The Black Tortoise streaked across the dark cosmic space like a purple meteor crackling with electricity.
Bridge—
The atmosphere was quiet. Natarle was reviewing the Black Tortoise's detailed specifications, preparing for potential scenarios ahead.
Meanwhile, Zhou Tianming multitasked—piloting the warship while simultaneously immersing himself in his consciousness space.
Staring at the 407 Mindpower points displayed on the golden sphere, he regretted not socializing more over the years. Aside from natural growth, his Mindpower hadn't increased at all.
But then again, considering how frequently he skipped grades, his peers kept changing before he could get familiar with them. Making friends had been nearly impossible.
Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought. With a mental command, he triggered his Seed—only to be forcibly ejected the next second.
The Seed bloomed, entering its flowering phase.
Tianming invested 200 points to generate Flower Pistils. Now, the obsidian-like flower housed three clusters of pistils, significantly increasing its capacity for Mental Commands.
Most commands were now usable, except for a few requiring 40 or more Mindpower.
Anticipating imminent combat, his gaze swept across the Mental Command list. He sighed when seeing [Unyielding], [Iron Wall], [Assault], and [Bloodlust].
Over the years, he'd repeatedly tried using his Seed to channel [Overdrive], but Mental Commands simply wouldn't work on any vehicle besides himself.
He'd wondered if they only functioned on Gundams.
But this theory was quickly disproven—in games, warships and aircraft could benefit from Mental Commands too. The commands themselves never specified vehicle restrictions.
This naturally led him to consider UC's Psycommu Frame technology.
He suspected that for Mental Commands to work, a mech required a Psycommu-like system.
This realization gave him a headache. How exactly does one build a Psycommu Frame?
Years of research had yielded zero progress in this area.
He did recall theoretical explanations of the Psycommu System—converting mental waves into mechanical control signals. The key component was something called a Psycommu Element, whose existence in the SEED universe remained uncertain.
Frustrated, Zhou Tianming abandoned this vexing train of thought and transferred [Sense] into the flower. At 20 points/second consumption, it was manageable.
After ten minutes, the Seed's petals closed, returning to its dormant phase.
...
Cosmic space above Copernicus City—
A Nelson-class battleship from the Atlantic Space Force approached with four Drake-class frigates.
Bridge—
The captain frowned, his tone irritable: "Still not ready yet?"
"Almost there, almost there," the crew member muttered, sweat beading on his forehead, droplets floating around his head. "I've already breached three layers of his firewall."
"How much longer?"
"Thirty—"
"Hmm—?"
"Ten minutes, ten minutes!"
"I hope you mean it." The captain swung his arm decisively. "Battle stations, level one!"
He raised his voice. "They're nothing but remnants fleeing from East Asia. Let them witness the might of our Atlantic Space Force!"
"Yes, sir!"
The crew on the bridge roared in unison.
...
Sam's Spaceship Bridge—
Ding Yu had a lollipop in his mouth, his hands resting lazily on the keyboard, occasionally tapping a key or two. His face was the picture of boredom. "What a joke. Wasted the firewalls I set up, and they're still stuck outside after all this time."
He snorted and turned to Sam. "Boss, they're here."
Sam, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them. "Patch me through to Copernicus City on video."
Baring his teeth in a grin, he said, "Showtime."
...
Copernicus City Mayor's Office—
The mayor was on the phone. After a moment, he hung up and exhaled deeply. "The Atlantic team is here. They'll resolve the system hijacking in ten minutes."
On the nearby sofa, the elderly man remained expressionless, showing no sign of relief.
Suddenly, the projection screen on the mayor's desk flickered to life without warning, casting light into the air as Sam's bald head and broad face appeared.
"If you're waiting for someone to fix your system issues..." Sam's cheeks lifted in a grotesque smile. "You might be disappointed. It seems they haven't even breached the firewall yet. My programmer's practically falling asleep from boredom. Ha!"
The mayor and the old man's expressions darkened.
