Hearing this, Athrun looked up at Cagalli and smiled.
"People like you are rare on the battlefield!"
As he spoke, Athrun lowered his head and stopped looking at Cagalli, continuing.
"Get some rest early!"
The Next Day
"Let's part ways here!"
Looking at the distant sea, Athrun spoke his farewell. Hearing this, Cagalli nodded slightly, her gaze falling on Athrun's waist as she reminded him.
"Remember to change the dressing on your waist wound promptly."
"Mm!" Nodding slightly, Athrun replied.
Hearing Athrun's response, Cagalli said no more. After bidding final farewell to Athrun, she turned and left in the opposite direction.
Watching Cagalli's figure gradually disappear from view, Athrun turned to look at the Aegis Gundam and strode toward it.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of kilometers away in PLANT
"Captain Griffith, you're here so early?"
"I woke up with nothing to do, so I came over."
Turning to look at the MS Unified Development Design Bureau staff member who had entered, Felix smiled and replied.
(The MS Unified Development Design Bureau was formed by consolidating numerous design bureaus within PLANT, with the consolidation occurring during the development of the GuAIZ.)
Walking up to Felix and looking at the 3D virtual projection design diagram before them, the staff member asked Felix.
"Captain Griffith, are there still any flaws in your design?"
"There are still some flaws. For example, the constraint current for Mirage Particles released through the Conical Furnace can be further optimized to achieve better energy conservation."
Nodding slightly, Felix spoke to his assigned assistant Bartley.
Hearing Felix's pursuit of perfection in his response, Bartley smiled slightly and extended his hand to place a bottle of energy-supplementing functional drink in front of Felix.
"Thank you!"
Looking at the drink, Felix expressed his gratitude to Bartley. Bartley waved his hand and smiled.
"Captain Griffith, you're too polite."
After speaking, Bartley turned his gaze to the Conical Furnace before them. Looking at this Conical Furnace, Bartley praised.
"Captain Griffith, your Conical Dispersion Furnace is truly a genius design."
"You flatter me."
"Not at all!" Shaking his head, Bartley continued. "Your Conical Dispersion Furnace design is superior to our previous Dragoon System proposal, granting the Dragoons even better mobility and flexibility.
This further enhances the power of the Dragoon System."
"You're too kind. I was only able to design this thanks to the foundation you all laid beforehand."
Smiling slightly, Felix spoke very modestly.
Turning to look at Bartley, he continued.
"And it's all thanks to the excellent nuclear power source you designed. Without the existence of nuclear power, my proposal would have no possibility of implementation.
So if anything, I should be thanking you."
"What are you talking about?"
A sudden voice made both Felix and Bartley look up. After recognizing the newcomer, Bartley spoke.
"We were discussing Captain Griffith's conical furnace design."
"I see!"
Ruben made an understanding sound upon hearing this.
Stopping his approach, Ruben looked at the 3D design diagram before him, noticing differences from the previous version. He turned to Felix and asked humbly.
"Captain Griffith, have you made optimizations?"
"Yes." Felix nodded as he spoke. "I've made some optimizations in certain aspects."
"No wonder!"
With this answer, clarity instantly dawned on Ruben, who muttered to himself. Then he turned to Felix, his voice carrying curiosity.
"Captain Griffith."
"Yes?" Felix looked at him and asked.
"I'm a bit curious - what made you decide to come work on research and development here with us?"
Ruben posed his question.
After speaking, he fixed Felix with eyes full of curiosity and anticipation for an answer. Being stared at like this made Felix feel somewhat uneasy.
'Why is he staring at me like that?'
He complained inwardly.
Glancing at Bartley, he saw Bartley staring at him with the same intense gaze.
Withdrawing his gaze, Felix continued operating with his hands while speaking calmly.
"Go to the battlefield a few times, and you'll understand why I work on developing PS Armor Built-in Protective Cockpit Technology."
At this point, Felix turned to look at both men, then glanced at the Mirage Particles Conical Dispersion Furnace.
"As for this thing, your director simply dragged me into it. Researching and designing this wasn't originally in my plans."
"I see!"
The clouds of curiosity in their hearts dispersed somewhat as both men made understanding sounds. Looking at Felix, Ruben voiced the last bit of confusion in his mind.
"Captain Griffith, did you have that protective cockpit technology idea for a long time?"
"No!" Felix shook his head in response, then turned to look at Ruben as he continued. "That particular technical idea was just a flash of inspiration, but the idea of enhancing cockpit protection has been with me for a long time, and I've mentioned it many times in reports."
At this, Felix turned to look at both men and said with a smile.
"And I'm not the only one with this idea - every ZAFT soldier who's experienced combat on the battlefield shares this thought.
I've just done a bit more than them.
After all, you've taken slightly earlier steps in this direction."
After speaking, Felix pressed a button with his finger.
The 3D virtual conical furnace began operating according to preset parameters and programs, emitting scattered particles from within.
Observing the emission situation, Felix proceeded with corresponding data collection.
Seeing that the simulation experiment had begun, Bartley and Ruben closed their mouths without saying another word, staying by Felix's side and doing what they could to assist.
One or two minutes later, the simulation test concluded.
Felix called up all the experimental data, which flashed rapidly across the screen like a revolving lantern. Though the data moved quickly, Felix easily captured every single entry.
'Captain Griffith is really incredible - he can actually read data at such high speeds.'
Looking at the situation before them, Ruben and Bartley exchanged a glance, both inwardly complaining.
"Bartley, retrieve the code from line 2,530."
Just then, Felix's instruction came through.
Upon hearing this, Bartley verbally acknowledged and sat down at his computer to pull up the corresponding code.
"Ruben!"
"I'm here, Captain Griffith."
Ruben responded upon hearing his name.
Felix turned to Ruben, pointed at the data displayed before them, and instructed:
"Review the data again and look for any possible oversights."
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