Munitions Empire

A few minutes later, deep in the wilderness, Redman was shoveling soil into a pit, working away merrily.

Meanwhile, Tang Mo stood within sight of Redman, his face a mask of unpleasant contemplation. He had decided to let the person he trusted most take control of the intelligence organization he planned to establish.

So, he said to old Roger, "Uncle Roger, we need our own intelligence system! I think that you are the most suitable for this task."

"But, I really know nothing about this kind of thing," Roger said awkwardly, scratching his head.

Tang Mo was aware that tasking old Roger with building an intelligence system was indeed a bit too challenging.

Because Roger was clearly not the ruthless type, merely an ordinary businessman, ill-suited for a position that might involve many dark deeds hidden from public view.

Yet the position was so important that Tang Mo did not dare entrust it lightly to anyone else—after all, on this job, loyalty seemed more useful than capability.

Therefore, Tang Mo reluctantly had Roger start the work, planning to find someone more suitable to take over eventually.

He spoke again, "No choice, Uncle Roger. You're the one I trust the most right now. First, help me find some people. Later, I'll write a manual for you, and you train them according to its requirements."

"For now, you can talk with parents who have kids studying at schools. When Brunas's children are not in class, they can help gather information, and their parents can get involved too," Tang Mo decided to make use of his resources.

In the era he had come from, teachers seldom dared to trouble parents, but this era was different; parents were still filled with reverence for the school.

As Tang Mo spoke, he was already calling up relevant spy training manuals in his mind: "You'll be responsible for consolidating these reports. This task can be handed to Yulin; the girl is more meticulous... Then sort out the useful... the urgent... you teach her..."

He was speaking when he saw Wes and Tagg riding their horses at full speed along the road toward him. The two dismounted one after the other, leading their horses by the reins to Tang Mo.

"It looks like good news," Tang Mo smiled.

Some people may seem formidable and smart, but they still die humbly in a corner—like Beiji, for example.

A notorious figure, he was quite capable. Unfortunately, his hesitation and greed led to his abrupt death in the wild, without even putting up a fight.

Even Tagg and Wes felt a bit regretful; during the process of ambushing Beiji, they hadn't had the chance to exhibit the superiority of their secret weapon, the Revolver...

The thrill of crushing an opponent at a crucial moment with a secret weapon went completely unexperienced, diminishing their enthusiasm for boasting about killing Beiji.

So, Wes simply nodded, "We each fired a shot and took care of the nuisance that was Beiji."

"However, we don't know where the other servant went; we might have a lot of trouble following up," Tagg added, sounding bored.

"Look over there," Tang Mo gestured with a nod of his chin. Following the direction of Tang Mo's gesture, they saw Redman filling the pit with soil.

"The other one is there. He came to us on his own accord. It's quite interesting; I'll tell you about it when we have time," Tang Mo then said, "Within five days at most, Shireck will notice Beiji and his servant are missing."

"It will probably take them ten days to realize something is wrong and send someone to investigate," Wes said nonchalantly, "Whether the investigator can uncover the truth is anyone's guess."

"We can't base our safety on the stupidity of others," Tang Mo was no fool; he knew that caution was always in fashion.

In fact, when he decided to eliminate Beiji, the investigator from Shireck Consortium, he was already plotting how to cause trouble for Shireck Consortium.

Just as he said, he was no saint; if Shireck was a viper, then Tang Mo certainly considered himself a foul dragon, capable and ferocious. Even if he hadn't yet grown or transformed into a behemoth, he was bound to be carnivorous!

"Do you have a way to get information about Shireck?" Tang Mo looked at Wes, posing a question.

"Yes," Wes nodded. Over the years of wandering, in addition to developing his combat skills, what made him proudest was the helpful friends he had made.

"I'm planning to seize an opportunity to raid a Shireck transport convoy. Got the guts to join me?" Tang Mo continued to ask Wes.

Clearly, some ideas, once they start, always tend to lead to wild thoughts. A bold, somewhat thrilling idea began to linger in Tang Mo's mind unshakably.

