After Murrue and Bargiruel left the room, properly dressed, Reid explained the situation regarding the "pleasure room." After all, there was no way for Ange to make Reid change rooms now.
However, once everything was done, Reid turned off the lights in the room while broadcasting live, and took out the military-grade infrared scanner he had exchanged for from the system. He scanned the room thoroughly. Using the infrared reflections that would inevitably appear on the camera lens, he found three hidden cameras, located at the head of the bed, in the bathroom, and at the entrance.
After destroying these three cameras, Reid turned the lights back on. At that moment, Murrue and Bargiruel both showed expressions of fear. While the cameras in other places were manageable, the thought of being filmed while using the toilet made them feel like they could die.
Reid, however, wore a habitual expression as he took three bottles of water from the room's fridge and placed them next to the two women's computers. He then calmly sat down and said, "Gerard Garcia really can't pull off any high-end tricks. He thinks he can catch me with these pinhole cameras."
"Murrue, Bargiruel, you can rest easy now. This is a military fortress, and there's no way this room would have been pre-equipped with concealed cameras. These temporary pinhole cameras are the limit."
"I just saw there are canned coffees in the fridge. It looks like we'll be up most of the night, so you'll need to get them yourselves."
With that, Reid began to get down to business. This time, he had no Factory Module to assist with the OS compilation, but he could still view the code data directly from the system. So while he couldn't write the OS code from scratch in a short time like Kira, he could still make modifications with some time.
Reid started assigning tasks, syncing the points that needed modification for the Ground Gundam OS to Murrue and Bargiruel. He then said, "Murrue, the interface code in my template OS is different from the Astray's. All of these need to be modified. I've observed that the Astray weapons I acquired should be similar in specifications to the Strike, so check if they match."
Murrue had already noticed that the Astray's interface data was almost a direct copy of the G Plan, so she operated while saying, "They are the same. It seems Orb really did steal most of the G Plan's technology. This OS is actually based on the initial version of the Natural OS developed from the G Plan (the latest Natural OS is on the Red Astray). Compared to the final version used, it has significant vulnerabilities and is considered an obsolete product."
"So this OS from Orb is only useful for the machine parameters; the rest can be discarded. However, the OS you provided, with the Solid Cannon and High-Capacity Storage Container... isn't that equipment from the East Asian Republic's Celestial General?"
Reid interrupted Murrue before she could finish, saying, "Murrue, what Celestial General? This is Kampfer's OS, don't make things up."
Murrue looked at the armament replacement modules in the OS Reid provided, as well as the clearly heavy center of gravity balance code that did not belong to a high-mobility MS, and thought, who are you trying to fool, Reid?
But Murrue quickly realized why Reid would say that, and she nodded knowingly, skipping the topic to continue, "In any case, I think we should adjust this Astray according to the Strike's OS. The backpack interface specifications of this Astray are the same as the Strike's. However, the original OS program didn't include the backpack code. I can handle that part."
"But you'll need to take care of the beam weapon part, Reid. I don't have Kira's speed for modifying code."
"Finally, if we remove some unnecessary functions, we can directly modify the new Astray OS system using the OS you provided."
Reid nodded. Indeed, Murrue was much more professional in machine development-related technology than Bargiruel, who was struggling to keep up with their conversation, feeling like she was listening to a foreign language. She understood the words but felt lost in execution.
However, Reid and Murrue didn't expect Bargiruel to contribute much to the OS development. Her job was simply to separate different data according to Reid and Murrue's requirements and package them individually for easy access and modification.
In short, the three of them were busy in that pleasure room all night, with the room filled with the sounds of "pop, pop."
The next morning, Reid groggily woke up on the sofa, realizing he was covered with a pink blanket. Murrue was at the computer, working on something.
Seeing this, Reid quickly got up and walked over to Murrue, noticing she was finalizing the OS program's packaging and compression. He asked, "Murrue, you woke up so early. Although you went to bed a bit earlier than I did, you've only had about three hours of rest, right? Also, thank you for the blanket."
Murrue took a sip of coffee and calmly replied, "This is nothing. When we were rushing the G Plan, I basically only got one or two hours of scattered rest every day. But Reid, you seem to not be able to stay up as well as I imagined."
Reid thought to himself, I'm a pilot; I can't afford to drive while fatigued. What I practice is recovering quickly in a short time, not staying up late.
So Reid skipped over that unfavorable topic and said, "I'm doing fine. Mainly, after you two rested, I chatted with Ange for a bit and even created a virus program to prepare for an intrusion into the fortress's server later."
"By the way, it's about time. Murrue, wake up Bargiruel. You two should take turns showering; after all, both of you smell like coffee now. It's just right to change into what Ange bought for you. You haven't changed your personal clothes since leaving Heliopolis, have you?"
