After learning about the backgrounds of the Tekkadan members, Reid had Rosalie take the remaining boys to his residential area to get settled and familiarize themselves with the surroundings.
As for the miscellaneous items and gold they brought back from the Iron-Blooded Orphans universe, Reid would arrange for the local residents to deliver them to the common hall of their conjoined villa complex, letting them divide the spoils themselves.
Reid, on the other hand, needed to sort through his own gains from this trip.
The system notification was the same as always: PD Year 323, Tekkadan Mars Breakout Campaign, Merit Points: 140 (unaffiliated), almost no G-Coins (because he had captured nearly everything, only McGillis's Schwalbe Graze counted as a kill).
He did acquire some skills. Mikazuki, Akihiro, McGillis, and Gaelio were all main characters or important supporting characters, and even the early-game supporting character Ein Dalton had dropped a skill.
However, upon looking at the specific skills, Reid could only say that they were not particularly useful, but it would be a shame to discard them.
The five skills were: Alaya-Vijnana Lv3 (Perfect implantation of three Alaya-Vijnana System Interfaces; dropped by Mikazuki), Indomitable (dropped by Akihiro), Personal Charm (increases affinity, dropped by McGillis), Elegance (bearing naturally possesses an elegant aura, dropped by Gaelio), and Vengeful Heart (dropped by Ein Dalton).
To put it mildly, the skills he received were rather awkward. Indomitable and Vengeful Heart were repeat drops, but they still had some value as they could tangibly increase combat effectiveness.
However, perhaps because it was too early in their story, the two skills dropped by McGillis and Gaelio—two characters who survived until the last few episodes of the anime with significant screen time—were completely unrelated to combat.
His system's data display didn't have a "charm" attribute. After all, reality wasn't a game where you could place a high-charm character in a guest seat on a ship to boost the experience gained by the entire crew.
Therefore, the so-called "increased affinity" and "naturally elegant aura" were things that improved one's impression on others, not one's combat power.
He figured the former stemmed from McGillis's long-term act of being a person with excellent affinity, while the latter was a skill born from the aristocratic education Gaelio had received since childhood.
So, Reid equipped the Personal Charm skill on the spot. Elegance wasn't his style, but adding a bit to his own charm was still necessary.
In any case, the system didn't limit how many skills a person could equip. The only restrictions were that high-tier skills would overwrite low-tier ones, and you couldn't equip two of the same skill.
Finally, the skill dropped by Mikazuki was actually very powerful. The Alaya-Vijnana System was a cheat in itself.
With this system, even if a pilot's MS piloting skill was judged by the system as "beginner," as long as a high-tier Mobile Suit had a compatible Alaya-Vijnana System, the pilot could unleash over seventy percent of the suit's combat potential.
Moreover, the one Mikazuki dropped was for three interfaces, which, under extreme conditions, could achieve a state of perfect unity between man and machine.
Unfortunately, the system skill still required the physical distortion of implanting the Alaya-Vijnana System Interface.
Besides, the Psychic Power Cockpit, when upgraded to its final stage in the future, could achieve a similar effect. The only cost was targeted training of the pilot's Psychic Power, and it was best if the pilot had some natural Psychic Talent.
Therefore, Reid had only one use for this skill: to upgrade the Tekkadan members who already had the Alaya-Vijnana System Interface, taking them from one interface to three.
The rest, naturally, was the list of captured Mobile Suits, which needs no further elaboration.
He had the Factory Module analyze the Gundam Barbatos and the Schwalbe Graze, and for the others, he had the module salvage the Ahab Reactors and dismantle the remaining parts for materials.
These were all the gains the system could display in its report.
But the gains outside the report were actually more important.
The top-tier Medical Pod from the Iron-Blooded Orphans universe, for example, had a higher analysis priority than the Gundam Barbatos. It was the kind of technology that, even if no one could understand it after analysis, could become a national-level cash cow just by manufacturing the finished product.
The locations of Martian mineral deposits were also very important.
Although the surface layout of Mars might not be identical across the various Gundam universes, the locations of mineral deposits were bound to be largely the same.
This data clearly specified which locations on Mars had groundwater and ice resources, which could be used for initial exploration. If the Martian immigrants in the CE Universe saw this, their eyes would instantly turn red with envy.
