"Just what is this Homeworld you mentioned?"
In the corridor outside the bridge of the Archangel, Li Chengzhi found himself asking the question, perhaps because facing someone directly made silence feel unnatural.
Who could blame him? The person standing before him was Wang Hu—his good friend Wang Hu!
"It's the final proof left behind by the super-civilization, evidence that such a civilization once existed in this world."
Wang Hu understood perfectly well what kind of torment these past few days had been for Li Chengzhi. Though he claimed to be a fusion of Wang Hu from two different worlds, how could anyone believe such a fantastical story?
This was precisely why he hadn't revealed his origins to the higher-ups from the beginning. After all, what if he were a treacherous spy with malicious intentions? What if he gained their trust through a series of victories, only to betray them at the critical moment and lead the entire nation to ruin?
By then, regret would be useless—everything would be too late.
"Hmm." Staring at his friend's face, Li Chengzhi pressed on. "Earlier, you told me that the purpose of Homeworld sending you to this world was to collect the souls of exceptional individuals, then resurrect them aboard Homeworld."
"By injecting the harvested souls into cloned bodies, they become new members of Homeworld, ultimately working to revive that super-civilization itself. Correct?"
"Yes." Wang Hu was completely forthright. Since everything was out in the open, there was no point in hiding anything now.
"One question—how can you guarantee that these so-called 'souls' aren't just fabrications created by Homeworld itself?"
The question Li Chengzhi posed was the very core of what he had been contemplating these past few days.
Reading between the lines, how could Wang Hu not grasp the true implication of Li Chengzhi's inquiry? If this aspect turned out to be false, did it not also imply that this world itself might be an illusion?
In the old era, there was a film called The Matrix. Those who had seen it knew that all the people in it were little more than lines of code in a computer. Whether it was the protagonist or other humans, they appeared to have physical bodies—but who could say for certain whether the world those bodies inhabited was merely another layer of illusion fabricated by the Matrix?
Human power generation? It defied reality.
By extension, if Homeworld represented the ultimate culmination of super-civilization technology—capable of cloning bodies and infusing them with souls—why couldn't it simply create humans outright?
With the power to send someone into another world, why go through all these extra steps? It didn't make logical sense!
"I don't know." Faced with this question, Wang Hu shook his head plainly. "Questions that philosophical are beyond my ability to answer."
"Heh." Li Chengzhi let out a cold laugh. "If you can't even convince me, I suggest you abandon any plans of coming clean to the higher-ups."
"Considering you're still using my friend Wang Hu's body and carry all his memories in your mind, I'll keep your secret for now."
"But from here on out, I'll be watching your every move closely. If I detect even the slightest hint of anything amiss—" Li Chengzhi stepped forward, locking eyes with Wang Hu. "—I'll kill you with my own hands."
"I need someone to vouch for me." Wang Hu had also considered the problem his friend had pondered.
Without any concrete evidence, rashly going to the higher-ups to lay all his cards on the table would either get him labeled as a madman or placed under house arrest.
Even if he provided the future trajectory from his memories, he would undoubtedly lose his freedom completely before the upper echelons could verify it.
No matter how many meritorious deeds he had accomplished, this was a necessary procedural justice.
But he didn't want to become a caged monkey under observation, even if it was a place spacious enough for him to do as he pleased.
And even if the future were verified, he would still be guarded against, openly or covertly, because of that damned procedural justice.
"Impossible." Li Chengzhi coldly refused. "Don't be naive. Even if my father stepped forward to vouch for you, it would be useless. Even if the Prime Minister himself vouched for you, it would be the same."
"For the sake of the entire nation and its citizens, no one in the know would trust you."
"No chance at all?" With a faint smile, Wang Hu looked directly into his friend's eyes.
"None." This time, the reply was slightly hesitant. Li Chengzhi stared at Wang Hu, thinking that if only he could produce even a shred of solid evidence, it would be easier to discuss.
But he had nothing—just empty words. Who would believe him? Who would dare to believe him?
"Behind the Yakin Due Fortress on PLANT, they are building a super Gamma Ray Beam Cannon called Genesis."
"The ZAFT Forces are also secretly planning a decapitation strike against the Allied Forces' Earth Alaska Command."
"Can we at least report these two pieces of information and see how the higher-ups react?"
Wang Hu compromised, stepping back from his initial demand.
His expression grew more serious. Li Chengzhi didn't care much about the decapitation of the Alaska Command.
He even found ZAFT's strategic intentions amusing. Did the Coordinators really think that capturing that place, which held no practical value, would make the East Asian Alliance or the entire Allied Forces surrender?
Although the Alaska Command was nominally the central hub of the Allied Forces, none of the three factions' actual power cores were located there.
Whether Alaska fell or not would hardly affect any of the major factions.
