The Mech Touch

His vacation finally came to an end after the impromptu celebration.

Ves knew he would miss this planet. Its large variety of exobeasts and mutated beasts held a lot of use to him. Whether he wanted to harvest their powerful biotissue or collect their valuable spiritualities, he could advance many different projects if he wanted!

Though Ves had numerous reasons to extend his stay on Ocanon VI, his duties beckoned him to leave.

It was with more than a bit of reluctance that Ves, his children and his cats bid farewell to President Oscar Tarich and the clansmen assigned to the local branch of the Larkinson Clan.

Soon enough, Ves and his group teleported back to the Tarrasque. The Bluejay Fleet promptly resumed its trek to the Bortele System that was situated in the Torald Middle Zone.

The journey should not take long. Soon enough, Ves would enter a busy port system, and one that had militarized to an astonishing degree over the last year.

Ves was bound to get surrounded by a lot of people again. He could say goodbye to the tranquility that he managed to enjoy during his vacation.

"Welcome back, Ves." Jovy greeted as Ves entered the design lab. "You have been much more active than we expected during your stay on Ocanon VI."

Jovy had access to an excellent design lab. It held a lot of high-end lab equipment that performed functions that Ves could barely figure out. Several of them were active and in the process of conducting automated experiments and examinations on quantum particles.

Ves little idea how Jovy's design philosophy worked, but it most definitely had a strong relationship with quantum mechanics.

Perhaps one day he would understand more. That would be a time where he could fully collaborate with Jovy on a first-class multipurpose mech design. Ves still needed to earn his qualifications before he could embark on such an ambitious project.

"Did you enjoy the show from up here?" Ves casually asked as he leaned against a desk and crossed his arms.

"The footage and data of your battle has been... enlightening." Jovy frankly admitted as he set aside his current mech design. "Regrettably, this fight primarily highlights how much of an anomaly you are. We have not learned all that much on how more typical human phase lords are able to handle themselves in an actual battle. Not only do you lack proper combat training to make good use of your powerful physical gifts, you have employed too many other abilities to give us a straightforward impression of how human phase lords are able to fight by themselves."

Ves rolled his eyes. "Do you think I can subdue the Azure Tornado Dragon by relying on my phase lord gifts alone? Keep dreaming. Besides, I bet that most of the candidates who will eventually become a phase lord will consist of old mech designers and other geezers who are appreciated for their brains rather than their brawn. Teaching them how to wrestle a phase whale in battle should be the least of their concerns."

His mecher friend did not respond to that wild guess.

"Regardless, I hope you are satisfied with your stunt. The mechs of our fleet had been close to intervening at several points during your fight. You can make our jobs much easier if you refrain from putting your life on the line. Even if the mutated beast was not strong enough to pose a serious threat to you, there is always the possibility that other enemies may be lurking in the vicinity. It is the threats that we are not aware of that truly merits our concern. We have recently received an intelligence brief that your bounty has increased."

"What bounty?"

"The native aliens have increased the price on your head." Jovy explained. "Due to the treacherous actions of the Cosmopolitan Movement, the Red Cabal along with many other powerful alien groups have developed a better understanding of our society. They are able to interpret our language, understand out origin, become familiar with our culture and master many of our own technologies. One of the many lessons that the aliens have learned about us is that each high-tier galactic citizen is of immense strategic value to our civilization."

"So they have begun to target our exclusive club, is that what you are saying? This was bound to happen sooner or later, Jovy."

"That is true, but your risk is greater than that of others, Ves. Every other tier 3 galactic citizen aside from you are either centuries-old Master Mech Designers that belong to established organizations, strong senior ace pilots who can defeat most alien warfleets by themselves, highly influential statesmen who live in the well-protected centers of power of various states and so on. They rarely have a need to require the protection of our escort forces because they are more than capable of handling this issue themselves."

Ves grimaced a bit. "And I am different because I grew too quickly. My clan hasn't caught up to my own rapid rise."

"There is no reason for you to be afraid that you will be beset by assassinations as soon as you step outside of the Tarrasque. Our Bluejay Fleet is well-equipped to deter or contain most threats. Combined with the fact that you are hundreds of times harder to kill than you appear, we truly do not think that the alien bounty poses an acute threat to your life."

"I can hear a 'but' coming..."

Jovy leaned forward and stared at Ves with concern. "No one is invincible. Your protection detail may be considerable, but as long as you are reasonably within reach of the aliens, it becomes tempting for the native aliens to form a huge incursion fleet and force their way through in an attempt to bombard your coordinates with dozens of transphasic weapons of mass destruction. No matter whether you are a phase lord or not, even you cannot survive a direct hit from the main cannon of a native alien battleship."

That was very much true. Ves needed to advance his phase lord cultivation a lot more if he wanted to have any hope of surviving such a hit!

What he needed to do instead was to teleport away from the danger zone as quickly as possible. It was much more sensible for him to avoid a powerful killing strike than to stupidly rely on his own defenses.

