The Mech Touch novel Chapter 2647

Chapter 2647: Who Is The Test Subject?

His decision to expand his Design Department paid off. Now that Ves transitioned over to working on several mech design projects at a time, his productivity had skyrocketed. By letting his assistants perform the work that required the least brainpower, he freed up a lot of time which he could spend on solving the most critical design problems.

Certainly, there were downsides to this approach. His sense of ownership in his products had dropped. His lack of control resulted in suboptimal outcomes that he would have never produced on his own. He wore out his mind a lot faster due to the need to juggle many different mech designs at once.

Yet the benefits were worth it. Not only was he able to deliver many more mech designs to the people that needed them, he also gained the approval of the System in the form of Design Points.

Ves was well aware that the System's new incentive mechanisms encouraged him to design more mechs. It was set up in a way that silently told him that it was better to design a lot of mech designs in haste than to design a single extremely high quality mech design at a time.

To put it simpler, the System valued the process and the experience of designing mechs more than the end product.

Ves directed a knowing look at the vambrace of the Unending Regalia that had integrated the System comm.

"You value me more than my mech designs, is that right? What is your purpose?"

Naturally, the System did not deign to answer him. He was already used to its attitude. Even if Ves insulted it, the System was way too stuck-up to pay any mind to his feelings.

As Ves experienced more of the galaxy, his perspective was not as limited as before. Beyond discovering the System's entanglement with his mother and the Five Scrolls Compact, he was becoming more aware of the interests that drove people forward.

Now that he looked back on the behavior of the System, Ves had become much more certain about his suspicions. He had become so dazzled by its incredibly advanced capabilities that he failed to think critically about its complete state.

It may actually be the Metal Scroll or a remnant of the long-lost Sacred Scroll, but it was definitely far from its prime. The Mech Designer System was very much flawed and rough to Ves. It was as if the Scroll had just cobbled it up together in order to present a different image. The fact that its mechanisms changed over time meant that the System was experimenting!

Just like how Ves experimented on his mech pilots, the System likely treated him the same way!

As a seasoned researcher, he knew quite well how dangerous it was to be someone's test subject. Sometimes, he felt as if he was beta testing a product for the Metal Scroll. A moment of carelessness could easily result in a head explosion!

Sweat poured out of his brow. His Unending Regalia automatically absorbed the moisture, but that did not lessen his fears about realizing that he was caught in another entity's experiment!

He slowly calmed down. He recognized he couldn't do anything about his suspected status. Experimenters always did their utmost to control every possible variable. They never let test subjects go out of control.

Besides, he didn't think the System intended to dispose of him after expending so many resources on facilitating his growth. That was an enormous waste and unnecessary to boot. Its ambiguous relationship with his mother gave him some guarantees as well. She would have done something if she believed the System was harmful.

Ves pushed these distracting thoughts to the back of his mind. While it was useful gain more awareness, he had to solve his immediate problems first before addressing other concerns.

"With over 450,000 DP under my belt, I've gained a lot more spending power."

He could have spent it on so many new Skills and Sub-Skills. Ever since he integrated his Archimedes Rubal implant, he expanded his brain capacity. While he still needed to pay attention to the compatibility of the knowledge he absorbed, as long as his design philosophy was okay with it, he could easily imagine boosting the quality of his mech designs even further by spending all of that DP!

"In fact, according to my original plan, I should be conserving these points until I accumulate 1 million DP."

He still yearned to unlock the mystery behind expert mech design. If the System kept its old reward structure, then he would have been able to afford it many times over by now. He wasn't too hung up over the changes because it was only a matter of time before he reached his target.

"I probably won't be able to earn 550,000 DP after completing the current round of mech designs, but I'll definitely get it done after completing the next round!"

Unfortunately, the enemy fleet forced his hand. Rather than sitting on his pile of accumulated Design Points like a hoarding dragon, he felt pressured to convert them into anything that would help him tide over this crisis.

His resentment against his cousin Ghanso and the Fridaymen rose even higher!

"Goddamn you bastards. You've effectively delayed my plans for a year. I'll never forgive you for setting back my masterplan!"

He navigated the interface of the System. As much as he wanted to delve into the Skill Tree, he resisted his urges and ventured into the Store.

He browsed through the catalog and tried to look for any useful categories.

He used to think that the Store charged exorbitant prices for its goods. Everytime he purchased something from it, he felt as if the Store was ripping him off. He wasted so much of his hard-earn DP on items which he could have used to improve his design capabilities instead.

He knew better now. The System was actually filled with a broad selection of advanced and incredibly expensive first-rate products that he couldn't obtain through normal means. A large proportion of the products it sold were exclusive to certain human factions and never saw the light of day.

It was natural for the Store to set its prices so high for these reasons. The Store essentially served to close the gap between him and eminent sons such as Jovie Armalon who enjoyed the best opportunities a mech designer could get from their organizations.

In fact, Ves even felt that the Store was subsidizing him by undercharging many of its products. There was no way that its Attribute Candies were actually worth a few hundred to a few thousand DP. The fact that he could obtain Candies tailored to other people basically implied that the System wanted him to develop a network of helpers, just like other high-ranking mech designers.

"Well, Store, do you have anything that can help me beat up a few thousand second-class mechs?"

He impatiently browsed through the projected storefront. He observed many products that offered a lot of personal conveniences to him when he was at work or when he was under threat.

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