"Kira, have you seen Wang Hu and the others around?"
Aboard the Zhu Long, which was undergoing maintenance in space, the handsome, blond-haired Mu was frantically searching all over the battleship.
Upon spotting Kira, Mu rushed forward as if he had found his savior, grabbing him and asking, "Wang Hu?"
"Big Brother Wang Hu?" Kira, taken aback, stared at Mu in confusion. "I think I saw him go to the hangar with Lieutenant Colonel Li Chengzhi. It seems they said the East Asian Army headquarters sent over a new prototype."
"Is that so? A new prototype?"
Mu had been anxious about something else entirely, but Kira's words made him pause in surprise.
Was the East Asian Army's development department really that efficient?
In the previous battles, they had rolled out excellent mass-produced units like the Jeda, as well as special-purpose machines like the GP02 and the Lightning Z Gundam.
Now, Wang Hu had just mentioned needing a new mobile suit, and they had immediately sent one up to space!
That level of efficiency was just too absurd, wasn't it?
"Lieutenant Colonel Mu, are you...?"
Not expecting his words to leave Mu stunned on the spot, Kira worried that something important might have happened to the man before him. So, he kindly asked again.
"Oh, oh, oh."
Mu nodded repeatedly, snapping back to his senses and hurrying toward the hangar.
Seeing Mu's anxious expression, Kira worried that something bad might have happened to him.
He glanced in the direction he had originally been heading, but ultimately turned and followed after Mu.
"Lieutenant Colonel Mu, did something happen?" Kira asked, catching up to him.
"You've seen the agreement the East Asian Federation reached with the Atlantic Federation, right?" Mu's tone was grim, his pace not slowing but accelerating.
"I saw it. Although it's a bit harsh, the matter is considered resolved."
"Since the higher-ups signed such an agreement, they must have had their reasons, right?"
Although Kira had felt the terms were far too lenient on the Atlantic Federation when he first saw the agreement, since the leadership had already consented and Big Brother Wang Hu hadn't said anything, it wasn't his place to voice an opinion.
Otherwise, if it were up to him, wouldn't it be better to just use this opportunity to let the East Asian Army take control of the entire Earth Sphere?
Mu glanced at Kira, who verbally accepted the situation, and groaned inwardly. He could guess what the boy was really thinking.
Look at Kira. When they first met, he was such a meek little thing.
Now, under the influence of people like Wang Hu, he had become so aggressive and domineering.
So what must Wang Hu—who, after returning from the Atlantic Federation Fleet's sneak attack on the East Asia Fleet, had repeatedly declared he would become a rebel for once—be thinking in his heart?
After all, the Atlantic Federation had started it. If the East Asian Federation decided to finish it, with Wang Hu's power, he was truly capable of destroying a military fortress with a single machine!
Not to mention, the entire Uprising Army was at his command.
If Wang Hu decided to go rogue and act on his own authority, how could the Atlantic Federation Army possibly withstand it?
Mu himself admitted that the Atlantic Federation's high command were scoundrels, but among the soldiers below, aside from the fanatics in Blue Cosmos, there were still some good people!
"Wang Hu!"
Driven by the desire to persuade him and to probe what Wang Hu was truly planning, Mu rushed into the hangar.
The moment his eyes landed on Wang Hu standing at the feet of a new MS, he shouted out.
"Mu?"
Hearing the shout, Wang Hu turned his head. Standing beside him were Li Chengzhi and the Steroid Trio, who had practically become his clingy followers.
"Big Brother Wang Hu!"
Kira's gaze swept over the three former Atlantic Federation Army Enhanced Humans, and his heart inexplicably tightened.
It was like seeing a scheming green tea girl who calls you "big bro" appear next to the person you admire.
A sense of crisis welled up in his heart. Kira rushed to Wang Hu's side and stood at attention.
"Kira?"
Looking at the panting Mu and then at Kira's strange expression, Wang Hu was completely baffled. "Is something wrong with you two?"
"No, it's nothing," Kira replied, shaking his head.
"Wang Hu, you're not planning on going out, are you? Where are you going?"
Mu's eyes first scanned the new MS, then fixed firmly on Wang Hu.
"Just receiving the new mobile suit."
Growing more and more bewildered, Wang Hu looked strangely at Mu, who seemed ready to hold him back at any moment to prevent him from leaving. The man's posture, as if he were preparing for a noble sacrifice, looked increasingly odd.
"You don't think I'm...?"
After a moment's thought, Wang Hu guessed Mu's worries.
He smiled and spoke bluntly. "I'm a soldier of the East Asian Alliance. I will naturally follow the orders from above."
"Really?"
Looking at Wang Hu with a less-than-convinced gaze, Mu's heart pounded. He knew just how petty Wang Hu could be.
After suffering such a huge loss, would he really not think of retaliating?
"Really. Truer than pure gold."
Wang Hu waved his hand dismissively, signaling for Mu not to overthink it. He then tried to shoo him away, not wanting to be delayed from his business.
"Really?"
Sensing that Wang Hu was giving him the hint to leave, Mu didn't want to make the relationship between them too tense.
Furthermore, he saw Wang Hu begin to make arrangements, telling Kira to take the Steroid Trio for a tour of the battleship and to take him along as well.
Glancing back every few steps, Mu reluctantly left, forced to pretend he trusted Wang Hu's word.
