However, Lelouch, who had initially thought the situation wasn't serious, soon realized he had underestimated Lacus.
And he had also underestimated the Coordinators in this world.
After regrouping with Mu and the others, Lelouch had originally believed that with the contingency plans he had set up,
if not toying with the Coordinators chasing them as if they were in the palm of his hand,
at the very least, leading these pursuers around like dogs wouldn't be a problem.
But reality's harshness taught him a solid lesson.
Thanks to the bombs previously planted by East Asian Alliance underground operatives throughout this satellite colony,
Lelouch and the others, while fleeing, indeed wouldn't be caught by their pursuers for a while.
But wanting to lead the Coordinators around like dogs as he had envisioned was impossible.
Even though Lelouch schemed meticulously and employed various clever tactics during their retreat,
the Coordinators, after being temporarily shaken off, always managed to pick up their trail again.
Like maggots clinging to bones, they would catch up once more.
"What's going on?"
Once again detecting Coordinator pursuit teams nearby, Lelouch truly couldn't understand.
Why were these dogs' noses so sharp!
"Calm down, Lelouch, you can do this."
Having put away Creuset's outfit and returned to his original appearance,
Mu looked at the agitated Lelouch and comforted him.
The young man's performance along the way had impressed him. Mu admitted to himself that at Lelouch's age, his own abilities were far inferior.
"I know, I know."
Lelouch seemed unappreciative of Mu's comfort.
Confident in his exceptional intelligence, in his own world, aside from Schneizel, he looked down on everyone else.
He firmly believed that even starting from scratch, with his intelligence, he could build from nothing and overthrow the world's foremost Britannian Empire.
To take revenge on that curly-haired emperor.
"How could I possibly lose here?"
Gritting his teeth, Lelouch activated another contingency plan—another pre-planted bomb was triggered.
A violent explosion obstructed the pursuers behind them for a moment.
"Could it be because of that Lacus?"
At this point, Zhang Peng, who had been silent along the way, spoke up.
"Could our arrangements have been detected by that Lacus?"
"And just like how you sold out Colonel Wang Hu, that Lacus also sold us out?"
"Of course Lacus sold us out."
What Zhang Peng thought of, Lelouch had already considered.
When their hiding place was exposed, Lelouch first pointed the finger of suspicion at Lacus.
If he hadn't been prepared and left shortly after Lacus bid farewell,
they would have been trapped by the ZAFT Forces in the satellite colonies at their hiding spot.
But regarding his other contingency plans and their current route, Lelouch still firmly believed that pink-haired diva couldn't possibly figure them out.
After all, every strategy was chosen temporarily based on the current situation.
If that Lacus could guess even that, who did she think she was?
Schneizel?
Even if Schneizel were here, he might not be able to pull it off!
"Alright, whatever makes you happy."
With his gun raised and standing guard alongside Mu, Zhang Peng shrugged his shoulders, seeing that Lelouch wasn't taking his advice.
He had no intention of arguing with the other man, but deep down he still believed their current predicament was inevitably linked to Lacus, who had retreated early.
"Pei Qiang, there's an old saying in the East Asian Alliance: 'A powerful dragon cannot crush a snake in its own lair.'"
"Your master is teaching you this today, so make sure you remember it well in the future."
Seizing the opportunity, he immediately began lecturing his apprentice.
"Master, you don't seem very nervous," Liu Peiqiang remarked.
What kind of time is this to be saying such things?
The corner of Liu Peiqiang's mouth twitched—he had maintained a low profile throughout the entire operation.
"Nervous? What do I have to be nervous about?"
Zhang Peng chuckled. To put it nicely, someone like him was called a seasoned veteran; to put it bluntly, you could add the word "slick" after that.
Pointing at the other East Asian underground operatives who were keeping quiet, Zhang Peng continued his hands-on teaching.
"See how nervous they are? If they're not nervous, why should I be?"