What kind of brain-damaged fool would come up with such a ridiculous strategy?
"The Atlantic Federation Army already knows ZAFT's attack target. They plan to use it as an opportunity to wipe out all of the Coordinators' mobile forces in one fell swoop."
"And to achieve this plan, our East Asian Alliance and the Eurasian forces will be used as cannon fodder."
Seeing Li Chengzhi's ambiguous attitude, Wang Hu added.
"For the East Asian Alliance to seize hegemony, or even just to undermine the Atlantic Federation's prestige, the Alaska Campaign is an opportunity."
"As for Genesis, it's an even more critical issue to focus on. Otherwise, the East Asian Army will suffer greatly."
"I see." At this point, Li Chengzhi seemed to have found a reasonable explanation.
"So the Homeworld and all that are fake? You can't explain the source of your intelligence, but there's no need to fabricate such a far-fetched excuse, right?"
Wang Hu's eyelid twitched. He never expected his friend to come up with such an excuse to absolve him.
"It's real, truer than gold." He earnestly reaffirmed.
"Stop talking nonsense." Li Chengzhi admonished him.
"Go do what you need to do. I'll relay the two pieces of intelligence you provided to my superiors."
"There's nothing more I can do for you."
After speaking, Li Chengzhi floated past Wang Hu toward the ship's rest area. Ahead lay the troubles brought by his friend, behind lingered the exhaustion from his bridge duty.
What he needed was rest, not to rack his brains over problems.
But upon returning to his room and sitting on his neatly made bed, he found how difficult it was to actually stop thinking.
After all, Wang Hu was his close friend - how could Li Chengzhi possibly not worry about him?
"Enough." After wrestling with his thoughts for a long while, Li Chengzhi floated out of his room and made his way to the hangar.
"Ah, Captain Li Chengzhi, where are you heading?" A maintenance crew member in the hangar watched curiously as Li Chengzhi entered a shuttle craft.
"Just paying a visit to the neighboring battleship."
Without even bothering to come up with a proper excuse, Li Chengzhi piloted the shuttle toward his destination - the battered Drake-class Frigate of the East Asian Army among the vanguard fleet.
On that ship, Li Chengzhi intended to try contacting his father, to report both Wang Hu's situation and the intelligence Wang Hu had provided. Then he would make every effort to convince his father that Wang Hu remained loyal.
Just as Li Chengzhi boarded the shuttle and headed toward the East Asian Army's Drake-class warship, Wang Hu on the bridge noticed his movement via radar.
"Heh, harsh words but a soft heart." A happy smile spread across Wang Hu's face. All he needed to do now was wait patiently for the higher-ups' decision. Having someone in a position of power vouch for him would surely go much smoother than approaching them directly.
Li Chengzhi remained on the East Asian Army's Drake-class Frigate until the Archangel and the vanguard fleet rendezvoused with the Eighth Fleet. Only then did he reappear before the Archangel's crew, behaving as usual without saying much.
His relationship with Wang Hu seemed to have returned to how it was before Wang Hu revealed the information about the Homeworld.
"Here you are?" Wang Hu smiled as he asked Li Chengzhi standing beside him.
They were currently in the Archangel's hangar, lined up to welcome the commander of the Allied Forces' Eighth Fleet - Admiral Halberton - who was coming to inspect his brainchild.
"Zhang Hong and the others have left." Glancing at his friend beside him, Li Chengzhi answered in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"I arranged for them to return to the L4 Colony Satellite as soon as possible. Staying here would make them easy cannon fodder."
"Actually, we should leave too. But after hearing your predictions about the future, I think we should observe a bit longer."
"Observe?" Wang Hu kept his eyes forward, his voice equally quiet. "Haven't you seen Kira's potential? Want to make another trip to the Black Land to meet Mr. Tiger?"
"Could be arranged." Li Chengzhi's lips moved slightly. "Before the war, we provided substantial aid to the Black Land."
"What was originally the Eurasian Federation's backyard has, through our persistent efforts, developed significant East Asian Army influence there."
"According to what you said, there's still time before our East Asian Army needs to make its move. Since that's the case, why not take advantage of this ship's opportunities?"
"Taking advantage of this excellent strategic stalemate, we should place a few idle pieces there in advance to prepare for our future return to the Black Land."
"Otherwise, giving such a huge favor to the Atlantic Federation would be utterly foolish."
"You really are someone who plucks feathers from a passing goose, unwilling to leave any benefits for others." Wang Hu also felt that Li Chengzhi made a great deal of sense.
Cagalli herself was unimportant, but the goodwill of that so-called liberation organization she belonged to couldn't just be handed over for free to the mud-like Atlantic Federation.
If the East Asian Alliance were to handle this, by the time the First War ended, it would be about time for the Black Land to change its master!
(End of Chapter)