Atlantic Federation, a secret underground base in the suburbs of Sydney, formerly in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Yes, there have always been two Sydneys in the world. Right now, the three blue Mobile Suits Reid was searching for were parked inside this secret underground base in the former Canadian Sydney.
A large number of ground crew were inspecting the Mobile Suit systems and components. These three Mobile Suits had just fought against a hundred enemies and annihilated the guards at a New Misurugi Kingdom military outpost, achieving a major victory. They needed thorough maintenance.
At that moment, a researcher with messy, bird's-nest-like hair, a face full of wrinkles, and a sinister gaze, dressed in a classic white lab coat, was discussing the recent battle with a colonel bearing the Phantom Pain Unit insignia.
This colonel was one of the operational commanders of the Atlantic Federation's Phantom Pain Unit. He was in high spirits, watching the combat footage extracted from the Mobile Suits with excitement, and said to the doctor beside him:
"Dr. Cartel (original), as expected of a former researcher from the L4 Genetic Experiment Base, the performance of the Detroit Dagger is outstanding. The New Misurugi Kingdom's Mobile Dolls are no match for it at all.
With this, we can surely launch a swift counterattack and teach Reid Isaac a good lesson, making him understand that so-called Newtypes are not yet qualified to lead humanity."
Dr. Cartel wasn't particularly interested in what the Phantom Pain officer beside him was saying. He scrolled through the data extracted from the Mobile Suit, continuously instructing his assistant:
"The sensitivity of the Detroit Dagger's Psycho-Sensor was set too high during combat. If this continues, it could easily burn out the Bio-Brain's neural pathways. Adjust it back immediately, or next time I'll shove your brain in there instead.
Also, the Bio-Brain's I-Field anti-vibration System still needs reinforcement. This time, the Mobile Suit was hardly hit, but the vibration indicators during rolling maneuvers were already approaching dangerous levels. Do you want the Bio-Brain to suffer a concussion if it takes a missile hit later?"
After saying all this, Dr. Cartel remembered there was someone else beside him who had just been speaking to him.
Since the Phantom Pain Unit was his primary source of experimental funding and materials, Dr. Cartel tried to respond as amiably as possible:
"Colonel, it's still far too early to say that. This time, we only encountered ordinary forces from the New Misurugi Kingdom, and their Mobile Dolls were outdated models. The Detroit Dagger's performance already surpasses that of the Freedom/Justice Windam, so winning this battle is nothing to be proud of.
I believe the Detroit Dagger needs to be capable of facing off against the Custom Machines piloted by the New Misurugi Kingdom's ace pilots to be considered truly qualified.
By the way, when will the rear be able to deliver Bio-Brains specialized in specific fields? The data from these three is still insufficient. The Detroit Project has only taken its first step."
Regarding Dr. Cartel's demands, the Phantom Pain officer could only curse "madman" in his heart.
After all, manufacturing Bio-Brains was no easy task.
To ensure the brains could be used directly, they had to be harvested from well-trained elite pilots, all currently sourced from the Phantom Pain Unit's training camps.
The child soldiers in the training camps underwent long-term training, and harvesting their brains directly eliminated the need for physical adjustments.
However, the success rate for manufacturing Bio-Brains was less than 30%, so typically, four or five individuals were required to produce one qualified Bio-Brain.
As for using cloned human brains with pre-instilled knowledge,
it must be said that the human brain remains far from fully understood. Much of the operation of the Bio-Brain controlling the Mobile Suit relies on conditioned reflexes, which cloned and artificially accelerated brains lack.
Moreover, cloning technology is imperfect—their brains are fragile, and the success rate of bio-modification is terrifyingly low, making it a wasteful expenditure. It's more practical to harvest existing human brains, especially since members of the Phantom Pain Unit are either missing or declared dead in society.
In summary, the Detroit Dagger is actually similar to the original Amakusa—a Mobile Suit controlled by a Bio-Brain.
Similar technology exists in the CE Universe, with a typical example being the G.G. Unit of the Junk Guild's Neue Homme. This unit was created using the brain of the world's first Coordinator, George Glenn, capable of projecting a three-dimensional hologram of George Glenn from his era and operating the ship.
However, the Junk Guild acquired George Glenn's brain from his fanatical descendants.
After all, it's no secret that after George Glenn's death, parts of his body were divided and collected by devoted fans.
The Atlantic Federation, on the other hand, truly treats soldiers trained in the Phantom Pain Unit as living CPUs. When needed, they simply kill and extract their brains.
Since the Mobile Suit only requires one brain, it frees up significant space for other equipment.
