Knowing that Reid coveted something he possessed, Ribbons felt much more at ease. After sitting down opposite Reid, he said with a smile, "Mr. Reid, given the technological prowess your organization has displayed, I don't doubt your ability to mass-produce GN Drives quickly. However, your organization's technology isn't entirely self-developed, is it?"
Reid didn't refute this at all. During the last major battle in space, as long as the detection systems on the Ptolemy weren't damaged, they would have discovered that the power sources of the Mobile Suits from other worlds were identical to some of the Mobile Suits in Reid's forces.
So, Reid simply nodded. "Is that so strange? Our organization has members who carry the bloodlines of legendary creatures. Our predecessors have been entangled with these visitors from other worlds for thousands of years; we've learned more than a thing or two. However, the organization has strict rules. Certain things must never be leaked."
As Reid spoke, he directly materialized a gun from the system, catching it as it appeared out of thin air in front of Ribbons. He aimed it at Ribbons's head and said, "Now, explain to me why you issued an order to VEDA to hack into our Mobile Suits. And don't tell me Tieria acted on his own. I pulled some strings and did my homework before coming to you. Also, don't even think about uploading your data to VEDA and faking your death to escape. If I don't get a satisfactory answer, the information I just revealed to you is enough for me to invoke an emergency ordinance and physically eliminate you. I've already sent people to wait by VEDA's main computer on the moon. The instant I pull this trigger, VEDA will be destroyed by a Planet Destroyer Cannon. You should know, there are many Quasi-Innovators in this world. There are some things I don't necessarily need you for."
As Reid said this, his killing intent was palpable. Whether Ribbons could sense it or not, he unleashed the full force of his Newtype mental pressure.
Ribbons truly felt the mental oppression at that moment. It was a canonical fact that Quasi-Innovators were sensitive to brainwaves, and these brainwaves could be understood as a measure of one's mental strength. This was why the original Ribbons looked down on ordinary people; in his eyes, the brainwave intensity of a non-Innovator was like that of a child.
But now, the roles were reversed. Ribbons felt that he was the child in front of Reid, who was a two-meter-tall, heavily muscled giant, the kind who could lift him up like a chick.
The feeling was so overwhelming that Ribbons, terrified, instantly connected to VEDA. The support of its computational power made him feel slightly better. However, after VEDA ran its calculations, Ribbons discovered that VEDA judged the probability of Reid telling the truth to be over 60%.
This was actually quite normal. VEDA lacked sufficient data on Reid and his group, but based on the few recorded instances, if they didn't have mothership support, then Reid's team must possess some form of spatial teleportation technology. Reid's act of materializing a pistol out of thin air just now was solid proof of this. Compared to spatial teleportation, the ability to destroy VEDA's main computer with a single shot was, by contrast, less surprising.
Moreover, based on known intelligence, it was almost certain that Gundam Virtue was in Reid's hands. Through its connection system to VEDA, there was a 90% probability that Reid's side had already reverse-located the approximate position of VEDA's main computer.
The numerous smoke screens and half-truths Reid had previously deployed were now paying off. VEDA, fed with erroneous information, made an incorrect judgment, leading Ribbons to believe he was truly in a life-or-death situation.
Ribbons considered trying to snatch the gun and fight back, but VEDA's analysis, based on the fight between Hong Long and Xia Yufang, concluded that the unarmed Ribbons had a 99% chance of failure even in a two-on-one fight. Thus, Ribbons, who trusted VEDA's calculations implicitly, immediately abandoned the plan.
The remaining options—jumping out the window from a dozen floors up or trying to press his personal alarm—wouldn't solve the problem. Ribbons didn't dare to bet against VEDA's 60% probability that an unknown Planet Destroyer Cannon was aimed at its main computer. If VEDA was gone, there would be no point in him surviving.
Ribbons was filled with regret. Why hadn't he tried to move VEDA's main computer to the Celestial Being ship when the SDP first appeared? If VEDA's main computer were on the Celestial Being now, he would have dared to gamble that the enemy's firepower couldn't destroy the ship in a single blow. At the very least, the Celestial Being's environmental detection capabilities were far superior to the current location of VEDA's main computer, so he wouldn't be completely unable to determine if a Planet Destroyer Cannon was aimed at him.
