Munitions Empire

Brunas recently opened a new casino, and although the decorations are not luxurious, the offerings inside are a real eye-opener for everyone.

A well-dressed man was leaning against a table, shouting at the spinning roulette wheel, "30! 30! Damn it, why is it 8! Bastard!"

The ball on the roulette wheel spun for a long time before finally settling in the black number 8 slot, eliciting sighs of disappointment from the surrounding crowd.

They had all failed to bet on the winning number, which meant that nearly all of the money on the table had gone into the house's pocket.

Next to this man, a woman nestled against another man, looking at the cards on the table and exclaimed with a surprised and sweet voice, "This is so much fun!"

The dealer, dressed in smart clothes, stretched out his hand to draw a card from the blind box and placed it on the table, "Gentlemen... the Four of Spades."

"Ugh..." Several players frustratingly slammed their cards on the table, while only one person smiled and swept all the chips in front of him into his arms.

Everyone in the casino was animated; they seemed obsessed with the games to the point of forgetfulness. They slammed their chips down on the table, shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Can't be helped, this isn't exactly an upscale place... Our luxury casino, the tasteful one that draws high-end customers, is still being refurbished," John explained, sipping his drink in the corner, somewhat frustrated by the noisy environment, to his companion Li'ao.

Li'ao offered a knowing smile and consoled, "It's okay, you've done very well. How about going down to gamble for a bit?"

"Are you kidding me..." John sighed with a hint of helplessness, "I'm just a laborer right now, the money's not even paid off yet, how can I dare to mess around with the boss's money?"

"A flush! Hahaha! I got a flush!" Just then, a man raised his arms in victory and shouted excitedly to the entire room.

"20 gold coins! Hahaha! I won 20 gold coins!" The man was shouting triumphantly like a boxing champion at the table, drawing envious glances from many.

The nature of a casino is such that there are winners and losers; while some lose money, others are bound to win. In fact, casinos make their profit simply from the commissions and the portion of the bets that the house wins outright.

A real casino normally earns its profit through a rake, making a guaranteed income unless faced with an extraordinarily skilled gambler.

Of course, since Tang Mo made the rules of the game, he naturally had his own protective measures in place.

John, being well-versed in entertainment himself, oversaw the operation to keep things steady and ensure everyone adhered to the rules.

After all, at such times, it carried more persuasive power for a noble from the Poplar Kingdom to step forward than for Tang Mo, who was not yet a noble.

"You might not realize just how much profit this place has brought us... 50 gold coins a day... it's probably faster than robbery," Li'ao said with pride, his eyes sparkling as he glanced at John.

Many ships come and go in Brunas, and these ships dock at the Port of Brunas, where sailors always come ashore to find entertainment.

Thus, they discovered a new paradise far more enjoyable than other places.

The brothels here actually featured many new services, all of which sounded blushingly exciting, and each one was enough to thrill and tempt visitors.

Who would have thought that after two months at sea, even bathing could offer a variety of pleasurable experiences? For just two gold coins, one could enjoy previously unthought-of thorough services from a girl.

And who could have imagined that after complete relaxation, they could put on decent bathrobes and patronize the casino inside the brothels, eagerly seeking the thrill of new gambling experiences?

In short, although the departing sailors had not yet spread their delightful experiences far and wide, Brunas's ability to draw gold was already astounding.

In reality, Tang Mo had improved not only the casino but also the restaurants. He introduced many new styles of eating that, while simple, fit perfectly with the situation in Brunas.

For example, Tang Mo set up a fast-food outlet at a street-side shack, where one could quickly get a "burger" with bread stuffed with vegetables and a fried egg.

Initially, this proved popular with dock laborers, who appreciated its affordability and convenience; it was as if it had been made just for them.

Later, sailors adopted this novel way of eating, buying a bunch of burgers to eat on the sea for two straight days, enjoying the simplicity and convenience.

Then, students going to school, working adults, and even members of the City Defense Forces began to frequent the shop, bringing Tang Mo a considerable income.

Besides these, Tang Mo also introduced some simple dishes in the restaurant, which though straightforward, were a novelty and brought his establishment high praise.

