The Mech Touch (Web Novel)
chapter-6473

A woman as intelligent as Master Willix definitely understood why Veronica asked such a sensitive question.

She stared deeply at the cat that served as the avatar of the most brilliant young mech designer that she had the pleasure to meet and guide.

Those days were long over now. The young Journeyman had grown up into a fine Senior and even managed to break the genetic aptitude tyranny.

Master Willix only felt regretful that the state of the mech community in the old galaxy had become so solidified that the mere hint of releasing Carmine mechs was already enough to throw all of human civilization in a massive upheaval!

Thinking about this caused the older woman to frown.

"In order to explain my views on the state of humankind in the old galaxy, let us begin by making a comparison." Willix spoke up. "It is normally difficult to gauge the health of a society when it is the only kind of its existence, but we are fortunate that we have a direct comparison on hand. The situations of the two branches of humanity differ enormously, but we can still take advantage of the fact that we are still the same race to make direct comparisons. How have people reacted to the introduction of Carmine mechs?"

"Enthusiastic." Veronica immediately replied. "Anyone with enough free time, money, connections or whatever is desperately trying to get their hands on a Yellow Jacket. The excessive demand threatens to destabilize our society by depriving other sectors of crucial workers, but the RA and the various states are closely cooperating with each other to mitigate this problem. The good news is that we can get away with a lot more now that martial law is in effect in most jurisdictions. One of the new rules that the Red Association has imposed is that every resident that chooses to become a Carmine mech pilot must volunteer for military service if he is living in a state that has declared martial law. After all, in times of war, we cannot afford to waste precious resources, industrial capacity and manpower on frivolous waste. Red humanity is braver, fiercer and more prepared to suffer hardships."

That rule did not deter volunteers as much as the mechers wanted, though. Mech mania was still too strong even during these dire times. Too many low-ranking mech designers, doctors, farmers, naval specialists and other essential workers all abandoned their comfortable and respectable jobs just so they could fulfill their childhood dreams of becoming a battlefield hero!

Veronica hoped that the mech mania would fade in the coming weeks and months as reality set into the minds of these latent mech fanatics.

"According to your description, red humanity is fully capable of integrating Carmine

machs into its cociate without causing it to brank in that correct?"

"Yes. We are ultimately at war, so the native aliens have repeatedly taught us not to underestimate their threat. What they lack in quality, they more than make up in quantity. Since the disparity between us is so great, all humans have realized that they must do their utmost to win the Red War."

"That is a somewhat enviable state, Veronica. The threat posed by the aliens of the Red Ocean has fully woken red humanity up and invigorated its society for the better. The same cannot be said for the humans of the Milky Way. We are in such a dominant state that we no longer fear our external enemies anymore. On the surface, this should be a good outcome. As a member of the Survivalist Faction, I believe that we have succeeded in reaching a near-ideal state where our race is no longer at risk of going extinct, at least if we take the Milky Way and its immediate surroundings into account. If nothing special has occurred, then I am fully supportive of maintaining the status quo, even if not everyone benefits from this age of lasting peace."

For a long time, humanity only remained on guard against two kinds of threats.

Humans always took internal threats seriously. Humans knew how to harm other humans best.

Since there were no alien races in the Milky Way that could defeat humanity, then the latter could only turn to itself for enemies!

The other kind of threat was external. The Seven Apex Races still possessed strength beyond the level of ordinary alien races. Several of them had suffered catastrophic losses and even became homeless for a time after ceding all of their territories to humanity.

However, humanity had beaten all of these aliens so badly that they had already been broken. It was difficult for them to challenge the Big Two no matter whether they fought alone or by uniting all of the surviving alien races.

Considering that the aliens of the Milky Way and possibly the other aliens native to the other surrounding dwarf galaxy did not represent significant threats anymore, humanity had little reason to be on guard against them these days.

The humans of the Milky Way had lost respect for the potential threat posed by the aliens.

The people who emigrated to the Red Ocean actually suffered from this problem as well.

Far too many overconfident pioneers had brought their vast colonization fleets in the Red Ocean, only to lose a part of all of their assets as the native alien shredded the invaders with their formidable warships!

"So you are essentially saying that original humanity has grown too soft." Veronica said. "That is fine when there are no significant internal and external threats, but when the circumstances have changed, all of that softness has suddenly become a

Master Willix nodded. "Correct. I am in agreement with the leaders of the Oblivion Gate Consortium in this regard. While I have only heard descriptions of this 'Subjugation King' and the possible threat of the aliens native to Messier 87, I believe these accounts are credible enough to take this distant threat seriously. If these supposed God Kings are only able to effectively move around their own galaxy cluster, then we do not have to take them seriously. However, the displacement of the Red Ocean to the vicinity of this new and dangerous galaxy has changed that. Granting the native aliens of accurate intelligence and awareness of the Milky Way is already adverse enough. Granting them access to more than enough phasewater to cross the vast divide and invade our original galaxy is worse. Whether this possible threat. arrives within a century or several centuries, we must use all of the time we have to prepare for a possible invasion."

