A market?
There was no need to worry about a market at all!
While the market out in the wasteland was modest, it was limited only by the scavengers' pockets. In truth, if they had the money, every last scavenger would probably be desperate to own one.
Who walking through the night wasn't afraid of catching a bullet in the back?
With such a vast potential base, it had to be tapped eventually. Once the traded-in second-hand units were refurbished and restocked, they could naturally transition into the leasing business.
As for the executives rolling in wealth, they wouldn't spare a second thought for such petty cash.
To look no further, the sheer business demand from the local Wild Gathering alone was enough to give Haian Tech its breakthrough... Even though the idea of a wasteland gathering needing security sounded absurd, the shadier an industry was, the more it actually craved stability and safety. Besides, when it came to making a living, plenty of respectable trades operated there too, merely brushing against gray areas to varying degrees. Whether running black-market smuggling or illegal casinos, no one wanted corpses turning up on their home turf.
As for the city proper, although high-risk zones were few, certain enterprises and institutions still had substantial demand—for example, the municipal security agencies that were virtually grinding to a halt after Xu Chaoxian slashed their staffing.
Besides, wasn't there still the Security Bureau?
To look no further, his buddy's Haian Tech was open for business; as an old "friend," wasn't Team Leader Yu going to step up and lead the charge? Didn't the brothers under him putting their lives on the line need a solid tank to soak up damage?
The market was far from small. While it wasn't wide open either, it was more than enough for Haian Tech to gain a firm foothold and plot its moves step by step.
Moreover, the markets Ji Jue truly had his sights set on... were the Thousand Islands and the Mid-Continent!
The Thousand Islands went without saying. The Seven Cities were practically ravenous for this sort of tech. After all, the Endless Sea wasn't like the Federation; out there, instances of big bosses strolling down the street only to be mowed down in a hail of gunfire were a dime a dozen. One couldn't exactly call their public security a shining paragon of peace—more like a foul, utter disaster.
As for the Mid-Continent, that was even more obvious. Hey, friend, wouldn't you love a twenty-four-hour, fully automated bodyguard that protects against sniper fire, defends against suicide vests, prevents fires and theft, and even watches your back against your own brothers?
The market was right there. As long as one had the capability, they could seize it in a single grasp and refine it instantly.
The real crux lay in... how to make Haian Tech's name ring out with a bang, crack open the market in the shortest time possible, and maximize the transformation of a tantalizing prospect into meat on the table.
"Got any ideas on that?" Ji Jue asked.
"Uh..."
Marketing happened to fall squarely into Young Master Lou's blind spot. After pondering for a long time without finding a clue, he ventured, "Advertisements?"
"Television? Radio? Sponsoring popular sporting events? Short video ad boosts?" Ji Jue chuckled, shaking his head. "They work, but barely. Besides, you know as well as I do how inflated ad numbers are.
"The core train of thought isn't wrong, but you need to broaden your horizons, Young Master Lou. Think bolder, wilder... Bad publicity is still publicity!"
"Easy for you to say."
Lou Feng laughed out of exasperation. "Then why don't you show me what 'bold and wild' looks like!"
"Well..."
Ji Jue's smile grew increasingly mysterious as he lowered his voice. "Nirvana attempts to assassinate Governor Xu. At the critical juncture, he's helpless and waiting for death, only for our Riot Guardian to save his worthless hide... How's that for an advertisement?"
"..."
Lou Feng froze, his mouth opening and closing as his vision momentarily went black. *Wait, isn't that line of thought going a bit too far off the rails?*
Amidst his utter disbelief, a flicker of doubt crept in.
"Hold on a second..." His mind was reeling. He massaged his forehead for quite a while before stammering, "Whose worthless hide are we saving again?"
"The Governor's, of course!" Ji Jue clicked his tongue. "Little Lou, isn't your mind running a bit too wild?"
*Who the hell started this in the first place?!*
Lou Feng felt an urge to cough up blood right into his face, before quickly raising an objection: "Would Nirvana even look his way?"
To be fair, he had a point.
While that bunch of antisocial lunatics dead set against the international order were certainly unhinged, they generally possessed standards... At the very least, they didn't bother killing absolute trash.
Who did they usually assassinate? An imperial prince, a federal minister, the Red King of the Mid-Continent—and their latest notch was the Empire's emperor himself. Who the hell was Xu Chaoxian?
