NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Chapter 65: EZSR
Chapter 65: EZSR
Many things were happening in Jaburo, but Eli was unaware that something closely related to him had just occurred.
Right now, his mind was entirely occupied by a seductive figure.
From the moment he woke up in his room, that figure had filled his thoughts.
The perfect body curves, the alluring silhouette, every movement captivating the soul.
Those eyes were dazzling, making it impossible for anyone to look away.
Eli hurriedly put on his clothes—or rather, he barely managed to throw them on in a messy state—before rushing to the hangar, only to find a crowd already gathered there.
She stood there unbothered, fully exposed, showing off her figure.
"Truly breathtaking..."
Eli stood there, staring at the figure, his delight unrestrained.
"I feel like you're thinking something inappropriate, Eli-san," Amuro remarked as he squeezed through the crowd to stand beside Eli.
Seeing Eli's expression, Amuro could only think of one word: "pervert."
"Ahem, Amuro, you can understand, right? Witnessing such a sight."
Momentarily channeling Graham's persona, Eli lightly patted his face and looked up at the machine before him.
Yes, all the previous descriptions were about Eli's newly modified mobile suit.
Although it had a completely new appearance, Eli could still recognize its foundation as a Ground-Type Gundam.
Eli and Amuro squeezed back to the center of the crowd, where the technicians were already waiting.
Today would mark Eli's first time piloting the machine in action.
Ignoring the technicians who had been waiting for some time, Eli walked up and started touching various parts of the machine.
"Enough, Eli-san! It's not like you haven't touched it before!"
Unable to watch any longer, Amuro finally spoke up.
The actual assembly had been completed the day before. Today was set aside for the final safety checks before piloting.
Eli cleared his throat lightly and removed his hand from the leg armor of the machine.
A technician immediately stepped forward, explaining safety precautions while handing Eli a flight suit.
"Lastly, due to the rearrangement of the cooling system and the removal of power restrictions on the nuclear reactor, the EXAM system on this machine can now be activated for two minutes. However, avoid prolonged combat beyond that, as there's no way to replace the reactor in the field."
Eli nodded, taking the helmet as an indication that he understood.
"One more thing: this machine doesn't have an official name yet. For now, it's still called the RX-79[G]. But considering its modifications, sticking to this name doesn't seem appropriate," the technician said, his pride evident as he surveyed the machine he had overseen.
"True," Eli agreed, noting the newly added posture control thrusters. Calling it a "Ground-Type" Gundam no longer seemed fitting.
"What about calling it Gundam EX?" Amuro suggested from the side.
Eli almost agreed but suddenly froze.
Something felt off—very off. His spine tingled.
Fortunately, the technician rejected Amuro's suggestion.
"No, that won't work. The European front already has a machine with that codename. Unfortunately, it was destroyed not long ago... I heard the pilot was around the same age as you, Lieutenant Amuro."
A moment of silence fell over the group.
The mention of a teenager dying in battle was always sobering.
"Let's call it EZ-SR," Eli said, stroking his chin as he observed the machine's additional chest armor, reminiscent of the EZ-8.
"Oh? Quite the coincidence," the technician replied, raising an eyebrow and displaying an off-white mobile suit on a tablet.
"Rumor has it that the 08th MS Team in Southeast Asia modified a Ground-Type Gundam and named it EZ-8. It performed brilliantly during a mining operation, even managing to take down a large-scale MA called Apsaras."
Looking at the image of Shiro Amada standing confidently on the chest armor of the EZ-8, Eli couldn't help but smile.
"It's not a coincidence. It's the unspoken bond of defying death together. From now on, this machine will be known as EZ-SR."
Eli shifted his gaze from the tablet to meet the eyes of his newly named Gundam, EZ-SR.
At that moment, Eli recalled the woman he had seen in BD-1.
The EXAM head on this machine—was it the original from BD3, or an additional copy?
Perhaps he would find out once he entered the cockpit.
Reigning in his wandering thoughts, Eli donned his helmet with a determined expression and climbed up the chest of the EZ-SR via the ladder.
The cockpit layout remained unchanged since it was based on the RX-79 design. Making significant alterations would have delayed their departure for space.
Seated inside, Eli began activating the mobile suit, checking the system settings along the way.
After confirming that the maintenance crew had loaded his preferred OS, Eli gripped the control sticks.
"Wake up, EZ-SR. The Gundam is here, the Ground-Type is here, and so am I!"
Muttering these nostalgic words to himself, Eli prepared to face the most pressing issue at hand.
And it wasn't about whether the EXAM system contained another consciousness.
It was whether this modified machine would be classified as a mass-production model by the system.
In past experiments, Eli had discovered that simply being mass-produced wasn't enough for a machine to qualify.
For instance, both the Guntank and Guncannon had been mass-produced. However, the units aboard White Base couldn't trigger the system's bonuses.
Conversely, Eli had experimented with the GM units in Jaburo and confirmed they qualified for bonuses, even custom variants with limited production runs.
"Ding—"
The moment the machine activated, the sound in Eli's ear was accompanied by the image of the Grim Reaper appearing before him.
Eli let out a long sigh of relief.
Clearly, the EZ-SR had been recognized by the system as a mass-production model.
So as long as the base unit was mass-produced, it qualified?
And even if a machine had been mass-produced, if its foundation was experimental—like the Guntank and Guncannon—it wouldn't be considered a mass-production model.
Then, how should certain machines be classified?
The Pale Rider, G-Line, and later mass-production Gundam models...
These "mass-production" units were developed with the intention of mass production but remained limited in number and mostly experimental. How would the system categorize them?
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