As a participant in war, does winning bring happiness?
Does being on the victorious side bring joy?
The answer is, of course, yes. No one who fights in a war wants to be the loser.
But there is one thing that remains the same for both victors and the defeated.
Sacrifice.
As long as war requires human participation, no matter what identity you hold afterward, you must go through the process of sacrifice.
This is Nova Resource Satellite. This is space.
And in space, there is no rain—yet rain can still fall.
After returning to the Kangji-class Drake Frigate, Wang Hu stepped out of GINN's cockpit and hadn't smiled since.
Even as the battlefield was cleared and all surviving soldiers returned to base, his icy expression never softened.
He wasn't the only one. Many warriors who were fortunate enough to set foot on the metal floors of the base felt the same.
"We couldn't locate Captain Yang Wei's signal. The rescue team went to the last known coordinates, but there was nothing there except debris," Li Chengzhi said hoarsely, approaching Wang Hu, whose mood was already heavy.
"Our unit suffered thirty percent losses. Same outcome."
"Understood." Wang Hu's reply was cold and detached. He had already anticipated this result during the return voyage.
Unlike battles within a gravity well, space...
What a merciless word. Here, the destruction of a machine means the death of its pilot—with no remains left behind.
In the vacuum of space, the pressure within a human body causes it to burst like a rotten watermelon in an instant.
The space suits worn by soldiers are a joke in such conditions. The dangers of the battlefield are far too numerous, each capable of claiming lives in an instant.
"Given your achievements in this battle, command will most likely assign you to lead a new elite Mobius Squadron," Li Chengzhi said, studying Wang Hu's expression and deliberately steering the conversation toward something more positive.
"Or they might transfer you to the rear as a dedicated instructor to train more skilled pilots."
"I won't leave the frontlines," Wang Hu shook his head. "From the moment I boarded GINN, I knew my personal skills and experience couldn't be easily replicated across the entire force."
"Spatial awareness and exceptional reflexes—those are the foundations of my success. Without them, there are plenty of training officers in the rear who are far better at instructing recruits than I am."
"Understood." Li Chengzhi showed no surprise; Wang Hu's answer was exactly what he had expected.
"Thinking of switching to full-time GINN piloting?" he asked.
"Yes." Wang Hu met his friend's gaze. "Our fleet isn't short on warship commanders. But given the current state of the war, a skilled fighter pilot can be just as decisive as a ship captain."
"Compared to the Coordinators, isn't our weakness in space combat fighters? So, how about it? Want to be my deputy squadron leader?"
"I'll put in the request."
Li Chengzhi agreed readily. The proposal sounded good to him.
He shared the same sentiment. Though both of them specialized in starship command, their fighter piloting scores were equally impressive.
After surviving this great war, anyone who made it through could rightfully be called an elite veteran.
"By the way."
The conversation seemed about to conclude here. After all, everyone felt exhausted after such a war.
But just as Li Chengzhi was preparing to take his leave, Wang Hu suddenly called out to stop him.
"Have you heard about Admiral Hal Barton's G Project from the Eighth Fleet of the Allied Forces?"
"Hmm?" Li Chengzhi whipped his head around sharply, his piercing gaze fixed on Wang Hu despite having been ready to depart.
"How do you know about that?"
Wang Hu chuckled lightly and raised an eyebrow. "Don't forget I'm the top student in our class. Is it really so strange that I'd hear some rumors from our professors?"
"Our academy is the most prestigious, after all. Many of our senior professors have students everywhere."
Li Chengzhi's eyes flickered at this. Given Wang Hu's background, he really shouldn't have known anything about the G Project.
Yet Wang Hu's explanation made sense. And that so-called "Strategist Admiral" Hal Barton's proposal...
If his own faction hadn't been quite interested and shown support during the military equipment conference, that mere Eighth Fleet admiral would have found it extremely difficult to get approval from those bureaucrats.
Especially with the excuse of "maintaining secrecy" by conducting research and production in a neutral nation.
Heh. Did anyone truly believe choosing a neutral country for development was about winning over that small nation?
The truth behind the scenes was far darker than the official story!
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Li Chengzhi turned back fully, staring directly into Wang Hu's eyes.
"The Allied Forces' achievements... surely we can get a share too?" Wang Hu raised his hand in a mock toast, grinning mischievously.
"I don't know the details of the plan, but I'll ask my father about it."
Li Chengzhi didn't give an immediate answer, considering his response carefully.
"But it's dangerous over there. From what I know, multiple factions are involved in this."
"The internal power struggles are more perilous than open battlefield combat."
"I understand." Wang Hu nodded knowingly—his mind was sharp indeed.
Maybe when watching anime before, he could just mindlessly enjoy the show.
But in this real world, with his core knowledge and this body's excellent hardware and software...
It was obvious. The small nation of Orb developing new weapons for the Allied Forces?
Who would entrust such powerful weapons to a non-ally?
The real intentions were...
Though man proposes, God disposes. They ended up losing an entire Colony Satellite.
That so-called "Lion" actually managed to suppress massive criticism and swallow this bitter pill.
And later, the Strike Gundam didn't officially return to Allied Forces hands until reaching Alaska Base.
If the Allied Forces only started producing Mobile Suits after obtaining that data...
They would have been far too late.
"The Allied Forces are making big moves, truly willing to invest heavily."
Watching Li Chengzhi leave, Wang Hu considered another possibility.
"Creuset is really formidable too—just two warships managed to suppress Orb's Colony Satellite garrison."
"Or perhaps Orb never expected someone as unscrupulous as Creuset to come knocking."
"All these schemes and calculations, aren't these so-called higher-ups tired of it?"
Wang Hu vented his admiration for those truly cunning higher-ups on the spot.
After getting his bearings, Wang Hu, who had fought hard for nearly a full day, leisurely walked toward his residence in the base at a comfortable pace.
He was tired and wanted to get some proper rest.
Moreover, this battle hadn't just brought him the obvious military merits as rewards.
"Where is this? I should be dead!"
Captain Yang Wei, who had been declared a battlefield casualty, suddenly opened his eyes.
According to his last memory of seeing a stray bullet tear through his fighter jet, he should have had no chance of survival whatsoever.
Feeling his body all over while scanning the high-tech looking room, Captain Yang Wei's forehead was practically covered in big question marks.
"You're awake, Captain Yang Wei."
Perfectly timed with the door opening, Wang Hu's smiling face appeared in his field of vision.
"Wang Hu?" Staring at Wang Hu's face that seemed both familiar and unfamiliar, Captain Yang
Wei asked uncertainly, "Did you rescue me?"
"You could say that?" Wang Hu nodded with a smile. "Welcome to Homeland. This will be your new workplace from now on."
(End of Chapter)