In recent days, He Kui's wealth began to visibly diminish.
The reason? The prices of materials simply hadn't dropped.
Due to the New Star's renovation, even with enhanced mineral detection technology, it remained of little use.
Not to mention that the update of mineral radar was a slow process.
On the battlefield, a large portion of the Kins were still using solid ammunition.
Furthermore, the mining industry, which was of lesser importance, faced a similar predicament. He Kui initially thought he could quickly lower material prices by replacing the mining powered suits with miniaturized MS, but that idea turned out to be somewhat idealistic.
However, He Kui had also considered that if prices didn't drop, he would still receive payment upon completing the project. If successful, there would always be returns.
Moreover, he could connect with external mining companies; for him, it was not too much of a loss beyond wasting time.
After all, the money he received could be turned into materials, and materials would eventually decrease in price, albeit slowly.
"Deputy Director, as you can see, I have completed part of the structure for the high-energy pulse cannon," He Kui said, closing the data stream on the screen in the Deputy Director's office.
"Good. You're making significant progress, aren't you?"
"Only halfway," He Kui replied, no joke; it was genuinely just half of the foundational theory. The remainder consisted of pieced-together ideas from others.
"Recently, the prototype for the pulse group's high-energy pulse cannon encountered a critical flaw; there seems to be an issue at its core. Are you sure your proposal can be utilized?"
The Deputy Director was anxious. With several research projects lagging, the pressure naturally mounted.
With greater power came greater responsibility. Without capability? Well, that meant waiting to be cut down by others.
So, she transferred the pressure onto He Kui and the other directors.
The directors, in turn, passed the pressure onto the ordinary engineers.
Layer by layer, the tension spread throughout the design bureau, leading to growing signs of instability.
This way, the pressure returned to the Deputy Director, putting her in a difficult position.
"I'm not certain, but I believe it is more stable than the pulse group's proposal; the likelihood of an explosion is low. Of course, without a fully developed generator, I cannot predict the outcome," He Kui explained.
"Alright, quickly. If this research goes well, it could serve as a stepping stone for you," Erin said.
Yet, it felt like she was merely painting a rosy picture for him.
She didn't even promise him the deputy director position.
Without that position, there was little chance of promotion.
"I understand, but..."
He Kui lowered his voice at the right moment.
"But what?"
"After all, this is a relatively unfamiliar field for us, and the team members have been working hard recently."
"If your team can be the first to develop it, I can make your bonus twenty thousand, the deputy director's ten thousand, and of course, your team members can receive three thousand," she offered.
"Great!"
Upon hearing this, He Kui smiled, achieving his goal of negotiating with the Deputy Director using only half of his unlocked theory.
"How did it go?"
As soon as he returned to his office, Shi He approached him.
"Not bad; we need to keep pushing. If we succeed, everyone's bonuses can increase."
"Yay!"
At her words, smiles appeared on the faces of the other employees in the office.
Even if they were battle-crazy, hearing about increased bonuses would still make them happy.
"So, Director He, can we sign up for the New Star renovation?" one of the female team members asked brightly.
"Sure, there are two spots available."
He Kui, in a good mood, spoke more lightly.
"Then I want to go!"
"Me too!"
"I've already signed you up. How about you three?" He Kui turned to the three new engineers.
"Director He, we'll pass for now," they chuckled.
"Alright, the specific selections will be drawn randomly."
With that, He Kui didn't linger further and returned to his office.
Shi He followed him inside.
"Recently, ZAFT seems to be preparing to retract its front lines," she said after entering.
Whether it was New Star or Yakin Du Wei, both were means of self-protection.
Shi He was dissatisfied with this; perhaps the entire Sara faction felt similarly.
"Yeah."
Currently, both sides were locked in a stalemate, but the problem was that if the Earth Alliance also developed MS, ZAFT's technological advantage would not only vanish but would be drawn closer indefinitely.
The Earth Alliance had a population advantage that was overwhelming. Even if they were chickens, they could kill them for a year without finishing; let alone humans.
For self-protection, He Kui hoped for a ZAFT victory.
Now, migrating to Orb wasn't safe either; in the future, Orb would likely suffer "self-destruction."
He Kui still remembered the narrative of freedom and justice holding hands.
After the "self-destruction," according to reasonable logic, Orb would certainly be taken over by the Earth Alliance. If he remained in Orb then, he would definitely be a target for persecution.
Staying here was also not an option; losing meant economic collapse, and not wanting to eat synthetic meat was secondary; the key was that his life might not be safe.
"It seems that Chairman Klein wants to seize this opportunity to prepare for talks," Shi He noted.
"They should be pressing the advantage!" Shi He bit her lip in frustration.
"However, their approval rating is quite high."
Klein naturally represented the voice seeking peace within PLANT, and currently, the approval rating was at 43%.
This meant nearly half of PLANT's population felt there was no need to continue fighting the Earth Alliance, and maintaining the status quo was just fine.
They believed they had successfully protected PLANT, and with two military strongholds, New Star and Yakin Du Wei, defending, the Earth was suppressed. Given time, they would likely rely on PLANT's resources again.
It appeared to be a beautifully optimistic blueprint, yet He Kui knew that a ceasefire was utterly impossible at this stage.
And he needed to climb higher faster to better protect himself and the others.
Ultimately, as a director, he still had to consider the Deputy Director's wishes; how could he act autonomously?
"Shi He! We'll continue tonight!"
"Okay~"
Upon hearing this, Shi He didn't misinterpret the words this time.
She had signed up for the A-level promotion, and He Kui was her supervisor.
Would there be any issues with the relationship between the supervisor and the applicant? No, it didn't matter; He Kui was responsible for Shi He's results.
Additionally, there were recordings, so no one would have the audacity to commit fraud.
"Shi He, once you reach A-level, we can speed up our progress!"
He Kui's eyes sparkled with hope for the future.
Once Shi He reached A-level, she could take on a significant portion of the responsibilities as a director, allowing him to focus more on his own work.
"Yes~"
Shi He nodded affectionately.
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