Chapter 290: Kestrel-cla.s.s
The wars.h.i.+p modification event had always been the pinnacle of the Golden Finger Cup, since the partic.i.p.ants had to optimize normal wars.h.i.+ps under certain conditions to maximize their fighting capabilities.
It was an all-around test for the partic.i.p.ants. The partic.i.p.ants must handle the whole modification process on their own. If the partic.i.p.ants’ skills were not versatile enough, they would be unable to score high in the event.
The wars.h.i.+p modification was the longest event in the tournament. The partic.i.p.ants had three days to modify the wars.h.i.+ps before they took part in a three-day-long knockout compet.i.tion. The finals, with only eight partic.i.p.ants remaining, would then take place on the last day.
After breakfast, Xia Fei took the hovercar provided by the organizer to the hangar he was allocated to, and a brand new Caldarian Kestrel-cla.s.s frigate was parked inside it. The rich and imposing Caldari was sponsoring every frigate for the wars.h.i.+p modification event. Other reputable companies in the Alliance were sponsoring some parts for the event, too. The organizers of the Golden Finger Cup only had to arrange the venue and supervise the events, so they did not spend a lot on the tournament.
Of course, the companies willing to supply the tournament with expensive wars.h.i.+ps and spare parts had their own goals. If a wars.h.i.+p using their parts came first in the compet.i.tion, their products would immediately grab a lot of attention and increase the sales significantly. Therefore, many manufacturers were more than willing to sponsor the Golden Finger Cup. Some of the companies would even sign a deal with the most talented partic.i.p.ants of the tournament, hoping they would use their products during the wars.h.i.+p modification event.
As a matter of fact, a few manufacturers had already contacted Xia Fei two events ago, hoping to strike a deal with him over using their products, but Xia Fei had rejected all the offers.
The wars.h.i.+p modification event was the main reason he was partic.i.p.ating in the Golden Finger Cup, for he was going to showcase the energy-s.h.i.+eld booster to the Alliance at large and claim a spot for it amid the fierce compet.i.tion between the manufacturers. If he signed a deal with any of the companies, he would be restricted to using certain parts for the event.
In addition to it, Xia Fei mostly relied on his instincts when modifying a wars.h.i.+p. Even he did not necessarily have a standard approach. He might change his plan if he came up with a new idea in the process. After thorough considerations, Xia Fei decided to give up on the opportunity of finding a sponsor. The benefits might be enticing, but he had to put the future of his company, Quantum Holdings, first. If the energy-s.h.i.+eld booster managed to grab the Alliance’s attention, the benefits were far beyond what any sponsors could offer him.
Xia Fei stopped at the entrance of the hangar and observed the Kestrel-cla.s.s frigate from this distance. Similar to humans, the first impression of a wars.h.i.+p was very important, too. Wars.h.i.+ps gave off their own aura; normally, a high-quality wars.h.i.+p would instantly give an indescribable sense of astonishment to those seeing it for the first time.
A man wearing the uniform of a coordinator of the Golden Finger Cup approached Xia Fei. He turned on a special computer in his hand to verify Xia Fei’s appearance.
“Xia Fei, here is the list of spare parts you’ve preordered. The goods are placed in the storage behind the hangar. I’ll need you to confirm if everything is in the right order. Also, if you have any complaints about the wars.h.i.+p, you can tell us right away; we’ll contact the company to replace it,” the staff said.
Xia Fei took the list and looked through it. He said, “If I decide to change the parts later, how long will it take to deliver them to me?”
The staff smiled. “Fifteen minutes. It’s the Golden Finger Cup, after all. The a.s.sociation of Machinists is pretty efficient, but you still have to confirm the parts in the storage to avoid any accident. We will change the parts for you immediately if we have the stock. The total price of the parts is 37,511,000. Every partic.i.p.ant is given a fund of fifty million, so you still have some available.”
Xia Fei nodded. “I think that there’s nothing else then; thank you.”
The staff looked behind Xia Fei and asked, “Are you planning to modify the wars.h.i.+p alone?”
Xia Fei nodded without saying a word.
“Well, the tournament allows the partic.i.p.ants to hire a.s.sistants for the event. All the a.s.sistants are talented members of the a.s.sociation. You only need to pay them thirty thousand each every day. Of course, you are allowed to use the funds allocated to you to pay them,” the staff said.
Modifying a wars.h.i.+p was not an easy task, so most partic.i.p.ants would hire machinists to lend them a hand. It was normal for the event.
Xia Fei rejected the staff’s friendly reminder not because he was putting on airs but because he was being more cautious after the incident of the Blood Matrix. Li Mo was surely going to pick on him in every way possible. It was difficult to keep his design a secret if he hired unreliable machinists as his a.s.sistants. If Li Mo bribed his a.s.sistants, he might get his hands on the blueprint of how Xia Fei would modify the wars.h.i.+p and use it to beat Xia Fei.
Besides, Xia Fei was not afraid of getting his hands dirty. He was not too fussy with doing the manual labors himself. He would just eat a few extra bowls of rice to make up for it. After all, the tournament was providing food to the partic.i.p.ants for free.
