An advanced guide for experienced modelers, from building blocks to hand-building Gundams

Ross felt conflicted after hearing what Frey said.

He began to feel confused. He had thought that he would never make any wetware components by himself again, but Stella appeared in front of him. Her body had been ravaged by drugs and only her brain was in good condition.

Should we use this wetware technology to save her, or are there better options?

Rhodes didn't know what to do. His disgust for this technology, his resistance to making wetware again, and his inner desire to save the life that was about to disappear were mixed together, making Rhodes a little overwhelmed.

A warm hand was placed on the back of his right hand, which was clenched into a fist.

"Perhaps this technology is indeed evil... But, just like a kitchen knife," Malu's voice rang in Ross's ears. Ross subconsciously looked at Malu. "You can use a knife to kill people, or you can use it to make delicious food. Whatever the result, it all depends on your intention."

"I trust your decision."

Listening to Malu's words, Ross looked at Christina who was held in Malu's arms.

Christina looked at Rhodes and nodded at him without much hesitation.

"Go ahead, Roz."

After a long silence, Ross sighed.

Human beings are such strange creatures. Even though they have already made a decision, they still hope that someone will "kick them in the face" and give them a definite answer so that they can start to act with peace of mind.

Ross considers himself an ordinary, mediocre human being, so it is normal for him to have such emotions.

And now, Rhodes, who has been "kicked", has made his own decision.

This filled him with determination.

Yes, knives can be weapons for killing people, but they can also be tools for cooking delicious food.

Even technology that is seen as evil by others can, if used properly, shine with the light of saving lives.

"...I agree." Ross nodded solemnly. "Get ready."

----split line----

PS: Second update today.

Volume 161: Chapter Stella, Transformed from a Pupa into a Butterfly

Cagalli was obviously very concerned about Stella's "treatment" and arranged an operating room in just two days.

A slightly improved model based on the same wetware platform as the Blue Cosmos, created from the design provided by Rhodes, was also produced along with the prosthetics that made up Stella's new body.

But because Stella's health continued to deteriorate, she fell into a coma before the operation began and was kept alive by various instruments.

In a special operating room, several of the most experienced doctors on Industrial No. 7 were sweating profusely around Stella, preparing to start the operation.

The wetware platform, the same model as the Blue Cosmos, was placed next to them after being disinfected. The brain connection interface, various nutrient solutions and containers were quietly placed on the cart.

Behind a specially installed window, a group of doctors stared intently at the operating room behind the window, afraid of missing any details.

Among this group of doctors, Frey put her hand on Mayu's shoulder and looked at Stella lying on the bed with a complicated expression.

……

Two days ago, when talking to Rhodes.

"...But, regarding the treatment plan proposed by Frey and Cagalli, I must explain it to you." Ross said to Stella and Mayu with determination.

"On the surface, Christina looks just like you, but the real her is only her brain. The rest of her body is made up of prosthetics." Ross looked at Christina in Mayu's arms and said to Mayu, "You've gone through prosthetic surgery, so you should understand."

"Yeah... I understand." After hearing Ross's explanation, Mayu couldn't help but widen her eyes, a little bit incredulous. "So... so what you mean is..."

"That's right." Ross nodded. "According to the conclusion of Miss Stella's medical examination report, it is impossible to directly replace the prosthesis on the body."

"We have to dig her brain out and stuff it into another body."

The climate in Industrial 7 was pleasant and comfortable, and the warmth brought by the simulated sunlight was also cozy, but after hearing Ross's explanation, Mayu felt a chill on her back.

"If you dig out the brain... will you be able to see the truth?"

Stella, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. Although her voice was weak due to her frail body, one could still hear the expectation in Stella's words.

"...If nothing unexpected happens, it will only take a short while for you to be able to move like a normal person, but correspondingly, the prosthetic body will have a strong mental pressure on you." Ross heard Stella's words and explained.

"Then dig my brain out."

Without any hesitation, Stella agreed to this "treatment plan".

"Huh? Sister-in-law?!" Mayu was a little surprised when she heard Stella's decision.

"I want to see him." Stella raised her right hand from the wheelchair armrest and placed it on her chest, as if recalling something. "I want to stand by his side, I want to fight with him... I want to live with Zhen."

