The Mech Touch

The meat suit had turned into something of a money pit to the Larkinson Biotech Institute.

Director Ranya Wodin frequently complained about all of the development resources being poured into the ongoing R&D project.

Though the meat suit performed increasingly better each time the researchers completed a new iteration, the gains didn't appear to be worth the effort anymore.

Ves recalled a conversation he had with Ranya about his continued support for the project.

"When do you have enough, Ves?" Ranya asked. "The amount of researchers and developers we have allocated to improving and optimizing the meat suit is starting to look wasteful. We could have accelerated the completion of many other useful projects if not for the fact that we are putting so much emphasis on the development of a situational product that is only applicable to a single individual mech."

"Do you truly think it is not worth it because it only applies to a single mech?"

"I know you like to pay more attention to Venerable Joshua, but the original Titan-3 Project that we started out with has already undergone two major update cycles. The Titan-5 Project incorporates all of the latest biotech advancements that we derived from researching the biological remains of Titania and the fish-whale race. There is nothing more we can squeeze from them unless we make another breakthrough in our research, but that requires a lot of time, much more brilliant biotech researchers or highly advanced lab equipment."

"Then what do you suggest, then?"

"While we can no longer make meaningful progress on the Titan-5 Project, we can branch out and try to apply the lessons we have learned in other biomech-related projects. Haven't you always wanted to add a biomech legion to the Larkinson Army? We still have many tons of alien tissue samples left in our freezing compartments."

"Hm, that does make sense, but… I feel the Titan-5 Project is not fully tapped out." Ves replied. "While it is true that I intend to introduce biomechs to our clan, I don't want to adopt the same old biological machines that the Life Research Association and several other states and organizations have attempted to popularize. Mainstream biomechs that rely on existing organic technologies are not attractive enough. If we want to make biomechs worthwhile enough to equip a new biomech legion, then we need to follow a different track."

Ranya started to understand what Ves was thinking about. "So you view the Titan-5 Project as a pioneer that might lead us to achieve a breakthrough that is powerful enough to develop a new kind of biomech?"

"Exactly! I'm aware that the Titan-5 Project is still far from reaching that point, but we can still dream, right? To me, this is a long-term project. We don't need to focus on quantity for the time being. Instead, do your best to elevate the quality and sophistication of the meat suit. The further we push the limits of biotechnology and the more we combine existing knowledge with successful experiments, the greater our chance of achieving the progress that we are looking for. I am willing to wait decades to see whether we can attain the desired results."

Though Ranya understood Ves' bold and ambitious planning, the problem was that the time needed for this effort to bear fruit was a bit too long!

"Are you sure you want to keep gambling in this direction? Our Larkinson Biotech Institute has hired a lot of biotech researchers, but none of them are brilliant or accomplished enough to achieve great results. There are many other biotech research institutions that are trying to do the same as us, but are much better equipped to make actual progress."

Ves crossed his arms. "That may be true, but if they are all similar to the biotech experts that we have encountered back in the Life Research Association, then I don't think we need to be afraid of them. The difference between us and them is that we are probably one of the few groups that truly harnesses the power of life. All of the biomechs developed by other researchers and developers are merely alive in a biological sense. I believe that my unique advantages can unlock the greater potential of biomechs."

"You may be right, but… are you certain you want to open this particular Pandora's box?"

"What do you mean, Ranya?"

"Joshua has mentioned that the Titan-5 Project has become increasingly harder to control for him." Ranya reported with obvious concern. "Since we have opted to upgrade and modify the original Titan-3 Project into the Titan-4 Project and now the Titan-5 Project, its living consciousness has always remained the same. It has not only undergone years of growth, but also experienced several major body modifications that have fundamentally altered its species, if you can call it that. This is no doubt a traumatic experience and has distorted the personality of the meat suit. To be honest… a few of the researchers working on the project are starting to fear that it might go out of control. The growth of its personality is too fast, and its experiences are much different from that of your usual mechs."

Ves turned around and studied the dormant meat suit carefully.

Right now, the Titan-5 Project was not in use, so it largely resembled a gigantic but hollow sack of alien flesh.

He understood why it was able to induce so much fear. The growth of the meat suit's spiritual foundation had indeed been remarkably fast.

Not only that, but Ves also sensed that its personality was a lot more primal, aggressive and violent than usual!

It was as if the meat suit was a trapped beast that couldn't wait to break open its cage!

Ves grinned. "Interesting. I never imagined that its personality would have become so much stronger and more belligerent after its latest upgrade. I like it. The Everchanger's personality is a bit soft. Pairing it up with such an aggressive meat suit is not a bad idea. This mounted wargear loadout is specifically meant to turn the Everchanger into a vessel of destruction. Is Venerable Joshua able to maintain control over it during the latest testing sessions?"

"He has reported that it is difficult but still manageable to keep it under control. The Titan-5 Project is only friendly when it interacts with Venerable Joshua. It is a lot more dangerous and resistant towards everyone else."

"Then there should be no problem. The Titan-5 Project is solely meant to work together with Venerable Joshua and the Everchanger to begin with, so there is no need to change it. The stronger and more aggressive it is, the more it will pay off when we finally put it into battle."

"It's been years, sir. Will that time ever come?"

