Porters two eyes sparkled as he chuckled. What maestro. Its not exactly a work of art, but I did indeed make all those modifications as youve just described. The Eagle-class frigates attack power is more than satisfactory, but its defense system is somewhat lacking. Even using inferior material for something as important as the door seal; I simply did some modifications in accordance to what I envisioned as necessary.
The big four only know how to reduce their manufacturing cost, yet a spaceship doesnt only require sufficient firepower. Im not sure if you know, but a warship will run into plenty of unexpected problems in space, and its never a good idea to compromise on a spaceships safety capabilities just so they can cut costs.Xia Fei feigned surprise. So this warship is actually from this great maestro? I wont lie; Ive already fallen in love with it the moment I saw it. Im sure youve spent a great deal of time and effort repairing this spaceship, havent you?
Old Porter scratched his head somewhat awkwardly. We did spend a great deal of effort on it, but its truly worth it. A true maintenance mechanic will never ignore any details of a spaceship.
Sonny pursed his lips from the sidelines. Never did he expect Xia Fei could turn into a flatterer within a blink, so much so that even he felt somewhat embarrassed just by hearing it.
Actually, Xia Feis real intention was not that modified Eagle-class frigate. He had merely been laying the foundation for him to get the foot in the door. What he really had his eyes on was still that naval-issue Hookbill frigate.
Xia Feis expression suddenly turned serious. Maestro Porter, aside from that Eagle-class frigate, I also discovered a hero in your factory.
A hero? Sonny and Porter were baffled as both wondered about this remark.
Xia Fei walked over to the naval-issue Hookbill frigate, looking all serious, and lightly stroked its hull.
Its this. This is a true hero! proclaimed Xia Fei with panache.
A rare Eagle-class frigate that was custom-made for the Navy. An outer hull intricately fashioned out from an unaltered plate of alloy, reinforced shields, armor and structure an electronics system boasting superior precision Xia Fei rubbed the spaceship as he rattled on about its many advantages.
Porter nodded his head repeatedly. I could never guess that, despite you looking to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years of age, you would actually be such a connoisseur.
Truly, that is the Eagle-class frigate custom-made for the Navy. Back then, the Sutton Empire Navy specially commissioned eighteen of these frigates for their elite guard squadron for them to perform special tasks. It has a smaller frame, which allows it to make even more agile turns and achieve more topnotch speeds. Unfortunately, no matter how good this spaceship is, its still just a frigate in the end, so how could you call it a hero? asked Porter, feeling nonplussed.
Xia Fei quickly stepped forward and pointed to the cramped row of five-pointed stars on its fuselage. Every star signifies an enemy craft it has brought down, and this spaceship took down a total of thirty-nine enemy spaceships. With such an impressive feat, how could it not be considered a hero?
Porter was stunned, appearing to be somewhat excited, but he did not say a word.
Xia Fei shook his head in regret and sighed. Its such a pity. Such a spaceship ought to be out in the boundless stars or wreaking havoc out on a battlefield, not here in your factory.
Porter made his way to the warship and ran his fingers through the stars carved on the metallic hull, muttering to himself, Ought to be out on a battlefield?
He looked on the left and right side of the warship before deeply sighing. Indeed, a top-grade frigate like this is hard to come by, but its just too bad its internal parts have all been ruined and can no longer take flight anymore.
Xia Fei nodded. Indeed, it is a real pity. Why dont you repair it? I do believe that, given your skills, you can restore this naval-issue Hookbill frigate back to its past glory.
Porters eyes momentarily flashed but very soon dimmed. Its not that simple. This is a top-tier, custom-made frigate. All its components are pretty much built to order, and its very hard to find replacement parts.
Xia Fei smiled. Maestro Porter, how will you know if you dont give it a shot?
Porter patted the fuselage twice fitfully. Come, lets share a drink or two in my office.
The three men headed in the direction of the workshop, and Xia Fei could not resist giving that Hookbill frigate a few more glances. Could it really not be repaired?
Do you really want that spaceship? suddenly asked Porter.
But of course. Only a fool would not like such a top-notch frigate, Xia Fei spoke frankly, not at all disguising the love he had for the spaceship.
Porter took the sausages that Sonny had brought over and cut pieces of them onto a plate before retrieving some glasses to pour out three portions of ale. The three men shared a meal at a small round table and consumed the sausages with ale in hand.
