If the power armor was the full body armor of the heavy cavalry, then the kinetic skeleton would be the chain mail of the light infantry.
The total weight was less than 10kg, and the polyethylene armor could defend against 7-12 rounds of 7.62mm rifle bullets. If it was a rifle from the modern world, it would be impossible to penetrate the armor.
After equipping, the maximum weight an individual soldier could carry would increase to 300kg.
The power source was two fist-sized batteries that were attached to the top of the pelvis. After a full charge, the wearer could run at a speed of 12km/h with a 300kg weight for an hour, or fight for 12 hours in a normal environment. After the battery ran out, it could be recharged through a solar charger, or it could be instantly recharged using crystals.
Other than the aerospace technology that had yet to see any results, the other reason Jiang Chen recruited Jiang Lin was because of the kinetic skeleton technology from the Fake Leg Specialty Store. Although he didn't inherit his father's business, he still learned some of the relevant technology under his father's coercion.
When he personally experienced the power of the K1 kinetic skeleton, Jiang Chen immediately asked if it could be used in the military.
"Mass production of the military?" Jiang Lin heard Jiang Chen's question, and then a strange expression appeared on his face. "Do you know the cost and time to produce such a set of kinetic skeleton?"
"How much?" Jiang Chen asked nonchalantly.
"Based on the Sixth Street's market price, the set you're wearing right now would cost around 900 crystals. 900 crystals can buy a dozen slaves and give them a rifle. And no matter what kind of super soldier, it would be impossible to win against a dozen guns. "Jiang Lin sighed as he calculated the economic cost for Jiang Chen.
"But the Sixth Street no longer sells humans."
He pressed on the metal piece attached to the back of his neck, and a faint electric noise sounded. He took off the kinetic skeleton on his body.
"The Sixth Street doesn't sell humans, but other places do, such as Su city. It has the largest slave market in the Suhang province. Next spring, they will come to the Sixth Street." Jiang Lin tried to convince his boss.
"But we can't wait until next spring." Jiang Chen stuffed the kinetic skeleton into his hand. "When the snow melts next year, the mutated humans will march from the Seventh Area to Qingpu. And as the only surviving force here, we will have to face the pressure of the mutated humans. "
Hearing this, Jiang Lin's face instantly turned pale.
He had never heard of such a thing. If he had, he wouldn't have dared to work here even if he was beaten to death. The reason why he wanted to convince his boss to give up on mass production of kinetic skeletons was because he was worried that his own rocket research time would be taken up.
"Do you regret coming here?" Jiang Chen laughed.
Jiang Lin gulped and looked to the side. "I wouldn't dare."
"Don't be afraid, and your heart rate already tells me that you regret it." Jiang Chen patted him on the shoulder and didn't criticize his cowardice. "It's normal to be afraid. Everyone is afraid of death. Since you're afraid, then do as I say. "
"I heard that there are thousands of mutated humans in the Seventh Area," Jiang Lin said with difficulty.
"To be precise, it's 3,000. It might be slightly more, but that's not something you need to worry about. The kinetic skeleton must be mass produced. No matter how many crystals you spend, you must make 50 sets by next January, "Jiang Chen said in an unquestionable tone.
Even if one set was 900 crystals, 50 sets would only be 45,000 crystals. The Fishbone base didn't lack money. It was time to convert the wealth accumulated in the early stages into combat power.
Jiang Lin gulped again as he looked at the seriousness in his boss' eyes and nodded with difficulty.
"I'll try my best … But it's impossible for me to do it alone. I need assistants."
"How many do you need? Just tell me."
"Let me think … I need 10 people to hand-craft the metal skeleton, 4 people to solder the chips, 8 people to draw the circuits, and there's also the modification of the power system … Roughly estimating, I need at least 40 workers to complete an assembly line. At this rate, I should be able to barely complete 50 sets of kinetic skeletons by next January. "Jiang Lin forced a smile.
The base population was only around two hundred, and everyone had their own jobs. There was no way they could spare 40 people.
However, Jiang Chen's next words made him dumbfounded.
"If I give you 80 people, can you double the production?"
"I can, but are there that many idle people in the base?" Jiang Lin couldn't help but ask.
"You don't need to worry about that. We'll have them soon. From now on, you only need to research how to design the production line, how to train your assistants, and what resources to purchase. The workers will be in place in five days. "Jiang Chen laughed.
The Fishbone base didn't have that many people, but Shenxiang Town did.
Seven hundred survivors were captured by the mutated humans. They just needed to bring them back.
As to whether they would listen to him or not?
On the wasteland, there was no difference between being rescued and being captured.
If they wanted to live, they must listen.
…
After leaving Jiang Lin's lab, Jiang Chen went to the community center and found Wang Qin, who was in charge of the base's warehouse.
