The Mech Touch

After considering the three biotech-related enlightenment fruits, Ves eventually chose to take a risk.

"The Mission is about designing a good biomech in my first attempt. From the way it is set up, I can earn more AP if I deliver a better product, but it will be difficult for me to gain a high evaluation for my very first try. If I can only get a passing grade at best, then I should make sure I don't commit too many Ascension Points to this venture. It's not worthwhile to go through all of this effort only to net a dozen AP in the end."

Ves had to remind himself that the calm and tranquility of the System Space was but a false illusion.

A Sword of Damocles that was already in motion awaited him back in reality.

As soon as he exited this illusionary space, he would immediately have to bring out a solution that could stop the falling sword from chopping through his neck!

"I can't allow myself to forget about the gravity of the situation back in reality. Earning more AP doesn't necessarily guarantee a way out for me, but having more spending power at my disposal will definitely raise my chances of success."

1000 Ascension Points wasn't enough for him to gain confidence in a solution.

He would feel a lot better about his situation if he had at least 1500 Ascension Points at his disposal, but it would be even better if he could accumulate 2000 Ascension Points.

"Let's start small and see how I should go from here." Ves decided.

Just before he bought the enlightenment fruit, he hesitated for a moment.

He did not forget about his earlier resolve to maintain his distance from biotechnology.

A part of him thought that branching out into biomechs would enrich his work all that much. He was already doing more than fine with conventional mechs. Messing too much with organic mechs might distort his design philosophy if he became too obsessed with this latest distraction.

Another part of him was afraid of what he might create. His work always produced weird interactions with organic constructs. Ves only had to look at the Titan-5 Project to see that making biomechs alive might not always be the best idea!

Although his conventional living mechs were able to gain a certain degree of autonomy over their own mechanical frames, they were much more limited in the end.

Conventional mechs were deliberately designed to function with human controllers at their core.

It took a considerable amount of changes to convert them into autonomous battle bots.

The same couldn't be said for biomechs. From what he understood, they were designed and grown into complete organic life forms. They even possessed their own 'brains' because the biomachine simply couldn't function without an organic control interface that precisely regulated all of the complicated biological processes.

There was no other way to sustain and control such a complicated living system!

From his work with the Titan-5 Project, Ves found out that even if everyone tried their best to limit and neuter its autonomy and control, the living personality would find a way to twist the biology and gain control somehow!

"If the side effects of an organic mounted wargear loadout are already this bad, how much worse will it be if I design an actual living biomech?"

The possible outcomes were so terrifying that even his intuition felt the need to give him a warning!

He needed to be exceedingly careful about what kind of biomech he brought to life in the future!

Ves eventually shook his head. "This shouldn't be a reason for me to reject this course of action."

He acknowledged the dangers, but contextualized it as a discipline problem. He already had a good idea on why the Titan-5 Project's living personality turned into such a feral monster.

"I can learn from my mistakes."

As long as he clamped down on his impulses and strictly limited his work to basic and proven implementations, his biomechs shouldn't turn into monsters like his Titan-5 Project.

​ He no longer hesitated and plucked his chosen enlightenment fruit.

[Blood Cult Scarlet Oak Tree Growth Manual]

Price: 30 Ascension Points

Imparts a complete manual on how to develop, grow and care for special oak trees according to the methods of the Blood Cult. Scarlet Oak Trees can produce blood of different species with remarkable properties depending on their bioprogramming and the nutrients they absorb when in use.

Requirements: Intelligence must be 1.3 or higher. Spirituality must be 1.5 or higher.

In the end, he went for the most cost-effective choice. The Blood Cult Scarlet Oak Tree Growth Manual enlightenment fruit was too much of a bargain in his eyes.

It offered both short-term and long-term benefits. Though the enlightenment fruit undoubtedly had ties to the dreaded Five Scrolls Compact, at least it was still based on human knowledge.

The other two enlightenment fruits brought their own benefits, but Ves was afraid that he would need to spend too much time and effort on reconciling alien and human technology.

"Let's hope this enlightenment fruit doesn't go too deep into whacky mysticism."

Ves ate the fruit in an instant after sitting down at a nearby bench.

As usual, the bites soon dissolved into energy and began to rush towards his brain as if it was a powerful stimulant!

Ves closed his eyes and did his best to absorb the influx of knowledge.

It was easier than last time. The quantity of knowledge was not as great as the previous two fruits he had eaten, but it was not barebones either.

A part of him was disappointed that he didn't gain too much this time, but the lack of pressure made it easier for him to digest all of the knowledge that he had gained.

A modest smile appeared on his face.

"I was right!"

The enlightenment fruit not only taught him more about the so-called Scarlet Oak Trees than he ever wanted, but also provided him a 'starter pack' of some sorts of the more basic branches of biotechnology!

The latter served as a basic foundation for anyone with no systematic background in biotechnology to understand the science of Scarlet Oak Trees.