Since Lord Earl was able to rob the Shireck Consortium once, Tang Mo naturally could also seek some benefits from the already hostile Shireck. After all, if he didn't act, the Shireck Consortium would trouble him sooner or later, so why not start earning some interest now?

War was imminent, and Tang Mo felt it was worth trying to hit Shireck again at this time, to find some supplies to boost his own development.

"Robbing the convoy is no problem, but, you know, boss... they have just been robbed once, they will definitely be more cautious, more careful," Wes answered with a laugh, obviously someone who wasn't afraid to stir up trouble.

Tagg, on the other hand, was much more cautious. He thought that robbing a convoy clearly required long-term planning.

Earl Fisello was able to make a convoy vanish without a trace, the resources he must have used were obviously immense.

The intelligence network painstakingly built over the years against the Shireck Consortium was almost completely lost, resulting in Lord Earl's now very sluggish reaction to the movements of the Shireck Consortium.

The good news was that Lord Earl received armaments as compensation from Tang Mo and, with the enhanced productivity from new equipment, it was clear that Lord Earl's losses were sustainable.

But now Tang Mo wanted to rob a Shireck convoy as well, and whether it was worth it needed to be recalculated.

"You don't need to worry about that because I can assure you that no matter how cautious they are, they won't escape our calculations," Tang Mo promised confidently with a smile.

Wes nodded, "I'll make a trip to Brunas, and if nothing goes wrong, I should be able to find out some information."

"No problem, if you need money, go ask Roger," Tang Mo ordered, then saw Redman walking over with a shovel.

"All taken care of?" Tang Mo asked, looking at the sweaty Redman.

Redman nodded and replied, "All taken care of. The search squads have returned, the convoy has already set off again... and we've lifted the checkpoint we set up in the Vicious Forest."

"Let's go! Back we go! We still have a lot to do," Tang Mo was very satisfied with Redman's efficiency and led the way to the distant construction site.

After being busy for so long, they were all hungry. Aunt Cui Xi probably already had food ready, and Tang Mo was even a bit impatient.

He always ate at the canteen with everyone, the only difference was that Aunt Cui Xi's hand holding the ladle barely trembled when she served Tang Mo's food...

Two men were killed and buried in the damp soil, yet none of the people following Tang Mo seemed to think there was anything amiss.

Wes was glad that he had pledged his allegiance, now irrevocably tied to Tang Mo... Tagg was thrilled to be able to help, and murder was nothing new to him... Redman followed behind with his shovel, only he felt somewhat nauseous.

After all, this was his first time killing someone, so his face was pale, but he still stubbornly followed the others.

He was a hunter from Northern Ridge, but he had earned Tang Mo's favor. The moment he was chosen by Tang Mo, like many from Northern Ridge, he offered his most precious loyalty to his master.

Just now, he had proven his loyalty with two bullets and a shovel!

"Redman!" As he was lost in thought, Tang Mo's voice came from ahead. He instinctively stopped and realized he almost bumped into Tang Mo.

"Well done!" Tang Mo patted Redman's shoulder. An eighteen-year-old youth patting a man in his thirties—it might have seemed a bit awkward, but no one present felt it was out of place.

As if everything were as it should be, after praising Redman, Tang Mo continued, "The new recruits are doing very well! Don't relax; I hope you can do even better!"

"Yes, my lord!" Redman, having received Tang Mo's praise and affirmation, straightened up like a child commended by a teacher, lifted his chin, and promised, "I will do even better!"

Unnoticed, the group had returned to the construction site, where Mathews was assembling a brand-new, just-completed device with several apprentices.

Seeing Tang Mo, Mathews curiously inquired, "How did it go? No hiccups?"

"Obviously not," Tang Mo replied with a smile, "How about things here?"

"Everything is smooth," Mathews responded, "But with all the copper wire you got, and this strange device, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"To light up the world," Tang Mo said with a mysterious smile.