The Mech Touch

This was the first time that Ves directly worked with biomechs. Before this point, he only viewed them from various distances.

While a part of him felt tempted to learn how to work with them, he eventually decided against expanding his scope.

Biomechs presented a lot of new responsibilities. They opened so many new doors that Ves wouldn't even know what to do with them all! Biomech designers were capable of implementing lots of features that ordinary mech designers could only dream about!

Yet for all of their distinctive advantages, they also came with a host of new problems. On top of that, Ves would have to invest so much in studying life sciences that he would have to scatter his focus to an excessive degree!

Different from other mech designers, Ves had a chance to quickly master all of this additional knowledge. As long as he snuck out of sight, activated the System, receive his recently-earned DP before spending it all on various biomech-related Skills, he may be able to do a lot more with the biomechs that were currently being prepped for deployment!

If Ves managed to escape the city, then he'd be able to work with other biomechs as well. Prosperous Hill VI was dominated by organic machines, and knowing how to work with them would doubtlessly grant more options to him. This might make a huge difference!

He struggled with this dilemma. While learning to work with biomechs sounded tempting, he knew that it wouldn't amount to anything unless he invested in it all the way.

That meant he wouldn't be able to invest his DP in Skills and Sub-Skills that furthered his current focus.

His design philosophy might also shift as a response. Ves was quite afraid of that as he believed his current orientation was already the most suitable for him. He instinctively felt that delving into biomechs might cause him to go astray!

As Ves explored his conflicted feelings, he comprehended why he felt so reluctant to study biomechs.

He didn't want to have anything in common with the crazies of the Five Scrolls Compact!

The massive cult excelled in biotechnology. Their fanatical researchers utilized their extensive understanding of biology as a springboard to harness one of the greater powers of life, which was spirituality!

"I'm a mech designer, not a madman!"

Ves feared that he wouldn't be able to resist the many temptations that biotechnology and biomechs offered. He was already toeing the line at his current state, and that was when he was only able to work with inanimate objects. If he somehow became able to combine his spiritual expertise with an understanding on how living organisms worked, then the horrors he could produce may very well put a dark god like the Unending One to shame!

In the end, Ves resisted the temptation and turned away from this choice yet again. This was not the first time he entered this junction, but he was glad he was able to stay true to his heart.

No matter how far he went or how often he broke the rules, in his heart he always held on to a noble image of what a mech designer should be. All of his innovations and all of his accomplishments had to tie into his main ambition.

His ultimate goal was to change the way that the current mech community treated mechs!

He wanted to introduce a new paradigm to everyone that presented them with an alternative approach to handling mechs. His focus laid specifically on classical mechs because they were the most widely-used machines in human space.

"I can think about expanding my design philosophy to biomechs another time." He muttered. "First, I need to worry about realizing my design philosophy, and that is already a difficult task. Spreading myself too thin will only bog me down."

He only planned to reconsider this matter when he became a Master. At that point, he not only attained his main goal, but hopefully reached a level of maturity and development that allowed him to keep his urges in check.

Right now, he didn't trust himself to utilize his knowledge on biomechs responsibly.

In fact, he was already plagued with thoughts of trying to design a 'successful' version of the NuMan!

In an attempt to distract himself from these dangerous thoughts, he turned his attention away from the biomechs and on what else he could do to facilitate his escape.

There wasn't much he could do to the biomechs anyway. Since he didn't design them, they lacked spiritual foundations, which meant that none of his spiritual shenanigans had any effect on them. He would have to spend hours and days with them to change that a bit, but obviously that was not practical under the circ.u.mstances.

Ves instead spent his time on studying his surroundings. After gaining access to the systems of the mech hall, he managed to find an incomplete map that revealed the overall structure of the underground complex.

It was larger than he thought. There was room for hundreds if not thousands of mechs. There were so many halls and facilities that over half of them weren't even labeled. Ves had no idea what they held and what their purpose was supposed to be. It seemed way too excessive to prepare so many underground rooms to support the operations of a mech arena.

"Well, that doesn't really matter at the moment."

Ves had no intentions of getting anywhere near the core of the tunnel complex. The frequent rumblings and worrying signals picked up by his Odineye signified that the fight over there was very considerable!

What he had to worry about instead were more immediate threats. Within a range of several hundred meters, his Odineye tracked the movements of hundreds of people.

Most of them moved as if they were lost. They were probably innocent civilians who managed to make it to the tunnels but didn't know where to go from there.

There were also others who moved with greater purpose. They were probably familiar with this section of tunnels and traveled to specific destinations.

Even before the innocent civilians turned the corner, a couple of soldiers had already opened fire!

Though his Odineye was unable to perceive the bloody sight in great detail, Ves nonetheless winced as his imagination filled the blanks.

