"Oh? Looks like it's actually useful?"
Lu Tianming raised his eyebrows, feeling somewhat surprised by Xia Chuan's reaction... He had originally thought such minor adjustments wouldn't produce such noticeable effects.
It seemed the results of this maintenance adjustment were better than expected.
"How should I put it? It's like getting a good scrub - feels like my whole body has been refreshed."
Xia Chuan said cheerfully, clearly the modifications had greatly optimized his sensory perception. Especially the sensor installation... Xia Chuan now felt like his visual feed had been upgraded to high definition. Everything appeared much clearer.
As for Lu Tianming, he didn't have any direct sensation... After all, he wasn't the one being enhanced, and he couldn't exactly test the movements himself.
"Even though we've made adaptive adjustments to the Wings of Light's power output this time, we still can't rely on this move too often in the future."
Lu Tianming took a deep breath. Although the previous fight had been exhilarating, he had to admit the cost of using the Wings of Light was truly substantial.
They had only been fighting for a short while earlier - the mobile suit ran out of power in less than a minute after activating the Wings of Light.
"That's true... This thing does consume quite a lot of energy."
Xia Chuan also realized the issue. It made perfect sense - even the original Destiny with its nuclear reactor still suffered from power shortages. Having the battery-powered Assault Suit use Wings of Light was clearly pushing it too far.
Drained in less than a minute... That's ridiculously fast.
In actual combat, if you activate Wings of Light but fail to take down your opponent immediately, you'd just become a sitting duck.
"Oh right, about the Wings of Light... I discovered that this thing seems to be a skill bound to the Sword Pack."
Xia Chuan thought of something and added somewhat naively.
"There's that limitation too? But the Lightning Ball was released perfectly fine."
Lu Tianming was clearly surprised. The Lightning Ball had been successfully deployed with both the Sword Pack and Striker Pack, making him think these special skills could be used anytime... So there were equipment restrictions after all.
"Well, here's roughly how it works. The Lightning Ball is bound to the Assault Suit's main body, while Wings of Light is bound to the Sword Pack. Basically, each skill has its corresponding physical carrier, but how many skills each carrier can bind... I haven't researched that yet."
Xia Chuan indicated his perception of these things was rather vague. When Lu Tianming wasn't around, he couldn't even actively sense them.
Only when Lu Tianming was seated inside, after that connection was established, could he perceive that unique power through it.
"Then what are the skills for the Striker Pack and Launcher Pack? And what the hell is this Resonance Level setting?"
"No idea. This thing doesn't come with a system interface or instruction manual. We'll only know when we accidentally activate some hidden skill."
Xia Chuan adopted a somewhat resigned attitude. Without any manual or explanations, everything had to be figured out through trial and error, so he didn't have much understanding of it.
As for Resonance Level, Xia Chuan knew even less. The only thing he could confirm was that both Lightning Ball and Wings of Light were only released when Resonance Level reached above 70%.
Seeing that Xia Chuan couldn't answer any of his questions, Lu Tianming didn't plan to press further. After all, he wasn't some all-knowing cheat character, but rather a simple-minded battle junkie who only knew how to fight.
After listening to the modified individual's experience report, Lu Tianming chatted with the guy for a while. Finding this carefree fellow completely stress-free, Lu Tianming opened the cockpit hatch intending to take another stroll outside.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he opened the hatch—Murrue suddenly appeared before him holding a drink with a straw.
"Miss Murrue?"
Her sudden appearance surprised Lu Tianming. Murrue was also startled by the abruptly opened hatch, nearly getting knocked over by it. Due to the low gravity inside the battleship, she was still struggling to regain her balance, her chest swaying noticeably with the motion.
Seeing Murrue in this rare, flustered state, Lu Tianming smiled wryly before reaching out to grab her arm and pulling her toward him.
Clutching Lu Tianming's arm like a lifeline, Murrue barely managed to stabilize herself, one hand gripping the hatch frame while the other held her drink, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths.
"You startled me, coming here so suddenly," Lu Tianming said with a laugh, trying to lighten the atmosphere.
Murrue's face flushed slightly with embarrassment before she cleared her throat softly. "I thought you might be physically drained from the continuous combat earlier, so I came to check on you..."
As she spoke, she handed the drink to Lu Tianming—it wasn't particularly valuable, just something available from the battleship's cafeteria drink dispenser.
But Lu Tianming could still appreciate the gesture.
"Thank you, Miss Murrue... By the way, is it alright for you to be away from the bridge?"
Lu Tianming remained curious about Murrue's "unauthorized absence." Given their current circumstances... they hadn't quite reached a state of complete stability yet.
"It's fine to be away briefly. Besides, there are others on the bridge—it's not like operations would halt without me," Murrue shook her head. Though the bridge crew's workload was lighter than Lu Tianming's, everyone had grown somewhat weary after several intense battles. Combined with the Archangel's operational system not requiring excessive personnel, the crew was currently on rotating breaks.
Hearing this, Lu Tianming nodded with an understanding expression and accepted the drink without further refusal.
The cool, refreshing liquid down his throat indeed helped clear his mind.
Setting down the drink, Lu Tianming was about to ask about the Archangel's future course when a violent tremor suddenly shook the vessel.
Fortunately, Murrue held onto the hatch frame this time and didn't fall... but Lu Tianming nearly got hit in the face by her shaking form.
Sighing inwardly, Lu Tianming initially thought Xia Chuan was causing trouble again, but then a sharp, piercing alarm blared through the ship.
"...ZAFT is moving this quickly?" Murrue's brow furrowed slightly, clearly surprised by the suddenness of the enemy's assault, a troubled glint flashing in her eyes.
She then turned back, her gaze carrying a trace of concern as she looked at Lu Tianming. "We'll have to trouble you again this time."
"Duty calls—no need to say more."
Lu Tianming didn't say much, merely nodding as he watched Murrue depart for the Bridge. After closing the cockpit canopy before him, he took a slight deep breath, then leaned back against the pilot's seat. Patting the display screen, he grinned at Xia Chuan and said:
"Perfect timing—it was just overhauled... I'll take you out for a proper joyride later!"