The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1005

The experiences that Ves went through recently severely eroded his confidence in trusting others.

When people like Leland who smiled in his face but ordered a member of the strike team to ruthlessly shoot him in the heart, how could Ves ever retain his innocence?

Hanging around a ruthless intelligence agency like Flashlight harshly taught him to never let down his guard. Trusting others completely was sheer folly.

Therefore, Ves already saw that he would have some issues when he returned to his business at the end of the war. How could he be comfortable with delegating responsibilities when there were so few people he could trust?

In a way, relying on family members instead of complete strangers served as a convenient solution. Even though most Larkinsons would only work for him and his company due to the desires of the Larkinson Family, they could still be helpful to Ves in holding down the fort.

Yet Ves did not wish to see his company turn into a family business. When family blood instead of competent and qualifications determined someone’s position in the company, the LMC would eventually decline.

While family businesses brought some merits, Ves did not feel relieved at the thought of involving the Larkinsons even further.

Could he trust the Larkinsons enough to represent his interests?

Ves shook his head. If he answered that question right now, he would definitely answer no. As long as his answer remained the same, he would never be willing to hire more Larkinsons and allow them to extend their influence in his company.

The LMC was his property! Why should he work so hard to grow his company if he didn’t feel a sense of belonging for it? Ves believed he obtained sufficient leverage and achievements to stand on his own. He had never relied on the Larkinson name to help him grow his business.

After Melinda left, Ves continued to spend his time in recovery. After multiple rounds of surgery, his body finally regained its stability. Although cloned tissue wouldn’t immediately work as flawlessly as original tissue right at the start, time healed most of the differences. Ves wouldn’t notice any discomfort after a few months, especially with his augmented physique.

The doctors who treated him constantly expressed their astonishment at his unique body state. The most troubling issue was that Ves couldn’t prevent them from taking blood samples. He could only hope that a high-ranking member of the Five Scrolls Compact didn’t break into the military hospital and seek out his blood samples and test them in person.

He snorted. "The odds of that happening is as large as the bright president coming here to cook dinner for me. There’s no way that someone so important will personally do such a thing."

As far as he knew, the Flagrant Vandals and various hospitals already stored some samples of his blood. All of them formed potential risk factors, but Ves had no way to get them to destroy the samples without arousing suspicion.

Ves would probably have to advance to Senior or Master to be able to gain enough clout to get those institutions to destroy his blood. Even then, he couldn’t guarantee that they would secretly fudge the request and sneak a couple of drops away for later study.

All in all, Ves did not feel very reassured about these loopholes.

As Ves continued to hold complex thoughts over various issues, he received another visitor at the tail end of his stay at the hospital. He already received word some days ago that he would soon be discharged and sent back to New Foundation V to report for his next assignment.

Surprisingly, of all the visitors he received so far, he never expected Raella to arrive.

"Why are you here?"

"What’s that supposed to mean?!" Raella replied indignantly while pressing her fists against her waist. The bundle of flowers in her hand swayed in the air. "You let Melinda visit you every three days, but you’re surprised that I’m paying a visit as well?"

"I’m sorry, Raella. I shouldn’t have said something like that." Ves sighed. "I’m genuinely glad you dropped by. I’m just surprised security let you in considering your... association."

She smirked at him. "Heh. You know nothing, Ves. The Blood Claws may not be friends with the government, but we’re quite friendly with the military. Part of the reason why we’re tolerated is because we have pledged to defend Bentheim against the BLM and the Vesians. We’ve cooperated many times, you know? The Glowing Planet campaign is just one instance where we fought alongside each other."

That made a lot of sense. Ves nodded. "Okay. In that light, I guess the military doesn’t have anything to fear from you. Besides, we’re family."

As Raella settled down in his hospital room, they filled each other in on their recent experiences. Ves couldn’t say too much except to express some overall feelings.

Raella on the other hand experienced a bit more excitement since the last time they met. "I’ve received the three Crystal Lords from your company. They’ve been very helpful for me. I’ve gifted all of them to three senior Blood Claws."

"Did you succeed in raising your status?"

"Yup!" She nodded with satisfaction. "I’m on the up-and-up. While I’m not a long-standing member of the organization, there’s already talk of putting me in charge of something. I’m kind of borrowing your reputation to boost my importance. I hope you don’t mind."

Ves knew he couldn’t stop her from doing that. Besides, connecting Raella to him in the eyes of the Blood Claws benefited him a lot. "Go ahead as you don’t implicate me to any of your shady business. Just remember that I’m primarily running a legitimate business. Make sure the LMC’s mechs isn’t involved in any massacres or something."

"Hey, the Blood Claws aren’t that bad! We hardly ever fight for real. We’ve got enough rep on Bentheim that practically no one has enough guts to challenge us!"

It turned out that Raella hadn’t come for business. She just wanted to get in touch again before the Mech Corps whisked him away. Ves felt touched by her concern. Despite her irritable exterior and her separation from the Larkinson Family, she still cared about family.

"Raella, can I ask you something?"

"What are you after? What are you working towards? Surely you don’t want to fight in the underground arenas forever?"

She turned serious in response to his concern. "When I joined the Blood Claws as an underground mech athlete, I just wanted to prove my skills to the galaxy. I’ve fought a lot of duels and even if I didn’t win all of them, I did manage to make it out alive. Still... you’re right. I can’t envision stepping into the dueling ring forever. I’ve been working on climbing up the ranks. It won’t be easy, but I’ve got some advantages."

"The Larkinson name doesn’t give you any trouble?" Ves questioned.