Chapter 641: Section 428: Zi Di Advances
Thinking about the investigation, Zi Di couldn’t help but frown slightly.
Currently, she couldn’t find any reliable people to conduct the investigation.
Zi Di sighed in her heart; there were still too few people she could use. Although the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had been developing and growing impressively since its formation and was filled with talent at its peak, now that they had expanded slightly, their resources were immediately stretched thin.
In fact, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had always lacked intelligence talents.
No matter how excellent the alchemy components or reconnaissance puppets were, they couldn’t replace humans.
Every major organization had an intelligence department. The main way the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps acquired intelligence was by purchasing it from the outside; the Thief Guild was the main source of information for the survivors.
This was certainly not appropriate.
From the perspective of ordinary people, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was only a small force, the strongest of which was only Silver Level, without even a single Golden Level.
For such forces or organizations, lacking an intelligence division was normal. Maintaining an intelligence department was very costly, and small forces could hardly afford it. In terms of cost and benefit, purchasing from the Thief Guild was very cost-effective.
However, Zi Di firmly believed that the current small-scale force was just the starting point for the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, and in the future, their organization would definitely become a large force, and becoming a superpower was also entirely possible.
This was not Zi Di’s wishful thinking or aiming too high; the first reason that made the ghost girl so confident was the Blood Core.
With the Bloodline, anything was possible!
“For us, establishing an intelligence department is necessary. Intelligence talents must be loyal and reliable, so the sooner we establish it, the better.”
“But this is not my job anymore.”
“As for intelligence matters, I have no clues, and it’s not my specialty. It’s better to let the squad leader consider this problem!” Zi Di thought to herself.
For the survivors, the current priority was to connect with the Hundred Needle Family and build relations with the upper echelons of the Holy Bright Empire as a form of atonement.
The secondary priority was Zi Di’s business plan.
However, capital was very important in doing anything.
Economy was the foundation of everything.
Establishing an intelligence department would definitely be costly. Bribing the Empire’s upper echelons for atonement with money was also a good method.
Although the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps had a lot of funds, having captured considerable spoils of war during the chaos at Twin Eyes Island, their consumption was also significant, and would be even more so in the future.
Living off stockpiles was unacceptable.
While they still had capital at hand, it was best to develop vigorously, invest, and establish a stable flow of funds.
If atonement failed, the survivors could still rely on this basis to barely survive for a while.
The Ice Sculpture Kingdom was isolated overseas, far from the Holy Bright Empire. In the future, if the Holy Bright Empire wanted to cause trouble for the survivors, this place could still temporarily serve as a habitat.
Once Zi Di successfully expanded her commercial territory in the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, the benefits would be more than just capital. It would also become easier to acquire various scarce resources. Just like previously in Snowbird Port, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps, relying on the City Lord’s connections, secretly purchased a large amount of rare resources, far exceeding what was available on the market.
Not only materials, but human resources as well.
The Dragon-man youth’s victory over Teng Donglang made the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps famous throughout the Ice Sculpture Kingdom.
Once Zi Di’s business plan succeeded, the financial strength of the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps would also gain wide recognition.
With fame and wealth, more people would recognize the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps as an organization. Consequently, the survivors could leverage higher-level human resources from the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, such as highly skilled alchemy masters, superb pharmacists, or genuinely loyal intelligence talents, among others.
Most talent could only be recruited by an organization with a certain level of strength.
Indeed, a wise man knows when to act, and a good bird chooses a tree to nest in.
Without a certain level of strength, talented individuals would not be interested.
Bu Quan’s joining the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was only an exception.
“Speaking of which, I still have to thank Bu Quan this time. She improved the production process of the Dragon Power Riding Potion, which increased the output several times.”
“For her, such improvements are just basic skills, right?”
Zi Di knew she absolutely couldn’t achieve this.
Not long ago, she was quite surprised when she received this news in a letter.
The significant increase in production gave her more confidence in executing her business plan.
“I didn’t waste my effort previously when I painstakingly persuaded her.”
Zi Di envied Bu Quan’s alchemy talent, but there was no element of jealousy.
As a businesswoman, she was very aware of the concept of human resources.
With Bu Quan’s involvement, it was of great help to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps. The current benefits were substantial, and would likely be even higher in the future!
Of course, Zi Di was aware of Bu Quan’s affection for the Dragon-man youth.
But the ghost girl believed even more in her own relationship with the Dragon-man youth. The experiences on Mysterious Monster Island and the secrets of the Blood Core were the foundation of their feelings and also the distance between the Dragon-man youth and Bu Quan.
“The potion market in Blood Kin City has been observed closely these past few days.”
“Next, is to choose a few people to stay in the shops in Blood Kin City and work.”
This was part of Zi Di’s business plan, which would strengthen her connection with each sales point.
Those who could travel with Zi Di were carefully selected by her.
