Chapter 87 Pained Wella
Xu Yi hesitated a bit before following them in.
The familiar man and woman had just been shown to a table by a waiter and were prepared to order their meal when Xu Yi appeared in front of them.
“Hey, Rem, Wella, why aren’t you two in Saltan City anymore?” Xu Yi raised his hand to wave at them.
Rem and Wella looked at Xu Yi who had suddenly appeared in a daze and after being frozen for a bit, Wella suddenly said with a sigh, “Banta City really is a small place, you can meet past acquaintances at any time. But Xu Yi, the person we don’t want to see the most right now is you.”
Rem’s expression was also quite awkward. His eyes kept avoiding Xu Yi like he didn’t dare look at Xu Yi.
“Oh? Why don’t you want to see me?” Xu Yi sat down in a nearby chair without any hesitation and curiously asked Wella, “I haven’t done anything wrong to you, right, Wella?”
“No, it’s the opposite. It’s us who have wronged you.” After a few months, Wella seemed to have lost that sharp aura from back in the Great Magician Camilla’s Magic Tower and she had become much more depressed. But her words were still quite straightforward, not dodging anything at all.
Xu Yi thought about it for a bit before saying with a faint smile, “I’ve heard that you and Rem were studying magic machines for Saltan City’s Leo Chamber of Commerce, so is it related to how you’ve wronged me?”
Wella gave a slight nod. When she wanted to speak, Rem reached out his hand to stop her.
“Wella, stop speaking. Could it be that you think we haven’t been embarrassed enough?” Rem’s expression was a bit pained.
Well looked at him and calmly said, “It is because it is embarrassing that we have to talk about it. Since we’ve bumped into Xu Yi, then it is better to just tell this matter to him. If we can’t obtain his forgiveness and help, we’ll shoulder our guilt for the rest of our lives. Are you willing to live like that?”
Rem’s raised hand became stiff and his expression kept changing before he finally let out a long sigh. His hand came down and he leaned back in his seat, closing his eyes without saying anything else.
Xu Yi felt this was strange. Based on the news he had heard, Rem and Wella had been treated very importantly after they followed Cimirot to the Leo Chamber of Commerce, why did the two of them suddenly show up back in Banta City looking like they were lost?
“Xu Yi, since you know we went to the Leo Chamber of Commerce, you should also know what we were doing at the Leo Chamber of Commerce, right?” Wella asked.
Xu Yi nodded, “I know the general situation. The Leo Chamber of Commerce should have had you study magic machines, right? I’ve looked at the Magic Fans the Leo Chamber of Commerce produced and it is the closest to the Frestech Brand Magic Fan that we produced. Moreover, there was even the second generation Variable Speed Magic Fan, it really surprised me. I thought that without the support of our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, it would be impossible for any other companies to make the second generation Magic Fan.”
Ren suddenly gave a soft sort, “That isn’t anything special, why can’t it be made?”
Xu Yi smiled, but he didn’t say anything. Wella furiously glared at Rem and said in a dark voice, “Rem, shut up! You think it isn’t embarrassing enough?”
The corners of Rem’s lips twitched before he tightly shut his mouth, preparing not to say anything else this time.
Wella looked back at Xu Yi and after pausing for a second, she continued, “We thought at first that the new Magic Fan wasn’t anything that hard and we even made the production magic machines, so making this Magic Fan was not a problem. Actually with our efforts, we helped the Leo Chamber of Commerce make the same Variable Speed Magic Fan and the Leo Chamber of Commerce rewarded me and Rem one hundred gold coins each, but……”
Before this, the situation had been very calm and Wella had no expression at all, but there was a deep look of pain that appeared on her face after saying this.
“Xu Yi, do you know about Saltan City’s Magic Fan and…...Magic Rice Cooker incidents?”
Xu Yi gave a slight nod. This matter had been reported on in the ?Banta Times?, so it could be seen that it had a large influence.
Wella’s look of pain became even deeper as she said with a self deprecating smile, “If it wasn’t for us not knowing the depths of heaven and earth, researching the Magic Fan and the Magic Rice Cooker, those matters wouldn’t have happened at all. Xu Yi, do you know, every night, the people who have been injured or died in Saltan City because of this matter appears in my dreams, it makes it very hard for me to sleep. They should be sleeping soundly in Saltan City, but because of the magic machines that I researched, they met this kind of accident. I…...I’ve wronged them.”
Xu Yi saw Wella’s face filled with pain and saw the same expression on Rem’s face, understanding what had happened.
It seemed like these two felt the responsibility for this matter laid on them, making them shoulder a profound sense of guilt.
But the strange thing was that Wella said that she had also wronged Xu Yi, what was that about?
“Xu Yi, do you know what the production magic machines of the Leo Chamber of Commerce is about?” Wella asked.
