Chapter 62: Rollercoaster Ride

"Hisss—"

Looking at the various data displayed on the screen, Lucas couldn't help but gasp.

Meanwhile, the Haro with a data cable plugged into its side remained restless, continuing to bounce around on the desk and praise itself.

"Haro, amazing! Haro, amazing!"

Deeply focused on the screen, Lucas raised a hand and pinned the little troublemaker down to stop it from acting up.

However, the moment he finished the action, a sudden realization hit him.

*Am I being a bit too presumptuous treating this golden thigh like this?*

At this thought, Lucas quickly changed his gesture from holding it down to gently petting it, his eyes still glued unblinkingly to the screen.

The reason for his sudden one-hundred-and-eighty-degree shift in attitude was simple.

The data displayed on the screen made Lucas feel as though he were drinking a large glass of iced beverage in the dead of summer, bringing a refreshing chill from the top of his head all the way down to his heels.

Inside the database of this "unassuming" orange Haro, there wasn't just knowledge regarding auxiliary tasks such as part repair, equipment operation, and programming.

More importantly, perhaps to aid in development and maintenance, it also categorized and stored several complete and comprehensive sets of production blueprints!

Gundam Nuclear Reactor (GN Drive)!

GN-000 — 0 Gundam, GNY-001 — Gundam Astraea!

GN Condenser, Prototype GN Sword, GN Beam Saber, GN Beam Rifle, GN Shield, Prototype GN Launcher, and Experimental Avalanche Unit!

Gundam Operating System, E-Carbon Armor!

Haro, and Haro Maintenance Auxiliary Mech!

As Lucas read through them in one breath, every single piece of data stored within the orange Haro proved to be detailed and complete.

From structural parameters to source code, from experimental machine craftsmanship to developmental derivative concepts!

It seemed as though with these development blueprints alone, simply by investing capital and time, one could genuinely mass-produce an overwhelmingly powerful army of Gundams!

At this moment, a faint greenish glow even began to emanate from the eyes with which Lucas looked at Haro.

One had to realize that these were mobile suits from the *Double-O* series.

Even within the entire Gundam worldview, these were essentially "Super Robot" tier mechanical gods disguised under the name of "Real Robot" units.

When they truly went berserk, a four-hundred-kilometer beam saber cutting a satellite in half was no joke!

Moreover, leaving aside the "0 Gundam" as a first-generation machine—and leaving aside what era of Haro his cheat-like synthesis had produced—the database actually contained the complete data for the "Gundam Astraea."

While the "Gundam Astraea" was not a third-generation machine used by the protagonists in the original work, as a general-purpose testbed used during the development phase to evaluate a wider range of compatible systems, it was considered the most perfect and mature model among second-generation Gundams in terms of both numerical statistics and stability.

The database even contained numerous derivative models of the "Gundam Astraea."

However...

When Lucas, filled with anticipation, suddenly remembered something and purposefully began reviewing the core data of the "Gundam Astraea," his previously excited expression abruptly collapsed.

"Wait, why does everything related to this Double-O Gundam require a GN Drive?!"

***

Reluctantly, Lucas quickly checked the other files, but the stark reality remained.

Not only did products prefixed with "GN"—such as the "GN Sword" and the "GN Beam Rifle"—require a "GN Drive" for power, but the beam rifle compressed "GN Particles" to emit rays, the beam saber concentrated "GN Particles," and flight propulsion relied entirely on "GN Particles."

Even the mecha's own transmission system, communication equipment, power engines, and efforts to enhance the defense capabilities of the "E-carbon armor" fundamentally operated on the "GN Particles" released by the "GN Drive."

Then again...

Since the very first complete set of data in Haro's database was the manufacturing manual for the "GN Drive," why was Lucas looking so utterly defeated?

Carrying a final shred of hope, Lucas looked at Haro.

"Haro... is a GN Drive really only manufacturable under Jupiter's special gravitational environment?!"

Yet the response was...

"Jupiter! Jupiter! Necessary condition! Necessary condition!"

Haro paid no heed to Lucas's slightly trembling voice, simply continuing to bounce up and down as it repeated the words.

Hearing this, Lucas's entire posture sagged instantly, his vitality seemingly sucked right out of him.

That was right.

