Gundam: From Piece to Player

"...I understand, Your Excellency. I will give it my all in the next battle."

"Let's do it a few more times."

In the subsequent battles, the fighting changed from two against one to one against one. Ios no longer took the initiative to attack, but instead piloted the Rich Diaz to maintain distance, dodging attacks while launching defensive counterattacks.

He tried to maintain his distance, seemingly to prove his earlier claim of being "not good at close combat."

They certainly didn't throw the game, but not throwing the game doesn't mean they went all out; they just didn't want to lose.

After Iserina lost several mid-to-long-range shooting battles, it was Karma's turn. This time, instead of increasing the distance, he maintained the combat distance in the range of 600m-1.3km, relying on the I-field to withstand the opponent's attacks.

"Even if you run out of energy, you still can't win the battle. Are you really not going to fight in close combat?"

Karma continued to provoke him.

Then the other party pulled out a mule-shaped happiness tube and charged at him.

At close range, only one type of weapon can harm Cupid.

But is it really possible to get close?

Cupid made a sudden stop and launched missiles one after another.

As a result, Kalma saw the rocket launchers that Rick Diaz had slung over his shoulder start firing—some kind of special shotgun shells.

Two consecutive rounds of missiles were forcibly destroyed by this barrage of shrapnel.

Despite being injured, Ricky Diaz forced his way through the hail of bullets to reach Cupid.

The tube has already been thrown away... so this wasn't the final weapon after all.

He wields two beam sabers, his movements resembling those of the Doflamingo wielding an electric heating rod.

Cupid's right hand unleashed two 15-meter-long beam sabers, which swept towards the machine, but the opponent dodged them... The beam saber in his left hand lit up, and within a second, a dagger rose into the air.

Although it hit Ricky Diaz's monitor, it was clearly not a fatal wound. Diaz then launched a self-sacrificing attack, his beam saber piercing into Cupid's power reactor.

The results showed that both of them would die from the explosion of the nuclear fusion reactor... Let the tragic love story go to hell.

Miss Eos, you even said you don't know martial arts.

Honestly, Karma has already lost with this result. In the game, her own unit would definitely have a cost of 3000, while the Rikidias would only have a cost of 2000 at most.

"Lord Karma, I only managed a draw by chance. If you don't engage me in close combat, you won't have a chance, will you?"

"Oh, not at all, you're much better. How about this... I'd like you to be Eluby's MS piloting instructor. What do you think?"

Karma came up with an excellent way to conduct a comprehensive investigation into the abilities of the other Newtypes; she still had her own little spy, Zero.

"You mean little Elruby? She's six years old, not seven yet, right?"

"So what? Char Aznable, the Supreme Commander of Zeon, could drive a tank when he was only 6 years old."

"I'll think about it."

"What are you thinking about? How long do you want to be unemployed? I know you're still an unemployed staff member at the MS Development Agency. Aisie, doesn't she also work part-time at fast food restaurants at other times?"

"..."

In the Space Alliance, although every citizen has a basic survival package and base currency for food, lodging, and transportation... these cannot be transferred.

Other tertiary services would have to be purchased with a different electronic currency, and Eos, having grown accustomed to a life of hardship on Jupiter, was clearly unwilling to compromise himself in this luxurious world.

"Eos, why don't you become Eluby's MS class teacher? The salary is pretty good."

Iserina chimed in.

"Alright, alright... since you've brought it up to this point, I have no choice but to reluctantly agree."

Judging from the fact that each of the new humans can read minds.

Eos was not unaware of Karma's thoughts.

Kalmar also guessed that the other party's purpose in coming to the asteroid belt was not so simple... but the Jupiter people should not be so devouring.

After the combat drills were over, Karma returned to the hangar and disembarked from Cupid.

This battle also reflects that this model is still far from being invincible... It still has shortcomings when facing beam weapons at close range; if it gets hit by a beam weapon, it will still explode.

For example, suppose in the most extreme case, a behemoth like the ZZ suddenly jumps out from the ruins or somewhere to ambush you, and its armor is strong enough to withstand the last layer of defensive firepower as it gets close.

Is there a weapon that can defend against an opponent's sudden charge?

For example, beam shields and such... Karma remembered the rotating beam rod that Dekach used.

It's best to avoid getting hit as much as possible; the defense system can also be proactive.

That said, something like a light wheel that can be thrown out would be fine.

Karma remembered seeing the beam boomerang thrown by the Destiny Gundam in her past life... that might be something she could work on.

Especially when the opponent is in an attacking state... their defense is at its weakest. As long as Cupid inflicts damage or stuns the opponent, he can easily create distance and return to his comfort zone to continue ranged combat.

Just as he was thinking about how powerful the mech was, Karma's phone suddenly rang.

Every time the phone rings, I have a premonition that some unsolvable problem may have arisen. Even Karma experiences this kind of anxiety caused by uncertainty, so she usually asks her subordinates to send messages.

Instead of receiving a phone call, which usually means an emergency, he answered the phone immediately.

"Brother, there's some news I need you to know." It was Haiwen who spoke.

"what's up?"

"In the lunar city of Ayers, what was originally an internal labor dispute quickly escalated into a small-scale attack between the Federation and Zeon forces with the intervention of an unknown external force. The Federation's new Alexander-class battleship, the Al Giza, was severely damaged in the conflict."

Upon hearing this news, Kalmar actually breathed a sigh of relief, because it wasn't something that happened on their side, and the Space Alliance could continue its "isolationism."

"An unknown external force?"

