Gundam UC Hunting Time

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Chapter Sixty: Lin Xingyuan's Special Iron Ball

"what?"

Lin Xingyuan was taken aback upon hearing the third command and couldn't help but frown.

The mobile suit that Hua Ken mentioned should be the RB-79 Iron Ball. As he said, it's a small mobile armor (MA) modified from a space capsule with added armor and weapons, designed for coordinated operations such as mine laying, patrolling, and artillery bombardment. Its armament is weak, and its individual combat capability is extremely low. However, its manufacturing cost is very low, so the Federation Army still mass-produced and deployed this type of mobile suit. But due to its poor performance and difficulty in handling, it has a bad reputation among pilots, earning the nickname "Iron Coffin"—a terrible machine that you have to write your will as soon as you get it.

He had no good impression of this thing and didn't want to get involved—in short, he didn't want to do anything that 'felt bad.' He knew that many drivers would criticize this iron ball in the future, and he didn't want to ruin his reputation because of it.

"What's wrong?" Hua Ken asked curiously, noticing the strange look on Lin Xingyuan's face.

"...I might not have that much time, so could I not participate in this job?"

Unexpectedly, Lin Xingyuan refused. Hua Ken raised his eyebrows in surprise, but still insisted on his opinion: "This is a very important job. The engineering department needs your opinion. You must reconsider - even if it's just for the sake of more people surviving."

This was an order, and Lin Xingyuan had no choice but to change his mind.

"Ok."

Since the outcome cannot be changed, let's get involved more deeply and improve the machine's performance.

After giving a salute, Lin Xingyuan left Huaken's office and went straight to the engineering department.

The engineering department of Luna 2 was actually right next to the MS maintenance hangar. Since the department's focus was currently on MS research and production, when Lin Xingyuan arrived, the department was already in a chaotic frenzy. Engineers and technicians were coming up with all sorts of wild ideas, and a quick glance revealed that they were basically impossible—whether it was attaching limbs to an iron ball to create an MS, or growing wings to create a swordfish, these were all unlikely and impractical approaches, even if they looked pretty cool. There were also technicians possessed by Kamachi and Ma, who had designed an OBJECT that was super-giant—this did have some combat capability, but in the Universal Century where beam weapons were rampant, without layered armor and anti-beam shields, its survivability was extremely questionable.

[Hilarious! Do you guys have ELITE?]

[Are the New Humans no good?]

Why not just design it as the Death Star?

The comments section was filled with laughter, and Lin Xingyuan was amazed. At this moment, the technicians from the engineering department also noticed him and came up to ask him to give his evaluation from a practical perspective.

"Captain! You be the judge, which of our designs is more feasible!"

The chief lieutenant general of the engineering department sipped his tea with a smile, not stopping the farce.

"Hmm, let me see..."

Out of a desire to have some fun and to avoid offending the technicians, Lin Xingyuan carefully evaluated each design.

"This, equipping the iron ball with limbs, does allow it to utilize MS weapons, but the biggest advantage of MS is AMBAC technology (Active Mass Balance Auto Control)."

[Hahaha, you can't use AMBAC with the iron ball, hilarious!]

[Isn't this just a caddy? It'd be okay as a civilian-grade caddy.]

"what?"

The technician who designed the Iron Ball MS was dumbfounded and was immediately pushed aside by the designer of the Iron Ball Swordfish.

"Captain! What do you think of mine? It has the acceleration of a swordfish, the defense of a heavy body, and weapons can be mounted under its wings. Isn't it perfect?"

"Hmm... If it were me, I would equip the Swordfish with arms so it could wield weapons like a mobile suit, solving the problem of weapon firing range. If the thrusters could be made into legs, we could get a fighter that can transform into a humanoid form. How about we name it Valkyrie?"

[Valkyrie is hilarious]

VF is just that strong.

[But it requires Zenith technology]

[However, adding arms to the swordfish is indeed feasible, or you could add a rotating turret.]

"what?"

The designer of the Iron Ball Swordfish scratched his sparse hair, only to be momentarily overwhelmed by the sheer scale and technical difficulty of the project. However, judging from his determined gaze, he seemed determined not to give up, and would likely be working late into the night every day, voluntarily putting in extra hours for this design.

Who knows, they might actually come up with something in the future.

Lin Xingyuan gave him a thumbs up, then went to the third design. The designer crossed his arms, very confident in his design.

"You might think I'm biased, but this is exactly the kind of mobile armor it has to be—massive size, heavy armor, dense firepower, way better than those fleas that try to imitate Zeon! So, Captain, how would you deal with my creation if you encountered it on the battlefield?"

This is amazing! More is better! Big is beautiful!

[A turret worth hundreds of billions! A brilliance worth hundreds of billions!]