If an individual who was already proficient in biotechnology in biotechnology ingested this enlightenment fruit, then the starter pack would only serve as a quick refresher course.

Director Ranya Wodin who specialized in the study and application of exoplants would not gain much out of it, but Ves was completely different!

Ves quickly tried to parse and organize the basic and advanced understanding that he had gained from the enlightenment fruit.

"I can call myself a biotech expert now. I only need to undergo an examination before I can get an official certificate from a relevant trade association."

Of course, no one would take him seriously unless he obtained a credible diploma from a university.

It would be easy enough for Ves to 'attend' a virtual university that was nothing more than a diploma mill in practice. After a semester or two, he could complete his exams and obtain a brand-new diploma that would make it a little more believable that he could work with flesh as well as metal.

Ves had no intentions of doing so, though. It was a pointless endeavor and his existing reputation should already be good enough to prevent people from doubting his biomechs.

He was much more interested in understanding his new capabilities. He took a few more minutes to make sense of what he had gained.

First, he obtained a basic but solid entry into biotechnology. It was the equivalent of studying four years at a decent biotech university.

"It's nothing impressive, but the wealth of systematic understanding has given me a good understanding of this broad field."

The System would probably classify his newfound Biotechnology Skill at the level of a Novice.

This did not sound that impressive, but it was a proper start that was far more preferable to spending a year or two on self-study in a completely different branch of science!

Second, he also gained a bit more specialized knowledge related to plant life.

"I never imagined that I would become familiar with dendrology."

He did not become an expert in this field, but he at least learned all of the essentials needed to understand what made Scarlet Oak Trees special compared to other tree organisms.

Third, Ves even got started on genetics and genetic modification!

Again, what he learned was nothing impressive. It was enough for him to apply for a job as a junior lab assistant at a genetics company.

He mainly needed this knowledge in order to enable him to develop new Scarlet Oak Trees that produced different kinds of blood.

Ves understood now that Scarlet Oak Trees weren't purely made out of plant cells. They incorporated the genes of other organic life forms such as humans and aliens. How else would the trees be able to produce the right type of blood?

When Ves tried to figure out why the Blood Cult bothered with these trees in the first place, he obtained several clear answers.

His expression grew weird as his own understanding of life allowed him to poke through the superstition.

If anyone wanted to, they could cultivate artificial blood by relying on proven machines that were readily available on the market.

However, these machines that were capable of mass-producing blood of many different species known to humanity possessed a major shortcoming that rendered their output useless.

"The blood produced by these cold machines doesn't contain any life."

As one of the most essential fluids for many organic life forms, they acquired additional properties when flowing through actual bodies.

The more remarkable the life form, the more remarkable the blood!

The blood of an average human possessed decent value, but the blood of a more remarkable individual such as Ves or an expert pilot possessed much more latent power!

Ves couldn't imagine what more the right people could do with the blood of an ace pilot!

"Let alone human blood, alien blood is also useful!"

Extremely powerful alien organisms such as phase whales were truly filled with treasures!

Ves couldn't imagine what a knowledgeable organization like this Blood Cult could do if it managed to obtain the lifeblood of a powerful phase whale!

Even Ves started to come up with ideas on how he could make practical use of this surprisingly valuable resource!

"Those blood rituals that I used to scoff at weren't so useless after all. There is real value in dripping blood onto a newly forged sword or a recently fabricated mech!"

Lifeblood could serve as an excellent carrier of spirituality, especially after undergoing a bit of processing.

The Blood Cult might not be good at everything, but if there was one area this group was good at, it was the study and application of blood!

In particular, the Blood Cult was obsessed with tapping the extraordinary potential of blood!

Its demand for blood was extremely high, but there was a huge problem concerning supply.

Scarlet Oak Trees were just one of the many sources of blood for the cult.

The blood produced by these trees were considered inferior compared to the blood spilled from real individuals, but the advantages were plenty.

Fully mature trees were able to produce blood at an industrial scale as long as they were fed with enough nutrients.

They were robust and did not die after getting drained.

They were easy to grow and maintain.

Scarlet Oak Trees became the preferred source of mass-produced blood!

Ves grew incredibly intrigued at what these trees could add to his clan.

The knowledge he gained and the possibilities they opened up had given him a possible inkling on how he could achieve a breakthrough on his stalled Spirit Fruit Project!

"I never knew that blood was so versatile!"

The forbidden knowledge in his mind had opened his eyes to the potential of blood as a resource.

"Some types of blood can even rival phasewater in terms of value!"

When the knowledge of the Blood Cult merged with his existing knowledge base, he became captivated by so many new ideas.

"There might be a way to produce a man-made P-stone."

"There might be a way to form a blood bond between a mech and its pilot."

"I may be able to enhance the properties of a totem by combining it with blood."

"I can even figure out a way to accelerate my growth by absorbing the energy contained in the blood of powerful life forms!"