Business
"What kind of business?" Ying Chenlin looked at Shen Xingtang.
"A business that turns waste into treasure," Shen Xingtang said.
The iteration of mecha technology is rapid, especially for basic materials like parts. New models are introduced almost every year, especially for those with high replacement frequencies. It's normal for teams in the Mecha Alliance to replace parts to maintain the hardware level of their mechas.
Some of the parts in the A3 warehouse are already obsolete.
As soon as new parts arrive, these old parts can only be sold at a discounted price to recover some value.
But now, Ying Chenlin's re-polished parts perform similarly to the expensive ones on the market. Since that's the case, why should they buy those parts at a high price?
"Chenlin, you might think that using mental power to polish is a small matter." Shen Xingtang took out the so-called waste parts and explained, "The market price for parts with this performance is around 10."
Ying Chenlin had expected this before, but hearing Shen Xingtang say it like this gave him a new understanding of the current level of mecha hardware. He was a bit surprised, "Higher than I expected."
"Yes, but that's not the only point." Shen Xingtang smiled, "Take this A-GZ1456, for example. Its current market price is 30,000 each, and you alone have expanded its profit margin by nearly 100,000. As for the so-called waste parts you mentioned, if you sell them in the alliance now, they would be worth at least 130,000 each."
"Just like Mr. Xu, who called earlier. The precision of the parts he wanted to sell to KID is 3 lower than your waste parts, and he dared to ask for 100,000. He even wanted to raise the price. Moreover, these are A-level parts, not competition-level parts. There are many non-professional A-level mecha pilots in the Star Alliance who also need this type of parts."
Shen Xingtang didn't intend to hide anything from Ying Chenlin. She laid out all the advantages and disadvantages, "Do you still think using mental power to polish is a small matter now? With your skills, there aren't many maintenance engineers in the alliance who can match you."
Jiang Simiao had been worried about the Kid supplier issue before, but now, hearing Shen Xingtang's explanation, he also realized, "So you rejected Mr. Xu."
The warehouse was quiet for a moment. It was only after a while that Ying Chenlin spoke, "Do you plan to sell these waste parts?"
"I won't hide it from you. I'm a businesswoman, so I want to propose a partnership with you." Shen Xingtang made everything clear. She wasn't sure about Ying Chenlin's background, but honesty was fundamental in any cooperation. She said straightforwardly, "Since it's a collaboration, these won't be part of KID's maintenance engineer contract. I can sign a profit-sharing contract with you separately. Everything can be discussed."
Ying Chenlin looked at Shen Xingtang's serious expression. In his previous life, dealing with polished parts was in a world where hardware technology was relatively mature. Later, as mecha parts technology became more advanced, the difference in commission between what he polished and mature technology was almost negligible. Moreover, he spent a long time in the base, and materials were provided by KID, so he didn't understand the decade-long changes in the parts market.
Polishing parts was just a habit for him before repairing mechas.
"Can I make a request?" Ying Chenlin asked.
Shen Xingtang's eyes lit up, "Go ahead."
"I don't need a share, but I need materials." Ying Chenlin spoke, "I hope you can provide me with a channel for A+ grade mutant materials... I may need a lot of materials in the future."
Shen Xingtang was stunned, "Is that the only request?"
Ying Chenlin nodded, "I need a lot of high-level materials, and you have the connections."
Shen Xingtang was surprised. Obviously, she didn't expect Ying Chenlin's request to be so low, "You can tell me if you need materials. I can tell you any channels I have. Besides, you are a maintenance engineer in our base, and it's my job as the boss to prepare materials for you."
Ying Chenlin readily agreed, "That's fine."
Fine?! Shen Xingtang was momentarily unsure whether the person in front of her was shrewd or genuinely didn't understand. She was thinking about how to explain the pros and cons to Ying Chenlin, but he walked towards another row of shelves next to her.
"What's wrong?" Shen Xingtang asked.