The method of coating chicken wings with starch and deep-frying them until they are crispy on the outside yet tender on the inside, has, in the mouths of diners, acquired a name with a strong regional flavor: "Brunas Fried Chicken."

Thus, without realizing it, Tang Mo had infiltrated every nook and cranny of Brunas. The black society here didn't collect protection money, because they were all secretly on Tang Mo's payroll...

It was precisely because of this that the informants of Shireck who came to snoop for news were easily discovered and then thoroughly eradicated.

There was no helping it; these people's customary tactics were essentially to seek help from officials or find local hoodlums to clear the path.

As a result, the Shireck informants who sought help from officials hadn't even met with them before the guards relaying their messages had delivered the news to the Silver Fox Tavern. And those who dealt with local hoodlums were, naturally, taken care of by Tang Mo's enforcers.

In any unassuming corner here, conversing with anyone could potentially expose one's identity and lead to being surveilled by Tang Mo's people.

For instance, a vendor selling vegetable burgers could, with just a few casual remarks, determine whether the person coming to buy food was a sailor or a merchant.

On these streets, any child selling apples could well be a top student and class deputy for the scouts from Tang Mo's school.

For Tang Mo, he now had Brunas entirely under his control, his influence here even vaster than that of the town mayor.

There was no helping it, the town mayor and the sheriff, including the tax officer and all other officials of the small town, had taken his bribes until their hands went soft.

Under these circumstances, Tang Mo's words carried more weight here than the king's words, because the king's orders might face some discount in their enforcement here, but Tang Mo's words would be carried out immediately.

To put it bluntly, if Tang Mo ordered the City Defense Forces to arrest the town mayor, they were quite likely to consider executing this somewhat terrifying order.

In Brunas, the outline of Tang Mo's shadow empire was already beginning to take shape.

And while Li'ao and John were in the newly opened casino watching gamblers squander money like water, Tang Mo, at the entrance to Brunas's finest restaurant, welcomed an important visitor.

A luxurious carriage, enviable enough to make one jealous, stopped before Tang Mo, and a respectable attendant helped open the carriage door. Gis, dressed in formal attire, stepped down from the carriage.

"Welcome to Brunas!" Tang Mo greeted politely.

"I asked the mayor, and only then did I learn of Mr. Tang's achievements, truly breathtaking! Hahaha!" Gis stepped forward, spreading his arms wide as if he wished to give Tang Mo a warm hug.

However, Tang Mo did not move; he retained his smile and explained, "We're not that close, no need to be so friendly, right?"

Gis was taken aback, his smile blooming instantly as he withdrew his arms and continued to laugh heartily, "Hahaha! Mr. Tang is a funny man! I really like your candidness! I like it very much!"

The Minister of Construction, Baus, who in King City still held some face, dismounted from the carriage but did not get a chance to speak for a good while, leaving him awkwardly standing there.

"Let me introduce... this is... the Kingdom's Minister of Construction, Mr. Baus!" Gis stepped back and gestured, introducing him.

"I've long heard of you! I've long heard of you!" Tang Mo immediately welcomed with a smile.

"You're too kind! Too kind!" Baus immediately appeared flattered. After all, in his view, a man who could leave Gis so embarrassed without exploding in fury, no matter how young, deserved respect.

"Then! Since Mr. Gis graces us with his presence, let's go upstairs to talk! I've ordered the dishes; everyone must grace us with their presence!" Tang Mo stepped back, yielding his position, and with a sweep of his arm, made an inviting gesture.

"Then I must thank Mr. Tang for the arrangements!" Gis did not decline and went ahead. He didn't even pretend to defer to the Minister of Construction, who theoretically held a much higher status.

The entire first floor of the restaurant was empty, which did not surprise Gis at all. He could guess Tang Mo's influence in Brunas was about the same as his in King City.

Under these circumstances, it was all too easy to reserve the entire floor of the restaurant to entertain guests.

What truly caught Gis's attention was the presence of those guards dressed in black, whose influence was subtly pervasive around Tang Mo.

These guards, who carried no visible weapons, exuded an extremely dangerous pressure. The bodyguards Gis brought with him seemed somewhat inferior in their presence.

However, Gis was not here for a showdown, so he took his seat with ease and enthusiastically engaged in toasting and drinking with Tang Mo.