The enterprise named “Red Star Mechanical Design Office” had been open for nearly a month in this coral town located in South Continent.
What puzzled the residents of this small town was that this enterprise did not open in the city center, but instead occupied a small piece of land by the sea in the suburbs.
Facing the urban area, a not-too-tall three-story building was erected, complete with a well-designed courtyard and gate, clearly indicating it was a very legitimate enterprise.
However, the coastal area behind the large compound and building was still undergoing extensive construction, seemingly intended to build a considerable cargo terminal.
All in all, just from the scale of construction, this should be an enterprise with considerable ambition.
The citizens of Coral City, however, were completely indifferent to this.
There were plenty of ambitious enterprises these days, but there was no shortage of those that failed.
More importantly, they actually wanted to do something like mechanical design… Heh, these days, who would seriously go into manufacturing, especially industry?
The rich went into finance, and ordinary people could work in the service industry; that was the trend of the times.
In short, they could only wish the universe spirit would bless them.
Of course, what they didn't know was that this newly opened enterprise was currently full of boundless vitality.
Because it was so vibrant, the two young women who were not yet officially appointed as CEO, CFO, CHO, COO, or any other 'O' of the Red Star Office had to temporarily hold a phone conference with the company, spanning light-years.
The two young women were named Ye Zhixia and Eaglet Tsukasa Ruri, and they were currently on their Suspension Arm travel plan.
Of course, because they were good friends, who would take which 'O' position had not yet been immediately decided.
"We are now over four hundred light-years away from Earth, and private Essence Wave communication channels are very expensive, so let's get straight to the point." Zhi Xia looked at the two holographic projections—a large, plump human and a slender, frail Grey—and quickly adopted the persona of a female CEO.
"So, Aisen, are you saying that a company wants to buy the Light Wings patent you just registered with the Alliance?"
"Yes! And it's Titan Shipyard! They sent an email directly, saying that if we're interested, they'll send a specialist to fly over and talk to us in person." Aisen Franchi nervously rubbed his hands.
Zhi Xia felt as if she had heard the name of this shipyard somewhere before and was about to ask when she heard Ruri say, "It seems to be a subsidiary of Alliance Poseidon Shipyard, specializing in producing high-speed yachts and cruise ships."
"That's right, their famous XR series are their products! Oh, and the Siren Racing Team is also under them; the newly finalized XR14 Firebird was last year's Galaxy Racing Champion!" Tamir said excitedly.
"So, what are their terms?" Zhi Xia had no interest in these tech geeks' passion points and went straight to the point.
"Uh, it seems they hope to buy it outright, for, for this much…" Aisen tremblingly raised his large, fan-like hand, shakily extending five fingers, his mouth twitching.
He felt like something was wrong, but his other hand completely disobeyed him.
Tamir glanced at him, reached out his hand to add three more fingers for him, and said, "It's an eight-figure sum!"
"Ten million? Are they trying to bribe a beggar?" Zhi Xia frowned.
"It's… eighty million! And it's Alliance letter star!" Tamir said loudly, feeling a bit desolate in his heart.
He wondered when he would have the courage to equate ten million with a beggar.
"Oh." Zhi Xia and Ruri indicated their understanding.
Aisen still felt like he was dreaming.
He really hadn't expected that something he had conjured up out of his wild imagination, a work that had only won a creative award and a few thousand yuan in prize money in a certain design competition, would actually be worth so much.
Their ancestors for eight generations had never seen so much money!
"So, Frankie, what are your thoughts?" Ruri asked.
"This…" The large, plump man showed a troubled expression, immediately falling into decision paralysis.
"Yu Lian told me that Light Wings is your own work, Frankie.
So whether you sell it or use it yourself, it's entirely up to you.
Of course, if you want to sell it to improve your household finances, then I hope you can sell it as a collaborator of the Red Star Institute.
That way, the Office can certainly take this opportunity to capitalize on your fame, and it will be easier for me to step in and negotiate a higher price for you."
Zhi Xia nodded: "Eighty million is too little.
Since the Alliance's tycoons are willing to pay eighty million, they definitely won't mind paying another eighty million!"
"Eighty, eighty million… to improve household finances?" Aisen found it hard to connect these two phrases and immediately felt like giving up on thinking.
"However, the new ship we're collaborating on with Brooklyn Shipyard also uses your Light Wings, Aisen, doesn't it?"
"Yes… it's for next year's racing competition.
So, Lieutenant Rozes also said last time that Brooklyn Shipyard also hopes to form a racing team and asked if we would be willing to join." Tamir said.
"…Mikhail, that guy knows his stuff." Zhi Xia said to Ruri.
"Yes.
Especially in ship design.
