The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6441

Ves only received a brief opportunity to address the public.

He was merely the chief councilor of the Upper Council. He wouldn't be able to speak as long as the Evolution Witch despite her lack of official position within the Red Collective.

To be honest, Ves did not have a strong desire to address the public yet again.

He had already shared much of his thoughts during the last product reveal that happened only three days ago. That had vented much of his desire to grandstand to all of red humanity.

Still, Ves was not tired to the point of squandering this precious opportunity to say his piece.

Last time, people were paying attention to him because of the unprecedented features of the Yellow Jacket models.

This time, people had already known about the Carmine System long enough to get over the immediate excitement. The masses were much more interested in the benefits that cultivation could provide.

It was best to play into those expectations.

Ves had already thought about what subjects he could address at this time. He would have to limit his selection, which made it hard to narrow down his choices.

He eventually decided to remind the public about two or three important subjects. He cared a lot about them as he believed that people could make a lot more optimal choices if they took his words into account.

As everyone's focus shifted to Ves, he slowly rose from his throne.

"Meow."

Lucky, who had been resting on his lap, had to leave his perch and climb up to his shoulder. The appearance of the black archemetal cat served as a sharp contrast to his red ceremonial robes.

There was just one problem.

Ves felt as if there was a missing element. Though it shouldn't have been important in a moment as solemn as this, he suddenly became hyper-focused at this absence.

It was as if he suddenly became afflicted with obsessive compulsive disorder!

The sense that he was 'not complete' bothered him so much that it was like an itch that he had yet to scratch.

Should he ignore it and proceed with his speech, or should he scratch it at the risk of looking weird?

He decided to scratch his itch. It was just too annoying.

Ves held out his hand and summoned his Oceancaller. The flute attracted immediate attention due to the remarkable appearance of the high-level artifact and the runes floating on its exterior.

He slowly sized it up until he was able to hold it like a staff.

That was better. Ves understood now why he felt the compulsion to summon the Oceancaller. It was because it would complete the image of a wise and powerful wizard.

One with a playful mechanical cat hanging on his shoulder.

He tried his best not to smirk as he began to speak.

"There is much that the prior speakers have already said. I fully agree and affirm everything they have said. Humans are weak, but we never let that stop us from rising beyond our limitations. Back in the Milky Way, we overcame the Seven Apex Races by leveraging the unending potential of technology. Here in the Red Ocean, that has not proven to be enough, so we must look back to ourselves and promote our own evolution in order to outcompete the 13 major alien races. They may outnumber us by a ratio of a 1000 to 1 or higher, but if every individual human is just 10 or 100 times stronger or more productive than an average alien, then we will win the Red War when we combine our cultivation with our mastery of high technologies!"

That was an uplifting message. A lot of humans already gained more confidence in the future of red humanity after the release of Carmine mechs. The formal introduction of systematic cultivation gave humans even more tools to gain power.

However, it was a bit difficult to say whether widespread practice of systematic cultivation could actually dig red humanity out of a hole.

Only True Gods were powerful enough to overcome the steep odds of the Red War.

The native aliens had far too many bodies and assets to throw against red humanity. People still needed to rely on the emergence of more god pilots in order to truly secure humankind's place in the new frontier.

Perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps the masses may still surprise him by exceeding his expectations. There was still value in raising them up. Just one or two cultivation geniuses comparable to the Chosen Human could make an enormous difference in a surprisingly short amount of time.

Mindful of the limited amount of time, Ves cleared his thoughts and focused on conveying his next message.

"Starting from today, each of you have many options to choose from. Many cultivation methods promise to strengthen you in specific directions. What I would like for you to keep in mind is that cultivation is never static. You can switch to different methods or practice multiple of them at the same time. For example, I believe that many mech designers can benefit from practicing an auxiliary cultivation method. The Red Collective has already conducted extensive tests on possible combinations to verify that they are safe and produce no severe sequelae. Be warned that improper mixing can still lead to dangerous consequences, and may even lead to death. Do not take this lightly. Controlling your evolution does not mean you can engage in reckless experiments with actual human lives at stake."

Despite his warning, he had no doubt that there would always be dummies that would do exactly what he told them not to do. This was the nature of humans, and there was no way to prevent every possible accident from occurring.

