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Chapter 8: Visitor
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
The Mech Chapter 9: Psst. Wanna buy a mech?
After a hearty talk, Melinda had to leave in order to catch her flight back to Bentheim. As Ves accompanied her to the door, she turned around and bumped her communicator with his wrist."What's this?" Ves asked as he activated his comm. It unfolded into a brochure."It's the Young Tigers Exhibition.""Isn't it a competition for younger mech pilots to showcase their skills? I hear the Mech Corps and the local mercenary corps organize this event to recruit outstanding pilots."The Bright Republic publicized the YTE every year. It had practically turned into a national holiday. His father even brought him to an event when he was little. Before he found out his aptitude made piloting mechs an unreachable dream."That was ten years ago." Melinda said and reached over and tapped the brochure, flipping it over to the next page. "In recent years they expanded the program to include a mech designer contest. It's not as thrilling as the mech battles, but the Mech Corps and a few big players pa
The Mech Chapter 11: Cash Woes
Ves made the biggest gamble of his life so far. If he won, he'd be able to produce a stellar mech and sell it for a hefty profit, making more than enough money to meet his impending interest payment. Success danced on a string, and each time Ves stumbled, he risked the whole scheme coming apart.First, Ves needed to grow accustomed to the Caesar Augustus. Fortunately, a real universe production license also counted as a virtual license in Iron Spirit's terms of service. He only needed to send a copy of the license agreement to the game's support to be able to tinker and sell the model in-game.As a lastgen mech in today's standard, the CA-1 counted as a 5-star mech in the game. This meant only older, more skilled potentates had the capability to buy the mech. The Caesar Augustus could be sold for a higher price, allowing Ves to earn some actual profits from his sales if he designed a good enough variant.Iron Spirit's tiered leagues put a cap on how good a mech you could play dependin
The Mech Chapter 12: Duo Queue
The battlefield finished loading, revealing a ruined city. Craters, broken mechs and other war debris littered the landscape. Eerily, no life moved in the city. All was still, except for the desolate wind howling between the cracks of fallen skyscrapers.The silence ended as a brilliantly colored streak rose in the air. The Fantasia R2 Seraphim readied its long ranged rifle and scanned the surroundings vigilantly."Come on! Let's stop hiding like rats." TheSeventhSnake publicly declared. "I'm right here! Shoot me if you can!"Nothing responded to his taunts. The slim, grey Phantasm that popped up from the side of a broken tank shook its head."I told you they wouldn't fall for it. Congratulations for revealing your position. Now get down and stop wasting your limited energy." Triceratopssss said as he tried to accustom himself to his new mech.The Seraphim cut back on its wing thrusters, allowing the mech to find some cover among the streets."This is why I hate 2v2. Everyone's consta
The Mech Chapter 13: First Build
The Skill Tree featured a virtually endless amount of skills. With enough Design Points, Ves could become the ultimate mech designer, capable of drafting a complete design in minutes with his left hand while pointing out the faults of someone else's work with his right hand. Naturally, Ves lived in a world where time and resources were finite, so he didn't delude himself into thinking he'd ever reach that point in his lifetime.For all its merits, the Mech Designer System represented an incomprehensible piece of technology. Sometimes Ves felt as if reality itself bent to its whims. He didn't know how sapient the program was or how it determined its own limits. If one day the System's sophisticated AI turned crazy, entire star systems might get embroiled into war.The System in fact always addressed him as a user, not an owner. It acted as if Ves was just one client who conveniently picked it on the ground. If Ves' father hadn't given him the data chip, the System might have found a wa
The Mech Chapter 41: Sale
As the Fusion Cup came to an end, Ves and Charlotte stood at the side of the arena. Despite their exalted status as second-place winners, hardly anyone paid attention to the two. The climax of the evening was about to start, as the two most talented new mech pilots ascended into the main arena.The greatest show in the Bright Republic practically hammered in that the Fusion Cup was a side event in the end. No matter how impressive their winnings, they could expect to receive only one percent of the attention placed on the finalists of the main tournament.As Ves was never a mech pilot, he was indifferent to chasing personal fame. He'd rather build up the reputation of his business in a more sustainable way."I've got some business to do.""Oh?" Charlotte raised her eyebrow. "Bailing out on me, are you? I was planning to bring you out to a sweet place that makes the best spare ribs in town.""I'm kind of in a time crunch. I've started an independent mech design studio and I'm practical
The Mech Chapter 42: Broker
Hans embarrassingly led Ves away from the private room. "Sorry about that. I thought he'd be more respectful.""I've faced plenty of rejection before. It doesn't bother me to get turned away again." Although he said this, Ves sighed with disappointment. "I'm in an extremely difficult position if I can't find a customer for my mech."They both stayed silent for a moment before Hans thought up another idea. "Why not enlist the services of a broker?""I've already thought of it." He replied. "But I need a large influx of cash within two weeks. If the broker takes his cut, I'm not sure I'm able to pay the bills that are due very soon.""Oh relax. I know a woman who might cut a deal with you. Anything's negotiable. You should really think about it since brokers know their clients best."Hans had a point. Many small-scale mech designers often relied on specialized brokers and dealers to manage their sales and customer support. These crafty salespeople spent a lot of effort building up a net
The Mech Chapter 43: Miss me, System?
