Chapter 317: Chapter 92: Loki Heavy Industry Booth Storm (Two in One)
(Combining 4700 characters into one big chapter, first release at 14:00!)
“Mu Fan, the person who just left is Lin Wu, the heir of the Lin family from one of the seven major families on Blue Capital Star. Just one minute ago, he ordered a tracking of the two girls right in front of you through Sky Communication.”
Black’s voice suddenly rang in Mu Fan’s ears. Mu Fan’s fingers, which were tapping on the table, paused, interrupting his discussion about the mecha production of Loki Heavy Industry.
“Any questions?” Wang Nuonuo’s curious eyes fixed on Mu Fan.
“Being enigmatic.” Chuchu wasn’t feeling too good about Mu Fan at the moment.
“There are some things I need to talk to you about,” Mu Fan casually remarked, wiping his mouth.
“What’s the matter?”
“Pretentious.”
Both girls reacted differently, but Mu Fan didn’t pay much attention and simply said, “The man who just left is Lin Wu.”
“Ha, did we really need you to repeat that?” Chuchu felt that Mu Fan was being a bit too pretentious and unnecessarily making his presence felt.
Mu Fan continued on his own, “He’s from Zhongjing City on Blue Capital Star, the eldest son of the Lin family, the primary heir to the family, and the young master of the Blue Capital Star Sea Financial Group.”
This statement suddenly quieted the two girls.
How do you know that?
“The Lin family actually controls the four major commercial banks on Blue Capital and the largest commercial bank across 19 planets within 5 light-years. The Lin Wu who just came here wasn’t here by chance; it was inevitable.”
Mu Fan spoke calmly, listing the facts as if they were of no importance, but the information conveyed made Chuchu’s eyes fill with suspicion and doubt.
It sounds so real, and quite convincing too.
“He has now left the Ultraviolet Light Restaurant, and soon he might use your account, Nuonuo, to track down your personal identity through the payment information.”
Chuchu couldn’t help but laugh, “Mu Fan, your story is too fantastical.”
Mu Fan ignored her and turned to Wang Nuonuo, “Nuonuo, do you have any anonymous bank cards?”
Nuonuo nodded and pulled out a platinum-colored card with a special lotus design from her bag, signifying it was a platinum Lotus anonymous card with a 5 million credit limit.
“Alright, use this card later. Still, you’ll have to treat us this time. I’ll treat you to a big meal once I make some money,” Mu Fan said, somewhat embarrassed.
“Of course, I’m treating! I’m looking forward to the big meal you’ll treat me to,” Wang Nuonuo said happily, her eyes curving into crescents.
Chuchu covered her face with her hand. Nuonuo, you are too gullible, believing such a flawed story.
But in reality, as the three went downstairs to pay, Nuonuo did exactly as Mu Fan had instructed.
Chuchu walked behind them, sneering at Mu Fan, How shameless, mooching a meal but making it sound so noble.
“Mu Fan, where are you staying tonight? Going back to school? If not, you should come over to our Jingwei Hotel right beside here; I’ll arrange a room for you.”
“I won’t be going back; thanks, though. I’ll find a nearby hostel to stay in. No need to trouble yourself. I’ll see you at 8 a.m. in Zone D21 tomorrow.” Smiling and waving his hand, Mu Fan left under Chuchu’s gaze.
“Nuonuo, how could you trust him so much? This guy seems like a big con artist to me.”
“You don’t know, but he’s really awesome; he wouldn’t lie to me.”
“He’s too awesome to even pay for a meal, huh.”
“That’s because he really has no money now. Promising to treat me to a big meal makes me feel so accomplished, giggling.” Hiding her laugh with her hand, Nuonuo playfully tugged Chuchu’s arm, and the two girls eventually skipped away lightheartedly.
Hopeless~
Chuchu sighed helplessly.
Five minutes later, while in the neo11 sports car, Lin Wu connected with Sky Communication, “I’m sorry, young master, but the payment information I just looked up is an anonymous Lotus Platinum card.”
