"So we're actually doing this?" Gavin Neumann skeptically asked.

"Yes, we're actually doing this." Ves affirmed with a grin as he looked up at the results of his latest completed side project. "While most of our clan has been investing its energy on growing and expanding its combat capabilities, I have not forgotten about our commercial activities. The sales of my mechs continue to support our growing ambitions, but with the way our expansion is progressing, our income is gradually unable to keep up with our expenditures."

There were many mech pilots waiting to receive their own mechs. While Ves intended to limit this expansion because he did not want to add more useless sub-capital ships to the already-bloated expeditionary fleet, there were plenty of combat carriers that had yet to fill up their capacity.

The mech models that the Larkinson Clan adopted were all premium second-class mechs.

Suffice to say, they weren't cheap!

For example, the two main mech models that the Larkinsons intended to deploy on Trieden II were the Bright Warrior IB, which cost around 500 million hex credits per copy, and the Ferocious Piranha IB, which cost around 400 million hex credits per copy.

The Living Mech Corporation had to sell several hundred if not a thousand third-class mechs to fund the production of those expensive second-class mechs!

With over 20,000 mech pilots and counting, the Larkinson Clan had to spend an enormous sum of money in order to equip them all. This did not even take into account the more expensive specialized models such as the Eternal Redemption which cost a whopping 800 million hex credits per copy!

This was not the only major economic pressure that the clan had to cope with. Maintaining and supplying hundreds of ships, including several enormous capital ships the size of cities had become even more burdensome now that the Larkinsons had to feed the hungry Graveyard and the Dragon's Den.

Of course, with several empty capital ship slots, the Larkinsons were obliged to invest trillions of credits in acquiring new capital ships! Whether the Larkinsons ordered the construction of brand-new vessels or spent their money in the second-hand market, ships this size that were still space worthy were never cheap!

The surprisingly huge influx of personnel and assets from the Life Research Association and the Heavensword Association didn't help either. While Ves was very glad to see the clan double in size and strength in one go, such an explosive expansion also entailed and explosive growth in expenditures!

Even if Ves rarely checked up on the business side of the clan these days, he was well aware that the growth of the LMC had reached a plateau.

Aside from saturating the market with living mechs, the main cause of this was that the company had set up too many branches in too many star sectors as of late. Not enough time had passed for the LMC's local branches to develop a strong identity and sense of loyalty to the parent company. A lot more time had to pass before the dust settled down.

"I can't deny these mechs are effective, Ves, but…" Raymond Billingsley-Larkinson looked dubiously at the two latest products that the LMC was supposed to bring to market. "These are very different products from the ones we sold before."

Ves and a small group of influential Larkinsons had all gathered at one of the large storage compartments of the Spirit of Bentheim. They did so in order to view the two new mech models that were supposed to insert some vitality in the stagnant LMC and direct a lot of much-needed cash back into the clan coffers!

"It's strange to look at a mech designed by you that isn't designed to fight." Gavin commented. "This is a deviation from your usual style, do you know that? Previously, you were all serious and principled about sticking to the primary intent of mechs, which is to make war machines that are explicitly designed to fight."

What could Ves say to that? He merely shrugged. "Times have changed, Benny. Our circumstances have changed as well. Our clan has grown too quickly and we need more funding immediately. Rather than waiting for at least two entire design cycles to come up with a commercial mech design with high earning potential, it's easier and more convenient to design some variants of one of my existing designs."

"About that, boss, I still think you could have settled with publishing the original Sanctuary design. Our various departments have already prepared for an eventual launch and mass production of the new Sanctuary. While you initially designed it to counter glows, it performs the same functions as one of the variants here."

"You're not looking at this the right way. My original Sanctuary design is purely designed for combat. Whatever non-combat purpose it might be able to fulfill is secondary. That is not suitable for our current situation since the latter has become a lot more important than the former to the mech market."

As a mech designer, Ves couldn't stand his products being used outside of his original intention. A specific need should always be fulfilled by a product meant to address it whenever possible!

"I think the patriarch has made the right choices with regards to these new variants." Raymond waved his hand at the pure and holy white-coated variant and the warm and welcoming green-coated variant. "These Sanctuary variants are more long-lasting and more marketable to non-combat organizations. The latter is quite important as many hospitals and medical groups won't even consider the possibility of purchasing a war machine."

Repackaging the war-purposed Sanctuary into two 'peaceful' variants was mainly meant to encourage the market to treat them differently.

The ultimate goal of going through this trouble was quite ambitious.

Gavin finally couldn't hold it any longer. "Boss."

"Yes, Benny?" Ves curiously turned to his assistant.