When Ves returned to his hotel room, he faced two things. First, a cranky gem cat angrily yowled at him for neglecting his pet all day. Second, he received a notification from his bank account that Marcella sent him the seven million advance for his material needs."Sleep can wait." Ves said to himself as he activated a terminal and visited the Mech Trade Association's online market. He already took note of all the materials he required, so after a meticulous check he put all the items in his shopping list and confirmed his purchase. The seven million bright credits vanished from his account like it never existed."At least I paid for express shipping. The goods should arrive at my doorstep by the time I exit from the shuttle."As he laid down on his bed, he reflected on the tumultuous events he experienced in his trip to Bentheim. In just two days, he put his name on the map by winning second place in a side tournament of the Young Tigers Exhibition. While not as prestigious as the m
The Mech Chapter 44: Birth of a Mech
Remembering that Marcella hadn't gotten back to him about a customer, he called up her number."Heya Ves. I know what you're calling for. The deal has just been completed." Marcella smirked as she said her next words. "Guess how many credits he threw at me to order your mech?""Did you manage to sell it at twenty-four million?""Hah! That's chump change. It's much higher!""Twenty-five? Twenty-six?""Nope." Marcella gestured with her hands to bring up an invoice in the projector. "Look for yourself what magic I achieved."His eyes practically bulged out as he saw that Marcella's customer ordered his mech for a whopping twenty-eight million credits. The huge price figure amounted to a gross profit of eleven million credits if he delivered his mech in time and in good condition. It certainly raised his faith in Marcella's ability. Perhaps partnering with her was the best decision Ves ever made.Marcella tapped her fingers onto her desk, snapping him out of his dreams. "Don't get too exc
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The Mech Chapter 65: Vincent
How integral were chips in the daily life of a modern day human? Even as they slept, these silent workers played their role. They observed the time, measured the surrounding temperature and were on the lookout for any toxicants in the air.When a person woke up, he interacted with dozens of different processors in a short succession. His power shower automatically cleaned him with the most optimal settings before drying him off without any excess heat and air.If he was fairly well off, then his household bot would have already prepared a sumptuous breakfast for him. Though the act of automated cooking was long perfected, bots still needed a tiny bit of processing power to adapt to different ingredients.When it was time for him to go to work, he entered his aircar if he owned one or hailed one from the streets. These basic vehicles were packed with processors of different kinds. The most high-end one was in charge of the main functions, but plenty of auxiliary modules required less c
The Mech Chapter 64: Second Mech
By the time Ves exited the transit shuttle, he breathed in the fresh and moist air of his home planet. Bentheim might have been a melting pot of trade and business, but it did not fare well hosting so many people in such a small planet. He led Lucky and his floating luggage carrier onto a nearby aircar and headed back to his home.His workshop already received its first deliveries of materials by the time he returned. The rest of the raw materials he needed to build a modified Marc Antony trickled in throughout the day. The new security system installed by SASS did their work and performed thorough scans of the arriving delivery shuttles and the containers they carried.Ves already summoned up the design in his System's Designer program and optimized his first commercial design. He had advanced his skills a little bit since he first completed this design, so Ves took advantage of it to marginally increase his mech's speed and armor specifications."It's only been a few weeks but I've
The Mech Chapter 63: Nether Regions
"My man Ves, I received your files. I can't say I'm entirely satisfied with your work. The cape doesn't have any frills and the surface lighting schemes don't seem impressive at all. The only thing I found cool is the red lights installed underneath the armor."Ves was afraid of that. Not satisfying his client meant his rewards for the mission could be reduced. "I have made my design choices with resilience in mind. Excessive frills will be the first thing that gets lost when your mech receives damage. It's better to keep a clean appearance that looks great both when it's pristine and when it has survived a battle."The excuse was enough to cause Vincent to pause in his tirade. He frowned and thought over his words. "Alright, but I'm consulting a pro shuttle customizer artist for the lighting scheme. I still feel your designs are too basic. Heh, why didn't I do that in the first place. Your not an artist.""If you are unsatisfied with my designs, feel free to turn to someone else." Th
The Mech Chapter 62: Leviticus
