Gundam UC Hunting Time

[It's a pity the mecha design is too ugly; it lacks presence.]

[Gundam! Gundam! We want to see Gundam!]

Do you think I don't want to?

Lin Xingyuan was quite speechless at the antics of these people when new instructions came through his earpiece.

"Lieutenant, begin moving! Take your designated positions!"

"Roger that!"

Although it wasn't a Gundam, Lin Xingyuan still felt exhilarated to be able to personally pilot a mobile suit. He took a deep breath and gently pushed the lever. The next instant, the Zaku I's fluid pulse engine roared, and its massive limbs began to move stiffly. Although the movement was extremely clumsy, the mobile suit still took a decisive step before everyone's eyes!

Just like the game has entered a new phase, the GM sent another message.

[Congratulations! You have mastered the basic MS piloting skills and have been awarded one chance to draw a card!]

Chapter Twelve: I, Lin Xingyuan, Gao Da's Father

The result of drawing a card is +1 Intelligence.

在使用基因强化卡后，林星原的六维变成了力量10+3敏捷10+4体质10+3智力9+4魅力8+4，现在智力又加了1点，变成了9+5，已然超越了普通人太多，达到了学霸的程度。

While intelligence and IQ are not synonymous, learning ability has undeniably improved. Therefore, in the eyes of the technicians, Lin Xingyuan's extraordinary speed and efficiency in learning to operate the Zaku I truly astonished many, and even the prisoners acknowledged this with a touch of envy.

"If a guy like you were in the Zeon army, as long as you don't die, you'd be an ACE sooner or later."

"That was indeed a misfortune for Zeon."

Lin Xingyuan replied with a double entendre—he had already made up his mind to fight these cosmic Nazis to the end, and the better his technology, the more Zeon soldiers he would kill in the future.

Then, ignoring the prisoners, he turned to the engineers and technicians to discuss the issue of the mobile suits—the Zaku I was outdated and could not meet his requirements at all, so he wanted stronger and more suitable mobile suits, and he also knew what shape those mobile suits should be.

"The operation of the Zaku I still relies heavily on manual operation, which is too laborious and difficult. I think we can expand the scale of pre-programmed operations and input the action patterns into the central computer. This way, more actions can be performed through simple macro commands. The AI ​​can also use a smarter model to learn the driver's operating habits and make operation simpler."

"Yes, yes, you make a lot of sense. Our AI technology is superior to Zeon's, so that's not a problem."

The engineers and technicians nodded in agreement and wrote in their notebooks: Use high-performance, learning-capable AI to assist the driver.

"anything else?"

"The designers of Zeon didn't consider designing close-in weapon systems (CIWS) for the Zaku, perhaps because they thought that missiles would be difficult to use against the Zaku in the Minovsky particle environment, or perhaps the system was designed from the outset as an anti-ship weapon. But it turns out that under the right conditions, missiles or rockets can still pose a threat to the Zaku, so I think it's necessary to equip our mobile suits with CIWS. They can be used to intercept missiles and rockets, to restrain enemy mobile suits in melee combat, or to deal with infantry."

"Mmmmmmm..."

The engineers and technicians nodded in agreement and wrote in their notebooks: "Utilize the head space to install a close-in weapon system (CIWS), ideally capable of destroying the Zaku's armor at close range. The caliber is expected to be 60 mm..."

Although he really wanted to complain about the ridiculous caliber, Lin Xingyuan held back when he thought about the Gundam's ability to penetrate Zaku armor at close range with its head cannon. He thought, "Well, as long as they can do it, that's fine." He then continued to offer suggestions.

"Furthermore, on the battlefield in the future, the biggest opponent of MS will be MS, so increasing defense is necessary. However, considering that the mobile suit cannot bear too thick and heavy armor, I think it is very valuable to carry a shield that can withstand Zaku machine guns. Even if the strength is only enough to withstand a few shots, it is enough to decide the outcome of the battle. In addition, the shield can also be equipped with rams and used as a melee weapon."

"Hmm, that makes sense."

The engineers and technicians were frantically scribbling in their notebooks: 'To increase strength within limited thickness and mass, ideally enough to withstand Zaku cannon shells, material options include: 1. Luna titanium alloy, 2. Ceramic titanium alloy composite armor…'

"..."

Wait a minute, AI learning computer, close-in weapon system, Gundam Nim alloy armor, protective shield...aren't these the hallmarks of Gundam?!

At this point, the Federal V Project should not have been formally proposed yet, meaning that one might be the one who proposed the specific technical specifications for Gundam?

Lin Xingyuan suddenly became excited.

