477: Good stuff, come on then!

In the dead of night, after the Tianbing prototype completed its self-check, the laboratory was filled with a sense of accomplishment and relaxed joy.

"Alright, that's it for tonight. Organize the data and file a formal report tomorrow." Lu Yunfan patted the mecha's leg armor, his voice carrying both exhaustion and satisfaction. "Everyone go back and rest; this thing isn't going anywhere."

The team members began packing up their things, laughing and joking as they prepared to leave.

Early the next morning, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

Lu Yunfan had just dozed off at his desk for a moment when he was jolted awake by the alert sound of the laboratory's security level being raised.

He then saw the director of the Base Equipment R&D Center stride in, accompanied by a serious-looking middle-aged man in an Eastern Federation military uniform with three stars on his shoulders, surrounded by a group of tense-faced field officers and base security personnel.

The director's face was somewhat pale as he quickly scanned the lab, his gaze landing on Lu Yunfan with a complex expression.

The three-star general, with his hands behind his back and hawk-like eyes, immediately locked onto the prototype in the center of the lab, which, though its light strips were off, still exuded a unique texture.

A few young team members still processing experimental data were so startled they nearly dropped their terminals. Lu Yunfan's head buzzed; he thought he was finished.

If they wanted to make a big deal out of it, this could be considered manufacturing unauthorized equipment—he had stirred up a hornet's nest! Although this was his job, adding a weapons System should have been reported first according to protocol.

He instinctively stood at attention, his brain forcing itself to boot up as he began thinking of excuses.

The director bit the bullet and stepped forward, attempting an introduction: "General Lin, this is the Silver Wing project team's temporary laboratory. This is the team leader, Lu Yunfan. They are mainly conducting preliminary exploratory research on the application of cutting-edge Materials."

"This... this mecha is a proof-of-concept model of theirs, primarily to test the engineering application potential of new Materials. The process might still be a bit incomplete..."

General Lin, full name Lin Zhenyue, was the Deputy Minister of the Eastern Federation General Armament Department. He was in charge of individual and light combat platforms and was known for his sharp eye and strict requirements.

Ignoring the director, he walked straight to the prototype and stopped.

He first walked slowly around the mecha, his gaze scanning from the foot joints to the head sensors, his movements unhurried.

Then, he reached out with a white-gloved hand and rapped his knuckles firmly against the mecha's breastplate, shoulder armor, and outer thigh.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

The sound was dull and solid, carrying a metallic ring that was unique—slightly "smoother" than ordinary metal. General Lin's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Next, he leaned over to carefully examine the multi-axis and buffer structures of the knee and elbow joints, even reaching out to pull at the armor plate on the ankle.

Finally, his gaze fell on the "Po Jun" series standard universal weapons on the mecha's back and the multi-functional quick-release latches on the waist.

He reached out, simulating the action of removing and reattaching them. The feedback from the latches was crisp and smooth, with a slight sense of damping.

After doing all this, Lin Zhenyue straightened up and turned around, his gaze landing on the pale but stiffly standing Lu Yunfan.

"This mecha," General Lin began, his voice highly penetrating, "who led the development? What is the main design philosophy? What new technologies were used? Tell me everything, clearly."

Lu Yunfan's heart pounded wildly. He forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and began his report.

"Reporting, General! The mecha was led by the 'Silver Wing' pre-research group. The goal was to verify the engineering feasibility of new Titanium-Crystal Alloy in individual heavy equipment."

"The design philosophy was to explore a lightweight heavy exoskeleton configuration that better fits ergonomics and future battlefield requirements, while ensuring high defense, high mobility, and high energy efficiency."

"The new technologies mainly involve using Titanium-Crystal Alloy as the main load-bearing skeleton and key armor, combined with a miniaturized 'Dragon Core-IV' fusion power plant, 'Po Jun' series standard weapon interfaces, and our self-developed..."

He spoke quickly but clearly, reporting the technical points, design trade-offs, and currently verified performance data as concisely as possible.

Lin Zhenyue listened quietly, his face expressionless, though his eyes occasionally showed a hint of approval when he heard certain key data.

After Lu Yunfan finished, the lab fell silent again as everyone looked at General Lin.

A few seconds later, the serious icy shell on Lin Zhenyue's face suddenly melted away like spring snow. The corners of his mouth curled up into a clear arc, and a light of undisguised excitement burst from his eyes.

"Good!" he barked, his voice laced with irrepressible excitement. "The thinking is right! The Materials are well-used! The structure is also innovative!"

He stepped forward and slapped Lu Yunfan's shoulder hard, making him stumble. "You're Lu Yunfan? Well done! Your team has performed a great service!"

Then, he turned to the still-dazed director and the field officers, barking out orders rapidly: "Immediately establish a joint project team, call it 'Chixiao'! The General Armament Department will lead it, and the Academy of Sciences, 'Sharpening Sword' base, and relevant military enterprises will all participate!"

"Lu Yunfan, you and the core members of your team will all be transferred to the 'Chixiao' project team as technical backbones!"

