Chapter 444 - 432: Too Much Money to Spend
Allen returned to his private lounge, a refreshing drink worth 128 Low-Level Magic Stones sitting beside him.
The Steel Knight project was finally delivered, and there was nothing pressing that needed his attention in the Aiselan Kingdom for now. It was time to shift his focus back to his own research tasks.
Come to think of it, 18 years had passed in the blink of an eye since he arrived on this Plane. He had also amassed quite a fortune.
"Jarvis, pull up the financial data for Cybertron, starting from the completion of its third-phase expansion."
[Received. Timeframe: 17 years. Generating...]
[Income Sector]
[Weisren Heavy Industry’s revenue has grown steadily. Your personal dividends, Commander, average approximately 120 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year.]
[Note: The Golem Division contributed the largest increase. The Golem series products have secured a foothold in the low-to-mid-end market, with an 11% market share. The growth of the Environmental Protection Division has slowed, but its profit margin remains the highest of the three divisions.]
[Aiselan Kingdom Project: Mineral profit-sharing revenue. Current annual income has stabilized at 60 million Low-Level Magic Stones. Total income over seventeen years is approximately 890 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
[Association Missions and Other Income: Total over seventeen years is approximately 160 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
Seventeen years ago, the annual net profit of Weisren Heavy Industry’s three divisions was just over one hundred million. Now, it had nearly doubled. The growth wasn’t fast, but it was steady.
Lina’s brand strategy and Vera’s channel development were indispensable, and the technical team Colin had assembled never dropped the ball.
[Expenditure Sector]
[Legion Maintenance Costs: Approximately 5 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year, for a seventeen-year total of 85 million.]
[Personal Cultivation and Custom Magic Potions: Approximately 1 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year, for a seventeen-year total of 20 million.]
[R&D Expenses: Approximately 5 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year, with a peak year of 20 million, for a seventeen-year total of approximately 120 million.]
[Aiselan Support Projects: 1 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year, for a seventeen-year total of 17 million.]
[Golem Reinforcements after Beast Tides: Approximately 2 million Low-Level Magic Stones per year, for a seventeen-year total of 34 million.]
[The "Steel Knight" Project: Total investment of 28 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
As the last line of numbers popped up, Jarvis added a note as usual.
[Note: The "Steel Knight" Project is a pure expenditure item with no corresponding income at present. However, the R&D results from this project can be developed into commercial products.]
Allen stared at the line of text, his expression unchanging.
He hadn’t earned a single coin from the complete designs for the five Mecha models, the three years of research bounties, the prototype manufacturing, or the subsequent fees for technical support and process improvement consultation.
million wasn’t a large sum. Given his current wealth, it could even be classified as a "pocket money" level of spending.
But Jarvis’s logic didn’t lie; the current return on investment for this money was zero.
Allen didn’t dwell on the issue for long. That promise had been translated into action, the action was complete, and the debt was paid.
"Jarvis, notify Vera to list the ’Steel Knight’ series of Mechas on the Myriad Worlds Marketplace. As for the pricing—"
He thought for a moment.
"The Zaku will be priced at 2 million Low-Level Magic Stones, the Unicorn at 4 million, the Gale Red at 3.5 million, the Eureka Striker at 3 million, and the Gipsy Danger at 10 million."
[Confirmed. Recommended product category: "Mortal Military Equipment - Super-Heavy War Machine"?]
"Acceptable. Add a note: Cockpit requires compatibility tuning. No after-sales technical support included."
These Mechas were useless to Advanced Wizards.
But the Wizard Universe was full of Mortal Kingdoms plagued by Beast Tides, Demons, and even each other.
Perhaps some low-level Wizards might be interested in this sort of thing, buying them to resell as goods to the factions they supported.
[Financial Summary]
[After deducting all expenditures over seventeen years, your current personal account balance, Commander, is: 2,343,000,000 Low-Level Magic Stones.]
The final number that popped up on the light screen hovered in the air.
Allen leaned back in his chair, stared at the number for a few seconds, and sighed.
He had too much money and nowhere to spend it.
To be precise, there were no spending opportunities that matched his current needs.
