Chapter 1

"Where am I?" He Moming looked at the scene in front of him and stood there in a daze.

The endless crowd, service robots darting through the gaps, and the holographic projections that filled his field of vision... All of this made He Moming's mind struggle to process the situation.

"I remember I was just playing on my phone on the subway. How did I suddenly end up here..." He Moming felt a bit disoriented.

"..."

"Resident ID: 6683033. He Moming. Second Lieutenant. Flight Academy student. Scheduled to report to the command center in half an hour."

Just as He Moming was bewildered by the high-tech surroundings, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly sounded beside him. He Moming turned around and shifted his gaze to a square robot.

"Service Robot 889 is ready to serve you, Second Lieutenant." On the square face, or rather, what could be considered a face, a few red and green lights flickered with the sound.

"Who am I?" He Moming thought for a moment and asked.

"Resident ID: 6683033. He Moming. Second Lieutenant. Flight Academy. Scheduled to report to the command center in half an hour." The robot repeated the previous response.

Now it was clear. He Moming suddenly realized that he had been hit by the legendary穿越之毒 (time-travel poison). A cold chill crept up his spine, and his hands began to tremble.

"What do I do? Where is this? Did I time-travel? Can I go back? What do I do?..." Various thoughts flooded He Moming's mind. His breathing became more rapid, and his consciousness began to detach from his body.

"Hey, are you okay?" Suddenly, He Moming's shoulder was tapped.

He Moming's entire body trembled, and his scattered consciousness gradually returned. He turned around and saw a girl wearing large sunglasses standing behind him.

"Are you... okay? Do you need a medic?" The girl looked He Moming up and down and then asked about his face.

"No... I'm fine. Thank you. I'm fine now." After taking a few deep breaths and feeling better, He Moming waved his hand in gratitude.

"Is that so? But... Ah... Time is running out. I have to go. If you really don't feel well, turn left ahead, and you'll find the hospital. I'm in a hurry, so I'll go first." The girl glanced at her watch and then ran off after saying this.

After the interruption by the unknown girl, He Moming's extremely panicked consciousness gradually calmed down. No matter what, the situation he was in was unchangeable. He needed to assess his surroundings and make a plan. Just as He Moming was about to set out to gather information, a cold, mechanical voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Confirmed contact with main storyline character. Main mission activated."

"Activating... "

"Main Mission 1: The challenger must join the Unified Army, obtain a personal mecha, and upgrade the mecha piloting level to D within one month. Reward points: 1500. Failure or timeout results in elimination. Note: This mission is mandatory and cannot be canceled. Please act quickly."

"Wait!! Who are you? Where is this place?"

"Detecting challenger ID."

"Detection successful."

"Challenger: 663. Hello. I am the main AI of the Hyperdimensional Fortress, Veros. You are currently in one of the branch mission worlds of the Hyperdimensional Fortress. Please complete the mission and survive. This way, you will learn what you want to know. Good luck!"

"Wait!! How can I go back!!"

"..."

"..."

He Moming shouted for a while, drawing many curious glances from the surrounding people. He finally realized that the AI Veros, who claimed to be from the Hyperdimensional Fortress, had already left. Now, he knew that he was in a mecha world, and to survive, he needed to obtain a military identity and a personal mecha. However, He Moming was at a loss because he didn't know which mecha world he was in.

He Moming aimlessly walked onto the sidewalk, surrounded by holographic projections and tech-savvy cars, all of which constantly reminded him of his current environment.

"Sigh, what do I do?" He Moming had thought about achieving great things like the many time-travelers before him, but reality gave him a harsh blow. He was penniless, in an unfamiliar place, and his enthusiasm quickly cooled.

As he walked, He Moming didn't realize where he was going. Suddenly, a loud noise caught his attention. He looked around and found himself in a square. To his right, there was a large building that seemed to be a public facility. The noise was coming from there.

Colorful lights shone through the open dome, and the sound of a crowd could be heard. A sense of familiarity rose in He Moming's heart, and he walked forward to the entrance. At that moment, a melody and a pleasant voice came from inside.

"Little White Dragon... Little White Dragon..."

When He Moming heard these lyrics, he was stunned. The lyrics "Little White Dragon" were only sung by one female singer in his memory. Combined with the AI Veros' mention of a mission world and a mecha world, He Moming realized he might be in the world he had guessed. As he was lost in thought, a louder cheer came from inside.

"Ming... Lin... Lin... Mei..."

"Lin... Ming... Lin Mingmei!!"

