With the development of the Silver Lightning put on hold, Reid gave Hoshino Ruri, Nami, and Nein a three-day break, but he himself didn't rest immediately.
Reid was performing a small modification on the Gundam Artemis.
After this campaign mission, the AD Universe would fully enter the era of GN Drives. The widespread proliferation of GN Fields would render the Gundam Artemis's small funnels, which only had the power of a standard Strike Dagger Beam Rifle, completely useless in this world.
Therefore, Reid chose to directly copy the modification method of the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley, converting all the funnels into High-Energy Laser Funnels.
However, the Gundam Artemis's funnels were originally stored in small compartments in its legs. To convert them into High-Energy Laser Funnels while maintaining the original charging speed, the charging equipment in the storage compartments had to be enlarged, and the funnels themselves also needed to be slightly bigger.
The result was that the two storage compartments, which could previously hold ten funnels each, could now only accommodate four High-Energy Laser Funnels.
In terms of penetration, these High-Energy Laser Funnels were the same as the Butterfly Shadow Qubeley's, capable of piercing through a GN Field on the level of the Ice Phoenix Gundam. However, it was inevitable that the high-energy laser's power would decrease after passing through a GN Field. To melt an enemy's armor, it would require two to three seconds of continuous irradiation.
Still, this level of power was actually sufficient. Not every Mobile Suit had an ultra-thick GN Field like the Ice Phoenix Gundam. It was just a shame that he wouldn't be able to create a beam rain anymore.
After modifying the Gundam Artemis, Reid also took a good day's rest. As soon as Hoshino Ruri and the others' vacation ended, he immediately assembled the troops and entered the AD Universe once again.
Following the familiar teleportation, the system sent the Gran Chaos to space this time.
As soon as the teleportation finished, Hoshino Ruri reported, "Combat detected ahead. The combatants are the four Celestial Being Gundams and 25 unknown Mobile Suits using Pseudo GN Drives."
After speaking, Hoshino Ruri projected the image onto the bridge's main screen.
Reid knew at a glance that this should be the time when the Celestial Being Gundams first faced the Union and AEU's Wodom Pod units.
However, the numbers were wrong. In the original story, the three major powers only received 30 Pseudo GN Drives, with the same number of Mobile Suits, meaning each power only had 10 Wodom Pods.
But here, there were 25. It was important to remember that the Pseudo GN Drive the Union had allocated to Graham must have been used by him to build a new Flag.
(To clarify a common misconception, the Union Flag equipped with a Pseudo GN Drive in the story was not a direct modification of a Custom Flag by Graham and Billy Katagiri.
The actual situation was that Graham, piloting his Union Flag Custom, had previously severed the right arm of the Throne Gundam Eins, obtaining its arm and GN Beam Rifle.
However, after being detached from the Throne Gundam Eins, the arm and GN Beam Rifle self-destructed due to a special security measure to prevent leaks.
Subsequently, the Union's private outsourced weapons development company, Iris Corporation, recovered the wreckage and analyzed it, successfully acquiring new technologies used in Gundams, such as armor and internal frame materials.
Then, with Billy Katagiri's help, they used the data Iris Corporation obtained from the wreckage to develop a modification for the Union Flag Custom to be equipped with a Pseudo GN Drive. In the end, without even conducting combat tests, it was hastily sortied, barely making it to the final battle after Alejandro Corner's death.)
In that case, the actual number of Wodom Pod units delivered to the Union and AEU should have been 26.
Assuming the Mobile Suits were still divided equally among the three powers this time, the total number of units delivered would be 39.
Such an awkward number almost certainly meant that the extra 9 Wodom Pods were hastily manufactured.
Considering Reid had "chatted" with Alejandro and Ribbons during his time in the Kingdom of Azadistan, it was reasonable to assume they had started secretly and urgently producing more Wodom Pods since then to increase their leverage against him.
After all, at this stage, although Celestial Being had supporters all over the world, it wasn't simple to secretly mobilize a large amount of resources (including restricted military materials like E-Carbon) to build relatively high-end Mobile Suits like the Wodom Pods without alerting the three major powers.
However, the Mobile Suits that Alejandro and Ribbons had newly built to deal with Reid would now have their strength tested by Celestial Being first.