Of course, this didn't even include the complete technical documentation for Martian atmospheric terraforming that came later. This was a planetary modification plan that had already been put into practice. If he were to reveal it, becoming the King of Mars in the CE Universe wouldn't be a major issue.
However, Reid felt that "King of Mars" was a debuff. As far as he could recall, few who held that title met a good end. So, it was better to control things from behind the scenes and not put a target on his own back. He could just set up a Mars development company or something to claim territory when the time came.
But it was still a long way off from the completion of the Starlight Transmitter, and the F91's Minovsky Flight System hadn't reached the level of the future V2 Gundam. The technology for rapid travel to and from Mars was not yet mature, so it wasn't time to start making plans for Mars.
However, while Mars could wait, the problem at hand needed to be solved.
The Tekkadan crew was not easy to manage. Noin couldn't keep an eye on them forever, so it seemed he really didn't have anyone on hand who could properly train them and teach them military discipline.
Therefore, looking at the 200-plus Merit Points he had, Reid prepared to recruit pilots, hoping to draw someone skilled in training.
Since he had just gotten a guaranteed drop, Reid didn't make any grand preparations and just went for a ten-pull.
As expected, there were no surprises. A single blue meteor fell, accompanied by nine white ones.
However, after opening it, Reid was pleasantly surprised. The person he recruited this time was Belfegan Clouseau, the SRT team leader from the later part of Full Metal Panic's Mithril.
This was a formidable man who could single-handedly defeat a Mobile Suit equipped with a Lambda Driver using a standard unit. He was especially skilled in close combat. Honestly, Reid felt the system's B-rank evaluation was too low.
Unfortunately, Reid couldn't interfere with the system's evaluations, and he didn't know what the criteria were. He probably wouldn't know everything until he became a super administrator.
Fortunately, Belfegan Clouseau was more than enough to give the Tekkadan members military training. It should be said that Tekkadan was in for a "treat."
Reid didn't expect to train them to the level of Mithril's SRT, but he should at least be able to bring them up to the standard of ordinary special forces soldiers. Plus, he could serve as Noin's deputy.
It didn't matter if he had to work hard; Reid knew his hobbies, after all. This was a rare fellow anime enthusiast.
Although the CE Universe currently had no anime industry to speak of, the records from the previous era up to before the war were not lost. Over several hundred years, many classic anime and movies could still be found.
The only regret was that the original Akihabara had been completely destroyed during the Reconstruction War, and the East Asian Republic had not prioritized rebuilding the anime industry there. As a result, the current otaku atmosphere was far less intense than in Shanghai, which had been less affected by the Reconstruction War.
Unfortunately, Reid couldn't visit either of those places often, whereas Belfegan Clouseau might have a bit more freedom.
But the war was far from over, and Reid's plan to develop an anime industry in Australia could only be kept buried deep in his heart.
With a trainer secured, Reid decided not to use his second ten-pull on pilots.
Considering the current shortage of research personnel in the country, Reid prepared to invest the remaining ten pulls in researchers.
At this point, Reid wasn't concerned about their specialty; as long as they had research capabilities, it was fine. He had technology spanning various fields here.
Of course, this ten-pull yielded no miracles either, but after clicking on the blue meteor, Reid's hair stood on end.
The person who had arrived was named Nanai Miguel, one of Char's last paramours before his death.
Alright, calling her Char's paramour was a bit much. Hers was a case of unrequited love, similar to Haman's back then.
It was just that Char's love could be a motherly figure, and before she had a chance to turn to the dark side, Char had gone off on a "threesome" with Amuro and Lalah.
But this person had another identity: the director of the Sweetwater Neo Zeon Newtype Research Institute.
In other words, her specialty was researching Newtypes, and right now, the only Newtypes in the CE Universe were himself and Noin.
Reid definitely couldn't let her research Noin... but letting her research him didn't seem advisable either.
So Reid had a major headache, but what was to come would come.
The system knew Reid wouldn't do another ten-pull, so his secretariat soon informed him that two visitors with appointments had arrived.
Reid knew, of course, that he hadn't scheduled any visitors. The arrivals must be the two he had just recruited.
So now he could only brace himself and go receive them.
This time, the reception was held in a meeting room in the Star Palace City government building.
Reid received the background files the system had prepared for the two from the secretariat.
