"Docking confirmed. All systems for the 00, Flag, Gundam Zabanya, and Gundam Raphael are normal."
"All eight GN Drives are operating normally."
"Alright, begin the startup test. Graham, Setsuna, Lyle, Tieria—let's go."
"Understood!" x4
"GN Drives, disengage standby mode."
The four pilots activated their mobile suits simultaneously. The eight GN Drives spun up to high speeds, and pale green GN Particles erupted within the laboratory, filling the space with dreamlike light dots.
"Topological defects are transitioning from the ground state to high energy levels. Particle synchronization rate for each [Twin Drive]: 35... 37... 40... 47... 58... all units have surpassed 60%!"
"Once it exceeds 80%, we'll enter the stable operating range."
"Warning! Warning!"
"Topological defects in all units are becoming unstable! [Twin Drive] coordination rate is dropping, and the fusion rate is also declining."
As expected, the synchronization test for the [Twin Drive] encountered the anticipated problems—the same issues Yang Hui and Ian had faced when they first equipped the Gundam Rasiel with a [Twin Drive] in the Gundam OO World.
"00, Flag, Zabanya, pause the test. Tieria, enter Innovator Mode."
"Understood!" x4
The 00 Gundam, Flag Gundam, and Gundam Zabanya stopped their tests, their GN Drives returning to standby. Gundam Raphael, however, kept its GN Drives running. Tieria himself entered Innovator Mode, his eyes filled with shifting, multicolored light.
"Tests for the 00, Flag, and Zabanya have stopped. Gundam Raphael's topological defects are stabilizing! The [Twin Drive] particle synchronization rate is beginning to rise!"
"Oh!!"
"Not yet." Yang Hui watched the rising synchronization rate. The rate, which had plummeted below 20%, was recovering quickly. But just as Yang Hui had expected, once it hit 50%, the speed of the ascent began to slow. By the time it reached 60%, it was crawling at a snail's pace, finally stalling around 75%.
"Is it still not enough?" the researchers asked dejectedly. Everything about the GN Drives was a subject of their passionate research. The [Twin Drive] was a theoretically complete system, yet it had consistently failed to succeed, which left them feeling quite frustrated.
"Tieria, do you feel anything?" Yang Hui asked.
"Nothing unusual."
"Relax your mind and body. Try to feel the GN Particles around you."
"Feel the GN Particles?"
"That's right. Feel the GN Particles, feel the mobile suit, feel your connection with them."
"Who could possibly understand that... Understood," Tieria retorted ruthlessly. It was supposed to be a rigorous scientific test, yet it was being treated like some sort of metaphysical or theological prayer.
Though Tieria didn't fully understand, he did as he was told. After all, Yang Hui had succeeded this way before. When the only person to have successfully implemented the system gave advice, one had to follow it even if it didn't make sense.
"Feel... feel... feel..." Tieria closed his eyes, following Yang Hui's instructions to sense the GN Particles and the machine, attempting to establish a connection between them. But...
"This sort of thing should be left to Setsuna!" After several minutes with no feedback, Tieria's temper began to flare. But at the very moment he was about to give up and lose his cool, a sudden, unprecedented pulse appeared in his mind. It was small, faint, and ethereal.
"This is...!"
Tieria immediately held his breath and focused his mind, trying to grasp that ethereal sensation. As he relaxed and concentrated, the pulse remained faint, but then there was another, and another... more and more appeared until they were beyond counting. When these tiny pulses gathered together, they formed a vast, boundless ocean.
Countless green light dots swayed back and forth, converging toward a single point, finally coalescing into a massive figure.
"Raphael... no, wait!" The silhouette before Tieria was not alone. Behind it, partially obscured, was another flickering form. "That is... Archangel... Why do I know that? This phenomenon... what exactly is it...?"
While Tieria was lost in confusion and wonder within his mental world, the physical world was a scene of bustling excitement.
"The [Trans-AM] system has activated on its own!"
"The [Twin Drive] particle synchronization rate is continuing to rise! It's past 80%, entering the stable operating range!"
"Synchronization rate is still climbing... 83... 89... it's stabilized at 93%!"
"The [Twin Drive] system is operating normally. Gundam Raphael startup successful!"
"Oh~!!"
"Phew." The successful startup of Tieria and Gundam Raphael's [Twin Drive] finally pushed the project a big step forward. Yang Hui was no longer an isolated case. However, they still had a long way to go before they fully mastered the [Twin Drive] system. First came the 00 Gundam, Flag Gundam, and Gundam Zabanya, then the Gundam Cherudim and Gundam Harute. After that, they had to apply the [Twin Drive] system to Quasi-GN Drives and explore the extension of multi-drive frequency synchronization.
The red glow of the Gundam Raphael faded as the [Trans-AM] system ended. The GN Drives began to slow down, and the eruption of GN Particles ceased. The synchronization and fusion rates of the dual drives remained above 80%, maintaining the stable operation of the mobile suit.
"Alright, Tieria, test concluded."
"Understood."
The green radiance dimmed, and Gundam Raphael returned to a state of calm, coming to a halt.
"Did it work?" Tieria was quite concerned about the results and asked immediately upon disembarking.
"It was a success. Tell us what happened in that moment." This was what everyone was most curious about. The success of one or two machines still didn't represent a universal rule. If it couldn't be generalized, it couldn't be implemented on a wide scale, and a research project that couldn't be implemented was a failure.
