The Mech Touch

rindon went over their software and security suites and cleaned up as many loopholes as he could find with the help of Calabast ’s hacking software and documentation.

Only Ves felt a bit incomplete as he hadn ’t managed to procure a proper suit of combat armor that suited him the most.

At least he already covered his firepower needs.
He drew out a smaller pistol from a hidden holster in his business suit and pointed it straight at Ronnie Blast ’s forehead!

”W-WAIT A MINUTE! DON ’T SHOOT! I-I-I-I CAN WORK FOR YOU, MR.
LARKINSON! I HAVE LOTS OF CONTACTS IN THE DRAGON ALLIANCE! ”

Ves sneered.
With his fame and reputation, he could recruit fantastic young mech designers who were ten times smarter than this blathering punk.
As for his supposed contacts, who cared about the Dragon Alliance these days? The sandmen completely devastated the Faris Star Region! No matter how powerful the pirate alliance used to be, the infamous Dragons of Void has become nothing but a pack of better-equipped refugees! ”

A loud sparking noise cracked the cell as a bright beam instantly blasted Ronnie ’s entire head apart!

A headless corpse dropped onto the disarrayed bed.
The smell of searing flesh only wafted in the cell for a second before the ventilation system quickly refreshed the foul odor.

”I can ’t say I blame you. ” Dietrich shrugged.
”This guy has been grating on us all for months.
We would have beaten him harder but we figured you wouldn ’t want to meet him when he ’s half-dead. ”

”Well, I hope the other pirate designers aren ’t as bad. ” Ves spoke as he holstered his small laser pistol.

He visited the adjacent cells in turn to see whether the pirate designers were worth salvaging.

Disappointingly, two of the pirate designers proved to be animals in human skin.

”I dislike your face.
It ’s too dishonest. ” The Alloy Sculptor ’s silky smooth voice uttered as his head tilted in fascination.
”Please return my tools for me so that I can rearrange your facial features.
Your eyes must go and your nose must become pointed to reflect your many lies. ”

Yeah, Ves quickly blasted the maniac ’s head with a deadly laser beam after that.
There was no way he would entertain a crazy mech designer who reminded him uncomfortably of the Skull Architect!

The Hand of Sin was worse.

”AUHHHH! ” The genetically modified abomination struggled against the gravitic bonds that kept him pressed against his bed! ”I WOO TAE U LIM FOR LIM! NO UN EVA CROS TA HAN O SIN! ”

”Did you guys even pick up the right person? ” Ves furrowed his brows.
”He looks like a footsoldier instead of a mech designer. ”

”We checked the details a dozen times. ” Dietrich helplessly said.
”He truly is a mech designer.
Apparently, when he ’s not angry or in a battle, he can be quite..
’eloquent ’, according to the intel.
It ’s just that his reckless application of gene mod templates turned him into..
this.
Whenever he ’s agitated, he ’ll continue to be like this for hours. ”

The man who became known as the Hand of Sin was a brute with mottled, cratered grey skin.
His arms were uneven.
One of them possessed normal proportions, but the other one was as thick as several legs!

The man continued to scream unintelligibly in the direction of Ves as if he wanted to do nothing more than to crush his captors with his oversized arm!

”Well, I ’ve seen and heard enough. ” Ves spoke.
”The frontier must be truly desperate if a defective product like him has managed to sell some mechs. ”

Ves did not even wish to sully his dignity by shooting the genetic freak.
He waved his hand to Nitaa, who brought her heavy assault rifle to bear on the immobilized Hand of Sin.

A few weapon discharges later, nothing was left of this infamous mech designer aside from steaming piles of charred flesh.

There were only two more mech designers left.
Ves hoped to meet someone within an acceptable range of normality for once.

Meeting someone like Mayra was ideal, but he could settle for someone like Ketis.
Ves would be happy as long as the pirate designer possessed enough self-awareness to understand they needed to behave.

If someone failed to recognize the reality of their situation, then they were too stupid or insane to be worth keeping alive!

Was it too much to ask for a useful pirate designer? Did Ves set his expectations too high?

”I really hope the next one is better. ” He muttered.

”I think you ’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Merrill is the best-behaved captive we have so far.
She hasn ’t given us any flack in the months we kept her captive. ”

When they entered the next cell, Merrill turned her gaze from the romance drama projected by the cell.
She instantly waved her hand to flick it off and composed herself as best as possible.

”Good day, Dietrich. ”

”Good day, Merrill.
This is Ves Larkinson, my boss.
He ’s the one who decides your fate, so I suggest you be on your best behavior. ”

From the amenities in the cell, Merrill evidently behaved so well that she earned some rewards to make her stay more comfortable.

That and the spontaneous advice from Dietrich made Ves think that Merrill was truly different from the wastes of space he met before.

”So..
what makes you a pirate designer? ”

”Didn ’t you read my record, sir? ” Merrill smiled impishly at Ves.

He found it curious that the captive did not act meekly nor brashly.
Instead, she adopted a comfortable and confident demeanor as if she was his friend rather than a captive.

He had to admit that it had an effect on him.
After dealing with the likes of Ronnie Blast, the Alloy Sculptor and the Hand of Sin, it was surprisingly refreshing to deal with someone who conformed to his expectations of a mech designer.

It also helped that she was a woman.

”I ’ve only skimmed the barest of details, which didn ’t tell me anything.
Is any of it even true? ”

”Good question. ” Merrill ’s smile turned devious.

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