Love and passion, cutting up the wasteland.

"Prosthetic limbs?" The shop owner looked at the group of people in front of him and said, "You all have good arms and legs. I guess you don't have any use for them."

"We are just asking," Nan Ding said, "Besides, we are not using them ourselves. We are doing business. We can make a profit by shipping them to other places and reselling them."

In the upper city or inner city of the Depression Lagoon, in a machine repair shop, a group of people were chatting with the shop owner. They were the group who had concealed their identities and infiltrated the noble caravan.

Nandin learned his lesson from the meeting with the mechanic. This time he did not bring the Ember Warriors who had undergone mechanized transformation, but instead asked the warriors of the Wandering Tribe to follow him.

However, after hearing her words, the boss laughed and said, "I have been in this lagoon for many years, and this is the first time I heard of someone wanting to do a mechanical prosthetics business. Girl, you don't have much business experience, do you?"

"What the boss said is right," Nan Ding was stunned. Shi Cha came up to her and held her back, whispering, "Things like prosthetic limbs are so expensive that even the best ones are so expensive that even the swords made by some master craftsmen can't be sold at this price. The poor can't afford them, and the rich can't afford them either. So their sales are limited."

In this world, most people with missing limbs are injured civilians at the bottom of society or frontline soldiers, but they are obviously not the target audience for high-quality mechanical prostheses. Rich businessmen and nobles will never get the chance to fight in the battlefield. Only the more powerful and high-level warriors may need them, but they have strong recovery abilities and there are options such as limb transplants... After excluding all these, the remaining ones are the target customers.

So when Nanning first mentioned that she wanted to start a prosthetics business, the shop owner saw through her plan.

The female doctor secretly thought that this was not good. She was not a person who lacked common sense. Almost all the mechanical modification surgeries in the Ashes Cult were performed by her. It could be said that from the Swamp to the Flash Land, no one had a better understanding of mechanical prostheses than her, including her teacher, Dr. Zhong... It was just like what the boss said, she was indeed not proficient in business and commerce, and did not understand the value of the outside world.

The entire cult has only about a dozen prosthetic limbs, all of which were provided by the Grand Master, and they all came from the technological hunters and relay stations in the Shek Kingdom.

Therefore, when they came to the Depression Lagoon, a larger and more central base of technological hunters, they might have thought of replenishing their mechanical prosthetic limbs.

Just as Nan Ding was thinking about how to remedy the situation, Shi Cha smiled and said to the shop owner, "To be honest, we are indeed in the prosthetics business, but it is not open to the public. All orders are made by private appointments... It is not convenient to reveal the identities of those who have the financial resources and needs, you understand."

"Here is my credential." He handed over the magnetic card issued by the Merchant Guild.

"I see," the boss took a quick look and saw that the other party was a third-level franchised merchant, his eyes lit up, "I didn't consider this level... Please come this way."

Shi Cha started the conversation skillfully, and in his words he seemed to inadvertently reveal his status as a noble family in Kaiton City, which aroused the boss's imagination again.

The aristocratic circle may be very chaotic, and many people still have body worship. It is somewhat indecent for a ruler to have a disabled limb. However, if they are aristocrats, they can afford mechanical transformation.

But the water is very deep.

The shop owner made a half-guess and also expressed that it would be kept absolutely confidential.

"It's better to leave business matters to me, the master." Just as Nan Ding was standing there thinking, the warrior Su Cheng stepped forward and said softly, "After all, everyone has their own expertise."

"Of course I understand this principle..." Nan Ding nodded, but did not say what was in his mind.

They will do so.

Naturally, there was still some suspicion and resentment towards the people of this noble caravan.

Both the Swamp and the Shem were, to some extent, caused by the United Cities... or more precisely, by the outbreak of a great war in the Merchant Guild. If it weren't for the Red King, they might even have turned into a disaster that could not be resolved.

The gap between them exists naturally.

But the Merchant Guild itself is also an extremely complex organization. Apart from the core members, most of the members who join the guild are just interested in the convenience of joining the guild, or in order to avoid the "inconvenience" of not joining the guild... The other party has an absolute monopoly on this continent. Even if other trade activities such as skinner smugglers, pastoralists in Shandi, etc. can grow and develop locally, compared with the power of the Merchant Guild, even if all of them are added together, they probably only account for one-tenth.

