The Mech Touch

The ultralifer fascination towards the four animated statues of Lufa escalated gradually.

They were cautious at first. No matter how compelling the new angelic bots looked to the people who studied it up close, the leaders in the rear were still cognizant of the fact that they were being targeted by the Larkinson Clan.

This vigilance caused the ultralifers to move very slow. Their team of field engineers and scientists cautiously set up some equipment in the vicinity and began to study the strange objects.

Their scanning results shouldn't have yielded any useful data. In fact, when Ves noticed that the scientists activated an especially deep and invasive scanning method, he remotely dialed the glows of the four statues down.

The ultralifers immediately noticed this obvious reaction! Not only did the people at the edge of the effective range of the glow feel an uncomfortable void, but the statues themselves seemed to have lost a large portion of their mysterious charm.

The latter change was very obvious to the humans up close, but they could not record the shift with their sensors and scanners. This was because the charm was spiritual in nature, and only affected the perception of humans. All of the recording equipment simply failed to register this invisible change.

This made it more difficult for the ultralifers on the field to convey their full experiences to the commanders in the rear.

Ves grew a bit consternated. Even though the soldiers and staff on the surface had already become fascinated by his angelic bots, the individuals who were truly in charge remained unconvinced!

"Damnit! Why are they so cautious? Can't they lower their vigilance a little bit and appreciate my Lufa statues?"

He did not give up, though. He continued to monitor the situation while changing the intensity of the glows in response to any behavior he deemed right or wrong.

Slowly but surely, the field scientists figured out some rules.

First, the more they scanned the statues, the lower the intensity of their glows. It took a bit of time for the statues to restore their splendor.

Second, the more people they dispatched within the range of their glows, the stronger the effect became.

Third, any attempt to move them by manipulating them with gravity or moving them with beetles immediately caused the statues to lose their glows. They only turned back to their old selves after they returned to their original positions.

Fourth, the statues did not respond to any form of communication like speech or text. The scientists gathered enough data to know the statues were not static, but they remained frozen regardless of what the ultralifers tried to convey.

Half a day went by as Ves grew increasingly more bored with keeping track of the interactions. He was the only person who could change the intensities of the glows of his own products, so he could not leave this task to someone else. Even if he could, he still would have insisted on taking care of this issue himself because he did not want others to learn too much.

Ves yawned as he casually petted Lucky's back.

His tired cat sprawled on the tabletop like a toy. His tail lazily swung back and forth like an old pendulum.

"Meow…"

"Hey, have some faith in my ability. These ultralifers may be too cautious for my liking, but if my predictions are correct, their higher-ups won't be able to resist the temptation to take a closer look. As the heads of a large group of extremists, how can they possibly not be fascinated by a unique creation of biotechnology?"

One of the common traits about cults and similar organizations was that the more fanatic members tended to get promoted up the ranks. After all, when devotion to a supported belief was one of the most important criteria of someone's worth in an organization, those who played by the rules better would often gain more appreciation from their superiors!

After all, they had to serve as role models to their underlings.

This pattern continued almost all the way to the top. While the highest leaders may have a bit more sense than others, if the rest of the hierarchy supported a particular belief, then the leadership had to play along as well or risk losing control over their own underlings.

Finally, some interesting movements took place. The larger entrance opened this time. Numerous mechs and soldiers on foot preceded the arrival of someone wearing a rich green uniform.

The decorative metals and symbols of authority immediately marked him out as a high-ranking member of the ultralifers!

Ves knew that the critical moment had come! This was the final hurdle to obtaining the complete acceptance of his enemies. As long as he could hoodwink this big guy, he would be able to capture the rest of the extremist organization!

"C'mon. Get closer. There's nothing suspicious about my latest work. They're angels, you see? They are messengers of gods, not heralds to your doom."

He was practically praying for the ultralifer commander to experience the glow of one of his animated statues. It was agonizing for him to see how the respected leader figure advanced slowly and remained outside the edge of the effective range.

A number of scientists and soldiers reported to him in person. Ves wasn't able to track the conversation because he didn't dare to plant anything more than a very simple optical recording device in the vicinity.

Half an hour passed by as the commander kept looking at the statues from a healthy distance. Even though he was close enough to observe their attractive and mysterious charm, it appeared this fellow was not simple. He was able to resist the temptation to take a step closer and experience the wonders of a tranquil glow!

Ves grew increasingly more concerned. "Do they know it's mine?"

This was not an implausible guess. Through his prior design duel, a lot of Lifers became exposed to the effects of his glows. Though his competition mechs hadn't exhibited anything like Lufa's aura, it shouldn't be too difficult to tie them together.

Yet if the ultralifers truly managed to connect the dots and recognized the insidious ploy, they should have been a lot more vigilant towards the statues!

He didn't know what they were thinking right now, but the excessive caution displayed by the ultralifer commander gave him a bad feeling.

"Why are you stalling so much? Just take a couple steps forward!"

The self-control exhibited by this fellow caused Ves to conclude that this was not a typical impulsive fanatic who immediately judged the situation at face value.