“Useless trash. Make a trip to the Space Port, the information there can’t be falsified. Just pull up the restaurant’s surveillance for the photo,” Lin Wu casually hung up the Sky Communication, guessing he would have to return to his home in Blue Moon Bay that night.
In another place.
“Target spotted, splitting from two girls, follow the two girls, the target is on the move.”
Thirty minutes later, information regarding Mu Fan’s accommodation and the two girls, Wang Nuonuo, had been delivered to Villa No. 7 in Blue Moon Bay.
Gaoling Ze, comfortably seated on a sofa, furrowed his brows as he listened to the information reported by his subordinates.
“The little princess of Loki Heavy Industries, Wang Nuonuo? How did Mu Fan get involved with Loki Heavy Industries… Purple Jade Star, no, a partner of Fowen Consortium!”
Finally piecing things together, Gaoling Ze’s eyes flickered with understanding. Could this be through that cheap cousin of his?
“Continue tracking.”
“Yes.”
The sudden emergence of Loki Heavy Industries made things much more interesting.
A sickly smile appeared on Gaoling Ze’s face.
…
The next day, after breakfast, Mu Fan took a taxi straight to the D21 area.
Since last night, Black had gone to collect and organize Mecha data from various regions, and there had been no vibration feedback from the wristwatch until now.
Soon, Wang Nuonuo, in a light pink T-shirt and denim shorts, and Chuchu, in a summer casual sundress, appeared before Mu Fan.
“Good morning, sir!”
“Good morning, you’re here early,” Mu Fan said with a smile, looking at the energetic beautiful girls in front of him.
“Let’s go, to the Mecha Association’s exhibition!”
The same weekend, yet the crowd’s enthusiasm had fermented over the week, stronger than the previous one.
“Fire Rain Mecha! A real firepower fortress, the strongest Mecha for mercenaries, check out the latest product from Simon Mecha Company!”
“Master Marz’s latest creation, Serpent Shadow M2 Air Combat Mecha, equipped with a superior aerodynamic engine.”
“Hello sir, our company’s latest Mecha, Ice Swallow Gen 3, highly popular in Hinchlo, available for test driving.”
Mu Fan and his friends entered from Exhibition Area 31, the chessboard layout of the booths kept them busily engaged.
The fiery atmosphere further sparked their interest.
“This is my first time at a Mecha exhibition, it’s absolutely magnificent,” Wang Nuonuo said excitedly, her cheeks flushed. As the little princess of Loki Heavy Industries, she rarely had the chance to be at the first-line sales exhibition.
“That Mecha over there is so pretty!” Chuchu pointed towards a pale golden Mecha with a soft color scheme, a slender body structure, and wings spread out on the back, clearly a Mecha designed for ladies.
For female Mecha enthusiasts, it was an absolutely irresistible lure, fully satisfying customers like Chuchu who had high standards for aesthetics.
“Nuonuo, I didn’t see Loki Heavy Industries last time I came. Which area is their booth in?” Mu Fan asked.
“Area 39, we’re currently in Area 32; we need to walk to the end and then turn left,” Nuonuo replied, lowering her head and tapping on the 3D map that floated up on her Sky Communication, causing Mu Fan a moment of embarrassment. Why hadn’t he thought to look at the map last time? And he had gone straight and turned right.
“Last time I visited Areas 36 and 37, and saw a silver-white Mecha from Purple Jade Star, something called Arabella Weapons Company.”
Suddenly, the enthusiastic Wang Nuonuo stopped in her tracks and exchanged a look with Chuchu, “Arabella Weapons Company? Zhang Yuanren?”
With sharp hearing, Mu Fan’s ears perked up. Zhang Yuanren?
He had heard this name multiple times already, and now it was coming from Wang Nuonuo’s mouth.
“Hmm? Big Barbarian Bear, you know Zhang Yuanren too?” Nuonuo couldn’t help but ask when she saw Mu Fan’s expression.
“Yes, we both attended the special recruitment exam, and I even met him recently when the Dawn Exchange Group came over.”
“You know him too?”
