At night, with the joint efforts of Yang Hui, Flit, and Fangus, they finally adjusted the Gundam AGE-1 to its optimal state.
"Phew! Finally done." Fangus wiped the sweat from his forehead; after all, he was older and couldn't compare to the younger ones.
"With this, the Gundam is even more perfect!" Flit, though tired, had excitement sparkling in his eyes.
"Don't get too cocky; you still have a lot to learn." Yang Hui gently flicked Flit's forehead.
"What's that for?" Flit complained, covering his slightly reddened forehead.
"The advancement of technology has no end. Your Gundam is still just a basic model, without even decent armaments, let alone anything else." Thinking back to the Gundam's debut, where it picked up a standard Genoece beam spray gun from the ground to fight a UE Galanfu, Yang Hui felt a wave of frustration. If the beam spray gun were effective, would the Federation have been unable to take down a single Galanfu for 14 years? After all, the Galanfu was merely the most basic of UE's grunts.
Yang Hui was also baffled by Flit's approach of building a machine without creating matching armaments.
"Aren't there standard-issue weapons from the Federation army…"
"If those things were useful, would we be suffering so badly against the UE?"
"..." Flit was speechless. Although a bit angry, he couldn't find a reason to refute Yang Hui. But thinking of his trump card, his passion reignited, "It's okay! I have the AGE System, which can quickly manufacture armaments based on the Gundam's combat data, helping the Gundam evolve infinitely!"
Well, Flit wasn't wrong, but that also required time to collect combat data! What if they were shot down before they had a chance to evolve?
So the kid was still too naive. Yang Hui decided to give Flit a hand and teach him what it meant to "consider defeat before victory."
"Can the AGE System manually input relevant data and then generate armaments?"
"It can, but…"
"No buts, just do it. Increase the beam output power, convergence, and penetration of the standard beam spray gun by five times, and for the beam sword, double the output power. Let's see what we can create."
"Eh?" Flit and Fangus were taken aback. "But…"
"No buts, just get it done, and we'll talk afterward."
"Okay, fine."
Flit and Fangus felt that Yang Hui had changed at that moment, filled with the authority of a superior and a unique charisma that made it impossible to refuse or oppose his orders.
Just then, Emily rushed in, her face filled with terror as she shouted, "Flit! Grandpa! It's bad, the city…"
"What happened to the city?" Flit and Fangus were startled and quickly asked.
But before Emily could answer, the base alarm sounded.
"Nora is under attack by the UE! Entering Level One Combat Status! Repeat, entering Level One Combat Status! MS units, immediately engage the enemy!"
"What!?"
"It's the UE!?"
Flit and Fangus ran outside the Hangar and saw the distant city ablaze, with MS units resembling pterodactyls continuously attacking the city.
"It's the UE!"
"Why is the UE attacking Nora!?"
"Now's not the time to discuss that, Fangus, activate the Gundam!"
"No! The Gundam has only taken a couple of steps during testing; it's still far from actual combat readiness!"
"But the Gundam's mobility…"
"Enough with the nonsense!" Yang Hui interrupted Flit and Fangus's argument.
The two turned to see Yang Hui wearing a different expression, calm and composed, like a battle-hardened warrior, exuding a killing intent under the glow of the flames.
"Fangus, activate the Gundam immediately. The current situation doesn't allow for slow testing anymore. Flit, you'll pilot it."
"But! Flit is still just a kid…"
"Flit knows the Gundam's capabilities better than anyone, and…" Yang Hui looked at Flit, "…haven't you been waiting for this day?"
"...I'll go right away."
Flit nodded seriously and ran toward the Gundam, while Fangus, feeling helpless, could only assist Flit in starting the Gundam.
"Emily, you should go inside and take shelter. The battle will be over quickly." Yang Hui said to the bewildered Emily.
"But Flit…"
"This is his dream and his life's goal. Although it's dangerous, Emily, you should know that if you really care about him, you should support him rather than hinder him from achieving his dream," Yang Hui said.
"...I understand. What about you?"
"Me? Of course, I'll join the battle."
"You're going to fight too? With the Genoece?"
"Of course not. No, my machine is coming."
Emily followed Yang Hui's gaze and saw an MS carrying another MS rapidly approaching them. When it got closer, Emily gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. There might be some differences, but she recognized at a glance that these two MS were also Gundams.
"This is!"
The Gundam being towed was in purple-gray colors, equipped with a thruster backpack, with multiple small maneuvering thrusters hidden beneath the skirt armor. It held two beam rifles that she had never seen before, and a small shield hung from its left arm; the other was in black-red colors, almost identical to the first, except that the beam rifle in its hands was replaced with a high-output beam sword.