Xia Fei inserted his card at the entrance. The t.i.tanium door immediately closed up while the lights in the hangar lit up. The system was specifically designed to ensure every partic.i.p.ant’s privacy. Only people with permission were allowed to enter the hangar to modify the wars.h.i.+ps.
There was another door at the back of the hangar. Boxes of spare parts were placed in order inside the room. There was a tiny hovercar nearby, which the partic.i.p.ants could use to move the heavy parts into the hangar.
Xia Fei turned on his microcomputer and confirmed the parts on the list while moving them to the wars.h.i.+p. He also brought out the needed tools and devices from the sides.
“The greatest strength of a Kestrel-cla.s.s frigate is obviously its missile system, but its hull and s.h.i.+eld are very weak; plus, it doesn’t have any advantage in terms of speed. It’s a standard wars.h.i.+p with high firepower; how are you planning to modify it?” Phantom asked.
Xia Fei tapped on the wars.h.i.+p’s hull. The knocks echoed about.
“If it’s a firepower-focused wars.h.i.+p, I’ll fully utilize its firepower. As for its defense, I’m planning to set up a dual energy s.h.i.+eld booster array to increase the energy of its s.h.i.+eld as much as possible,” Xia Fei replied.
Phantom said after a brief thought, “Aren’t you going to modify its speed? This wars.h.i.+p is pretty slow. Its agility is lacking, too.”
Xia Fei smiled. “There’s no need to modify its speed. Every partic.i.p.ant’s wars.h.i.+p is the same. Everyone is going to use its missile system as the main offense for it has outstanding firepower and precision-guided system. There’s no way I’m going to dodge the missiles unless I can push its speed to an extreme level. It’s going to be a head-on battle between two Kestrel-cla.s.s frigates. Little tricks aren’t going to make any difference.”
Phantom nodded. The most obvious weakness of missiles was its long flight time. If the target was a distance away, the missiles would have to cover a long distance before hitting the target, unlike a blaster which could inflict damage on the enemy as soon as it was fired.
However, the missile system had its advantages, too. It could swiftly lock down its target. It had a hundred percent accuracy, unless the enemy’s wars.h.i.+p was able to outfly the missiles.
The accuracy of blasters was significantly lower than the missile system. If an enemy slightly increased its speed, a blaster would lose a part of its firepower due to the need of readjustment and the lack of accuracy. Therefore, the duel between wars.h.i.+ps with missile systems was like a fight between two warriors without any protective measures. The two would take turns to throw punches and kicks at each other. It was a showdown of resistance, since the one less resistant to hits would fall first. The victory would only belong to the one with a greater resistance.
As a matter of fact, the nature of the compet.i.tion was in Xia Fei’s favor, since the energy-s.h.i.+eld booster he invented would significantly improve the defense of his wars.h.i.+p.
Phantom shook his head. “Is it really that simple? It’s not like you at all. No way. You must have something else in mind.”
Xia Fei smiled but remained silent.
“Hah! You smiled. I knew you were up to something. Hurry up and tell me what your plan is!” Phantom exclaimed.
…
The hangar doors were set to close at six in the afternoon of Earth’s time. The venues were off-limits, too. The organizer had allocated twelve hours a day for the partic.i.p.ants to modify the wars.h.i.+p to ensure that they were in their best shape throughout the event. The partic.i.p.ants must leave their hangar when the time given to them was over.
Xia Fei left the hangar and stretched. He was worn out physically from working the whole day, but his mind was in great shape. He had done half the modifications in just twelve hours. If everything went smoothly tomorrow, he would be able to finish the modifications and use the third day for testing and some final tweaks.
Constantine walked up to Xia Fei. He was unkempt as usual and did not look like a prince at all.
Similar to Xia Fei, Constantine was modifying his wars.h.i.+p alone. There were 312 partic.i.p.ants to the event, but only Xia Fei and Constantine were modifying the wars.h.i.+ps on their own. The others had hired a.s.sistants to reduce the workload.
Xia Fei had a quick chat with Constantine. The man told him that he had not only come to take part in the tournament but was also in the capital ring to find himself a wife, since the women in the Blood Candle Kingdom were too ugly and had their flaws. None of them were gentle, too.
Xia Fei did not say anything. After all, it was not appropriate for him to comment on personal matters. He reminded Constantine that, as a man, he must retain his dignity at all times. Only then would he be able to win the affection of a woman. Constantine nodded sternly. The story Xia Fei told him had long been implanted in his heart. Since then, he had stopped approaching women shamelessly.
Avril was done with her cla.s.s for the day, too and was now waiting outside the hangar with Pang Xing. Constantine was envious of the relations.h.i.+p between Xia Fei and Avril. He grudgingly said goodbye and went back to his room alone.
“Xia Fei, Avril!” They could hear Thuram’s laughter from a distance away.
Xia Fei went up to Thuram and greeted him. Avril politely greeted the elderly man, too. Thuram seemed to be in a great mood, for he complimented Avril on her good manners. The lady immediately blushed embarra.s.sedly.
“I have something to discuss with you,” Thuram said.
“Does it have something to do Xiao Yu?” Xia Fei supposed.