Technological advancement begins with devouring.

Chapter 75 Mining Rights Interstellar Transportation Company

A few days later, the spaceship arrived at Qiulong Star.

Jiang Chen first accompanied Luo Feng to apply for citizenship, then opened an account at the Cosmic Galaxy Bank, transferred 6 billion Black Dragon Coins to Luo Feng, and then the two temporarily separated.

Luo Feng went to purchase the resources needed to improve his own strength, while Jiang Chen returned to the administrative building of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire.

After checking the map in the lobby, Jiang Chen went to the 88th floor and, guided by a waiter, arrived at an office.

"Hello, sir, what service do you need?" A staff member with four arms looked at Jiang Chen, his attitude gentle and polite.

"Four arms? That's interesting."

Jiang Chen glanced at the staff and said directly, "I want to purchase some 'resource stars' or obtain the mining rights to resource stars."

"To purchase a resource star, you need the qualifications of a 'Level 3 Group Company'; to obtain mining rights, you only need to have sufficient funds."

The staff member looked at Jiang Chen and explained, "Of course, some special resource stars will have additional requirements. What I'm talking about are the minimum requirements. If you want to purchase ownership of a resource star, please show the relevant proof first."

"A third-tier group company?"

Jiang Chen was aware of this; it was an evaluation system used within the Black Dragon Mountain Empire to assess companies registered within the empire.

The evaluation is based on multiple factors, including registered capital, scale, assets under its name, industry, number of employees, etc., to arrive at a comprehensive score.

The third-tier group company is already quite large.

At least Jiang Chen's base on Bailan Star is far from reaching that level.

Jiang Chen shook his head slightly and said, "I don't have a Level 3 corporation, so let's just buy resource mining rights. I hope to acquire mining rights for some Grade A and Grade B metal veins, located within the Milky Way galaxy, and the cheaper the better."

The staff member reminded, "The mining rights for Grade B metal veins require a deposit of 10 billion Black Dragon Coins, while the mining rights for Grade A veins require a deposit of 1 billion Black Dragon Coins. As for the fees, they will be deducted according to the number of years after mining is completed, or when you wish to terminate the contract, and the remaining deposit will be refunded to the original payment method."

This number has exceeded Jiang Chen's expectations.

However, it is still within an acceptable range.

Jiang Chen nodded slightly and said, "I can accept these conditions. For Grade B metals, I need the mining rights to 'Red Copper Essence'. As for Grade A metals, I need 'Mysterious Iron', 'Star Gold', 'Silver Tungsten Metal', and 'Rebar Titanium'. Please help me find relevant information."

"Please wait."

The staff started operating a machine, and after a moment, a projection was displayed in front of Jiang Chen, listing a large amount of information.

"Galaxy, 'Red Cloud Star,' 'Red Copper Refined' ore vein, proven reserves of 228 billion tons, grade B, lower grade, mining difficulty medium to high. Status: Unmined. Annual contract price: 25 billion Black Dragon Coins."

"The Milky Way Galaxy, 'Tianxuan Star'..."

"..."

Each mineral vein was listed with its planet, reserves, quality, mining difficulty, and other data, all waiting for Jiang Chen to select.

"The price is so expensive!"

Jiang Chen's heart skipped a beat when he saw the contract price.

The 'resource contracting system' introduced by the Black Dragon Mountain Empire involves contracting out the discovered mineral veins to professional mining companies in the universe for extraction.

The mined minerals belong entirely to the mining company, and the Black Dragon Mountain Empire only collects a fixed 'contract fee' each year based on the term of the contract.

Of course, this contract fee is by no means cheap.

If the mining technology is not strong enough, the amount of ore extracted will not be enough, and there is even a possibility of losing money.

However, Jiang Chen did not have this concern.

At least for Grade A and Grade B ores, SCV has very strong mining capabilities and can keep costs low enough.

Compared to the mainstream mining model in the universe, which relies on powerful slaves and workers for manual mining, SCV mining veins have a lower average cost and higher efficiency.

Of course, given the performance of the SCV, it can only mine B-grade veins at most.

Any higher, and the SCV probe simply can't drill.

Unless Jiang Chen creates more powerful mining machinery or significantly upgrades the SCV in the future.

"Jarvis, calculate the mining and transportation costs and prices, and see which option is the most cost-effective," Jiang Chen ordered Jarvis in his mind.

After the upgrade, Jarvis also gained the ability to communicate with its master through 'consciousness,' just like the mainstream intelligence in the universe.

Of course, in reality, it was just adding a reading module similar to a consciousness input device, allowing Jarvis to read Jiang Chen's thought information with Jiang Chen's permission.

