Genius Mechanic

20. Sold Out

S-grade anomalous crystals were extremely rare, and the "Quest" institute in Sirius might not even come across one in a year. The highest level of pollution in the contaminated areas near Sirius was Level 3, and the highest-grade anomalous crystals found there were A-Class. Even if an S-grade anomalous crystal appeared, it would have been acquired by the nearby mecha bases long ago.

Mecha pilots rarely brought anomalous crystals for testing, especially one that had never appeared in any records before—an S-grade dual-attribute anomalous crystal. Such a crystal would fetch a sky-high price in an auction.

The researcher's gaze couldn't help but fall on Ying Chenlin. He briefly paused on the mechanical arm. This young man seemed too young, but from the time he entered the lab until now, he had shown very few emotions on his face.

They had received many guests for testing, some were ecstatic with the results, some regretted their choices, and even some people from the mecha bases occasionally showed emotions during the testing process.

But it was rare to see a guest like this one who remained so calm after obtaining an S-grade anomalous crystal.

The researcher didn't underestimate Ying Chenlin because of his appearance. He carefully introduced, "This type of anomalous crystal is extremely rare in the Star Alliance. We can also provide assistance to the testing party. If you need to sell this anomalous crystal, we can contact suitable organizations for auction. If..."

"No need," Ying Chenlin interrupted.

The researcher was slightly taken aback but didn't continue. He placed the data tablet in front of Ying Chenlin and cleared all the data in front of him. "We are obligated to protect the privacy of our clients. We have sent you the test results, and the testing report is the only copy. All the remaining data has been destroyed. If you need further assistance, you can contact us again."

Ying Chenlin thanked him and settled the payment before leaving.

The researcher sighed, his face showing a bit of weariness.

A colleague came in and looked at him, "What's wrong? Was the guest just now troublesome?"

"Not at all," the researcher thought about the two guests he received today. Not long ago, he had received a guest who brought a pile of A-Grade anomalous crystals for testing but remained unfazed. The other guest was the one just now, who showed no reaction to the S-grade dual-attribute anomalous crystal.

"I just feel that Sirius might not be as simple as it seems."

Outside the testing institute, many mecha pilots were coming and going.

Ying Chenlin passed by them, the storage device hidden in his collar collided with the mecha key. He checked the time; he had spent quite some time here, and there seemed to be other matters to attend to at the base.

In the KID's internal group chat, discussions were in full swing.

His communication device rang, and Ying Chenlin called for a floating vehicle, then answered the call, "Boss."

On the other end of the noisy communication, Juniors Ji Qingfeng and Lin Yao were excited.

Shen Xingtang's voice was faint, "Chenlin, are you back?"

"All our parts are sold out!"

Ying Chenlin hesitated for a moment. So fast...?

　-*

Half a day ago.

After a long silence, KID's official blog finally made a post. Fans and followers rushed to the page, expecting KID to announce information about the new season of gunner mecha pilots. To their surprise, upon entering KID's virtual page, they were directly redirected to a newly established virtual store.

The virtual store was located right next to KID's virtual image in the mecha market district. On the left side, there used to be a notice board hanging the old KID recruitment for maintenance staff, but now the notice was gone, replaced by an announcement of the grand opening of the KID Parts Store.

[New Store Grand Opening! All parts inside the venue are on sale today! Buy 3 items, get 10% off, buy 10 items, get 20% off.]

Once they entered, they were directed to the mecha market parts street. The store was simple, with basic decoration and a few glass display cases, lacking any extra adornments, looking like an ordinary three-no store. If it weren't for the fact that they had been redirected from the KID official blog, the netizens would have thought they were in the wrong place.

A sense of cheapness hit them in the face, causing the netizens rushing to the store to stop in their tracks.

"Selling parts??? KID, are you really planning to perform poorly in the next season?"

"There's no news about mecha pilots, and the recruitment for maintenance staff is gone. Now they are still selling A-level parts... this operation is just like a massive clearance sale before going out of business."

"When they do clearance sales, they offer discounts. Look at what KID has hung up in the store - an A-level part is being sold for 100,000! What are they thinking?"

