Free Web NovelChapter 2393: Chapter 2385: Transaction (Second Update)
The Hesheng Company is truly enormous, with branches on many planets. Although energy stone mining equipment is not easy to sell, larger branches always have one or two sample units, right? There should be a couple of units in stock.
Just these available units amount to seventy or eighty, and there are quite a few stocks and spare parts in the warehouses of each production base.
The units at the branches aren’t particularly suitable for requisitioning, and the headquarters is considering avoiding official attention—in any case, these units need modification after being taken back, so it might be better to produce them directly.
Indeed, Hesheng Headquarters supports production bases trading with brokers. After all, Xingzheng Star is the He family’s stronghold and is currently being blockaded by the Insect Race. Not stepping up in such a situation would surely be considered "watching them die without helping."
Of course, whether brokers are reliable is a significant issue. Once they learn that the first order has been paid for, there won’t be any hesitation. A trade of thirty thousand tons of energy stones has been made within the blockade zone; could these people still be scammers?
Energy stone mining equipment is inherently niche. Even based on production requirements, it’s known to be used in specific environments. If they were truly scammers, they couldn’t possibly cheat with something so obscure, right?
Taking an extreme view, even if the other party was indeed a scammer, the fact that they’ve reached this point means the headquarters can’t hesitate any longer—being scammed once is certainly preferable to disappointing the clan.
Rational people are aware that the chance of being scammed is low; getting caught violating wartime material management rules is even more likely.
Nonetheless, Hesheng Headquarters is more confident. They believe that even if caught, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Overall, their actions support the Human Race’s war efforts and align with the Human Federation’s interests; there’s no major issue with the grand scheme.
Hence, the headquarters started to act and even expressed willingness to transport goods out of the star system to dock with the party’s spaceship.
However, both He Huiqing and He Runxian believed it might not be a good idea—suspecting the opposition of inspecting the seabed first, so it’s better to communicate beforehand.
Regrettably, they couldn’t reach Feng Jun for contact.
Feng Jun teleported back to Xingzheng Star from the Big Planet on the sixth day after receiving the goods.
This does not mean that Hesheng’s equipment was not user-friendly; actually, the equipment was excellent, with superb technology. It’s just that operating it is quite complex, and although the manuals are complete, they are in the local world’s language. Even with the powerful divine sense of the Golden Core, adapting takes time.
He also requested a partial disassembly to grasp some simple maintenance techniques, so he returned a bit late.
In fact, upon this return, he brought more orders with him. The True Immortals from the two sects, seeing these ordinary items, also requested procurement—they effectively save spiritual energy!
Each sect wants fifty units, and as for purchasing them with energy stones... this planet has no shortage of these!
Feng Jun didn’t make any promises; he simply stated that among the next batch of ten units, miscellaneous troops and the two sects would each receive five units.
Xuanhuang and Yuangang Sect complained, asking how five units could be split evenly, suggesting giving six units instead.
Feng Jun directly refused, "How you split it is none of my business. At worst, divide them by odd and even days."
"I transported these goods from far away for you, not earning a single penny, and now you’re getting spoiled?"
Upon arriving at Xingzheng Star, he contacted He Runxian, stating that the equipment passed inspection and asked how the manufacturing of the ten units was progressing.
He wasn’t concerned with the affairs of Hesheng Headquarters—if you’re capable, keep quiet and see who gets anxious.
Expectedly, He Runxian proactively stated that supplies, drugs, and other items had been prepared at the headquarters. As for the requested mining equipment, the headquarters could muster fifty units in one month, supply ninety units in the second month, and provide one hundred and fifty units in the third month.
Additionally, there are eleven open-pit mining equipment units available, and in one month, another one hundred and thirty units can be manufactured. Is that sufficient?
Open-pit mining equipment is indeed more convenient to manufacture than large tunnel equipment.
Upon hearing this, Feng Jun couldn’t help but be secretly amazed; Hesheng’s manufacturing capabilities are truly impressive.
But thinking aside, he outwardly appeared indifferent, "Let’s pause and discuss this matter later. How many of those ten units have been completed?"
"We can deliver six units tomorrow night," He Runxian responded solemnly, "And after another three days, we can complete four units... I believe it’s better to trade separately; otherwise, with ten thousand tons of energy stones, we’ll need some time for transport."
"Alright then," Feng Jun agreed with their caution, then asked, "Selling me these over a hundred units totals millions of tons of energy stones; aren’t you concerned about being caught by officials?"
"Can’t afford such concerns," He Runxian sighed, expressing helplessness, "Who knows how long these days will last? You’re familiar with the Insect Race’s blockade; it’s normal for it to last over a dozen years... I just want to know if you can truly use so much equipment?"