"This prototype will immediately enter the comprehensive testing and evaluation phase. Meanwhile, use it as a blueprint for deep improvement and optimization! I'll give you a standard: build me a next-generation primary individual heavy combat platform that can completely surpass the active 'Xingtian' series and match or even partially lead the world-class interstellar level!"

"Do you understand my meaning? Hmm?"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Lu Yunfan shouted back a "Yes!"

Everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events and the high-level attention. Lu Yunfan felt like he was dreaming, thrown from the abyss of potential accountability straight into the clouds.

Under the coordination of the General Armament Department and General Lin Zhenyue's personal supervision, massive resources began to pour into the project.

Top-tier weapons System engineers, electronic warfare experts, ergonomic designers, and combat-hardened special forces members were brought in to work with Lu Yunfan's original team to give the "Tianbing" a complete overhaul.

The heavy weapons platform interface was re-optimized to be compatible with a variety of equipment, from large-caliber magnetic rail sniper cannons and multi-tube missile launchers to high-energy laser weapons and engineering breach tools, with swap times compressed to the extreme.

After several rounds of rigorous, almost cruel testing on the ground, in simulated space, and in extreme environments, the improved version of the "Chixiao" prototype was evaluated to have comprehensive performance that completely crushed the "Xingtian" armor, which had been modified up to its sixth generation.

The advantages were especially massive in terms of defense, sustained combat, and information Systems.

The finalization and mass production of the "Chixiao" were quickly put on the agenda.

To meet different mission requirements, the project team also simultaneously developed the "Qingfeng" type, which emphasized high-speed penetration and reconnaissance, and the "Zhongyue" type, which focused on fire suppression and position assault, forming an initial series of models.

As for the original "Tianbing" prototype Lu Yunfan had created, after some technical downgrading and aesthetic tweaks, it was packaged as an "export-model advanced individual power armor" with the codename "Ranger."

As for why it was given such a name, it was simple: one had to understand the worship the newly hired young people in the relevant units had for Luigi.

This guy named after a Ranger was already a nightmare for the vast majority of corporate CEOs and executives.

*Cough*, I'm getting sidetracked.

Although this mecha's performance was significantly lower than the "Chixiao" series, its excellent basic design and reliable performance—especially its appearance, which combined industrial beauty with pragmatism—caused an immediate sensation upon its debut.

Not only did small nations and security companies on Planet Blue show intense interest, but even the Erebonian Empire and the Calvard Republic on the Zemurian Continent placed massive orders.

Of course, these things aren't very important, so let's skip them.

After the first batch of mass-produced "Chixiao" units rolled off the production line, they were prioritized for the Eastern Federation's most elite special forces teams: "Longyuan," "Huben," and "Vermilion Bird."

While these special forces members were using the new equipment to conduct practical combat training—technology versus Xuanhuan—against their own captains, intelligence from a frontier monitoring station was delivered to the "Sharpening Sword" base headquarters.

The intelligence attachment consisted of a brief scan report and a set of blurred images.

The report described the discovery of a terrestrial planet codenamed "Ash-IV" at the junction of the Kyushu controlled zone and a chaotic Star Domain of unmapped forces.

Initial scans showed an abnormal atmospheric composition, with an extremely high inert gas content and oxygen levels far exceeding Planet Blue's. The surface temperature distribution violated conventional physical models, and there were large areas of dark spots that could not be analyzed by conventional spectroscopy.

Even more bizarrely, weak radiation was detected near the planet's orbit, with an unrecognizable pattern that seemed to possess some sort of periodicity.

The images were long-distance shots that had been enhanced.

A dusty gray planet with irregular deep patches on its surface. Under certain spectra, the edges of these patches seemed to have a pulsating glow.

"Preliminary judgment: Planet 'Ash-IV' exhibits high anomalies; the existence of unknown civilization ruins, extreme natural phenomena, or other non-natural intervention factors cannot be ruled out. Close-range reconnaissance is recommended," the intelligence analyst's conclusion read.

After the intelligence was reported, the higher-ups immediately made a decision.

A planet with a bizarre environment that might hide secrets or dangers was a perfect testing ground for the special forces teams, who had just been equipped with the new Chixiao armor, to verify performance and break in the Systems.

A few hours later, the "Qianjiao," a fast reconnaissance ship specially modified with high stealth and planetary entry capabilities, quietly departed from the "Sharpening Sword" base.

Onboard were all seven members of the fully armed "Longyuan" special forces team.

The dark coating of the armor absorbed most of the light in the cabin, with only a faint glimmer flowing at the joints and sensors. The team members checked their gear in silence, with only the low hum of the weapons System self-checks echoing regularly in the cabin.

The captain looked back at these humanoid Gundams and said briefly over the comms channel: "Estimated arrival at 'Ash-IV' low orbit in half an hour. Good luck, 'Longyuan'."

The team leader, codename "Black Dragon," gave a calm response from behind his faceplate: "Understood. Thanks."

The reconnaissance ship's engines flared, turning into a dim stream of light as it shot toward that bizarre starry sky full of unknowns.