Chapter 262
Chapter 262: Welcome to the World, Vege-Fritter!
Despite answering some of their questions occasionally, Fleka hadn’t participated in the design process or voiced his opinion regarding the specifics . He wanted to know what kind of flying car the two young men would come up with .
Honestly, Fleka had been looking forward to this . Sometimes he would think of Cillin and Naimi’s car design even while he was working . But when he actually held their final design papers and looked at them, he discovered that all of his fantasies and expectations were silenced at once .
How should he put it? Knowing Naimi, and knowing that Cillin was providing input and suggestions, he was expecting the final design to look a little newish . After all, a lot of youngsters preferred flamboyantly styled flying cars, such as big spoilers, wings, fin-shaped wings and so on . They even wanted it to look as bright and colorful and possible . However, the final design Fleka was holding was completely different from what he had imagined .
This car had an exterior that would be considered exotic on the streets, but here in the “Winds of Freedom” it was a completely outdated design because the first version of the car came to existence at least tens of years ago . The car had also raced multiple times in the “Winds of Freedom”, but the final result was less than ideal .
Although flying cars with this design had achieved some good results when they first came out, the design soon became outstripped by other strange, original or eye-catching designs . The moment it passed its peak, it became a nostalgia-filled ‘parent’ that led to the creation of many other designs such as the crescent-shaped flying car and the bullet-shaped flying car . So, Fleka couldn’t deny that he was disappointed upon discovering that this was what Cillin and Naimi came up with after spending days researching and designing .
The design papers in his hand displayed the 3d image of a round-shaped object . It was the fruits of effort both Cillin and Naimi spent days to create . Many car hobbyists loved to call a car that was designed this way a “vegetable fritter”, and if this was how someone commented on your car, you could imagine that they were totally mocking you . It was no compliment for sure .
The reason “The Winds of Freedom” was famous wasn’t completely because it had an exciting and very challenging racing circuit . It was also where concepts were proven .
What exactly does “proof of concept” mean in “The Winds of Freedom”? It was the culmination of car manufacturer’s skills and technological development . Since the design that wasn’t restricted by the production process, racers and designers were allowed to fully unleash their talents to the point of ridiculousness and display the a car’s unique charm to the max . It was a kind of avant-garde, an “art” that was birthed at the intersect point where the present, the future; the dream and the reality lay .
Judging from the exterior alone, lots of people were going to sell it after it officially enters full production . This was his view as a member of the Sizer Family at least . But would Naimi, also a member of the family not know about this? Of course not! He was the kind of guy who got very excited every time a flying car with an unusual shape came out .
Both Cillin and Naimi looked like they knew that Fleka would look like this since a long time ago . Instead of worrying, they simply beamed at him, so Fleka stopped himself from whatever he was going to say and read further . After all, the first part of the design was focused on introducing the exterior . Maybe he would be pleasantly surprised after this?
Well, the latter parts of the design had definitely gave him an entirely different feeling . However, the ‘surprise’ was far bigger than the ‘pleasant’ .
The further he read, the more serious Fleka looked . When he was finally done reading the whole thing, Fleka let out a long sigh before looking at Cillin and Naimi, “Are you sure this is what you want to design? Just because a race encourages innovation doesn’t mean you should squander the opportunity, take risks and imagine something that exceeds the rules and the bottomline!”
“No, uncle, this is definitely the best flying car I currently have in my mind right now . I believe that this design is perfectly capable of replacing spaceplanes, or should I say it is a culmination between a triphibian flying car and a small-sized spaceplane . It has some of the functions of a triphibian flying car and a spaceplane, and other than the fact it doesn’t have a warp drive it’s practically not much different from a spaceplane . Of course, it is entirely possible to fit in a warp drive with a bit of spending…”
The more Naimi spoke, the more excited he grew . Soon, he was overflowing with it .
“Stop! Right now I don’t care if your car has a warp drive function or the speed of a spaceplane . My question is, can you two really finish this project on your own? I told you before I won’t be lending you a hand in the design process, and don’t tell me you’re going to hire a scholar from the RAS Engineering Department to finish this project?! If that’s the case, then this car is just a money burning failure that’s inferior to a normal spaceplane!”
