Steel steam and flame

"The subsequent construction of the factory, as well as the shift of focus mentioned by the team leader, can we start now?" Waters opened the file in his hand, which listed the data he had compiled, "Start from the beginning. The construction cycle is too long. And the time it takes to install and debug various machines until they are subsequently combined into a complete production line to officially start producing products is something we cannot afford to wait for. This is currently, we are in a dark world They are trustworthy customers and their transactions are stable. After spending a little money, I got their relatively detailed information, all about the industry."

Delya turned over a few pages. Most of the customers in the document are also engaged in machinery manufacturing, ranging from precision instruments to heavy industrial parts. All industries in the empire are considered small-scale industries, and they can barely survive in the competition. It might be better to describe it as half-dead. Now, companies in the empire that can really survive usually have the shadow of other big forces behind them. No matter how bad things are, they still have strong start-up capital. Even if they suffer losses for many years in the early stage, they can still support it until the day they really make money.

Most of the remaining industries began to die slowly from the beginning. It was like being poisoned by chronic poison. Death was a foreseeable result, and the difference was only the number of years in between. In order to survive, they can only be reduced to the simplest manufacturing tools. Doing the simplest work, the benefits are deducted layer by layer, just enough to prevent them from dying too quickly.

"During this period, we ostensibly made a lot of money in the dark world, but part of the reason was that the batch of goods we pulled back from the relisting served as a buffer. I think after this period of time, our lives will not be the same. How much better would it be? As you said, our dozen factories are nothing huge." Delya said doubtfully, "And now, our liquidity is also very tight. For the sake of establishing a stable cooperative relationship, Some of the customers' money has not yet reached our pockets, but they only paid a small deposit. That is only enough for our transportation and raw material costs. If we want to buy such a complete factory directly, we do not have enough money. And even if we buy it back , the necessary later reconstruction of these factories, the reorganization of production lines, etc. will also require a large amount of funds."

"Although if you follow your idea, the entire cycle can indeed be shortened dozens of times." Delya was a little excited.

"What we lack most now is time, which can shorten most of the waiting and preparation cycles to a certain extent. And for the necessary technical personnel, we don't have our own specialization direction yet, we only need general and applicable technical personnel. And these People can be hired at a price. In basic manufacturing, after we have established a firm foothold and made a lot of money, we will slowly move towards the mid-to-high end. At that time, even for core technologies, we can rely on Spend money on it." Waters laughed, "I think this is our general development path."

Delya nodded and smiled bitterly: "I don't deny your idea, but it requires too much money. You know our current situation. The expansion of the industry can only be done slowly. According to your idea, funds are absolutely necessary." It can’t be sustained.”

Waters shook his head: "Deputy leader, I understand what you mean. If we just rely on ourselves, the funds will never flow. But we might as well take a different route now, for example, cooperate with other companies. "

"Cooperation?" Only at this moment did Delya really understand what Waters was thinking, and she didn't know how to answer for a while.

Seeing Delya's hesitation, Waters quickly continued his words: "Yes, it's cooperation. Of course it's not as simple as providing each other with accessories. We are doing that kind of thing now. At best, it can only be called a normal business transaction. . We all bear risks together, share technologies together, expand sales together, and earn profits together. This is this kind of cooperation. In this way, we can achieve the state we want to achieve in a very short time, and have more energy to do it. Other things, such as specializing in high-tech research.”

"Then, at a suitable period, we can choose to leave. So if this plan is really implemented, we have to make preparations between light and dark. Just like parasites in nature, please allow me to use this Metaphor. Even if most of those companies are immortal, they still have some nutrients. Even if they only have their bodies left, they can still be used. While we are here to help them get new vitality, we are also laying eggs and cultivating them in their bodies. It will become a breeding ground for our reserves. When the time is right, everything can be labeled with our private label. And then all that needs to be done may be a lot of blood on our hands."

"But there is no need to feel guilty." Waters finally added, "None of the companies, industries, or individuals recorded in the document can be considered good people. Of course, we are not good here either. They are all scum. For people in the dark world, things like this are very common. It’s just that among these common things, we are the worst among the worst.”

