In this world, Kouzuki Yuuko felt a little relieved. If things had taken even a little longer, the Alternative IV Project under her command might have run into serious trouble.
The reason was simple: after digging deeper into the data sent back by the launched Icarus I probe, they had confirmed the existence of a habitable planet in the Barnard's Star system.
Because of that, North America was pressuring the United Nations to accelerate the implementation of Alternative V.
If she had not obtained those electronic components and used them to improve the Tactical Surface Fighters, especially with the massive progress made on the XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress, then Alternative IV really might have been buried by the news that a habitable planet had been confirmed. The resources supporting her plan would have been quietly bled away.
In fact, they were probably already about to start being siphoned off. Once that news was confirmed, it truly had shaken quite a few people.
At the very least, however, Alternative IV would not be directly paralyzed. It would not be reduced to receiving no resources at all.
Most important was what came next. She had to make the XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress produce genuine results in actual combat, and she had to let everyone else see that her Alternative IV Project had an extremely high chance of success.
If possible, humanity still did not want to abandon its home. They wanted to take it back.
"That's enough. You can stop, Marimo."
Yuuko told the person currently testing the XG-70b Susanoo II to stand down. She was a woman about the same age as Yuuko, and could be called one of her close friends: Jinguuji Marimo.
According to the plot that man had told her, Yuuko had never expected that she would one day be careless enough to get Marimo killed like that.
"I can still hold on a little longer."
"That's enough. Get down here!"
"Fine."
"Takamura Yui, you're up next!"
"Understood!"
Originally, Yui should not have been stationed here. But since Yuuko knew from the plot that she was also an exceptionally skilled Tactical Surface Fighter pilot, she had found a way to transfer her over.
Yui was also a technical officer herself. Having her operate the XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress would make it easier to identify problems.
At present, the biggest issue with the XG-70b Susanoo II had more or less been resolved. The Rutherford Field would no longer form inside the cockpit, meaning a human could finally operate it.
However, controlling this thing consumed even more mental energy than piloting an ordinary Tactical Surface Fighter. It truly felt as if it could drain a person's mind dry.
On top of that, the physical toll was also severe.
In its current state, if they wanted to fly the XG-70b Susanoo II close enough to bombard a BETA Hive, the journey alone would consume more than half of the pilots' mental and physical strength.
Furthermore, the XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress would strongly attract the BETA, because those things were especially interested in electronic components.
And the truth behind why those creatures had invaded Earth and attacked humanity was exactly as that man had described. That only made it even more infuriating.
It was like humans going to a mining area to extract ore. Would humans care whether the ants in the mine lived or died?
No.
It was like humans harvesting crops. Would they care whether locusts lived or died?
They would.
Because locusts interfered with humanity's harvest. They were a natural disaster, and they had to be cleared away.
That was exactly how the BETA treated humans.
Those monsters were simply miners. They had not even classified humanity, this "disaster" obstructing them, as an enemy. In a sense, that was something to be grateful for.
In other words, these miners could not be called an armed force.
If they truly classified humanity as an enemy and decided that military force was required, then the terror of genuinely armed BETA would be unimaginable.
In addition, the number of BETA he had told her was also enough to inspire despair.
He had said that just the number of Heavy Brain-class BETA alone was 10 to the 37th power, an astronomical figure.
The total number of planets in the universe was roughly estimated at 10 to the 25th power. After subtracting gas giants like Jupiter, as well as storm planets, thunderstorm planets, and other worlds with extremely hostile environments that the BETA would not be interested in, the number would be around 6.667 times 10 to the 24th power.
Then, if the total BETA population of 10 to the 37th power was divided across those planets, the result was roughly 15 trillion BETA per planet.
That was clearly wrong.
Normally speaking, a single planet could not hold that many BETA.
So Mr. Kain had also said that, according to speculation about the work, some netizens believed this number should represent the total across all Muv-Luv parallel worlds.
