The Mech Touch

5803 Ves the Desecrator

The Alpha Lifeguard officially became his possession.

It was by far the most powerful mech that had fallen under his command.

It may have been one of his stupidest decisions in the grand auction.

There were plenty of reasons to malign his choice.

He did not design the Alpha Lifeguard from beginning to end.

He possessed little familiarity with Master Vayro Goldstein's design principles.

He did not possess sufficient knowledge and depth to manipulate the advanced high technologies that made up the first-class mech.

The style of masterwork that made the machine so extraordinary diverged from his own approach.

The Larkinson Clan had no mech pilot on hand that could pilot this complicated machine.

At most, he could hire a skilled first-class mech pilot with the right qualifications and assign it to the Alpha Lifeguard right away.

That was certainly a viable and sensible option. Ves believed that this may have been Master Goldstein's original intent when he consigned the Alpha Lifeguard to the grand auction.

He did not like it. There was an obvious air of manipulation surrounding this sequence of events.

Tech like the SARAN remote shield projector was extremely 12:04

Tech like the SARAN remote shield projector was extremely rare and difficult to procure, yet it was exactly what he needed to protect himself and his immediate family.

Not much time had passed since Master Quan brilliantly exploited several small security vulnerabilities to make a credible attempt at his life.

His recent performance during the public inquiry had painted such a big target on his back that he even needed to be vigilant towards the Red Fleet!

In short, it was truly not a bad idea to acquire another type of insurance.

While the Red Association was due to reinforce the Bluejay Fleet, Ves still found it frustrating that he did not gain full ownership or operational control over this mecher force.

So long as the warships and mechs fell under Rear Admiral Gori Tensen's command, they could always be commanded to stop protecting Ves whenever they received instructions from above.

In the worst case scenario, his former guards and protectors could even turn against him! No amount of camaraderie and relationship building would stop them from doing their oathbound duties!

This was why the early acquisition of the Alpha Lifeguard mattered so much to Ves. Its absurd protection range and its first-class combat power filled up an essential gap in the combat power that he could claim full control over.

The grin on his face did not go unnoticed. His friends and advisors sensed an unusual vibe from Ves. It was the kind of vibe that usually preceded a crazy outburst.

"Sir?"

"Yes, Kelsey?"

"May I ask a question?"

"Go ahead, Kelsey. I hired you because you have a head on your shoulders."

"Is it worth it for you to purchase the Alpha Lifeguard for 440 kilograms of phasewater? You have spent an astronomical sum of wealth on a single machine. Its features are rare, but I can easily design a mid-range first-class multipurpose mech that can match its fundamental combat performance myself with a budget that is equivalent to just 15 kilograms of phasewater. You don't even need to buy a masterwork mech that badly because you are already famed for producing multiple of them with your own hands."

His latest hire raised a lot of good arguments.

"Money is not as difficult to obtain for me as before." Ves calmly replied. "I am aware that I incur a sizable opportunity cost by spending money on a single mech that I could have otherwise spent on building up my clan, but this is not a wasteful expenditure to me. The Alpha Lifeguard does not only present a source of protection to me, but also serves as a good example for me to study a damn good mech designed by a renowned Master in our industry. More than that, it can also serve as an excellent experimentation platform."

"Are you thinking of modifying the Alpha Lifeguard?"

"Duh. I'm a mech designer. You are one as well. What did you think I would do? I am not a consumer. I am a producer. We treat mechs differently."

Several people frowned when they heard that statement.

"I have not studied the mech in detail, but I have no confidence that my proficiency in first-class mech design will allow me to make meaningful improvements to the Alpha Lifeguard." The Rubarthan mech designer plainly said. "If I cannot do it, you certainly will not be able to. You may have become a Senior, but your expertise is primarily based on second-class mech design. A deep understanding of advanced technologies is essential to maintain the quality and excellence of this masterwork mech. If you make too many inappropriate changes, you will ruin its quality."

That was a serious issue. Ves was an experienced masterwork mech designer, so he understood quite well that mechs of this quality imposed high demands on maintenance, modifications and upgrades.

It was part of the baggage that came with a mech that surpassed the extraordinary threshold in terms of quality.

While Ves knew his way around with masterwork mechs of his own design, that did not necessarily mean he could manipulate Master Goldstein's masterworks the same way.

It was similar to how two genius painters of radically different schools would not be able to replicate each other's exceptional art styles.

Ves did not look too concerned, though.

"I am not in too much of a hurry. If I can't modify the Alpha Lifeguard without ruining it as a masterwork, then I will keep it in its original state for the time being. Its main purpose is to act as a protector. I can also study it extensively to gain a better understanding of a highly skilled mech designer's design approach and design solutions. I think I have made enough progress in my design philosophy for me to harvest meaningful gains from studying the earnest work of one of the best Masters in the Red Ocean. I think that Goldstein can teach me a lot about the nuances of designing a support mech."

