Chapter 375 - 364: Weisren Heavy Industry Quarterly Business Analysis Meeting
Chapter 375: Chapter 364: Weisren Heavy Industry Quarterly Business Analysis Meeting
Hub City, New Western headquarters, Conference Room 3.
Lina sat at the head of the table, her fingertips gently stroking a prepared magic contract.
The atmosphere on the other side of the table was tense. This was the third and final round of negotiations for the procurement of alchemical copper ingots.
Three representatives from the Langge Chamber of Commerce, all materials suppliers, had already been there for two hours.
"Ms. Lina, we really can’t go any lower on this price."
The lead representative, a middle-aged Wizard with gaunt cheeks, spoke with a firm tone, but the exhaustion in his eyes was undeniable. "This is our bottom line. Any lower, and we’ll be taking a loss."
Lina didn’t speak, only smiled.
Her [Emotion Spectrum Vision] had been active for twenty minutes.
In her vision, the lead Wizard’s emotional aura was primarily a deep brown, representing "determination." However, the edges of the aura were uncontrollably tinged with wispy, smoke-like rings of "anxious" gray.
’He’s bluffing.’
His subordinate to his left had an aura of agitated dark red, almost boiling. The man was already eager to leave; to him, time was Magic Stones.
The most interesting one was the female finance officer to the right, who had remained silent the entire time. Her emotional aura was a murky, constantly writhing earthy yellow, laced with a few strands of dark green, which represented a "guilty conscience."
’She knows the asking price is inflated.’
Lina shifted her gaze from the leader and turned it gently toward the finance officer.
"Ma’am, I’m a bit curious."
Her voice was sweet, but laced with poison. "I reviewed your public financial reports filed with the Association. Last quarter, the Langge Chamber of Commerce’s copper ingot shipments were down eighteen percent quarter-over-quarter. Is there a problem with your raw ore supply, or... did your biggest client walk?"
That one sentence was like an invisible sledgehammer, striking precisely at their most vulnerable point.
"SWISH!"
The finance officer’s emotional aura instantly shattered. The earthy yellow and dark green exploded, replaced by large patches of bright white for "shock" and pink for "panic."
The leader’s firm, deep brown aura also split with a "CRACK!", a clear fissure running through it.
Lina knew the game was over.
Fifteen minutes later, the three from the Langge Chamber of Commerce left the conference room, looking somewhat disheveled.
Lina put away the signed contract. She had pushed the price down another seven percent below their supposed bottom line.
Walking out of the conference room, she felt a slight wave of dizziness.
The continuous, high-intensity use of her Emotion Spectrum Vision on a First-level Wizard, combined with delving into the Sea of Collective Unconsciousness for corroboration, was an immense drain on her Spiritual Power.
But a genuine smile hung on her lips. Her steps were steady, and her back was straight.
It had been less than three months since she’d gone from being a small shop owner who barely scraped by processing emotional waste in a chaotic district, to the chief marketing officer now presiding over a negotiation table worth millions of Magic Stones.
But she had already fully adapted to her new life.
***
「That afternoon, at the Weisren Heavy Industry quarterly business analysis meeting.」
Allen’s hologram sat at the head of the table, the background showing the deep ocean world outside the windows of the Deep Blue Residence. Vera, Colin, Lina, and the newly appointed director in charge of all workshops, Rodney, were seated on either side.
This was Weisren Heavy Industry’s first official quarterly report.
Colin stood up, his expression energized as he projected a light screen.
"Part one: the Educational Aids Division."
"As of yesterday, our number of partner academies has expanded from eight to eleven. These eleven branches have firmly established themselves in their local areas, and business is booming."
"In addition, we have shipped a cumulative total of 420 instructional-type Golems, 7,800 service-type Golems, and the first order of 360 guardian-type Golems was fully delivered last week."
"For this quarter, the total revenue from the educational aids business was 4.2 million Low-Level Magic Stones, with a net profit of 1.12 million Low-Level Magic Stones."
Vera was also smiling.
’Back then, the New Western training institution’s annual net profit in the Seven Towers Alliance was only a little over 1.2 million.’
’Now, they’ve matched that in a single quarter, and the sales data is still on an upward trend with no turning point in sight.’
She added, "It’s worth noting that Lina personally led the team that secured the three new academies. One of them, the Starwind Castle Academy, had already signed a letter of intent with a new competitor, ’Arcane Eye,’ but Lina managed to turn the tables in the final round of negotiations."
All eyes turned to Lina, who simply offered a faint smile.
Colin pushed up his glasses and continued, "And that’s not all. According to financial statistics, over the past three months, Lina has saved the company a cumulative 470,000 Low-Level Magic Stones in various procurement negotiations. At the same time, in her concurrent role overseeing personnel reviews, she has rooted out and dismissed three moles who were attempting to embezzle company assets, effectively protecting our core secrets."
