The Mech Touch novel Chapter 3588

Chapter 3588 Good Business Partner?

Once Ves saw everything he wanted to know about the manufacturing complex's various production processes, he was ready to leave and reunite with Shederin in order to discuss the viability of cooperating with Zachren Bilitsa.

What he observed from the manufacturing complex didn't impress him so much. The place was largely made out of bulk materials and the production equipment were all rim-level goods that the company had originally brought over from their home star sector.

Still, despite the lack of attention and investment from their headquarters, the workers of the local branch looked earnest and professional. They were not glum due to being assigned to a less-than-glamorous posting and showed plenty of motivation to turn their branch into a thriving production facility.

That spoke of good management. The branch was well-run and that gave Ves a bit more confidence in it. Perhaps it might not be such a bad idea to sign a limited business deal with these folk.

As Ves and his group were making their way out of the production hall, he began to turn his attention to the chief fabricator.

"What's your story?" He asked. "I can tell you have a mech design background. What has led you to become a full-time fabricator?"

J.R. Denner finally looked a little embarrassed. "I… failed to become a Journeyman by the time I reached my forties. I worked as a dependent mech designer before then until I saved up enough money to start my own business. Even then, designing mechs by myself did not help me achieve the progress I sought. By the time I was in my fifth year, I deeply reflected on myself and wondered whether I was cut out to be a mech designer. My products didn't sell so well and my talent in mech design was not as good as the competition. My mech company kept accumulating debt and it became increasingly harder to maintain its operations. Just when I was about to run out of money, I made the difficult decision to end my dream career. It just wasn't worth it for me to persist any further."

Ves fully understood the dilemma that Denner was in. Every graduating mech designer wanted to work hard to become a Journeymen, but few ever got to cross that hurdle despite all of their hard work.

"Forty years is still a relatively young age for mech designers." Ves said. "There are successful Journeymen who haven't been able to reach this height until they turned fifty, sixty and so on. Advancing late does not necessarily mean your mech designs are worse."

"You don't need to comfort me, patriarch. I have already made peace with my lot. Compared to all of the different priorities that I needed to address as an independent business owner, it is much easier for me to fulfill a single job. As part of Zachren Bilitsa, I don't need to worry about financing, securing material shipments and trying to find buyers for my products. Some people may look down on becoming a cog in a machine, but I find that it is exactly what I want. I should have quit sooner to be honest."

That was quite a frank and honest assessment. It took a lot of courage and a willingness to bear humiliation in order to acknowledge this judgment.

In truth, Denner probably made the right choice. When Ves briefly swept his spiritual senses at the man, he noticed that the chief fabricator did not possess any spiritual potential.

While it was possible for people older than in their twenties to develop spiritual potential, it was exceedingly rare and Ves could point at any obvious example.

The only exception was Jessica Quentin, but the MTA pilot was somewhere in her thirties.

"The mech industry is a cutthroat business." Ves spoke. "While we don't have to face life-threatening dangers like the pilots we are trying to serve, there is way too much competition and not enough space in the market to accommodate us all. Those who aren't part of the minority who are able to achieve success as an independent entrepreneur are wise to step back before they waste their entire lives on a useless endeavor."

Chief Fabricator Denner smiled. "Well, I do not think I have wasted all of that time on pouring over my mech designs. My extensive understanding of mechs allows me to run a production department pretty well compared to my colleagues who don't have as much experience. I can implement many changes to our production processes to make them more efficient or to increase the quality of our output. Out of everyone working in this facility, nobody understands mechs better than myself. I take pride in understanding the mech models that our company produces on a deeper level than anyone else. I might not understand their full depth, but what I do manage to figure out will always reflect back in our output."

Whether Denner was exaggerating or not, Ves approved of his approach. The man did not let his defeat weigh him down and earnestly tried to become a better and more capable fabricator.

Ves even felt tempted to poach the guy, but he thought better of it. Workers like Denner who were brought over from the Red Ocean were usually locked into long-term contracts. The cost of breaking them was prohibitive and would certainly not endear Zachren Bilitsa to the Larkinson Clan.

After a few minutes of talking, Ves and his group finally departed from the manufacturing site.

As he began to settle down in his chair, he first turned to Lucky, who had remained quiet and almost invisible throughout all of this time.

"Lucky, you took a good look at the manufacturing complex, right? Have you found anything shady or suspicious while we toured the facilities?"

"Meow." The gem cat replied as he curled his body on a spare seat.

"No secret levels? No smuggling tunnels? No stash of secret weapons? No biomechanical horrors?"

"Meow meow meow meow."

"Are you sure about that, buddy?"

"MEOW."

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