The Mech Touch novel Chapter 7347

Chapter 7347: Hunter Rules

Compared to the Rubarthans and the Cybers, everyone else could only make due with lesser shares.

This included the Larkinsons, whose contributions in the Battle of Philaster Crestia were great, but whose impact in the greater Voribug War was minor.

Ves had a sense of proportion. He fought for slight advantages based on this position but made sure not to cross any red lines.

This way, he was able to secure himself and a bunch of Larkinsons stationed in the Bluejay Fleet extensive access to the research specimen.

Their numbers may be small, but they received expanded permissions in return.

Ves and the others had the right to collect significant quantities of research samples from the Goliath in stasis and borrow high-end lab instruments to conduct their studies.

This deal only lasted until the escort fleet arrived in Yernstall, so the others did not have much reason to fight to the death for the same benefits.

That did not mean the mechers and the fleeters had already given up this struggle.

Their eminent positions in Yernstall meant that they would ultimately claim the greatest shares of the spoils.

Of course, this would happen weeks later. The small delay granted enough time for the early movers to satisfy their own curiosity towards the mysterious properties of the Ixith Goliath.

"When it comes to research in AIs and distributed intelligence, no one can claim first place aside from the Red Fleet." Commodore Zonrad Reze strongly argued. "I happen to specialize in AI systems and other related fields. Just take a look at my credentials if you do not believe me. Give me expansive access to the Ixith Goliath and I can promise you that I will do my best to construct a distributed intelligence model that has a chance of replicating the stolen resonance phenomenon."

Ves nodded in agreement. "I have worked together with him in the past. His qualifications are undeniable. He might not know much about biotechnology, but you can hardly find anyone better when it comes to developing or optimizing AI systems."

With Ves endorsing his secret AI friend, Commodore Zonrad Reze became satisfied with his benefits.

The others could only make due with less. The mechers particularly had to give up personnel slots and other benefits such as access to the most crucial Mentalist Crystal.

In any case, the Red Association would definitely be able to gain the upper hand in the main negotiations, so this small setback would only be temporary.

The Hunting Association was in a weird position.

To be honest, the Hunters did not make any direct contributions in the Voribug War, yet no one could ignore their importance on this matter.

This was because the Hunting Association was the only organized group that could consistently meet the insanely high demand for Mentalist Crystals.

Even if the other powers took control of the untamed planets in their territory, their expertise and specializations made them less suitable at managing exobeast populations and controlling dangerous mutations.

They would have to tie down valuable soldiers and mechs to hunting down and suppressing powerful calamity beasts.

The Hunters had proven themselves to be the best at controlling dangerous ecosystems with relatively small investments. They required a lot less personnel and large combat assets to keep the wild beasts contained.

They also happened to invest a lot of research into the origin, nature and mutation patterns of all kinds of exobeast species.

In short, the Hunting Association occupied an undeniable place in human society when it came to maintaining a stable and solid output of Mentalist Crystals.

"Mentalist Crystals have always been scarce since day 1." Eric Manot said in his gruff voice. "You fellows keep knocking on our doors for more of those magical crystals, but we can’t get any more of them. There are only so many untamed planets, and there are only a small number of circumstances where random exobeasts develop the special mutation that leads them to growing their minds at a rapid pace."

"Is there nothing that the Hunting Association can do?" Commodore Reze asked with a frown.

The supply of Mentalist Crystal had the greatest impact on the fleeters, who were most desperate to build as many stolen resonance-capable warships as possible!

Their newfound dreams and ambitions might lead to a resurgence of the Red Fleet, but all of it would turn into nothing if they failed to acquire the core resource that played an essential role in their armament program!

"Territory." The seasoned Hunter responded. "We need more territory, unspoiled if possible. If you can conquer more star systems, our Hunters will be able to set up shop at any untamed or life-bearing planets that we can gain access to. Be aware that if you manage to double the size of human-occupied territory, we will likely be able to control more than double the amount of planets with ecosystems that are conducive to producing Mentalist Crystals. This is because the density of stars and planets is the least in the galactic rim, but much thicker when we move closer to the center of the dwarf galaxy."

That was true.

The Red Ocean might not be as big as the Milky Way, but their structures were somewhat similar.

There were many more planets and star systems closer to the center of both galaxies.

Those locations were also relatively more endowed with high-grade resources, which meant that the quality of exobeasts that evolved and mutated on those planets were generally stronger!

All of this meant that the output of Mentalist Crystals was definitely higher in the more desirable parts of the dwarf galaxy!

"If this is true, then the native aliens theoretically possess a much greater supply of Mentalist Crystals." Ves remarked with a frown. "Have they begun to harvest and make use of this strategy already?"

"Yes." Eric Manot replied. "The native aliens started out later than our Hunters. They are generally slower to act, but once they do, they move at a much larger scale. Mentalist Crystals have universal value. It is not only humans that can use them to make amazing stuff. The native aliens and particularly the puelmers have discovered a love for them. Not all of them make for good hunters who share comparable philosophies as ours, but there are enough of them that their own versions of our Hunting Association have begun to systematize the practice of hunting for the same crystals."

His words had massive implications.

The native aliens had known about the emerging threat of mutated beasts from an early period, but that did not necessarily mean they recognized how valuable it was to hunt them on a sustainable basis.

It was only after finding out about Mentalist Crystals and what it took to produce them that the native aliens became a lot more enthused about controlling and preserving untamed planets that were capable of producing this strategic resource!

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