Two days later, Long Fei's fleet had left Colony Satellite No. 12 of the Philalip Nation and returned to its home base.
Long Fei sat in his room, deep in thought. The MS he had developed so far were mainly from the UC world. Should he also develop Gundams from other series?
Rubbing his chin, Long Fei thought, "With the technology the company currently possesses, we can develop Gundams from other series. For now, that should include Gundams from Gundam SEED, such as Strike, Duel, and Aegis. Phase Shift Armor can indeed be developed. As for the Wing Series, I personally don't really like the TV version designs. I prefer the redesigned Wing Gundam MS by Master Hajime Katoki. They look much better. There shouldn't be any problem producing the five Gundams piloted by the five protagonists at the start, and modifying them for space combat won't be a problem either. The question is whether Gundams focused on close combat, like Gundam Sandrock and Gundam Nataku, are really suitable for production. Not many of my mercenary MS pilots excel at close-quarters combat. Gundam Heavyarms and Wing Gundam, on the other hand, are no problem. Wing Gundam's Buster Rifle can be modified to draw energy directly from a Minovsky Super Energy Thermonuclear Reactor. The 00 Gundam series has to be passed over entirely. Solar Furnaces can't be manufactured at present, and we can't even find substitute materials. As for Iron-Blooded Orphans, aside from the Alaya-Vijnana System, which needs consideration, Nano-Armor can't currently be produced, so that series will be shelved for now. The remaining series can be considered another day. As things stand, there's absolutely no problem developing Zeta Gundam, Hyaku Shiki, and Mk-II from the UC series."
Long Fei thought of something else. "Among all these Gundam series, there are Newtypes' psychic abilities and the Coordinators' SEED awakening abilities. I don't know whether people in this world possess such abilities—or whether I, a transmigrator, might have them hidden within me."
After thinking it over, Long Fei shook his head. Forget it. There's no point thinking about that. I'll develop those Gundams first.
Over the next few days, unless something important came up, Long Fei did not leave his room. After reviewing the Gundams he had decided to develop, he considered whether certain aspects needed modification.
For battery-powered Gundams from Gundam SEED, such as Strike and Astray, Long Fei had initially wanted to modify them to run on Minovsky Super Energy Thermonuclear Reactors instead of batteries. However, he remembered that the series had Neutron Jammers capable of sealing nuclear energy. He did not know whether a Minovsky Super Energy Thermonuclear Reactor would also be sealed by a Neutron Jammer. Although there was an Anti-Neutron Jammer Canceller, neither could currently be developed.
"I really wonder whether someone somewhere in this world has developed technology that seals nuclear energy. I don't know whether Minovsky Super Energy Thermonuclear Reactors can avoid being sealed. I really can't take that gamble. If they get sealed, every Gundam equipped with a Minovsky Super Energy Thermonuclear Reactor will turn into scrap metal."
"For Astray-series Gundams, Foam Armor would provide weak defense, while Phase Shift Armor would consume too much power. Gundanium Alloy would be more suitable. The batteries on Gundams like Strike and Duel also need improvement. Otherwise, once they activate high-energy-consuming weapons, they'll run out of power almost immediately."
"The Photon Batteries in Gundam G-Self are too advanced and can't be developed for now. Wait, there seems to be a science fiction novel with a battery called a High-Energy Super Battery. According to the calculations, when fully charged, a High-Energy Super Battery is three times more durable than the batteries used by SEED Gundams. It has greater energy reserves and allows for longer combat time."
"Then it's decided. Astray-series Gundams, as well as Gundams such as Strike and Duel, will use High-Energy Super Batteries. The former's armor will be changed to Gundanium Alloy, while the latter will remain as they are."
"Next, I'll research and improve Gundams from the other series."
"Gundams such as Wing Gundam, Aegis Gundam, and Z Gundam can transform. At present, none of the MS developed by the nations of this world have transformation capabilities. If these Gundams are developed and revealed to the public, they'll probably shock the world. This is technology far ahead of its time."
"The G-UNIT Gundams from the Wing Series use different equipment to suit different battlefield environments. The concept is similar to Strike Gundam's backpack system. Gundam Gemini can also be developed."
"The Type-0 System is extremely powerful. It can not only improve a pilot's operational ability, but also possesses incredibly fast processing power. It can calculate the opponent's every move. Whether it's a one-on-one battle or warfare between two armies, possessing the Type-0 System would allow one to predict the enemy's next move. It could provide an enormous advantage, both tactically and on the battlefield. Unfortunately, whether it's me or the people under me, I'm afraid not a single one of us can handle the Type-0 System. It'll have to be shelved for now."
"If I remember correctly, the PX System was introduced in G-UNIT, a derivative work of the Wing Series. It inherited some of the Type-0 System's technology. Not only can it improve a pilot's operating skills, it can even allow the pilot and MS to instantly go Beyond the Limit for a short period of time. The effective duration is about two minutes. Once that limit is exceeded, both the pilot and MS will face collapse. Although the system carries a certain degree of danger, it's relatively safer than the Type-0 System. As long as it's handled properly, there won't be a problem. The PX System can be developed."
With that in mind, Long Fei began a series of studies. Based on the original data for many Gundams, he researched a number of improvements, compensating for their flaws and weaknesses. If development succeeded, their performance would surpass their original specifications.
After researching for some time, a communication request from the commander-in-chief came through on his tablet desk.
"Commander-in-chief, what is it?"
"Boss, those people have started moving."
"Tell them directly that they don't need to keep pretending. We have every one of their movements under control."
"Yes, Boss."
Long Fei rose from his chair and began changing into his pilot suit.
Several fleets positioned in different directions were remotely monitoring Long Fei's fleet.
Although these fleets were enormous in scale, they consisted of ordinary spacecraft that had been modified. Their flags differed slightly, but their overall designs were mainly skulls. One look was enough to tell that they were pirate flags.
Inside the command room of one pirate fleet's flagship.
"Captain, someone hacked into our communications line. They sent us a message."
"Read it."
The communications officer read aloud, "To our dear colleagues, the Storm Mercenary Group: there is no need to pretend to be a Pirate Group. Our intelligence network has long had every one of your actions under surveillance, including those of the other colleagues acting alongside you. There is no need to pretend to be a Pirate Group. Also, please pass a message to the man behind you, Mr. Gude. Whether you want to come after me or you were paid to deal with me, feel free to come at me openly and directly. There's no need for these petty tricks." The communications officer's expression grew increasingly strange.
The captain and everyone else in the command room wore extremely ugly expressions.
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