Chapter 472 - 301: Baili Xueyuan Comes Again
Guang Ling: The rocket backpacks are at the designated location. You two need to head out and get into the pre-arranged orbital pod as soon as possible. Be ready for an orbital drop at any time. The Eastern Alliance might start closing their net at any moment.
After everyone else had chimed in, Guang Ling finally sent a message.
However, after seeing Guang Ling’s message, King Arthur and Master Ma both replied with question marks.
King Arthur: ?
Master Ma: ?
King Arthur: Wait a minute! Guang Ling, the "special mode of transport" you mentioned earlier was a rocket backpack? You want us to use *that* to get to low-Earth orbit?
Master Ma: Does a rocket backpack have enough thrust?
The moment King Arthur sent her skeptical question, she saw Master Ma’s message.
King Arthur quickly typed another message: Master, I think you’re missing the point, aren’t you? Is this really about the thrust? They want us to go to space strapped to a rocket backpack! To space! With a rocket backpack! We’d be nothing but flesh wrapped around metal!
King Arthur came from an aerospace corporation, so she knew a great deal about spacefaring vehicles.
If it were up to her, she could think of at least a hundred far more cost-effective vehicles for the job.
A rocket backpack wouldn’t even be on her list of options.
It was a death trap.
Compared to King Arthur, Master Ma was much calmer.
Master Ma: I believe that if Guang Ling is proposing this, they must have already considered its feasibility.
Master Ma’s reply made King Arthur roll her eyes at the temporary chat window.
King Arthur wanted to curse him out but managed to hold her tongue.
’I’ll see what Guang Ling has to say first.’
Guang Ling didn’t keep King Arthur waiting long, replying right after Master Ma’s message with an explanation.
Guang Ling: You don’t need to worry about the thrust. I had them custom-made by the most reliable equipment modder on the Black Market. They have enough power to get you to an orbital altitude of a thousand kilometers.
Guang Ling: As for the risks, I’ve run a careful theoretical analysis. With your Tier Four-level resilience, you both possess the Ability to land safely even if the rocket packs malfunction—or even explode.
Guang Ling: We’re using rocket backpacks for this operation primarily for stealth. The packs themselves have been specially modified; both their noise and exhaust flames meet the mission’s stealth requirements.
King Arthur had two main concerns: safety and necessity.
Guang Ling’s response perfectly addressed both.
King Arthur fell silent after reading the messages. After all, Guang Ling’s explanation was reasonable, and it was all to ensure the mission’s success.
Besides, King Arthur considered it carefully. With her constitution, a fall of a mere few hundred kilometers certainly wouldn’t kill her.
’And the risk of the rocket backpack exploding?’
’Please. How could an explosion of that magnitude possibly harm a Tier Four, let alone one equipped with an S-Class Prosthetic Body?’
Master Ma didn’t send any more messages either, apparently mulling over the same things.
Capitalist and Jingang were the next to message.
Capitalist: Good luck. You two might be the first people to reach low-Earth orbit using rocket backpacks. From a technical standpoint, though, it’s definitely feasible. After all, intel suggests an Intercontinental Giant Corporation is already in the experimental phase of a vehicle-less, Pure Prosthetic Body-powered moon landing. Compared to that, getting to low-Earth orbit isn’t so hard.
Jingang: Too bad. I’d love to try something like that.
Reading their cavalier messages, King Arthur rolled her eyes again.
’She was a Tier Four Extraordinary and even she felt the pressure. And they wanted to send Jingang?’
’If something went wrong, his chance of dying would be over fifty percent, easy.’
Master Ma: I’ve run some quick calculations. The risk is manageable. I’ll be at the designated location in 15 minutes.
King Arthur felt a headache coming on, but seeing that Master Ma had already made his decision, she stopped hesitating.
"Fine, whatever. It’s not like I’ll die. At worst, it’ll just hurt a bit."
"When it comes down to it, the target of this mission is the European Big Business Alliance. Let’s do this!"
King Arthur weighed her options and made her decision.
King Arthur: Fine. I’ll be a few minutes behind you. I’ll be there in 20 minutes, tops.
...
Lin Qi sat on a chair in his workshop, watching the group’s exchange without actively participating.
Still, Lin Qi ran his own mental calculation. If he were the one undertaking this mission—using a rocket backpack to get to space—the risk would likely be manageable for him as well.
’There were three main risks: explosion, falling, and the problem of maneuvering in a zero-gravity environment.’
’I could handle the first two with my own Abilities. Both Hardening and Momentum Manipulation would be more than enough.’
’As for maneuvering in zero gravity, that wouldn’t be too difficult for me either.’
’I could solve that by combining the propulsion from my Prosthetic Body with Momentum Manipulation.’
’There’s one other hidden risk. Survival in space relies entirely on the oxygen supply stored in the Prosthetic Body. A malfunction there would mean trouble.’
After mulling it over, Lin Qi put the thought aside. After all, he wasn’t the one going to space this time.
If he ever had to undertake such a mission, Lin Qi would be sure to specially modify his Prosthetic Body before taking action.
The Mercenary Corps’ temporary chat window fell silent again after the exchange. Lin Qi, meanwhile, went back to tinkering with the parts in his workshop, improvising a new Prosthetic Body.
Before he knew it, Lin Qi had cobbled together a strange-looking Prosthetic Body for the lungs.
It was an M-Class piece, and its function was basically useless. If he put it up for sale in the clinic, the old man would never be able to sell it.