But no matter what, it made the entire universe look as if it was full of BETA. That meant even if Alternative V succeeded and humanity migrated elsewhere, they still would not escape a sphere of activity filled with BETA.
Such a plan was meaningless.
If she could make people understand that the entire universe was filled with BETA, then Alternative V might actually lose much of its support.
Resources would then be redirected back to Yuuko's Alternative IV Project.
But she needed evidence. She needed proof that the entire universe was filled with BETA.
The XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress was the key. They had to break through a BETA Hive and obtain that evidence.
Now, the problem had returned to the operation of the XG-70b Susanoo II. There was not enough time to train more pilots.
The date for the assault on the Sado Island HIVE, H21, had already been set. They could not delay any longer, or the BETA would begin advancing to construct H22.
So, if only there were someone powerful enough to barely seem human who could help operate the XG-70b Susanoo II.
And such a candidate did exist.
That man.
He had also integrated technology from Tessa and A2 to develop that absurd machine. If the XG-70b Susanoo II could be fitted with technology from his side as well, it would become an invincible fortress.
Of course, it would be even better if the technology from that man's world could also be applied.
But wanting everything at once was impossible. Even if the technology from his world was brought over, it would be too advanced for them to use immediately.
Wait.
The technology on his side seemed capable of providing idiot-proof instruction as well.
Still, all of that depended on whether he was willing to come.
As for the invitation, she had actually sent it long ago, and he had agreed.
However, she did not have any energy coins on her side, and he had also been willing to provide a loan.
The reason he had not come yet was that she had not finished handling the XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress.
Now, it was almost ready. Unfortunately, he had accepted another person's extremely expensive commission and was currently away on business there.
That gave Yuuko a headache.
Because that songstress's objective was not something that could be achieved quickly. It meant she would be hiring him for quite a long time, and he would probably remain on her side for a while.
Yuuko could only hope that when the day came for her side to begin the offensive, the songstress's situation would be temporarily stable enough for Yuuko to invite him over for brief assistance.
Then, she should contact the songstress now and negotiate, trying to ensure that he would be free around the time Yuuko launched her counterattack.
And since this was a negotiation, naturally, it would be best to offer something in trade. She needed to make the other side understand that her world could also provide useful things or technologies.
Right now, what Yuuko had prepared was technology.
The mobile suits on the other side appeared to surpass Tactical Surface Fighters in firepower, but that advantage was mainly reflected in energy weapons.
For live ammunition and propellant-based weaponry, that was not necessarily the case. After all, some BETA possessed defenses and hardness exceeding Mohs hardness 15.
Aside from that, the close-quarters agility of their machines was also inferior to those on Yuuko's side.
That could be traded.
In addition, colony ship technology could also be used as a bargaining chip.
Although her side had entered space later than the other side, they had built colony ships capable of leaving the solar system.
True, that was also because of G Elements. But precisely because G Elements existed, certain technologies had been successfully verified. Afterward, they would not necessarily require G Elements in order to be used.
For example, the Rutherford Field technology could form a defensive field, protecting the user like an omnidirectional energy shield.
Even ramming an enemy while the field was active would be destructive. Under the distorted gravitational shielding layer, everything would be pulverized.
At the same time, the field was not produced through some additional energy conversion. It was generated by activating the anti-gravity propulsion engine.
It was both defensive shield and motive power.
By Yuuko's estimate, the various weapons used by the warships, mobile suits, and mobile armors on the songstress's side would currently be unable to penetrate it.
It looked like any weapon below the level of a nuclear warhead would be unable to shake the Rutherford Field shield at all.
As for nuclear weapons, the exact yield required would depend on the specifications of the Rutherford device's construction.
At the very least, in Yuuko's view, if her XG-70b Susanoo II aerial fortress were taken to the songstress's side, then aside from nuclear weapons, none of the weapons currently demonstrated there would be able to break through its defenses.
Of course, the machine he had brought over did not count.
In short, her side was not without bargaining chips.
(End of Chapter)
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