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 After a hearty talk, Melinda had to leave in order to catch her flight back to Bentheim. As Ves accompanied her to the door, she turned around and bumped her communicator with his wrist.
 "What's this?" Ves asked as he activated his comm. It unfolded into a brochure.
 "It's the Young Tigers Exhibition."
 "Isn't it a competition for younger mech pilots to showcase their skills? I hear the Mech Corps and the local mercenary corps organize this event to recruit outstanding pilots."
 The Bright Republic publicized the YTE every year. It had practically turned into a national holiday. His father even brought him to an event when he was little. Before he found out his aptitude made piloting mechs an unreachable dream.
 "That was ten years ago." Melinda said and reached over and tapped the brochure, flipping it over to the next page. "In recent years they expanded the program to include a mech designer contest. It's not as thrilling as the mech battles, but the Mech Corps and a few big players pay a lot of attention to the people who do well in the contest."
 "I see." Ves nodded as he read through the brochure. "It's conveniently open to mech designers who have just graduated or are in their final years in college. I guess the Republic wants to make sure it hasn't missed any talents."
 "You should check out the rewards."
 Ves did, and widened his eyes.
 1st Prize - Gold Cup, 1 million bright credits
 2nd Prize - Silver Cup, 500,000 bright credits
 3rd Prize - Bronze Cup, 200,000 bright credits
 If he won first prize, then even if he couldn't meet the interest payment, he could at least afford other necessities. The raw materials to build up a mech didn't come cheap.
 "These aren't even the real rewards, Ves. If you stand out during the competition, you might be able to get an audience with the real movers and shakers of the mech business. You can get job offers and commissions if they like your style."
 Ves smiled ruefully when he heard those words. "The bigwigs probably aren't interested in a small businessman like me. I'm not one of those geniuses with fancy degrees from Mars or Estelon."
 Mars was the technological capital of the Greater United Terran Confederation, the oldest and most prestigious human superpower. Estelon was a hub of high tech mech companies and stellar universities of the New Rubarth Empire, the most militarily dominant human state.
 "Most of those geniuses already have their future careers lined up, probably with one of the Galactic 500." Melinda responded with a scowl. "When they come back to visit sometimes, I sometimes wonder if I'm talking to a Terran or Rubarthan. It's like they forgot their roots."
 "The Republic is a third-tier power, after all." Ves lamented, not entirely sincerely. He loved his home country and its high living standards. There were benefits to loving in a peaceful backwater. "Our nextgen mechs are probably considered lastgen by the first-tier superpowers."
 Those destined for greatness couldn't be contained by the small Bright Republic. Ves knew it was no use to feel jealous about those endowed with great opportunities. It all came down to strength! If Ves failed to win the first prize, then he just wasn't cut out for it. With the System backing him up, he might not excel in anything now, but it could be a different story a decade later.
 He waved his cousin goodbye and returned to his terminal. He re-read the brochure for the YTE and registered for the competition after making sure he met all the requirements.
 "Good thing the YTE starts in two months. I'm not confident of winning anything in my current state. Hopefully it'll be different when time passes."
 Ves went back to work. He logged into Iron Spirit and put in the hours to craft the Phantasm in his virtual workshop. Seeing each component roll out of the 3D Printer and place them in the appropriate place helped him understand his creation further. When he finished the assembly and tested its specs, he put the new variant on sale.
 [Fantasia 2R Phantasm]
 Tier: 1-star
 Base Model: Fantasia 2R
 Purchase Price: 3600 gold (-50%)
 Premium Price: 750 bright credits
 Comparing the new Phantasm to his earlier Seraphim showed a stark contrast in price levels.
 [Fantasia 2R Seraphim]
 Tier: 1-star
 Base Model: Fantasia 2R
 Purchase Price: 8800 gold
 Premium Price: 3300 bright credits
 His handcrafted Phantasm only sold for 1800 gold, which represented a great deal. The next models after his first Phantasm would be fabricated automatically, leading to a slight reduction in quality and a doubling of prices. Still, at 3600 gold a customer would not be disappointed at the Phantasm's performance.
 After Ves proudly put his mech on the market, he visited the usual mech enthusiast boards on the galactic net and boasted shamelessly about the Phantasm. Not every mech designer chose to create a variant with a re-imagined armor configuration. At the very least, Ves hadn't found any other Fantasia variant on the market with a full-body Mirin-21 armor replacement.
