Contract-build interstellar warships?
At hearing a proposal of this kind, the Angel Tilia behind Zhao Chen was struck blank a moment.
The War Angel King upon his throne laughed. "You would contract-build interstellar warships for us? If I remember the information about your Owl Dragon rightly, the number of interstellar warships your own Owl Dragon has in service at present is no more than 30,000-odd. How much capacity can your industry have? How many interstellar warships can you produce in a month?"
Zhao Chen looked calmly at this War Angel King. "My Owl Dragon Legion has indeed no more than 30,000-odd interstellar warships in present service. But that does not mean my industrial capacity will not answer."
"Words are no proof. How will you prove you can contract-build interstellar warships for us? And why should we trust you, and hand over the technical drawings of our interstellar warships to you with an easy mind?" The Judgment Angel King, who had not spoken all this while, opened her mouth, and in her voice no tone whatever could be heard — it was like cold ice.
Zhao Chen nodded in agreement. "You are quite right. Words are no proof. That being so, let us make a test of it. You may place an order with us now — say a thousand hulls of some Angel Race class. Our Owl Dragon will complete that order within the time. As for the question of secrecy in the technical drawings just raised. That is the easier to settle: the technical drawings you provide us may be only the 90 percent or so that is not core technology. We shall answer for producing that 90 percent part of the interstellar warship, and then ship it across; the core part thereafter you answer for yourselves. In this way, set against your producing an interstellar warship yourselves as before, a great deal of time is saved. Of course the cost will rise somewhat. But for the Angel Race at present I should think cost no very great problem; to supply the front-line fields with interstellar warships in quantity is the most important thing of all."
Having heard Zhao Chen out, all three Angel Kings fell into a short silence.
It must be said that Zhao Chen's words had truly moved them.
To hand 90 percent of the starship's manufacturing modules to the Owl Dragon to build would assuredly raise the cost, but it could greatly shorten an interstellar warship's build time.
At this juncture, with the Angel Race in urgent want of interstellar warships, they would even be willing to obtain a hull at three or four times the original cost.
Their Angel Race was very rich; through these years, though they had waged a war without cease against the Demon Race, they possessed a store of wealth by no means small.
And that store of wealth, lying there, was a dead thing of no value whatever; only built into interstellar warships was it worth anything.
Should the Angel Race be defeated, no store of wealth however great would serve.
"Can you truly produce our Angel Race's interstellar warships?" The War Angel King looked at Zhao Chen doubtfully, believing it still but half.
"There is no harm in trying," Zhao Chen said with confidence.
"Tilia, take Mr. Zhao Chen down to rest a while first. Show him something of the Holy Temple Mount." The Holy Angel King spoke gently.
Zhao Chen turned and walked out of the great hall; he knew these three Angel Kings were about to make their final decision.
Zhao Chen looked at the fine prospect before him, and stretched himself.
"I never thought you would offer terms of this kind." Tilia stood beside Zhao Chen and looked at him in wonder.
Zhao Chen smiled slightly. "Opportunity is always kept for those who have made ready."
"But to produce our Angel Race's interstellar warships — the technical difficulty is very high. Though you may possess the capacity to produce T5-grade interstellar warships. Yet as all men know, the design of our Angel Race's interstellar warships is exceedingly subtle and exacting; it pursues the utmost in a single hull's fighting power," Tilia said with some pride.
The utmost in a single hull's fighting power?
Was that not simply the way an elite fleet is built?
To raise this before Zhao Chen's Owl Dragon.
Was that not flourishing an axe at the carpenter's gate?
"Fine words serve nothing. When the time comes and you see the Angel-line interstellar warships I have produced, you will know this is a cooperation in which both sides win." Zhao Chen smiled slightly.
Thereafter, under Tilia's guidance, Zhao Chen went about the Holy Temple Mount to see it.
The place had a great air of art about it; everywhere one could see beautiful female ang… beautiful statues and works of craft.
Before long Zhao Chen had his answer.
Though Zhao Chen did not see the three Angel Kings.
Two thrones stood empty already.
Just as when Zhao Chen first walked into the great hall.
There remained only the Holy Angel King upon the middle throne.
"We three have discussed it, and think we may give you this opportunity. We shall hand you the technical drawings, core technology excepted, of one class of T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer. We require you to deliver, within one month, the component sets for 10,000 T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers," the Holy Angel King said gently.
Only a T3-grade interstellar warship.
It seemed these three Angel Kings did not yet trust him wholly.
The T3-grade interstellar warship was at present the lowest grade fitted out in the Angel Race's regular fleets; T2-grade interstellar warships appeared only in certain territorial patrol fleets.
And it was but a single class of interstellar destroyer.
Zhao Chen smiled slightly. "Then might I ask how the cost of this order is to be reckoned?"
The Holy Angel King was struck blank a moment.
Zhao Chen looked at this angel woman's blank expression, and thought it rather charming.
He reckoned they had not touched on this matter in their discussion just now.
Tilia at this point advanced a step, and took it upon herself to save her own Angel King's face. "The procurement cost of a single T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer is 30 million star coins; setting aside those core technology modules, it should be somewhere about 20 million star coins. I wonder what the lord thinks a fitting figure for this business."
One could see that this crew of angels seemed not much versed in trade.
The corner of Zhao Chen's mouth rose slightly, and he held up one finger.
"Double? Forty million star coins?" Tilia muttered it over; that price they would still be willing to accept.
"No — tenfold. For the part we are required to produce in delivering a T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyer, you are to give us 200 million star coins."
Two hundred million star coins!
At hearing this figure Tilia was startled.
Surely that was far too dear.
"The Angel Race's front-line fighting is fierce now, and this is the very hour of your want of interstellar warships. And the capacity of the Angel Race's own military-industrial production lines has already reached its limit. At such a time, that we can contract-build these interstellar warships for you may be reckoned a timely rain. And we are to bear the costs of transport and the rest besides. A quotation of 200 million star coins the hull already expresses our sincerity in wishing to work with the Angel Race. You should know that in selling our own interstellar warships, our Owl Dragon has always taken at the least thirtyfold profit." Zhao Chen wore an air of perfect sincerity.
The Holy Angel King's lovely eyes looked at Zhao Chen. "Are you certain that within one month you can deliver us 10,000 T3 Radiance-class Medium Interstellar Destroyers?"
"Certain, assured, and by no means denied."