The Mech Touch (Web Novel)

5705 Two Channels

After many years, Ves finally learned a part of the truth about Yondu Milk.

It turned out that this was an extremely precious organic substance that was only produced by a single powerful exobeast!

Milk was the water of life and the carrier of nutrients. It sustained precious young lives and promoted their growth at a stage where they were more vulnerable.

The fact that it was actually one of the key materials that the MTA relied upon to produce one of their most precious life-prolonging treatment serums was shocking news to Ves!

Such a material had to be precious beyond comparison, and the Longevity Faction certainly treated it this way!

Ves imagined that the Longlifers probably managed to take control of this unknown exobeast and treated it as their most prized cattle beast.

This arrangement reeked of political machinations and compromise. Ves refused to believe that the Longevity Faction could maintain its outrageous monopoly just by asking nicely.

All of these revelations were incredibly interesting without a doubt, but they also made it clear that there was no readily available supply of Yondu Milk in the Red Ocean.

Obtaining a detailed report on this precious substance was easy enough. The price was high, but not outrageous. This was exactly the kind of scenario where Ves should used up the favors he had saved.

The more difficult part was approaching the Evolution Witch and asking her to reproduce an incredibly powerful material on his behalf.

God pilots were at no one's beck and call. It was taboo to treat them as servants who could be ordered around at will.

Although Ves was already an associate of the Transhumanist Faction, he did not have the guts to request an audience with her. He had yet to produce any truly remarkable contributions that he could use to cash in additional favors.

He needed to work hard and improve his relationship with the Transhumanists through persistent effort. Once he worked hard enough to become their 'good boy', he may finally receive the honor of issuing a modest request to their powerful leader!

Ves rubbed his hairless chin in thought. As cumbersome as this process may seem, this was still a radical improvement compared to his previous condition.

Just an hour ago, he still had no clue what Yondu Milk was or where he could find it! Now, he not only knew its basic usage, but also obtained a solid channel on where he could obtain this rare and precious material!

This was information that would have been impossible for him to find through other means. Ves actually felt it was worth it to exchange his trade secrets for this crucial piece of information.

He knew that obtaining Yondu Milk would be worth it in the end. His Mech Designer System would gain another powerful upgrade and be able to help him even further!

Even though he had not made frequent use of the System in the past few months and years, it had still supplied him with crucial help. Improving it further would pay off in the long run, just as he did when he submitted the necessary quantity of Timpala Steel!

Ves tried to estimate how soon he could get his hands on Yondu Milk. It did not seem likely he could get any of it in the short term. That was bad because the longer it took for him to complete a Supply Mission, the longer he would go without the benefits of an upgraded System.

He suddenly had another thought.

There may be another way for him to obtain Yondu Milk.

The Red Association may no longer be able to source materials from the old galaxy, but Ves was different.

He had Veronica.

His cyborg cat incarnation happened to remain stuck in the old galaxy!

If Veronica could find a way to approach the Longevity Faction and offer a concession that was attractive enough, she might be able to get the necessary amount of Yondu Milk!

As far as Ves was aware of, Veronica had almost the same level of access to the Mech Designer System as himself due to complicated incarnation shenanigans.

The only complication was that he was not able to pass on any goods across galaxies by using the Vault of Eternity as a transit medium. The System was not that powerful yet, but there was still hope that this might change in the future once it had completed additional upgrades.

That made Ves even more eager to obtain EE-343F-00334R as well as Yondu Milk!

As nice as it was to have a second option available to him, Ves did not think it was a good idea to contact the Longlifers back in the old galaxy.

Unlike the Red Association, the original Mech Trade Association occupied a much more dominant position in its own galaxy!

The red mechers had to rein in their arrogance and seek greater cooperation with outside talents in order to strengthen their collective civilization as much as possible.

The original mechers were at the height of their power and were only kept in check by the fleeters, the Terrans and the Rubarthans!

Veronica was a nobody in comparison. She was only backed by a single vulnerable True God who did not dare to step outside the Nyxian Gap for fear of getting crushed with ease by a god pilot.

Though Ves had been promoted to an eminent tier 3 galactic citizen and made many valuable contributions and concessions to the Red Association, what did this have to do with the Mech Trade Association?

Ves was not naive enough to believe he could use his powerful standing and reputation in the Red Ocean to earn the respect of the Longlifers, let alone their attention!

Between the two options, working with the Evolution Witch was clearly the most viable and convenient solution that he could choose from. He needed to make use of his existing advantages in the new frontier instead of working hard to create new ones back in the old galaxy.

It was still nice to have a backup option available. Ves kept the possibility of transacting with the MTA Longevity Faction in the back of his mind.