Moreover, the Brain Cultivation Chamber is far more durable than the human body and easier to modify. As long as Brainwave Control functions properly, the brain is infinitely safer inside the chamber than within a human body. The flexibility of the Mobile Suit is also greatly enhanced.
Here, Reid also bears some responsibility for changing the world. The I-Field of Minovsky Particles provides shock absorption, and Elvira Hill's thesis on the Psychic Field elevated the study of human consciousness to new heights.
Combined with research and applications in Minovsky Particle Psychics, this inhumane Living Bio-Brain was developed by the Atlantic Federation.
The Atlantic Federation erased the self-awareness of these brains, retaining only partial cognition—enough to understand commands and engage in combat.
However, despite their internal resentment, the officers of the Phantom Pain Unit maintained a friendly demeanor on the surface, smiling as they said:
"Dr. Cartel, please be patient. You know the success rate of Bio-Brains. It's difficult for us to obtain brains from frontline soldiers now. After all, there are very few severely wounded MS Pilots who survive transport to the rear. As for those in training bases, it takes time—brains from untrained individuals are practically useless."
Dr. Cartel offered no rebuttal, only coldly stating:
"Fine, then hurry up. The sooner we complete data collection, the faster we can finalize the mass-production plan for Bio-Brains. In the future, it would be better to modify soldiers who are on the verge of death. Using young recruits is too time-consuming for training, and their brains may not adapt immediately to the battlefield."
It must be said that the conscience of everyone in this base has been devoured by dogs.
Dr. Cartel spoke these dehumanizing words, yet no one present even flinched—clearly, they had likely grown numb to it all.
Meanwhile, Reid remained unaware of the true nature of the enemy he was facing. The Automated Soldier Murasame's search yielded no results and nearly got shot down by Atlantic Federation forces.
Thus, Reid was still setting traps on Newfoundland Island.
Since the attackers were from the Atlantic Federation, Reid had no idea from which direction the three Mobile Suits would enter Newfoundland Island next time.
With only three MS, it would be normal for them to circle around and fly into the island from the east, especially on a foggy day.
Therefore, Reid's trap had to cover the entire island.
Fortunately, there was a precedent to follow—the detector tactics used by the East Asian Republic.
In the CE Universe, a single small detector was useless, as it would lose signal just a few meters away due to the effects of the Neutron Jammer.
But if they were placed one meter apart, allowing signals to relay between them, simply confirming whether the detectors were still operational would be straightforward.
As for the risk of being destroyed by rocket fire, Newfoundland Island had been under bombardment for three or four days, making it clear which areas would be hit and which would be intercepted.
So, they only needed to be placed in areas unlikely to be bombed.
The Atlantic Federation would undoubtedly send these Mobile Suits during sustained bombardments, as that was the only time the New Misurugi Kingdom forces on Newfoundland Island couldn't provide rapid support.
Of course, the three Mobile Suits wouldn't pass through heavily bombed areas either, since inertial rockets didn't discriminate between friend and foe.
Moreover, the three Mobile Suits had to fly close to the ground, as flying too high risked revealing abnormal airflow in the fog to the naked eye.
Reid deliberately placed the detectors at the maximum effective distance under the Neutron Jammer's influence.
As long as these Mobile Suits passed by, the Minovsky Particles passively emitted by the suits would further shorten the detectors' connection range, causing a cluster of detectors to lose signal. This way, Reid would know exactly where the enemy was.
This was an open scheme—unless the three Mobile Suits never returned, they would inevitably be detected.
So, Reid personally piloted his Mobile Suit and patrolled the island.
After all, the drop points for items purchased from the G Coin Store could be controlled. With Reid's Psychic Power, he didn't even need to stop—a few flyovers were enough to deploy all the detectors. Now, all that remained was to wait for the fish to swim into the net.
Clearly, the Atlantic Federation was in a hurry. On the second day after successfully eliminating the New Misurugi Kingdom outpost, amid a barrage of rockets, the three Detroit Daggers launched another attack.
The Atlantic Federation wasn't foolish—having invaded from the west before, they avoided the western approach this time.
Moreover, Dr. Cartel wanted combat data between the Detroit Daggers and the New Misurugi Kingdom's high-end Mobile Dolls, so this time, they targeted an outpost guarded by a Constellation-class Battleship.
Typically, where there was a Constellation-class Warship, there would be Rezels stationed at the outpost. Thus, the Detroit Daggers were heading straight for the Rezels.
However, as soon as the three Detroit Daggers landed on the island, the detectors losing signal around them exposed their location.
But the Bio-Brain clearly hadn't been pre-programmed to handle such a situation.
Reid had deployed the detectors without any attempt at concealment. As long as the Mobile Suits' detection functions were operational, they would inevitably detect abnormal communication waves nearby.
