Apocalypse Gachapon - Chapter 2006: Distribution

He asked how much it would cost. Cheng Liujin wasn’t very clear either and could only give an approximate number. After hearing it, Ye Zhongming nodded. If the price were based solely on that standard, he could really buy a large piece of land.

He asked Cheng Liujin and Ya Shinan to pay attention to this matter on his behalf. Afterwards, Ye Zhongming said, “Jie Su and I plan to mine a resource star.”

His voice was not loud, but to the ears of the Star-Eye Clan members, it was like a thunderclap.

They knew Ye Zhongming wouldn’t joke, but they still showed disbelief.

For no other reason, mining a resource star was indeed very profitable. As long as one wasn’t particularly unlucky and frequent accidents occurred, one would basically make a huge profit.

But the initial investment was also too large, simply not something an ordinary race could afford.

First, there were the cargo ships, and not just one.

Previously, when Cheng Liujin took people to pick up Ye Zhongming, the aircraft was used for passenger transport and was considered medium-sized. Such a ship was already among the best things the Star-Eye Clan had. But compared to cargo ships, it paled in comparison.

The power aspect was much worse.

Larger volume meant more capacity. Both the volume and the weight of the cargo required a powerful energy source, which was very expensive. Moreover, because the frequency of use was extremely high, maintenance in all aspects was also a huge expense.

Second was the cost of fuel, which was Moonspan Gold.

The aircraft Cheng Liujin took cost several thousand Moonspan Gold for a round trip over a not-so-distant distance. So, for a cargo ship with dozens of times the power and hundreds of times the volume, the energy consumed per transport trip was readily apparent.

It was a number that the Star-Eye Clan probably didn’t even dare to think about.

Finally, there were various machines, professional personnel, and related supporting facilities.

The resource types of each resource star were different, so the required related machinery naturally differed. But regardless of which one, the prices were basically high. It involved not only many types but also required complete sets in large quantities. Just the cost of purchasing these was frightening.

As for professional personnel, this might not be a problem for major clans, after all, they already controlled resource stars, and these were considered ordinary personnel. But where would the Star-Eye Clan find them? They hadn’t owned a resource star for quite a while. Hire? These were scarce talents, all held by major clans. Learn? Never mind how much time it would take, who to learn from was a problem because simply no one would teach!

Major clans occupied resource stars and had their own related personnel training systems. Other races, because they had no resource stars, naturally didn’t waste manpower and resources in this area. To learn, one had to go to those major clans, but the major clans only taught their own people.

This point was unsolvable; it was a deadlock.

Also, to mine resources, one needed a fixed spaceport, right? Storage warehouses? Refining factories? Transport between and within survivor fortresses? Partners? A sales network? Guard forces? Financial talents? Working capital?…

It was fine if you didn’t think about it, but once you did, it was all problems.

Hearing everyone’s lively discussion, especially Chief Logistics Officer Ya Shinan, who had been involved in this area and spoke very sensibly, Ye Zhongming realized many problems the Cloud Peak King hadn’t thought of before.

“Zhongming, leaving these problems aside for now, which resource star do you want to mine?” Star Lord asked.

Regarding resource stars, it was said anyone could mine them. But because the safe star domain was constantly changing, the number that could actually be mined was limited, and they were all occupied by major clans. With the Star-Eye Clan’s current strength, even if they solved all the previous problems, they weren’t qualified to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth.

Ye Zhongming repeated the situation about resource star 1157, which had left the safe star domain, which he had told Jie Su. Everyone listened, their faces twitching, thinking this Bronze Order Leader was truly bold!

However, they also felt sincere respect for his style of daring to think and act. The two Clan Leaders even reflected in their hearts at that moment whether their own conservative views had caused the Star-Eye Clan’s current situation.

“Before starting this plan, we must first go to that star to check. Besides ascertaining the type, distribution, and remaining yield of the ore deposits, we also need to see if anything is left on it. If there are some machines, that’s even better; broken ones are fine too. Repairing is always cheaper than buying new ones. At the very least, those mine shafts and tunnels must be ready-made; that alone can save a sum.”

Hearing Ye Zhongming say this, the others knew this Bronze Order Leader was determined to mine resource star 1157.

“Earlier, you said you discussed it with Jie Su, not with the entire Su Clan?” Jikesu said.

Ye Zhongming nodded, “Yes, Jie Su and I are leading this matter, plus our clan. I think that’s enough. If the entire Su Clan participated, things would indeed be much easier, but we might lose the leadership position. In that case, the profits would naturally be diluted a lot.”

“Start-up capital?”

Eye Lord asked the question he was most concerned about while pondering the feasibility. The Star-Eye Clan’s recent days had improved because of Ye Zhongming’s appearance and performance on the Novice battlefield. The reopening of the shop had given the clan a fixed income, but they were far from being well-off.

If they were to do this, they would inevitably need a sum of funds.

Ye Zhongming had been silently calculating in his heart since earlier. He also asked everyone about the prices of various equipment, etc. Finally, he roughly estimated a number.

“Jie Su will handle the ships and routes. We only need to be responsible for the various machines and the manpower. For the final profits, he and I will split sixty-forty.” Ye Zhongming looked around at everyone’s faces, then his gaze settled on the two Clan Leaders.

“The clan will contribute three million Moonspan Gold, and I will contribute five million. For my sixty percent share of the profits, we will each take half.”

An investment of eight million Moonspan Gold was actually considered very low. It was just that Ye Zhongming felt the clan had difficulties, and three million was probably the limit.

The reason he contributed five million himself but wanted to split the profits equally with the clan was that he couldn’t provide the manpower; only the Star-Eye Clan could.

Everyone had already come to understand Ye Zhongming’s way of doing things. While shocked at how this guy could have five million Moonspan Gold, they didn’t have much opinion about such a distribution.

There was no other way; in many matters, Ye Zhongming held the leadership. He was the one charting the course, and the Star-Eye Clan members could only follow him.

The room fell into silence for a moment. Many people had a contradictory feeling: this Bronze Order Leader might lead the Star-Eye Clan to glory, but he… didn’t completely belong to the Star-Eye Clan.

In the end, it was the two Clan Leaders who gritted their teeth and agreed.

As Ye Zhongming had correctly told Jie Su before, the Star-Eye Clan was in such a state that there were really few things they would hesitate to do out of worry.