?Chapter 6397 Elemental Ambition When the Star Designer from the Rubarthan Pact asked his next question, Ves momentarily fell silent. There was no way the Nanolord asked this question without reason. The clever True God must have noted the implications of Ves' earlier declaration of trying to realize his design philosophy by developing the Carmine System further. Now that Ves had introduced a groundbreaking new alternate control system for mechs, public interest in it had immediately shot up to an astonishing height. A lot of mech designers and scientists were already planning to obtain the blueprints and technical specifications of the Carmine System in order to tweak and improve its performance based on their own expertise. Ves was never arrogant enough to claim that his work was perfect and that no one could make better versions. He was well aware of how much he did not know compared to the Master Mech Designers and Star Designers that actually dominated the mech industry. However, there were certain areas that other people could not do. As far as Ves knew, few if any mech designers possessed the unique range of knowledge and skills that he accrued over his career. His persistence in blending classical mech design with cultivation science turned him into an oddball that was able to create a range of useful innovations because no one else had been in a position to do so in the past. Otherwise, other mech designers would have come up with inventions such as design spirits, companion spirits, kinship networks and the Carmine System a long time ago! The technical complexity of these creations was not that high. The difficulty lay in gathering the right combination of conventional and unconventional knowledge. The inventor also had to possess the creativity to generate the right ideas and the persistence to pursue them when everyone else thought it could never work. Ves felt a right to be proud of his inventions. Since he came up with them, there was no reason to think that he was inferior to others. Even if his Carmine System was rather crude and underdeveloped in many areas due to his lack of depth in biotechnology and other relevant disciplines, at least he managed to single-handedly open a brand new field in mech design! Under the careful supervision of the Red Association, the study and development of the Carmine System was bound to become a dominant trend in the next few years! The issue that Ves faced was how he could possibly further the development of the Carmine System in the face of this collective endeavor. Perhaps mech designers would emerge that would make the Carmine System cheaper, simpler, safer or less dependent on organic components. There were so many different experts out there that they could improve the Carmine System in ways that Ves never thought of due to his limited perspective. What improvement could Ves possibly bring to his great invention? He thought back on his previous struggle to choose his future direction as a mech designer. Before, he identified at least two potential opportunities to realize his design philosophy. The first was to continue to collaborate with Alexa Streon and successfully to combine her living legacy mechs with his Carmine System. Ves had no idea if the concept would even work, but it was still worth pursuing. If he succeeded, he would effectively reduce the greatest limitation of the Carmine System and make it far more practical to use. No Carmine mech pilot would have to be afraid of being forced to retire after losing their only machine in battle. Yet... did it have to be him to bring these dynastic Carmine mechs to life? Perhaps he had felt more motivated to pursue this idea in the past, but his perspective had changed a lot since those times. Now that he took on greater responsibilities and rose to a greater height, he understood that red humanity no longer required pure numbers in order to stop the native aliens. What his civilization truly needed was more high-end combat power. If the enemy phase lords and phase whales could not be stopped, the Red War became as good as lost. Ves always felt ambivalent about the Red Association's nebulous strategy on praying for the emergence of a few new god pilots. While it may be true that the ascendance of these great heroes may be enough to change the status quo for the better, the probability of any successful breakthrough was so low that it was a complete gamble! Any plan that relied on a gamble was unreliable to the extreme. Ves hoped for the best, but also had to prepare for the worst. The only way he could think of that could address red humanity's shortcoming of high-level combat power was to develop much stronger Carmine mechs that could somewhat plug the gaps. Ves had no clear idea how much stronger his proposed elemental Carmine mechs could become, but he had a hunch that their blend of extraordinary power may produce a lot of surprises. This should especially be the case if multiple different elements combined forces with each other! A surge of confidence lifted up his mind. He gained a lot more certainty than before. Although he did not intend to give up on the idea of creating Carmine mech dynasties, he did not prioritize it as much as before. If possible, he was even willing to allow Alexa Streon to solve this problem in his stead! What truly stirred his passion was his increasingly more elaborate outlook on his elemental Carmine mechs. Not only did it go deep into exploring the potential of the five elements theory, but it also blended the strengths of modern mech design and mystical cultivation science into a brilliant fusion! Compared to the relatively practical but boring concept of Carmine mech dynasties, Ves felt much more passionate about pursuing the concept of elemental Carmine mechs to the extreme! He raised his head and looked straight up towards the Nanolord's private box. His eyes exuded a lot more certainty than before. "The Carmine System that I have introduced to all of you now