The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3516

Chapter 3516: Commercializing Ketis

The Larkinson Clan had made clear progress in expanding its fleet. The addition of the new fleet carrier along with all of the new combat carriers made Ves feel a lot more confident about heading deeper into the Red Ocean.

Though he didn't intend to travel to any hotspots, he did not want to spend all of his time holing up in a boring area. There were so many curiosities and wonders in the new frontier that any of them could give him the inspiration he needed to boost his progression towards Senior!

The clan was already doing well enough in prepping the new carriers. Ves did not need to supervise this process.

The same could not be said for another priority of the Larkinson Clan.

Over the course of the Larkinson Clan's stay in Vulit, Ves and several other clansmen succeeded in building up their reputation in the regional community.

Many people learned of the existence of the Larkinson Clan. Even more were able to recognize individual stars such as Ketis Larkinson and Commander Casella Ingvar!

The successes they achieved attracted a lot of attention to the clan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to work overtime in order to follow up on all of the parties that had approached the Larkinson Clan in recent weeks. _{frёewebηovel.cѳm}

Ves managed to meet with his busy foreign minister in order to discuss the most promising entreaties.

"You look better than I thought."

"Heh. Don't be fooled." The old diplomat responded. "I have been running on stimulants on a regular basis. Ordinarily, I try to avoid this measure as I do not wish to impair my judgment with artificial chemicals, but the current situation leaves me with no choice."

"How so?"

"You should realize that all of the interest in our clan is not permanent. People's memories are fickle. Once we depart Chance Bay, the public will soon shift their short attention span away from us and direct it towards the next big idol or success story. In a single month, ninety percent of the people who are fans of us will have forgotten our existence."

That was a harsh and cynical description of human behavior. Though Ves wanted to believe that people were better than that, he agreed with Shederin's assessment.

Chance Bay would continue to hold a lot of tournaments after the Larkinsons left the central star node. New heroes and winners would emerge soon after and the press would doubtlessly focus intensely on their latest toys!

"What does this mean for us, exactly?"

"It means we need to take advantage of the heat of the moment." The minister answered. "Our apparent value in other people's eyes has currently reached a peak. This is the time when our leverage is the highest and when our negotiating power is strong enough to extract favorable concessions from potential business partners."

"I see. I take it that you have already worked on a number of deals for our clan."

Shederin nodded. "My staff and I have already facilitated dozens of minor deals. None of them are too significant. They amount to giving us access to material suppliers to giving us access to exclusive marketplaces."

"Are there any deals that give us an opportunity to acquire more starships?"

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but starships and especially carrier vessels are still out of our reach. Don't let the current situation warp your expectations. The organizations that hold tournaments are much more powerful than you can imagine. They often own and operate their own shipyards. While there are various reasons why they are willing to give them away as tournament prizes, they are much more reticent about selling them to third parties."

"They also need the ships." Ves guessed.

"Correct. Not only that, they also wish to avoid strengthening too many strangers. It's an open conspiracy if you can call it that. Those with the capability to build starships seek to widen the gap between themselves and others. Currently, our clan firmly falls in the category of 'other', so don't expect anyone to build up a future rival."

This was not good news to Ves. It appeared that it was a lot more difficult to convince a shipbuilding company to produce additional combat carriers for the Larkinson Clan.

"Okay, let's put this topic aside. Can you present anything promising to me? Surely we must have succeeded on other fronts."

Shederin smiled. "We do. Let's start with the biggest potential trade deal. Do you recall the Wild Fighter Association?"

"I do. It's not easy for me to forget the only mech design tournament where I managed to reach first place. Admittedly, Ketis contributed the most back then, but it is still a highlight of my stay in Chance Bay."

"Well, Director Kadar and his negotiators have been in touch with us. The Wild Fighter Association and more specifically the regional director is highly interested in obtaining our mechs."

"I know. The director mentioned that to me at the end of the Wild Brawl Bowl. He talked about the possibility of selling or using our mechs."

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