The next day, Yang Hui woke up refreshed. He carefully slipped out of bed without disturbing his two beloved wives' sweet dreams, gently tucked them in, took a shower, and headed to Dawn Company in high spirits.
"Oh? Seems you had a good rest last night." Lyle teased Yang Hui upon seeing his radiant expression.
"Naturally. After working so hard all this time, I deserve a proper break, don't I?" Yang Hui quipped back.
"Of course you do. Though poor Ms. Huang and Wang Liu Mei must have suffered. Tsk tsk, you really don't know how to cherish delicate beauties."
"Haha, wait till you get a girlfriend... no, even if you had one, you'd never experience my level of accomplishment!"
"Get lost!"
"Hahaha."
"Enough fooling around. Today's training has already begun." Tieria coldly interrupted the banter between Yang Hui and Lyle.
"Tch, you're just jealous!"
"Yeah, icy-faced debt collector."Tieria: (╬ಠ益ಠ)
"Ahem, joking aside." Seeing Tieria about to explode, Yang Hui and Lyle subtly high-fived before quickly composing themselves. "Any promising candidates?"
"Mayura Labatt, Juri Wu Nien, Asagi Caldwell, Barry Ho..."
"Hmm? Barry Ho?"
This was a pleasant surprise, making Yang Hui ignore the remaining names.
Barry Ho, Orb's ace pilot, was a martial arts master renowned for incorporating martial techniques into MS piloting, earning him the moniker "Fist God."
Though Yang Hui knew Barry Ho was from Orb and the only named ace pilot in Orb's native forces, he was a character who only appeared in side stories. Beyond his name, Yang Hui had limited detailed information.
Forming an Ace MS Squad had been Yang Hui's strategy from the start, well aware of how crucial elite units could be in war.
Thus, Yang Hui had been searching for Barry Ho early on. Surprisingly, Barry Ho wasn't famous—he merely ran a small martial arts dojo in Orb with few students. Despite Yang Hui's generous offers to join Orb's military, Barry Ho had declined.
"I'm just a martial artist with some basic skills, unfit for such responsibility."
Yang Hui recognized this as an excuse—Barry Ho not only taught martial arts but also adopted several orphans. His refusal stemmed from not wanting to abandon these children.
At the time, Yang Hui didn't press the matter, confident Barry Ho would step forward when Orb faced true crisis. He even secretly funded Barry Ho to support the orphans.
Unexpectedly, Barry Ho was now among the MS training corps.
"Yes, I only noticed him recently while reviewing everyone's performance," Tieria confirmed.
"I see... Where is he now?"
"Unit 152."
"Pull up his real-time training data."
Turning to look at the large screen, Yang Hui carefully observed Barry Ho's basic training. As expected of an ace pilot known as the "Fist God"—his fundamentals were meticulous and flawless.
"Setsuna, test him in combat using the M1 Astray data."
"Understood."
Setsuna never questioned why. If Yang Hui ordered it, he would carry it out.
...
"Phew... 328th routine training session, complete." Sitting in the cockpit, Barry Ho exhaled deeply, his eyes sharp. Most trainees would be drenched in sweat after completing their daily basic training, but Barry Ho not only held himself to strict standards—his training volume was three times the norm—he didn't even break a sweat afterward.
"Next up is... Hm?"
Just as he was about to begin his self-directed training, Barry Ho suddenly received a duel request, which surprised him.
It was still morning—the time allocated for basic training. Combat matches weren't permitted at this hour, even if someone had already exceeded their training quota. Only in the afternoon, after completing various combat drills like team battles, positional warfare, and individual duels, were trainees allowed to freely challenge each other.
Barry Ho didn't believe any trainee would dare defy the instructors' rules—there had been clear examples of punishment for violations before. The only person who would risk punishment to send him a duel request now had to be an instructor.
Accepting the request, an identical M1 Astray appeared before Barry Ho. Unlike the standard models, this one wasn't equipped with a Beam Rifle or shield—instead, it wielded two Solid Swords.
"Setsuna F Seiei." Barry Ho's gaze sharpened. The three instructors each had distinct specialties: Setsuna excelled in close combat, Lyle in mobile shooting and sniping, and Tieria in heavy bombardment.
"Are you ready?" The next moment, Setsuna's voice came through the comms.
"May I ask, Instructor Setsuna, why you're challenging me? I don't believe I stand a chance against you."
"Yang Hui's orders."
"Young Master Yang Hui?"
"Correct. Give it your all. Are you ready?"
"...Ready whenever."
With that response, Barry Ho's demeanor shifted. No longer just an ordinary trainee, the aura of a martial arts master erupted from him in an instant.
