At the port of the Home in ORB.
Only at this moment did Ro and the Home finally dock, carrying the last batch of salvaged MS wreckage. Watching the Dawn Organization personnel gradually transport away the Mobile Suit debris, Ro, standing beneath the Red Frame, wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief.
"Such a huge job is finally done!"
He stretched his arms and moved his body a bit... Salvaging across the entire ORB territorial waters was no easy task.
"So, how did my flight pack and Manta Ray pedal work for you?"
Just then, Lu Tianming, having finished arranging his work, returned to the port. Seeing Ro lost in thought, he smiled and asked, partly to solicit a usage report.
"Honestly, these things were a great help... They expanded the Red Frame's search radius. Without them, who knows how many more trips back to the Battleship I would've had to make."
Ro looked up somewhat wistfully at the flight pack on the Red Frame's back, a hint of reluctance in his expression.
"Actually, I could lend these two to you long-term."
Lu Tianming smiled faintly, his tone carrying a subtle hint.
"Really? But... there must be some cost, right?"
Ro was initially surprised but quickly came to his senses—nothing in this world comes for free, and as a junk dealer, he was all too aware of that.
"Long-term lending"... essentially meant giving. The cost of such equipment being gifted to him instinctively felt like it wouldn't be small.
"As for the cost, there is and there isn't."
Lu Tianming sounded mysterious, then cleared his throat and spoke formally.
"I hope you can establish a long-term partnership with us... with ORB. In other words—join our alliance."
"If you're willing to join us and become part of our group, then not just the flight pack... we could even custom-make a set of equipment for you."
Although the benefits Lu Tianming offered were tempting, Ro scratched his head hesitantly, looking troubled:
"Well... if it's just signing a long-term contract to help salvage debris after each battle, we wouldn't refuse."
"But joining you... means we'd have to go into battle too, right?"
"Not entirely."
Lu Tianming shook his head, a response that surprised Ro.
"After you join, we won't force you onto the battlefield. You only need to cooperate with ORB's local forces to repel invaders. We won't order you to take on offensive missions."
"In daily operations, your role would lean more toward logistical support and technical assistance, rather than being a frontline combat unit like the Archangel."
"If you're worried that direct membership might involve conflicts with other teams or betraying the Junk Guild, we can also achieve cooperation through a long-term partnership agreement—of course, the collaboration wouldn't just be about salvage; it would include comprehensive support as mentioned."
"So, how about it? Won't you consider it?"
Upon hearing Lu Tianming's introduction, Ro let out a soft hiss—he had initially thought Lu Tianming wanted to use him as cannon fodder and throw him to the front lines.
But after listening carefully, it actually sounded quite promising?
He pinched his chin and pondered deeply. If they accepted this job, their team wouldn't have to worry about finding work for quite some time, and they could also use ORB's Dawn Organization resources to modify the Home and the Red Frame...
The benefits were substantial.
However, even if he was personally tempted, he couldn't make this decision on behalf of the entire Home crew.
"...Alright, I'll go back and discuss it with my companions! I'll notify you as soon as we reach a decision!"
Ro immediately made this promise, then hesitated for a moment before turning and dashing into the Home.
Lu Tianming shrugged helplessly... Well, Ro and his group were a team after all.
Such matters required collective discussion—there was no need to rush.
Afterward, Lu Tianming briefly checked on the situation at the Dawn Organization. According to Kira's report from there, the Freedom's energy configuration had gradually been optimized to the minimum predetermined level.
That is, after one full-power burst, it could still maintain the Mobile Suit's high-mobility flight, but it couldn't fire a second shot immediately.
"But overall, there's still an unavoidable weakness."
At this point, Kira sighed regretfully and continued to explain.
"During the transition from full-power burst mode to high-mobility combat mode, there's a brief moment when the Freedom itself is left in an unprotected, vulnerable state."
"If ambushed at that moment, it could sustain relatively serious damage."
Hearing Kira's explanation, Lu Tianming nodded thoughtfully... This drawback didn't seem like a major issue at first glance, but if an enemy wasn't eliminated in one strike during combat, that momentary unprotected state could indeed be quite troublesome.
However, after inquiring in detail whether it could be optimized, Kira expressed difficulty—the lack of actual combat data made it hard for him to pinpoint the system's specific issues quickly.
But Kira was, after all, an ace programmer, and he had managed to optimize it to some extent.
If the forced discharge system wasn't used during full-power bursts, the Eternal Defender backpack could be pre-adjusted to high-mobility combat mode, significantly reducing the impact of that lag.
This way, the calculated unprotected state would only occur when all cannons and the forced discharge system were used simultaneously.
"By the way, I remember Miss Erica told me—if you came, I should take you to see her. She said she wanted to show you some specially customized M1 Astrays."
"Specially customized?"
Lu Tianming raised his eyebrows slightly. It seemed they had developed something... mass-produced units that didn't exist in the original work?
While curious, he signaled for Kira to wait a moment.
In a flash, he rushed into the Freedom's conference room, pulled the sleeping Xiachuan Haro from its dock, forcibly shook it awake to boot up, and then carried the newly awakened, bewildered Xiachuan Haro as he ran down to the Freedom's cockpit.
"...Huh? Mr. Lu, is this... a Haro?"
Kira looked at the Xiachuan Haro in Lu Tianming's arms with a sense of novelty. He had seen Lacus's pink Haro a few times before and found it quite adorable.
He just never expected Mr. Lu to have built one himself.
"Have you started to take a liking to this kind of... mechanical pet as well?"
"?"
Xia Chuan, who had been drowsy just moments before, immediately perked up upon hearing this.
He looked at Kira with confusion and bewilderment, then turned back to glance at Lu Tianming. After processing the words for a long moment, he finally realized the "mechanical pet" referred to himself.
Damn it, how did he go from being the great Machine Spirit to an electronic pet after waking up from a nap?!