218. It's Time to Compensate
"This is the damage caused by your 'sparring'," Theresa handed the two of them a receipt.
The one million sum made Fu Hua instinctively avert her gaze, unable to bear looking at the glaring number.
Although she had worked at St. Freya Academy for several years, this amount was astronomical to her.
After all, she hadn't participated in any of Schicksal's missions; she was simply a teacher there.
The training ground wasn't ordinary ground; it was reinforced with special materials. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to withstand the Valkyries' training.
Besides that, there was also considerable damage to some training equipment caused by the aftershocks of their battle.
All things considered, one million wasn't a huge amount.
"Think about how to solve this," Theresa said, feeling a headache coming on. St. Freya Academy's budget for this month was already severely insufficient.
Did she really have to go to her grandfather and beg for money again?
"I only have about 200,000 here right now..." Fu Hua said somewhat embarrassedly.
"I do have a little, but it's still not enough," Yun Ling said, shrugging.
Aunt Lingshuang had indeed given him a considerable amount of money, enough for him to squander.
But that didn't mean the total amount was this large.
"In that case, let's sign a contract," Theresa said, seemingly prepared, handing a contract to Fu Hua and Yun Ling.
Fu Hua would hand over 50% of her salary each month until the loan was repaid.
Yun Ling would hand over 50% of his mission earnings until the loan was repaid.
"It feels like a contract of servitude..." Yun Ling muttered.
"Hey! This headmistress has been merciful and hasn't punished you two. For such a huge mess, just paying compensation is already very humane!" Theresa said, hands on her hips, slightly annoyed.
She had been sleeping soundly last night when Himeko suddenly woke her up.
When she arrived at the training grounds, they were in ruins.
At first, she thought it had been attacked by enemies, but she soon learned that it was just Yun Ling and Fu Hua sparring that had left the place in this state.
"Just repairing the training grounds is enough, right?" Yun Ling asked.
"It's not that simple. The materials, the strength, and some other parameters all need to meet standards for us to continue using them," Theresa explained.
"Can I see the parameters?"
"Sure…what are you planning to do?" Theresa couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"I'll repair it myself, of course! I've studied a little engineering, so it should come in handy," Yun Ling said confidently.
As a master-level mechanic, of course, he also knew about engineering and would have no problem repairing the training grounds.
Theresa looked at Yun Ling suspiciously. Although she knew he was quite capable in the past few days, it was only in combat.
She had watched the recording of last night's battle. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Yun Ling's strength far surpassed that of an A-rank Valkyrie, comparable to an S-rank Valkyrie from Schicksal.
No wonder he was so confident he could restrain two Herrschers.
"Let me make this clear beforehand: this project might be very different from what you imagine. If you can't do it, let me know as soon as possible, so as not to delay the students' studies," Theresa said to Yun Ling as she crouched down and rummaged through materials in her desk.
"Understood," Yun Ling nodded in understanding.
Soon, Theresa found the materials. Yun Ling took them and examined them carefully, muttering to himself as if calculating something.
"Hmm, leave this to me. It should be able to be done for around 300,000," Yun Ling said directly.
"300,000?!" Theresa was somewhat incredulous; the price difference was significant.
"I checked, and the biggest expense is purchasing RN74 alloy. But actually, this material can be synthesized in other ways, which are not only cheaper but also have almost the same effectiveness, thus significantly reducing costs."
Yun Ling compressed the various materials, demonstrating to Theresa and Fu Hua how to save money without affecting strength.
Theresa was confused, while Fu Hua seemed thoughtful. Although she had some engineering knowledge, there was still a significant gap between her understanding and Yun Ling's.
"This material requires special machinery to synthesize, right? The cost of purchasing the machinery far exceeds one million," Fu Hua inquired.
"Leave the machinery to me; I have a way," Yun Ling confidently patted his chest.
"The total price might fluctuate by about 15%. Could the headmaster please provide a list of places nearby where the material can be purchased? I'll go check them out."
Seeing Yun Ling's confident explanation, Theresa, whose engineering knowledge was limited, could only nod blankly.
"I need to see results within a week, or you'd better sign the contract obediently," Theresa warned.
"No problem," Yun Ling gave an OK sign.
Theresa also hoped Yun Ling was telling the truth. If so... she could embezzle... cough, no, keep a portion as reserve funds for future project payments.
Sometimes she even suspected that Otto was deliberately withholding funds from St. Freya Academy just to see her act cute to him...
"I have two hundred thousand..." Fu Hua took out a bank card. She rarely spent money; she saved all her salary.
"Don't worry, Teacher Fu Hua. If nothing unexpected happens, we probably won't have to spend a single penny," Yun Ling pushed the bank card back.
Fu Hua's money was for buying a motorhome later; how could she spend it recklessly? (Mental breakdown)
"Not a single penny?" Fu Hua didn't quite understand Yun Ling's words.
"Leave this matter to me."
"No, how can I let you do it all by yourself?"
Fu Hua gently shook her head, not wanting to hand over such a mess to Yun Ling, and even less wanting to see Yun Ling act recklessly.
"…Alright, then, Teacher Fu Hua, come with me to scout out the location." Yun Ling could only agree.
Yun Ling didn't go to buy materials, but went straight to the material processing plant.
Fu Hua still didn't understand what Yun Ling was going to do. After all, even coming to a processing plant wouldn't be free, right?
"Teacher Fu Hua, may I borrow your name?" Yun Ling whispered in Fu Hua's ear.
"Hmm?" Although Fu Hua was puzzled, she didn't refuse.
"Hello, may I ask what you need?" the receptionist asked.
"We are from St. Freya Academy. This is Fu Hua, a teacher from St. Freya Academy. We would like to discuss a deal with your boss." Yun Ling responded with a smile.
"St. Freya Academy... uh, please allow me to make a call and inquire briefly." The receptionist bowed slightly politely before dialing.
Shortly after, the two were led to the factory owner's office.
The owner greeted them with a smile; St. Freya Academy was a major client in the area, the kind that was rolling in money (just kidding).
"Hello, does St. Freya Academy have any project requiring a large order of materials?"
"That's only one of our purposes. Our primary purpose here is to discuss cooperation."
"Cooperation?" The owner was somewhat puzzled.
"Regarding the manufacture of RN74 alloy, I'm confident I can increase its production by 30% at the same cost. Would you be satisfied with this cooperation?"
"30%! Are you kidding me?" The owner's eyes widened.
This alloy was expensive; a 30% increase in net profit—that was a considerable fortune!
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