Cagalli's silent departure eased the tension in the entire scene once again.
Though no one understood why that girl had suddenly rushed out and then abruptly left.
Whatever her intention was, at least she didn't complicate matters further—which was good enough.
From this perspective alone, it seemed the girl had matured a little?
Wang Hu gazed thoughtfully at Cagalli's retreating figure, pondering this.
Seeing this, Ashman quickly took the opportunity to guide the Archangel, which had just reached a preliminary agreement, toward his base.
Firstly, the Archangel was indeed a prized asset now; it was best to secure this ship under his control before other opportunistic Green Teas could swoop in and steal it.
Secondly, it was to avoid Mister Tiger, who for some reason had remained inactive for so long, suddenly making a move and catching everyone off guard.
Even with preparations and traps set, it was still preferable not to confront Mister Tiger head-on at this moment.
Thus, after returning to Ashman's North African Liberation Front base and concealing the Archangel in a canyon,
while the non-combat personnel from the Archangel strolled through the rebel base in the desert with the leisurely idea of experiencing the local customs of a foreign land,
Murrue and the others immediately threw themselves into new tasks. With the help of the local insiders, they, who had been cut off from the world for a long time,
finally gained an additional channel to receive external information.
"Take a look at this." Li Chengzhi walked over to Wang Hu, holding a newspaper in his hand.
"A newspaper?" Wang Hu glanced at the item in his friend's hand. "Today's?"
"No, it's from a few days ago."
Noticing that Murrue and the others had gathered around upon seeing him bring a newspaper,
Li Chengzhi spread the newspaper out on the table.
"It has news about the Eighth Fleet."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Murrue and the others, who were concerned about their former affiliation, grew even more interested.
For a moment, they all bent their heads, focusing intently on the crudely printed newspaper
as if gazing at some rare beauty.
"Tell me about it." Since Li Chengzhi had brought the newspaper, Wang Hu saw no need to compete with Murrue and the others for it.
It was simpler to just ask Li Chengzhi, trusting that he could relay the information from the newspaper more efficiently.
Glancing at Wang Hu, Li Chengzhi began,
"Both the Allied Forces and ZAFT have issued victory declarations regarding the near-Earth orbit battle."
"The Atlantic Federation directly compared the Eighth Fleet's actions to the historical Dunkirk Great Retreat."
"They claimed that, under the overwhelming pressure of the Coordinator forces and in an extremely unfavorable situation, they preserved the Allied Forces' combat strength, laying a solid foundation for the upcoming counteroffensive."
"Oh, and about you supposedly killing Creuset? The Atlantic Federation Army's propaganda department has repeatedly cited this as evidence of their victory."
"Though they didn't explicitly name you as the one who killed him—seemingly using some ambiguous wording—the entire article praises the loyalty and bravery of the Blue Cosmos warriors who covered the retreat."
"Oh." Wang Hu could somewhat understand the Atlantic Federation's shameless approach.
After all, they hadn't outright claimed Creuset's achievements as their own, had they?
"What about Halberton?" he then asked about the admiral who had somewhat defected, with one foot already planted on the East Asian Army's side.
"I thought you'd ask about PLANT's propaganda first?" Li Chengzhi raised an eyebrow in surprise.
"What else could PLANT possibly say?" Wang Hu said with a laugh.
"Nothing more than how the Allied Forces, faced with ZAFT Forces' unstoppable military might, had no choice but to abandon all their equipment and weapons in panic."
"Without firing a single shot, they fled back to the Gravity Well like frightened sheep, hiding on beautiful Earth while barking fiercely but cowardly at the Coordinators."
"Pretty much," Li Chengzhi nodded in agreement.
"But the Coordinators refuse to acknowledge the news of Creuset's death, claiming that Creuset, who led the frontline operations for so long, has been assigned a more important mission."
"And what exactly that mission is will become clear to the public when the Coordinators achieve even greater victories."
Wang Hu made a throat-slitting gesture and looked questioningly at Li Chengzhi.
"Not sure," Li Chengzhi rolled his eyes.
"You don't actually think ZAFT Forces would openly announce their plans, do you?"
"Even if they did say something, you wouldn't find it in this kind of newspaper."
"So what about Halberton?"
Not really expecting the Coordinators to be that stupid anyway, Wang Hu continued asking about Halberton.
"How could they do this!" Before Li Chengzhi could respond, Murrue, who was reading the newspaper, suddenly slammed the table.
"What's wrong?" Wang Hu's attention shifted to her.
"Admiral Halberton has been sidelined!"
Her chest heaving with anger, Murrue pointed angrily at a small footnote in the newspaper.
She even glared somewhat unfriendly at Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi.
"Hmm?" Wang Hu still didn't look at the newspaper, instead glancing at his friend for explanation.
"According to the propaganda, Halberton has been given the important task of reorganizing the Eighth Fleet by the Atlantic Federation."
"A promotion in name but demotion in reality?" Wang Hu immediately guessed what was happening when things didn't go as expected.
"Exactly," Li Chengzhi said with a hint of sarcasm. "Reorganizing the Eighth Fleet at the Allied Forces headquarters in Alaska."The Eighth Fleet of the Galactic Army being reorganized within the Gravity Well - isn't the Atlantic Federation's intention clear enough?"
