Inside the Studio of the Bizarre, the group chatted and laughed, talking about everything under the sun.
Although there was a bit of awkwardness at the start, they were young people, after all; the establishment of friendship was pure and simple. After Youye told a few slightly terrifying urban legends about the Hollows, the relationship between them grew even closer.
"So, what's the deal with that story about the sea monster in the Hollow?"
Lucia was extremely interested in the urban legend Youye mentioned. Although she was most interested in stories related to Ethereals, other strange tales were also very intriguing.
"Oh, that one? It's said that someone entered the Lemnian Hollow on a rainy night and encountered a giant sea siren with several tails. They say it was as tall as a three-story building."
Youye spoke with great relish, while Geno wondered if this sea siren was some kind of strange Ethereal.
Man-to, on the other hand, didn't have that many thoughts. He was just wondering: if there really were a sea siren, who would be stronger compared to those Ethereals?
"By the way, Youye, when we came in, I saw those ornaments displayed in your shop. They don't seem like ordinary crafts."
Speaking of Hollows, Geno suddenly remembered the small ornaments he saw outside. He was relatively sensitive to Ether fluctuations, and those small trinkets gave him a somewhat strange feeling.
"Ah, those were made by my old man. My family makes a living selling small ornaments that ward off evil. The raw material for those things is mostly 'Lumiceramic,' which counts as a local specialty."
Lumiceramic—the raw material for Radiant Porcelain. This explained why Geno felt those ornaments were strange; it was because they isolated a portion of the Ether.
But, wouldn't it be a bit wasteful to use such precious material to make ornaments?
"Haha, don't worry. My old man only uses low-quality ore brought back from the mining area by some miner friends. It's the kind that those black-hearted enterprises wouldn't want at all. Plus, basically everyone who comes to our shop is a knowledgeable acquaintance, so there won't be any negative impact."
Speaking of this, Youye expressed her views on those black-hearted enterprises with some mockery. Those so-called big shots desperately squeezed the value out of the miners but never gave them corresponding labor remuneration.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have to resort to picking up these broken stones that the companies didn't want just to earn some extra cash.
"So that's how it is."
Geno had originally thought that if Youye's family could get hold of Lumiceramic, he might be able to solve his Radiant Porcelain supply problem through this channel. Now, it seemed he was overthinking it.
"However, Old Dad Li's craftsmanship is truly skillful. To think he could make those hard stones look so beautiful."
Loving beauty is a girl's nature. With Geno starting the topic, the two girls immediately shifted the conversation to the style of these ornaments.
Man-to and Geno, the two grown men, were completely uninterested in this. However, unexpectedly, Man-to offered Geno a brand-new path.
"Hmm, you seem very interested in Radiant Porcelain. I actually know a lot of miner friends. Perhaps they might have a way."
Relying on his robust physique that far exceeded that of an average adult, as well as his righteous character, Man-to often stood up for the nearby miner brothers, teaching lessons to those black-hearted coal bosses and the local thugs who tried to take advantage of them. As a result, Man-to's reputation among the miners had always been very good.
"If that's the case, that would be wonderful."
Although the possibility was small, it wasn't completely hopeless. Geno decided to go to the miners to try his luck.
The next day, introduced by Man-to, Geno met face-to-face with a group of miners who were about to enter a Hollow.
These miner brothers were all warm-hearted good people. For Man-to's sake, they were willing to introduce Geno to their bosses.
Geno thought everything would start looking up, but he hit a wall with that group of mine owners.
"Little brother, although we contract the Lumiceramic mine pits, we have all signed contracts with Huijing-Meike under TOPS. There really is no way."
The group of mine owners shook their heads helplessly at Geno's request. To put it plainly, they were just working for Huijing-Meike, no different from those miner brothers.
Moreover, merchants chase profit. If they could earn an extra income, it would naturally be good. But the contracts from Huijing-Meike were very strict, not allowing them to sell any ore meeting the indicators specified in the contract to anyone in any form.
So domineering?
Geno frowned. He naturally knew of TOPS's tyranny, but he didn't expect them to be tough to this extent. regarding this, the owners couldn't say much either.
Although Huijing-Meike's contracts were indeed unfair clauses, conversely, their payments were also full of dominance; every payment was a figure difficult for them to refuse. Otherwise, they wouldn't be doing so well in Weifeidi, a place where connections meant everything.
"Little brother, let me give you a piece of advice. The waters run deep here; it's better if you don't get involved."
An older boss, who looked like he had rich experience, gave Geno this warning.
"Thank you for the advice, Uncle. I'll go think of other ways."
Seeing Geno say this, the uncle couldn't say much more. He just shook his head and left.
Even if a deal isn't made, righteousness remains—this was his experience from many years. He had seen many young people like Geno who wanted to achieve great things at a young age, but few actually succeeded. However, if one day he really did succeed, he would be a dragon among men, and perhaps the uncle could bask in the reflected glory then.
Bidding farewell to this group of mine bosses, Geno continued to wander around various parts of Weifeidi, wanting to try opening a breach through the shops here, but he still came up empty-handed.
"If they aren't affiliated with Huijing-Meike, they already have other long-term suppliers... Radiant Porcelain... is really... annoying..."
After busy work all morning, Geno sat on a bench by the seaside, holding a bowl of freshly bought sugar water. He gazed helplessly at the sea level, seeming to want to use this method to relieve the exhaustion in his heart.
"Ugh, this sugar water... it's sweet enough to make your teeth fall out."
He didn't like things that were too sweet. He had intended to buy something random to pad his stomach since he hadn't eaten all morning, but he hadn't expected this sugar water to be so sweet.
"'Sweeter than first love, surpassing candied fruit'—it really wasn't false advertising."
Putting down the bowl of sugar water that could ruin a dieter's hard work for half a month in one go, he looked at the sky and sea blending into one color and let out a helpless sigh.
"Yo! Isn't this Mr. Ethereal Knight? Why so crestfallen? Let me guess, is work not going smoothly?"
The quirky and eccentric Youye popped up from somewhere, teasing the somewhat exhausted Geno aloud.
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