 A few days passed by. Nothing else changed except occasionally picking up Lucky's gems. The benefits it provided remained minor as ever, but Ves still remained optimistic. Once his cash flow improved, he planned to buy a few exotic minerals and find out of Lucky was worth his Gold classification.
 Ves worked on a fourth Fantasia variant these days, this time focusing on endurance and energy efficiency. He wanted to design a model that lasted longer and could run over long distances without negatively affecting its performance in battle.
 Though it emphasized different demands, Ves could still copy most of his work on the Phantasm to save time. After all, the Phantasm really presented a total baseline improvement over the original Fantasia 2R.
 In the meantime, Ves' store page started to receive some views. Surprisingly, a repeat customer bought his handcrafted Phantasm. TheSeventhSnake had also bought Ves' handmade Seraphim. Perhaps TheSeventhSnake could be called a fan.
 Then came the younger generation of the Larkinsons. While most only intended to give their big sister Melinda face by take a look, some of them grew enchanted by the Seraphim's regal grace or the Phantasm's dark elegance.
 One rich nephew impulsively bought the Seraphim with credits, wasting three months of his personal savings. A couple of other nephews and nieces purchased the Phantasm, recognizing its superior performance as an ambush predator. A few even bought the 2R-E as a joke, intending to surprise their friends with the model's ultimate move.
 Thus Ves achieved 23 sales this week. Together with the original Seraphim, he achieved 24 sales in total, almost overcoming one-fourth of his mission goal.
 Only when Ves finished his latest customization did he log back in to check out his store page. His eyes widened with satisfaction as he realized Melinda had given him some much needed help.
 The Phantasm sold well enough at the start, but its sales tapered off as no one else seemed to be interested as only an occasional customer would come and buy. They must have been defeated by the Phantasm in a match.
 Together with the 50 Design Points Ves received from developing his latest design, he gained a total of 73 DP. He only needed a little more than a dozen mechs to accumulate 200 DP. Once he reached that point, he could treat himself to something good from the System's Skill Tree or Store.
 He uploaded his newest work in Iron Spirit, and again he painstakingly built up its first model by hand. Just like when he fabricated the Phantasm, he felt a deeper connection with the Fantasia chassis by being involved in every step of the way. Once the model had been built up, Ves immediately chose to put it on sale.
 [Fantasia 2R Nomad]
 Tier: 1-star
 Base Model: Fantasia 2R
 Purchase Price: 3400 gold (-50%)
 Premium Price: 700 bright credits
 The Nomad weighed more than the Phantasm, courtesy of its extra energy packs and armor plates. The Nomad nonetheless came without the other model's Fayette ECM and Festive Cloud Generator modules, which ultimately resulted in a lower price. Ves judged the Nomad's performance wasn't shabby, but it lacked a certain wow-factor the previous two variants possessed.
 "I'm starting to run out of ideas. I don't think I can force myself to pump out another Fantasia variant again without purchasing new parts, which I can't afford."
 With only half a month left to go, Ves needed to do something about the mission the System gave him. The Nomad's introduction to the market might help progress his sales, but he doubted he could achieve a hundred sales before the deadline passed.
 "I need to go out and push my mechs in person."
 Frankly, Ves was too poor to afford a more sophisticated solution. While he gained a healthy amount of credits from the sale of his virtual mechs, he needed to reserve the capital for his mech boutique's future operations. Besides, his previous ad purchase in Iron Spirit had been like a drop in the ocean.
 Ves dug into the assorted pile of junk the workshop stored in its backyard, managing to scavenge a broken, window-sized holographic picture frame. With his technical skills, it was a cinch to restore it. He fixed it up and also welded a lengthy pole underneath its frame.
 Once it worked, Ves loaded all of his mech designs in the picture frame's memory. After a quick thought, he also added in some footage copied from some public replays featuring his mechs winning. Naturally he ignored the matches where his mechs lost miserably.
 Ready to go out, Ves took the board and called for an aircab.
 "Hey Lucky, you wanna go out and take a look downtown?"
 Once his transportation arrived, he took a leisurely trip to the downtown area of Rodrigo's Rest. Having lived in the suburbs for much of his life, Ves was more than familiar with its streets. He knew where all the kids hung out after being released from school. He arrived at the local gaming center and took a spot next to the other people holding their boards ready.
