Zhou Tianming lowered his head in thought.
Siegel observed Zhou Tianming carefully, nodding appreciatively at his humble, contemplative demeanor.
Ogsha amused herself by playing with Lacus in her arms.
After a long silence, Zhou Tianming reached a decision.
While favors held more value, having a bird in hand was worth two in the bush.
With substantial funds, he could secure a better starting point. As for the future, Zhou Tianming firmly believed he could carve out his own path.
Moreover, clear accounts made good friends. Holding onto vague, unquantifiable favors might only breed resentment.
Having navigated society in his past life, Zhou Tianming had developed an instinctive understanding of human relationships, if not mastery.
"I need a secure identity and a significant sum of money—enough to ensure my mother and I can live comfortably while making future investments."
In his previous life, Zhou Tianming had never wanted for necessities but wasn't wealthy. Aware his financial perspective differed from the affluent, he outlined only broad terms, leaving specifics to Siegel.
Meeting Siegel's gaze directly, Zhou Tianming stated his terms.
Siegel and Ogsha exchanged surprised glances.
"Is that all?" Siegel asked. "You saved everyone aboard this ship. You could ask for more."
"No need. More than money, I'd appreciate your thoroughness in tying up loose ends. I'd rather not constantly encounter those coveting my... unique qualities."
Zhou Tianming's deep brown eyes gleamed with confidence. "As long as I can grow up safely, neither money nor power will be an issue."
"Hahaha—!" Siegel threw back his head in hearty laughter, admiration undisguised. "Well said! Have you considered working with me when you're older?"
"Absolutely not," Zhou Tianming refused without hesitation. "The fewer dangers before adulthood, the better."
Ogsha covered a chuckle while Siegel coughed awkwardly into his fist.
"Very well, I won't stand on ceremony. My liquid assets are currently limited, but I'll supplement with property to guarantee your security. Consider this matter settled, agreed?"
"Deal."
Zhou Tianming nodded briskly, then couldn't resist asking, "How much are we talking?"
"500 million in cash, plus over a dozen Earth properties. Given my circumstances, I rarely visit Earth—you can have all but a few."
Zhou Tianming's heart skipped. Even with his extraordinary intellect, only two words came to mind: "Holy shit!"
The couple laughed at his stunned expression.
"Who knew you were such a little miser?" Ogsha teased.
"Let's go, let Tianming rest a bit more."
With that, the two left the infirmary.
In the corridor, Siegel sighed: "It's hard to believe this child has been in a coma since birth as you said. His emotional intelligence is remarkably high."
"Probably inherited from Zhou Hanxiang. Everyone who interacts with her speaks highly of her."
"He didn't use personal connections to pressure me but instead demonstrated his own value. To be honest, I'm genuinely considering investing in him. This child's future is limitless."
"Indeed. It's a shame he didn't agree when I suggested arranging a childhood engagement with Lacus."
Siegel paused mid-step, his face showing exasperation: "Don't mess around. Lacus is still so young—you're being ridiculous."
Then, as if struck by an idea, he proposed: "By the way, Lenore should be about ten months pregnant now. If you have time, go lend a hand. Put that knowledge of yours to good use."
"But I didn't study childcare—I studied bioengineering."
"Then go learn some childcare. It'll be useful for taking care of Lacus, and maybe it'll squeeze out some of those absurd ideas of yours."
As their voices faded, the two gradually walked away.
Shortly after they left, Zhou Tianming snapped out of his thoughts and began counting on his fingers: "100 million, 200 million... 500 million. How should I spend all this money? Is East Asia still using RMB here? Should I buy a house in every city just in case?"
Midway through his thoughts, he suddenly slapped both cheeks hard with a loud smack, leaving them flushed red.
"Calm down! Calm down! This isn't my past life's Earth. I need to convert this money into power as soon as possible."
Calculating the original timeline, there were only 15 years left before the world-spanning war would erupt, and the years afterward would be anything but peaceful.
