On the Black Tortoise's journey back to the Junk Guild, Zhou Tianming remained in his room sketching designs.
The mysterious metal discovered at the Junk Guild had only been 90% analyzed with current technology, with the remaining 10% still unknown. Though the composition wasn't fully understood, it didn't prevent its use—there was just too little of it, only half a ton.
Finally, in CE 65, Zhou Tianming successfully developed the [Psycommu System]. Since this world had no equivalent, he kept the original name for familiarity.
He also named the mysterious metal Psycommu Liquid Alloy.
That same year, he completed the design schematics for the MA Suzaku's [Feather Plumes] equipment.
But a new problem arose.
[Feather Plumes] were funnel-type equipment requiring independent energy sources, and beams were the best choice for enhancing offensive capabilities.
However, small-scale beam weapons didn't exist at the time, and batteries were also an issue. Even if small beam weapons were available, the batteries couldn't sustain their use. Before Mobile Suits, these technologies had never been miniaturized—they were only installed on warships or fixed turrets.
Starting research from scratch would take years, so he ultimately chose to collaborate with East Asia, leveraging their resources for faster progress.
Technologically, PLANT was more advanced, but due to the vaccine incident, Zhou Tianming had cut ties with Siegel. Jumping straight into research that could hint at Mobile Suits now would be risky.
Better to avoid complications and stick with closer allies in East Asia.
He exchanged the [Yin-Yang] design schematics and combat data for East Asia's research on miniaturized beam weapons and high-energy batteries.
East Asia had always favored large warships and cannons, so they had little prior research on miniaturization. But the [Yin-Yang]'s combat data was impressive, and they eventually took the deal. Years later, at the start of this year, good news arrived.
Equipment meeting his requirements had been developed, though production standards were high, limiting them to custom orders.
His recent departure from the Junk Guild was to retrieve the completed small beam weapons and high-energy batteries.
After obtaining the actual specifications, he had been revising the [Feather Plumes] designs nonstop, while the Black Tortoise's onboard workshop worked overtime to produce them.
Two days later, when he returned to the Junk Guild, 10 [Feather Plumes] had been completed.
Standing in the Black Tortoise's storage bay, Zhou Tianming gazed at the red-and-orange feather-shaped [Feather Plumes] and exhaled deeply.
"Let's see who's foolish enough to pick a fight next. Perfect for testing these."
"White Rabbit," Zhou Tianming called, "after I leave, install the [Feather Plumes] into the additional slots on the Black Tortoise's wings."
"Understood."
Leaving the Black Tortoise, he returned to the central tower's lower levels, where he met the grandfather and grandson who had provided the mysterious metal in the reception room.
The boy was shocked when he saw Zhou Tianming, rubbing his eyes repeatedly to confirm.
The old man chuckled and lightly knocked on the boy's head twice.
Zhou Tianming also smiled and raised his hand in greeting.
"Hello, did you bring what I asked for?"
"Right here." The old man took out a metal box. "I believe the guild leader will offer a good price."
Opening it, an irregular metal chunk lay on the black lining inside.
SEED activated. [Sense] triggered. Zhou Tianming projected his Mental Power onto the metal.
In an instant, the faintly glowing metal suddenly shone brightly, like an incandescent bulb.
The old man and the boy gaped in astonishment at the sight.
Closing his eyes and deactivating SEED, Zhou Tianming reopened them. "No mistake, this is exactly what I'm looking for. I'll take as much as you have—name your price." The old man, snapping out of his daze, looked incredulous and stammered, "M-me? Name the price?"
Zhou Tianming grinned. "Just know I'll haggle."
"Grandpa!" The boy tugged excitedly at the old man's sleeve.
The old man glanced at the boy, then back at Zhou Tianming, thinking for a moment before saying, "$10,000 per ounce."
"Too expensive."
"I'm waiting for your counter."
"How much do you have?"
The old man lowered his head in thought. "I can sell you the location where I found it, but for the stock I have on hand, you'll need to pay double that price."
"Deal."
The old man smirked slyly. "I have one ton."
Zhou Tianming smiled back. "I get an annual dividend of $300 million."
The old man and the boy froze on the spot.