How was he even worthy of sitting at the same table as those guys?
"Then the Evil Transmutation Cult, then!"
Ji Jue waved a hand without hesitation. If Nirvana wouldn't work, they could swap them out; they had plenty of options anyway.
"That's fucking dangerous too, isn't it?!" Lou Feng cried out in shock.
It wasn't that Xu Chaoxian's life mattered, but the Evil Transmutation Cult drew far too much aggro. If they slipped up and leaked even a shred of news, investigators would probably kick down their doors for a massive sweep by tomorrow morning.
With Nirvana, whoever they targeted died; with the Evil Transmutation Cult, whoever touched them got contaminated and died. Both of them reeked to high heaven!
"Then let's go with the White Nation Restoration Front."
From among the countless options, Ji Jue carefully selected the softest target and the best scapegoat available, slapping the desk to finalize it. "We'll do that!"
"..."
Lou Feng fell silent for a long time, stammering before he finally asked, "What if it fails?"
"Fails?"
Ji Jue looked puzzled.
"No, I mean, what if you lay it on too thick during the performance..." Lou Feng wiped away cold sweat. "What if the Riot Cat fails to block it..."
Ji Jue's eyes instantly lit up.
"Wouldn't that be even better?"
"..."
Lou Feng was left utterly speechless.
And so, the matter was settled for the time being.
Unfortunately, it never came to pass.
Just as Ji Jue was rolling up his sleeves and gearing up with boundless motivation, a phone call from the Warden's office came through the very next day.
On the other end of the line, Lyu Yingyue said, "Come over to my place."
"Uh, about that..."
Ji Jue paused, glancing down at the sniper rifle he had just assembled and the freshly drafted assassination blueprint. "I've got some business today. Would tomorrow work?"
"Xu Chaoxian called me this morning and spent nearly two hours bawling his eyes out." Lyu Yingyue sighed, sounding as though she had a pounding headache. "Call off that ridiculous plan of yours first."
"...Understood."
Ji Jue nodded awkwardly, disassembling the rifle back into scattered parts and tossing them straight into the trash can along with the plan.
He sighed in regret.
What a shame, the hit was off.
The reason: the news had leaked...
After all, Ji Jue hadn't made any effort to keep it secret. For such an entertaining event, shouldn't everyone join in the fun to deepen their bonds and camaraderie?
Alas, while everyone else had enthusiastically signed up, the lead actor refused to cooperate.
It could only be postponed for another day.
***
By the time Ji Jue arrived at the Warden's office, looking travel-worn, Lyu Yingyue had already been waiting for a long time.
Seeing him walk in, she didn't bother to rise, merely pointing toward the refreshment cabinet to gesture that he should help himself. Once Ji Jue sat down with a glass of plain water, she tossed a document across the desk.
A thick stack.
Two contracts.
A research and development contract issued by Haichao Armaments to Haian Tech—commissioning Haian Tech to design and develop an auxiliary automaton for security protection, riot suppression, and order maintenance in light of the increasingly severe counter-terrorism situation and peacekeeping needs.
It was a clean buyout of the design and patents involved in the product, coupled with an outsourced production agreement.
Furthermore, the preliminary projected procurement was... two thousand four hundred units?!
*Hiss!*
Ji Jue drew in a sharp breath, counting for a long time before he finally made out all the zeros before the decimal point in the quotation column.
The design fee alone was enough to cover all the costs he had previously poured into the Lord of the Flies. No, more than that—because he realized he had missed a zero!
This single sum was enough for Haian Tech to complete its early-stage expansion and take off completely!
Meanwhile, the contract manufacturing price was calculated strictly per unit.
In other words, if Haichao Armaments chose to continue purchasing in the future, this defense contract would provide a steady, long-term stream of revenue.
As for the buyout of the model and design, it was restricted solely to the product specified within the contract—parameters and specifications so basic that Ji Jue almost laughed looking at them. It amounted to nothing more than upgrading the frame materials, motor models, and battery capacity; at most, he could just churn out a special customized edition.
Just yesterday he was racking his brains over how to get a seat at the table, yet the moment he opened his eyes today, a golden rice bowl had been shoved right into his hands?
"This price..."
Ji Jue hesitated, looking at Lyu Yingyue with incomprehension. "Isn't it a bit exaggerated?"