"Mech design is a semi-passive form of cultivation that is originally adapted to the Milky Way. It is still just as effective in the Red Ocean, but it is lacking in personal strengthening as it has little interaction with E energy radiation. There are many curated cultivation methods that can make up for this shortcoming. There is no rule that prevents mech designers from practicing a qi or body cultivation method, so feel free to do so, but only with proper guidance and supervision. If you are sincere about designing mechs, then I advise you not to obsess over systematic cultivation and lose sight of your original goals and passions. It is difficult to reach the end, but if you are able to become a Star Designer, you will become a living deity that has completely transcended beyond your human limitations, similar to a god pilot. This is no worse than the outcomes of practicing a powerful cultivation method to the fullest."

Part of the discussions during the Interim Leadership Council focused on the impact that systematic cultivation would have on mech design.

It took time for humans to make progress in their cultivation practice.

Different methods demanded a greater amount of time than others. Unfortunately, the ones that promised greater power usually forced the practitioners to devote greater time and attention.

All of this cultivation activity came with substantial opportunity costs. The more mech designers invested their time in systematic cultivation, the less time they spent on designing mechs, researching new design applications, fabricating mechs and trying to sell their products.

Was the mech industry about to enter into a dark age?

That was the fear that haunted a lot of mech designers. The Age of Mechs had been their golden age as norms had no other way to work intensely with mechs unless they designed them for a living.

This was no longer the case. Carmine mechs made mech piloting a lot more accessible. Systematic cultivation promised increased longevity and greater personal power, often without demanding years or decades of patient and persistent studying and design work!

The relation between risks and rewards were all skewed. This should not be a big surprise as mech design was ultimately a product of its environment. It was a bit outdated by the current standards in the Red Ocean.

In comparison, the curated cultivation methods that the Red Collective had managed to formulate with the help of many cultivation scientists combined ancient mystical theories with a modern scientific approach.

The use of advanced technological facilities and access to a huge amount of funding had allowed the precursor of the RC to quickly generate a large amount of relatively simple but undeniably effective cultivation methods.

From what Ves heard, there was no easy way to improve the process of mech design. It was one of the masterpieces of the 13 Progenitors of Mechs.

Only Star Designers and other True Gods possessed the intellectual prowess and deep insights into E energy to tinker with the Red Kingdom and the embedded blueprint of mech design.

Even then, a single faulty change could break everything!

This was why the bigshots ultimately decided that keeping the process of mech design the same was the most prudent decision to make.

It was not a proper solution to the problem, but the risk of anything going wrong should be low.

Mech designers just had to bear the risks themselves by choosing which cultivation methods to practice as an auxiliary activity.

Ves personally had a lot of faith in the mech industry.

Becoming a mech designer might not be as flashy as becoming a cultivator that could launch fire hammers or punch with the power of a mech, but the profession had the advantage of over four centuries of accumulated glory and prestige.

In fact, Ves actually felt it was better if less people studied mech design. There were already far too many kids who chose to enter the mech industry, only to find out that excessive competition had long saturated the mech markets.

Allowing the people who were less passionate and dedicated towards mechs pursue other opportunities should hopefully open up more room to truly dedicated mech lovers.

In any case, the Red Association already promised to monitor the state of the mech industry closely. If the popularity of mech design collapsed so much that there was no way to meet the manpower requirements of the mech industry, then the mechers would definitely take action one way or another!

"There is one more tip that I would like to share with you." Ves spoke as he intended to bring up one more topic. "Companion spirits are an indispensable aid to any cultivator. They generate a miniature copy of yourself that can practice a completely different cultivation method from your main self. You can combine brain with brawn to enjoy the best of both worlds, or double-up on a single focus to break through the limitations of your primary cultivation method. The best part is that it is completely safe to do this in many instances. Previously restricted to the New Elites Program, companion spirit fruits can now be redeemed by any human through the RC Merit Exchange. Currently, you can redeem and ingest a companion spirit fruit by exchanging 100,000 RC Merits. This is a temporary price level as the Red Collective is still in the process of ramping up production. In time, we intend to lower the redemption price to 10,000 RC Merits, making it accessible to any red human that has aided the RC in one fashion or another."

People responded a lot more enthusiastically towards this tip! They had yet to understand and realize the greater potential of companion spirits until now!

Ves could easily predict that a lot of wealthy and more capable people would be working hard to save up 100,000 RC Merits just to get their hands on a companion spirit fruit.

Even though it was deliberately overpriced at the moment, getting one sooner could save a cultivator many years of progress!

In fact, it was a lot easier to exchange for a companion spirit fruit through the War Exchange that was a part of the New Elites Program.

People just needed to fight on the frontlines and earn enough war merits.

And survive, of course.