[It is feasible. Once certain conditions are met, you can directly unlock the research institute's technology without spending any resources.]
"What conditions?"
[First, connection to the world; second, a perfect degree of mastery over said technology; third, the Central Hall must reach Intermediate level...]
"Wait, what do you mean by the Central Hall reaching Intermediate level? Does the Central Hall have levels? Wait..." At this moment, Yang Hui thought of how the research institute could no longer be upgraded after reaching LV.5 and followed up, "...Is this related to the LV.5 hurdle?"
[Yes. In Prometheus Fortress, every five levels represent a breakthrough. It is not only a breakthrough in mission difficulty but also a breakthrough in permissions.]
"...I see."
[Commander, you have completed three more side quests. Do you require a report?]
"Eh? Three? Wait, shouldn't you have told us directly?" Yang Hui was stunned for a moment. The last time he completed a side quest was when he captured Kycilia Zabi in the East Asia Theater. So much time had passed since then, during which major events like obtaining the original Universal Century Charter, capturing Dozle Zabi, and the restoration of the Zeon Republic had occurred without any notification of side quest completion. Yang Hui had simply stopped worrying about it.
Who would have thought it wasn't that they weren't completed, but that Mephis hadn't reminded him?
[In view of the previous situation, it was judged that the Commander did not require real-time reminders.]
"...Is... is that something you can decide?" Yang Hui raised an eyebrow, his suspicions growing clearer. Mephis... was definitely not as simple as a basic intelligent AI.
[I am the intelligent AI of Prometheus Fortress, as well as the Commander's guide and guardian. My permissions will grow alongside the Commander's growth.]
"..." Yang Hui curled his lip. If Mephis had explained it this way at the very beginning, he might have accepted it, but now... tell that to a ghost.
However, Yang Hui did not call her out. He could guess what Mephis's answer would be anyway, and as the level of the Central Hall grew higher and he gained more permissions, the entire truth would eventually be laid bare before him.
"Alright, I get it. Tell me about the completion status of the side quests." Having roughly guessed which three were completed, Yang Hui wanted to hear about the rewards. That was the most important part; by completing different types of side quests, he could roughly figure out the patterns of completion and the reward structures.
[Congratulations, Commander, for completing the side quests: "Obtain World Core Item," "Capture Dozle Zabi," and "Deikun's Revenge."
"Obtain World Core Item": The original Universal Century Charter is the starting point of all conflicts in the Gundam UC world and the absolute core that changes the world. By obtaining it, you have grasped half of the world. Reward: 2 Construction Opportunities, 2 Enhancement Opportunities, 3 Extra Large Resource Packs, and World Deviation Level maxed at 100%.
PS: This quest is a unique side quest in the Multiverse. Once completed, it cannot be completed again; the core item will disappear from all multiverses.
"Capture Dozle Zabi": Every member of the Zabi family is a core figure of the world. Capturing or killing them can greatly change the course of the world. Reward: 1 Enhancement Opportunity, 4 Medium Supply Packages.
"Deikun's Revenge": Slaughter has always been the lowliest form of revenge. True revenge is letting one's enemies see the things they least want to see, stripping away everything they possess, and making them look up at you as failures. The restoration of the Zeon Republic and the manifestation of Deikun's ghost have dealt a heavy blow to Zeon. This is the thing the Zabi family fears most and least wishes to see. Reward: 1 Construction Opportunity, 1 Enhancement Opportunity, 5 Large Supply Packages.
Total rewards obtained: 3 Construction Opportunities, 4 Enhancement Opportunities, 4 Medium Supply Packages, 5 Large Supply Packages, and 3 Extra Large Resource Packs.]
After listening to Mephis's report, Yang Hui fell into thought. The rewards were as generous as ever, but what Yang Hui cared more about was the pattern of side quest completion. So far, he had completed four side quests: two targets were people, one was an item, and one was an event. People, items, and events were all covered. Then... there was the level of importance. For example, the capture of Zabi family members—both Kycilia Zabi and Dozle Zabi triggered side quests, proving that defeating key enemies, and it had to be to the extent of capture or kill, could trigger them.
Next were items. The original Universal Century Charter was the fuse for all conflicts in the UC world, and given the authority the original Charter possessed, whoever held it had the power to manipulate the world. Syam Vist used the original Charter to build the massive Vist Foundation, and similarly, Casval used it to rebuild the Zeon Republic.
Finally, there were events: "Deikun's Revenge," which was the reconstruction of the Zeon Republic.
Actually, since Yang Hui arrived in this world, he had executed quite a few major events, such as the early completion of the V Project, which allowed the Federation to possess its own MS units ahead of schedule, repeatedly frustrating Zeon's offensive plans and crippling Zeon six months earlier than in history.