Ves picked up Jovy's underlying message. The closer he traveled to the frontlines, the easier it became for the native aliens to dispatch a secret strike force and sneak into his location!

Both the Bortele System and the New Constantinople System were situated fairly close to the border. The former was a little closer and more vulnerable to alien incursions. This also turned it into an excellent staging point and a logistical center for all of the would-be New Elites who sought to earn war merits in the middle zone.

"I would think that if the Red Association knows that I have become a much more tempting target to the native aliens, you would reinforce my protection detail."

Jovy smiled. "I have good news on that front. You will indeed receive additional protection. The Bortele System already hosts a sizable garrison of our Association. We can redirect them from their regular duties to function as your exclusive guards during your stay over there. No matter whether the native aliens choose to attack you covertly or launch a surprise invasion that is intended to break through all obstacles by force, our forces will not let the aliens succeed."

While that sounded reassuring, Ves knew better than to believe the mechers could never do wrong.

He reminded himself that he should set up his own security arrangements. He could not leave everything to the mechers and assume that they would account for every possibility.

"Thank you for the extra help."

"It is no problem. You are one of us, Ves. We would never abandon you. That said, you can significantly decrease our stress levels if you choose to relocate to a complete secure star system such as Vulit or Bridgehead One. I think it is particularly useful if you visit the latter. Ever since work on transforming the greater beyonder gate has started, a large number of research institutions and industrial companies have flocked to it. It has become the greatest paradise of mech design and many fields of research in human-occupied space."

That certainly sounded interesting to Ves.

"Once my product reveal is over, I intend to return to New Constantinople VIII and settle for a time. I will think about going on a holiday to Bridgehead One if it has become such an excellent place, but it might take a year before I am ready to do so. Right now, I do not think I am able to conduct too many exchanges with the professionals over there. I need to build up my warchest first."

"Understandable. Your relocation is not too urgent at the moment. I will inform you if the situation changes."

That would only happen if the native aliens launched a surprise offensive that caused the current frontlines to collapse or get pushed back.

Nothing of the sort had happened so far. The native aliens were still as slow as ever with mobilizing their greater warmaking potential.

"By the way. You said that the Red Cabal put a bounty on my head. How much is it? Am I valuable?"

Jovy's expression remained serious. "The Red Cabal has set a general valuation of bounties based on tiers of galactic citizenship. It can be redeemed by both humans and aliens so long as they can prove they have done the deed."

"What?!" Ves straightened his back a bit. "Are humans actually able to get a reward despite belonging on the enemy side?"

"You heard that right. The Red Cabal has gone through great lengths to reassure that humans will be treated with utmost respect if they come and claim a bounty. The aliens even promise that they will maintain full anonymity, though I seriously doubt this claim. I am sure you can imagine how much more dangerous our society has become when the aliens have instituted this new bounty program."

Although it seemed unlikely, there was a chance that greedy humans would actually become tempted enough to assassinate key human leaders in order to earn a treat from the aliens they were supposed to fight!

"So how much, Jovy?"

"I am getting there, Ves. The head of an average tier 5 galactic citizen is worth 228 kilograms of phasewater. The head of an average tier 4 galactic citizen is worth 865 kilograms of phasewater. The rewards become much more interesting at this point."

"How so?" Ves asked.

"This is because the Red Cabal directly promises to turn a person into a phase lord. The phase whales over there even claim that they can do so perfectly, which means that the risk of death is zero. We have many reasons to question this boast, but I am afraid that many other people will just believe this at face value. Aside from that, the Red Cabal has also promised to bring the lucky traitor under the wings of one of its many respected phase whales in order to learn the tricks of the trade."

"That... that is outrageous! The Red Cabal practically wants to kill off our best people while poaching anyone that has proven their killing ability!"

If the new bounty program truly picked up steam, then red humanity's society would undoubtedly undergo a lot more upheaval!

At the very least, the upper echelon would never be able to cooperate as closely with each other than before!

What an effective conspiracy! The mistrust it generated was far more powerful than the actual assassinations that would occur!

"You haven't mentioned the remaining prices yet, Jovy."

"Ah, yes. Well, the head of any tier 3 galactic citizen is worth one guaranteed transformation into a lesser phase lord. The head of any tier 2 galactic citizen is worth one guaranteed transformation into a senior phase lord. The head of any tier 1 galactic citizen is worth a guaranteed transformation into an ancient phase lord."

"...So I am just worth an opportunity to become a garbage phase lord in the eyes of others, am I correct?"

"That is not the case." Jovy shook his head. "The bounties are not uniform. The Red Cabal has set special prices for notable human individuals that merit special attention. The native aliens have actually increased your bounty by a full tier. Your head is worth as much as a tier 2 galactic citizen. It appears that even the phase whales recognize that your value to our civilization is greater than your current status."

"Oh. That is... inconvenient, to say the least."