Vera and Colin’s efficiency exceeded Allen’s expectations.

The day after signing the Soul Contract, the two of them split up. Vera returned to the Seven Towers Alliance to recruit, while Colin remained in Hub City to hold down the fort.

The recruitment process was low-key. They didn’t take out splashy ads in the Wizard Monthly Magazine, instead opting for targeted outreach through the alumni network New Western Education Company had built over twenty years.

The job posting was remarkably simple—

"New Western Education Company is hiring ambitious individuals. We offer a stable salary, subsidies for cultivation resources, and a post in a central commercial plane. We don’t need geniuses, just reliable people. —Weisren Heavy Industry & New Western Education Company."

There were no grandiose promises, no gimmicks like a "million-Magic-Stone annual salary."

But this unassuming post, for all its apparent lack of appeal, caused a huge stir within the New Western alumni community.

The reason was simple, and it came down to a single word: "Weisren."

Resumes from Advanced Apprentices poured in, along with a few from First-level Wizards.

Vera personally interviewed candidates for the core positions.

Allen helped with the vetting process for a few days, but soon realized it wasn’t necessary—Vera’s criteria for selecting people were identical to his own.

’Not the smartest, but the most stable.’

One First-level Wizard, who claimed to be proficient in over a thousand types of Runes, bragged nonstop during his interview, implying that three different organizations were competing to hire him. After listening, Vera simply put down her pen and smiled. "Thank you for your time."

Dismissed.

Another applicant was an Advanced Apprentice with a mediocre resume and no foreseeable potential of becoming an Official Wizard. However, he had worked as a part-time lecturer at New Western Education Company for six years, never missing a single class, and his teaching quality was consistently high.

When Vera asked why he wanted to change jobs, he thought for a moment before replying, "I like the way New Western Education Company operates. I heard you’re expanding, and I want to be a part of that."

Hired.

On the fourth day of recruitment, there was a small incident.

An Advanced Apprentice approached Colin and said he wanted to join.

Colin glanced over his file. The man had once taken an Advanced Apprentice cram course at New Western. Afterward, he had been working for a mortal royal family, saving up a bit of money, but had never managed to advance to First-level Wizard.

"Your qualifications... aren’t quite up to par," Colin said frankly.

The man didn’t leave. He stood there silently for a moment, then said, "Back then, the tutoring fee was five Magic Stones a session. I gritted my teeth and signed up for the full course package—three hundred Magic Stones in total. It took me five months of mining to save up that much."

Colin’s hand paused.

"Without New Western, I never would have passed the Advanced Apprentice exam." The man’s voice was quiet. "I know my aptitude is average, but I’m reliable."

Colin forwarded the man’s file to Vera.

Vera put him in charge of the most distant of the first batch of branch academies—Frost Wind Academy.

"The environment there is harsh, and the conditions are poor," Colin said, looking at him.

"I’ve worked in the mines," he said.

"Welcome aboard," Colin said, signing the offer letter.

The first phase of recruitment concluded with eight First-level Wizards and twenty-four Advanced Apprentices. A portion of these were key operations and finance personnel transferred from New Western Education Company, tasked with developing the business of the eight new academies.

Positions in the headquarters’ administrative, financial, operational, and business departments were also filled.

Meanwhile, Colin began to build the company’s institutional framework.

Salary structure, task allocation, performance reviews, financial approval processes, customer service standards, confidentiality agreements—no detail was too small, and everything was committed to paper, item by item.

He drew on the lessons learned from New Western Education Company’s twenty years of operation and incorporated several core principles that Allen had sent him remotely.

First, standardization. All teaching procedures, product specifications, and service standards had to be documented in writing, ensuring that the departure of any single individual would not disrupt operations.

Second, replicability. A model that was viable in the Seven Towers Alliance had to be equally viable on the Frost Wind Plane, without relying on the abilities of any specific individual.

Third, documentation. Every transaction, every client interaction, and every revision to a lesson plan had to be recorded.

Colin spent six full days writing a thirty-seven-page policy manual.

Vera took it, flipped through the pages, and chuckled. "You’re such a fusspot."

Colin pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his expression unreadable. "A company without systems won’t survive three years."

「A few days later.」

The renovation of the headquarters in the Hub City Central Business District was complete.

The first floor housed the showroom and reception area. Its white moonstone walls were accented with gold trim—not luxurious, but respectable, continuing the established visual style of New Western Education Company. The second floor was the office area, with over thirty workstations arranged in neat rows, each equipped with its own information terminal.

The interface for the cargo Teleportation Array in the basement warehouse had been calibrated and could connect directly to the cross-planar logistics network.

Outside, a holographic sign slowly lit up.

The large, golden words "New Western · Hub City Headquarters" hovered in the air, with the smaller text "Weisren Heavy Industry" underneath.

Allen stood across the street, looking at his company.

Across the bustling commercial street, seven new employees bustled about in the first-floor lobby.

One was arranging teaching samples on the display shelves, another was calibrating the information retrieval terminal at the front desk, and a third was sorting the first batch of textbooks that had arrived from the Seven Towers Alliance.

Vera stood in the reception area, her fingers tapping on a holographic screen as she confirmed the final details with the head of the renovation crew.

Colin was on the second floor, his eyes behind their gold-rimmed glasses scanning the figures in a ledger. He had already calculated the total pre-opening investment three times.

Allen crossed the street and walked through the door.

Vera approached, handing him a neatly bound opening report.

"The first eight target academies have been confirmed," she said, her voice crisp and efficient. "We’ve sent out advance teams to make contact. Frost Wind Academy and Lilith’s Cottage have already sent back positive feedback. Their deans are willing to arrange a meeting."

"We’ll lead with the educational materials business for now. The Golem products will be rolled out after your first trial production run is completed in three months."

She swiped to the last page of the report. "Projected first-year revenue from the educational materials business is twelve million Low-Level Magic Stones. The Golem business will depend on market feedback, so we’re not making any predictions yet."

Allen looked through the report from beginning to end, closed it, and handed it back to Vera.

"Solid."

It was only a one-word assessment, but Vera lifted her chin slightly. Hearing that word from Allen was more gratifying than hearing "excellent."

The grand opening was also a simple affair.

No banquet, no guests, no ribbon-cutting.

New businesses opened in Hub City every day; no one would give a second glance to a company they had never heard of.

Allen stood at the entrance for a moment, looking up at the golden sign.

Back then, his account balance had been less than a thousand Magic Stones, and he had roped in two classmates he’d just met to start a tutoring service.

Now, the sign for that same tutoring service was hanging in a prime location in the Hub City Central Business District.

And this was just the beginning. Allen’s true goal was to become an interplanar arms-dealing tycoon.

"Keep up the good work," he said to Vera, then turned and walked toward the Teleportation Array on the corner.

Vera’s voice came from behind him. "Boss, aren’t you going to say a few words?"

Allen waved his hand without looking back.

"What’s there to say? Just make money."

His figure was enveloped by the pillar of light from the teleportation, vanishing into the Hub City crowd.

Vera stood at the entrance, watching for a few seconds before looking away and turning back into the lobby.

"You all heard him." She scanned the assembled employees. Her voice wasn’t loud, but each word landed with definitive weight.

"The boss’s exact words—’Just make money.’"

"So, let’s get to work."

A ripple of quiet laughter went through the lobby, but it was quickly drowned out by the sounds of bustling footsteps.

Colin poked his head out from the second floor and adjusted his glasses. "Vera, we just got a message from one of the academies. Their dean wants to know if we can meet tomorrow."

Vera stopped in her tracks, her eyes lighting up.

"Tell him we can meet today."