The Mech Touch novel Chapter 991

When Ves came back to Leland to ask for additional investigation and monitoring of Chief Nyquist, the intelligence officer did not exactly acquiesce.

"The point of the mission is to find evidence of separatist collaboration in one of our domestic mech companies." Leland reminded Ves. "With the important requirements that it has to be done fast and discreet. Drawing upon too much Flashlight assets will increase the chance of exposure, which will be the end of us and investigation."

Ves frowned. "Is there anything you can do?"

"I can put a tail on him to observe what he does in his off hours. I can also assign an analyst to investigate his background. That’s all the assistance I can provide. Can you make do with this help, Ves?"

"It’s better than nothing."

Flashlight probably employed hundreds if not thousands of people on Bentheim alone. Yet all Leland could do to help him in this potentially critical mission was to assign two low-level people to investigate Chief Nyquist!

After Leland left, Ves laid down on his bed with a pensive expression. He felt he couldn’t complete his mission in the short time remaining. With one-and-a-half weeks to go until he arrived at the deadline, he faced so many constraints that he could hardly move where he wanted to and ask the questions that he wanted answered.

"Fast and discreet. That’s impossible."

If they could take their time to investigate the Kadar-Neyvis Group’s suspicious activities, then they’d be bound to find a skeleton or two in the company’s closet.

If they could perform abrupt raids on their properties and interrogate some of their key personnel, then they could also uncover the company’s skeletons through those means.

Yet with neither of those options available to Ves, he felt as if he was bound in place with no way to make any moves.

Ves eventually came to a conclusion.

"If I can’t succeed through conventional methods, then I’ll just have to cheat."

In fact, Leland already intimated to Ves that he could be more ’creative’ about the evidence of enemy collaboration in his report to Flashlight.

While Ves already resolved to do what was best for his career and his company, he still held some misgivings on this course of action.

He would much prefer to avoid this option unless he had no other choice. _{ƒreewebɳovel.com}

Therefore, Ves reluctantly put it aside and tried to figure out other ways to solve the problem.

Perhaps... he might be able to find a way if he reunited with the System!

While Ves didn’t dare to carry around the System while he served with the Flagrant Vandals, now that he returned to Bentheim, what stopped him from summoning Lucky and the comm that held the System wrapped around his neck like a collar?

Yet Ves quickly shook his head. "The risks are too great."

Bentheim possessed too many eyes and ears. Leland also indirectly told him that he was under constant surveillance whenever he stayed in public and in areas friendly to Flashlight.

In effect, that meant that he constantly risked exposure no matter where he went if he ever used the System, especially to achieve eye-catching effects. He couldn’t even rule out that even now, some agent of Flashlight was monitoring him right now under stealth!

Struck with paranoia, Ves quietly concentrated his mind and began to engage his sixth sense. Finding nothing amiss, he became a little bolder and swept his quarters with tentacles extending from the ephemeral cloud of Spirituality in his mind.

Nothing.

That did not entirely reassure Ves. Normal people did not possess strong spirits that could interact with reality, and Ves did not know whether his Spirituality was sensitive enough to pick up their presence.

Suffused with paranoia, Ves couldn’t find it in himself to relax and rest. After a while, he raised himself from his bed and sat behind his terminal.

In any case, he could easily go without sleep for a week, especially after his additional physiological enhancements. Since time was running short, Ves found it pointless to waste valuable hours to maintain a normal human rhythm.

He idly browsed the galactic net, checking up on the war but finding surprisingly little reliable information. The sentiment among the citizens of the Bright Republic grew more pessimistic due to the mounting casualties and the lack of success in dislodging the Vesians from their newly conquered star systems.

As he read back on some of the major battles of the current war, he couldn’t help but grow a little cynical. He never did get a solid answer on whether the Bright-Vesia Wars was a sham.

What was the point of this war? To settle grievances that began during the founding of these two states? To avenge the fallen of the previous wars? To settle geopolitical tensions?

All of those reasons seemed distant and pale. To the average Brighter, they just fought against the Vesians because they tried to invade them every generation. As for the Vesians, both their lower and upper classes always hungered for territory and military exploits to further their careers and domestic ambitions.

"To most of us, the wars are real enough. Just the deepening hatred between our two states has grown too heated."

After a largely fruitless trawl through the galactic net, Ves resumed his investigation for the next few days. He revisited the Ansel and Haston Complexes in order to uncover anything amiss. While he found several points that he wished to study further, his cover role didn’t allow him to do so without drawing suspicion.

Everywhere he went, either Jeff or some other goon from the KNG followed him around. Nothing Ved did ever escaped their eyes.

Many times, Ves just wanted to shed all pretences and turn over every rock the company placed to hide their shady activities.

As a mech designer well-versed in the production of mechs, his knowledge and experience both helped him map out where unregistered mechs and parts were being built and sent. Yet even if he knew or strongly suspected such activities, what could he do? As a liaison, it wasn’t in his power to call these kinds of activities out. Preparing tribute to the Peace Association wasn’t suspicious in itself.

Ves needed to uncover more concrete proof.