Chapter 6482 Savior and Destroyer Carmine mechs changed the lives of many people. So many red humans who previously couldn't pilot mechs due to brain damage or low genetic aptitudes suddenly gained an opportunity to prove their worth. Their gratitude towards the Father of Carmine Mechs was enormous. Many of them even took the initiative to write letters to Ves. They expressed their deepest emotions and thanked him with the bottom of their hearts. Though Ves did not feel as if he had put a huge amount of effort into developing Carmine mechs, reading these letters reminded him of how much his latest works had changed the lives of so many people for the better. The feedback from his enthusiastic customers validated his design philosophy and reminded him why he fell in love with mech design. Becoming a mech designer was not just about combining advanced technologies into an awesome war machine. To Ves, the profession was all about satisfying the people that he had dedicated his life to serve. No matter how weak or disadvantaged they may be, Ves believed in principle that he could always offer them a product to better their lives. He above any other mech designer had lived up to this aspiration by being the first to break the genetic aptitude tyranny! Ves had actually begun to feel a little more depressed and wary towards the existence of Carmine mechs. After all, his mother and the Beast of Fear were convinced that unleashing Carmine mechs onto the humans of the Milky Way would cause their society to plunge into chaos and anarchy! While Ves wanted to refute this assumption and argue that his Carmine mechs would lead to a rise in strength and prosperity, he could not defeat the wisdom of the two True Gods. The Milky Way was much different from the Red Ocean. His own analysis of the situation of original humanity also supported the conclusion that giving Carmine mechs to its masses would light up the spark that detonated the powder keg. Given these predictions, was it any surprise that Ves began to see his Carmine mechs as a curse upon humans rather than a blessing? Therefore, Ves actually drew a lot of encouragement from the feedback of all of the customers from the Red Ocean. "Carmine mechs can still be a force of good" Ves asserted to himself. "At least red humanity has urgent need for them. I can't say the same for humans in the Milky Way, but they will ultimately come to terms with my works as well." Once Carmine mechs became available, it was impossible for all of the norms in the old galaxy to give them up. Ves felt very much as if he was Pandora who was about to open up a box. Opening the box meant unleashing great evils to a galaxy that was unprepared to absorb so many shocks, but it also meant granting the people hope for a better future. Mechs were not inherently good or evil. They were products that could produce great changes in the hands of people. It was up to the owners and pilots of those machines to decide how they wanted to make use of the power of mechs. This was why a lot of people in the Red Ocean had taken the time to send him letters filled with praise. It would also be why the people of the Milky Way would probably blame him for everything bad that may unfold in the coming years. Ves found it difficult to accept this duality. He could accept becoming a celebrated leader and role model among the people he served. He could reluctantly accept becoming a hated war criminal among the people who suffered at the hands of his products. If he only held one of these identities, then his life would remain simple and straightforward. His design philosophy would retain its clarity and give Ves a clear direction to navigate towards. However, if he held both identities at the same time, his mech designs would have vastly different meanings in two completely separate societies. How could he keep his design philosophy coherent if he had to cater to the needs of two substantially different customers at the same time? Ves already felt tempted to focus solely on meeting the demands of red humanity while relegating original humanity as his test subjects. It was the most convenient approach to take. By ceasing to care about the demands and wellbeing of the humans of the Milky Way, he would have no qualms about throwing highly experimental mechs into their lap. He could realize many of the controversial and outright illegal mech concepts and design applications that he had accumulated over the years! It didn't matter if his experiments failed in the most catastrophic manner. All of the ones that got hurt were inconsequential humans from a galaxy he no longer cared about anymore. A failed experiment still yielded useful empirical data. It was not uncommon for Senior and Master Mech Designers to endure over a hundred continuous failed experiments just to chase after a critical success. They were only being held back by their own morality and the prevailing laws that constrained their options. Ves had an opportunity to cast off these troublesome restraints and freely conduct any dangerous experiment that he liked with the people of the Milky Way! While Ves had to account for failure, it would be better if his experimental mechs yielded good results. A successful experiment granted Ves another useful design application that he could responsibly apply to his much more important products reserved for red humanity! This sounded like the perfect setup, yet... Ves refused to sink to this depth and treat all of original humanity as his test subjects. The primary reason why he rejected this easy solution was because he made a promise to Master Willix. In light of all of the assistance and favors she provided to him, it was reasonable for Ves to respect her earnest plea to be merciful to the humans who resided in the Milky Way. