Chapter 450 - 292: How Zog Made the Prodigal Return (Part 2)

Chapter 450: Chapter 292: How Zog Made the Prodigal Return (Part 2)

"To sell cars across the whole Continent as quickly as possible, of course!"

Zog gave him a look that said, ’How can you be so dense?’

"What else did you think? You think I enjoy dealing with all this hassle? We need a stable, safe driving environment to keep selling cars. Otherwise, people will just buy them to use as decorations at home. Who would want to buy that!"

Hearing Zog’s answer, the City Lord breathed a sigh of relief. ’Good, good. Zog is still Zog.’

"But building roads, organizing traffic police, and arranging driving license exams... all of that requires..." The City Lord pretended to be troubled.

"Cut the act. How much did you make from the lottery?" Zog saw right through the City Lord’s attempt to squeeze money out of him.

"Well, I can’t keep using the lottery money to subsidize this."

Zog thought about it and had to agree. Feilin never preached ’from the people, for the people’; only profit could provide them with long-term motivation.

So, Zog started talking about driving school tuition fees and mandatory insurance that would pay out as little as possible.

He also mentioned some even more devious tricks, like "trap" intersections made of solid lines that were nearly impossible to notice.

He suggested having the Guard Corps’ traffic squad enforce the rules erratically—sometimes strictly, sometimes not. Then, just when people let their guard down, they could crack down hard to boost revenue...

The City Lord couldn’t help but be amazed after hearing all this.

He marveled at how Zog could come up with such unscrupulous—no, such ingenious—designs.

After sorting out the source of funding, Zog started making grand promises to motivate the City Lord.

"You know, ’to get rich, first build roads.’ Good transportation infrastructure facilitates shipping, strengthens communication, and promotes commerce. Other Lords will have to learn from you! Your achievements will be known across the entire Continent, and even the King will praise you. Do you really want to be a Viscount your whole life? Don’t you want to advance?"

The City Lord didn’t give a direct answer, but it was clear from the determination in his eyes that he very much wanted to advance.

With the template Zog provided, the city announced brand-new traffic regulations in just one day and placed a large order for traffic lights from him.

The City Lord personally held a press conference to explain in detail the importance and necessity of the new traffic rules.

Once people realized they couldn’t immediately drive the cars they bought and were only allowed to test-drive them in a few designated areas, sales at the dealership finally began to level off.

Instead, the driving schools exploded in popularity.

The people who came to the store in recent days were mainly there to gawk at the supercar displayed in the middle of the hall, pick up a free copy of the *One Thousand Must-Pass Questions for the Written Exam* booklet, or were kids hoping to use the mini 4WD track for free.

Players familiar with mini 4WD racing probably know that the tracks, if they’re even a little bit long, cost more than the cars themselves.

Besides the price, the bigger problem was having no place to put them.

And in Twin Tower City, the two longest, most luxurious mini 4WD tracks—which even featured Illusion Technique landscapes—were located at Zog’s Toy Store and the Zog-Benz car dealership, respectively.

Outside the dealership was a large open area with a test-drive track for real cars, a small "go-kart" track, and the mini 4WD track.

The enthusiasts who frequented the two mini 4WD tracks formed different cliques that looked down on each other.

The dealership crowd looked down on the toy store crowd for not being hardcore enough, while the toy store crowd looked down on the dealership crowd for not having a full range of parts.

Craig was a loyal devotee of the dealership’s track.

He favored this clique not because of the mini 4WD cars initially, but because of the supercar inside the store.

The Zog-Benz Son of the Wind.

Limited to 25 units.

Its beautiful curves, top-tier craftsmanship, perfect design, and extreme performance left him utterly mesmerized.

But he couldn’t afford it.

A single car cost a staggering 88,888 Gold Coins.

This was far beyond what he, an underage heir to a fortune several generations old, could afford.

He’d heard that the first one Sutton sold was to none other than the Eldest Prince.

Although the Craig family were High Level nobles, they still couldn’t compare to the Royal Family.

However, the clever Craig, after asking the price and facing the saleswoman’s expectant smile, didn’t admit directly that he couldn’t afford it.

Instead, he said, "Even if I bought it now, I wouldn’t be allowed to drive it anyway. I’ll think about it when I’m older."

The saleswoman didn’t call his bluff. Instead, after getting approval from the store manager and Mr. Benz, she took Craig for a test drive in the Son of the Wind on the track.

He was allowed to do so mainly because of the good relationship Craig had built with the Zog Group over the years.

After that, Craig became obsessed with cars, especially the roar of the engine and the powerful thrust he felt when flooring the accelerator.

It was a sense of power he had never experienced in a Magic-guided Vehicle.

But since he couldn’t get a driver’s license yet and couldn’t afford such an expensive car, Craig turned his attention to a "substitute."

Go-karts and mini 4WD cars.

And since everyone used the same model of go-kart, Craig couldn’t leverage his greatest advantage in races.

His money.

As a result, he gradually lost interest in go-karts.

’Things that rely on skill just aren’t for me.’

Especially after one afternoon when a six-year-old thrashed him with a perfect racing line, he swore he would never drive a go-kart again.

Activities where money could solve problems were much more his style.

Like mini 4WD racing.

Today, he had finally gone to great lengths to collect a complete set of the most expensive mini 4WD parts currently available on the market.

These parts were incredibly hard to get. Maybe it was because Zog’s Toys was using hunger marketing, or maybe it was because mini 4WDs had become so popular that demand outstripped supply. In any case, Craig had acquired all these parts by buying them from other players at a high price.