Xu Yi knit his brows and thought about it before saying, “The production magic machines is more complicated than the Magic Fan and the Magic Rice Cooker and the Leo Chamber of Commerce didn’t buy them from our company, so they should have developed them themselves. But there are quality problems with the Magic Fans and Magic Rice Cooker you developed, so the production magic machines the Leo Chamber of Commerce has shouldn’t be that good. Moreover, I never heard of any problems with the Leo Chamber of Commerce’s production magic machines, which proves that the technology for the production magic machines was not researched all on your own. That means…..” Xu Yi’s gaze looking at Wella and Rem suddenly turned sharp, “Wella, the technology for the production magic machines, you should have stolen them from our Frestech Chamber of Commerce, right?”
“Isn’t saying steal too ugly to hear?” Rem who had been silent for a while finally couldn’t keep silent anymore, “Xu Yi, I admit that we took some information on the production magic machines from your Frestech Chamber of Commerce, but the production magic machines of the Leo Chamber of Commerce has our knowledge in it. You can’t say that it is a complete copy of your Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s production magic machines.”
Xu Yi looked at Rem before shaking his head, not planning to discuss this matter with him.
On the Sines Continent, there was no intellectual property and there were no patents. So strictly speaking, even if Rem and Wella really stole the production magic machine technology from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce, there was no problem in terms of the law.
But while there’s no problem in terms of the law, one couldn’t say there was no problem from a moral standpoint.
The Sines Continent treated people’s research as secrets and they were very important to that person. If a person without that person’s agreement stole that person’s technology for their own use, they would be looked down on by others.
Wella feeling like she had wronged Xu Yi, the reason came from this.
Just like Xu Yi’s analysis, the Leo Chamber of Commerce could make their own production magic machines was clearly because Wella and Rem had stolen the technology from the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Otherwise, for the Leo Chamber of Commerce who had no foundations on magic machines at all, it was impossible for them to make these more complicated and precise production magic machines.
“Let me think…...Wella, I remember that before you left Banta City, you said that you wanted to view our company’s factory. You stole the information on the production magic machines then, right?”
“Yes.” Wella nodded, “Xu Yi, I was actually just curious back then and wanted to see what magic machines more complex than Magic Fans looked like, I never wanted to steal the technology. Only afterwards…...There was a lot of pressure from the Leo Chamber of Commerce, so I gave them what I knew.”
Wella suddenly stood up and gave a deep bow to Xu Yi.
“Xu Yi, I’m sorry.”
Seeing Wella’s action, Rem wanted to stop her, but he seemed to have thought of something when he reached out his hand, so he stopped.
Xu Yi saw Wella’s bowing and he felt a bit depressed.
Back in Great Magician Camilla’s Magic Tower, because of her magic power and talent, Wella was very arrogant and never would have lowered her head to anyone.
Now she was actually bowing and apologizing to the person with the weakest magic power, this really was surprising.
After looking at Wella for a bit, Xu Yi waved his hand, “No need, I don’t like being apologized to by others, there is no meaning in this. You should still tell me why you came back to Banta City.”
Wella was not a roundabout person, so hearing what Xu Yi said, she sat down and hesitantly replied, “It’s nothing. Since those incidents happened, there should be someone who takes responsibility. We were the main researchers for those production magic machines, so naturally we would take responsibility. A week ago, we were fired from the Leo Chamber of Commerce.”
Xu Yi nodded, not being surprised at all.
The Leo Chamber of Commerce’s thoughts were very much like the companies on earth.
“This means that you two are both unemployed now?” Xu Yi asked.
Wella looked at Rem before saying with a soft sigh, “We couldn’t stay in Saltan City anymore and we only came back to Banta City because we came from Banta City to begin with. But since we left Great Magician Camilla back then, we definitely can’t go back now. Rem and I have discussed it and in a few days, when we’ve calmed down, we’ll leave this place and look for work in a further city.”
“I understand why you don’t want to return to Great Magician Camilla’s Magic Tower, but why are you leaving Banta City?” Xu Yi said, “In Banta City, with your power and your knowledge, you can also find a job suitable to you.”
Wella shook her head, “Impossible. There is only magic research under Great Magician Camilla in Banta City and it is impossible for us to continue researching magic machines, so there is no meaning in staying in Banta City.”
“Of course it isn’t meaningless.” Xu Yi said with a faint smile, “As long as you’re willing, I can represent the Frestech Chamber of Commerce to welcome you. How about it? Do you want to come?”
Wella and Rem looked at Xu Yi in a daze.
Chapter 88 Confidentiality contract
“Xu Yi, just what kind of things are you thinking?” Still knocked on Xu Yi’s head without any politeness. She looked around before revealing a strange expression, “Wella clearly admitted that she stole the technology for the production magic machines from you, you still want to hire someone like her? You aren’t afraid that she will steal even more important technology?”
