My Battlefield Lies Beyond Earth

With Fitz and Ivan on his side, Old Wang finally had the confidence to talk the Department of Defense into it.

He soon met with Colonel Rhodes. Without wasting any words, Old Wang had Fitz explain the concepts behind Units 1 through 3 on the spot. The string of technical terms did not confuse Rhodes in the slightest.

As the head of the U.S. Army Weapons Development Division, Colonel Rhodes was a far more substantial weapons expert than Justin Hammer. Though he did not know much about research and development, he could still grasp the general situation.

He knew quality when he saw it.

After hearing only a few sentences, he was certain:

This young man, who looked no older than twenty, was far more reliable than Justin Hammer.

In his opinion, the original Hammer Steel Soldiers were not even worth fifty million dollars. The problem was that Department of Defense orders involved interests from every side and could not be measured so simply. Though he was the head of the Weapons Development Division, he was ultimately just a minor figure. He had no say at all in such large-scale procurement matters.

Each unit cost nearly one hundred and thirty million dollars. Who knew how much of that had gone into the pockets of the big shots?

The Azeroth Iron Soldiers Fitz described were far more reliable than the original Iron Soldiers even in the case of Unit 1 alone. Not to mention the superior Units 2 and 3, each of which came in four variants: Navy, Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

As a career soldier, Colonel Rhodes was thrilled.

These Iron Soldiers might not match Iron Man’s armor, but they were still highly reliable.

The issue now was the price…

"Unit 1 costs one hundred million dollars each, Unit 2 costs two hundred million, and Unit 3 costs three hundred million. Simple and easy to remember."

Old Wang shrugged. "I heard Tony gives away a case of red wine for every five hundred million dollars? I’m not that stingy. These Iron Soldiers come with a lifetime warranty, plus a full-body paint job. How about it?"

"Thank you." Rhodey nodded.

They were indeed much more cost-effective than the originals. Master Wang was a good man. No wonder Agent Mei had always spoken well of him, and Coulson’s opinion of him was so high as well. The people’s eyes were sharp; Director Fury could not slander him.

"I need to make a call." Rhodey raised his phone.

He could not make the decision on something this significant. He had to report to his superiors.

However, he had already received instructions before coming, and the price Boss Wang offered was indeed not high. Rhodey quickly finished his call, his face full of smiles. "Forty Unit 1s, twenty Unit 2s, four Unit 3s, plus other weapons. One hundred billion in total. Mr. Wang, congratulations!"

Old Wang shook Rhodey’s hand. "Congratulations to us both."

The one hundred billion dollar order was quickly finalized, and Old Wang exchanged a smile with Skye.

Judging from the specifications, Unit 1 was far superior to the original Hammer Steel Soldiers. But in terms of production cost alone, it was probably even cheaper, because the materials used were inferior—

The specifications only looked good. Its actual performance might not even surpass the Hammer Steel Soldiers. Against missiles, artillery shells, or even high-explosive bombs, its external armor was not much different from a sheet of paper.

Of course, Unit 2’s actual performance definitely far exceeded that of the Hammer Steel Soldiers and was comparable to Mark 2. Unit 3 was comparable to Mark 3, while Unit 4, which had not yet been revealed to the Department of Defense, came close to Mark 7 in performance.

Its endurance was much worse. The Palladium energy version was a full tier below the Tesseract Isotope, a technological gap even Fitz could not overcome.

The greater the quantity, the lower the cost. Combined with all sorts of corner-cutting, Unit 1 cost at most thirty million dollars to produce, Unit 2 cost fifty million, and Unit 3 cost one hundred million.

And this was not a one-time deal.

The Arc Reactor had limited energy. Once it was depleted, would they need to replace the palladium energy plates?

The main body was not made of Vibranium, so it had stability issues. After a few uses, it would need replacing. Would that not cost money?

Stainless steel, Titanium Alloy, and Gold-Titanium Alloy could not absorb energy. Their defensive power was limited, and they had no memory function. Once damaged, would they not need replacing?

The internal components were so expensive and easily damaged. Would they not need regular inspections and maintenance?

The weapons systems all used specially made bullets and missiles, unavailable anywhere on the market. They could only be manufactured here. Would they not need to be purchased in bulk?

Besides, even if an Iron Soldier could last ten or twenty years, even if it saw no combat and its hardware did not need replacing, what about the software? What about the intelligent control system?

Whenever a new version came out, would it not need updating? Would that not cost money too?

This was a fucking industrial chain, an ecosystem!

On the surface, the one hundred billion dollar order would earn them over sixty billion. In reality, it would earn them at least eighty billion.

It really was obscene profit!

Colonel Rhodes and the Department of Defense probably believed that with these Iron Soldiers, they would not need a second order for at least ten years.

But they had no idea that the most thrilling and dangerous era of war in the Marvel Universe had already arrived!

The orders would never decrease.

They would only grow larger and larger!

Of course, making money was not important at all.

The reason he had insisted on opening an arms company was not for the Department of Defense.

It was for the Shengun Bureau.

Once the Shengun Bureau was established, once it became involved in cosmic warfare, it would need enough high-quality weapons to support it.

He only trusted his own arms company.

He only trusted his own people.

Now that he had an arms factory, Old Wang naturally had no reason to leave the Quinjet, helicopters, and destroyers in San Juan.

Hammer Industries was, after all, the Department of Defense’s largest arms contractor, with operations spanning every field.

Its main focus was firearms and individual equipment, artillery, missile weapons, and explosives. It had little involvement in tanks and armored vehicles, aircraft, naval vessels, or space equipment.

This was clearly a major weakness. Old Wang decided that from now on, they would develop in a comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable manner.

Fitz and a portion of the technicians were enough for the Azeroth Iron Soldiers. Old Wang summoned the rest of the technical backbone, along with talented people poached from other companies with high salaries, and began a comprehensive analysis and study of the Quinjet and destroyers.

He aimed to master every technology involved.

This was another money-burning industry, but Old Wang soon received advance payments and research funding from the Department of Defense. Azeroth Industries also had the massive amount of liquid capital Justin Hammer had left behind, totaling several billion dollars. He could spend it freely.

Ordinarily, moving such a large amount of money required board approval. But Old Wang made the decision himself, and no one dared object—

Who would dare provoke a ruthless man who had wiped out The Hand and Hydra?

That would be courting death!

Old Wang had his own plans.

The Shengun Bureau’s battlefield would be in space, beyond Earth. It had little need for ocean-going vessels, but it would rely heavily on aircraft, especially aircraft capable of leaving Earth.

He definitely could not obtain S.H.I.E.L.D.’s Light Speed Engine technology, but he had the support of the entire World of Warcraft.

The Quinjet’s only purpose was to serve as a sample for the existing researchers, keeping its strengths and discarding its weaknesses. What they would truly rely on was the science and technology of another system.

Of course, that was a matter for later. His ambitions could be high, but his hands could not be idle. He had to handle the present properly.

The Shengun Bureau had not yet been established, so for now these were only thoughts. Still, Fitz’s abilities were anything but ordinary.

The design for Azeroth Iron Soldier Unit 1 was quickly completed and put into production.

A month later, the Azeroth Exhibition was held as scheduled.

At the same time, Old Wang received a call from Egghead.

"Master Wang, the United Nations Security Council has convened an emergency meeting… I fulfilled the promise I made to you!"

Thanks to "拾遗丶那份噯" for the 1,000 tip