Chapter 7394: Neglected Product Lines All in all, Ves felt quite satisfied with the Red Fleet’s adaptations. He became more assured that his daughter would spend a fruitful time at the Erwin Klobucar Naval Academy. Ves continued to spend the rest of his day catching up with his daughter and taking care of other miscellaneous affairs. While the Bluejay Fleet’s vessels continued to get serviced and resupplied, Ves became inundated with dozens of affairs. For example, he had to divert a bit of time to manage the delicate repairs and restoration of the Riot Mark III. The D-mech incurred serious damage as well as permanent mutations during the last battle. Repairing the machine was troublesome as its internal structure had warped too much to make it easy to return to its original condition. Ves and Gloriana had contemplated numerous options, but eventually concluded that they had little choice but to roll with the changes. They just had to try their best to ensure the Riot Mark III could still put up a good fight in its sharper and edgier incarnation. Other affairs related to the mechs sold by the Living Mech Corporation. "Outside of the Yellow Jacket and the related Jacket Commander models, sales of other models are relatively flat or in slight decline." Gavin Nuemann reported. "This is not because our product lines are deficient. The relatively newer models such as the Ferocious Piranha Mark IV, Valkyrie Redeemer Mark IV and the Stormblade Samurai Mark II consistently remain popular. The Fey Fianna is the LMC’s bestselling product after our Carmine mech. However, the face of warfare in the Red Ocean is changing faster than we can adapt. Many materials have become more expensive and troublesome to ship across territories. This is disproportionately affecting our premium product offerings. Furthermore, the Voribug War has brutally shown that many mechs, including ours, cannot handle so much attrition." These were all important points. Ves had heard them before, but they had become much more serious as time went by. It was times like these that truly tested the survival capabilities of mech companies! "Is the LMC in any acute trouble?" "No." The partially mechanised assistant responded. "We are in a much better position than many other companies at a comparable scale. Your fame and eminent status continues to bestow a halo onto our brand. The demand of the Yellow Jacket will remain rock-solid as it is the only Carmine mech line available. Rising costs have slimmed our profit margin, but our direct sales volume remains high. Besides, we have earned far more money from the mech designs by licensing them out to third parties. These are some of the reasons why we have not been forced to downsize our operations or shut our doors." The mech industry had become a lot more turbulent as of late. So many changes occurred in a relatively short span of time that many companies that previously relied on the old status quo had completely failed to adapt. Of course, there were also many other mech designers and mech companies that had proven to be clever, fast and open-minded enough to adapt to the new changes. The LMC did not even rank among the top of this list! Ves did not have too many high expectations for his mech company, especially when he had lately occupied himself with greater affairs. Fortunately, the LMC could survive without his direct attention. The Design Department under the leadership of Gloriana might not have too many high-ranking mech designers, but it was still capable of taking care of many routine design tasks. Of course, if Ves continued to shift his priority away from his commercial offerings, the LMC would probably continue to experience a gradual decline in market share and relevance. The mech market’s demand was not static, especially in more turbulent times. Consumers demanded more than straightforward upgrades to existing and outdated mech concepts. Applying the same set of formulaic hyper technology and E-technology to his older commercially available works would only keep the existing userbase of LMC mechs happy for a few years at most. As new technologies continued to emerge and enemies swiftly adapted to existing solutions, a time would come where the only way to keep the LMC’s iconic mechs relevant was to properly reimagine them for the Age of Dawn. "This is not the time for me to reorient my focus back to the commercial market." Ves quietly told his assistant. "I would like to do so, but my current priority is to complete the development of the Arboreal Project. The development of elemental Carmine mechs is vital to my progression as a mech designer. It is also the best way for me to make a unique and highly impactful contribution to the mech market." "I am aware of that, Ves, but it is hard to commercialize those ambitious projects of yours when you have already surrendered the right of distribution to your partners." "The LMC will be fine. Even if my products fall out of favor in the next few years, there are still plenty of Journeyman Mech Designers within the clan that supplement our mech roster. Ketis is particularly good at this due to her unique advantages." It was a good thing that the Larkinson Clan had made a lot of strides to diversify its income sources. Although not all of them were stable and reliable, the clan had no fear of getting ruined if something went wrong with its mech business. Even if other income streams collapsed, Ves could still find a way out by virtue of his galactic citizenship. That said, everything had a price. He had done his best to stay away from overly shady practices so far because he knew it would taint his reputation to an extent. After the pair finished their talk about finances, their conversation soon shifted to more strategic affairs. "You’ve been following the debate that ensued after the Voice of Liberty’s stunt, right?" Gavin nodded with a cool and impassive expression. "Yes. I am not impressed so far. The subject has polarized the