“If I was afraid, I would just give up researching since anyone could steal it from me, right? For example, Evita and Akallie, or even you.” Xu Yi pointed at Still as he spoke.
“Nonsense!” Still slapped Xu Yi’s hand away, “Are the three of us the same as Wella? You weren’t that close to Wella before and the three of us are at least good friends with you.”
“Good friends?” Xu Yi revealed a smile. In the face of enough benefits, not to mention a good friend, it wouldn’t be strange even if a family member or a spouse were to betray you.
But Still reminded Xu Yi that he had not taken any security precautions yet. If Evita and Akali were naive enough to sell the technology they had because of money, he would have no defense against that.
Because the technology they were currently researching was quite low level and didn’t involve any high level technology, this wasn’t as important. When they were here longer and grasped more key technology, if this situation were to ever happen, it could deal a heavy blow to the Frestech Chamber of Commerce.
Not to mention that those large companies in Banta City, they definitely want to obtain these core technologies.
If they knew about the existence of Evita and Akali, knowing that these two little girls grasped many of the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s important technology, they would use a high price to entice those two and make them sell these things.
“Hey, Still, what do you think about me signing a confidentiality contract with you?” Xu Yi asked Still.
“About the magic machines?” Still asked back. Seeing Xu Yi nod, Still revealed a smile and pushed back her golden locks as she revealed a proud appearance, while saying, “What? You only thought of this now? Dear sir chairman, do you know that there are many companies that have looked for my grandfather and even me? They asked how much of the magic machine technology we had and even offered to buy them at a high price.”
“Oh? How high are their prices? If it’s high enough, I can sell to them too.” Xu Yi said with a relaxed smile.
Still rolled her eyes at Xu Yi and said with a cold snort, “Uncle, you’re not worried? I’m still fine, but if grandfather is moved after knowing how important these things are to those companies, you’re not afraid of suffering a large loss?”
“Of course I’m not worried. His excellency Great Magician is not that kind of person, how could he agree to do such a villainous thing?” Xu Yi shot a smile at Still before adding, “Of course, a noble and beautiful miss like Young Miss Still would never do something like this.”
Still looked up slightly and gave a soft snort, “At least you understand. But I’ll be serious with you, you should add some security measures. For example, when grandfather signs magicians to his Magic Tower, the contract has a security clause, stating that they can’t reveal the research results they obtained in the tower. If they go against it, not only will they be kicked out of the tower, grandfather will report them to the Magicians Guild and they’ll lose their qualifications as magicians if it is serious enough.”
“It’s a pity that magic machines aren’t protected by the Magicians Guild right now. The penalty will just be some gold coins, I’m afraid the restrictions aren’t enough.” Xu Yi helplessly said.
This was the problem Xu Yi currently faced.
There was no intellectual property protection on the Sines Continent and the Magicians Guild will not protect any form of magic application. The only form of punishment was punishment through the kingdom’s laws.
But the kingdom’s laws only protected a company’s property and they didn’t consider technology as a company’s property. So when company’s faced this situation, most of them would retaliate in secret.
Xu Yi was not willing to do this, but if he didn’t have enough punishments, the Frestech Chamber of Commerce’s technology was very likely to be revealed.
Still thought about it for a while and found that there really wasn’t any good method. She could only say in a depressed voice, “Then just raise the compensation a bit higher, make it so they can’t pay even if they sold everything they had. That will put the fear in them.”
Xu Yi shrugged his shoulders, “I can only do that for now.” He looked at Still after saying this and hesitated a bit before asking, “Still, I can definitely trust you and his excellency Great Magician, so you don’t need to sign the confidentiality contracts. But as for Evita and Akali…...It isn’t that I don’t trust them, but I’m not that close to them, so I’m worried that when I have them sign the confidentiality contract, they might have some ideas because of it……”
“Relax, they won’t. They are my good friends, I understand them very well. They are not that petty. If you feel like it isn’t good for you to mention this, I can do it for you and take responsibility for it.” Still patted her tall chest, speaking in an honest voice.
Xu Yi nodded with a faint smile, “This is good. Alright, let’s go see your grandfather.”
The two were talking on the top floor of the Magic Tower. They pushed open the door to the side and walked into Great Magician Camilla’s private research lab.
Seeing the two walking side by side, a smile flashed on Great Magician Camilla’s face. He waved his hand at Xu Yi and said, “Come, Xu Yi, see this Magic Array.”
“Oh? Your excellency Great Magician has come up with new innovation?” Xu Yi came over and looked over the Magic Array on the workbench. For a while, he didn’t know if he should say he understood or that he didn’t understand.
