The Mika'ang Nation authorities now addressed Long Fei as "Young Master Long" in every other sentence.
Strictly speaking, the Mika'ang Nation was a kingdom. Its true official name was the Mika'ang Kingdom, and its ruler was the king.
The full name of the King of the Mika'ang Kingdom was Thrace Mika'ang. Though he was over seventy years old and had a head of silver hair, it was not because age had turned his hair white. Most members of the Mika'ang royal family were born with silver hair.
Human lifespans in this era were even longer than they had been before humanity began colonizing space.
As long as no accidents occurred, it was common for people in this era to live past one hundred and twenty. One hundred and fifty was now considered the official beginning of old age, and humanity's youth lasted much longer.
People between twenty and one hundred years old were still considered young. Only after one hundred did they enter middle age.
Therefore, King of Thrace was still considered a young man.
King of Thrace had been sleeping poorly these past few weeks. A formidable mercenary group and an arms manufacturing company capable of developing powerful military equipment had appeared within his country's borders.
For the past few days, he had barely been able to eat or sleep. He did not know whether this private mercenary group would one day turn around and wipe out his country.
During the great war more than a decade ago, massive mercenary groups had accepted money from powerful nations and destroyed smaller countries. He did not know whether this private force called the Skywing Mercenary Group had also accepted money from another country and would directly destroy the Mika'ang Kingdom.
The white-haired Prime Minister Dutran reported on national affairs to him.
"Your Majesty, this old minister knows that the Skywing Mercenary Group has been troubling you lately. According to intelligence obtained by the intelligence department, the Skywing Mercenary Group has absolutely no interest in our country. As long as we do not provoke them, there will be no problem."
"I know. It is simply difficult to accept that there is a private armed organization within my country that is even stronger than the national military. It has made it impossible for me to sleep peacefully."
"This old minister has an idea. Would Your Majesty like to hear it?"
"Let me hear it."
Dutran whispered his plan into the king's ear.
"Will that work?"
"We can give it a try. Even if it fails, there will be no problem."
Recently, the Skywing Mercenary Group and Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company had developed rapidly, continuously expanding in scale.
The Skywing Mercenary Group currently had five bases, with two more bases under construction in two other countries.
Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company had also expanded to six manufacturing plants. Besides hiring workers responsible for production, Sakchi had recruited technical staff, engineers, and other related personnel.
The earliest factories and bases had been used jointly. Back then, their scale had not been very large, but they had now expanded considerably. Long Fei had also conducted some experiments in the expanded areas.
For example, several specially designed rooms were used to test planting techniques. The results showed that as long as conditions allowed, vegetables and fruits could naturally be grown. Several other specialized rooms were used to raise chickens, ducks, sheep, cattle, and pigs.
Long Fei had wanted to conduct these experiments mainly because of an old saying: before the troops moved, provisions had to go first. Moreover, as their scale continued to expand, they needed more and more food.
If an accident occurred while importing food and the food supply was cut off, it would affect the mercenaries' morale.
Long Fei believed that food imports should not stop or decrease; they should increase. However, growing and raising food was a backup measure in case of emergencies.
The food manufacturing company transferred from Zoshan Taro had also expanded considerably. Part of its production lines were used to supply food for the Skywing Mercenary Group, producing long-lasting foods such as canned goods and military rations.
Water was another concern. Long Fei had successfully tested water regeneration technology as an emergency fallback, using regenerated water as stored reserves.
Of course, Long Fei had also specifically acquired a mineral water company and expanded its production lines to provide mineral water for the Skywing Mercenary Group.
Long Fei had been extremely busy lately. Sometimes, he slept less than six hours a day, and dark circles had appeared beneath his eyes.
In the bathroom of his bedroom, Long Fei braced both hands against the sink and looked into the mirror before him, recalling how completely different his appearance in his previous life had been from his appearance in this life.