"My ride, Dawn Gundam, and the other is Graham's Samurai Gundam."
"Cargo delivered, I'm heading out first." Graham's voice came from the Samurai Gundam.
"Okay, I'll follow right away. Let's avoid the city as much as possible."
"Understood, I've transmitted the enemy intel to Dawn Gundam."
As the Samurai Gundam soared into the sky towards the circling UEMS, Yang Hui pushed Emily into the Hangar and boarded the Dawn Gundam to engage.
Emily watched the two Gundams fly away, unable to regain her senses for a long time.
"Not made by Flit… Gundam…"
...
The Commander's office in Nora was in chaos under the enemy MS's bombardment, but fortunately, Commander Bruza was also an excellent commander and quickly stabilized the situation.
"What's the status of the MS? Why are they deploying so slowly?"
"The Genoece outside is heading out to engage."
"Can the Drelis squad from Hangar Three deploy?"
"Get them moving! At this rate, the exit will be controlled by the enemy!"
As the Vice Commander, Gurudik watched the screens in the command room, looking at the city being destroyed by the UE, panting as if his brain couldn't think straight.
"Gurudik! Vice Commander Gurudik!"
"Here!" At Commander Bruza's call, Gurudik snapped back to attention.
"You're in charge of directing the fourth to the eighth defense zones; they will come here."
"Yes!"
"Commander!" Just then, Melissa's exclamation interrupted the noisy communications in the command room.
"What's wrong? Report the situation!"
"The Gundam… it's the Gundam! The Gundam has joined the battle to snipe the UE in the sky!"
"What!?" Everyone was shocked. Wasn't the Gundam still in testing? How could it participate in the battle?
"And… there are two of them!"
"Show the footage!"
Following Commander Bruza's order, Melissa displayed the footage on the big screen, and everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.
"This isn't the Gundam Flit made; could it be! Contact the two Gundams immediately!"
Soon, the communications with Dawn Gundam and Samurai Gundam were established, and it was indeed Yang Hui and Graham as Bruza had guessed.
"Yang Hui! Graham! So you both have…"
"Commander Bruza, the situation is urgent. We'll discuss later. We'll handle the six MS in the city, and two more are heading your way."
"I understand. I'll dispatch MS units to intercept…"
"Right, Flit has deployed in the Gundam; include him in the deployment."
"What!? Flit… he…"
"Trust him, Commander Bruza. For the past seven years… he has been waiting for this day to come."
Upon hearing this, Commander Bruza fell silent, his expression conflicted. He treated Flit like a grandson and didn't want him to be caught up in the whirlpool of war at such a young age. But Commander Bruza also understood Flit; as Yang Hui said, for the past seven years, Flit had tirelessly developed the Gundam, waiting for this day to pilot it and defeat the UE.
"Alright, I understand. I'll contact Flit."
"Understood."
The communication ended, but the battle of the Gundams was already playing on the screen. Just a few minutes had passed, and the command room was filled with exclamations again.
...
"Six units? How about I take them all myself?" Graham said to Yang Hui.
"Don't be overconfident; it's just a C+ level unit." Yang Hui dismissed Graham's request.
Both the machine and piloting skills are graded, and this is a new feature unlocked by Prometheus Fortress.
Parts, weapons, frames, engines, armor, etc., all have grades, ranging from the worst D level to the highest S level. The grading standard is based on overall performance. For example, the GN Drive has a low output power, rated at B-, but when considering its other characteristics, the GN Drive is rated A-.
The level of the machine is the same; it may have various flaws, but it will only be judged comprehensively. For instance, the Dawn Gundam and Samurai Gundam that the two are piloting are both only C+ level, while the Gundam Rasiel, modified and enhanced by Yang Hui and equipped with a Twin Drive system, is a B level unit.
The pilot level and machine level are interrelated. For example, if B level pilot Yang Hui pilots the same B level Gundam Rasiel, he can fully utilize its capabilities. However, if a B level pilot operates an A level machine, they can only achieve a maximum of 80% of the machine's performance. Currently, the Dawn Gundam cannot keep up with Yang Hui's maneuvers and instead limits Yang Hui's own capabilities, and in high-intensity combat, there's a risk of disintegration due to Yang Hui's high-intensity operations.
So Yang Hui advised Graham not to overexert himself. Now he was also a B level pilot, but the Samurai Gundam was only a C+ level unit.
"Tch, what a hassle."
"Make do with it; this is the best we can do for now. One person per three units, let's finish this quickly!"
"Understood!"