Ves feared that this guy would make the sensible and rational decision of not accepting candy from strangers.

He scowled. "If that's the case, then I'll ram my candy down your throat!"

Ves took hold of the controls and deliberately caused the statue closest to the ultralifer to take a few steps forward!

Clearly, the scientists, soldiers and mech pilots were all caught off-guard by the unexpected motion!

The statues hadn't moved since they initially approached!

"Don't shoot!" Ves quietly pleaded.

He was afraid that some of the trigger-happy soldiers would instinctively open fire on his fragile statue. Fortunately the ulralifers spent enough time around the statues to consider them valuable. They couldn't bear to open fire and ruin the lifelike angels.

Though the organic statue wasn't as tall as a mech, the first step it took already displaced the glow forward so that the unprepared ultralifer commander experienced its tranquil effect!

The man didn't immediately react. Instead, his shoulders loosened and his expression slackened a bit. It was clear that his mental fortitude was higher than his men, but even he couldn't resist the temptation of calming the waves of his mind!

"It's working!"

The soldiers didn't receive orders to destroy the moving statue. They never ordered a bot to take the ultralifer commander out. Instead, they patiently waited for around 20 minutes before someone finally pulled the affected leader away.

Ves wasn't able to figure out the discussion that ensued afterwards. The fact that the ultralifers didn't immediately destroy his works was a good sign.

An entire day passed as Ves patiently paid attention to the situation. He didn't move for the entire duration. He let his Unending Regalia take care of his bathroom needs and he straightforwardly filled his belly with nutrient packs and water.

He did not want to miss a single moment!

Through continuous observation, Ves began to develop a greater understanding of the thought processes of the ultralifers.

While they did not immediately embrace the organic bots, they were gradually warming up to their presence.

The ultralifers allowed more and more of their men to approach the four statues. As the extremists all experienced the benefits of spending time next to the great works, they began to rave about their experiences to their comrades.

This caused even more ultralifers to appear from the underground. The crowd of people looking to experience the wonders of the organic statues soon ballooned to hundreds.

"It seems this is the limit."

Ves could already tell that the ultralifers set up a rotation. The majority of their people still had to man the defenses and take care of vital base operations. It was impossible for the ultralifers to lose all of their senses and send out all of their men at once.

"Well, this is already good enough."

He paid careful attention to the ranks and roles of the people who showed up on the surface.

Many of the markings on their suits and uniforms didn't make sense to Ves, but there were plenty of symbols whose meaning was universal. He was faintly able to identify mech pilots, mech designers, engineers, staff officers, line officers and possibly even the highest-ranking base commander!

When the old and distinguished-looking man showed up under heavy escort and willingly approached one of the statues, Ves almost felt tempted to pull the trigger!

As long as he issued a single command to his own men, the ranged mechs and biomechs on standby would immediately open fire, causing the site around the four statues to become engulfed in flame and explosions!

Yet as he saw the subtle changes in the expression of this presumed base commander, Ves started to develop some other ideas.

He aborted his attempt to activate his comm and issue an order to begin the bombardment.

"Killing a couple of hundred ultralifers along with their base commander won't change the situation that much." He shook his head. "They have plenty of mech pilots and other personnel left inside. Even the base commander isn't that important. Other senior officers can take over if their highest-ranking leader dies."

Some cults and organizations concentrated an extreme amount of power at the top. Ves didn't perceive that this was the case. The ultralifers worshipped a cause, not a specific individual. It did not develop a cult of personality so assassinating the grey-haired base commander would not have the effect he wished.

He decided to be patient and wait for a better opportunity. He still wanted the ultralifers to become more attached to the statues.

The fact that they kept sending in beetles to move the statues, only for the latter to lose their glows, meant that the ultralifers had definitely become fans of his work!

It wasn't until the end of the second day since their appearance that Ves gained a bold new idea.

"Can this work?"

His latest plot seemed too obvious to Ves. He didn't know whether the ultralifers had lost enough vigilance to allow his new idea to take effect.

Yet the potential benefits were too great for Ves to ignore!

He figured that enough time had passed for the ultralifers to develop an unreasonable degree of affection and ownership to his statues.

It was obvious in the way they looked at his works when they weren't under the effect of their glows.

They looked similar to the customers who piloted his mechs and became lifelong fans of his products!

"Well, how will they react if the products in question walk away?"

He grinned as he started to control one of the statues to raise its arm and point in a certain direction.

The ultralifers immediately became bewildered by the rare motion. They urgently discussed what had prompted the change.

Soon enough, the other three statues pointed their fingers in the same direction.

While the ultralifers were trying to puzzle out the meaning, Ves began to order the statues to move in the direction they just pointed!

This time, the extremists became truly alarmed. The direction the impressive statues were walking towards caused them to move away from the underground fortification.

Instead, the angelic statues were marching in the direction of the warehouse complex occupied by the paramilitaries!

"Hahahaha! Come! Follow if you want to keep admiring my organic statues!"

Hopefully, the ultralifers would get the hint and follow suit. Ves didn't intend to give them any choice. Either they would follow, or risk losing the blessed organic statues forever!