Prototype

The addition of two S-Rank Plots, two A-Rank Plots, and three B-Rank Plots instantly sent Xu Yue’s net worth soaring.

Of the Plot Points he had left, he had two S-Rank, three A-Rank, and four B-Rank ones. C-Rank Plot Points were actually the fewest, with only two remaining.

Uh, of course, 128 Reincarnation Points were worth the least when calculated out.

But Xu Yue was not particularly worried about Reincarnation Points.

The sale of fifteen sets of Black and White Blood Plasma had left the elders of the Penguin Merchant Guild quite satisfied.

Three B-Rank missions were not an especially large sum to merchants with vast resources. What they valued was the long-term effect and the increase in influence it could bring them.

Take rhenium metal, for example. Its price was not particularly remarkable, but it was an essential material for aircraft engines. Whoever controlled that metal controlled the corresponding influence.

With them so satisfied, Xu Yue had them pay in advance for goods worth fifty thousand Reincarnation Points. He also tentatively let all seven parties pre-order Omni-directional Mobility Gear worth ten C-Rank missions each.

Even by overworking Kōkan Station’s production capacity, and even with mass production already possible using the blueprints, it would take two months to make up all those goods!

In other words, for roughly the next two plot missions, there was no need to even think about exchanging for Omni-directional Mobility Gear with C-Rank missions.

Moreover, producing equipment that met the Space’s recognized standards also cost resources. Naturally, Xu Yue had no intention of covering those costs himself; he passed them on to the distributors.

He had practically talked his way into all those resources for free.

The immediate income of seventy C-Rank missions and fifty thousand Reincarnation Points told Xu Yue that low-grade resources were ultimately the easiest to obtain.

Having witnessed the immense foundation of the legions, Xu Yue understood that although his familiarity with the plots made it difficult for him to maintain fixed teammates, he could not keep thinking about going solo forever.

At the very least, he needed to spread his influence!

But with only a merchant guild in hand, how could he expand that influence?

"Huh? A membership system? Like the kind used by high-end restaurants?"

Once again in the Mental Cabin, several distributors who had already received a batch of goods from Xu Yue after paying in advance—and were now tied even more deeply to the Penguin Merchant Guild’s wagon—looked at one another in confusion.

Because of the Reincarnation Space’s involvement, commercial models in the real world had only just entered their early stage of development. Membership systems did exist, but they were mostly limited to entertainment clubs and high-end restaurants, used to highlight the distinguished status of their patrons.

"Why does it have to be restaurants? What we need to do is provide different levels of service to guild members according to their membership rank. Newcomer career planning, news and intelligence, discounted Plot Points, member-price packages, member messages, procurement assistance, mission commissions and acceptance—every sort of service can be added in…"

Xu Yue laid out his plan.

"At those prices, there’s no profit at all. You might even lose money… Huh?"

None of those who had climbed to their current positions were fools. One distributor had just raised an objection when he quickly realized something.

Weren’t they after the Black and White Blood Plasma in order to increase their influence? The difference was that it increased their standing and influence within their legions.

But in truth, independent Reincarnators and small teams made up the overwhelming majority!

If this so-called membership system could truly spread…

"Looks like you understand. For the most basic services, we can even give basic membership away for free. To advance, they’ll need to pay membership fees, divided into tiers according to rank. For example, exchanging C-Rank Plot Points is a service normally available only to large legions, but we can provide it ourselves as well. We won’t impose any compulsory measures or special requirements. We’ll simply provide services. Of course, at suitable times, we can issue internal bounty missions, rewarding member points that raise membership rank, along with corresponding items…"

In short, those with money could pay money, while those without money could contribute effort. Both would have channels to raise their membership rank. For now, it was only in its infancy and could be tested on a small scale, but it could gradually be refined and expanded with higher ranks later on.

Once they had fully digested Xu Yue’s concept, every elder of the Penguin Merchant Guild had an incredulous look in their eyes.

