)

Jupiter keeps moving away.

SDF-1 finally completed the gravitational slingshot acceleration and began to leave Jupiter and embark on the journey home.

People who had no work at hand stayed in groups behind the portholes, or stood near the port, looking at Jupiter as it gradually receded.

Leaving the orbit of Jupiter means that SDF-1 is one step closer to the earth.

Next, there is the asteroid belt between Jupiter and Mars.

Once there, the resource dilemma currently faced by SDF-1 will be somewhat alleviated.

In any case, this can be considered a relatively smooth start again.

In the restaurant, a graceful woman was sitting behind the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at Jupiter, which had occupied the entire window and was now only the size of a washbasin.

"We're one step closer to home, aren't we?"

The woman breathed out softly, turned around, looked at the man and woman sitting opposite her, and laughed softly.

"Yes."

The other party nodded slightly.

Although it was not a valuable word, it made the woman feel satisfied.

"Hello! I'm Grace Mueller. First time meeting you! Nice to meet you."

The woman stretched out her hand and looked sincerely at the man and woman in front of her.

"What's your name? Nice to meet you."

"Lin Mingmei, nice to meet you."

The man and woman in front of them introduced themselves and shook hands with the women one by one.

"I'm really surprised! I didn't expect that the famous Lin Mingmei would come to your door."

Grace narrowed her eyes slightly and looked at He Ming.

With her quick mind, she naturally guessed that the reason came from He Ming.

The latter simply asked Lin Mingmei to put the business card on the table.

"This is the business card Professor Kulagin gave us. Maybe you can help Lin Mingmei."

Grace seemed very surprised by the appearance of the business card.

What’s even more surprising is that this film attracted Lin Mingmei, who is very popular in SDF-1.

After calming down a little, Grace understood what Kulagin meant when he handed the business card to He Mingmei and Lin Mingmei.

"Although this would be a bit rude and make Miss Lin Mingmei feel uncomfortable, is the situation really that serious?"

Lin Mingmei's bright eyes dimmed a little, and she nodded silently.

"Since Lin Mingmei's cousin was killed, some things have inevitably happened, causing Lin Mingmei's work to become chaotic. Therefore, now we need an experienced and capable person to take care of everything for Lin Mingmei.

"

After He Ming gently patted Lin Mingmei's little hand, he looked at Grace and said slowly.

"Yeah. I've heard about this too. I just didn't expect it to be so serious."

Grace paused for a moment, then said seriously.

"In this case, I will accept this job. Please give me your advice in the future, Miss Lin Mingmei."

Grace's cheerfulness allowed the matter to be resolved.

When Lin Mingmei left and went to the bathroom, Grace looked in the direction of Jupiter again.

At this moment, Jupiter, which was just about the size of a washbasin, was only a shadow smaller than the size of a fist.

"Warrant Officer He. How much hope do you think we have?"

He Ming's eyes changed slightly.

"Hopefully, there will still be opportunities. It just depends on how we seize the opportunity."

"Chance?"

Grace withdrew her gaze and looked at He Ming.

"Probably! However, leaving Jupiter means getting closer to the earth, but it also means we are one step closer to death, doesn't it?"

He Ming narrowed his eyes slightly.

Unexpectedly, Grace is not as simple as she seems.

If you were just a professional agent, you wouldn't be aware of SDF-1's current situation.

Grace had no intention of hiding her identity.

"No need to be surprised. After all, before doing this job, I was a member of the United Army. I was just injured during a test flight and finally had to choose to retire."

Grace gently pushed the business card on the table with her fingers.

"I also got to know Professor Kulagin during that time. I didn't expect that many years later, someone would come to me with the business card I left for Professor Kulagin. It's really surprising!"

There is a story.

But He Ming had no idea of ​​exploring it further.

After all, everyone has a past that they don't want to disclose to the outside world.

"Okay! Lin Mingmei, leave it to me! I will take good care of her. And you, I'm afraid, will have to go on your next mission soon."

In the distance, Jupiter's shadow has long since disappeared.

With the addition of Grace, a new agent, Lin Mingmei's work is gradually getting back on track.

During this period of time, in addition to contacting Lin Mingmei from time to time, He Ming devoted himself wholeheartedly to the perfection of SV52.

With the help of the intelligent AI cube Adino, many hidden dangers of SV52 were quickly discovered and properly resolved under Kuragin's full preparation.

However, the latter did not know the existence of Adino and placed all the credit for discovering these hidden dangers on He Ming's head.

This made He Ming dumbfounded, but he could only accept it silently.

The existence of the intelligent AI cube is no less shocking than the shock Sharon gave to the unity of the earth during the Sharon Epp crisis.

Fortunately, the intelligent AI cube is completely controlled by He Ming, and is not completely out of control and runaway like Sharon.

After some preparations, the armament of SV52 was finally confirmed.

Hughes GU-11 three-barreled 55mm Gatling gun,

AMM-1 air-to-surface missile × 12,

UUM-7 micro missile pod × 4,

RMS-1 large anti-ship missile × 4.

There is no doubt that these are armed equipment from VF-1.

Limited by the current strategic resource reserves and equipment production status of SDF-1, even though Kulakin had many plans for the development of SV52 equipment, he was unable to put them into practice.

In the end, we had no choice but to take a step back and chose to share equipment with VF-1.

Fortunately, the void battlefield they are in does not need to take into account gravity, aerodynamic shape and many other factors that can affect air combat in the atmosphere. Therefore, the plan for the SV52 to share VF-1's armed equipment can be smoothly carried out.

conduct.

"There is nothing we can do about this!"

Looking at the SV52 in a fully loaded state, Kuragin sighed.

As a designer, Kuragin naturally hopes that the SV52 can declare its existence to the world in the best possible condition.

"After all, our current situation does not allow us to have more choices."

He Ming didn't care.

Being able to share weapon systems with VF-1 also means that SV52 can be integrated into the tactical command system of VF-1.

This is not bad news for He Ming.

No matter how powerful you are fighting alone, you cannot make up for the huge gap in fighting the system.

"You are quite open-minded."

Kuragin shrugged his shoulders and then clapped his hands.

"Then, the final plan has been decided. He Ming, SV52 will be left to you."

"good!"

For most people, traveling in space is boring.

But for pilots who have completed all combat preparations, the situation is becoming increasingly urgent.

Since leaving Jupiter, the Gerardi squadron has disappeared without a trace, and there has not even been any harassment.
To be continued...