Chapter 1064: Chapter 1063: A Brand-New Reaper!
When Fang Zheng hurried back to the Heavenly Dao Palace with the fleet, the first thing he saw was the anxious crew of the Nadeshiko.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, are you sure those Reapers went to our world?"
Seeing Fang Zheng return, a middle-aged man with a little mustache from the Nadeshiko hurriedly stepped forward with a serious expression and asked. Fang Zheng remembered this man was a representative of Nirga Heavy Industries, though he couldn’t recall his exact name. Regarding matters of the Nadeshiko, he seemed more reliable than that busty, brainless-looking Captain Goto Yurika.
"That’s about right."
Fang Zheng nodded and then opened his personal terminal to play a recording of the previous battle.
"Look, the space-time tremor erupted in the central area of the conflict between our Swarm and the Reapers. Nearly a hundred Reapers were caught in the space-time tremor and vanished..."
"What should we do?!"
Upon hearing this, the crew of the Nadeshiko turned pale. During the time Fang Zheng was challenging the Reapers’ headquarters, they perfectly fulfilled their role as Uber, transporting Shupard everywhere. Because of this, the crew of the Nadeshiko understood firsthand how skewed their world’s technology tree was. Without the protection of the Azure Fleet, they might have been obliterated by the Reapers long ago.
It must be noted that the Nadeshiko was built with the pinnacle of technology from that world, not inferior to the latest warships of the Earth Federation. Even the Nadeshiko had no chance against the Reapers, so one could only imagine what would happen if the Earth Federation encountered them.
As for Gundams... well, there’s nothing to say; it’s all tears.
"These Reapers must be dealt with."
Fang Zheng quickly provided an answer.
"We must go to your world and eliminate these remaining Reapers. But before that, can anyone tell me what exactly is this so-called space-time tremor? How does it occur?"
"Well..."
Facing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, the crew of the Nadeshiko looked at each other. After a moment, the man with the little mustache looked at a lady beside him. The glasses-wearing lady shook her head.
"Sorry, Mr. Fang Zheng, space-time tremors in our world are similar to natural disasters... like earthquakes and tsunamis. Although there are indeed signs before a space-time tremor occurs, the time is so short that there’s no time to react. We don’t know how they are generated either..."
"How do you plan to go back then?"
Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised a question. If it was as the lady described, then being thrown into this world was like time traveling to another world, from which they could never return.
"We haven’t thought about it yet..."
Goto Yurika explained helplessly. As she said, upon arriving in this world, the Nadeshiko had immediately run into a war between the Swarm and the Reapers, then got captured by Fang Zheng to serve as Uber. Then, it raced across the star system with the Azure Fleet, witnessing various alien races and star-system-level civil wars. Currently, the crew of the Nadeshiko was still in a state where their worldviews had been completely shattered and had not yet been repaired.
As for how to go back... can we talk about it after I wake up?
"Hmm... I might have a solution for this..."
Fang Zheng did not expect another space-time tremor to occur, as it seemed unrealistic at present. However, this didn’t mean he had no solution. While the Nadeshiko couldn’t do it, Fang Zheng was a Dimensional Mage, and as long as there was an appropriate medium, he could open a teleportation gate to that world.
As for the medium...
"...What? A Gundam?"
"That’s right."
Looking at the crowd, Fang Zheng nodded.
"I need something unique to your world to use as a waypoint marker for the teleportation gate. It should be something one-of-a-kind, never seen in this world’s universe... I believe a Gundam is the best choice."
After all, such a thing that’s skewed the technology tree wouldn’t appear in this universe’s world.
While saying this, Fang Zheng glanced at Domon, although he was puzzled to see Domon’s face looking a bit troubled at receiving Fang Zheng’s gaze. At that moment, the mustached man coughed and came forward again.
"Um... Mr. Fang Zheng, I’m sorry. Mr. Domon’s Shining Gundam was destroyed earlier by the Reapers’ drones. Not only his Gundam, but also our Nadeshiko’s exclusive mobile weapon, Summer Flowers, was severely damaged saving Mr. Domon and is basically scrapped."
"......."
Who gave you the courage to go fight the Reapers in a Gundam?
Was it Liang Jingru?
"Right, the Archangel Ship!"
At this moment, Goto Yurika seemed to remember something and clapped her hands excitedly.
"If I’m not mistaken, there should be Gundams on the Archangel Ship! Right, my dear Mingren is still on the Archangel Ship! Let’s go find the Archangel Ship! We will definitely find some mechs that can be used as the medium!"
"Alright."
This time, Fang Zheng didn’t object. After all, there was nothing much happening in the Milky Way at the moment thanks to Fang Zheng’s "Ratziel." Shupard led an army and fiercely destroyed all the hidden Reapers in the Milky Way. Obviously, she did not want to wait for some future day when the Reapers would return.
As for Fang Zheng’s assault on the Reaper base, he didn’t make a big deal about it. Other races in the Milky Way didn’t know they held out to see victory because Fang Zheng swept clean the Reapers’ base. Still, the Azure Fleet’s assistance to various civilizations gained them significant goodwill from many alien races. If not for the Heavenly Dao Palace being an independent alliance, various alien races, including the Quillan People, might collectively petition to have Fang Zheng join the Citadel Council’s top five rogue members.
Of course, collecting a wave of gratitude means nothing to Fang Zheng. The most important thing was the "resource-for-support plan," perfectly executed under Tilia’s leadership. Notably, two alien races, the Turui and Alisa, had most of their Element Zero "moved" by Tilia, scoring a large windfall.
This also increased Fang Zheng’s Dimensional Codex by three digits, balancing the four-digit depletion—enough to sustain the Azure Fleet’s daily expenses.
Currently, the Milky Way has suffered a tremendous loss, with significant damage across all races. Even the most powerful and oldest race, the Asari, was nearly exterminated in their homeland, indicating how miserable other races were. With this one battle, the balance of civilization and power in the Milky Way will inevitably change again.
But this is not Fang Zheng’s concern.
Other races are currently busy with rebuilding efforts, and with nothing else on his hands, completing the main mission is naturally Fang Zheng’s primary goal.
With the "Ratziel," finding the Archangel Ship wasn’t difficult for Fang Zheng, it’s just...
"I think it’s already finished."
Sitting in his chair and looking at the tattered, non-responsive warship displayed on the screen, Fang Zheng helplessly commented. Judging by the ship’s exterior condition and its lack of response, it was clearly a derelict.
At least, it didn’t completely explode.
"How did this happen, my dear Mingren..."
Ignoring Goto Yurika’s wailing, Fang Zheng gestured.
"Let’s go check it out, scan it, and see what’s inside this warship. Wait, what’s that?"
But just as Fang Zheng issued the command, suddenly, a shadow emerged from behind the warship. It had a lower half similar to a Reaper, but its upper half was human-shaped and metallic, like a fusion of a Terminator and a Reaper!
"------------!!"
As soon as this strange Reaper appeared, it immediately opened its mouth and raised its hands. Then Fang Zheng saw a series of red beams shooting from its hands, attacking the fleet.
"Activate shields!"
Giving out orders quickly, Fang Zheng also prepared for battle.
He already knew the Reapers had chosen humans as the next Reaper "material," but he hadn’t expected a Reaper made from humans to be this disgusting!
"Full firepower, destroy it for me!"