Many netizens entered the store to check it out, crowding in front of the display cases to view the part information. The parts sold by KID were not made from expensive materials but were common ones that could be found in the market or shopping websites, such as A-GZ1456, A-GZ6666, and about ten other models, all of them being A-level parts. The prices ranged from 90,000 to 110,000.

Selling these old parts, which could be found in the market for 30,000, at such high prices... Did KID lose their minds?

"I thought they were poor but had a bottom line. Now it seems like they are both poor and have no bottom line. Even if they are selling the parts as merchandise, how can they be so expensive without any autographs?"

"I just read the part details. Precision conversion rate of 55%? Who doesn't know that A-GZ1456's best quality is only 50%? Can they understand the actual performance before selling parts? There are too many fakes. I'm reporting them. Don't trust parts that haven't been tested by professional institutions. "

"Let's try buying one; after all, KID has a good reputation. They won't run away, right?"

The store also displayed the testing rate of the parts, but not many people believed it. There were too many fake test results circulating on the internet. More buyers preferred to trust the testing results from professional institutions rather than those provided by the store itself.

People familiar with mechas also had some understanding of parts, especially the part models and market prices. What kind of performance and quality the parts had were well-known and clearly marked.

Promising 55% precision for A-GZ1456 was like deceiving people who knew nothing about mechas. Besides, any mecha pilot who needed a 55% precision part would be better off spending a few more thousand to buy a genuine part from a reputable supplier.

A lot of people rushed in to watch the fun, and for a while, they were all spewing sarcasm at the things displayed in KID's store. However, there were also quite a few people who were planning to do some charity because of KID's reputation.

"Too poor. Why don't you guys go to other bases and do live broadcasts in the contaminated zones?"

"Even rich ladies are buying. Are you doing charity?"

"Buying one for 100,000? Other teams' merchandise is not as expensive, you know!"

- *

Manager Liu had been staking out this store for a long time. Every time he messaged the shop owner, there was no reply. Today, just as he came online, he received a notification that the store was opening. He hurriedly brought his subordinates to the shop and saw a sea of people as soon as they entered.

This almost drove him crazy. His immediate boss, Manager Zhou, had specifically instructed him to take all the other types of parts in the inventory. Seeing so many people, he was worried that they were just here to watch and that there wouldn't be many actual buyers.

He squeezed his way to the front of the display cases, and thankfully, the items were still there!

"How much are we buying, boss?" one of his subordinates asked.

Manager Liu replied, "Of course, as Boss Zhou instructed, we're buying all of them."

The shop had only been open for two minutes, and several parts had already been sold.

The items might be expensive, but people were still willing to pay for them.

The lively scene continued for a while, but suddenly, several of the display cases went dark!

[Store inventory sold out. Welcome to come back next time!]

Netizens: ???

KID's new store had around ten types of parts on display, with a total stock of about three hundred pieces.

However, in just a short five minutes since the opening, all of these expensive mecha parts were sold out!

At this moment, more people squeezed into the store.

"What the hell, isn't this a new store? Why are there so many people today?"

"Is our forum's traffic really that huge? The spatial traffic in this area has been fully utilized several times!"

"Why are all the items sold out???"

"Who is liu84567? How did they buy everything in seconds?"

As more and more people gathered, the mecha enthusiasts who came to watch the fun were confused. One of them quickly stopped someone and asked, "Are you stupid? You could've gone to another store; they sell these parts for 30,000 outside, and here they're selling for 100,000!"

The person who was stopped replied, "Exactly! 100,000 for a 55% conversion rate part, where is it expensive? The store next door sells a 55% conversion rate part for 120,000, and its durability isn't as high as this one! Besides, 55% is for A+ grade parts, while this is an A-Class part! A-Class parts with a 55% conversion rate are being sold for 150,000!"

Ordinary A-Class mechas cannot use A+ grade parts effectively because the compatibility is not enough, and the mechas are prone to problems. 

The A-GZ series was a mid-to-high-grade part, almost an A+ grade mecha's substitute part two years ago, which has now fallen in popularity. However, it's still one of the few parts that can be used in both A-Class and A+ grade mechas.

A-Class parts can be used in both A-Class and A+ grade mechas, but most A+ grade parts can only be used in A+ grade mechas and are not compatible with other A-Class mechas.

