The second secret meeting between Reid and Zhao Zhongjian concluded smoothly, with both parties in good spirits. Although Zhao Zhongjian couldn't give a definitive commitment on behalf of the East Asian Republic, he promised that the proposed cooperation model was acceptable.
At this point, both sides had a clear understanding—this collaboration was highly likely to proceed, which further warmed their interactions.
Afterward, Reid and Zhao Zhongjian had no further contact. On the third day of the peace talks between the Earth Alliance and PLANT, the discussions once again ended in discord, with leaders from both sides leaving the meeting room with icy expressions.
Once the meeting concluded, neither delegation lingered. Within an hour, all representatives had departed from the New Misurugi Republic.
However, three days later, Zhao Zhongjian returned as part of the East Asian Republic's office staff stationed in the New Misurugi Republic.
The reason for the "office staff" designation was due to Angie's explanation that the Star Palace Colony Satellite had limited internal space, making it impossible to allocate areas for embassies from other nations. Thus, countries wishing to send personnel to the New Misurugi Republic had to establish offices instead—even their accommodations had to be rented independently.
This policy applied equally to all nations, so no diplomatic incidents arose. After all, colony satellites were indeed prime real estate.
This time, Zhao Zhongjian brought good news: the East Asian Republic had agreed to proceed with cooperation under Plan One. Moreover, they generously provided the technical data Reid had requested upfront—equivalent to paying the full price before even seeing the blueprints.
Upon reviewing the materials, Reid noticed something surprising: the East Asian Republic hadn't given him a stripped-down version. The parameters matched the optimal specifications he knew of. For instance, their technical data on beam weapon miniaturization included even derivative technologies—enough to directly develop the 580mm "Siren Beast" Multiple Array Phase Energy Cannon used by the future Calamity Gundam.
Looking through the documents, Reid couldn't help but remark:
"Ambassador Zhao, your East Asian Republic does business with remarkable sincerity."
Internally, Zhao Zhongjian knew their government was investing heavily to earn Reid's goodwill for future gains, but outwardly he simply replied calmly:
"The East Asian Republic has always been sincere with its friends."
Reid acknowledged that whatever the East Asian Republic's long-term goals might be, their conduct in this collaboration was impeccable. He couldn't afford to be half-hearted in return. After carefully storing the materials, he pulled out a recording tablet and asked:
"I've received the data. Now, let's discuss your requirements. MS development is a systematic process. First, I need to know whether the East Asian Republic seeks mass-production models or specialized custom units."
This question wasn't for Zhao Zhongjian to answer. He'd brought a five-member engineering team including military personnel and actual mechanical engineers.
Major Li from the military responded:
"Mr. Reid, could you elaborate on the differences between the two?"
Reid showed no impatience with such a novice question, understanding that the East Asian Republic had near-zero MS development experience and had been figuring things out independently. He answered directly:
"If we design a mass-production model directly, the advantages are that such Mobile Suits can be developed and built relatively quickly, have good versatility, and are relatively low-cost.
For example, ZAFT's GINN is clearly designed and manufactured from the outset with mass production as the goal.
However, the drawbacks of this design approach are also quite obvious. The resulting Mobile Suits will have limited potential for future upgrades, and their individual performance will lag significantly behind custom models. If pilot skill levels are comparable, they would need to rely on numerical superiority to suppress custom units."
After finishing this explanation, Reid gave the other side a moment to whisper among themselves. Once their discussion ended, he continued:
"As for custom models, they incorporate nearly every new technology available. The advantage is that once completed, their performance dominates the battlefield. But the disadvantages are even more pronounced—the trial-and-error phase in design becomes much longer, and if a technological bottleneck arises, an entire unit could end up scrapped.
Additionally, the production cost would be extremely high—so high that you might only produce three to five units before feeling your heart bleed, then start cutting corners and shifting to mass production. Of course, the stability of these downgraded mass-produced units generally won't match that of models originally designed for mass production.
By the way, I've received word that what's being built in Heliopolis is most likely a custom model."
After Reid finished speaking, the other side discussed again for a while. Then, it was Major Li who spoke up:
"Mr. Reid, could you design both plans for us, creating a high-low mix?"
Reid nodded without hesitation and replied directly:
"Of course, but that would mean developing two separate Mobile Suits. In that case, you'd also have to build me a Mothership."
Clearly, the East Asian Republic had anticipated his request. Without any discussion, they smiled and answered:
"No problem. Just send us your requirements for the Mothership later. If you have conceptual blueprints, we can even build it to your specifications. After all, the East Asian Republic does have some expertise in constructing space warships."
Reid immediately understood—the East Asian Republic was also hoping to freeload his warship design concepts. However, he wasn't tactless enough to say it outright, so he simply nodded and said:
"Fine, we'll discuss the warship later. Since you want both mass-produced and custom models, which one do you plan to design first? Don't even think about simultaneous development—I'm not Superman. Things have to be done one at a time."
This question had clearly been discussed beforehand. Major Li answered directly:
"Given the current situation, we'd prefer the mass-production model first. Ideally, something we can start mass-producing within a month."
Reid frowned at this—did they think building a Gundam was like sprouting beans? Expecting mass production in just a month? Just as he was about to refuse this unreasonable demand, the other side preempted him again:
"Mr. Reid, we understand the timeline is extremely tight. So, we guarantee that as long as your requirements are reasonable, your Mothership will be completed with full quality and quantity within two months."
Reid glanced at Lieutenant Colonel Li on the other side. Building a cutting-edge Mothership in two months wasn't actually impossible—the Archangel, from design to completion, took only six months, and that included developing Mobile Suits.
The Archangel was completed on the Moon within just two months after delivering the data to Alaska. Given the current shipbuilding speed of the Earth Alliance, with complete data and no regard for cost, they could practically churn them out like dumplings.
However, this was already the era of Mobile Suits. The age of massive warships and cannons in space had ended the moment the Moebius went into mass production.
Since the East Asian Republic dared to make such a promise, Reid figured rolling out a mass-production model within a month wasn't impossible. He said bluntly,
"If it's just one month, don't expect the performance of this mass-production unit to be much better than ZAFT's GINN. Can you accept that?"
The East Asian Republic's team discussed this among themselves for a while before Major Li finally nodded.
"No problem. As long as it can go one-on-one with ZAFT's GINN, that's acceptable. After all, a month is far too short a timeframe."
Since the other side had no objections, Reid nodded and moved on to the next question.
"Alright, a one-month development cycle. So, do you have any specific requirements? For example, where should the performance lean—high mobility, high firepower, or adaptability to complex terrain?"
The East Asian Republic's response was swift.
"We want high firepower—preferably something that can blanket the enemy with fire from extreme range. The bigger the shell caliber, the better. If possible, we'd like the Mobile Suit to carry naval artillery. And if it can mount a Positron Cannon as a single unit, we're even willing to provide you with the Positron Cannon technology as an extra."
Reid nearly rolled his eyes into the back of his head. If he calculated based on his past life's timeline, over a hundred years had passed in that region, yet their "firepower deficiency phobia" still hadn't been cured. If anything, it seemed to have gotten worse.
(End of Chapter)