Calculating Cultivation - Chapter 76: Creating A Market

“As you can see from the included packet, you can expect an overall increase of 4% credits over the course of a conflict, while denying your opponent those resources based on historical trends,” I presented to the representative from the Yellow Sapling faction.

“And why don’t we just do this ourselves?” the female representative asked. I smiled at that question, since I was ready for it.

“The same reason you would purchase anything outside of your faction. The ease with which it is all combined togeather, and suitable for rapid deployment behind the combat lines. And the loss would not be huge, based on the low prices. The economy of scale is why I am able to keep the prices so low.” That wasn’t the case. It was more that the formations were of much higher quality compared to the crafting materials. Bones’ knowledge had come in handy for developing this equipment.

“We will buy a batch to inspect,” the representative said.

“Excellent. It includes a thousand cycle non-compete clause as well,” I added on and the representative frowned but nodded. I pushed forward the contract. They purchased 10 recyclers and 1 divider for 500 credits. I had increased the price after giving the issue some thought. And for a faction it was pocket change to save a lot.

I left the meeting 500 credits richer, and another contact had been set up. I had been visiting the various factions that were fighting. Some factions purchased a test batch like the Yellow Sapling faction, while others purchased much more. Everyone purchased my equipment. Either to reverse engineer or to take a leg up on their competitors. One thing I included in the contracts was that a faction could pay double for me not to sell to one of their direct competitors. A couple of factions had taken me up on that.

The TripleX faction had a long list of contacts and was respected enough that I was able to get meetings and give my presentation. That was what I did every day, arrange sales meetings and go to them, to give my sales pitch. I couldn’t hand this task off, since I was a member of the TripleX faction so I had the backing to meet with a cultivator in the other factions who could authorize a purchase.

If I sent a modded human, then it would have been viewed as an insult, or they would have been regulated to an individual in the same circumstance, thereby diminishing my product. I had to personally go to meeting after meeting. At least the accommodations and travel were smooth, and without issues. There was a big difference between having a faction behind me and being a hobo in the Forever City.

I kept most of the finished product on me, in cheap spatial items, divided up by batches. It was easy enough to sell. The increased price covered my travel expenses and the spatial items. At least I was building up a list of contacts I knew and could go back and pitch another idea.

Apparently, the level of documentation and the energy I put into the sales pitch was quite refreshing. Most factions had members handle procurement by shopping around or internally produced items. There were very few sales pitches, which was why the other factions were willing to entertain me. They couldn’t risk declining me and then a rival faction getting an advantage.

That was why I had spent so long getting data and running scenarios to include with my sales pitch. It was a thesis worthy level packet worth of data. And the projected range my products would assist in bringing in more credits and other benefits.

I had no idea what Qiang You thought. I hadn’t met with him again. And while I had sold 800 batches for a total of 400,000 credits, only 12,500 credits had been earned so far. That was slightly less than 16 credits per batch. The faction tax and production cost had eaten up a lot of credits. The good news was that my floor was doing quite well compared to the tax revenue from other floors.

That 200,000 credits in tax was a boost to Qiang You’s income and standing. It was not a huge boost, but it was above the average that a floor would produce per cycle, which was around 1,000 credits in tax. With around 80,000 managed floors, which was 80,000,000 credits worth of tax revenue per cycle. That was the sheer power of a tower master.

A lot of floors produced nothing but feeder product for other floors. Just from production alone, the TripleX faction made around 400 million credits per cycle. And that was only about a tenth of the total faction revenue stream, which offered many other support and information services as their main business model.

That’s why controlling towers was so valuable and factions fought over them. Looking at the sheer economy of scale, it was mind boggling where all these credits were coming from and what it was all being spent on.

Trying to work out the full economic picture of the Forever City was a challenge. While I had access to faction data, I didn’t have access to the higher-level transactions that took place. The buyers for goods and services tended to be factions in desperate need of emergency supplies or third parties. TripleX’s production volume was fairly low with only five towers controlled.

My best guess was that the credits were used for high level purchases, protection payments, or possibly other investments. It wouldn’t surprise me that the TripleX faction had to pay other larger factions a portion of its tax revenue to be safe. The faction also didn’t recruit directly from the continents. Instead, the faction recruited outsiders and people who lost their previous factions.

That 50 million that was spent to pay Cultivator Po, was actually pretty cheap, since I was now a strategic, long-term asset. I looked all this up and researched this information in my own time, to better understand the overall economic situation as well as my personal situation. The more valuable that I was, the more likely I wouldn’t be disposed of.

Returning back to the TripleX faction, I collapsed in my chair in my tiny office on my floor. I was going to be worked to death. But it was still better than staying in a dark room for countless years trying to get stronger. Ting Rong then showed up.

“The current expenditure and production metrics you wanted handed to you,” she said.