Some were mercenaries who joined earlier on Snake Rat Island or Twin Eyes Island, while others were Snow Elves recruited from Snowbird Port. Most were from the Human Race and Snow Elves, but there were also Minotaurs, Dogmen, and Water Pigmen.
It was essential to have her own people involved in running the business, otherwise relying solely on the workforce from the Lijian family would easily lead to being controlled by them.
Zi Di decided to leave a Dogman and a Snow Elf behind.
The Snow Elf could blend into the environment, while the Dogman could keep distance, ensuring loyalty to the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps.
Assimilating too much was inappropriate; it was easy to be swayed or turned. The Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps were outsiders, and this was the land of the Snow Elves. Assigning Snow Elves to every sales point was not safe.
Considering loyalty too much, yet being too isolated from the outside world, was also impractical. Without integration, it would be difficult to innovate in business, not to mention losses, and it could even lead to severe conflicts, causing local residents to attack the shops and other adverse events.
Opening branch stores was not so simple.
Zi Di needed to carefully build a team structure, creating a moat of power to establish a solid foundation for long-term stable business.
In this regard, Zi Di had limited practical experience, but she grew up in a merchant family and had learned techniques from her father. Immersed in this environment, Zi Di had full confidence in herself.
“At every city, I will leave a number of people behind. By the time we reach the Ice Sculpture Kingdom, a preliminary sales network would have been established.”
“Zong Ge complains that the people I chose are lacking in combat capabilities. When we were in Cold Wind Valley, he even wanted to use these people as bait. Little does he know, these individuals have all been secretly assessed by me and are the talents that can become the cornerstone of my business plan.”
Reaching an agreement with the Lijian family was a significant breakthrough for the survivors!
The survivors did not grasp the significance of this, except Fat Tongue. Upon hearing the news of Jie Zidi’s success, he was so excited that his whole body trembled, his eyes shone, and he sighed with emotion, “Looking at Zi Di now is like seeing the old Chairman!”
By leveraging the Lijian family, the Dragon Lion Mercenary Corps was like a vine grafted onto the original trunk, drawing nutrients and rapidly growing. This development allowed the survivors to bypass the initial weak stage, saving a substantial amount of time, seizing the crucial opportunity, and conveniently dominating the entire kingdom’s market share.
Blood Kin City and Snowbird Port were close, and the two people Zi Di chose were relatively weaker. When they arrived at some key cities in the future, Zi Di would select some more promising individuals to stay.
“As soon as the first convoy from Snowbird Port successfully delivers goods to Blood Kin City, we can leave,” Zi Di planned.
“Of course, we need to be cautious when we leave.”
They were still unaware of the enemies lying in ambush.
“Thus, just having capital is absolutely insufficient; in fact, too much money could even be a source of misfortune. Martial power is the ultimate guarantee.”
Zi Di put aside her scheming, took out a Soul Crystal, and began the daily cultivation she must perform.
Under her absorption, the Soul Crystal continuously shrank.
A strange fluctuation occurred in Zi Di.
The body of the Ghost Girl quivered, and at that moment, her Mage level increased by one level.
She had officially progressed from Bronze Level to Black Iron Level!
Zi Di was not surprised at all.
Promoting to a Black Iron Level Undead Mage was within her expectations.
She was originally a Black Iron Level Mage, and after death, her spirit was transformed into a ghost under the influence of negative energy and Cang Xu’s Soul Summoning Technique.
Her Life Level had always been Black Iron Level, but her original Mana Pool remained in her body, so her Mage level reset to zero.
She had no choice but to rebuild a Mana Pool and start her Mage cultivation anew.
Her past experience and the life tier of Black Iron Level greatly aided her Mage cultivation.
“Finally back to Black Iron Level,” Zi Di sighed softly.
Extraordinary cultivation usually involved quantitative changes leading to qualitative changes.
But counting the time, the period Zi Di took to re-cultivate was not long. The main reason she felt it was prolonged and excruciating was her urgent need for a higher Mage level.
Because she normally posed as a Silver Level Mage, relying on a Bronze Level Mage level, the pressure was immense.
Now, as a Black Iron Level, the covert pressure was greatly reduced.
“On the other hand, it also helps save on the consumption of Pearl Bubble.”
This was easy to understand.
Bronze Level Mage posing as Silver Level, versus Black Iron Level posing as Silver Level, naturally differed.
“But the Soul Crystals are running low.”
As a ghost, soul devouring was an instinctual form of feeding. Doing so could lead to memory confusion, personality shifts, or even loss of sanity, plunging into madness among other negative states.
For most ghosts, their fate was that they couldn’t overcome the instinct to feed; the more they ate, the more they indulged in the instinct, and under the erosion of negative energy, they became beasts that hated all life.
Soul Crystals were different. They were utterly pure and the perfect substitutes. Not only could they satisfy the hunger, but they could also enhance a ghost’s foundation and strengthen their spiritual power without any side effects.