The moment "Tieria in drag" was mentioned, the atmosphere immediately lightened. As the saying goes, "like leader, like followers." Under Reid's influence, those around him had all developed some minor mischievous tendencies.
Reid was particularly curious about how Tieria managed to achieve such a perfect transformation.
Although Tieria, being a Quasi-Innovator, could theoretically switch bodies at will—even to a female form—without issue.
However, this transformation had to be processed through Veda. Only by connecting to Veda could one upload their soul and inject it into a new body.
Neither of the two replicated Vedas in Reid's possession could accomplish this, as they lacked the crucial Quasi-Innovator manufacturing technology and the program for uploading mental data to Veda.
To put it simply, the ability to upload mental data to Veda was the software, while Reid had only managed to replicate the hardware. Without the software, the corresponding function was naturally unavailable.
In fact, Reid had even asked Elvira Hill to investigate using the principles of Mental Conduction from the Psycho-link system to upload minds to Veda, but every attempt ended in failure.
Using Mental Conduction to enter Veda, at best, allowed a person to mentally connect to Veda's control system like Hoshino Ruri. However, without Ruri's innate talent, even Reid—who possessed the strongest Psychic Power—would be overwhelmed by the massive data flow, severely hindering Veda's performance, let alone achieving a full mental upload.
Currently, only two individuals in Reid's team could assist Veda's operation and enhance its capabilities: Hoshino Ruri and Nein, who was originally a powerful Artificial Intelligence with advanced black-box technology.
Nein, thanks to her unknown black-box tech, could indeed keep her consciousness within Veda indefinitely, but her case was hardly a useful reference.
In summary, Reid's point was that Tieria currently lacked the ability to switch bodies.
Even if, by some remote chance, a female body for Tieria was stored aboard the Ptolemy II, he still wouldn't be able to transfer his consciousness into it.
Therefore, Tieria's only option for a "transformation" was cross-dressing, and Reid was deeply intrigued by the process.
Truth be told, Tieria himself couldn't quite understand why mentioning his cross-dressing instantly eased the tension.
For Tieria, cross-dressing was merely a necessity for mission execution. The fact that all Celestial Being Gundam Meisters were male was already confirmed intelligence within the A-Laws.
So, appearing as a woman would avoid suspicion of being a Gundam Meister.
Moreover, high-profile banquets like this often invited attractive young women from within the system to liven up the atmosphere, so a beautiful unfamiliar face wouldn't raise any eyebrows.
Of course, Tieria had no idea what he was about to face.
After lunch, Reid gave everyone the rest of the day off, allowing them to go shopping or relax in the surrounding area.
Thus, Neil took his younger brother Lyle away, stating that he needed to hand over his inheritance. Neil's secret assets from this world were still intact, and he intended to give them to his brother as a nest egg for future marriage.
The young couple, Alleluia and Marie Parfacy, naturally found a spot for their date.
Setsuna, Saji, and Ian Vashti returned to the Ptolemy II, as none of the three had any interest in going out.
As for the remaining individuals, they all went to witness Tieria's cross-dressing "transformation."
Alright, so the truth was, Tieria needed to purchase a large number of outfits for his disguise.
As a result, everyone else headed to the shopping mall and immediately split up upon arrival.
Christina went on a shopping spree with Feldt and the newest addition, Mileina Vashti, while Richthofen Dahl trailed behind as their pack mule.
The Black Tri-Stars went to a women's goods store to pick up some gifts for their girlfriends back in the CE universe.
Belfgang dashed off to the anime shop and some merchandise stores. Four years ago, when he first came to the AD Universe, he had gathered a massive collection of anime, novels, and manga resources to take back. Now, four years later, sequels and new releases had come out, and as a hardcore otaku, he naturally had to complete his collection.
Reid, acting as the pack carrier and payment tool for the entire group, was led around the mall by Ange.
Thanks to the presence of the two adorable ones, Hoshino Ruri and Nein, no one gave Reid strange looks this time.
It was obvious to anyone that the Xia sisters were bodyguards for Reid, Ange, Hoshino Ruri, and Nein—this little family.
As for why two blonde adults had daughters (or younger sisters) with different hair colors... well, let's just say it's better not to ask. If you do, the answer is simply: you don't understand the world of the wealthy.
Anyway, after an afternoon of fun, everyone regrouped at the luxury hotel Reid had arranged.