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖 Besides, Ves agreed with Master Willix that mech designers needed to uphold certain universal standards not because he cared all that much about original humans, but because mech designers needed to be better. As Ves grappled with his conflicting feelings, the Bluejay Fleet arrived in the Reticula Corein System situated in the Torald Middle Zone. Ves originally planned to return to New Constantinople straight away, but then he figured there was no urgent reason for him to reunite with his family as soon as possible. The Larkinson Biotech Institute had assumed more and more responsibilities, so it was well worth the effort for him to step aboard the Dragon's Den and discuss various strategically important biotech research initiatives. It was actually quite risky to travel to this destination. The fourth and fifth defensive bands were located quite close to the Reticula Corcin System. This made it possible for the native aliens to bypass the string of fortified star systems and directly launch an assault on this star system. The probability of this happening was low, though. There was nothing particularly worthwhile to raid or attack in this region of space. Reticula Corein V had gained a bit of strategic significance to the Larkinson Clan, but the only structures built on the surface were devoted to the harvesting of Solus Gas. It didn't matter if all of the structures got lost or destroyed. It should be easy enough for the Larkinsons assigned to work on the surface to evacuate from the planet and leave the star system. When the Bluejay Fleet relied on the superdrives equipped by every modern RA and RF warship to speedily arrive in orbit of Reticula Corein V, it soon became clear that the mining operation on the surface had expanded by a considerable margin. After the fall of the Emperor Tree, the Larkinsons had chosen to shift the assets of Chimera Base to the newer Emperor Base. Built on top of one of the dozens of major Solus Gas deposits of the planet, Ves did not know how much of the exotic substance that the Larkinson Clan managed to collect from this strategic site. It should be more than enough to satisfy the demand of every high-ranking mech built for the Larkinson Clan. However, Ves did not think the quantity was enough to incorporate Solus Gas into every mass produced mech built for the Larkinson Army. A finite reserve of Solus Gas would run out sooner or later no matter how much of it had fallen into the hands of the Larkinson Clan. Ves did not even know how much gas could be harvested from Reticula Corein V before the untamed planet ally exhausted its supply. He feared that there was no other planet in the Red Ocean that possessed the rare conditions to produce Solus Gas in the environment. Ves did not want to deal with another Unending alloy situation where his reliance on a rare and difficult to procure material would force him to resort to inferior substitutes when he exhausted his original stockpile. This was one of the reasons why the Dragon's Den remained in orbit of Reticula Corein V despite the growing risks of residing in this middle zone. If Ves wanted to make permanent use of Solus Gas, then his researchers had to uncover the source and more ideally the method of reproduction of this strategic material. When the Bluejay Fleet finally came close to the small fleet that surrounded the Dragon's Den, Ves, Lucky and his Apocalypse Wardens teleported over to the bioresearch ship. "Welcome back to the Dragon's Den, Patriarch." Vice Director Maria Abselon bowed in greeting. Ves nodded in acknowledgement of the former Terran bioresearcher and took a look around the interior of the ship. He grew more and more dissatisfied with what he saw. After spending a lot of time aboard a first-class warship and visiting an extremely developed central star node, he became dissatisfied that much of the Larkinson Clan's most important research projects took place within an outdated second-class research vessel. "How old is this ship?" "She was commissioned 23 years ago on the date we acquired her from the Life Research Association." The vice director responded. "More than a decade has passed since that time. As far as starships are concerned, this vessel can easily persist for a century without requiring any major overhauls. Her maintenance has always been good, and her organic components require less care and attention as they are self-repairing." "That sounds good, but I think that the LBI needs a new home. As useful as the Dragon's Den has proven over the years, she is still a second-class starship. I think it is safe to say that if you want to speed up your research projects and conduct more high-end studies, you and your research teams need access to first-class laboratories that are equipped with much more powerful instruments. I don't want you guys to become bottlenecked by the inferior facilities of this serviceable but ultimately outdated research ship." The Vice director responded with a modest smile. "To be honest, I would deeply appreciate it if you can give us access to better research facilities. It is true that the labs on this ships are limited compared to the much better facilities that I used to have access to back when I was working for Terran employers. Our second-class researchers do not mind so much, but it has become difficult to satisfy the first-class biotech researchers that we have hired in growing numbers. We are able to satisfy dozens of them by transferring them to the well-equipped biotech research facilities built underneath Diandi Base, but they are ultimately limited in scale. We need access to a first-class full-sized research facility to work at our best. It would be best if the facility was mobile in the same manner as the Dragon's Den, but I do not dare to issue this request as there is a severe shortage of capital ships."