When Jiang Chen arrived at the office, the girl with freckles was checking the warehouse's ledger as usual. When she saw Jiang Chen, her eyes lit up as she immediately put down the work in her hands and greeted him.
"I'm just here to check the base's resource situation. You don't have to be so nervous." Jiang Chen gently smiled as he joked.
Wang Qin's face turned red out of embarrassment. She pushed the glasses on the bridge of her nose as she took out the tablet terminal from the table and displayed the statistics to Jiang Chen.
First was the crystals.
After the accumulation of several trades, the Fishbone base's crystal storage reached a terrifying 790,000. Because of the addition of many production lines, the crystal consumption last month reached 30,000 crystals. This included the purchase of raw materials as well as the energy consumption of industrial production.
Jiang Chen asked Wang Qin to set aside 500,000 crystals as liquidity to purchase the shares of the Sixth Street Bank. The other 290,000 crystals were used as production expenses. Even if they added a kinetic skeleton production line, it would be more than enough to last until January of next year.
The other was the firearms storage.
Currently, the base had 200,000 rounds of bullets, 60% of which were produced by the base's military factory. Ever since they acquired the Huizhong Mercenaries' bullet production line, the Fishbone base began to develop in the direction of producing their own firearms.
Then there was the 5kg bomb, which was the standard ammo for the Type-50 electromagnetic pulse cannon. With the five trucks modified into Tigers leaving the factory, the military factory's production capacity also began to shift towards the bomb. The current storage was 200 rounds, and it was being replenished at a rate of 50 rounds per day.
Then there was the food storage.
After a period of consumption and a large amount of replenishment, the base had 8 tons of rice, 2 tons of potatoes, and 5 tons of vegetables that were easy to preserve such as cabbage, carrots, and celery. There were also 2 tons of preserved meat and sausages. Ever since Jiang Chen realized that fresh meat was cheaper than canned food, the Fishbone base's cafeteria no longer provided canned food. All canned food was only sold or rewarded to the survivors who contributed.
Based on the calculation of one pound of rice per person per day, the food was more than enough to feed 200 people for two years. Considering that more than 700 survivors were about to join them, the consumption of food was bound to increase. But even so, the food should be able to last them for half a year.
"Also, the base is preparing to add a kinetic skeleton production line. Jiang Lin will send the purchase list over in a bit. Send someone to the Sixth Street to purchase it."
"Mhmm." Wang Qin nodded seriously as she wrote down Jiang Chen's words on the tablet.
With the increase in the base's resources, one warehouse manager was obviously not enough. After consulting with Wang Qin, Jiang Chen created a logistics department in the administrative department of the base to manage the warehouse's resources, daily expenses, and trade-related matters. Originally, Sun Jiao was in charge of the trade, but she seemed to have a headache over these "small things", so the job was thrown to the logistics department.
The head of the logistics department was naturally Wang Qin. The number of people in the department increased to five, managing a total of six warehouses.
"I told you not to be so nervous." Looking at the girl's serious expression, Jiang Chen couldn't help but smile.
Although the girl was more mature compared to when she first came to the base, her tendency to blush didn't seem to have changed at all.
"Also, how is Zhou Guoping's bar at the Sixth Street doing?"
Wang Qin regained her previous calmness as she pushed up her glasses and said seriously. "4000 cans of beer consumed in October, total profit of 40,000 crystals."
Hearing this, Jiang Chen nodded.
He didn't care about the bar's profitability. What he cared about was how much information Zhou Guoping could bring him with the traffic of the bar. The beer was only three to five RMB per can in the modern world. It was not worth much at all.
Of course, no matter how small a mosquito was, it was still a good income.
"Also, one more thing." Seeing that Jiang Chen seemed to be in a good mood, Wang Qin hesitated for a moment before she spoke.
"Mhmm?"
"The base's raw material for the production of automatic rifles and hummingbird drones, the Carm tree sap, is out of stock."
"Out of stock?" Jiang Chen paused for a moment as he raised his eyebrows.
This was a big problem.
The threat of the mutated humans was approaching. The military factory at the Fishbone base was working overtime to produce weapons, but now the Carm tree sap was out of stock?
"The plantation that originally supplied us with Carm tree sap terminated the contract and paid us 1000 crystals as a penalty," Wang Qin said helplessly.
"Reason?"
"With the increase of the Sixth Street's production, the price of Carm tree sap increased by 20%, significantly higher than the price when we signed the contract. Also, other companies signed large long-term contracts with them, so they shamelessly terminated the contract, "Wang Qin said angrily.
"How much Carm tree sap is left in the base?" Jiang Chen asked in an undertone.
"There are two tons left, enough to sustain the base for a month."
"Mhmm, I'll take care of it." Jiang Chen nodded.
Since the Sixth Street couldn't supply it, the Fishbone base could produce it themselves.
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