After introducing the rules, Sonny Valentine didn’t say much more and had someone bring a marker over:

"If you fancy any car, just mark it with the marker, and we’ll arrange for the disassembly later."

"Alright, thanks for the trouble." 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Cheng Ye took the pen, and Sonny Valentine tactfully retreated with the guards to give them enough space.

Once they were far away, Cheng Ye turned to Master Tian, getting straight to the point: "I plan to form a merchant team to specifically run routes between the Satellite Cities."

"You?" Master Tian frowned slightly, his tone carrying some doubt, "As far as I know, Inspectors are not allowed to privately establish merchant teams, right?"

"You know about this too."

Cheng Ye smacked his lips and explained, "That’s generally true, but there are exceptions, like my merchant team’s goal, which is to promote trade circulation between Happiness City’s Satellite Cities, transporting goods produced in the Satellite Cities to be sold elsewhere to satisfy external consumers’ demands, which isn’t against the rules."

"Then... where does the merchant team’s profit come from?" Master Tian pondered and asked.

"Reputation, word-of-mouth, systems, channels!"

In front of Master Tian, Cheng Ye had no intention of hiding anything. This kind of plan could only be handled by an Inspector and required control over the situation and sufficient strategic thinking.

He spoke at a brisk pace, firing the ideas in his mind like a machine gun:

"First, use goods trade to build the merchant team’s reputation and fame."

"Then use the Satellite City support for after-sales to boost the reputation."

"Once a cyclical system is formed, it’s equivalent to having fixed sales points with appeal in each Satellite City, and consumers will come to buy on their own."

"Finally, it’s about the channels. The core of everything I’m doing is to draw traffic, focusing everyone’s attention on my next project, which is the real revenue point."

Master Tian, having traveled far and wide in his early years and mixed in the gray areas, was quick-witted.

He thought for a moment, understanding the logic and profit points of this model, but still deliberately asked, "Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell others about this?"

"What’s most important for a third-rate killer to survive?" Cheng Ye didn’t answer directly but smiled and countered.

Master Tian was taken aback, then laughed: "A third-rate killer isn’t capable of leading a merchant team for you."

"It’s actually not that dangerous."

Cheng Ye shook his head, his tone very candid, "This benefits all Inspectors and all Satellite Cities, and as soon as this model is displayed, others will soon learn and imitate it. It wouldn’t be surprising if within a few days, the inspection stations have their own logistics systems. And the reason I don’t hand the plan over to the inspection station is that it’s unnecessary. The interchange between Satellite Cities is inevitable, and given such close proximity, independent development isn’t really feasible."

"Then you..."

"The difference is in the finishing touch, in the next step," Cheng Ye said calmly, "Even if my merchant team ends up with only ten percent of the market share, relying solely on the customer traffic during the final phase can bring considerable revenue."

"To put it simply, I want to create a batch of products, but right now, I lack marketing funds and channels. The merchant team is laying the groundwork in advance. Once enough traffic is gathered, the subsequent products can be sold."

What is the core of the modern internet economy?

If you ask a hundred people, ninety-nine will answer traffic.

With traffic comes exposure, and with exposure, goods can be sold; this is the most basic logic.

And the ultimate goal of founding the Qingping Merchant Team is to gather this traffic into a monetizable "pool."

"Hmm..." Master Tian grasped the key point but still pursued, "What if that last batch of products fails to sell?"

"You’ve hit the nail on the head. This is what other Inspectors, or even the inspection stations, fail to comprehend."

Cheng Ye twirled the marker in his fingers, his eyes filled with certainty.

"I dare to do this because I’m confident in the follow-up products, which is why I’m willing to transport goods for free initially to accumulate traffic. But if others blindly imitate me, only focusing on building traffic without knowing how to use it, that’s truly doing things for free."

He paused, then corrected himself: "It’s not actually for free; everyone is contributing to the circulation in the Satellite Cities. It’s just that I might earn some profit in the end."

"I understand!"

Seeing Cheng Ye’s confidence, Master Tian nodded lightly, his face, however, showing little hesitation.

Yet a trace of surprise at Cheng Ye’s boldness, and a bit of confusion at not fully grasping this model, flashed through his mind.

However, to be honest, just this much is not enough to convince him to join the merchant team.

He’s not interested in going out to run errands and be a stepping stone in Cheng Ye’s ultimate profit scheme.

To make money, what’s enough is enough.

The current life is good: the family doesn’t worry about food and clothing, and they have a big house to live in.

If it weren’t for his daughter Tian Lei being too restless, insisting on going outside the Outer City, he wouldn’t even have the mind to fuss over this.

With two family members in established positions, their living standard can absolutely rank in the top 10% of the Buffer Zone.

Seeing Master Tian’s reaction, Cheng Ye smiled, realizing that what he said was far from enough to impress a master of Unity of Heaven and Man.

Those who can form such convictions have their principles and won’t be easily swayed by money.

So, let’s talk about the future.

Signaling Master Tian to follow him to the outdoor parking lot, Cheng Ye spoke as he walked: "The Buffer Zone has indeed developed well over the past years, but it still lacks a spark to ignite everything, excluding this migration wave. When the Satellite Cities are built, the Buffer Zone will only be siphoned for its economy and population, filtering people out wave after wave until only personnel with established positions, their families, and a small number of old residents remain."