142: Chapter 142 Cannibalism Indiscriminately Involves Friends and Foes

What was the purpose?

What was the true purpose of these distribution plans?

Qin Ce's mind repeatedly replayed the key privilege information in the distribution plans that Jiang Ruowei's fingers had pointed to as she spoke each word.

Every word was like a key, pointing toward a truth he had yet to see clearly.

Could the secret be hidden within those seemingly ordinary clauses?

He looked up at Jiang Ruowei beside him again.

He saw her staring intently at the fifth plan.

That was clearly the work of the Wang Family.

Her brow was tightly furrowed, and her face held deep confusion in addition to shock.

For Jiang Ruowei to show such an expression, this plan was definitely not simple.

For the moment, Jiang Ruowei couldn't even resolve her own confusion.

Qin Ce temporarily suppressed the idea of asking Jiang Ruowei for guidance.

As he re-examined the previous plans and combined them with the names of the families, his eyes suddenly grew brighter and brighter.

When chatting with Mike before, Qin Ce had heard him explain the respective advantages of the five major powers in Fengling City in detail.

Afterward, Qin Ce had also spent time specifically searching for relevant information, gaining a basic understanding of the city's power structure.

Now, combining that with the key points Jiang Ruowei had indicated...

Qin Ce suddenly had a moment of clarity.

First, look at the second plan.

The plan provided Red Sand Mine raw materials, which on the surface appeared to be a complete industrial chain: everything from raw material extraction to finished product forging.

But the problem lay in the manufacturing stage—to forge Red Vein Iron Ingots into Fire Vein Sabers, a special material was required: special trace crystals.

Regarding the supply of these crystals, there was a line of small print in the clauses:

“Must be executed according to the Federal Allocation Plan; specific quotas shall be verified by the Fengling City Administration Bureau Resource Management Department.”

Qin Ce's eyes narrowed slightly.

Quota verification.

In other words, the supply of special trace crystals was entirely up to the Resource Management Department.

Without these special trace crystals, Qin Ce wouldn't be able to manufacture even a single saber.

When that time came, the personnel wages, material costs, and asset depreciation for the entire industrial chain...

These massive expenses would surge like a tide, all weighing down on him alone.

What he would receive wasn't a vast industry, but a bottomless pit of debt.

Even more “coincidentally,” the Fengling City Administration Bureau Resource Management Department was the Lin Family's territory.

The Lin Family, the one among the five major powers that specialized in administration.

Holding the administrative power of quota verification was equivalent to grasping the throat of Qin Ce's entire industrial chain.

If they were in a good mood today, they’d approve a little for you; if they were in a bad mood tomorrow, they’d say your paperwork was incomplete, leaving you staring helplessly.

When that happened, Qin Ce would have only two paths: either watch the industry collapse and fall heavily into debt, or lower his head to find the Lin Family and trade his own things for that tiny bit of quota.

Trade what?

Besides himself, what else did he have?

Look at the third plan.

Moon Condensation Essence; to produce recovery potions, other medicinal herbs were needed as supplements.

The plan indeed granted him the right to purchase other medicinal herbs—sounds very generous, right?

But the problem was: who was the chamber of commerce that supplied medicinal herbs in Fengling City?

The Zhou Family.

Not only that. The pricing power for recovery potions on the market was also firmly held in the hands of the Zhou Family.

Others decided the raw materials, others decided the finished product price; caught in the middle, would he have even half a chance of survival?

As long as the Zhou Family slightly raised the price of raw materials or lowered the purchase price of the finished product, Qin Ce's profit would be squeezed dry.

He wanted to set his own prices? He could.

But the Zhou Family could completely use lower prices to wage a price war and use their more extensive channels to blockade the market, ensuring he couldn't sell a single bottle of potion.

What did he have to compete with the Zhou Family?

The fourth plan was even simpler.

Spirit Springs and Herb Gardens were originally rare and extremely important assets.

Their locations were under the heavy protection of the military base, which was why the plan included the usage rights for military passages—because without using the military passages, one couldn't reach that place at all.

And this area happened to be within the Zhao Family's military jurisdiction.

The assets were on someone else's turf, and entry or exit depended entirely on their whims. Did more even need to be said?

If the Zhao Family was unhappy one day, they could find any random excuse.

Exercise restrictions, security checks, expired passes...

With a slight restriction, Qin Ce wouldn't even be able to see his own spring.

Unable to enter or leave, that Spirit Spring and Herb Garden would be nothing more than a “pie in a painting”—visible but untouchable.

Three plans, three pits.

Each pit was dug just right, each pit buried in the most inconspicuous place, and only when you stepped in would you discover—from the very beginning, they never intended for you to truly possess the privileges.

Complex emotions surged in Qin Ce's heart.

He remembered what Mike had said:

“The major powers are best at using rules to seize things by force or trickery and to suppress dissenters.”

So this was “using the rules.”

Give you the best resources, the most beautiful plans, and the most generous treatment.

Then, at the most critical point, lightly bury a thorn.

That thorn was so small that you wouldn't notice it at all when signing, but once you signed and entered the game, you'd find that the thorn had already pierced your lifeblood.

Want to pull it out?

Sure.

Trade something for it.

What did he have?

Nothing but jaw-dropping potential and growth.

Wasn't this just a roundabout way of binding him to their chariot?

Moreover, it was making him walk onto it willingly and with gratitude.

Just then, Jiang Ruowei also finished reading the fifth plan.

She read it over twice, her brow furrowing deeper and deeper. This plan was too generous and too independent—it completely lacked the kind of clauses found in the first three plans that allowed someone to grab you by the throat.

The mine was his, the road was his, and the sales channel was also his; it was almost a self-contained, complete system.

But to say there was no pit...

Let alone Jiang Ruowei not believing it, Qin Ce didn't believe it either.

What kind of characters were the Wang Family?

Would they be so kind as to give away a mountain of gold for nothing?

Jiang Ruowei was silent for a moment, then suddenly tugged at Qin Ce's sleeve and said in a low voice:

“I don't know what the pit in the fifth plan is. But it doesn't matter, you can choose the first one. That one definitely has no pits.”

She paused, her gaze becoming serious:

“If you're afraid you don't have the resources to build those... don't worry. You don't have them, but I do. I'll help you build them, and the things will belong to you.”

This was the surprise she had prepared for Qin Ce!

...