Chapter 152 - 116: Spiritual Field, Getting on the Right Track

Without hesitation, Li Chang’an scanned the chat box, found a seller who looked reliable, and sent an inquiry: "Do you have everything in stock?"

The seller’s name was Qi Long, from Shanghai.

It seemed he was even using a real name verified by the Rebirth Mark.

Li Chang’an had done his research. Sellers with real-name verification in the trading zone were powerful, and that power implied legitimacy.

Of course, that power and legitimacy also came at a price.

Ordinarily, those making small purchases in the trading zone wouldn’t even cross paths with a big shot like this.

...

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「Shanghai, Sangye City.」

A man, leisurely sipping coffee beside a holographic projector, raised an eyebrow when he saw Li Chang’an’s reply.

Normally, Qi Long couldn’t be bothered with an order this small.

In the business of custom military-grade raw materials, while he might not rank in the top ten in all of Shanghai, he was definitely in the top fifty.

From Li Chang’an’s perspective, his order was probably quite large.

But to Qi Long, it was next to nothing.

However, the fact that Li Chang’an had the authority to pin his post was impossible to ignore. In Qi Long’s eyes, this meant the poster had to be at least a Level 3 Citizen.

Moreover, the dimensions of the materials Li Chang’an required were so unusual; they weren’t for any mainstream equipment on the market at all.

So, even though the order was small, Qi Long still took it seriously and personally sent Li Chang’an a message.

Seeing Li Chang’an’s immediate reply, Qi Long’s lips curved into a smile. ’Heh, it seems he recognizes quality.’

He assumed Li Chang’an had recognized his name.

And had chosen him from among thousands of other suppliers for that reason.

So, in a reasonably good mood, Qi Long sipped his coffee and mentally typed out a message: "I just took a look. I have basically all the military-grade raw materials you’re looking for. However, the specifications you require are different from the conventional ones on the market. If you really need them, I can have them custom-made for you!"

’This guy really is powerful!’

The materials Li Chang’an needed included not only military-grade, super-caliber drone cannon barrels, but also the coils, electrolytic capacitors, and metal diodes required to build a Super Electromagnetic Cannon.

Yet this seller could procure all of it.

However, because Li Chang’an intended to assemble the parts himself, Qi Long didn’t have any ready-made stock.

They would have to be custom-ordered from a factory.

Li Chang’an didn’t show his hand, simply asking, "How much will it cost? Give me a quote."

This time, Qi Long was silent for a long while.

Li Chang’an waited patiently.

After all, money was a sensitive topic in any negotiation.

The seller had to set a competitive price while still maximizing his profit, and Li Chang’an needed to use that quote to determine how much room there was to haggle.

The trading zone wasn’t a flea market.

To complete a transaction, you could compare prices from two or three sellers at most.

Constantly asking for quotes without actually paying up and buying anything would easily get you blacklisted by the sellers.

While waiting for the quote, Li Chang’an contacted a few other sellers. None of them had as complete an inventory as Qi Long; they could only offer parts and pieces from his list.

He asked them for their prices as well.

About three minutes later, Qi Long sent Li Chang’an an itemized list with prices for everything he wanted to buy.

The list included all the parts to assemble ten Super Electromagnetic Cannons and ten Energy Particle Beam Cannons, as well as some manufacturing equipment for high-end chips.

The total came to one million Rebirth Points.

This amount seemed very high.

But in reality, if Li Chang’an were to buy the finished products directly, a single, state-of-the-art Energy Particle Beam Cannon would cost 200,000 Rebirth Points alone.

One can imagine how high the markup on these city defense systems was.

After comparing the price with other sellers and finding it quite reasonable, Li Chang’an immediately replied, "How long will a custom order take?"

On the other end, Qi Long replied, "That depends on your needs. If you’re in a hurry, I can have my people work overtime to get it done. Some of the components are difficult to procure, but since the quantity is small, we should be able to get it all done in about ten days!"

’Ten days?’

That was much shorter than Li Chang’an had expected!

He immediately asked, "Alright. Will there be an extra charge for the rush job?"

Based on Li Chang’an’s knowledge of the trading zone, rush orders usually came with an extra fee.

However, Qi Long refused. "Anyone with the authority to pin posts in the trading zone is someone I won’t be charging a rush fee. I’m not sure what you plan to do with so many oddly specified parts, but let’s just consider this deal as the start of a friendship!"

As a merchant, Qi Long was clearly very astute.

He knew Li Chang’an’s Citizen Level was high and that there might be opportunities for future business, so he hadn’t planned on making a profit from this order anyway.

Li Chang’an didn’t bother with further pleasantries. "Then thank you, Boss Qi. Please have the items sent as soon as possible. The address is Cangxuan City, Linjiang Prefecture, Xiangnan Province."

With that said, Li Chang’an paid the fee.

The money would be held in escrow by the Rebirth Mark and would only be transferred to the seller’s account after the transaction was complete.