[201-400] THE MECH'S TOUCH

Chapter 335: Underground Complex

Ves continued to pick Jake's brain as they entered through the gates and boarded an elevator. The device slowly brought Ves, Jake and Melkor and some guards down into the depths of the tunnel that the construction companies dug out only a couple of months ago.

"What about the Mech Corps?" Ves asked. "Occasionally, they license designs from external mech designers. They don't completely rely on models their research and development teams came up on their own."

"That's a complicated matter. Only exceptional designs fall under their consideration. As much as your Blackbeak has impressed the market, it is still a design that's below their consideration."

As much as Ves believed in his own design, he had to admit that his work paled in comparison to those designed by an entire team of professionals. A Senior Mech Designer helmed each design team under the employ of the Mech Corps.

Such a high number of capable mech designers would always be able to surpass the work of a single Apprentice Mech Designer.

He sighed. "I shouldn't get my hopes up then."

Ves was not so full of himself that he believed he could surpass the collective efforts of these all-star teams. Every member of a core design team boasted impressive track records. They made Michael Dumont look like the school dunce.

They mostly consisted of older mech designers as well. It was generally believed you had to be in your late thirties to be an asset to the team. This meant that the backbone almost always consisted of established Journeyman Mech Designers, each of whom possessed their own unique talents.

The elevator descended fairly quickly. Several kilometers passed by in a single minute, but the inertial dampeners built into the elevator ensured a smooth ride for every passenger.

It stopped once it reached the first underground floor. As they exited it, Ves beheld a huge but largely hollow corridor. Several huge alloy hatches led to other hollow chambers.

"This is the warehouse floor where the manufacturing complex will store the majority of their goods. It's placed in the upper-most floor to facilitate the movement of raw materials and end products."

Ves nodded at that. Some believed that the goods should be stored in the lowest floor, but Ves thought this made more sense. It would take a lot of hassle to ship the goods several more kilometers underground.

Once they looked around the empty chambers for a while, Jake led Ves to the floors underneath. Each single floor had been separated by many stretches of soil in order to isolate each of them in case of an enemy breach. While this added to the cost, the extra safety was worth the added effort.

"I don't remember any of this in the original plan. How much extra will it cost to setup a secure underground complex?"

"The total cost has increased from 500 million credits to 1.5 billion credits. The extra money is mostly spent on extra space and strengthening the tunnels. Not everyone in the board agreed to the price increase, but your grandfather is adamant about turning your little fief into castle."

Again, his grandfather played a crucial role in enacting a change within his company. At least this time Ves agreed with the decision. The company sat on a growing pile of cash. They might as well invest some of it on their manufacturing complex, which would serve as their crown jewel and the seat of the LMC.

Ves reminded himself that he needed to have a good talk with his grandfather anyway.

Over the next couple of hours, Jake led him down the elevator and showed him the other underground floors that needed to be filled up with furnishings and equipment.