Allen was browsing the list of advanced missions at the Mission Center.

With his clearance as an Investigator, the highest he could accept were B-level solo or group missions. A-level missions, on the other hand, required Morning Star Level Wizards to complete.

He first looked at the production-type missions:

[Mission ID: IN-0417 | Type: Investigation | Difficulty: B-Level | Content: Travel to the ’Rotten Swamp’ plane, investigate the cause of the ’Crawling Mother’s’ abnormal proliferation, and retrieve a sample of its core tissue | Duration: Estimated 90-120 days | Reward: 2,800 Mid-Level Magic Stones + 45 Credit Points.]

[Mission ID: PR-0882 | Type: Production | Difficulty: B-Level | Content: For the Zel Wizard Clan’s Third Fleet flagship, the ’Dawn’, customize a backup Magic Power diversion matrix | Duration: 180 days | Reward: 80 Credit Points.]

...

High-end contract manufacturing missions demanded immense technological depth, and they didn’t even provide blueprints.

Allen looked through a few more of the investigation missions available to him.

The Credit Point rewards were indeed generous, but most of them required several months, or even half a year, of fieldwork.

High risk, long commitment. The math just didn’t work out. It was a serious conflict with his current strategic plans.

After a rational assessment, Allen decisively shelved the idea of taking on advanced missions.

It wouldn’t be too late to take on missions with high Credit Point rewards once Weisren Heavy Industry was established and had become self-sustaining.

Another busy month passed. During the day, Allen deconstructed technical literature and took time to check on the progress of Cybertron Workshop’s production line.

At night, he would unfailingly enter a state of Meditation, advancing the Rune inscriptions on his Core Matrix for becoming a Second-level Wizard.

Currently, his progress on inscribing the Will Runes for the first Core Matrix was only at 18/36. ’It’s a long, long road ahead,’ he thought.

Thanks to this grueling routine, his composite score in the mission recommendation system had pushed him into the top forty percent of all Level 2 Investigators, and his Credit Points had climbed to 19.5.

During this time, he also used Magic Stones to purchase twelve paid research papers on miniaturized Runes and precision joint design, a total expense of about thirty-eight thousand Mid-Level Magic Stones deducted from his personal account.

One day, after delivering a shipment from the transit warehouse, Allen didn’t head straight back to his Deep Blue Residence. Instead, he took a detour to the Association’s headquarters.

Information scrolled like a waterfall down a massive light-screen wall: advanced mission briefings, new discoveries in planar exploration, an index of the latest papers from the Roundtable Councilors...

Wizards hurried past, only stopping occasionally to scan for intelligence that might lead to immense profit or a knowledge breakthrough.

Allen’s gaze swept the area and was drawn to an inconspicuous notice tucked away in a corner.

[Leasing Notice: Medium-Sized Commercial Property, Lot C-7, Hub City Business District]

One of the properties owned by the Association in Hub City, available for lease to internal members at a discounted rate. 540 square meters, two floors, with a small attached underground warehouse.

Annual Rent: 8,000 Mid-Level Magic Stones.

DSeek completed the comparison instantly. The price was a full thirty percent lower than the market rate for a comparable location in Hub City!

Allen impassively recorded all the information on the notice and turned to leave.

...

Back at his Deep Blue Residence, Allen initiated an interplanar conference call.

Two light screens lit up simultaneously. On the left was Vera, her hair cut short and practical, her eyes bright. Behind her was the familiar top-floor office of the New West.

On the right was Colin, wearing gold-rimmed glasses. Behind him were mountains of documents and Scrolls. He looked slightly fatigued, but his spirit was clearly high.

There were no pleasantries.

"It’s time to officially launch Weisren Heavy Industry," Allen said, getting straight to the point.

"My recent investigations have given me a fundamental understanding of the interplanar arms trade and the competitive landscape among the major powers."

Vera and Colin’s expressions grew serious, and they subconsciously sat up straighter. They had been waiting to hear those words for a very long time.

"I’ve decided to establish our corporate headquarters in Hub City." With a light tap of his finger, Allen shared the property leasing notice on both of their screens. "There are three reasons for this."

"First, Hub City is the heart of the Wizarding World. The density of its traffic, logistics, and information flow is irreplaceable."

"Second, through the Association’s internal channels, we can secure a prime commercial space at a below-market rate."

"Third," Allen’s gaze swept over them both, "we need a sufficiently respectable ’shell’ to handle future business partnerships, and... arms deals."

Those two words, "arms deals," made Colin’s breath catch for a moment.

Vera was the first to speak, her voice clear and steady as she reported their progress. "The preliminary preparations are complete. The core team from the New West—three First-level Wizards and twenty-two key Advanced Apprentices—are ready to be transferred at a moment’s notice to form the new company’s founding team."

"We’ve also finished gathering intelligence on the educational support market," she said, bringing up a Star Map marked with over a dozen points of light. "Our initial assessment indicates that at least sixteen White Wizard Academies across three medium-sized planes are interested in adopting our standardized teaching model. If we can solve the issues of interplanar faculty and management, the profits from this business sector could increase another tenfold."

Next, a densely packed data report appeared on Colin’s screen.

"The low-to-mid-range market for combat Mechanical Bodies... I’ve analyzed the data from the past three months,"

He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his voice tinged with excitement. "The market demand is enormous, but the high-end market is monopolized by giant organizations; we can’t touch it. The mid-range market is controlled by hundreds of large corporations and a few Morning Star Level individuals. The technological and distribution barriers are incredibly high. Trying to force our way in would be corporate suicide."

"But the low-end market!"

Colin’s voice rose. "It’s a massive blue ocean! Countless planar garrisons, small Mercenary Corps, and adventurer groups are all complaining. The low-end Golems on the market are either shoddily made hunks of iron that break down constantly, or they’re so overpriced that a squad of apprentices couldn’t afford one even if they saved up for a whole year. They are in desperate need of a ’cheap and durable combat Golem’."

Colin’s findings perfectly matched Allen’s own observations from within the Association.

Allen listened quietly. When Colin was finished, he steepled his fingers and posed the most critical question.

"We can build the product. But how do we sell it? How do we convince some Mercenary Corps leader, dozens of planes away, to bet his entire fortune on a ’Weisren’ brand Golem he’s never even heard of?"

Even the cheapest Golem is a major purchase. For a Wizard Apprentice, buying a low-end combat Golem is like an ordinary person buying a car. The consideration period is long, the decision is high-stakes, and brand trust is critical.

Vera frowned. "What if we focus on building our reputation on a single plane first, then gradually expand?"

"Too slow," Allen shot down the idea immediately. "We don’t have time to build a reputation slowly."

Colin suggested, "What about running ads in the Wizard Monthly Magazine or on the public announcement screens in Hub City?"

He immediately shot down his own idea. "No, the cost would be too high, and there’s no guarantee it would be effective. Words and images are far less persuasive than seeing it in person."

The three of them fell into a brief silence.

This was the greatest dilemma for any startup. Even the finest wine fears a hidden alley.

"I have a preliminary concept."

Just as the atmosphere was about to turn heavy, Allen spoke again, breaking the silence.

Vera and Colin’s eyes instantly snapped to him, filled with anticipation.

"This concept will require your full cooperation," Allen said, his tone composed and confident, though he didn’t reveal his plan just yet.

"The details of the plan can’t be explained in just a few sentences."

"Three days from now. Hub City. Lot C-7. We’ll discuss the details in person."

The call ended.