The atmosphere in the Prosperous Hill System changed considerably over the last three days!

While Ves had been isolating himself in the workshop in order to prepare his mechs for the next phase of matches, the citizens of the Life Research Association vented their feelings in public.

The state's proud biomech industry, and by extension its entire biotech sector, was under attack!

"How can a foreign mech designer who is younger and less experienced than Frederico Navarro gain the upper hand? It's impossible!"

"Don't worry just yet. Biomechs are a lot better at picking themselves up. I bet that Navarro's biomechs will be completely healed by the time they step into the arena! That Larkinson fellow will weep at the sight!"

"What if we lose? The reputation of our strongest industry will tank! No one will think highly of our products anymore!"

"It's all the fault of the radicals! Whoever publicized this dumb design duel should be fired! No, they should be shot!"

Tongues wagged both at the grassroots level and the higher levels. While the design duel was less acute in other star systems, Prosperous Hill was at the heart of the vortex. No matter how much the locals tried to ignore the issue, they simply couldn't get around the discussion of what might happen in the future.

In truth, many people weren't as deluded and caught up in upbeat delusions as everyone thought. There were plenty of folk who observed various shortcomings and deficiencies in how the LRA was run.

Despite investing massively in biomechs, they failed to gain ground in the rest of the star sector.

The rest of the biotech industry fared a lot better. The exobeast industry, beast design industry, pharmaceutical industry, augmentation industry and so on all achieved good results. They were not only progressing further ahead than the industries of other states, but also brought in a lot of revenue!

In contrast, the biomech industry failed to become a comparable expert activity. The only foreigners who bought biomechs to begin with were either diehard fans or curious customers. Too few mech buyers were persuaded on the merits of biomechs over classical mechs.

Now, instead of proving the opposite, the design duel seemed to vindicate the widespread skepticism towards biomechs!

"The tally is 3-2 in the favor of the foreigner. How can this be? Even if the score is tied, we would still lose out in the end because that just shows our biomechs aren't worth the trouble! Why are our biomech designers so useless!"

"Maybe the radicals have a point. We've been muddling along for several centuries in the same direction and it hasn't worked out. If we want to turn Majestic Teal into a paradise for biomechs, we need to go on the attack!"

While it sounded ridiculous to use the results of a single random design duel to gauge the strength of the LRA's biomech industry, many people didn't know any better!

They weren't scientists nor statisticians. They didn't understand the fallacy of making bold conclusions out of a single sample. They just looked at a single instance where a classical mech designer squared off against a biomech designer and instantly concluded the entire biomech industry was doomed!

With unknown powers manipulating public opinion in various different directions, the Lifers had become more divisive over the issue!

Some wanted to do anything the Supreme Sage told them to. They possessed a slavish devotion to the greater Lifer in their midst.

Others bought into the narrative of the radicals and other deviant factions who advocated for change.

There were more groups of people who developed all kinds of thoughts. Whether they were correct or not, the heated tone of the debate caused everyone's attitudes to harden!

For example, the recruiting hall that the Larkinson Clan had rented downtown had suddenly turned into the site of a rapidly-growing protest!

Beetle eggs splattered against the energy screen that had been installed before the entrance of the hall. The fragile, disposable eggs broke upon impact and spread out lots of foul-smelling slime and other bits best left undescribed.

"LARKINSONS GO HOME!" Someone yelled while projecting a virtual banner that stated the exact same words. "WE DON'T WANT YOUR TRASH CAN MECHS!"

"Expel the foreigners! Don't let anyone who doesn't use biomechs!"

"You better not win or there will be hell to pay!"

The protesters were fairly harmless. No one carried any weapons and even if they did, the security measures were robust enough to withstand any attack that didn't involve mechs.

Regardless, the demonstration had become far too disruptive. A lot of prospective recruits decided to turn around as soon as they noticed the angry crowd parked in front of the recruiting hall.

The Larkinson Clan was forced to abandon the original recruitment hall and rent a more inaccessible site that was situated higher up the tree buildings. With the relatively strict traffic rules, it was impossible for protestors to approach a building from mid-air and linger for a long period of time. It was simply too hazardous to let them mill around at an altitude.

Still, the relocation and deteriorating public opinion disrupted a lot of arrangements. The Larkinson Clan succeeded in recruiting tens of thousands of eager recruits in the past few weeks, but it still suffered a shortfall in many different positions.

Many other transactions experienced disruptions as well due to the spreading discontent in Prosperous Hill.

Even though the planet depended heavily on acting as a nexus of foreign trade, the locals became increasingly more hostile towards foreigners who were responsible for injecting lots of wealth into their economy!

When Ves stepped onto a balcony at one of the tall tree structures that made up Ruuzon Arena, he looked across Veoline and felt the nervous undercurrent running throughout the entire city.

The people were restless. Traffic had lessened but there were significantly more people on the streets. More mechs were visible as the demand for armed escorts increased. Although no one had crossed the line and opened fire on someone, that was only because the planet was too well-regulated.

