From BOSS to Canon Fodder: She is Currently Out of Service!-Chapter 128 - 66: Secondhand Energy (Part 2)
If it weren’t for the fact that both of them are such emotionally dense individuals, with emotional intelligence far below normal levels, they might have come out already!
"That guy won’t help with making these parts, but he knows quite a few people who can do system programming, and they’re quite skilled, top students from the Xilena system programming department."
Even though they’re both students, the system programming students are different from those in the mecha driving department.
The former, due to their specialization, already have skills that surpass many designers in private mechanical enterprises. However, they have lofty aspirations, wanting to join official institutions of the Human Alliance, showing little interest in civilian enterprises. The latter, wanting to grow stronger, need a lot of practical experience, and the training period for growth is long. The gap in strength due to experience between students and Alliance warriors is significant.
So, if that top student takes action, the system they design will definitely be better than those made by ordinary private enterprises. At the very least, under the same conditions, the costs are much lower.
"I’ll go home tonight and ask for you. We have half a day’s rest tomorrow, so we can go ask them in person then..." Lucy said with a smile, "You don’t have to worry about them not wanting to take the task. Those guys, especially my wooden-headed brother, ever since he found out that the mecha design map was done by you personally, he’s been pretty much ’thinking about you day and night’, ’haunted by your figure’."
Since ancient times, there has been no first place in literature, no second place in martial arts, and mecha design is considered "literature". Her brother has long wanted to meet Su Jiameng, exchange insights with her, or engage in a friendly competition. If he hears this news, he’s likely to agree.
Su Jiameng was a bit confused by the conversation, but she understood the core content. Lucy had already taken care of the core system of the domestic robots, so she only needed to work on the limb components. But then she worried, "With this scale, how many robots do we need to make? We also need to consider the daily energy supply and monthly maintenance..."
Guan Changxi and Su Mo’s energy systems are very advanced, capable of converting various energies floating in the air into the energy needed for their bodies. In a pinch, they can simply plug themselves in at home to charge, so their energy requirements aren’t high.
However, those domestic robots are different. Pure electricity is not enough for them to squander, they can’t absorb energy from the air, they need some special compressed energy blocks or energy panels... Su Jiameng still doesn’t know where to buy these things.
As for this issue, K3 and his peers are quite relaxed. As students who often deal with mechas, they frequently come into contact with those energy blocks, "Our school’s driving classes provide students with energy blocks. After they’re used up, they’re collected and sold to others at a low price, recharged for reuse. If Xiao Meng doesn’t mind, you might consider this route."
The energy blocks used by official mechas are very special, high-level, but also very expensive. The school wouldn’t provide such precious items to students for practice. Therefore, the energy blocks that K3 and his peers use for training are secondary-grade energy blocks, typically used for ordinary robots. Of course, while these energy blocks may not suffice for mechas, for general robots, hovercars, airships, and aircraft, they are quite a good choice.
But because they are not high-level, these energy blocks are considered "disposable energy" for mechas; they can’t be recharged and reused without causing the mecha’s wear rate to increase. Thus, every practical class in the driving department results in a lot of discarded energy blocks. Although they can’t be reused on mechas, they can be recharged and repurposed in other fields...
"...because they are reused, the selling price is much cheaper than brand new ones. If Xiao Meng needs them, I can discuss it with a few friends..." The credit points for purchasing energy blocks are deducted from the students’ tuition, so naturally, when resold, those credit points are returned to the students’ accounts.
But we should be aware that due to the price of energy blocks, this recycling trade is highly profitable. Many resellers recharge used energy blocks and sell them again, pricing them only ten percent lower or even less than the original price, while their purchase price is only about thirty to forty percent of the original price.
"Elder Qin’s suggestion is quite good. Instead of letting those black-hearted guys earn, let Xiao Meng do it."
The circumstances at Lucy’s home are quite good, so they don’t mind this kind of expense. But not all students at the Xilena First Affiliated School can ignore such consumption, as most resellers have some relations with the teachers, so they push the prices quite low, which is rather harsh for most students.
Su Jiameng can slightly increase her purchase price by twenty or thirty percent, likely collecting a lot of second-hand energy blocks, perfectly outfitting those domestic robots, and the cost would be much lower than before.
Su Jiameng calculated in her mind, and it really was like that—a guaranteed profitable trade. Speaking of energy blocks... Su Jiameng frowned as she thought about it. These low-level energy blocks aren’t entirely useless; if used properly, they can be quite effective.
Having lived through the ravages of the Insect Race, Su Jiameng is somewhat doubtful about the current peace, always a bit suspicious and paranoid. It’s like awakening one day to news reports of the Insect Race causing horrific scenes across the land.
She wants to regain her former strength, not only to protect her two children but also to give herself peace of mind! Strength is always more reassuring when held in one’s own hands. (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read on m.qidian.com.)
