The Mech Touch

Ves and Ketis talked about many topics.

Though Ketis encountered difficulties in an attempt to raise successors of her own unique mech design discipline, she had much less trouble with recruiting other mech designers.

"Our clan has become so popular that it has become easier to recruit second-class mech designers." She reported to Ves. "Novices, Apprentices, Journeymen and even Seniors are willing to sign up with us. I have already taken the liberty to approve the entry of hundreds of Apprentices and dozens of Journeymen, but I have yet to transfer them to the Design Department. I think it is better for them to spend more time in the trenches before they are ready to handle the greater responsibilities of working on our second-class mech design projects."

Ves fell into thought. Her approach was not wrong. This was the best way to assimilate and indoctrinate a lot of external mech designers who possessed varying degrees of attachments to their old lives and previous employers.

The mech designers expected to work in the Design Department also had to understand many different Larkinson mechs on a deeper level. It would be absurd for them to work on mech designs that they did not even understand.

However, this process took time. Ves was not sure whether the Larkinson Clan could afford to keep all of these new recruits in 'boot camp' for such a long time.

"Have you taken a look at the market developments over the past few months? Hyper mechs are becoming more and more essential, Ketis. We need to shift more manpower to the Design Department so we can speed up the comprehensive revisions to all of our existing mech lines."

"We have already begun work on these projects, but it is hard to find any Journeyman who has mastered hyper technology well enough to upgrade our existing products. This is a really difficult field, you know. All of us have to learn so many new scientific principles that have little in common with what we have learned before. It is just as perplexing as phasewater technology, but in a different way. We could have gotten started with hyper technology a lot sooner if we are able to work with Seniors and Masters. They are able to learn the new principles much faster."

"I see..."

Ves had improved his depth and understanding of phasewater theory and hyper technology so quickly that he developed a mistaken assumption that it was not a big deal for other mech designers.

However, he overlooked how his phase lord cultivation and his existing accumulation in cultivation science massively boosted his progress in those special subjects!

Not everyone enjoyed his rare combination of endowments. Ordinary second-class mech designers would have to force themselves to accept entirely new paradigms that sounded so counterintuitive that it seemed they were studying pseudoscience instead!

"I do not recommend that we pull the latest batches of recruits out of their current assignments too soon. They still need more time to learn the fundamentals of hyper technology before they are ready to apply it onto the mech designs that are asking for updates."

"I see."

This was a troublesome issue. Their current manpower was too inadequate.

"Have you tried to recruit mech designers who are smart enough to master hyper technology faster?"

"Our recruiters are doing their best to appeal to them, but they usually belong to other organizations. It is similar to the fact that those who have shown a greater ability in mastering transphasic technology can always find work at the best mech companies."

"Hmmm..."

There were no easy ways to solve this problem then. Ves would either have to poach these kinds of mech designers in the prosperous mech industry of Bortele III, or he had to resort to other means.

"Okay, I understand what is going on." Ves thoughtfully said as he formulated a new plan. "We can't rely on other mech designers in the short term. We can only address this issue ourselves. Once I have completed the product reveal, I will return to New Constantinople VIII and reunite with my wife, who should have gained a game-changing cranial implant at that time. Gloriana and I will focus much of our time on updating our existing product lines to currentgen standards in the next year or so. Our combined productivity has become so high that it is not impossible for us to complete all of that work in a much shorter time frame."

Ketis looked impressed. "If you are confident you can update all of our mechs in a year, then that is fantastic news. Will you prioritize our commercial mechs or focus on upgrading our Larkinson-exclusive mechs first?"

That was a difficult question.

"I will prioritize our commercial works over our Larkinson-exclusive ones. Our clan also makes extensive use of the former, so the Larkinson Army will still be able to benefit from our newer works. As for the Larkinson-exclusive mech models, I want to take my time to upgrade them. It will take more work to improve their performance gap over the competition. They need to be as good if not better than the Transcendent Punisher Mark III that I am close to finishing."

That was a good enough rationale. Ves wanted to update the mech lines that were most widely used such as the Ferocious Piranha and the Pacifier models. This would increase the momentum of the LMC much harder in a time where his mech company needed it the most!

Ves also did not forget about Ketis' mech models.

"I have noticed that your Monster Slayer line is quite popular among certain market segments. Are you planning on upgrading it as well?"

"I do, but it is not time yet." The female mech designer responded. "I need to complete a handful of research projects first before I gain the confidence to reshape my Monster Slayer into the mech that matches my dreams. I do not want to turn it into a simple hyper mech and call it a day. That would be an insult to its concept and a stain on my reputation as a mech designer."

