Entrepreneurial Mindset

Watching Punisher make a request to team up, Bai Ye refused without the slightest hesitation.

If it were just some petty armed bank robbers, that would be fine. With his current body, he would only possibly die if a handgun hit the same spot on his head seven or eight times.

When there was no danger, Bai Ye was occasionally interested in doing good deeds, treating it as a way to loosen up.

But vampires sounded supernatural from the start, and the whole matter looked incomparably troublesome. Whoever wanted to do it could do it. His current strength simply did not support being this overconfident.

Faced with Bai Ye's order to leave, Punisher did not keep running his mouth and chose to leave without hesitation. The crushing defeat just now had been humiliating enough; there was no need to keep pestering him. But before he left, Bai Ye called out to him.

"By the way, isn't Blade the one handling vampire-related matters? How did an ordinary person like you get involved too? Isn't this a little beyond your level?" Bai Ye asked curiously, voicing the same question Matt had asked.

"Blade lost contact the day before yesterday. It seems he's already been killed." After dropping those words, Punisher left directly, leaving Bai Ye lost in thought.

"Bai, are vampires really real?" Peter Parker felt as though his worldview was collapsing. Had this peaceful world really been hiding so many things beneath the surface?

"You've already seen mutants, and you still can't accept vampires? They're just a bunch of things that can't stand the light. As for strength, ninety-nine percent of them couldn't beat the mutated you."

As Bai Ye spoke, he fell into thought. He had not expected that while sitting at home, he would somehow run into the plotline of the Blade next door.

But according to the original plot, no matter which version it is, shouldn't he be able to resolve it on his own even without me? Bai Ye thought uneasily.

After all, the universe he was currently in was definitely not the original Earth-199999 Avengers universe. It was some strange world in the Marvel multiverse that had inexplicably mashed together multiple independent worldviews.

Vampires, Spider-Man, Iron Man, and mutants were all growing wildly under the same worldview. It was impossible to predict what kind of mess the butterfly effect would create in the end.

With an inexplicable anxiety over his own strength, Bai Ye picked up the Steel Rod lying on the ground and tossed it to Peter.

"Same as yesterday. Use this to hit me. Keep the frequency the same, but increase the force by another 20%."

"Twenty percent?" Peter looked at Bai Ye in surprise, but he still nodded heavily. Following Bai Ye's instructions, he put more strength into his hands and whipped the Steel Rod against Bai Ye's body.

Soon, dull thuds rang continuously through the gym, like steel bars striking rubber tires.

The low sounds could even be faintly heard by the people working out downstairs. They all looked up at the ceiling with strange expressions, thinking there was construction going on above.

Because he had increased his strength, Peter's whipping session this time was directly shortened. After only twenty-five minutes, he had to stop and relax his hands.

Of course, compared to Peter's physical exhaustion, Bai Ye paid more attention to Peter Parker's current state of mind.

"Why have you been so absentminded since just now?" Bai Ye asked, looking at Peter, who had lowered his head in thought.

"Bai, I've been thinking about what Punisher said just now."

After falling silent for a moment, Peter stopped moving his hands. "Do you think that now that we have these abilities, we should use them to become Super Heroes like them and help more people?"

Bai Ye did not answer his question. Instead, he turned and stared at him silently for a long while.

That gaze made Peter's skin crawl. He wondered whether his friend was angry, and the atmosphere in the gym suddenly grew quiet.

After a long while, Bai Ye slowly withdrew his gaze and continued exercising, urging him, "What are you standing around for? Don't stop moving your hands."

"Whew." Peter breathed a sigh of relief and continued swinging the Steel Rod in his hand.

As expected of a good man who, even after going dark, would only threaten his boss for a raise. Even with Uncle Ben still alive, he still intends to walk the old path of becoming a Super Hero.

Bai Ye felt somewhat depressed. He wondered whether the part-time salary he had offered was too high, causing Peter Parker, now free of survival pressure, to start pursuing spiritual fulfillment. Of all things to become, why did he have to become a Super Hero?

Of course, Bai Ye also knew that this guy was the type of naturally saintly person who had been good for ten lifetimes. He could not be persuaded, nor was there any point trying. Bai Ye could only silently wish him well on his path as a lone star doomed to bring misfortune to those around him.

But I had Smith go to the factory to buy and modify a stamping machine the day before yesterday. Even if I spend money to skip procedures like permits, it'll still take at least ten days to half a month. I can't waste this gap. At the very least, I need to squeeze out Peter's remaining value.

Bai Ye thought silently, then suddenly looked at Peter. "Peter, if you insist on becoming a Super Hero, I won't stop you. But have you considered how to balance your hobby and your life?"

"Being a Super Hero comes with no subsidies or guarantees. I remember you were raised by your uncle and aunt. Aren't you going to consider them at all?"

"This..." Peter immediately fell into deep hesitation.

Thinking of how pleased Uncle Ben and the others had looked when he took out twenty thousand dollars in cash that morning and told them about his part-time job, the restless desire in his heart immediately cooled.

"Don't forget, I've already paid you twenty thousand in advance for one month of part-time work. I won't stop you from becoming a Super Hero, but at the very least, you can't neglect the first month of work," Bai Ye said.

"I understand." After thinking for a while, Peter nodded solemnly.

Plan complete! Bai Ye thought with satisfaction when Peter agreed.

Sure enough, real-world Pals were far too unreliable. As the boss, he actually had to look after his employee's emotions in return. This was truly Inverted Heavenly Dipper.

Unlike the machines he had ordered, which would work tirelessly without complaint and never stop as long as their internal components were not damaged.

Once the factory developed the modern equipment in half a month, he could directly optimize away backward manual laborers like Peter.

Of course, this was not a layoff. It was the export of high-level talent to the outside world.

He would send Peter, this high-level laborer, out onto the streets of New York to continue being a Super Hero, contributing to the construction of capitalism in the United States and shining brightly.

At that moment, Peter had no idea that Bai Ye beside him had already planned what to do after optimizing him away. He was still working hard for Bai Ye's training in complete ignorance.

Peter even felt deeply grateful. He had already expressed the desire to leave, yet the other man was still considering things for his sake. His friend truly was too good a person.

There's still not enough time. Bai Ye thought regretfully.

Ever since he obtained the panel, all kinds of events had been drawn toward him like magnets. He could not avoid them even if he tried. Everything was simply happening too fast.