Chapter 69: The Charged Crystal Dilemma

All the shops that sold energy-storage magic crystals had refused that procurement officer for the same reason:

“Sorry, our supply has been tight lately, so we won’t have any energy-storage magic crystals available for the next couple of days.”

By this point, Marlon could no longer deceive himself—this was clearly a plot directed squarely at him.

Thinking it over carefully, Marlon finally remembered: when he had instructed Adela to deliver the two “Little Tyrants” to Musa Mein, he had casually mentioned the issue of the energy-storage magic crystals in public… What a careless oversight!

He had been far too careless, forgetting that there could be a traitor among those present at the time. Surely someone had leaked the information!

But right now, Marlon had no time to investigate and root out the traitor. He had a far more urgent crisis to solve: the “Little Tyrants” had been constructed, yet without charged magic crystals, they could not even be activated.

Haikou had already boasted, and the news had spread through yesterday’s onlookers and today’s newspapers. If Marlon couldn’t produce a functional “Virtual Glory Duel Machine” by tomorrow, the consequences would be disastrous.

“Marlon Young Master, the shops that sell energy-storage magic crystals aren’t just refusing to sell any charged crystals—they aren’t even offering the service to recharge spent ones for the next few days!” The procurement officer, having scoured the entire city, clearly understood the gravity of what Marlon was facing, worry etched deep on his face. “Young Master Marlon, every shop in White Sand City that deals with charged magic crystals is directly controlled by the Von Stein family! This is undoubtedly retaliation—retaliation for publicly humiliating their family head, Benjamin Von Stein!”

“Yes, I understand. You’ve worked hard. Go rest now. From here on, I’ll handle this personally.”

Marlon said this calmly to the reporting officer, as if it were a matter of complete insignificance.

Yet, the moment the procurement officer left, Marlon’s composure slipped, revealing a troubled expression.

“The Von Stein family of White Sand City is actually a branch of the larger Stein family,” Bernard, the police Inspector, who had already returned upon hearing the news, began explaining to Marlon after the officer had departed.

Although Inspector Bernard didn’t clarify exactly what the Stein family was, how could Marlon not understand? This Stein family must, like the Yebler family, be one of the one hundred and eight “invisible nobility” who secretly manipulate the Loring Republic from behind the scenes.

Marlon lowered his head in silence for a moment, then suddenly lifted it and looked straight into Inspector Bernard’s eyes. “Uncle Bernard, if I were to approach the Von Stein family to discuss a partnership—perhaps a joint venture to produce the Little Tyrants—how do you think Benjamin Von Stein would react?”

Inspector Bernard froze for a moment. He had clearly never expected Marlon to consider such a move, but then he spoke with resolute opposition:

“No! You little fool, you’re far too naive! Haven’t you noticed? They’re clearly forcing you to come to them. If you go to the Von Stein family to negotiate a partnership, you will first be mercilessly humiliated by them! There might even be journalists present! If you endure such humiliation to discuss cooperation, you’ll be looked down upon by the Von Stein family, and the conditions they offer will be harsh beyond reason! Even if they appear to act decently, you might not even get a tenth of the profits! Only someone as foolish as you could think of such an idea!”

Though he was scolded relentlessly, Marlon showed no sign of anger. He simply nodded, acknowledging he understood.

“Then… this is rather troublesome. Logistics, communication, and the incomplete legal system… it really is a mess.”

Marlon rubbed his chin, his expression tinged with frustration.

“It’s not entirely impossible. At worst… your uncle here can bow to the family once. What kind of magic crystal could they not provide? The only problem is that transferring crystals from Ruwa Province via the teleportation array is prohibitively expensive—damn it! Every activation consumes at least one space-elemental natural crystal worth ten thousand Lants!”

Inspector Bernard hesitated, as though he were making a difficult decision.

“The Yebler family… they also trade energy-storage magic crystals?”

Marlon asked curiously.

“All one hundred and eight families control the trade of energy-storage crystals wherever they hold sway. If they couldn’t control that, how could they possibly control a whole nation from behind the scenes?”

Without a doubt, Inspector Bernard treated Marlon’s question as childishly naive.

“Really? But… even if the Loring Republic is vast, if each family controls one region’s trade in energy-storage crystals, wouldn’t there naturally be competition, fluctuations in power? Surely they wouldn’t all just coexist so peacefully?”

Unexpectedly, Bernard’s explanations only deepened Marlon’s curiosity instead of quelling it.

“The energy-storage crystal trade in White Sand City used to belong to the Dumbledore family. Six hundred years ago, that family was wiped out for the absurd reason of a lack of direct heirs. Then the city came under the control of the Daka family. Fifty years ago, the Daka family retreated to their ancestral lands in Daka Province. Peaceful coexistence? You tell me… why, at the nation’s founding, did three hundred and seven families represent the founders, yet now only one hundred and eight remain? And among those, nearly a fifth of the bloodlines no longer belong to the original founders?”

Now that he had started, Inspector Bernard could not stop himself. He revealed far more secrets than before, weaving hidden history into his account.

“I see… I understand completely now,” Marlon murmured, half to himself, thoughtful. He quickly continued, “Uncle Bernard, do you think the Yebler family would be interested in taking control of the energy-storage crystal trade in White Sand City?”

“You want to negotiate with the Yebler family?! Are you sure your so-called Little Tyrant Virtual Glory Duel Machine could make that kind of impact?”

No sooner had Marlon spoken than Inspector Bernard understood his plan. His expression was one of shock, astonished that Marlon would dare insert himself into the covert struggles of the families behind the scenes.

“I believe, if I proceed step by step as I envision, the impact will indeed be significant. My plan is…”

Marlon poured out his idea to Inspector Bernard: first, tomorrow’s debut of the virtual glory duel; then, using the concept of the Virtual Glory Fighting Machine to popularize virtual combat tournaments; and finally, once the tournaments became widely influential, turning them into virtual combat games.

Marlon concluded, “So, if we follow the momentum, seizing the energy-storage crystal trade in White Sand City would be easy for the Yebler family. The real problem now is ensuring that tomorrow’s virtual glory duel can take place despite the shortage of energy-storage crystals.”

“That problem is not difficult to solve.”

A voice suddenly sounded from outside the door.