Set a Small Goal First

"What is the content of the assessment?"

Xu De followed up immediately.

"MS operation."

Revil continued.

"The technicians in the Special Operations Division have evaluated the unit you captured; it is quite intact."

"As long as we take other parts scavenged from the battlefield, it can be pieced back together."

Xu De said.

"Not a simulator, but actual operation?"

If it were a simulator, it would still be different from a standard unit, but actual operation was significantly more difficult.

To be thrown directly into actual operation right from the start was asking a bit too much.

"Yes, though there will be a simulator; we will have it ready as soon as you arrive at the Moon."

Hearing about the simulator, Xu De relaxed slightly and continued to ask.

"Is there a manual?"

"I have prepared that for you."

As Revil spoke, he pulled a thick, heavy tome from behind his back.

It looked rather worn and was stained with grease, even thicker than the fighter jet manuals Xu De had seen in his previous life; there was no telling through what channels it had been acquired.

Still, as long as it was usable, that was all that mattered.

Thinking this, Xu De took the book and asked again.

"Are there others taking the assessment?"

"There should be, but the candidates are classified."

"You know how it is; this project is top secret to begin with."

Revil shook his head as he spoke.

"The assessment will likely begin four days after arriving at the Moon. With my current intelligence, this is all the information I can manage to get."

"I have troubled you."

Upon hearing this, Xu De expressed no dissatisfaction.

If Revil's superior, the Commander-in-Chief of the Third Fleet, were still alive, then naturally Revil would know much more.

But the Commander-in-Chief was dead; if others didn't kick them while they were down, it was already a testament to their professional camaraderie, let alone sharing classified information with Revil.

"If you require more detailed intelligence, perhaps you could try..."

Revil did not say it explicitly, but his eyes drifted toward the pocket where Xu De kept the contact information for a certain someone.

"I understand."

Xu De had considered it as well, but he would have to wait until he reached the Moon to test the waters.

As for this current step, he already had a basic idea of how to execute it.

What remained was to see if he could successfully carry it out.

A small step for a Ginn, a giant leap for him, Xu De.

Thinking this, Xu De gripped the manual a little tighter, while his other hand gave Revil a crisp salute.

"Sir, then I shall go study the manual!"

"Go on, I look forward to your good news."

Revil patted Xu De on the shoulder like a kind and close elder.

"I will not fail your expectations, Sir!"

Xu De said, straightening his back even further.

The remaining time spent traveling to the Moon became increasingly dull and tedious once all the news had been confirmed.

Most people, exhausted after the life-and-death battlefield and the busy cleanup, fell into deep sleep.

Only Xu De moved through the ship, where day and night were indistinguishable.

He had already gone through the manual once.

It was incredibly complex.

However, according to Xu De's habits, no matter how difficult a problem was, it could be overcome as long as it was broken down.

And to operate a Ginn, the greatest obstacles were physical coordination and neural reflexes.

Just as Sai would crash and burn while piloting the Strike.

Controlling the limbs was far too complex, making it impossible to maneuver properly.

It was like those games where every single key controls a specific limb movement.

Pro players could walk with ease as if they were moving their own bodies, but for an average person, even moving forward was a struggle, as if the limbs didn't belong to them at all.

Therefore, before he could get his hands on a Ginn simulator, he had to continue strengthening his limb coordination and neural reflexes.

Of course, on a standard Drake-class ship, the training area didn't even have a Moebius simulator, only one for the Mistral.

And that was Xu De's destination this time.

After flying through the deserted corridors for a short while, Xu De arrived at the training area.

There weren't many people inside, but as they saw Xu De arrive, everyone turned to look.

Xu De's achievements had circulated here; some of the people looked at him with enthusiasm, while others remained expressionless.

Xu De paid them no mind, simply heading over to open a simulator that hadn't been used for quite some time.

"Found it, Survival Mode."

Swiping across the screen, Xu De quickly located what he was looking for.

"Best record: 10 minutes 21.09 seconds, Lieutenant Libby."

This record was based on the fleet's internal network.

In other words, this was the best record within the Third Fleet.

Xu De, who hadn't expected it to be an old acquaintance, chuckled softly and whispered.

"Then let's start with you, Lieutenant Libby."

Beyond just sparking a sense of competition, he needed to confirm that he was stronger than the others.

Since there was no intelligence on other MS pilot competitors yet, he would start with the people he could actually see.

"Goal: break eleven minutes before we reach the Moon!"

Having set a small goal for himself, Xu De didn't delay any further.

Unable to wait, he pressed the start button.

Not long after, his first attempt came to an end.

Looking at the 10-minute 02-second result before him, Xu De narrowed his eyes.

He realized he had underestimated the difficulty of this Survival Mode.

In this Survival Mode, the difficulty increased every minute.

The first eight minutes were fine, consisting of an ever-increasing number of ZAFT work-use MAs, but from the ninth minute on, Ginns actually started to appear.

By the tenth minute, there were two Ginns.

And naturally, these numbers were cumulative.

The beginning was manageable, but two Ginns ganging up on a single Mistral was a bit foul.

However, if Libby could do it, he certainly could too.

"In that case, I'll just ditch the lower half."

Xu De studied the machine preparation interface in front of him.

The Mistral could be separated into upper and lower sections.

The tray-like structure at the bottom housed the Vulcan Cannons and some work tools.

The upper section consisted of an oval cockpit and two mechanical arms.

If he only used the upper body, his speed would definitely be higher, but correspondingly, he would have no weaponry.

"But that would make me even more fragile, and I wouldn't be able to shoot down those ZAFT MAs without weapons."

Just as Xu De was contemplating his tactics, the news that he had nearly broken the record quickly spread through his colleagues in the training area to Lieutenant Libby's private officer quarters.

"What!?"

Libby, who had been lying on his bed planning his revenge, sat bolt upright upon seeing the message on his comms.

He nearly broke his record on the first try?

He had been the top of the simulation battles for years; although he had used connections to slightly modify the data, Xu De shouldn't have had access to those same channels.

Thinking this, Libby couldn't sit still, and despite the pain in his arm, he headed toward the training area.

Word spread like wildfire.

Soon, the news of Xu De challenging the Survival Mode record had completely permeated the ship.

Except for soldiers who were exhausted or currently on rotation, most of the crew began heading toward the training area.

"Training, is it?"

In the captain's quarters, Revil watched the report and the simulation feed being broadcast via his administrative clearance, his face full of interest.

Even without intelligence, Xu De was still finding his own way forward, and it was precisely because of this that Revil was even more convinced that Xu De could reach great heights.

Moreover, he had come close to Libby's best score on his very first simulation.

Thinking of this, Revil quickly pressed the record button.