 Lucky meanwhile jumped about here and there, exploring the trees and lantern posts in perplexed curiosity. Ves wasn't worried he'd run off, so he let his pet explore to his heart's content.
 "You new here?" A grungy guy looking like he needed a couple showers asked.
 "Yeah."
 "Why're you here?"
 "What else? I have to sell my product urgently." Ves helplessly confessed. "Anything I should know? The Dos and Don'ts?"
 Grunge head mentioned a few short tips. "Above all else, don't annoy the managers. They want kids to come in and out without any hassle."
 The two along with the others waited patiently for the kids to come out of school. Once the first eager teenagers arrived, Ves went to work.
 "Do you need a new mech that's swifter and lasts longer? Then I've got a mech for you!"
 Naturally, most potentates ignored the people soliciting their products. Only a couple of young pilots spared a glance, but their eyes only stayed focused for a second or two before they entered the game center.
 Standing for hours at a time holding an animated board tired Ves out. He gritted his teeth and carried on with his work to push his mechs into the minds of the visiting players.
 Things changed once Lucky returned. The cat evidently had his fill of exploring the environment. It effortlessly jumped on top of a trash can near Ves and rested languidly atop its cover like a king surveying his serfs.
 The cat's fine workmanship and agreeable expression attracted a few girls.
 "So cute!!"
 "Can I pet it?"
 "It's such a big baby!"
 Lucky appeared overwhelmed, but Ves put a hand on its neck to calm him down. "Please don't press against my cat. He's young and hasn't been out very much."
 After realizing the young women weren't out to hurt him, Lucky meowed and stared at them with his shiny eyes.
 "So adorable!! Let me take a picture with him!"
 "I love his liveliness. It's even better than the dog I have back home. Did you build him yourself?"
 Ves coughed awkwardly and shamelessly answered, "I was involved in its creation, yes. Lucky is unique and isn't for sale, but if you're interested in my other creations, how about you take a look at my Phantasm?"
 As groups of squealing girls tried to pet and take pictures with Lucky, Ves allowed them to do so as long as they behaved. The cat seemed to lap up all of the attention, as if he was making it up for the times when Ves appeared too preoccupied with his work to play with his pet. Nonetheless, the steady stream of girls allowed Ves to conveniently insert a few mentions of his products.
 "Be sure to search for the Fantasia 2R Phantasm when you visit the in-game market! It's the perfect mech if you want to look good while kicking your friend's ass."
 Maybe 99 out of a 100 girls paid zero attention to Ves' words. If the one girl who actually paid attention visited his store page, then Ves felt his hard work was worth the trouble.
 Surprisingly, his increased strength allowed him to stand on the sidewalk and last a little bit longer. Holding the picture frame up tired him a little less than he expected. His physical strength also translated into mental strength in a way Ves couldn't really figure out. He felt the effects anyway. This made him reconsider the utility in upgrading his other 'useless' attributes.
 "Maybe upgrading my dexterity will make my thoughts nimbler, and upgrading my endurance will increase my willpower. The System isn't what it seems in the first place. There's a lot depth to it and I've only dipped my toes so far."
 After the sun started to dip down below Cloudy Curtain's horizon, Ves called it a day. He ate a quick meal at a local restaurant and took a shuttle ride home. Sinking tiredly into his sofa, Ves activated the System and checked his progress.
 [Mission Progress: 35/100 sales.]
 He sold twelve mechs today. If his sales kept up the same pace, then he'd definitely accomplish the mission within a week. He also accumulated 198 DP. With just a few more sales, he'd reach the threshold of 200 DP, opening up a lot of options in the System's Shop and Skill Tree.
 Though other mech designers might scoff at Ves' pathetic street peddling, all of his hard work had paid off for him personally.
 Naturally, Lucky contributed much to his success. He picked up the sleepy cat and stroked his muzzle.
 "You've done a good job acting cute. I'll order a few treats and have it delivered tomorrow."
 Lucky meowed in contentment.
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 After obtaining the Mech Designer System, Ves aims to create the greatest mechs in the galaxy!
 In the far future, the galactic human civilization has entered the Age of Mechs. The countless lesser powers of humanity have come to adopt mechs as their main weapons of war!
 Only a small number of humans have the right genetic aptitude to pilot these destructive war machines the size of buildings.