Outside, there are parts with a 55% conversion rate, but those are low-end parts meant for A+ grade mechas and belong to the A+ grade. They are made with good materials, and 55% is a common conversion rate.

However, A-Class parts achieving a 55% conversion rate, using materials that can reach this upper limit, have greater compatibility with various mecha types, making them top-tier parts for A-Class mechas. Moreover, they are 50,000 cheaper than the market price, so who wouldn't be tempted by such parts?

"It might be good, but there can't be such cheap 55% precision A-Class parts, right?" Netizens were still skeptical. "There are so many fake products on the StarNet, and their test results haven't been verified by official authorities..."

The person who was stopped didn't bother to explain and just showed them a forum video before squeezing to the front desk to ask the AI shopkeeper when they would restock.

Those who were clueless finally realized that KID indeed opened a store selling parts, but instead of asking for high prices for the parts, they were actually offering discounts. They were leveraging KID's reputation to do charity.

Those who missed buying parts quickly rushed to the counter to find parts, only to discover that everything was sold out, and the shop had no plans to restock. Missing the chance meant missing it entirely, with no opportunity for compensation.

"Damn! Who bought everything?!!"

"This shop didn't even set a purchase limit. Does the shopkeeper know how to do business? If it were an auction, they could make even more money!"

"I misunderstood them. They might be poor, but at least they won't rip us off."

"Can anyone who bought multiple parts sell me one? I happen to need this part recently."

This incident quickly spread on the StarNet's forums, attracting many people, but they couldn't find the few parts sold by KID. Instead, they heard about the magical properties of those parts from the perspectives of others. Many people couldn't afford A+ grade mechas, and the upper limit of their A-Class mechas was restricted. If there were parts that could improve precision conversion rates, they might be able to achieve better results with their modifications.

"Which factory does KID usually cooperate with?"

"I checked, and it turns out the models are from the Canis Major factory, but I didn't see them selling such high conversion rate parts in Canis Major's store."

"Damn, does the KID base actually have part designers? Has anyone found information about this yuan?"

"No!"

…..

The Sirius parts market, several developers are walking out. During the off-season, it's a time of great harvest for the parts market, and major mecha bases need a large number of parts and materials. For developers like them, getting orders from famous teams means big profits.

"Boss Xu, didn't you sign a contract with KID from Sirius?" someone asked Xu, which immediately angered him. Last time, he thought KID would yield, but Shen Xingtang didn't call him back for several days. He couldn't bring himself to find Shen Xingtang again, so the deal was still hanging. "Let's talk about it later; the price hasn't been negotiated."

"You lost a big order, huh? Can your factory still sell the parts you produce?" another boss teased with a smile. "Your kind of parts can only be received by bases like KID's. Other teams' bases have already signed the contracts, right?"

Boss Xu's face darkened, but he remained silent.

At this moment, they saw a middle-aged man surrounded by others coming out of the parts market, seemingly discussing something. Xu found the man somewhat familiar. "Who is that...?"

"Don't you remember?" another developer next to him said, "That's Boss Zhou from Jianheng Technology, the well-known A-Class mecha company in our Dawn Galaxy!"

Boss Xu suddenly realized, "Why is he personally at the parts market? Doesn't Jianheng have its own parts factory?"

"They do, but I heard Boss Zhou has a new project starting. Rumor has it that he wants to readjust the performance of A-Class mechas and is looking for suitable parts technology."

The person continued, "You know that our Dawn Galaxy's mecha technology has always been inferior to other galaxies. Jianheng is a big company here in our Dawn Galaxy, and it's normal for them to seek some breakthroughs. You want to push those parts that aren't A-Class race-level parts to KID, right? I remember your factory's craftsmanship is quite good. Maybe Boss Zhou's company..."

Boss Xu felt somewhat tempted.

After parting ways with the other developers, he quickly had someone arrange a meeting with Boss Zhou's secretary. Surprisingly, not long after, they agreed to have a detailed discussion.

"Boss, what about KID...?" one of his subordinates asked.

The moment KID was mentioned, Boss Xu's tone changed: "I don't have the time to waste with Shen Xingtang."

His subordinate hesitated and said, "But KID opened an online shop on StarNet, and they seem to be selling the parts we wholesale to them last season. It's trending on StarNet..."

Boss Xu: "???"