This hotel was recommended by Wang Liu Mei, and it was nearly impossible to book a room without significant influence.
However, with Hoshino Ruri around, forging identities was as easy as child's play. Even if Ribbons was monitoring the entire world through Veda, facing someone with comparable computational power like Hoshino Ruri, he couldn't detect a thing.
In the hotel room, Reid got to witness what truly convincing makeup artistry looked like.
Tieria already had an androgynous appearance. With the addition of lifelike prosthetic breasts, long hair extensions, and a softening of his expression, a tall, cool, and stunning beauty was born.
However, the process of changing clothes that followed was pure hell for Reid to watch.
Ange, having received professional royal education, joined in as an advisor. Then, Tieria was treated like a dress-up doll by the girls.
Feldt, Hoshino Ruri, and Nein—who had also been through the doll treatment—instinctively huddled together, trembling in fear, afraid that making any sound might turn them into the next dolls.
The process of selecting outfits and makeup lasted well into the night. Only someone like Tieria, who was willing to go to any lengths for the mission, could endure endless outfit changes without getting annoyed.
In the end, though, Sumeragi, Ange, and Christina finalized the attire for the event. Reid, who had nearly dozed off, took one look and thought, "Well, isn't this just the original outfit from the plot? Only with a few extra accessories."
But Ange had clearly enjoyed herself immensely, so Reid naturally didn't say a word. He simply took his wife by the hand and headed straight to their room to sleep.
The night passed without incident, and by the next morning, Reid's entire team was on high alert.
Before the daytime banquet even began, the Black Tri-Stars and Belfgang had infiltrated the additional security support team through identity swaps.
These external security personnel were typically only responsible for the outermost perimeter of the estate, while the estate's own security focused on protecting the interior.
However, at the beginning of the banquet, these external personnel still had the opportunity to enter the interior of the estate, as in case of emergencies, external support would need to know their way around.
Once inside, under the cover of the Black Tri-Stars, it was easy for Belfgang to quietly leave the team and re-explore the estate. After all, the list obtained by the auditors was already missing one person.
At this time, the Gran Chaos was hovering invisibly above the estate, and Belfgang was carrying a microwave detector.
Since the estate's electronic systems had long been infiltrated by Hoshino Ruri, the positions of all guards were clearly known, and Regene Regetta had even been observed. Thus, Belfgang could move freely anywhere.
Reid's purpose in having the four conduct preliminary investigations was solely to rule out the possibility that this banquet was also a trap set for him.
Ribbons might very well have anticipated his appearance.
Reid wouldn't be surprised if Ribbons then decided to sacrifice the entire A-Laws leadership, Regene Regetta, and one of his own bodies to bury Reid with them.
Therefore, Reid had to ensure there were no explosives beneath the estate capable of blasting him straight to heaven.
Of course, once the banquet began and Regene Regetta started taking action, Reid no longer feared Ribbons playing the self-destruction card. Regene's loyalty didn't lie with Ribbons, and she wouldn't believe he would resurrect her afterward.
As it turned out, Reid accurately predicted Ribbons' plan.
Several hidden compartments were discovered in the estate's wine cellar, all located near load-bearing walls. The explosive yield wasn't enough to blow the entire estate sky-high but was sufficient to cause a total collapse.
It seemed that as soon as Reid appeared, Ribbons would use the estate's collapse to restrain him, then dispatch nearby Mobile Suits for suicide attacks to turn the entire estate into an inferno—emphasizing that even if the collapse didn't kill Reid, the fire would.
Naturally, the reason for not using high-yield bombs was likely to avoid detection by Regene Regetta, as Ribbons was well aware that her loyalty to him wasn't absolute.
But since the bombs were discovered in advance, they ceased to be a problem. After using an ultra-miniature EMP generator to disable the remote controllers, the manual electric detonators were traced through the wiring. Once all detonatable materials were destroyed, the bombs wouldn't explode unless Ribbons sent someone to blast the walls with an RPG.
Though, if you can use an RPG to blow up walls, what's the point of bombs anyway?
Thus, Reid had effectively neutralized Ribbons' trap. However, as a precaution, Belfgang continued searching the estate without pause until Ribbons arrived, at which point he went into hiding to assist Reid if a breakout became necessary.
As for how Reid and the others knew Ribbons had arrived, it was because Hoshino Ruri detected Veda suddenly taking control of the estate's systems.
