Based on the current military balance between both sides, they would probably need to drop several space colonies to achieve that.
But he wasn't foolish. Leaving aside how to implement such a plan, destroying Earth wouldn't benefit him either.
Of course, though he really wanted to voice his sarcasm, out of consideration for his own dignity, Patrick remained silent for a moment before speaking.
"I won't destroy Earth. It was once our home too."
"Good."
Hearing this, Fred was satisfied and immediately continued.
"I have one last request."
"...Go ahead."
He thought there was only that half-hearted demand, but it turned out there was more.
Muttering inwardly, Patrick nodded with a generous expression.
After all, he had already made his promise. Though he wasn't some wish-granting machine, as long as the request wasn't too outrageous, he could indeed agree to it.
"I want more knowledge—the most cutting-edge knowledge in this world."
This request could only be fulfilled here.
Although the research capabilities of Coordinators might be comparable to those of Naturals when it came to truly exceptional geniuses—or even fewer than Naturals—their average research ability far surpassed that of Naturals, making their research speed incomparably faster.
In truth, other places like the Dawn Organization, which had integrated Coordinator researchers, should be able to rival PLANT.
But he was still here, after all.
And from the storyline, PLANT's technology was indeed ahead of other regions.
Of course, that cheat-like ORB with its chaotic undersea resources was an exception.
"Hmm..."
Patrick pondered for a moment before speaking.
"Giving you all knowledge is impossible, but I currently have one thing I can offer you."
"Do you know what the secret weapon we're developing is?"
Hearing Patrick steer the conversation toward the secret weapon—the MS—Fred smiled inwardly.
Although he had intended to bring up the MS, seeing things go so smoothly made him happy.
This not only meant he got what he wanted but also showed he understood Patrick and the others better.
Though he had no intention of scheming against them, Patrick was indeed acting unusually normal now.
A normal person wouldn't destroy the world.
"I don't know."
As he spoke, Fred tried to make his expression as serious as possible.
It was called a secret weapon for a reason. If he said he knew, Patrick might not be pleased.
And displeasure was the least of his worries—if he were caught showing any signs of prior knowledge, he wouldn't be able to explain it.
"Hmm."
Patrick acknowledged, feeling a mix of pride and nervousness spreading within him.
What he was about to reveal was the highest-level secret here and the true pride of the Coordinators.
He hoped to see this genius's astonishment but also felt anxious about whether his trust would be reciprocated.
However, Patrick wasn't one to hesitate. Under the intertwining of these emotions, he pressed the transmission button and entered a series of passwords on the screen.
His speed was no slower than Fred's before, and even seemed slightly faster.
As Patrick unlocked that portion of the technology, numerous pieces of information began flashing continuously on the screen in front of Fred.
The data kept popping up and being covered by new windows, leaving Fred little time to read.
Meanwhile, Fred's eyes were moving at a speed far beyond that of an ordinary person.
It was as if a fast-forward button had been pressed.
It was less like reading ten lines at a glance and more like reading a hundred.
Of course, it would be impossible to see clearly this way.
But Fred's abilities were stronger, allowing him to quickly extract key points from the vast amount of information.
Soon, amidst his rapid reading and excited thoughts, Fred noticed something unusual.
This information was not as detailed as it could be.
In short, Patrick likely hadn't handed over all the information about the GINN.
But that was understandable.
As Fred's thoughts raced, the data on the screen soon stopped at the massive design diagram of the MS.
It looked like the instruction manual for the models Fred had seen before.
Of course, upon closer inspection, there were many differences.
For example, the large and intricate mechanical structures and the densely packed parameters.
"Did you understand it?"
Patrick's voice carried many emotions, but he hid them all beneath his authoritative expression.
"I understood a bit."
Fred nodded.
"..."
Seeing Fred's calm demeanor, Patrick was taken aback.
Wait, this was the pride of their Coordinators—the MS.
It was a Giant Robot improved from the MS driven by the first Coordinator, George, during his exploration of Jupiter.
Even taking a step back, using a Giant Robot in warfare was unheard of in this world still dominated by Battleship Artillery.
And this was his reaction?
Just calmly saying he understood a bit?
"...Did you really understand it?"
Finally, Patrick broke the silence again.
He wondered if the other might have misunderstood its purpose, thinking they were developing an Engineering Machine.
"Of course! Really!"
Fred quickly snapped out of his thoughts and realized his emotions were off, so he nodded rapidly.
He had overused his brain today—the initial experiment, the unexpected incident, and the massive amount of information he had just received.
The young man's mind was temporarily clogged.
Under normal circumstances, he should have set aside his thoughts to train his body for now.
But today was clearly not over yet.
Thinking this, Fred shifted his gaze to the panel data in front of him.
[Structural Engineering +0.03]
[Structural Engineering (Proficient) 10.71/100]
[Aerospace Engineering +0.02]
[Aerospace Engineering (Proficient) 11.30/100]
Although he had just encountered a lot of knowledge, the overall increase was minimal. Besides the speed being too fast, the main reason was that he had almost reached his limit for today's gains.
He had already gained quite a bit from the earlier experiment.
Naturally, the progress would slow down.
"It's a very impressive weapon! Are you planning to deploy it on the battlefield?"
Fred suppressed the throbbing pain in his head and asked excitedly.
"...Yes."
The emotion had passed, and Patrick looked at this person who had suddenly gone from genius to seeming like a slow-witted fool. He paused before speaking.
"This machine called MS will definitely be the main force in future warfare."
Comment from a user:
Actually, I've never understood this. In the Seed universe, there aren't any of those mystical particle interferences. Wouldn't these mechs just end up as target practice?
Faced with Fred's expression that seemed even more confident than his own, Patrick was at a loss for words.
Damn it, who was the one leading the development of the MS?
Wasn't it him?
Looking at Fred's confident demeanor, it almost seemed as if Fred was the one in charge.