bookbashuk Chapter 18: The Joy of 3x Speed is Beyond Your Imagination
Chapter 18: The Joy of 3x Speed is Beyond Your Imagination
[Archangel, Bridge]
The piercing alarm sounded like the fingernails of death scraping against the iron walls of the warship.
On the main screen of the bridge, the tactical map had turned a despairing crimson.
Five high-speed heat source signals, in a near-perfect geometric posture, were firmly fixed in front of the Archangel's course.
Four of them were the very G-series mobile suits that had robbed Heliopolis of its peace—Aegis, Duel, Thunder, and Storm. They formed a textbook diamond-shaped encirclement, like four deadly fangs, sealing off all angles of evasion.
Beyond those four fangs, further away, a Zaku-type mobile suit, never before seen and painted entirely in the white of the Commander's uniform, hovered like a ghost in the dark universe. It did not rush to attack, but simply existed quietly, and that composure itself exuded a far deeper, suffocating sense of oppression than the four Gundams.
"Möbius Zero has been deployed! Engaging the enemy commander's unit!"
As soon as the CIC operator finished reporting, the screen switched to Mu's battle scene.
However, it was not a battle of equal strength at all, but a one-sided toy.
Mu's prized wired cannons now resembled four headless flies stuck in a spiderweb. Every beam they fired was easily evaded by the white Zaku with unbelievable, ghostly maneuverability.
Even more terrifying is that the opponent can use incredibly precise bursts to hit the trajectory of the cannon barrel before it moves, forcing Mu to frantically retract and evade.
"Are you kidding me!" Mu's roar from the cockpit came through the channel, punctuated by heavy breathing. "This white guy is weird... How does he know where I'm going?!"
Inside the bridge, there was a deathly silence.
Natal Bakirul clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, her usually cold and hard face filled with disbelief: "Perfect coordinated attack...perfect battlefield prediction."
"Is it Team Kruse? As expected of ZAFT's ace of ace."
Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on Maru Ramias's forehead.
Her mind raced, trying to find a glimmer of hope in the simulated flight path, but all her plans ultimately led to her being completely captured by that merciless net.
"We...we're caught in a trap," she murmured, her voice filled with a chilling despair.
The enemy is not here to fight.
They've come to reap the rewards.
【Archangel, Hangar】
Inside the hangar, red combat alarm lights rotated rhythmically, casting flickering light on everyone's faces.
Kira Yamato's face was ashen, and his tightly pursed lips betrayed his inner turmoil. The horrific destruction of the advance team, the moment Frey's father died, the phantom of the shattered colony of Julius 7... countless images flashed through his mind.
He must make a move.
Everyone... is waiting for him.
He strode forward, charging recklessly toward the Strike Gundam, a symbol of both hope and curse.
Just as his hand was about to touch the boarding stairs, a hand firmly landed on his shoulder.
The force wasn't great, but it froze him instantly.
Kira turned around and saw Ling Yu's calm face.
"Kira, you're not ready yet." Ling Yu's tone was gentle, without a trace of pre-battle tension.
"But... the enemy has already..." Kira's voice trembled. He couldn't understand why Ling Yu could remain so calm at this moment.
"What happened with Julius 7 last time wasn't your fault." Ling Yu looked directly into his eyes, his voice lowered, carrying a strange soothing power. "But that feeling, that sense of guilt, is deadly on the battlefield. You're not suited to face this kind of deadly situation right now."
Kira's body jolted violently.
He...he saw right through me? He saw through my weakness and fear?
"Get some rest and calm down." Ling Yu patted his shoulder, a reassuring smile playing on his lips. "Leave this to me."
In an instant, a warm current surged into Kira's heart, and his eyes uncontrollably welled up with tears.
On this hellish battlefield, in this place where everyone clung to him as their only lifeline, someone actually said to him—
"You can rest."
Mr. Ling Yu… is he protecting me? He's just a human being himself…
Under Kira's grateful and trusting gaze, he took a step back and bowed deeply.
"Please, Mr. Ling Yu!"
Ling Yu whistled inwardly, but his face remained calm and composed, showing a "teachable" demeanor. Without hesitation, he turned around and boarded the Strike Gundam's cockpit.