 Born to a military family in the edge of the galaxy, Ves Larkinson is one of the many people who lacks the talent to earn glory in battle. Instead, he became a mech designer. Helped by his missing father, Ves has obtained the mysterious Mech Designer System that can help him rise in the galaxy and beyond!
 His mechs based on the principles of life quickly allows him to rise to prominence. Powerful and highly compatible with mech pilots, his products have the potential to take the market by storm! However, success does not come easily, and countless challenges bar his ability to sell his mechs to a market eager for innovation!
 With the sins of the human race in the galactic arena slowly catching up, Ves must navigate the perils of the ultra-competitive mech market and maintain control over his growing organization of misfits.
 This is the golden age of mechs. This is the golden age of humanity. The question is, will it last?
 "Any challenge can be overcome as long as I design the right mech!"
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 In the year 2024, Earth's destiny becomes intertwined with a benevolent outer civilization, leading humanity to explore outer space with advanced technology. Different races unite and form a coalition to fight back against a common enemy, Eternity, who seeks universal domination. Humanity evolves and forms a united Earth under a single governing body. In 99820, corruption threatens the coalition's progress and Eternity launches a counteroffensive, pushing the coalition to the brink of decline. In 230,029, a battle between the coalition and Eternity looms as humanity prepares for an epic showdown. What will happen in the future, nobody knows.
 P.S. – Even though it is related to outer space, the novel’s main focus is mages and warriors.
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 Yan Ling has worked in the Fast Travel Bureau for many years. 
 He is the first person on the Fast Travel List. 
 And on this day, he finally retired. 
 The Fast Travel Bureau made full use of his resources and directly chose the mission world as his retirement place. 
 So the natives in various worlds were boiling! 
 Those geniuses who appear once in a hundred years or a thousand years burst into tears, shocked by the beauty, and felt ashamed! ! ! 
 "Fuck, where is this immortal boss who came down from the earth!"
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 A mysterious natural phenomenon caused the Earth to be plunged into darkness. The world turned into an endless bloody chaos and mankind is on the brink of extinction…
 Chu Yun Sheng, an ordinary white-collar worker, discovered his family heirloom book shining a bizarre light by accident. Out of curiosity, he tried to study the heirloom book.
 After a long research, he still only understood a few symbols written in the ancient book. However, he was shocked when he figured out what messages the ancient book tried to tell him: the sun will disappear, and humanity is doomed…
 He tried to spread the message, but no one believed him; his family and friends even tried to take him to see the psychiatrist. Eventually, he gave up telling anyone, but prepared for the apocalypse in secret.
 Until one day– the sun really disappeared…
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 Disorder syndrome, commonly known as contamination, is a difficult and incurable disease that all doctors in the entire era, including extraordinary people, find extremely difficult. 
 Patients will only have one year left to live. Under the cover of the red moon mist, they will all transform into twisted monsters, become accomplices of evil spirits, followers of natural disasters, and the source of faith for the evil gods entrenched outside this world to exploit at will. 
 Cause of the disease - unknown. 
 Time of onset - unknown. 
 Degree of infection - unknown. 
 Treatment method - unknown. 
 Danger level of the patient - SSS. 
 Natural disaster is imminent, and the indescribable eyes are slightly opened, and they are about to recover. 
 "In the face of such a crisis, Mr. Riya, what kind of changes will you bring to us?" 
 The young man who was giving a speech thought for a while: "First, we need to put street lamps on all the capitalists who make money by taking advantage of the chaos, but I respect human rights, and I will let them choose the street lamp model they like." 
 "Uh..." 
 The reporter was speechless for a moment: "But aren't you the biggest capitalist in this dark age?" 
 "No, that's called an entrepreneur." Riya corrected, "As a businessman in charge of trade, I need to kill all the peers, so that I am the only one." 
 The young man stood on the high platform with his arms slightly spread, and all the people below the stage were instantly boiling. 
 "Praise trade!!!" 
 "Whatever my Lord says is right!" 
 "Ah, He looked at me, I'm dead."
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 Su Tingyu was selected by a survival game that appeared out of nowhere and became an ordinary beta player. 
 Original game style: 
 The alternating hot and cold human life; 
 Dreaming back to childhood hunting festival; 
 Bloody carnival of underground beast fighting; 
 A cold and mechanical island prison... 