“Thank you,” I replied, and she nodded. “Any inquiries in our direction?” I asked.

“Only one. From a distributor named Gen from the Red Spirit faction. I have set up the meeting for tomorrow,” Ting Rong said. She had adapted to how I counted time thankfully. I had periods blocked off in my schedule as personal, for when I slept. While the Forever City didn’t have set days between factions, the Heavenly Alliance, did have a standard schedule that most businesses worked off of.

I was handed a pad with my schedule laid out, and there was a new block marked off for a meeting with this Gen. “How high up is he? Any other information?” I asked. Ting Rong placed a large packet of information on top of my desk.

“Anything else?” I asked. She shook her head and gave a negative. “Then make the appropriate arrangements for the meeting tomorrow. We do have a meeting room on this floor set aside for such purposes, unless you think I should use one of the faction meeting rooms?” I asked.

“The faction meeting rooms would be better,” Ting Rong said.

“Then make the arrangements,” I told her, and she left. I then opened up the packet of information she had put togeather.

The Red Spirit faction was primarily based in the sixth ring and the latest intelligence indicated a sizable build up of resources and personnel. They were looking to expand. The real question was in which direction. That was something that the TripleX faction had no idea regarding. Looking at the surrounding factions it was hard to say who would be their target, but they were clearly looking to make some aggressive acquisitions.

As for Gen himself, he was a long time exterior dealer that worked on behalf of the faction to address resource shortages. He was an internal purchaser from the faction. The exact kind of person I wanted to do business with.

The following day came, and I met him on one of the lower levels. “Junior Yuan Zhou of the TripleX faction greets senior Gen of the Red Spirit Faction,” I said with a slight bow.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. I am glad you were able to meet with me so quickly,” Gen said with a bow as well. The politer they were, the more they were going to try and scam me in some way. While it wasn’t a perfect rule, it fit the environment of the Forever City perfectly.

“Please sit. Refreshments?” I offered him, playing the role of a kind host.

“Whatever you have prepared is fine,” he replied with a wave of his hand. I gestured and servants came out with food and drinks. “A wide selection,” he noted as food and drinks were laid out in front of him.

“We specialize in hosting guests of other factions,” I replied. Gen nodded and as he looked over the food. I sampled several pieces, and he did the same. Each piece was an exquisite work of art, but that was the power of a faction. The small things like food had already been addressed a long time ago. Those small comforts were part of the benefits of being a member and a way to be polite to members of other factions.

The food was also a signal, that the TripleX faction knew which food the Red Spirit faction preferred and served. An indication of my faction’s expansive intelligence gathering.

“Ah, this is the best part of my job. Traveling and enjoying the hospitality of other factions. But I am sure you are here not to just entertain me, but in regards to business. I am looking at purchasing 100 batches of equipment from you. Those recyclers and dividers,” he said.

“That is quite a bit. I am definitely interested. Are you looking to resell?” I asked, while trying to better understand if there was a chance for even more sales.

“Possibly. But it is more about the price and not having to procure any more later. Stockpiling up just in case,” Gen said.

“That would be 50,000 credits and the amount could be provided in a tenth of a cycle,” I replied. That would use up all the reserves that had been built up, but it was better to sell them, than hold onto them. It wasn’t like I was going to get a better deal.

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“A discount would be expected for such a large purchase,” Gen said. I shook my head at this. I couldn’t afford discounts with how tight my margins were.

“If anything, the price should go up instead for such a large order. The price stays the same,” I said firmly.

“And what if I said that I could get your product introduced to several high ranking factions who might be interested in squeezing out whatever they can,” Gen countered. Now that was interesting. I was tempted, but I wouldn’t hand out anything on consignment. There was no good enforcement mechanism. Drawing in someone like Qiang You or the Heavenly Alliance would just piss them off far more, than I would recover if a deal went poorly.

“Then I would say that you would get a commission for any sales you can arrange,” I countered. Something I wouldn’t dare to say to someone as powerful as this person without the TripleX faction behind me.

“A little consideration would go a long way,” Gen said, and I nodded slowly at this statement. He clearly wanted some kind of compensation, but I wasn’t sure what was standard for a middleman in the Forever City.

“How much consideration would I be looking at?” I asked. Since without hard numbers, it would be hard to say what kind of discount I could offer.

“Half a million of your batches, including the spatial items,” Gen said and I had to use every fiber of my being to not react to this statement. I had been expecting him to list out a percentage of the sales he wanted, not the actual sales volume he was looking to resell.

“That is quite a lot,” I said, and Gen gave me a condescending smile.

“Of course, it is. The Red Spirit faction handles military bundles for other factions. Your goods caught my eye, and it would be good to include them as well. The little I am buying now is a test run. This larger order is contingent on the same level of quality. They would even be cleared for limited export by the Heavenly Alliance.” My heart froze at that statement and I knew I couldn’t contain my shock at what he had just said.

