Reid decided to venture deep into the Side 1 Colony, which immediately sparked fierce opposition from Ange.
Previously, when Reid infiltrated the Side 1 Colony, he had habitually brought the Xia sisters along as bodyguards, while Ange remained stationed on the Gran Chaos to prevent the mothership from being unexpectedly attacked.
However, Ange's objection this time wasn't due to concern for Reid's safety. After all, the Mystic Lightning and the Jet Black Hunter were currently floating invisibly near the colony's outer wall. If Reid encountered an attack, they would immediately breach the colony's outer wall to rescue him.
In any case, colonies weren't that fragile—a hole or two wouldn't cause immediate destruction.
Ange's objection was to Reid meeting Haman alone.
And don't even mention Reid bringing the Xia sisters—they were absolutely loyal to him.
If Reid really wanted to do something with Haman, they would help restrain Haman's hands and feet without a second thought, and they would never gossip about it to anyone, including Ange.
Thus, Reid bringing the Xia sisters could be considered as bringing no one at all. In this situation, having the Black Tri-Stars by his side was more reliable than the Xia sisters.
Unable to sway Ange, Reid had no choice but to expand the team and let her join.
However, Ange actually brought the Black Tri-Stars along as bodyguards.
The reason Ange brought the Black Tri-Stars was because Gaia, Mash, Ortega, Amuro, and Char all had "connections."
Moreover, while Amuro might have forgotten the three of them, Char definitely hadn't. Their sudden appearance would likely scare him half to death.
Additionally, if a gunfight broke out, these three were actually quite formidable. Without their Mobile Suits, Amuro and Char might not necessarily outmatch the three of them in a coordinated gunfight.
It was like playing Peacekeeper Elite—even if someone used a wallhack, they could still be taken down by a well-coordinated team.
Not to mention, Reid also had a Lunatitanium bulletproof vest to protect his life.
With Hoshino Ruri forging their identities and having mapped out the entire Side 1 Colony, Reid and the others easily reached the vicinity of the secret peace talks between the Earth Federation and Neo Zeon under the guise of tourists.
Once there, Hoshino Ruri's guidance was no longer needed, as Reid had already sensed three powerful Newtype energies.
It had to be said that in terms of mutual sensing abilities among Newtypes, Amuro and Char didn't seem particularly outstanding.
Char only had an inexplicable sense of Amuro.
As for Amuro, he could only sense Char when he was very close.
A classic example was their meeting in the Side 1 Colony—Char practically rode his horse to find Amuro, while Amuro only noticed him when Char was right in front of him.
Thus, Amuro and Char, the two strongest Newtype pilots of their time, remained unaware of Reid's presence.
Meanwhile, Haman, who was in Neo Zeon's rest villa, was the first to sense Reid's approach. She turned to Loli Amelias and said,
"Amelias, we've lured Reid here. What do you plan to do? Hide, or follow the plan I suggested?"
Upon hearing this, Loli Amelias glared angrily at Haman and retorted,
"Your plan? The one where I go out to draw hatred, get killed by Reid in front of everyone, and make others think Reid is a ruthless person so they'll gang up on him?
Haman, why don't you just drop dead?!"
Faced with Loli Amelias's sarcastic questioning, Haman simply replied nonchalantly,
"Because if I die, I'm really dead, while if you die, you just return to the World Gap and can instantly create a new body to revive."
Loli Amelias was so angry that veins popped on her forehead, but she didn't know how to retort.
Seeing this, Haman added fuel to the fire, saying,
"Of course, you could also turtle up here. After all, Reid can only sense me. As long as I go out to lure him away, you won't be easily discovered."
Loli Amelias was the type to explode at the slightest provocation and immediately retorted,
"You're the one turtling up! Reid is fooling around everywhere, and your head is practically green, so you're the turtle!!
Haman, I have a feeling you're trying to trick me into dying this time so I'll transfer the World Impact authority to you."
Haman merely shrugged, responding with an indifferent expression,
"To be precise, it's just a one-time use of the World Impact authority. You're only lending it to me temporarily.
Besides, the choice is yours. You don't have to give it to me. My plans will proceed regardless. At most, I just won't be able to weaken Reid's forces due to insufficient combat power."
Hearing this, Loli Amelias immediately scoffed disdainfully,
"Tch, 'weaken Reid's forces'—you just want to eliminate your competition. What a vicious woman."
