The figures here did not seem right. At the thought of someone daring to mess around with their accounts, they shivered. Was this due to corruption? Those people were courting death!
"Investigate. Investigate clearly."
The higher-ups were all furious. Soon afterward, they figured out the reason this month's financial report looked so ugly. It was actually due to that newly online Master Spirit Trainer. Why did the operation cost seem somewhat different from the forecast? The essence of Master Spirit Trainer was "weakened state removal." This was also what the consumers were buying and the only special service the Genetic Union had to offer. They were only charging the users five points per removal.
As the charge had been reduced greatly, the masses had started using it crazily, resulting in the number of purchases shooting up and reaching an astronomical amount. As for the cost of producing this "weakened state remover," each point spent had an extremely huge effect. Here… the deputy president discovered with horror that the initial cost of three points had increased to 10 points. This was a completely unacceptable amount.
What was going on? Why was it 10 points? One ought to know that every single additional point that it cost would result in several hundred million points lost per month for the Genetic Union. Yet here, it had been increased by a total of seven points. This was too fatal!
"Who's messing around?"
The deputy president's eyes became bloodshot. He vowed to find this damnable corrupted fellow who had caused this increased cost. Alas, regardless of how they investigated, no problems whatsoever were found in the accounts, because the cost of the production materials alone had already reached nine points.
"???"
They were all dumbstruck as they discovered this, "Didn't our investigation back then show that the materials only cost three points?"
The investigator was calm. "Yes, that is indeed so. Back then, we investigated the materials used by Chen Feng and all related data. Based on our investigation, the cost was indeed three points, a cost acceptable for mass production."
Everyone lapsed into silence. In short, the formula Chen Feng had been using to produce the "weakened state remover" was different than the formula they were using?
"That is quite probable," one of them concluded. "Chen Feng must have used some new formula that we don't have any record of. This is the reason why we have suffered such a loss."
They all gained understanding. So that was the case.
"Let's ask Chen Feng about the formula then," someone suggested.
"All right."
They nodded in agreement. In their memories, a legend such as Chen Feng was, in essence, a selfless researcher, and such people were normally extremely easy to negotiate with.
New formula…
Asking for the formula from Chen Feng…
Shua!
Suddenly, the deputy president's back chilled. He had a sudden feeling that this time, they had definitely stepped into an extremely deep trap. No, that couldn't be the case… There had to still be some way to recover from this…
The deputy president gulped as he convinced himself. He was of the opinion that if Chen Feng did not agree to hand the formula to them, they could perhaps continue using public opinion to pressure him. Alas, they received a response for their request shortly after.
In a somewhat embarrassed manner, Chen Feng replied, "Oh, you guys are talking about that formula? That is something I researched at the Gene Production Association. As such, the rights to the formula belongs to them. I am really sorry but I do not have the authority to issue the rights to the formula to you guys."
Gene Production Association… The deputy president's hands trembled as he heard this. Chen Feng had successfully transformed this issue that had initially been something involving only him as an individual into an issue that involved the Gene Production Association as a whole. If so, things would be troublesome to deal with.
"No, that can't be. I must have been thinking too much." The deputy president tried contacting the Gene Production Association.
The Gene Production Association gave their reply. "Oh, you are talking about that formula? We have officially included that formula in our formula database. The formula is free of charge for use. However, since this formula is quite special and is rather unstable, for the sake of the health and future of our fellow producers, a limitation has been placed on it, allowing only those who meet the requirements to use it. If you guys want the formula, just send someone here to be tested. Since the formula is free, anyone who passes the test can use the formula freely…"
Test…
Grasping onto the final ray of hope, the deputy president gazed at the people of the Operation Department. "Who are the ones producing the weakened-state remover at present?"
"Everyone." The people of the Operation Department gave it some thought before continuing, "That formula is one that was made public long ago. As such, anyone can use it. We only need to issue the corresponding missions for it to be produced. For a single gene reagent, one can obtain 10 points. Such an ample reward is the reason so many people are selling it to us. Apart from this, we also have a specialized factory for this. Despite the fact that the producers in this factory are all niche producers, they have no problems producing this low-level formula. Unfortunately, we are, after all, not professionals in gene production. As such, the amount we can produce ourselves using the factory is rather limited. Therefore, 90% of our supply is obtained via missions."
The deputy president's heart chilled as he heard all this. In short, these fellows were all rogue low-level producers? It wouldn't be a problem for them to produce those low-level spirit recovery formulas, but if they had to pass the Gene Production Association's test…
Suddenly, the deputy president thought of something. "How much is the registration fee for the test?"
"A hundred thousand."
This was a standard amount when it came to certifications. The deputy president's hands trembled. He contacted a close friend of his in the Gene Production Association, an ex-classmate of his, and had him investigate which damnable person had proposed that idea in the first place. Next, a name that caused him to despair was sent to him: Chen Feng.
Suddenly, the deputy president cursed, "Chen Feng, screw you!"
The other union members around him exchanged glances. Since when had their deputy president had a tendency to curse?
The deputy president's face darkened. "Damn it." Scammed! This was indeed a major scam! He had already been aware of it, so why had he still stepped into the trap? If they were only dealing with Chen Feng as an individual, it would be easier to deal with, but now they would have to face the Gene Production Association. Using public opinion to pressure the Gene Production Association wouldn't work at all. After all, their official reason for this decision was "for the future of producers."
Moreover, the charged registration fee for the test was an acceptable and fair amount as well. For a producer, a hundred thousand was in fact an extremely cheap price. What excuse could they use to pressure the Gene Production Association? As for the difficulty of the test, it was not the place of the Genetic Union to get involved in the tests of the Gene Production Association.
"That fellow must have done his calculations long ago." The deputy president gnashed his teeth. "What if we entrust the Gene Production Association with producing this gene reagent on our behalf?"
Shua!
Soon, a price was quoted.
"This price…" The Operation Department head's expression darkened. "If it's converted into our points, the price is equivalent to five points. Even we are only selling it at five points. That coupled with the security measures, management of the illusory world, all the other miscellaneous costs, and also sustaining the membership cardholders that purchased the membership cards from Chen Feng early on… Even if we have stopped selling membership cards, the ones sold previously are still acknowledged. The costs of all of them… especially the damnable lifelong members… An average loss of 3.8 points per sale? Screw that!
No matter what discount it was, they would be making a loss on every sale. In essence, this spirit art created by Chen Feng was a combination of weakened-state remover and the management of the illusory world of Master Spirit Trainer. Joining the weakened-state remover, which was essentially a gene reagent produced in reality, with the illusory world using a spirit art so the users could consume this item in the illusory world was also something with an extremely high cost. The only consolation was the fact that these costs were all fixed costs, since this was essentially pure energy exhaustion, which cost them around two points per sale.
In their initial calculation, with a production cost of three points, they would have been able to maintain a balance, not earning a profit yet not making a loss from the sales. The only thing they would lose was the cost of the manpower, which wasn't much. But now that the production cost had increased to five points, the losses were truly… dramatic.