"Just kidding, this kid's psychological trauma hasn't healed yet, going up there would be a waste of his time."
Ling Yu was internally ranting. Besides, this is such a perfect stage for showing off, with the spotlights all set up. How could we give it to you, the original protagonist?
My system points are desperately low.
Strike Gundam, Cockpit
The cockpit door closed, shutting out the noise from the outside world.
Ling Yu quickly connected to the communication. The CIC's urgent battle report, Mu's increasingly heavy breathing, and the encrypted but clearly rhythmic signal codes from the enemy channel gave him an immediate and intuitive assessment of the battle situation.
This is hellish difficulty.
Without the protagonist's halo, you'd just be a cold piece of space debris.
He took a deep breath, a hint of madness and excitement flashing in his eyes that seemed completely out of place in this desperate situation.
"System, stop talking nonsense!" he roared in his mind. "Throw all the 2000 points I earned from tricking Frey last time into spending it all on ten consecutive draws!"
"Give me a shot that can defy fate!"
[Received. System points -2000. Initiating a 10-pull gacha for the Advanced Pilot gacha pool...]
Before my eyes, the familiar system interface unfolds.
A streak of light flashed by.
Blue light
Blue light
Blue light
……
Nine streaks of blue light, symbolizing "R-rank" or "SR-rank," flashed past in succession.
A bunch of stuff like "the maintenance team leader's repair tips" and "the excellent cook's nutritious meal combinations" have been exposed.
Just as Ling Yu felt his 2000 points were about to go down the drain and was about to curse the system's entire family—
The tenth beam of light exploded.
It wasn't blue, nor was it gold.
Instead, it was a scarlet light unlike anything ever seen before, as rich as blood and as dazzling as a star exploding.
Accompanied by a vague, hallucination of "Zieg Zeon!" that seemed to come from the depths of the soul, the entire cockpit seemed to tremble.
【! ! ! 】
[Congratulations, pilot! You have triggered a 1 in a million chance to obtain an SSR-level pilot card: Char Aznable (CE71 Special Edition)!]
A scarlet card slowly appeared before Ling Yu's eyes.
The card depicts a blond man with red eyes wearing a mask, against a backdrop of a red Zaku streaking across the universe at three times the speed.
【Ability 1: Crimson Comet】- During the induction period, the basic mobility of the mech is forcibly increased to three times (some effects will ignore the physical limits of the mech), and the pilot's reaction speed and spatial awareness are explosively enhanced.
[Ability 2: Battlefield Prediction] - Gains a basic Newtype precognitive ability, which allows one to vaguely sense the enemy's killing intent, malice, and attack trajectory.
[Ability 3: Tactical Master] - Char Aznable's vast tactical database, accumulated throughout his life, will be automatically loaded into his mind, instantly transforming him into a top commander.
【Price: Human Body】—During activation, the driver's body will endure G-force loads far exceeding normal limits and synchronized mental stress.
Warning: Prolonged use may cause irreversible and permanent damage to the human body.
Looking at the bright red warning line below the card, Ling Yu showed no fear. Instead, he grinned and revealed an extremely wild smile.
"Great...my youth has returned."
He licked his dry lips, his eyes turning incredibly dangerous.
"No, their time has come!"
Without hesitation, he slammed the "Use" button on the system interface.
hum-
The Strike Gundam's bright yellow electronic eyes suddenly flashed.
When it lit up again, the light had turned into an ominous and deep crimson, like the gaze of a demon.
An invisible, chilling sense of oppression suddenly spread out from the Strike Gundam.
[Archangel, Bridge]
"What's going on?!" the CIC operator exclaimed. "The Strike Gundam's identification signal has suddenly turned red! Its performance parameters are experiencing inexplicable and violent fluctuations!"
On the screen, the icon representing the assault was emitting an eerie red glow.
Inside the cockpit, Ling Yu slowly closed his eyes.
Endless tactical data, maneuver plans, ballistic calculations... flooded his brain like a burst dam.
When he opened his eyes again, those eyes, which had always held a hint of mockery, had become as deep and cold as the universe. He connected to the ship's communication channel and, in an unfamiliar, almost chanting, soliloquy tone, softly said:
"I can see... I can see the enemy too."