After Luffy finished explaining his plan, all the women present looked at him as if he had just revealed some earth-shattering secret. Their minds were in turmoil.
At first, his words had made the wealthy elite sound like complete fools. However, when they thought about it carefully, they had to admit there was some truth in what he said. The rich and powerful—especially the nobility—often behaved exactly as he described.
Their perception of Luffy shifted. None of them had expected that something as seemingly straightforward as selling computers could involve so many intricate layers of manipulation.
To be blunt, computers in this world were essentially just gaming consoles.
Yet, Luffy, with his shameless confidence, dared to classify them into different tiers—treating them as if they were rare antiques or exclusive artifacts. He was not only bold enough to price them exorbitantly but also audacious enough to scheme against the Celestial Dragons' wealth.
Seeing the women still staring at him in shock, Luffy chuckled and shrugged.
"As the saying goes, fortune and honor favor the bold. If you want to make money, you have to take risks," he said, his grin widening.
Then, turning to Olivia, he continued, "Alright, Olivia, let's do it this way. You figure out how to divide the computers into six different grades based on the classification I just mentioned. You can decide on the specific configurations yourself, but the one requirement is that the higher-tier models must run faster than the lower ones.
"Once you've sorted that out, write up a list and clearly label the different grades along with their corresponding prices. When the time comes, you can hand that list to the fool responsible for purchasing on behalf of the Celestial Dragons.
"Whether he chooses to save money or save face isn't our concern."
Luffy's plan was undeniably cunning. By leveraging the wealthy's obsession with status and prestige, he could easily turn them into his personal piggy banks.
However, Olivia hesitated. A part of her worried that if she went through with this, it would make her look greedy and unscrupulous.
After all, no one had ever attempted something like this in the pirate world.
Here, people were conditioned to believe that the more luxurious the materials, the higher the price. Every high-end product and brand followed this fundamental principle.
But computers? To be honest, even the latest models weren't vastly different from the ones currently available. The main improvements were slightly better graphics and smoother gameplay.
Even with that in mind, Olivia found it difficult to wrap her head around how to separate them into six distinct levels—let alone justify selling them at such outrageous prices.
Her brows furrowed as she struggled to come up with a solution. Just as she was about to speak, Luffy reached out and gently patted her shoulder.
"Relax," he said, flashing her a reassuring grin. "Don't overthink it. Just get everything set up first. Whether or not this plan works, the market will give us the answer.
And if it turns out to be a failure, so what? We can always adjust and change our approach. Right now, all you need to do is prepare the list and bait the guy who's coming to buy them."
Olivia sighed, rolling her eyes at his carefree attitude.
"This is serious," she huffed. "If the Celestial Dragons ever find out we're playing tricks on them like this, they won't just be angry—they'll send someone to kill us."
Luffy shrugged. "Why would they be mad? We're not scamming them. They get what they pay for. That's just how business works."
Then, an idea struck him. His eyes gleamed with excitement as he continued, "Here's another thing we can do. Recruit a team dedicated to providing top-tier service for customers who buy the high-end models—especially those in the fifth and sixth grades.
And for the Celestial Dragons, we can take it a step further. Set up a game development team specifically to cater to their whims. We'll not only create custom computers for them but also custom games tailored to their tastes.
With this double-pronged strategy, even they won't be able to complain."
Luffy's mouth stretched into a wide grin, almost reaching his ears. He was thoroughly enjoying himself.
"Speaking of which," he added, turning his attention to another matter, "it's about time we launched our game recharge business. Olivia, how's the progress on those point cards I asked you to prepare?"
"Huh?" Olivia, who had been quietly observing, was momentarily caught off guard. After a brief pause, she quickly straightened up and answered, "Oh, right! The point cards? There's nothing too complicated about them. We can mass-produce them whenever needed…"
Her voice trailed off as she noticed the way Luffy's grin widened.
"Heh, perfect timing," Luffy mused. "Give a batch of those point cards to that buyer and let him take them back with him. At the same time, we'll officially launch our new online game."
Hiss!
Olivia sharply inhaled, her heart pounding with a mix of astonishment and disbelief.
As one of the key developers, she knew exactly what kind of game they were about to release.
It was nothing short of a money-sucking black hole. Every single aspect of the game was designed to entice players into spending money. Want to progress? Pay up. Want a better experience? Pay up. Want rare in-game items? Pay up. It was, without a doubt, the worst kind of predatory game.
Personally, she found the entire concept repulsive. But at the same time, she couldn't deny its effectiveness.
As long as players were willing to spend, the game would provide them with endless entertainment. The more they invested, the more addicted they would become.
But… was there really anyone out there foolish enough to pour money into a game like this?
Olivia hesitated for a moment before ultimately sighing in resignation. "Alright, fine. I'll do as you say. I'll go find the team in charge now and get things moving."
With that, she stood up, walked over to her desk, and picked up a pen and paper. Without wasting any time, she began sketching out the necessary details.
Her serious and focused demeanor earned an approving nod from Luffy.
"See? That's exactly why she's the president of a major company," he said smugly. "Decisive, efficient, and straight to the point. With that kind of work ethic, it'd be more surprising if she didn't end up making a fortune."
Luffy wasn't stingy with his praise when it came to his biggest cash cow and financial backer.
Olivia, however, was too focused on her work to acknowledge him. Meanwhile, Alpha, who had been leisurely enjoying free food and drinks, couldn't resist taking the opportunity to butter up Olivia with compliments of his own.
Having successfully secured favor from his financial sponsor, Alpha no longer had the heart to go back to reading his magazines.
Instead, his thoughts drifted to a more pressing concern—the Celestial Dragons.
The unresolved issue of the CP8 commander, whom she hadn't heard from in quite some time, left her uneasy. A nagging question lingered in her mind.
Had she already been abandoned?
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Marvel x Star Wars: Avengers in the Clone Wars
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