The following days became surprisingly busy for Richard as he was on a path for legitimate business.

And starting a legitimate business was a pain in the ass.

The first thing he needed was a business name.

And somehow that ended up consuming almost an entire evening.

Richard sat on his bed with a notebook resting on his lap.

Several names were already crossed out.

Apostol Motors.

Too obvious.

Prime Auto Trading.

Too generic.

Metro Wheels.

Boring.

Apex Auto.

Sounded like every other dealership on Facebook.

Richard rubbed his forehead.

A business name wasn’t supposed to be this difficult.

Yet somehow it was.

Because names mattered.

People remembered names.

People built trust around names.

If he was going to invest millions into this venture, then he wanted something meaningful.

Something connected to what he actually did.

Richard looked toward the floating system window.

Then he looked back toward the notebook.

For several seconds, he remained silent.

Then a thought entered his head.

Phones.

Watches.

Cars.

Everything the system touched was essentially reborn.

A second life.

A better life.

Richard immediately wrote a single word.

Phoenix.

He stared at it.

Then slowly smiled.

Phoenix Auto Trading.

Not bad.

Actually...

It sounded pretty good.

The mythical bird that rose from ashes.

Dead things becoming valuable again.

Just like the junk cars he planned to buy.

"Phoenix Auto Trading..."

Richard nodded.

"Okay. That’s the one."

The next several days were spent dealing with paperwork.

Something he quickly learned to hate.

DTI registration.

BIR registration.

Barangay clearance.

Mayor’s permit.

Tax registration.

Business name registration.

Business bank account.

Photocopies.

Forms.

More forms.

Even more forms.

At one point, Richard spent almost two hours sitting inside a government office just waiting for his number to be called.

The worst part?

Most of the waiting areas didn’t even have decent air conditioning.

By the third day, Richard was starting to understand why some businesses simply skipped everything and operated informally.

The amount of paperwork alone was enough to drive people insane.

Still.

He endured it.

Because legitimacy mattered.

Especially now.

Five million pesos was no longer a small amount.

If he suddenly started moving millions through personal bank accounts, somebody would eventually notice.

And Richard preferred avoiding unnecessary attention.

A week later, Phoenix Auto Trading officially existed.

Legally.

On paper.

And for the first time, Richard felt something strange.

Pride.

Not because he became rich.

Not because of the system.

But because he finally owned something.

A real business.

A legitimate company.

Even if it was currently just paperwork.

The next problem was the lot.

And this turned out to be harder than expected.

Originally, Richard wanted somewhere inside Metro Manila.

Then he saw the prices.

And immediately changed his mind.

Some owners wanted three hundred thousand pesos monthly.

Others wanted four hundred thousand.

One property near Quezon Avenue wanted nearly half a million pesos per month.

Richard nearly choked.

"What the hell are these people smoking?"

At that point he wasn’t opening a dealership anymore.

He was apparently trying to launch a space program.

So instead, Richard expanded his search.

Valenzuela.

Bulacan.

Parts of northern Metro Manila.

Anywhere reasonably accessible.

Eventually he found it.

A vacant commercial lot in Valenzuela.

Around 1,500 square meters.

Large enough to comfortably display twenty to thirty vehicles.

The road wasn’t perfect.

But it wasn’t hidden either.

Most importantly?

The price.

One hundred twenty thousand pesos monthly.

Richard immediately scheduled a visit.

The next morning, he found himself standing under the scorching sun while looking at an empty lot surrounded by concrete walls.

Tall grass covered portions of the property.

The ground was uneven.

The gate looked old.

And honestly?

It wasn’t particularly impressive.

Yet Richard found himself smiling.

Because he wasn’t looking at what the property currently was.

He was looking at what it could become.

Rows of vehicles.

Customers walking around inspecting the cars.

The owner eventually arrived.

A man in his fifties.

Friendly enough.

After some negotiation, they reached an agreement.

Two months advance.

Two months deposit.

Total upfront payment.

₱480,000.

Richard transferred the money that same day.

The moment the contract was signed, the property officially became Phoenix Auto Trading’s first location.

Well, technically rented, but still, it was his.

Then came construction.

Or rather...

Basic improvements.

Richard wasn’t interested in building a fancy showroom.

That would’ve been stupid.

Customers didn’t buy buildings.

Customers bought cars.

So instead, he focused on practicality.

The first thing he installed was a forty-foot container office.

The massive steel container arrived on a flatbed truck.

Richard watched workers carefully lower it onto concrete supports.

A few days later, it had windows.

Electrical wiring.

A proper door.

Insulation.

And finally...

Air conditioning.

The first time Richard stepped inside after the air conditioner was installed, he nearly cried.

The cold air felt amazing.

Especially after spending hours under the summer heat.

"This is worth every peso."

The office wasn’t luxurious.

A desk.

Several chairs.

A small refrigerator.

A desktop computer.

A printer.

Internet.

That was it.

But for Richard?

It felt like headquarters.

Next came roofing.

A dealership full of vehicles exposed to Philippine weather was asking for trouble.

The contractor eventually constructed a large steel-frame roofing structure capable of sheltering fifteen vehicles.

It wasn’t pretty.

But it worked.

Then came lighting.

Security cameras.

Fiber internet.

Electrical connections.

The expenses piled up surprisingly fast.

One hundred thousand here.

Fifty thousand there.

Another thirty thousand somewhere else.

By the time everything was finished, roughly 1.4 million pesos had already disappeared.

Richard stared at his bank account.

Then sighed.

Business really did eat money fast.

Fortunately...

Inventory would come next.

And inventory was where the fun began.

That same evening, Richard returned to Facebook Marketplace.

Immediately, opportunities started appearing.

Toyota Vios.

Flood damaged.

₱95,000.

Honda City.

Engine seized.

₱110,000.

Nissan Almera.

Transmission failure.

₱85,000.

Toyota Raize.

Major collision.

₱180,000.

Richard’s eyes practically glowed.

To everyone else?

These were liabilities.

To him?

They were future luxury vehicles.

The following week became a blur of messaging sellers.

Negotiating prices.

Inspecting vehicles.

And arranging towing services.

One day he found himself standing beside a flooded Toyota Fortuner.

The smell alone nearly killed him.

Mud coated the interior.

The seats were ruined.

The dashboard electronics were dead.

Mold covered half the cabin.

The owner looked embarrassed.

"Honestly sir, I don’t think anybody else will buy this."

Richard almost laughed.

If only the man knew.

The owner thought he was selling garbage.

Richard was looking at a future luxury SUV worth millions.

Tow trucks eventually started arriving at the lot.

One after another.

Every day.

Sometimes two.

Sometimes three.

The neighbors became curious.

The nearby vulcanizing shop became curious.

Even the property owner became curious.

Because Phoenix Auto Trading looked bizarre.

Most dealerships displayed shiny vehicles.

Richard’s displayed junk.

Absolute junk.

Flooded vehicles.

Collision-damaged vehicles.

Engine failures.

Insurance write-offs.

Some couldn’t even start.

Others arrived missing body panels.

One vehicle literally had a tree branch sticking through the windshield.

Yet Richard couldn’t stop smiling.

Because every time a tow truck entered the property, he wasn’t seeing a damaged car.

He was seeing inventory.

Future inventory.

Potential profits.

By the end of the week, all twenty vehicles had finally arrived.

The lot looked like a vehicle graveyard.

Rows of damaged sedans.

Broken SUVs.

Flooded crossovers.

Everything looked terrible but it won’t be.

"Okay, time to reconstruct these motherfuckers."