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Chapter 278 - Chapter 278: Kid, You Can't Handle This

Under Yang Hui's scolding, Cagalli stumbled backward until she collapsed to the ground, tears welling in her eyes.

Each reprimand struck her heart like a hammer blow, unbearable in its weight. She didn't know whether Yang Hui's words were true, and in her current state, she couldn't even think clearly. But the shadows of her upbringing and her understanding of Yang Hui made her instinctively believe him—that her reckless actions would indeed bring such dire consequences to Orb.

"I didn't… It's not like that… It's not!"

Seeing Cagalli's shattered state, Yang Hui stopped lecturing her. In this condition, she wouldn't absorb anything he said. Continuing would be like playing the lute for a cow—utterly pointless. It was better to let her recover before addressing the matter again.

Cagalli was stubborn to the core. Once she believed something was right, she would cling to it even if everyone else disagreed. The only two people who could truly shake her convictions were Uzumi and Yang Hui.

But even they could only sway her slightly, never fully change her mind—unless they administered a drastic remedy. Yet the cost of such a remedy was something no one could bear.

With the lecture temporarily over, Yang Hui led Cagalli back into the canyon.

"Cagalli! What happened?" A tanned, brown-haired youth rushed to her side, his concern overflowing.

When the boy saw that Cagalli didn't respond to his call, fury surged in his chest. He drew his gun and aimed it at Yang Hui.

"You bastard! What did you do to Cagalli!?"

"Stop!"

"Yafmed! Lower your weapon!"

"But he—he hurt Cagalli—!"

Others quickly intervened, especially the leader of Desert Dawn, who had already received word from the elders about Yang Hui's identity. Meanwhile, the crew of the Archangel swiftly gathered around Yang Hui, some even raising their weapons at the boy. Lyle did the same, his sights locked on the youth's vitals, confident he could shoot him dead before he pulled the trigger.

Yang Hui, who had been standing with his back to the boy, turned around calmly. His expression indifferent, he reached out and pressed Lyle's gun down.

"Yang Hui..."

"It's fine."

"..."

Seeing the confidence in Yang Hui's eyes, Lyle lowered his weapon—though his hand remained on the grip. If the boy still intended to fire, Lyle would put a bullet through his skull without hesitation.

"Everyone, lower your guns."

The Archangel crew exchanged glances but ultimately obeyed Yang Hui's order, reluctantly holstering their weapons.

Truthfully, they didn't want conflict with Desert Dawn either. They were guests here, relying on the group for supplies, concealment, and resistance against the Desert Tiger.

Once the weapons were lowered, Yang Hui stepped forward until he stood before the boy, meeting his gaze impassively as the gun remained pointed at him.

"Have you ever shot someone before?" Yang Hui asked.

Although the boy was also a member of Desert Dawn, and the calluses on his hands showed he had participated in numerous battles, his hands trembled as he pointed the gun at Yang Hui—not just from anger, but also from a hint of fear. Yang Hui deduced that while the boy had seen combat, he had never experienced urban warfare or close-quarters combat. He had certainly never fought against living, breathing people.

"What did you say...?"

"Do you dare to shoot a person?"

"Of course I dare!"

"Then try it. Watch as a living life is snuffed out, as a bloody corpse collapses before your eyes. Go on, try it. Shoot me right here." As he spoke, Yang Hui pressed his forehead against the barrel of the gun, his tone eerily calm as he uttered the most insane, ruthless words. "Shoot here. One shot, instant death. A loud bang, and my head will explode like a watermelon. Red blood and white brain matter will mix together, splattering everywhere. Some might even land on your face, maybe even get into your mouth. Want to taste it?"

"You... you...!"

"What's wrong? Didn't you say you dared? Shoot!"

"Ah... ah~..."

"Yang Hui! Watch out!"

"Ah~!"

"Bang~!"

The gunshot rang out, but the scene of red and white gore never came. At the moment the boy's finger was about to pull the trigger, Yang Hui's hand moved like lightning, seizing the boy's wrist and forcing it upward, sending the bullet harmlessly into the sky.

"Thud~"

The gun was wrested away by Yang Hui, and the boy collapsed to the ground, limp as a ragdoll, as if pulling the trigger had drained every ounce of strength from his body.

"Is this all you've got?" Yang Hui said coldly, dismantling the pistol piece by piece in front of the boy before tossing the parts at his feet. "If you lack the resolve, don't point a gun at someone."

"Yang Hui..."

Everyone who knew Yang Hui felt as though they were seeing a stranger. The man before them had acted like a madman—so terrifyingly unhinged that it frightened them. Tolle and the others nearly gagged when Yang Hui described the bullet piercing through a skull.

"It's fine." Yang Hui turned back to them, the madness vanishing in an instant as he returned to his usual composed self. "Seems like you haven't been doing too well since we last met."

