"You've done very well."
Deep within the research facility, as Fred approached, Patrick maintained a calm demeanor, though his eyes held a hint of concealed excitement.
Of course, Fred couldn't perceive this.
Standing behind Patrick was a woman who was not entirely unfamiliar.
Her name was Shiva, one of the chief directors of MS development. Though she ranked a level below Yuri, she was considered an insider within the Zala Faction.
Fred knew Shiva not only from several previous closed-door meetings but also because of her role as a minor antagonist in the transitional storyline.
With these thoughts in mind, Fred continued walking without pause until he stood before Patrick. The expression beneath his mask remained largely unchanged, and the visible corner of his mouth slowly curved upward.
"I have fulfilled my duty."
Fred's voice was as steady as ever, neither overly excited nor betraying any other emotion.
"Excellent!"
Patrick spoke again, and this time, Fred sensed the man's excitement, inwardly letting out a sigh of relief.
Whether the subsequent experiments could proceed depended heavily on Patrick's stance.
So far, things seemed to be progressing smoothly.
As for Shiva standing behind Patrick, Fred paid little mind.
Though she was also a minor antagonist in the transitional storyline, her hostility stemmed from her family having perished under Junius's actions.
At least for now, her animosity was directed solely at Naturals.
As long as it didn't affect him, Fred didn't care whom she disliked.
"Let me introduce you, though you've likely heard her in voice conferences."
"This is Director Shiva, one of the chief directors in charge of MS development."
"Greetings, Director Shiva. It's a pleasure to meet you here."
Fred pretended not to notice the hostility on her face and bowed slightly as he spoke.
"Hmm, hello."
Though dissatisfied with Fred's identity as a Natural, Shiva refrained from saying anything, given his current status and capabilities. She merely nodded with a hint of hostility before returning to her position.
Patrick observed the interaction between the two but made no attempt to intervene, instead continuing.
"Now, what remains is the maintenance and subsequent upgrades of the MS. The agricultural sector is also nearing mass production, all thanks to you."
"You flatter me."
Fred's modest response was something Patrick had grown accustomed to, but Shiva's eyes widened in surprise.
It wasn't due to Fred's attitude but rather because she had just learned that Fred was also involved in agricultural research. From Patrick's tone, it was clear he was one of the leading researchers in that field.
She had previously heard rumors of a genius researcher joining the agricultural project, significantly accelerating its progress, and had wanted to meet this individual.
After all, her family had also been researchers under Junius.
But now, according to Patrick, the person she and her family had wanted to meet was this Natural before her?
A Natural? An agricultural research genius? And also a genius in MS and battleship research?
Though reluctant to admit it, Shiva began to understand Patrick's attitude at that moment.
It wasn't just the research here; it was because of Fred's all-around strength.
With so many abilities, his knowledge across various fields was likely already terrifying.
Of course, at this time, Shiva didn't yet know what Fred had done at Mendel, or she would have been even more shocked.
On the other hand, Fred didn't pay much attention to whether Shiva was shocked and simply continued speaking.
"However, I have some ideas for the next phase of research."
He didn't want to waste time.
Proposing directly to Patrick was far more convenient than slowly submitting plans to the design bureau, preparing materials, applying for funding, and going through all the procedures.
After all, Patrick himself was a big shot.
If he agreed, naturally Siegel wouldn't have any issues either.
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Patrick looked up in surprise.
After all, they had just completed the GINN, and Fred already had plans for the next phase?
No matter how he thought about it, it seemed a bit outrageous. But upon second thought, coming from Fred, it also seemed reasonable.
Patrick was used to the shocks Fred brought, so he took it in stride. However, this was Shiva's first time interacting with Fred, and upon hearing his words, her eyes widened instantly.
Fred already had a direction for future research right after finishing the MS?
They hadn't even decided on an official name for that MS yet.
Of course, this surprise quickly faded.
After all, Fred might just be messing around.
As Shiva was thinking this, Fred had already handed the proposal to Patrick.
Inside was Fred's long-planned high-mobility improvement plan for the GINN.
Although not overly detailed, the basic ideas, approaches, and expected outcomes were all written down.
In short, it was definitely a qualified proposal.
Since he knew the future development trends, even if he couldn't skip the GINN, he should still develop more advanced models ahead of time.
This was something he had been contemplating while building the GINN.
After all, he couldn't immediately propose developing the CGUE—not to mention practical issues, he also didn't want PLANT's technological iterations to progress too quickly.
Balance was important.
With too much power, people would become arrogant.
Just as if Patrick hadn't obtained the GENESIS so quickly, he wouldn't have rushed into a decisive battle so eagerly.
While Fred was pondering this, Shiva, standing behind Patrick, looked at the pages of information before her, and her recently calmed mind was once again plunged into astonishment.
This plan was almost identical to the improvements she envisioned for this machine in the future.
Moreover, some ideas were even more detailed.
It was as if... Fred was a mind reader.
Was that possible?
Shiva didn't know, but one thing was certain: Fred's research and development capabilities were truly terrifyingly strong.
"Hmm..."
Sitting in the main seat, Patrick looked at the proposal before him, pondered for a moment, and then subtly glanced in Shiva's direction.
No other reason—this document was surprisingly similar to what Shiva had just told him.
So, had the two of them colluded?
That was clearly impossible.
After all, given how much Shiva seemed to mind Fred's identity as a Natural, it was impossible.
But if that was impossible, then it meant Fred's thinking had once again aligned with theirs.
It couldn't even be called alignment—this line of thought seemed even more mature than theirs.
"Agreed."
After a brief moment of contemplation, Patrick nodded.
Truthfully, he had no reason to refuse.
Fred's plan, if studied further, gave him quite some confidence that they could develop that high-mobility form.