 Su Tingyu’s painting style after coming to the game: 
 Player: Damn it! ∑(☉Д☉；) 
 Dungeon boss: Don’t come over! Ｏ(〒﹏〒)Ｏ 
 Dungeon Administrator: It's just a crash of the dungeon, it's not a big problem... what the hell! (#￣m￣) 
 Game Invigilator: The identification is complete, this player is poisonous! (▼へ▼メ) 
 … 
 CP: Su Tingyu × Qin Lin [Big fish eats Qiqi, deceives, abducts... coaxes? 】 
 PS: The female protagonist is a bug, a copy killer, and a cheating fairy; the male protagonist has disabled legs, a brain disease, and is pitiful in reality; all members of the protagonist group are "evil", professional in doing things, and have a lot of fun; the survival game has unlimited streaming, The writing style is light-hearted and slightly funny; the main plot is fictional, and there are many private settings. Please do not go into it in depth. 
 [The new book "Beast Control Starts from Inheriting Inheritance" is being serialized, please collect it~]
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 The only extraordinary person in Blue Star is Gatling flying, turning missiles into flying swords, and his small goal is to use telekinesis to crush the planet!
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 “When God closes a door for you, I will open another door for you!” This is the story of the mercenary Su Fu getting the fruits of the door and crossing to the Marvel world.
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 In the 800th year of the New Yan calendar, the world has long bid farewell to the ancient era of cultivation and entered the modern era. 
 Win-win exchanges and both competition and cooperation are the mainstream of the current era. 
 The unknown truth and the endless starry sky are a new journey common to all monks. 
 A Shenzhou, a ship that is advanced beyond its times but has a mysterious origin, carries young Shen Jian to the era of great navigation in the universe. 
 In the new era of cultivation, the future is in the starry sky, and there will be times when we can ride the wind and waves, and hang sails directly on the clouds to help the sea of ​​stars.
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 Hyperthymesia. Those with this condition can remember every detail of their lives from something as significant as the world’s turning point to something as small and as insignificant as a minor fleeting thought. They cannot forget and their thirst for knowledge allows them to be considered genius in some senses.
 Legend has it that Ji Yushi was this kind of genius.
 In addition, it was said that he was gay and very beautiful.
 As soon as the news that he was going to support Tianqiong’s seventh squad broke out, it sent everyone buzzing.
 Everyone knew that the captain of the seventh squad, Song Qinglan, was a hoodlum and deeply homophobic.
 He not only relied on his super-powerful abilities to become the dark horse on the battlefield in less than two years, but he also hates it when those at the top forces a flower vase* into his squad.
 Sure enough, Song Qinglan announced in front of everyone, “Useful? Us brothers are going out there working ourselves to the bone, we don’t need a little genius who can only speedread quantum waves!”
 Later.
 The squad was forced into a dire situation during their mission.
 That beautiful little genius calmly continued, every gunfire hitting the mark, his fighting power peaking.
 Song Qinglan begged in front of everyone, “Adviser Ji, stay.”
 In the end, he added, “I’ll work myself to the bone for you.”
 *****
 Ji Yushi had a secret.
 He would often be awake at night, suffering from memory overload and recurring nightmares.
 There was only one thing that could let him fall asleep peacefully.
 And that was Song Qinglan.
 *Flower vase: Someone who only looks pretty but can’t amount to much
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 [Invincible Shuangwen] The end times 200 years later.
 Lin Xinghai obtained the system, ran rampant in the apocalypse, and crushed all enemies.
 Rolling is cool for a while, and rolling has been cool all the time.
 Ding! Gain blood power +1
 Ding! Gain Genetic Optimization +1%
 Ding! Gain firearms skill proficiency.
 PS: The creativity comes from the spirit cage.
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 Lin Li was reborn from the apocalypse. Facing the era of natural disasters, his choice was—— 
 Report to the country! 
 Use the power of the country to deal with the apocalypse!
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 Lin Xing has the ability to turn back time. 
 Whenever his life is in danger, he will go back to the past. 
 After falling to death, he returned to 5 seconds ago. 
 Being hit by a falling object, he returned to 1 minute ago. 
 After being hit by a dump truck, he returned to 20 minutes ago. 
 Suddenly one day...he found himself back a year ago.
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The Mech Touch

Chapter 9: Psst. Wanna buy a mech?

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The Mech Touch

Chapter 9: Psst. Wanna buy a mech?

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