Just like in the original story, the Celestial Being Gundams were completely suppressed from the very beginning in the space zone ahead.
However, the performance of the four Celestial Being Gundams was much better than in the original story.
In the original story, the four Gundam pilots were used to steamrolling their opponents. When faced with enemy Mobile Suits that weren't significantly inferior, they acted as if they were rookies facing aces, one after another exclaiming how fast the Wodom Pods were.
In reality, the performance of the Wodom Pod was at best on par with the second-generation Gundams of the Fereshte Organization.
In fact, because its stats were so balanced and lacked the unique features of Fereshte's Gundams, it might even get crushed in a one-on-one fight if the battle took place in an area where a Fereshte Gundam excelled.
However, the current battle between the Wodom Pods and the Celestial Being Gundams was taking place in an empty space zone with only a few asteroids, so neither side had to worry much about terrain.
Fortunately, the current Celestial Being pilots were not at the same level as they were in the story.
In this universe with Otherworld Entanglement, Setsuna, Lockon, Tieria, and Alleluia had already been schooled by otherworldly Mobile Suits several times. They wouldn't see a Wodom Pod and exclaim how fast it was. After all, no matter how fast a Wodom Pod was, could it be faster than that black bird-like Mobile Suit (the Raider in MA Mode)? Could it be faster than that red, horned Mobile Suit (Full Frontal's custom Geara Doga)?
So, although there were five more Wodom Pods in this battle than in the original story, the four Gundams coordinated well. Gundam Virtue didn't just stand there foolishly at the start, trying to tank damage with its GN Field while acting as a stationary turret. Although Celestial Being was still at a disadvantage, the fight was a decent back-and-forth.
The 25 Wodom Pods hadn't even managed to successfully separate the four Celestial Being Gundams. Instead, three of their own units had already lost limbs.
However, Reid gave a direct order at this moment.
"All hands, first-degree combat readiness. Tekkadan will remain on the ship as the reserve force for now. The Gran Chaos will maintain stealth. Everyone else, sortie with me."
Reid's order surprised the others. Was Reid going to break character? Was he planning to openly help Celestial Being?
Sensing the confusion on the bridge, Reid explained with a smile, "Don't be nervous. I won't so easily tear down the persona I've worked so hard to build. We now know that Kowloon is in this universe, so it's perfectly reasonable to use that as an excuse to ask for help in finding him. It's also a good opportunity to blame him for the increasing strength of the forces from the Otherworld Entanglements."
Hearing Reid's explanation, the others on the bridge showed expressions of understanding and realization. It seemed Reid's decision wasn't made on impulse.
Thus, everyone prepared according to Reid's orders, quietly awaiting his command to launch.
The moment for Reid to reveal himself was simple to choose. In a little while, Ribbons would cut off Veda's remote support and directly shut down the systems of the four Celestial Being Gundams.
This was Alejandro's plan. In his view, it didn't matter if Celestial Being was defeated now. As long as the GN Drives remained, he could rebuild Celestial Being with his own people in minutes. However, this time, the target of the rebuilt Celestial Being would be the SDP, which Alejandro believed was a constant threat to him.
Reid didn't have to wait long for this opportunity. Exia, being a melee unit, had been constantly using its powerful close-combat abilities to drive away the Wodom Pods trying to approach Dynames in the rear.
And Exia wasn't fighting alone. Whenever multiple Wodom Pods tried to tie Exia down with numbers, Gundam Virtue's GN Cannons and Dynames's sniping would scatter them.
As for trying to flank, Kyrios, the most mobile unit on the field, was no mere decoration. Any Wodom Pods attempting to circle around would be driven off by it. Similarly, to stop Kyrios, one had to be prepared to take fire from the two long-range units head-on.
However, just as Exia and Kyrios once again briefly repelled a staggered attack from the Wodom Pod forces, their Mobile Suits shut down completely.
Gundam Virtue and Dynames were the same. The two units, which had been suppressing the enemy with their firepower, suddenly went silent and powered down.
The Union and AEU Wodom Pod forces on the other side were also stunned. All four Gundams had stopped attacking at the same time. Was this a trap?
It was understandable why these Wodom Pod pilots would think so. They were all elites from their respective nations and naturally knew that such a sudden abnormality must mean something was amiss.
