Conditions

War had not only caused injuries, poverty, and a whole host of other problems; it had also bred all kinds of organizations, including bands of thieves and terrorists.

In space, the greatest problem was piracy. However, the trouble caused by Pirate Groups had also brought many escort commissions to mercenary groups.

When the Skywing Mercenary Group had first been established, no merchants had come looking for them. Instead, they had gone door to door seeking commissions. At that time, only a few small merchants had entrusted them with delivery escorts, and the profits had been meager.

Later, after completing numerous escort missions over more than a year, their reputation had gradually grown. Quite a few larger merchants had begun approaching them on their own to request cargo escort services.

More than a year ago, Long Fei had developed the GM Mobile Suit as the standard equipment of the Skywing Mercenary Group, improving the mercenary group's combat capabilities.

Over the past year, their missions had never failed, and they had even wiped out Pirate Groups that had come to rob them.

This had led more and more merchants to recognize the Skywing Mercenary Group's strength, flooding the group's commission task inbox.

The Skywing Mercenary Group currently had only three Escort Ships, leaving them overwhelmed by the sheer number of commissions. This was why Li Jiaming had decided to ask the boss to expand their scale.

Long Fei looked at Sakchi.

Sakchi placed a tablet before Long Fei.

Long Fei looked over the report on the tablet.

"President Sakchi, Mika'ang Nation and several other nations have asked us to sell them GM Mobile Suits. Every offer is different. Although Mika'ang Nation has asked to buy them at nearly cost price, the terms they offered are very generous."

"Yes, Boss. Besides cutting the taxes they collect from us in half for twenty years, they will permanently give us three abandoned asteroid factories near our factory free of charge. They will also give us fifty tons of Black Base Energy Stone, along with some of the materials needed for construction. Their only condition is that we sell them eight GM Mobile Suits a month for two years."

"That comes to a total of 192 GM Mobile Suits."

"Yes, Boss."

"How many GMs can our factory produce in a month?"

"With the currently available production lines, if the factory runs around the clock without stopping, it can indeed produce eight GMs. If we also clear the production lines for tanks and fighter aircraft and focus entirely on producing GMs, we can make eighteen a month."

"How long will it take to complete the current tank and fighter aircraft orders?"

"If we stop taking new orders now, the orders currently on hand will take us at least one month to complete."

"We'll accept Mika'ang Nation's terms. Starting now, stop accepting tank and fighter aircraft orders. Use the freed-up production lines to take orders from other nations for GM Mobile Suits."

"Understood, Boss. Then I'll go handle it now."

"Mhm. Go ahead."

After saluting Long Fei, Sakchi left the office.

"Boss, can I expand the mercenary group?"

"You can, but how many warships can our factory accommodate right now? Let's use Escort Ships as an example. How many more can we fit?"

Li Jiaming thought for a moment before answering, "We can fit two more at present."

"Use the workshop allocated to you by the factory to build two Escort Ships and produce GM Mobile Suits first. Also recruit people into our mercenary group. Then, once I acquire those three abandoned asteroid factories, one of them will be handed over to you. Turn it into a mercenary group base. That way, it will be easier for you to expand."

"Understood, Boss."

After Li Jiaming left the office, Long Fei began handling the work at hand. Although he had successfully developed the RX-78 Gundam, its derivative models, successor models, and other Gundams still required his attention.

Strictly speaking, excluding the members of the Skywing Mercenary Group, Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company had fewer than forty people in total, from the president all the way down to the workers who handled odd jobs and cooking.

The factory did not employ many people mainly because Long Fei used the MD System—an intelligent automated system—to operate it. Whether manufacturing Mobile Suits, fighter aircraft, warships, or individual weapons for mercenaries, the factory could begin work directly as long as the instructions were set.

This saved considerable manpower. The employees responsible for manufacturing only handled certain detailed tasks.

Of the terms offered by Mika'ang Nation, Long Fei had not been particularly moved by the abandoned factories they would give him or the tax reduction. What had truly swayed him was the fifty tons of Black Base Energy Stone.

The electricity required by his current factory had initially been supplied by solar panels and several fuel generators. Back then, operating the factory had been highly inconvenient, and using the MD System to run it consumed an enormous amount of power.

The reason Long Fei's factory had been in such a situation back then was mainly because he had not had much capital, while Black Base Energy Stone had been extremely expensive.

Now, he used Black Base Energy Stone to operate his factory mainly because his company now had sufficient funds to buy it.

One ton of Black Base Energy Stone could keep his current factory running at full capacity without rest for an entire year, and a single ton cost one hundred million.

Moreover, Black Base Energy Stone was only suitable for household and industrial electricity. It was not suitable for military applications.

Therefore, ordinary corporate factories generally would not use Black Base Energy Stone unless they operated for long periods or nearly without rest.

At lunchtime, Long Fei went to the cafeteria to eat.

Li Xiucheng sat across from him.

"Long Fei, will you pilot the Proto Gundam Mobile Suit you developed, or will you give it to someone in our mercenary group?" Li Xiucheng looked eagerly at Long Fei, hoping more than anything that Long Fei would hand that Mobile Suit over to him.

Li Xiucheng believed that among the mercenary group, he was one of the most skilled Mobile Suit pilots. While he had not reached the level of an Ace Pilot, he at least possessed the ability of an elite pilot.

"I don't intend to give that Gundam to anyone. For now, I'll be piloting it."

"Alright." Li Xiucheng could not hide his disappointment, but after thinking it over, he accepted it. His genius old friend was a better Mobile Suit pilot than he was. Among the entire mercenary group, there truly was not a single person whose Mobile Suit piloting skills surpassed Long Fei's.

The best Mobile Suit naturally belonged to the best Mobile Suit pilot.

Over the next few days, aside from handling his work, Long Fei made several arrangements.

After completing its commission, the third Escort Ship returned to the factory for repairs, while the first Escort Ship had already accepted a commission and was preparing to depart.

Long Fei arranged for himself and the Proto Gundam to board the first Escort Ship. Li Xiucheng was also among the members departing to take on the mission.

Besides wanting to test the Gundam's real combat capabilities, Long Fei was taking this action because he wanted to get some fresh air. He had been staying in the factory for several months without going out, so he wanted to take the opportunity to relax.

Li Xiucheng and two other colleagues were in the hangar, making final adjustments to their GM Mobile Suits.

Long Fei rested in a room specially arranged for him.

There were fewer than thirty people aboard the entire Escort Ship. Besides the Escort Ship's MD System handling automatic navigation, the control room had only the captain and two members responsible for announcements and monitoring the radar. Whether the Escort Ship fired its weapons or provided barrage cover, the captain directly issued orders to the MD System.

The Escort Ship also contained automated machinery that could carry out repairs. In terms of logistics, several automated engineering vehicles handled the work as well. Most of the maintenance staff's duties consisted of issuing commands to these machines, while they personally adjusted and inspected certain details.

The Escort Ship was a brand-new design Long Fei had created after selecting from many different Escort Ships across various Mobile Suit series and making a series of modifications.

The Escort Ship designed and developed by Long Fei was named Flank, and its performance currently surpassed the Escort Ships of every nation.

A Flank Frigate could carry only four Mobile Suits.