Throughout this process, Fang Zhen never doubted his ability to attract believers and followers. The real question was in which domain he wanted to achieve godhood.

The message he spread would have to be related to his Divine Domain. That was the only way to attract the specific kind of believers and followers he needed.

Thinking of this, Fang Zhen summoned Dale’s soul.

"Dale, when you’re trying to gain worshippers and followers, does it have to be related to your Divine Domain?"

"And how do you lock in your Divine Domain?" Fang Zhen asked, communicating with Dale soul to soul.

"You’re already taking on the challenge of a Divine Domain? Aren’t you rushing things a bit?" Dale’s voice, tinged with surprise, emanated from her soul.

However, Dale didn’t press the issue. Instead, she answered, "Of course. The Divine Domain you choose should ideally be related to you."

"It should either be a field you’re most interested in and passionate about, or one you’re most skilled in."

"Granted, there have been precedents of people achieving godhood in fields they weren’t heavily invested in, but those are exceptions."

"At the very least, your actions and the ideals you promote cannot conflict with the Divine Domain you wish to attain."

"Being neutral is acceptable, but there absolutely cannot be any conflict. Otherwise, your godhead and your very personality will be torn asunder."

’That’s more or less what I figured,’ Fang Zhen thought.

An old saying had already taught him about being "utterly ruined and discredited." In other words, one’s "name," or reputation, had to be consistent with one’s actions.

Fang Zhen considered what he was truly interested in.

First and foremost, he was deeply interested in his own power and self-improvement. ’The external world is an illusion; only one’s own strength is real.’

His consistent mindset was that if the world treated him poorly, he just had to become stronger. As long as he was powerful enough, everything else would fall into place.

But it seemed most other powerful individuals thought the same way.

Looking at it from another angle, however, Fang Zhen also greatly appreciated the power of technology and progress. And with that, an idea began to form.

The Zambein Kingdom was a medieval realm characterized by an extremely slow pace of development. Its social structure was almost completely rigid, with everyone just fighting over scraps in a zero-sum game.

From the perspective of a modern person, this squabbling was pointless. Fang Zhen wanted to bring something new to this world.

He had previously considered introducing hybrid rice and other pieces of industrial infrastructure that could be built in a medieval setting.

He rather liked the idea of being the one to represent advanced productive forces and a progressive social class, using his own power to reshape the social landscape of the Zambein Kingdom.

At the same time, he would build the Zambein Kingdom—his personal domain—into a place of his own liking.

With these thoughts, a plan gradually began to crystallize in Fang Zhen’s mind.

’God of Technology and Development? Or God of Machinery and Industry? What about God of Steam and Machines?’

Fang Zhen began to envision his future path. The idea of linking technology with divinity had a certain spark to it.

After a moment of consideration, his objective became progressively clearer.

’Okay, I’ll need to bring a few things with me to the Zambein Kingdom this time,’ Fang Zhen decided. ’For instance, seeds to solve their food problem, along with some other preparations.’

「Over the next few days」

Fang Zhen went on another major procurement spree.

His company expanded again, establishing a procurement department primarily tasked with acquiring resources for Fang Zhen’s operations in the other world.

Of course, he was well aware that positions in procurement were quite lucrative. For the time being, he had Hao Lei serve as the department’s acting deputy head. He would see how things developed from there.

Besides, Fang Zhen wasn’t worried about anyone embezzling from him. Worst case, a little "gentle" application of forceful hypnosis would get him all the answers he needed. They wouldn’t dare.

Fang Zhen had Hao Lei procure many of the items he currently needed. This included a massive quantity of seeds—enough to plant thousands of acres—consisting mainly of hybrid rice.

In reality, the seed industry has always been a low-profile yet highly profitable business. People always need to eat, so there’s always money to be made from seeds; it’s just hard and tiring work.

The profit margins in the seed trade were actually enormous. For some seeds, the retail price could be hundreds, or even thousands, of times higher than the wholesale price.

This was especially true for certain vegetable seeds, and the markup sounded insane.

In truth, a single packet of those vegetable seeds might only sell for a dollar or two, but the wholesale purchase price for large quantities was extremely low.

Fang Zhen purchased hybrid rice seeds. This type of seed was treated so that you couldn’t harvest seeds from the crops for the next planting cycle; you had to buy new ones every time.

This was a business model pioneered by American corporations, like Monsanto, which was now under the Bayer Company of Germany. Of course, you couldn’t say that out loud.

This offered a huge benefit for Fang Zhen.

When the Zambein World developed a strong demand for these seeds, they would have no way to produce their own. They would have to get them from Fang Zhen. In this way, he would gain even greater control and influence over the Zambein Kingdom.

In addition to seeds, Fang Zhen also bought a ton of steel. This time, he bought standard carbon steel instead of alloy steel, which made it considerably cheaper.

In a way, even this was overkill. Fang Zhen figured that in the Zambein World, simple steel weapons would already be considered Divine Weapons.