SSS-Ranked Surgeon In Another World: The Healer Is Actually OP! - Chapter 254: Laying the Groundwork and Going Viral

Chapter 254: Laying the Groundwork and Going Viral

Lucy didn’t slow down.

Once the direction was set, she moved with what she had in mind, decisive, sharp, fully immersed, it was as if she was completely different from the person Bruce knew back at home…

She activated several channels on her smart bracelet, fingers gliding across the holographic interface with ease. It was clear now that since the day Bruce first handed her the bracelet, she hadn’t treated it as a novelty.

She had learned it. Mastered it. One by one, communication windows opened. People in the same line of work.

Transport operators. Beast handlers. Logistics managers. Caravan coordinators. They weren’t direct competitors, but they were still competitors.

Their main bases were scattered across Valkrin. North Valkrin. South Valkrin. West Valkrin. Each controlling different routes, different specialties, different regional advantages. Some focused on long-distance caravan escorts. Others specialized in dungeon-adjacent logistics. A few handled noble contracts exclusively.

Lucy knew better than to trust any of them.

She spoke to them casually. Professionally. Asking questions that seemed harmless on the surface, about route conditions, rising costs, guild pressures, beast shortages, recent policy changes.

She listened.

And she compared it with both what she already knew and what others had told her…

Every answer was mentally cross-referenced against the others. Inconsistencies noted. Exaggerations filtered out. Half-truths dissected. At the same time, she quietly ran her own research in the background, pulling public data, guild notices, recent incident reports.

Patterns formed quickly.

Bruce watched from the side, arms crossed, saying nothing.

He could tell. This was her battlefield.

Every now and then, her bracelet chimed. Then chimed again. And again.

She paused mid-conversation with one operator, frowned slightly, and declined the incoming call.

Another came through immediately. Then another.

Lucy exhaled through her nose.

“…They’re fast,” she muttered.

Bruce smiled faintly. He already knew. This was the aftermath of the post.

The ripple effect they’d anticipated, but seeing it unfold in real time carried a completely different weight. Curiosity turning into urgency. Interest turning into action. People scrambling because they were afraid of being late.

Lucy excused herself briefly from one channel and accepted a call.

Her posture straightened instantly.

“Yes,” she said calmly. “Ackerman Transport Company… Mm. Yes, the post is accurate… No, we’re not accepting open contracts yet, You can directly message me and leave your details. We’ll review.”

She ended the call.

Another came in.

She accepted.

“This is Lucy Ackerman… Yes… I understand your interest, but priority access will be limited… Correct, SS-class mounts… No, pricing hasn’t been finalized yet, it’ll be based off on the distance you plan to travel, directly message me to get things started.”

She ended that one too. By the third call, she didn’t even flinch.

Bruce chuckled quietly.

“Looks like you’re popular,” he said.

Lucy shot him a look, half exasperated, half amused.

“This is just the beginning,” she replied. “Once word spreads properly, this will get worse, I have to find someone who’ll specifically wait for inquiries and answer them, for now these calls are distracting me from what I have to set in order.”

’True…’ Brice nodded. With how popular the Company was getting inquiries like this will definitely be a constant thing in the future, a receptionist specialized for answering is definitely the right call at least for now…

Meanwhile, Lucy muted incoming calls temporarily and shifted her focus again, this time opening a land acquisition channel. Several virtual maps appeared, layered with zoning data, mana density readings, guild jurisdiction overlays, and price listings.

She studied them carefully. Available lands near trade routes.

Plots near dungeon entrances. Peripheral zones outside city cores. She didn’t rush.

She checked legitimacy. Ownership records. Historical disputes. Mana contamination levels.

Bruce watched her work. Efficient, precise and Calm.

After a while, she nodded to herself.

“I’ll inspect these tomorrow,” she said, marking several locations. “In person.”

“All of them?” Bruce asked.

“Yes,” she replied without hesitation. “Before I decide.”

She glanced at him, then added thoughtfully, “Since the company will focus primarily on Shadow Wolves, we don’t need excessive space. That helps.”

Bruce nodded in understanding…

“Most transport companies need wide stables, feeding grounds, storage for supplies, water access, maintenance zones,” Lucy added. “That’s expensive. Space and location often conflict, cheap land with more space but bad location is inconvenient, good land with good location is overpriced…”

She tapped the map lightly.

“But Shadow Wolves…” A small smile appeared. “They don’t have those limitations.”

Bruce understood immediately. With the shadow wolves, they could secure the smallest plot of land in the most accessible, desirable location and still possess the capability to manage a multitude of beasts, something a traditional company would need numerous acres and significantly greater resources to handle and control.

“With their abilities,” Lucy continued, “I can prioritize location over size. Accessibility over excess. That alone saves an enormous amount of capital.”

She leaned back slightly, satisfied.

“A problem that plagues most businesses,” she said quietly, “simply… doesn’t apply to us.”

Bruce smiled.

Watching her like this, planning, adapting, reclaiming ground, it felt different from fighting monsters or breaking limits.

This was another kind of strength.

And as her muted bracelet continued to vibrate softly with unanswered calls, one thing was already clear, Ackerman Transport Company was no longer struggling to survive.

This was the beginning of its rise…

Lucy stood up from behind the desk and smoothed her sleeves.

“Come,” she said. “I’ll show you the rest.”

They stepped out of the office and back into the compound. The noise outside had quieted down, most of the staff had returned to work, though their movements were noticeably lighter now, more energized. Still, the wear on the place was impossible to miss once Lucy began pointing things out.

She led Bruce toward the older beast pens first.

“These were built years ago,” she said, resting a hand against one of the wooden-and-metal barriers. “Back when your father was still around. They were reinforced then, but time hasn’t been kind.”

Bruce placed a hand against the structure.

He didn’t need to apply force to feel it.

Weak points. Mana fatigue. Microfractures hidden beneath surface repairs.

“These won’t last,” he said calmly. “Especially if you expand again.”

Lucy nodded. “I know. I’ve been reinforcing them little by little, but without proper materials, it’s mostly patchwork.”