The First Order
"The Association of Machinists will hold a Golden Finger Cup Tournament for Top-Tier Machinists every five years. This tournament is highly watched in the Alliance, and it represents the highest level of machinists in the Alliance. Besides, this tournament is very beneficial to you. According to the rules, every participant will receive thirty million Star Coins to modify a small frigate."
"That is to say, the range of modifications will be limited by the price of the parts. The parts used can't be too expensive, which is fair to every player. Moreover, the entry rules for the list of suppliers are very simple. As long as it's a company registered in the Alliance, they have the right to send their parts over for the players to choose from. As for whether the players will choose it or not, that's another matter."
"We can totally register the energy-shield booster as a candidate. Since it's a brand new model, only a small portion of the competitors will use it, but that's fine. With the energy-shield booster's high performance, it's very likely that Quantum Holdings will be crowned the champion in the end."
After all, there are many other awards besides warship modification. As long as we can win any one of these competitions, it'll be great publicity for the company.
Porter explained a lot about the Golden Finger Cup in one breath. Xia Fei nodded. Of course, setting a limit on the participants' spending was much more humane than the Supreme Command Tournament. At the very least, it would be fairer. This tournament could be used as a preparation for the upcoming tournament.
Xia Fei carefully read through the details of the Golden Finger Cup. This grand tournament did not only include warship modification, but it also included mechanical repair, circuit processing, and dozens of other events. Each event would have a champion, and the participant with the most points would be crowned the overall champion.
Xia Fei tapped on the screen and opened the list of past champions. Old Porter's name was there.
Xia Fei was surprised. No wonder he was called the machine god. It turned out that Old Porter was a three-time champion!
First place in the warship modification competition, first place in the power system deployment competition, first place in the fire-control system lock-on competition, and so on. He had basically won all three categories — machinery, warships, and electronics!
It was not easy to win a single championship among so many participants, yet Old Porter had won dozens of competitions in a row. His extraordinary ability was almost unbeatable.
Porter tapped on the screen and closed the page. He softly said, Let's not look at the past. Let's first think about how we're going to win this tournament.
Xia Fei knew that Porter did not want others to know that he had won the championship three times. Unfortunately, Xia Fei's eyes were so fast that he had already skimmed through Porter's resume. Charlie, who was beside him, did not notice. Even if he had seen it, he would have had a hard time imagining that the famous machine god was this one-eyed old man.
How about this? Charlie, send someone to the nearest registration place and register as a supplier for the Golden Finger Cup under Quantum Holdings name. Then, register as myself for the warship modification and defense competition.
Xia Fei understood the principle of biting off more than he could chew. That was why he chose two out of the many competitions he had to participate in. These two competitions were the ones that could highlight the benefits of the energy-shield booster.
Porter nodded. Just two is fine. After this competition is over, it will be the Admiralty's once-in-a-decade bidding conference. With the reputation you've accumulated from the Golden Finger Cup and the good quality of the energy-shield booster, there's still a chance for you to be selected as a supplier for the Admiralty. Once the product is selected by the Admiralty, it will be equivalent to advertising across the entire Alliance. When that time comes, you won't have to worry about how to promote your product but how to quickly expand your production capacity.
Charlie looked very excited. "Alright, I'll send someone to the nearest registration point and register for both competitions and the Admiralty's bidding conference."
Porter thought for a moment before lightly tapping on the screen. Register Xia Fei for these three competitions as well. As for whether he will participate or not, we can talk about it when the time comes. After all, the registration fee won't cost much.
Charlie seriously jotted down everything in his notebook. Alright, I'll get it done right away.
That was when a loud commotion came from the sky. Xia Fei looked out the window and saw a Gaian Ares-class interceptor slowly landing on the open space outside the factory.
It was none other than Thurams ship, which Xia Fei had boarded when he arrived, so he was able to recognize it at a glance.
They sure are fast, Xia Fei muttered to himself. He had just received a call last night saying that Thurams and Qin Mangs were coming to Earth for a spin, but he did not expect them to be here so soon.
Xia Fei chuckled and pulled Porter along. Let's go. Old man Qin Mangs is here. I didn't get a chance to meet him on Hek, so it's good that he's here.
Porter furrowed his eyebrows. I just want to keep a low profile for a few days. Ive just passed by the workshop and noticed that there are many areas where the machines can be improved. Go and pick them up. Im going to the workshop to study how to improve the machines and try to improve our production capacity.
Uncle Porter did not want to attract too much attention, and Xia Fei could not do anything about it. The machine god was willing to help Xia Fei with basic work such as improving the machines, which was already a great honor. As for the rest, Xia Fei could only let the old man do as he pleased.
