The optimization of Big Ugly was far from as simple as imagined.
After gradual optimization and design work, Lucas Reeve gradually realized how unreliable his initial vision had been.
Although...
Influenced by various novels and anime, Lucas Reeve had a great fondness for these cool, humanoid mechs.
However, theory is theory. When it actually came to designing related mechs, Lucas Reeve discovered that these humanoid mechs were inherently a soft sci-fi concept. Even if they could be realized, they were not practical and had little combat value... at most, they could serve as cool-looking decorations.
Generally speaking.
A strategic weapon needs to consider several issues.
Power... stealth... and being small enough while ensuring power.
And a humanoid mech that was dozens of meters tall, even if made entirely of D32 Steel, would have numerous weaknesses.
Moreover, putting something like that on a battlefield would be no different from a sitting duck. A few rounds of artillery fire, and even if the D32 Steel could withstand it, the mech's internal structure might not.
Besides.
No matter how impressive a machine is in reality, as long as it's big enough, there's one point that's almost impossible to solve: mobility... inertia...
The idea of a ten-meter-tall robot in an anime being more agile than a human, even capable of doing a backflip, a high kick, or some Wing Chun, was just too absurd.
Lucas Reeve had been pondering this problem for some time.
In the end, he and Zumama decided to temporarily abandon the design plan for a large-scale mech.
They opted for a small, pilotable mech of four to five meters. This type of small mech had an advantage: because it wasn't very large, it required fewer materials and cost less. And because its own weight was significantly reduced.
The pressure on the mech's joints was gradually decreased, and its flexibility was significantly improved. Compared to power armor, this type of mech was more like a war machine. Although it was only five meters tall, the amount of bullets and shells it could store inside was substantial.
It could be used as a fire suppression war tool.
However.
A complete, fully functional military mech that could truly be deployed on the battlefield, from design to manufacturing, could not have any mistakes. The time required for just Lucas Reeve and Zumama to build one would be measured in years, so there was no rush.
Although the [Eunectes Tribe] had gone through a wave of enthusiasm for studying mechanics and strengthening the tribe a few days ago, many people chose to put down their books and continue their primitive lifestyle. But some of the younger ones persisted, and Zumama's daily tasks now included teaching these villagers arithmetic and literacy.
And as a Chieftain, she couldn't be idle every day.
From small family disputes to the big problem of a sow having a difficult birth, or helping to name a newborn baby in someone's family.
And the Prayer Power on Lucas Reeve's side had gradually stabilized. After harvesting the last wave, his total Prayer Power reached 310,000, and the weekly amount would now be stable at around 10,000. And as time went on, this amount would gradually decrease, just like with the Reunion Movement.
Three hundred and ten thousand.
Lucas Reeve was very satisfied with this result.
He had run around to so many places to barely collect 100,000, but in just one tribe, he had collected a full 110,000 in over a month. It seemed the 1.7 million needed to cure Oripathy was getting closer and closer. After exchanging for the energy to cure Oripathy, he would go and create a physical body.
And during this month, Lucas Reeve also acted as a time management master.
Discussing mechanical knowledge with Zumama, chatting with Jessica, and petting the kitty head and the doggy head next to her.
In fact.
Jessica hadn't been idle these days either.
She was very busy, you could say.
Even though she was no longer a mercenary, Jessica's status officially changed from mercenary to proprietress after the establishment of Raythean Medica...
As the boss, she naturally needed to have dinner with officials from the Columbia government or greet other companies to build relationships. However... Jessica didn't seem to need to do any of this.
There was no need for Jessica to personally show up.
Countless large companies in Columbia had already proactively offered Jessica very attractive cooperation plans. Some companies even offered an absurd 9-to-1 profit-sharing plan in Jessica's favor. As for the reason, everyone understood. If they could get on good terms with Raythean Industries through its young heiress, the company could basically be declared an instant success.
After all.
What level was Raythean Industries on?
A company that could produce ten billion in liquid cash was already a super-large company, but Raythean Industries casually gave Jessica ten billion to play with. The levels were suddenly different.
And since Shining and Liz joined Raythean Medica, they quickly threw themselves into their work. Although neither of them knew much about modern medicine, they had their own unique research in medical Originium Arts and could complement Silence and Ptilopsis perfectly.
With their addition.
The 2.0 version of the Oripathy-alleviating drug gradually made some breakthroughs. It was estimated that in another month or so, the 2.0 version could enter the clinical trial stage.
And the 1.0 version of the drug had also entered mass production, with Jessica continuously supplying it to the Reunion Movement and [Azazel].
Due to the lack of profitable projects and the massive funding required for scientific research.
Raythean Medica was temporarily operating at a loss.
But that was normal.
After all, the company was just starting out. And when Jessica's parents found out their precious daughter had actually started a pharmaceutical company and had already successfully developed a drug, the extremely happy couple waved their hands and gave their daughter another ten billion as subsequent start-up capital.
After all.
Raythean Industries had also been involved in the pharmaceutical industry before.
The pharmaceutical industry was indeed extremely profitable once you had a patented special product, but the initial research and development investment was also notoriously expensive. Ordinary companies couldn't afford to play, only a super-large company like Raythean Industries could.
