The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1003

Ves always yearned to take possession of the Mech Designer System again despite its complex origin and hidden dangers. His time with the Mech Corps and Flashlight exposed him to so many dangers that he felt horribly inadequate at the challenges facing him. Improving his Attributes, acquiring new Skills and purchasing some life-saving talismans would go a long way in improving his odds for survival.

Yet now that it was just meters away from him, he did not even dare to glance at it even once!

It was too dangerous at the moment!

Even if he could make use of his personal comm’s Privacy Shield and Stealth Augment to hide his form from electronic and biological monitoring, it would still raise too many alarms. In the worst case, the security guards stationed outside might barge in and inspect everyone’s possessions!

Ves could not risk exposing the System, even indirectly!

Perhaps he could fool some standard monitoring systems and some normal security guards, but Leland had only just disappeared from the room! Considering how crafty and devious the Flashlight intelligence officer turned out to be, Ves could not rule out that he remained in this room under stealth or that dozens of analysts observed a live feed of the room at this very moment!

As the fake assassination attempt on him already proved, Ves should know better than to underestimate Flashlight!

Therefore, even though the temptation called out to him, Ves already resolved to leave the System alone for a while longer. While improving himself could make him stronger and increase his chances of survival, the opposite would happen if he carelessly showed off the System in front of Flashlight.

"Ves, Mr. Larkinson, I’m sorry." Calsie apologetically bowed. "I haven’t managed to take good care of the Living Mech Corporation. Our debt burden has grown so large that we’ve had to take on new loans to pay off the old loans."

That sounded very bad. It meant the company hadn’t been earning enough money to cover their short-term debt obligations. Rolling over debt like this only made the debt burden snowball into an even greater burden in the future.

Without an increase in earnings or a significant outside investment, the LMC would never be able to escape such a huge debt trap!

"You don’t have to apologise." He replied gently. "I’ve already heard some of the details from Marcella Bollinger. You did the best you could under the circumstances and kept the company afloat. The debt that’s piling up is just a sum of money. When I get back, I’ll find a way to reduce the burden. For now, you should keep doing what you can to keep the company afloat."

He didn’t tell her about how the Ministry of Economic Development would soon divest themselves from his business. The transfer of ownership would only take place after the war.

"Tell me a bit more about the business. Have sales recently spiked?"

Calsie smiled. "That’s some very welcome news. I don’t know what you and Marcella did, but all the media exposure has revitalized our sales. When word about your near-death and the scandals at the KNG became hot news recently, I made sure to pull out all the stops to advertise your connection to the LMC. Interest in our products have spiked and our sales volume has doubled! We’re doing so well for the moment that we’ve increased our prices and stopped incurring more debts."

"That’s good to hear."

"It’s hard for a mech company to stand out in the market." She smiled bitterly. "We’re really lucky that you stood out in the news, especially in such a good light. The veteran demographic has become some of our most important customers now, and I think their loyalty to our brand will endure the most."

Publicity raised interest, and interest led to increased sales. Yet playing around with publicity was a double-edged sword. Right now, with the help of the Bright Republic’s propaganda machine, public opinion firmly stood on his side, but how long would that last? The next time Ves might show up on the news, it might cast him in a negative light instead!

Even though any publicity no matter how bad it sounded led to increased sales due to allowing his company to stand out from the crowd, Ves knew it would be difficult to keep the public interested.

Right now, Ves didn’t believe he had the charisma necessary to form a cult of personality for the benefit of his company. Certain ’celebrity’ mech designers easily drew attention from the media with their antics, thereby raising sales of their mechs like other celebrities raised the sales of the products they sponsored.

Even though Ves tasted the benefits of celebrity recently, he felt it would be a better idea to keep his head out of the clouds. In the end, the most reliable way to sell mechs was to keep designing good products. So long as his core business was sound, buyers would continue to purchase his mechs.

He said as much to Calsie. "Don’t go too far with wild promotions, and don’t try and rush production at the expense of quality. While it’s important to make enough money to keep the company afloat for the next five years, it’s very hard to regain our reputation for quality once we slip up. Focus on running a steady business instead of profiteering from the moment."

"Got it." She nodded.

The two discussed some more business decisions, but Ves only made an idle comment every now and then. He already resolved to overhaul the company’s entire structure in the future once he returned. Therefore, while the current situation didn’t sound very great, it at least ensured the company’s stability in the short and medium term.

"How are the Avatars of Myth doing?" He asked.

"Melkor couldn’t come as he is still needed to hold down the fort at the Mech Nursery." Calsie replied. "He’s managed to raise a full company of mech pilots based around a core force of Blackbeaks and Crystal Lords. He’s especially ecstatic about the latter."

"How about the spaceborn mech contingent? If I recall, the Avatars should have received the two light carriers that I’ve previously ordered."

Calsie’s smile grew strained. "About that.. As money is rather tight lately, Melkor and I have decided it would be unwise to expand our mech roster. Right now, we’ve already hired more than forty mech pilots, but Melkor thinks it’s better to hire and train some spares as private sector mech pilots can’t be expected to be available for duty all the time like servicemen."

"Ah."

This was an important difference. Just because the Avatars of Myth hired forty mech pilots didn’t mean that they could deploy all of them at the same time. They all received the same rights as every other mech pilot working in a private capacity, and that meant giving them plenty of off-time to spend with their families or on something else.

"That’s a prudent decision. I approve." Ves nodded. "What about our ships, though?"

"Well, Fleet Commander Rofane who you’ve hired to take charge of our light carriers is quite pissed off that they’re relegated to taxis for landbound mechs. He threatened to quit several times because he feels his abilities are going to waste."