Plans for the Future

His conversation with Suzuki Satoru had gone smoothly. After returning to the Marvel Universe, Ryan thoroughly disinfected himself with the disinfectant he had prepared long ago. Then, dressed in a casual jacket, he stared at the test tube of blood in his hand, his expression turning thoughtful.

"Nothing showed up? Looks like this half-broken system still has some use."

After waiting for a long time without a bald woman suddenly appearing in the room, Ryan let out a slight sigh of relief.

He did not want to face this world's true powers so soon. He still needed enough time to grow.

After leaving the room drenched in disinfectant, he called Mocha to let him know he was safe and told him he would pick up Annie that evening. Then he began considering the road ahead.

First, he needed a legal identity in Suzuki Satoru's world. Suzuki Satoru was a salesman with plenty of connections. As long as they were willing to spend money, getting an identity that would not be traced for the time being would not be difficult. As for making that identity more convincing later, once he had established himself in that world, he would naturally find a way.

Second, he needed to establish a company. If he wanted to reap the greatest benefits ten years later, he had to gain a certain degree of influence in Suzuki Satoru's world. At the very least, he needed to reach the level of a corporate executive capable of influencing the game YGGDRASIL.

Suzuki Satoru's world had an extremely difficult start. If he wanted to succeed, Ryan in the Marvel Universe would inevitably need to provide support in the early stages. After all, neither he nor Suzuki Satoru was exceptionally intelligent. Although both had their own insights when it came to lying low, neither had any experience running a company. Taking a few losses was unavoidable.

Therefore, he should first establish a company in the Marvel Universe and gain experience. Once the time was right, he could go to Suzuki Satoru's world and climb toward the upper class.

However, there were two things to keep in mind. First, the company established in the Marvel Universe absolutely could not possess technology beyond its era. It needed to minimize the attention of major capitalists and powerful forces such as Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. As for what met those requirements while allowing the company to develop rapidly, an entertainment company was currently the best choice. With an entire world backing him, it could practically be said to have zero cost.

Second, he also needed to pay attention to Suzuki Satoru's situation. Since he had already sold him such a grand vision, even if he did not plan to move into that world on a large scale within the next one or two years, he still had to provide a high-quality standard of living.

Although their cooperation was currently led by him, and logically speaking, there would be nothing wrong with abandoning Suzuki Satoru after everything was done, Suzuki Satoru was still a "protagonist," as well as the most crucial person in the ten-year plan. Before the final plan was completed, he needed to avoid creating any rifts in their relationship as much as possible.

Third, and most importantly.

He had to keep Suzuki Satoru's world progressing as closely to the original plot as possible. At the very least, he had to ensure that Nazarick Great Tomb was successfully established and make every possible effort to run for the position of guild leader. Even if he failed in the end, he had to make sure that Suzuki Satoru was still the one who became guild leader. If not, then the backup plan would have to be put into action...

From the information he had so far, Suzuki Satoru had already encountered the friends who would later establish the guild with him. If Ryan joined them now, he could be considered one of the founding members. However, if he wanted to spend a long time in the game, dividing his time between the two worlds would be troublesome. It seemed he would need to think it over carefully when the time came.

His pen stopped there. Looking at the densely packed writing in Martian script from his previous life, Ryan committed everything to memory before taking the notebook to the kitchen and burning it.

The secrets he possessed required him to be this cautious, at least before his wings had fully grown.

After organizing his thoughts, Ryan drove toward Mocha's home. The moment Mocha saw that Ryan had returned safe and sound, the worry he had been carrying finally eased.

"Did everything go smoothly?" Mocha asked as he led Ryan into the study.

"Yes, very smoothly. And there will not be any trouble in the future, either," Ryan said meaningfully.

"That's good!" Mocha understood the deeper meaning in Ryan's words and did not ask further. All he needed to know was that Ryan would not be in danger anymore.

"Oh, right. I already filed a lawsuit against Kron in your name. He'll receive a court summons tomorrow," Mocha suddenly added.

"You work incredibly fast!"

It had not been long since Ryan had told Mocha about it. Clearly, what Kron had done had thoroughly enraged the old man.

However, once Kron had exposed himself, he was no longer a threat. What mattered more to Ryan now were other things.

"I have two things I'd like to ask you to help me with." Ryan's expression turned serious.

"Go ahead." Mocha remained calm. He had already grown used to Ryan stirring up some sort of trouble every few days. If Ryan ever suddenly became quiet, that might be what made him uncomfortable.

"First, I'd like you to help me acquire a publishing house. It does not need to be large; anything under two million dollars is worth considering. But it must have a complete distribution network across the United States."

If the social environment of this era had been like the age before he transmigrated to the Marvel Universe, when everyone used computers, perhaps starting with games would have made success easier. But times were different now, so he could only make this choice.

"A publishing house?"

Mocha frowned. Two million dollars was a large sum in this era. Acquiring a publishing house that met Ryan's requirements would not be a problem, but publishing was not easy to manage. Book sales, dealing with authors and subordinate distributors, and countless other issues were enough to leave a novice dizzy.

Although Ryan had matured considerably in Mocha's eyes lately, he still doubted whether Ryan could control a publishing house.

"Yes. I can't just sit around and spend my money forever, can I? I need to find something to do!"

Ryan spoke in a joking tone. Seeing Mocha's lips move, he pulled out a test tube containing blood from his pocket before Mocha could speak, his expression turning solemn.

"The publishing house can wait. This tube of blood is what concerns me most."

"What is it?" Mocha swallowed the advice he had been preparing to give and asked.

"A tube of human blood, but its source is somewhat unusual. I'd like to ask you to find someone reliable to test it and see whether there are any differences between its genes and ours."

Mocha reached out and took it. After pondering for a long time, he looked up and said, "You've been doing things that surprise me a lot lately!"

Without waiting for the slightly embarrassed Ryan to speak, he continued, "I'll ask a friend at my hospital to help test it. But regarding your plan to open a publishing house, I hope you'll reconsider. That industry is not easy to break into!"

Mocha's sincere advice made Ryan nod repeatedly. Naturally, he was not arrogant enough to think that a few good books would let him crush the entire publishing industry. But there was no denying that good works would be enough to open up an opportunity for him. By then, whether through exchanging benefits or hiring a professional manager to handle things while he learned from behind the scenes, he would always be able to gain a foothold.