“What’s wrong?” Qin Hu touched his face.
“Did you… trim your beard?” Meng Chao asked in astonishment. “You’re even wearing a pair of golden-rimmed glasses. Your skin has also become smooth and fair. Did you go for plastic surgery?”
Before, Qin Hu had a mighty beard. He had been fighting against monsters in the wild for years as well, so even if he was nourished by spirit energy, he had rough skin. When he glared at people with his huge eyes, he looked like a murderous tiger that had come down a mountain.
Ever since he lost all his power and returned to Dragon City, he had been resting. But even after he used all sorts of gene medicine that contained great supplements, they did not help him recover his cultivation base. Instead, they made him really fair and plump. He even had tender skin.
Besides, he had now trimmed his aggressive beard until it was neat. IHe gave the impression that he was someone worthy of trust.
How should he put it… Qin Hu did not look like a hunter who was all brawn and no brain.
Instead, he looked like people who could weave fantastic lies for three days and three nights without their expression changing or blinking. And once they scammed more than one hundred million worth of cash from their investors, they would run off with the money and hide.
“Big Sis Ya, look closely.” Meng Chao turned his head around and spoke to Lu Siya. “Is he really Qin Hu? Did he have his brain invaded by an abnormal beast? Or is an abnormal beast disguising itself as him?”
Lu Siya removed her sunglasses and observed Qin Hu closely.
Qin Hu did not know whether he should laugh or cry. “Are you kidding me? I’m wearing glasses because after I lost my powers, my eyes are no longer nourished by spirit energy, so my eyesight plummeted. My nearsightedness is around six hundred.
“My skin turned fairer because I no longer need to go to the wild to kill, and I was also nourished by the Blue Origin Crystals. I cut my beard because I never liked beards. They stink and are troublesome. When I ate, I had to pull it up. My wife didn’t like to get intimate with me when I had a beard too. Now that I got the chance, of course I shaved it.”
“Is that it?” Meng Chao frowned. “Then why did you keep a beard for so many years?”
“I was a hunter, so I had to create a mighty and domineering image. If I had a cool beard, it was easier for me to get sponsors and investments. Besides, you have to snatch prey from others in the wild, and it helped me hold the fort!” Qin Hu said in a matter-of-fact tone.
“Then, what’s the entire thing with the Broken Star Club?” Meng Chao narrowed his eyes. “If you say something like you want to contribute again, I’m going to treat you like an abnormal beast and suppress you. You’re someone who doesn’t get up from bed if it doesn’t benefit you. You definitely saw some major benefit, which is why you’re willing to throw so much money into this, right?”
Qin Hu looked around. Fortunately, since the washroom was not fully renovated yet, there was not even a toilet inside so there was no one else around them.
He cleared his throat and dragged Meng Chao as well as Lu Siya to a corner. Then, he grinned and said, “Of course there’s a benefit. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw it. Kid, are you saying that you didn’t see such a major business opportunity when you personally built the Broken Star Club? You’re still too young!”
“Enough with the nonsense,” Meng Chao said sternly. “We’ve entrusted our backs to each other before. You’re also the second largest shareholder of Superstar. But if you dare to use the Broken Star Club as a cover to trick the broken-star superhumans out of their money, I’ll never forgive you!”
“Kid, even if you don’t believe in my moral character, you should at least believe in my appetite for money. How much money could these broken-star superhumans possibly have? Is it even worth me throwing all my money in here?”
Qin Hu cackled coldly, then lowered his voice and said mysteriously, “Don’t worry, I won’t deceive even a single cent from these broken-star superhumans. It’s the exact opposite. I’m sincere in getting the Broken Star Club up to shape. Even if I have to pay for it, I’m going to provide the best services for the large number of broken-star superhumans so that they can feel at home here and be happy.
“You’re right about something, though. Even if you can take up business deals that are a major risk to your life, you can’t take up deals that will cause you major losses. What I fancy is the market behind the broken-star superhumans.”
Meng Chao exchanged a glance with Lu Siya.
“What do you mean by that?” Lu Siya asked with great interest.
“In the superhuman field, the fighting strength of broken-star superhumans is really weak. Even if one hundred broken-star superhumans charged forward, they couldn’t win against one Deity Realm elite. Besides, their cultivation speed is slow, their upper limit is low, they can use few skills, and there are many other reasons that make them weak. Hence, they have always been overlooked.”
Qin Hu counted with his fingers before he said with great interest, “But didn’t you realize that the broken-star superhumans have their own strengths?
“First, there’s a lot of them. I mean, Deity Realm elites are strong, sure, but how many people are in Deity Realm in all of Dragon City? Even if one hundred broken-star superhumans couldn’t win against one Deity Realm fighter, what about one thousand? Ten thousand? One hundred thousand?
“Of course, I’m not planning to ask the broken-star superhumans to risk their lives in a fight against a Deity Realm elite. I’m just using this logic: quantitative change can bring about qualitative change.
“Second, most of the broken-star superhumans came from poor families, like me and you, kid. That’s understandable. Someone like Ms. Lu is from a rich family, so she naturally has a lot of cultivation resources as well as famous teachers providing her with guidance. She could never burn her spirit meridians and end up as a broken-star superhuman, right?
“This means that we speak a common language with the numerous broken-star superhumans. We’re on the same level, so it’s easier for them to trust us and stand on our side.
“Third, the broken-star superhumans might be neglected existences in the superhuman circle, but among the people, the grassroots community, and grassroots units, they’re the amazing people in the eyes of their neighbors, and they’re also their pride. They’re the backbones of their industries who work at the frontlines.