Xia Fei gave Charlie a look, and the latter hurried over to Porter and said, Uncle, Ill go with you to the workshop.
Alright, that's fine. Porter and Charlie went to work in the workshop, while Xia Fei drove Qin Mangs and Thurams to the factory's office.
Why dont you use a hovercar? This thing is about to make my old bones fall apart. Thuram got out of the car, somewhat dissatisfied with the new model of Land Rover Xia Fei was driving.
Xia Fei chuckled. Uncle Thurams, just make do with it. Earth's technology level is very low, and this is already one of our best off-road vehicles.
Qin Mangs rolled his eyes at Thurams, signaling him to stop talking. Thurams lips twitched and did not say anything else.
Since Qin Mangs had not fully recovered, he was carried by the Ling brothers to the office in a hoverchair. However, he was in good spirits and seemed to be very interested in Xia Fei's factory, constantly asking about the situation.
Xia Fei invited Qin Mangs and the others to a spacious guest room and ordered someone to bring them tea and snacks.
Old man, youre not fully recovered yet, so why did the doctors let you out? Xia Fei asked with a smile.
Thurams answered, The old man's body wasn't that good previously, so he could only listen to the doctors. Now that his body is getting stronger, what doctor can keep him in check?
Qin Mangs smiled. Being in the hospital is really suffocating. I heard that Earth's environment is pretty good, so I plan to recuperate here for a few days and take a look at your precious company.
Xia Fei briefly explained the situation of Quantum Holdings to Qin Mangs and mentioned the energy-shield booster. Thurams was very interested in the new shield equipment and insisted on trying it out himself.
Xia Fei knew that Thuram was in charge of the entire Union's procurement of military equipment, so if he were to take a liking to this equipment, it would be extremely beneficial to Quantum Holdings. After all, the Adjudicator Union had a great reputation, and being able to purchase it in bulk was no less than getting an order from the Admiralty.
So far, Xia Feis only had two samples from the lab, and he had ordered his men to install the better one on Thurams Ares-class mech.
The video system was turned on, and Thurams sat in his office and commanded remotely.
The energy-shield is currently at one hundred percent. We can begin the experiment, the bearded captain said after taking a look at the readings.
Thurams nodded and said to Ling Feng, who was on the other side of the screen, Alright. Ling Feng, use Xia Fei's Vampire to attack and weaken the Ares-class shield to around fifty percent.
Roger that.
Ling Feng piloted Vampire and locked onto the Ares-class interceptor before using four concentrated laser guns to fire at it. Since this was just an experiment, the Ares-class did not dodge at all, allowing the cannons to explode on its shield.
Shield index at seventy-nine percent.
Sixty-five percent.
Fifty-three percent.
The bearded captain kept reporting the damage to the shield. When the shield index reached forty-eight percent, Thurams ordered Ling Feng to stop attacking. The Ares-class began its countdown. The shield booster was operating at one hundred percent, and its energy index was rapidly recovering.
The shield recharge index is ninety-seven and still increasing.
One hundred and three.
One hundred and eight.
The peak power is out. It's recovering one hundred and eighty-eight standard units per second. Thats thirty-six percent faster than before, the bearded captain said excitedly.
The Ares-class energy-shield originally had a shield recharge index of eighty standard units per second, but now it had reached a shocking one hundred and eight standard units, much higher than before.
One hundred and eight units. This new gadget isnt bad, Thurams said. As the head of the weapons and equipment department of the Adjudicator Union, he was of course well aware of the value of the energy-shield booster. Such a small device could increase the overall defense of a warship by more than ten percent, and its value in actual combat was immeasurable.
With the development of the Pan-human Alliance, many technologies had reached a bottleneck. It was rather difficult to break through one percent from the current foundation, yet this device could increase the defense of a warship by ten percent in one fell swoop. It could be considered a top-notch defensive equipment.
The overall numbers are out. After installing the energy-shield booster, the Ares-class interceptor's defense has increased by eleven and thirty-five percent, the bearded captain said excitedly, his eyes glued to the screen. Xia Fei smiled.
If it was activated right from the start, the value should be able to increase by another one percent or so.
Thurams nodded. Thats right. The Ares-class only activates its defense after the attack is over. If it activated the shield recharge right from the start, the value will indeed be higher. Who invented this?
Me, but it's all thanks to the old man's help. Xia Fei secretly glanced at Qin Mangs. The technology came from the encyclopedia of robot coding that Qin Mangs had given him. It was just that Xia Fei had added a few practical gadgets.
Thurams guffawed. Xia Fei, I have to say that this thing is pretty good. Now, let's talk.
Talk about what?
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