Now the Merchant Guild Headquarters has issued a ban, asking its affiliated guilds to bypass the Land of Shan - bypass the sphere of influence of the Lord of Blood. On the one hand, this will certainly reduce the economic plunder of the local area, but on the other hand, it is a trade blockade and embargo.

In the short term, no effect can be seen.

The country is also self-sufficient in commodities such as fuel and food, and there will be no large-scale unrest.

But if this continues for a long time, shortages of products in various subcategories will gradually become apparent, which will have a restraining effect on Shandi; on the other hand, even if Shandi develops its own industry, it will be difficult for them to sell their products due to the lack of the huge trade network provided by the merchant guilds.

To solve.

Only alternatives can be sought.

But this is easier said than done.

Nan Ding was indeed a little surprised by the cooperative attitude of Shi Cha and others, and she thought: Could it be that the reason why the Grand Commander chose this noble caravan was not only to hide himself with the help of their identities, but also to find another way to establish a transport caravan that could serve him?

It is impossible for the logistics department to take care of everything. A more efficient way is to act as a manager and outsource the work to partners.

But the question is where in the world there are so many resources.

Are there any options other than the Merchant Guild itself?
Is this considered poaching... Nan Ding thought to herself, and then thought of a question. She looked at Su Cheng and said, "Mr. Su, what is the approximate coverage rate of mechanical prosthetics in the United City Empire Army... Sorry, can I tell you this?"

"Of course, because there is no such thing as coverage." Su Cheng didn't care. "I have seen many disabled soldiers, but those who have been mechanically transformed and returned to the battlefield... Excuse me, there are less than three digits in the entire army."

If you have this spare money, you might as well equip yourself with some precious weapons and armor. Of course, a better option is to directly spend money to hire people and use your connections to exempt yourself from military service.

There is no need to go to the battlefield at all.

Except for some poor samurai, most of those who joined the Central Army were actually conscripted peasants. Their weapons and uniforms were distributed by the empire and they could not bring their own. They were collected after the war.

Sometimes, there was not enough time to collect the bodies of the soldiers who died in battle, so their armor had to be brought back first. After all, a set of armor was much more valuable than a human life.

"I heard that mechanical prosthetics are all looted and disassembled from ancient ruins by technology hunters, so they are so scarce and expensive." Su Cheng said with a slightly emotional and yearning tone, "I have actually thought that if humans master the technology of making prosthetics, many seriously injured and amputated comrades can stand up again - not that they must return to the battlefield, but after retiring and returning home, at least they can make a living on their own..."

In the absence of medical care and medicine on the battlefield, it is extremely rare to be able to save a life after an amputation surgery, but it is not necessarily considered lucky.

Because even greater misfortunes were waiting for them, Su Cheng had witnessed too many of them. Some were abandoned during the march, some were sent back home and never heard from again... He didn't dare to imagine what these people encountered afterwards. The pensions distributed by the Imperial Army after layers of exploitation were not even enough for the travel expenses, and in most cases, these wounded soldiers knew there was no hope and wisely ended their lives in advance.

"But sometimes, just a prosthetic limb can allow a veteran soldier to regain his strength even more powerful than before." Nan Ding thought of something and subconsciously argued, "With such value, why doesn't the imperial government..."

"You're not going to include mechanical prosthetics in your military equipment purchases?" Su Cheng laughed. "I don't know the situation in South United City, but the Imperial Army I'm in may really have the strength to do so."

After all, there is the support of Merchant Blade.

"But it's just like I said before, this cost... is much more valuable than human life." It does cost a lot to train a soldier who has been tempered on the battlefield. Behind every veteran who can be called a backbone, there are countless recruits who have been naturally eliminated.

However, even though the population is not as explosive as that of the Holy Empire, the fanatical Holy Chosen are as surging as a tidal wave of insects... The United Cities covers nearly half of the continent, and there is no shortage of people either.

The value of savings from reuse is even higher.

It's still better than the cost being zero.

This is the logic of business and battlefield.

