Chapter 205: Connections & Connections

Chapter 205: Connections & Connections

I resolved myself for the upcoming conversation as Kai, the representative from Ferrumus Corp, approached. He had just ignored Joey, so the tension in the air was high.

A number of our allies within the West Coast Agroindustry were here. They all knew that Joey was the one who had remained in contact with Ferrumus throughout all this time due to the contract we signed. We gave them a share of our profits in exchange for keeping the High Gate Group’s supporters in check.

That was why Kai’s conduct had added to the tension. It was evident that he had something serious to discuss with me.

The almost bald man soon reached me and the surrounding people swiftly took a few steps back. Without missing a beat, Kai activated some device, something similar to what I had seen Titus from AeroDynamic use. It created a hazy barrier around us, cutting me off from any sounds beyond the dome.

“I have activated an anti-eavesdropping device, but I prefer we go somewhere private before we chat.”

“Of course...Follow me.”

It wasn’t like I had a choice. While their conduct was forceful and frowned upon, the disparity in our companies made it inconsequential.

I led him off to one of the side rooms. SocialCorp was the leading corporation for a reason. They accounted for every need their customer would have and fulfilled them. In this case, our holographic party room had several smaller rooms for private conversations.

“We should be good here,” I declared. “And please excuse me, I have yet to greet you yet, Representative Kai.”

I bowed and gestured for us to take a seat. While he did so, I took the opportunity to reexamine his cybernetics, as it had been some time since I last saw him. Many things have changed since then, and my ability to analyze the technology used in cybernetics has risen.

The man was a lean cyborg, but I had seen him in action. His swiftness and agility complimented his company’s blades really well. He easily closed the distance and cut through any foe, whether they had energy shields or not.

“Mr. Halls, it has been some time. I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on, but I hope you don’t mind me cutting straight to the point first. My employers have a few things they wanted me to convey to you.”

“I don’t mind at all. Please speak freely.”

“Thank you. My employers wanted me to discuss potential partnerships together. Now that your company has reached the D-Class, we’d be happy to help you navigate the intricacies of operating in space.”

“Hmm, I have yet to decide if we would expand into space yet.”

“Mr. Halls, I highly doubt that. Well, even if we considered you have no intention of taking your business off-planet for now, we can still help set up your foundations. We can help you with that aircraft you recently created. We can help you design a variant that is space-worthy with our years of experience.”

I contained myself upon hearing those words. He was barely keeping up with appearances, basically telling me directly that he knew everything we were up to. I had expected they would keep an eye on whatever they could, so the new aircraft wasn’t a surprise. However, it was unavoidable that I felt uncomfortable that someone from such a large company had dissected my actions.

I quickly recomposed myself and formulated a response.

“Like I said, I haven’t decided when or if I will be expanding off-planet, but I’m still open to hearing about some partnerships you have in mind.”

“We’d be happy to sell you our mining ships and provide various technical support in establishing any type of manufacturing you may wish to pursue. Your business is welcome to use the facilities on our highly secured stations as well.”

That may mean paying ‘taxes’ to them and making us vulnerable to their whims. I’d rather pay the consortium for more neutral ground.

“Hmm, these are too specific to discuss right now. It’ll have to wait until we have a development plan first.”

Kai then proceeded to spew some other ways we could cooperate, making me learn that he wasn’t just a cyborg bodyguard. He fluently barraged me with potential business deals one after the other. If I hadn’t met him before, I would’ve thought he was a seasoned salesman.

No matter what he offered, I responded in the same way, as politely as I could. I dig my heel into the position of not being ready yet.

It took an entire hour for Kai to finally give up. From there, he left the private room and socialized with the other guests briefly before taking his leave.

“Sure, just make an appointment for when you’re free.”

“Oh, why don’t we just directly talk over Legend of the Mythic War? I’ll add you.”

“...That works.”

Rollo’s curiosity was piqued and his SAID was smart enough to provide him with an answer. It automatically pulled up Luford’s account record.

The man had spent an average of sixty hours a week in the game. He even bought a plethora of cosmetic options, making him one of the big spenders of the game. His account had spent no less than a hundred thousand credits.

A whale...I don’t know what to think about being responsible for turning my friend into an addict.

Rollo didn’t dare to dwell on the topic for too long. There were others at the party watching or waiting for him. Most of them didn’t have any important matters to discuss yet and were mainly looking to form a connection.

The surface-level discussion passed the time quickly until a certain bald personage approached.

This is awkward. I’m not sure how to act after seeing him get ignored by Kai in front of all these people. I guess the safe way is to act as if nothing happened.

“Joey, how’s everything going? Did all of your guests arrive yet?”

Engaging me in conversation, I watched as he put on his signature smile and nodded.

“Yes, of course. I can go get them now if you’d like.”

I nodded and quickly came face to face with three individuals.

One of them was much like Joey, bald. However, he had a wide frame and large eyes. He had some conspicuous scars around his forehead.

“This here is Wa, assistant manager to the Oasis Tree Corporation Aegis branch.”

Joey had given me some preface to their companies, so I knew Oasis Tree was a company specialized in life-support products. It was no surprise they operated mainly in space, where their target market was. Not only did ships need a functional life-support system, but so too did the space stations.

I shook his hand and exchanged polite greetings before Joey moved on to the next person. It was a middle-aged woman of short stature.

“This is Kaitlyn, sales manager at Apollo Corporation. If you need any propulsion system or to find the perfect fuel for your ship, they’re the ones to go to.”

Next came a lanky old man. He felt like someone I would find in a research lab instead of some social party.

“Last but not least, we have Julius. He’s from A-Flux Incorporated. If you have money to spare, you should trust me and buy power generators from them instead of paying the station fees. They are one of a select few who are licensed to deal in nuclear power.”

The last man came from a company I was very interested in. They dealt in nuclear reactors, very similar to the ones used in power armor. The difference was that they only dealt in full-sized reactors and not the miniature ones that could fit in my pocket. The tech involved in that was much more mature and easier to implement. The miniaturization tech required for the power armor version was something only top corporations could produce.

Nevertheless, there was no denying the high demand for energy, even in space. It made companies like A-Flux essential to anyone without the tech to do the same. If I wanted to build my own ships in the future, I would definitely need the help of a company like them.

Particle Physics had given me some knowledge of nuclear fusion, but I only had a small part of the larger picture. So far, I hadn’t invested in nuclear physics, so I believed it would be better to outsource these specialty parts unless that has changed.

However, before I would embark on such an ambitious journey, I would brush up my skills with smaller-scale implementations first. My first prototype transport aircraft was complete. It was a great start, but I wanted to test space-worthy vessels as soon as possible.

The costs of these spacecraft were not to be taken lightly, which was why I had arrived at my drone idea. It had both commercial earning capabilities and the ability to allow me to test numerous features I would like on my future spacecraft thanks to its low cost.

I couldn’t wait for the party to be over and dive back into my lab.