"So anyway, I didn't only invite you here to talk about old times. To be honest, I wanted to ask you something.""Oh?" Ves raised his eyebrow. "What's that?"Carlos stopped paying attention to the match entirely and turned to face Ves with the most serious face he had ever seen on his friend."You know what kind of job I have now. Even if you say I'm likely to move out of my current position, it will take many years, perhaps even decades before I go anywhere near the development process of a new design And that's only if I resign and switch companies, as the current one I work for is just a wholesaler which buys completed mechs from other manufacturers.""You can't rush a career, Carlos. I've seen you studying for nights on end back in college. You've got a good head on your shoulder. Any employer will be bound to appreciate your talents.""But I can't wait that long." Carlos shook his head. "A successful mech designer always starts his career when he's young, we both know that. So wh
The Mech Chapter 61: Design Studio
Ves was not immersed in the whole shuttle racing scene. As someone focused on mechs his entire life, the sleek personal transport shuttles that were capable of both atmospheric and space flight held little appeal to him. That did not mean others found them unworthy of their time.In fact, lots of norms worshipped shuttles. They paid fanatical attention to each newly released shuttles and liked to customize and tinker their own vehicles in their free time. Adding some decorative lighting was just one of the ways a fanatic distinguished himself among his peers.He looked over some footage on the galactic net and found it to be a basic concept. It could be as simple as adding a few colored stripes to adding in an elaborate artistic pattern. It impressed Ves that these hobbyists cobbled up evocative looks for their shuttles."I won't be able to get Vincent's approval if I half-ass this job."The best-looking vehicles didn't necessarily have the most lights. Instead, the artists who custom
The Mech Chapter 60: Capricious
Vincent Ricklin unbelievably went on for about ten minutes on the importance of manhood in mechs. He really believed almost all mechs were gender neutral. As a bona fide man, Vincent hated the thought of mentally castrating himself whenever he piloted a mech.Naturally, someone immersed in mechs such as Ves had no problem with the lack of gender indications. Mechs were only designed to emulate the human form in order to perform better as a war machine. Adding unnecessary extensions such as hair, skin or gender expressions did not add anything to a mech's battle performance.Frankly, only an extremely vain pilot who cared more for his looks than his battle record could demand something like this. Ves had the misfortune of making a mech for this kind of person."This is an extremely complicated addition. Let me think about it for a day or two. It's not easy to add mass in the front part of the waist."Actually, Ves wanted to ditch Vincent and go back to Marcella and demand they drop him
The Mech Chapter 59: Package
As Ves debarked from his shuttle with a curious Lucky in tow, his heart weighed down his mood. The articles he read about Vincent Ricklin all painted an ugly image of an irresponsible wastrel.As a serious mech designer, Ves preferred his mechs be used in the purpose they had been built. He was okay with them collecting dust in a warehouse or put on display in some kind of private garage, but to play around with them and take them too lightly was pushing it. No mech designer liked to earn a reputation for making flashy mechs that lacked substance."Though it's not as if I have a choice."That someone like Vincent considered buying a mech from a newbie was miraculous. Ves should thank the heavens for giving him another opportunity to fabricate and sell his variant.Ves took a smaller shuttle to Marcella's brokerage. She owned a nice office in downtown Dorum amid many other offices of major mech manufacturers and salesmen.The giant name plastered on the small five-story office made it
The Mech Chapter 58: Profligate
Lucky finally woke up the day after Ves visited the MTA. The cat appeared to slink in a satisfying manner, as if he ate the biggest fish in the universe. Ves gave his pet the stink eye."So… you got anything to say?"The cat acted cute and brushed its smooth body against his legs. Ves let go of his irritation and just picked up the cat and hugged him in his arms. It was easy to forgive the loss as he never really owned the strange material in the box to start with. He suspected the advanced alloy may have been meant for Lucky in the first place."Do you feel the need to go to the litter box?"Strangely enough, even after a couple of hours the cat never visited the toilet or his backyard. Ves picked up his cat again and inspected his body closely. Lucky still looked and weighed the same. He started to doubt whether anything really changed. Did the cat just ate a bunch of priceless alloys because it tasted good?He fed Lucky his usual meal of minerals and let it go out and play. Ves sti
The Mech Chapter 57: Ominous Warnings
As Miss Robyn from the SASS supervised the work, she also approached Ves for a talk."As a mech designer, when do you think we will switch to the next generation?"Taken aback by the question, Ves needed a moment to think through his answer. "It won't happen too soon. We can milk our current generation for at least 10 years. We mech designers don't like to see the value of our work plummet before we extracted as much value out of it as possible. I'm sure the big manufacturers are colluding to keep this generation alive as long as possible."The security consultant nodded. "That fits with our internal assessment. However, the new technologies employed by the advanced states have already leaked out a little bit. We do not believe the mech industry can stand in the way to progress very long.""Why are you asking about this? Are you planning to upgrade your security hardware?""For sure, and more besides that. You may not have heard about this seeing as you're young, but the mech and secu
