Doctor Leonardo Brixton was not the ideal recruit to Ves. He was older and more set in his ways. This ant that Goldie wouldn’t be able to inspire as much loyalty and devotion to the Larkinson Clan.
Cyborg chs sounded interesting but Ves wasn’t convinced that it was worth the trouble to bother with fully or semi-organic chs at all. All of the fleshy bits reminded Ves too much of Dr. Jutland’s shenanigans!
Yet the value of recruiting a cyborg ch designer whose expertise straddled both classical chs and biochs was unquestionably high!
There was no way that Master Brixton withheld too many of his core trade secrets when instructing his blood descendant. Ves may not have reached this level as of yet, but even he had no intentions of passing any of his closest secrets to anyone aside from worthy offspring!
Others simply didn’t deserve to know! Not even his wife was privy to all of his secrets!
The only people he truly trusted were those who he was able to shape himself. The more he was able to manipulate them, the more he was willing to pull them into his inner circle.
So far, a handful of people such as General Verle, Venerable Joshua and Dr. Ranya was starting to earn his appreciation. They were much less stubborn and high-minded than his own wife and were much more pliable as a result.
It also helped that they didn’t seem to pursue any great agendas. With Gloriana, Ves always had to keep her advocacy in mind. She did not see any contradiction between helping the Larkinsons and helping the Hexers. Ves thought differently, and that was the cause of most of their disputes.
He still loved her, though. Even though it wasn’t entirely logical for him to feel this way, his heart never made sense in the first place. He just wanted to maintain a certain degree of separation from her on business matters.
As Ves thought about implications, he finally took a brief rest and woke up just before the start of the second phase.
Ruuzon Arena attracted a lot more attention these days. The amount of spectators had increased as many Lifers wanted to witness Dr. Navarro’s impending victory for themselves!
Expectations were still high even though the current record wasn’t optimistic. It was impossible for many fans to drop their confidence after suffering a modest setback.
"Dr. Navarro shall prevail! He will prove to the entire star sector that our biochs are competitive!"
"LRA! LRA! LRA!"
"We should kick every tal ch out of our state!"
Groups of people wearing green clothing and banners all passed through the entry gates and moved up to their respective viewing platforms. The crown of trees surrounding the main dueling ring beca more and more populated as many of them wanted to witness a turning point in the LRA’s history.
A lot of Lifers ca in order to obtain the answer to a simple question.
Were their biochs competitive enough?
Today, the Lifers deeply wanted Dr. Navarro to succeed. His biochs not only had to make up for his disappointing score, but also win the hearts of the ch pilots who participated in the duel.
The latter part had beco a lot more contentious than before!
"If they know what is good for them, then the ch pilots won’t betray their own states!"
"They’re trained in piloting biochs. Why should they ever prefer to pilot dead machines when they can pilot living chs instead? Our offerings are far superior!"
The partiality of the ten ch pilots who would be issuing their verdict at the end of the second phase was crucial. The locals all wanted the ch pilots to favor their own state while many foreign observers watched carefully in order to see whether the Lifers were about to cheat!
Ves wasn’t too worried about that.
Even if his hosts couldn’t resist the temptation to cheat, both Ves and Dr. Navarro knew the actual score. There was no way to lie about the results when both of them were ch designers.
That said, the Larkinsons were fully prepared for trouble this ti.
The clan didn’t even bother to open their new recruitnt hall this ti. Plenty of Larkinsons had already left the surface and those who remained behind were fortified inside Gentle Lotus Base.
The Infinity Guards had beco more active as well. They not only put their available chs on high alert, but also prepared several evacuation routes!
Though a part of Ves didn’t want to show up at all, another part of him felt more alive. Old instincts and habits were starting to wake up. The complacency and lethargy that had settled over his mind started to shake off from all of the excitent running through his veins.
His blood was pumping faster. His attention beca sharper. His competitive streak rose.
He wanted to win!
More precisely, he wanted to defy the Lifers for hoping that he would lose! As a proud ch designer, how could he tolerate any doubt in his own ability? While Dr. Navarro was a formidable opponent and a capable ch designer in his own right, his life experiences were much duller!
Out of safety concerns, fewer people accompanied Ves this ti. More bodyguards accompanied him this ti, though all of them had to stay outside the entrance of the VIP platform.
Only a couple of people kept him company this ti. Aside from Lucky, he only brought a single expert pilot and ’consultant’.
"Damn, the stakes are higher than ever, Ves! Do you think they’ll get mad if they lose?" Vincent cheerfully asked as his hover chair floated forward.
Venerable Jannzi slapped the side of the floating device. "Watch your words! Do you even realize what you are saying? You’ll make a lot of people upset towards us if they hear your words. Show so care!"
