[1-200] THE MECH TOUCH

Chapter 132: Viable Mech

In the end, Ves took a few hours to draft his logo. While his artwork might not satisfy any critics, it looked sufficiently distinct. It looked like a curling bronze cat resting atop a cartoonish rainbow cloud. Ves had to admit the design lacked the traditional kind of maturity that most serious arms manufacturers favored.

"I hope you don't mind lending your likeness to my brand."

Lucky continued to paw at the projection of his finished work.

He uploaded the design to the assembler system and allowed it to paint over his newly designed logo to the mech's left chest. Ves took a major step in his career now that he implemented a logo.

As the coating finally set, Ves stepped on a platform that hovered up to the cockpit. He entered its luxurious interior and sat down on the seat. He studied the reliefs he carved to the sides and at the top. If anyone paid close attention, then they'd realize that they told three separate stories.

Ves took a deep breath. "It smells good here. Nothing beats the smell of a newborn mech."

Once he got over his infatuation, Ves installed the final parts of his design. He first attached the golden plate to the underside of the central console.

CA-1C2 MARC ANTONY MARK II

DESIGNED SOLELY BY VES LARKINSON

HAND-FABRICATED SOLELY BY VES LARKINSON

MADE IN THE BRIGHT REPUBLIC

PRODUCTION #1

The plate looked nearly identical to the one inside Captain Caruther's mech. This was his first do-over of a design after fabricating only two copies. Ves found it a sad state of affairs to update a design after achieving so few sales.

"The Mark I is officially history now. How times fly."

He installed one of Lucky's gem before he exited the cockpit. Before he set it in its place, he first retrieved his System-bought Anonymizer Stamp. After applying the exclusive ink, he carefully stamped a brilliant piece of honey-like citrine.

In order to make sure the stamp actually did what the System claimed, he took out his handheld multiscanner. After carefully subjecting the gem to a host of scans, the machine stubbornly insisted that Ves held nothing but a shiny rock.

"Huh. It works. As expected of the System."

The Mech Designer System might be greedy and capricious, but it never lied. Ves focused on the citrine, and after a few seconds of focusing, the description showed up in his view.

[Citrine of Warmth]: Increases the safe heat capacity of a mech by 2% when installed.

Ves retrieved the gem a couple of weeks ago. The yellow gem was part of Lucky's post-transformation droppings. His recent upgrade and the premium minerals he enjoyed both caused the quality of his gems to quadruple.

After scanning his mech to make sure he hadn't missed any faults, Ves arranged it to be shipped. First, he sent it to the MTA to be certified. Once they confirmed that Ves hadn't screwed up, the mech would be sent to a heavy-duty transport ship to be brought to Bentheim.

As Ves watched a heavy shuttle take off from his workshop, he let out a breath. "Five days is a little long to fabricate a single mech. If I want to be efficient, I should be able to complete a mech in three days."

Due to the learning curve, the production process always started off slow and unsteady. Once Ves got used to the design and prepared responses to the most common problems, he could easily fabricate the Mark II as fast as he had done in the game.