Construction began six days later.

Richard arrived at the dealership shortly before seven in the morning and found the entrance already crowded with vehicles. A flatbed truck carrying steel beams sat outside the gate. A cement mixer occupied one side of the road, while a pickup truck loaded with construction materials had parked beside the fencing. Several workers in orange safety vests were unloading equipment and stacks of plywood. The empty lot that had once looked lonely after selling his entire inventory had suddenly become alive again.

Stephanie arrived shortly afterward in a silver sedan and immediately began giving instructions. She wasn’t wearing office attire this time. Instead, she had traded her blouse and slacks for jeans, rubber shoes, and a white hard hat. The transformation was strange. The elegant architect from last week now looked more like a site engineer.

"Good morning," she greeted while carrying a rolled-up set of plans.

"Morning," Richard replied. "You people move fast."

Stephanie smiled. "The advantage of being paid on time."

Richard laughed.

The workers quickly erected temporary fencing around portions of the property while others marked the ground with spray paint and strings. Richard followed Stephanie around as she explained the project in greater detail. The current container office would remain temporarily and function as the site office. The existing roofing structure would be demolished and rebuilt into a larger covered inventory area capable of sheltering over forty vehicles. The front section of the property would be transformed into a two-story showroom with floor-to-ceiling glass panels and a modern façade.

As she talked, Richard found himself looking at the empty lot in a different way.

The place no longer looked like a dealership.

It looked like a construction site.

A blank slate.

A foundation for something bigger.

"This section here will become the showroom," Stephanie said, pointing toward the front third of the property. "Approximately four hundred square meters. We’ll display six to eight vehicles inside depending on their size."

Richard nodded.

"And this area?"

"The customer lounge. Reception desk. Consultation rooms. Executive office upstairs."

She looked at him.

"By the way, are you planning to hire sales agents?"

"Eventually."

"In that case, we’ll reserve office space for future expansion."

Richard smiled.

She really thought ahead.

The next few hours became unexpectedly fascinating.

An excavator arrived and immediately began tearing portions of the old concrete. The noise echoed throughout the property as chunks of cracked pavement were lifted and dumped into waiting trucks. Workers dismantled sections of the old roofing while others unloaded steel columns for the new structure.

Richard spent almost the entire morning simply watching.

This was another world entirely.

Several months ago, he had been repairing phones in Divisoria.

Now he was overseeing the construction of a multi-million-peso showroom.

Even after everything that had happened, moments like this still felt surreal.

At around ten in the morning, Stephanie approached him carrying a clipboard.

"I need your approval on some upgrades."

"Upgrades?"

She nodded.

"We originally planned polished concrete flooring for the showroom, but considering your target market, I recommend large-format Italian porcelain tiles."

Richard looked at the estimated cost.

Additional eight hundred thousand pesos.

He blinked.

A few months ago, he would’ve had a heart attack seeing numbers like this.

Now?

He merely thought for several seconds.

"Will it look better?"

"A lot better."

"Then do it."

Stephanie made a note.

"And the lighting?"

"What about it?"

"I’m thinking recessed LED panels combined with directional spotlights. The vehicles will look much better under those conditions."

Another additional expense.

Another seven hundred thousand pesos.

Richard looked at the drawing.

Then imagined a black Lexus LM or Land Cruiser sitting beneath those lights.

He nodded.

"Do it."

The architect smiled.

"I like working with decisive clients."

The spending continued throughout the day.

Premium landscaping.

Better glass specifications.

Imported aluminum framing.

A digital display wall.

A larger customer lounge.

Every time Stephanie proposed an improvement, Richard only had one question.

Would it improve the customer experience?

If the answer was yes, he approved it.

By lunchtime, the projected budget had already increased from eighteen million to nearly twenty-two million pesos.

Surprisingly, he didn’t regret it.

Because for the first time, he could clearly visualize what Phoenix Auto Trading would become.

It would no longer be a place where people simply bought second-hand vehicles.

It would become an experience.

Customers would walk into an elegant showroom, sit on leather sofas, drink coffee, and inspect nearly brand-new luxury vehicles displayed beneath perfect lighting.

The dealership itself would inspire confidence.

And confidence sold cars.

A lot of cars.

The afternoon brought even more activity.

Concrete trucks arrived.

More steel beams were unloaded.

Several workers began digging foundations for the showroom structure.

Others installed temporary electrical lines and drainage systems.

The entire property buzzed with movement.

Richard eventually found himself standing beside Stephanie beneath the shade of the old roofing.

Both of them watched the workers in silence.

"How long do you think this will take?" he finally asked.

The architect looked at the site.

"If everything goes according to schedule? Four months."

"Four months..."

She nodded.

"We’re not building a warehouse, Richard. We’re building a premium showroom."

He looked around again.

Steel.

Concrete.

Workers.

Machinery.

It really was happening.

Phoenix Auto Trading was evolving once again.

Stephanie suddenly spoke.

"You know, I still find this strange."

Richard looked at her.

"What is?"

She crossed her arms.

"You."

He blinked.

"Me?"

"You look young. Too young to be investing twenty million pesos into a dealership expansion."

Richard laughed.

"Is that a compliment or an accusation?"

She laughed as well.

"Neither. I’m just curious."

He simply smiled.

There was no way he could explain the truth.

How was he supposed to tell her that all of this started because a magical system allowed him to turn broken phones into expensive products?

Nobody would believe him.

Even he probably wouldn’t believe it if their positions were reversed.

Fortunately, Stephanie didn’t push the issue.

She looked back toward the construction site.

"I think this place is going to look amazing."

Richard followed her gaze.

A few workers were setting up steel columns where the future showroom would stand.

At the moment, they looked insignificant.

Just pieces of metal planted in dirt.

Yet he knew something important.

Every large project started exactly like this.

With empty land.

A vision.

And the willingness to spend money to turn that vision into reality.

A slow smile appeared on his face.

The old Phoenix Auto Trading had been built out of necessity.

This one?

This one was being built with ambition.

And if everything went according to plan, the dealership that emerged four months from now would be capable of selling not only reconstructed luxury vehicles but also nearly brand-new Land Cruisers, Alphards, and Lexus LMs worth more than some people’s entire houses.

The thought made his pulse quicken.

Level 3 had only been unlocked for less than a week.

Yet his life was already changing again.