Chapter 588: The Business Plan is a Great Success!
"The Imperial Secret Spy Agency is targeting the necromancer of the Wisteria Merchant Alliance."
"The mysterious force, however, is targeting the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps."
"Therefore, these two forces are distinct."
After pondering this, Zi Di's trust in Yuan Ci grew significantly.
“Next, we must investigate two individuals in detail.”
“One is the ‘Thirteenth Prince,’ likely the hostage prince.”
“The other is ‘Qi Ci Lang,’ currently known to be an exceptionally powerful gold level individual possessing the ability of immortality.”
Zi Di did not recall the rat eye ghosts or snake shadow ghosts, leaving them temporarily within the alchemy laboratory.
The ice gargoyle also couldn't be recalled immediately.
It had to wait for the metal door to open again to withdraw from the Wisteria shop with minimal risk and cost.
Once Zi Di withdrew her primary focus, her mental connections with the ice gargoyle, the rat eye ghosts, and snake shadow ghosts immediately grew faint and blurred.
The link with the ice gargoyle was the weakest, while the connections with the snake shadow ghosts and rat eye ghosts remained somewhat stronger.
This was despite the latter being farther from Zi Di and separated by the transcendent environment of the Ten Millenia Ice Lake.
“Though the undead school is increasingly targeted and countered, it still retains certain advantages as a new magic faction.”
Zi Di contacted Zong Ge immediately.
The intelligence she had gathered was too crucial, fundamentally impacting the survivors' development strategies and upcoming operational plans.
Once the alchemy communication device connected, Zi Di and Zong Ge swiftly exchanged their secret code.
“There's bad news,” Zi Di said gravely, relaying all the intelligence she'd gathered to Zong Ge.
After a moment of silence, Zong Ge analyzed: The Imperial Secret Spy Agency was likely targeting the remnants of the Wisteria Merchant Alliance. This view coincided perfectly with Zi Di's.
“One is a mysterious force producing gold level individuals one after another, the other is the Sheng Ming Empire's secret spy organization...”
Zong Ge sighed. Even someone as tough as him felt the weight of the pressure.
"I have some good news at least." He said to Zi Di.
"Not long ago, the Li Jian Clan came with our profit assessment for this period of time."
“Sales of the dragon rider potion have been excellent. We've made over 200,000 gold coins in total profit!”
Zi Di paused slightly upon hearing this, then exhaled a quiet breath.
Her eyes stung, reddening.
It had not been easy!
This business venture had nearly collapsed midway. Fortunately, Zi Di had weathered the immense pressure and persevered.
She hadn't charged ahead recklessly, but instead considered reality, made decisive compromises, and sacrificed some profits to secure the Li Jian Clan's deep cooperation.
With this powerful ally, the business plan she spearheaded finally gained traction.
Now, it has yielded substantial interim results.
Zi Di took a deep breath, steadying her breathing, determined not to let Zong Ge on the other end of the communication device detect her fluctuating emotions.
She was thrilled.
She couldn't help it.
The recent barrage of bad news had been overwhelming!
Zi Di had been ambushed and attacked at the Wisteria shop. Had Yuan Ci not rescued her, her fate would have been grim. Even if she hadn't died, she would have been captured.
Afterward, Zi Di conducted covert investigations and formally confirmed that the enemy who ambushed her was indeed the Sheng Ming Empire's Secret Spy Agency.
This revelation brought immense psychological pressure!
The survivors' numbers and strength were simply too insignificant to compare with the empire's Secret Spy Agency.
Not only that, but beyond the Secret Spy Agency, they faced another mysterious and powerful enemy faction. This faction possessed an extraordinary number of gold level individuals!
Were it not for the support of the Deceptive Disguise spell and Anti-Investigation and Prophecy spell, and the cautious habits honed by the survivors on Mystifying Monster Island, they would have been crushed into dust by these two organizations long ago.
“This is indeed rare, good news,” Zi Di said calmly. “What are the specific details of the gains and losses?”
“I'll teleport them to you immediately,” Zong Ge replied.
Through the magic alchemy device, Zong Ge swiftly transmitted a magic image to Zi Di.
This magic image recorded the Li Jian Clan's commercial envoy visiting “Long Fu” (Zong Ge), delivering detailed written materials and giving a brief in-person report.
At that time, not only Zong Ge was present, but also an alchemy puppet impersonating Magician Yao Ma.
Whenever Zi Di acted alone, Zong Ge would deploy the alchemy puppet disguised as her.
Neither the Li Jian Clan nor anyone else detected the slightest irregularity.
The Deceptive Disguise spell proved remarkably reliable. However, this significantly accelerated the consumption of pearl bubbles.
When Zi Di departed Snow Bird Harbor, she carried over sixty pearl bubbles.
During the journey, Zong Ge ambushed the Axe Gang leader and others, consuming a considerable amount.
Upon reaching Igloo City, consumption skyrocketed and never decreased.
Arriving at the Ice Sculpture Capital, Zi Di faced another ambush and had a strong need for reconnaissance, causing the pearl bubble consumption to surge dramatically.