As for the Reunion Movement, Lucas Reeve would occasionally go over to chat with Alina and FrostNova, and then ask about the current progress of the Reunion Movement.
The Reunion Movement was not marching quickly.
Because they had to bypass the Army Group's defensive lines, the Reunion Movement basically followed the border of the Ursus ice fields. In a month and a half, they had covered a good portion of the journey. Once they reached the south, even if it was still a bit cold, life would be much better than before. The long-distance march exhausted some of the ordinary Infected, and under Patriot's orders, the Shieldguards carried them one by one, moving forward together.
Now, the Reunion Movement was one.
Although there weren't many people.
But no one would abandon anyone else.
And the counterattack from the Black Serpent and Ursus didn't seem to come as quickly as imagined.
For a full month and a half, there was no sign of the Black Serpent. Lucas Reeve would also use his abilities from time to time to investigate the surrounding situation to prevent any tails from following. If they successfully shook off the Black Serpent, that would be for the best. In that case, the Reunion Movement might experience a brief period of peace and stability.
However.
The current Reunion Movement was like a small boat on a stormy sea. It had to be extremely careful, otherwise, there was a constant risk of capsizing...
——————————
"Mr. Reeve~~"
Today was Valentine's Day in Columbia. In Columbia's largest shopping mall, countless couples were hugging and happily shopping here. In the vast mall, the scent of hormones reached an all-time high.
For couples.
It was so sweet, so sweet.
And for single people.
Humph!
Just the sour stench of love, nothing special. Eating alone is the best.
However, saliva uncontrollably flowed from the corners of their eyes.
And Jessica was happily shopping with Lucas Reeve. Although to outsiders, it looked like Jessica was happily wandering through the mall alone, sometimes even muttering to herself involuntarily. The scene was a bit strange.
The only regret... Lucas Reeve didn't have a physical body. Otherwise, she would definitely be like the couples coming and going around them, hooking her arm in his and leaning on his shoulder while they shopped sweetly.
Hehe!
Thinking of this.
Jessica's face turned red again, and the pair of fluffy cat ears on her head trembled from shyness.
Jessica had never thought about these things before, and she rarely even read the romance novels that young girls liked the most. She would find the content so embarrassing...
However..
Since Lucas Reeve returned.
Jessica had gradually started to enjoy reading those romance novels.
The sweet love between the men and women in the novels... Jessica would sometimes even imagine herself as the female lead and Lucas Reeve as the male lead.
However.
Jessica didn't quite understand some of the plot settings in certain novels.
For example.
The male lead is set to be the richest man in the world.
But his assets are only in the trillions...
And in the novel, the male lead would drive top-of-the-line luxury cars worth tens of millions or even a hundred million.
In Jessica's memory, her parents never drove such cars. Not only were they unsafe, but they would also be very demeaning. The cars her parents drove were all designed and produced by their own company.
Although Jessica found many parts of the plot unreasonable, the bittersweet love between the male and female characters made her envious.
"By the way, Mr. Reeve, are you free tomorrow?"
Suddenly, Jessica remembered something and asked.
"I'm always free."
Lucas Reeve said.
"Um... yesterday, a pharmaceutical company from out of town... seems to want to cooperate with us..."
"A pharmaceutical company?"
Lucas Reeve said, "Haven't you been politely declining all cooperation offers these days? Is there something special about this pharmaceutical company?"
Jessica explained: "The person in charge of this company said that they are also a company that specializes in developing drugs to alleviate Oripathy. It seems they already have several patents in this field. They seem to have contacted us after learning about our drug. The person in charge of that company said that they are in Columbia right now and hope to discuss it with us."
"If it were any other medical company, I probably would have refused. But this company also seems to be dedicated to serving the Infected, so I was conflicted."
"But... the only thing I'm struggling with right now is."
"I asked my parents to investigate through their network. This company is a new company, established less than half a year ago. A company registered for less than half a year has many patents for Oripathy treatment. To be honest, I find it hard to believe. Also, Oripathy research and development requires a lot of money, and this company doesn't seem to have any major capital backing it. I'm a bit suspicious... if this company is one of those... phishing scam companies."
Now that Jessica put it that way, Lucas Reeve was also interested.
A company dedicated to researching Oripathy...
He had never heard of one, and neither had the many Infected he knew. Lucas Reeve had originally thought that Raythean Medica would be the first in all of Terra. He hadn't expected there to be one that was six months earlier.
And.
If the other party really had related patents, then their research and development time would definitely be longer than half a year, perhaps many years. Half a year was just the company's registration time and couldn't be used as a reference.
And...
Raythean Medica's Oripathy suppression drug was not on the market. It was basically provided exclusively to the Reunion Movement and [Azazel], and never to the general public. Even Jessica's parents didn't really know what she was developing. How would the people from this company know?
Originally, Lucas Reeve wasn't very interested.
But hearing this.
Lucas Reeve was now genuinely interested in meeting them tomorrow.
"What's the name of this company?"
Seeing that Lucas Reeve was interested, Jessica's watery eyes curved into crescents.
"It seems to be called... Rhodes Island."
"A company I've never heard of."
"And the person in charge of this company seems to be called Dr. Kal'tsit."