The Legendary Junkmaster

Chapter 148: Gears of Fate (3)

"That was really something!" Sarah beamed as she slapped one of the ANT-V's legs when they returned to the workshop. 

Jason returned a slight smile but gazed worriedly at the workshop entrance. The crowd had followed them back and although Sarah had told them she would not be discussing what they were up to just yet, they refused to leave. A group of Sarah's workers were busy setting up temporary walls around the Murk Walker. This was so that nobody from outside could see the process they were about to go through with the main body. 

"How fast do you think it will go once we fully replace the parts?" Sarah asked as she stared towards the walls that were being put up. 

"I'm not sure..." Jason hummed as he turned his head to look at her. 'How could I know when I know nothing about this damn material!'

He felt like shouting in frustration at himself. Why could he not have been a little bit selfish! He could not help but wonder what skills he needed to make this metal, but now was not the time. Even though it had been a short stay he had already completed what he wanted to do. Even if it did not really feel like it was himself who had done it. 

Syssie's condition had been fixed and the Murk Walker had been dealt with. There was nothing else to do but wait on Zach. He still had to finish up what business he had so they could move on. 'It's been a long day...' Jason sighed as he felt a twang of pain from his headache that had still not fully gone away. 

"It looks like you've got this from here, Sarah. I'm going to head back and catch some sleep. If I don't see you again, remember you can always reach me at Highrise." Jason softly smiled as he turned towards his workstation to arrange for his things to the taken back to the caravan. 

Sarah shook her head as she watched him go before sighing heavily. 'Such a talent... Shame I can't poach him and keep him here.' She could only hope that Jason would be able to deliver on other ideas to improve the Murk Walkers once he returned to his own workshop. Preferably, more affordable and easy to mass-produce ones.

As Jason looked through his things, he found several strange containers. 'What the hell are these?' He frowned as he picked one of them up for a better look. However, his eyes went wide as he realised what it was. It was the liquid that could turn into the metal that was used for the Murk Walker!

However, there was not very much of it which disappointed him. It would not even be enough to remake the Infinity. 'Why did I do this? Is it to make something, or did I leave it behind so I could study it?' It was infuriating to not know what he had been thinking, but he was glad he at least had a few samples on hand now. 

Jason shook his head slowly as he called someone over to help him out with moving his gear. He was careful to check that there was nothing that he had left behind. He had to admit that he was slightly disappointed when he discovered that there were no more goodies to be found, but he figured that he should be happy with what he got. 

As Jason headed to meet up with Zach's caravan, the sun began to set. The people he passed stared at him curiously now that they knew he was responsible for the upgraded Murk Walker, but nobody approached him. Which he found to be strange considering the amount of interest Zach had generated about him with his earlier statements. 

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"Yo! Jason!" Zach shouted excitedly when he spotted him approaching their lodgings. "Are you excited? I managed to drum up quite a bit of business for you. With me as your exclusive courier, of course!" 

Jason groaned when he heard that. He had already agreed to make Sarah a business partner of sorts. So this would go against their joint interests. His expression turned ugly, but Zach continued to smile broadly.

"Don't worry, kid. It's not for anything to do with the Murk Walkers. Consider my caravan as a travelling store that will stock some of your goods. So if you have any surplus creations you can entrust them to me and I'll sell them during my travels! It's a good way to get your name out there." Zach nodded happily as he explained the circumstances around what he had been up to.

However, Jason felt exhausted by Zach's schemes. Although it was technically a good thing for his business, it would have been better if Zach had spoken to him about it first! 'This guy... Why do I feel like he's trying to make me feel like he's doing me a favour?' Jason frowned as he stared at the merchant. 

"And what's your cut exactly?" Jason kept his voice low to make sure that Zach was aware that he was unhappy with his shenanigans. 

"Nothing! I'll just mark up the price that you tell me to sell them at. The price will differ depending on how far I have to transport the items before they sell. So you won't make a loss!" Zach's smile never faltered, despite the coldness in Jason's voice.

'He's looking to be recognised as an exclusive supplier.' Jason's eyes narrowed as he scrutinised Zach. "Forget it for now... We'll talk about it while we're on the road. I don't have the energy to really think about it for now."

For the first time, Zach's smile twitched. Which made Jason smile in his head. 'It looks like he's already made promises and claims that he's the only one that can bring my stuff here. Do you think I'm an idiot? Besides, I've already considered setting up my own logistics and branch stores. So there's no need for opportunistic people like you!'

Jason was quite pleased to deal this mental blow to Zach. Of course, Jason's words had left the merchant with a glimmer of hope to seal a deal. But that just made Jason laugh thinking about his reaction when he discovered that he no intentions of partnering up with him. After all, what if he gave him a load of goods and the profits were so tempting that Zach disappeared with all of the credits? Or claimed he was robbed or even lost them?

No, it was definitely much better for Jason to keep tight control over his own goods. If Zach wanted to sell them, then he'd have to buy them himself. Taking all the risk on his own. Jason was not a naive idiot that would allow this guy to take advantage of him. Besides, his Gramps would kill him if he agreed to such a deal. 

Jason frowned for a moment as he wondered what his Gramps had been up to since he was gone. He could only hope that the old geezer had not found the stash of credits hidden in the NEST or any of his gear that he had left behind. 'That reminds me... I've been gone for a while. There's bound to be a few bounty hunters kicking around Highrise by now...'

Jason's frown deepened as he wondered how to deal with them. They were bound to be curious about an inventor that left town shortly after Wraith's death. 'At least I have the Emperor's plaque now. That should give me some kind of protection from them snooping so much.' However, this did not fully ease his fears. 'I'll just have to be more careful from now on...'

Meanwhile, from an open space in the wall of a shack nearby, a set of eyes watched Jason was extreme intensity...

"Captain, do you really think we can take him? It seems like he's part of that caravan and they have quite a lot of guards...." The woman who was watching Jason turned to say to the men behind her.

"Of course we can... The other teams are nearby. I don't know what's happened for the security around the Empire's borders to become laxer but we can't miss this opportunity. If he's capable of creating things like that from earlier, then he'd be a fine addition to the alliance! Just think of the rewards we would gain for capturing someone like him." The captain laughed as he scratched his rugged beard. 

"I guess that's true..." The woman frowned as she watched Jason disappear inside of the building. 'But why do I feel like it won't be that simple...'