Munitions Empire

However, their journey was thwarted when they found that the carriage had been hijacked. According to the people around, it was taken by a burly man with a scarred face who had even fired a gun, and he was all covered in blood.

Obviously, within the camp, only Qiumuluo matched that description. As for the fact that the man was covered in blood... well, Gis felt that it didn't matter much.

After all, whether Qiumuluo was dead or alive was of no concern to him. His current priority was meeting with Tang Mo and having a good talk with him.

Hence he walked over to a war horse, mounted it swiftly, and bolted out of the barracks with the lead. Several guards rode after him; one held high a white flag and frantically followed behind Gis.

The dreadful machine gun was silent, and the Great Tang Group's position was quiet. Eventually, Gis made it through the defenses and arrived at a clearing under the escort of several Rangers.

Two Rangers from the Great Tang Group's security force placed some stools on the ground and then stepped aside.

And Gis's entourage? They were kept more than a hundred meters away, so far out that even their revolvers had been confiscated.

Dozens of guns were pointed at them, which made them quite uncomfortable. But under someone else's roof, one must bow their head; they didn't have the guts to voice any objections.

Tang Mo walked up to Gis with Wes, and Gis, struggling to save face, stared at Wes and asked, "My people are under control, but why can you bring a companion?"

"He's my bodyguard... If you're not used to it, please bear with it," Tang Mo replied disdainfully to Gis.

"Didn't expect I would come, did you?" Gis had no choice but to swallow his pride. He seemed somewhat dejected as he sat down on the stool, a position that he was clearly not quite used to.

Unfortunately, there were no better seats available here, and it also seemed like Tang Mo didn't plan to let him have a look at his own headquarters.

Tang Mo also took a seat on the stool, and the two of them sat down facing each other. It looked rather like two old friends enjoying an outing: "In fact, I guessed that you would come."

"Then you guessed right! I'm very curious, how did you come up with so many advanced weapons and equipment?" Gis couldn't wait as he broached the topic he was most interested in.

Self-satisfied, Tang Mo pointed to the tip of his nose and asked back, "I'm a genius, what do you think?"

"Not a bad explanation." Gis nodded slightly, apparently accepting Tang Mo's statement and gave an assessment that left Tang Mo somewhat speechless.

Tang Mo said nothing, just fixating his gaze on Gis, because he knew the other man surely had a lot more to say.

"I lost." It was only after a few seconds that Gis spoke up with this admission.

Tang Mo remained silent; he continued just watching Gis, seemingly waiting for Gis to continue speaking.

And indeed, Gis also looked straight at Tang Mo and said earnestly, "If I say now that we can have a good talk, I could persuade Shireck Company to give you everything you want. Five million Gold Coins, or even ten million Gold Coins, would not be a problem... Would you agree to this deal?"

"I am a businessman, Mr. Xiuyi Gis... But I'm not an idiot. Do you think I'd still believe that you plan to give me ten million Gold Coins, so I can develop in peace with a group that defeated you for ten or twenty years before troubling you again?" Tang Mo asked Gis, laughing coldly.

In reality, Gis too knew that Shireck's credibility was bankrupt. The moment he resorted to underhanded tactics intending to take over Great Tang Group, the trust had utterly collapsed.

The level of trust between them was zero, even negative, so any further cooperation or negotiation was impossible. That was an evident fact.

"That's a fair point." So, after staring at Tang Mo for quite some time, Gis let it go. He exhaled deeply and continued to inquire, "Now, can you tell me about your advanced weapons?"

"Which ones do you want to hear about?" Tang Mo was not reticent, asking directly.

"All of it, from the beginning," Gis's eyes brightened, and he replied openly.

Tang Mo began to recount as if remembering his past, "I first came across a formula, for thunder mercury... You all must also be aware of it now."

However, Wes, who knew him, was aware that the more Tang Mo spoke in such moments, the less truth came out of his mouth.

Gis nodded slightly. Shireck had already obtained the recipe for thunder mercury from the Augustin Family, "I'm aware of that."

Tang Mo then continued his narrative, "Then I thought, since this thing could act as a simple ignition device, why not develop a more reliable rifle?"

He vividly described the process of improving thunder mercury and developing the paper cartridge ammunition and related weaponry, "I experimented and improved, and finally came up with a brand new weapon, the K1 Quick Gun! You know about this, too."

"Yes, we are also aware of the K1 Quick Gun," Gis admitted, having speculated about Tang Mo's development process before. Tang Mo's account barely differed from his speculations.