novelhk Chapter 379 Technological Achievements
Chapter 379 Technological Achievements
Chapter 379 Technological Achievements
This is a watch shop.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
The rhythmic sounds continued to reach Rior's ears.
What comes into view are rows of metal machines.
Countless gears rotate through the friction of metal.
The axle and hands are perfectly designed to resemble "time".
There are various types of clocks here, including grandfather clocks, small clocks, pendulum clocks, and wall clocks, placed in every corner of this room.
What he wanted to buy today was a pocket watch.
Ever since he first saw that exquisite object, he had wanted to own one.
Now that he has almost finished his main work, he finally has time to look for something.
Leo walked to the back of the shop and behind a counter, he saw a bald old man with a strange long tube over his right eye.
Using a pair of pointed tweezers, he inserted a tiny, paper-thin gear into a gear set.
Seeing this, Leo held his breath, afraid of disturbing the other party.
The gear slowly approached the gear set, but there seemed to be a slight deviation. Just as the gear was about to engage with the gear set, the entire device collapsed and fell apart.
A strong sense of regret welled up in Leo's heart, while the old man cursed in the moon language.
Only then did Leo finally speak, "Hahaha, sir."
The old man glared at Leo with displeasure, and only then did Leo see the large eyeball inside the cylinder.
"What is it?"
"I want to buy a pocket watch."
Upon hearing this, the old man stared at Leo for a while.
It seemed they were assessing whether Leo could afford it.
Leo didn't dress up specially today, but he didn't have any cheap clothes left.
Therefore, no matter how you look at it, Leo could not possibly be a penniless man.
A moment later, the old man finally took out a glass box from the cabinet below him.
Inside the box were five pocket watches.
The fact that the boss cherishes these pocket watches so much proves that even in this city of clockwork watches, pocket watches are still quite valuable.
However, after witnessing his boss's failed attempt, Leo immediately realized that the smaller the item, the higher the production cost.
These pocket watches are probably the owner's masterpiece.
"Pick one yourself," the shopkeeper said coldly.
"You won't make money with this attitude," Leo thought to himself.
As a regular businessperson, one should have a good attitude.
Traveling merchants can wander around and have different customers, but fixed merchants, although they do not need to travel, value their business more.
But Leo didn't care, and he had no inclination to be a teacher; he simply asked:
"Could you recommend one for me, haha?"
"Pocket watches are all pretty much the same, but there are indeed subtle differences. So, do you have any special needs?"
"I think you can tell from my words that I am not a member of the Federation, and I am about to set sail."
The boss squinted, but without uttering a single word, he immediately reached out and took out a pocket watch, handing it to Leo.
Leo took a look and found that the pocket watch seemed to be larger and was also quite heavy.
He asked curiously, "What's the reason for recommending this?"
The boss explained impatiently, "Don't even mention leaving the Federation, you won't be able to calibrate the clock even if you leave Parliament City. And an inaccurate clock is just a rattling, lousy lump of copper."
"That's why I recommended this one to you. Although it's larger, it has a longer winding time. One winding is enough for it to run for a week."
"You only need to wind it up once a week to make sure it doesn't stop running, and the time won't be too off track, so there's no need for calibration."
This is so convenient!
Without hesitation, Leo bought the pocket watch immediately.
It wasn't cheap either, costing a full nine Leo coins.
Nine gold coins! Leo's first ship only cost ninety gold coins.
This tiny pocket watch is worth a tenth of a boat?
"Oh my god!" Leo exclaimed, "How many business opportunities and trends have I missed!"
Despite his deep regret, he knew that he couldn't seize every opportunity.
Leo paid, and the master craftsman reset the time for him and taught him how to use the pocket watch.
After acquiring the pocket watch, Leo happily walked out of the shop.
He hadn't felt happy about owning something in a long time, but he really liked this delicate little thing.
"Technology truly has limitless potential—"
Reflecting on this, Leo also thought about his two investments.
The reason he's still lingering in Parliament City is because those two investments haven't yielded any results yet.
Once this matter is settled, he will return to the Silk Veil and go back to the New World.
By the time he arrives in the New World and with the Passamacodi tribe, there should already be a new batch of spices.
Therefore, he cannot afford to waste too much time.
The thought of having to prepare weapons for Passamacodi made him feel even more pressed for time.
Hearing the groan of "time" in the pocket watch, Leo decided to go to Green Shade University to inquire about the research progress.
Leo was already quite familiar with the road to Green Shade University.
The process of entering this university was also familiar.
He was quickly led by the security guard to Xia Li's office.
Upon seeing Leo, Shirley exclaimed happily:
"You've come at just the right time. I was just about to call you over to report on the research progress."
"Haha," Leo chuckled involuntarily, "tell me about it."
"To put it simply, sir, these plants you provide cannot be easily cultivated."
"Oh?"
"I use growth accelerators to speed up plant development. The plants you provide can indeed germinate, but after germination, they quickly wither, meaning they lack the conditions or substances necessary for continued growth."
Leo questioned, "Could this result simply be due to your artificial ripening methods?"
Shirley shook her head: "That's practically impossible. In fact, there's only been one case where the growth-inducing agent failed. That was when they tried to cultivate the Miasma Tree on the frozen continent. And that plant can't be artificially cultivated even without the growth-inducing agent."
Hearing this, Leo felt somewhat relieved.
In this way, he doesn't need to worry about competition, and his monopoly position remains unshakable!
However, just to be on the safe side, Leo instructed Shirley to continue her research, promising to continue providing funding.
Of course, the price was that Leo also had to fund Shirley's other research.
Leo did not object; he already knew that technology was a valuable investment.
Just then, the door was suddenly kicked open from the outside.
"Shirley! Honey! It's a success! My research is a success!"
A thin, panting man appeared in the doorway.
Leo recognized the man; it was Mahan, the head of another project he had invested in and Shirley's boyfriend.
Mahan looked surprised when he saw Leo.
"Mr. Leo? What a coincidence, you're here too!"
Mahan gripped Leo's right hand tightly and shook it vigorously. "I've broken through the technological barrier and successfully created the 'Range Gun'!"