章 20: Chapter 20 – Border trouble
(Unedited)
…
The bespectacled man entered the place after the employees left with all of the pills. He then nodded towards Boss Lan.
"Sigh… I'm sorry about this. But… May I meet the esper in your store?" he asked politely.
"Esper? Ah… sorry mister but there is no esper in my store."
"Hmmm… then how would you explained this?…" the man asked as he extended his hand to touch the barrier.
Seeing the man's action, Boss Land shifted his gaze to Curt to confirm his decision. Curt just nodded his head to Boss Lan.
The man saw the silent communication and smiled. He found a handsome-looking young man wearing cheap clothes standing not too far from them. However, no matter how he checked the young man, he could not detect whether any esper energy on him.
Curt walked towards the man and nodded his head in greetings.
The bespectacled man was a bit surprised and unable to say anything at this moment as he could not believe that such a normal person is responsible for creating those things that are only supposed to be made by an esper. Plus judging from the number of items in the store, it would take around more than ten espers to create those and it would take them a week to accomplish such a task.
As those things are created using LEP energy the man knew that it is not easy.
Man bespectacled man himself is an esper, though a lower level one at that. He is able to feel the LEP waves inside the store which means that there are items capable of holding LEP which truly interest him.
For years the LEP technology has been monopolized by the other countries abroad and the government could only trade for those LEP weaponized items by a huge margin of loss. But if he could recruit this young man to work for the government, then there is a way for them to be able to produce such technology locally.
"Young man, can I talk to you in private?" he asked.
Curt nodded and agreed to the man and the two walked inside the backroom of the store.
Upon entering the man saw the small laboratory-like space inside and was immediately entranced with the equipment.
"Ahem… you have business with me, sir?" Curt asked.
"Yes, Umn… I would like to apologize for the action of my subordinate a while ago. I assure you that this would never happen again."
Curt just nodded in agreement, but in his mind, he didn't mind crushing those ants if they ever think of crossing his path again. Although Curt is a bit naïve and foolish sometimes, there is another personality inside of him that made him sometimes act decisive in many situations he has faced so far. He didn't even bat an eye when he killed someone for the first time just using pebbles. But he felt really uncomfortable at that time for doing such a thing after he got home.
"Umn… I am here to formally introduce myself. I am Doctor Evan Green, a visiting inspector of the country. I am assigned to the health department. When I heard about this store I was a bit skeptical, but after discovering the truth and the items spread throughout the city, I was really convinced. Young man, would you like to work for the government?"
Curt was a bit surprised that the person in front of him is actually a big timer. A government inspector is a respected job and only espers with mental ability could land this job. They are like walking and talking lie detector. Though they could not read minds, they are able to know if a person is lying or not through a machine attached to their subconscious mind and then that machine would be directed to the other person.
Through this and a series of questions, they are able to determine the truth.
"Hmmm… that is a tempting offer, but I'm afraid my skill is lacking for that kind of job," Curt said.
"No… I mean you are able to make these… How could your skill be lacking?" Dr. Green took out three items from his side pocket.
An echo stone, a vigor amulet, and a haste ring. These items are some of the items that Curt crafted easily and sold outside. They are just regular disposable items that would turn to dust after being used just once. But they are selling like hotcakes in the store, those things are the main source of income for the store, but according to the regulation in the city, they are just regular trinkets and the local government can't touch them. For this reason, the local health department made their move targeting the oil and the cream to confiscate everything in the store.
"Those are the only things I can make. If you want I can teach you how to make those?… it's really easy though." Curt said with a shrug.
When Dr. Green heard this he was a bit flabbergasted. He would casually teach anyone how to make these items, how can he do that?
But if this young man would agree then he would not say no to this opportunity.
"Okay, then name your condition…" Dr. Green immediately agreed which made Curt a little taken aback.
He is expecting the man to be forceful but after hearing his reply, Curt was a bit dumbfounded. But he also could not let this opportunity go.
"Alright, a fair trade then… Well, I only have two conditions. First is that I want this store to be protected by the government. Which means the city should not touch us. And we will serve the people with all our best. The second is that I will decide which product I would teach if ever there are new ones that I might create in the future and the government would pay the necessary fee beforehand and not through credit." Curt said.
He knew that the government likes to delay in paying people. So his condition would be different as he is not the one asking for help but them.
Upon hearing his two simple requests, the man looks at Curt and smiled. Those two things are very simple and easy to comply with. How could he not be happy?
The two shook hands and agreed on a term as the man drafted the contract.
"I will come back tomorrow for the finalization." Dr. Green said as Curt walked with him outside of the store.
When Curt came back, Boss Lan and the people which didn't left the store immediately approach Curt and ask many questions.
Curt lifted his hand and said.
"We are not going to close. And the government agreed to work with us. For today, the oil and the cream will not be sold in the meantime. But the rest of the product in the store is still available."
With his words, the women in the line immediately complained.
"What? Why did they do that? I need to buy the skin oil, as my stock is almost out…"
"Mine too… Why would those people in the government do this? They are just a bunch of money-grubbing bastards…"
"Yeah, why would they let our beauty be hindered by their ambitions… those corrupt people should be punished."
"I hate them… I will post this online…"
The women began to complain. Curt was a bit stunned as he didn't expect these people to act this way. But he felt helpless. He doesn't have any herbs anymore to make more.
"I think I need to go out again tonight." He thought.
…
That night, Curt sent a text message to his cold girlfriend who seems to have a hard time replying to his messages.
After eating dinner, he carried the huge medicinal herb backpack and his harvesting tool and walked towards the northern direction. His goal is to go to the mountainside of the city boundary. In that area, there are fewer people staying and it seems that the animals there are mostly rodents, lizards, and spiders. Plus there is a tall wall separating the inner city and the barrier area. And in-between those two areas is a large wildland filled with vegetation and wild animals.
This made Curt feel a bit excited.
According to his practice, his maximum strength has already reached around 500 kg as he continuously absorbs the LEP energy into his body. The rapid growth of his strength is becoming visible and he can also feel that not long later he could practice some of the fighting techniques in his mind.
As Curt approaches the wall where the soldiers are staying and guarding, he saw a group of men busily running roundabout.
When Curt saw their faces, he can feel that they are all showing restlessness.
"Stop! This is the military checkpoint. We are in an emergency, we advise you to stop and return to the city." a soldier suddenly shouted.
When Curt heard this he showed a faint smile on his face. He lifted his hands and said.
"It's me, soldier brother… I need to go out and harvest some plant tonight."
Upon hearing his words, the soldier took a careful look at Curt and showed a surprised look on his face.
"Oh, it's you… Well, I can't let you out this time. There is big trouble on the opposite side of the wall and we can't open it." The soldier said.
"Really, what happened?"
"Sigh… it was the mayor and his convoy. They were coming back from the other city. When they were about to reach the barrier, a horde of beast suddenly came out of nowhere. They forcefully broke through the barrier and destroyed the gate on that side. Now there are a huge number of beasts coming towards us."
"Then where is the mayor?"
"They are trapped and are being besieged by a large number of beasts at the moment. You can hear the gunshots, right?"
Curt nodded his head as he has already noticed it.
"Hmmm… Then good luck… I hope that you guys are able to take care of those beasts…" Curt said as he turns around and was about to go back.
"Wait! Wait a minute!" suddenly someone called him.
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