"...I can't put it into words." Despite Tieria's best efforts to organize his thoughts, he couldn't describe what he had just experienced.
"Sigh." The crowd was disappointed, but they didn't blame Tieria. Yang Hui was the first success story, and he had shared everything about his experience from testing to success without reservation, but...
They really wanted to describe it as "mystical." As scientists, it was truly difficult to accept such subjective, metaphysical content, and even harder to use it to explain scientific phenomena.
"Psychic Energy, Brain Quantum Waves, Psychic Waves." Yang Hui could roughly guess what Tieria had gone through. Like him, Tieria couldn't express it in rigorous, scientific language. However, there were clues: Psychic Energy, Brain Quantum Waves, and Psychic Waves.
But clues and theoretical knowledge alone weren't enough. The researchers at Prometheus Fortress covered various fields, including those specializing in the study of the human brain.
The human brain is the most mysterious realm of the body. Many projects had proposed related theories and even found supporting evidence and cases, but verification remained difficult.
Why? Because it was hard to find suitable test subjects. The human brain is too delicate; the slightest mistake leads to failure. And as test subjects, brains are fragile—they can be damaged by the lightest touch.
When Yang Hui was in the Gundam OO World, he hadn't paid much attention to knowledge regarding Brain Quantum Waves, so he couldn't offer any effective suggestions then.
But things were different now. With the Gundam UC World connected to Prometheus Fortress, there were plenty of researchers specializing in Psychic Waves and NTs. The research data was comprehensive, which significantly accelerated the research progress on Psychic Energy, Brain Quantum Waves, and Psychic Waves... or whatever that thing actually was.
"Setsuna is a Quasi-Innovator, but Lyle and I are pure, ordinary humans. There's hasn't been a single sign for us," Graham said gloomily. If the key to starting the [Twin Drive] really was Psychic Energy, they might truly be out of luck.
"Everyone possesses Psychic Energy; it's just a matter of how much." Hope was not lost; ordinary people weren't without a chance. "Establish a special research task force to master the intensity, input, and output of Psychic Energy... Setsuna, please cooperate with them. See if we can use this opportunity to successfully awaken you."
"Understood."
"Everyone else, continue with your respective research projects. We have less than a week left to resolve the issues of technical scaling and compatibility. Design the new mass-production models and custom machines. At the very least, we need concrete data that can support their use in the simulation training room."
"Understood!" xN
The work at the research institute came to a temporary close. Yang Hui, along with Graham, Lyle, and Tieria, headed to the simulation training room to see how the newcomers and the veterans were getting along.
"Hmm... looks like things are going pretty well."
"Of course. It's not like this is the first time."
"Any troublemakers?"
"Sure, but they should all be reflecting on their actions right about now." Graham shrugged. Whenever new recruits reported in, hotheads were inevitable. "Look, those three—Torey, Carmen, and Caruso from the Over Limit Hunter Kaineng World. They started trouble as soon as they arrived and got taught a lesson for it."
"Ho? Interesting. They've got good eyes." Following Graham's finger, Yang Hui saw the three of them fighting hard in the simulation on the large screen. It was clear they had been beaten badly, but their eyes remained burning with a fierce fighting spirit.
"What about them?" Yang Hui tilted his head toward the members of Tekkadan and the Turbines.
"They've got a fair amount of self-awareness."
"Then that's not bad."
"Yeah, they all have high potential. With someone to lead them, they'll improve at lightning speed."
"Could it be anything else? The people who can be brought directly back to the Fortress are either protagonists or major bosses," Yang Hui joked to himself.
"Hmm? You want to play too?" Seeing Yang Hui walk toward an empty simulation pod, Graham, Lyle, and Tieria were all taken aback.
"With everyone chasing so close behind, I can't afford to be lazy," Yang Hui smiled and sat in the simulation pod.
Seeing this, Graham, Lyle, and Tieria shared a smile and each found an empty seat to sit in. At the same time, they sent invitations to Yurin, Kira, Athrun, Asemu, Woolf, Gai Murakumo, Zechs, Zhang Wufei, and the other top-tier powerhouses currently at the Fortress. They even contacted Flit, Jehart, and Creuset, who weren't present.
"Huh? An invitation from Mr. Graham? Yang Hui!?"
"Fighting alongside Yang Hui? It really has been a while."
"Hmm... let's give it a try and see how much of a gap there still is."
"Are we joining too? Makes sense. Anyone else would just be getting bullied."
"Interesting. A battle royale? But everyone will probably gang up on Uncle Yang Hui first, right?"
"Ho? This is interesting. Perfect for getting some exercise so my body doesn't get rusty."
Initially, only a few people noticed. But as Kira and the others began to cut their ongoing mock battles short, and as they saw Flit, Jehart, and Creuset arrive and enter simulation pods, they knew something big was about to happen. Everyone stopped their own training and looked toward the large screen, waiting for the show to begin.
"Watch closely. This is the absolute peak of the Fortress's combat power," Dole Frost, who was responsible for guiding Torey, Carmen, and Caruso from the Over Limit Hunter Kaineng World, told them seriously.
"You guys too. Especially you, Mikazuki. See how far the little monster is from the big monsters," Mu said to the members of Tekkadan and the Turbines.