At 5 PM, the satellite's lights dimmed to simulate dusk.
Inside a café, Natarle frowned at her watch before pulling out her phone to call Li Xin.
"This is Natarle Badgiruel. Has Captain Zhao Qi's team returned yet?"
"Negative." Keyboard clacking sounded from the other end before Li Xin continued, "The captain's team has been maintaining their ambush position inside the research institute. They probably haven't found the right moment to strike. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong with something this simple."
But Natarle immediately sensed trouble. "You mean they've been in ambush position the entire time? For how long? No movement at all?"
"Let me check..." A pause, then his voice sharpened. "Impossible!"
Rapid keyboard strokes erupted from the other end.
Realizing something was wrong, Natarle stood and rushed straight toward the research institute.
"What's happening?" she demanded while running.
Li Xin's voice trembled. "Three hours... Their signals haven't moved for three hours."
As the youngest team member, Li Xin began panicking. "What do we do? What's happened?"
"Compose yourself!" Natarle snapped into the phone. "Get hold of yourself!"
Nearby pedestrians turned to stare at her outburst. Natarle scanned her surroundings and ducked into an alley.
"Remember Captain Zhao's contingency plans? Execute Plan C now."
"P-plan C? But that's the retreat protocol! Shouldn't we try Plan B first—"
"Stay calm!" Natarle's voice became measured and firm. "Remember your role. You're not combat personnel. Withdraw to the safe location first, then continue providing support."
"U-understood."
Faint sounds of gathering belongings came through the phone, followed by a door opening and hurried footsteps.
"Contact me immediately after reaching—"
BOOM!
A massive explosion roared in the distance, followed by a shockwave that shattered windows in surrounding buildings.
Screams erupted from the panicked crowd.
Then the tremors hit.
The ground shook violently, throwing people and objects to the ground as cars collided with deafening impacts.
Natarle dropped into a crouch, bracing herself on all fours.
As the tremors subsided, an eerie quiet fell, broken only by the moans of injured people.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm shrieked across the sky, accompanied by a booming broadcast:
[EMERGENCY ALERT! TOXIC AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS LEAK DETECTED IN SATELLITE RESEARCH INSTITUTE SECTOR! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!]
The broadcast played on an endless loop as crowds surged from the surrounding buildings, flooding the streets until they were completely blocked. Arguments and conflicts erupted among them, only to be instantly swallowed like foam in a tidal wave. People jostled and shoved, moving en masse toward the spaceport. Trapped in a narrow alley, Natarle couldn't get out and had to find a window to climb into a building, then make her way to the rooftop.
Once up there, she didn't need to search long before spotting thick, billowing smoke tinged with black and red rising in the distance.
"That direction!"
She immediately recognized it as the location of the research institute.
"Could it be Captain Zhao Qi and the others…"
On Earth, inside the cargo bay of the Black Tortoise—
The Gundam Frame had been moved here and secured on a specially reserved rack. Master craftsmen from Li Chuang's team were carrying out the final assembly. Staring at the design blueprints, Li Chuang exclaimed in awe, "No wonder you insisted on raising the warehouse height back then. You must have already planned to house this giant."
"Exactly."
Beside him, Zhou Tianming nodded.
At the moment, he was wearing a thin tank top and athletic shorts, over which he had donned a full-body, silver-white chainmail suit.
Li Chuang glanced over curiously, "Is that… cosplay?"
Zhou Tianming looked at him in surprise, "You're pretty trendy, old man."
"My granddaughter's into it. She's always dressing up in all sorts of flashy outfits that barely look human. Which character are you supposed to be?"
Zhou Tianming looked down at himself, a strange expression on his face, "Probably… the Chainmail Weirdo…"
"Young people and their strange hobbies," Li Chuang shook his head with a "whatever makes you happy" look.
Zhou Tianming shrugged without a word.
The chainmail suit he wore was the optimized version of the [Mental Defense Device 2.0].