[Idiot, you'll die a horrible death if you drive a MA!]

"Calling for naval gun support."

Lin Xingyuan gave a direct answer, leaving the designer stunned on the spot.

"Naval...naval guns!?"

"if not?"

[Haha, the naval guns are hilarious!]

[PL has a sharp tongue.]

"Uh……"

"Ordinary armor cannot withstand beam weapons. In the future, mobile suits will also be equipped with beam weapons as standard. Unless you can create layered armor or energy armor that can counter beams, such things have no future."

"..."

"As expected of Lieutenant Lin, truly brilliant insights." The lieutenant general put down his teacup, clapped, and then looked around at the group of technicians: "Let's go back to the original plan. What the Space Force needs is a support weapon that can be produced quickly and is inexpensive enough, not a mobile fortress for exchanging fire with MS. All designs must start from these two points."

The technicians were disappointed, but the plan was finally back on track. Lin Xingyuan didn't need to comment on the basic structure and life support design, but when it came to the key combat capabilities, the lieutenant general directly asked Lin Xingyuan for his opinion.

"I believe that equipment can be inexpensive, but the lives of drivers must be protected to the greatest extent possible."

Lin Xingyuan stood in front of the electronic board and began to draw his own plan. This plan included his own understanding from a combat perspective, various suggestions from the bullet comments, and the brainstorming ideas from the technicians. What finally came to everyone was a strange iron ball that retained the overall design of the iron ball, with a weapon on its head, but equipped with arms similar to those of a mobile suit, two shields on its shoulders, and high-output thrusters and tail boom thrusters extending from its back.

【Quack! It's a TIE fighter jet】

[It actually looks more like an attack helicopter, doesn't it?]

This product line perfectly integrates all the designs we proposed; it's practically our mouthpiece.

How strange! Let me take another look!

It's still too strange!

As the comments scrolled by, Lin Xingyuan began his explanation.

"First, there's the armor, employing an onion-like design with multiple layers. This should provide basic protection no weaker than a mobile suit, and perhaps even slightly stronger, capable of withstanding multiple shots from a Zaku machine gun (refer to the Iron Ball K-type). Additionally, the movable shields on both sides not only protect the mobile suit and thrusters from lateral attacks, but also shield against infrared heat sources and provide more angles for artillery fire. In frontal combat, they can be folded forward to protect vulnerable observation windows, enhancing defense. Incidentally, they can also serve as weapon racks, mounting disposable projectile weapons. Furthermore, we can utilize its mass, along with the extended tail boom nozzles, for AMBAC maneuvers, saving fuel."

The technicians nodded in agreement – ​​this solution incorporated many of their design inspirations and was based on practical experience, so they naturally had no objections.

"Secondly, regarding firepower and weaponry, I think the top weapon station can adopt a modular design, and be equipped with machine guns, recoilless rifles, rocket launchers, missile bays, mine-laying systems, or even engineering machinery as needed. Its three-finger hand design is more versatile than a two-finger design, and can be used for both operational purposes and the use of MS weapons. If we want to further reduce costs, it is not unacceptable to simply make it into a weapon."

It was practically a weapon from head to toe, comparable to a mobile suit. The technicians, who loved heavy firepower, all straightened their backs, their eyes burning with fervor.

"Finally, there's mobility. Because its overall structure is simpler and lighter than a mobile suit, and it doesn't require as many attitude control nozzles, it can easily be faster than a mobile suit. This allows for more relaxed maneuvering on the battlefield and a better chance of escaping—this is the solution I'm proposing from the perspective of a pilot."

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Author's message

……

……

Jokingly speaking, it's basically a legless MS with shields on both sides, lol.

In fact, Dota 2 in X is just like that.

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Chapter Sixty-One: The Irritable Lin Xingyuan

Ultimately, Lin Xingyuan's specially designed iron ball design received unanimous approval from the engineering department. After being reported to the base command, it was quickly approved, and small-scale production began. Of course, in the eyes of the higher-ups, the cost of this design was still a bit high, so the design was later simplified, and different models were manufactured according to different functions. However, the design of just two arms and two shields saved countless lives.

The specially designed Iron Balls, which fully followed Lin Xingyuan's plan, proved their value and were produced in considerable numbers as an important combat force—after all, they were much cheaper than MS. These specially designed Iron Balls later received high praise from pilots. Because they consistently demonstrated unexpected capabilities at crucial moments, various enhanced versions were subsequently developed, and they remained in service until the UC era's centennial. (See Gasaru A for reference.)

But that's a story for another time. Right now, Lin Xingyuan is facing an extremely frustrating situation.

As Hua Ken said, although Lin Xingyuan could not go to the front line for the time being, he was not idle at all.