“You can export? How? Those licenses are strictly controlled. The forms and regulations for selling things outside the Forever City is not simple,” I challenged, and Gen smiled. I had looked into this, in terms of moving more goods. But it was incredibly complicated and the costs were massive. For someone as small as me, it wasn’t worthwhile.

“That is the power of the connections I have. It would all be legitimate, and you would not be on the hook, since I would be taking possession of everything,” Gen said. Half a million batches, meant a quarter of a billion credits in sales alone. That would require dedicated production lines and have serious implications on a faction level.

“I am interested, but what kind of discount are you looking for?” I asked.

“300 credits per batch of equipment,” he said without hesitation. That was a forty percent discount. That was impossible. I would be out of pocket at that price.

“400 credits per batch of equipment,” I countered, and he shook his head.

“That is what I will be selling them at. Otherwise, I would just make them myself. I want them close to cost. Think on it, I am not budging. For now, let’s complete the first transaction. If you want to sell more, let me know,” Gen said and got up. I stood up as well. A servant brought in the spatial items and he transferred the funds. He gave me a shallow head nod and then left. That hadn’t been the outcome I was expecting.

Right after I went to see Ting Rong. We began working through the numbers. “Even with dedicated production lines, you are looking at 22 credits for the divider and 6 credits for the recycler if made with dedicated production lines. The spatial ring is another 20 credits and another credit for overhead. That is 103 credits for production cost. With the faction tax at 300 credits, that would be a profit of 47 credits.”

I looked over the numbers. “We would have to switch over our production method,” I said, and she nodded. “Alright, let’s pass this onto Qiang You for approval and then sign the deal.”

“You would bother him with this?” Ting Rong asked me, and I nodded.

“This is a massive purchase. I might be stepping on some toes. I want to be sure he signs off on this transaction. We can send a message to through the Head Servant indicating the scale of the transaction. But I am worried how it just fell into my lap,” I said with a frown. It seemed a bit too easy. There was something else going on. My idea was decent, but it wasn’t something that was immune from being copied.

Why pay that much for another faction when you could just manufacture it yourself? I was called to speak to Qiang You a day after I sent him a message explaining the deal that had been offered and how I was inclined to accept.

I bowed in the garden again to Qiang You as he looked imperiously at me. “Sit. You did well to speak to me on this. It won’t be allowed.”

“May I ask why Vice Leader?” I asked.

“It is a trap to pull the TripleX faction into a conflict. Small scale sales are fine and are ignored. But anything over ten million credits or close to that amount would be considered a strategic purpose. There are different rules that govern such transactions by the Heavenly Alliance,” Qiang You said. That was annoying.

“There are six other major manufacturers of similar equipment. One of which is allied with a faction we are allied with. That is one possible avenue of attack. The second avenue would be to resell such stuff on a large scale outside the Heavenly Alliance. You would be held accountable as a warning for such transactions. The Gen is but a patsy for such schemes and the Red Spirit faction would disown him without hesitation,” Qiang You said.

“The faction wouldn’t be reprimanded?” I asked with a bit of surprise.

“A slap on the wrist. Giving up a member would satisfy any issues. And they would take precautions if they did make the sale, but they would be a middleman at best. But as the manufacturer we would be held to account and tracked down.”

“Even with the credits we earn, it wouldn’t be profitable,” I said.

“Exactly. The TripleX faction persists by not getting drawn into conflicts and sheltering other the umbrella of other factions. While the credits would be useful, conflict would not be. I am pleased that you reached out to me before embarrassing this faction.” I felt a small sense of accomplishment at avoiding a trap, not that it was hard. The cultivators of the Forever City truly were ruthless, even when they seemed polite.

I also picked up the hidden meaning he was trying to convey. Just as Gen would be cut loose, I would be as well. The risk of doing business that ran into issues, was that I would be disposed of if there were any headaches that resulted from my dealings. That was why he was willing to explain about Gen’s position. It was unclear how much leeway factions had with the Heavenly Alliance, but it was enough for me to lose my head if I went too far.

“Thank you, Vice Leader,” I replied and bowed my head.

“How has the new organ gifted by Cultivator Po been working?” Qiang You asked.

“There have been no issues, Vice Leader,” I replied, and he nodded slowly.

“Good. The time for your breakthrough is close. I have given the matter much thought. You will breakthrough in the Astral Plane, I have already arranged protection,” he said, and my eyes went wide at that.

“That is incredibly generous,” I gratefully replied, and Qiang You shook his head slightly.