"Don't worry, with one of you keeping an eye on me, I can't sneak a peek. Besides, I need to shower myself."
Upon hearing this, Murrue rolled her eyes at Reid, retorting, "Reid, has anyone ever told you that sometimes you can be really rude? While it may be true, is it really appropriate to point out a woman's body odor directly?"
Reid had no words to counter this and could only surrender and keep quiet.
Murrue wasn't really planning to hold it against Reid; after all, they had shared a deeper exchange that night (in terms of MS design philosophy), and Reid was genuinely skilled. Such people tend to overlook minor details, and Reid had no malicious intent.
So, after waking up Bargiruel, Murrue went to take a shower without worrying about Reid peeking.
About an hour and a half later, Reid, the last one to shower, finished cleaning himself up. He knew he hadn't gained any advantage from this, but he was unsure if the two outside had taken advantage of him.
From the surface, it was hard to tell if Murrue and Bargiruel had peeked. However, both had just come out of the bath, and their tops weren't fully buttoned, revealing beautiful collarbones and a hint of alluring cleavage, which was somewhat tempting.
But it was time to leave this enchanting room and return the two to the confinement room. At that moment, Mu was sprawled on the sofa, resting, snoring loudly.
Reid didn't wake Mu; he had already informed him of everything that needed to be said yesterday. He just needed to bring him out later to test the machine.
So Reid turned and left, first visiting Ange before returning to the Archangel.
Seeing that the Green Astray Gundam was fully assembled, Reid sent the technicians from Artemis Fortress away and sat in the Astray Gundam's cockpit, importing the Natural OS into the machine.
This action naturally attracted Gerard Garcia's attention.
It's worth noting that the Eurasian Federation had no Natural OS other than the Union Flag type. They were also troubled by the fact that only a few elite pilots could wield the power of the Union Flag. For others, piloting a machine was no better than flying a fighter jet.
Moreover, Artemis Fortress hadn't deployed a single Union Flag since the war began, as the most elite pilot team here was the one Reid originally belonged to. After their annihilation, there were no other elite teams left.
Furthermore, Artemis Fortress hadn't encountered any large-scale battles since the war started. ZAFT seemed uninterested in this fortress, so the Eurasian Federation wouldn't deploy precious combat power capable of piloting the Union Flag to such a non-combat area.
When Gerard Garcia saw Reid busy and his technicians pushed aside, he wasn't angry. He floated to the cockpit door and asked Reid inside, "Reid, why are you up so early? I thought you'd only come out around noon. So, how was last night?"
Reid, too lazy to engage in mind games with Gerard Garcia, replied without looking up, "It was smooth. Your arrangements were fine. There were just three minor flaws, but I fixed them."
Gerard Garcia knew what the so-called three flaws were without Reid saying anything. However, seeing that Reid didn't seem to hold a grudge, it appeared he was genuinely satisfied with last night. So he said, "As long as you're satisfied, that's good. But you don't need to work so hard. Let those programmers who only know how to eat and sleep handle the installation of the machine's program. Why tire yourself out?"
Reid finally looked up, giving Gerard Garcia a cold smile as he said, "Commander, you should have received the machine's data by now. If you want the OS, that's a different price. But I'm a reasonable person; I never provide subpar products. This OS still needs testing. Let Mu out later; I believe the OS I can use won't provide any reference for you. It's better to let Mu test it."
"As for the other MA pilots in the base, they have no MS operation experience and can't serve as test pilots at all."
Reid's reasoning was sound, so Gerard Garcia didn't dwell on it too much and quickly nodded, "Hmm, having Endymion's Eagle as the test pilot makes sense. Alright, I'll have him released shortly."
Seeing Gerard Garcia concede, Reid continued, "Also, let Murrue and Bargiruel out. I'll exchange this OS for their freedom. The technology and OS of this machine are enough for you to take back and claim credit. If things go well, you might even be promoted to Major General next time we meet. There's no more meaning in keeping them under pressure, or do you plan to exchange my OS for something else?"
After Reid spoke, Gerard Garcia fell into a dilemma again. In his eyes, Murrue and Bargiruel were just minor characters, so it didn't matter whether he released them or not.
However, Gerard Garcia was worried that if he released the two, Reid and Princess Angelise would take the Archangel and force their way out. If that happened, obtaining the machine's data without the OS wouldn't be enough for a promotion.
Reid could tell what Gerard Garcia was thinking, even without reading his mind. He silently mocked, "Don't worry, in the end, you won't even keep the machine's data."