"He said he would protect me..."

……

Back to the present, Rhodes sat in a chair, looking at the tablet in his hand, which showed the scene of the operating room just across the door from him.

Next to him, on a similar operating table, was an alloy skeleton and various prosthetics placed on it.

If anyone saw this scene, they would probably experience some kind of "uncanny valley" effect.

Finally, in the operating room in the picture, the group of doctors are finally ready to perform the operation.

"Huh... the operation begins." He raised his hands. As the doctor who performed the operation, he looked at the patient lying on the operating table like Sleeping Beauty after being anesthetized. Although the operation had not yet started, sweat began to appear on his forehead.

During the initial craniotomy stage, as usual, these doctors were the best in Industry 7, so naturally there would be no problems.

But what comes next is the difficult part.

Several interfaces were handed to the doctors, causing them to take a deep breath subconsciously.

The interface must be connected to it and Stella's brain must be transferred to the wetware platform before Stella's brain becomes inactive.

Although they had practiced it many times before, they still had no idea how to do it when they really started.

Implant, dock, cut off...

In order to avoid accidents, the doctors followed the procedures meticulously and almost pressed the time limit to remove Stella's brain from her body.

Watching the brain representing "Stella" being taken out of the body, Mayu felt her stomach churning, but in the end she did not vomit.

As Stella's brain was transferred to a container filled with nutrient solution, connected to the wetware platform through an interface, and all the values reached the specified range, the doctors who performed the operation on Stella breathed a sigh of relief.

The first phase of surgery was successful, but what followed was not familiar territory for them.

……

The wetware platform carrying Stella's brain was pushed into Ross's room. The doctors who had been watching the operation from the window also came to the window of Ross's room to observe.

Without any nonsense, Rhodes picked up the wrench in the toolbox and slightly adjusted the "flesh" on the operating table.

This specially made prosthesis is lighter than the old model, but its strength is not reduced at all, and there is plenty of space reserved for prosthetic replacement.

Whether Stella wants to return to the battlefield or live as an ordinary civilian, she can achieve this by replacing her prosthetic components.

Compared to the sound of flesh cutting during the first stage of the operation, the place was filled with the echo of metal colliding.

After finally completing the installation of the prosthetic components, Rhodes looked at the wetware platform that had just been pushed here.

For some reason, Ross felt that the wetware platform before him was like a chrysalis. Stella had escaped from her painful "childhood" and transformed into a "chrysalis."

Now, she only needs one last step to break free from the constraints of the past and become a "butterfly" living freely.

The container containing Stella's brain was removed from the wetware platform and installed on the new body. The interface with hot-swappable function quickly completed the docking, and various prostheses began to operate.

Picking up the custom-made artificial skin from the incubator nearby, Rhodes skillfully installed it on Stella's body. This artificial skin even restored Stella's previous hairstyle and hair color.

As the prosthesis started to work, the originally calm Stella began to breathe steadily, and the anesthetic was also metabolized.

Rhodes, who had already performed similar operations on Christina and Marvin, naturally wouldn't have any problems. It would be better to say that Stella's current condition is more than twice as good as Christina and Marvin's before.

After taking a look at the data on the tablet, which had reached the predetermined value without any surprise, Rhodes calmly gave a thumbs-up to the doctors outside the window.

After just a few seconds, even though the room was well soundproofed, Rhodes could still hear the cheers clearly, as if they were being muffled.

The "butterfly" has emerged from the "chrysalis" and is waiting to wake up and spread its gorgeous wings.

----split line----

PS: Today's update

I just finished the new 2.5 storyline of Chenbai Forbidden Zone today, it was awesome.

What? The dubbing for the long plot is obviously very strong, but the battle voice dubbing is average. Maybe they are really not familiar with the job.

Volume 162: Chapter True: Damn it, Mayu, you’re gonna fuck me!

In a trance, Stella felt as if she heard the chirping of birds in her ears, the white noise of some kind of instrument surrounding her, and the sound of people walking from time to time.

She could feel that the feeling of having no strength and being tortured by pain had completely disappeared, and she had never felt so relaxed.

