The Mech Touch

A few days went by as Ves tried his best to set his various ideas aside in order to enjoy the remainder of his holidays.

It became a lot easier for him to calm his restless heart now that he had resolved a portion of his inner confusion.

He knew that he would be no good to the clan if he kept worrying about so many different matters during his vacation.

Ves had a lot of work ahead of himself after he concluded this break. Aside from attending a lot of meetings in order to discuss how to spend the recent windfall, he also had to prepare for the next design round.

He had a lot of commercial mech designs in mind. Each of them had the potential to earn more revenue than all of his previous commercial works.

Even though the phasewater and MTA merits he obtained represented far more wealth than he could earn in years worth of sales, he never despised the potential of earning money by selling mechs.

This was his core specialty and the reason for his existence. The reasons why he went on expeditions was to obtain more inspiration and to gather unique resources such as fish-whale organs.

The ultimate purpose of doing so was to enhance his mech design capabilities and bring him closer to realizing his design philosophy!

After spending a long time on many other priorities, Ves felt more and more hungry to get back to his roots. It was never a good idea for him to stay away from mech design for too long.

As Ves reached the final day of his vacation, he felt more relaxed and ready to face his many responsibilities in the future.

He felt a lot more refreshed in mind and spirit than before. Not only did he partially reset his mentality, he also found a lot more joy in spending time with his family.

"Papa! Mama! Look! Look! So many toys!"

Aurelia toddled over a display of fluffy teddy bears. Each of them turned their heads in sync and raised their puffy arms in greeting at her arrival.

"You don't need these toys." Gloriana said as she came close and picked her daughter up. "I can make much better ones for you at home."

"I want this one, mama!"

While Aurelia was whining at the toy shop, Ves had entered a nearby store that displayed a bunch of different mech figurines.

As someone who made a couple of them by hand, he possessed a great appreciation for these miniature models. Not all of them had been crafted completely by hand, but Ves could clearly see how exquisite their makers had been to design and piece them together.

A handful of them even stood far above the rest!

His inner Vulcan became excited as he stood in front of a transparent cage that contained a figurine of a powerful second-class heavy artillery mech.

The tiny machine conveyed a hint of the power and majesty of this model. Made out of high-quality materials that had been machined by a craftsman who clearly possessed a background in mech design, the tiny parts each gave Ves an impression of supreme firepower.

This was quite impressive. The artisan may have been unable to turn this figurine in a totem, but he or she conveyed so much love and passion in this miniature reproduction that it actually possessed a good degree of X-Factor!

Ves was just about to raise his comm in order to transfer the funds needed to purchase this impressive work of craftsmanship when his eyes finally gazed at the price tag.

"339 MTA credits? What the hell? I can buy 240 Monster Slayer mechs with that much money!"

Those were actual combat mechs that could fight as well as other second-class mechs in the arena or a planetary environment!

The excessive price tag for what was essentially a toy for rich people instantly turned him off. Though he really wanted to buy the little figurine and add it to his collection to admire and study someone else's unique craftsmanship, he could not justify spending twice as much money as Gloriana's infernal handbag.

He would be just as bad as his wife if he gave in to this impulse!

"Just because my clan is rich these days doesn't mean I can let myself go and spend money willy-nilly!"

Ves had to close his eyes and forcefully calm down his racing heart in order to suppress the stupid impulse to buy the lovely little mech figurine.

When he took the time to glance at the other figurines that caught his eye, his mood dropped even more when he saw how quickly he could drain his cash reserves if he spent money like a kid without restraint.

"39 MTA credits… 49 MTA credits… 79 MTA credits… 139 MTA credits… wait, this gold edition toy is actually priced at 999 MTA credits?!"

Ves felt sick to his stomach. Five of these expensive toys was enough to buy a large plot of land on Davute VII!

What a buyer could actually gain from the latter far surpassed the former!

He developed a whole new cognition on the sheer amount of wasteful toys that rich people were willing to spend their money on. They had way too much money than sense!

"Ordinary mechers and fleeters only earn a couple of hundred MTA or CFA credits a month. They can't even afford some of these toys!"

Of course, the mechers and fleeters gained access to a lot of benefits that were worth far more money. Their salaries weren't all that important as the MTA and CFA pretty much took care of much of their lives.

Ves found it difficult to accept that a shop like this had a place in Davute.

It made more sense after he thought about it more. The shopping mall he was in right now was hailed as the most luxurious and expensive destination for visitors in Davute.

There were products for sale in Trinity Mall that could easily boggle his mind!