Haman didn't care about Loli Amelias calling her vicious, as it was her ruthlessness that had brought her to where she was today. However, she wouldn't let herself be outdone verbally and immediately fired back with a taunt,
"If it were the pure and kind Teletha saying this, I might let it slide, but you, the embodiment of betrayal, have no right to criticize me.
And just think about it: if I eliminate my romantic rivals, isn't that weakening Reid's forces?
So, what's your decision? Reid is already getting closer. If we get cornered separately, you'll really have to die for nothing this time."
Loli Amelias could only glare fiercely at Haman, gathering a ball of light in her hand and shoving it into Haman's body before saying,
"Reid must really regret ever crossing paths with you. I almost feel sorry for him."
Seeing that she had obtained the one-time World Impact authority, Haman immediately broke into a radiant smile.
She had to experience the power of World Impact firsthand to figure out how to seize its authority permanently.
And even if she couldn't trick it away this time, once was enough to start a pattern. Sooner or later, she'd have Amelias completely fooled.
Looking at Haman's smile, Loli Amelias inwardly grumbled,
"Haman is truly wicked, but all her authority comes from me. No matter what agreement we make, I can always take it back by activating betrayal. Let her keep gloating for now. At least when it comes to dealing with Reid's forces, she's a useful blade."
Thus, the two women, one tall and one small, each with their own hidden agendas, headed out.
Haman simply told the Neo Zeon soldiers guarding the door that she was taking the child out for some fresh air. Thanks to her good behavior during this period and Char's permission for them to move freely within the Colony Satellite, the guards let them pass without sending anyone to follow them.
As soon as Haman moved, Reid immediately sensed it. With three powerful Newtypes now heading toward an artificial forest, Reid didn't need to say anything—he simply made his way there.
However, as Reid approached the grove, he saw a horse burst out from among the trees, only to be blocked by a herd of cows. Then, Amuro drove up in a jeep from the side.
Perhaps Amuro simply wanted to communicate with Char (with his fists), so he didn't opt for the easy move of ramming the jeep into the horse to knock Char down.
Instead, he chose to drive the jeep alongside Char on horseback and then leaped out to tackle him off the horse.
It must be said, both men's physical prowess was nothing to scoff at. If ordinary people tried something like this, breaking two or three bones each would be the norm.
But after Amuro tackled Char off the horse, neither of them was injured. Instead, they immediately began a verbal spar and started brawling.
At that moment, their eyes were only on each other, completely unaware of Reid's approach.
Seeing this, Reid declared that since they were all Super Newtypes, how could they fight without him.
So, taking advantage of the moment when Char flipped Amuro over and pinned him down, ready to "teach him a lesson," Reid kicked Char flying.
Of course, Reid knew how to justify his actions. As he kicked Char away and rushed over to pummel him with his fists, he shouted while striking,
"Found you, you adulterer! Hand over my woman!"
Reid's strength was immense, instantly stunning Char with the kick.
Hearing Reid's words, Amuro was momentarily at a loss for words. After all, if what this man said was true, Char deserved the beating.
However, Amuro hadn't yet calmed down, so he didn't immediately recognize Reid's Psychic Power.
As for Hathaway and Quess, who were in the jeep with Amuro, they wore expressions of bewildered amusement, as if witnessing the chaotic world of adults and stumbling upon some juicy gossip.
Fortunately, after Amuro finally calmed down, he recognized that Reid's Psychic Power belonged to the Super Newtype who had harbored malicious intent toward him at Luna V.
So, Amuro immediately rushed over, intending to shove Reid off Char.
But while Reid was venting his anger by beating Char, he hadn't taken his attention off Amuro.
Thus, when Amuro charged at him, Reid stepped on Char's stomach to stand up and, relying on his superhuman physique, dashed right in front of Amuro.
However, Reid didn't strike Amuro. Instead, he sidestepped, tripped him, and sent Amuro crashing down right onto Char, who was just trying to get up.
At that moment, Amuro and Char formed a cross, one on top of the other. Reid kicked them again at the point where they overlapped, sending them tumbling once more, and angrily shouted,
"You brought backup? Fine, I'll take you all on at once."
With that, Reid took off his jacket, striking a pose as if he truly intended to fight both of them.
However, while Hathaway could stand by and watch Char get beaten, he couldn't bear to see Amuro take a beating too, so he tried to rush in and intervene.
