"Usually, it takes a few days of travel to reach one destination to another," Michael explained. "Because of this, a lot of travelers pack up a lot of camping gear and food for their entire trip. This costs them a lot of money to do so.
However, I am planning on creating a little safe haven for travelers on the Golden Road. For each day of travel they journey, they will find a Truck Stop to sleep and recover from their expedition. They will find a place to sleep, a place to eat, and a place to replenish their gear."
Barcus' eyes gleamed with excitement once Michael told him all of his plans about this 'Truck Stop' in the Golden Road.
He had never heard of such an innovative idea. Michael had already thought of a solution to a millennia-long problem in the world that no one has ever yet to solve!
"Amazing…this idea of yours is nothing less than extraordinary," Barcus praised Michael.
Of course, Michael was borrowing heavily from the ideas in his previous world. There, it was normal to have truck stops or gas stations once every hundred kilometers of highway or interstate.
People in this world were accustomed to travelling large amounts of time, camping in the woods and hunting for food to survive. But once Michael constructed these truck stops, they wouldn't have to pack up a week's worth of food in their inventory, saving them a lot of time and money.
For the Reborn company, it would also make transportation a lot more efficient. After all, these long travels with Reborn trucks were sustained only through large tanks of extra fuel for the road. But if there were truck stops all along the way, then they wouldn't have to stock up on extra gas.
"What do you think?" Michael asked him.
"I used to think that taking full control of the Grafted Cluster is my only path to success. I thought that if your Reborn company invades our territory, then we will lose our way of living.
But I see now that I have been completely narrow minded. Your ideas and your philosophy in life will completely change the quality of everyone's lives. It will change the world. And I want to be part of that."
Barcus looked at Michael with much more respect and deference.
"Please let my company, Barcus Incorporated, become a subsidiary company of the Reborn company!"
Michael was a little bit surprised to see such seriousness come from Barcus. The man even kneeled in front of him, like he was some kind of royal.
After all, becoming a subsidiary company was akin to being adopted into a bigger company. It was as if Barcus was allowing Michael to put him and his entire company under his own umbrella of influence.
This meant that Barcus Inc. would now fully follow the Reborn company's orders. Not only that, but they would have to share a tiny portion of his profits with Michael as dividends.
No company would lower themselves to such an extent, especially not one who was already at the Golden 500 ranking.
Clearly, Barcus thought that becoming a subsidiary of Michael's company was a lot more beneficial to him in the long run.
He wasn't wrong.
"You want to become our subsidiary?"
"Yes. I have a lot of resources spread about in the entirety of the Grafted Cluster. By becoming your subsidiary company, I can help you spread the Golden Road in the Western region much faster than before!"
Michael didn't know much about the technicalities to something like this, so he consulted a professional in the business.
Soon, Michael and Barcus arrived back in Angora City inside the Reborn company's headquarters.
Michael knocked on Yuna's door, who seemed to have been busy playing Uno with Agnes and her demi-human escorts.
"Sorry to bother you, but I need your help. There's someone here who wants to become our subsidiary company."
"Who?" she asked confusedly.
"Him."
Michael pointed to the man next to him, Barcus, who wore armor made out of intertwined leaves and stems.
"Becoming a subsidiary company is no easy decision. Are you sure?" she asked Barcus.
"Yes. There is no doubt in my mind," he replied with no hesitation.
Yuna was satisfied with that answer. "Well, you have made the best decision in your entire life. Michael may be a Lazy Larry, but he will definitely lead you into a better future," she said, poking out her tongue at Michael.
"Hey!" Michael felt offended. When was he ever lazy?
She then invited them into her work office, which Michael specifically built for her style.
As soon as she opened the door, Barcus felt the breeze of cold air hit his entire face, making him feel like he had stepped foot into the top of a mountain.
"Cold!" he exclaimed. "How is that possible?"
Yuna walked over to the metal box near the window and turned down the dial, weakening the cold breeze coming out of the air conditioning unit.
"This is just one of the perks of the Reborn company. Once electricity is spread in the Queens region, you can also purchase one of these for your home," Yuna explained to Barcus.
This specific unit in her room was different from a normal one because it didn't run on electricity. Instead, it was powered by Unity Mithril, which by the way, wasn't cheap at all to produce.
All eight elemental mana present in a Mithril Artifact creates a powerful explosive force that could be harnessed to become energy. And now, it was being powered for an aircon unit and lights around her room.
"Did I ever tell you you're high maintenance?" he said to Yuna.
"Did I ever tell you my work for these contracts and legal advice cost a lot of money?" she retorted. "We're just even."
Michael shrugged. "Fair enough. Now, how do we go about completing this subsidiary company?"
Yuna raised her hand, levitating the quill in her desk. With a simple [Contract Creation] spell, she was able to whip up a legal binding agreement that would allow a company to become Reborn's subsidiary.
It only took about a minute before two identical papers floated to Michael and Barcus, detailing all the legal writings that would make their agreement solid.
"This means that your company is entitled to ask for help from Michael. For example, you can be entitled to own automobile trucks, dwarven equipment, and other such material or service that Reborn offers. In exchange, a portion of your profits will be sent to Michael as a form of dividends for all his help."
Barcus nodded, agreeing with the terms written on the paper. "I accept."
Michael didn't even look over the pages and simply trusted ChatJK4 and Yuna to take care of all the legal work.
"Just simply sign here your name and your company's name," Yuna said to Barcus.
Once Barcus wrote down his company's name, Yuna's eyes widened in surprise.
"Wait…Barcus Inc.? Aren't you guys the #487th ranked company in the world?!"
Barcus nodded before signing his name in the contract.
Yuna looked at Michael in disbelief. "You were able to turn a Golden 500 ranked company into your subsidiary?"
"Yup," Michael nodded before signing the contract as well.
Yuna shook her head. At this point, she shouldn't even be surprised if the top 10 ranked company became Michael's ally.