Chapter 1639: Chapter 1639

1639: Chapter 1635: Action 1639: Chapter 1635: Action Time is the most magical magician, some things Lu Ping’an thought would never happen in his lifetime, but when the time comes, it seems as though it was all within the realms of reason.

The melon ripened, the fruit turned fragrant, the season arrived, and with a gust of wind, the aroma filled the air—it was time to eat.

It was just that simple and direct, no need to overthink.

But while personal diversions flash by, the grand symphony doesn’t seem to reach its end so quickly.

Official matters or public affairs, they always seem never-ending.

“You still managed to come…

Do you know how many calls I couldn’t refuse I received yesterday?”

As soon as he walked into the office, Lu Ping’an understood the complaints.

A glance at the desk…

and the documents on not just one desk but also two trolleys, made Lu Ping’an decide to act as if he heard and saw nothing.

As long as I’m not dragged into working overtime, everything is fine.

I’ll buy you bubble tea and raise your salary to cover the overtime later.

“You couldn’t refuse any of them?

The Proper God Church?

Saphire people forces?

The military frontline…

uh, I can tell by your face, all of the above?”

Catherine nodded her head; she was numb to it all yesterday.

She couldn’t afford to offend anyone, and to make things worse, Lu Ping’an had gone off the radar.

Now, if Lu Ping’an really wanted to make it so nobody could find him…

Even if everyone knew his physical coordinates, if he meant to be unfindable, then he would be unfindable.

Hearing this, Lu Ping’an, who had also made achievements in the domain of space, fell silent.

He knew that he would be busy upon his return home, but he didn’t expect there to be so much to do.

“…Do we have a schedule?”

“Yes, this one and this one, you pick which one you want.”

Catherine, already aware of Lu Ping’an’s habits, handed him two work schedules directly.

One was the overtime hell, and the other was slow death…

The slightly more humane one had a few extra days for Lu Ping’an to take care of miscellaneous matters in Ancient City and to visit relatives and old comrades, but the trade-off was that the work period would be even more inhuman.

“The most important thing coming up is the Zhanjiang Conference…”

These schedules included “meeting certain individuals face to face,” “participating in specific events,” and “attending certain meetings.” But the most vital one was probably the Zhanjiang trading fair that was happening in a month.

This, in fact, was also an assignment from the officialdom of Ancient City to Lu Ping’an, hoping to support the city’s industry at the arms fair.

The Zhanjiang Conference fully represents the Yangtze Middle Region Combat Equipment Trading Fair, a large-scale regional arms fair held every six months.

Such trading fairs happen in every region, but Zhanjiang always has the largest orders…

Now the safest shipbuilding areas in the Eastern Country are all along the Yangtze River, making the Zhanjiang Conference in fact the largest scale warship and onboard weapons trading fair domestically.

Lu Ping’an returned at this time exactly because of this reason.

“…Yes, our goal this time is to preserve the total volume of last year’s orders.”

“It’s a bit difficult, several factories have improved their shipbuilding technologies this year, and our advantages are diminishing…

Are you saying for me to use underhanded methods in the trade?

That seems unnecessary.”

“What I mean is for you to use other new products to make up for the reduced ship industry.

We don’t have to go so far for such profits that it would result in the frontline not having access to the best ships.

Oh, by the way, you might want to look through these documents; they’re somewhat related…”

Catherine showed Lu Ping’an the cooperative projects of other companies.

The Ark as a bio-warship, boasts advantages such as quick production, resistance to sinking, high load capacity, and strong regeneration ability…

but apart from that, its drawbacks are numerous, especially its maneuverability, which is basically tragic.

The original version truly relied solely on oars for rowing.

As for the armament on his ships…

Lu Ping’an really didn’t invest much energy and resources into this area of research, basically buying finished products directly from other companies.

Such warships were sufficient for regular mercenaries, militias, and local armed forces, but obviously not for the front-line military.

“…They mean we team up to bid?

Hmm, it seems worth considering.”

These were some domestic front-line arms manufacturers suggesting that Lu Ping’an provides the prototype bio-warships, while they would provide the latest versions of shipborne armaments and power engines, along with power systems…

This is a common business practice, where each party contributes their expertise “subcontracts” combine them first to secure the contract.

“If you think it’s feasible, we can continue the talks, and if everything goes well, we should be able to come up with preliminary designs to participate in the bidding within half a month.

We have a significant competitive advantage, or rather, it’s our company’s Ark that has a huge advantage, as those Arks still in service with the Third Fleet have always been well received….”

Undoubtedly, this is good news, but the specifics of cooperation and profit distribution need concrete discussion.

And time is of the essence…

Lu Ping’an being late is also a good thing, as it’s those people who are in a hurry, not him.

“…Sure, try to maximize our side’s profit margin and hint to them that even if we don’t reach a cooperation, we have channels to sell prototypes directly to the navy.”

Selling finished products, of course, would be more profitable than selling “materials,” as most of the profit from many goods actually comes from those “small parts” and associated services.

If there is to be a real collaboration, Lu Ping’an not only wants a share of his own bio-warship prototypes but also a cut from those ancillary equipment sales.

In a sense, he had indeed become a contradictory yet successful businessman.

Just yesterday, he could casually astronomical figures to his hometown as Guardian machines; today, he fights for profit margins without any bottom line.

Lu Ping’an nodded to this, and the detailed discussions could then proceed.

Lu Ping’an flipped through his schedule, fearing there would be no rest for the coming week…

He marked some items as important himself, while others he simply crossed out, delegating others to handle them.

“Marine Symposium, huh…

looks like I have to go.”

Quite a clichéd name, too vague, it seemed like a waste of time and money for a conference.

But as long as the hosts are the Proper Gods and Evil Gods from the seven major Life systems and the participants are at least senior experts above seventh-tier, the value of the conference is evident.

This conference wasn’t sudden; Lu Ping’an had attended twice before and eavesdropped on what kind of stuff they were feeding into that sea…

Lu Ping’an then thought his “Awakening Disease” wasn’t so extreme after all, and that the invaders should be put under more pressure.

This “Marine Symposium” was more like a “Discussion on Extermination of Marine Invading Life Forms by Top Life Series Scholars”…

The government would send representatives to participate, also fearing that the unintended target of extinction might turn out to be humanity itself.

Their efforts were quite effective, with at least eighty percent of invader casualties being related to the Poison Sea, and even Lu Ping’an now refrains from casual contact with seawater…

Although those Life systems have tailored their abilities and Creations to target the invaders specifically, nothing is 100% guaranteed, and in the past two years, there have been numerous dangerous entities breaking free from their restraints.

“At least knowing a bit about it, if something really happens, it’s good to be prepared.”

Lu Ping’an looked at his schedule, indeed, as Catherine said, there were too many tasks and commitments that he couldn’t refuse.

“The Ministry of National Defense wants to have a meeting, huh, are they organizing a Great Counteroffensive?

I might be offered a temporary military rank…

Need to make a trip to Wanjing, right, and prepare a formal suit.”

“The international joint mechanism is being established, huh, is it appropriate for me to witness it?

Seems like several countries haven’t lifted my warrants…

They sure move fast.”

“Ancient City University wants me to give a talk…

That old fox Principal, the talk is just an excuse, his real goal is to have me help with job placement.

Right, and I also need to to my alma mater…”

Handling the multitude of tasks one by one, Lu Ping’an sprung into action, and it also meant that the forces under his command were re-entering the system of the Eastern Country, embarking on various actions concerning the war.