The Lucrative Profits of Biological Batteries

At this moment, the number of Splitters Tang Shizhe had created had reached a full ninety.

Those who are observant have surely noticed by now that only eighty are recorded in Tang Yi's files, while the remaining ten seem to have vanished into thin air.

The ten individuals named Death Two through Death Eleven are ghost-like death squads; they do not need to take on roles within the Group, nor do they need to learn new knowledge. They only need to remain hidden in the shadows, waiting for the moment they are required.

"The current development direction for Titan Biotechnology is new bio-batteries. Once the bio-battery market stabilizes, we will launch bio-processors, followed immediately by bio-terminals."

"The manufacturing of these devices requires a massive amount of resources, and I don't want this capital flowing outward. Do you have any good ideas?" Tang Shizhe asked as he picked up a piece of sliced steak with his chopsticks, popped it into his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully. He didn't need to put on airs in front of his own people; when eating, he preferred to stick to his habits—knives and forks could wait.

"Boss, I think we need to head to the Black Continent first to lay the groundwork for our mining company. At the same time, our security company can take this opportunity to gain a firm foothold there," Tang Er suggested, stroking his chin as he looked at Tang Shizhe.

"Oh? The number of individuals we can split is currently quite limited. What will we use to establish ourselves in the Black Continent?" Tang Shizhe frowned. He also wanted to extend his reach into that undeveloped continent, but he was currently spread too thin.

"Heh, Boss, you've forgotten about the sheer number of locals on the Black Continent. Because of the lagging economy, we can hire an adult male to risk his life for us for just over a hundred dollars a month. We can start by using these locals to hone our combat and command skills," Tang Er said with a sinister smirk, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.

"That's a good idea. Find a way to contact arms dealers in the Black Continent via the dark web; we'll need a large shipment of weaponry."

"After that, have the Brood Mother set off for the Black Continent. Her presence there will provide you with a steady stream of new Splitter recruits."

"Tang Jiu, you go to the Black Continent and take charge of matters related to Titan Mining. Tang Shi, you handle the affairs for Titan Security. As for the distribution of the death squads, assign two to Titan Mining and eight to Titan Security!" Tang Shizhe thought for a moment and decided to send all ten of the remaining death squad members to the Black Continent.

As for the safety of the Brood Mother, it was not an issue at all. Although he could only split one Brood Mother at present, if this one were to die, he could simply split a new one. His only concern was the safety of Tang Jiu and Tang Shi.

"Understood!" Tang Jiu and Tang Shi nodded.

"The two of you must act separately. Do not pass through customs in the same city; rendezvous only after you reach your destination." Although they could manufacture fake passports and identification documents, he feared that customs officials might recognize them.

The two nodded again, and the group began to happily finish the rest of their dinner.

The next day, Tang Shizhe sat in the Maybach that had just dropped off Victor and headed toward the neighboring Danning City.

Since this trip had not been publicly announced, even the employees of Titan Biotechnology were unaware that their true big boss was coming for an inspection.

"Titan Group should start recruiting as well during this period. All applicants must undergo detailed screening; do not hire any suspicious individuals, no matter how impressive their resumes look!" Sitting in the car, Tang Shizhe suddenly realized that his Titan Group was still just an empty shell. The office staff consisted only of a few accountants hired early on, and the total headcount was less than one percent of its subsidiary, Titan Environmental.

Now, even the newly established Titan Biotechnology had several times more employees, leaving him in a position where any arrangements he made had to go through Titan Environmental.

The motorcade pulled up directly outside the Titan Biotechnology factory gates. Like Titan Environmental, Titan Biotechnology had used its ample funds to completely renovate its factory grounds, and the architectural style was identical to that of Titan Environmental.

"May I ask who you are?" the four security guards at Titan Biotechnology approached suspiciously, knocking on the window of the lead car, while three of them moved toward the rear of the motorcade.

These guards were all retired soldiers, and their conduct was quite rigorous. The license plates on this motorcade were from the neighboring city, and they had never seen them before.

"It's me." Tang Shizhe rolled down the window and took off his sunglasses—which he wore for show—revealing his face.

"Good day, Boss!" Upon seeing Tang Shizhe, the guards snapped to attention and saluted.

Tang Shizhe nodded and rolled up the window. After the gates opened, the motorcade began to drive into the factory.

Because Tang Shizhe was coming today, the Splitter previously in charge of Titan Biotechnology had already left, and the memories of this period had already been shared into Tang Shizhe's own mind.

"Good day, Boss." The company receptionist bowed hurriedly upon seeing Tang Shizhe.

Tang Shizhe nodded with a faint smile and soon arrived at "his" office, where the main heads of the company had already arrived early to wait and report on the latest progress.

"Speak," Tang Shizhe said in a deep voice as he reclined in the boss's chair.

"Yes, Boss. The experimental equipment you ordered us to purchase has all arrived and is currently being installed."

"The production line has also been installed, and we can begin trial production today. We expect a daily output of 500,000 units, which is primarily limited by the assembly speed."

"Although we use a large amount of mechanical operation, one hundred workers can only assemble 500,000 units a day at most; they cannot handle any more than that," one of the managers complained.

"It doesn't matter. We will expand the factory area later, and we can hire more people then. After all, our wages are very high, and many people are breaking their necks trying to get in," Tang Shizhe said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

To expand his social influence, he paid every worker based on piecework, with a commission of six cents per unit.

It might not seem like much, but one must realize that these workers handled 10,000 units every day! That meant 600 yuan per day!

That's 18,000 a month—working ten hours a day for 18,000 a month! In a fourth-tier city like Danning, that was considered a "gold-collar" salary.

Of course, after deducting social insurance and housing funds, they would still have 15,000 left, and even after income tax, they would still have a significant amount. It's no wonder that the youth of the entire city were going crazy over these fifty job openings.

Perhaps some would say Tang Shizhe was a fool for paying these workers so much; even if the wages were cut by a third, he could still easily recruit workers meeting his standards in a fourth-tier city like Danning.

However, if those people knew the cost of these bio-batteries, they wouldn't say that.

For a mobile phone bio-battery, if calculated based on a production of 15 million units per month, the cost per battery was: 13.4 yuan for equipment and construction, 2 yuan for materials, 0.6 yuan for assembly, and 2 yuan for operations! That totaled only 18 yuan! Yet Tang Shizhe's supply price was as high as 60 yuan!! A net profit of 42 yuan!

Once 15 million units were produced, the equipment and construction costs would be recouped. From then on, each battery would cost only 5 yuan to produce, meaning the net profit per battery would soar to 55 yuan!