"She’s right, Vincent. I didn’t bring you here to brag on my behalf. As pathetic as it sounds, I still find your insights useful."
He enjoyed the comntary he received during the first phase of the design duel.
He cared about Raella, though, so he decided to leave her behind.
Vincent was a different matter. Ves didn’t care at all whether the bastard lived or died. It didn’t matter whether the wounded Larkinson was an expert candidate.
In fact, if Vincent happened to et an unfortunate accident today, then Ves would have one less future expert ch design to worry about!
Not that he actually expected sothing to happen. Ves only had to look around to spot hundreds of biochs in the air and on the ground. Each of them were marked in the colors of the Planetary Guard and other governnt institutions.
A lot more security guards on foot appeared as well. The authorities must have shipped in an entire security division to Ruuzon Arena on short notice because there were guards posted around every group of fans!
Their odd combat armor was organic in nature and so were their rifles. It made them look like infested humans, but strangely enough their monstrous appearance didn’t inspire any fear or revulsion from the locals.
"I heard you made a deal with Master Brixton."
The old Master went straight to the point.
"I did." So what? "He offered a reward for doing sothing that I already plan to accomplish. I see no reason to refuse a free deal?"
"You should have refused his offer. The two of you share a connection now. No matter how benign it seems, you cannot deny that you are a bystander now."
"I was never a bystander to begin with." Ves pushed back, heedless of the fact that he was talking to an esteed Master. "I didn’t ask to get involved, but since soone pushed into this cesspit, I might as well go for a swim."
Master Cline looked exasperated. "I had hoped you would show more prudence, but I did not sufficiently account for your youth."
"It is rare to hear a Master admitting a fault."
"We are still human, Mr. Larkinson. We may stand at a greater height than you, but we are still plagued by the sa flaws that afflict any individual. In fact, so theorists claim that our faults are magnified."
Ves definitely believed in that theory. No ch designer achieved success by going through the motions! Being abnormal was practically a necessity!
"Can you tell what’s in store for once I advance to Senior?"
"Heh." Master Cline smirked as a hint of amus.e.m.e.nt shoved aside his irritation. "You must have asked this question to many high-ranking ch designers, correct?"
"It’s worth a try."
"Well, I will give you the sa answer that my other colleagues have told you. Don’t worry about it. Becoming a Senior is a major threshold. While it is not considered to be a significant transformation, your approach to ch design will undergo a major transition. You will have to look beyond your imdiate ch designs and start to consider the bigger picture."
"I see." Ves looked disappointed. "I’ll look forward to that then. Do bioch designers have a harder ti advancing than classical ch designers?"
"This is not a simple question to answer. The threshold to beco a bioch designer is higher because there is much more knowledge involved. While this ans that our numbers are not as great, each of us are more brilliant on average. This is not a boast, but a fact that is backed up by plenty of studies."
"I believe you. The logic holds up. Even I’m a bit intimidated by having to learn so many biotechnology-related subjects. It’s a different discipline." Ves replied.
"Correct. It’s a different discipline, though there are many ignorant critics who think differently. The fact of the matter is that ch design and biotechnology require different skill sets and aptitudes to excel at. While there is a lot of overlap between the two fields, it still takes a genuine talent to marry the two together."
"What about cyborg chs?" Ves curiously asked. "From my shallow understanding, Master Brixton is a very renowned ch designer in this state. What makes his kind of products so special?"
"You should ask this question to soone else. As much as I oppose his stances, I still respect his work."
Master Cline didn’t stick around for long. After he gained whatever he sought from Ves, he quickly bid goodbye and returned to his seat.
Just like before, six Master ch Designers had showed up. Perhaps a few of the faces had changed, but Master Cline and Master Brixton were both suddenly on the opposite ends of the row of plushy seats.
Master Brixton even turned around and nodded at Ves. It seed that the leader of the combinants was quite optimistic about Ves’ chances.
Why?
Did Master Brixton get a sneak peek at the chs prepared by both sides?
That shouldn’t be the case. Their dueling chs were under strict guard. Masters weren’t even allowed to get close because there were a million different ways they could strengthen or weaken any given ch!
At this ti, a familiar bombastic voice bood over everyone’s heads.
[Welco everybody to the second phase of the design duel between Ves Larkinson and Doctor Frederico Navarro! After pitting five pairs of chs and ch pilots against each other, we will be performing the matches again! This ti, the ch pilots have swapped their seats. Each of them are now expected to do their best to achieve victory for the ch they previously fought against !]
The second phase was a lot more strategic than the one that ca before. Both the ch designers and ch pilots knew what they were up against now. This not only allowed them to plan in advance, but also leverage the information they gathered to their own advantage!
The next set of matches would surely be a lot more dynamic than before!
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