Chapter 418: Chapter 159: Assembling and Buying Vehicles, Qingping Merchant Team! (With Images) _3

"Inspector Li, what are you talking about? If it weren’t for you, I, as a procurement officer, would have been laid off long ago!"

"Haha, good to know. Enough with the small talk, hurry and bring out the discounted price." Matthew Lee chuckled, feeling no pressure in front of Cheng Ye, but showing a strong offensive attitude towards outsiders.

Old Sun didn’t dare to slack off. He immediately pulled out a tablet and started introducing it to the two of them.

"Since you plan to use second-generation batteries, we’ll skip over all these chassis that are compatible with third-generation batteries."

"Here’s the price details for the second-generation chassis, please take a look..."

Matthew Lee didn’t reach out to take it but instead slightly turned aside, looking at Cheng Ye.

Seeing this, Old Sun was slightly stunned, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

However, he reacted quickly, immediately turning the tablet towards Cheng Ye, smiling as he said, "Chief Cheng, take a look."

"Let me see."

Cheng Ye slightly raised his eyebrows and reached out to take the tablet.

His fingers gently slid across the screen, revealing densely packed information about various chassis on the tablet.

Even the most ordinary chassis is divided into four versions:

Short-distance, Long-distance, Combat, Reconnaissance.

The first two have certain changes made to the chassis structure, sacrificing overall strength to increase storage space, suitable for relatively safe routes with good road conditions.

The latter two differ in materials: the combat version focuses more on rigidity, using high-strength and impact-resistant alloy materials, while the reconnaissance version emphasizes flexibility, using lighter materials without much strength difference.

In terms of price, the four chassis have ratios of exactly 1:1.5:2.5:3, with each subsequent one costing 0.5 more than the last.

Reconnaissance is the most expensive, while short-distance is the cheapest.

Upon clicking into the short-distance chassis, various types of chassis forms slowly refreshed, making Cheng Ye’s eyes heat up with excitement.

The first thing that caught his eye was the Brick Transport Vehicle.

Without the need to accommodate the large box of the third-generation battery, the designs of the first and second-generation brick transport vehicles were particularly inwardly contracted at the front.

Gone was the bulky feel of the third-generation Big Golden Cup, instead resembling a bit like the mythical Wuling Hongguang.

Below are three versions: 3.8 meters, 4.5 meters, and 5.2 meters.

Considering the merchant team’s main short-distance transport between Satellite Cities, Cheng Ye skipped the first two, deciding on the longest 5.2 meters.

He clicked on the parameter details; the vehicle body length, width, and height were 5250×1870×1960mm, with a wheelbase of 3450mm.

It can carry an estimated 11 cubic meters of goods.

Additionally, the chassis has reserved installation space for first-generation batteries.

Although the first-generation battery’s range is inferior to the second and can’t handle rough roads, it’s sufficient for short-distance use in the merchant team, helping to further compress the budget.

"Three five-point-two-meter bricks."

"Alright, these are all the basic 800-point models!" Old Sun immediately pulled out a pen and a form to start the order, happily jotting down Cheng Ye’s requirements.

This order was billed at the cost price of the Industrial Department, not earning much commission.

But the Industrial Department offers volume rewards for procurement officers; as long as they meet the target, the year-end bonus is secured.

More importantly, holding such a big order gives one confidence in speaking among other procurement officers, avoiding being constantly edged out for lack of performance.

"By the way, do you need any modifications?" Old Sun asked while writing the order, "Like reinforcing the cargo barrier boards or installing side guard nets; these are commonly used for transport."

"Just add a fixed rooftop rail." Cheng Ye replied softly.

For a transport vehicle, the main focus is loading. In case of combat, one can’t expect much use out of it anyway.

The rooftop rail can be used to secure large items that can’t fit inside, directly fixing them to the roof, offering more stability than welded brackets while not damaging the chassis structure.

"Alright, these are all free options." Old Sun noted it down.

Aside from transport, the next problem to solve was the merchant team’s security.

Cheng Ye originally planned to choose a nimble small vehicle for patrolling and early warning around the transport fleet, but after searching through the list of second-generation chassis, he didn’t find a suitable one.

The main reason was that vehicles fitting first and second-generation batteries couldn’t achieve small size and long range simultaneously.

Small cars are indeed nimble, but with limited battery compartment capacity, they can only run a little over a hundred kilometers on a full charge.