The ale contained a high alcoholic content, and Xia Fei could feel it burning as it washed down his gullet. He was not used to such a stiff drink, so he could only take a mouthful at a time.
Porter took a vintage tablet from a nearby desk, pulling out an image of Xia Fei and Chen Dongs fight, and handed it to Xia Fei.
Are you this Xia Fei? asked Porter as he took a big swig of his ale.
Xia Fei chuckled politely and returned the tablet to the old man. How did you find out?
Porter tossed the tablet back onto the desk and answered, Your eyes glowed when you began talking about that naval-issue, Eagle-class frigate, and thats when I knew for sure that youre actually that fella who had that big fight with Chen Dong for twenty-one days straight. Both of you shared that same look of determination.
Sonny was fighting a cold war inside him, nearly losing his grip on the ale in his hand as he sputtered, Youre THAT Xia Fei?
Xia Fei smiled and nodded, not denying the fact.
Do you know that my mom loves you to death? She said that youre the most cunning and resolute young man she has ever laid her eyes on. Shell definitely beat me to death if she ever finds out Im earning your money! cried Sonny very solemnly.
Cunning? That doesnt seem to be a positive assessment. Xia Fei could not help but laugh. Relax, as long you dont tell your mother about me, and I keep mum about it either, she wont ever find out.
Porter poured another glass for himself and finished it at one go.
If you want, you can take that Hookbill off my hands, but I cant guarantee that youll be able to repair it, Porter slowly said, the tone in his voice hiding a hint of sadness.
Xia Fei was delighted hearing this, asking, Uncle Porter, are you really willing to sell that spaceship to me?
Porter sighed. That spaceship was left to me by my best friend.I was originally unwilling to part with it, but I gave your words some thought. Truly, that spaceship should not be left in my small factory but should continue soaring through space, instead.
Though that spaceship is from a bygone era, its armor and structure are still as good as new. In fact, it is even sturdier than the new ones. As long as you are able to repair it, it can still be considered as a top-grade frigate in this universe! proudly proclaimed Porter.
Xia Fei nodded vigorously. I definitely believe that. Just what components does it still lack?
Porter saw that steely determination in Xia Feis eyes and broke out into a smile. He took that vintage tablet from the desk and handed it to Xia Fei once more. Take a look for yourself.
Xia Fei stared at the screen for a moment before taking a sharp intake of breath. Oh, my god!
Chapter 67 The Black Marke
This Navy-issue, Eagle-class frigate encountered an electromagnetic storm back then, ultimately causing severe damage to its circuits; thirty percent of its mechanical components were ruined, and the four crew aboard it then lost their lives, one of whom was that best friend I mentioned. Porter took another large swig of the strong ale as he recalled that painful memory.
Xia Fei nodded and set the tablet down. It was no wonder why the repair list had been so extensive; the spaceship had been subjected to an electromagnetic storm.
Thinking about it in another sense, the fact that the outer hull of the frigate remained completely intact after experiencing such a deadly storm, while only thirty percent of its mechanical components ended up ruined, it was a clear testament of the Hookbills durability.
I wish to begin repairing this spaceship tomorrow. Xia Fei eyed Porter, his voice resolute when he stated this.
Youve already decided? Do you know how much money youll end up spending?
Xia Fei flashed a mild smile. This is a top-grade frigate; its worth isnt something that can be measured in money.
Old Porter rubbed his moist eyes and slapped the table heavily. Okay! As long as I can speed through the stars again, I can give it another shot!
Porter stood up and made his way to the window, yelling to the mechanics who were still in the middle of their work, Boateng, temporarily halt your repairs on that Incursus! Get everyone to take a rest; well be starting on an important job tomorrow!
Boateng put down the tools in his hands and asked, somewhat puzzled, Master, were ten percent away from completion of our work on it. Itll take three more days at most. Why dont we finish this up first before we get started on a new job?
Porter laughed uproariously. What are you asking so many questions for?! Im giving you guys the day off to rest! Well be starting promptly tomorrow morning!
Boateng shook his head and returned to the workers dormitory with the others. Porter returned to his seat and told Xia Fei, What are your thoughts on repairing the spaceship?
Xia Fei and Phantom had a quiet conversation before he answered, I plan to abandon the comfort of the spaceship and focus on increasing its overall performance. Fit in the best warp drive as well as a high-capacity reactor. Its radar and fire-control system must be changed to the most advanced components possible, too.
