140: Chapter 140 A Strange Plan

A staff officer stepped forward and placed a thick stack of five documents in front of Qin Ce.

Each of the five documents was stamped with a bright red official seal and smelled of freshly printed ink.

Zhao Junshan's voice rang out: "These are five privilege combination proposals. According to the rules, the review committee will provide five sets of proposals for you to choose from. Each set contains five privileges and forms a complete, interconnected industrial chain. This inevitably includes a source of basic resources, a refining plant, a manufacturing factory, a trading firm, and a channel transport authorization."

"After considering these five proposals comprehensively, tell me which one you want to choose. It will take effect immediately upon your signature."

Qin Ce nodded, indicating his understanding.

He then lowered his head, spread out the five documents, and flipped open their respective tables of contents.

Then, his fingers paused slightly.

The first proposal was the one Mike had mentioned as the most likely during their chat.

It involved granting Qin Ce the new territory to the west of Fengling City—land formed due to the massive loss of fierce beasts during the beast tide—as a privilege reward.

The proposal was written beautifully, and the authority granted was immense.

First, it allowed Qin Ce to designate a square area with a side length of ten kilometers within the new western territory as a development zone for basic resources.

Within this one-hundred-square-kilometer area, he could extract three types of strategic reserve materials.

Normally, under standard circumstances, basic resource privileges would only grant one type of material and only one mine.

Yet here, there were three types, and in such a vast area.

Next, he could establish refining plants to refine the three materials and build three manufacturing factories. He would own shops in Fengling City to sell related goods and obtain usage rights for the trade route leading west to Sheshan City.

Qin Ce's gaze lingered on this proposal for a long time.

A square area ten kilometers on each side. Three strategic materials, refining plants, factories, merchant credentials, and customs clearance rights.

Any mid-sized family would be ecstatic to receive such a proposal.

Because it meant they could build an industrial empire from scratch.

With no constraints from old powers and no obstruction from vested interests, everything was new.

This was also why Mike had strongly recommended that Qin Ce choose this one at the time.

However, in reality...

Behind these privileges was the fact that...

Once Qin Ce selected that ten-kilometer area, he would have to conquer it himself, as the place was currently a paradise for fierce beasts. It was impossible to know how much manpower and resources would have to be invested.

Furthermore, he would have to build the subsequent factories himself, organize the merchant caravans himself, and set up the shops himself.

These were all costs, and for the current Qin Ce, these were impossible feats.

Therefore, for Qin Ce, this first combination was like a chicken rib—tasteless to eat, yet a waste to discard.

Qin Ce's expression remained unchanged as he looked at the second one.

The second proposal was much more normal.

It was also similar to the information Mike had shared with him.

Inside was a mature mine capable of producing Red Sand Mine, which contained high-purity fire-element energy.

The accompanying refining plant was also an established facility that could refine Red Sand Mine into Red-Veined Iron Ingots.

Moreover, the workers and technical staff were already in place.

As for the manufacturing factory, it produced Fire-Veined Sabers crafted from Red-Veined Iron Ingots. These were popular weapons for fire-element Beast Tamers on the market.

The shop was located in the Eastern District of Fengling City, with a good location and steady foot traffic.

The transport caravan consisted of twenty heavy-duty vehicles and a small escort team.

Everything was perfect. A complete chain of production, supply, and sales; he could make money as soon as he took over.

Qin Ce continued reading and looked at the third one.

The third proposal was very similar to the second one.

However, the mine was replaced by a breeding farm, which was the habitat of the rare fierce beast, the Moon-Crying Rabbit.

It could produce the unique Moon-Condensed Dew.

The accompanying primary processing plant could extract Moon-Condensed Essence from the dew.

This would then be sent to a pharmaceutical factory, where it would be combined with other herbs to produce energy-replenishing recovery potions.

Additionally, there were three shops in the Western District of Fengling City. The transport caravan wasn't large, but it was sufficient.

Everything was also quite good.

The fourth proposal took a different direction.

It was a Spirit Spring that produced rare Spirit Spring Water. It could be used for medicine and equipment crafting, and its essence seemingly could even improve the quality of certain Pet Beasts.

The accompanying facility wasn't a refining plant but a medicinal garden. The Spirit Spring could be used directly for irrigation to cultivate Spiritual Plants.

The factory was a specialized processing plant for Spiritual Plants, which could also accept materials for processing.

Or rather, it should be called 'plant processing.'

There were no shops. However, in terms of channels, there were exclusive custom channels.

Another major feature was the trade route; because Spiritual Plants were special, it included usage rights for a military trade route leading east to Lianxing City.

The travel permits were already processed, allowing the caravan to pass through without hindrance.

These three proposals each had their own characteristics. In fact, as far as Qin Ce was concerned, any of them would be acceptable.

Qin Ce looked up. Zhao Junshan was watching him with a calm gaze.

Director Zhou pushed up his glasses with a smile on his face.

Wu Xuhang picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and then looked at him expectantly, his gaze pointing toward the fifth proposal.

Hmm?

What does this mean?

Does it mean there's something different about the fifth one?

Qin Ce took a deep breath and turned his attention to the fifth document.

The fifth proposal was thicker than the other four combined.

Qin Ce flipped to the first page, and his pupils suddenly constricted.

A private territory with a side length of ten kilometers.

Not mining rights, but ownership.

All resources within the territory belonged to him.

Free from anyone's control, free from anyone's supervision.

A top-tier refining plant capable of refining seven types of materials. Among them, Blue-Veined Steel was the core material for Gold Rank equipment, a commodity that was often unavailable regardless of price on the market.

A manufacturing factory capable of producing standard-issue battle armor. Not the low-grade stuff, but military-grade standard equipment.

Shops.

Not three or five, but over a dozen.

Distributed across various districts of Fengling City, with even two located in surrounding towns. Furthermore, the document explicitly stated that these shops enjoyed exclusive military supply franchise rights—meaning he could take on military orders.

A trade route. Not usage rights, but ownership.

Moreover, it was a trade route mountain pass leading North. Everything from the city walls to the garrison camps, from the warehouses to the checkpoints, was all assigned under Qin Ce's name.

Qin Ce's hands grew slightly stiff.

This... this, this, this is a privilege proposal?

Are they sure this isn't enfeoffing a feudal lord?

...