UC0079 July 22——

Lin Xingyuan felt he needed to see a psychologist again, not because of the pressure of the battle, but because he was angry with the 'students'.

As the saying goes: "Don't advise others to be good if you haven't experienced their suffering; if you have experienced my suffering, you may not be as good as me." After personally teaching others, he finally understood why most teachers have bad tempers—it's because their students don't understand human language!

He never used to swear, but for the past two weeks, he has had to mute half of the words he utters.

"You bunch of idiots, don't cower in your pants like a man unable to get an erection! Get moving, you bastards! Get moving! There are no shelters in space, do you expect warships to be your shields?! What kind of idiots are you if you don't get moving?!"

"Remember, you are piloting MS! MS! You have hands and feet! Not those damn Swordfish!"

"I told you to move, not to crash around! AMBAC maneuver! AMBAC maneuver! What are you trying to do, Immelmann!?"

"Damn it! Your propellant is limited! Full power only lasts for five minutes! Are you trying to become sitting ducks by using it all up so early!?"

"Damn it, you're flying so fast, how could you even hit me!?"

[Did PL read Mao Jie's recruit training manual?]

It's too dirty.

[2333, that was a really good insult! Here's a spicy snack as a reward!]

The communication channel was filled with Lin Xingyuan's curses; he was like a tyrant, driving the students to the brink of madness. But there was no other way. Half of the trainees were former Swordfish pilots, and their habits were hard to break. They subconsciously drove their mobile suits like Swordfish, speeding at breakneck speeds, causing all their shots to miss the target. Their turning radius was ridiculously large, taking more than ten seconds, making them huge targets. They completely abandoned the strengths of their mobile suits and exploited their weaknesses. Even after ten lessons, they couldn't change. The other half were former space engineering mechanics operators. Their operation was the exact opposite of the Swordfish pilots. They had no problem with ordinary operation, but they completely lacked awareness of maneuverability. Their bodies were like they were welded to a wall, only able to crouch. They also had an occupational hazard: at the first sign of danger, they would instinctively try to find a place to hide.

"I shouldn't have let you pilot mobile suits. I should have let you pilot manned rockets to the Kamikaze Zeon's battleships! That way, you would have had some value!"

"Brains! Brains! Is your brain filled with shit?! Even maggots know to wriggle a couple of times when poked, and fleas know to jump when in danger! What about you?!"

"Watch your position! And the distance between your teammates! You guys are geniuses! How could you all bump into each other in such a vast universe!"

"Move! Move! Instead of crying, think about how to move! Keep moving! Don't assume there will be many effective hiding places!"

"In the universe, stopping means death!"

"Damn it! Where's the teamwork?! What are you doing, Unit 3?! Are you holding a fire poker, waiting to burn incense after your teammate gets hacked to death?!"

"Are your eyes just for decoration?! I could fit a monkey in the cockpit and still fly it better than you guys!"

Amidst the thunderous curses, the drivers were filled with frustration, annoyance, and dejection. Tears and sweat mingled inside their helmets, and their expressions were almost distorted by fatigue and fear. Little did they know that Lin Xingyuan was even more frantic.

Forget it, I'm tired. Let's just destroy it.

"Listen up, you shit-producing machines! After all this time, your skill level is still like shit! Don't you feel ashamed? What? You think my insults are offensive?! If you think they're offensive, then get out! Go clean the toilets at the base! Kissing toilet seats is more suitable for you! And you inhuman bastards! What? You're not convinced? Come on! If you think my insults are wrong, then show me your bastards right now! You spineless bastards! Seeing your pained expressions is my greatest pleasure!"

Then Lin Xingyuan personally piloted the plane, taking on ten at a time, and used training missiles to "bathe" each trainee's plane, then punished them by making them clean it before training the next day.

"team leader……"

Io, who was serving as an assistant coach, was not among those being scolded, but he still trembled all over as he listened. Bianca, standing next to him, nervously handed Lin Xingyuan water to curry favor, afraid that he might throw her into the training field if he was unhappy.

The two originally thought this was Lin Xingyuan's limit, but on the second day, when it was time for training with the special iron ball, Lin Xingyuan transformed into a berserk rider.

"You idiots! Always remember that you're driving a damn thing! Not a proper MS!"

"You guys weren't, aren't, and won't be the main characters in the fight, so don't be stupid and rush to the front!"

"Always keep an eye on those enemy spies hiding in the back, those sneaky spies with long-range heavy firepower, otherwise you cannon fodder won't even be worth collecting their corpses!"

"Remember, your goal is to become the most powerful people on the battlefield!"

"I swear to God, if anyone ever treats their shield like a decoration again, I'll stuff them into a rocket launcher and fire them along with some self-forging fragmentation shells! That way, we can paint Zeon's mobile suits a bit, and the enemy won't have to waste their ammunition!"