Alliance
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Translator: SFBaka
Editor: Thor’s Stone
Kou and his companions were invited to a grand feast by Wang Yunlan and the others.
Kou felt that their passion for replicating authentic Cantonese cuisine in the far future was very commendable. He wasn’t sure about what material they used to make it exactly, but they even had a ‘bamboo’ steamer.
「This is amazing! It’s very delicious. Fried rice. It’s been a while since I had rice……」
Kou became excited since he was having rice after a good while, and it was even authentic Chinese cuisine. It was his first time eating such dishes.
「The ingredients are mostly derived from local plants. The meat is synthetic, but this is the far future after all. The overall quality is first-class.」
Yunlan introduced various things to Kou and the rest.
「Did you manage to learn something good from this visit?」
「I certainly learned a lot. Though I’m not sure if a C-rank Development Engineer like me will really be able to put them to good use.」
Shouichi from the trading company asked Kou curiously.
Kou replied without missing a beat.
「He has potential. However, unfortunately, you might not get a chance to strut your stuff this time around, Konbe.」
Yunlan promptly cut in. Kou was grateful for the nicely timed assist.
「It really is unfortunate.」
Kou acted as if he really found it regrettable.
「Please, Shouichi-kun. You have to promote our products to Metal Iris.」
「I know.」
Konbe, a well-built executive of Wangcheng Industrial who had the air of a military official, jokingly implored Shouichi.
Business talks were currently in progress between them and Jenny regarding the purchase of new armored vehicles. They were also in a pretty good mood.
It seemed they didn’t expect they’d be able to close a deal in just the first meeting.
However, the required performance specs and spare parts proposed by Fuyuki were of pretty high standards. This is because you would end up mostly relying on the trading company for additional supplies for parts with limited cross-compatibility.
Conversely, this conveyed the strong intention of Metal Iris to make a purchase.
Kou whispered something to Jenny that made her display a surprised expression for a brief moment, but she immediately composed herself.
「Yes. Your armored vehicles are quite impressive. I wish we had a couple of them handy when we launched a counteroffensive on Fortress Area X463.」
The complexion of Yunlan and the other company executives changed. This particular information wasn’t readily available to the general public after all.
「Are you saying there was a situation where our armored vehicles would have proved useful?」
「Of course. The enemies we faced back then were composed of Keres and an Underground Force under the Stones’ command. And the enemy Development Engineer even fielded a super-heavy tank. That was pretty troublesome.」
「A super-heavy tank, you say!?」
Yunlan involuntarily raised his voice. He was surprised that there was a Development Engineer who really made such a thing as a super-heavy tank.
「It was a Silhouette-sized behemoth sporting a railgun from the interplanetary war era. We had more trouble with its ridiculous defensive strength rather than its firepower though. The Silhouettes used the tank as a giant mobile shield. Their defense line was centered on that super-heavy tank along with regular tank escorts. They were a pretty tough nut to crack.」
「That…… certainly does sound quite troublesome.」
The executives groaned. There should be no other Underground Force that had experience fighting against a weapon like that.
「We did manage to defeat it in the end somehow. But that was our limit. We didn’t have a choice but to withdraw afterward.」
「So the model you are planning to purchase is our railgun-equipped heavy-armored vehicle variant, correct?」
「That’s right.」
Jenny promptly answered Yunlan’s question.
「It’s more mobile than a regular tank but sports roughly equal firepower. It’s what we and the Force we entered an alliance with, Storm Hound, need right now. More than a few of our armored vehicles were destroyed during that operation after all.」
「So you really did form an alliance.」
「Fufu. Please keep this a secret for now.」
Of course, it seemed that Jenny readily revealed such information without any qualms. However, it was important to give them an impression that it was information only shared between the two parties present.
In other words, it was a type of negotiation strategy. It was even more effective when used by a beautiful woman.
「Of course. You certainly would want something with both mobility and firepower in that situation.」
「The super-heavy tank had very low mobility. Its most effective use is for defense. And we ourselves were inexperienced when it comes to initiating an attack.」
「An Underground Force with first-hand experience in launching an offensive operation is valuable in and of itself. Thank you for sharing such a fascinating story.」
「Indeed!」
Yunlan and the other company executives got really engrossed in Jenny’s story.
「So the item you wish to purchase is the Type-9 Foushin.」
「Yes. We’d like to purchase six vehicles for starters.」
Konbe laughed jovially.
「The procurement price is 40,000 Minas per vehicle.」
Fuyuki whispered to Kou. It seemed the price was equivalent to about 400 million Yen.
It was almost half the price of a regular tank. However, Jenny had her eye on it, so it was probably worth that much, Kou inwardly mused.
「Very well. That sounds quite reasonable. But I’m a Development Engineer. I’m not that good when it comes to doing business, so I’ll leave the arrangements to Konbe.」
「I will be handling things on our end. We hope that Kou and Yunlan-san will get along well.」
「There’s no need to worry about that. I already treat him as a good friend.」
「Thank you very much.」
And so, the negotiations with the first company Kou and his companions visited were safely concluded.
「Uu. My stomach hurts.」
「You ate way too much. But you did great back there, Kou.」
Aki gently pulled the groaning Kou to her chest and gave him a hug. Kou allowed her to do so without resisting.
「Did we reveal a little bit too much information?」
「That’s not the case, Jenny. Yunlan was already aware that Kou is able to get in contact with Asia. I think this made us seem more credible than bargaining with them in a more roundabout manner.」
「I suppose you’re right. They opened up to us real fast.」
Jenny was convinced. The negotiations went pretty smoothly. Perhaps Yunlan also played a part in such a development.
「True. We got the deal for 30,000 Mina’s per vehicle including spare parts. It was a pretty good bargain. Leaving a good impression on Mr. Yunlan certainly played a big part.」
Fuyuki sent the results of the deal to everyone’s terminal.
「Can I also buy some?」
「Sure. You’d probably learn a lot from studying them, Kou.」
Aki was handling all financial matters for Kou.
「Hey, guys. I personally don’t mind that much, but still. Please don’t flirt around too much in public. In the eyes of other people, you two would completely look like lovers.」
「Eh? Really? Um, I’m sorry, Aki.」
「I don’t mind at all! So please don’t worry.」
Aki replied with a composed smile. It all went just as she planned. She stubbornly refused to release Kou’s head from her embrace.
「This is why people with no self-awareness are so troublesome…… Aki, please tone down the offensive a bit, will you? Our Blue is gonna cry you know.」
「Alright.」
「Um, what are you guys talking about?」
「Kou-kun…… I think you should re-read some light novels. They’re doing some pretty old-fashioned character templates you know.」
「What does that have to do with any of this?」
Fuyuki inwardly facepalmed as he looked at the severely thickheaded Kou.
Jenny displayed a bitter smile.
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