Swoosh——
Almost at the same time that Lu Chen spoke.
The Freedom Gundam emitted a brilliant white light all over its body, transforming into a giant ball of light.
Then it began to twist and deform.
The entire body dissolved within the halo, leaving only a faint shadow.
Amidst the exclamations of the shipgirls, after about five minutes.
Lu Chen lightly landed on the ground from the air.
“Hm?”
He turned his head and saw that the colossal Freedom Gundam had vanished.
Instead, there was a strange feeling in his body, filled with strength, like when he had swallowed the Mind Cube.
“Commander, did you eat the Gundam?…”
“Uh, no, did you absorb it?”
Richelieu and the others surrounded him, gawking at Lu Chen.
This scene was all too familiar to them as shipgirls.
Just like when a shipgirl was first born.
Except, Lu Chen's core was the Freedom Gundam, not a warship.
“This is the Commander's process of finding ‘self’ meow.”
Akashi emerged from the crowd.
“Do you feel any discomfort?”
“I feel fine everywhere.”
He moved his body.
Back in the cockpit, he felt for a moment that he and the Freedom Gundam had become one.
As soon as the thought arose, the Mind Cube in his body absorbed the giant.
The Azur Lane world is not a technological civilization.
This is simply the power of idealism comparable to the four Chaos Gods.
Lu Chen roared in his heart.
“Commander, is your core now a Gundam? Can you project it?”
Richelieu asked curiously.
“Of course.”
Swoosh——
With a wave of his hand, Lu Chen transformed like an Autobot.
He first projected the cockpit beside him, then the Freedom Gundam's torso, limbs, and head extended with a *clack clack* sound.
Finally, he spread out eight armament wings, drew the beam saber from his waist, and stood tall on the earth.
“So cool, feels way cooler than when we summon our bodies?!”
The shipgirls were stunned.
When they projected their bodies, it was a flash of white light, *whoosh* and they appeared on the sea.
But when the Commander summoned the Gundam, there were transformation movements and transformation effects.
“Can you project a part of the Gundam to fight like you summon ship equipment?”
Kaga tilted her head and asked.
“Uh… let me try?”
The magical aspect of shipgirl equipment lies in its ability to grow and shrink, looking like a toy, but capable of destroying cities and nations with a single shot.
Lu Chen closed his eyes, clasped his hands together, and felt the power within his body.
Clack——
He first tried projecting a part of the Gundam.
After the cockpit enveloped him.
The Freedom Gundam's torso and upper body extended with a *clack clack* sound, transforming into a half-bodied robot.
It stood about 10 meters tall.
Though it lacked legs, it didn't seem to affect its movement, it moved with Lu Chen's movements.
One hand gripped the beam saber, the other held the beam shield, looking imposing.
With a wave of his hand, the robot behind him moved in sync.
Boom——
A single strike of his sword, a forest was leveled to the ground.
“Uh, it seems a bit different from your equipment?”
“I can summon a part of the Freedom Gundam to fight, like the skeletal form, the half-body form, the full body form…”
“The skeletal form can use close-range guns and railguns to strike, the half-body form can manipulate the beam saber and beam shield, the full body form can unleash the full power of the Freedom Gundam…”
Lu Chen tried again, in the half-body form, he could freely switch the projected Gundam's weapons.
He could engage in melee combat with sword and shield, or use the rifle for long-range shots.
But if he wanted to use the Fire Blast or Dragon Rider System, he had to deploy the full body form.
“Is the Mind Cube like this?”
The shipgirls chatted amongst themselves.
When they fought, they either used their equipment or their bodies.
This kind of transforming ability was unprecedented.
“Feels like a mechanical version of Susanoo, huh?”
A small shipgirl marveled.
“What's Susanoo?”
Those around her were clueless.
“I don't know either, it's probably from the bedtime stories the Commander read to me.”
Yukikaze shook her ears.
…
“Amazing, simply amazing, I never thought the Mind Cube combined with the Gundam would result in this.”
After the experiment was over.
Akashi dragged Lu Chen into the naval base and performed all sorts of strange examinations.
She nodded repeatedly while looking at his physical examination report.
“Um…”
“Commander, after the examination, I found that you seem to have a strong affinity for mechanical creations…”
“After merging with the Freedom Gundam, your physical fitness has increased significantly, you're now powered by a reactor too, congratulations.”
“And your piloted mecha seems to be more powerful than the original Freedom Gundam…”
Thanks to the Mind Cube, Lu Chen no longer needed to think about where to leave his Gundam each time he went on an expedition.
He could summon it at will, and even depending on the situation, engage with different forms of the Gundam.
The mechanical version of Susanoo, cool, edgy, and awesome.
“I'm stronger than the original Freedom Gundam? Is it because my piloting skills are better than Kira Yamato's?”
Lu Chen wondered.
His Freedom Gundam and the original version had no difference in configuration.
“No, because under the influence of the Mind Cube, you and the Gundam have become one, so the Freedom Gundam's strength = its own strength + your strength.”
Akashi shook her head.
“Commander, you are not only its pilot, you are the Gundam itself.”
“…”
Lu Chen pondered for a moment and slapped his thigh.
“Damn, I got ripped off.”
“You should have made me build a star destroyer first!!!”