"Heh heh heh."
Wang Hu responded with a cold laugh. Murrue and the others were still angry about the Atlantic Federation leadership sidelining Admiral Halberton.
But Wang Hu, who knew what would happen in the future, and Li Chengzhi, who had heard about the future from Wang Hu -
Both of them could already foresee what might happen next.
"They've improved," Wang Hu said meaningfully.
"Indeed they have," Li Chengzhi added, understanding what his friend meant.
"What improvement?" Murrue's chest was still heaving as she asked in confusion.
"Well, who knows?" Wang Hu didn't want to explain it to Murrue, nor was he willing to.
It was nothing more than the Atlantic Federation's higher-ups wanting to send up Halberton—the leader of the rational faction within the Alaska generals and also the biggest opposition—along with those Coordinators.
Naturally, Murrue was greatly dissatisfied with the attitude Wang Hu displayed. Her intuition told her that the man before her definitely knew something.
She took two steps forward, her prominent "headlights" pressing against Wang Hu's chest, just as she was about to press him for answers.
"Wang Hu, are you there? Come out for a moment!" A blonde girl in a tank top barged in.
Pulling aside the tent flap of the tent assigned to Wang Hu and the others by Ashman, Cagalli instantly blushed.
Unconsciously placing her hands on her flat yet firm vest, the girl stared with twitching eyelids at Murrue, whose impressive figure couldn't be concealed even by her military uniform, and at Wang Hu, who was standing face-to-face with Murrue at close range.
"Oh, it's you, Cagalli."
Turning his head, Wang Hu looked at the girl whose face was as red as an apple.
"And who is this little girl?"
Murrue, perhaps because an outsider had interrupted, also realized that her current posture with Wang Hu wasn't very appropriate.
Quickly taking two steps back, the beautiful captain tried to change the subject.
"That bastard Wang Hu, truly scum!"
Without answering either of their questions, an angry Cagalli turned and stormed off.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
Seeing this, Wang Hu lifted the tent flap and chased after her. Before leaving, he didn't forget to grab an envelope containing something from the box of supplies in the tent.
"Which two people?"
Murrue instantly forgot the question she had wanted to ask Wang Hu. With a curious gaze, she exchanged a look with Mu, who was standing in the background.
Then both Murrue and Mu stared straight at Li Chengzhi.
It had been clear from the moment they made contact with Ashman that Wang Hu and this girl knew each other!
So... what was their relationship?
"I don't know, I don't understand, I don't care."
Facing their stares, Li Chengzhi directly denied everything three times in a row.
"Is that so?" Seeing that Li Chengzhi wasn't even willing to answer such a simple question, Murrue turned and walked out, saying as she went, "I'm going to find Natarle Badgiruel and inform her of Wang Hu's improper personal conduct. I wonder, though, what about the personal conduct of Captain Li Chengzhi, as Wang Hu's good friend?"
"Wait." Hearing Murrue's words, Li Chengzhi seemed to have his judgment clouded.
He suddenly shouted loudly, not wanting Murrue to go to Natarle Badgiruel and say unnecessary things.
"It was when we went to Heliopolis to receive the Archangel..."
Speaking to Murrue, who looked as pleased as a weasel that had stolen a chicken, Li Chengzhi briefly explained while omitting Cagalli's identity.
"Oh, I see.Murrue nodded repeatedly, then suddenly asked, "Is Admiral Halberton's situation still alright?""
"It's fine." A flicker of light passed through his eyes—how could Li Chengzhi fall for such a trick? His seemingly subconscious reply also kept Murrue from pressing further.
While Li Chengzhi was fobbing off Murrue, Wang Hu was chasing after Cagalli's figure, weaving through the Desert Dawn base.
"Is that Brother Wang Hu?"
Coincidentally, this scene was witnessed by Kira, who was taking a stroll with Flay.
"Wang Hu?"
Hearing this, Flay, who had been bending down to play with children to show her approachability, lifted her head.
Watching the fleeting figure of the golden-haired girl and Wang Hu chasing after her, Flay's eyes shifted thoughtfully before she decisively declared,
"Kira, let's follow them."
"Is that a good idea, Flay?" Kira was reluctant, mainly because he had finally managed to get some alone time with the girl he admired.
Besides, that was his respected elder brother Wang Hu. Was it really appropriate to eavesdrop on him like this?
What if Wang Hu discovered them?
No—he would definitely be discovered. How would he explain it to Wang Hu then? And would Wang Hu be angry?
But Flay, Kira's goddess, paid no attention to his worries. She was deeply curious about Wang Hu's private life.
Moreover, since she couldn't directly influence Wang Hu, wouldn't it be beneficial to have someone close to him whisper in his ear?
The only uncertainty was whether that wild-looking golden-haired girl was really Wang Hu's type.
Meanwhile, in the ZAFT Forces garrison town on this land...
"Captain Balthلد."
Martin hurriedly pushed open the door to his superior's office and addressed Mister Tiger, who was savoring the aroma of a cup of coffee.
"The Archangel has teamed up with an organization called Desert Dawn."
"Desert Dawn?"
(End of Chapter)