But since Hoshino Ruri had been monitoring Veda's movements all along, the moment Veda's data stream arrived, she went into hiding within the system and even helped forge signals for the wine cellar bombs.
Therefore, the Veda controlled by Ribbons failed to realize that Reid had planted countermeasures in both the physical and digital realms.
After all, Ribbons couldn't concentrate all of Veda's computational power on the estate. Much of its capacity was allocated to the Earth Federation for military control, so it was understandable that he couldn't detect Hoshino Ruri, who possessed the full computational power of Veda Unit 2.
The evening arrived quickly. Tieria, being a female guest, entered the venue early, while Setsuna, as in the original storyline, waited outside as the driver.
Reid, however, chose to have the Xia sisters enter the venue just before Wang Liu Mei, following closely behind Wang Liu Mei's car.
Naturally, the drivers were trusted allies. The Xia sisters' driver was Richthofen Dahl, who was not only skilled at piloting ships but also a competent driver.
Reid's driver, of course, was Neil, who would likely have plenty to chat about with Setsuna later in the parking lot.
Such banquets had an unspoken rule: the later one entered the venue, the more prestigious their status.
By choosing to enter around the same time as Wang Liu Mei, Reid intended to use her as cover.
Wang Liu Mei could openly provide cover for Reid because Ribbons was aware of her acquaintance with him.
In such a setting, surrounded by Reid's people, Wang Liu Mei's decision to assist Reid aligned perfectly with her character. Even if Ribbons suffered a significant loss this time, he wouldn't take action against her.
After all, Wang Liu Mei was no longer someone Ribbons could easily uproot. The Wang family's Mars mining corporation had already entangled too many influential forces. Acting rashly against Wang Liu Mei could plunge the recently stabilized Earth Federation government into chaos.
Moreover, Ribbons was certain that Wang Liu Mei was ambitious. The power the Wang family had displayed so far might not be their full strength. Mars was too far from the Earth Sphere, and even Veda couldn't grasp the situation there.
If someone claimed Wang Liu Mei now commanded a stronger army than Chun Yuan, Ribbons would believe it.
In fact, Ribbons had suspected Wang Liu Mei of aligning with Reid ever since the Mars mining corporation was established. However, over four years, he found no evidence or traces of it. Wang Liu Mei had met with his true self several times during those years, and Reid never showed up, so Ribbons gradually dismissed the idea.
After all, Wang Liu Mei was intelligent and shrewd. As one of the Celestial Beings' key supporters and a backer of the Earth Federation government (the very people who had pushed for its establishment), she had the potential to sit at the table and play the game—a fact Ribbons was willing to acknowledge.
Thus, Reid openly appeared in Ribbons' surveillance.
The Xia sisters had entered earlier. Ribbons was certain the Human Reform League had no so-called Xia family on the guest list, though the guards were clearly unaware.
But when Ribbons saw Reid arriving by car, he decided not to stop him. He felt it necessary to settle the score from the intimidation four years prior, and Reid had the right to face him.
Although the guards, after failing to verify the Xia family with the backend, hesitated to let them in, Wang Liu Mei's arrival and her familiar greeting with both parties made the guards stand down.
The Wang family, as a former superpower in the Human Reform League, naturally knew its influential figures. Anyone who could chat and laugh with her was no minor force—the guards' ignorance was no excuse to block them.
Wang Liu Mei, of course, passed unchallenged, but Reid and Ange were stopped.
After all, Europe had never heard of a so-called Grand Duke Isaac or Princess Misurugi, and what right did they have to enter after the Wang family?
It must be understood that the Wang family, which monopolized the Martian resource channels, was an absolute top-tier force within the Earth Federation government.
However, the innate aura Reid and Ange carried was unmistakable, especially when Reid glared at others with displeasure, exerting mental pressure.
The guard was sweating profusely, and the commander behind him dared not make a rash decision.
But this time, Reid didn't need Wang Liu Mei to vouch for him—Ribbons quickly came to his aid.
The head of security soon received a furious scolding from his superior, who berated them for blocking the most honored secretly invited guest of the banquet, an act tantamount to courting death.
Naturally, the guard broke into a cold sweat, bowing and apologizing frantically, almost kneeling before Reid.
Reid, of course, had no intention of making things difficult for a mere guard. Hoshino Ruri had already informed him through the built-in earpiece that Ribbons had intervened.
Reid knew this was Ribbons' "invitation," so he snorted coldly and entered the estate with Ange.
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