novelraw Chapter 129 Iron City
Chapter 129 Iron City
"...A chicken bone? If it were a chicken bone, would I have come all this way with you to investigate? Why would I be worrying about something that doesn't concern me?"
After saying that, Guo Shi stirred the carrots in the bowl, mashed them into a paste, and angrily ate it all up. She hadn't left her seat all day, spending her time comparing the land deeds with the large map of the main city.
"Iron Map, the main city of the Bronze Region, is a renowned mechanized city even among all fourteen regions in the world. How could one possibly establish a foothold in Iron Map without doing some research?"
"From the inside out, Iron City can be roughly divided into three areas. The outermost circle is the largest and most useless, used to confuse the alien creatures wandering in the wilderness. It is an empty city in the ordinary sense."
"There are a total of twenty empty cities, located on the outermost layer of the main city. They simulate or preserve different terrains, and most of them are ruins or uninhabited areas, so the environment itself is inherently dangerous..."
"Are these places actually inhabited?"
"Yes, as I said, the outer city area is also part of the main city area."
"...Continue."
"Furthermore, there is the central city circle, whose foundation is higher than that of the outer city circle. It is protected by high bronze walls. In times of emergency, it will rise from below and completely cover the central city circle inward."
Guo Shi continued, drawing a concentric circle on the paper, thickening and darkening the inner circle with a marker. Feeling it still wasn't quite right, he added bronze-colored gear outlines around the circle.
"This is also where most of the main city's prosperity is concentrated. Several high schools with preparatory class qualifications are located in the central city area. Boss Jiang certainly didn't give you a perfunctory answer on this point."
"As for the core area where the main body of the Bronze Pavilion is located... well, how am I supposed to explain that..."
"Isn't this just another concentric circle? The bigger the city, the more likely it is to use this kind of layout."
"Yes and no, the central city circle took all the land within the bronze high walls, without specifically designating a special zone in the middle, so calling it the core circle is not accurate..."
Guo Shi changed the CCTV channel, causing a cacophony of wailing and screaming from the people below. She ignored it, simply switching to the news channel and pointing to the panoramic view in the background, she said...
"It should be called the core layer."
What sat atop the central city was an exquisite spherical cage woven from countless bronze tree branches taken from the border, above ground level, radiating a warm white light from within.
While the city clusters are still on the same plane, the layers are completely different concepts. The core city of the Iron Map is actually lifted high in the air, contrasting with the dense, matchbox-like buildings below.
Perhaps for the residents of the main urban area, this scene is numb and commonplace, but for the city bumpkins who are stepping into Tie Tu for the first time, this special social structure really surprised Fang Jin and his group.
"Wait... could it be that Jiang Chan's liangpi (cold skin noodles) is...?"
"You finally figured it out?"
Guo Shi wearily raised her head, pulled out a land deed from a stack, and slapped it into Fang Jin's hand. The creases on the paper betrayed Guo Shi's resentment, so much so that she spoke before Fang Jin could even finish reading it.
"The other shops she gave me were all very good: four in the central city area and three in the outer city area. They were all located on the border and were inherently profitable. In Tietu City, they would be big, juicy pieces of meat."
"But there's only one, and it's a store that specifically supplies raw materials to the aforementioned seven companies. And damn it, it's built in the core area... in that Sky City where it's clearly restricting identity and access."
In Iron City, identity credentials and authorization are required to pass through each checkpoint, even in the twenty empty cities on the outer ring. The verification process is even more stringent in the middle and core areas.
Jiang Chan's prepared identity only reached the mid-level circle, bearing the mark of being from the City That Never Sleeps. This was the limit of what she could arrange; any higher-level identity credentials would require Fang Jin and the others to fight and compete for them themselves.
"There is a giant elevator connecting the upper and lower levels to reach the core from the middle circle. There is basically no other way to reach the upper level, let alone take over that raw material shop."
"Also, don't even think about climbing up the bronze branches to the sky. Those are the supports that the bronze walls relied on when they extended. Most of them are in a state of high temperature and high electricity. Touching them means certain death... at most, you'll just smell a little good."
"How do we get the right to reside in the core area? Unless Jiang Chan really has her eye on our little bit of property in the West Market, she shouldn't be setting us up in a dead end."
Fang Jin asked, having finally understood Jiang Chan's plan: one raw material shop and seven sales shops. The raw material from the core shop was unavailable, and the raw materials from Nevernight City were now also controlled by Jiang Chan.
In essence, they have taken over a bunch of empty shells, and even just maintaining these shells requires a huge investment of money. There is no income, but costs need to be incurred every day.
If they can't keep up with the demand for raw materials to keep the business running, the cycle will collapse at its most basic level, leaving them with only bankruptcy as their only outcome, or they might not even survive until the end of the transaction period.
Even the deposit was lost in their hands, so how could the properties of Nevernight City possibly be returned? Jiang Chan will take over the Ark Shops without hesitation and then gradually exchange the eight shops back.
Tongying.
"There are only three simple ways. First, you are born into the core layer, so you naturally have a privileged status. Second, you break through to the sixth level and become a high-level player. At that level, the elevator won't even dare to lock your door."
"The third is to fight... pass the exam, and only by becoming a member of the Bronze Hall can you be eligible to apply for a residence permit there. The influence of other cats and dogs is not worth mentioning."
"Without a doubt, Jiang Chan wants to invest in you, otherwise there would be no need for such a big fuss. But at the same time, he is forcing you to take the test and coldly cutting off our escape route in advance."
"So, Vice Leader, if you pass the test in ten days, great. But if you really do stumble and fall... with debt and nowhere to go, we'll all be sleeping on the streets."
Guo Shi smiled wryly. He had originally planned to come and help manage the shop, but now it seemed there was no room for them to make a difference. The future of this business depended entirely on Fang Jin.
"..."
Fang Jin, however, remained calm. After all, he couldn't muster any worry. The nightmare dungeon he had just experienced had brought about a qualitative change in his strength; his skills and equipment had been upgraded.
If Fang Jin hadn't planned to simultaneously raise Star Eater and Earth King Temple to the peak of Tier 3, he could have directly become a mid-tier player, a level that would be enough to serve as a mid-level player in the Bronze Hall.
If Jiang Chan's investment was based on his belief in Fang Jin's future potential, then today he has already brought out that potential. Fang Jin is somewhat surprised that he lost.