Three-wing building.
"Five hundred and forty million? The annual maintenance cost is thirty million per unit?" Nick Fury stared at Phil Coulson standing in front of him with his only remaining eye.
Phil Coulson glanced at his superior, whose face was dark and emotionless, and kept his mouth shut without saying a word.
"Energy is diesel!" Nick Fury finally broke down at this point, his expression failing him. Why would he need diesel, a near-obsolete energy source? Even if the data and actual testing looked promising, there was no denying its limited future potential. How could he possibly go about defrauding the higher-ups, or rather, demanding funding?
"In fact, the energy is not entirely dependent on diesel. There is still a high-density battery in the core." Phil Coulson added in a low voice.
"Do you think Heberon has better energy technology?" Nick Fury ignored his subordinates' supplement and asked thoughtfully.
"There is no doubt about that. It's no secret in the small circle that Heberon and Stark Enterprises are about to join forces in the energy industry. I believe the other party must have energy technology that is no less than Stark's arc reactor. Otherwise, why would a proud and sharp-tongued tycoon bring Heberon along?" Phil Coulson answered without hesitation.
"So what technology do you think it will be?" Nick Fury asked again.
"Maybe it's thermonuclear fusion? Or some other technology. But no matter which one it is, he must have mastered the manufacturing technology to miniaturize it, just like the rich man." Phil Coulson guessed.
"That mysterious black and white Iron Man." Nick Fury immediately understood the meaning of his subordinate's words.
"Then why don't they use better technology, and instead use diesel?" Nick Fury was confused. If you were researching new energy, I'd understand, but why would you bother with crude oil? Did they have too much R&D money to burn?
Because they need to make up for the losses and make profits from waste recycling?
Phil Coulson wanted to say this, but luckily he controlled himself and didn't blurt out his thoughts. Although he knew his superiors would undoubtedly have thought of this, it was his own thoughts. He was already in trouble, and if he continued to push the issue, he felt he might be assigned a dangerous mission or sent on a long trip to a harsh place.
"Can you crack the technology?" Nick Fury said shamelessly. Of course, for someone of his level, face is something that can be used or not, and it is flexible.
"Two have been blown up. It's obvious that Haibolun Technology's anti-theft technology is quite perfect. It will take us at least three to five years to crack it." Phil Coulson did his homework before coming.
"In other words, one billion and eighty million dollars, and all that's left is a pile of waste?" Nick Fury didn't feel sorry for the one billion and eighty million dollars, but he felt sorry that the money didn't get back its corresponding value.
"Scrap is actually quite valuable."
Phil Coulson's dry joke earned him a vicious death glare from his own director.
"Let's start with ten for the first batch." Nick Fury wanted to wave his hand and order 510, but it was too expensive. He also felt even more frustrated when he realized it was probably not Hybrid's most advanced technology. If S.H.I.E.L.D. had technology better than the Titan series, they definitely did!
By piecing together at any cost, using the various exotic items and researchers S.H.I.E.L.D. reserves, they could create a suit superior to the Iron Titan or even the Mark series suits. However, mass production would be difficult, and there might be hidden dangers that no one could foresee. Nick Fury couldn't take that risk lightly.
At present, the ten Iron Titans plus the two scrapped ones have cost more than 6 billion US dollars. This is the price of the bare machine. After purchasing it, it must be equipped with weapons, and this obviously has to be handed over to Haibolun Industries for modification. Given the company's greed for money, there is no doubt that it will be a considerable expense.
In addition, the mothership under construction also uses a large amount of Hebron alloy materials, which is another 6 billion US dollars in expenditure, adding up to more than 10 billion US dollars. SHIELD's budget is indeed large, but there are also many places where the expenditure needs to be made.
"Can Stark be involved?" Nick Fury looked at Phil Coulson, who had been in charge of contacting Tony. The reason Heberon could offer such a high price and they had to grit their teeth and pay was entirely because Heberon was the only company on the market willing to negotiate with limited restrictions on this technology. If there was another competitor, the negotiations would undoubtedly be much easier.
"I don't think Stark would be willing to get involved. Once his character decides on something, it's hard to change him. He insists that his Iron Man suit is not for sale." Phil Coulson shrugged.
…
An army base.
Pushing open the door, a man and an old man with gray hair in military uniform strode in.
"General, I have participated in many missions and have failed. But never has one been as ridiculous as this one! Who on earth is he?" Emil Bronsky asked the old man anxiously.
Thaddeus Ross stopped, looked at Bronski and said, "Soldier, don't pry into him."
"I don't mean to offend you, I just feel that I can't just let this go. If there is a mission to catch him next time, please be sure to include me." Emil Bronsky straightened up and said to Ross with a look of longing on his face.
General Ross looked at Bronski carefully. Seeing the determination and desire in his eyes, he smiled with some relief and said, "Follow me."
The two of them arrived at the base's equipment depot. Ross walked ahead, saying, "This matter is somewhat sensitive, for you, for me, and even for the military. I've reviewed your resume, and I think you should be aware, given your position, that the military once had a weapons development program—super soldiers! A product of biotechnology."
"I've heard of it," Bronski said.
"To some extent, the research and development of drugs to enhance soldiers' physical fitness has been successful. But we are not satisfied. We want to create stronger soldiers," said General Ross.
"That person?" Bronski suddenly realized.
"Yes, the man we arrested last time was one of the original researchers. I admit that I hid a lot of things from him, making him mistakenly believe that we were only researching ways to resist radiation. He's very smart, but smart people are overconfident. He used that immature technology on himself. He didn't die, but he became a monster." Ross shrugged. "Actually, I don't care whether he's a monster or not. I just want to catch him. He's military property, do you understand?"
"Excuse me, it's not easy to catch him." Bronski frowned as he thought of the powerful and violent monster before.
"Luckily, I just got something good." Ross shook his head at Bronski, motioning him to follow.
The two men finally stopped deep in the equipment warehouse. Under Bronski's astonished gaze, Ross lifted the awning of a huge object in front of him.