’I can’t believe Su Ruobing thinks so highly of Qi Long!?’
Li Chang’an nodded. "Regardless, I’m still going to contact other suppliers. If something goes wrong with Qi Long, it will only affect my shipping speed at worst!"
He paused, then said through gritted teeth, "I refuse to believe it. No matter how powerful the Gu Family is, are they more powerful than money? As long as I’m willing to pay more, who cares about their blockade? I’ll be just fine!"
The profit margins on the Super Electromagnetic Cannons and Energy Particle Beam Cannons were high enough.
Even if his procurement costs doubled, Li Chang’an would, at most, just earn a little less.
But as long as he could survive the blockade, a world of opportunities would soon open up to him.
While he was busy making arrangements,
the first delivery—consisting of fifteen Super Electromagnetic Cannons and fifteen Energy Particle Beam Cannons—was soon shipped out.
The person who ordered these thirty cannons was Deng Ankang of Fire Lion City.
As a well-known elder in Linjiang, when Deng Ankang heard that Li Chang’an had opened an arms company locally, he didn’t even bother to look at the products and directly ordered fifteen of each.
Therefore, now that the assembly in the Cangxuan City factory was complete, the first batch of goods was delivered to Deng Ankang.
To show how much he valued this shipment, Li Chang’an personally delivered the Super Electromagnetic Cannons and Energy Particle Beam Cannons.
To be honest, Deng Ankang didn’t have high hopes when he ordered the thirty cannons.
After all, Linjiang was just a small, remote city. Trying to develop a military-industrial project in a place like this was, if not a fool’s dream, then at least as difficult as installing an elevator on Mount Everest.
The only reason he had paid the deposit was to support a member of the younger generation.
So now, upon receiving news of the delivery from Li Chang’an, Deng Ankang was clearly surprised. His eyes lit up with excitement when the thirty brand-new, gleaming, smooth cannon muzzles appeared before him, and he couldn’t help but exclaim, "Chang’an, did you guys in Cangxuan City really make these?"
Li Chang’an nodded.
Honestly, in Linjiang, Deng Ankang was like the big brother of the entire Reincarnator community. He was highly respected, and even Li Chang’an deeply admired his character.
Seeing him actually nod, Deng Ankang couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
He stood up and walked over to one of the Super Electromagnetic Cannons. He looked it over, ran his hands across its surface, and the more he looked, the more exquisite he found it. He couldn’t seem to get enough of it. Finally, he said, "How about this? I’ll move it up to the city wall and we can hear it go BANG?"
Li Chang’an nodded again. "Of course, you need to inspect the goods first. But this is a Super Electromagnetic Cannon; you can’t just casually ’hear it go bang.’ If you want to test one, you can try the Energy Particle Beam Cannon!"
Deng Ankang had no objections and nodded immediately. "Whatever. As long as it makes a sound, I’ll take this whole batch off your hands. If we in Linjiang can produce our own armaments, we won’t have to be at the mercy of those vampire-like families anymore. Brother Chang’an, I have high hopes for you!"
Previously, when Su Ruobing had called on everyone to visit Cangxuan City and see a demonstration of the power and precision of the Super Electromagnetic Cannon and Energy Particle Beam Cannon, Deng Ankang hadn’t gone.
Although he’d heard from many people after the tour that the weapons Li Chang’an produced were highly effective, seeing is believing. He hadn’t paid it much mind.
It wasn’t until now, seeing the finished Super Electromagnetic Cannons and Energy Particle Beam Cannons with his own eyes, that Deng Ankang realized they were actually even better than he had imagined.
A large crowd gathered atop the walls of Fire Lion City.
Fire Lion City was located closer to the Dark Cave than Li Chang’an’s Cangxuan City, so it had to withstand greater pressure every time a Dark Tide erupted.