"You can consider it." Delia touched her forehead and looked at Waters a few more times.

"Deputy leader, please don't look at me like this." Waters waved his hand, "I am more than twice your age and have experienced too many things. If I don't have this experience, then I have lived this long. My life has been in vain. In the past, most of the forces I was in had ambitions but no foundation. Of course, this foundation includes many things. This time, I think we do have all the foundations now. So what is left The only thing that matters is the ambition of Captain Cassia."

"I also believe that the leader will be a wolf-like person."

"When we have time and opportunity, the two of us can talk to him."

Not long after, Delya just finished checking a batch of goods and was reviewing the next order when there was a sound from the communication machine nearby.

"Hey, Delya, there's nothing important at hand right now, right?" Cassia's tone was a little painful.

"What's wrong?" Delya heard something was wrong with Cassia and asked, "There's nothing important, and Waters and I happen to have something to do and want to go see you."

"That's just right. I also have time here. It's just that there is some trouble. You need to come and pick me up."

It was probably around nine o'clock when Delya and Waters set off. It took an hour and a half for the two of them to drive to the location Cassia said.

It is something left over from the transfer process of the Manoma Center next to the ruins of a building. As a completely abandoned area, the empire has no plans to develop it again. As far as the size of the empire is concerned, the actual population it currently has is far from reaching saturation.

"Here!" As soon as Delya and Waters got out of the car, Cassia's voice came from a pile of construction debris in front of them.

A rusty steel plate was lifted up and moved to the side. Cassia was hiding under the steel plate, smiling and greeting Delya and Waters who were walking by.

"It's pretty fast," he said.

"What are you doing?" The two of them walked in. Delya looked at Cassia, her eyes resting on the pair of swollen legs. It is no longer an ordinary red and swollen state. According to the memory of Cassia left in Delya's head not long ago, the volume of her legs is at least twice as big as before.

"It was caused by errors in calculations and experiments." Cassia propped up her body with her hands, "Get in the car first, this is not the place to talk."

At this time, Waters wanted to go over and pick up Cassia, but Cassia did not stop him. He abandoned the limousine on the way, fearing that the Webley family's troops would catch up. He had to rely on his hands to get here. For the first time, the terrifying weight made him feel the burden, and he lost a lot of strength on the way.

Waters pushed hard and his face suddenly turned red. Since meeting Cassia for the first time in Zhonglie, he has been guessing about the weight of his group leader. Now that he actually got it, he couldn't help but sigh, it really exceeded his expectations.

In the end, Delya and Waters carried Cassia into the car together. The moment Cassia sat on the limo, it suddenly sank a little.

"Fortunately, I didn't save money on the car at that time." Delya and Kasia sat in the back seat together, and Waters started the limo. All three of them were surgeons, and the burden on the limousine was indeed very heavy.

"What happened? This doesn't look like an injury caused by someone else." Delya pulled out her tactical knife at this time, and without reminding Cassia, she found the most severely swollen place and scratched it out.

Cassia's face moved at this moment, she hadn't felt such pain for a long time. The legs became like this, but the nerves inside became more active. This was also the first time he had encountered it. All the pain from the bones was fed back to the brain, and he was a little unbearable.

Dark red blood flowed from the wound, and the color was obviously wrong. It had a thick fishy smell and filled the entire limo. Delia had to open the car window a little at this time to speed up the loss of this smell.

"It seems serious." Waters also turned his head at this time. After a short period of bloodletting to reduce the swelling, Cassia's feet did subside a little, but it only worked for a short period of time, and the swelling in both legs could not disappear in a short time.

"Indeed, it became like this because of some things." Cassia said, "I can no longer use my strength, and there seems to be something wrong with the muscle fibers inside. I need professional treatment, but I definitely can't go to the hospital. Those places are harmful to me now. Not quite. There should be professional doctors in the dark world, and I think you might know a few. Just go there now."

"That's right." Cassia continued, looking at Delya, "Just now in the communication, you said you wanted to see me for something, and now is the right time to talk about it."