Chapter 304: A-list Supplier

Tai furrowed his brows. “What is this?”

“These are results from the level 5 stress test, and they’re also testing the energy-shield boosters,” Williams answered.

Tai was very baffled. “Why did you guys do a second round of tests? Why not put it together with the first report?”

Williams chuckled mysteriously. “Best if you read the report before you ask anything else. I do believe the data will be enough to pique your interest.”

Tai curiously gave the report a thorough read, and then he got up from his seat and paced around the room several times.

“All the boosters actually passed the level 5 stress test after forming them into shield defensive arrays? Why was there such a significant difference between the two tests?” Tai wondered out loud

Williams had not informed Tai of this. He had secretly obtained twenty-four energy-shield boosters from Thuram, using four together to form a shield defensive array. Even Williams himself did not expect that the six sets of shield defensive arrays would all clear the level 5 stress test.

Williams cleared his throat and explained, “The researchers in the laboratory believed that not only will the energy-shield boosters see a leap in their functionalities upon setting them up into a defensive array, they can also evenly distribute the stress of any incoming attacks, thereby greatly increasing the resilience of the system.

“All of us are well aware that, if a machine’s greatest stress limit is set at one hundred, then its safety baseline will be around eighty, and pushing the limit further will heavily damage the components. Meanwhile, a shield defensive array made up of four boosters will evenly distribute the pressure, such that each will only bear twenty-five, much lower than its maximum stress value. That’s why testing a single shield booster only caused it to reach its limit, while when combined to form a shield defensive array, the boosters’ resilience had an increment of four times and above.”

Tai easily grasped what Williams was saying. This was akin to using a van to transport goods. One with a hundred-ton capacity being made to transport two hundred tons worth of goods would soon breakdown not long after being driven, while four vans with the same capacity transporting the two hundred tons together, with each only carrying fifty tons, hardly going past their limit, could bring the goods to far away places.

“Tell me the conclusion,” Tai requested somberly.

“Four energy-shield boosters were combined to form a shield defensive array, improving their performance by over seventy percent, increasing the maximum endurance by four times and resilience by sixteen times,” Williams said.

Tai was abruptly stunned. “Did you say that its resilience increased by sixteen times?”

“That’s right. At least, that’s what the data we got from the level 5 stress test. All six sets of shield defensive arrays passing the test is the best proof of this.”

Tai sat back down, one hand ruffling his silver hair as he pondered over the new information.

Actually, he was not skeptical about the energy-shield boosters not being technologically advanced enough. As the top authority of the Alliance Military, he of course knew just how much the product would greatly improve combat effectiveness if their fleets were to have them equipped, but what he could not believe was the fact that this was from a relatively new company, having been established just three years ago. He simply could not trust such a young company to be capable of equipping the entire Alliance Military.

“The cost of equipping this shield defensive array on every ship is too high. Besides, we have ships of every kind, and their internal energy reserves may not be enough to support the array,” Tai objected.

Williams chuckled. “We’ve already asked the best shield system expert from the laboratory, and combining the boosters isn’t limited to four, it can also be in triples or pairs, and the effect increases multiplicatively. It’s simply incredible just how powerful it is.

“Plus, the defensive array that uses two boosters combined has already been tested in real time combat. The founder of Quantum Holdings, who is also the inventor of the energy-shield booster, Xia Fei, has recently participated in the Golden Finger Cup, and he piloted a Kestrel-class frigate fitted with two of his energy-shield boosters. He was able to take down nine other Kestrel-class opponents single-handedly, creating the legend of having nine consecutive kills.”

Tai nodded. “I didn’t watch the match, but I more or less have heard of it on the news. That young man is the one who invented the energy-shield booster?”

“That’s right.”

Tai rubbed his chin, seemingly still unable to make a decision. The usually swift and resolute Tai was not one to hesitate, yet he simply was not at ease with Quantum Holdings’ current situation. After all, it was fine if the military chose not to use the energy-shield boosters, but deciding to do so would mean making a purchase order which was valued in the billions. In the history of the military, never had it ever done something like placing a huge order and the combat strength of the entire military to some unknown company.

Layton could hardly sit still. He was a fan of the energy-shield booster, and seeing its exceptional performance after setting up a shield defensive array with it, Layton was anxiously looking forward to being able to fit all the military fleets with it, the sooner the better.

“Tai, I have no idea what you are hesitating for. While it’s true that Quantum Holdings’ size is lacking, you’ve also seen their products. How could you not feel at ease seeing that these even passed the level 5 stress test?

“If you are uncertain about the company, send men over to oversee their production and find another location to set up a second inspection center, checking every energy-shield booster before equipping it to the fleet, only using the boosters after they pass the inspection.

“In any case, what I mean to say is that if we truly wish to spread the use of this equipment throughout all our fleets, we can always rely on our strength to control them. We are the military; there’s nothing that can stop us if we do.

“I feel that this product here is very helpful in improving the combat capabilities of the military, and isn’t that exactly what people in our position should be doing?”

Layton had always been fearful of speaking in front of Tai, but he had no idea where he found the backbone to say so much in one go, even managing to organize all his thoughts so well and clearly. Tai could not help but look at his old war comrade, wondering, “Could I have really been too conservative?”

Williams immediately answered, “Actually, whether the energy-shield boosters are combined into an array or otherwise, they’ve already proven their excellence during the tests. There’s no reason for our fleets not to have them equipped.

“Over the years, the military has always been strictly adhering to the old procurement policy. If there truly comes a day when the insectoid military arrives en masse again, we may be the ones at a disadvantage if we keep being so conservative.”

Layton added, “That’s right. Any company will all start from small and work its way up. I heard that the founder of one of the four major warship companies, Gaia, was originally a winemaker. Haven’t they proven to be one of the military’s strongest strategic partners after developing all these years?”

Tai stared at the report in his hand for quite some time, while Layton and Williams kept making their case from the side.

All of a sudden, Tai slapped the desk heavily and said, “Perhaps you’re both right. I’ve been somewhat conservative with our purchase of military hardware and the ilk, but I’m also doing so for the sake of the entire military, for the Alliance.”

Tai’s eyebrows tightened as he said in a deep voice, “Then, let the military have a historically smallest company as one of its A-list suppliers.”