"No offense, but I am growing more and more uncomfortable with the pricing strategy of these new Sanctuaries. There's a difference between earning honest pay and shameless profiteering. I know I sounded a bit more supportive in our previous meetings, but now that I look at them, I feel like we are crossing a very big ethical boundary. I won't deny the utility of its different glows, but…"

Ves looked annoyed. "I have already compromised on this issue twice. I originally planned to charge 200 million hex credits for a copy of one of these variants, but you guys managed to convince me to pare it down to 100 million hex credits. When that also proved to be too controversial, I agreed to lower it to 50 million hex credits. What do you want now that I have made these concessions? Do you want to lower the price to 25 million hex credits? Our clansmen will soon begin to starve if we sell our mechs that cheap!"

Both Gavin and Raymond looked at Ves with dubious expressions.

25 million hex credits might not sound like much for a second-class mech, but the problem was that the new treatment editions of the Sanctuary product line cost a total of 3 million hex credits to produce!

This was actually a million hex credits more expensive than the base model. Ves had generously allocated extra money to incorporate more durable components, more long-lasting systems and additional cosmetic finishes.

What was important to note was that the so-called treatment edition mechs were still fully combat capable! Though they were too weak and fragile to take part in second-class mech battles, there shouldn't be too many problems for them to participate in third-class battles!

The main complication was that Ves had to limit their glows for safety reasons.

"Have you tested whether the five-minute interval is both practical and safe enough to make these Sanctuary variants usable?"

The five-minute interval referred to the times when the glows of all of the treatment editions were active. In order to prevent the glows from being misused or generating too much addiction, Ves artificially limited the time they remained active.

The rule was very simple. The glows stayed online five standard minutes before switching off for five standard minutes. After that, it switched back on for the same period of time.

Though Ves had initially experimented with more complicated timings, he felt it was simpler and more user-friendly for everyone if he stuck to a single, consistent time interval.

"Tests conducted with the prototypes show no major issues." Raymond steadily responded. "It's not really a comfortable middle-ground, though. Any shorter and no one ever enjoys the glow long enough to feel satisfied. Any longer, and the delays grow too annoying. Five minutes is just barely satisfying and the rest interval is short enough that people can still grow addicted if they insist on staying within range."

The COO of the LMC directed a lot of attention to this matter. Risk assessment conducted by the company showed that there was great potential that these new treatment editions could spark a lot of controversy that could muddy the brand reputation of the company.

What was even more dangerous was that the new Sanctuaries could even make Ves and the LMC liable to any serious injuries or other forms of damage that the new glows could cause!

Even though the glows of the so-called Tranquility and Healing variants were purely meant to be benign, everything turned into poison once they exceeded specific limits.

This was a very new and untested business direction for the LMC. While the Larkinsons possessed extensive knowledge and expertise on mechs, entering the alternative treatment industry was like stepping onto a new continent!

The small group of Larkinsons test drove the new glows. They spent five minutes under the influence of the Tranquility variant before waiting five minutes so that they could briefly enjoy the Healing variant.

"Ahhh.." The oldest among them sighed in relief. "That feels good. It's like I've reversed my age by a few decades."

Ves snorted. "You aren't that old by today's standards. You might belong to the same generation as my grandfather, but you have access to a lot of new treatments now that we took on a lot of clever Lifers. Not even age-prolonging treatment is out of your reach nowadays."

Raymond sighed. "I am quite aware of that."

"You sound hesitant."

"I am not. My grandson will be happy to see me around a few more decades longer, that is for sure. It's just… unnatural. Do you know how much time I have spent on contemplating my own mortality? I have lived through a nearly-complete life cycle. I have outlived many Larkinsons who are much more deserving than me but died on the battlefield or all kinds of other causes. I have passed on my bloodline and even see one of my greatest grandsons become a hero. I would not feel sorry if I hung up my cap and went to sleep forever."

Ves narrowed his eyes at Raymond. Did his brief session with the Tranquility and Healing put the elder Larkinson into a suicidal mood or something? He did not want Raymond to go too soon! Even if the old man was no longer the best choice to effectively lead the LMC, he was still a familiar relative who was worthy of trust.

"Don't retire too soon. There is still much more work to be done. For example, is our company ready to bring these new variants to market within the month?"

Raymond slowly nodded. "It will be tight. We have a large number of branches in multiple different star sectors. Every local market and every different locale has different customs and laws, so I cannot guarantee that the Sanctuary variants will be available everywhere we can reach. We might need a couple more months to introduce them to the more difficult and less accessible markets."

Ves dismissively waved his hand. "That's not a big problem. Right now, we need to prioritize earning money quickly. I don't want this to be a problem until we have successfully reached the Red Ocean. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal, sir."