However, Kati Mannequin, who was commanding from the rear, had a much clearer line of thought. The four Gundams weren't moving? Although it might be risky, this was a golden opportunity to break the enemy's formation. These four Gundams were too difficult to break through when they were in formation. It was worth the gamble. So, she shouted directly into the comms, "What are you all standing around for! Cut off the enemy now!"
As Kati Mannequin's number one lackey (or rather, simp), Patrick heard his goddess speak and immediately stopped thinking. He charged forward first and said in the squad channel, "The Colonel is right! Everyone, follow me!"
With Patrick charging, the AEU pilots naturally followed suit. After all, his legendary luck was well-known throughout the forces; following him was never a bad idea.
By the same token, with the AEU forces charging, the Union pilots couldn't just stand there and watch, especially someone like Daryl Dodge, who was filled with grief and anger towards the Gundams.
However, the Wodom Pod main force's charge came to an abrupt halt halfway through.
A massive beam, fifty meters in diameter, shot into the battlefield from the flank. The energy was so intense that the Wodom Pods' warning alarms went from "Beep-Beep-Beep" to a continuous "BEEEEEEP—."
But the purpose of this beam wasn't to harm anyone, but to intimidate. It merely swept between the Wodom Pod main force and the Celestial Being Gundams without hitting anyone.
The one who fired this shot was, of course, Reid, piloting the Hermes Zero.
The main objective this time wasn't combat, but to do Celestial Being a favor and lay some emotional groundwork for their reunion four years later. Therefore, the Hermes Zero, with its Destroyer Beam Cannon, was more suitable for this scene.
As expected, after that shot, the Union and AEU Wodom Pod forces didn't dare to make a move, especially when they saw many familiar SDP Mobile Suits charging towards them.
At this moment, these pilots were all suffering from PTSD. It was a widely accepted fact that wherever the SDP appeared, Otherworld Entanglement was sure to follow. Everyone was on guard for strange phenomena to suddenly appear around them, followed by a horde of bizarre Mobile Suits causing destruction everywhere.
However, this time, the pilots were just scaring themselves.
After the Hermes Zero led its forces to the center of the battlefield, it directly hacked into the joint Union and AEU forces' communication channel. Then, using a voice changer to make his voice sound slightly more mature and without turning on the camera, he said, "Colonel Kati Mannequin, commander of the joint Union and AEU forces, please temporarily cease your battle with Celestial Being. I need to speak with them about something."
Kati Mannequin was a seasoned veteran. The SDP didn't show up earlier, nor did they show up later. Their appearance now was clearly intentional. They were protecting Celestial Being. Reid's little scheme couldn't fool this Tactical Forecaster.
So, Kati Mannequin replied in an extremely serious tone, "Commander of the SDP, are you planning to violate your organization's public promise and intervene in our battle with Celestial Being?"
Reid wasn't surprised that Kati Mannequin could see through his intentions. However, many things were useless even if the truth was seen through. What mattered most was whether the excuse was weighty enough.
At this point, Celestial Being's Mobile Suits had actually rebooted successfully on their backup systems, but they were all playing dead, unsure of the current situation.
So, Reid directly pulled the five Celestial Being Gundams into the group chat and then flatly denied it, "Colonel Kati Mannequin, please don't start throwing accusations around. If I really wanted to save Celestial Being, that last shot would have just swept through your Wodom Pod forces. Besides, I have several ways to annihilate you all without you even knowing who attacked, without needing to come forward and talk.
"However, to prove I'm not lying, my upcoming conversation with Celestial Being will be open to you. You can listen in from the side. Remember, do not interrupt. Otherwise, the consequences will be severe."
Reid's words were just short of explicitly stating that the joint Union and AEU Wodom Pod force was nothing in his eyes, including her, Kati Mannequin. He would speak to her when he wanted to, and she couldn't interrupt when he didn't.
This contemptuous behavior instantly provoked Patrick's dissatisfaction. He roared angrily, "You bastard! How dare you speak to the Colonel like that!"
As he spoke, he intended to raise his Wodom Pod's rifle and point it at the Hermes Zero.
But before Patrick's Wodom Pod could even raise its gun, a beam shot out and blew off its right arm.
The one who acted was Noin. As a Newtype, she could predict Patrick's actions.