For long range, one would need a large-capacity battery, but a larger battery would immediately enlarge the vehicle, compromising its nimbleness.

Only the third-generation battery could achieve small size with high capacity, allowing small vehicles to have a range of three to four hundred kilometers, but the price was too steep, necessitating a change of approach.

"Looks like we’ll need to add two more, making it five vehicles." He looked at Matthew Lee.

"Five it is then, safety first." Matthew Lee waved indifferently, not forgetting to add, "Since it’s for security, it needs to look intimidating! Enough to deter trouble; if the budget goes up, I’ll cover it."

This still counts as having no material desires?

Unexpectedly, Matthew Lee always had a knack for power and grandeur, amusing Cheng Ye. He quickly slid his fingers across the tablet, finally stopping at an engineering drawing: "How about this?"

The screen displayed a ’Second-Generation Armed Pickup Chassis.’

The vehicle body is an additional fifty centimeters longer than an ordinary pickup, with room reserved in the cargo area for armor plates, and the front can be equipped with a crash bar.

The cargo box interior has four on the sides and two at the front and back, a total of six removable gun mounts that support light machine guns, just right for security needs.

Aesthetics aren’t a consideration; it’s all about being rugged and tough—able to fight, or if not, to ram.

Most importantly, it’s compatible with the second-generation battery, offering a full-charge range of 270 kilometers, perfectly sufficient for short trips between Satellite Cities.

"This is great!" Matthew Lee’s eyes lit up immediately upon seeing it, "This is it! Two armed pickups, with armor plates and gun mounts added. If the money falls short, I’ll top it up!"

"And load it up with weapons. No, never mind the guns, someone owes me a favor, I’ll have them prepare something nice for us."

"No need to top up; the budget is sufficient."

Cheng Ye calculated, the basic chassis of the armed pickup costs 1200 points. With modifications like armor plates and gun mounts, each is 1400 points, 600 more than the standard chassis.

More crucially, to ensure instantaneous explosive power in combat, it requires two motors, raising the cost even higher—each armed pickup’s total cost reaching 3300 points.

Next to him, Old Sun’s eyes sparkled, his pen practically flying as he swiftly recorded all the requirements.

Seeing Cheng Ye’s empty teacup, he immediately picked up the kettle from the table, carefully refilling it with a particularly diligent smile on his face.

A big client indeed.

Just these five chassis already amounted to 5200 points; how many people can spend like that?

Cheng Ye summed up the current total expenditure in his mind: three transport vehicles and two pickups, costing at least 13500 points.

What an expense!

But on further thought, buying a third-generation Big Golden Cup in the 100kWh version costs fifteen thousand, so these five vehicles together still cost less than one, making it seem much more reasonable.

When it came time to choose his own vehicle, Cheng Ye suddenly felt a bit guilty.

Perhaps because he grew up being frugal, even with money, spending on himself felt guilt-inducing.

Plus, using the fleet’s funds to buy himself a vehicle... 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Spend when needed; enjoying spending is the motivation to earn."

Matthew Lee patted his shoulder, "Besides, you haven’t asked Brother B for investment yet."

"True."

Cheng Ye couldn’t help but smile. Among the array of chassis models, he quickly selected his ride.

The design wasn’t anything special, just a common off-road SUV.

The difference lay in its exaggerated vehicle ground clearance, which could handle many muddy roads even with a first-generation battery, without scraping the chassis.

The second was its compact wheelbase, nearly 20 centimeters shorter than ordinary SUVs, sacrificing rear space for extreme agility, reducing troubles in narrow mountain roads or within abandoned buildings.

These two aspects perfectly matched his future needs for dedicated locations.

Maximize passability and efficiency; as for comfort features, save where possible.

"Got to make money!"

Settling on the requirements for six chassis, Cheng Ye took a deep breath, raising his hand to rub his temples.

Poverty’s taste really is unpleasant.

Thinking about going to the checkpoint’s scrap yard later to pick usable motors and controllers from a pile of junk metal only intensified his sense of urgency to make money.

Yet at the thought of having his very own vehicle in a few days,

Not rented, not borrowed, but something crafted from careful planning and savings bit by bit,

This feeling was far more exhilarating than buying a house before.

After all, a vehicle could take him to many places in the wilderness, showing him more of the world!

...