My biological clock woke me up. I sat up in bed and looked at the electronic alarm clock on the bedside table.
"My name was Long Fei. More than twenty years ago, I was an otaku who loved Gundam, as well as some science fiction novels. I spent all my free time on those things and never dated. To me, Gundam and the sci-fi novels I loved were my entire life."
"More than twenty years ago, after buying my favorite Wing Zero Gundam model, I was on my way home to assemble it when a car accident knocked me unconscious."
"When I regained consciousness, I was lying in a crib. From what I could see, I was in a hospital. When I cried out, it came out as a baby's wail. The sound startled the nurses who had been handling the equipment, and they hurried out of the ward to call a doctor. After examining me, the doctor could not help saying in astonishment, 'What a miracle. A baby pronounced dead after a difficult birth has actually come back to life.'"
"Then I saw a stern, square-faced man in a suit rush in, pick me up, and weep as he said that heaven had blessed him by bringing his son back to life."
"Only then did I understand. I had died. The baby whose body my reincarnated soul had possessed had already been dead. My soul had entered his body and replaced him."
"Then I learned that I had been reborn into a wealthy family. In this life, my mother was an elegant and noble beauty who held me in her arms. My father stood beside her. Though he looked serious, his expression softened into that of a loving father whenever he looked at me. I also had three older sisters: the eldest was Long Kui, the second was Long Xuan, and the third was Long Wen."
"Then I noticed that the crib I lay in, along with the equipment around it, was different from what I knew. At first, I thought I had merely been reborn into a rich family with more advanced medical equipment."
"Then, when I was discharged from the hospital, I listened to the radio and looked at the scenery outside. I discovered that even the cars were designed differently from what I knew, with a touch of science-fiction flair. After hearing the news broadcast on the radio, I finally realized that I had crossed into another world."
"I was born into this wealthy family, and my name in this life was Long Fei. What surprised me was that everything related to Gundam was still in my mind. Some of the technologies from the science fiction novels I had read were also preserved there. Moreover, whether they came from Gundam or other sci-fi novels, I completely understood the relevant knowledge. I could even break it down and redesign it."
"In the third year after my birth, on my third birthday, I finally learned that the world I had been reborn into was called the Earth Sphere. As I gradually grew up, I came to understand that the history of this Earth Sphere differed from that of my previous life. Though history was different, many things were still similar. The writing and languages, for example, were exactly the same. The only difference was that Chinese and English were the world's two major common languages."
"If there was one major difference, it was that the Earth in this life was nearly twice as large as the Earth in my previous life."
"The Earth Sphere of this world was far more technologically advanced than my previous world. Humanity had already ventured into outer space. There were not only space colonies like those in the Gundam universe, but many nations had also sent their own space forces to Mars and Jupiter for exploration. This was mainly an effort by each nation to extend its influence."
"At present, Mars had been successfully terraformed, and some people from Earth and the space colonies had begun moving there."
"Human lifespans in this world were also much longer than those of humans on Blue Star in my previous life. People in this life could live to around two hundred years old. Although eighteen was considered adulthood, people were not considered middle-aged until they passed one hundred, and they did not enter old age until one hundred and fifty."
"However, this world was not peaceful. After humanity gained the ability to colonize outer space and other planets, it gradually became greedier. Nations launched wars to strengthen their influence. Although this world also had nuclear weapons, their deterrent effect was no longer as powerful as before for people who could already live in outer space and on other planets. Furthermore, missile defense technology had become increasingly advanced. Since the emergence of laser defense systems, the deterrent effect of Nuclear Missiles had diminished. Once many smaller countries developed such defense systems, they no longer feared the nuclear deterrence of major powers, resulting in even fiercer wars."
"Although no large-scale war was taking place now, there were still many small conflicts in various places."
"War brought suffering to many people, but because I had been born into a wealthy family, such hardship was far removed from me. Before I turned sixteen, I was a carefree young master. Besides studying the technologies in my mind, I also researched many of this world's technologies. In both my past life and this one, I was an otaku, doing what I loved."
"However, after my sixteenth birthday, my parents in this life died in an accident while traveling to outer space to discuss a business deal. My three sisters and I inherited the vast estate they left behind."
"My parents had divorced long ago in my previous life, and I had never felt a parent's love. This time, I experienced the love my parents in this life had given me. Their deaths made me cry for three full days. Then I shut myself at home for a while, feeling somewhat despondent. But I also knew that I could not remain depressed forever. After thinking for a long time, I decided to use the knowledge I had gained in this life to carve out a future for myself."
"When I graduated from university at twenty-one, I handed all the substantial assets my parents had left me to my three sisters. Taking my own money with me, I left them a note to say goodbye and secretly went to outer space alone, determined to start a company and make a name for myself there."
"The place I was in now was a Meteoroid Zone far from the Earth Sphere. It had originally been an abandoned mining factory. Later, I bought this abandoned factory cheaply from the relevant departments of Mika'ang, the country whose territory included this area. I then renovated it into an arms manufacturing plant and used it as the base for the mercenary group I established."
"This world also had weapons similar to the MS units in Mobile Suit Gundam. MS units could also be called mecha, though most people simply called them MS. However, MS units had only recently been deployed on the battlefield, and their combat evaluations had not surpassed warships and fighter jets. At present, the main weapons of war were still warships and fighter aircraft."
"My arms manufacturing plant currently focused on producing fighter jets."
"Beep... beep... beep." A sound came from the desk.
I glanced at the tabletop and said, "Connect."
A three-dimensional virtual image was projected from the surface of the desk.
The holographic image showed a middle-aged man in work clothes, with somewhat dark skin and stubble on his face. He was Simmons, the director of my manufacturing plant.
"Boss, the MS we've been developing has been fully adjusted. Please come take a look."
"I understand. I'll be there in a moment."
After ending the call, I got up, changed clothes, and left my room. On the way, I ran into my best friend, Li Xiucheng.
He had been my childhood playmate. His background was different from mine. I came from a business family, while he had been born into a military family.
Despite our completely different family backgrounds, we became friends.
"Although Li Xiucheng had received a military-style education from childhood, he did not have the rigid personality of a soldier. He did not particularly enjoy military life, either. I did not know whether something was wrong with his head, but compared with becoming a soldier, he yearned more for the life of a mercenary. Three years ago, he secretly retired without telling his family and slipped away alone to an outer-space colony. When I met him, I had just arrived in outer space and was worrying about where to start my company. It was also thanks to him that I found this abandoned mining facility. According to him, four years ago, he and his unit had secretly infiltrated Mika'ang's territory to wipe out a space Pirate Group."
"Because of him, I established two companies in one go: Skywing Arms Manufacturing Company and the Skywing Mercenary Group. At first, I put him in charge of the mercenary group. However, he quickly secretly called over one of his uncles, who was also a retired field officer, and recommended him to me. He mainly brought his uncle over because they had a very close relationship. He also explained that he had only been a second lieutenant in the military and was not suited to managing an army at all. His uncle, on the other hand, had been a colonel before retiring and was certainly much more capable than him at managing a force. For his sake and because of his recommendation, I handed the entire mercenary group over to his uncle, Li Jiaming."
"Hey, Fei, are you heading to the factory hangar? Let's go together. That Mobile Suit MS of yours is so cool that I can't wait to pilot it."
Li Xiucheng casually slung an arm over my shoulder and gave me a pat.
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