After capturing the Alvatore and bringing it back to the ship, Reid went straight to rest. The cleanup of the Mass-Produced GM Astrays was already complete, and no debris larger than two adult palms could be found in the surrounding space zone.
As for the battle between Setsuna and Graham, Reid paid it no mind at all.
Although the fight was dangerous for Setsuna, the chances of him losing were actually slim.
Ultimately, the Union Flag Custom Type II was just a machine cobbled together by forcefully merging Union Flag technology with Celestial Beings' tech.
Moreover, this Mobile Suit had undergone no tuning or testing whatsoever. Under normal circumstances, if the logistics and R&D departments gave a pilot such a machine to fly, everyone involved would end up in a military tribunal.
It was already impressive that such a machine could operate at its calculated output, let alone possess any stability or reliability.
It was only because Graham's skills were truly formidable; otherwise, if anyone else had piloted that machine, they would have crashed into an asteroid in minutes. It would even be normal for a fire to break out somewhere on the Mobile Suit mid-flight.
However, even with the boost from Graham's skills, a machine's inherent flaws are what they are. The performance of a Mobile Suit isn't judged solely on its output.
Even though Exia was in its weakened state after Trans-Am, it was still a reliable, high-performance machine. The fact that they quickly fought to a near-mutual kill could only mean that Graham's MS piloting skills at this point in time truly crushed Setsuna's.
Sure enough, just a few minutes after Reid sat down to rest, a forced teleportation occurred.
This was entirely within his expectations. The original story never clearly explained how the nearly-crippled Exia, the completely immobile Ptolemy, and the unconscious Lasse Aeon, who was far from the mothership, managed to escape. In any case, they all vanished before the follow-up rescue forces from the three AD blocs arrived.
Upon returning to the CE Universe, Reid disbanded the team as usual. The system displayed that the "UN Forces' Annihilation of Celestial Being" campaign was complete, with the World Change Fluctuation Value locked at 9.888%.
The next mission, unsurprisingly, was the "Earth Federation Anti-Government Forces Prison Assault," a full four years after the current one.
However, Reid didn't mind. He wasn't planning on going to the AD Universe for assessment missions anytime soon anyway. In the world four years from now, the AD Universe's technology would have already exploded, so he needed to make some progress himself to maintain his overwhelming advantage.
As for the gains from this campaign, he received some G-Coins, two Mobile Suits, and three occupants for his medical pods.
The G-Coins were nothing to write home about. The Mobile Suits were so-so; Throne Eins and Alvaaron had already been fed to the Factory Module, and he would just wait for the results to see if there were any interesting technologies.
As for Lockon, Lichtendahl Tsery, and Christina Sierra...
Half a month later, when the last person, Lichtendahl Tsery, stepped out of the medical pod and stood on solid ground again, Reid gathered Neil Dylandy (Lockon had decided to go back to his real name) and Christina Sierra, who had already been enjoying their newfound freedom and experiencing the new world.
Since Reid was too lazy to explain the matter of another world for a third time, Christina explained it to Lichtendahl.
After hearing Christina's words, Lichtendahl Tsery looked at Neil and Reid, who were brewing tea in the room, and said with an expression that screamed, "You've got to be kidding me."
"So, is this some kind of prank to celebrate my recovery? Parallel universes, a system that manages all universes, interactions between worlds... Are you writing a science fiction novel?"
Neil looked at Lichtendahl, whose face was written all over with disbelief, handed him a cup of tea, and said with a look of shared sentiment, "You don't believe it, right? As the first one to wake up, I didn't believe it either when Reid told me.
"But the reality is, the world we're in now, this Earth, isn't the one we know. The major powers on Earth here aren't the Human Reform League, the Union, or the AEU. Instead, it's the East Asian Republic, the Atlantic Federation, the Eurasian Federation, and the New Misurugi Kingdom in Australia, which Reid manages.
"And the technological development here is a bit more advanced than ours. Space colonization is a very mature practice, and their gene technology is exceptionally developed. People's manipulation of genes is quite exaggerated.
"I used to hear people from the Human Reform League talk about giving their children a head start. The gene technology here can genuinely give children talents far exceeding those of ordinary people. But there are trade-offs. They win at the starting line, but they lose their future."
As Neil said this, Reid interjected, "Neil, I've told you before, although Coordinators have a major flaw, they are one of the world's attempts at development. What if there's another breakthrough in gene technology and the problem is solved? Besides, if you had a child, wouldn't you want him to be better than others in every way?"