Stella opened her eyes subconsciously, but her artificial eye had not yet focused, causing her vision to be blurry.

But what frightened her was that although she felt that her body was in good condition, she was completely unable to control the movements of her limbs. It was as if she had become a vegetative person with only her blurry eyes being able to move.

"Are you awake?" Rhodes looked at Stella, who had already opened her eyes. He casually adjusted the angle of the bed, propped up Stella's upper body, and plugged a data cable into the port behind Stella's right ear, connecting it to the tablet in his hand. "Wait a moment, I'll adjust the data for you."

After just a few seconds, her originally blurred vision began to focus like a camera, and Stella saw everything in the ward.

She put on a white dress, with several thick data cables connected to her body, and a large amount of data flowing through the surrounding instruments.

Rhodes, still wearing jeans and a bomber jacket, was standing on the left side of the bed, operating the tablet skillfully. The wrench in his jacket pocket revealed the part used to tighten screws.

On the right side of the bed, Mayu and Frey were looking at Stella with worry.

Mayu stretched out her hands, held Stella's right hand, was silent for a moment, and then spoke to Stella. "Stella...sister-in-law, do you remember what I told you before?"

"What did my stupid older brother do in junior high school?"

After hearing Mayu's question, his brain, which was originally in a chaotic state, seemed to wake up, and the truth gradually emerged.

"Really...really in junior high school..."

The throat that could originally make clear sounds like a lark was now like an unoiled machine, using an inorganic mechanical voice to tremble and speak what Stella was thinking bit by bit.

"Zhen...Zhen wore women's clothes during the truth or dare activity at the junior high school party and walked home by herself." Finally, with the return of Stella's original voice, some explosive words came out of her mouth.

After hearing Stella's words, Mayu's expression finally changed from worry to a relaxed smile.

"Yes, he wore prosthetic breasts and a wig all the way home."

After hearing this, Ross looked at Mayu with a confused expression.

No, you're telling your brother a story like this in front of his girlfriend. Aren't you afraid he'll come back and beat you up?!

Rhodes subconsciously recalled the boy who bowed properly in front of him and handed him his savings, and was called the "Working Emperor".

If that boy wore a wig, it would really be okay?

He shook his head, threw this somewhat chaotic thought out of his mind, and focused on adjusting the data again.

I have to say that Stella's condition is much better than Christina and Marvin. At least during the operation, her brain was not on the verge of going crazy, and she was still very adaptable to the prosthesis.

However, Rhodes hadn't tested how many military components would be installed before Stella developed cyberpsychosis due to the pressure of the prosthetic's performance. However, he hadn't planned to conduct any related experiments on this matter.

After all, Christina, who wears a military-grade prosthetic body, has a mental state that keeps jumping between "normal state" and "cyber psychosis".

The fewer patients with cyberpsychosis, the better.

……

"Miss Stella is in great condition... or rather, compared to the people I've seen who've had this 'surgery' done before, it can be said that it's completely unaffected." Ross was silent as he watched Stella, who was gradually adapting to her new body with Mayu's support.

If the data is correct, Stella's brain activity is stronger than Christina's... Is it because of the Earth Army's enhanced drugs? Is it a blessing in disguise?

According to Ross's own estimation, there would be no problem for Stella to directly connect to a high-performance MS for combat.

Overall, Stella has obtained a body that can live intact in this world, and Orb has also obtained relevant surgical experience and some data.

I hope this surgical technique can be used on the right track...

"In short, as long as you take your medication regularly throughout your life and avoid installing high-performance prosthetics whenever possible, there won't be any problems." Ross sighed and explained to Stella and Mayu in front of him, "In other words, avoid combat as much as possible."

"Avoid... fighting?" Stella's eyes widened subconsciously, as if she had heard something incredible. "No... No... I want to continue fighting."

"Wow, sister-in-law, you are so strong!" After Stella suddenly exerted force on Mayu's right arm, Mayu's eyes showed the prompt that "right arm was attacked".

"I want... I must, go back to the real one..." Stella murmured. It was obvious that she had a new body, but her psychological problems had not been resolved yet.

Looking at Stella's current state, Ross was a little confused.