In order to maintain its exclusivity and keep the paupers out, the mall conducted an income check for every visitor.

No one got in unless they had the money to spend on these kinds of products!

This also caused the shopping mall to be rather quiet and peaceful. Only the most privileged class shopped at places like these, but Davute in its current form was not populated enough to turn this into a more bustling place.

The company responsible for all of this built Trinity Hall early and tried to cement its brand as the most exclusive shopping mall of Davute as early as possible.

This way, any competitors who came later would have already lost at the starting line!

This was a typical pattern of behavior from the many pioneers and profiteers that had entered the Red Ocean.

Ves eventually left the mech figurine shop. He wanted to get away from all of the interesting products before he changed his mind and made an unjustifiable purchase.

He returned to his wife and daughter who had just left the toy shop.

The difference this time was that Gloriana held a wrapped box in her hand!

"What's that, honey?"

"A present." Gloriana nonchalantly replied.

"My present!" Aurelia happily chirped!

Ves narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "Didn't we make a bunch of toys for our daughter already? There's no need for us to buy these commercialized products."

"You don't understand, Ves. Little girls have needs."

"What does that have to do with buying a toy we could easily make ourselves? By the way, how much did you spend on this product?"

"That's not important. Didn't you want to visit the rooftop plaza in order to enjoy lunch? Let's go up right away!"

Upon Gloriana's prompting, they all moved up a few floors and stepped foot onto a delightful rooftop that was styled after a classical garden.

"Miaow!"

"Meow."

While Lucky and Clixie raced off and climbed a few weird alien trees, Ves and his family sat down at a round table and ordered a few dishes.

"That's interesting." Ves noted. "This restaurant even offers food that is custom-synthesized to meet the dietary needs of designer babies."

"That is natural. The type of clientele that dines in these kinds of establishments are often more than human. At least half of the children ought to be designer babies."

They ordered a few dishes and didn't have to wait long before a couple of bots delivered the first ones to their table.

Soon, they enjoyed their meals in comfort and relative quiet.

Aurelia was a bundle of energy as her mother tried to settle her down by feeding her a fruity gel substance.

"This is the last day, correct?" Gloriana when she was finally done with tending to her daughter.

"That's right. It's back to making decisions again once we return."

"Have you thought about the decision to settle in Davute?"

Ves frowned. "I haven't. This is supposed to be a vacation, honey. The point is to reduce my stress. Just figuring all of this out makes me feel burdened. No matter what choice I make, I will be giving something up. It's not a pleasant feeling."

"We visited so many places this week. Surely you must have developed an impression of this planet. Tell me honestly. Do you like the living environment of this colony?"

He recalled all of the destinations he visited. He had to admit that he found a lot of enjoyment in visiting the zoos, theaters, shopping districts and other leisure destinations.

Even though Davute hadn't been colonized for long, it already offered a fairly complete and rounded place to live.

This shouldn't be a surprise considering that the founders of this colony wanted to dominate the region. The port system had to be as appealing as possible in order to attract a large population.

In comparison to Davute, the living environment of his fleet was far inferior!

They weren't even in the same league!

"One of the biggest shortcomings of living in a fleet is the lack of outsiders." Gloriana said. "Spending day in and day out in ships such as the Spirit of Bentheim will only expose us to Larkinsons and little else. Perhaps occasionally we will be able to meet with a couple of Glory Seekers or Crossers, but they are not that different from us. I truly miss the times where I could visit friends. There are so many different people in Davute that there should be plenty that are worth befriending."

Ves sighed. "We don't have to make so much personal contact with outsiders. Don't we have the galactic net for that, honey?"

"You know quite well that virtual contacts are no substitute for real contacts! Living on the same ships together with the same people for years on end will not lead to a healthy social life, Ves. It's the singular reason why the fleeters have become more isolated towards the rest of humanity. Do you really want to lead your Larkinsons in this direction? Are you willing to distort Aurelia's childhood and make her unable to socialize with outsiders?"

That was a low blow. Ves frowned as he gazed towards his lovely little daughter.

Aurelia didn't understand anything that her parents were talking about. Instead, she was shakily trying to put a spoonful of gel into her mouth.

Ves considered what was best for Aurelia and his future children. Was it truly fine to let them grow up in the Larkinson fleet?

He didn't think it was as bad as Gloriana claimed. They had an entire ark ship that possessed not one but two whole cities that offered an environment that was not too inferior compared to actual cities!

Of course, there were still a lot of limitations, the most egregious of which was the lack of outsiders. The only people that Larkinsons got to meet in their daily lives was other Larkinsons.

Perhaps his wife had a point…