Anyone who retrieved the data the tiny component gathered would be able to reconstruct what Ves had produced with the machine!
Ves removed and crushed the tiny component as soon as possible. Having found solid proof that the local syndicate lied to him, he resumed his search with much more diligence than before.
He found no more bugs.
\"Did I catch them all, or did I miss some?\" He wondered.
He wasn't sure, but he wouldn't be able to find anything else even if he searched again. As much as he wanted to indulge in his paranoia and conduct another search, he already wasted enough time.
\"It's about time for me to start.\" He declared.
He began the long preparation of taking out the materials. He did not use the mech workshop's own lifter bots to move all of the heavy goods but instead used the ones he bought earlier in the day. He already inspected them thoroughly and planned to destroy them afterwards to minimize the risk of exposure.
\"I can never be too sure!\"
He felt as if he was back to fabricating a prohibited gamma laser rifle. While his Devil Tiger was not strictly as egregious as a weapon of mass destruction, its existence would most definitely lead to a lot of controversy!
Still.. the risks he was toying with exciting him. The thought of finally bringing a dangerous mech like the Devil Tiger into existence quickly stoked his passion.
\"It's been long enough! I can't hold back any longer!\"
Ves eagerly dove into the fabrication process. First, he took out the pure ASMAS that formed the inner core of his mech.
Stored in a huge barrel, the pure ASMAS that Gloriana procured for him looked no different from a grey, mercury-like soup at first glance.
Preparing it was the simplest step of all. Ves merely had to pass on the programming and instructions he already composed beforehand.
In fact, the fabrication process this time proceeded very differently than normal. The high degree of smart metal utilized in the mech meant that his Devil Tiger was essentially capable of constructing itself!
Once he inspected the pure ASMAS and verified that it had all implemented their new programming, he began to place several piles of materials surrounding the alien-like mass of shifting metals.
After sending a few more instructions, the pure ASMAS began to engulf some of the metal and alloy bars. An uncountable amount of nanomachines quickly began to break apart the bars into tiny particles.
A second pool of shifting, morphing metal began to form. This was the substitute ASMAS made of lesser materials. As more than half of the Devil Tiger consisted of substitute ASMAS, its production took a lot of time, all the while the pure ASMAS demanded a constant supply of energy to power its nanofabrication activities.
Ves witnessed the slow process of forming the initial mass of substitute ASMAS with a mixed expression.
He had the feeling he was looking at a potential future direction of mech production. If smart metal technology ever matured to the point where they could compete with conventionally-produced mechs, then it may become more in vogue, thereby making huge mech manufacturing complexes redundant!
\"Well, that's unlikely. Materialization technology is already making some strides, so that will probably achieve universality first.\"
He quickly centered his mind and rid himself of all distractions. This was a period where he had to devote his utmost into fabricating the Devil Tiger. Even though the use of ASMAS took a lot of work on his hands, there were plenty of parts that still had to be built conventionally.
With a focused mind, he began to activate the 3D printer and other production equipment and proceeded to churn out various parts. The power reactor, the mech engine, the cockpit, portions of the internal frame as well as other miscellaneous components quickly flew out of the production machines.
His passion and enthusiasm for his project caused him to enter into a strange state of tranquility. While he didn't burn with as much passion as he did when he fabricated the Transcendent Messengers, he nonetheless believed he was doing a better job than before.
The parts of the Devil Tiger slowly accumulated. Though Ves had not put them all together yet, he already sensed the potency hidden within.
With the exceptional amount of care and attention Ves directed to his work, practically everything went flawlessly. Even as Ves triple-checked the freshly-fabricated parts by subjecting them to scans, he hardly found any discrepancies!
His belief in his Devil Tiger grew. With such exceptionally flawless parts, Ves wanted to do everything possible to turn his latest mech into something exceptional!
His pride as a craftsman demanded no less!