"Yes, according to the intelligence, the attack was carried out by an unidentified group of machines."

"The Federation and Zeon accused each other of developing the machine."

Chapter 230 Earth Sphere Situation Map

The sinking of a warship would have made headlines in the past, perhaps even with headlines like "the fuse of war."

However, following the annihilation of the Federation Expeditionary Force, the attack on the embassy, ​​and the corporate rebellion, the various regimes in the Earth Sphere have significantly enhanced their ability to control intelligence.

This is also inseparable from the impact of Minovsky particle dispersion on the combat environment—that is, after a battle begins, journalists are basically unable to transmit battlefield intelligence back to the public in the first instance.

Even if the information is transmitted back to media organizations, it cannot be immediately disseminated online or on radio.

Most people are completely trapped in information cocoons, so it is impossible for them to influence politics through public opinion.

So why is the world situation becoming increasingly tense?

It is somewhat similar to World War I, because the interests of various interest groups in the Earth Sphere have become irreconcilable.

Let's start with the Republic of Zeon, which is the least aggressive. This small country with a population of 1.5 million became the victor of the Great War after being nearly exhausted by the War of Independence. And the victor of the Great War is always severely debuffed.

In recent years, the economy has also improved with the help of the Space Alliance, but Char Deiken's faction, Prime Minister Darcia's civilian faction, and the elite military officers in the country have all realized that it is also very difficult to continue to export revolution.

Faced with an increasingly tense global situation, the Republic also began the construction of large-scale defense facilities—including upgrading the colony's laser irradiation system from one to three.

This is a clear violation of the Antarctic Treaty. The federal government has condemned it multiple times, while the Republic of Zeon's response is, "If you don't attack, this thing is not a threat."

That's absolutely true. The most effective targets for this weapon are fleet groups that are not well-defended but relatively dispersed.

It is less effective against fortresses than the Federation's [Solar Ray] system.

In addition, Char also has a highly elite Earth Sphere army... Although the loss of officers was also severe in the war, the Zabi family still established military institutions for Zeon during the process of militarization, including a complete military industrial chain, military academies, and intelligence agencies.

Char Aznable was a soldier, after all; he didn't listen to the politicians from the Deiken faction who abolished this system in order to de-Zabizify it.

Today, this organization, which was wiped out by the Federation's victory in the original timeline, continues to provide the Republic of Zeon with the lifeblood of national defense.

The "Moon People" are generally not aggressive, but they desperately need living space.

After being reprimanded by the federal government several times, he finally realized that wealth without the protection of armed forces is no different from an unlocked warehouse. However, because he was financially secure, it was difficult to recruit soldiers. Two years ago, on Kalmar's advice, he secretly formed a lunar mercenary group, which still acts like it can be bullied by anyone.

Next, we'll talk about the main character—the Federation.

Powerful and aggressive, eager for reform, but constantly bleeding due to its crude governance methods.

After 80 years of operation, it was like a giant machine riddled with parts, sparking everywhere, and running with a bunch of bugs. After the blows of a year of war, the machine's abnormal noises and malfunctions increased year by year.

The federal elites at the helm finally realized that maintaining the status quo was not an option.

Otherwise, a collapse is only a matter of time.

The machine needs to be repaired (reformed)... but repairing itself is a risky thing. If the reform happens to fix a bug that is actually running, it may crash directly, and it may even die like "Big Brother".

As for the new Federation located in SIDE1, it is the most aggressive—this is a major bug in the Federation. Although it pretends to be maintaining operation, it has already begun to have wicked thoughts, preparing and waiting for a perfect time to launch an attack.

The plan is to give this giant machine a complete overhaul, and then break it apart.

Then it will consume and digest the other components, break them down and reassemble them, and make the machine code run as it wants—although it's called the New Federation, failure is rebellion and success is revolution.

If they really did what they wanted to do, then Brad Noah might be able to do what his son wanted to do but was unable to.

From the perspective of the Space Alliance, the more chaotic the Earth sphere is, the more beneficial it is for them.

Just as European scientists emigrated to the United States during wartime for stability, the Space Alliance's current niche is somewhat similar to that of the United States.

Kalmar wouldn't actively plan or ignite a war for profit, but he wouldn't refuse if the Earth Sphere powers asked him to buy Helium-3 energy, military equipment, or request military training—except for the Federal Government, those guys had killed their own soldiers.

After several days of military meetings, he reviewed the intelligence and made a decision: around UC 0085, he would bring several second-generation destroyers back to the Earth Sphere as a military observation group to promote armaments and energy, test armaments, and increase publicity regarding immigration.

That's how it appears on the surface, but secretly it's because he wants to spend some time alone with Anna.

After the meeting ended, Kalmar did not leave immediately. Instead, he pulled Haywin aside and asked him about something that he had inquired about more than once, and each time there had been new developments.

"Girl, how are those federal officers who need soul modification doing now?"

"Them..." Haiwen smiled, "The stubborn Federation officers have already started participating in daily study and labor... After hearing that those who perform well will be pardoned in 85 and can return to Earth Sphere, they have become particularly enthusiastic, except for one person, who, although participating in regular labor, refuses to attend classes..."

"Wahken?" Karma could guess without even thinking.

"Yes, he's still throwing a tantrum, saying he wants to fight you again, because you launched a sneak attack instead of using the tactics of fleet battles and mobile suits, and he's not satisfied with that."

"Then what will it take for him to submit?"

"He said he wanted to set up a battle formation with you, big brother, and have another fight."

Is this guy trying to create a perpetual motion machine?