If thats your intention, then the crew capacity of this spaceship will be greatly reduced. Well only be able to keep two crew cabins at most, which totals to four people, and there wont be much space to hold cargo, either, Porter commented.
Refurbishing the spaceship with a larger and more powerful equipment would mean that they had to eat into the cargo and living spaces of it. The Hookbill originally had five crew cabins, each accommodating up to two people. Adding the captains quarters, it was a spaceship that could hold eleven individuals.
If they were to go along with Xia Feis line of thought and focus entirely on improving the spaceships performance, the frigate would only be able to hold a crew of five, living and working on the spaceship, at most, and the cargo space available would also be reduced by more than half.
Xia Fei chuckled. Its not like Im going to be participating in smuggling operations, so what use do I have for more crew or cargo space, anyway?
Regarding the modification of the spacecraft, it was important to first ascertain the direction they were leaning toward. There was plenty of equipment that they could fit into the spaceship, and each of them possessed different capabilities, but a spaceship had limited space, so it was impossible to fit everything together, which was why they needed to first pick out the suitable equipment in accordance with the spaceships purpose.
After several hours of discussion, Xia Fei and Porter finally nailed down the final blueprint for the spaceships modification, creating a most balanced and efficient framework.
It was already late into the night by the time their discussion ended, and Xia Fei decided to stay for the night so that he could begin working with Old Porter early the next morning.
Walking Sonny to his shuttle, Xia Fei asked, Whats your bank account number?
Sonny told him the details he needed, and Xia Fei nodded. Ill transfer a million star coins into your account, so you can buy this shuttle. Ill be needing you to ferry me around everywhere during this time, and renting it out the whole time just isnt cost-effective. Also, buy something good to eat and some good beer over. Buy the best and dont be afraid to splurge. According to my hometown rules, it is necessary to treat the workers with a round of drinks to commemorate their start of work.
Sonny was stunned for quite some time as he blurted out in disbelief, A million star coins! Heavens, thats a lot!
Xia Fei patted him on the back. Too much? Not at all. Had it not been for you, how would I have been able to buy such an incredible warship? Just take that for now, and dont hesitate to tell me if it isnt enough.
Sonny nodded vigorously and flew away on the shuttle. Old Porter had arranged for Xia Fei to stay in the cabin of an Atron-class frigate, which was also at the latters request, for he wanted to acclimatize himself to living in an actual warship beforehand.
The inside of this frigate was not too spacious, and Xia Fei returned to his cabin after roaming around it a few times.
There was a porthole in his cabin, and he could see the lights from the workshop still lit up through it. A single robust figure was pacing back and forth constantly with an old-fashioned phone in hand.
There was no need to guess. This person was definitely Old Porter. Even though they had already decided the direction of the spaceships modifications, they still needed to purchase all the components necessary, so he was due for a busy night ahead.
Xia Fei lit a cigarette and lay down on that hard single bed. He took out the VR glasses from his spatial ring and logged onto the interplanetary internet.
After transferring a million star coins to Sonnys account, Xia Fei moved to turn off the device. This was when a window popped up for the accept or decline buttons of a video-call request.
On the window was a loop of a pink bunny with large, floppy ears gnawing on a carrot repeatedly, occasionally belching.Xia Fei chuckled and knew that the video-call request must be from that peculiar Avril, so he accepted it.
Avril appeared on the screen with eyes that cried for sleep. Dressed in pink pajamas, her head of hair cascaded messily past her shoulders.
Covering her mouth as she yawned, Avril did her best to perk up. Why are you only logging in this late? Its almost about to be morning.
Its going to be morning soon on your planet, but over where I am, it just turned night not too long ago. Why will you be notified when I log in to the interplanetary internet? Xia Fei asked as he laughed.
Ever since he impulsively caused Avril to cry the last time, Xia Fei had felt somewhat apologetic to the little lady, so he no longer did all he could to hide from her like before. As long as she wished to chat, Xia Fei would not reject the offer, and he also changed back to his original account, with his anonymous account no longer being safe.
Hmph! But of course. Dont you even know who this lady is? I made some individualized settings, so I will be informed the moment you log in. Avril pouted as she responded to his question.