If he hadn't gone to military school, it would have been easy for him to get a full scholarship to Alliance University of Science and Technology." Ruri nodded, then said to the two on Earth, "So, Aisen-kun, my suggestion is, if you really want to sell it, it's best to wait until after next year's racing competition."
Zhi Xia and Ruri knew that he was truly a young man from a genuinely ordinary family, and they also knew what this money meant to him, so they had already started preparing their arguments to persuade him.
At least wait until after the racing competition; if this design is really as good as Yu Lian said, then the selling price should at least have another zero added to it!
Additionally, it should not be bought out by the other party; at most, production should be authorized.
However, unexpectedly, before the girls could even speak, Aisen directly said, "That's right!
It's my own design, and it's best to make it with my own hands!
The Captain said my design could change the Universe… uh, that's too exaggerated!
I'll be very satisfied just to see that my design isn't just a pipe dream!"
If Yu Lian were here, he would definitely exclaim that Aisen Franchi was a person who had risen above low-level tastes!
Zhi Xia looked deeply at this large, plump man who smiled so endearingly, feeling a sense of solemn respect.
Ruri, meanwhile, chuckled, "Now that only the two of you are holding down the fort at the Office, is the current living allowance enough?"
The reason she said 'living allowance' instead of 'salary' was because Aisen and Tamir were also shareholders.
"Plenty, much more than when I went to the 4S store." Aisen quickly said.
"With just the two of us doing technical work, we eat and live at the company; three meals a day are delivered by nearby restaurants, so there's really no place to spend money."
"Hmm, I probably know what the company looks like now." Ruri covered her small mouth and chuckled, "Don't worry, just hold on for two more days.
The general affairs team and office team I found will start work the day after tomorrow; just leave any miscellaneous tasks to them."
"But…"
"Frankie, good rest is for good work, you know." Ruri chuckled again, "And also, my sister is hosting a mixer in two days, and she'll come to pick you up beforehand.
Heh heh, remember to dress handsomely."
"Mixer, mixer…" The big, plump man indicated that he had only heard of this word in his life but had no idea what it looked like or how it unfolded, and immediately fell into a state of bewilderment.
"You have to have confidence.
You are the famous Chief Engineer and Damage Control Leader of the Red Tiger, a core member of the heroic team during the Navy Day incident; my sister's classmates really admire you." Ruri chuckled.
Zhi Xia glanced at Ruri, filled with admiration.
"Tamir, you should go too."
"I'm a Grey! Do you think it's appropriate for me to attend your Earthling mixer?" Tamir said helplessly.
“There will always be good wine and good food,” Zhi Xia added with a smile. “My sister will also be there. She’s studying xenobiosociology at university, so maybe you two will have a lot in common!”
The two tech geeks felt that apart from their own mothers, no woman in their lives had ever been so kind to them, and more importantly, so beautiful. They were both incredibly moved. So, after the call ended, they discussed it and decided to go all out.
“I’ll revise the Light Wings data again and try to send it to Brooklyn Shipyard before noon tomorrow.”
“I’ll readjust the RX78’s engine model. Xiaobai has sent me several revision suggestions,” Tamir also said. “As long as we complete this New Divine Province order, our office will start making a profit!”
“That’s great! Doesn’t that mean you’re making Red Star Office history?”
“Hehehe, you’re right, I am making history! If you lose your racing competition next year, just give me the Chief Technical Officer position!”
The so-called RX78 was a super-powerful, large-scale cockroach catcher designed with new structural parts drawn (copied) by Yu Lian. Of course, while called a “cockroach catcher,” it was actually a natural enemy to various snakes, rats, and insects hiding in dark corners.
The New Divine Province has twelve habitable planets awaiting development, so there’s no shortage of demand for such a tool.
As for why it was called RX78, that seemed to be the bad taste of the big boss behind the scenes. Anyway, after it was finalized, it would definitely have a more formal name.
Just as the two tech geeks were passionately looking forward to the future, their communication terminal once again sounded an alert. When connected, it was none other than Yu Lian, who should have been far away in the Luna Star System.
“Ca-Captain?”
Yu Lian looked at the two disheveled men, then at the office filled with various meal boxes and drink bottles, and a sense of familiarity immediately arose.
“...How youthful! It really seems the office needs to hire two professional chefs,” Yu Lian said.
Aisen and Tamir were even more touched, feeling like their lives were about to reach their peak. Not only did their colleagues care, but their leader also cared. For office workers, what more could they ask for?
“Private source-matter wave communication channels are expensive, so I’ll get straight to the point.”
Aisen thought, he’d heard that about half an hour ago.
