Let's reach 100 Powerstones for an extra chapter
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An Antares Mercenary, clad in a full-body Martial Combat Armor, stood ready. The helmet featured sunglasses-shaped eyes, adding a sleek, modern touch. The silver-gray armor had streamlined stripes from his torso to his thighs, emphasizing its agile design, and a pair of small thrusters were mounted on his back, promising enhanced mobility.
Following instructions, the Mercenary entered a special simulated virtual room.
Before him lay a simulated combat weapon, waiting to be equipped. A broadcast from the room calmly instructed the Mercenaries to prepare themselves.
Suddenly, the environment changed dramatically, revealing a scene of ruined buildings stretching in every direction. Bullet holes scarred many of the structures, and others were reduced to shattered rubble, victims of heavy bombing.
The Mercenary found himself in a dilapidated house, its walls crumbling and windows broken.
Reacting instantly, he took cover behind a large, overturned table, using it as a shield. His quantum exploration system activated, rapidly scanning the surrounding environment within a 50-meter radius.
The system identified three enemies positioned in different rooms upstairs. Immediately, the Mercenary engaged the armor's stealth function, his movements becoming silent and deliberate. He cautiously infiltrated the upper floor, ensuring each step was soundless.
Unaware of the Mercenary's presence, the three enemies remained in their positions. Drawing a military dagger, he silently eliminated them one by one, his movements precise and efficient.
Maintaining stealth mode, the Mercenary exited the building. Activating the scanner on his helmet again, he detected three more enemies, this time located in different ruined buildings scattered across the landscape.
A warning flashed in the Mercenary's vision: stealth ability would deactivate in 20 seconds. Quickly, he darted into a nearby building, seeking cover. He deactivated the stealth function, then reappeared, ready for the next phase of the mission.
Mission instructions appeared in his vision, clear and concise: eliminate the three detected enemies.
Using available cover, the Mercenary advanced cautiously. Reaching a suitable sniper position, he lay prone and set up his sniper rifle. The small computer integrated into his helmet had already calculated the distance to the target, as well as the wind direction in degrees, ensuring maximum accuracy.
Adjusting his sniper scope, the Mercenary took aim, focused, and pulled the trigger. The shot was perfect, blowing off the target's head with brutal efficiency.
The remaining two targets immediately recognized the threat and sought cover, prioritizing their safety.
Without hesitation, the Mercenary changed his location, moving to a new, less predictable vantage point.
After successfully sniping the second enemy, he relocated again, seeking to maintain the element of surprise.
During his movement, he encountered an enemy tank. The tank's turret swung around, its cannon locking onto the Mercenary. Reacting instantly, he activated the thrusters on his back. As the tank fired, he rocketed into the air, narrowly avoiding the blast.
Landing with a controlled thud, he used the thrusters to execute several short, rapid jumps, weaving between buildings and disappearing from the tank's line of sight.
Subsequently, numerous enemy infantry squads attempted to capture the Mercenary, their numbers seemingly endless.
Utilizing the ruined buildings as cover, and exploiting the mobility provided by the thrusters on his back, the Mercenary took to the high ground. Using his ability to fight briefly in the sky, he employed a top-down approach, systematically eliminating the infantry squads pursuing him, one after another.
Then, he plummeted from mid-air, landing directly on top of the tank. With a powerful strike, he punched through the top cover of the turret. Seizing the opportunity, he tossed a grenade inside the tank, then activated the thrusters on his back, rocketing towards a dilapidated high-rise building. A moment later, an explosion ripped through the tank, black smoke billowing into the sky.
Finally, from his elevated position on the high-rise building, the Mercenary spotted the third target moving cautiously below. Taking aim, he sniped the target from his elevated position, completing the mission.
With the mission accomplished, the environment reverted to its original state, the ruined buildings disappearing as if they never existed.
However, a new element appeared: a tank battle vehicle. Its cannon, a 105mm high-pressure smoothbore tank gun, was aimed directly at the Mercenary.
A broadcast instructed the Mercenary to activate the Guardian Stone defense function of the Martial Combat Armor. Complying with the order, he initiated the function. Instantly, the entire armor transformed, its surface becoming smooth and marble-like.
The tank fired, the shell slamming into the Mercenary and engulfing him in a thick cloud of smoke. As the smoke cleared, the Mercenary remained unharmed, the Guardian Stone function having successfully absorbed the impact. However, the function had reached its threshold limit and could not be reactivated temporarily. The Martial Combat Armor reverted to its original appearance.
Meanwhile, Ryuuichi and his team were observing the Mercenary's armor test from an observation room, their eyes glued to the data displayed on the computer screens.