Xia Fei thought about it for a moment. Even if you did do that, theres no need for you to climb out of bed just to speak to me, was there? Unless, of course, youve got something you wish to talk about.
Avril walked over to her nightstand and drank a glass of water, complaining somewhat resentfully, Its been several days since you last had a chat with me. I wanted to ask if youve bought a spaceship yet. I heard that places like the warship graveyard are filled with bad people, so you hafta be careful.
Actually, there are good and bad people anywhere in the universe. I happened to bump into some really nice people over here and even managed to get my hands on a naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate. Xia Fei very excitedly told her.
Avril was still a girl at the end of the day, so she did not have that same level of passion for things like warships and spacecrafts. She walked over to somewhere to the right of her computer. Her fingers could be heard flying across a keyboard for a while as if she were looking up information about it.
After some time, Avril turned to Xia Fei and said, That spaceship isnt too bad, but it, unfortunately, can only hold eleven people at most. Thats too small. Anyway, since youve bought yourself a spaceship, when do you plan to report to Heaven Execution Training Camp?
Xia Fei chuckled. The spaceships already damaged, so Im in the process of repairing it, so Ill need three more months before I can leave this place.
Avril pulled a funny face on him. Just what kind of restoration company did you find? Why would they need three whole months just to repair a frigate?
Xia Fei gravely replied, The restoration company Im working with is definitely the best of the best; its just that the spaceship is a Navy-issue, so plenty of the components we need would not be easy to come by, and well have to make it ourselves. Besides, I plan to do a very thorough modification of the spaceship as well. After all, this is my very first warship.
Avril did not seem bothered as she nonchalantly asked, What components do you lack?
So many things. Basically, everything except the hull of the frigate would be replaced.
Oh, Avril shook her head and sighed. If its so troublesome, why not just directly buy a new one.
This is a naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate. It isnt something you can buy on the market.
Its simple; Ill just Avril suddenly changed what she wanted to say mid-sentence. I feel that you should be able to buy it.
Xia Fei shook his head slightly. You cant. Besides, I intend to use this opportunity to learn spaceship maintenance properly. Itll be the training of sorts, which can be very helpful to my future.
Xia Fei was being very serious. Avril propped her chin in her palms as she beamed at him. Hehe! Youre like a completely different person when youre being serious. I think you look much cooler this way and a little like my dad.
Xia Fei spread his arms as he mischievously smiled. Come, give daddy a hug.
Avrils head suddenly lowered, her expression turning slightly disturbed. Eww! Why do you look like a pervert when youre not being serious?
Before dawn broke the next day, the mechanics had all anxiously begun their work.
That naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate was brought into the workshop, and Boateng led eight other workers to begin inspecting every component of it, tearing out all the damaged parts they came across. This was the first step in modifying a spaceship: inspection and clean-up.
Xia Fei asked for a pair of universal modification pliers from Boateng, rolled up his sleeves, and joined them all in their work, his attitude completely serious.
The universal modification pliers were about 0.5 meters, weighing over ten kilograms. It was shaped like a large pipe wrench, with a densely packed mechanical structure on its top half. This tool was very advanced, pretty much able to dismantle any mechanical structure when used without needing to be replaced frequently.
Xia Fei began learning from the most basic skills of dismantling screws, lying underneath the fuselage as he tried to remove the pneumatic steering gears which were more awkward to disassemble.
After a while, he finally managed to remove the pneumatic valve. Sticking the universal modification pliers into his waist belt, he walked over to Boateng and wiped the sweat on his forehead as he asked, What else needs disassembling?
That was when a thick and rumbling voice called, Next, youll bring along your bank card and follow me.
Xia Fei turned around to find Old Porter with his two arms folded in front of him, laughing as he looked at Xia Fei.
Heh Uncle Porter, youre up. Xia Fei approached the older man and greeted him. His eyes were bloodshot, evidently a sign that he did not get enough sleep last night just so he could plan out the modification of the spaceship.
Porters pair of callused hands clapped Xia Feis back. You really do have the look of someone intent on picking up spaceship maintenance. If you truly wish to learn, I can teach you all that I know later, but for now, I need you to join me on a trip to the black market.
Black market?
Thats right. A place that sells contrabands. I contacted several old friends of mine last night, and guess what? Ive gotten my hands on both the control and anti-control modules. Im going to bring you over there right now to take a gander. Porter barked out a bellyful of laughter. Prepare your bank card; those things dont come cheap.