“I’ve already ordered an extra-large pure land water tank from the Alliance. You’ll receive it then, and find a secluded spot in the basement to install it. Has the basement workshop already been built?”
The scale of Red Star Institute, of course, was far more than just a three-story building, a large courtyard, and a small dock under construction. It also included vast underground facilities, with initial plans for a database, laboratories, and a small research-oriented factory.
Aisen nodded, then said, “But, the pure land water tank…”
“That’s an environmental simulation tank rich people use to raise jewel fish, right? They say it can simulate all water quality conditions in the Universe,” Tamir said.
“Captain, you’ve fallen so fast!” Aisen looked at Yu Lian, wanting to show a look of disdain, but surprisingly managed to hold it back just before it appeared.
“Also, I need you to do a little design… Find a way to communicate information with the organisms in the water tank. I mean, through electronic signals, simulate the blueprint of neurons.”
Electronic signals? Simulate? Neurons? This was a very revolutionary research direction! The two tech geeks almost fell into deep thought, but fortunately, they managed to react before being led astray.
“This is beyond the scope of design!” Tamir shouted.
“I, I only graduated from a third-rate engineering college, and just got my Engineer certificate!” Aisen also said with a troubled expression.
“True, your academic qualifications are a bit lacking, and you lack a deep theoretical foundation. For this, we’ll have to rely on Xiaobai. I wonder how his graduate school entrance exam preparations for the Alliance are going,” Yu Lian nodded.
The two future tech masters, whose academic qualifications were truly unpresentable, felt the blatant discrimination and were filled with grief and indignation. They decided for now not to tell the other party that Xiaobai was helping them perfect the RX78 cockroach catcher.
However, Yu Lian was not prepared to let them off the hook. He immediately showed an expression of disappointment, saying heartbrokenly, “But, haven’t you even created a new type of ion pulse engine? Simulating a neural network should be a piece of cake, shouldn’t it? Aisen, Tamir, I don’t remember teaching you to be so unpromising!”
“That’s because of the blueprints you got from who knows where! And what we made was just a small model for testing! It will take at least one or two months to produce a finished prototype!”
“We’re short on manpower!” Tamir added.
Yu Lian nodded, “Yes! Skilled and trustworthy technical personnel are indeed a bit hard to find. Most importantly, we have a lot more things to do in the future.”
“F-for example?”
“The buoyancy Balance for New Seville’s sea Light Wings, interested?”
The two probationary grand tech masters, who were rapidly progressing towards their complete forms, exchanged glances.
“The giant artificial sun being designed in New Divine Province, interested?”
Their gazes began to grow fervent. Even knowing it was a pipe dream, they felt their blood boiling.
“...However, we can’t do any of that!”
The expressions of the two immediately fell.
“Nonsense, with just you two and Xiaobai, who isn’t even an adult yet, can you handle so many things? First, you need a team! At the same time, you also need to demonstrate leadership for the team!” Yu Lian said impatiently.
The two expressed that they had nothing to say; anyway, he was the leader, so what he said went.
“Also, once the office is up and running, and next year’s racing competition is over, both of you go back to school! My expectations for you are not just to be mechanical Engineers!”
Mechanical Engineer, is that not good? For these two children from ordinary families, becoming an Engineer was already a class leap.
“Once Zhi Xia and Eaglet Tsukasa Ruri return, we’ll start recruiting! For technical skills, you decide. For character, they decide. Also, as long as our simulated neural network system takes shape, we won’t have to worry about this aspect in the future… Actually, you don’t have to think of this thing as too high-end. As long as it’s a device that can receive biological neural signals and feed them back to the information terminal, it will suffice. In short, discuss it with Xiaobai.”
Tamir and Aisen grimaced, wanting to say that they specialized in mechanical engineering and weren’t really professional in computer science, but Yu Lian said, “In short, Davarish Aisen, Davarish Tamir, this is the organization’s trust in you! Tsk, if I didn’t see you were too busy, I would have had you draw up the blueprints for the new electrolytic metallurgy equipment! Tsk… Alright, that’s all for now.”
“Metallurgy? What metallurgy?” Aisen was about to ask something when he saw Yu Lian had unceremoniously cut off the communication.
The two unfinished tech masters exchanged glances, feeling that they wouldn’t get a full night’s sleep for several months.
However, after a few minutes of depression, the two young men inexplicably felt their blood boiling again.
To have food served and clothes laid out every day, to be able to devote all their time to the career they loved, wasn’t that the life geeks dreamed of?
From this perspective, there really wasn’t much difference between tech geeks and dead fat otaku.
It’s just that the former, though they lost their livers, often changed the world; the latter, though they exchanged their livers for anime wives, were unknowingly exploited by capitalists.
