The Mech Touch

Part of the charm of smart metal systems was their ability to change their shapes and adopt new forms on the fly. They enabled smart metal mechs to turn into a myriad of different shapes and forms that were precisely chosen to counter a specific opponent or cope with a challenging situation.

This was also the driving reason why Ves and Gloriana both agreed to add an expensive smart armor system to the C-Man's design. It was a good match for Vincent's expert mech as the extra flexibility and versatility substantially increased the practicality and combat effectiveness of a brawler mech.

Yet by focusing so much on the combat applications of TESMAS, the mech designers overlooked a crucial factor.

They could not imagine that Vincent would take the initiative to alter the exquisite, masculine visual design that Gloriana and Sara Voiken had carefully developed for the C-Man and substitute it with his own design!

Under ordinary circumstances, It was unthinkable for mech designers to imagine that a mech pilot would be arrogant to do their jobs. People like Ves and Gloriana had studied for many years and worked with mechs and technology at levels that were completely incomprehensible to ordinary people.

Mech designers therefore developed an assumption that those who weren't technically inclined would just passively accept a mech as is once it fell into their hands.

Normally, those who received a mech wouldn't dare to make any changes themselves. At best, they might ask a crew of mech technicians or other sources of technical support to make thoughtful and logical modifications to an existing design.

No one expected Vincent to just go ahead and hijack control over the C-Man's TESMAS just so that he could alter their default external contours!

Although Vincent did not possess the technical skills to make these changes by himself, he was still able to manage it by relying on his living mech.

As such, the C-Man slimmed down in certain areas and gained bulk in other areas. The proportions of the expert mech no longer matched Vincent's actual athletic physique as closely as before.

Instead, the C-Man took on an appearance that became increasingly larger than life. It detached itself from the idea of trying to emulate reality and went on to embrace an impossible ideal!

The results spoke for themselves. The C-Man took its masculinity to another level, not just by featuring arm, chest and abdomen muscles that were considerably more exaggerated than before, but also by completely reengineering its codpiece!

The previous codpiece design was an artful compromise between practicality and appearance. Gloriana had tried her best to achieve a balance between Vincent's psychological needs and the practical value of adding an extra layer of armor at the lower midsection of a mech.

The new design almost completely blew out the latter consideration and fully attempted to satisfy the expert pilot's vain desires!

As the Larkinsons and the people tuning in to the public broadcast beheld the transformation, a lot of them grew speechless.

Vincent had clearly done his research on codpieces. The T-shaped codpiece deliberately adopted an angular, blocky shape that made the 'stem' look like an ordinary mechanical component as opposed to a… fleshy organ.

Another design quirk that Vincent had adopted was to make the codpiece protrude forward to an extent while also pointing its stem straight downwards. This gave the codpiece the illusion that it was a narrow protective skirt that was designed to block attacks from striking the middle of the lower waist section.

However, it only took a little imagination for people to figure out the symbolism of this codpiece.

This was especially after the mech just completed a visual transformation that made it look a lot manlier than usual!

As expected, the change that was broadcasted live to many people living in Davute and beyond triggered a lot of reactions!

"What is this expert pilot doing?!"

"How vain can the guy in the cockpit be to make such a long crotch section?"

"This is obscene! How dare the Larkinson Clan soil my children's eyes! It is a disgrace to sexualize mechs!"

Though Vincent undoubtedly triggered a storm of controversy through his actions, he also attracted a lot of positive reactions as well!

"Wow! The Larkinsons are the only ones who know how to design mechs with personality in Davute. There's none of that boring and minimalistic design styles in their mech catalog. They truly know how to make their mechs look good!"

"This is what the mech market has been missing all this time. Why the hell aren't mech companies developing more masculine mechs? I would feel twice as strong and confident if I piloted a mech that looks as great as this expert mech!"

"The Larkinsons already enjoy a history of designing hyperfeminine mechs like the Valkyrie Redeemer. It is high time for them to cater to real men like us. Women shouldn't be the only ones who get to enjoy mechs that validate their existence."

The viewership pattern swung wildly in the following minutes. Certainly, hundreds of thousands of people had closed their feeds, but as word of mouth quickly spread among the regional mech community and beyond, more people began to tune in to the live broadcast on the Larkinson Clan's official virtual portal.

Over 5 million people and counting had joined the audience!

The cost to pause or end the broadcast became a lot higher as a result. No matter the reason why they decided to tune in, the Larkinsons would profoundly damage their reputation and disappoint a lot of existing and future customers if they decided to stop the show in advance.

"Proceed with the testing session. Tell Vincent to stay on track this time."

Though Venerable Vincent received a bunch of instructions, he did not pay much attention to them. From the moment he and his expert mech appeared in front of a public broadcast, he had already entered a different state of mind.

He brought out his sense of showmanship and completely gave in to the urge to show off in front of a rising crowd!

Though he wasn't able to see his audience or gain access to any channels that allowed him to hear their praises, he could feel the adoration that he no doubt evoked by looking so incredibly manly.