Regarding this question, Neil answered bluntly, "I just want my child to live a peaceful life in a peaceful world. Unfortunately, Reid, this world of yours is even more twisted than ours. For now, you can only protect your own little piece of tranquility."
Reid didn't refute this point. He would solve the problems of the CE Universe sooner or later, but right now, he hadn't figured out the details.
However, at this moment, Christina spoke up for Reid. She said directly, "Lock... uh, Neil, don't say that. I think the New Misurugi Kingdom is wonderful. The technology is advanced, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. Most people look very happy, and the public security is surprisingly good. I've been very satisfied these past couple of weeks.
"And you talk about so many flaws, but that doesn't stop you from accepting little gifts from the female soldiers at the barracks.
"By the way, you're not thinking of starting a harem like Reid, are you?"
With Christina exposing him, Neil's face flushed slightly, and he immediately dropped the topic of a twisted world.
Reid, for his part, felt like he had just gotten some juicy gossip. However, he didn't plan to pry too much into Neil's private life. As a Celestial Being Gundam pilot, Neil was very tight-lipped.
But as the conversation reached this point, Reid looked at Lichtendahl with a hint of pity and said, "Lichtendahl, you've seen your latest medical report, right?"
Lichtendahl nodded and said with a bitter smile, "Yes, I've seen it. Because there was no healthy original sample, a new body couldn't be grown. I've gone from having forty percent artificial organs to sixty percent. Although my limbs have been restored to flesh and blood, my insides are all mechanical. Say, do I count as a cyborg from a sci-fi novel now?"
Seeing that Lichtendahl seemed to have accepted reality, Reid didn't say much more.
This kid was truly pitiful. Reid had been a little too late in saving him. The standard medical pod had really only kept him alive. Because the treatment wasn't timely enough and his pilot suit was too damaged at the time, many of his organs couldn't be saved. Right now, only his spine, stomach, and intestines were original.
Other organs aside, both of this kid's kidneys were artificial, which would inevitably affect his hormone secretion. His future marital life with Christina was going to be a struggle, and they might not even make it to the stage of being husband and wife.
However, that had nothing to do with Reid. As a leader, he wasn't responsible for mediating domestic disputes. If a conflict really arose, he would just assign the two of them to work on different ships.
Lichtendahl was also aware of his physical condition, so he didn't want to dwell on the topic.
At this point, he was beginning to believe that Reid possessed the sci-fi abilities Christina had described. So, he asked, "Then, Mr. Reid, do we really have a chance to go back and see our original world?"
Reid had already answered this question twice, but he patiently replied again, "Yes, the problems in your world haven't been completely resolved. I will definitely have to go back in the future, and you can go back with me then.
"However, it will just be to go back and take a look. Depending on the actual situation, you might not have much time for family visits. But reporting that you're safe won't be a problem."
With that said, Lichtendahl had no more questions. No longer entangled, he was quickly dragged out on a date by Christina.
Reid knew he didn't have this world's currency, so he advanced him a month's salary.
Neil, Lichtendahl, and Christina weren't summoned through the system's gacha. Since Reid had saved their lives, he was definitely going to exploit their labor.
Neil had already been sent to Noin to become an MS sniper instructor. He would surely be one of the main combatants in the future.
Christina had joined the national defense network security department.
As for Lichtendahl, Reid planned to assign him to Bargiruel, to be properly trained by her and Arnold Neumann. Lichtendahl's helmsmanship was certainly not a problem, but Reid felt there was still room for improvement. He could try to cultivate him into a second "god-helmsman."
The issues with Neil, Lichtendahl, and Christina were thus considered resolved. With the system guaranteeing their loyalty, and the fact that Reid had genuinely saved their lives, all three had loyalty ratings above 60. They all actively integrated into their new lives in this new world.
Time passed peacefully, day by day. Soon, it was August of CE 72.
The Jupiteris, jointly built by the military factories of the New Misurugi Kingdom, was finally about to officially depart for Jupiter with its long-range expedition team.
In fact, the Jupiteris had been completed in early July.
The New Misurugi Kingdom's military factories had barely passed Reid's test. Although there were all sorts of problems and a lot of wasted materials, the ship was finally completed within three months without the assistance of the Factory Module.
