Chapter 60 "Bob's Heartbreak"

"Very impressive, meow?" Chi-Chi crouched on Feld's shoulder, watching him play with the nearly two-meter-long magic cannon affectionately.

"Of course, it's amazing. This thing can fire different magical shells depending on the intensity and attributes of the infused magic, like this." Feld raised the magic cannon, aimed it at a distant grassy slope, infused it with magic, and pulled the trigger.

In the next moment, the shoulder-mounted rocket launcher-like magic cannon burst into blue light, and then a basketball-sized blue pure magic shell flew out, hitting the grassy slope hundreds of meters away. Instantly, a large pit exploded on the slope, and grass flew up over a hundred meters high!

"Haha, with this shot, anyone below gold level hit head-on is sure to die!"

"A hit from below gold level would be fatal!"

"A platinum-level would still be stunned!"

"The key is that this thing can fire continuously. As long as there's enough magic, firing dozens or even hundreds of shots is no problem!"

With that, Feld fired several shots in succession, thoroughly enjoying himself. Chi-Chi also extended her little paw and said, "I want to try, meow!"

Then Feld saw Chi-Chi fire a shot, and the recoil pushed her back several steps, causing her to sit down on the ground sadly, looking at Feld with a pitiful expression. When she watched Feld fire the cannon earlier, she only saw a slight sway, thinking the recoil wasn't that strong. In reality, when she fired the shot, the recoil shook her shoulder painfully.

"Haha, this thing has quite a recoil, but it feels very solid!" Feld laughed.

Magical firearms were the equivalent of firearms in this world. No man could resist saying NO to firearms! Although cold weapons that hit the flesh were also quite good, Feld, who hadn't pulled a trigger in over a dozen years, missed the explosive feeling that firearms gave him.

But then he sighed and put the magic cannon back in the box. Ultimately, this thing wasn't his; it belonged to the commissioning party, the Wolf Gang. He could certainly steal this batch of goods. But Feld wouldn't do something like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs. And he knew in his heart that Raymond was testing him with these things.

After storing all the boxes in the storage ring, Feld returned with Chi-Chi. Instead of going back to the inner city, he went to the Hafu Tavern.

The Hafu Tavern was open all day.

Seeing Feld appear at the door, Evelyn was somewhat surprised but also somewhat happy.

"Didn't you say you were going to do something big? Why are you back so soon?" Evelyn approached and asked.

Although busy all day, she looked a bit tired, but this posture made her even more charming. The slightly messy hair made Feld itch with desire.

So he smiled and said, "I thought of a beautiful girl waiting for me at the Hafu Tavern, so I hurried back after finishing the task. Otherwise, if she didn't see me all day, wouldn't that girl be very sad?"

The sweet talk came out naturally. Evelyn blushed instantly, lightly punched Feld, and said without mercy, "Where's the beautiful girl? Why didn't I see her?"

"Far away, yet right in front of you." Feld smirked, then naturally extended his hand and gently stroked Evelyn's slightly messy hair due to busyness. At that moment, Evelyn's heart skipped a beat. This time, she didn't slap Feld's hand away or reach under the table for a frying pan. Instead, she just stared at Feld in a daze.

Until the mercenaries nearby teased her, she reacted, quickly took a step back, and averted her gaze, too shy to look into Feld's eyes. Then, flustered, she picked up a plate nearby and said, "You, you must be hungry coming back so late. I, I'll go prepare something for you to eat..."

With that, she escaped into the kitchen like she was fleeing.

Seeing this, Feld laughed heartily, looking very happy.

At this moment, the smell of alcohol wafted over, and when he turned his head, he saw Bob standing beside him, his eyes bloodshot.

"What's wrong?" Feld couldn't help but ask when he saw Bob looking like he was about to cry.

"Nothing..." Bob shook his head, then patted Feld's shoulder and said, "You better treat her well!"

Feld: "..."

Indeed, it was a secret crush on the boss lady.

Feld chuckled, then nodded seriously and patted Bob's shoulder, saying, "Don't worry, brother—let's be honest, you don't stand a chance."

Bob: "..."

Now Bob couldn't hold back anymore and burst into tears.

But the mercenaries beside them laughed. Who didn't know that Bob liked the boss lady? It's just that Bob's conditions weren't up to par for the boss lady. It's not that Evelyn was materialistic; it's just that Bob really wasn't suitable.

It could be said that among the mercenaries present, who didn't have some thoughts about the beautiful boss lady, but everyone knew their own strengths and weaknesses. Bob knew that too, so he had always just harbored a secret crush and never taken any action. Now, seeing the boss lady's behavior in front of Feld, any man could tell what was going on.

So, they felt a mixture of pity and inexplicable relief.