His grin widened as his confidence rose even further.

His satisfaction became so strong that his emotional bond with the C-Man became even stronger.

In turn, the C-Man also responded well to Vincent's increasing joy and appreciation for its new appearance.

The two became so in tune with each other that neither of them needed to put any effort to generate true resonance.

The bright and rippling golden corona around the expert mech grew even brighter, causing the C-Man to look as if it was a god that had descended onto the mortal plain!

This generated a ripple effect among the growing audience as more and more people admired the power and vibe it exuded.

While there were many expert mechs that were even stronger and more imposing in battle, few of them could make an impression as profound and heroic as that of the C-Man.

"It's finally moving!"

As Vincent's control and harmonization with his expert mech reached a new height, he became more eager and determined to stage the show of his lifetime.

He would not be able to do justice to his fantastic new expert mech if he was unable to show that the C-Man was far more than just a pretty display model.

"C'mon, buddy! Let us show all of those people what we are truly capable of. Looking handsome is just one of our superpowers!"

The expert mech proceeded to move to the elaborate obstacle course. It was not an ordinary course, but one that the Larkinsons had expanded and fortified in order to better test and showcase the C-Man's land and aerial mobility!

Once it reached the starting line, the mech dramatically bent down as if it was about to participate in a race.

A few seconds later, it leapt forward and raced along the middle path with great power!

Despite its bulk, the C-Man possessed a lot of strength which allowed it to sprint forward with great momentum!

As the expert mech started to take turns and overcome numerous obstacles in its path, it showed that while it was unable to shift its forward momentum as easily as lighter mechs, it was still able to navigate complex environments at good speeds by relying on its excellent control.

Once the expert mech stumbled upon a trickier environment that simulated a collapsed urban battlefield, it began to showcase its morphing powers by using the power of TESMAS to alter its shape to squeeze through tighter openings.

As the environment became more vertical, the C-Man also started to leap across gaps and utilize its flight system to rapidly climb upwards.

The C-Man stopped once it reached the end of the obstacle course. Although it had not shown off the extent of its formidable mobility, the performance it revealed so far thoroughly impressed much of the audience, particularly those who understood mechs on a technical level.

"I didn't think this expert mech would be so agile on the move."

"It has struck a good balance between mass and maneuverability."

"The pilot is able to exert an impressive degree of control over its precise movements."

"How is it able to move so quickly and nimbly without tripping on its own codpiece?"

As the audience admired how powerful and smoothly the C-Man ran through the obstacle course, Vincent already focused his attention to what came next.

The previous run was just a warm-up routine for him and his expert mech. They had quickly familiarized themselves with each other and fine-tuned their cooperation in the past few minutes.

Now that they gained an even deeper understanding of each other, they fully looked forward to testing their mettle in battle!

"I'm ready!" Vincent roared! "Give me something to smash! These fists of mine are built to dish out punishment!"

The testing ground soon replied by unveiling hundreds of drones and battle bots.

While the quality and power of these automated combat machines were not that impressive, their power and threat was not inferior to actual mechs.

The Larkinsons invested a lot of money to acquire this batch of machines, solely for the purpose of giving the C-Man a stage to showcase its prowess against hordes of regular opponents!

Vincent and his expert mech's eagerness grew so much at the sight that the C-Man seemed to glow even brighter!

The battle-hungry expert mech theatrically smashed its fists against each other as the opposition started to utilize its arsenal of rifles to take potshots at the C-Man.

Naturally, these attacks completely failed to damage the expert brawler mech in the slightest even though it had not bothered to activate its resonance shield.

"Hahaha! That tickles! Let me return the favor and show you how a real man fights!"

The C-Man jumped off the ledge and dove in with a fist that glowed and thrummed with power!

BOOM!

Over a dozen nearby battle bots fell apart as the C-Man's resonance-empowered punch produced a powerful, kinetic explosion at the impact site!

The closest machines had crumpled or fallen apart while the more distant ones affected by the opening attack had lost their balance.

This was just the beginning!

As half of the battle bots started to concentrate their firepower at the expert mech while the other half pulled out their melee weapons and attempted to mob the C-Man from every direction, Vincent completely disregarded their threat and began to wail into every opposing machine in his way!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Even without empowering the C-Man's arms with true resonance, the physical might the expert mech was able to exert was more than enough to crumple any regular mech or equivalent machine!

In just a short amount of time, the C-Man completely conquered the hearts of many observers by showcasing its awe-inspiring physical prowess and its ability to shrug off incoming attacks with no apparent concern for its integrity!

"Look at those bots getting dismantled in quick succession. They might as well be made out of wood seeing how little they can actually stop the new expert mech."

"This is a real man's mech! There is none of that nonsense about wielding rifles in its design. It's all about getting up close and personal with this melee mech."

"Throwing this expert mech in the middle of a mech army is like putting in a wolf among sheep. There is no way that any ordinary mech unit can survive an encounter with this punching machine!"