In his previous life, he had looked ordinary and slightly chubby, wearing thick-framed glasses with messy hair. Aside from his interest in Gundam and science fiction, he had only a passing interest in history. If he had any other hobby, it was military matters. He had even studied technical theories related to all kinds of weapons. His friends from his previous life had jokingly called him a military tech nerd. When he died in an accident and transmigrated into this world, he somehow possessed the technical theories and knowledge behind Gundam, science fiction, and all those things. Sometimes, he wondered whether Heaven had favored him or simply found itself bored and decided to toy with him.
Looking again at his appearance in the mirror, this life's face carried both the scholarly look of a refined weakling and the tough aura of a hardened man. Whether he was handsome or not, he was fairly good-looking. His body was also quite strong, and Long Fei noticed that he weighed less than he had several months ago.
If his aunt Long Huijuan saw him, she would definitely say, "Little Fei Fei, you've gotten thinner."
Long Fei sighed, got dressed, and went to the cafeteria to eat.
Whether they were factory employees or mercenaries, everyone was extremely busy. Although the factories had MD automated systems, mechanical arms, and other equipment capable of operating automatically, many tasks still required manual handling.
For example, when certain equipment malfunctioned, factory employees were still needed to repair it.
Quite a few mercenaries and a small number of employees were eating in the cafeteria.
The meals included rice, noodles, bread, steamed buns, stuffed buns, flatbread, dozens of meat and vegetable dishes, and seven different soups.
There were also yogurt, milk, tea, coffee, juice, and soda.
There were even after-meal desserts such as fruit, cake, jelly, and sweet soup.
Whether mercenaries or employees, everyone could choose whatever they wanted and eat as much as they liked. The only condition was that they could not waste food. Anyone who wasted food would have their wages deducted.
The Skywing Mercenary Group's cooking squad and Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company's food services department jointly handled the cooking.
Long Fei had given instructions that whether they were employees or mercenaries, they were to be fed until they were full, but food was not to be wasted.
Long Fei served himself a bowl of rice, a bowl of egg soup, several meat and vegetable dishes, and a cup of coffee.
Yue Yangchun was sitting with his older sister Yue Baixue as they ate. Yue Baixue belonged to the cooking squad, and since it was her break time, she was eating with her younger brother.
Yue Yangchun had already eaten a bowl of rice, a bowl of noodles, and several side dishes, but he still did not feel full. He ran off to get several pieces of fried chicken and returned to feast on them.
Yue Baixue frowned slightly when she saw this and advised her younger brother to watch his diet, not overeat, and ruin his health.
"Your brother is in his growth stage now. His appetite is definitely better than usual, so let him eat a little more."
"Hello, Boss."
Yue Yangchun, Yue Baixue, and everyone else at their table greeted Long Fei.
Just then, an employee who had finished eating stood up. "Boss, I'm full. Please have my seat." He cleared away his bowl, plate, chopsticks, and the rest.
Long Fei sat down and began to eat.
While eating fried chicken, Yue Yangchun said, "Boss, this is the first time I've seen you come to the cafeteria to eat with us."
Quite a few people looked at Yue Yangchun. His face turned red, unsure whether he had said something wrong.
"You've been here for more than a month now. Have you never seen me eat here?"
"I haven't," Yue Yangchun said, shaking his head.
An older employee said, "I've worked here for over three years. Whatever the cafeteria makes, the boss eats the same dishes with us."
"Oh, I thought the boss was like those big bosses in movies, sitting at fancy dining tables and eating rare delicacies," Yue Yangchun said with childlike frankness.
Yue Baixue secretly pinched her younger brother at the waist, telling him not to speak carelessly.
"Sis, why did you pinch me?"
Yue Baixue glared at her younger brother, warning him not to speak carelessly.
"It doesn't matter. I'm not a particularly pretentious person either."
Several more mercenaries finished their meals and said, "Boss, we're going back to work."
Long Fei nodded.
"Boss, you've gotten thinner lately. You should eat more," Li Xiucheng said as he came to Long Fei's side, with Pani and Avina beside him.
The three of them sat at Long Fei's table and ate with him.
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