"You lot... If you'd just paid up quietly, none of this would've been necessary."
A sense of dread washed over the mayor. He raised a hand urgently. "Wait! We can talk this out!"
"Talk?" Sam threw his head back and laughed. "You actually think I'm here to negotiate?"
His expression turned icy. "Delusional! Some people forget they're just dogs once they've sat in their cushy seats too long."
With that, the screen vanished.
The mayor stood frozen, mouth agape, utterly lost.
The old man rose and pressed the comms button on the desk. "Bring up the feed from the exhibition hall."
A minute later, the screen lit up again.
The footage showed a bulky, round-headed spaceship breaking away from the fleet, heading straight for Copernicus.
The mayor's face twisted in fury. He slammed his fist on the desk. "He's planning to crash it again, isn't he? That lunatic!"
Beside him, the old man's thoughtful expression suddenly shifted to alarm. "Contact the Atlantic team! Tell them to shoot that ship down! It must not reach Copernicus!"
"What?" The mayor stiffened, certain he'd misheard. He turned. "Shoot it down? But the people on board—"
The old man slapped him hard across the face, leaving a red mark. "Can't you see? Sam's planning to drop that ship right into Copernicus!"
Trembling, the mayor lunged for the desk—screech! The table screeched as it was shoved aside. He grabbed the phone and dialed frantically.
The call connected, but before he could speak, the old man snatched the receiver. "This is the former mayor of Copernicus. I order you to shoot down the approaching ship at once!"
"This is difficult. As a military officer, how can I casually attack civilian ships?"
"Do you think you can escape if that spaceship crashes into Copernicus City?" The old man scoffed. "From the moment you entered Copernicus airspace, we're all in this together."
A grinding sound of teeth came through the phone, followed by a pause: "5 billion. Transfer the money immediately! My career is over after this!"
"Hmph!" The old man hung up without hesitation.
The mayor stood nearby: "Is this really alright?"
The old man answered obliquely: "Go handle the arrangements now. If that ship crashes today, you were never here. Understood?"
"Teacher..."
"Do you understand?!"
"...Understood."
...
Nelson Bridge—
The captain gritted his teeth, fingers digging deep into the armrests of his chair: "Main gun, lock on! Target—"
He hesitated for a moment before slamming the armrest: "Target—the spaceship approaching Copernicus."
The weapons operator turned back: "Captain, are we really—"
"Got a better idea? Then follow orders!"
The operator shuddered and hurriedly began preparations.
Just then, the CIC suddenly announced: "Captain, an officer named Williams Badgiruel is contacting us through internal emergency channels asking what's happening. Should we respond?"
"Badgiruel?" The captain's eyes lit up after a moment's thought. "Heaven helps those who help themselves! Tell him pirates have seized a ship from the New Century Spaceship Expo and are now attacking Copernicus. Find a way to get him to issue the attack order. You know what to do."
"Understood!"
The captain relaxed, smiling: "Don't blame me—blame your perfect timing. Badgiruel, you've just completed the Rear Admiral's mission for me. You're truly my lucky star."
...
Outside the exhibition hall, in a moving unmanned car—
After hearing the CIC's explanation, Williams turned to look at the spaceship gradually approaching Copernicus.
"Colonel Badgiruel, please issue the order quickly! The enemy is showing signs of Overdrive. Any later and calculations show the ship will crash into Copernicus' dome after being shot down."
"Colonel Badgiruel! Please—"
"Colonel Badgiruel!"
Amidst the urgent prompts and the approaching ship, Williams—though calm—had no time for careful deliberation. He made his decision: "Fire!"
On the Nelson Bridge, the captain smiled.
Across the Nelson's hull, three twin-barreled Light-speed Turrets powered up.
In the next second, six green beams lanced out.
In the blink of an eye, the beams crossed hundreds of kilometers and pierced through the approaching ship's hull.
The bulbous spacecraft was left with six molten holes before erupting in a fiery explosion.
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