These last 15 years of peace had to be used wisely—this was no time for indulgence.
Lying back on the bed, Zhou Tianming closed his eyes to ponder the future.
Among the Earth Alliance's three major powers, the Atlantic Federation was dominant and had essentially become Blue Cosmos' private domain. As a Coordinator, he couldn't consider joining them.
East Asia...
The thought of East Asia gave him a headache. It barely appeared in the original story, and he had no idea what they were secretly up to. With so little reference material, it remained undecided.
PLANT, the homeland of Coordinators, seemed idyllic, but in Zhou Tianming's view, it was destined to fail.
Either it would be destroyed or forced to reintegrate with Earth—there was no third path.
Earth could survive without Coordinators, but Coordinators couldn't survive without Naturals.
The ceiling of Coordinators was the ceiling of Naturals, but Naturals, when pushed, might produce some monstrous outliers.
Since neither side was ideal, the only path left was neutrality.
Zhou Tianming thought of the Junk Guild, which was quite active in the side stories. Despite its unimpressive name, it was a den of hidden talents.
In the future, he could acquire his own ship and a Gundam, giving him flexibility to attack or defend as needed.
Allying with the Junk Guild would also legitimize maintaining ties with both sides—Siegel was in PLANT, and he could try reaching out to East Asia on Earth when the time came.
The more he thought about it, the more promising it seemed.
Decision made: start as a Junk Guild member and develop from there.
Though the early stages wouldn't be as advantageous as joining a major faction directly, it offered far more freedom.
However, the thought of Gundams not being officially developed until CE 70—and only by the Atlantic Federation and Orb—made Zhou Tianming frown.
But then it occurred to him—as an Ultimate Coordinator, why not design his own Gundam? His junk dealer identity would be perfect for gathering materials. If he couldn't build one in fifteen years, he might as well call it quits.
The more Zhou Tianming thought about the chance to handcraft his own Gundam, the more excited he became, and he quickly made up his mind.
With the general direction decided, Zhou Tianming opened his eyes and instinctively tried to Sense Zhou Hanxiang's condition, only to find that strange perception from before had vanished.
Sitting up from the bed, he focused inward and checked—Mental Power: 150.
So that sensation only occurs when Mental Power exceeds 200?
Suddenly, Zhou Tianming realized something. After careful calculation, he noticed that the Mental Power he gained from Ogsha was unexpectedly low.
For the same [Trust] effect, Ogsha provided 30 less than Zhou Hanxiang.
Working backward, Zhou Hanxiang's total Mental Power was a staggering 275, while Ogsha's was only 154.
Zhou Tianming was inwardly astonished. Zhou Hanxiang's mention of a miraculous sixth sense was undoubtedly the effect of Mental Power surpassing 200.
With such high Mental Power, could she be a Newtype?
Do Newtypes even exist in the SEED universe?
As he pondered, a name suddenly flashed in his mind—Al-Da-Flaga.
Thinking about it, Zhou Hanxiang being a Newtype wasn't all that surprising. Going from 0 to 1 was the real shock; going from 1 to 2 was just incremental.
Besides, even if Zhou Hanxiang was a Newtype, it wouldn't make much difference now. With no mobile suits around and her not being a soldier, at most she'd just be driving vehicles.
The thought of Zhou Hanxiang behind the wheel with electric currents flashing across her forehead almost made him laugh.
Shaking his head to dismiss the image, Zhou Tianming turned his attention back to the issue of Mental Power—it directly affected whether he could use [Mental Commands] regularly.
[Trust] already had the lowest activation requirements, but triggering it still required mutual trust.
[Friendship] and [Love] were even more demanding. Though their conditions seemed straightforward, in reality, they relied entirely on feeling. Sometimes even he couldn't be sure of his own emotions.
After much deliberation, the only solution Zhou Tianming could think of was to become a reliable person, so others would naturally place their trust in him.
Conveniently, as a junk dealer, he'd also need to build his reputation—killing two birds with one stone.