Belfegan Clouseau's identity was fine: a soldier from the Atlantic Federation who had voluntarily retired and renounced his citizenship after the previous Mu Clone incident. Since his character background included being a devout Muslim, he was already an outcast in the CE Universe, an era where religion was dead, so the Atlantic Federation let him go.
Belfegan Clouseau then logically applied to join the New Misurugi Kingdom.
Nanai Miguel's origin was a bit more complicated. The system had assigned her the identity of a senior researcher at a PLANT gene research institute.
Because of her obsession with the so-called evolution of humanity, Nanai Miguel had quit the PLANT gene research institute and, like a large number of third-rate researchers working on obscure projects in the Earth Sphere (most of whom were just trying to scam funding, so they were basically ignored), applied to join the New Misurugi Kingdom's research institute.
After reading the files, Reid knew the information provided by the system was certainly flawless, but a lingering religious zealot and a researcher who had once worked in a sensitive organization within PLANT... could these two identities be any more awkward?
Fortunately, upon meeting them, Belfegan Clouseau was just as Reid remembered him. On the surface, you couldn't tell he was an otaku obsessed with anime; just standing there, he exuded the aura of a tough-as-nails man. If he had been present during the battle to seize the Sons of Danann, he probably would have taken down those two traitors in a few rounds.
As for Nanai Miguel, she behaved much like Elvira Hill had when she first arrived, looking at Reid with intense curiosity, which made his skin crawl.
Seeing this, Reid could only suppress his discomfort and smile.
"Welcome, both of you. My name is Reid Isaac, the current Chairman of the Military Committee of the country you are in, and also your current administrator. I'm sure you are both well aware of your current situation. Why don't you start by telling me how you got here?"
Since Belfegan Clouseau and Nanai Miguel were recruited characters, their initial loyalty was 60, a much better attitude than the Tekkadan members, whose loyalty had only generally risen above 50 after discovering he was a huge benefactor.
Belfegan Clouseau was a soldier. He knew Reid was his new superior officer, so he immediately saluted and said, "Sir, in my past life, I died on Merida Island. The cause of death was my Mobile Suit being hit by a naval cannon."
Hearing this, Reid knew that this Belfegan Clouseau was at least not from the world where he had participated in the West Pacific Merida Island campaign, where Amalgam overran the Mithril headquarters.
In that battle, Amalgam's Behemoth had been destroyed by him before it could fire more than a few shots at the island, and Mithril's SRT team hadn't even sortied yet.
So, this was a Belfegan Clouseau from a normal parallel timeline.
Reid walked up and patted him on the shoulder. "Welcome to my team, Belfegan. Relax. Although the Earth here is not the one you're familiar with, you'll have the chance to travel between different worlds in the future. Isn't that cool?"
As Reid said this, Belfegan Clouseau also keenly sensed that his new superior officer seemed to be a kindred spirit. He smiled and said, "Yes, it is very cool."
Just as Belfegan Clouseau finished speaking, Nanai Miguel stood up and extended her hand. "Chairman, my name is Nanai Miguel. I suppose you could say I died for love. However, after death, I didn't find the person I was looking for, so now I can only return to the world of the living to search again."
Reid was stunned. No wonder the Federation Forces pursuing the surrendering remnants of the Neo Zeon fleet in the original story couldn't find any trace of Nanai Miguel among them. So the woman had loved Char so much she had died for him.
Wait, at that time, Char was only missing in action. When did this woman die for him?
However, this was clearly not a question to be pursued in detail. He could only say helplessly, "Miss Nanai, if your goal is to find someone, I may not be able to help you find the person you're looking for here. After all, I don't control whether your target is sent over."
Hearing this, Nanai Miguel smiled brightly. "No, I think I may have already found him. Chairman Reid, you are a Newtype, aren't you? You seem to have the same aura as the person I'm looking for."
Reid almost broke out in a cold sweat. Could this so-called aura be from the Red Comet skill?
However, Reid couldn't possibly hide his identity as a Newtype. After all, that was her field of study. Lying to her about it would make him look like a clown.
So Reid forced his expression to remain calm and replied, "I am indeed a Newtype, but I am definitely not the person you are looking for. Moreover, Newtypes have not yet appeared in large numbers in this universe, so if you want to study Newtypes, there are no samples for now. Because the only other Newtype is my wife.
"However, Miss Nanai, I have many other areas of technology related to human research here, such as genetic modification and limb regeneration, which are already practical applications."
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