at all ah, I am neither a student of this business nor a generalist …… Klein thought for a moment:
”The cost, if we can keep it under four pounds, will make us rich, and as for a cheaper material to replace natural rubber, you can go through Rossel’s manuscripts, perhaps he has documented certain ideas.”
Leppard gave a soft “hmmm,” and suddenly spoke:
”Speaking of which, it just occurred to me that there’s a Rossel the Great memorial exhibition next week at the Kingdom Museum! Organized by the Church of Steam and Machinery, it’s said that there will be original manuscripts of Rossel the Great’s inventions and various relics.”
Original inventions and various relics? Klein’s heart thumped as he listened, and immediately pursued the question:
”Exactly at what time? I’m very interested.”
”Next Tuesday through next Friday, every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Although Rossel the Great was once an enemy of the kingdom, the charm of his legendary life won’t diminish a bit because of that.”
”I’ll make time for this exhibit.” Klein pulled out his distended wallet and took two ten pound and two five pound bills out, “This is the second installment, you use it to research how to reduce costs and make the best possible application at the patent office, if you don’t have a lawyer you know well, I can refer you to one, and that last twenty pounds will be given to you next week to find new investors and complete the factoryization of the product, of course, I will also help to approach interested parties.”
He hadn’t thought of monopolizing the profits of the bike, firstly, he lacked the money to put it into production on a large scale, and secondly, he thought that he didn’t have enough connections in the three parts of the factory, promotion and sales, and reluctantly doing it on his own or hiring someone to do it would be time-consuming and laborious and might not necessarily be successful, and he might even lose money, in which case, he might as well bring in a new investor who had similar resources and channels, and let the professionals do the professional things.
In addition, more importantly, this way, he has the opportunity to realize a certain amount of shares in advance, for the promotion of the “faceless man” need to accumulate some of the resources of cash, so as not to meet but have no money to buy.
Moreover, I don’t want to be a bicycle tycoon, I have a sensitive identity, before I become a “faceless man”, I have to stay away from things that may become the focus of society …… I will play the role of a “magician”, not a “businessman”. Not “businessman” and “factory owner” …… Klein sighed twice in his mind.
”I know several solicitors.” Leppard muttered, taking over the second installment of the investment, “Why don’t you go to the bank and apply for a loan? When we get the patent, I’m sure there are banks that will lend us money, like the Birkeland Bank, like the Bavarian Bank.”
”What we’re bringing in is not just investment, but also channels, relationships and capabilities, understand?” Klein smiled and explained, then put on his hat and said, “When the patent is applied for, send me a letter, you know my address.”
……
On the Sunia Sea, there was an island with an extinct volcano towering over it.
One by one, ships with erected masts and sails docked and filled the not-so-small wharf.
The pirates’ songs, roars, laughs, curses and cheers were endless, turning the place into a sea of revelry.
”Alger “The Hanged Man” Wilson stepped off the Blue Avenger and climbed the cliffs not far away, quietly looking out over it all.
”Except for the four kings and the seven generals, all the other pirates only got the news of this event a week ago, and most of them couldn’t make it here at all, which is also in case of a surprise attack by the navies of the various countries and the powerhouses of the major churches.” Alger was not mentally focused as he watched the pirates carry out barrels of ale.
He knew that the Kingdom of Ruen already had epochal ironclads, but wasn’t worried about encountering them here, because that was only four months ago, and the advertised invincible fleet would need more ironclads, different types of ships to work with them, and training for officers, sailors, and gunners, and wouldn’t be able to form a real war force without more than a year’s worth of work.
Just as Alger’s thoughts were scattered, the pirates on the ships and docks suddenly let out a cry of alarm, some running deeper into the island, some hurriedly steering their ships away from the docks, as if they were avoiding the devil and the plague.
In just a few minutes, the previously lively and noisy scene was reduced to nothing but wreckage and silence.
Alger turned his head to look out to sea and saw a vessel painted black all over, a huge white flag with a painted skull fluttering from its mast.
The skull was painted in pitch black, and a ghostly blue flame burned in its eye sockets.
”The Black Death ……” whispered Alger.
He understood why those pirates had taken cover earlier.
”Disease Lieutenant General” Tracy wherever she passed, there would always be people who were inexplicably sick!
The “Black Death” slowly docked, and a figure wearing a white linen shirt and a dark red coat appeared at the bow.
This is a rather beautiful lady, but also a woman of great vigor.
Her dark and flirtatious curly hair was coiled up high and wrapped around a white headscarf, and her legs were clad in well-fitting beige pants, her figure was slender, yet not lacking in delicacy.
What attracted the most attention to this woman were her long, straight eyebrows and sharp, bright blue eyes.
Between her glances, her eyes would occasionally lose focus, appearing mesmerized and alluring.
A bard who had mingled with the pirates had come to the edge of the crag at some point and said in a moaning tone:
”She will always be a maiden.”
”Surely she brings sickness; oh, I am sick, my mind is full of her.”
Some of the departing pirates regrouped and gazed in fascination at Tracy, the “Sick Maiden”.
Alger held back his contempt, glanced at the pirates, and snickered in his heart:
”What a bunch of guys with no future and no will, just now they knew how to avoid, but now they are charmed by beauty.”
”Although the ‘disease’ maidens are indeed beautiful, but not to the extent that they show this ah, hmmm …… extraordinary ability in seduction?”
While his thoughts were spinning, “Disease Lieutenant General” Tracy left the “Black Death” and traveled towards the pitch-black palace deep within the island.
At that moment, a huge sailboat appeared on the sea level, and the flag was an eye without eyelashes surrounded by ten stars.
”‘General above the stars’ Gadelia ……,” whispered Alger to himself, nodding softly.
Since the Black Death and other ships were already docked at the pier, the huge sailing ship did not come close to shore, but went around to a sheltered position on the cliffs to anchor.
Immediately after that, the gloomy sky suddenly brightened, a little bright starlight poured down, and in the mid-air coalesced a transparent long bridge, from the huge sailboat to the deep palace long bridge.
A lady boarded the bridge and strolled in mid-air.
She wore a black classical robe with many symbols and magical signs, the most obvious being a mysterious eye without eyelashes.
The lady also had an astrolabe and a short scepter hanging from her waist, like a powerful sorcerer active in the Quaternary Age, according to folklore.
Alger tilted his head for a while, then suddenly frowned slightly and muttered to himself in mental confusion:
”That astrolabe, it gives me a familiar feeling ……”
”It’s like, it’s like …… that weird glass bottle I got before that I don’t know what it’s for, the one that shattered after I was pulled into the party by Mr. ‘Fool’… …”
……
On the outskirts of Queens to the north, Audrey led Suzie, the big golden-haired dog, with her maids, into the one estate that was hers.
”Miss, the goods sent from Enmat Harbor are just ahead.” The butler in charge of this manor said respectfully.
”Good.” Audrey nodded gently and half-jokingly said to the big golden-furred dog beside her, “Susie, here’s your present.”
As they spoke, they turned the corner and saw the supposed gift.
It was the giant lizard dragon whose skin changed different colors with the light, three meters long, and even lying down, its height was on par with Audrey’s knees.
Those were two behemoths, behemoths big enough to scare a small child to tears!
”Woof?” Suzie yelped in confused consternation, glancing sideways at her owner to find her expression exactly the same as her own, clearly not expecting the gift to be so exaggerated either.