Lyu Yingyue's expression instantly took on a meaningful edge. "Procurement by the Military Department always works this way, Ji Jue. When Haichao Armaments sells them, the price will double again. You're free to pass on the profits, but you can't break the rules. Understand?"
*It's going to double again?!*
*When it comes to ruthless greed, you guys take the cake!*
Ji Jue couldn't help but draw in another cold breath, acutely feeling that his moral baseline still fell painfully short of industry standards.
No wonder a single rocket launcher cost tens of millions of Federation currency, a bag of hex screws went for sixty thousand, and a simple water cup cost over five grand...
"But this..." Ji Jue hesitated, feeling his baseline wobble precariously. "Our design doesn't carry any weapons."
"It's better that it has no weapons. Does the Mid-Continent lack weapons?"
Lyu Yingyue offered a faint, soundless smile. "Don't overthink it, Ji Jue. Some windfalls can't be caught unless the timing is just right... and some orders can't be dodged even if you wanted to.
"Right about now, calls should be coming through to your phone."
Before her words could even settle, Ji Jue's phone vibrated. An unfamiliar number flashed on the screen, bearing a golden badge that signified a top-tier business VIP identity with Boundless Telecom.
Immediately after, it was forcibly overridden by another purple-gold number, ringing relentlessly.
A paid call-override!
Within a single minute, over eight or nine numbers began bombarding Ji Jue's phone in turns. Quite a few were acquaintances he had met during the rally, including Shi Ran from Yunzhou's Chongyun Industries, and even numerous Federation workshop members who had previously sent him nothing but curses...
For a moment, amidst the relentless vibrations, Ji Jue actually felt a twinge of fear.
*Holy shit, what's going on?*
*All I did was plan an assassination on Xu Chaoxian—one that died halfway through, no less! Why are so many people rushing over to join the festivities?*
"This afternoon, the Midtown Senate will pass the new Phlogiston Supply Security Act,"
Lyu Yingyue said leisurely. "Going forward, in order to maintain regional stability in the Mid-Continent and ensure the stability of phlogiston prices, massive construction and investments will be poured into relevant areas of the Mid-Continent to ensure peace and order.
"Facing the impending procurement demands of the Military Department, every single arms manufacturer happens to lack technical accumulation in this specific field..."
She lifted her teacup, took a sip, and smiled slightly. "And at this exact juncture, your design happened to land right in the path of the gale."
Ji Jue wiped away cold sweat, looking down at the contracts on the desk as his gaze slowly glazed over.
He was starting to drool.
*How did I suddenly become filthy rich without even noticing?*
*This is what they mean by 'choice matters more than effort,' folks!*
He didn't even have to fret over how to break into the Mid-Continent market anymore. The Mid-Continent market was already scampering headlong straight toward him, coquettishly inviting him over for sweet soup!
At this stage, the crucial factor wasn't even Ji Jue's design—it was speed!
Regardless of quality, whoever could be the first to roll out a reliable product proven to be mature and stable would seize the initiative and claim the greatest advantage in this wave of arms procurement!
Seize the initiative!
With just a slight shift in the prevailing winds, what had been an obscure, cold field had turned red-hot in an instant.
Watching Ji Jue sitting there dumbfounded like a wooden chicken, Lyu Yingyue offered a smiling reminder: "At this point, you aren't thinking of holding out for a better offer, are you?"
Ji Jue shook his head without a second thought. Uncapping his pen, he didn't even bother reading the fine print, signing his name directly and stamping the official seal alongside it.
Without the slightest hesitation.
"Then thank you for the leg up, ma'am."
Those other companies were just shaking the tree to see if fruit would fall; Ji Jue wasn't about to abandon Haichao for flashy promises to collaborate with outsiders.
What kind of pipe dream was that!
Setting aside whether he would be swallowed whole, bones and all, he held shares in Haichao himself and collected dividends every year. Why would he betray his own house at a time like this?
Was he out of his mind?!
After handing the documents back, he pulled out his phone, snapped a photo of his teacup in the office, and posted it to his Moments feed with the location tag attached.
In an instant, everything went quiet once more.
The calls that had been flooding in vanished into thin air, as if they had never happened at all.
A sudden pang of loss washed over Ji Jue's heart... *Just a moment ago you were calling me sweetheart, and besides, I could've sold you spare parts too...*
While Ji Jue was busy lamenting, a voice came from behind the desk.
"Ji Jue, what are your thoughts on the Mid-Continent?"
Chapter 562