Xia Fei could feel his heart seizing. Why was it that it sounded like something Phantom often said?
Chapter 68 Procurement and Shadow
The ACG galaxy, which was positioned on the outskirts of Endaro Star Region, could be considered as part of the lawless zone. As such, the existence here of many illegal transactions of all kinds was not much of a surprise. Apparently, even the notorious Paridae Pirates often did their resupplying here in this galaxy.
Porter piloted a small frigate with Xia Fei and drove toward ACG-19, which was also the location of the black market.
ACG-19 was a planet mostly covered in deserts. There were few water sources here, and the climate was harsh. It was not suitable for human inhabitation, but that did not stop some shrewd outlaws in stationing themselves there.
The spaceship circled around a part of a certain desert as Porter rhythmically keyed in a few words on the intercom, as if he was transmitting morse codes.
In no time, one of the sand dunes in the desert began to shift gradually, and a circular sky entrance opened up after a while.
Porter directed the spaceship to vertically land on the parking apron as the circular sky entrance slowly closed above them.
Xia Fei and Porter alighted from their frigate and saw two muscular, strapping men standing right below the landing apron. Weapons were slung across their shoulders as both beamed at them.
Old Porter, youre back. The two men had a face-splitting grin as they greeted him.
Yup. Porter nodded at them, stuffing some money into their hands from his pocket. Help me look after this spacecraft. Ill be sure to buy you guys some drinks once I get back.
With that, Porter led Xia Fei along a narrow and gloomy corridor which brought them deeper into the facility.
This is a well-known black market to procure for every sort of stuff, be it psychedelic drugs, weapons, or even women. This place here is the liveliest location out of dozens galaxies nearby. Porter introduced the place to Xia Fei.
Why is it I feel like Im inside a spaceship? asked Xia Fei as he observed his surroundings.
Youre not wrong. This was originally an abandoned warship, and it was at first used by someone as a storage facility that ultimately came to be of this scale after many years of development. Not only did the entire spaceship end up being utilized, they had even dug many more tunnels on the planet, and this is one of the entrances. There are many other entrances like the one we just entered all over the planet surface.
They traveled along the narrow, winding corridor for quite some time before it suddenly opened up to another wide space.
This area was like a huge farmers plaza market that was well-lit, of which both sides had rows of stores.
Hundreds and thousands of men and women were gathered around this plaza, each one looking shifty and reprehensible, a majority of them staring at a stranger like Xia Fei with great vigilance.
Porter seemed awfully familiar to everything here and could be seen constantly greeting people left and right.
Xia Fei noticed that not one of the stores around the plaza had any name to them, nor was there even any goods on display, much less what they were actually selling.
Porter and Xia Fei stepped into one of these tiny stores, and it was filled with empty beer bottles. Walking inside the place was like wading through a river of beer bottles.
There was only a single rack in the store, and it was still filled with beer. Behind the rack was a long couch; a scrawny, middle-aged fella was presently fast asleep on it. Without saying another word, Porter kicked the man down the couch.
Whos there?!
The skinny man leaped to his feet, startled by the rude awakening. He pulled out a sharp knife from his waist and thundered, bleary eyed, Whos the douchebag courting death?!
His breath reeked of alcohol when he spoke; the stench was so heavy that Xia Fei had a hard time breathing.
When the scrawny man finally made out Porters face, he pulled out an ingratiating smile as that knife in his hand magically disappeared into thin air.
Oh, its brother Porter; come on in and have a seat. The middle-aged man very politely vacated the couch and invited both to sit on it.
He eyeballed Xia Fei several times before smiling at Porter again. And who might this be?
Enough with your nonsense; wheres the thing I ordered? imperiously demanded Porter.
In the warehouse, in the warehouse. All packed up for you. The middle-aged man wringed his hand.
He jogged over to the back wall and pushed a button. Xia Fei could hear the sound of a motor starting, then the wall parted in the middle, revealing an elevator inside.
Porter and Xia Fei followed the middle-aged man down aboard the elevator, arriving at a warehouse with a floor size of about a thousand square meters.
There were all sorts of wooden crates of various sizes in this warehouse. The man brought Porter and Xia Fei before a certain pile of goods, pointed to about 3 one-cubic crates, and said, Brother Porter, these are what you wanted.
