Chapter 98: The First Mission of the Red Skull Mech!

"This is B2 native toxin."

"It is more comprehensive and powerful than B1, capable of putting all the bugs within its diffusion range to sleep within ten seconds."

"Of course, it is still in the experimental stage and is quite unstable. Sometimes it even becomes an excitant for the bugs."

"I have come up with a solution that requires you to send someone to the mining area in the Fuders Asteroid Belt to collect some ore samples for me."

Pluto Coastline Fortress, Underground Eight-Floor Laboratory.

Morgan held a stack of draft papers and spoke to Zhou Yuan as he flipped through them.

And in front of them was a sealed chamber.

Inside the chamber were two soldier bugs, surrounded by a large amount of vents emitting dark green toxins, causing the bugs to become disoriented.

"Professor, I'll go personally."

"This matter is too important, and I don't trust anyone else with it."

Upon hearing Morgan's words, Zhou Yuan's eyes lit up, and he immediately said.

Today was his fifth day on Pluto, and during these five days, he hadn't even touched the bugs. He had been eager to go out and explore.

"That works too, and it's a perfect opportunity to test the new weapon."

"Come on, I'm all prepared."

Morgan smiled and nodded, leading Zhou Yuan to the secure room where the single-pilot mechas were stored.

"Cool!"

Seeing the mecha again, Zhou Yuan finally revealed a satisfied smile.

In five days, this prototype had undergone significant changes and now resembled a "mecha".

Shoulder-mounted tactical nuclear missile launchers, shoulder-mounted Gatling guns, gauss rifles, miniature self-destructing drones, seismic grenades, biochemical grenades...

The weapons mounted on the mecha were all the Federation's most powerful single-soldier weapons, most of which were still classified as confidential.

And the appearance, he was also very pleased with it.

It still had the black background with red patterns of the Red Skull template. Placed on a two-meter-two tall mecha, it looked much cooler than space armor.

A steel skeleton filled with killing intent and terror!

"If I were thirty years younger, I would definitely join the Mobile Forces for it."

"Now, it's yours."

Morgan saw Zhou Yuan's expression and said with satisfaction.

As a scientist specializing in military technology, his proudest moment was seeing desire and satisfaction on the face of a weapon's user.

"Professor, is this against the regulations?"

"I'm not questioning your decision, I'm just thinking, shouldn't we keep such a strategic weapon as confidential as possible?"

Zhou Yuan hesitated for a moment before asking.

"Kid, you may not know this, but it was my request for confidentiality because the miniature tokamak device cannot be mass-produced."

"If it weren't for my strong insistence, those politicians in the Strategic Department would have spread the news of the single-pilot mecha to everyone already."

"They believe that openly revealing the single-pilot mecha would lead more young people to voluntarily join the Mobile Forces as cannon fodder."

"So I disagreed with making it public so early because it would be a deception, as we can't produce more single-pilot mechas anyway."

"Not only do I disagree, but my old pals also disagree."

Morgan spoke indignantly. Zhou Yuan nodded slightly, understanding that the research department disagreed with the propaganda department's approach of making false promises to recruit soldiers.

... ...

Ten minutes later, Zhou Yuan put on his exoskeleton and left the research floor, returning to the dormitory floor.

"Come to the conference room and see me," he said.

Zhou Yuan entered the conference room and sent notifications to Marcus, Kenny, and Claire.

Not long after, the three arrived.

Seeing Zhou Yuan in his current state, they were all stunned.

"Commander, is that an exoskeleton?"

Kenny was the most excited as a mobile infantryman. Exoskeletons were like his goddess, just looking at them made him ecstatic.

"A prototype."

"Don't ask too much, remember what the confidentiality agreement says. Everything you come across in the research department must be kept confidential, including what you ate today."

Zhou Yuan nodded slightly, then gestured for the three to sit down.

"I will personally go on a mission to the k6 mining area in the Freds asteroid belt."

"A ten-person squad, two pilots. Departure in one hour. Get ready, I need the best of the best."

Zhou Yuan opened his work tablet and sent them the mission details.

Originally, it was just a courier mission.

But Morgan later said he wanted him to test the combat performance of the exoskeleton and weapons.

So there would inevitably be a big fight, which is why he needed to bring an elite squad to avoid casualties on their first mission.

As for confidentiality, he didn't have to worry about it. As long as he kept his mouth shut, Morgan would take care of the rest.

"Commander, leave it to me!"

"I'll bring out the best soldiers from the group!"

Kenny saluted sharply and then ran out of the conference room.

A mission that requires elites is obviously a combat mission, and Zhou Yuan would definitely have to pilot the exoskeleton in battle.

It's an exoskeleton!

Even if he didn't have the qualifications to pilot it, it would be great to see the combat power of the exoskeleton.

He is the leader of Group 1, known as the best among the best. There's no problem, right?

"Commander, I will come up with an operational plan within ten minutes."

Marcus said a few words and left as well.

This kind of mission that has nothing to do with escorting researchers is not really relevant to the strategic group.

He just needs to plan the mission direction and communicate with the k6 mining area. Coming to the conference room is just a formality.

"Darling, let me go with you."

After Kenny and Marcus left, Claire's serious expression instantly disappeared.

She immediately leaned in next to Zhou Yuan, looking affectionate as she spoke.

"It's just a small mission, captain. You don't need to deploy."

Zhou Yuan was startled and quickly waved his hand.

Over the past few days, he and Claire's relationship had become completely intimate, reaching a point where they knew each other inside out. They were even living together now.

But...

He still didn't know Claire's piloting skills and couldn't casually let her participate in the mission.

If Claire really became a lieutenant commander only because of her parents' influence, that would be troublesome.

Don't get her involved in trouble!

"Darling, please!"

"I can be of help. When I was at the Starship Academy, I received the Outstanding Achievement Award for four consecutive years!"

"If you need an elite, then I am one. No one in my team is more elite than me!"

Upon hearing Zhou Yuan's refusal, Claire immediately became anxious.

They had just started dating and she hadn't had enough of the honeymoon phase. She didn't want to be separated from Zhou Yuan for a moment.

"A straight-A student?"

Zhou Yuan raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, as he didn't know about it.

Because Claire entered the team through connections, he didn't even have her profile list. Angus only mentioned Claire's family background.

"Fine, then come along, bring your main driver."

After some hesitation, Zhou Yuan finally agreed.

If she could be an Outstanding Achievement Award recipient for four consecutive years at the Starship Academy, Claire's piloting skills must be impressive, at least at the level of "Schumacher."