At this moment, it wasn't appropriate for Reid to attack these frontline troops himself. He was the leader; if he had to do everything himself, what were his "subordinates" for?
However, Reid had instructed them not to kill anyone unless a real fight broke out, so Noin only took out the arm of Patrick's Wodom Pod.
But this act of aggression triggered many on the Union and AEU side, and they all wanted to raise their guns in self-defense.
Unfortunately for them, seeing that Noin had already made a move, the rest of Reid's team fired a shot at anyone who tried to raise their weapon. In an instant, another 8 Wodom Pods became one-armed warriors.
At this point, the Wodom Pod pilots didn't know whether to fight or not. Moreover, the SDP's previous track record made them psychologically unwilling to fight, so their reactions were slow, and they were picked off like sitting ducks.
Kati Mannequin hadn't expected the SDP commander to include the frontline Mobile Suits in the group chat when she spoke earlier. The moment Patrick spoke, she had screamed "Oh no!" in her mind. Now, just by hearing the sounds of explosions recorded by the cockpits, she knew that if the frontline troops continued like this, they might really anger the other party and get wiped out. So, she quickly said, "Everyone, cease fire! Damaged units, return to the ship! Commander of the SDP, I promise not to interrupt. I hope your business with Celestial Being is truly important enough."
Seeing Kati Mannequin compromise, Reid didn't say anything more to her. Instead, he spoke directly, "You all heard what I said earlier. I'll be blunt. We've investigated why the Otherworld Entanglements have been getting more intense each time.
"The reason is that during the battle in the Mollaria Republic, a person from another world escaped their Mobile Suit and got away.
"Because this person has no identity and has been active in underdeveloped regions, we failed to notice him at first.
"It wasn't until the Otherworld Entanglement in the Kingdom of Azadistan suddenly intensified that we noticed the anomaly.
"Now, we have found out who this person is. His name is Kowloon. After leaving the Mollaria Republic, he was active as a terrorist in South Asia, then moved to the Middle East, and disappeared in Europe after the Kingdom of Azadistan incident.
"So, I now want to use your Celestial Being's intelligence channels to find this person. Your intelligence personnel are better at tracking down people without identities than we are.
"If this Kowloon continues to live, I don't know to what extent the intensity of the next Otherworld Entanglement will increase. Last time in the Taklamakan Desert, it even led to a nuclear explosion."
Reid's words contained a huge amount of information, plunging both sides into silence.
However, upon careful consideration, if what the organization behind the SDP said during their global address in the Mollaria Republic was true, then the overall logic was sound.
Because the Otherworld Entanglements were indeed escalating, and Celestial Being knew that the culprits behind the last nuclear explosion were Mobile Suits from another world.
So, Sumeragi prepared to interject. She actually knew that Reid was here to save Celestial Being. If he wanted to use Celestial Being's intelligence network, he could have secretly contacted Wang Liu Mei instead of going through all this trouble. Reid was completely using his official position for personal gain, selling a favor to her executive team.
Although she didn't know why Reid was selling this favor, Sumeragi had to accept it, because from her perspective, what Reid said was most likely true. Moreover, if Reid were to withdraw now, the battle would still be unfavorable for their side.
Knowing that her old acquaintance Kati Mannequin was on the other side (Reid had even mentioned her name as a reminder), Sumeragi also used a voice changer, making her voice sound male, and replied, "If that's the case, Celestial Being should naturally help. However, SDP Commander, it seems our organization is having some problems right now. Can you tell me what exactly has gone wrong?"
Sumeragi was now certain that something was wrong with the Celestial Being Organization. However, Wang Liu Mei hadn't contacted Celestial Being for a long time, and Sumeragi didn't know what her current position was.
Therefore, Sumeragi wanted to get the answer from Reid.
Reid understood Sumeragi's meaning, but he didn't like being taken advantage of for free. So he replied directly, "You help me find Kowloon's exact location, and after I take him out, I'll tell you everything about the traitors in Celestial Being."
After saying that, Reid suddenly remembered that Alejandro and Ribbons were actually monitoring the battlefield through the Wodom Pods using Veda, so he added, "By the way, Colonel Kati Mannequin, you can report the matter of Kowloon to your superiors. Consider this a bounty from me. If anyone can tell me Kowloon's specific location, they can choose one of the following as a reward: money, a secr