Crafting Titanium Alloy Armor!

"Literally what it means..."

Bai Yang said with a smile, thinking to himself, does Xiong Da only grow muscle and not brains? Can't even understand plain human speech?

Xiong Da scratched his head. Though he didn't understand why Bai Yang asked that question, he still answered, "The workshop, the land, the equipment, and so on—all together, it cost about fifty million or so..."

Bai Yang's expression stiffened. Forget it, let's talk about something else.

He'd originally thought it was just a metal processing plant. Seeing the guy had no business, and having money in his own pocket, he figured he'd just buy it and play around. But hearing fifty million, he'd have to pass for now. Even selling himself off, he couldn't afford that.

Industry burned money, and Bai Yang had just witnessed it. But looking at Xiong Da, he didn't seem like someone with fifty million...

"So, if I wanted a set of metal armor made for someone your size, about how much would it cost?"

Xiong Da thought, so you really want that thing, huh? Looking at Bai Yang, he said, "That depends on what material you use. Ordinary steel isn't expensive. With the processing fee, how about I charge you fifty thousand?"

"Fifty thousand?"

Bai Yang's eyes went wide. That expensive? That's enough to buy a minivan!

"Actually, it could be a bit less. Boss Bai, don't rush. Let me calculate for you. The material cost really isn't high, but the processing is troublesome. If you want chainmail, I'd have to cut soft steel into slices and link them into armor. The overlapping leaves in that kind of chainmail can halve the force of a heavy blow. The craftsmanship is very involved. If you want plate armor, I'd need to make a mold. It saves time and effort, but the mold is single-use—I can't not recover the cost, right..." Xiong Da explained.

Oh ho, pretty professional. Didn't realize there was so much to it. So Bai Yang tested the waters: "What if—just what if—I had you make plate armor, but using that stuff, what was it... oh, titanium alloy. Right, titanium alloy. Use that to make me a set of armor. How much for one set?"

Xiong Da's eyes went wide. What? Use titanium alloy to make armor? What's he planning? Sure, it'd be awesome, but in today's society, it's pretty useless, right?

Still, the customer is god. Xiong Da thought it over and said, "Titanium alloy is hard to work with and expensive. Titanium alloy plates go for about four hundred yuan per kilogram on the market right now. For a set of armor in my build, you'd need at least fifty kilograms of titanium alloy..."

"Only twenty thousand? That cheap?" Bai Yang interrupted in surprise.

Four hundred yuan per kilogram, fifty kilograms—that's just twenty thousand...

Xiong Da said helplessly, "Boss, that's not how the math works. Everyone knows titanium alloy makes good stuff—aerospace uses it. But do you know the processing fee alone is over ten times the material cost? For you making plate armor, it's still simple. I can cast a mold and use a stamping press. But if you wanted complex parts made from titanium alloy, the processing fee alone would be dozens or even hundreds of times the material cost!"

Alright, Bai Yang admitted he knew nothing about this stuff. Waving his hand irritably, he said, "Just tell me straight: how much for a set of titanium alloy plate armor?"

"At least three hundred thousand a set. Can't go lower," Xiong Da quoted.

Bai Yang held up his hand with five fingers spread and said, "Fifty thousand a set..."

Who haggles like that?

"Boss, you'd better find someone else. Honestly, no one can do it at that price. And I guarantee, if you go to other processing plants, they'd have to think twice even at five hundred thousand a set. The reason I can do it for three hundred thousand is, as you can see, I've got no business. I'm just killing time," Xiong Da shook his head.

"Don't rush. Let me finish. When I say fifty thousand a set, I don't mean just one set. You need to make me a hundred sets!" Bai Yang said with a grin.

The big guys in that village, at most, numbered around a hundred or so. A hundred sets would be enough!

Xiong Da's eyes went wide. He swallowed hard but still shook his head. "No, fifty thousand is too little. At least one hundred fifty thousand. Any less, and find someone else. At that price, you'll definitely get your money's worth. Both performance and appearance will satisfy you!"

Bai Yang turned and walked away. A five-million order, and he was afraid no one would take it?