After a moment, Evelyn came out with steaming hot food. It was obvious she had put a lot of effort into it, even the plating was very delicate. As for Chi-Chi's portion... it seemed a bit casual, or rather, that was the normal way of serving food, just piling it all into the center of the plate.

In this fast-paced mercenary tavern, the fact that someone would plate your food so delicately meant something to everyone.

But Feld seemed oblivious, gobbling up everything with gusto.

"Much better than the food in the inner city!" Feld burped contentedly, feeling satisfied.

Evelyn nodded happily, then asked, "Are you staying here tonight, in the old room?"

There was a hint of expectation in her eyes, as if she just wanted to see Feld in the morning.

"Yes." Feld snapped his fingers, wearing a "you know me" expression, once again making Evelyn smile.

The mercenaries nearby sighed even more heavily.

Bob, who was crying silently on the table, felt even more heartbroken.

One could only say, some people rejoice while others sorrow.

That night, Feld slept soundly, Chi-Chi slept soundly, but Bob couldn't sleep. But soon he thought it over. Perhaps this was just the difference between people, or perhaps... he should boldly pursue a girl, a girl not as good as the boss lady, but one he deserved.

...

Early the next morning, Feld woke up, and the first thing he did was move the cat's tail away from his face. Then he reached out, and blue magic appeared in his hand, but soon, the magic disappeared, replaced by a golden light. The amount of golden light was very small, compared to the magic that had just emerged, it was like a drop in the ocean, but Feld nodded in satisfaction.

After a night of breathing exercises, his trump card had increased a bit. Now, the magic source in his body had begun to accumulate magic again.

Yesterday's activity had deposited about two percent of magic.

As long as there was combat, the rate at which he deposited magic would accelerate.

Without combat, relying solely on breathing exercises and physical training to slowly accumulate magic, it would probably take two to three years.

So, next, Feld needed to constantly take on missions and showcase his skills to accelerate his promotion process.

Today's plan was to first go to the Steel Tavern to deliver a mission, and then go to the Wolf Gang to discuss some "business".

He wanted to see if he could get his hands on a magic cannon.

Arriving at the Steel Tavern, Feld saw Iron John playing cards with a group of mercenaries as soon as he entered. John was someone whom Raymond trusted deeply, so he was often stationed at the tavern, acting as a lookout.

Seeing Feld, John greeted him, "Hey, buddy, wanna join us for a few rounds?"

"No thanks, I can play on my own," Feld shook his head.

John: "?"

"Is Raymond here? I've come to deliver a mission," Feld asked.

Not many people could address Raymond by name directly, but now, Feld was one of them. So John wasn't surprised; he knew his boss admired this newcomer, so he nodded and said, "He's upstairs."

"Okay," Feld nodded and went up to the second floor. It was the same private room as before, clearly where Raymond usually stayed.

As for why Raymond needed John and the others to watch the place, well, the boss couldn't handle everything personally. That's not a boss, that's a tool.

Feld knocked on the door, just in case Raymond was doing something private inside. It would be awkward even if they were familiar with each other.

But apparently, Raymond wasn't.

"Come in."

Feld pushed the door open with Chi-Chi by his side. Raymond seemed somewhat surprised to see him, then asked, "Early?"

"Yeah," Feld nodded.

"Is it done?" Raymond asked again.

"Yeah," Feld nodded again, then waved his hand, and the spacious room was soon filled with boxes.

Seeing this, Raymond smiled. He knew he had made the right choice with Feld. It's rare to find mercenaries as efficient as him nowadays. He's a good seedling!

After a quick glance to ensure everything was in order, Raymond handed over the promised forty thousand gold without missing a single coin. And he even added two small cards.

"Permanent pass?" Feld raised an eyebrow.

"In the future, we'll be cooperating often. With this, it'll be convenient for you to enter and exit the inner city," Raymond smiled.

"Haha, thank you so much!" Feld gladly accepted it. Then he asked, "By the way, can I personally deliver this batch of goods to the Wolf Gang?"

"Why, are you interested in this batch of goods?" Raymond saw through Feld's intentions and chuckled.

"Of course, no man can resist a magic cannon. So I want to negotiate with the Wolf Gang and see if I can get my hands on two," Feld grinned.

"Alright, John is responsible for the delivery. You can go with him. Whether you can negotiate for it depends on you," Raymond nodded.

"No problem!" Feld nodded and was about to leave with the goods.

"Wait," Raymond called out to Feld.

"More work?" Feld asked eagerly.

"Yes, but it's not urgent. I just wanted to ask about that lighter..." 

Feld laughed, "You'll get it tomorrow."

"Deal!"

It was clear that Raymond was quite eager for that particular type of lighter.