Chapter 498 - 486: Just a Stepping Stone

Chapter 498: Chapter 486: Just a Stepping Stone

The atmosphere in the office grew rather intriguing over the sales report for the "Steel Knight" series. The faces of Vera, Colin, and Lina lit up with the excitement of having struck gold.

Allen, however, fell into a brief silence.

He remembered the rudimentary individual battle armor he had whimsically designed long ago to survive the perilous Molten Iron Mountain Range. It was a creation he had once dismissed, having decided that "charging into enemy lines wrapped in a tin can is a highly unwise endeavor." As it turned out, it wasn’t the technical approach that was wrong, but rather the application scenario.

"Jarvis," Allen commanded in his mind.

The next second, he swiped a hand through the air, and a new light screen overlaid the original sales report. Displayed on the screen was a long-forgotten design blueprint. It featured a streamlined battle armor in a red-and-gold color scheme, standing only two meters tall and designed to fit closely to the curves of the human body. The palms and soles were equipped with ray weapon emission ports, and a circular structure was reserved on the chest for the future installation of a cluster cannon.

[Project Code: Mark I]

[Positioning: Individual Piloted Small Battle Armor (Wizard-Powered Type)]

[Core Technology: Anti-Gravity Rune Array, Direct Neural Control, Miniature AT Field...]

Colin and the other two simultaneously leaned in, their eyes filled with curiosity.

"Is this... a scaled-down version of the Steel Knight?" Lina asked astutely.

"No, it’s their ancestor," Allen replied, his tone carrying a trace of nostalgia. "It was something I used for practice in the past."

He tapped his finger lightly, authorizing the complete technical data to Lina. "Put this up on the Panorama Mall as well. Categorize it under ’Full-Coverage Battle Armor,’ and the target audience will be First-level Wizards."

"What about the pricing?" Lina quickly shifted into work mode.

"Ten thousand Low-Level Magic Stones."

This price made both Colin and Lina freeze for a moment. Even the Spider Slayers were priced at several thousand, yet this obviously more advanced battle armor was priced at less than five times that amount.

"Mr. Wesren, isn’t this pricing a bit too low?" Colin couldn’t help but say. "Just the direct neural control and defense capabilities alone are enough to double its cost. Selling it to First-level Wizards for this much is practically giving it away!"

"The price is supposed to be low." Allen’s gaze swept over the design blueprints. "Its defense can only withstand three full-force attacks from a First-level Wizard. The power source has to be provided by the Wizard themselves, so its endurance is a concern. It’s of marginal use to a Second-level Wizard, but too expensive for an apprentice.

"Its target customers are those First-level Wizards who have just been promoted, lack substantial savings, and are in urgent need of an immediate combat power boost.

"By offering a price so low they can’t refuse, we can quickly seize this untapped market. After all, not every Wizard has a physique as muscular as those from the Bloodline School."

Colin instantly grasped Allen’s intention. This was applying the logic behind the Educational Golems to conquer the Wizard arms market! First, cultivate user habits with free or low-priced products, and then generate sustained profits through subsequent upgrades, maintenance, and generational replacements.

"I understand now!" Colin rubbed his hands together excitedly, but he soon spotted a new issue. He pointed at the parameters on the light screen. "Mr. Wesren, this armor’s offensive methods are too simplistic—it only has Palm Cannons. If we could integrate multiple Witchcraft Models, or even give it short-burst supersonic flight capabilities, and take its defense up another notch... I can guarantee that the upgraded second-generation product will sell like crazy, even if it’s priced at thirty or fifty thousand Magic Stones!"

"I’ll upgrade it when I get back," Allen agreed casually. To him now, this was nothing more than spending a few hours adjusting the parameter models.

He closed the light screen, bringing the internal meeting to an end.

...

Half an hour later, the inauguration ceremony for the new headquarters of Wesren Heavy Industry officially began.

Allen refused the lengthy speech Vera had prepared. He simply walked onto the stage, faced the nearly one thousand employees and invited partners below, and delivered his address.

"Welcome to Wesren Heavy Industry.

"Work hard. There will be bonuses and vacations at the end of the year."

Thunderous applause erupted. It was concise and to the point, yet it held far more power than any flowery rhetoric.

After the ceremony, Allen did not attend any banquets. Instead, accompanied by Vera and Colin, he headed directly to inspect Factories Four, Five, and Six located in the suburbs of Hub City.

The three sprawling, massive factory complexes lay fully illuminated like three crouching steel Giant Beasts. As Allen walked into Factory Four, a searing wave of heat mingled with Magic Power washed over his face.

Within his line of sight was an endless automated production line. Over a thousand ruggedly designed "Hercules" heavy Engineering Golems, standing ten meters tall, were moving with steady strides, bustling about their respective stations in an orderly fashion.

Some extended massive mechanical arms to precisely place multi-ton ingots of high-purity metal onto Forging tables. Others manipulated lasers to etch precision Runes the size of grains of rice onto thick armor plates. Still others snapped fully assembled modules together like building blocks to construct brand-new Golems.

The entire factory was a surging torrent forged from steel, gears, and Runes. Industry and Magic achieved their wildest fusion here in an unprecedented manner.

Allen stood quietly on the observation walkway, overlooking this Steel Kingdom that belonged to him. He could feel an invisible, majestic force continuously gathering from these three factories and the entire system of Wesren Heavy Industry, ultimately pouring into his own authority.

He wondered, "If Wesren Heavy Industry continues to develop at this pace... what will it become by the time I advance to Morning Star?"

A trace of fervent heat flashed through Allen’s eyes.

"Mr. Wesren, I’ve arranged a celebration banquet for tonight. All the executives will be attending, and everyone is really hoping..." Vera’s voice sounded from beside him.

"There’s no need," Allen interrupted her, his gaze still fixed on the steel forest below.

Vera and Colin exchanged a glance, both seeing a trace of puzzlement in each other’s eyes. Allen slowly turned around, looking calmly at his two most trusted partners.

"Vera, Colin," his voice transmitted clearly into their ears. "You must remember that the original purpose of Wesren Heavy Industry’s existence is not to expand, nor is it to become some sort of industry benchmark.

"Every Magic Stone it earns for me, every production line it establishes, and every employee it recruits ultimately serves only one purpose—

"To become the stepping stones leading me to higher heights.

"Business is merely a tool; truth is the ultimate destination.

"Don’t be blinded by the numbers on the ledger. Your personal cultivation progress is too slow. Don’t fall behind my footsteps when the time comes."

As his words fell, the smiles on Vera’s and Colin’s faces gradually froze. For the first time, they so clearly felt the undisguised ambition deep within the heart of the man standing before them.

Allen didn’t explain any further. He turned around and walked toward the portal they had come through. Some things only needed to be pointed out once.

...

When the light flared again, Allen had quietly returned to the Deep Blue Residence on the Great Library Plane.

Outside the terrace lay the same eternal azure sea. Standing before the railing, he pulled up his personal account. A suffocatingly long string of numbers slowly surfaced on the light screen.

Following the frenzied wealth accumulation by the three major business divisions and the complete liquidation of resources obtained from concluding matters in the Aiselan Plane, the liquid funds in his personal account had reached an unprecedented peak.

[Current Available Funds: 3.5 Billion Low-Level Magic Stones.]