All the epoch-making technologies of the *Double-O* series Gundams, along with those bizarre, god-like capabilities, were built upon the miraculous "GN Particles." To compress and generate "GN Particles," one needed a semi-permanent energy core known as the "GN Drive."

Yet the manufacturing of a "GN Drive" required Jupiter's unique gravitational environment.

In other words, coming full circle, since Lucas currently lacked the capability to send a scientific research spacecraft to Jupiter, all these technologies were nothing more than a moon reflected in water or flowers mirrored in a mirror to him.

Of all the vast data inside Haro, perhaps only a tiny fraction could barely be put to use right now.

"That's not right either... It's still up for debate whether GN Particles even exist in the Marvel Universe..."

Thinking along these lines, Lucas felt his future grow even more bleak...

Glancing sideways at Haro, which was rolling around by itself on the desk, Lucas continued to ask feebly,

"If there are no Gundams... what about Flag or Tieren units?"

The two types of mecha Lucas asked about were humanoid machines manufactured by the non-protagonist "nations" in the *Double-O* world. While they certainly couldn't compare to Gundams in terms of raw power, they were still epoch-making humanoid combat mecha.

However, the result was precisely as he expected.

Haro's eyes flashed with red light as it delivered the direct answer.

"Don't know! Don't know!"

"What about a pseudo-GN Drive?" Lucas pressed on.

The "pseudo-GN Drive" was the villainous faction's replica of the "GN Drive" in the original story.

It did not require manufacturing near Jupiter; instead, it used a special drive system powered by electricity to generate a consumable energy core that produced "GN Particles."

Although this device produced "red GN particles" that were harmful to the human body due to insufficient compression rates, the "pseudo-GN Drive" could indeed power the vast majority of Gundam equipment.

***

Unfortunately, the outcome remained unchanged.

"Don't know! Don't know!"

Haro gave the same answer once more.

Well, truth be told, Lucas himself already knew the outcome after browsing through most of the data.

Asking this question was merely his "death throes" born of lingering unwillingness.

"Fine, I can do without these low-tier goods!" Lucas said through gritted teeth.

"At least with these blueprints, I can still say my future holds promise..."

At the very least, compared to other items, these technical blueprints from the *Double-O* world showed Lucas "products" that he genuinely had a chance to replicate.

The sole prerequisite required was—reaching Jupiter!

*Damn it, once I have the capability to reach Jupiter, will I still be lacking a mere second-generation Gundam?*

With this thought, a despondent Lucas leaned back heavily against his chair, his empty eyes staring blankly at the basement ceiling.

However, perhaps sensing Lucas's disappointment, the orange Haro, which had been bouncing around lively just moments before, rolled quickly to the edge of the desk, extended its universal mechanical arm, and gently tugged at the corner of Lucas's clothing.

"Don't sad! Don't sad!"

"Haro amazing! Haro amazing!"

As he tilted his head back, pondering just how far Orange Industries needed to develop before it could reach Jupiter, Lucas looked somewhat quizzically at the orange Haro upon hearing those sounds.

Then, a flash of inspiration struck his mind.

Followed by a resounding *slap* as he heavily struck his own forehead.

"You idiot! Haro itself was the key to this synthesis all along!"

Yes, Lucas only then recalled that his original deep interest in this synthesis stemmed from the cheat system interface's prompt:

*"Haro possesses repair and manufacturing capabilities, making it an exceptional mechanic in its own right."*

Yet he had unexpectedly forgotten his original intention simply because he was dazzled by the epoch-making Gundam technologies found in the system's database.

In reality, with Haro's manufacturing capabilities, even by piecing together those technologies from the *Double-O* world, he might well be able to forge some entirely new, epoch-making products.

Furthermore, given his cheat ability, did he really need to worry about failing to acquire even more black-tech data in the future?

What he genuinely lacked right now was simply academic knowledge in the scientific research field, along with research, development, and manufacturing capabilities.

If not for his insufficient abilities, merely thoroughly mastering Baymax's production process and churning out a batch of intelligent robots would have been enough for Lucas to resolve most crises and even rake in a fortune.

*So! The blueprints are for the future; right now, Haro's development and manufacturing capabilities are the true key!*

Regaining his enthusiasm, Lucas looked back at the bouncing orange Haro and asked with renewed anticipation,

"Haro, can you build something?!"