Nan Ding wanted to say something, but when she saw Su Cheng in front of her, she was suddenly speechless: She suddenly remembered that this warrior was expelled from the Imperial Army, and he had such talent and strength that even the Grand Commander had praised him... but in the eyes of the United City, he was nothing more than a waste that could be discarded at any time and did not need to be cherished.

You are not obedient.

There are many people who are loyal.

In comparison, the existence of the mechanically modified warriors of the Order of Ashes is an alternative... At first, Nandin was only attracted by Narko's teachings, and she herself has a talent for surgery, so she was so enthusiastic about it because she could get positive feedback.

However, it was not until today, after a conversation with Su Cheng, that she touched upon a blind spot that she had previously overlooked: the Grand Master established such a doctrine and was even willing to leave precious mechanical prostheses to the warriors of the cult... What kind of meaning does it have for these people themselves, as if it were a rebirth.

She thought of Reverend Mile.

No wonder the other party had never met the commander-in-chief before, but was so excited and not afraid of the hard work after receiving the order from Priest Huo to rush to the rescue from a thousand miles away.

And the Ember Warriors who are on this trip.

These can't be bought with money.

However, due to the scarcity and high price of mechanical prostheses, even though the Grand Commander has been exceptionally generous and allocated some funds to Nanning to allow her to purchase some...but in the end the demand will definitely be far greater than what can be provided.

unless……

"Re-master the technology of making mechanical prostheses..." Nan Ding remembered what Su Cheng had just said and couldn't help but mutter. Then he came to his senses and looked at the warrior: "Please call your master back. We only need to buy one sample here. There is no need to spend all the funds."

"Hmm?" Su Cheng agreed, "Then where are we going?"

"Since we are in the Lagoon, the relay base of the Tech Hunters, it can be said to be the most coveted holy land for researchers all over the world, except for the End of the World and the Black Scratches..." A figure with messy hair emerged in Nan Ding's mind, "Then there is a person who must be most aware of the most cutting-edge and advanced research progress on the continent today."

However, the reason they were summoned by the chief mechanic a few days ago was because the other party had some doubts and needed answers.

Now I want to see you again.

Looking at the other party's attitude of being indifferent to worldly affairs and having no interest in money and power... the secular ways of opening up connections are probably completely useless.

They would also feel that they were delaying their research and would simply refuse them.

Nan Ding did not regret not communicating more at that time. Firstly, the other party had the status and was in control. Meeting was just the first and most basic hurdle. He had no reason to provide help.

Secondly, the leader has already prepared a stepping stone for her, which can be used at any time.

……

……

Huang Xiang stared blankly at his lower body.

Empty.

The two legs that were not very strong but had been used to travel everywhere had now disappeared.

"So worried?" Lu Meng came over with a bowl of hot soup with white mist coming out of it. He fanned it and smelled it, then placed it next to the man. "It's been delayed for too long. Although it was just a leg injury at first, it's rotten to the bone. Plus the sciatic nerve infection... Amputating the lower body is lucky if it can save your life."

"Oh," he said, remembering something, "Don't worry, I paid special attention to it when I was operating on you. Although it may look a little strange, it won't affect your childbearing in the future... probably."

"I don't care about this!" Huang Xiang's face turned pale and he said embarrassedly.

His eyes went dark at that moment and he lost all consciousness in an instant. When he woke up, he saw what he saw now.

Uncle Li said later that he finally understood what had happened to him.

What the other party took out was obviously a killing weapon used on the battlefield, but its sharpness was beyond the imagination of several drifters. Even if it cut into the bones, it seemed to have no hindrance.

What they didn't expect was that Lu Meng actually held the killing weapon and used it as a scalpel to perform the entire operation.

There is a beauty to it, as if it were carved with a sledgehammer.

The craftsmanship is breathtaking.

"It looks like the wound has almost healed. At least there is no risk of infection." Lu Meng unwrapped the bandage and examined it. "As for if he wants to move, leave it to him during this period of time."

He pointed backwards.

Chad was wiping his hands and just happened to be walking towards him from this direction.

When the Tech Hunter heard this, his face darkened.

Not only am I a stowaway, but my status has also been reduced to that of a mount?
"There is another thing," he began, "I have already found out about the person."

What Chad was referring to was the community leader they brought back.

(End of this chapter)