“Hmph, yes, a really annoying rich kid.” Nuonuo didn’t hide her disdain when she heard those words.
That was when Chuchu next to her realized that the man she had thought was merely boasting knew Zhang Yuanren and had even taken an exam with him.
Dawn… Exchange Group!?
“Mu Fan, you’re talking about Dawn Academy on Capital Star, the A-level one?” Chuchu couldn’t hold back her inner doubt and blurted out.
Mu Fan nodded.
“There’s probably only one academy qualified for an exchange visit from Dawn on Blue Capital Star, so you’re from Dingchuan Academy!? We’re actually alumni!” Chuchu was stunned by her own deduction. She couldn’t believe she was classmates with this man, who she had thought was just living off a woman and constantly talking about starships.
“Ah, Chuchu, he’s in our cohort, hee hee, I was having too much fun yesterday and forgot to tell you.” Nuonuo suddenly realized, but there wasn’t a trace of apology on her face, and she even winked at Chuchu.
“What did he say about training yesterday? Did he come here before us? What major is he?” Chuchu rapidly fired questions one after another.
“Army Reserve special recruit. It was a joint selection by the military and the academy, and Mu Fan was the only core student selected in this special recruitment by Dingchuan,” Nuonuo said with a proud expression overflowing her face, attracting sideways glances from many passersby.
He’s a core student!?
Chuchu now realized what Nuonuo meant yesterday when she said he was very capable.
He’s a one-in-a-million core student!
What did this mean? For Chuchu, who fully understood the academy system, it was clear.
It meant that the man she had thought was just living off a woman a second ago was actually the strongest in this cohort at Dingchuan Academy!
He was officially recognized as the top student by Dingchuan Academy!
If nothing went wrong, he was likely to become one of the leaders at Dingchuan Academy for the next four years.
My goodness…
As Chuchu stood there surprised, her palms covering her mouth, Nuonuo couldn’t help giggling.
You finally realize how formidable Big Barbarian Bear is now, huh? Yesterday you looked down on him, hmph!
Thinking about it, she stuck out her tongue at Chuchu in a cute manner, making Mu Fan also unable to resist a laugh.
“Sorry, sir, our company’s product orders have been scheduled until five months later, there are no units available now.”
“Then what about this unit displayed here? I want this one.”
“Ah, sir, this is our company’s prototype, it’s not for sale. Please understand.”
“Get your manager for me.”
“Hello, sir, I am the product manager of this company and also in charge of this exhibit.”
“…Then I’ll take the first batch after five months.”
“Of course, sir, we appreciate your recognizing Arabella Weapons Company. The initial deposit is 6 million Star Coins, would you like to pay now?”
As they walked on, they suddenly heard such a conversation ahead, and then, looking up, Mu Fan was surprised to find himself once again at Booth 37, the same location as last time.
“Arabella!?” Nuonuo and Chuchu exclaimed in unison.
“The two beautiful ladies, are you also familiar with our company? Our latest sixth-generation engine mecha—Wind Speed Competitor is suitable for both men and women, and its light and elegant design has already attracted many female customers,” the product manager leading patrons into the work area said upon hearing the women’s exclamations. He then looked directly at them and opened his mouth with a beaming smile.
Nuonuo stood still, her clear, large eyes fixated unblinkingly on the silver-white mecha with an aerodynamically perfect streamlined shell, a relatively slender waist, and a light sword in hand which was simply dazzling.
“They actually made it look so good!” Wang Nuonuo’s adorable face squeezed together in perplexity as she looked on, greatly confusing Mu Fan.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m a bit worried about the Mecha my grandfather mentioned… I heard him say it was a medium-heavy Mecha. I hope it’s not too clunky.”
“Ladies and gentlemen… Hm? It’s you.” The product manager initially felt familiar, but when he heard Mu Fan speak, he finally realized, “You’re the person who came last weekend!”
“Yes, you remember me now.” Mu Fan grinned.
“I’m sorry, but please leave this booth. Thank you.” As soon as the product manager confirmed it was Mu Fan, his attitude changed immediately and he tried to usher the three of them away.
