"Hoss, how's the situation on the Moon?"
Looking at the young man who had finally returned from the Moon at the asteroid, He Kui asked.
"Same as usual, but things are getting increasingly tense lately."
"Those alarms keep going off every other day, and it's slowing down our progress quite a bit."
Hearing Hoss's words, He Kui nodded and continued.
"The company has been making money recently, and I want to establish a new Design Bureau, or rather a factory, in May City."
"What kind of factory? Aren't you already the head of the Design Bureau? Are you competing with yourself?"
Hoss widened his eyes in curiosity.
"I'm the head now, but someone else will be in the future. This Design Bureau is under my management, but it's not mine."
He Kui said helplessly.
"That's true. So, what kind of Design Bureau do you want to establish? Does the Defense Committee allow you to do this?"
"I've already obtained permission."
He Kui nodded.
Currently, he was a hot commodity in the entire PLANT, not to mention the many benefits he had brought them.
"I just want to set up a production line for Haro, nothing major."
"Huh?"
Hearing He Kui's words, Hoss was momentarily stunned.
"Things have been quite chaotic here lately."
He Kui said.
"Yeah."
Although the riots have been quelled, various robberies are still happening non-stop.
Many people who want to go home after getting food will be robbed if they choose the wrong path or aren't careful enough.
Even the enhanced security can't do much about it; there are just too many people.
In these tough times, food can be directly sold on the black market.
Naturally, many people have become greedy.
"That's why we need Haro."
At this point, He Kui's explosion-proof shield Haro could serve as an excellent protective measure.
Although there are many such homemade explosion-proof shield Haros on the market, they haven't been widely adopted. This is partly due to Athrun and He Kui being the designers. Even though there's no patent, no one dares to sell them openly, fearing they might offend the big shots.
"But won't making money like this shorten your lifespan, boss?"
Understanding He Kui's intentions, Hoss hesitated to say.
After all, selling such things during these times, while catering to the demand, could easily damage his reputation.
It's lonely at the top.
"..."
He Kui glared at Hoss in exasperation.
If Hoss weren't important, he would have thrown him back to the Moon already. Shorten his lifespan, indeed.
"I just want you to find people to produce them and sell them at cost price."
He Kui said irritably.
He didn't intend to make money from this. Although it is indeed a huge sum, as Hoss said, it's not easy to collect.
Charging too much might attract criticism from those with ulterior motives, while charging less than the cost price might lead to future disputes.
The old saying is absolutely true: a little kindness brings gratitude, but too much breeds resentment.
So, it's better to be upfront about the cost price, not losing money is enough. Gaining a good reputation to help boost the sales of other products, or placing some advertisements on the Haros, will surely make up for it in the future.
"Alright, but can they mass-produce for you?"
If He Kui's Haros spread widely, what if terrorists get their hands on them?
"I've agreed to supply each police precinct with one Owl equipped with a decryption system and a portion of Haros."
"Of course, it's at cost price."
He Kui said with a hint of melancholy.
"Just in time, you can also set up a production line for the Owl. We don't need too many."
"But this way, we'll need to recruit a lot of workers."
Some parts of He Kui's Haro require C-level skills to assemble.
"No problem, the wages for C-level workers won't be too high."
As he spoke, He Kui thought of his own past, struggling to make C-level Haros, working tirelessly without earning much.
"If possible, let's increase the wages by 10% more than the market rate."
Evil capitalists deserve to be hung from lampposts, but he'd leave that fate for others.
"What about personal sales? Do we regulate that?"
"No need. I don't have a patent, but our cost-performance ratio alone can crush them."
He was only charging the cost price. Even if others used second-hand materials to make Haros, which might be slightly cheaper in terms of cost and labor, their cost-performance ratio would still be inferior.
First of all, the system definitely wouldn't be as smooth as one optimized by an S-level like He Kui.
Not a single mistake, not a single note, not a single content, all in one go, at 69 Book Bar!
Moreover, personal sales are like scalpers and resellers; we know it's not good, but it's hard to ban. Plus, the low prices provide more options for some poor people.
So there's no need to prohibit it.
"Let's do it this way. The blueprints are here, start as soon as possible."
He Kui handed over two blueprints that he had further improved to Hoss.
"Alright, it should take about three days."
The structure of the Haro itself isn't complicated, and with He Kui's reputation now being quite prominent in PLANT, special arrangements can be made, so this speed is completely normal.
"Go ahead, make sure to note the cash flow and disclose it appropriately."
"Don't worry, I understand."
"But I just got back and you're already putting me to work."
Hoss looked somewhat sorrowful at this moment.
"Alright, once the battlefield is gone and the production line is stable, I'll give you a vacation. The current situation is unstable, so you all should move to the villa area."
"Got it~!"
Upon hearing this, Hoss's lips curled into a big smile.
Even without a battlefield, providing a warm home for the family is also very important.
As soon as Hoss left, Luna came in and hugged He Kui.
Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at He Kui, full of enthusiasm and cuteness.
Ever since He Kui's secret agricultural research was made public, she had been like this, and it was almost time to reveal the secret of the radar room.
"He Kui~! Do I really have no work?"
The girl asked with twinkling eyes.
It had been so long, she had just been assisting her father.
The problem was that her father was in charge of asteroid security.
This was already as solid as a rock, thanks to He Kui's efforts.
Her daily work was just checking if the system was functioning properly and playing with the simulator.
It was almost boring her to death.
"Then how about I give you something to play with?"
"That... that would be fine too."
As she spoke, Luna's pretty face almost matched the redness of her hair.
But her delicate hands were already eagerly reaching out.
"."
Luna had clearly misunderstood something, but facing such an enthusiastic girl, he didn't refuse.
Since it was all about boosting stats, and the entire asteroid was his, as long as the door was locked, he could afford to be a bit more unrestrained. But before Luna could even pull out her weapon, and before he could lock the door, the heavy conference room door was pushed open again.
"Brother~!"
It was Yulis, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, holding a Haro as she opened the door.
What she saw was her br
other, sitting directly across from her, with the girl named Luna perched on his lap.
Although the lower half of their bodies was obscured by the desk, their posture made it easy to imagine what was going on.
(End of Chapter)