The Mech Touch novel Chapter 143

Not everyone agreed to throw 500 million credits away on an extremely risky business venture. One of the elders stood up and spread his hands.

"I object!"

Ves recognized the skinny form of Third Dlder Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson. His physique resembled Ves’ in that he had never trained his body to endure the rigors of piloting mechs. The elder should be someone who supervised the family’s overall finances.

"Let him speak!" Grandfather Benjamin forcefully spoke, causing everyone to shut their mouths.

"Thank you Patriarch. According to our analysis, while Ves has cleared the first hurdle and is able to manufacture mechs, his business is not in an ideal position to sustain his current level of profitability. He is far too young and his assets are already depreciating very hard."

Since the third elder dared to talk about his business directly, Ves felt obliged to respond. "Elder Raymond, you are overstating the risks and exaggerating the costs. I have worked hard this past six months to kickstart my mech business to the point where I am able to sustain a single production line. Last month, I fabricated eight whole mechs and earned a gross profit of sixty million credits!"

Sixty million credits! The Larkinson Trust Fund had to wait an entire year before it could accumulate such a sum. Ves on the other hand only required a single month! Every committee member had to suppress their excitement.

"You’ve already peaked!" Elder Raymond retorted with a slam of his palm. "Any market analyst is able to predict that you won’t be able to sustain your current level of profits! Resource costs are rising and your production licences are about to become irrelevant in a couple of years. Might I remind everyone that a relatively affordable production licence can easily cost around two billion credits!"

Two billion credits! Many committee members gulped when they heard the sum. The business savvy people among them confirmed Raymond’s assertion.

"The mech industry is characterized by high risks and high returns. What I mean by that is that you can easily earn a fortune today but get utterly ruined tomorrow! Don’t be blinded by his current monthly income. It’s merely a snapshot of his peak. With just the meager amount of capital he has on hand, he’s unable to ramp up his production and earn enough profit to finance the acquisition of an up-to-date production license!"

The mood started to turn against the decision to invest in a stake. While Ves actually benefited financially in the long run if he kept hold of every share, he disliked being painted as a foolhardy boy. He had his own pride.

"Elder Raymond, you have not taken my growth into account. I am apprenticed to a renowned Master Mech Designer from the Coalition. My current level of operations is but a springboard to designing a completely original mech. I am confident that my level of skill will grow to the point where I can design a viable original mech. I don’t need to license an expensive complete design in that case. At most, I’ll have to licence up to one billion credits worth of component licences."

His words sounded ambitious! No one ever thought Ves planned to design a completely original mech. Even the most boorish mech pilots among the crowd knew how difficult such a project must be.

Mech designers who designed variants were a dime in a dozen. Those who graduated beyond that point and designed a mech without any existing reference points deserved admiration from everyone. If the Larkinsons brought up their own real mech designer, the family might be able to achieve a new level of prominence!

Grandfather Benjamin had enough of the back-and-forth. "Alright, pipe down everyone! This is a solemn committee meeting. We are here to decide the future of the Larkinson family. Do not disgrace yourself in front of our ancestor’s Valiant."

The thought of showing their shameful sides to the Valiant abhorred the devoted Larkinsons. The temperature cooled down through Benjamin’s intervention, allowing both Ves and Raymond to cool their minds.

"We are approaching a decisive moment of history." The patriarch continued in a level tone. "Our fates are tied to the Bright Republic, which isn’t looking too healthy these days. Anything might happen in the future. In order to provide against contingencies, we need to hedge our bets."

Everyone sat still when Benjamin started to paint a grim picture of the future. Ves tried to keep his head sober. He belatedly realized that Benjamin soothed the committee members into accepting the decision to acquire a stake in Ves’ mech business. Raymond didn’t even get a chance to retort.

"Please raise your hand if you approve the previously raised proposal!"

Well over two-thirds ultimately raised their hands. Ves noticed that Benjamin bought over almost all of the potentates. The norms on the other hand glared resentfully at Ves. Why did someone like Ves deserved a 500 million credit investment while their own enterprises barely scraped by?

Elder Raymond shook his head. While he still disagreed, he knew where the wind was blowing so he ceased his protests and quietly backed down.

The rest of the meeting turned largely inconsequential to Ves. Instead, he resumed his study of the ancient heavy knight and its extremely potent aura. After all, it wasn’t every day he chanced upon a mech that set his X-Factor senses on fire. He eagerly wished the meeting would drag on so that he could make the most of this rare exposure to the historic mech.

Once his grandfather ended the session, everyone started to leave the hall. Ves dragged his feet because he still hadn’t cracked the secret to the Valiant’s abnormally strong X-Factor. He almost wanted to ask his grandfather to pass him some food and water and lock him inside!

Surprisingly, Benjamin asked Ves to stay behind, but not because of the valiant. Instead, his grandfather finally wished to talk about his missing father.

A couple of other elders stayed behind, including grand-uncle Ovrin and uncle Maeser. Ves guessed that his grandfather must have gathered the family’s inner circle.

The constant waiting grated on Ves. "Can you finally tell me where my father has been spotted?"

"You best sit back for this little cousin." Maeser warned as he placed his hand on Ves’ shoulder. "It’s very complicated. From what little we managed to gather, it isn’t looking pretty."

Grandfather Benjamin tentatively nodded. "Let’s begin where we first found signs of Ryncol. Have you heard of the Nyxian Gap?"