Yet the authorities were very reluctant to tighten the rules even further. They were keenly aware that humans could only tolerate so much control over their lives.

Besides, there were plenty of factions who wanted to give ordinary people the room to voice their discontent.

"It's all building up to something." Ves whispered his guess. "No one riles up so many people for nothing. The radicals and combinants don't seem like the types who make so many moves in order to achieve a minor shift. There's a greater goal in mind."

"Are you suggesting that the opposition is seeking to depose the conservatives from power?" Captain Reina Ember looked increasingly more concerned.

"You're the Lifer here. What do you think?"

"We've been out of touch for several decades." The Xona Stalker depreciating said. "My fellow comrades and I all tried to cling onto our identity as Lifers, but now that we have returned to our original home, we suddenly feel out of place. Life here is too mundane. The amount of people I've met who come across as spoiled and entitled beggars belief. These whiners won't last a single day in the Nyxian Gap!"

Ves understood the former pirate's sentiment. He spent enough time in lawless space to know that the veneer of civilization was a lot thinner than everyone thought. The LRA may have been peaceful for a long period of time, but that meant that various grievances and causes never had a chance to vent.

Instead, all of these underlying issues continued to bottle up until the pressure reached a point where the entire container might be on the verge of exploding!

"Calabast promised to investigate the details surrounding Master Leehay Brixton. Have you gathered any useful news?"

"Ah, we've gathered plenty of material. The notes should be in the data packet that you have just received."

Ves manipulated his implant until he found the relevant documents. Every Master Mech Designer generated lots of news, and Master Brixton was no different.

In fact, his actions came under a greater spotlight due to his contrarian opinions! As a prominent cyborg mech designer who had clashed against the conservative faction throughout his long and storied career, a lot of people kept an eye on his movements.

Master Brixton turned out to be an avid researcher and more interested in pushing the boundaries of cyborg mechs rather than maximizing his sales.

Cyborg mechs were niche products in the LRA so they weren't as popular as traditional biomechs.

Still, a Master was still an excellent mech designer, and the mechs designed by Master Brixton still sold at fantastic prices.

Although his career was long and eventful, Ves didn't notice anything that stood out from the Master's record.

The older man's teaching record was a bit more interesting. The man adopted six personal disciples, of which one had died.

The youngest personal disciple immediately caught Ves' attention. The newest mech designer who received Master Brixton's inheritance was a 45 year old Journeyman who also worked with cyborg mechs.

Master Brixton's latest pupil advanced to his current position when he was 37 years old, which was not an exceptional result but still sufficient enough to enjoy a bright future.

Yet there were a few details that put this cyborg mech designer in a different light.

"Doctor Leonardo Brixton is Master Leehay Brixton's great-grandson." Ves stated.

"That's correct. While the relationship between the two isn't described in public, our sources have gathered several rumors that suggest it isn't as cordial as it seems in public."

"Great."

Ves had a hunch that Leonardo was in fact the person that Master Brixton intended to dump onto Ves' lap. It made too much sense. If Leonardo wasn't the Master's relative, then it would have been easy enough to kick the disciple onto the streets. Yet because of their familial relationship, it was important to project harmony to the public. No one wanted to air their dirty laundry in public.

In this regard, passing a problematic descendant onto the Larkinson Clan was a good way to get rid of someone troublesome!

The Red Ocean held a lot of attraction to ambitious young people, so it would be easy to excuse Leonardo's departure as a willingness to seek the unknown and work towards his own future.

This way, the reputation of everyone involved would remain intact even if both sides hated each other's guts!

Ves let out a sigh in relief. Lack of information always discomfited him. Now that he became aware of Leonardo's existence and potential entry into the Larkinson Clan, he could plan ahead.

"Good work, but I need more information. Please dig into Doctor Leonardo Brixton's details and try to find what is going on behind the scenes. Since he is a relative of a Master, there should definitely be something concerning about him if he wasn't welcome anymore."

"We are already in the process of doing so, sir, but we are dealing with limited access. There is only so much information that we can gather from public records and asking our relatives."

"Well, get used to it, because you'll encounter these situations plenty of times."

Ves studied Dr. Leonardo Brixton's record one last time. Even though the information surrounding him was rather sparse on details, the man was still an accomplished Journeyman!

In fact, Leonardo was probably stronger than Dr. Navarro due to his age!

That gave Ves some headaches as well. If Leonardo ever joined the Larkinsons, then the Design Department would likely welcome an older and more experienced mech designer.

Unless Ves resorted to harsher methods, it wouldn't be easy to earn the possible addition's respect!

Leonardo's work also didn't fit in with the rest of the clan. Biomechs demanded an entirely different infrastructure to grow. This infrastructure would definitely be lacking in the Larkinson Clan!

"Then again.. The Dragon's Den might solve this issue to an extent."

The bioresearch vessel that the Larkinsons were looking to acquire also featured enough growth facilities to produce biomechs!