“It will not count as a favor. Since your breakthrough can’t be used to disrupt certain portions of the Forever City, it is best that you survive to pay me back. I will personally protect you while you breakthrough. You should have enough time to sort out your cultivation,” Qiang You said. It was a shame, I would still owe three favors, but I wasn’t going to complain. I had been looking for an opportunity to break through and it was being offered this easily.

I sensed there was something else at work. There clearly was another plot happening. Qiang You was going to try and benefit in some way. No cultivator was this selfless. “I understand. When do we depart?” I asked.

“One cycle from now. I need to finish making preparations.” That didn’t sound like he was being altruistic towards me. “You are dismissed,” Qiang You said, and I left his garden. There was nothing more to say.

I made my way back up to my floor, frustrated that I didn’t know what Qiang You was planning to do with me. Material on the Astral Plane was at a higher tier of information than I had access to. While tempting to make the request for more information, it would not be approved. For all the niceties and help that Qiang You was giving me, he was absolutely ruthless.

If something didn’t benefit his interests, then there was no chance it would be allowed to happen. As I climbed up the stairs, I tried to think about how I could get around the issue of selling more recyclers and dividers. What I really needed was to sell to someone like Gen, but not have the sale be traced back to me. But that wouldn’t work, since everything would be paid for in credits.

I would have to take payment in some other material that I could convert to credits and somehow hide the origin of what was produced. That wasn’t possible. There were enough examples of my work out there, that hiding the origin was impossible.

It was more a matter of bulk sales rather than one off pieces. I guess if the value was much higher, then that would get the attention of the Heavenly Alliance. If I was going to find more opportunities, it wasn’t going to be here in the Forever City. I needed a more unstable market.

“Should I arrange for the production lines?” Ting Rong asked me when I returned. I shook my head at her question.

“No. We will stick with the small-scale production for now,” I said.

“It will take a long time to break even,” she replied.

“That is fine. It justifies the use of this floor, and we are earning credits. Also have the artisans put togeather the older model I designed. Say ten of them,” I replied.

“They aren’t as good as the more refined versions,” she said.

“That’s the point. No standard markings on them either indicating the origin,” I also said.

“That would lead to questions if audited,” she replied.

“Do audits happen?” I asked.

“They can, but they are rare. This will be reported to the tower master,” she answered. That was Qiang You, but it didn’t matter. He wouldn’t ask questions unless I got into trouble and then blame everything on me. If I wanted to get ahead, it wouldn’t be possible by playing nice or by the rules. I needed to start taking opportunities that came my way.

“How easy would it be to move the production equipment?” I asked.

“Not too hard, but anywhere else would be lacking security,” Ting Rong said.

“And how easy would it be to hide the origin of the recyclers and dividers?” I asked.

“Not too difficult. You want to set up a production line off the books?” she asked, and I nodded.

“Yes. Since I am viewed as a weak link to be taken advantage of, then it is time to make use of that. If this Gen wants to throw credits at me, I will take them, and give him what he asks for with no trace back to the TripleX faction,” I replied.

“There are techniques to trace the origin of items and we would have to set up in another tower,” Ting Rong said, and I nodded at this.

“We can use one of the upper floors in another tower in a conflict zone. Produce the goods and then arrange a transfer through another faction. That should conceal their origin,” I replied.

“Unless this Gen is caught and the transaction will still show up,” Ting Rong replied.

“That’s why we will structure it as several smaller transactions rather than one single large transaction. Possibly look into alternative methods of getting paid,” I explained.

“My expertise is in production, and moving production would result in several complications. The biggest one, getting any workers to operate the devices and the raw materials that will be needed,” Ting Rong explained.

“I will find an isolated location that can be used. As for the raw materials, spatial bags, the same ones we will bring back the finished batches in,” I replied.

“You want disposable workers then, low skilled labor. That will add to the production cost if they are purchased from outside the faction,” Ting Rong said.

“Multiple factions should work better for hiding our tracks,” I suggested.

“I will make the arrangements. It will take a cycle to prepare everything that is needed,” she replied.

“That is fine. I need to contact Gen and agree to his terms. Is there anything that I am missing?” I asked.

“I don’t believe so, but I am not an expert in anything other than manufacturing,” Ting Rong said. I rolled my eyes at that statement. She had a lot of ancillary skills, but she had no personality and lacked understanding of the scope of what I was trying to accomplish.

That was the problem with vat people, their creativity was incredibly lacking. They were good at what they were made to do, but beyond that, they struggled in terms of creativity and flexibility. There were exceptions and there was a small amount of growth over time, but it was rare that a vat human overcame their ingrown nature.

Ting Rong was the exact kind of personality who encapsulated why the Forever City didn’t bother with slavery. They just made willing workers. If they didn’t want to work they were defective and replaced. They were the smalls cogs in the giant machine that just churned up lives to empower the old cultivators and let them grasp onto a bit more power.

Now I was one of those cogs, in the endless struggle.