Although he had guessed and suspected, when He Moming heard the name being cheered, his mind went blank. From that moment on, his thoughts were dominated by the name Lin Mingmei. In his youth, like many teenagers, He Moming was a fan of giant robot fantasies. The passionate robots, the romantic pilots, the various beams, the massive warships, and the cool designs of the robots in battle had captivated him. Among these, there was a song that many mecha fans considered a classic— "Can You Remember Love," sung by one of the main characters, Lin Mingmei, during the First Interstellar War in *Macross*. This song had been in He Moming's MP3 for ten years, and every time he listened to it, he naturally thought of Lin Mingmei's tragic life, a feeling that lingered in his heart. Now, He Moming was in the same world as Lin Mingmei, and his heart was filled with waves of emotion. Just as he was about to rush in to see Lin Mingmei, a shrill alarm sounded.

"Attention!! Attention!! Attention!! The ship will transform in three minutes! Please head to the nearest shelter immediately!"

He Moming was startled and looked up to see the large screens around him displaying -180S.

"Oh no!! They're coming in!" He Moming remembered a plot from the movie, which was similar to what was happening now. This meant he was in the movie version of *Macross: Do You Remember Love?*. So... But now, he had to prioritize his safety. To survive, he had to act.

He Moming immediately started running towards the shelter, following the signs on the road. He knew time was running out; in a few minutes, or even the next second, the steel dome above would be blown open, and the Zentradi would invade. So, He Moming had to run faster, faster, and make his way to the shelter.

"Boom!!"

Just as the shelter was in sight, a massive explosion sounded overhead. In that instant, the entrance to the shelter, which seemed within reach, was destroyed by debris from the explosion. He Moming watched this happen, gritted his teeth, and forced himself to turn and run towards another shelter. Although it was farther away and there were Zentradi battle pods flying overhead, He Moming had to survive, had to live.

His breathing became heavier, his steps heavier, and the explosions clearer. The mechanical sounds of the battle pods were so clear that it felt like they were right beside him. He Moming didn't dare to look back or up, fearing that the next moment he would see a battle pod aiming its gun at him, perhaps the last scene of his life.

As He Moming was about to reach the shelter entrance, another loud explosion came from behind him. The shockwave lifted him off the ground and threw him to the ground, rolling a few times. After that, He Moming fell into darkness, unaware of his surroundings.

After an unknown amount of time, the loud explosions tore through the darkness, forcing He Moming back to reality. He Moming endured the intense pain from his body, got up, leaned against the wall, and took several deep breaths. The air, filled with the smell of smoke, strongly irritated his lungs. This intense irritation gradually brought his body back to life. He Moming looked around and saw a mecha—VF-1 Valkyrie—lying not far away. Yes, the VF-1 Valkyrie. He Moming was very familiar with it. He struggled to stand up, looked up, and saw that the battle pods had moved to other areas. Perhaps this was an opportunity.

He Moming looked at the mecha, his eyes flickering, and then his gaze became determined.

"I might die in the next moment, but..." He Moming muttered to himself as he slowly walked towards the VF-1. Perhaps it was his resolve, perhaps it was his hope for the future, or perhaps... His steps became steadier and faster. Finally, he ran and quickly reached the VF-1.

The VF-1 was in its half-humanoid form. He Moming climbed to the cockpit and felt around.

"I remember it's around here." Sure enough, He Moming found the emergency switch and pulled it. A mechanical sound rang out, and the cockpit opened. As the cockpit opened, He Moming saw a Unified Army soldier unconscious in the pilot's seat.

"Probably... it should be the same." He Moming looked at the pilot's condition, glanced at the instruments, and pressed what he thought was the self-check button. At that moment, Veros' voice sounded in his mind.

"Detected Challenger 663 in contact with mecha."

"Detection successful. Issuing initial general piloting skills."

"Loading... "

"Issue complete."

He Moming suddenly felt a flood of information in his mind. After a few seconds, he took a deep breath. He immediately acted, rescuing the unconscious pilot from the seat and carrying him to the shelter entrance. Although the shelter was already closed, He Moming still did this. After doing all this, He Moming excitedly sat in the VF-1's cockpit. As the cockpit closed, he initiated the self-check program.

"Power transmission fault cleared, pass."

"Engine fault cleared, pass."

"Weapons system fault cleared, pass."

"Monitoring system fault cleared, pass."

"Communication system fault cannot be cleared, failed!"

"Phew... Only the communication system is down? That's good. Then, let's start. VF-1 Valkyrie." He Moming couldn't help but feel excited, his fingers trembling as he pressed the start button. At that moment, he was extremely grateful to the AI Veros for giving him the initial piloting skills, allowing him to start the VF-1.