Chapter 7295: Projectile Buddies Ves appreciated the tour. While he had not been given permission to dig into the guts of the Sigma Drift, the close look increased his familiarity with the new machine. The Red Association had made a serious effort to advance its technologies and close the gap with the Cybernetic Empire. While the latter was undoubtedly ahead in terms of conventional technology, the mechers had made a sincere attempt to leverage its head-start in superdimensional technology to invent a couple of early applications. Ves really wished he could take a closer look at the Spatial Disassociation Engine and the Sidney Particle Cannons. He still did not understand how the SDE enabled the mech to momentarily 'drift' across dimensions. He also did not understand how the strange particle cannons opened up energy tunnels to the higher dimensions. He had so numerous questions that he could not even begin to ask them. There was no point in voicing them out loud, though. While Jovy had clearly been briefed in advance, he was not in charge of the experimental design project nor participated in the development of the two experimental systems. When Ves asked a number of probing questions, he quickly figured out that Jovy did not possess that much expertise in superdimensional technology. This made it difficult for Ves to talk shop and develop new insights. Superdimensional technology may be reserved for the rich and powerful, but it opened so many new possibilities that he could not wait to explore them in person! Of course, Ves still needed to keep his priorities straight. While he was more than willing to become proficient in this field, he still considered hyper technology and E-technology as his roots. "Is there any possibility to upgrade the Sigma Drift into a Carmine mech?" He asked. "We don't have to do it now. We can always wait for later." Jovy shook his head. "This discussion has come up. There is no need to do so at the moment. A high-tolerance neural interface can partially replicate the benefits of a Carmine System. The added value of granting Major Jankowski access to a new control system will be lower than usual. Ultimately, we do not think it is beneficial for Major Jankowski to remain tied to a single mech for the rest of his life. We can revisit this discussion when he has reached his next bottleneck." "Fine." The mechers wanted to gather data on how mech pilots were able to develop when they turned into artificial champions. Ves was sure that the RA planned to monitor the data of Carmine mech pilots that made use of the new Pilot Breakthrough Elixirs. However, the mechers already placed the Major Jankowski in the group that only made use of high-capacity neural interfaces. This was a sensible decision. The Sigma Drift already contained plenty of new and experimental technologies. Introducing a change as colossal as installing a Carmine System would severely complicate the analysis on the performance of the Spatial Disassociation Engine and the Sidney Particle Cannons. Both mech designers moved on from this particular discussion. "Are the SDE and the new particle particle cannons susceptible to space suppression?" "Yes, but not as much as you think." Jovy responded. "It is not possible to suppress internal manifestations of superdimensional technology. You do not have to fear that an extremely powerful space suppression module can turn a superdimensional mech inside-out all of a sudden." That would be extremely silly. "What about external manifestations?" Ves asked. "The answer is a little more complicated." Jovy vaguely answered. "Do not ask me about the specifics. I do not understand the science myself. I can only tell you that heavy space suppression will make it harder for the SDE to make the mech drift across dimensions. It will also make it harder for the Sidney Particle Cannons to channel higher-dimensional energies." "Doesn't that make them vulnerable to catastrophic malfunctions?" "Our developers have already taken those scenarios into account. They have implemented additional safety features to account for suppression." Jovy did not sound too certain about that. Major Jankowski will just have to be more careful once he entered the field with his new machine. "Where is Major Jankowski, by the way? Shouldn't he be down here to admire his new machine in person?" "He is undergoing surgery at the moment." The RA mech designer replied. "In order to increase the success rate of the experiment, we are modernizing his augmentations and updating them to higher specifications. The differences will not be great, so he should make a quick recovery." "I see. Will he recover in time to proficiently take control over his new mech?" "He is an expert candidate. He will adapt." Jovy confidently spoke. Expert candidates may be more than human, but not to a massive degree. Ves seriously doubted that Major Jankowski would be able to unlock the full potential of the Sigma Drift so easily. However, the mechers were willing to toss the expert candidate to the deep end. Perhaps the unfamiliarity along with all of the new pressures might produce a miraculous result. After the tour came to an end, Jovy no longer kept Ves company. "That's it?" Ves looked a little disappointed. "There are more secrets for you to learn, but it is best not to overload you with unnecessary disclosures." His friend responded. "There are many more secrets for you to learn so long as you return to Yernstall or another stronghold of the Red Association. If not, you can wait for me to schedule another briefing to bring you up to date on relevant affairs." The information that Jovy had shared today was already big enough to put Ves to thought for a long time. More disclosures would only add to his bewilderment. "Fine. I will wait for you to come again in the future." Jovy smiled and placed his hand on Ves' shoulder. "Good. I need to report back and take care of other matters. Take care and be ready for action. Our