He had finally found Wang Hu, only to be kicked out after just a few minutes.
"That guy, he's actually worried I'd go after the Atlantic Federation on my own."
Knowing full well what the other was thinking, Wang Hu said with a laugh to Li Chengzhi beside him.
"You probably scared him."
Li Chengzhi shrugged, turning back to continue examining the new mobile suit while casually mentioning recent developments.
"Our academy's masters have already examined Olga and the other two. In addition, the Ministry of War arranged for a raid on the Enhanced Human laboratory."
"Besides rescuing a large number of test subjects, we've also made progress on a medical plan for the Steroid Trio thanks to the related research data."
"That's great to hear."
Wang Hu also turned his gaze to the new mobile suit. He had high hopes for those three kids.
"By the way, this thing."
Pointing at the new mobile suit, Wang Hu was very curious. The previous Zeta Gundam was a product influenced by the Homeworld.
Even if this machine could be explained away with the same reason, there was one point that was impossible to get around.
The Psycommu System, or to put it more simply, the Psycho-Frame.
That thing couldn't be replaced by the Mirage Particles developed in this world.
Even if Mirage Particles were in some ways very similar to Minovsky Particles, and the DRAGOON System's performance was not inferior to Funnel Technology thanks to quantum communication, there was a fundamental difference between the two.
And without a Psycho-Frame, the value of the machine before them would be greatly diminished.
"What are you referring to?"
Not quite sure what Wang Hu was getting at, Li Chengzhi stared at the newly delivered machine, his tone filled with a hint of emotion.
"Every world has its own unique products. I never thought I'd see the day our own technology would undergo such an explosive, leap-forward development, stimulated by a new world."
"Hmm?"
Wang Hu had been more focused on the war effort recently, neglecting other matters.
Plus, with another world waiting for him to clean up the mess, he was single-mindedly focused on finishing things here as quickly as possible. Hearing Li Chengzhi say this, his curiosity was piqued.
Could it be that his own scientific personnel had unearthed some other good stuff?
Was it from the Breaking Ball World or the C World?
"The Wang Hu in the C World is making smooth progress. He's successfully used Area 11 to bog down the Britannian Empire."
"He has now occupied many regions of that world's Chinese Federation and has gained initial control of the government."
"All that's left is some minor counter-insurgency work. Thanks to this, he led our people in a raid on that world's Geass Order headquarters, which specializes in researching the C World."
Speaking of this, as if recalling something amusing, Li Chengzhi couldn't quite understand what that curly-haired Britannian emperor was thinking.
Theoretically, something as secret as the C World, which influenced the course of global events from behind the scenes, would be a research priority for any nation with even a shred of ambition.
But he actually set up the research center within the Chinese Federation's sphere of influence?
What kind of move was that? It was so stupid it was almost comical, wasn't it?
Just how much did they look down on that world's Chinese Federation?
"The C World's Geass Order?"
Wang Hu frowned. The order Li Chengzhi mentioned... wasn't that the thing C.C., who had now vanished with Lacus, had created for fun and to pass the time?
He remembered that this order had indeed researched some things and had even helped the curly-haired emperor create the Akasha System, also known as the Sword of Godslaying.
But all of that was based on the C World's established rules. What use would it be in this SEED world?
It was like trying to use a sword from a past dynasty to execute an official of the current one.
Didn't they see? Even C.C. lost her immortality when she came to this world.
"Ever heard of learning by analogy?"
Li Chengzhi could guess what his friend was thinking with a single glance.
"Although that knowledge is limited by the different fundamental rules of the worlds, the corresponding theories still have merit."
"Those ruins in the C World related to the collective unconscious are of great research value, you know."
"Through our excavation work, we've also come into contact with a group called the Relic Guardians."
"The physical prowess of those people, the so-called Guardians, is astonishingly exaggerated. They are in no way inferior to the Coordinators of our world, and may even surpass them."
"For example, it's speculated that the three-surnamed brat, Kururugi Suzaku, has Guardian blood."
"And Miss Nunnally's former personal ninja maid also has traces of that bloodline in her."
"It might even be purer than Suzaku's."
"The higher-ups aren't thinking of...?"
Hearing his friend Li Chengzhi's praise for the so-called Guardian bloodline, goosebumps broke out all over Wang Hu's body.
"What are you thinking? Free love is one thing, but you don't actually think we're going to start a breeding program, do you?"
Li Chengzhi shot Wang Hu an exasperated look and pulled the conversation back on track.
"According to our research, most Geass abilities can only affect the human body, with no effect on physical matter."
"Don't be fooled by apparent effects like stopping time, foreseeing the future, or reversing time."
"If you view each person as a branch in an independent computer network, but controlled by a central computer, then so-called time-stopping and so on are nothing more than an administrator with management privileges manually changing some data."
"That sounds like a movie about humanity's consciousness living in a virtual network," Wang Hu said, stroking his chin as he offered his opinion.
"Something like that, you could understand it that way. As for why the Guardians are so strong, there's no conclusion yet."
"After all, that is a complete world, no matter how you look at it. There are bound to be many secrets we can't possibly know."
Li Chengzhi didn't dwell on what he didn't understand.
"I mentioned learning by analogy earlier, right? When the technologies of two worlds collide, something new is bound to emerge."