Tang Mo walked across the slender gangway and onto the deck of this massive armed merchant sailing ship, where a group of well-dressed elves had already set up a dining table and laid out many fine foods.
In the sea breeze, the pristine tablecloth gently rippled. Under the yellowing, huge sails rolled up in sections resembling lotus roots, a handsome and charming elf was smiling, holding a wine glass, watching him.
In this world, who isn't obsessed with good looks? When John saw Tang Mo's handsome, youthful face, his mood improved by a good two points—about the score of filling in the blanks on a quiz.
"Hello! My name is Tang Mo, and I am the owner of an enterprise on the outskirts of Brunas City." Although the two weapon-bearing attendants weren't allowed on board the ship, Wes had been permitted to follow.
After all, everyone still cares about appearances these days, and having a guard with you wasn't something that made people particularly apprehensive.
Upon meeting, Tang Mo used a fresh term that puzzled John, and the Elf captain standing beside John also repeated with displeasure, "Enterprise?"
"Yes, enterprise. Or, you could think of it as a super large workshop," Tang Mo said, very relaxed, as negotiating was one of the situations he was most familiar with.
In such moments, he felt like a deity who had expanded his domain, where he was everything, an invincible being.
At this time, he was not speaking nonsense but showing off his strength, subconsciously enhancing the opponent's recognization of Tang Mo's enterprise.
Unconsciously, the other party would cleverly dismiss some of Tang Mo's descriptions, while simultaneously accepting other parts he characterized.
"Hahaha! A workshop? Forgive my frankness, but something even larger than a workshop is still just a workshop after all," the captain standing beside John replied disdainfully right then.
Tang Mo did not argue because he had achieved his goal. As long as the other party did not question his workshop's production capability, that paved the way for later negotiations.
Therefore, Tang Mo immediately took the chance to concede, admitting, "Alright, if you prefer, you can consider me the owner of the Great Tang workshop."
"Well then, do tell, what valuable thing have you brought here to sell to me?" John did not want to be led by the nose by Tang Mo and asked directly.
"Uh... actually, it's a type of rifle. A new model rifle, better than the Shireck Flintlock Gun." Tang Mo didn't play coy and revealed his intentions straightforwardly.
"What did you say?" Hearing Tang Mo's words, the Elf captain standing there leaned forward in disbelief and exclaimed.
"Are you joking?" John glanced at his captain, motioning for him to regain his composure, before turning back to Tang Mo to ask.
"I'm not joking! Sir, I'm not joking! I truly have a new model rifle design, and I have a physical model on display," Tang Mo sincerely replied to John's question.
"..." John fell silent because he already believed what Tang Mo had said. Because they were meeting face-to-face, and Tang Mo mentioned he had a physical model on display. Whether it was true or not, they would know as soon as they tried.
Such a lie could not last for long, so there was no need for Tang Mo to lie. In this situation, what Tang Mo said was very likely true.
Now it was John's turn to feel at a loss—because if this was true, what should he do?
Therefore, he could only speak while contemplating a strategy, "Mr. Tang Mo, I understood the purpose of your visit, forgive my bluntness but you claim to have a brand new weapon, and I can verify it at any time... so, I believe you are telling the truth."
He paused for a moment then continued, "However, I still can't imagine why, after developing a new weapon, you would..."
"Sell it to you elves?" Tang Mo took the initiative, spreading his hands innocently.
He truly missed the days when cigarettes were available; if he had one, he could casually flick off some ash, pretentiously exhaling a plume of smoke, creating an air of mystery and exuding an expert's demeanor.
Unfortunately, tobacco was not so popular in this world, so he could only stand there honestly, like a high school student.
John nodded, affirming Tang Mo's statement, "Yes, although I'm reluctant to admit it, I must remind you that in a global context, the relationship between the Elf Race and humans isn't all that great."
"It doesn't matter... I'm an arms dealer, and elves' gold coins are still gold coins, aren't they?" Tang Mo replied with utmost naturalness.
However, he actually cut a lot out of the middle of his statement; what he was really thinking was: Gold coins from the elves, orcs, or humans are all gold coins, with no difference whatsoever, right?
