The Mech Touch novel Chapter 413

Once the first attendees exited from the simulator pods, they shared their remarkable experiences to the people waiting in line.

"Remarkable! It’s so lifelike! This is the best mech I’ve ever piloted!"

"I can’t believe how much at home I feel when I pilot the Crystal Lord! I tried all three versions and the gold label mech is by far the most sublime!"

"The cheaper bronze label model is no slouch either! Let me tell you, my mercenary corps already owns a silver label Blackbeak. Piloting a bronze label Crystal Lord is almost the exact same experience!"

Their subjective experiences and lack of technicalities that they could point out as issues led to a growth in positivity. Everyone focused on the good points of his design, and those who tried the models out in the simulations came away with strong desire to pilot the mech again.

"Fifteen minutes is too short! I can’t wait until tomorrow to pilot this virtual mech again! I need the real deal!"

"When will the auction start? Let me get my hands on a copy as fast as possible!"

Ves deliberately arranged the simulator pods to be placed in the vicinity of the nine gold label Crystal Lords. He also allowed the guests to approach the mechs and touch their cool metallic surface. This way, the vast majority of the attendants became exposed to the mutually amplified auras radiated by the mechs.

It was difficult to describe their effects on the people who neared the mechs. Everyone gazed at the machines with reverence. Some even lowered their heads in respect. As they discussed the Crystal Lord design among themselves, their thoughts and words would unconsciously be colored by their altered moods.

Nobody showed any awareness of this effect. As far as Ves was concerned, he achieved the same effect as outright drugging them into liking the Crystal Lord design.

The thought of it caused him to smirk, and as he continued to make himself available for questioning, he radiated supreme confidence in his work.

Under the intangible but near-oppressive might of the Crystal Lords, no one dared to affront their dignity by mentioning any shortcomings. Most of the crowd subjected those that raised any critical points with dirty looks. Under this strong social pressure, troublemakers found little means to raise another ruckus.

Of course, Ves and the LMC did not leave everything over to fate. After answering another question, Ves briefly excused himself and walked to the side. Gavin greeted him with a nod as he kept his eyes on his data pad.

"How many troublemakers have been carted away by security?"

"Twenty-five and counting." Gavin answered. "Since they only tried to heckle you, Sanyal-Ablin isn’t able to hold them back and question them. We haven’t been able to trace whether they attempted to stir up trouble on behalf of others and who their employers might be."

"Don’t count on finding that out even if we held them custody. These professional agitators are smarter than that." Ves grunted. "Still, Sanyal-Ablin is surprisingly effective in rolling them up before they could make a scene."

Gavin raised his head and grinned. "That’s what you get when you hire the best. SASS has a lot of experience in crowd control. It makes sense when you consider how obsessive the Konsu Clan is about conformity. The AIs they employ are keeping a close watch on every attendants at once. The moment they attempt to raise their voice, the sound dampeners immediately silence their throats."

"Too bad they didn’t caught that woman." Ves frowned. "Why hasn’t security stepped in?"

"They couldn’t silence her at the time because she took the place of an invited guest and sat close to the front. By standing up, she called out a lot of attention to herself while making any attempts at silencing her really obvious. Her voice also carried a strange property that inserted doubts in the AI."

That was something else he wanted to know about. "Who is she, anyway? How come she’s in our guest list?"

"Her name is Mellie Neverland. She’s actually a cousin of Andar Neverland. She’s a mech designer as well, though she works at one of the larger mech manufacturers in Ansel. According to her record, she doesn’t have a lot of designs under her belt. She only contributed a small part of a couple of larger collaborative projects."

He somewhat understood her background now. "She’s a graduate of the Ansel University of Mech Design, isn’t she?"

Gavin looked down at the data pad. "You’re right!"

An outsider like Gavin might not be fully aware of the influence of the AUMD. Ves guessed that Mellie had been tasked by someone from the AUMD to drag down the perceived value of the Crystal Lord as much as possible.

"Could it be Mr. Neverland who is behind Mellie’s attempt?" Gavin spoke out.

Ves shook his head. "It doesn’t make any sense for him to do so. He’s earned a sizable fortune with mass producing the bronze label Blackbeaks for the domestic market. Sure, his Elemental Mech Engineering isn’t suited to produce the Crystal Lord, but that is no reason to risk his current licensing contract with us. The mastermind is likely someone else connected to the AUMD."

As for why someone from the AUMD wanted to spoil his party, Ves could think up a lot of reasons. It might be due to animosity against those who with foreign ties, or an attempt to diminish his value in front of the Mech Corps so that he wouldn’t take away a plump assignments from their graduates.

"I don’t get it, boss. Why does the AUMD feel the need to put you down?"

"They feel threatened by someone like me. I studied at Rittersberg, a place filled with spoiled brats descended from decadent billionaires and poisonous politicians. A small number of mech designers who graduated from my school act all high and mighty once they enter the industry. They compensate their lack of talent and ability by bullying everyone aside with their connections or their wealth."

"I thought the mech industry is an extremely competitive field." Gavin replied with puzzlement. "Shouldn’t those rich kids make fools of themselves once they publish a couple of designs?"

"Ordinarily, their lack of talent is exposed in very short order. You’re right in that the market won’t be fooled by a bad design. However, those with means have other tricks available to them. The easiest way is to hire or coerce a more capable mech designer into designing mechs in their stead."

"I see." Gavin nodded. "So these good-for-nothings stay in business far longer than they ought to. Still, isn’t it easy to expose them in that case?"