So, Ribbons could only bite the bullet and explain, "Mr. Reid, please calm down. Pointing a gun at my head won't solve the problem. Please believe me, I did not order VEDA to hack your Mobile Suits. You should know, there are several Quasi-Innovators who can influence VEDA. Our access levels are similar, so I can't be certain who issued the order."
Hearing this, Reid sneered inwardly. It was true that several Quasi-Innovators could influence VEDA, but the only one who would issue an unplanned order was him. After all, of the five Quasi-Innovator "Overseers" with higher access levels, Pezzard Pein had already turned traitor, his memories still dormant within the CBY-001 1 Gundam. Trischla Hephurn's duty was to guide new members. Lasse Aeon, his memory wiped, was now an "Innovator Hunter," specifically hunting Quasi-Innovators. Reid wasn't sure if Bring Stability had become an Overseer at this point in time. And Hamy Stratos was only activated after Alejandro's betrayal.
Most importantly, none of these five Overseers had ever altered VEDA's judgment for personal reasons. Only you, Ribbons Almark, because a young Setsuna had once looked up to you with the reverence one would show a god, had acted on a selfish whim and selected Setsuna as a Gundam pilot. Although, in hindsight, Ribbons's eye for talent was better than VEDA's. Setsuna, the pilot chosen through the back door, successfully evolved into a true Innovator and, like a boomerang, came back to kill Ribbons.
One had to wonder if Ribbons, when Setsuna became his greatest enemy, ever regretted pulling strings to let Setsuna join Celestial Being and come into contact with the Gundams.
But even if Ribbons flatly denied it, Reid wouldn't let him off so easily. He said with a cold laugh, "Heh, it doesn't matter if you don't admit it. The fact is that VEDA attempted to hack our Mobile Suits. Give me one reason not to destroy VEDA, or you can say goodbye to it right now."
Ribbons grew anxious at once and said loudly, "Give me some time! I promise to find out who tampered with VEDA's orders. Even if VEDA wanted to collect your intelligence, it would never use hacking. That would only open it up to a counter-hack from your technologically superior side. Please believe me, VEDA would not issue such an order."
Reid naturally knew that VEDA itself wouldn't try to learn about his forces through hacking. A non-strong Artificial Intelligence, upon judging an opponent to be superior, would not make superfluous moves. Machines don't have impulses. This was also why Reid had been so keen on maintaining an air of mystery.
Of course, the most crucial factor was the incident in the Mollaria Republic, where Hoshino Ruri had turned VEDA's own strength against it, letting it know that its target this time wasn't some primitive Earth computer, but an opponent who also possessed a quantum computer.
But this wasn't enough. Reid just smiled and pressed the muzzle of the gun directly against Ribbons's head.
Seeing this, Ribbons laid his cards on the table. "The manufacturing technology for Quasi-Innovators is still stored in VEDA! It's a top-secret technology that even I cannot directly access!"
Hearing this, Reid knew he had scared him enough. He pulled the gun back and said with a brilliant smile, "Tell me more."
Ribbons knew then that he didn't have to worry about VEDA being blown up immediately, but he still had to guard against this man sending someone to hack VEDA and steal the data. He had to find a way to move VEDA as soon as possible.
So, still shaken and breaking out in a cold sweat, Ribbons said, "The creation of Quasi-Innovators is handled independently by VEDA. Neither I nor Celestial Being can control it. Therefore, the data can only be retrieved by someone physically going inside. An outsider entering VEDA would trigger its full resistance, and in the worst-case scenario, VEDA would self-destruct to protect its secrets."
Ribbons wasn't lying here. VEDA did indeed have a self-destruct program to protect its secrets. It was just that Alejandro had been brought in by an insider—Ribbons himself. Subsequently, Ribbons used his own authority to gradually infiltrate VEDA's central program, gain control, and turn it into his personal tool.
So, Reid went along with Ribbons's warning and holstered his gun. "I can trust you this once. I know you have ambitions, that you want to guide humanity forward as a god. But just as Dr. Tem Ray—the identity I assumed—publicly stated in the Mollaria Republic, my organization doesn't care who leads the world. As long as you're not trying to exterminate the human race, you can go be a god if you want. After all, the predecessors in our organization who were revered as gods in various places could form a soccer team, and now they can only be hung on a wall for their descendants to admire. I won't get involved in your and Alejandro's plans. However, after you take control of VEDA, I will visit you again. I hope you'll have what I want by then.