is only the most basic variant that I have created so far. It is not technically attributeless, but I can basically treat it as such." He explained to the Star Designer as well as the masses. "In my theoretical framework, the Carmine System is ripe for development in terms of E-energy attributes. The direction that I have chosen for the time being is to combine my invention with the five elements theory." The mention of the five elements theory evoked a lot of unpleasant memories for the higher ups who were old enough to live through the aftermath of the Age of Conquest or inherited the Big Two's vigilance towards a cult that worshiped the aforementioned elements! Ves was well aware how any allusions to the Five Scrolls Compact could trigger these old or overly paranoid bastards, but he was done with trying to tiptoe past their sensibilities. They had already tried to get in his way and expose his dirty laundry, so he had no reason to hold back anymore. Fortunately, the Nanolord did not appear to react in a similar manner to the First Flame. His impeccable appearance remained unperturbed as if the five elements theory was just another scientific concept. "How far have you advanced this line of research?" The Star Designer asked. "Are you still in the theory phase, or have you already begun to test your assumptions in practice?" Ves smiled. "I have gone past pure theory. I have tentatively confirmed the viability of developing elemental Carmine mechs based on the fire element and the wood element. I have most recently devised a concept of a metal Carmine mech based on the use of smart metal, though unlike the previous two instances, I have yet to obtain enough empirical proof that it can be realized in practice. I have yet to devise concrete ideas on how to realize Carmine mechs based on the water and earth elements, but it should only be a matter of time before I complete my basic framework. As long as I develop the corresponding elemental Carmine mechs and turn them into reality, I anticipate that my design philosophy will propel me to the rank of Master Mech Designer." The Nanolord looked mildly impressed. "That is an intriguing line of research and one that merits the attention of a mech designer such as yourself. Do not take your ascension to Master for granted. Your theory is not completely tested, and your elemental Carmine mechs may turn out differently in reality. I can understand why you are so invested in this idea. The five elements are among the most common E energy attributes that we work with on a frequent basis, and they possess so much versatility that they can be applied in a wide variety of solutions. Combining two or more of the five elements together can produce unexpected synergies that can result in explosive performance, though often at the cost of catastrophic instability. If you can solve or mitigate this known issue through your elemental Carmine mechs, then your works will have a bright future in our mech industry." That was an incredibly valuable vote of confidence from a Star Designer! Ves felt a lot more certain and confident about pursuing this line of research. It had been worth it to disclose his idea to the Nanolord and the public. Although Ves still had a tendency to keep his secrets, doing so caused others to grow suspicious. It also cut him off from valid feedback, causing him to run around like a headless chicken who didn't know any better. This time, an authoritative mech designer personally voiced his support and approval. This not only gave Ves greater confidence that he was working in the right direction, but also granted him a shield against many critics and paranoid adversaries that desired to shut down his research due to any potential associations with the dreaded Five Scrolls Compact! The only individuals that could persist in their opposition towards Ves' work were other tier 1 galactic citizens, but they should never bother with this under normal circumstances. Both Ves and the Nanolord implicitly understood what had happened. There was no need for either of them to acknowledge this through any form of communication. It was enough that they knew. Ves relaxed a bit. He was able to deduce from this exchange that the Nanolord harbored a slight amount of goodwill towards him. This was good news because he needed all of the friends that he could get. If a few of those friends just happened to be found in high places, then that was even better! "You have my gratitude for answering my questions. Your plan on how you intend to develop your Carmine System further is ambitious. The upper limit of outcomes is high, and so are my expectations." The Nanolord eventually said. "Please resume your presentation. We are still awaiting your unveiling of your Carmine mech designs." Ves made a sincere bow as the Nanolord turned away just as the Star Designer's box turned opaque again. Many people in the audience still felt impressed that they witnessed an exchange between a rising star and a literal Star Designer. For many of them, this was the first time they heard the speech of a legendary Star Designer in person! Ves looked as if he just concluded a talk with an ordinary mech designer. The way he was able to maintain his composure after speaking to a legend of the mech industry raised people's evaluation of him even further. It seemed as if Ves already possessed the demeanor of a bigshot! Ves calmly clapped his hands. "I only have time to address a handful more questions. After I have satisfied your curiosity, I shall quickly proceed with unveiling the first. Carmine mechs that will be made available to the public." Now that the public had learned a lot more about the nuances of the Carmine System, they developed a greater yearning towards the products that have yet to be announced. They wanted to observe a real Carmine mech in action! Only when they witnessed a real mech getting piloted by an actual norm would they fully become convinced that none of this was a fantasy!