"Them?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Peiqiang carefully observed the East Asian underground operatives around them.
Indeed, just as his master had said, those operatives wore serious expressions but were definitely not tense.
This wasn't an act—it was a genuine, deep-seated confidence.
"Let me teach you one more thing."
Smiling smugly, Zhang Peng glanced at Lelouch, who was still racking his brains over the problem, and turned back to his apprentice.
"I've been observing throughout our retreat. At first, those East Asian underground operatives were a bit nervous."
"Initially, that was normal. Think about it—the operation went wrong, and we're being chased down by the enemy. Who could truly remain completely calm?"
"But the further we went, the less nervous these operatives became, even though we couldn't shake off our pursuers."
"So why aren't they nervous? Once you think about it, isn't the answer obvious?"
"Could it be that these comrades have already prepared themselves for sacrifice?"
Mu chimed in, slightly interrupting the master-apprentice teaching session.
"Hey, you foreigner even know about 'sacrifice'?"
Zhang Peng laughed upon hearing Mu's words.
"It's not the calmness of someone resigned to sacrifice—I know all too well what that mindset is like after deciding to die."
"No one understands it better than I do. Their calm comes from absolute certainty that nothing will go wrong. Trust me, just wait and see."
"Reinforcements will arrive soon. When that happens, everything will change!"
"Is that so?"
Mu eyed the confident Zhang Peng with skepticism, unsure whether he was trying to comfort his apprentice or genuinely believed in his own judgment.
Regardless, since things had deteriorated to this point, Mu instinctively began praying to all the gods for the sake of his own survival.
He hoped the words of this East Asian friend he'd only recently met would come true.
"Miss Lacus, thank you for your help."
Elsewhere on the satellite—or more accurately, right in the ZAFT Forces headquarters—
Yzak's mother, Ezalia, a prominent member of the Sara Faction within ZAFT Forces,
stood in a secluded spot, sincerely expressing her gratitude into her phone.
This demonstrated the finesse of her political survival skills.
Despite being considered a high-ranking member of the Sara Faction and one of the trusted confidants of the hardliner leader Patrick, who would have thought that someone like her still maintained private connections with Lacus?
Thus, it's not difficult to understand why, after the First War, the entire Sara Faction ostensibly collapsed completely. Yet, whether it was the pure Clyne Faction in power during the interim or the cunning Durandal taking over shortly after—and even despite Yzak's borderline defection near the end of the First War—she, Ezalia, remained active in PLANT's political arena, continuing her influence all the way into the Third War. Even after retiring, this elegant lady could still exert sway over the ZAFT Forces.
"You're too kind, Aunt Ezalia. The Clyne Faction merely holds differing political views from the Sara Faction," Lacus replied with a smile over the phone. "But the Clyne Faction would never betray the interests of all Coordinators. Our roots will always remain here."
"As for the personnel sent by the East Asian Alliance and the traps they've set in certain locations, I've shared all the information I currently have with you. Now, I must ask you, Aunt Ezalia, to do everything in your power to protect PLANT."
"I will," Ezalia affirmed firmly. As the current commander in charge of pursuing Lelouch and his allies, she understood deeply just how crucial the intelligence provided by Lacus was. Thanks to her information, ZAFT's pursuit units were able to close in on Lelouch's group every time they disappeared.
Yes, Lelouch and his team could shake off their pursuers—after all, they were living, adaptable opponents. But the pre-arranged traps left behind by the enemy were static. As long as Lelouch's group continued to follow their planned escape routes, they would inevitably circle back near those pre-set ambushes.
By monitoring the areas around the vague trap locations Lacus had provided, ZAFT could more or less guarantee some results. And if the enemy completely abandoned their prepared traps? That wouldn't matter either. With a general idea of their movement patterns and operational zones, ZAFT could conduct thorough, carpet-style searches.
This was a home turf operation. With numerous highly intelligent Coordinators mobilized and such thorough preparations in place, if they still let their targets escape, then ZAFT might as well surrender to the Allied Forces without a fight!
