The first one was the original cha prototype.
That huge, boxy iron crate.
Thick armor plates, heavy treads, and a thick cannon barrel.
The entire cha looked like a mobile fortress.
Pavela ca to a halt.
She stared at this cha.
She blinked once.
Then she blinked again.
Wait.
Isn't this a tank?
A tank from her past life.
Although the appearance was sowhat different and the details weren't quite the sa, the overall design philosophy—
Treads, armor, cannon barrel, and a boxy chassis.
This was a tank.
A steam-powered, multi-crew, early-model tank.
Pavela's fingers tapped gently against the paper ice cream cup.
So the 'cha' of this world actually had a tank as its original prototype?
And then, as technology developed, it gradually evolved into humanoid cha?
This evolutionary path—
Was completely different from the technology tree of her past life.
In her past life, tanks were tanks, always maintaining that low-profile, wide, and heavily armored design.
No one would think about modifying a tank into a humanoid form.
Because doing so was pointless.
A humanoid form's stability, protection area, and center of gravity control on the battlefield were inferior to traditional tank designs in every way.
But this world was different.
This world had Return Power.
It had Spinal Probe technology.
It had thods that allowed a person's consciousness to directly control a cha.
That's why humanoid cha beca possible.
Because when a pilot can control a cha like their own body, the advantages of a humanoid form manifest—
Flexibility, coordination, and adaptability.
These were things traditional tanks could never match.
Pavela took another lick of her ice cream.
Her expression was a bit complicated.
“This is a design from imperial year 380.”
Dr. Lovelace's voice pulled her back to reality.
“cha back then still required five to seven people to operate.”
“They moved slowly, turned with difficulty, and had terrible coordination.”
“But in that era, it was already the most advanced weapon.”
Pavela nodded.
She didn't voice her thoughts from a mont ago.
She didn't blurt out, “This is just a tank.”
Because she didn't know how to explain it.
And—
There was no point in saying it.
This world's tech tree had already taken a completely different path from her past life.
She walked a circle around this 'tank'.
She could see the rivets on the armor plates, the wear marks on the treads, and the rust on the cannon barrel.
This cha had clearly seen actual combat.
And more than once.
Next were the second, third, and fourth generations.
The cha's appearance began to change.
From a heavy iron box, it gradually evolved into a more flexible humanoid form.
The armor beca thinner, but the protection actually improved.
The weapons increased, but the weight actually decreased.
The crew was reduced from seven to five, then down to three.
Pavela watched this evolutionary process.
She could understand the logic behind every step of the improvent.
Reducing crew mbers to improve coordination.
Optimizing armor distribution to reduce weight while maintaining protection.
Increasing flexibility to improve mobility.
These were all reasonable technological advancents.
But she still felt it was a bit strange.
Because in her past life's understanding, a tank should look like a tank.
Low-profile, wide, and heavily armored.
Not this shape that looked more and more like a human.
And then—
Pavela saw a special cha.
Its appearance was completely different from the previous ones.
It was no longer a heavy iron box, but a slender, elegant humanoid.
The seams of the armor plates were handled very finely, with almost no visible welding marks.
The joint design was also more complex, allowing for a wider range of motion.
Most importantly—
There was only one seat in its cockpit.
“This is a design from imperial year 392.”
Dr. Lovelace said,
“The first cha equipped with Spinal Probe technology.”
“It was also my first successful work.”
There was a hint of pride in her tone.
Pavela stared at this cha for a long ti.
She could imagine the shock of the enemies when this cha first appeared on the battlefield years ago.
A cha that only required one person to operate.
Reaction speed, mobility, coordination—it crushed old-style cha in every aspect.
It was practically a dinsional strike.
“It routed three of the Usar Union's old-style cha during the Border Campaign.”
Dr. Lovelace continued,
“That battle only lasted seventeen minutes.”
“Three old-style cha, fifteen pilots—all killed in action.”
“While this cha's pilot was completely unscathed.”
Pavela nodded.
She could understand.
Single-pilot cha and multi-crew cha simply weren't on the sa level.
It was like one brain commanding one body versus seven brains commanding one body.
The coordination and reaction speed of the forr were sothing the latter could never hope to achieve.
Next was the currently active main-force Royal Knight cha.
Pavela recognized this model.
She had seen it during the Night of Calderburg.
Not just seen it.
She had also destroyed eleven of them.
Seeing this cha, Pavela's mood was a bit complicated.
“This is the Victorian Empire's current main-force model.”
Dr. Lovelace said,
“Stable performance, simple maintenance, and relatively low production costs.”
“It's a very mature design.”
Pavela didn't speak.
She just stared at the cha.
She rembered that night.
She rembered those cha she had destroyed.
She rembered those pilots.
She didn't know their nas.
She didn't know their faces.
She only knew they were dead.
Dead by her hand.
Dr. Lovelace noticed Pavela's expression.
“What is it?”
“...Nothing.”
Pavela shook her head,
“Let's continue.”
Dr. Lovelace glanced at her but didn't press further.
They continued walking forward.
And then—
Pavela saw the test models for the new cha.
The appearance of these cha began to turn fantastical.
So cha had huge wings growing from their backs.
The limbs of so cha had been modified into animal shapes.
So cha even completely abandoned the humanoid form, turning into so strange, indescribable shape.
“These are all early test models for flight-capable cha.”
Dr. Lovelace said,
“Each one represents a different design philosophy.”
Pavela walked closer to one of them.
This cha had a pair of huge tal wings on its back.
The skeleton of the wings was made of steel, covered with a thin layer of tal plates that looked like feathers.
It looked quite beautiful.
But—
“How did this cha's pilot die?”
Pavela asked.
Dr. Lovelace was stunned for a mont.
“How did you know the pilot died?”
“The cockpit was burned through.”
Pavela pointed at the cockpit's location,
“And the burn direction is from the inside out.”
“This ans an explosion or high-temperature combustion occurred inside the cockpit.”
“I'm afraid it would be hard for the pilot to survive that.”
Dr. Lovelace fell silent for a few seconds.
Then she nodded.
“You're right.”
“During a takeoff test, this cha's steam boiler overloaded, and the temperature inside the cockpit instantly rose to over three hundred degrees.”
“The pilot was turned to charcoal.”
Pavela's eyelid twitched.
She looked at another cha.
This cha's limbs had been modified into bird-like claws.
It also had wings on its back, but they weren't tal plates; they were so kind of fabric.
“What about this one?”
“Crashed.”
Dr. Lovelace said,
“The wings were torn apart in the air, and the cha fell from a height of three hundred ters.”
“The pilot was turned into mush.”
Pavela looked at the third one.
This cha had four huge thrusters on its back.
“This one?”
“Out of control.”
Dr. Lovelace said,
“The thrust of the injection system was unbalanced, and the cha spun at high speed in the air.”
“The pilot was folded in half.”
Pavela fell silent.
She continued walking forward.
Looking at them one by one.
Beside every cha, Dr. Lovelace would briefly explain the pilot's cause of death.
Burned to death.
Fell to death.
Snapped spine.
Torn apart by explosion.
Cooked by high-pressure steam.
Accidental injury from a chanical arm.
Backlash from their own weapon.
There was even one pilot who was crushed to death by their own cha.
A joint jamd during landing, the cockpit was flattened, and the pilot—
Died quite artistically.
Pavela truly hadn't expected soone could die like that.
She took a lick of her ice cream.
The ice cream had already started to lt, and a drop ran down her finger.
She licked away the drop of lted ice cream with her tongue.
Then she looked at Dr. Lovelace.
“So.”
She said.
“The cha you're planning to design for isn't going to be like this too, is it?”
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