Wow, this PL has become the father of Gundam!

[Tim Ray: These are all my ideas!]

【666】

"anything else?"

The engineers and technicians had no idea what he was thinking; they just kept asking him questions, and some of the younger technicians even unconsciously used honorifics.

What are your thoughts on weapons?

"Uh... For now, machine guns and rocket launchers are enough, but I think that to completely overwhelm the Zeon forces' mobile suits, it would be best to miniaturize beam weapons and create beam rifles, beam sabers, and beam rocket launchers that can be used by mobile suits!"

Lin Xingyuan simply stopped pretending.

"Mmm, that's a good idea!"

The engineers and technicians nodded repeatedly and wrote furiously.

"Anything else? What are your thoughts on the motion system?"

"Fluid pulses require high-performance piping. Perhaps we could consider using a force field motor? It's small, efficient, has a fast response time, and is also more energy-efficient?"

"Hmm! That makes sense! Anything else? What do you think of the propulsion system?"

"The limitations of propellant propulsion are too great. Full-speed propulsion only lasts for five minutes. Is it possible to use propellantless propulsion?"

Lin Xingyuan has completely let loose.

"Huh? It's possible, but its efficiency and explosive propulsion can't compare to working fluid propulsion..."

The engineers all expressed their difficulties, and Lin Xingyuan couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed.

I thought that with the nuclear fusion reactor, we could achieve unlimited power. What a disappointment.

"What about phase-transition armor? It's made of nanoscale phase-change materials and can convert the mechanical energy of a projectile attack into heat energy through the damped vibration of its micro-units, giving it extremely strong defensive capabilities against physical impacts. Can you do that?"

[Hey, do you want to turn Project V into Project G?]

[The original costume changer? That's a possibility!]

[2333, PL, keep it up!]

The comments section started buzzing again, but the engineers looked troubled.

"Huh?" The engineers looked at each other in disbelief. "You can do that?"

"It's too difficult."

"I haven't even considered it."

"Convert it into heat energy? Then how do you solve the heat dissipation problem?"

Seeing that it seemed impossible, Lin Xingyuan scratched his head and gave up on the PS armor—since the effect of the Gundam Nim alloy was about the same anyway—and then put forward a new suggestion.

"How about designing a backpack system? Through equipment swapping, it can utilize multiple types of gear? For example, the wing-type can glide short distances, and its wings can carry more fuel and larger thrusters for greater propulsion; the sword-type can carry heavy anti-ship swords and large-caliber machine guns, emphasizing close-range combat capabilities; and there's also an artillery type, with a dedicated high-powered beam cannon that can destroy a Musai-class aircraft with a single shot?"

Stop! CE party, get out!

[Bastard! How could he do such a thing to the sacred progenitor!]

The original flavor is still the best!

That's the symbol of UC!

The old-fashioned things are back again.

[Yeah, isn't the Strike Rifle so cool?]

[I don't mind, the original costumes are fun too! I'll definitely buy it when they release a model kit!]

How about developing a solar furnace?

While the online comments section erupted in debate, the engineers in real life were all pleasantly surprised.

"Great idea!"

"That's good!"

Weapons are meant to be used on the battlefield, and the idea of ​​upgrading equipment can obviously improve combat effectiveness, so it is definitely worth a try.

Is there anything else?

"...How about you consider developing optical camouflage?"

Meanwhile, Lin Xingyuan was indulging in wild ideas, developing the Zani with the technicians. On the other side, the salvage operation continued, with new Zaku wreckage being sent back to Luna 2 every day to be dismantled and used to build Luna 2's own mobile suits.

However, with the disappearance of Zaku I, the Zeon forces became alert and committed more resources to speed up the cleanup of the battlefield while also deploying troops and formulating operational plans to target the salvage team.

"You rats of the Federation, don't think you can get away alive just because you stole something."

On the still smoke-filled battlefield of Loum, three Zaku, which had been hiding among the wreckage for a long time, awaited their prey. The pink monocular locked onto the moving armed pod, and the pilot's lips curled into a cold smile.

"Attention all personnel, prepare for action!"

The three-tailed Zagu leaped out of its hiding place and was immediately spotted by the swordfish that was watching it.

"Warning! Warning! Zaku is coming!"

The battle alarm was instantly relayed to everyone in the salvage fleet.

Chapter Thirteen: Zani, Attack!

The region near Luna II —

"...The thirteenth Space Adaptability and Combat Effectiveness Assessment Test, Lieutenant, are you ready?"

The voice of a technician came through the headset. Lin Xingyuan checked every instrument in the cockpit and gave a response.