"We’ll discuss this later, deal with each transaction one at a time," Feng Jun replied earnestly, "If you want to avoid exposure, I suggest you find a yard for me, put the goods inside, and I can take them myself; place the energy stones there as well, will that work?"
"Alright, that’s great," He Runxian replied happily. Last time they moved equipment, they encountered a patrol team. Having a secret place for transactions is the best, "What kind of vehicle do you plan to send over, and what’s the code?"
He thought the other party was going to send a vehicle over, and couldn’t help but marvel at the other party’s extensive divine skills, considering we have to hide from patrols, yet you’re daring enough to boldly transport them away.
However, the other party’s response exceeded his imagination, "No guards, no one is allowed to stay, dismantle all cameras."
New spaceship invisibility technology? He Runxian pondered for a moment, maybe this is how they broke through the Insect Race blockade.
But breaking through the Insect Race blockade is one thing; circumventing the Human Race’s defense network is another... Never mind, I know nothing!
So he very sensibly didn’t ask anything further, "Okay, I understand."
However, although He Runxian said he understood, things still went slightly wrong in the end.
He chose a yard three kilometers away from the production base, which used to be an open-air equipment storage site—not completely open-air, with a dome that can be freely opened and closed.
During the Insect Race invasion, there wasn’t much equipment here, as it was all moved to the underground warehouse for fear of damage.
The yard was not too small, roughly four square kilometers, enough to park the main battleships of the space fleet.
To prevent theft of goods, there were actually cameras around the yard. He Runxian received the warning and arranged for people to remove the cameras—he didn’t want to anger the broker at all.
But very unfortunately, there were four long-distance cameras in the production base facing the direction of the yard.
Feng Jun was unsure whether the other party did this deliberately, but he directly picked up the handset and cursed at He Runxian, saying, "If it happens again, I’m going to kill someone."
Director He did explain, but the other party refused to believe it, then he called the responsible persons and viciously scolded them, demanding the cameras be turned off.
However, when the responsible persons checked, they nervously reported that the cameras had already disappeared, unaware of how the other party managed it.
These cameras were powered by both solar energy and batteries, transmitting wirelessly without needing laid lines, making installation very convenient, though easily disrupted, being far inferior to wired surveillance in complex electromagnetic environments, hence considered consumables.
Due to this, these cameras were not highly valued, and this mistake was likely an accident, but regardless, the fact that the other party could secretly take the cameras without anyone knowing was terrifying.
He Runxian felt the horror from the other party and quickly relayed the message to He Huiqing, saying that they had made a little mistake, it was unintentional, but you should inform the headquarters to learn from this, there can be absolutely no errors next time.
He Huiqing snorted coldly, estimating that He Runxian might have done it intentionally. However, being able to test that the other party has such means wasn’t for nothing; he only expressed unhappiness by saying the headquarters will definitely complain, so be prepared for scolding.
For Hesheng, probing some partners is quite normal, but for partners at this level, the probing should be done by Hesheng’s headquarters. The production base acting independently was really reckless.
He Runxian didn’t argue—whether or not he was wronged, it wasn’t necessary to argue.
At dawn the next day, the handset rang again, and Feng Jun merely stated calmly, "The energy stones have been delivered."
He Runxian immediately arranged for someone to verify, and as expected, the energy stones had indeed arrived stealthily, the 60,000 tons of energy stones neatly placed in the yard.
Relative to a four-square-kilometer yard, 60,000 tons of energy stones is not much. With the energy stone mine having a density ratio to water of about three to one, that’s roughly only 20,000 cubic meters.
What’s a concept of 20,000 cubic meters? A pool with each side measuring one hundred meters, with two meters deep water, that’s 20,000 cubic meters.
But to silently transport 20,000 cubic meters of energy blocks into the yard, now that’s really not something an ordinary person can do—even without cameras, the transport tools can’t be completely silent, right?
He Runxian gasped, "Seems it’s more than just invisibility technology?"
"Director He, let’s not rush into discussing technology," the person in charge on the other side was somewhat exasperated, "This time, the other party didn’t cover it with the shielding tarp, how do we handle this? Close the dome or cover it with the tarp?"
60,000 tons of energy stones definitely can’t be left stored in the open air like this and need to be moved to the underground warehouse. But this isn’t something that can be completed in a short time, and it’s about to be daylight; concealment is necessary.
"Is this revenge for us having left several cameras?" He Runxian sighed deeply and then decisively stated, "Closing the dome is certainly not an option... everyone knows our approximate energy stone reserves, wasting it like this is impossible, let’s cover it with the tarp."
The tarp was indeed placed over, but the energy stones eventually needed to be moved into the warehouse, so the next early morning, the yard was empty again.