Additionally, aligning with Revil and Gopp to control the Federal military, and Creuset gradually taking control of the Federal Assembly to bring the entire Federation under their wing, definitely counted as major events, yet there were no side quest notifications.
It was possible they weren't finished yet—enemies still existed within the Federation, so 100% control hadn't been achieved. However, the V Project, which turned the tide for the Federation, was definitely completed and had indeed frustrated Zeon's offensive plans, leading to a massive shift in the war situation between the Federation and Zeon, yet there had been no notification.
This led Yang Hui to a hypothesis: the judgment for side quests should be based on the final result. For example, controlling the Federation would require 100% control, and frustrating Zeon's offensive plans would fall under the category of completely defeating the Principality of Zeon.
However, major events that completely diverged from the original historical trajectory—or even went in the opposite direction—could potentially complete a side quest.
"But these rewards are truly staggering. Now the landlord has surplus grain again." Having found some patterns in side quest completion and received so many rewards, Yang Hui was quite pleased.
[Do you require a notification to be sent to the team members?]
"Notify them. Let everyone share in the joy."
[Yes, Commander.]
In the next second, Creuset, Murrue, Kira, and Arnold Neumann in the Zeon Republic; Lacus on Earth; and Natarle Badgiruel, Athrun, and Gai Murakumo in the Twelfth Independent Technical Division all paused simultaneously, then broke into happy smiles.
...
"General Tiam, the mission is complete. The Twelfth Independent Technical Division successfully located and destroyed the Principality of Zeon's Newtype Research Institute, the Flanagan Institute. We rescued 182 test subjects and confirmed the death of Kycilia Zabi. There are no captives." After returning to Luna II, Yang Hui immediately reported the results of the mission to Tiam.
"What about the research data? Why are there no captives?" Tiam asked.
"Reporting, during the suppression process, Kycilia Zabi knew she had no way to escape and intended to take us down with her. She initiated a self-destruct sequence."
"I see. Good work, Colonel Yang Hui." Tiam naturally knew this was an excuse. There might truly be no captives, but the research data had definitely been secured.
However, he was just following procedure and maintaining appearances. To him, captives were meaningless; one less captive meant one less mouth to feed.
"Then I shall take my leave..."
"Wait, Colonel Yang Hui. General Revil has issued new orders for you. In three days, you will descend to Earth to assist the Earth forces in a full-scale offensive against the Principality of Zeon's Occupied Zones."
"Hmm?" Yang Hui was stunned for a moment as he saw Tiam hand a copy of the orders to him.
He took the orders and flipped them open. Yang Hui raised an eyebrow and gave Tiam a look. After receiving a nod in response, he sat down casually on the sofa, dropping his respectful and serious demeanor.
"Is Revil serious? Launching a full-scale counteroffensive so soon?"
"Yes. During the time you were on your mission, the Federal Assembly's diplomatic mission reached a preliminary consensus with the Zeon Republic. The Federation and the Zeon Republic have formed a strategic alliance. Casval Zym Deikun is personally leading people down to Earth to take over the Zeon forces that have defected to the Zeon Republic."
"Ho? Quite efficient."
"To be honest, I was surprised too, but considering your existence, it all makes sense."
"Heh." Yang Hui understood Tiam's implication but didn't explain, simply brushing it off with a smile.
"General Revil believes that without the distraction of the Zeon Republic and with MS now equipped across various units, the Earth front has the capability to completely crush the Principality of Zeon."
"Hmm... last time I asked you to remind Revil to be careful of Mark Be, was there any result?"
"None." Tiam shook his head. "Mark Be has adopted a completely entrenched defensive posture. No matter how we bait him, he won't budge."
"That's not right. Mark Be is no fool. He must understand the principle that a long defense is bound to fail. He must have some sort of trump card," Yang Hui warned.
"Yes, General Revil thinks so too. He's clashed with Mark Be during this period and feels he is a troublesome enemy, but increasing reconnaissance efforts has yielded nothing. They haven't even prepared any HLVs for launch."
"...Better be careful. He is Kycilia Zabi's trusted subordinate and a ruthless person. He might be preparing unconventional means." Yang Hui did not directly warn Tiam about the threats of nuclear bombs or biological weapons; after all, if he named them specifically, he wouldn't be able to explain how he knew.
"You mean!"
"Just pay attention. The place where we found the Flanagan Institute in the Reef Starfield was the abandoned Colony Satellite Hal, and... it had Large Propulsion Units installed on its end."
Bang!
Tiam slammed his fist onto the table and cursed loudly, "Gihren Zabi is a madman!"