’Advanced knowledge? That requires Association Credit Points, not Magic Stones. Those have to be accumulated through missions and contributions; you can’t just throw money at it.’
’Military power? My existing twenty synthetic legions, Cyclops, Gabriel, and the Sky Throne are more than enough to deal with enemies of the same level.’
’Expand further? Maintenance costs would rise accordingly, and no matter how large an army I amass, it still couldn’t defeat a Dawn Star Level entity.’
’Cultivation resources? The advanced Magic Potions and supplementary materials suitable for my current stage are becoming increasingly scarce on the open market, monopolized by the major organizations.’
It was an awkward situation. He was so poor that all he had was money.
He closed the financial light screen and switched to another interface.
"Jarvis, pull up the total operational data for ’Puppet Zero’ Rhine over the past seventeen years."
[Rhine’s cumulative operational time: 148,920 hours. Effective combat data collected: 470,000 sets. Extreme environment adaptability data: 83,000 sets. Soul monitoring data: The spontaneously generated Will Rune is nearing completion.]
[Based on the above data, the artificial soul project is now viable for research. The theoretical design for the second-generation Puppet model has completed 97.2% of its verification.]
Rhine’s body had been collecting data for seventeen years.
From the high-end social circles of Hub City to the barbaric battlefields of fringe Planes, from ice fields at minus eighty degrees to craters roiling with magma. Every second of movement data, every instance of force feedback from combat.
Rhine himself probably had no idea that every moment of his routine business trips, monster-slaying, and pioneering expeditions was accumulating manufacturing experience for his "successor."
"Initiate the formal production plan for the ’Android’ series." Allen stood up. "Combat power standard: mid-tier Second-level Wizard."
[Received. Added to the highest priority production queue.]
"Also—" Allen paused. "—draft an upgrade and retrofitting plan for the active legions. Apply the technological breakthroughs from the Puppet’s creation back to the large-scale Golems. Aim for an overall combat power increase of over 30% for the Golem Legion."
[Understood. Generating plan.]
Allen nodded, picked up the drink that had long gone cold, and drained it in one gulp.
...
Half a month later, the lights of the royal study in the palace burned bright late into the night.
William was hunched over a huge map, a Feather Pen in his right hand and his left hand holding down a shockingly thick stack of technical documents.
Several years of iron-fisted rule had made the King, who was in the prime of his life, look a few years older than he actually was.
"Your Majesty, the site selection report for the third Mecha base." A young military officer placed a file on the corner of the desk.
William didn’t look up. "Has Frost Rock Valley been approved?"
"The council of nobles is still haggling—"
William’s charcoal pencil drew a heavy circle on the blueprint. "Frost Rock Valley has a natural mineral vein and an access node for an Earth Vein Magic Furnace. It’s the best option. Tell those old lords that if they don’t sign within three days, I’ll go have a personal chat with each of them."
The officer snapped to attention, saluted, and quickly withdrew.
William straightened up, rubbing his sore neck.
A dozen or so documents were scattered across his desk—a plan for Spirit Core frequency testing, the formation of a manufacturing team for the first Zaku, the faculty staffing for the newly established "Mecha Engineering Department" at the Alchemy University...
Every single one required his personal approval.
He picked up another document.
*National Selection Charter for Alchemy Mecha Pilots (First Phase).*
The selection criteria had already been revised eleven times. The first article of the final version stated clearly—
"All citizens of Aiselan aged sixteen or older, who are of sound body and mind, regardless of birth, gender, or Spirit Art level, are eligible to register for the selection."
William occasionally circled or marked things on the document.
The sites for the three Mecha bases had been selected, and construction on the first one had already begun.
The top three teams of Alchemy Engineers from the Alchemy University were reverse-engineering every single screw of the Zaku.
William pulled open a drawer and took out the Memory Crystal Stone.
The surface of the Crystal Stone glowed faintly. The amount of data it contained was enough to keep any Alchemy Engineer busy for a lifetime.
"The first mass-produced Zaku..."
He murmured in a low voice, "Next year. We must be able to build it ourselves by next year."
He placed the Crystal Stone back in the drawer, his gaze falling upon the massive map of the entire Aiselan realm.
The western coastline was covered in dense red markings—each one indicating the direction of a Beast Tide attack.