"I brought groceries back~"
By the time He Kui returned home, the sky had already darkened. However, the expression on Shihe's face was anything but pleasant.
"Shihe? What's wrong?"
"The deputy director of the Hailan Design Bureau has died."
Shihe's usually gentle expression turned serious.
"What?! When did this happen?"
"The news came out from within ZAFT late today, and it was confirmed on the directors' forum."
Shihe said this as she turned her phone towards He Kui, showing the news about the deputy director being found dead in a restroom stall at the DSSD Deep Space Development Conference Hall.
"Orb?"
"Not sure. We don't have any reason to detain Orb, and among the invited were scholars from Earth."
"This means DSSD will probably be abandoned."
He Kui let out a bitter smile.
With both sides already at each other's throats, infiltration seems inevitable.
"Try not to go out if you don't have to these days."
He Kui advised.
"Mm!"
At least in the A-level district, there is a minimum level of security. People and goods coming in and out are checked, ensuring a certain degree of safety.
For now, though...
In the following days, due to the suspected spy activities in Nova and the tragic death of the deputy director, security in May City was noticeably tighter than usual.
Even within the Hailan Design Bureau, soldiers patrolling were a common sight.
While this enhanced security, it also made everyone feel the gravity of the situation.
Amidst these tense days, another piece of bad news quickly followed.
"The plan to increase taxes has been approved by the Supreme Council and is set to be implemented on July 1st."
Watching the news on TV, He Kui wasn't surprised. It had been discussed for so long; it was time for implementation.
The war tax on personal income, bonuses, and compensation increased from 1.5 to 3. The tax on ordinary goods went from 2.5 to 4, non-essential goods to 7.5, semi-luxury goods to 15, and luxury goods to 18%.
Materials He Kui needed were classified as non-essential, meaning he'd have to pay an additional 7.5% tax when importing them from the port.
Plus, with sales tax when selling them, his profits from a transaction would reduce by 10%. However, stockpiling wasn't feasible; it was better to wait until he completed the radar and another planned item.
"Speaking of which, when I went out to buy groceries earlier, I saw a protest."
Seeing no mention of it on TV, Shihe frowned.
"Against the tax hike?"
"Yes, and against some council members' overly lenient war strategies."
Even Nova couldn't be taken down yet, so how could they conquer Earth or make the Blue Cosmos hand over the Earth to the Coordinators?
In this scenario, someone had to take the blame.
It should have been the chairman, but with Lacus' popularity, the Klein faction wouldn't sink so easily. Nor should it.
If they did, the Junk Guild would be pushed even further away.
Moreover, such private transactions would likely be banned by Patrick.
Even without his deceased wife, Patrick's radical stance and rivalry with Klein remained unchanged.
Both sides had different demands from the public and advocated different policies, naturally making them rivals.
Overall, it's a troublesome situation.
"Shihe, this is for you."
He Kui said, placing a round, mechanical owl on the table.
After a slight sound of its camera adjusting, it began to rotate its head in circles.
"A surveillance owl, stripped of all functions, filled entirely with precision sensors."
"This is nice..."
Shihe was already used to He Kui occasionally bringing out strange creations.
As an A-level, he had considerable freedom in creation, as long as it wasn't too outrageous. However, the properties of creations were still limited by materials.
- [You gifted Shihe Hanefis, Micro Component Processing Experience +60]
- [Shihe Hanefis Favorability: 136]
- [Experience Bonus: 6]
- [Micro Component Processing A Level: (27723/100000)]
- [Academic: Anti-Beam Coating Shield II (7568/10000)]
"Thank you, it's so cute! What's its name~?"
"Roundie?"
"That's an improvement from last time~"
Shihe teased, poking the owl's head with a smile.
"Special training from Shihe was effective."
"Of course! If..."
"If what?"
"Nothing!"
If they had kids in the future, with He Kui's naming skills, she feared their names might be bizarre. It's best to subtly train him now.
Thinking of this, Shihe couldn't help but smile sweetly.
"He Kui~"
"Mm?"
"Today is my special day~"
Shihe flipped over from the sofa, straddling He Kui.
He Kui smiled slightly at her words and kissed her.
After a passionate night, He Kui didn't fall asleep quickly. Instead, he held Shihe, gently stroking her long, soft hair, his fingers tracing her delicate back.
"The shield is nearly complete. The improved version should withstand beam cannons, even main cannons."
Shihe whispered.
"But the materials are much more expensive."
Technically, this shield had a more densely attached anti-beam coating, making it much pricier than a standard anti-beam shield.
"But in the hands of an elite, it could be used to greater effect."
Shihe licked her lips like a satisfied kitten.
"Yeah, exactly."
"But the top isn't too happy with the way the energy tank is handled."
"But that thing, ordinary batteries can't support it. Maybe we can enhance the cannon's power by combining two barrels?"
As He Kui spoke, he suddenly remembered the Buster, a mobile suit with two guns combined.
"Using two guns to enhance beam reaction! That's an interesting idea!"
Shihe suddenly sprang up, wrapped herself in a robe, and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
"To the office, to check some data and simulate the beam reaction. You get some sleep first."
"..."
So he was the one left behind after all, huh? Watching Shihe's excited departure, He Kui sighed and picked up his clothes.
But he wasn't heading to Shihe's office; instead, he went to his workshop on the ground floor.
Today, he had gained a lot of knowledge about beam shields, which needed to be updated in real-time.
On the other hand, a rough sketch of a small, task-focused MS was on the table in the workshop.
Unlike the power suits that were the predecessors to MS, this MS closely resembled a full MS in appearance but had an open cockpit with only a simple layer of tempered glass, standing about five meters tall with three-fingered hands.
According to He Kui's vision, this MS should be safer and more powerful than ordinary power suits.
Equipped with a full-sized MS operating system to ensure limb flexibility, it could mount a miniaturized continuous-fire beam gun on its shoulders.
For power, it could use cables to directly connect to an energy tank.
"We still need to find a way to reduce the size of the beam generator, at least to around three meters, even
if the power is reduced; after all, it's just for mining."
"Once the design is finished, keep the costs down, complete the actual model, and then approach the Defense Council!"
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