95: At least wear a tie

Li Xiao and the other two had just arrived at the main entrance of the lobby when they were stopped by the doorman again.

"Hey, sorry, you three. This entertainment venue does not admit those who are not properly dressed!"

"What?" Hearing this, Li Le wanted to step forward to argue, but Li Xiao held him back and gave him a look, signaling him not to cause trouble.

So Li Xiao curled the corner of his mouth and smiled: "Then what is considered properly dressed?"

"At the very least, you need to wear a tie..." The doorman, who was in his early twenties, looked the three of them up and down.

"Oh, then wait a moment..."

Hearing this, Li Xiao turned around and walked out the door, returning a moment later with three ties of different colors.

"Wow, Boss, where did you get these?" Li Le asked curiously.

"It's nothing. Just now, when I was entering, I saw several people with dejected expressions lying by the flower bed next to the entrance. I guess they were gamblers who had lost everything. When I said I would buy their ties for fifty Star Coins, they sold them to me immediately."

Li Xiao shrugged and said.

Soon, the three of them put on the ties and returned to the lobby entrance. Li Le said irritably: "Can we go in now?"

"Please..." The doorman stepped aside helplessly.

Upon entering the entertainment venue, Li Xiao finally understood what "magnificent" meant.

The entire lobby was gilded everywhere—gilded ceilings, gilded pillars, and even the grooves in the marble floor were inlaid with gold thread.

Many tables, large and small, were evenly distributed throughout the lobby, with all kinds of gambling tools on them.

Although it was morning, the lobby was still bustling with noise. This was the difference between a casino and a KTV bar; it was always lively.

Compared to the gamblers who were dressed in expensive, exquisite clothing and moved with elegant, gentlemanly manners, the three of them looked a bit like country bumpkins.

However, Li Xiao didn't think much of it. He wasn't here to gamble, and there was no need to compare himself with these locals.

"Boss, what should we do now? Does the contact person have any secret code?" Zhao Feipeng looked around, and it seemed no one paid them any mind.

Li Xiao thought for a moment, and an idea flashed in his mind. He said, "I have a way."

He took out the black metal business card, held it between his fingers, and began to wave it in front of his chest as he walked.

Li Le and Zhao Feipeng couldn't help but chuckle when they saw Li Xiao's action.

"Boss, will that work? Don't let people think you're some street punk here to stir up trouble."

Li Xiao said without looking back: "Whether it works or not, we'll know once we try."

And so, the three of them wandered around the lobby like wandering spirits, peeking here and there, and even pushing into crowds.

Finally, his behavior attracted the attention of someone interested.

"Sir, hello, someone would like to see you."

As Li Xiao was walking, a woman with a beautiful face and a hot figure approached him.

She appeared to be dressed like a dealer, wearing a beautiful bright red cheongsam with gold trim, which was very eye-catching.

Hearing this, Li Xiao nodded. The woman added: "Sir, he only wishes to see you alone. Please ask your friends to wait outside."

Seeing this, Li Xiao turned back and said to Zhao Feipeng and the other: "You guys wait here for now."

"Understood."

After saying this, Li Xiao followed the woman in the cheongsam into an elevator on the side of the lobby.

The elevator went straight to the top floor of the building. With a "ding," the elevator doors opened, and an antique-style tea room appeared before Li Xiao.

Opposite the entrance of this room, which was over a hundred square meters, sat a middle-aged man in white pajamas behind a tea table five meters long and two meters wide.

The middle-aged man had a thick head of blonde hair, and his skin color was that of a typical white person.

At this moment, he was using tweezers to take out a purple clay teacup from the tea tray and rinse it in a boiling glass dish.

"Mr. Tony, he is here."

The woman in the cheongsam said softly and then quietly retreated back into the elevator.

Hearing the way the woman addressed the middle-aged man, Li Xiao was certain that the person before him was the weapons master, Tony Beldo.

The middle-aged man looked up at Li Xiao and pointed to the seat in front of him, saying: "A friend has come from afar. Please, have a seat."

Li Xiao didn't stand on ceremony and sat directly on the cushion in front of the tea table. Tony quickly picked up a cup of tea and handed it to him.

"Please..."

Although Li Xiao hadn't drunk much tea, he understood the basics. He picked up the teacup, fanned it with his hand, sniffed the aroma, took a small sip, and then drank half the cup.

"Good tea!"

Good tea, my ass. Li Xiao couldn't even tell the difference between black and green tea, let alone judge the quality of the tea.

Tony also drank a cup himself and then said slowly: "I wonder what you need my help with?"

This private arms dealer, supposedly supported by Stark Technology, spoke quite humbly.

"I was recommended by Wang Si, the leader of the Dark Soul Mercenary Group. I learned that you are a famous weapons master both at home and abroad, and that you hold half of the arms business in the Tianyu Republic, so I came today to learn from you."

"I wouldn't dare call myself a weapons master. However, I am interested in what exactly you want to learn?"

Tony didn't seem to buy the flattery, and replied with a fake smile.

"It's like this: I have a technical method that might greatly increase the combat effectiveness of your vehicle equipment, allowing you to sell them at a higher price."

"Greatly increase combat effectiveness?" Tony's expression faltered for a moment, but he immediately returned to his calm and indifferent demeanor: "Tell me about it."

"I'd like to ask you, what is the general selling price of a standard infantry fighting vehicle?"

"This... you are not my client yet, so I'm afraid I cannot tell you."

Li Xiao smiled awkwardly, thinking to himself that this guy was quite cautious.

"Alright, let's put it another way. Suppose the durability of an infantry fighting vehicle is doubled from its original base, wouldn't that mean its battlefield survival rate would be greatly increased, and it could be sold for a higher price?"

After hearing Li Xiao's words, Tony looked at him as if he were looking at a mentally challenged child: "Young man, your words have me completely confused."

"With current material technology, if you ignore costs, you can indeed double or triple the durability. But how much more damage can it withstand, and how much of an increase in firepower can that bring?"

"Perhaps the same cost could produce three or four infantry fighting vehicles. Isn't three times the firepower three times the fun?"

"No! In fact, my technique can easily increase the durability of a vehicle several times over, while the cost remains very low."

"You could let customers buy a high-end vehicle with the combat power of five, for the price of only two!"

"The combat power of five vehicles for the price of two? How is that possible..." Tony completely disbelieved Li Xiao.

"How about this, if you don't believe me, I can demonstrate it to you first. If you think it's acceptable, we can discuss cooperation."

Although Li Xiao didn't dare to tell his own team members about his ability to increase vehicle durability, it didn't matter when it came to the local natives.

"Very well, Ryan!"

Hearing this, Tony suddenly snapped his fingers, and a person suddenly walked out from behind a screen on the side of the room.