They had their own connections and standing to begin with. Their status was not low.

They had joined the Penguin Merchant Guild only for certain benefits and to increase their own influence.

But now, it seemed the Penguin Merchant Guild was absolutely worth pouring all their energy into!

The agreement they had signed upon joining had been quite loose, with confidentiality being the only major restriction.

Now that they had obtained this information, they truly had no choice but to tie themselves to the Penguin Merchant Guild’s ship.

Distributors were merchants with a certain status, yet unable to reach the very top. What lay before them was undoubtedly the greatest help they could receive!

"I believe everyone has enough Reincarnation Points. I’ll make a token gesture and put up those seventy C-Rank Plot Points as initial startup capital. Based on membership rank, members will receive exchange eligibility and exchange quotas each year. It’s really just a gimmick—the actual consumption won’t be that great."

"Have you heard? There’s a channel for exchanging C-Rank Plot Points!"

"Seriously? Isn’t that something only the big legions have? Their internal contribution prices are high, and they’re strict about who they accept."

"Damn, why is that Penguin Merchant Guild so stupid?"

"I know that guild. They sell newcomer packages, right? Their newcomer packages are insanely cost-effective."

"Yeah, I made it through to where I am today with their packages. Otherwise, it would’ve been a real hassle."

"They’re on a completely different level from those scam packages from before."

"I heard they even offer career planning and stuff…"

"…"

Under every distributor leader were operatives similar to Icarus from before. It could be said that they were among the fastest at spreading news; even the large legions could not match them in that regard.

Such a huge move and such lavish spending reached the ears of some large legions. Seeing that the so-called membership had no restrictions and offered nothing but benefits, they even tentatively had legion members join, telling them to find a chance to see how C-Rank Plot Points could be exchanged.

In reality, demand for C-Rank Plot Points was high, but it was also limited. And at a price of four thousand Reincarnation Points, it was not as though buyers were taking a huge loss. Otherwise, the people the legions stationed at auction houses every day would never have been able to acquire them.

With membership-rank restrictions and exchange-quantity limits added on top, those who genuinely needed them really did have hope, while those looking to exchange and stockpile them found it somewhat unprofitable.

Yet because membership came with other benefits and absolutely no additional restrictions, neither ordinary Reincarnators nor legion Reincarnators considered leaving after joining.

And the distributors were even more enthusiastic than Xu Yue. From the perspective of outsiders—even the legions—their actions were rather baffling, since they did not know the later stages of the internal plan.

But the distributors who already understood the overall framework and its enormous potential would build the structure even if they had to burn money to do it.

The benefits of selling newcomer-period packages had now fully revealed themselves. The frequency of Reincarnation Space experiences during the newcomer phase was extremely high, with a mission every few days. Many people had made it through on these incredibly cost-effective packages, so they naturally had a deep impression of the Penguin Merchant Guild.

Combined with the Black and White Blood Plasma hype campaign, which had recently reversed course twice, the Penguin Merchant Guild had truly been set ablaze.

It had a foundation others did not possess when building its framework, and the structure came together quickly enough.

Once the framework was established, user loyalty increased, and internal mission postings and requests began appearing, massive amounts of "traffic" would soon be generated. Whether they had needs or helped fulfill them, people would subconsciously gather here, creating a Matthew effect.

By the time others wanted to imitate it, it would be too late. A mantis trying to stop a penguin!

After steadily completing all the matters requiring investment, Xu Yue finally began fully absorbing the remaining rewards from this mission…

Money was only money once it was spent~ If it was kept, it was just a number. You should be able to understand the protagonist’s approach a little, right~

Feel free to raise any opinions~

Also, these are merely supplementary details, so they definitely will not take up much space. Once the results appear later on, you can just fill in the process yourselves~

Thanks to Gospel No. 5, Fruit Milk, Drifter World, Outlaw Hunter, Drunken Kiss Orchid, Night Shadow Wanderer, and the other readers for their donations.

Thank you to all readers for your support!!