Jarvis's voice quickly echoed in Jiang Chen's mind: "The calculations are complete. The optimal solution is to select the 'Mysterious Iron,' 'Star Gold,' and 'Spiral Titanium' veins on 'Aurora Star,' and the 'Red Copper Essence,' 'Silver Tungsten Metal' veins on 'Raven Star.' Considering the comprehensive costs of mining, transportation, and base construction, the expected costs of these two planets can be minimized, while the expected profits are maximized."

Jiang Chen nodded and, based on Jarvis's results, stated his choice.

After a moment of calculation, the staff looked at Jiang Chen and said, "The total annual contract fee for these two planets and five mineral veins is 29.58 billion Black Dragon Coins, and the total deposit is 14 billion Black Dragon Coins. Your mining activities in the area will be under the dual protection of the planetary lord and the Black Dragon Mountain Empire."

'Aurora Star' is a planet directly controlled by the Heilongshan government.

However, Raven Star does have a lord.

Most planetary lords, after discovering resources on their own planet, prefer to mine them themselves.

However, some lords who lack the necessary skills or are too lazy to bother with the process will choose to outsource it.

The lord of 'Raven Star' belongs to the latter category.

Jiang Chen felt a pang of heartache, but thinking of Jarvis's calculated expected profits, he gritted his teeth and said, "Let's draft the contract. I've prepared the money and can transfer it anytime."

Finding their own resource extraction channels was also the 'steward's' suggestion.

On the one hand, it can reduce raw material procurement costs and increase profits.

On the other hand, it can also prevent any problems from occurring with upstream distributors that could affect Jiang Chen's interests.

When making this suggestion, the 'butler' was unsure whether Jiang Chen had the resources to accomplish it.

However, after having Jarvis calculate, Jiang Chen made a decision without hesitation.

Signing contracts, paying deposits, and obtaining permits for mining operations, etc.

After spending several hours, Jiang Chen left the administration building with a stack of mining permits and went to meet up with Luo Feng.

-

"You bought a batch of slaves?" Jiang Chen immediately noticed the group of powerful figures behind Luo Feng, who exuded a strong aura but were extremely respectful in their demeanor.

These characteristics clearly indicate that they were slaves.

"I sold the 'Arc Blade Disc' and bought a batch of slaves." Luo Feng did not deny it and stated his thoughts: "In the future, I may need to travel to the universe frequently. Leaving some strong people behind to protect my family will put my mind at ease. I can't always rely on your help."

It wasn't that Luo Feng didn't trust Jiang Chen, but rather that he didn't want to cause Jiang Chen any trouble.

Jiang Chen could also see this, and nodded, saying, "You are most familiar with the 'Sky Shuttle,' so keeping the 'Arc Blade Disc' is really useless. Why not replace it with something you need?"

"Ah Chen, is there anything else you need to buy? I've already bought a batch of cultivation resources and slaves. After spending all that, I still have nearly 10 billion Black Dragon Coins left, and I don't have anything else to spend money on for the time being." Luo Feng looked at Jiang Chen.

He didn't mention returning the six billion Black Dragon Coins to Jiang Chen, but if Jiang Chen needed money, Luo Feng wouldn't hesitate.

Upon hearing Luo Feng's words, Jiang Chen's heart stirred, and he said, "If you don't need this money in the short term, use it to buy a batch of spaceships. From now on, I'll entrust the transportation part of my businesses in space to you."

Interstellar transportation is one of the industries with the lowest barriers to entry.

Once a batch of spaceships is purchased, a group of employees is hired, or a batch of slaves is purchased, construction can begin.

Of course, precisely because the barriers to entry are low, the profits in this industry are extremely low, and there is also the risk of being attacked by space pirates.

However, for an interplanetary transport company, as long as there are enough orders, making money is definitely not a problem.

Although the payback period is a bit longer, its advantage lies in its stability.

Fortunately, Jiang Chen was able to provide enough orders.

If Luo Feng doesn't want to work in this industry, Jiang Chen doesn't care. He can simply set up his own transportation company or cooperate with other transportation companies.

This industry has reached its peak; as long as you have enough orders, you don't have to worry about finding customers.

"A transportation company?" Luo Feng was puzzled, as he knew nothing about business.

“Our factory on Bailan Star needs a lot of transport ships. I’ve also bought mining rights for a batch of mineral veins, which will also require a lot of transportation. Instead of letting others make the money, why don’t you start a transportation company? It’s good to keep the profits in the family.” Jiang Chen explained, then reminded him, “However, the profit margin for transportation companies isn’t high, and the payback period is not short. Whether you want to do it or not is up to you.”