The fact that it was a masterwork mech turned it into an even better object for study. Every mech that had reached the second rung of Senfovon's Ladder of Craftsmanship was already alive in a small sense.

Even if it was only the equivalent of a weak first order living mech, that provided Ves with enough of an opening to connect with the little thing and gain a deeper insight into the essence of the Alpha Lifeguard.

Jovy also had a lot of concerns. "Master Goldstein is one of the Red Association's foremost authorities on support-oriented mechs. He has accumulated so much experience in this field that all of his serious mech designs are optimized to the point where every piece of material and equipment is utilized to the greatest degree. The high technologies utilized by our Association are also the most advanced and therefore difficult to learn. There are good reasons why our mech designers have earned the highest regard in the mech industry. Our mastery of technology has put us ahead of others since the beginning of the rise of mechs."

That was a more legitimate concern. Ves did not feel as confident in his ability to meaningfully tinker with all of this super-advanced tech.

"You are right to point this out, but I am not planning to reinvent the Alpha Lifeguard. I used to start my mech design career with modifying existing mech designs. The difficulty threshold of designing successful variants, especially ones where I am merely attempting to apply my own design philosophy to an existing mech, is not as complicated. I can start out small and slowly work to deepen my influence as time goes by. I have a lot of ambitious ideas in mind for this powerful mech. I am dead set on turning it into a genuine living mech. After that, I plan to deepen its connection with its assigned mech pilot."

Kelsey Ampatoch did not know what Ves was talking about, but Jovy and Vector were different.

Both mechers widened their eyes as they realized what Ves wanted to do with the Alpha Lifeguard!

"Modifying the Alpha Lifeguard to such a degree is a major undertaking." Jovy said with a frown. "You will have to rearrange the configuration of the support mech because every volume of space inside its frame is already optimized to remove any wasted space. It is impossible to redesign a mech as complex and demanding as this without ruining the qualities that made it a masterwork."

Ves nodded in agreement. "I am aware of this. I did not say that I intend to complete this transformation quickly. I think I will just treat this as a long-term hobby project. I will work on it when I have nothing pressing on my agenda. Anytime I have improved my skills to the point where I can make meaningful changes to the Alpha Lifeguard, I will work on the machine just enough to satisfy my needs. I don't have to do everything in a single continuous sequence."

They understood his intentions a bit better after hearing that. It was a more logical approach.

"If you do this, you will be perverting Master Goldstein's work." Jovy pointed out. "Do not forget that the Alpha Lifeguard is a masterwork mech, meaning that he has put genuine care and attention in the design and the creation of this machine. In our industry, it is disrespectful to modify the exemplary examples of the visions of other colleagues. You should at least ask for his permission and input before you go ahead and implement your own plans. He may even offer you guidance on how to best work around the most difficult aspects of his own work."

"Pff! Why do I have to ask permission when the mech is already mine?!" Ves scoffed and crossed his arms. "From the moment I pay for my winning bid, the Alpha Lifeguard is mine to use as I see fit. If I want to drench it in exobeast blood or toss it into a black hole, Master Goldstein has no right to stop my actions. He has already transferred ownership from the moment the transaction has been concluded. I have a lot of interesting ideas in mind that I want to try on this exquisite machine."

All of his friends looked concerned. Even Lucky did not think that Ves could work on the Alpha Lifeguard before screwing up somehow. The memory of the disastrous Elemental Lord came to mind.

Minutes passed by as Orion Leeds continued to present one valuable curiosity after another.

The Alpha Lifeguard may have sold for an eye-watering sum, but Estaban Leeds soon brought out other items that sold for even greater sums!

"The recovered alien dark beam ray gun is sold for 650 kilograms of phasewater to President Jerzen Wenkler of the Wenkler Development Company!"

"The deed that grants full ownership to the famous Anastasia Hotel on Vulit XIV-B is sold for 800 kilograms of phasewater to Mr. Ricardo Takimoto of Hielsen Holding Group!"

Of course, only a few items put on auction ended up getting sold for 100 kilograms of phasewater.

Many of the powerful galactic citizens who attended this grand auction had a lot of assets on hand, but not as much liquid assets at their disposal.

While they always had the option of selling their real estate to Estaban Leeds in a hurry, this was a stupid measure that was only reserved for the most desperate of occasions.

This meant that a lot of participants were mostly willing to bid a few dozen kilograms of phasewater at most.

As Ves continued to devise a plan to shape the Alpha Lifeguard into a more extraordinary machine, Lucky suddenly jerked as he rested on his shoulder.

"Meow!"

"What is it, Lucky?"

"Meow meow meow!"

It appeared that a particularly interesting material had appeared on stage!

Any material that elicited such a strong response from a gem cat had to be special!"

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