If a human were piloting, the operator would now try to bypass the area and infiltrate from another direction.
But the Bio-Brain lacked such considerations.
The human consciousness within the brain had been overwritten, leaving it with simple decision-making logic:
Detectors nearby → search for enemies → no enemies found → detectors pose no threat → mission continues.
Thus, the three Detroit Daggers charged straight toward their target outpost.
As for Reid, the moment he received word that the fish had entered the net, he immediately set off in the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity, with the Xia sisters naturally still serving as his escorts.
Reid didn't need to fly close to the ground; he went straight through the air.
The dense barrage of rockets posed no threat in Reid's eyes. With the GN Ring Thruster of the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity activated, he flew straight through without slowing down, and the expanded Light Wings swept away and detonated any rockets in his path to prevent them from interfering with the flight of the Blade Angel and the NT-X2 Gundam.
The current speed of the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity was simply beyond what the Windam's Jet Pack could match, and Newfoundland Island wasn't particularly large, so the three of them were intercepted by Reid before they even reached their destination.
From the perspective of the Detroit Daggers, their detectors showed a green "monstrous bird" appearing in the sky, streaking toward them in a flash of lightning and explosions.
The three Detroit Daggers detected the high-energy reaction from the GN Light Wings of the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity and immediately slammed on the brakes, not daring to collide head-on.
After stopping in front of these three Mobile Suits, Reid sensed something was off right away.
There were no people inside these three Mobile Suits.
No, to be more precise, what was inside couldn't be considered human. Such cold, inefficient, and utterly emotionless Mental Waves were definitely not emitted by humans.
Theoretically, any living creature would have some emotional fluctuations.
In Reid's view, the Mental Waves of the "pilots" inside the three opposing Mobile Suits were even more Tranquil than those of the turtles in the Royal Palace during hibernation. How could anyone tell him there were still humans inside?
Keep in mind, Reid didn't even sense clear hostility before the three opposing Mobile Suits raised their arms and fired.
However, the firing motion was far too obvious, so Reid easily Evaded it.
But these three Mobile Suits coordinated seamlessly. Seeing the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity dodge the Beam, the two units marked 02 and 03 on their shoulders immediately began firing while spreading out, attempting to encircle the Joyeuse Gundam · Infinity.
Unfortunately, Reid hadn't come alone this time. Just as the Detroit Dagger Unit 02 on the right accelerated, a flash of blade light swept over its head. It hastily raised its shield to block, successfully parrying the Blade Angel Gundam's slash in the nick of time.
The Detroit Dagger Unit 02 didn't engage in a direct clash but instead retreated with the momentum and delivered a kick.
However, Xia Yulan was no pushover. Facing the enemy's kick, she maneuvered her Mobile Suit to sidestep and released Funnel Blades, intending to slice off the leg.
But at that moment, the Detroit Dagger Unit 02 instantly activated its Armor Burst. A Red Light flickered inside the Mobile Suit, and its mobility skyrocketed. Executing a bicycle kick in mid-air, it dodged the Blade Angel's Funnel Blade slash.
On the other side, the Detroit Dagger Unit 03 was in a similar situation, except it faced two incoming Heavy Particle Beams.
After blocking with its Beam Shield, the Detroit Dagger Unit 03 immediately retaliated with its Multiple Phase Energy Cannon rifle, but the NT-X2 Gundam's mobility was too fast, making it impossible to land a hit.
Thus, the Detroit Dagger Unit 03 also activated its Armor Burst, boosting its own mobility to engage in a shootout with the NT-X2 Gundam.
By now, Reid could confirm that the Armor Burst of these Mobile Suits was merely a heat dissipation measure. The nature of the eerie Red Light inside remained unclear, but after the Armor Burst, the heat index around them skyrocketed.
However, Reid was still observing because he found it strange how the Atlantic Federation managed to completely suppress a person's killing intent. This was clearly a measure aimed at countering Newtype mind-reading.
To be honest, even if someone steps on an ant, as long as the action isn't unintentional—completely unaware of the ant's existence—but rather deliberately intends to step on it, malice and killing intent are present.
But now, these pilots' attacks all seemed unconscious, like a person stretching and accidentally swatting a small flying insect nearby, completely devoid of any killing intent or malice.
Moreover, these pilots clearly weren't at the supreme level of being so numb to killing that they could act without any killing intent.
Earlier, saying their Mobile Suit piloting skills were on par with Mu's was overestimating them. Even their feints with raising guns and firing were stiff, clearly products of academy training.
However, their Mobile Suit control was truly agile, as if the Mobile Suit were an extension of their limbs.
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