With the mediation of Master Goldstein, Ves received the right to review the classified analysis report on Yondu Milk easily enough. Ves did not hesitate too long in using up his request.

It was a pity. He originally intended to make use of it to secure another short-

term benefit, but his Supply Missions took precedence.

"For security reasons, we cannot transfer you the file to you directly." The Master Mech Designer said. "You will have to teleport to the Tarrasque where you will have the right to review the file in a secure chamber. Even then, you will not be able to access the most sensitive details. The Evolution Witch will have the right to access the full unredacted report if you choose to give her the right to review it as well. We have already taken care of the necessary permissions."

"Thank… you…"

Ves actually felt a bit scammed after learning that he wouldn't be able to get the full story, but it ultimately was not too important.

What truly mattered was that the Evolution Witch would get the information she needed to utilize her reality-defying power to produce Yondu Milk out of thin air!

As if sensing that Ves was not entirely satisfied with what he got, Master Goldstein threw the good boy another bone.

"Let us go back to the initial reason why you have taken the initiative to contact me." The bald Master leaned back and lightened his tone. "You seek to design a specific auxiliary mech, and currently you believe that you can produce the desired effect by relying on the power of a design spirit."

"Uh, that is correct."

"As I originally intended to say, it is not a good habit for you to solve problems by relying on external sources of power, especially ones that you do not have a full grasp on. Reliability is a serious problem. The more you rely on your so-called design spirits, the more you become beholden to them. Do you realize this problem?"

This was a familiar concern to Ves.

"I do, Master, but… can we afford to set aside the obvious benefits they can provide? A partnership is better than nothing. How am I supposed to design an auxiliary mech that can project a large and effective sensor-blocking particle field that can effectively provide cover to a lot of mechs in open space? As far as I know, no other existing technologies can produce the desired effect in a cost-effective manner. Even if it is possible, my mech will end up costing as much as a first-class product. The advantage of relying on a design spirit is that it does not add much at all to the production cost of my machines. The mech forces fighting in the border regions are already having a tough time. Mech designers are supposed to relieve their problems, not add to them. I am highly confident that any living mech tied to a design spirit will perform exactly according to my intentions in the short and medium term."

Ves was not able to guarantee whether his design spirits would continue to remain docile over a long stretch of time, but that was too far away. The Red Association did not have the luxury to plan too far ahead. There was nothing wrong with prioritizing more immediate short-term solutions.

"Very well." The bald Master Mech Designer nodded in acknowledgement. "I cannot say I agree with your strategy. It certainly does not fall in line with the standards of our Association. That does not mean your argument is wrong. When our conditions have deteriorated, there is no time to be pedantic. As long as you are aware of the failure points, I believe you are experienced and responsible enough to manage the risks. That said, you cannot rely entirely on a design spirit to produce the desired effect. The mech itself and the tech it relies upon are crucial to your design project as well."

That was true. "What are you getting at, Master Goldstein?"

"I have spent a measure of my time on searching our extensive database on any tech or research that may facilitate your goal. There are numerous promising options that you can choose from, but I recommend one solution in particular. It has its shortcomings, but its advantages are too compelling."

The Master Mech Designer transferred an obscure research report to Ves.

He immediately utilized his implant to skim through it. "This… is this true?"

"Yes. It would not have been in our database otherwise. There are many curiosities in the Red Ocean that we have yet to explore. We are newcomers to this sea of stars and we have yet to fully explore all of the star systems in our claimed territories, let alone outside of them. When we began to fortify our presence in the Torald Middle Zone and other border zones, we conducted more thorough surveys, primarily to detect and eliminate any hidden threats in advance. We also completed more thorough surveys that have mapped out the available resources in the star systems. This enabled us to discover an exotic gas buried underneath the sole of an untamed planet that has made it much more difficult to scan the terrain."

In other words, this gas or a related factor could play a key role in developing and producing an auxiliary mech that could produce the all-encompassing smoke screen that Ves sought the most!

Even if this gas had only ever been detected on only a single planet, it could still play an immensely useful role as long as his planned mech did not need to use too much of it to produce a noticeable improvement in performance!

"What is it called?"

"X45454-394B-2399331FFT."

"That… is certainly a mouthful." Ves mildly responded. "Can't you guys give it a proper name?"

"We can. We discover so many new exotics and hypers every day that none of us can muster up the enthusiasm to give them all a unique name. You can propose a name right now if you wish. Given that no one has shown any obvious interest in it, there is a 99 percent chance that it will be approved within seconds so long as the suggested name is not too vulgar."

"Oh really? If that is the case… then let's call it Ves Gas!"

"..."