Munitions Empire

The bartender nodded slightly: "Yes."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"A beggar... even if interesting, is not worth reporting to me, is it?" Li'ao turned slightly and glanced at the bartender following behind him.

Without beating around the bush, the bartender straightforwardly relayed what he knew: "This beggar's surname is Nangong."

"Nangong Hong?" Li'ao narrowed his eyes.

"Yes, that's him," the bartender confirmed.

"Before I was convicted and deported, becoming a criminal, I knew the head of the Nangong family in Dahua... We had some connection," reflected Li'ao, recalling some incidents from his time in office.

"So... give him some money?" The bartender, hearing the word 'connection', thought for a moment and then tentatively asked for instructions.

Walking past the neatly organized honor guard, Li'ao said to his subordinate bartender: "Nangong Hong was known for his extraordinary intelligence at the age of five and had a reputation for his virtue by the age of seven... Although I have not returned for many years, I would think that given the Nangong family's upbringing, if he were seeking wealth, he would not come to Brunas, right?"

"He's here on a tourist visa... He sneaked in recently because of the upcoming exposition," the bartender said with a smile: "He only brought a little money and can't afford a hotel."

"...If he's here to seek refuge, arrange a place for him first, I will recommend him to meet with the master... With this, I consider the debt repaid," Li'ao pondered for a moment and then instructed the bartender.

The bartender bowed slightly: "...Your subordinate understands."

Up ahead, Tagg had already opened the car door for Tang Mo, who got into the vehicle followed by Yulin.

Tagg didn't care about the gossip concerning Yulin and Tang Mo's relationship, and after closing the car door for Yulin, he walked straight to his second car.

A whole line of Rolls Royce luxury models thus left the dock, attracting sidelong glances from passers-by; many well-informed people knew that only the highest-ranking officials of the Great Tang Group could possibly have such an extravagant entourage.

...

"I can't take it anymore, I'm going to starve to death... I, Nangong Hong, a prodigy blessed by heaven, never imagined I would starve to death in such a prosperous place..." Nangong Hong, who hadn't eaten all day, sat forlornly on the curb of the stone-paved road, whining weakly.

Rubbing his little stomach, the Attendant Student also said weakly: "Master... please stop talking... I'm even hungrier."

Two days ago, the two of them spent the last few copper coins they had, managing to trade them with a kind-hearted person for a few loaves of bread.

It was their good fortune to come across a bakery ready to dispose of some potentially not-so-fresh leftovers; it was either throw them away or give them to these two for a minimal charge out of pity.

Thanks to these few loaves of bread, they barely managed to get by until today—there was no choice, the difference between here and what they had imagined before was indeed too vast.

They couldn't find any decent work here at all, because they didn't even know the proper channels for job recruitment.

Even if they knew, in Brunas, the priority for hiring was, in order: experienced practitioners in related fields, graduates from related professional schools under the Great Tang Group, then legitimate residents of Brunas, and outsiders with various kinds of identification documents...

Who would spend money to hire a beggar with a "temporary tourist visa" of unknown identity? Besides, even if someone was willing to hire them, the wages wouldn't be paid until next month!

You haven't even started working and you're already asking for an advance on your salary to buy food, who would dare to hire you?

So, these two unlucky ones, an adult and a child, ended up hungry for the whole day, and could only squat on the roadside begging.

What was even worse was that their begging was almost fruitless—not because the people of Brunas lacked compassion, but because they were accustomed to their way of life and familiar with everything here.

Any true resident of Brunas knew that work would be rewarded, and beggars weren't sustained on the streets. Thus, residents here knew that those begging in this place were not good people.

They were either spies who had sneaked in or penniless migrants without identification; otherwise, they were lazy good-for-nothings beyond cure.

How can everyone's days have just started to get better? Who would give alms to these two types of people? So, most people hurried past without even glancing at the two of them.

"Could it be... that heaven wants to forsake me?" Nangong Hong lifted his head, gazing at the sun above and shouted at the top of his lungs.

His shout attracted the attention of many passersby, but after a few chuckles, most people moved on.

Down the road, a line of black cars with shiny paintwork that clearly looked exceedingly expensive whizzed by. Nangong Hong didn't know that these were all high-priced luxury cars, but a glance was enough to roughly discern the cars' status.

After all, even in Brunas, the most common sights on the streets were still the T-models and the people's cars; such a scene with many luxury cars gathered together was indeed very rare.

"A true man... should be like this indeed!" Watching the line of cars zoom past, Nangong Hong, who had just experienced social death, showed a flicker of light in his eyes.

The Attendant Student also saw the cars, but he was more concerned about his stomach: "Master... you should think about how we can get something to eat..."

He remembered the bread they had eaten yesterday and the day before, and to be honest, it didn't taste as good as the steamed buns from the Dahua Empire nor was it as filling.

By the end, the bread had turned slightly sour, making it taste even worse. He didn't understand how the people of Brunas could endure such awful food every day.

But... even so, if they could have a few sour pieces of bread now, that would be a wonderful thing...

Just as the Attendant Student's mind was filled with fantasies about bread, without warning, a Rolls-Royce that was part of the motorcade came to a stop before them.

Two burly men got out of the car, and with a quick move, they hoisted the two up into the vehicle. Another man who came down from the passenger seat tossed the bamboo basket carrying books, which was on the Attendant Student's back, into the trunk.

The last to get into the car, one of the big men waved a security troops badge at some passersby, and everyone went about their business as if nothing had happened here.

"You... what in the world... what are you planning to do?" Nangong Hong, frightened by the situation, cautiously asked.

Could it be that begging on the streets of Brunas is illegal? Are these people going to arrest me to face charges? That couldn't be it, right? To use such a fine car?

Sitting in the back seat of the Rolls-Royce, Nangong Hong felt the softness of the rear seats, and for a moment, his thoughts drifted.

"Shut up!" said one of the burly men sternly.

"Our master wants to meet you," the other burly man added briefly and then fell silent.

The Attendant Student swallowed hard. He had been snatched up and thrown into the car without seeing his bamboo book basket, and now he didn't dare to ask, his expression one of utter misery.

Luckily, the interior space of the Rolls-Royce was not small. Otherwise, with the two strong men sandwiching Nangong Hong and him, they probably wouldn't have been able to fit at all.

Thus, in an awkward squeeze, six people were crammed into the car, with the driver and the man from the passenger seat clearly feeling more fortunate as the back seat, including a child, squeezed four people in total...

"Who... who wants to see me?" Nangong Hong swallowed hard and asked with a shaken voice.

"The person you've always wanted to meet," the man from the passenger seat replied. He didn't know why his boss, the bartender, was interested in these two beggars. He figured that since the bartender wanted to see them, it wouldn't be wrong to create a good karma here, so he didn't hide anything.

"Can I... prepare myself first?" Nangong Hong looked at the man's obviously expensive clothes, then lowered his head to look at his own Beggars' Sect uniform, clutching his stomach as he spoke.

"No need," the man from the passenger seat frowned but still provided an answer.

"We, we haven't eaten yet!" This time, the Attendant Student mustered his courage and blurted out what he thought was the most important line.

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Today I've written an additional 1,000 words. It seems like my condition is improving, hehe.