Ying Chenlin walked to the shelf. He had checked this shelf not long ago. He casually picked up two parts, "These two parts are different models, but you can see that they are processed by two different factories."
Shen Xingtang knew that all the goods here were ones she had brought in, and she knew which part came from which factory.
"The waste parts in your hands come from this factory." Ying Chenlin picked up one and then pointed to the parts on the other side, "And the ones with high pass rates come from this factory."
Different pass rates?!
"How do you evaluate these waste parts according to the mental power polishing standard you mentioned? What about the raw materials of the parts?" Shen Xingtang picked up several parts and asked.
"Mainly two points." Ying Chenlin thought about this issue simply, "One point is to look at the raw materials, and the other is the physical shaping process of the original part processing factory. Good raw materials have a larger upper limit. For example, A-level materials can achieve precision above 60, while B-level materials can only reach 50 at most, and C-level is even lower. On this basis, we need to look at the process of part processing, and the physical shaping step is crucial. If something inside the part is damaged during the physical processing period, its upper limit will be determined."
In simple terms, the better the material and the finer the physical shaping process, the better the quality of these parts. Like the parts in Shen Xingtang's warehouse, they are of average quality, but the craftsmanship of the processing factory is good, so the upper limit that can be achieved through secondary processing reaches this level.
Ying Chenlin suggested politely, "If we find a factory with good and cheap processing technology, we can save some money."
Shen Xingtang immediately understood the key point here. She pondered for a moment before speaking, "I'd like to ask you a question."
Ying Chenlin looked at her with confusion.
Shen Xingtang asked seriously, "Have we met before?"
Ying Chenlin locked eyes with her. Before he could say the words, Shen Xingtang had already continued, patting Ying Chenlin on the shoulder, "I feel like I've seen you before. You look a lot like my long-lost younger brother."
"Come, sis will show you the factory. Whatever materials you need, I'll get them for you."
Seeing the two walking deeper and pushing away the small cart carrying waste parts, Jiang Simiao didn't know why, but he felt that the matter they were discussing might not be a trivial one. He sighed, thinking about following them to see what was going on when his lightbrain rang.
He stopped in his tracks, suddenly remembering something, "Wait, Xingtang! About the new artillery mecha..."
---
In another location on Sirius, Mr. Xu, whose call had been hung up, was furious. He hadn't expected Shen Xingtang to hang up on him. KID was currently in need of parts, and he was just using the price increase as an excuse. With the market being so difficult to navigate now and the Banute Pollution Zone sealed off, what's the point of raising the price?
"Is Shen the boss trying to leave us hanging?" his subordinate asked.
Mr. Xu snorted, "Is she leaving us hanging? Shen Xingtang still thinks KID has that much reputation? KID only got two Ability crystals in the pollution zone. If she wasn't in a tight spot, would she even consider selling the mecha arena? Renting the building?"
The subordinate nodded, "I heard from Starnet that Xu Yaojun went to DE today. Won't KID be short of people for the next season?"
"Is that so?" Mr. Xu was surprised.
"Yes, it was announced by DE today." The subordinate showed him the news on his lightbrain.
Mr. Xu scanned through it, "No wonder she was trying so hard to lower the price. Now that there's one less mecha pilot for KID, she'll have to spend money to sign a replacement."
He felt relieved, "Just wait, Shen Xingtang will come back to beg me."
On Starnet, Kid had been making headlines in the Aurora Galaxy recently.
Shortly after winning two Ability crystals in the Banute Pollution Zone, a brief video of the internal fighting in Banute caused a stir online. The DE base team, on the other side of the turmoil, had to announce Xu Yaojun ahead of schedule, sparking widespread discussion among the spectators.
Xu Yaojun moved to DE, KID's arch-rival.
Many were expecting the two teams to clash, but surprisingly, several days passed without any commotion.