Fleka’s tone was a little heavier than usual . After all, he wasn’t the kind of person who normally throw words like ‘failure’ right in the face of a designer and a racer . However, when he looked at the design that was more idealistic than realistic, and then at the two young men whom he had high hopes for, the word had spilled out of his mouth before he realized .
“Also, you should know that the cars are normally introduced before they make their debut, and this includes a rough estimate of the construction cost . According to the rules, the amount of money spent to make the car cannot exceed one hundred million, and the sweet spot is between ten million to fifteen million because it means higher investment value . But!” Fleka picked out two of the papers before continuing, “I estimate that it’ll take at least two hundred million MB* to complete this design, and don’t try to lie about this, there are no idiots in the organizing committee . I’ve already helped you once, and I won’t allow you to break the rules again!”
*after some consideration, I removed the ‘coin’ behind ‘MB coin’ because… this is sci-fi no one’s actually using coins . The reason I put coin in the first place is because I was worried that people won’t get what MB is, but on second thought what the hell was I thinking back then?
“Relax, relax, uncle, you need to control your emotions . Take a deep breath…”
“Relax, my fart!”
Fleka was seriously regretting his decision to allow them to participate in the race . He’s just making his own life difficult, isn’t he?!
A deep breath later, Fleka pressed a palm to his head . He had no idea if he should call these two kids arrogant or ignorant . After putting a hand to his heart as if trying to push away the irritation in his heart, he continued, “Alright, let’s not talk about construction cost for the moment, money isn’t that important to you to begin with . Let’s talk about the tech issue, shall we? This project is so big that not even our family’s designers and the builders dare claim that they can definitely finish it in such a short time, much less me! Maybe you can find a legendary Black Viper member or hire a professional from the RAS to teach you, but even then you can’t possibly build it in just ten days, can you? We’re only fifteen days away from the grand race now, and you need the last five days to familiarize yourselves with the car, the environment and the terrain! You don’t have time to finish this thing!”
“Er…” Naimi scratched his head, “Cillin said he can probably build it in ten days . ”
“Cillin!” Fleka looked at Cillin . He nodded, “If there are no shortage of materials, ten days is probably enough . ”
Fleka’s eyes twitched once, twice . He sucked in a deep breath once more . He couldn’t exactly find an angle here because Cillin’s assembling ability was clear for all to see, not to mention that it was the most efficient assembling skills he had ever seen with his own eyes .
After thinking for a moment, Fleka said, “I’ll get you the materials you need as quickly as I can . Just give me a list . All the materials you need must go through me, and I’ll get them at the current lowest price point in the empire . If the total price exceeds the limit set by the rules, I will declare forfeit immediately on your behalf . ”
Both Cillin and Naimi were aware that this was Fleka’s final concession . They agreed to his demands completely .
“I’ll also find you an assembly field to build your car in, and until you’re done you’re not allowed to leave that place . If you have an additional demands, tell them to me directly . I can’t be supervising both of you all the time . Be conscientious, it’s all I ask . ”
“Ah? Isn’t this like a detention? Can we at least have visitors?” Naimi complained .
“No!” Fleka was very firm on this matter . After all, who knows if they might ask someone to bring in some illegal goods?
“Fine, it’s not like we have time to walk around once the assembly begins,” Naimi said .
“What about you, Cillin?” Fleka looked at the young man . If Cillin planned to object to this, he would bar him from participation right now .
“I’m okay with this . ” Cillin had no objections to offer .
“Alright . I’ll take you two to the assembly field right now . ”
The assembly field Fleka led them to was his own . After he was done cleaning out some items, he conceded the place to Cillin and Naimi temporarily .
The lounge and the workshop were kept apart, and there were some sports equipment and first aid equipment as well . All in all, it was a pretty complete and standard Fleka style work factory .
After receiving the material list from Cillin, Fleka said, “From now on, the two of you will stay here until you’ve finished assembling the car . ”
“Got it . We will obey the rules you’ve set . ” Cillin promised .
After Fleka left, Cillin ran over the tools for a bit . They were all practical and advanced tools, and they normally came in a complete set . At the very least, Cillin found everything he needed for the assembly .
“Are you done checking?” Naimi asked Cillin after circling the factory once himself .
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