[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 54: Going Out

Ves lacked the advanced equipment necessary to make sense of the open box. The materials incorporated in its construction were intricately exotic in nature, which meant their attributes weren't in any public databases. With only limited measurements to go on, Ves was no closer into figuring out the origin of the box. Even studying the strange patterns the creator of the box had used presented no results.

"My starting point is too far behind. I can't make sense of anything even if I have better equipment."

From what limited data he could gather, the box came from an extraordinary source. Nothing in the Bright Republic or elsewhere in this star sector could produce something so magical.

"This is actually an application of modular armor."

The realization stunned him. Not for its magical properties, but for the motives the sender of the package held.

There was someone out there that kept an eye on Ves. He or she knew about Lucky and came up with a highly unusual material to feed the cat. The unknown observer also knew about the Mist Prowler, for why else would he receive a box made out of modular armor?

"Who is it?" Ves asked himself, worried that his secrets were bared open all this time. He obsessively took out a scanning tool and scoured every corner of his workshop for cameras and other spying tools.

Nothing.

But that left out only one way of spying. His equipment such as his 3D printer and his assembler were second-hand. If someone messed with the intricate machines, Ves had no way of finding out as he wasn't a specialist in designing industrial equipment. Perhaps some spying methods had even infiltrated the software he used.

This incident reminded him that there were forces out there that could stomp on Ves like a bug. Despite his recent accomplishments, he was still vulnerable to outside manipulation. From what he could gather, the box could only come from two possible sources.

"It's either the creators of the Mech Design System or my father."

Thinking about his missing dad choked Ves up. He missed Rycol's steady influence. His father was the bedrock in which Ves pulled himself back together and switched his aspirations from piloting a mech to designing them. He couldn't imagine what sort of deeds his father committed in order to get his hands on the priceless System.

"There's too many secrets involved with the System." Ves reaffirmed, having gotten over the unpleasant implications of receiving this gift. "I can't be too complacent. Whoever let the System fall into my hands can easily take it back."

He put aside the box and left it in a secure storage area. It wasn't as if he wanted to spend more time, but he could not get any better results in a short time. With a possible order for his Marc Antony arriving soon, Ves wanted to make some quick gains in his skills in order to improve his products.

Having just released the Mist Prowler variant in the virtual market, Ves was flush with fresh DP. He quickly acquired the Speed Tuning II subskill that he had his eye on for a while. The unlocking of knowledge hidden deep within his mind went smoothly as he had experienced the sensation several times before. His mind had definitely adapted to high-density information transfers.

His ability to squeeze out more speed from a mech had improved. Speed tuning mostly look at optimizing the layout of artificial muscles. With this new perspective, Ves already thought of a couple of ways he could tweak the Mist Prowler's performance.

"It's not a good idea to go back to my old design. I'm better off designing another variant."

While his Mist Prowler was on the market for only a few days, the sales figures looked dismal. The variant's performance was decent, but it cost significantly more than the base model. Most Silver League players settled for something that was good enough instead of throwing their money for the very best machine.