Conditions

War doesn't just cause harm and poverty—it breeds a whole slew of problems, including the rise of thieves, terrorists, and all kinds of organizations.

In space, the biggest headache is pirates. But the trouble pirates cause also means plenty of escort jobs for mercenary groups.

When the Skywing Mercenary Group first formed, no merchants came knocking—people came asking for help. Back then, only small-time traders hired them to escort goods, and the profits were razor-thin.

Later, after over a year of completing countless escort missions, their reputation grew. More and more sizable merchants started showing up on their own, requesting cargo protection.

Over a year ago, Long Fei developed the GM Mobile Suit, making it the standard gear for the Skywing Mercenary Group and boosting their combat effectiveness.

In that year-plus, they never failed a single mission, and they even wiped out pirate groups that tried to rob them.

This led more and more merchants to learn about the Skywing Mercenary Group's strength, stuffing their mission request box to the brim.

The Skywing Mercenary Group only had three escort ships at the time, leaving them overwhelmed by the flood of job requests. That's why Li Jiaming decided to ask the boss for an expansion.

Long Fei looked at Sakchi.

Sakchi handed the tablet over to Long Fei.

Long Fei scanned the report on the screen.

"President Sakchi, the Mika'ang Nation and other countries are requesting to buy GM Mobile Suits from us. Each one's offering a different price. The Mika'ang Nation asked to buy them at near cost, but their terms are pretty generous."

"Yes, boss. Besides halving our taxes for 20 years, they're giving us three abandoned asteroid factories near our facility for free, permanently. They're also gifting us 50 tons of Black Base Energy Stone, plus some construction materials we need. Their only condition is that we sell them eight GM Mobile Suits per month for two years."

"So that's 192 GM Mobile Suits total."

"Yes, boss."

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

"With the current idle production lines, if the factory runs 24/7, we can make eight GMs. If we free up the tank and fighter jet lines and go all-in on GMs, we can produce 18 per month."

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

"If we stop taking new orders now, the ones we have on hand will take at least a month to complete."

"Accept the Mika'ang Nation's terms. Stop taking tank and fighter orders from now on. Use the freed-up lines to produce GMs for other countries' orders."

"Understood, boss. I'll get to work now."

"Alright, go ahead."

Sakchi bowed to Long Fei and left the office.

"Boss, can I expand the mercenary group?"

"That's possible. How many ships can our factory currently hold? Let's say escort ships—how many more can we fit?"

Li Jiaming thought for a moment, then replied, "We can fit two more right now."

"Use the workshop space I've allocated to you. First, build two escort ships and produce GM Mobile Suits. Also, recruit people for the group. Then, once I get those three abandoned asteroid factories, I'll hand one over to you. Convert it into a mercenary base, and that'll make it easier for you to expand."

"Got it, boss."

After Li Jiaming left the office, Long Fei started handling the work at hand. Though he'd successfully developed the RX-78 Gundam, its derivative models and follow-up units still needed his attention.

Strictly speaking, if you didn't count the Skywing Mercenary Group's personnel, the Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company's headcount—from the president down to the janitors and cooks—totaled less than 40.

Why so few people? Because Long Fei used the MD System, an intelligent automation system, to run the factory. Whether it was manufacturing Mobile Suits, fighters, warships, or individual weapons for mercenaries, just set the instructions and it worked.

This saved a ton of manpower. The factory workers only handled minor details.

Among the terms the Mika'ang Nation offered, the free abandoned factories and tax cuts didn't really excite Long Fei. What got him was the 50 tons of Black Base Energy Stone.

His current factory's power needs were initially met with solar panels and some fuel generators. Back then, running the factory was a hassle, and using the MD System guzzled electricity.

Why was his factory in that situation? Simple—he didn't have much cash, and Black Base Energy Stone was outrageously expensive.

Now he used Black Base Energy Stone to power the factory, mainly because his company had more funds to buy it.

One ton of Black Base Energy Stone could keep his factory running nonstop for a year. One ton cost 100 million yuan.

Plus, Black Base Energy Stone was only suitable for household or factory power—not military use.

So, generally, regular corporate factories didn't use Black Base Energy Stone unless they operated long hours or nearly nonstop.

At lunchtime, Long Fei headed to the cafeteria.

Li Xiucheng sat down across from him.

"Long Fei, that Proto Gundam you developed—are you piloting it, or will you hand it over to us mercenaries?" Li Xiucheng's expression was eager, hoping Long Fei would give it to him.

Li Xiucheng figured he was the best MS pilot in the mercenary group. Not quite an Ace Pilot, but definitely elite-level.

"I'm not giving that Gundam to anyone. For now, I'll pilot it myself."

"Alright." Li Xiucheng couldn't hide his disappointment, but after a moment, he let it go. His genius friend was a better MS pilot than him—no one in the entire mercenary group could match Long Fei's skills.

The best MS going to the best pilot was only natural.

Over the next few days, Long Fei handled work and arranged a few things.

After the third escort ship completed its mission, it returned to the factory for repairs. The first escort ship had already taken a new job and was ready to depart.

Long Fei arranged for himself and the Proto Gundam to board the first escort ship. Li Xiucheng was also part of the mission crew.

Long Fei did this not just to test the Gundam's combat performance in the field, but also to get some fresh air. He'd been stuck in the factory for months without stepping out, so he figured he'd take the chance to unwind.

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

Long Fei, meanwhile, was resting in a room specially arranged for him.

The entire frigate had fewer than thirty people on board. Aside from the frigate's autonomous MD System, the control room held only the captain and two crew members responsible for announcements and radar monitoring. Whether the frigate launched foam or laid down barrage cover was all commanded directly by the captain to the MD System.

The frigate also contained some automated machines capable of performing repairs, and logistics were handled by automated engineering vehicles. Most of the maintenance crew's work consisted of issuing commands to these machines, while the finer details were adjusted and inspected by human personnel.

The frigate was a brand-new design that Long Fei had created after selecting and extensively modifying various models from many Mobile Suit series.

The frigate Long Fei designed and developed was named the Flank Frigate, and it currently outperformed the frigates of any other nation.

A single Flank Frigate could carry only four Mobile Suits.