Wang Hu looked at Li Chengzhi's dead-serious expression while he spouted something as unserious as mooching off his parents.
A flock of crows seemed to caw over his head, and the corner of his mouth twitched in a mix of amusement and exasperation.
The others, meanwhile, found the stark contrast between his expression and words inexplicably grating, leaving everyone present with a strange, teeth-aching discomfort.
Almost immediately, one soldier stepped forward with a forced smile, grabbing Li Chengzhi by the shoulder as he loudly proclaimed his plans to freeload.
"Come on, tell us exactly how you're gonna mooch off your folks, Young Master Li!" the soldier muttered under his breath.
"Don't forget about us teammates who share the same pot of rice if there's any benefit to be had."
"No." Li Chengzhi answered bluntly, showing no intention of softening his words.
"That thing should only be usable by Wang Hu."
"Including me, none of us have the strength to wield it properly."
The moment he said this, everyone turned their heads in surprise.
The title "Young Master Li" was obviously a joke, and compared to Wang Hu, who had just arrived,
Li Chengzhi had been fighting on the frontlines since the war began—what kind of man he was, everyone in this break room knew well.
So for him to say something like this…
"Could it be GINN, captured from the Coordinators? Or maybe an MS our side developed ourselves?" someone couldn't help but speculate.
As soldiers of East Asia, they prided themselves on their military's fine traditions.
If the Ministry of Defense suddenly unveiled a top-tier, fully domestically produced MS the next second…
Actually, thinking about it…
Wouldn't that be perfectly reasonable?
After all, the "golden eyes" of their homeland were already legendary.
"No." Li Chengzhi cut off everyone's wild guesses.
"I'll explain the details after I talk to my father."
After saying this, he gave Wang Hu a deep, somewhat unwilling look and added,
"I'll catch up to you soon."
Then he strode out of the break room, presumably to go communicate with the so-called "old man" he mentioned.
"Hey, Wang Hu, do you know who Li Chengzhi's 'old man' is?"
With the center of attention gone, the others couldn't resist their burning curiosity, and someone turned to Wang Hu with the question.
"I remember you two were in the same class, same year."
"No idea."
Wang Hu shook his head and tried to recall any background details about his friend.
Only then did he realize that, aside from knowing Li Chengzhi had always been chasing his shadow, he actually knew very little about him.
Oh, right—there was one subject Li Chengzhi was better at than him.
Could it be…?
His mind buzzed with possibilities as he speculated about his friend's background, feeling an inexplicable anticipation for whatever Li Chengzhi had mentioned.
Meanwhile, what had originally been a small-scale skirmish, thanks to Wang Hu's sudden rise,
quickly had its results delivered to the command centers of both warring factions.
And the reactions of the two commanding officers couldn't have been more different.
"Good, damn good!"
In the Nova Resource Satellite's command center, General Zheng, responsible for defending Nova and its surrounding space sectors, slammed his fist on the table.
Reading the combat report handed to him by his staff, his spirits soared.
Ever since the neighboring Atlantic Federation stubbornly insisted on disregarding our proposed peaceful resolution for PLANT and refused to coordinate differences through dialogue, adopting aggressive measures instead, he hadn't felt this happy in a long time despite the thorny global situation and battlefield conditions.
Although Wang Hu's victory seemed unlikely to significantly alter the overall situation—with Coordinators still holding the advantage in the current L4 space sector conflict—"A single spark can start a prairie fire. With one Wang Hu emerging, our forces will soon produce many more Wang Hus," General Zheng said to Chief of Staff Jiang, who stood beside him with a similar smile.
"Indeed," Jiang nodded in agreement. "Learning, absorbing, and improving—these are our military traditions. In the past, we crossed the river by feeling the stones."
"Later, when there were no more stones to feel, we developed our own methods. Judging by the results, our approach isn't half bad."
"Now, not only do we have stones to feel again, but we've also developed new methods of our own at home."
"After all, we're all human with one head on our shoulders. There's no reason the mighty East Asian Federation should be inferior to PLANT."
"True," General Zheng replied, taking a sip of tea from the cup on the nearby table. "In my opinion, we're all human beings—any issues could be resolved through dialogue."
"Our consistent stance has always been peace and harmony. The Atlantic Federation chose violence, then couldn't even win after starting it—utterly humiliating."
"General, there's no point discussing that now," Chief of Staff Jiang shook his head, his eyes fixed on the holographic battlefield display.
"From what I see, both the Atlantic Federation and PLANT are birds of a feather."
"It's a mutual attraction—only a thin layer of pretense separates them. If the Atlantic Federation hadn't struck first this time, PLANT would likely have found an excuse to act soon enough."
"The Neutron Jammer—a global-scale Neutron Jammer at that—couldn't have been prepared overnight."
"All those warships, Mobile Suits, and new combat tactics outside—they couldn't have just sprung from the rocks in a single night."
"Hmm." The mood grew heavier at this topic.
Rubbing his teacup, General Zheng studied the red and blue arrows representing their forces and the enemy's on the display. As a high-ranking member of humanity's leadership, his perspective and understanding differed from the general public confined by information bubbles.
This conflict was exactly as Chief of Staff Jiang described—nothing more than a dog-eat-dog struggle.
Much like the tax resistance wars on the Beacon Continent in ancient history.
Or like those who cried that the world owed them, only to replicate the very things they'd suffered onto others.
"None of them are any good," General Zheng cursed vehemently, slamming his cup down.
"They decide when to start the fight—we'll decide when it ends!"
"Has the Ministry of Defense and the Cabinet finalized their plans yet? If we're going to fight, we'll fight big—go all out!"
"We'll hit them where it hurts, strike them so hard they'll never dare look us in the eye again! We'll fight for a century of peace!"
"The fight is inevitable. We don't have a tradition of hiding indoors while others invade our courtyard," Chief of Staff Jiang said, quickly soothing his old comrade who was genuinely worked up.
"But you must also understand the dire situation within Earth's sphere. The crisis began on April 1st, April Fool's Day."
"People at all levels are overwhelmed, and social unrest caused by energy shortages has swept through everyone."
"To ensure normal life for our citizens, the cabinet elders have mobilized all available resources. Even military forces are stretched thin!"
Hearing this, General Zheng fell silent. Resisting enemies and disaster relief were the fundamental duties of their unit.
Wherever there was suffering, their presence would be found.
The safety and well-being of the people were the absolute priority—nothing else came close.
This was also the fundamental reason why ZAFT went to great lengths to regularly send warships around the Nova Resource Satellite to patrol the Colony Satellite.
A threat, plain and simple.
Like the actions of kidnappers.
"I understand," General Zheng said, waving his hand as if lost in thought.
"Isn't it ironic? The two sides instigating the war have ample military strength, while peacekeepers like us are left patching holes wherever we can."
"General..." Chief of Staff Jiang hesitated, then sighed heavily. "Let's just ask our soldiers to endure a little longer. Haven't we already decided to stand or fall with this place?"
Just as General Zheng was about to respond, a communications soldier nearby suddenly stood up urgently.
"Message from the Ministry of Defense! Message from the Ministry of Defense!"
(End of Chapter)