Warhammer: Rebuilding the Golden Age Starting with Farming

Chapter 23 Business Strategies, Harvest Day

In the bottom nest, the profession of doctor is often only a fine line away from that of butcher.

Those so-called itinerant doctors claim to save lives, but they're really just eyeing the parts of your body.

If you go in to get treatment for a gunshot wound, they might think your kidney is valuable, or that your "magic pill" is good, and just take it out to pay for the medicine.

This is why people living in the bottom nest would rather rot at home than go to the doctor.

"After I arrived, I integrated them all."

Sisyphus drew a circle on the map with his hand.

"I gave them a uniform—bird-beak masks and black coats—to create a brand image."

"I gave them a unified doctrine—that suffering purifies the soul—and established a religious culture."

"Those who don't obey, I'll send the flesh puppet to talk to them."

"If they listen to me, I'll provide them with a stable supply of raw materials and technical support."

Holy crap, isn't this just violent monopoly combined with pyramid scheme brainwashing?

But Andy had to admit that this approach was extremely effective in the ignorant environment of the bottom nest.

By integrating those scattered individuals into a tightly organized group, not only can prices be controlled, but economies of scale can also be achieved.

Although Sisyphus's system was essentially a form of monopoly and exploitation, he set standards, even if those standards were corrupt. In such a chaotic place, having rules was better than having none. At least once patients entered, they were less likely to become inventory for the organ bank.

"So, you are now the Medicine King of the Bottom Nest," Andy commented.

"No, I'm just a slightly bigger little lou."

Sisyphus's smile vanished, replaced by a deep sense of helplessness.

He took a document out of the drawer; it was a supply contract from Helios Pharmaceuticals.

"As you can see, my biggest customers are people from Shangchao."

"They used this place as a source of raw materials and a testing ground for new drugs. They bought my original virus strains and organ specimens at extremely low prices, then processed them into high-priced drugs, and then sold them to me at high prices."

"The vast majority of the money I earn goes to paying for so-called 'patent licensing' and equipment maintenance fees."

"How I long to make finished drugs! How I long to get rid of them!"

Sisyphus's eyes turned fervent.

"But I don't have the skills!"

"The technological blockade imposed by the authorities is too severe. I can't buy those key fermentation equipment and microbial cultivation technologies even if I offer ten, a hundred, or a thousand times the price."

"Until you appeared!"

Sisyphus looked at Andy as if he were looking at a gold mine.

"You have the technology, I have the raw materials and sales channels."

"If we cooperate, I can get rid of the Helios Group and produce antibiotics myself."

"At that time, the entire bottom nest, and even the market below the nest, will be ours."

The entire system was now in place, and Andy admired this ambition to challenge the upper echelons' monopoly for the sake of profit.

After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

Since the Helios Group is the mastermind behind all this, supporting a traitor to undermine them is definitely a smart move.

"If you can accept only blueprints and models, I can provide you with the technology."

Andy spoke up.

"But I have two conditions."

"First, on the premise of providing me with unlimited raw materials and intelligence, I want 70% of all profits."

Andy has stopped acting; he's only here for the technology and raw materials.

The bird-beaked doctors don't understand technology, but over the years they have accumulated a huge amount of biomass, chemical raw materials, and original strains that have been screened for decades and can survive in such a high-radiation and high-toxicity environment.

With the support of the raw material warehouse, Andy doesn't need to start from scratch; he can skip the longest accumulation period and directly mass-produce high-purity antibiotics, painkillers, and even combat stimulants that are only available to the Star Guardians and the nobles of Hive City.

More importantly, with these readily available reserves, a large number of those grayed-out icons in the STC database can be instantly lit up!

First is the military industry.

That kind of gunpowder, which can't even guarantee a firing rate, can be thrown away.

Andy could immediately conjure up double-base firing primers by hand, or even high-energy explosives made from a mixture of RDX and TNT.

This means that the shelter's ammunition production capacity will no longer be limited, and those heavy logging guns will have unlimited armor-piercing incendiary rounds. Even heavy firepower such as man-portable missiles and rocket-propelled grenades can be put on the agenda!

Secondly, there is materials science.

With acids and organic solvents, Andy was able to synthesize polymers, namely plastics and rubber.

Just imagine, in this country that still uses old belts as seals and wood as insulation, it is able to mass-produce high-temperature resistant and corrosion-resistant industrial rubber and engineering plastics. What does that mean?

This means that Andy's vehicles will no longer leak oil, the cables will no longer leak electricity, and he can even equip combat personnel with fully sealed power armor liners!

Finally, there were breakthroughs in medicine.

As for money? It's just an external thing; let's take 70% symbolically.

Sisyphus's face twitched. "Brother, you've already asked for such a large sum, and you still want 70%?"

This is outrageous!

But he quickly weighed the pros and cons.

If he doesn't cooperate, he can only continue to be Helios's lackey, earning that meager meager salary.

If we cooperate, even though it's only 30%, it represents the entire market share, which is much larger in total.

"make a deal."

Sisyphus gritted his teeth and agreed.

In reality, Andy wanted 70% of the profits purely to set rules for the bird-beak doctors and show them who the real boss was.

Compared to that entire chemical technology chain, money is just a pile of waste paper.

"second."

Andy extended his second finger.

Tell me about your secret passage.

Sisyphus suddenly raised his head, his eyes showing genuine shock for the first time.

"Wh...what passage?"

"Don't play dumb."

Andy pointed to the ceiling.

"The fact that your submarine can move freely in and out of this acid lake means you know there is an underground river."

"And if I'm not mistaken, the direction of this underground river is to some drainage or ventilation system on the upper level."

"How did you know?!"

Sisyphus was truly panicked this time.

This is his biggest trump card, his last escape route.

If he ever couldn't survive in the Lower Nest, or if the Helios Group wanted to silence him, he planned to take the money and run away through this secret passage to the Upper Nest to live in anonymity.

Even his trusted confidants didn't know about this secret passage, so how did this man in yellow, whom he had just met, know about it?

Actually, Andy didn't know.

He had just casually scanned the base's ventilation system with his STC when he entered.

The air here is so good, it's abnormally good.

For such a deep underground base, without connection to the outside atmosphere, filtration equipment alone cannot achieve this level of efficiency.

The only explanation is that this place is connected to a huge ventilation network, which is usually connected to the upper floors of the building.

Andy tricked him, and unexpectedly, he actually succeeded.

Sisyphus remained silent for a long time before finally letting out a bitter laugh.

He pressed a hidden button on the edge of the desk.

"Buzz—"

The wall that originally held the oil painting slowly moved away, revealing a huge holographic map projection.

On the map, a red dotted line meanders like a blood vessel.

It starts from this underwater base, passes through a complex network of underground waterways, and extends upwards.

Finally, it passed through the thick layer of rock that represented the ceiling of the bottom nest and connected to a place marked "Abandoned Pump Station in Sector 7".

"This is the passage you've been looking for."

Sisyphus's voice was somewhat hoarse.

"It does lead to the upper level, but it has been abandoned for hundreds of years and is full of mutated creatures and collapsed pipes."

"Moreover, that exit is located right below an old factory area of ​​the Helios Group."

As Andy stared at the red line, the blue light in his electronic eyes flashed even brighter.

The path leading to the upper level.

This means access to more advanced resources, a wider market, and the very heart of the Helios Group, the source of all the chaos.