Mu Fan's eyes brightened by another five points, and he subconsciously ignored the garish red eyeshadow and bizarre shorts in their reflection.
He stood up and grabbed the other party's hands.
"What else is there?"
White Hair, with a face resembling someone with constipation, pulled his hands away, "Can we talk without holding hands?"
"The key point is, even among imitation goods, there are levels. The lowest level is just copying blindly. The high-end imitation is like changing the soup but not the medicine!"
At this point, a mysterious gleam appeared in White Hair's eyes.
"The appearance of a product creates the first impression for consumers, and this impression directly affects whether the product will sell. So, if there's no R&D strength, the most brutally effective method is to spend little, earn big—pay professional designers to differentiate the product's appearance and strive to surpass the reference in terms of aesthetics. Back then… Hahaha, I didn't do anything back then."
White Hair almost let something slip in his pride, quickly forced the conversation back on track, not caring if it was twisted.
Hearing this, not just Mu Fan and the chubby guy, but even the naive big fatty William gave a thumbs up.
What Mu Fan thought of was the simplest and most practical exoskeleton armor, to beautify it to a degree through Black, and then sell it.
And it might be very popular in the gray market.
White Hair's idea was brilliant!
"But this is just the ideal state. While it's easy to create knock-offs, why can't many people get it off the ground? It's because the local powers on those chaotic planets are not only mixed but also strong. For an ordinary person, trying to sell there and not die is already lucky, so to make a business successful, you still need strong backing."
Curling his lips, White Hair saw four pairs of admiring eyes and looked towards the upper diagonal.
"What are you looking at me for? To put it plainly, original products are done by big companies, knock-offs are done by major nobles and tycoons. In the end, it all depends on the comprehensive strength behind them!"
"Eh? Speaking of which, Mu Fan, are you already worried about Beauty Wang's side? But that's odd. Loki Heavy Industry's materials are indeed competitive, dude, you haven't thought through your idea."
The last sentence made Mu Fan snap out of it, as if he was thinking of solutions for Wang Nuonuo.
However, this provided an excellent cover!
Thus, Mu Fan successfully controlled his expression, pretending to be embarrassed and laughed.
Sure enough, the chubby guy and White Hair didn't suspect anything, chuckling meaningfully at him.
"Thanks, man. I'll go back to my room and think it over. Let's all pick up some credit tasks more diligently during this time; I'll accomplish the team building goal as soon as I can."
"I'm relieved with your words. Our team setup is quite complete. You handle the fighting, Young Master Gu handles diplomacy, Chuchu handles medical needs, William and Harry handle logistics, the peeping tom handles intelligence, and as for me… just being handsome is enough."
"Get lost."
"Looking for a beating."
"Hahaha~"
Seeing his eccentric friends, Mu Fan was in great spirits, waved his hand, and headed back to his room.
"Mu Fan, ask that White Hair kid which gray business is the best there?"
Halfway into his bedroom, Mu Fan's body slanted out again, shouting at the four:
"Right, if we're considering it, where would be best?"
Huh?
Perhaps this was really happening.
White Hair was puzzled, but seeing the chubby guy eyeing his hand sneakily, he angrily slapped the poker cards on the table, stared at the chubby guy, and casually said, "The edge of the third Administrative Star Region, Grey Forest Star, is a lawless area, next to Hinchlo Business Alliance and the Outer Domain Galaxy. It's swarming with desperadoes, mostly surviving on trade."
"Fatso, stop looking at my cards!"
With a roar, White Hair rejoined the battle.
Mu Fan, however, etched the name deeply into his mind.
Third Star District—Grey Forest Star.
The door closed again, the world returned to quiet, but Mu Fan's heart was thrumming with excitement, whispering:
"Did you hear that just now? Do we have a lead this time?"
Black, upon hearing it, responded admiringly, "White Hair really knows how to hide his capabilities. The exoskeleton armor and basic firearms can certainly be replicated based on the current models available on the market. Leave the outer shell design to me; I can make it a series of products. Mu Fan, shouldn't you consider starting a company now?"
Mu Fan was a bit slow to catch up, "We're selling to underground forces, do we really need a company? Or is it that the Federation now allows this?"
"Sometimes I think you're a genius, and sometimes you make me feel you can't even compare to a Zeg..."
Mu Fan's face darkened instantly, "If you don't speak properly, I'll get angry with you."
"If you want this business to last, shouldn't it have its own brand series? As long as Shadow Base's pirated weapons are of good quality and durable, a ripple effect will form. How will others remember if you don't mention the company name?"
"That sounds reasonable... I'll just come up with a name, and it will be settled."
Mu Fan nodded.
"Pick a dominating name. According to online data, the educational level of typical underground armed forces isn't high, so the name shouldn't be too obscure or elegant; it needs to be somewhat straightforward."
Mu Fan scratched his chin, "Let's start with your name since we are selling arms…"
"To have Lord Black's name at the start of the company? I'm so touched I could cry."
In the virtual space, the metallic sphere sprouted a pair of big eyes, even with tear-like embellishments.
"We sell arms, so let's call it Black Arms Company! How about that!"
Mu Fan replied excitedly.
"...Why do I feel like your business won't last long? You're telling everyone outright that we are a shady shop? Who sabotages themselves like this?"
"That's true, let's abbreviate it then, we'll call it Black Fire Company. How does that sound?"
"Hey, that might actually work."
"Black Fire?"
"Yeah, Black Fire!"
Eventually, both agreed with astounding consensus on the name of the Shadow Base arms company.
— Black Fire Company!
"I checked and found out that the Hinchlo Business Alliance has the most lenient conditions for setting up a company. They don't even scrutinize the identity of those registering the company; complete anonymity is allowed."
"So, when I return from Planet 131, I'll apply for a trip out." As long as it related to money or food, Mu Fan was always highly motivated.
"Alright, and you can also explore the market while you're there. All I can help you with is production and transport."
"How far is the company registration place and Grey Forest Star from here?"
"15.6 light years, 14 light years."
Another major plan was added.
Mu Fan planned out his schedule, with so many things to do, he needed to speed up.
Tomorrow, he would first go and see Qingxue, to see if there was anything urgent.
Then, he would try to acquire some Molten Magma Fruit.
What did the icy Senior Sister need him for?
Also, he needed to contact Bald Ruan to see if he could get exemption from attending classes at Dingchuan Academy.
After all, he was bound to disappear for a while.
Better to be as prepared as possible.
Money, food, becoming stronger!
Becoming stronger, money, food!
...
Repeating these three words incessantly, Mu Fan quietly drifted into sleep.