"Boss, the Guardian Stone function has reached its threshold limit," the person in charge reported, his voice neutral as he relayed the information while looking at the computer data.
The other two members of the team were visibly surprised, having not expected the armor designed and developed by their boss to possess such high defensive capabilities when the defense function was activated.
The reason for their surprise was simple: a 105mm high-pressure smoothbore tank gun could easily penetrate the armor of a light MS with a single shot.
"Hmm, next, test its capabilities in space combat," Ryuuichi instructed calmly, unfazed by the impressive results so far.
The simulated virtual room changed its environment once again, transforming into a zero-gravity space environment.
During the Mercenary's test, the armor demonstrated an effective balance function during flight. If the Mercenary lost balance, the function would automatically activate, immediately stabilizing him and allowing him to continue flying without issue.
The test continued with combat scenarios in the space environment, followed by tests of combat capabilities in various other environments, including underwater and at sea.
The thrusters of the Martial Combat Armor could be readily changed to suit different environments. For example, for underwater combat, the back thrusters would be replaced with a propeller thruster designed for underwater operations.
Next, other specialized weapons were tested, including a customized electromagnetic rifle and a sniper Beam Rifle.
Ryuuichi observed the test results with satisfaction.
However, he was acutely aware that the Martial Combat Armor was expensive. A complete set cost 2 million credits, significantly more than a tank. Currently, the most advanced and expensive tank available cost around 1 million credits.
Ryuuichi planned to equip the developed Martial Combat Armor to designated military branches within his Mercenary Group.
The high price and maintenance costs were significant factors in this decision. Another reason was the relatively small size of the Mercenary Group. While various countries maintained large military forces, the Mercenaries required a more specialized approach. The Mercenaries who were responsible for occupying and suppressing enemy bases as infantry needed to be capable of land, sea, and space combat. These specialized infantry were collectively referred to as Suppressor Soldiers in the Mercenary Group.
The Antares Mercenary Group currently had only about 500 Suppressor Soldiers.
Equipping all the military branches of the Mercenary Group with Martial Combat Armor would bankrupt the Antares Mercenary Group.
For the time being, Ryuuichi had no plans to sell the Martial Combat Armor. He intended to wait until more advanced armor was developed before offering it on the market.
On his way back to his office, he encountered Hayato talking with the Mercenary who had tested the armor.
The Mercenary was a young man with red hair named Markway.
"Hello, Boss," Hayato and Markway said simultaneously.
"How did you feel testing the armor?" Ryuuichi asked Markway.
"My feeling can be summed up in one sentence: it's fantastic," Markway replied enthusiastically. "This kind of weapon can significantly increase our Suppressor Soldiers' survival rate on the battlefield."
"Hmm, that's good," Ryuuichi acknowledged.
Ryuuichi returned to his office and continued with his work, his mind occupied with the idea of developing a Gundam. He had considered developing Gundams like Wing Gundam Zero, 00 Gundam, or SEED Gundam. However, most of the necessary materials were unavailable in this world, forcing him to find substitutes.
Fortunately, the Gundanium Alloy he had developed possessed even better data than the Gundanium Alloy from his previous life.
Sci-fi concepts were easy to imagine, but turning them into reality was a significant challenge.
For instance, the GN Drive of Gundam 00 was impossible to manufacture with the current technology. The Phase Shift Armor of Gundam SEED would require extensive research, so Ryuuichi had to postpone its development.
Many of the technologies Ryuuichi possessed surpassed this world by at least 20 years.
He needed to leverage his existing knowledge and skills to develop manufacturable Gundams and other advanced items.
Ryuuichi was also working on a Super Energy Furnace, a technology he had acquired from another sci-fi novel.
If the Super Energy Furnace could be successfully developed, it could serve as a viable power source for the next generation of Gundams.
Ideally, he would have preferred the Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. However, current technological limitations made its development impossible. As a result, the GM MS and Gundams used alternative power sources.
The Super Energy Furnace was merely a temporary substitute for the Minovsky Ultracompact Fusion Reactor. While its power output was comparable, its endurance was limited. Reckless energy consumption could lead to combat durations of less than ten minutes before exhaustion.
Ryuuichi rubbed his temples, sighing inwardly. Since coming to this world, I possess all the data and theories required for these technologies. They're all in my head, accessible for research and development. Many things are theoretically feasible, but current technology prevents their execution.
A few hours later, Ryuuichi stretched his back and remembered the golden bank card his aunt had given him.
He checked the balance: 10 billion credits.
I didn't expect my aunt to give me so much money. Now I can continue developing more Gundam MS. Besides the RX series, the GP series is now within reach.
***
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