“Let’s talk about you, kid. You’re currently a two-star superhuman. In the entire circle, that’s nothing. But you’re one of the only two superhumans in Blessed Heavenly Garden, right? And I remember that aside from you, the other superhuman was also a broken-star superhuman, yeah? If both of you spoke up, your neighbors would listen to you and accept your commands easily, no?”
Meng Chao nodded slowly. “They’d listen and would be very easy to command. You’re right,” he said with a contemplative expression.
“Most of the broken-star superhumans have common backgrounds. Since their cultivation realms aren’t high, they usually do not break free from the common ranks either. Instead, they fight at the frontlines of various communities and grassroots units.
“You can say that broken-star superhumans are the superhumans who come into contact with the largest number of citizens in their daily lives. They’re also the superhumans who are trusted the most and are needed the most by people.”
“That’s exactly it!” Qin Hu slapped his thigh. “Battle God Lei Zongchao is naturally invincible, but when monsters invade a community, Lei Zongchao can’t possibly personally come over to save all the citizens. The ones who rush to the forefront are usually the superhumans from the community itself. And the ones who appear the most among the normal citizen residential areas are broken-star superhumans.
“If a broken-star superhuman saves its community often or is a grassroots pillar working in some business unit and often solves some problems faced by workers at the frontlines, their neighbors and colleagues will trust them a lot. You’re following me, right?
“In other words, the broken-star superhumans are the nerve endings and capillaries of the entire superhuman society. And behind each of these broken-star superhumans is the trust of an entire community or business unit! That’s the trust from thousands of people!”
Meng Chao mulled over it for a while and agreed with Qin Hu’s words. “So?”
“So, these broken-star superhumans are incredibly great influencers and have great bargaining power!” Qin Hu waved his hands around, and spit flew as he spoke. “Let me give you an example. You’re working together with Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu’s son on Surging Lightning. You’re even the spokesperson for it, right?
“Soul Break Saber Luo Wu is the saber master here, and he’s at the peak of Heaven Realm. His fighting power is much higher than yours, so why didn’t he become the spokesperson and help his son?
“It’s simple, because Luo Wu’s image isn’t as great as yours among the target consumers for Surging Lightning. The clients will not think that the saber that can be used by Soul Breaking Saber Luo Wu is something that will suit them as well!
“But do you have the trust of all the citizens? That’s impossible. The citizens of Blessed Heavenly Paradise naturally treat you as their pride and hero, but that’s not the case for other communities. They treat their own broken-star superhumans as their pride and heroes.
“Think about it. If we make the Broken Star Club flourish and attract all the broken-star superhumans in the city, we can eat, sing, and connect with each other. We can also talk about our daily lives over here.
“And when we need to sell products like Surging Lightning, each of the broken-star superhuman can take one Surging Lightning on the way to their communities, units, or squads so that their neighbors, people in their residential areas, colleagues, and comrades would personally experience it. Think about it, just how good at influencing would they be? As long as the product reaches the communities and units, the sales would not be a problem, right?
“I’m not talking about just Surging Lightning, either, but all products related to cultivation, and of course, there’s also martial arts like Ripple Force and the others.
“As long as Broken Star Club manages to expand, all the factories in Dragon City will be crying and begging us to put their products in the club so that the broken-star superhumans can use them for free, which will then promote them to many citizens!
“At the same time, the price for buying one item and buying one thousand items at the same time will definitely not be the same. If we can control the purchasing power of the hundreds of thousands of citizens behind one hundred thousand broken-star superhumans through Broken Star Club, we will definitely be able to get a group purchase price that is much cheaper than the market price.
“I’ll use the same example. If we buy one hundred thousand Surging Lightnings in the name of Broken Star Club, would you still give it to us at market price? You’d at least give us a 15% discount, right?
“In other words, the broken-star superhumans and citizens behind them will get material benefits in terms of getting to save their money, and we will be able to control this space for profit and earn clean money on a good conscience!
“And one more thing. Once someone is a superhuman for a long time, it’s inevitable for them to take on an air of superiority. They can no longer connect with the common people and understand the needs of normal clients. It’s especially the case for those who are born in powerful families and have reached above Earth Realm… Urk, Ms. Lu, I’m not talking about you.”
“It’s fine.” Lu Siya smiled. “I think you make sense. Please, continue.”
“If even you think it makes sense, that this business will really be worth doing!” Qin Hu said excitedly. “Broken-star superhumans are the friendliest with common people. They’re the ones who understand the consumer needs of normal people and their thoughts. By getting together regularly and exchanging information, we can provide the freshest and most detailed data as feedback for the factories. Right now, cultivation methods have to go through digitization and informatization, so the one who has the largest amount of data is the ultimate winner!”
“I think I understand what you’re saying now,” Meng Chao said. “The ones who win the favor of the people win the world, and the broken-star superhumans are the ones who best understand the hearts of the Dragon Citizens. After all, we’re the superhumans who are the closest to the normal citizens and who were born in normal families.”
“That’s right, and more importantly, the purchasing power of broken-star superhumans is also very impressive,” Qin Hu continued. “In the past, the broken-star superhumans were neglected, and since their fighting strength wasn’t high, many people gave up on continuing to reach higher cultivation realms once they understood their situation. They were usually satisfied if they could retain the fighting power they already had. This meant that they didn’t buy cultivation resources.
“But now that the Ultimate Style was introduced to the world, the broken-star superhumans have seen a chance for them to increase their fighting strength and reach higher realms. For that, they naturally need more cultivation resources.
“This market is something that no one has noticed for the time being because the major industries are still stuck with the inflexible impression of broken-star superhumans, which had formed over the past few decades.
“But we’re close to this market right now and we can seize it, so there’s no reason for us to not keep it tightly in our grasp!”