"Hey... Boss, wait. Let's talk it over. Let's talk it over. One hundred thousand... eighty thousand... Deal!"

Bastards are just fussy. Bai Yang turned around and said, "Then it's settled. How long to finish?"

"Hehe, Boss, making plate armor is simple. As long as I get the molds for the parts done, I can stamp them out directly. Three to five days and it's done. But, uh, Boss, could you put down a deposit and cover the material costs first?" Xiong Da said sheepishly, looking at Bai Yang.

"What's your account number? I'll transfer it to you. One million deposit. Remember, I want to see the goods in three days. Any problem?" Bai Yang pulled out his phone, looking like money was no object.

"No problem. Leave it to me," Xiong Da said, thumping his chest loudly.

Transfer done, no contract signed. No point—even if they signed one, it wouldn't matter. If the other party defaulted, would you sue them? Don't be ridiculous. What are you planning with a hundred sets of titanium alloy armor? You might end up in trouble yourself.

He wasn't afraid of the other party backing out either. This place was good—out in the middle of nowhere, not a soul around. If the guy dared to renege, Bai Yang could bring a bunch of savages over and make him behave like a grandson!

He could bring other things, so why not people? He hadn't tried it, but if pushed, Bai Yang was capable of anything!

A hundred sets of titanium alloy armor for five million—Bai Yang still felt it was a loss. The material cost wasn't high. At most, two or three tons of titanium alloy was just a few hundred thousand. Once the molds were made, wasn't it simple to stamp them out? That was the efficiency of industry. But he couldn't do it himself, so he had to let someone else make the profit.

Still, his money came as easily as if it were blown in by the wind. Taking a small loss was fine. As long as the goods were good, it didn't matter.

"Just wait. With Xiong Da's looks, this crappy factory will never land another job. It'll be mine sooner or later," Bai Yang muttered through gritted teeth as he left.

But the thought of a bunch of savages in titanium alloy armor was hilarious. When the time came, bringing a group of savages in titanium alloy armor to explore the world outside the village shouldn't be a problem, right?

The image of pointing at a crowd and shouting, "Who else?" came rushing in, didn't it?

Thinking of that, Bai Yang stopped his motorcycle, pulled out his phone, and called Xiong Da. When it connected, he said, "Boss Xiong, I'll add another million. Make me a hundred knives out of titanium alloy. Specs: two-meter straight-backed blades. Any problem?"

What problem? With the materials, making simple knives was easy, right? Xiong Da agreed without a second thought...

A hundred savages in titanium alloy armor, each carrying a titanium alloy blade—a steel tide, right? Bai Yang felt he could walk through the jungle sideways!

At the entrance of the Giant Bear Metal Processing Plant, Xiong Da hung up the phone, threw his head back, and let out a roar. Finally, he could start work! He edited a group text to over a dozen people, just four words: Come back, start work!

Then Xiong Da thought for a moment, dialed another number, and when it connected, said, "Brother Lang, I just landed a six-million order. At least three million in pure profit! What's Fox's number? Forget it, just tell him for me—have him get me a few tons of titanium alloy. I want to cut costs to the minimum! And hurry, I've got three days to deliver. That's it. I'm going to work on the molds..."

At the military supply store in the city, Old Wolf hung up the phone, staring blankly to himself. "My commission..."

Old Wolf was on the verge of tears. Even a ten or twenty percent cut would be hundreds of thousands!

Having settled things, Bai Yang headed back to the villa district. Just as he reached the entrance of his rented villa, an old man with a full head of white hair and a ruddy complexion stared at him with a smile.

"Hey, aren't you that guy who tried to fake a fall? What are you doing at my door?" Bai Yang pointed at him.

The old man's face instantly darkened. He wanted nothing more than to beat Bai Yang to a pulp.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, the old man looked at Bai Yang and smiled. "Young man, we meet again."

"Hey, move it. You're blocking my way. And let me be clear—if you fall down, I'm not paying. There's a camera."

Bai Yang pointed at the surveillance camera.

The old man's face turned as black as a pot bottom. You're the one faking falls. Your whole family fakes falls...

(Requesting recommendation tickets and collection support)