My body's internal alarm clock woke me up. I sat up in bed and glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table.
"My name is Long Fei. More than twenty years ago, I was an otaku who was obsessed with Gundam. Of course, I also loved some science fiction novels. As a typical shut-in guy, I spent all my free time on these things and never bothered with dating. For me, having Gundam and my favorite sci-fi novels was my entire life."
"More than twenty years ago, after buying my favorite Wing Gundam Zero model kit and heading home to assemble it, a car accident knocked me unconscious."
"When I regained consciousness, I was lying in a crib. From my line of sight, I realized I was in a hospital. The sound I made was a baby's babbling cry. That cry startled the nurses who were handling the equipment nearby. They rushed out of the room and called for a doctor. When the doctor examined me, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, 'It's a miracle! A stillborn baby that was already declared dead has come back to life!"
"Then I saw a man with a square face, wearing a suit and exuding an air of authority, burst into the room. He picked me up, tears streaming down his face as he said, 'Thank the heavens! My son has come back to life.'"
"That's when I understood. I had died, and my reincarnated soul had attached itself to this infant's body—one that had already been dead. My soul had entered and replaced his."
"Soon after, I learned that I had been reborn into a wealthy family. In this life, my mother was an elegant and graceful beauty who held me gently. My father, though stern in expression, looked at me with the tender gaze of a loving parent. Besides me, I had three older sisters: the eldest named Long Kui, the second Long Xuan, and the third Long Wen."
"At first, I noticed that the crib I was in and the surrounding equipment were somewhat different from what I knew. I initially thought it was just because I had been reborn into a rich family with more advanced medical devices."
"But when I was discharged from the hospital, listening to the radio and looking at the scenery outside, I realized the cars were designed differently from what I remembered—they even had a sci-fi feel to them. After hearing the news broadcast by the radio announcer, I finally understood: I had transmigrated to another world."
"Born into this wealthy family, my name in this life is Long Fei. What surprised me the most was that all the knowledge about Gundam was in my brain. Moreover, technologies from some of the sci-fi novels I had read were also retained in my mind. I fully mastered the related knowledge—whether from Gundam or other sci-fi works. I could even disassemble and redesign them."
"In the third year after my birth—on my third birthday—I learned that the world I had reincarnated into was also called Earth. As I grew older, I came to understand that the history of this Earth was different from my previous world's history. Though the histories diverged, many things were still similar, such as the writing systems and languages. They were all the same. The only difference was that in this world, Chinese and English had become the two major universal languages."
"If I had to point out one major difference, it would be that the Earth in this life was nearly twice as large as the Earth in my previous life."
"The technology in this world's Earth was far more advanced than my previous one. Humanity had already ventured into outer space. There were space colonies similar to those in the Gundam universe, and many nations had sent their space forces to explore Mars and Jupiter as extensions of their national power."
"Currently, Mars has been successfully terraformed, and some Earth residents or space colony inhabitants have begun migrating there."
"Additionally, humans in this world had much longer lifespans than those on my previous Blue Star. People here could live to around 200 years. Although 18 was considered adulthood, middle age didn't begin until after 100, and old age only started at 150."
"However, this world was not peaceful. As humanity colonized outer space and other planets, they gradually became greedier. Nations launched wars to strengthen their influence. Although nuclear weapons existed in this world, for people who could now live in outer space and on other planets, the deterrent power of nukes was no longer as strong as before. Missile defense systems had become increasingly advanced. Ever since laser defense systems were developed, the threat of nuclear missiles had diminished. Many smaller countries had also developed these defense systems, rendering them unafraid of nuclear threats from superpowers. This led to even more intense warfare."
"Although no large-scale wars had broken out yet, small conflicts were still occurring in many places."
"War brought suffering to many people, but for someone like me, born into a wealthy family, such hardships felt very distant. Until I turned 16, I lived a carefree life as a young master. Besides researching the technologies in my brain, I also studied many of this world's technologies. In both my previous and current lives, I was an otaku, doing what I loved."
"But after my 16th birthday, my parents in this life died in an accident while traveling to outer space for a business deal. My three sisters and I inherited the enormous estate they left behind."
"In my previous life, my parents had long been divorced, and I had never felt parental love. This time, I truly experienced the love from my parents in this life. Their deaths left me crying for three whole days. Then I shut myself away for a while, becoming somewhat depressed. But I knew I couldn't stay that way forever. After thinking for a long time, I decided to use the knowledge I had gained in this life to carve out my own path."
"When I graduated from university at 21, I handed over the vast inheritance from my parents entirely to my three sisters. Taking my own money, I left a note bidding them farewell and secretly headed to outer space alone, determined to start a company there and make my mark."
"The place I am now is in an asteroid belt far from the Earth. It was originally an abandoned mining facility. Later, I bought this derelict facility at a low price from the relevant department of the nation controlling this area (Mikaang ), renovated it, and turned it into an arms manufacturing factory as well as the base for the mercenary group I founded."
"In this world, there are weapons similar to Mobile Suits from Mobile Suit Gundam—MS, also called Mechs, though most people just call them Mobile Suits. However, MS had only recently been deployed on the battlefield, and their combat performance hadn't surpassed warships or fighters yet. The main forces in current wars were still warships and fighter aircraft."
"My arms factory is currently focused on producing fighter aircraft."
"Beep... beep... beep." A sound came from the desk.
I glanced at the desktop and said, "Connect."
A holographic virtual projection appeared on the desk surface.
The 3D hologram showed a middle-aged man wearing work overalls, with tanned skin and stubble on his face. He was the director of my manufacturing factory, named Simmons.
"Boss, the MS we've been developing has finished its adjustments. Please come over and take a look."
"Got it. I'll be there shortly."
After ending the call, I got up, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and left the room. On the way, I ran into my best friend, Li Xiucheng.
He was my childhood playmate. Our backgrounds were quite different—I came from a merchant family, while he was born into a military one.
Despite our contrasting upbringings, we became close friends.
"This guy Li Xiucheng had received a strict military-style education since childhood, but he didn't have the rigid personality typical of soldiers. He also didn't particularly like the military lifestyle. I don't know if there's something wrong with his head, but rather than being a soldier, he yearned for the life of a mercenary. Three years ago, he secretly retired without telling his family and snuck off to a space colony. When we met, I had just arrived in outer space myself and was worrying about where to start my company. Thanks to him, he helped me find this abandoned mining site. According to him, four years earlier, he and his unit had covertly infiltrated Migaang's territory to wipe out a band of space pirates."
"Because of his connections, I established two companies at once: one called Tianyi Arms Manufacturing Company, and the other Tianyi Mercenary Group. At first, I put him in charge of the mercenary group, but he quickly recommended his uncle—a retired colonel—and secretly brought him here. He explained that he had only been a lieutenant in the military and wasn't suited to managing an entire force, but his uncle, who had been a colonel before retiring, was far more experienced. For his sake and based on the recommendation, I handed the entire mercenary group over to his uncle, Li Jiaming, to manage."
"Old Fei, are you heading to the hangar now? Let's go together. That Mobile Suit MS of yours is way too cool—I can't wait to pilot it!"
Li Xiucheng slung an arm around my shoulders in his usual, familiar way and patted me.