The pearl bubbles were depleted as they were used, and neither Zong Ge nor Zi Di had any means or channels to replenish it.
This was now their most critical strategic resource!
Zi Di desperately wanted to conserve it, but there was simply no way! The situation forced her to increase the pearl bubble usage in many areas.
She reviewed the magic projections and mentally accessed the textual records within the alchemy apparatus.
She studied them twice, gaining a deep understanding of the detailed income and expenditure this time.
dragon rider potions were selling like hotcakes nationwide across the Ice Sculpture Kingdom. This was a blue ocean market, demand remained largely unsatisfied, with vast untapped potential.
“Our primary competitor right now is the Jing Xiang Clan.”
“The Alchemy Guild hasn't reacted at all. This is beyond my expectations.”
Originally, Zi Di had assumed the Ice Sculpture Kingdom's Alchemy Guild would be their primary rival. Yet even now, this colossal entity remains silent.
“It's precisely this situation that made the first round of profits far greater than I anticipated.”
While the Jing Xiang Clan also held significant market share, it paled in comparison to the Alchemy Guild.
“The benefits of our deep cooperation with the Li Jian Clan are evident here.”
“Relying solely on Snow Bird Harbor's four alchemy workshops, even working day and night, couldn't meet the entire Ice Sculpture Kingdom's potion demand.”
“The Li Jian Clan operates alchemy studios, workshops, and factories nationwide. Their mage towers also participate in potion production.”
“This allowed them to suppress the Jing Xiang Clan and securely reap the first wave of dividends brought by the commander's nationwide fame.”
As for expenditures...
The largest portion went toward acquiring the various shops under the Li Jian Clan's name during the initial phase.
Next came transportation costs.
The final category was reconstruction expenses. This primarily involved rebuilding the four alchemy workshops in Snow Bird Harbor that had been destroyed. However, thanks to Tripleblade's timely coordination and arrangements, these losses were far less severe than they appeared on the surface.
“Tripleblade played no small part.”
“Though he's only an iron level fighter and a staunch supporter of Zong Ge, his extensive experience as a mercenary captain allowed him to manage the sub-unit's operations.”
“During our absence, Tripleblade temporarily led the group and handled everything quite well.”
“If not for that major blunder, he would have earned significant credit.”
The major blunder Zi Di had in mind was, of course, Tripleblade losing the big guy.
At a critical moment, Tripleblade ordered Chi Lai to retrieve the big guy, never anticipating Chi Lai would act on his own initiative. This resulted in the big guy being taken away by Da Dou.
Of course, looking back at the entire sequence, Zi Di also realized: even if Chi Lai had retrieved the big guy in time, given the will and decisiveness Da Dou had demonstrated, he would still have forcibly taken the big guy away. The silver level Chi Lai couldn't have stopped Da Dou.
In fact, Tripleblade's order and Chi Lai's last-minute decision actually reduced the risk for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. Had Chi Lai clashed with Tripleblade, he likely would have been killed in battle.
But none of this could obscure the error in Tripleblade's decision-making!
A mistake was a mistake.
On this point, Zong Ge also acknowledged flaws in Tripleblade's command.
Zong Ge enforced clear rewards and punishments, refusing to shield Tripleblade in spite of their personal connection.
"For this major dragon rider potion sales campaign, we invested over 600,000 gold. A significant portion of this capital was allocated to acquiring shops across various regions."
“We've now generated roughly 200,000 gold in profit, but the Li Jian Clan must receive approximately 80,000 gold from that revenue.”
“I plan to hand over 120,000 gold coins directly to the Li Jian Clan to expand production of the dragon rider potion,” Zi Di told Zong Ge.
Zong Ge didn't hesitate: “You make the call on this matter.”
Ever since the survivors emerged from Mystifying Monster Island, Zi Di had continuously demonstrated her business acumen.
Even Zong Ge, with his high expectations, found himself impressed.
Had this venture failed, Zong Ge might have hesitated, yet he would still regard Zi Di as the most business-savvy survivor.
Reality proved otherwise, Zi Di's plan achieved resounding success.
This was merely the first round of profits, already reaching 200,000 gold coins.
The foresight, tactics, and decisiveness Zi Di displayed throughout the process earned Zong Ge's quiet admiration.
Having commanded troops, Zong Ge understood all too well the immense importance of provisions to an army!
Therefore, he immediately gave Zi Di's proposal his full support.
“Long Fu, come out now!”
“If you could slay Teng Dong Lang, why won't you face me in combat?”
“I'm merely a silver level, what are you afraid of?”
“Come forth and accept my challenge!”
…
Zi Di frowned, hearing the commotion from Zong Ge's end through the alchemy device.
“What's going on?” Zi Di asked immediately.
Zong Ge's tone remained calm: “This is already the third challenger.”
“My location has been leaked. The first two who issued public challenges were taken care of by the Li Jian Clan.”
“But I suspect this situation will only escalate.”
“Though all three challengers are silver level, I don't think it's that simple. This is likely a follow-up offensive by the enemy, aiming to exhaust me and prevent me from recuperating."
Zong Ge possessed a keen battlefield instinct.
He instantly discerned the enemy's intent behind these challenges.