intelligence suggests that the Goliath Hive is paying greater attention to this star system." "What are you implying?" "We do not have enough proof, but... there is a suspicion that the mutated voribugs are paying additional attention to notable human individuals... such as yourself." Ves grimaced. That was not good news. It showed that the mutated voribugs did not see all humans as indistinguishable meat. The Hive Princesses or the Devourer Queen may be intelligent enough to understand that certain humans were much more important than others. If the voribugs were clever enough to understand human society, then they may be able to figure out the weight of a tier 2 galactic citizen! If this was the case, Ves subjected himself to additional risks by lingering so close to the frontlines. The longer he stayed in one location, the more he opened himself up to a massive decapitation or capture operation! Even so, Ves did not feel the need to retreat right away. With 30 Ascended Giants at his disposal, his fault tolerance was not as meager as before. That said, Ves should not give in to complacency. He made sure to allocate enough hours to tinker with his own wargear. The RA supply fleet granted him access to new materials and tech that he gratefully made use of. His temporary raiment for his other self gradually took shape, though not as fast as he would like. It couldn't be helped. The Superdimensional Giant Regalia was just too big at a ratio of 3x. Even with the new superdimensional production machines brought by the latest supply fleet, there was just too much superdimensional matter that needed to be processed. In order to speed up its development, Ves invited a handful of trusted mech designers such as Alexa Streon and Zanthar Larkinson to assist with the work. The former had already made an effort to study superdimensional technology while the latter proved enthusiastic to learn. "How are your studies going so far, Zanthar?" Ves asked as they worked in his private workshop. "There is too much for me to learn." The younger Larkinson complained. "I really do not know how you have been able to improve so quickly. My studies take up too many hours. I not only have to strengthen my fundamentals, but also learn entire new disciplines such as superdimensional technology. Can I apply for EdNet training?" "No." Ves directly rejected the request. "It is not necessary for you to do so. Your learning speed shouldn't be too bad as long as you have kept up your auxiliary qi cultivation." His cousin clearly did not agree with that statement. "I still feel as if I keep falling behind. Everything is progressing rapidly. That is especially now that the Cybernetic Empire has returned and showed off lots of new tech." "Don't pay too much attention to that." Ves patiently warned his former student. "It is true that human technology is undergoing another period of rapid development, but much of it does not have any direct relations to our work. You should leave most of this stuff to the professionals who are equipped to deal with other subject matters. All you need to care about is the knowledge that is directly related to your specialization. Even then, you do not need to keep up with every single development. You just have to do your best to make your products competitive." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮 Zanthar reluctantly nodded. "I... understand. It is hard, but I am trying. To be honest, I like it here. Ever since we entered the Philaster Crestia System, I have been able to consult Lord Richard Brownstone for guidance and tips. Our specializations are similar enough." That was true. Zanthar Larkinson chose to specialize in the development of E-energy-based explosive munitions. Richard Brownstone meanwhile specialized in high-attribute kinetic damage applications. Both of them loved projectile weapons. The biggest difference was that Zanthar loved big explosions while the Rubarthan liaison preferred strong impact damage. Of course, Lord Richard was much further ahead in his own craft. There was very little he could learn from Zanthar, but in the interest of promoting good relations, he had been generous in his advice. "Would you like to stay by his side for a longer period of time so that you can continue to learn from him?" Ves asked. Zanthar shook his head. "No. My time as a student has passed. I have already learned enough from you. No offense, but I do not want to remain useless. It is time for me to contribute back to the clan. I am working on developing different and more substantial applications than my Fade Burst Rounds." "Do you have any promising leads?" "Not yet. Give me a few more weeks at least. I will be ready to present my progress to you then. Is that alright?" "Sure, Zanthar." Ves thought about inducting him into the Mech Designer System at that point. If Zanthar's work demonstrated enough initiative and maturity, then he should be ready to gain access to the powerful functions of the System. He was not the only candidate. Ves had been trying to keep an eye on the EdNet returnees such as Sara and Dula Voiken to figure out whether they were suitable to be inducted as well. Ves found it much more difficult to decide to let them in because of how much time they spent apart from each other. The years-long separation had caused them to be alienated from each other. It remained to be seen whether they could rebuild the trust and tacit understanding that they previously maintained. It was especially difficult for the EdNet graduates to slot back into the Design Department as they experienced many more subjective years away from the clan. Still, Ves hoped that all of this would go away once they collaborated with each other on a bunch of new mech design projects. He still needed to observe the mutated voribugs a little longer, but he already came up with a few tentative ideas on how to help the Rubarthans fight off the insect swarms. (More chapters in Buyers club for TMT)