It was still made from [Psycommu Alloy], but the metal ratios in the alloy formula had been adjusted to give it a strength between solid and liquid. Using the metal's properties, the necessary components were shaped into wires and woven into form. The reason for the full-body design was to expand the range of the Mental Force Field, enveloping his entire body.
He still hadn't found a solution for the Mental Force Field issue, so he had to resort to this crude method.
Still, with this, he could at least regain some degree of freedom.
The drawback was obvious: the entire suit weighed around 25 kilograms, and he could only move within the Black Tortoise, which was equipped with a specialized [Mental Force Field Linkage Device] and [Wireless Power Magnetic Field Generator].
The former was to link with his Mental Power reserves, the latter to supply power. Making it this small was necessary—there simply wasn't room for those two components otherwise.
As time passed, the Gundam Frame was fully assembled through the collaboration of Zhou Tianming and Li Chuang's team.
Everyone gazed silently at the giant silver-metal skeleton, a hint of fear in their eyes.
The Gundam Frame's design was far too human-like, giving the impression of facing an enlarged human skeleton.
"This giant must have matching External Armor, right? It can't go out like this," Li Chuang turned away, unable to look at it any longer.
Zhou Tianming nodded, "It does, but I haven't had time to design it yet. However, a few weapons are already in production."
He manipulated the tablet in his hand, pulling up the data to display.
Li Chuang examined it carefully, then made a strange face, "Why are all the weapons you design so odd?"
"Odd? I think they have a distinct East Asian flair."
Looking at the two weapons named [Black Tortoise Shield] and [Black Snake Sword], Li Chuang rubbed his temples.
"Based on the scale you've indicated, you're planning to use this for close combat?" He glanced at the Gundam Frame. "The size is somewhat awkward - too large to be efficient against Mobile Armors, yet too small to effectively engage Warships."
Suddenly, Li Chuang froze. "You... this is meant to combat similarly-sized targets?"
"Correct." Zhou Tianming nodded, then added after a moment's thought, "I received information from the guild about suspected giant humanoid machines existing in PLANT territory."
Li Chuang's jaw dropped as if struck by mental shock, only managing to speak after a long pause: "Humanoid Weapons? Are such things actually useful?"
Zhou Tianming shrugged.
Of course they are, and incredibly powerful at that.
But nobody would believe it until they saw it in action.
After all, on paper, Humanoid Weapons appeared deficient in every aspect.
Yet they consistently achieved miraculous results.
Zhou Tianming could only attribute this to the differences between worlds.
The culturally shocked Li Chuang kept examining the Gundam Frame while muttering to himself, his face displaying a clear "I don't understand, I can't comprehend this" expression. Just then, White Rabbit's voice interrupted: "Master, receiving urgent communication from Natarle."
His expression darkening, Zhou Tianming commanded: "Play it! Contact her immediately!"
Crackling static filled the air, the voice heavily distorted: "Sit... unknown... leak... lost contact with squad... assistance."
"White Rabbit!"
"Unknown. Signal experiencing severe interference, no response to callback."
Making an immediate decision, Zhou Tianming shouted: "Uncle Li Chuang! Emergency launch!"
"Understood!"
"White Rabbit! Contact air traffic control - we need emergency departure clearance!"
"Affirmative!"
Everyone sprang into action. Zhou Tianming also contacted his grandfather Zhou Junguo to brief him about the situation.
Upon hearing the news, Zhou Junguo frowned deeply and immediately contacted Wei Tong for more information.
"I haven't received any reports on my end," Wei Tong's voice carried anger. "This type of mission shouldn't have such problems. It appears we've been sabotaged. I'll dispatch a rescue team. Thank you for informing me."
"My apologies, this involves my personal affairs."
"Zhou Tianming's matters are no longer personal," Wei Tong said with gratitude. "You don't understand what the Psycommu System means to us soldiers. Even the most advanced prosthetics only guarantee basic living functions, but now everything has changed."
"I don't believe returning disabled people to the battlefield is a positive development."
"That's why you'll never make a good soldier."
After hanging up, Zhou Junguo murmured to himself: "Psycommu... I truly can't tell whether this technology is a blessing or a curse."
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