(I'm sorry today's update was so late. Maybe I was too exhausted—I fell asleep after lunch and only just woke up. I wonder if any readers noticed that this book's tag has changed to an A-sign, meaning it has been contracted. I definitely won't abandon it. Mecha Wars Infinite needs everyone's support to thrive. Thanks.)
An excited Xiao Ran stomped down with his foot, shoved the control stick forward with his right hand, and made a rapid series of movements with his left. Strike Gundam adjusted its posture even as it charged forward, raising its shield in front of itself while its metal right hand lifted its rifle and aimed at Moebius Zero. Without hesitation, it fired a green beam.
At the same moment Strike Gundam adjusted its position, Moebius Zero abruptly pulled up its nose and instantly changed direction. The swiftly passing beam skimmed right beneath the MA, leaving Strike Gundam's attack completely ineffective.
Though Moebius Zero had changed direction, under Mu's control it was as nimble as a soaring hawk. In less than a few seconds, it changed course again and rapidly approached Strike Gundam along a curved trajectory.
The distance between them shrank rapidly. In that short span, Strike Gundam pulled the trigger several times, but every attack narrowly missed Moebius Zero. Strike Gundam's attacks did little more than interfere with and threaten Moebius Zero.
Moebius Zero had not used its Linear Gun since that opening shot. Although the Linear Gun was quite powerful, even capable of contending with ZAFT MS units, it was still a solid-ammunition weapon. Other than slowing Strike Gundam slightly when it hit, it posed no real threat to Strike Gundam while its energy reserves were full.
As it faced Strike Gundam's repeated fire, Moebius Zero finally brought Strike Gundam within range of its Homing Wire Pods. Four twin-barreled Homing Wire Pods instantly sprang out from Moebius Zero. Propelled by their own thrust and Moebius Zero's momentum, they reached maximum speed the moment they deployed, surrounding Strike Gundam from four directions in the blink of an eye.
The two wire pods in front of Strike Gundam fired yellow beams, both aimed directly at its cockpit.
"After the ones in front fire, the ones behind will attack!" Xiao Ran curled his lips into a grin and stomped down with both feet. Strike Gundam's leg thrusters and backpack thrusters activated simultaneously, sending it several body lengths away in an instant. The wire pods behind Strike Gundam immediately missed, while another green beam shot from Strike Gundam's rifle and struck one of the two wire pods that had been behind it. Sparks and thick smoke burst out before it vanished from Xiao Ran's monitor.
At the same time, another weapon Xiao Ran had almost overlooked erupted with a golden glow. A violent tremor ran through the seat beneath him, and alarms blared inside the virtual training machine's cockpit.
Before he had time to check how badly he was damaged, Xiao Ran immediately controlled Strike Gundam into a string of rapid, seemingly random movements. He watched six thinner yellow beams and one golden beam that looked particularly powerful streak past him in succession on the monitor, leaving two cold drops of sweat running down his face.
Since when could a Linear Gun fire beams? Xiao Ran was puzzled, but had no time to dwell on it. He glanced at the real-time status display beneath the monitor and immediately frowned.
The machine diagram, which should have been entirely green, had lost all color around the right arm, and a warning indicated it had been severed. That meant Strike Gundam's right arm was gone, along with its only ranged weapon.
"Going into close combat with an MA?" Xiao Ran gave a helpless smile. Strike Gundam instantly turned around, tossed away the shield in its left hand, and drew a Beam Saber from the backpack behind it. The bullets from its head-mounted Vulcan Cannons poured out like they were free, briefly forcing Moebius Zero to pause. Xiao Ran completely ignored the energy consumption and pushed the thrusters to full power, closing in on Moebius Zero at even greater speed.
"Final strike!" Moebius Zero was right in front of him, but Xiao Ran did not dare ignore the three wire pods that had already deployed from it, nor the Linear Gun glowing between them.
"Damn it, even if we're both only D-rank, there shouldn't be such a huge gap!" Xiao Ran gritted his teeth, a fierce gleam flashing in his eyes. After a series of rapid inputs, he shoved the control stick forward. In the midst of its high-speed charge, Strike Gundam instantly detached from its Flight Pack. Using its acceleration, it flipped over while moving forward and slid upright toward Moebius Zero.
