The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1217

Ves took a few days off to get to terms with the latest setback. He felt devastated about the theft of his prototype.

The thought of those fanatics taking the prototype back to one of their hidden bases in order to repair and pervert the mech galled him to no end.

If the True Believers subsequently employed the prototype in one of their terrorist attacks, then everything that Leland described would definitely come to pass!

Ves would suffer the blame for arming the True Believers with such a prominent mech! The fact that he was the victim here and wasn’t responsible for the misdeeds the extremists performed didn’t matter! The traditionalists would rile up the Ylvainans until everyone wanted him gone!

To be honest, Ves didn’t feel very indignant about this possibility. He sold so many mechs to so many buyers that some of them had definitely used his mechs for nefarious purposes. He indirectly became responsible for an untold amount of deaths and property damage.

As a mech designer, if Ves obsessed with the morality of every mech pilot that used one of his products, he’d be driven insane!

Therefore, from a moral standpoint, Ves didn’t find it all that repugnant that a bunch of religious extremists planned to make use of one of his mechs.

When Ketis checked up on Ves, Ves revealed the true reason why the theft left him indignant.

"The prototype is an unfinished version of my design!" He yelled. "These True Believers have no respect for the design process! Even though it’s already a fantastic mech, that still doesn’t change the fact that it’s the first iteration of my design! There are so many flaws and imperfections that impact its performance that it’s shameful if the True Believers plan to make use of the prototype in its current form!"

Ketis widened her eyes. "You.. you’re pissed at the True Believers because they stole a copy of an incomplete design?"

"YES! The prototype is never meant for actual use! If they wanted to steal one of my mechs, I’d rather they wait until I complete my design and fabricate the final copies! The mechs I produce at that time will definitely be able to showcase the full potential of our Transcendent Messenger design!" _{ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm}

How could he tolerate such a travesty? Ves wanted to wring the neck of the living prophet himself for daring to make use of his prototype! The mech they obtained didn’t represent his actual work!

While Ves wanted to rage, Ketis had already gotten over the theft. It was just a mech, so what? They at least received most of the test data they set out to gather. After the prototype finished its stress testing, it was destined to be dismantled and recycled. At least now the prototype gained a new life.

Her nonchalant attitude towards the theft reflected her background as a pirate. Ves knew that everyone engaged in robbery if they could get away with it. The side with the strongest fist had the most say. Victims who lost their valuables only had themselves to blame for being so weak.

Still, that didn’t mean that Ketis forgave the True Believers for their act. While she didn’t possess the same level of pride in her profession as Ves, she disliked being taken advantage of! If she was still in the frontier, then she would definitely retaliate somehow!

Unfortunately, the rules were different in civilized space. Not only that, but they were guests of the Curin Dynasty in the Protectorate, so they were heavily restricted in their actions.

However, just because she couldn’t go out on her own didn’t mean she could do nothing. She suddenly grinned and gazed down to Lucky who was enjoying her continued ministrations.

"Maybe you can help, Lucky."

"Meow?"

"You can sneak out of the compound, right buddy? What do you say about exploring the city. There’s bound to be underground hidey holes where the True Believers stashed their stuff. Why not go and ruin them? I’m sure we’ll be able to pay back the True Believers for all of the damaged they caused!"

"Meow.."

"Why are you so reluctant? Aren’t you a glutton for exotics? The True Believers are maintaining their own stockpiles for the stuff in order to service their mechs and other machines. That’s free food for you as long as you can sneak inside without getting detected!"

"Meow..."

Lucky seriously contemplated the suggestion. With the new toy he received, his ability to sneak in and out of highly-guarded places improved considerably!

Yet just because he can, didn’t mean he should!

"Don’t think about it, Lucky." Ves scoffed. "The True Believers are incredibly dangerous. Their stockpiles aren’t so easy to steal, especially if you come back for repeats."

"Meow!"

While Lucky didn’t entirely agree with Ves, the cat eventually thought better of it. Scouring the city for the hideouts of the True Believers was a lot of work. Rather than spend so much time and effort to comb the entire city, he would rather stay with Ves and eat his daily dose of exotics! He still hadn’t consumed the enormous reward he gained for stealing the holy relic from the grand cathedral!

"Keep an eye on Lucky, Ketis. Don’t allow him to run off."

"I’ll try." She promised.

Because of the recent incident, Kesseling VIII entered into a state of heightened alert yet again. After months of fruitless searching, the Ylvainan authorities were pretty desperate to root the True Believers from the planet. Now that the fanatics finally made a move, the Protectors of the Faith and the Ylvainan Inquisition tried their best to follow the trails before they grew cold.

A lot of mechs and vehicles moved around the city for the next few days. The authorities tightened the curfew and barred all non-essential traffic. They showed a lot of determination to ruining the plans of the New Ylvaine Dynasty.

Ves didn’t have much hope that they could stop the True Believers. The True Believers had spies and informers everywhere. The sympathisers would definitely tip off the extremists if the authorities were close to uncovering one of their cells.

He spent his time analysing some of the raw data the testing ground recorded in his room. While he would have been able to process the data much faster at the mech workshop, for now he had no choice but to work from his temporary home.

The tests revealed many different issues that needed to be addressed. Ves continually optimized the design on the basis of his analysis of the test data. None of the problems posed much of a challenge to him at his current ability.