Porter nodded expressionlessly. The middle-aged man called for two able-bodied men to pry open the three crates using their crowbars. Inside were three very intricate equipment.
The three pieces of equipment were a warp disruptor, a traction control module, and a warp stabilizer respectively.
When two warships engaged in combat, if either spaceship ended up at a disadvantage, they could utilize their emergency warp drive and escape far from the battlefield at the last minute.
A warp disruptor could interrupt such maneuver by transmitting a high-frequency interference, preventing the warp drive from being engaged. The enemy would, thus, be unable to run away even if they wished to do so, leaving them with the only option of staying there and facing their destruction.
A traction control module allowed a spaceship to unleash a traction beam, and enemy spaceships ensnared would see a ninety percent decrease in speed at the very least.
A traction control module was essential when going up against spaceships capable of achieving high speeds. Such spaceships would have near light-speed propulsion power, able to rely on its superb mobility to evade attacks and retaliate against their targets easily. Just like an annoying fly buzzing around, even if they were unable to defeat their targets, they could most definitely leave them annoyed to death.
A traction control module meant a spaceship would have the ability to catch such buzzing flies before delivering a fly swatting attack, which could put an end to the annoyance.
Furthermore, a traction control module still had great practical value as it was able to secure suspended objects floating in space and drag it nearer to the spaceship for salvaging.
There were an innumerable amount of treasures, be it an ancient spacecraft wreckage or a chunk of highly valuable ore, floating in the cosmos.
With a traction control module, a spaceship would be able to pull those spaceships or minerals near it, even able to contain those in the cargo hold and claim such for itself.
If a traction control module was used in conjunction with the warp disruptor, enemy spaceships would be completely ensnared and unable to escape, leaving them in a situation where they would be on the back foot and have to take the beating. It was a truly diabolical method of warfare.
The warp stabilizer worked exactly the opposite of a warp disruptor. It protected a spaceship from high-frequency disturbances and shortwave invasions of the enemy, allowing the spaceship to safely make a jump upon bumping into danger.
The two shared a relationship like spear and shield; a disruptor was like an offensive spear, while the stabilizer was a defensive shield. Engaging against an enemy with a spear and shield, a spaceship could prevent the enemy from attacking using similar means.
A civilian spaceship would rarely have these three abnormal, electronic weaponry fitted, first, because of how pricey these components were and, second, because there were very few manufacturers out there capable of producing them, making it difficult to obtain a steady supply of such items.
Porter inspected the three electronic components. Hmm There dont seem to be any problems. Send these to my spaceship, no. 1022 landing pad.
The middle-aged man hastily nodded, hurrying the two strongmen to transport the three crates to the mentioned spaceship, all the while instructing them to be careful.
Brother Porter, see if Ive got the final sum right on this bill. These things are all valuable, boasting high liquidity. The middle-aged man cautiously gesticulated.
Porter nodded, then faced Xia Fei. It comes up to thirty million. Transfer that sum to him.
The man was startled. Brother Porter, its twelve million a piecethe total should amount to thirty-six million star coins.
Porter coldly snorted, completely unfazed. Hmph! Everyone knows that you got hold of those goods through Old K. Its just that I didnt wish to have dealings with him. Otherwise, it wouldnt even cost me twenty million if I went to see him myself about these components. You shouldnt be too greedy.
Xia Fei could see the middle-aged mans eyes spinning before he helplessly agreed. Since youve put it that way, then Ill absorb the losses of this transaction this time. I wouldnt agree to this if you were someone else.
Xia Fei transferred the thirty million to the middle-aged mans account and returned to the plaza with Porter. The two of them proceeded to an open-air bar and ordered two bottles of beer, sitting at a table and slowly imbibing their drinks.
Uncle Porter, those items arent really expensive. I did a cursory search on the interplanetary internet last night, and the same equipment is officially sold at about fifteen million star coins each. Weve essentially saved a whole fifteen million star coins by buying those three components back there. Xia Fei was laughing as he told Porter this.
Porter laughed aloud as well. This wouldnt be called the black market if the goods werent cheap. These things are either stolen or illegally seized; why would they not be cheap?
But those arent the reason why were here today. Were waiting here for someone wholl be bringing along something you cant guess even in a million years. Boy, you just wait to fork out the money. I cant wait to see your pained expression later, mysteriously remarked Porter.
Xia Fei sipped his beer. As long as its good stuff, Ill be very willing to pay.