Her logic was sound. Veronica knew first-hand that the intelligence on the alien God Kings was more likely than not correct. She had spoken to the Subjugation King in

person!

"If everything goes right, the humans of the Milky Way won't have to face this threat themselves." The Cyborg Cat hopefully said. "We are working hard to close the gap ourselves. The Red War at least provides all of our soldiers and champions with the best possible tempering. Who knows whether one of our god pilots will be able to advance into god king pilots in the next decades."

Master Willix shook her head. "We cannot rely on others to protect ourselves, Veronica. It is foolish to put all of our hopes in the strength and luck of red humanity. Even if there is a chance that our preparations are in vain, it is always prudent to account for failures. The lives of far too many humans are at stake. As a Survivalist, I am already mentally prepared to account for the death of 99 percent of the total population of humans. As long as the remaining 1 percent can still preserve their lives, their culture and their heritage, we have avoided the worst outcome."

Ah, that was typical Survivalist talk. While Master Willix was not as extreme as the Oblivion Empress and the Beast of Fear, she could still be ruthless when she deemed it

necessary!

"Do you want this to happen, though?"

"No. Absolutely not. The more humans perish as a result of... shall way say desperate

measures, the more flawed our plan has become. We should not have to resort to causing strife and unrest in order to wake original humanity up. However, the Oblivion Gate Consortium's motives are not entirely pure. Your mother and the Unbounders aligned with the Beast of Fear seek to trigger a titanic civil war in order to secure their own survival and grant them opportunities to grow their power. By plotting these steps, they have betrayed how little they care about the people they are supposed to be responsible for. When human leaders begin to treat the lives of ordinary individuals as worthless, then they have proven that they are not fit to bear

Veronica fully agreed with the Master Mech Designer. This was also one of the key reasons why the Cyborg Cat couldn't fully support her mother and the other conspirators.

"The more accomplishments I make as a mech designer, the more I realize that each of us must bear greater responsibilities." The floating cat expressed her earnest feelings. "Our greater priority is always thinking about how to make our customers stronger and our society a little better with our works. Other cultivators think a lot more about how to increase their power and longevity. The wellbeing and concerns for the ordinary folk are far too low in priority."

Both cat and Master Mech Designer developed an implicit understanding with each other. They felt a little more comfortable in each other's presence. Their words had already confirmed to each other that they possessed similar stances on the issues that

mattered.

"Mech designers exist to serve." Master Willix affirmed.

Veronica began to grin. "In contrast to other professions, mech designers solve

problems by developing new mechs. So let us do that. Since my mother and friends has tasked me with designing a series of Milky Way-adapted Carmine mechs, I will need to borrow your extensive familiarity with the mech industry of the old galaxy. I am unfamiliar with the prevailing technical standards, material availability, legal landscape and more. If I want my Carmine mechs to appeal to the broadest possible audience, then I can sorely use your expertise to guide my work direction."

"I am honored and willing to collaborate with you, Veronica. I have no issue with allowing you to work as the lead designer of your new project. My own specialization in gravitic systems is not too relevant to your upcoming Carmine mechs, but as a rational mech designer, I can simulate a wide variety of fairly uncomplicated design philosophies of other notable mech designers. I can therefore provide enough assistance to lightly empower aspects such as offense or mobility. You do not have to collaborate with any other mech designers. This should make it vastly more convenient for us to maintain secrecy during the next crucial months."

While the Evolution Witch and the Beast of Fear already planned to introduce Carmine mechs to the Milky Way, they could not yet do so without solid Carmine mech designs in their hands.

This was why Veronica was more than happy to withhold any announcements and use the buffer time to strengthen his ability to survive the upcoming problem period. For example, the Cyborg Cat was eager to increase his own combat capabilities. He also wanted to prepare a few escape routes for himself.

Still, Carmine mechs would become available sooner or later. Her mother accepted no

other outcome and would definitely watch him carefully to see that he was diligently 'doing his homework' every day!

Veronica needed to release these Carmine mechs on a fairly short deadline, so he was more than happy to secure the assistance of a highly competent Master Mech

Designer.

As the two settled in front of a desk terminal, the Cyborg Cat began to draft a very loose sketch of a humanoid Carmine mech.