"Uh... yeah... that's right." Murrue's voice faltered, partly from struggling to process Yang Hui's sudden shift in demeanor, and partly from embarrassment. Their situation was dire—without Desert Dawn's help, they would have been wiped out in their first battle against Andrew Waltfeld.

Yang Hui knew he had startled them and offered a wry smile without explanation. Those who truly knew him understood it had all been an act—just a test to see what kind of resolve the boy had, daring to aim a gun at him.

He had assumed that since the boy liked Cagalli, he might be someone extraordinary. But Yang Hui never expected him to be so... pathetic.

If you can't even handle a little scene like this, how dare you like Cagalli? Are you joking? Aside from Athrun, whose eyes matched the color of the grasslands, Yang Hui couldn't think of anyone else who could possibly handle Cagalli.

"You might've gone a bit overboard," Lyle muttered, shaking his head before lightly punching Yang Hui's shoulder.

"Just making sure the kid knows his place," Yang Hui shrugged.

With the situation resolved without bloodshed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed to their respective duties. Yang Hui gathered with Lyle, Murrue, and the others.

"This gentleman is..."

"Lyle Dylandy, temporarily acting as this guy's bodyguard." Lyle introduced himself casually, making people doubt the authenticity of his statement.

But Murrue, Mu, and the others didn't mind. They'd known Yang Hui before—despite being a high-ranking official of Orb, he was remarkably easygoing in private, joking freely with anyone.

Moreover, Yang Hui had extensive connections. Given how casually this "bodyguard" treated him, Murrue and the others concluded Lyle was either a mercenary or an important companion with close ties to Yang Hui.

"So, Yang Hui, what brings you to North Africa? Is Orb planning to intervene in the North African conflict?" Murrue asked.

"Not at all. Orb is a neutral nation and won't actively join the war," Yang Hui replied with a faint smile.

"Then you—"

"That foolish girl." Yang Hui pointed at Cagalli, who still hadn't snapped out of her daze, and sighed. "Her father has some connections with my family. She had a falling out with her family and ran away. Her father was worried, so he asked me to find her."

"Uh..."

Murrue and the others twitched at the corners of their mouths. This reason... Did he really expect them to believe it? He was a high-ranking Orb official. Even if they hadn't kept up with international affairs, Orb's situation couldn't be great. Shouldn't he be busy managing Orb's affairs instead of chasing after a runaway noble girl? Was this appropriate?

"I really did come here to find her!"

"Right, of course... We believe you..."

"Before saying that, could you at least control your expressions? You might as well write 'We don't believe you' on your faces!"

"Ahem, haha... The night sky is lovely tonight."

"Enough nonsense. Let's talk about your situation."

"You've already seen it. That's how it is." Mu shrugged, looking equally helpless. "During descent, our systems malfunctioned. Though we fixed it quickly, the course deviation was too great. Instead of landing in Alaska, we ended up in North Africa—right in the Desert Tiger's territory. Not long after landing, we received a rather... enthusiastic welcome and nearly got wiped out."

"That's not even the worst of it." Murrue sighed and added, "The Archangel can fly within the atmosphere, but its altitude isn't enough to cross mountain ranges. We either have to break through ZAFT Forces' Gibraltar base or take the Red Sea route into the Pacific via the Indian Ocean. Neither path is easy."

"True enough," Yang Hui agreed.

Saying "not easy" was putting it mildly—"impossible" would be more accurate.

The Gibraltar base was out of the question. It was ZAFT Forces' Earth headquarters, heavily fortified and swarming with troops. The Archangel stood no chance of breaking through. The other route, while lacking a major enemy blockade, was entirely over water. The only possible resupply point was the Oceania Union—unfortunately, ZAFT had already occupied it entirely. The rest were neutral nations that couldn't provide them with supplies.

Not to mention... no matter which path they took, the towering obstacle of the [Desert Tiger] still stood before them.

"Do you need help?" Yang Hui asked Murrue and Mu.

"Huh? Is that possible? But Orb isn't..."

"There are always ways, but right now even if I wanted to help you, I couldn't. As you can see, it's just me and Lyle here—we didn't bring anything with us."

"Yeah..."

Murrue and Mu fell silent. At this moment and place, Yang Hui and Lyle truly couldn't offer any assistance. North Africa was ZAFT's occupied territory, far from Orb, and Orb's international stance made it impossible for them to openly provide help.

"Never mind, let's eat first." Noticing the sky darkening and feeling hungry, Mu suggested.

"Alright."

"But Yang Hui... Kira might need your help."

"Oh?"

"Well, how should I put it... Recently, with Flay... After you left, he hasn't been in a good state."

"...Understood. I'll go talk to him." Yang Hui nodded in agreement.

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