mech community and provoked far too many heated arguments. Die-hard believers in stolen resonance technology are shouting at members and sympathizers of the Pilot Humanist Society all of the time. Do not underestimate the latter. The PHS has only come into prominence for a short amount of time, but has already earned a great amount of respect, especially among mech pilots with a superiority complex." That sounded predictable. The Pilot Humanist Society fought for a dream that originated in the past and managed to define an entire age! This ideal still captivated many people even if they were not mech pilots. In fact, the availability of Carmine mechs meant that even norms saw hope of becoming respected and all-powerful mech pilots one day. Ves had accidentally made this problem worse! "The Pilot Humanist Society has steadily proven itself to be a legitimate interest group whose voices gained an increasingly more receptive audience." Gavin explained. "It is still mostly a grassroots movement in that it has not gained the open backing of high-ranked officials in any organization." "Interesting. It sounds like the PHS will continue to become an increasingly more powerful thorn at someone’s side." "One outspoken member of the PHS may be relevant to us. Venerable Ariel Szenka used to be a protege of the Voice of Liberty. Though they eventually went their separate ways, the former has inherited at least part of the latter’s outspokenness." "And she is relevant because...?" "Venerable Szenka is one of the individuals who may fall under the category of people that the Voice of Liberty entrusted to our clan." Gavin answered. "It is our obligation to offer her shelter to protect her against her former mentor’s many enemies. If she chose to ignore our repeated transmission, then that is her prerogative." Ves wondered whether it was a good idea for the Larkinson Clan to absorb such a polarizing figure. It might make the public think that the clan had taken a side. That was not supposed to happen. "Will we actually bring Venerable Szenka into our clan?" Gavin paused and exerted his powerful cranial processors. He completed a rapid series of calculations, much of which he intuitively understood. "I cannot be sure of the answer. Our matriarch will decide. Venerable Ariel Szenka is already a senior ace pilot that is within breakthrough territory. Recruiting her and outfitting her with an impeccable living expert may be the impetus they need to transcend to sainthood." That would be a relatively ’easy’ way for the Larkinson Clan to acquire another ace pilot. Of course, there were no guarantees. "The downside is that her existing advocacy and her stubbornness may prevent her from fully integrating into our clan." There were good reasons why the Larkinson Clan did not recruit existing expert pilots even if it had started to receive a growing number of applications. Expert pilots had already solidified much of their values, ideals and loyalties. Trying to instill genuine loyalty into the Larkinson Clan at this stage was too difficult! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚 The Saint Commander would ultimately decide. Ves trusted that she would make the right decision. It was not worth it for the clan to absorb an unstable element in the hope of acquiring another ace pilot-level asset. "What about the rest of the PHS? Are they prone to violence?" "Most of the supporters of the PHS are enthusiasts." Gavin replied. "They are easy to rile up and are willing to protest outside of their working hours. Yet it is because this group is so big and eclectic that many potential threats can blend into the crowds. Time will tell whether there are elements of the PHS that will continue to radicalize until they feel driven to commit acts of terror." "Like the Cosmopolitan Movement." Ves sardonically said. Somehow, many outspoken political organizations seemed to slide along a similar trajectory. It was as if as long as these radicals did not get their way, they would continue to sink deeper and deeper into their delusions! Ves genuinely feared that the more extreme and conspiracy-driven members of the PHS may turn their hostility against their fellow humans! He hoped that the higher-ups possessed enough awareness and foresight to properly manage this contentious organization. The Cosmopolitan Movement already caused enough trouble for human civilization! Their discussion continued. Just as they were about to talk about their preparations for departure, Gavin suddenly paused as he received a priority notification. "What is the matter?" "The... office of the Resonance Smith has just sent a summons to you, Ves. It states in no uncertain terms that you are expected to visit him at one of his facilities tomorrow." "What?!" Ves widened his eyes in surprise! A meeting with a Star Designer did not come out of nowhere! "I distinctly remember that I did not request an audience with His Excellency! We have yet to fulfill the requirement set by the Voice of Liberty to a satisfactory level. It takes more time to approach all of the members of his network. Even then, my wife and I are not sure whether it is a wise move to cash in this favor immediately. This is far too soon!" "You can issue your complaints to the Resonance Smith, though his response may disappoint you. He and the Voice of Liberty are cut from similar cloths in my humble perspective. They are not the sort of people who let themselves obey orders without question." It was useless to complain. Star Designers did not fall sway such feeble pleas. "I guess I should make ample preparations." Ves signed in resignation. "Do I need to watch out for anything? Has the Resonance Smith mentioned anything that he wanted to talk about in particular?" "I am afraid not. The notification is very sparse on details. It only contained the necessary amount of information and no more." "Ugh. If that is the case, then I will have to hope for the best." Ves rubbed his palm against his face.