Building the Strongest Undead Empire from Scratch

Chapter 21: That's sneaky

And so it was. On the afternoon of the second day in Eldoria, the very afternoon of the Maid Factory vs. Cain price war, the lords who had cancelled their orders with Alex were filled with regret.

Why?

[World Channel 90273 (10,000 users)]

"Mike, you think you can ignore my messages? Think again!"

"Wait, Mike? Isn't he the one running the cooked meat business with Cain?"

"(?ω?) Sounds like juicy gossip!"

"Front row seats! Selling snacks and drinks!"

"Spill the tea, folks!"

"It's about the meat processing!"

"Did Mike run off with the money?"

"Nah, Eldoria has systems in place to prevent that."

"Then what happened?"

"I placed a 10,000-unit order with him this morning. Just now, he told me it'll take a *month* to complete! A month! This whole cooked meat market is about speed! The longer it takes, the lower the profit! In a month, everyone will have kitchens! Who's gonna buy cooked meat then? He's costing me a fortune! I invested everything I had in this! Mike, you're dead to me!"

"Mike: 10,000 units? You want priority? Dream on! (dog face emoji)"

"Hahaha!"

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"He's got a point. He'll prioritize the bigger orders. Just gather another 100,000 units worth of resources, throw it in his face, and say, 'Now do I have your attention?'"

"Hahaha! Genius!"

"If I had another 100,000 units of resources, I wouldn't be complaining on the world channel! Mike, that snobby little..."

"Mike, that snobby little..."

"Mike, that snobby little..."

"*ahem* Just breaking up the echo chamber (clown face emoji)"

"Don't assume it's about order size! I placed a 100,000-unit order, and he told *me* to wait until next month! Is 100,000 units a small order now?"

"Whoa! 100,000 units of raw meat... at 3 units of wood each, plus 5 units processing fee... that's an 800,000-unit investment!"

"800,000 units! Big spender!"

"Not just me. It's a group investment. We pooled our resources for a large order, hoping for faster processing. And what do we get? Next month!"

"Wow! 100,000 units, and he still told you next month? I guess my 10,000-unit order waiting till next month doesn't seem so bad now..."

"My 20,000-unit order is next month too!"

"My 5,000!"

"My 1,000!"

"Me..."

"So *everyone* is waiting until next month? What's Mike doing this month? Not taking any orders? He was all over the price war this morning. What's going on?"

"Beats me. Seems like all orders, big or small, are next month."

"If that's true, Mike's actually the good guy. The Maid Factory is telling people to wait six months! Some even a year!"

"*Pfft*—!"

Edward Scissorhands: "Liar, liar, pants on fire! A thousand needles for you!"

Kazuma Nokima: "Edward-san, it's 'liar, liar, pants on fire.' Not needles."

Edward Scissorhands: "Whatever! What's going on?"

"It's obvious! After the price war, Mike and the Maid Factory realized they went too low. This is a coordinated delay tactic! They're not in a hurry. It's the resellers who are panicking! They know the cooked meat boom won't last. So, Mike stalls, the resellers get desperate, and they offer higher prices! Mike wins!"

"Whoa, that's sneaky! I'm learning so much!"

Just as everyone thought they'd cracked the case, Mike appeared on the channel.

Mike: "Whoa there! Cain and I would *never* intentionally delay orders!"

"The man himself!"

"Get him!"

"Wait! I have a question! Mike, why the delays? Are you trying to raise prices?!"

Mike sounded genuinely distressed. "No, seriously! It's not me! It's Cain! His meat processing... it's... slow."

"What? I don't understand."

Mike sighed. "Cain's units are Elite Great Apes. He can summon 15 a day. It's day two, so he has 30. Plus him, that's 31... let's call them people. They can cook, at most, 500 units of meat per hour. Even if they worked 24/7, that's barely over 10,000 units a day! It's not intentional! We just... can't keep up!"

The world channel was abuzz.

"Wait, that slow? Alex processes 20,000 units in half an hour!"

Mike quickly clarified, "I'm not lying! That's Cain's limit. 500 units an hour. As for Alex... I wish I knew how she did it!"

"So *that's* why Alex didn't bother with the price war! She knew they couldn't handle the volume! If we want cooked meat now, we have to go back to her, even at 10 units!"

"Alex is a genius!"

"I regret cancelling my order..."

"Me too..."

"I even yelled at her agent..."

"10 units isn't so bad..."

"Yeah, pretty reasonable..."

"Alex, I'm sorry!"

"Alex, look into my eyes! See my tears of remorse!"

"..."

Edward Scissorhands watched the mass apology in disbelief. "They're actually going back to Alex? At 10 units?"

[Ding!]

[You have a new message!]

Edward reluctantly opened it.

[Hero]: "Hahaha! Told you they'd come crawling back! Even at 10 units! My Ironclad Rhino!" Hero was claiming his prize, loud and clear.

Edward grumbled, but a bet was a bet.

[Edward Scissorhands]: "Fine! I'm not a welcher! But you have to come get it yourself!"

[Hero]: "Still salty, I see! Hahaha!"