The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7131

Chapter 7131: Implacable Stance

The Astral Octagon had turned into a hive of activity.

Many different events caused the members of the Red Collective to become swamped with work.

From the return to the Cybernetic Empire to the emergence of the mutated voribugs, the new superorganization had to scramble in order to stay on top of the situation.

The Lower Council spent long hours debating on new legislation meant to form a unified response to the latest events.

This immediately resulted in a lot of arguing as the lower councilors all comprised people elected from different territories.

Those who hailed from Rubarthan space loudly screamed for the RC to put its full weight behind reinforcing the Rubarthan Pact.

Others were much more hesitant about squandering so much manpower and resources against an opponent that could overwhelm most defensive measures by relying on overwhelming numbers.

Then there were the headaches caused by the Cybernetic Empire.

When Ves navigated through the crystalline corridors and finally entered the office that he had not visited in person for quite a while, his chief of staff dutifully stood up and greeted him with great deference.

"Welcome back to the Office of the Chief Councilor, sir. We have long been waiting for your return."

Eliza Mo Ragadan did not behave much differently from last time they met in person, but Ves could immediately spot a lot of differences.

For one, Eliza carried herself with greater confidence.

The months she spent while standing in for Ves had increased her sense of importance, causing her to gain an invisible momentum that made it easier for others to take her seriously.

Her qi cultivation had also progressed considerably. The Minister series of qi cultivation methods rewarded its practitioners for properly doing their jobs in government institutions.

Her relatively high position also granted her access to the Red Collective’s exclusive cultivation resources. These were newly developed elixirs and other reagents that had proven to be effective at accelerating progress... though usually at a hefty price.

The fast pace of progress meant that the most effective solutions also tended to be experimental.

Although the RC was not stupid enough to place completely untested products onto their internal exchange, there simply was not enough time and manpower to test everything to the strictest standards.

The collies eventually chose to put products that had passed the initial trials up for exchange. This allowed for members such as Eliza Mo Ragadan to make their own consideration whether to brave the risks in exchange for faster progress.

This was a rather dangerous but highly effective policy. Eliza was hardly the only qi cultivator that Ves had encountered in the halls of the Astral Octagon that had made rapid progress in their cultivation.

From what Ves could tell with his sharp senses, Eliza had already reached the later stage of the first major cultivation rank.

That was roughly equivalent to a Senior Mech Designer such as Ves!

He had worked earnestly as a mech designer for more than 15 years, yet Eliza was able to catch up in less than a year!

This was a testament to her talent, discipline, the quality of her modern qi cultivation method as well as the reagents she expended.

It was only a matter of time before the Red Collective produced a mass wave of qi cultivators of the second major cultivation rank.

This was an important divide as those who had become powerful enough to reach this stage usually became powerful enough to affect battlefields with their extraordinary capabilities.

That did not necessarily mean that they could beat up mechs by themselves, but they became a lot more useful than before.

Given that the headquarters of the RC was filled with people who had doped themselves on reagents, this was clearly a matter of great importance.

As Ves moved to his desk and sat on the seat that had remained empty for a long time, he briefly closed his eyes and tasted the air of tension and unease.

"So..." He said. "You know why I am here. I only have 5 days or so to take care of business before I need to depart."

His chief of staff’s expression grew tight. "We will have to make the most out of your stay here. The good news is that many different collies wish to speak to you in person. I have taken the liberty of filtering out the vast majority of requests, taking your objectives into account. Your first appointment is already on the way. Now that you have become more engaged in our affairs, it is vital that you become aware of our growing problems. You urgently need to become apprised of certain pieces of classified intelligence that the Secret Department do not dare to spread too far."

Ves nodded in understanding. "The Secret Department has been expanding rapidly, right?"

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