These armored troops were ruthless!

Despite killing innocent civilians, the group did not even halt their advance. They continued to march forward with their rifles ready to fire upon any possible threat.

Fortunately, their guns were fairly loud, so the other refugees in their path had quickly moved away!

Since Ves was still transmitting the sensor readings to his fellow Larkinsons, his honor guard quickly noticed the incoming threat.

Nitaa voiced her concern. "Sir, the unknown soldiers are marching in our direction. I'm afraid that they may be targeting us. Their direction is very clear."

"They might be going for the Roving Hunters instead."

"Which means we are also under threat."

The aggressive posture by these incoming soldiers was way too threatening. If Ves hadn't seen them gun down civilians, he might have thought he would be able to negotiate with them if he wasn't their primary target.

As it was, he seriously doubted whether he could get a word in before they opened fire!

While Ves didn't feel threatened by these troops, he was already worrying about what came afterwards.

The tunnel complex wasn't safe. Fighting had erupted in many places. The main reason why this section remained calm was because it was situated in the periphery. Only a faltering franchise like the Roving Hunters hung out at these parts.

Yet now, a group of heavily-armored infantry moved further and further away from the center.

"They're definitely on the hunt." Ves judged. "Whether they are targeting us, the Roving Hunters or the biomechs, I can't tell, but I have a way of finding out. LUCKY!"

"Meow?!"

The lazy cat had stopped sniffing around and simply decided to lounge on top of one of the consoles.

"Sneak over to those troops and try to hack into one of their suits. If you can, retrieve any data on their missions or instructions and send it back to me. We need to know what they're up to before they arrive, so you better leave quickly!"

"Meow meow meow!"

Even though Lucky complained about the task, he nonetheless moved into action. The black-clad cat phased through the floor and quickly 'swam' towards his targets.

Ves was very confident that Lucky would be able to retrieve useful intelligence. The incoming troops moved with such purpose that he felt it was unlikely they were merely wandering around.

It didn't take long before Lucky returned. His head poked out of the floor next to Ves.

"Meow."

Ves received a rather haphazard data burst. It not only contained a more complete map, but also other scattered data that seemed only partially useful.

What Ves paid attention to was both the allegiance of the soldiers and their current orders.

"Who the hell are the ultralifers?" He frowned.

He quickly approached Captain Rivington to inquire what he knew about this strange-sounding group.

The team leader g.r.o.a.n.e.d. "Those guys are nuts. They're nationalists who think the LRA can do no wrong and that everyone must embrace biotechnology to a greater degree."

"Doesn't that sound similar to the conservatives?"

"You're partially right. Originally, they used to be quite close to the conservatives, but the ultralifers eventually proved to be too extreme to remain in polite company. They are one of the most strident warhawks who want the LRA to go to war against its neighbors in order to impose biotechnology onto their people!"

If the ultralifers had their way, then the LRA would have already turned into a ruined mess after all of the destructive wars it went through!

Ves grimaced. "That explains why they have been ordered to track me down and kill me. I knew that people would become pissed if I managed to defeat Dr. Navarro, but this overreaction is a bit extreme!"

"That's the ultralifers for you. While they used to refrain from coming to blows, the civil war must have loosened their restraints!"

Since Ves knew that the approaching soldiers were unquestionably hostile, he no longer felt any qualms about plotting their demise!

The data retrieved by Lucky also included equipment specs. While he didn't understand every parameter due to the biological nature of all of the gear, he could already ascertain that they possessed a lot of power.

Several of them carried heavy weapons that were capable of inflicting heavy damage. Even mechs wouldn't be able to escape unscathed!

"Well, that will just preoccupy me a bit longer."

He did not ask for help from the Roving Hunters. They were better served with working on the biomechs instead!

"It's fourteen against fifty-two if we count Lucky and I." He stated to Nitaa. "We'll have to prepare the terrain in order to eliminate these ultralifers without a loss."

Nitaa pressed a heavy gauntlet against his shoulder plate. "You're wrong, sir. It's thirteen against fifty-two. You'll be sitting out this battle. With all of the data we've obtained, we can defeat the hostiles ourselves!"

"What?! I can fight as well, you know! My Unending Regalia is practically invincible against their weapons!"

"Be that as it may, let us do our jobs, sir. We are your honor guard, so every time you have to intervene in person, our honor becomes more tarnished. Please don't hollow out our purpose. I know you can handle yourself in a fight, but that is still a distance away from being able to fight like a soldier. Let the professionals handle this. We won't let any of the hostiles step inside this hall."

"...Very well." Ves glumly sighed. "I'll be waiting here. If anyone slips past your net, don't blame me for taking action."