The two chatted for a while until a youngster with bushy brows paced anxiously over, his face showing his frustration and exasperation.
This youngster sat down right beside Porter, grabbed a bottle from the table, twisted the cap off, and downed it at one go.
Porters eyebrows knitted together but did not say a word. An uneasy atmosphere began to take hold.
*Bang!*
That youngster let go of the bottle and said in a huff, Old K came looking for me and took away the item you wanted.
Porter slammed the table with his hand and expressed his concern to the lad. Are you alright?
The youngster shook his head, his expression bitter. Im fine; he told me to pass along a message.
What is it?
The graveyard is still mine. The youngster looked elsewhere on purpose as he spoke about this. It was as if he was feeling somewhat guilty for failing to bring over the item that Porter requested.
Porter patted the youngsters shoulder and gravely remarked, Xiao Tian, we can always find the item again. Its more important that youre fine.
This youngster by the name of Xiao Tian was quite touched and flashed him a forceful smile. Master, even though I failed to make a good showing as your apprentice, you should know how Im like. Ill always be able to hold something back. Old K only made off with the engine, and he didnt find the neutron cannons or the missile launchers.
Weapons system needed an ample power source and spaceship capacity. The Navy-issue Eagle-class frigate had a total of four power source ports, which could install weapons, and Xia Fei had decided to fit his Hookbill with two of both the small neutron cannons and small missile launchers.
A neutron cannon was presently one of the strongest cannons available on the market. It did not have a quick rate of fire, shooting roughly a hundred twenty shots per minute, but it had an exceptionally high penetrative strength, able to puncture an enemy spacecrafts thick armor, and its power consumption was much lower than that of thermal weapons.
A frigate could not fit a huge power source, so it was important to strictly control power consumption.
The advantages of a missile system were evident in this; it could actively track the more agile enemies with decent firepower. More importantly, a missile system would not need to tap into the power source as its power was dependent on its inbuilt jet system.
Neutron cannon and missiles complemented each other. Not only did they provide a high damage output, they could also handle all sorts of enemies.
Saving so much power meant they could devote all the resources toward strengthening the spaceships maneuverability and defense capabilities. Plus, top-grade electronic equipment often had a heavy power consumption.
Master, I suspect that Old K has your phones tapped, and thats how he learned of what youre looking for this time. I have a military-grade encrypted phone with me; its best if you use that next time.
With that, Xiao Tian shoved a satellite phone, which was about the size of a matchbox, into Porters hands.
Both pairs of neutron cannons and missile launchers cost Xia Fei a total of twenty-four million star coins. Xia Fei made the transfer, and Xiao Tian nodded to the two of them before striding off like a gust of wind.
Taking several drags of his lit cigarette, Xia Fei could not help but ask, Xiao Tian is your apprentice?
Yes, hes the youngest among my apprentices and also the most talented. Hes in urgent need of money for his younger sisters eye treatment, so he left my factory to become an arms dealer.
I only learned of this after the fact. To think I even gave him a severe scolding that day. Recalling it now, I truly regret doing so. That twerps too stubborn. If he had only told me about it earlier, I couldve helped him raise funds, even if I had to break pots and sell scraps, but he had entirely kept me in the dark about it.
Old Porter said that while rubbing his temples; the wrinkles on his face became more pronounced as a result. Xia Fei wanted to say a few words of consolation, but he had no idea how to go about it.
Whos Old K? asked Xia Fei, instead.
Porter took out a Hongtaishan cigarette from Xia Feis cigarette case and lit it up like him.
*Cough cough!*
Just what in the world is this thing?! Whys it so hard to smoke? Porter coughed twice as his face contorted bitterly, tears forming in his eyes.
Xia Fei smiled and did not comment. None of the extraterrestrials Xia Fei had come across smoked; tobacco seemed to be unique to Earth.
Porter took a swig of his beer and said, Old K was a pirate in his prime, washing his hands off the business once he gained on in years. Instead of robbing others, he started to assemble spaceships.
Recently, hes been hoping to buy something from me, which I refused to sell to him. As such, we arent too happy with each other. Actually, Im fine, though its a real pity about that Black Mamba engine I ordered for you.
Xia Fei was momentarily stunned as he urgently asked, What engine did you say it was?
Black Mamba enginethe 130 model. Porter sighed.