Since all the assembly and inspection work was done by the natives, there were absolutely no cut corners. The ship fully complied with the predetermined standards and parameters on the blueprints.
However, a ship couldn't just depart immediately after being built. For the next month, the ship, with its already-selected crew, cruised around the Earth Sphere, even helping PLANT deliver two batches of goods to Earth.
After a month of testing, with Reid appointing Matilda Ajan as captain and three Amazing Kampfers as escorts, the crew members from the three Earth Alliance nations and PLANT truly couldn't find a single fault.
So, Reid closed his eyes, picked August 8th for good luck, held a grand ceremony, and sent the ship on its way.
For Reid at this time, Murrue, who was due to give birth this month, was the most important matter in the universe.
Especially after the 15th, Reid couldn't sleep well, waking up every night to check if Murrue had given birth.
Fortunately, the child didn't make Reid wait long. On August 20th, Reid's first child was born.
It was a little princess. Reid discovered at this moment that he was apparently terrible at naming things. After racking his brain, he chose the very ordinary name, Maria Isaac.
But no matter how ordinary the name, this child was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Reid's entire family doted on their first daughter, to the point that Murrue, the mother, had almost no time to hold her baby except for breastfeeding.
Reid, on the other hand, dropped everything and transformed into a stay-at-home dad, accompanying Murrue during her postpartum confinement. If anyone came looking for him, he would just curse them out, saying, "If I have to do all the work myself, what do I need you for?"
In any case, those who understood Reid, like Une, wouldn't dare to provoke him at a time like this. One could only say that animals with young cubs are very dangerous, regardless of whether they are male or female.
Unfortunately, while Reid was enjoying his family bliss, the developments and small maneuvers of the various factions in the CE Universe did not stop.
Under the full-force research and development of PLANT's scientists, on the day after little Maria was born, PLANT announced a breakthrough in Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor technology. Its output efficiency could now approach that of a traditional nuclear fission reactor.
Although this reactor's output efficiency was still somewhat behind the one the New Misurugi Kingdom gave to Orb, PLANT stated that they had already grasped the knack. They would now be able to rapidly improve the performance of the Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor and bring it up to the power of a true nuclear fusion reactor soon.
In reality, Reid and Une knew as soon as they heard it that PLANT had likely made the technological breakthrough a while ago. Announcing it now was just an attempt to mess with Reid's state of mind while he had just had a daughter.
Unfortunately for them, Reid and Une were well aware that increasing the output efficiency of a Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor was an extremely complex process. PLANT had only just seen the gate; they were still some distance from reaching the entrance.
As for unlocking the complex lock on the door, it took the Universal Century nearly 80 years to reach the level of the V Gundam. PLANT still had a long way to go in their research.
Thus, the New Misurugi Kingdom acted as if it hadn't heard PLANT's announcement at all, showing no reaction whatsoever.
This left PLANT a bit speechless. The real reason for their public announcement was that after the breakthrough in Minovsky Particle Fusion Reactor technology, they had quickly hit another bottleneck. It was as if their previous research had been flawed, and the breakthrough was merely choosing the solution with the lowest ceiling among several options, causing them to bottom out immediately.
So, PLANT wanted to see the New Misurugi Kingdom's reaction, hoping it could indirectly help them determine if their research direction was problematic.
But the New Misurugi Kingdom made no move at all, which was very awkward. Was Reid really not afraid of his technological advantage being surpassed by a latecomer? Was this confidence, or did he already know their research direction was wrong?
Since everyone had previously believed that Reid possessed a deeply hidden global intelligence network, the PLANT government leaned towards the idea that Reid already knew the research direction was problematic and thus couldn't be bothered.
The PLANT Academy of Sciences, however, firmly believed their research was sound. The current roadblock must be due to the previous solution being imperfect, and the nation needed to provide more support.
Unfortunately, before PLANT's internal disagreements could reach a conclusion, they were interrupted by external events.
The three Earth Alliance nations didn't care what PLANT's original purpose for the announcement was. All they knew was that PLANT had made a technological breakthrough while they hadn't even gotten a foot in the door, which was extremely dangerous.
Therefore, while the three Earth Alliance nations dispatched a large number of diplomats to seek cooperation on the surface, they secretly began trying every possible means to steal the technology from PLANT or even steal a reactor directly, keeping PLANT's counter-espionage agencies too busy to even sleep.
(End of Chapter)