John glanced at the captain standing beside him, and the elven captain immediately gave orders to the sailor standing behind Tang Mo and Wes, "Someone, let those two men he has brought come in! I want to see for myself what this new type of rifle, which you call an advanced weapon, really is like."
"I haven't even had water on my way here... Do you... mind?" Tang Mo glanced at the departing sailor and then, amidst the unfriendly gazes of the other sailors, walked over to the table, extended his hand, pointed at the beer on the table, and asked.
"Help yourself, Mr. Tang Mo! As long as everything you say is true, I can get you better wine and more gold coins," John said indifferently, gesturing to Tang Mo that he could take all the beer if he wished.
Tang Mo smiled, pulled out the wooden cork from the bottle, and poured himself a cup, as naturally as if he was in his own home.
His actions caught John's eye, and the elven noble momentarily felt as if he was facing his own father, an odd sensation indeed.
Effortlessly charming, imposing, full of nobility, like an abyss... These strange qualities were oddly combined in an eighteen-year-old young man, which John couldn't help but find peculiar.
This inscrutable pressure made him feel very uncomfortable. Fortunately, just when he was getting somewhat irritated, Luff came onto the deck with his men, placing a wooden box on another table.
Two elves stepped forward, opened the wooden box, and after seeing the firearms and ammunition inside, they stepped back to give Tang Mo a little space.
Tang Mo, unbothered, set down his cup and walked over, casually taking out the K1 Quick Gun from the box, "Then, please allow me to formally introduce to you... Tang's K1 Quick Gun! A better weapon than the Shireck Flintlock Gun!"
He pulled the bolt, took out a bullet from the box, inserted it into the chamber, closed the bolt again, completing the entire loading process.
Next, he handed the rifle to the elf standing by his side, signaling that he could use the weapon to conduct a firing test.
The leading captain took the rifle from Tang Mo's hands. Of course, he had used rifles before, so he easily understood the operating principle of this device.
Although he was not quite clear on the loading process, he knew where the trigger was, where the sights were, and which part was the muzzle.
So, after taking the weapon, he raised the K1 Quick Gun and aimed at a seagull soaring over the distant sea, then squeezed the trigger in his hand.
"Bang!" A sudden gunshot echoed over the sea, and the seagull plummeted, crashing into the water and creating a small splash.
Tang Mo looked at several stunned elves, then stretched out his hand, making a gesture seeking something. The leading elven captain subconsciously returned the weapon in his hands to Tang Mo.
Taking back his needle gun, Tang Mo pulled open the bolt and quickly cleared away the remnants of the paper-cased ammunition that had been fired.
Then, he naturally took a new bullet from the ammunition box, reloaded, and closed the bolt again.
"You see, there's no need for complicated loading, nor is there an exposed snaphance mechanism, making the firearm safer and more convenient to use..." Tang Mo, like a sales representative, was pitching his weapon in front of a group of elves.
He handed the reloaded rifle sideways to the leading elf John, "How about it? Would you like to try this brand-new weapon?"
John instinctively stretched out his hand, taking the K1 flintlock gun from Tang Mo, and, in shock, made a ready-to-shoot gesture.
His status in his own country was not low, for being able to lead such a sizable fleet meant he had true capability.
Having seen much and knowing wide, he had no idea until now that there really were more advanced weapons in the world, weapons so advanced they made him shudder.
Although elves are powerful, in places much farther away, the elf race is also in conflict with orcs. Both sides are probing, each wary of the other's formidable military.
Clearly, what lay before John might be a heaven-defying treasure that could alter the balance of power in war, possibly even more important than a mountain of gold.
In theory, this was not something he could, or should, be dealing with, but as it stood, he seemed to be the highest-ranking person present.
So, despite his hands trembling slightly, he still suppressed the mechanism, pointing the muzzle towards the distant sea.
He pulled the trigger and, as expected, heard a gunshot. The recoil transmitted through the butt of the gun caused his shoulder to ache a bit.
But still, he laughed, his boisterous laughter somehow remained clear amidst the sound of the waves lapping against the shore, "Hahaha! Excellent! Excellent! Excellent! How much for this thing?"