The Mech Touch novel Chapter 1612

Chapter 1612 High-minded

Ves had no clue what his girlfriend was plotting behind his back.

He mainly concerned himself with finalizing the Militant Soldier and Peaceful Soldier designs.

However, the release of the Breaker product line resulted in an enormous shock in the mech market. Ves had to divert some time to address the changes taking place in his organizations.

"Why do you want us to spend fifteen billion credits on advertising and public relations?" Ves frowned as he read through a data pad at his office. "Even if this sum is inflated, this is still a ludicrous sum of money!"

"Our Marketing Department has submitted a plan to hinder the rise of the Dawnbreaker and Duskbreaker." Gavin reported. "Due to Ansel's extensive influence, we won't achieve much results if we publish a couple of critical ads on those mech models. We have to resort to a full-fledged media offensive to shift public opinion."

"I personally tasked the Marketing Department to flesh out a strategy to hinder our rivals." Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson added. "The Dawnbreaker is already guaranteed to sell by virtue of its quality, so we can't affect its growth too much. It's the Duskbreaker that is our true concern. While it's only around ten percent more expensive than our Desolate Soldier, the two mechs are occupying the same position in the market. We can't allow the Duskbreaker to "

Ves did not look pleased. "It's a waste of money. I would much prefer to spend this money on something useful, like building more production facilities or expanding the Living Sentinels."

"We can't let Ansel popularize their new mechs without hitting back, boss. Don't you remember how those Ansel guys tried to badmouth our Desolate Soldiers when it initially came out? Even before that, they constantly tarnished the LMC by painting our mechs as brainwashing machines. If not for securing early support from the Planetary Guard, we wouldn't have been able to overcome the opposition against our mechs!"

All of them recalled how extensively the backlash against the LMC used to be during the time when Ves toured the star sector. His absence at home gave his critics the opportunity to fund a protest movement against his mechs.

More and more people started to believe that the Blackbeak, Crystal Lord and Aurora Titan brainwashed their mech pilots into becoming loyal fans of the LMC.

Fortunately, the widespread adoption of the Desolate Soldier by many powerful organizations and outfits negated this trend.

Just as Ves predicted, as long as the Desolate Soldier became indispensable, the ruling powers would not allow anyone to stigmatize his products!

However, the Desolate Soldier was old news now. While people accepted its existence, they no longer paid too much attention to it unless they directly came under the influence of its glow.

The Dawnbreaker, Duskbreaker and Novabreaker were all novel creations, and the hungry news portals instantly pounced on them to provide new content to their subscribers!

Hearing the resentment from Gavin and Raymond, Ves frowned at them both. "Are you out of your mind?"

"You.. don't agree, boss?"

"Think about what we're doing. Instead of investing resources into developing our company and increasing our security, you want us to waste money on smacking the competition."

"What's wrong with that? Didn't Ansel already do that to us? We could at least return the favor!"

Ves wanted to palm his face. "We survived their attacks and grew stronger from it. My products were always vulnerable to the points they've raised. This was a problem that we had to address sooner than later, so I'm glad we already got it over with. The acceptance we've obtained from the public and the rulers at the top will serve as our shield in any future endeavors."

"You're still letting off Ansel lightly for what they've done." Gavin grumbled.

Raymond sided with him as well. "I don't see the point in sticking to your high-minded ideals, Ves. I know enough about doing business that it's vital for the LMC to portray strength. By doing nothing or appearing to do nothing, we will appear weak. Our company's standing in the mech industry will suffer a hit as a result. Less third-party manufacturers will agree to fabricate mechs for us. Some companies might cease to ship our products or offer favorable terms."

"I don't care about these petty losses." Ves stated. "Our brand will remain strong regardless if we play this game or not. Ansel's position in the mech market is so strong that I don't think that a couple of billion credits will affect the sales of their latest products. Besides, there is one more reason why I'm disinclined to engage in this pointless venture."

"Do tell, Ves."

"I want the Dawnbreaker and its variants to succeed."

That took Raymond and Gavin aback. Even Nitaa, who stood quietly on guard, reacted with some shock!

?Are you still the boss we know, or did someone replace you with a clone?"

Ves smiled at them. "I'm not joking. I mean what I say. The Dawnbreaker is a genuinely good midrange rifleman mech. I've studied the public documents about the new design extensively and I fully believe in its value. Its ability to guarantee the life of a mech pilot in event of getting hit by a heavy laser strike is something that no mech at its price range can match!"

Both Raymond and Gavin shared an uncertain look. Had Ves gone mad? Why was he praising the competition all of a sudden?

Of course, this obvious gesture didn't escape Ves. Seeing as his two subordinates didn't get it, he growled in frustration.

"You're treating this like some zero-sum game. It's not! Think of our circumstances right now. If we were at peacetime, then I would have considered your suggestion more, but this time it's different! While I don't like those stuck-up Ansel mech designers, they are not our opponents! Our real enemy is the sandman race! Whenever we make an important decision, we should consider whether it benefits the LMC and helps the war effort! In my eyes, casting shade on the Dawnbreaker accomplishes neither!"

Ves raised a finger.