However, thanks to Deng Ankang’s painstaking efforts, Fire Lion City’s walls had been built to be extremely wide and thick, and they were fully equipped with all kinds of defensive weaponry capable of withstanding high-intensity siege battles.
The moment Li Chang’an’s "Model 001 Energy Particle Beam Cannon" was wheeled onto the city wall, it stood out from the other weapons like a crane among chickens.
The reason was simple: compared to other Energy Particle Beam Cannons, Li Chang’an’s Model 001 was a full size larger, and the caliber of its barrel was twice as wide.
Once everything was ready, Deng Ankang had his city’s best gunner take position, preparing to test the power of this Advanced Technology weapon.
Following the instructions in the operational manual, the gunner quickly completed all the critical system checks.
After activating the shell’s AI self-diagnostic function and confirming there were no issues, the Model 001 Energy Particle Beam Cannon began its first trial run!
"PFFT!"
The muzzle erupted with a violent shockwave, but the sound was actually quieter than that of other Energy Particle Beam Cannons.
The crowd only heard a muffled thud.
The next second, a massive crater nearly a hundred meters wide blasted open in the designated target area.
Looking from the still-smoking crater back to the completely undisturbed muzzle of the Model 001 Energy Particle Beam Cannon, everyone stared, wide-eyed.
The gunner personally appointed by Deng Ankang knew his stuff. His face flushed with excitement as he shouted, "Damn, City Lord, this thing is incredible! Its precision, destructive power, and overall stability are at least fifty percent better than the popular Energy Particle Beam Cannons on the market!!"
Deng Ankang wasn’t an expert; he didn’t know anything about precision or stability.
But he could see the energy fluctuations and the destructive power.
When he saw that the Model 001 Energy Particle Beam Cannon Li Chang’an was selling had blasted a giant crater into the nearby target area, his eyes lit up like two brilliant stars. He stared at Li Chang’an without blinking and asked, "Brother Chang’an, are you sure this thing really costs less than two hundred thousand Rebirth Points apiece?"
Li Chang’an smiled broadly and nodded. "Yes, Elder Deng. And since you’re one of the first customers to order weapons from our Night City Military Technology Group, we can also give you a discount on the original price!"
Hearing this, Deng Ankang’s eyes grew even brighter. He suddenly threw an arm around Li Chang’an’s shoulders and said affectionately, "Brother Chang’an, you know my situation. Your old brother here, with Fire Lion City so close to the Dark Cave... I worry myself sick every year defending against those damn monsters. Can you sell another batch of these treasures to me?"
He paused, let go of Li Chang’an, and thumped his chest. "Of course, I definitely won’t let you take a loss. A discount? What discount? I don’t need a discount! I can even pay extra! How about another thirty... no, fifty cannons?"
Faced with such enthusiasm, Li Chang’an was momentarily taken aback.
He could only give a wry smile. "Brother Deng, please don’t make things difficult for me. The production lines in Cangxuan City have just started up; our capacity can’t keep up. Let me fulfill the current orders first, and then we’ll see!"
Though disappointed, Deng Ankang didn’t press the issue. With a wave of his hand, he directly transferred five and a half million Rebirth Points to Li Chang’an’s account. Including the initial deposit, Li Chang’an’s total revenue from this single order was nearly six million.
It had to be said, as a veteran Reincarnator, Deng Ankang lived a very comfortable life. While he didn’t part with over five million Rebirth Points without batting an eye, he was still quite decisive about it.
Others weren’t nearly as wealthy.
For an ordinary Reincarnator from a small town to spend three to five hundred thousand Rebirth Points to order one or two cannons was already a show of immense trust in Li Chang’an.
After leaving Fire Lion City, Li Chang’an did some quick mental math.
The initial costs for building the factory, purchasing raw materials, and paying wages had been about four million Rebirth Points. Deng Ankang’s order not only recouped his entire investment but also netted him a profit of nearly two million.
’Sure enough, arms dealing is a very profitable business!’
...