Mu clearly had not expected Xiao Ran to detach the Flight Pack and send it at him as a weapon. Though he froze for only a moment, he had no way to avoid the Flight Pack before changing the MA's flight angle. He could only open fire and blast the Flight Pack into pieces while simultaneously evading Strike Gundam beneath the MA.
The MA was fast, but Xiao Ran was no slower. Strike Gundam swung its remaining left hand upward, and the beam swept across the MA's body like a beautiful crescent moon.
Seeing sparks and thick smoke burst across the monitor, joy appeared on Xiao Ran's face. "I won?"
But just then, six yellow beams shot out of the smoke and struck Strike Gundam directly. Xiao Ran felt a thunderous boom in his head, followed by a violent shaking of the chair beneath him. A few seconds later, the screen displayed the message indicating the training had ended.
Xiao Ran stared at the screen for a moment before giving a soft laugh and standing up. Continuous applause rang out behind him.
"Wow, I never expected the instructor to be that amazing. You actually forced Lieutenant Mu into such a state." That was Tolle's voice.
Kazui's puzzled voice reached everyone's ears as well. "But shouldn't Moebius Zero not have any beam weapons?"
"That was because I adjusted the machine's parameters before the training began." Mu stood up from another training machine, scratching his head as he laughed in a somewhat frivolous tone. "I really didn't expect an instructor like you to have such Piloting Skill. If I hadn't caught you off guard and taken off your right arm, the result of that battle really might have gone either way."
"Ah, Lieutenant Mu, you cheated!" Miriallia ran up in front of Xiao Ran and looked at Mu with some disdain.
"Uh..." Mu could not help but laugh bitterly under Miriallia's scorn. He scratched his head, unsure how to explain himself. Fortunately, Sergeant Maddox stepped forward from the side and explained for him. "Moebius Zero's Linear Gun can fire beams now."
Sergeant Maddox's words made the onlookers who did not belong to the maintenance crew all turn toward him. Their faces were either filled with confusion or eager requests for instruction, making Maddock feel rather proud of himself as he straightened up a little.
Seeing how sincerely everyone wanted to learn, Sergeant Maddox did not keep them in suspense. "Moebius Zero's Linear Gun is practically useless against Gundam's PS Armor, while its wire pods aren't very effective against an equally agile Gundam either. They can only be used as ordinary beam weapons, and deploying them to fire also increases Moebius Zero's danger."
"So our maintenance crew modified Moebius Zero's Linear Gun. Don't underestimate us maintenance crew members. We've been researching this for days, and eventually found a way to add another firing port alongside the original solid-ammunition launcher. This extra firing port allows Moebius Zero to use high-powered Beam Attacks as well."
"As for the materials, of course we used Strike Gundam's spare parts. Since they aren't specialized components, each attack needs a certain amount of charging time, and its power can't compare to the Gatling Gun Equipment."
After hearing Sergeant Maddox's explanation, Miriallia stuck out her tongue apologetically and apologized to Mu.
"So that's how it was. I should have figured it out myself." Xiao Ran smiled at Mu. "But I cheated too. I only managed to fight Lieutenant Mu for so long because I relied on Strike Gundam's superior performance. If I had been operating any other machine, I definitely would have lost."
Sergeant Maddox clapped his hands and shouted, "All right, all right, stop crowding around here. Go do what you're supposed to be doing."
"Ah, it's already this late! It's time for my shift. I'm leaving first." Tolle cried out when he checked the time, then hurried away. The others slowly dispersed as well, each voicing their own amazement.
After everyone had left, Xiao Ran, Mu, and Kira gathered around the virtual training machine again and replayed the battle recording. Throughout the process, Mu generously pointed out Xiao Ran's mistakes and the places where he could have done better. Kira also chimed in from time to time, explaining how he should have handled the controls or avoided certain situations. By the time the recording ended, Xiao Ran felt he had gained immensely, as though a great door had opened before him.