"Ready."

“那么，开始倒数，10、9、8^3、2、1开始！”

"receive."

As Lin Xingyuan pressed the pedal, dazzling blue flames erupted from the bright yellow Zani's back and the thrusters beneath its feet, propelling the machine forward with a sudden burst of energy. Tachibana Kanna, the observer pilot beside him, immediately cried out in alarm.

"So fast!!"

"Lieutenant! Too fast! Don't go full speed right from the start!"

The technician was shouting into his headset, his eyes glued to the screen capturing the footage.

"How can it be called a performance evaluation test if we don't do it this way?"

Lin Xingyuan smiled, pushed and pulled the control lever, and Zani rolled, stopped abruptly, and turned, drawing a sharp curve in the deep space.

"Hurry up and catch up!" The technician had no choice but to urge the observation aircraft to follow, while simultaneously reporting to the mothership: "Mission Control! Mission Control! This is Observation Aircraft 7433, navigation connection established, monitor signal tracking..."

"Roger that! It's alright, we've already obtained the technical data anyway, let the lieutenant get started."

"Yale yaale".

Tachibana Kanna looked at Zani with envy, piloting her observation unit closely behind. As a space fighter, the Swordfish was far faster than the Zaku. But soon, Zani was no longer satisfied with simple speed and trajectory tests. Instead, it changed its style and truly treated Zani as a mobile suit. It moved its arms and legs in the vacuum, changing its center of gravity and coordinating with the attitude nozzles to demonstrate the agility that a humanoid mobile suit should have, which is also the greatest advantage of a mobile suit. It leaped forward, stopped abruptly, flipped up and down, and swung left and right, truly achieving freedom. The Swordfish could not keep up with the pace at all, and the difference in maneuverability was immediately apparent.

"It's like a dance."

Gazing at Zani as he traced a graceful trajectory, the technician couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

"Hmph, what a repressed pervert."

Tachibana Kamina commented, "I never expected that Hayashi Hoshihara, who is usually so serious, would actually be so showy inside."

But thinking about it, it makes perfect sense; they're pilots, after all.

"Observation aircraft calling Antares 07, it's almost ready, prepare to start testing the weapon system, OVER."

"Glancing at the remaining fuel level," the technician said over the radio.

"Received, please launch DRONE, OVER."

"Understood! DRONE1 and DRONE2 are firing! Good attitude, green identification signal! Mission 1, commence!"

The term DRONE refers to an AI-controlled unmanned attack target missile, which is modified from a large missile. As soon as the command was issued, two large missiles were launched from the Columbus-class destroyer, heading straight for the Zaku 1 like arrows, mimicking the posture of a swordfish and attacking from two directions.

"coming!"

Zani's onboard detection system quickly spotted the approaching lights. Lin Xingyuan swiftly maneuvered his aircraft, changing its attitude to fly over the observation aircraft and actively engage the two DRONEs. In the next second as they passed each other, he turned and pressed the fire button. In the blink of an eye, four beams of fire shot out from Zani's head, sweeping towards the two DRONEs and destroying them—to expedite the construction, Zani's head utilized four 25mm rapid-fire cannons salvaged from Lin Xingyuan's Swordfish aircraft, capable of firing over two hundred rounds per second—an astonishingly efficient weapon!

"DRONE12 signal lost, confirmed destroyed, Mission 1 complete. Model analysis overwritten data logs, saved. Lieutenant, next tests will be of the machine gun and rockets—"

A sudden alarm interrupted the technician's report, and Tachibana Kamui, who was in charge of piloting the vehicle, pressed his helmet headset in surprise.

"What?! The salvage team has been attacked?! Lin—!"

He immediately looked at Zani not far away, and Lin Xingyuan's voice then rang out on the communication channel.

"Yes, I received it too. Go back now."

Zani quickly turned around and returned to the Columbus-class with the observation aircraft, where he soon learned the details of the situation.

"The Zeon forces dispatched a Musai and three Zaku to ambush the Loum battlefield, destroying the operational space capsule and a Swordfish. Currently, the Samiras-class has turned back to block them, buying time for the Columbus-class to evacuate. The distress signal we received was sent by the Columbus-class." The captain of the Columbus-class was an honest middle-aged man. Although he held the rank of lieutenant, he was not from an elite background, so he did not have the bureaucratic demeanor and arrogant attitude of the Wakham, especially when facing Lin Xingyuan, the rising star of the Luna 2: "We are now the closest combat unit to the salvage team. You are also officers, so I would like to ask for your opinions."