Then, to Setsuna's surprise, Barry Ho's M1 Astray also discarded its Beam Rifle and shield. The right hand extended forward in an open palm, while the left clenched into a fist and drew back to the waist.
"Fist God..."
Muttering softly, Setsuna's M1 charged straight ahead, closing the distance in the blink of an eye. The right sword thrust forward, while the left swept low—one aimed for the head, the other for the waist.
Faced with this lightning-fast dual slash, Barry Ho showed no panic. His right palm swept sideways, gently deflecting the wrist holding the right sword and diverting its trajectory so it barely grazed past his head. Meanwhile, his left hand formed a claw, precisely seizing the wrist of the left sword and pulling it toward himself with borrowed momentum.
Retracting his right palm swiftly, Barry Ho adjusted his stance in an instant. Then, the right shoulder of his M1 unleashed tremendous force, slamming into the chest of Setsuna's unit.
"Boom—!"
The tremendous force sent Setsuna's Mobile Suit flying backward, crashing to the ground with its chest armor deformed from the impact.
Naturally, Barry Ho's Mobile Suit also suffered damage—its right shoulder armor and even the underlying frame were warped, crackling with arcs of electricity and sparks. The entire right arm hung limp.
"Is the Mobile Suit giving out?" Barry Ho's cockpit flashed with warning red lights, the right shoulder section now marked in dangerous crimson. Though the right arm was only flagged yellow, its systems had gone offline. "But I can still fight."
Without the right arm, there was still the left. As a martial arts master, having chosen to engage, he wouldn't abandon the fight until the very end.
Meanwhile, Setsuna's Mobile Suit stood back up, gripping its twin swords tightly as it charged at Barry Ho's machine at high speed.
...
Outside the arena, not only Lyle and Tieria but even Yang Hui was stunned. Barry Ho had truly demonstrated what it meant to overcome strength with skill.
"Based on all previous training data, Barry Ho is at best a C+ pilot," Tieria reported.
"It's martial arts—he's actually applied those techniques to MS combat!" Lyle exclaimed in amazement.
"Exactly. Martial arts has many examples of the weak overcoming the strong. Setsuna wasn't careless; he just had never faced an opponent like this before, so he was caught off guard. But Barry Ho is indeed a genius to integrate his martial arts into MS combat," Yang Hui mused, stroking his chin. On the screen, Setsuna and Barry Ho clashed again. With the first encounter as experience and Barry Ho's machine missing an arm, Setsuna's fierce assault had him on the defensive almost the entire time. The outcome would soon be decided.
"You're right, Yang Hui. Rank isn't everything, but his combat style isn't suited for the battlefield," Tieria assessed seriously.
"True. His approach is best for one-on-one duels, with some potential for one-against-many—but only in close-quarters combat. Also..."
"The strain on the Mobile Suit is too great. Just that shoulder charge alone cost him an arm."
Hearing this, Yang Hui pulled up all the data from that shoulder charge. The staggering burst of force made him shake his head with a wry smile.
"There isn't a frame in this world that could handle his full capabilities."
Not just in the Gundam SEED world—even across the Gundam AGE and Gundam 00 universes, Yang Hui doubted any frame material could withstand the explosive power of Barry Ho's strike. Perhaps only in a super robot world could such a thing be found.
"Agreed. His skills make him more than qualified for an elite unit, but to unleash his full potential, we'd need to specially construct a new Mobile Suit."
"Is the Green Frame currently unassigned?" Yang Hui asked.
"No. We've been waiting for the right pilot."
"Assign it to him. It's the only suitable unit for now. I'll personally oversee the redesign of the Green Frame."
"Then it's decided."
The conversation among the three concluded, and the simulated battle between Setsuna and Barry Ho had also ended. The outcome was predictable—Setsuna's victory. Apart from the initial chest damage, the M1 Astray piloted by Setsuna had hardly sustained any injuries.
After the simulated battle, both Setsuna and Barry Ho exited their cockpits. Upon closer observation, one could see that Barry Ho was not only drenched in sweat but also breathing somewhat unevenly. In contrast, Setsuna's breathing remained steady, though beads of sweat dotted his forehead.
"Young Master Yang Hui," Barry Ho approached Yang Hui with a slight bow. Although Barry Ho was now a military officer, Yang Hui had not yet officially assumed any military position.
"Finally willing to join?" Yang Hui teased.
"...Because Orb needs me. Orb has given me and the children a peaceful life. When it faces danger, I have the ability to contribute my share of strength."
Hearing this, Yang Hui's playful expression vanished entirely.
As I said yesterday, don't be surprised—keep it low-key, hehe!
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