"If you wait too long, your Monster Slayer will fall off hard. You have to understand that hyper mechs will become the prevailing standard in as little as 3 or 4 years. The performance boosts are too obvious, and the supply of low to mid-grade hypers will increase so much that their scarcity will be a thing of the past. You need to move ahead of this trend if you want to maintain the popularity of this mech line of yours."

Ketis let out a sigh. "lam working as fast as I can, Ves. I won't disappoint my Monster Slayer model and the loyal customers who appreciate my work. The next major revision will be different. I will reveal the true potential of swordsman mechs to everyone at that time."

That sounded promising and ambitious. Ves felt proud of her, but he was still concerned about what would happen in the short term.

"Does that mean that you will refrain from publishing any commercial mech designs in the next year?"

His former student shook her head. "No. I know the LMC can use a hand. Once I have finalized the Storm Sword, I will transfer much of the design solutions that I have developed for this elite mech model to its predecessor. The Stormblade Samurai will no longer be as important as before, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue to publish the Mark II version on the market. It will share much of the same tech as the Storm Sword, but in a cheaper and more simplified package. I can complete this update fairly quickly. It won't take more than half a year if I work on it by myself."

That sounded a lot more helpful.

The significance of this was great. Although the Stormblade Samurai model was not that conspicuous within the Larkinson Army, that was because it was filled with lots of excellent mech models.

The mech by itself was already fairly powerful due to the fact that stormblade technology could chew through transphasic energy shields faster than normal.

Now that the introduction of space suppressors had turned melee mechs into much more effective counters against alien warships, an updated and commercialized version of the Stormblade Samurai had the potential to become a new bestseller for the LMC!

Ves could think of many reasons why it should succeed.

The original Stormblade Samurai was relatively affordable and cost-efficient, and that should not change once Ketis updated the model.

The mech imposed a low logistical burden as it did not require the use of phasewater or high-grade hypers.

The Stormblade Samurai was faster and easier for mech pilots to master. It put less emphasis on difficult swordsmanship as it mostly relied on the ability to electrify its swords to do much of the damage.

That said, it would still hold a huge attraction for many mech pilots as Ketis would undoubtedly imbue it with a special sword style that anyone could learn.

Most importantly, the Stormblade Samurai was a spaceborn mech. It was designed to participate in actual space battles, and could readily be deployed on the peripheral warzones of the Red War!

The more basic and rudimentary Monster Slayer had been a big hit among hunters and mech athletes. Ketis' first commercial work proved that she was able to succeed in the mech market. She was only held back by the fact that her debut work was unable to participate directly in the Red War due to its lack of wings.

This was why the Stormblade Samurai Mark II held greater significance to Ves. If Ketis proceeded with her current plan, then this special swordsman mech would be her first major contribution to the war effort!

Ves and Ketis continued to talk about more promising commercial prospects. The introduction of hyper technology promised to revitalize a lot of old mech designs, but only if they succeeded in boosting their value propositions.

Every mech designer was playing the same game, so the Larkinsons had to do better if they wanted to grow their market share.

"Don't worry about falling behind." Ves smirked. "A number of our competitors may be able to gain a head-start by borrowing from ancient legacies, but I doubt that many of them can match my understanding of E-technology. I haven't been wasting my time in the last few weeks. My most recent vacation has taught me a lot of useful lessons. I cannot wait to convert all of that into brand-new design applications."

They continued to talk about their product strategies and business strategies for several more minutes before they switched to other important topics.

"How is my grandfather doing over there? Did he have a chance to prove his mettle in combat?"

The swordmaster's expression changed. "Your grandfather is an impressive soldier. Ever since he returned, he has beaten every other expert pilot in the expeditionary fleet. No matter whether they are Larkinsons or Crossers, he has never lost a mech duel. The Blood Star Mark II is a true wonder. I can feel how much more alive and connected he is to his battle partner. They have not yet fought against a real alien force, but it should not take too long for them to have their chance. I can't say much more over this communication channel."

"I understand. You guys are in charge over there. There is no need to keep me in the loop. I just expect good results."

It sounded as if the expeditionary fleet was planning a risky and daring operation. This was why it had not done anything special in the last few months. The scouts and reconnaissance forces needed more time to scope out the enemy forces and put all of the pieces together.

"By the way, Venerable Tusa and all of the other expert pilots over here are clamoring for you to update their mechs. When will you be ready to satisfy their needs? They don't wait to wait years for you to find the time to upgrade them into fully fledged hyper mechs."

"That is a tricky matter..."