Installment Purchase" and "Installment Payment" both involve making payments in batches, but their natures are vastly different.
"Installment Purchase": Each partial payment grants a portion of the goods equivalent to the paid amount, similar to retail.
"Installment Payment": The complete goods are acquired immediately, and then partial payments are made according to an agreed-upon schedule, much like a mortgage.
In other words,
The Superman Bloodline was categorized by the other party into Ranks, with a minimum of F-Rank and a maximum of S-Rank, and each Rank could be purchased individually.
The progressive financial pressure allows more people to purchase this expensive and powerful Bloodline.
Although he currently couldn't even afford the lowest F-Rank Superman Bloodline—he could attract investments—in short, he could start with nothing and gain everything.
He clicked on the "Customer Service Consultation Service" of the DC Universe and initiated a cross-Universe chat.
[Raphael: No idle chat. I will reply as appropriate when I see a request.]
Unlike Royce's automatic reply, it seemed this could be set by oneself—at least he didn't have that permission now—and this Raphael seemed a bit arrogant.
[Victor: Hello, I am a novice Planar Merchant from the Marvel Universe, and I want to discuss an investment with you.]
This time, the other side didn't reply instantly like Royce.
Victor didn't care and fell into deep thought.
He needed to carefully consider his wording; in New York, there was another shrewd Planar Merchant he needed to persuade.
As for the Superman Bloodline, that was just his first choice, not a mandatory one.
The DC Universe should be on a similar Rank level to the Marvel Universe; an investment would be a happy outcome, but a refusal would also be normal.
Jack Ma also faced many setbacks in Silicon Valley in the Early Stage.
He simulated someone's possible reactions in his mind, and unknowingly, more than ten minutes passed.
The dialogue box in the interface finally changed.
[Raphael: Not bad, another lucky person who found a Platform loophole. Tell me your entry time, and I will decide the investment amount.]
Victor slowly pulled his thoughts out of contemplation, looking at Raphael's reply with some surprise.
This Raphael's Planar Merchant Rank was probably not low.
Victor used a loophole to gain Rank 4 permission in advance, and the other party could see through it with a single sentence.
He also understood that as an investor, he should set conditions first to gain the initiative before discussing the investment.
Royce had probably thought of these things, but his Universe Rank was too low, so he could only help Victor in the Early Stage, leaving not much room for bargaining—which was also why Victor contacted him first.
Facing Raphael's attempt to gain the upper hand, Victor chose to... go along with him.
The one with money is the boss.
However, he didn't need to lower his status too much; an equal tone would suffice.
[Victor: It's the 31st day since Tony Stark escaped the Ten Rings Gang. He is currently in seclusion building the Mk-2.]
This time, there wasn't much waiting; about thirty seconds later, Raphael sent a reply.
[Raphael: Not World War II, what a pity. But that's fine. Are you interested in the Superman Bloodline or The Flash Bloodline?]
The other party didn't mention the Batman Bloodline.
Although Batman has many fans, his combat power mainly comes from high-tech equipment, which is extremely expensive—this is the same approach as Tony Stark—so it can be said that both of their superpowers are money, followed by research capabilities.
But for a Planar Merchant, these equipments can be purchased on the Platform.
Not to mention that in Marvel, black technology is not inferior to DC.
[Victor: The Superman Bloodline is more suitable for me. An F-Rank Bloodline can withstand small-caliber pistols, right?]
[Raphael: F-Rank? I'll give you an A-rank Bloodline directly if you agree to one condition.]
Raphael's generous offer would have made most people jump for joy.
But Victor frowned slightly.
An F-Rank Bloodline was enough to ensure his safety; an A-rank Bloodline was a completely unnecessary burden—the more investment he received, the greater the returns he would have to pay in the future.
Otherwise, would people have too much money to burn?
Every cent invested by a capitalist is certainly aimed at exponential profits.
Weighing the pros and cons in an instant, he refused without hesitation.
[Victor: An F-Rank Bloodline is enough. Tell me your condition.]
[Raphael: I see, it seems you are also a Planar Merchant in the real World. What a pity.]
The other side didn't state his condition, only throwing out a remark of pity before falling silent.
This was to deliberately pique his interest.
If he couldn't hold his temper, he might mistakenly think the other party was about to give up the investment and then relent, accepting more of the other party's investment—while also losing more autonomy.
Victor saw right through it and simply ignored it.
He suddenly missed Royce a little.
That guy, though a chatterbox, was straightforward.
Unlike this Raphael, who said little, but every word carried deep meaning, making conversations incredibly arduous.
Putting Raphael's question aside, Victor began to look for alternatives to the Superman Bloodline.
He didn't want to scheme and contend with people like a Planar Merchant, which was why he fled Father Chen's business Empire, choosing to return home to make movies and fulfill his dream.
So he was somewhat averse to communicating with Raphael.
Of course,
This didn't mean he was giving up on the Superman Bloodline; he could completely purchase it himself once he acquired resources later.
His purpose in attracting investment this time was merely for self-preservation, which could be achieved on the Platform with items like the High-Energy Electronic Shield, Protective Jade Pendant, and magic Protection, among others.
He just needed to carefully consider the Universe he chose.
"Grumble ~ Grumble ~ Grumble ~"
He had been using his brain all day, and his stomach finally protested. Looking at the weather outside the French window, it was already nearing night.
"Alice, mimic my voice and order dinner: a medium-rare steak, 20-year-old brandy, and also..."
Victor's words were cut short; a Platform notification interrupted him.
[You have received a gifted item from the DC Universe;]
Opening the inventory, besides the novice reward in the first slot, there was also an "S" shaped blood drop lying in the second slot.
He focused his mind, and a stream of information flowed into his brain.
---
Item Name: Incomplete Superman Bloodline:
Item Category: [Bloodline]
Item Compatibility: [100%];
Origin Universe: [DC Universe];
Rank Assessment: [F+];
Item Price: 100 plane points, e-class voucher × 10;
Function Description: This Bloodline is extremely incomplete; only the Super Cells and Iron Body abilities remain fully intact;
Slogan: The Superman Bloodline has extremely strong exclusivity. Unless more incomplete Bloodlines can be obtained to complete the full Bloodline, its use is not recommended:
---
[Do you want to extract the Incomplete Superman Bloodline?]
"No."
No need to extract it yet, just leave it for now.
Raphael's F-Rank Incomplete Superman Bloodline in his shop only had the Super Cells superpower.
The one gifted to him had an additional Iron Body.
Then he looked at a long reply in the dialogue box.