“If we’re not welcome, we’re not interested.” Wang Nuonuo, now concerned about her own family’s exhibition booth, huffed indignantly and walked away.
Before leaving, Mu Fan innocently said to the product manager, “You don’t even accept feedback graciously.”
Then, the product manager watched the three of them walk away, stomping his feet in frustration.
“Go, send someone to follow them and see where those three are headed. I just heard they might be from another company. We’ll go and sabotage them too.” This suave product manager pulled aside an employee and instructed, then turned to enter the backstage, looking for Master Valentine.
They moved to the next booth, number 38, then turned left to number 39, arriving!
“Loki Heavy Industry.”
Mu Fan looked at the plain industrial styled iron sign and felt a comfortable familiarity.
The heavy and rugged metallic sculpture style, along with the towering three-story tall black Mecha at the entrance, seemed lackluster due to its dull paint and bare exterior. If not for the Dual Hand Cannon, laser sword hilt, and missile launcher hanging on the weapon wall behind, people might think they had come to the wrong place.
But, Wang Nuonuo, with his mouth agape, stuttered after staring for a while, “This, this is our family’s Mecha?”
It’s terribly ugly!
Wang Nuonuo’s sense of aesthetics was assaulted at that moment.
And Mu Fan squinted his eyes as he assessed the Mecha Body in front of him.
This Mecha’s bare exterior, in his view, wasn’t so ugly, as he spotted no less than fifteen weapon slots on the Mecha shell at first glance.
The ten-meter-tall Mecha, medium to large in size for the hall, Mu Fan looked up at the Mecha’s joints. Underneath the heavy outer shell were precisely engineered mechanical connectors, especially behind the knees of the legs, where there were two energy transmitters terminating.
This suggested that the engine was likely giving the legs a separate enhanced energy supply.
Mu Fan continued to look upward from his own perspective, ignoring the weapons mounted on the weapon wall.
To him, the Mecha stationed at the entrance of Loki Heavy Industry naturally possessed endless potential.
As someone who completely favored Mecha close combat, Mu Fan may not judge shooting capabilities, but for close combat, although this Mecha seemed very rudimentary at first glance, the reinforced detail spots indicated that its designer must have been battle-tested!
Several crucial vulnerable spots even had additional alloy reinforcement fittings attached.
Is this the “Extreme Special Soldier Mecha” Nuonuo was talking about?
“Loki Heavy Industry? What kind of company is that, let’s read the introduction first… I’m dying of laughter, it’s actually a metallurgical plant, no wonder it looks like a mining robot, haha.” About twenty or thirty people were gathered outside the booth, but compared to the nearby Arabella Weapons Company, the headcount was five to six times fewer.
“It’s too ugly, it looks so dumb. Look at the description: the prototype was equipped with a sixth-generation dual-core gravity engine, and the first-generation Ge-1 they’re selling is actually a fifth-generation half? Are they mocking the customers? Given such a large Mecha, the fifth-and-a-half generation engine would probably make it an easy target for concentrated fire, and they dare to sell this thing!”
“It looks too shoddy, how could such a crappy company even show up here? I heard from a friend a couple of days ago about seeing a particularly crappy display, but I didn’t believe it until now.”
Wang Nuonuo was already infuriated by the sight of the bulky clunky Mecha, but listening to these scattered discussions around made him nearly tear up.
Suddenly, a voice tinged with mockery came from behind the three, “It’s shameful to be associated with such businesses. Bringing such a broken Mecha here, how much money did they stuff into the Mecha Association? I recommend we contact the organizers and demand a re-evaluation of the company’s qualifications.”
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PS: Thanks to the book friend “Tadashi” for the 588 Star Coins reward! Thanks to the book friend “Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi Xi has set” for the 500 Star Coins reward!
Thanks to book friends “Downhill Young Shu Child,” “leoland88,” “Wealth Streams Attacking,” and “Centuries of Good People,” among others, for the 100 Star Coins reward!
Thanks to the book friend “Pingping(1)” for the 20 Star Coins reward!