"There's one thing I'd like to ask you," Ezalia said, holding the phone and crossing her arms, her tone carrying a hint of admonishment. "Miss Lacus, how did you come by this intelligence about the East Asian Alliance's traps?"
"Aunt Ezalia, all I can say is that the Clyne Faction has many supporters within the satellite colonies," Lacus replied evasively, offering an excuse she herself didn't believe—and one she knew Ezalia wouldn't buy either. "By sheer chance, we uncovered the East Asian Alliance's conspiracy and decided to use their own plans against them, rescuing the remaining Clyne Faction members imprisoned in the detention facilities."
"Is that so?" Ezalia naturally didn't believe a word of Lacus's explanation. "Many Clyne Faction supporters in the satellites," she scoffed internally. The East Asian Alliance was the type to carefully plan before acting. If even ZAFT's military—the strongest armed force in the PLANT satellite cluster—hadn't detected any hints of their movements beforehand, how could the Clyne Faction have stumbled upon such critical intelligence by mere chance?
How could the Clyne Faction, which has never achieved anything in military strength, possibly see through it?
If the Clyne Faction were truly as capable as you claim, would your father have been killed by Patrick's operatives?
But knowing when to hold back, Ezalia merely intended to use this pretext to indirectly probe for information.
For instance, whether the Clyne Faction would fully merge with the East Asian Alliance.
If the Clyne Faction truly did merge with the East Asian Alliance, then for the sake of the future...
She would have to make early preparations!
Fortunately, it seemed the Clyne Faction had no such intentions for now!
Secretly breathing a sigh of relief, Ezalia was about to say more when hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.
"Lady Ezalia, so this is where you are."
The newcomer spotted Ezalia, who had just put away her phone, and anxiously said,
"Chairman Patrick is looking for you! He requests your immediate presence!"
"What's the matter?"
Remaining calm under pressure, even though she could guess why Patrick was summoning her, Ezalia feigned ignorance and asked again.
"Well, you see..."
Faced with the white-haired woman who was as unapproachable as ever, the hesitant messenger deliberated before finally speaking truthfully.
"With the East Asian Alliance causing such turmoil in the satellite colonies, Chairman Patrick hasn't had a single peaceful day since taking office."
"So..."
"Alright, I understand."
Just as expected, Ezalia showed a knowing expression, waved the messenger away, and prepared to follow.
On her way to Chairman Patrick's office, Ezalia, whose mood had only just improved, sighed inwardly again.
Comparing the two chairmen...
Regardless of how soft Clyne appeared during his tenure, at least the ZAFT Forces were consistently victorious under his leadership.
But ever since Patrick took over, the ZAFT Forces have been on a decline.
A steep one at that.
Should we blame it on Patrick's poor luck, or credit the late Clyne's exceptional tactics?
Lost in these wandering thoughts, Ezalia grew deeply concerned about Patrick, whom the PLANT Coordinators had elected.
Just then, another set of hurried footsteps approached from behind.
"What's happened now?"
Ezalia immediately turned and called out to the newcomer with a furrowed brow.
"It's terrible! Outside the capital satellite, Athrun and Nicol, the two Red Uniforms, have detected the East Asian Alliance's mothership!"
"It's... it's a new battleship equipped with a Full Mirage Colloid System!"
The breathless messenger exclaimed.
"What?"
Ezalia was shocked by the news. A Natural battleship had infiltrated the core of the satellite colonies?
This was outrageous!
Currently, they lacked the Light of Peace, but if they had it, wouldn't the enemy be able to launch a surprise attack at any moment?
They wouldn't even know how they died!
Before she could fully process this information, another person came rushing over.
"Report, Lady Ezalia! A Training Zaku from a ZAFT public event on the satellite has been stolen!"
"Rumored to have been taken by the East Asian Qilin, Wang Hu!"