Chapter 416 - 405: Inspection and Audit
Cybertron, in the deepest part of the workshop.
Allen returned the core module forged from meteoric iron to its place, but his thoughts had already drifted far away.
The Aiselan Kingdom’s industrialization was now on the right track. Although the construction of the Spirit Communication Towers had been fraught with setbacks, the success rate was steadily climbing thanks to the powerful corrective measures in the "Standardized Process Improvement Manual."
In the face of absolute profits, the resistance from the old nobility seemed fragile and utterly insignificant.
This massive civilizational transformation project could now enter a "self-sustaining" phase.
It had been over a year since he left Hub City. It was time to go back and check on his company.
"Jarvis, contact Prince William."
Allen said calmly, "Inform him that I will be leaving for a short while. The Golem garrison deployed by Cybertron will maintain its defensive positions."
[Acknowledged.]
Allen turned and left without a moment’s hesitation. At his will, the vast iron city of Cybertron began to retract back into its Half-Plane.
With a single step, his figure vanished.
When he opened his eyes again, he was greeted by the familiar, bustling sight of Hub City.
The unique spatial fluctuations of the cross-planar Star Gate had not yet dissipated when Allen sharply perceived a subtle difference.
His gaze swept across a commercial light screen in a prime location, where he saw a dynamic advertisement for Weisren Heavy Industry—a Spider Slayer II model striding confidently, followed by a simple, powerful slogan: [Weisren Heavy Industry, your most reliable armed partner.]
’Lina certainly works fast,’ a thought flashed through Allen’s mind.
The branding plan he had approved earlier was already showing initial results.
He didn’t linger, heading straight for the Weisren Heavy Industry headquarters.
After nearly a year, the company had expanded to another floor. The employees hurrying back and forth wore expressions of excitement and confidence, the kind unique to a company on the rise.
Vera, Colin, Lina, and the others had already received the news and gathered all the staff in the conference room to await him.
During the brief meeting, Allen listened to briefings on various business operations. He gave high praise and full affirmation for the strong growth momentum Weisren Heavy Industry had maintained over the past year.
From his high-level perspective, he pointed out that under the strong leadership of the management team, all employees had united their efforts to overcome challenges. He noted that they had not only achieved a historic breakthrough in the market share for armed Golems but had also made significant phased achievements in brand building and the implementation of standardized processes. This, he said, fully demonstrated a vibrant, enterprising corporate spirit and a powerful synergy for getting things done and innovating.
Allen emphasized that the company was currently in a critical strategic window for advancing toward high-quality, large-scale development. He urged all departments to further align their thinking and elevate their strategic perspective.
He stated that they must unswervingly implement the dual-track development philosophy of innovation-driven growth and refined management. He called for them to proactively respond to complex and ever-changing market challenges with more rigorous data-driven logic and a more forward-thinking strategic vision.
He encouraged all his colleagues to maintain their strategic focus, reject mediocrity, and deeply integrate their daily operations into the grand blueprint of building a new industry ecosystem, all while striving tirelessly to achieve Weisren Heavy Industry’s goal of leapfrog development.
After delivering his remarks and commanding the room, Allen left the conference room to the applause of the employees.
As soon as he stepped out, he used the internal communication system to contact Rhine, who was currently developing markets in a fringe Plane.
"Boss, you’re back? Is something up?" On the other end of the line, Rhine sounded very busy.
"Return to the Hub City headquarters next week. Your body requires a full maintenance overhaul," Allen said concisely.
"Yes, sir." Rhine raised no objections.
The fact that he had to come back to work even after dying had become an open secret among the company’s senior management.
After confirming that everything at the company was running smoothly, Allen declined Vera’s dinner invitation and returned alone to the Great Library Plane.
Deep Blue Residence.
Outside the window, the sea at night was like a giant black jewel.
"Jarvis, pull up all the data from the past year—finances, military, research, and cultivation. Consolidate it into a summary report."
He called this his "annual self-review."
[Command received. Generating annual overview report...]
An ice-blue light screen unfolded before him, lines of data streaming down like a waterfall.
[Financial Sector]
[Weisren Heavy Industry: Golem Division, annual net profit of 74.5 million Low-Level Magic Stones. The Spider Slayer series continues to be a top seller, with 28 Hive Motherships sold. The ’Peacekeeper’ light Golem has completed market pre-heating and is now entering mass production.]