Seeing no excitement to watch, the fans turned their attention to announcements and transfer news from various teams. After a round of searching, they found no information about Kid signing a new mecha pilot. Annoyed by the lack of news, fans under KID started urging, but there was still no sign of any new updates.
At the same time, in the Dawn Galaxy of the First Star Domain, the Aurora Galaxy.
"Did you watch the Banute incident?" Zhao Lejie came down from the mecha, his wet clothes outlining his strong physique. "KID's Xu Yaojun left. Last season, you seemed to think highly of KID. Why didn't you go and sign someone?"
On the other side of the training room, a man in a suit, the captain of the Gale team, Qi Sicheng, looked at him, "I went, but I didn't make any moves. I'm not interested in Xu Yaojun."
"I know, you're interested in their front line." Zhao Lejie wiped off his sweat. He remembered that in the previous season, during a match with KID, their front line nearly collapsed against KID.
KID's front line consisted of three people: Huo Yan's tank mecha, Lin Yao's gurdian mecha, and Ji Qingfeng's stealth mecha. Originally, there were plans to sign the front line trio from KID after the incident, but it seemed that the plan had failed.
"Kid's front line looks messy, but it's rare to have both offense and defense. It's a pity that there's a trash artillery mecha in the team. It's good that Xu Yaojun left," Zhao Lejie said. "If they had the artillery mecha from the video, I think it would be promising for KID next season."
Qi Sicheng, the man in the suit, lowered his eyes and looked at the video playing on his lightbrain. It showed a brief segment of the battle in the Banute Pollution Zone.
"The artillery is indeed powerful, but there are not many details shown. I can't tell who it is," Zhao Lejie asked with curiosity.
Qi Sicheng pointed to a part of the operation, "Instead of saying that the gurdian mecha and the artillery mecha were coordinating to suppress the opponent, it looks more like the guradian mecha was avoiding the sniper cannon of the artillery mecha."
"Avoiding?" Zhao Lejie was surprised.
Qi Sicheng said, "Yes, avoiding. He's not cooperating with others; he treats teammates as enemies. He's dodging both enemies and teammates."
"His overall view is excellent, but his style of play is unique. Just watching this video, I can't find his flaws... Clearly, it's a team battle, but he plays like a lone soldier."
---
In another part of Sirius, You Su sat in a cafe, and his lightbrain was also looping a certain segment of a video from the Banute Pollution Zone. When he finished watching one part and wanted to cut another, he found that the video had been deleted.
"He dodges pretty fast," You Su commented indifferently.
At this moment, the mecha key around his neck shook a little, and a playful electronic voice sounded.
"Of course, this is a freak who can dodge your sniper cannon a hundred times. The last one who was so confident about cooperating with you was blown away by us with one shot, half of his mecha gone."
You Su took a sip of his coffee, his tone indifferent, "Are you full now?"
"I haven't eaten enough!" the electronic voice continued, "You Su, I've already found the next pollution zone, near Sirius this time. I'm sure we'll find the materials we want this time!"
"Let's talk about it later. Your disability has nothing to do with me." You Su had just finished speaking when he suddenly saw a message from Shen Xingtang pop up above his lightbrain.
He opened the message interface, intending to reject Shen Xingtang's invitation, but found that she had sent another video.
In the video, a labeled part was undergoing multiple tests in a detection machine.
When he saw the performance display, confusion flashed in You Su's eyes. He looked carefully for a while and was about to look away when he suddenly glimpsed the edge of the video.
There stood a person.
The face was not captured, but the right hand hanging by the side emitted a mechanical cold light.
[Oops, sent the wrong one. This is the right one.]
Soon, the video was retracted, replaced by another one sent by Shen Xingtang.
The video was a teaser for the upcoming season of the Aurora Galaxy League, ending with a preview of the championship reward for the season.
[Here's some insider information for you: the championship reward for the next season is an S-grade Ability crystal. What do you think? Interested in joining the league?]