"I can guarantee it." Ves smirked. "Just wait until we finally move out of Davute. Once we enter into battle against a large and formidable enemy force, you should warm up the meat suit and get it ready for deployment. I want it to be the first or second loadout that the Everchanger utilizes in battle. Be sure to monitor its performance and collect as much data as possible. I imagine that it will be explosive."

Explosive was a good way to put it once the meat suit debuted on the battlefield.

In fact, the Everchanger did not equip the Titan-5 Project at first.

During the initial stages of the battle, the Everchanger was nowhere close to the enemy lines. The best way it oculd make itself useful at this stage was to equip the much more conventional City Breaker loadout.

The amount of time, money and development effort invested in the gigantic artillery mech mounted wargear loadout was not as exaggerated as with the Titan-5 Project.

That did not mean it was weak, though. Perhaps it might be an exaggeration to rely on it to crush an entire city, but its firepower was leagues above the base form of the Everchanger!

Though the City Breaker loadout was armed with 4 oversized luminar crystal cannons and 4 oversized gauss cannons, Ves had deliberately designed the monstrosity to resemble the appearance of a gigantic humanoid made out of crystal!

The City Breaker did not look fat or bulky at all due to its reflective and luminescent exterior.

Instead, it looked exotic and maybe even alien as the glow of the Illustrious One seemed to transform it into its incarnation.

When the Everchanger initially entered the battlefield and started to open fire with its massive cannons, its impressive firepower already made a major difference!

Defensive platforms that could take a lot of beating began to get crushed and demolished through overwhelming firepower!

The calibers of all 8 cannons had reached the legal limitations that the MTA allowed for these types of weapons. Ves had done everything possible to scale up the weapon systems as much as possible before focusing on maximizing their firepower.

The results were better than Ves expected!

Though Venerable Joshua wasn't able to resonate as strongly with the City Breaker as with his Everchanger due to how much harder it was to fully resonate with so much extra mass, he was still able to empower the cannons with his willpower.

This was enough to amplify the destructive and penetrative properties of the City Breaker's attacks!

"This is too powerful!" Venerable Joshua gasped. "The power at my disposal is greater than that of a typical expert heavy artillery mech!"

Though it was difficult for the City Breaker to target mechs at longer distances, he had no problem directing its awesome firepower onto larger and more fixed targets such as space stations and starships.

Joshua found it especially enjoyable to leverage the City Breaker's great might against the titan shields that protected many orbital space stations from massed attacks!

Unfortunately, the City Breaker wasn't able to last as long as he wished.

Though it was large and powerful, Ves and the other mech designers who had worked on it did not prioritize longevity.

The City Breaker not only became hotter and endured more strain as time went on, but also depleted its energy and ammunition reserves at an accelerated rate!

Ves originally designed the City Breaker as a semi-disposable solution to allow the Everchanger to inflict a huge amount of damage at the beginning stages of a battle in space.

He compromised the City Breaker's ability to last and slanted many design choices towards raising its peak performance.

If Ves wanted to, he could have invested in solutions that could have increased the effective operation time of the City Breaker.

However, he didn't think it was worthwhile to equip it with expensive toys such as dimensional heatsinks, dimensional ammunition magazines and extremely expensive energy cells.

Even if the City Breaker was able to last twice or thrice as long, an enemy would never allow such a powerful machine to have its way!

Venerable Joshua came under a lot of pressure when the Sundered Phalanx noticed the threat of the City Breaker early on. The 5640th Witch Shatterers Mech Division had allocated hundreds of heavy artillery mechs to bombard this crystalline monstrosity!

Though the City Breaker possessed a lot of frontal defenses, one of its greatest shortcomings was that Venerable Joshua had not grown strong enough to cover it with a resonance shield.

It was too big!

Perhaps it would only be possible for Venerable Joshua to do so when his resonance strength reached the level of Venerable Rebecca Andus at the start of this battle.

As it was, a lot of crystalline and metallic armor plating chipped away from the City Breaker's front with every incoming attack volley.

Eventually, the City Breaker's armor buffer had reached such a dire state that it wasn't safe to utilize it anymore!

Venerable Joshua had already expended the majority of its energy and ammunition reserves by now, so he had no qualms about detaching his Everchanger from the severely damaged City Breaker loadout.

He had plenty of good and bad things to say about the City Breaker loadout now that he had used it in an actual battle, but that could wait until later.

He needed to try another mounted wargear loadout!

A group of Larkinson mechs had already brought forth the Titan-5 Project.

Mounting it was easier than with mechanical mounted wargear. The gigantic fleshy suit eagerly engulfed the Everchanger as if it was alive.

As soon as it established a proper connection to the expert mech and expert pilot, the Titan-5 Project truly became ready for battle!

"Let's see if you can live up to your promise, Titan!"

The massive meat suit began to glow as lots of energy coursed through its enormous fleshy construction.

Soon enough, it generated a warp bubble that was large enough to wrap its entire form and promptly accelerated forward at a dazzling speed!

The meat suit was primarily a melee mech, so it was a necessity to bring it forward as fast as possible! 

"Venerable Joshua is about to take action for real!"

"Damn, is that the rumored meat suit?! It looks more monstrous than I thought!"

"The Sundered Phalanx is about to receive an enormous beating."