"Oh, and you can certainly transfer VEDA into that so-called spaceship, which is actually an asteroid fortress, the Celestial Being, hidden around the moon. It would be a perfect opportunity for me to test whether the cannon the organization gave me can actually destroy a planet. Also, for any reason whatsoever, if VEDA ever attempts to hack any Mobile Suit in my possession again, I will destroy it directly. There are some bottom lines I will never compromise on."
With that, Reid stood up amidst Ribbons's silence, preparing to leave. However, as he reached the door, he suddenly turned his head and asked, "By the way, I'm planning to go have a chat with Alejandro next. Want to come along?"
Ribbons indicated that he just wanted to be alone and calm down; he had just been threatened with death, after all. So he just shook his head and said, "I'll pass. Alejandro may seem carefree, but he's actually quite suspicious. If I go with you, he'll suspect that I have a private connection with you."
Reid nodded, said nothing more, and left Ribbons's room with Xia Yufang.
After leaving the room, Xia Yufang uncharacteristically spoke up. "Master, the person inside is very dangerous. I can feel that he has ill intentions."
Hearing this, Reid just waved his hand dismissively. "He's never had good intentions toward us. You have to understand, our appearance directly snuffed out his plan to become a god. He won't sleep soundly until he gets rid of us. However, while this Ribbons Almark isn't human, he has learned many human traits. He's far more cautious than you think. He will absolutely not turn on us until he's confident he can eliminate us. And once he believes he has the power to do so, he'll turn on us regardless of today's conversation. Today's talk was more about making him probe us more cautiously in the future, to cause less trouble for our missions."
Xia Yufang nodded. As long as Reid understood what this Ribbons was thinking, that was all that mattered.
The two then followed Hoshino Ruri's guidance straight to Alejandro's room. After instantly taking down the guards at the door, they walked right in to deliver the surprise.
Meanwhile, in a dark corner of the old city district in the capital of the Kingdom of Azadistan, two groups were meeting. One of them was the mercenary organization led by Ali al-Saachez.
At that moment, Saachez was bandaging a cut on his body while speaking to his partner opposite him. "I never thought I'd find a madman as interesting as you in the Kingdom of Azadistan. Kowloon, do you think this Masoud Lachmadi we're kidnapping today will have the saint-like eyes you're looking for? As a religious leader, he's called a Saint by many of his followers."
Saachez's partner this time was none other than Kowloon, who had fled from the Marshall Islands to the Middle East. After being deliberately shot down by Ange in her Overflag, Kowloon waited for Reid and the others to leave with Gundam Virtue, then began gathering the scattered terrorists on the island to form his own force. Since Eden Lai had been completely destroyed by Celestial Being, these terrorists had nowhere to go and were naturally subjugated by Kowloon.
With subordinates under his command, Kowloon certainly wasn't going to linger in a resource-barren place like the Marshall Islands. He made his way to the Middle East, a region he was most familiar with. With his skills, he and his men quickly became a mercenary group known for their ruthless and seasoned methods. This time, they had received an invitation to cooperate with mercenaries from Europe to incite civil unrest in the Kingdom of Azadistan.
When Saachez and Kowloon met, the two vicious characters hit it off instantly. Without another word, they first fought it out with knives, each leaving a few non-lethal wounds on the other before stopping. This was, in fact, a battle to establish their status. In terms of hand-to-hand combat, Kowloon was actually slightly better than Saachez, as he was physically stronger. But Saachez had better equipment; he wore cut-resistant clothing, which, while not completely blocking Kowloon's knife, did reduce the damage.
Since it was a draw, Saachez and Kowloon naturally spoke as equals during their collaboration.
In response to Saachez's question, Kowloon's expression turned fierce. "For these sanctimonious religious leaders, I only look forward to seeing if they can face death with equanimity."
Hearing this, Saachez replied helplessly, "Don't you go and kill the man right away. This Masoud Lachmadi is still useful. If the Kingdom of Azadistan manages to resolve its internal conflicts, we can livestream his execution to stir up trouble again."
Kowloon, toying with his knife, replied, "Don't worry, I know the rules. I've been paid, after all. I won't kill him until this Kingdom of Azadistan is in complete chaos. By the way, do you think Celestial Being will show up? Are you interested in pulling a big job with me?"
A look of interest appeared on Saachez's face. He smiled and said, "While we still have time, let's talk about the details."
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