A ripple of amazement went through the conference room.
Using "mind-reading" in business warfare and internal control was a truly unfair advantage.
"There are now educational aid institutions similar to New Western appearing on the market. Although they don’t pose a threat to our business yet, it’s something to keep an eye on," Vera said, delivering a piece of bad news.
Allen spoke up. "That’s to be expected. Don’t panic. We have the brand, the reputation, the marketing, and the exclusive products—four deep moats protecting us. As long as we continue to build on our strengths, we have no reason to fear challenges. Colin, continue."
"Part two: the Environmental Protection Division." Colin swiped through the data, his excitement growing even more pronounced. "This is the biggest surprise of the quarter."
"Within three months, we took on seventeen large and medium-sized metal scrap processing orders around Hub City. We processed a total of over sixty thousand tons of scrap, with a material recovery rate consistently at sixty-seven percent."
"Our revenue comes from three sources: first, the processing fees we charge those companies; second, the sale of recovered high-purity metal ingots on the bulk market; and third, using a portion of the raw materials ourselves, which significantly lowers our own costs."
Colin took a deep breath and announced the number that made everyone’s heart race.
"Quarterly net profit: 1.87 million Low-Level Magic Stones!"
And this was just in Hub City, a single Plane, where the business had only just begun!
Rodney, the old factory director who had spent his entire mortal life working in Alchemy Factories, stared at the number with utter disbelief in his eyes.
’In his view, it would have been a win just to get rid of that industrial waste without paying for it. How could it possibly be more profitable than building Golems?’
However, when Colin swiped to the third part, the heated atmosphere in the conference room instantly cooled.
"Part three: the Golem Division."
The data on the light screen looked rather bleak.
"The Tieyan Clan’s first batch of orders and the ten Hive motherships have all been delivered and paid for in full. But aside from that..." Colin’s pace slowed. "Follow-up orders for war Golems have fallen off a cliff."
"This quarter, we’ve only received eight scattered orders from small Mercenary Corps, totaling less than eighty mass-produced Spider Slayers and twenty ’Infernos.’ Our number two and three factories are built and operational, but aside from the instructional Golem production lines running at full capacity, our three war Golem production lines are operating at less than thirty percent capacity."
Colin looked directly at Allen’s hologram, his expression grave.
"Boss, the educational aids and scrap recycling businesses are for ’making small money,’ stabilizing our cash flow. But war Golems are the true profit engine of Weisren Heavy Industry. Right now, that engine... won’t start."
Allen’s hologram tilted its head slightly, a subtle gesture that indicated he was thinking.
He broke the silence and asked the most critical question:
"Are the war Golems not selling because of a problem with the product, or a problem with our sales channels?"
"It’s not a product problem."
The one who answered was Lina.
She stood up and pulled up a report she had compiled herself.
"I attended two weapons exhibitions hosted by small and medium-sized chambers of commerce in a private capacity. From the emotional spectrum of every client who witnessed a live demonstration of our Golems, I saw pure ’desire’ and ’possessiveness.’"
"But that desire was quickly overshadowed by another, stronger set of emotions: ’hesitation’ and ’distrust.’"
Lina stated, enunciating each word, "No one doubts our product’s performance. But by the same token, no one dares to entrust their lives and fortunes to a new brand they’ve never heard of. With war Golems, performance is only one aspect. A stable, reliable brand reputation is the cornerstone of any transaction."
"I call it—the barrier of trust."
It hit the nail on the head.
Allen’s hologram nodded.
"I understand."
His voice wasn’t loud, but it invigorated everyone.
"Weisren Heavy Industry’s current business footprint is limited to Hub City and a few surrounding Planes. Its radius of influence is too small. The educational aids business can expand on the back of New Western’s twenty-year reputation. But war Golems, as a brand-new, high-value product category, require a sales channel with sufficiently broad coverage and a rock-solid reputation to back it."
Vera and Colin exchanged a look; they both understood what Allen meant.
At the end of the meeting, Allen announced three things.
"First, the Environmental Protection Division is to continue expanding its order volume. Director Rodney, maintain strict control over the core technology of the recycling furnaces. Ensure that all operators only handle standardized procedures and are physically isolated from the core areas."
"Yes, Boss," Rodney immediately replied.
"Second, temporarily convert the war Golem production lines to work at full capacity filling the order backlog for instructional and service Golems. We can’t let the production lines and apprentices sit around collecting dust."
"Third..."
Allen’s gaze swept over everyone before finally settling on the empty space beyond the light screen, as if he could already see his next move on the chessboard.
"I will personally go and speak with Elinor of the Association."
"We’re going to get Weisren Heavy Industry’s war Golems onto the Association’s official sales platform."