"The transportation industry does not have high profit margins; it mainly relies on volume to make money. Of course, your current small-scale operation won't result in significant losses, so you can give it a try."

Babata also offered suggestions.

A few hundred billion Black Dragon Coins is nothing to Babata; it's just a drop in the ocean.

But this is normal.

A few hundred billion Black Dragon Coins might be a lot for a stellar-level entity, but for a cosmic-level entity, it's easy to earn tens or hundreds of times that amount.

In this universe, the resources available increase exponentially with each level that is crossed.

In Babata's eyes, neither the cosmic level nor the domain lord level are anything special.

One must at least reach the level of a Realm Lord to earn Babata's special treatment.

At this level, the funds at hand are all in the form of cosmic currency, or even in the form of Hunyuan units.

Compared to that, a 'small business' worth hundreds of billions of Black Dragon Coins can indeed be described as 'tiny'.

"But I'm not good at business, and if I spend my energy on this, won't it affect my cultivation?" Luo Feng hesitated.

Jiang Chen could tell that Luo Feng was somewhat tempted but still had concerns, so he immediately said, "You don't need to manage it yourself. You can learn from me and buy a group of slaves who are good at management to run the business for you. You just need to keep an eye on the overall situation."

Hiring employees involves worrying about corruption, lack of dedication, and other issues, making management very troublesome.

But slaves are much more useful.

Of course, slaves are expensive; the cost of buying one slave could be enough to hire a large group of employees for decades or even centuries. However, Jiang Chen and Luo Feng didn't mind spending a little more money in this regard, preferring peace of mind and convenience.

After listening to Jiang Chen's suggestion, Luo Feng no longer hesitated and said directly, "Then let's do as you say, Chen. I'll use this money to set up a transportation company to run errands for you."

As he spoke, Luo Feng contacted the manager of the slave market to prepare to purchase a batch of slaves skilled in business and management.

These slaves are neither particularly expensive nor cheap; they are significantly more expensive than ordinary planetary-level slaves, but compared to stellar-level slaves, they seem quite cost-effective.

Anyway, for Luo Feng and Jiang Chen, it was just a small amount of money, and they wouldn't care too much about it.

Because Luo Feng wanted to buy slaves, the two stayed on Qiulong Star for another half a day.

After the slaves were delivered to the docking port and completed their acknowledgment of master, the spaceship started up again and headed to White Orchid Star.

-

Nine days later, on White Orchid Star.

The massive warehouse base has now been transformed into rows of large factories, which, under intelligent control, continuously produce various parts of the 'Goliath Giant', assemble them, and once a batch is collected, load them onto transport ships and send them to the delivery location designated by the buyer.

"Owner."

The four slave leaders, Number One, Number Three, the 'Butler', and the 'Brewer', had already learned of Jiang Chen's arrival and were waiting at the spaceship's landing site.

Upon seeing Jiang Chen emerge from the cabin, he immediately stepped forward and bowed.

"Has anything unusual happened recently?" Jiang Chen asked, looking at the slaves.

Although Jiang Chen has never met them in reality since buying them back, the slaves' loyalty is guaranteed by the control of the biochips and the occasional contact through the virtual universe.

"Master, nothing has happened on the security front," Number One immediately reported.

The butler also spoke up: "Master, the factory is expanding steadily according to the original plan, and the relationships with upstream and downstream partners are also very solid. There are no major matters that need to be reported at the moment. This is a report on the factory's development from when you left until the end of last month. You can take a look when you have time."

As he spoke, the 'butler' respectfully handed over a memory card to Jiang Chen.

“Master, this is a report on the winemaking process over the past year. I’m not good at giving reports, so I did most of the presentations, and then the ‘butler’ compiled the information.” The ‘winemaker’ also took out a memory card and respectfully handed it to Jiang Chen, saying, “Master, you’ve come at the right time. In two days, a new batch of wine will be successfully brewed. You can have a taste.”

Jiang Chen took the two memory cards and nodded slightly, saying, "I'll take a look at them when I have some free time later."

After a pause, Jiang Chen stepped aside slightly to let Luo Feng and his slaves step forward, introducing them: "This is Luo Feng, my good friend, and also a shareholder of this factory on Bailan Star. These are Luo Feng's men; he will be establishing an interstellar transportation company. From now on, our transportation business will be handled by them, and we'll settle accounts at normal market prices. 'Butler,' you two exchange contact information; this part of the coordination will be handled by you."