But on the surface, Reid reassured Gerard Garcia, saying, "Alright, don't worry about us running away. Don't you know the supply situation on the Archangel? You haven't provided any reinforcements at all. Right now, the people on the escape ship are going to die of thirst. Also, you must have notified the Eurasian Federation about my presence here, right? Just add one more thing: until the envoy from the Eurasian Federation arrives, I won't leave."
Upon hearing this, Gerard Garcia thought about it and realized it seemed to be the case. Moreover, seeing Reid's expression, if he refused again, the other side would likely become uncooperative. Gerard Garcia had a bit of self-awareness; he knew Reid didn't like him, and his willingness to cooperate was purely a matter of mutual benefit.
So, Gerard Garcia put on a professional, cheerful smile and laughed, "Haha, Reid, there's no need to be so serious. It's just letting two lieutenants out. You verified their identities last night, so I naturally trust you. Alright, I'll arrange for someone to bring them out."
With that, Gerard Garcia descended to the ground, instructing his subordinates to release them. In less than fifteen minutes, Murrue, Bargiruel, and Mu returned to the Archangel.
Along with them were Ange, Flay, and Miriallia. The three brought the three computers Reid had used to develop the OS last night.
Gerard Garcia probably thought Reid wanted the computers to create some small programs to entertain the three women and to avoid disturbing him last night, so he didn't reclaim the three computers.
However, Murrue and Bargiruel didn't stay in the hangar but went directly to where the other crew members were detained to calm them down. They also arranged for people to return to their posts. Although there were still guards from the Eurasian Federation monitoring the Archangel, the crew members with Atlantic Federation military status could temporarily move around with limited freedom.
Of course, this didn't include Kira, who had not exposed his status as a Strike pilot and was mingling among the civilians.
The battle had ended before reaching Artemis Fortress.
From Artemis Fortress's perspective, the Strike merely held off one enemy MS; it didn't display the heroic performance of saving the day as in the original story. That's why Gerard Garcia didn't pay particular attention to this machine and focused all his attention on the machine Reid requested to be assembled. In Gerard Garcia's mind, he genuinely believed Reid's level of machine development was superior to that of the Atlantic Federation.
Once the members of the Archangel returned to their original posts, the matter of checking the ship's program could wait.
After separating from the two captains, Mu voluntarily entered the Astray's cockpit to begin personal adjustments.
This adjustment was still only between Reid and Mu, as the technicians from Artemis Fortress continued to stare blankly below, citing Reid's desire to keep them away from half-finished products.
Inside the cockpit, Mu adjusted the parameters based on his experience piloting the Union Flag but curiously asked, "Reid, I noticed Murrue and Bargiruel both smelled nice after their showers today. By the way, you didn't really make a move on them, did you?"
Reid simply rolled his eyes at Mu and shot back, "Are you brave enough to ask them in front of their faces and see if they beat you up?"
After saying this, Reid noticed Mu's expression was a bit awkward, so he continued in surprise, "Wait, Mu, you really asked them? By the way, you're not injured, are you? If you're hurt, you shouldn't be testing. After all, it's an OS test, and if something goes wrong, it wouldn't be good to have you stuck here."
Mu could only respond with a wry smile, "I took two punches to the stomach, Reid. You're right; Bargiruel hits harder than Murrue. Although I'm not injured, she almost made me throw up my breakfast."
Reid sympathized with Mu's plight. It was impossible to say that Murrue and Bargiruel didn't have any resentment about last night. After all, being taken to a pleasure room by Reid for an entire night had undoubtedly ruined their reputations in the circle of Artemis Fortress.
Mu, however, brought up the wrong topic at the wrong time, and he truly deserved to be hit.
But since Mu wasn't injured, Reid felt relieved. After all, he had also been knocked down by Ange and lay on the sofa like a corpse, knowing that such a level of injury wouldn't affect piloting.
So after explaining what each button on the machine did, Reid left the machine and returned to the NT-X Gundam.
Reid naturally went back to the cockpit as a medic, since it was an OS test. Even though Reid felt this OS could be used in actual combat, he still needed to verify it carefully.
At this point, Mu had already piloted the Green Astray Gundam out for maneuvering flight, using the Beam Rifle to shoot at several targets released by Artemis Fortress to test the weapon's stability. Everything was going smoothly.
Originally, the testing should have ended here. Mu should have piloted the machine back to the Archangel to check if there were any issues with the OS records.
But suddenly, Reid and Mu's machines detected explosions in the space towards Earth caused by battles, and the explosions were getting closer.
Before long, Reid received a broken transmission of a distress signal on all channels:
"Static... This is the Eurasian Federation's Third Supply Fleet... Static... We are under attack by ZAFT... Static... The Eurasian Federation's Foreign Minister is on our ship... Artemis Fortress, please come to our aid..."
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