The Mech Touch

as a division within his Avatars of Myth granted him a lot more flexibility!

He even considered keeping the Battle Criers as a separate and distinct outfit lately.

Ves envisioned the Avatars of Myth as shining beacons and exemplars of battle.
They had to serve as a brilliant showcase of all of his mech models in action!

In contrast, Ves did not intend to use the Battle Criers as the standard bearers of his products.
Instead, he envisioned a more practical purpose for them as his fixers.

”It ’s much better if they can be oriented to solve my problems without attracting too much attention. ”

This did not mean he intended to turn the Battle Criers into his shadow force or something.
The Battle Criers were thugs, not spies.
Subterfuge, espionage and assassination did not fall within their competences.

Instead, Ves placed them somewhere in the middle.
They could perform tasks for him that were too murky for the Avatars of Myth and too banal for his shadow force to put into action and risk exposure.

”So ideally, I ’ll have three different mech troops at my disposal, each specializing for a different range of missions. ”

Ves wasn ’t too sure yet if he wanted to organize his current and future mech forces this way.

Maintaining three separate forces helped them maintain their distinct specialties and mech traditions.
However, keeping them separate also led to a fair amount of redundancy, which was very wasteful.

”Well, I ’ll probably be able to afford it anyway. ” He scoffed.

Nonetheless, in the back of his mind, he knew he ’d have to grow the LMC even more if he wanted to keep up with his growing expenditures.

The same conditions that led to booming business for mech manufacturers also required the companies to bolster their protection.
Who knew if the Bright Republic followed the footsteps of the tragic Chuko Republic one day.

He rubbed his chin.
”In the end, we can ’t rely too much on the government, the military or friends to bail us out.
Being able to provide for our own security is best. ”

This was one of the benefits he gained from touring the Chuko Republic and meeting so many struggling mech designers.
He learned first-hand how mech designers succeeded or failed to keep their enterprises aloft.

”One thing is for sure.
When law and order is deteriorating, you have to fill the void quickly or else you stand to lose everything you worked for! ” He exclaimed.

Perhaps he was being unduly paranoid compared to his colleagues, but he didn ’t care.
Not even the Bright Republic enjoyed complete safety and security as random pirates and the Bentheim Liberation Movement constantly punished complacent mech manufacturers.

Later in the day, Calabast called his comm for a status update.
Though their regular calls didn ’t yield any deep discussions due to the compromised nature of their comm calls, his partner still wanted to stay in the loop.

When she heard about his decision to visit Felixia and go on a hunting trip to observe a dangerous huge cat in person, her reaction fell within his expectations.

”I highly advise you to go to the petting zoo region of the planet, Mr.
Larkinson. ” She mildly stated, though Ves could easily sense the hidden irritation in her voice.
”The adult section of this safe and accessible region features some extremely docile huge cats, though I believe you may have some difficulty entering it considering your lack of maturity. ”

Ves pettily shook his head.
”Those huge beasts are genetically engineered to be as docile as possible for cat ladies to fawn upon.
They don ’t have a ferocious bone in their bodies! How am I supposed to design a ferocious bestial mech if all I have for inspiration is grossly-oversized house cats! ”

”Meow! ”

”You see? Even Lucky agrees! Those artificial abominations are a disgrace to the galactic collective of cat species! ”

Calabast palmed her face, partially breaking her role.
”The risks of huge game hunting on Felixia are very considerate, particularly when it comes to hunting their Crown Cats! ”

”The Crown Cats are some of the most lethal huge cats engineered in the star sector! ” Ves grinned and his eyes glimmered as if he could already see them in front of his face! ”If I had a choice between getting inspired by the most docile or the most dangerous cats on Felixia, I ’ll choose the latter any day! ”

”VES! ” The woman screamed.
”The risk of death is far too high to justify this trip! Sure, eight or nine times out of ten, you might be able to make it off alive.
However, do you really want your parents to deal with the situation when that doesn ’t happen?! ”

That suddenly stopped his enthusiasm short.
”Uh… ”

”I can understand it if the reward is worth the risk, but if there ’s one thing that ’s wrong with you, it ’s that you ’re completely incapable of weighing the risks against rewards! Why do you have to hunt a Crown Cat?! Just to enrich a single mech design? ”

”It ’s not about a single mech! It ’s about the evolution of my design philosophy! ” He protested.

”You dumb kid! I know the Crown Cats attract a lot of attention, but why are you fixating on them as the only solution?! At least consider the less dangerous huge cats first! You can get almost everything you want from them without gambling with your life! There are many juvenile, growing huge cats on Felixia who might grow into Crown Cats in the future but are still manageable to hunt, have you thought about that? ”

”..No. ”

”Then consider it! Why play a needless high-stakes game that you can ’t afford to win when there is a much safer low-stakes game right next door? I hope you shake yourself out of your stupidity, Mr.
Larkinson! ”

Calabast angrily cut the call, leaving Ves with a lot of doubt.
His hands worriedly stroked Lucky ’s back.

”Am I being reckless again? ” He whispered to himself.

”Meow. ”

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