Chapter 69: Seed Capital

“There’s some profit to be made, but it’s not as high as I imagined.”

Looking through the information Babata had gathered, Jiang Chen couldn’t help but sigh softly.

The technology Jiang Chen had mastered was undoubtedly advanced on Earth. Yet in the universe, it was nothing special. Even though ‘Alchemical Rune’ technology didn’t exist in this world, there were alternative solutions. As long as the effect was similar, the method didn’t matter.

According to Babata’s research, in the star systems near ‘Qiu Long Star,’ a mecha that required a planetary-level or higher expert to pilot and could reach the combat strength of a ninth-rank star-level being—or a similar technological weapon—typically sold for just over a billion Black Dragon Coins. This figure was far lower than Jiang Chen had expected, even much less than the price of a ninth-rank star-level slave.

After Babata explained, Jiang Chen realized that if it was a puppet or another technological creation that didn’t require a pilot, its value would indeed be much higher. But the fact that the ‘Goliath Titan’ required a pilot drastically reduced its worth, making it only a fiftieth of a slave of the same rank.

As for the cost, if one abandoned pure metals like ‘Black Iron Mother’ and switched to alloys with similar performance but only about a tenth of the price, the manufacturing cost of a ‘Goliath Titan’ would be around fifty or sixty million. That’s roughly a forty percent profit margin, but after factoring in manufacturing time, labor, transportation, and other expenses, it was nowhere near as lucrative as Jiang Chen had imagined.

Unless he could drastically lower material costs through bulk purchasing.

—The difference in price between buying enough materials for just one or two mechas at a time versus enough for several hundred could be as much as thirty percent.

“But if I want to buy enough materials for three hundred ‘Goliath Titans’ at once, I’d need at least eighteen billion in start-up capital. I don’t have that much money, not even if I sell everything valuable I own,” Jiang Chen muttered, frowning deeply.

He’d already had Babata look into it: of all the technologies Jiang Chen could mass-produce and sell, only the ‘Goliath Titan’ was theoretically easy to sell and profitable enough. As for the others, the cost of producing them himself—even after buying materials—would exceed the finished product prices of similar items in the universe.

Even those with potential profit either had poor sales channels or margins so low, they weren’t worth the effort. If he wanted to make money, he’d have to rely on the ‘Goliath Titan’ or try to develop a suitable new blueprint based on existing technology.

But even if he could manage the latter, its value might not surpass that of the ‘Goliath Titan.’

“Contracting a mine isn’t feasible either. There are plenty of mining companies in the universe, and their extraction costs are lower and their efficiency higher than my SCVs—I simply can’t compete with them…”

Countless thoughts flashed through Jiang Chen’s mind.

Before entering the universe, Jiang Chen had carefully considered his advantages and devised several possible ways to earn money. But after actually checking through the virtual universe, he discovered, much to his chagrin, that the other paths were blocked off. Only the ‘Goliath Titan’ offered a real chance at profit.

Even then, it was only a theoretical opportunity. To actually realize it, he’d need to solve the initial investment issue for the first batch of materials, as well as the problem of finding buyers for the finished mechas.

Market price was one thing; whether he could quickly find suitable buyers and sell them was another matter entirely.

“Sales aren’t the hardest part. Worst case, I can drop the price a bit and make less, selling to weapon dealers. As long as the profit’s good, there’ll always be someone willing to buy. The real headache is start-up capital.”

After half a day of thinking without a solution, Jiang Chen could only turn to Babata for help: “Babata, I’m planning to make some money with the ‘Goliath Titan,’ but I don’t have enough start-up funds. Do you have any suggestions?”

“Making money?” Babata paused, then asked, “Do you have a concrete plan? Are there any difficulties?”

“This is what I’m thinking…” Jiang Chen quickly laid out his plan, holding nothing back.

He knew very well that openness was necessary if he wanted Babata’s help.

“Your plan’s not bad. If you sell to a ‘Treasure Emporium’ or a specialty tech weapon shop, you’ll have no trouble finding buyers, and the profit’s decent. But at least ten billion Black Dragon Coins in start-up capital…” Babata hesitated, “I do have some valuable treasures, but they’re too precious. If you tried to sell one without a discreet channel, and someone found out, you could be killed, and I’d be dragged down with you. I don’t have anything of just the right value…”

Jiang Chen quickly recalled some treasures aboard the ‘Meteoric Ink Starship’—for instance, fragments of ‘Scarlet Bronze Mother’ or the corpse of an Undying God.

These things were indeed incredibly valuable, but precisely because of their worth, Jiang Chen wouldn’t dare sell them, even if Babata gave them to him.

The universe was never a peaceful place.

If someone discovered he possessed such wealth, it would spell disaster.

“That ‘Arc Blade Disk’ you gave to Luo Feng before—do you still have another?” Jiang Chen couldn’t help but ask Babata.

He remembered that the Treasure Emporium’s purchase price for an ‘Arc Blade Disk’ was exactly eighteen billion Black Dragon Coins.

“There’s only one. The master only intended to take one disciple, so there was only one set of treasures prepared,” Babata shook his head.

“Luo Feng has both the Sky-Evasion Shuttle and the Arc Blade Disk. I could borrow one for now, and buy it back for him after he finishes nurturing his clone, how about that?” Suddenly, a new idea struck Jiang Chen.

It would take Luo Feng at least a year or two to adapt to the Golden-Horned Beast’s body and nurture his clone. With some start-up capital, if the ‘Goliath Titan’ business went smoothly, Jiang Chen could easily multiply his wealth several times over within that period.

“Hey, that’s a dangerous idea!” Babata couldn’t help but glare at Jiang Chen. This guy was actually eyeing the treasure meant for his old master’s successor! If Jiang Chen hadn’t given the Golden-Horned Beast to Luo Feng, Babata would likely have scolded him on the spot.

“Forget it, I’ll give you another method. You won’t get one point eight billion, but you should be able to get a bit over a billion. Just remember to look after Luo Feng once you make your fortune.”

Babata sighed.

“Of course, Luo Feng’s my buddy. If I profit, I won’t forget him,” Jiang Chen replied quickly. “So, what’s your method?”

“Sell that Black Dragon Mountain X81 ship. It’s made of pure natural metal and has historical value—some ship collectors would pay a good price. After selling it, buy yourself an ordinary C-class ship, and you’ll still have at least a billion Black Dragon Coins left over.”

Babata laid out his idea, then quickly added, “The Black Dragon Mountain X81 is something you and Luo Feng found and own together. Whatever profit you make, Luo Feng deserves a share!”

Trust Babata to still fight for Luo Feng’s interests at a time like this.

But Jiang Chen didn’t mind. Babata’s words had already brightened his eyes—he’d found a new plan.