Just after leaving the Deputy Director's office, the two directors from the pulse group caught up with He Kui.
"Director He, I didn't expect you to have such expertise in the field of pulses," one of them remarked.
"Not at all, I've just learned some superficial basics," He Kui replied modestly.
"Too humble! Let's communicate more in the future," the other director said with a smile.
"Hahaha, definitely!" He Kui responded as he turned to leave with Shi He by his side.
"He Kui, when did you get so amazing~!" Shi He exclaimed, naturally linking her arm with his as they rounded a corner where they could be alone, her eyes sparkling.
"Thanks to you, Shi He."
"Don't say that~!"
"Director He, Director Hanifus," Hoss greeted awkwardly from outside the office door, holding some documents.
Although he didn't know what had happened, he couldn't help but wonder why they were showing affection in a work setting.
Recalling the passionate moments he had shared with his fiancée over the past few days, he looked at the two in front of him, seemingly worried about others getting too much of a taste of their love.
Hoss realized he might not be trying hard enough.
Unaware of Hoss's thoughts, He Kui and Shi He quickly released their hold on each other.
"Hoss, you're back so soon," He Kui noted, clearing his throat, surprised to see Hoss waiting right outside the elevator.
"Well, my vacation ended last week; I've been back for a week now," Hoss said with a hint of resentment.
It was clear he had been the one accompanying the radar team on their trip.
"Oh, I see. Keep it up."
"If I get the chance to deploy next time…"
"Let's save that for another time," He Kui interrupted skillfully, hastily returning to his office.
Hoss had indeed performed admirably; each person seemed to be at least at the elite green level.
If there was a chance for him to deploy, it wouldn't be impossible to bring them along.
But first, he needed to complete the research.
After two uneventful days, within the Waste Merchant Guild, He Kui exchanged half of the 50,000 he had obtained from radar research for materials.
"Director He, if you're not in a hurry, you could wait a bit longer to buy," one staff member suggested.
"Your radar research has already been completed; I believe material prices will trend down in the future," he added.
"True, I haven't finished buying everything yet," He Kui chuckled, as he hadn't started on his vehicle design.
For now, he was only purchasing essential materials, planning to wait for prices to drop on the rest.
"I recently took on a job regarding the design improvement of personal blast shields," the staff member mentioned.
"Have you completed it, Director He?"
"Yes," He Kui replied, sending the completed document over.
The Waste Merchant Guild acted as a middleman; once they reviewed and approved it, he would be able to get paid.
What if the person who placed the bounty was dissatisfied?
Well, there was nothing to be done; all requirements and other matters had been communicated in advance.
The requester had agreed to it.
"After our evaluation, we will send you the results. If everything is fine, the payment of 10,000 will be transferred to your account," the staff member informed him.
"Thank you. Any news from Earth recently?" He Kui asked.
"Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but I've heard that the Earth Alliance may no longer maintain their position at New Star. If that happens, the design bureau might need to send someone to modify New Star again," the boss replied after thinking for a moment.
This news had long been known among the higher-ups in ZAFT.
"They are no longer maintaining it?"
"Yeah, several colonial satellites in L4 have been destroyed. While the casualties on these satellites are minimal, L4 has lost its significance, and the residents there will likely be relocated back to Earth. As for housing so many refugees, the three member states of the Alliance are passing the buck; it seems they don't want to manage that sector anymore."
"Who caused the destruction?"
"Among the culprits, it's rumored that the damage was inflicted during a battle between the Kruze team and the Moon's Eagles. Currently, the Earth Alliance seems to be planning to suppress ZAFT entirely in the court of public opinion."
"I understand."
It seemed the future battlefield was about to shift back to Earth.
Then, they would need to send even more resources to the Oceania Alliance, and the ratio of stationed troops helping defend the Oceania Alliance would also increase.
The national defense budget was set to shrink once again.
No wonder Erin had wanted to give him a warning.
"I need to remind Ed to pay attention to this."
While contemplating, He Kui picked up a round, fluffy owl.
"Shi He, this is for you."
He handed the owl to her in the kitchen.
"Still cooking, huh~" Shi He said with a soft laugh as she cooked meat patties.
Thanks to both of them being directors now, having meat for every meal was no issue, marking the end of their previous lives where they couldn't even afford a decent meal.
Of course, just because they weren't eating synthetic meat didn't mean they were dining luxuriously.
For He Kui, it was just a return to the ordinary meals he had enjoyed in his past life.
"I'll help," he offered, skillfully picking up a spatula.
"Sure, by the way, are you still busy with mineral purification lately?"
"Yeah, I've made some headway, but I still need to finish the third-party project first."
That project was crucial; if there were levels of importance, miniaturizing MS would be at the top.
The high-energy pulse cannon would be second.
The rest could come along gradually.
"When do you plan to start? Do you want my help?"
"No need; I work fast."
After finishing dinner, He Kui hurried to another military industrial design bureau, which was mostly privately owned, located not far from the Hailan Design Bureau.
"Director He, welcome!"
As soon as he entered the straightforwardly designed bureau, an older man approached him.
"Director Bao, thank you for your hospitality," He Kui replied, smiling as he greeted back.
"Not at all! Your presence is certainly a highlight for our industrial design bureau," Director Bao responded enthusiastically.
"Thank you."
He Kui accepted the somewhat flattering attitude.
This design bureau was not as large as the five major design bureaus; its main business was producing standard weapons for the Kin, such as the highly popular MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Rifle, which was the bureau's masterpiece.
In short, anything with MMI in its name was produced by them.
However, their main achievement at the moment was just that rifle.
After He Kui's success with the beam weapon, this company had undoubtedly lost some resources.
As the primary creator of the Kin and the Zaku, the Hailan Design Bureau was naturally the largest design bureau within PLANT.
Thus, it was not surprising for He Kui, as a director there, especially one focused on beam and pulse weapons, to receive such a warm welcome from Director Bao.
He was likely hoping to leverage his connection with He Kui to advance in the hierarchy.
"The staff is ready and can start at any time," Director Bao said.
"Great, thank you," He Kui replied.
Guided by Director Bao, He Kui entered the design bureau.
The interior had a streamlined design, with transparent walls separating some green spaces.
Though small, the place was well-equipped, and the working environment looked decent.
After a short walk, they took an elevator down and entered a large room.
In the bright light, several people were already present. Upon seeing He Kui's arrival, their eyes gleamed with anticipation.
"These are our engineers here. This is the access control for the area; if you need anything, Director He, feel free to contact us via internal communication at any time," Director Bao explained.
"Thank you; I appreciate it."
Looking at the small space, He Kui realized this would be his future overtime location after successfully researching miniaturized MS.
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