"Damn capitalists!"
"Thanks for the compliment."
Money meant nothing to Zhou Tianming. After investigating the ransom from the spaceship incident years ago, he had repaid double the amount to those with clean sources who genuinely needed it. As for the dirty money, he kept it all as compensation for saving lives.
On top of that, the Junk Dealer guild was now under his influence, providing him with annual dividends. His current assets were already several times what they had been back then.
Over 600 million in Psycho-Frame alloy plus another 100 million for the location—less than 800 million total—was nothing to him.
Despite the huge profit, the old man and the boy showed no joy, glaring at Zhou Tianming instead.
Zhou Tianming personally operated a small forklift to unload all the metal from the grandfather-grandson duo's spaceship warehouse.
With the transaction complete, the old man exhaled deeply as the payment arrived.
"I found this metal in the wreckage of a satellite about two months' travel from here."
Zhou Tianming paused, thinking he misheard. "A satellite two months away? Does such a place even exist?"
At current spaceship speeds, even the slowest trip between Earth and the Moon took only two or three days. Traveling from Earth to the L3 region would take a week at most. Where could two months possibly take them?
"I discovered this wreckage while on a group trip to Mars. It's positioned roughly between the two, closer to Earth."
The old man continued, "Its structure is strange, like randomly assembled building blocks—nothing like modern satellites. The facilities inside are also very outdated. My guess is it was a temporary satellite built during the early days of Martian colonization, which somehow drifted out of orbit and ended up here."
"This…" Zhou Tianming was stunned, taking a long moment to process. "That satellite's story is incredible."
Later, the old man drew him a map of the satellite, marking the warehouse where the metal was stored.
According to the old man, there were at least 10 tons remaining there.
Upon learning the quantity, Zhou Tianming secretly rejoiced—this would be enough to manufacture the Psycho-responsive Framework.
That night, he worked tirelessly to study the acquired metal blocks, only to discover their composition was identical to the liquid form. The reason they became solid must lie within the unknown 10%.
"Could this unknown component be Martian rare metal?"
But after some thought, he shook his head and dismissed the idea.
Although called "rare," Martian metals weren't actually scarce for the Council of Nations. The Martian fleet used them annually for technological exchanges. He had even submitted the Psycommu Liquid Alloy to East Asia for testing, but their highest precision only reached 90%. In other words, the remaining 10% had nothing to do with Martian metals.
The next day, Zhou Tianming had White Rabbit calculate five months' worth of supplies. He planned to personally visit that satellite wreckage.
The Psycommu alloy was a must-have for him. With 10 tons, he could smoothly complete the Mental Power skeleton he envisioned.
A round trip would take nearly four months. Being away for so long and so far raised concerns about maintaining communication. Zhou Tianming needed to inform his family. Over the years, his mother Zhou Hanxiang had been even busier than him—no one knew what she was occupied with. They barely saw each other all year, and phone calls always ended after a few rushed words.
This time, they finally had a proper conversation.
Earth, Capital First Medical Research Institute, Researcher's Office
At 37 years old, Zhou Hanxiang showed no signs of aging. Instead, she radiated mature maternal charm.
Hanging up the phone, a tired smile appeared on her face as she couldn't suppress a yawn. Reaching for the glass on her desk, she found the coffee inside already finished. Just as she was about to stand, a pale, slender hand extended beside her, offering a steaming cup of coffee.
A woman with chestnut-colored center-parted short hair and emerald-green eyes, dressed in a white lab coat, said with concern, "Sister, you should rest. You've been staying up late recently."
"Thank you, Lainesse. I'm fine." Zhou Hanxiang shook her head. "I want to continue researching a bit more."
Hearing the gratitude, Lainesse's face flushed slightly. She moved closer to Zhou Hanxiang, bending down to hold her hand. "Sister, you need to think more about your health."
Shaking her head with a sigh, Zhou Hanxiang withdrew her hand, took a sip of coffee, and stood up. "I'm going out for some fresh air."
With that, she turned and left.
Watching her retreating figure, Lainesse sat quietly, the smile on her face cooling.
Walking to the phone, she pressed a button to check the call history. When she saw the number, her eyes filled with jealousy.