His meaning of understanding it was that Xu Yi could tell from a single glance that this was a mix of a Frost Array and a Flame Array. Moreover, it was a mix between the two opposing attributes, causing these two Magic Arrays that weren’t that complicated to become much more complicated.
What he didn’t understand was that Xu Yi didn’t know if this Magic Array could still be considered a single Magic Array anymore.
“This…..Your excellency Great Magician, can this Magic Array work normally?” Xu Yi couldn’t help asking.
According to normal magic theory, a normal Magic Array couldn’t be mixed with another Magic Array, not to mention one that was of a completely opposite attribute.
This was because this was related to the elemental magic energy gathered by the Magic Array and its attribute. If it was interrupted by another form of magic, it would affect its operation and even make it unable to start.
Magic was a very strict thing and if even one tiny mistake was made, it could greatly change the result.
“You’ll know after trying it.” Great Magician Camilla said while pointing at the Magic Array.
Xu Yi and Still looked at each other. They really didn’t know what medicine Great Magician Camilla had taken today.
“I’ll try it.” Still reached a hand out to inject magic into the Magic Array.
There was a faint blue light that flickered on the Magic Array and Xu Yi and Still felt a chill coming from the array.
It was already winter and now that they were suddenly hit with this kind of chill, the two of them couldn’t help shivering.
Xu Yi looked at the Magic Array and found that only half of the array lines were releasing this faint blue light. The other half wasn’t moving at all, like it wasn’t affected by the magic.
Looking more closely, he found that the half releasing this light was clearly a Frost Array.
Moreover, the half that wasn’t being affected was a Flame Array.
Xu Yi suddenly understood.
“Your excellency Great Magician, you overlapped this Frost Array and Flame Array? But won’t it create conflict like this? Now that the Frost Array is activated, how can you activate the Flame Array?”
Faced with Xu Yi’s questions, Great Magician Camilla didn’t respond and had Still remove her hand. He made a small adjustment in the Magic Array, moving a small line to another place before injecting magic into the Magic Array.
“Hong——”
A red light quickly filled the Flame Array and a small flame that was less than a centimeter appeared, covering the entire Magic Array.
After a while, the Magic Array’s surrounding area was filled with heat, instantly dispelling the coldness in Xu Yi and Still’s bodies.
Xu Yi was instantly filled with joy seeing this.
“Your excellency Great Magician, you even adjusted the flame height of the Flame Array! This is great! This kind of Flame Array can be used in the Magic Air Conditioner!”
When Xu Yi had Still’s group of three research the Flame Array, because the flames of the Flame Array reached half a meter tall, it couldn’t be used in the small Magic Air Conditioner at all. So Xu Yi had them make some changes to the Flame Array, letting it maintain its same high temperature while compressing the height of the flames.
Still’s group of three had limited magic power, so the research was not fast. But he never thought that Great Magician Camilla would actually solve it for them.
“No, this Magic Array was not made by just me, I just put their ideas together.” Great Magician Camilla waved his hand and modestly said, “Actually, the only thing I did was modify the Flame Array a bit, making the flames a bit smaller.”
Great Magician Camilla made it sound simple, but Xu Yi knew that the most difficult part of the Magic Array was changing the Flame Array.
If it wasn’t for a powerful magician of the Great Magician level helping, with Still, Evita, and Akali’s level of magic, it would take them a long time to do something like this.
Of course, this Magic Array also had a very clever design. It was the way the Frost Array and Flame Array came together and they didn’t clash with each other at all, as well as being able to change between arrays with a single modification.
When Xu Yi was designing the Variable Temperature Magic Air Conditioner, in order to put in both the Frost Array and the Flame Array, he had made the Variable Temperature Magic Air Conditioner very big. It caused the Variable Temperature Magic Air Conditioner to be more than twice the size of the Cold Magic Air Conditioner, so it was too conspicuous hanging it on the wall.
But now with this modification, the Variable Temperature Magic Air Conditioner can save quite a bit on space. In the end, it would be a bit bigger than the Cold Magic Air Conditioner, but it would only be a tiny bit bigger.
“That’s right, your excellency Great Magician, did you say that these little things aren’t interesting at all, so you didn’t want me to take these things out to bother you with? Why now……” Xu Yi pointed at the Magic Array and asked in a curious voice.
Great Magician Camilla looked at him before answering, “Kid, you’re going to Anvilmar for the certification exam in a few days and I’ve heard from Still that you’ve been worrying about this Magic Air Conditioner for the past few days. I decided to help you solve this so you won’t have anything to worry about during the exam. Understand?”
Although Great Magician Camilla had put it very modestly, Xu YI’s heart filled with warmth.
This Great Magician, he really was too good to him.
But to really have him have nothing to worry about, was it really that easy to do?