The Mech Touch novel Chapter 4468

4468 /7079

After considering the three biotech-related enlightenment fruits, Ves eventually chose to take a risk.

"The Mission is about designing a good biomech in my first attempt. From the way it is set up, I can earn more AP if I deliver a better product, but it will be difficult for me to gain a high evaluation for my very first try. If I can only get a passing grade at best, then I should make sure I don't commit too many Ascension Points to this venture. It's not worthwhile to go through all of this effort only to net a dozen AP in the end."

Ves had to remind himself that the calm and tranquility of the System Space was but a false illusion.

A Sword of Damocles that was already in motion awaited him back in reality.

As soon as he exited this illusionary space, he would immediately have to bring out a solution that could stop the falling sword from chopping through his neck!

"I can't allow myself to forget about the gravity of the situation back in reality. Earning more AP doesn't necessarily guarantee a way out for me, but having more spending power at my disposal will definitely raise my chances of success."

1000 Ascension Points wasn't enough for him to gain confidence in a solution.

He would feel a lot better about his situation if he had at least 1500 Ascension Points at his disposal, but it would be even better if he could accumulate 2000 Ascension Points.

"Let's start small and see how I should go from here." Ves decided.

Just before he bought the enlightenment fruit, he hesitated for a moment.

He did not forget about his earlier resolve to maintain his distance from biotechnology.

A part of him thought that branching out into biomechs would enrich his work all that much. He was already doing more than fine with conventional mechs. Messing too much with organic mechs might distort his design philosophy if he became too obsessed with this latest distraction.

Another part of him was afraid of what he might create. His work always produced weird interactions with organic constructs. Ves only had to look at the Titan-5 Project to see that making biomechs alive might not always be the best idea!

Although his conventional living mechs were able to gain a certain degree of autonomy over their own mechanical frames, they were much more limited in the end.

Conventional mechs were deliberately designed to function with human controllers at their core.

It took a considerable amount of changes to convert them into autonomous battle bots.

The same couldn't be said for biomechs. From what he understood, they were designed and grown into complete organic life forms. They even possessed their own 'brains' because the biomachine simply couldn't function without an organic control interface that precisely regulated all of the complicated biological processes.

There was no other way to sustain and control such a complicated living system!

From his work with the Titan-5 Project, Ves found out that even if everyone tried their best to limit and neuter its autonomy and control, the living personality would find a way to twist the biology and gain control somehow!

"If the side effects of an organic mounted wargear loadout are already this bad, how much worse will it be if I design an actual living biomech?"

The possible outcomes were so terrifying that even his intuition felt the need to give him a warning!

He needed to be exceedingly careful about what kind of biomech he brought to life in the future!

Ves eventually shook his head. "This shouldn't be a reason for me to reject this course of action."

He acknowledged the dangers, but contextualized it as a discipline problem. He already had a good idea on why the Titan-5 Project's living personality turned into such a feral monster.

"I can learn from my mistakes."

As long as he clamped down on his impulses and strictly limited his work to basic and proven implementations, his biomechs shouldn't turn into monsters like his Titan-5 Project.

He no longer hesitated and plucked his chosen enlightenment fruit.

[Blood Cult Scarlet Oak Tree Growth Manual]

Price: 30 Ascension Points

Imparts a complete manual on how to develop, grow and care for special oak trees according to the methods of the Blood Cult. Scarlet Oak Trees can produce blood of different species with remarkable properties depending on their bioprogramming and the nutrients they absorb when in use.

Requirements: Intelligence must be 1.3 or higher. Spirituality must be 1.5 or higher.

In the end, he went for the most cost-effective choice. The Blood Cult Scarlet Oak Tree Growth Manual enlightenment fruit was too much of a bargain in his eyes.

It offered both short-term and long-term benefits. Though the enlightenment fruit undoubtedly had ties to the dreaded Five Scrolls Compact, at least it was still based on human knowledge.

The other two enlightenment fruits brought their own benefits, but Ves was afraid that he would need to spend too much time and effort on reconciling alien and human technology.

"Let's hope this enlightenment fruit doesn't go too deep into whacky mysticism."

Ves ate the fruit in an instant after sitting down at a nearby bench.

As usual, the bites soon dissolved into energy and began to rush towards his brain as if it was a powerful stimulant!

Ves closed his eyes and did his best to absorb the influx of knowledge.

It was easier than last time. The quantity of knowledge was not as great as the previous two fruits he had eaten, but it was not barebones either.

A part of him was disappointed that he didn't gain too much this time, but the lack of pressure made it easier for him to digest all of the knowledge that he had gained.

A modest smile appeared on his face.

"I was right!"

The enlightenment fruit not only taught him more about the so-called Scarlet Oak Trees than he ever wanted, but also provided him a 'starter pack' of some sorts of the more basic branches of biotechnology!

The latter served as a basic foundation for anyone with no systematic background in biotechnology to understand the science of Scarlet Oak Trees.

If an individual who was already proficient in biotechnology in biotechnology ingested this enlightenment fruit, then the starter pack would only serve as a quick refresher course.

Director Ranya Wodin who specialized in the study and application of exoplants would not gain much out of it, but Ves was completely different!

Ves quickly tried to parse and organize the basic and advanced understanding that he had gained from the enlightenment fruit.

"I can call myself a biotech expert now. I only need to undergo an examination before I can get an official certificate from a relevant trade association."

Of course, no one would take him seriously unless he obtained a credible diploma from a university. _{freewebnσvel.cøm}