[Educational Aids Division: Annual net profit of 12.1 million Low-Level Magic Stones. The number of partner academies has increased to twenty-seven, but growth has now slowed.]
[Environmental Protection Division: Annual net profit of 28.3 million Low-Level Magic Stones. Three new long-term, cross-planar industrial waste disposal agreements have been signed, making it a new engine for profit growth.]
[Total annual net profit for the three divisions: 114.9 million Low-Level Magic Stones. Per the agreement, your personal dividend, Commander, is 72.38 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
[Aiselan Kingdom Project: Revenue from mineral profit-sharing in the last nine months totals 41 million Low-Level Magic Stones. Current monthly income has stabilized at 4.55 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
[Association Missions and Other Income: Approximately 9.8 million Low-Level Magic Stones in total.]
Jarvis reported the final summary figure in its usual, steady tone.
[After deducting all expenditures, your current personal account balance, Commander, is: 154.27 million Low-Level Magic Stones.]
Allen looked at the long number and nodded in satisfaction.
[Military Sector]
[Active Combat Units: 20x Standard Golem Synthesis Legions, 3x Aerial Patrol Squadrons, 30x Mining Garrison Units, 2x Cyclops Guards, 2x Gabriel Guards, and various reconnaissance and logistics units.]
[Research and Development Sector]
[DSeek Database: Unfinished research projects have increased from 47 at the start of the year to 84. The more one knows, the more one discovers what is unknown.]
[Core Project Progress: A phased breakthrough has been achieved in technologies related to ’Puppet Zero’. A second-generation model iteration is now possible. Target combat power: Second-level Wizard.]
[The ’Allen Network’ project is still in the theoretical deduction and protocol testing phase. It is estimated to require another 5+ years of ultra-large-scale data validation.]
Finally, there was the cultivation sector.
[Personal Cultivation Progress]
[First Core Matrix (36 Will Runes): Current progress 22/36.]
[Tenth mental sub-thread differentiation completed.]
Allen’s gaze lingered on this line of numbers for a moment.
A year ago, his progress was 19/36.
In an entire year, despite his focused efforts and the aid of the "Deep Sleep Star Core" and custom Magic Potions, he had only advanced by three Will Runes. This was because his energy had been spent on differentiating a new mental sub-thread.
He knew this was the nature of cultivation for a Second-level Wizard—a long race where the gap between individuals widens in decade-long increments. It couldn’t be rushed.
"Close the report," Allen said.
He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, but his mind was working at an unprecedented speed.
The purpose of the annual self-review wasn’t to admire his achievements from the past year, but to identify his shortcomings and then shore them up.
’Given my current income, I should be able to move forward with the next phase of the plan,’ he thought.
"Jarvis, initiate ’Cybertron Expansion Plan, Phase Three.’"
"First, the power systems. Continue to add Earth Vein Magic Furnaces, increasing the total to thirty units."
"Second, the production systems. Continue to add automated production lines, bringing the total to thirty. Construct five thousand new workshop servitors, raising the total workforce to ten thousand."
"Third, research facilities. Begin construction on the remaining five top-tier laboratories. Procure all equipment according to the highest specifications."
"Fourth, the logistics systems. Expand the logistics tracks to twenty main lines, increase warehouse capacity by three hundred percent, and add five thousand new workshop servitors."
"Fifth, expand the ultimate weapon roster. Construct one new Cyclops Unit-03 and one new Gabriel Unit-03."
"Sixth, upgrade and refit the Sky Throne. Its flight deck diameter is to reach 500 meters, it is to be equipped with 30 small beam cannons, and a high-altitude bombing bay is to be added."
"Seventh, continue building the distributed computing matrix. Add a large number of computing sub-nodes to offload non-core computational tasks and build up computing power reserves for the future Aiselan Kingdom network."
Jarvis calculated rapidly.
[Total Project Budget: 91.7 million Low-Level Magic Stones. Estimated Construction Time: Six months. Upon completion, Cybertron’s overall production capacity will be 3.2 times its current level.]
"Purchase from the Association and begin work immediately."
Allen confirmed the payment. His account balance instantly plummeted, dropping to just over sixty-two million.
Spending money was only one reason for his return. Another important objective was to retrieve the data generated by Puppet Zero, Rhine, and to officially launch the project to create a Puppet with the combat power of a Second-level Wizard.