Thankfully, the quick-witted Gaia grabbed him and held him back, saying,
"Kid, if you charge in now, you'll just get beaten up too. Better stay here with this young lady and watch from the sidelines."
By then, because Reid had deliberately slowed his assault, Amuro and Char had managed to stand up.
Only now, instead of thinking about fighting each other, they were focused on getting a good look at the person who had just pummeled them.
That's because Char had also sensed it—the one beating him seemed to be Haman's husband, with whom he had shared a brief Psychic connection at Luna V.
So, the first thing Char said after getting up was,
"You want me to hand her over? When you were hunting down her and her daughter, did you ever consider they might seek refuge with someone else?"
Char's words left Amuro stunned.
Because Char's statement essentially admitted that he had secretly kept the woman belonging to the person opposite him—this guy had been caught having an affair with someone else's wife.
At this moment, due to Reid's interruption, Char did not get to say the words that would have won Quess's heartfelt approval.
Moreover, in Quess's worldview, having an affair with a married woman was not a good thing—she deeply resented the stepmother her father had taken.
Thus, Reid had inadvertently altered the fates of both Quess and Jane Jean.
If Quess did not go to Char's side, the lovestruck Hathaway would not have stolen a Mobile Suit to sortie recklessly.
If Hathaway did not sortie, Jane Jean would not have launched to retrieve him, and naturally, the ensuing melodrama would not have occurred—where Jane Jean shot down Quess to save Hathaway, only for Hathaway to go mad and shoot down Jane Jean, who only wanted to rescue him.
Of course, at this moment, Reid paid no attention to these two supporting characters, Hathaway and Quess.
After all, one was a textbook unfilial son, and the other was utterly insane.
The former was somewhat tolerable—he only brought trouble to his father.
The latter, however, mistook Newtype mutual attraction for love, falling for any powerful Newtype she encountered, with an abnormally strong possessiveness that normal people could hardly comprehend.
If Quess had any notable strength, it was that she was truly ruthless.
After all, this was the woman who could exit her cockpit unprotected in a vacuum, tumble dozens of meters through space, and force her way into Char's cockpit—leaving even Char dumbfounded.
So, in response to Char's accusation, Reid simply replied:
"You think they're attached to you? What a colossal joke. Supreme Commander Char, you take yourself far too seriously. You're being sold out and still helping count the money.
Enough—there's no point talking further with you. Let's settle this with fists first."
With that, in Char's eyes, Reid almost instantly closed the distance and threw another punch straight at his face.
Reid adhered to the principle that when hitting someone, you aim for the face. If not for the fact that in a real fight, Reid worried about not triggering skills and thus held back slightly, Char would have already been knocked out with a concussion.
Of course, by now, Char was already in a state resembling a panda playing with paint—his face a standard panda pattern, mottled with bruises and redness.
Perhaps Amuro couldn't bear to see Char beaten like this after all, as he finally stepped in to help. Blocking Reid's punch with crossed arms, Amuro asked:
"Sir, let's set aside Char's matters for now. I want to ask you: why did you attack me during the Luna V incident?"
Reid didn't deny Amuro's question and answered directly:
"I just wanted to test how much of the Federation's White Devil's strength remains from back then, Amuro. Char, take a look at my people. Do you think I had no reason to attack you?"
Reid paused his assault as he spoke.
Amuro and Char turned to look at the others standing with Hathaway and Quess.
Amuro was relatively unfazed—after all, defeating the Black Tri-Stars was something that had happened fourteen years ago for him, so he didn't recognize the three at all.
Char, however, was even more shocked than when he saw Haman, exclaiming loudly:
"Gaia! Mash! Ortega! The three of you are still alive?!"
Gaia, Mash, and Ortega had already experienced a reunion with another version of Char from a different world, so they didn't show too much excitement, merely raising their hands in greeting.
Seeing Amuro still looking confused, Gaia spoke up to clear his doubts:
"The Federation's White Devil, don't look so confused. We are the Black Tri-Stars you killed fourteen years ago during the One Year War, kid. The three of us have crawled out of hell to seek revenge on you."
Although Gaia said this with a murderous expression, Amuro didn't sense much malice from him, so he didn't get too worked up.
However, just as the disruptors arrived, Loli Amelias suddenly rushed out from the woods, spreading her arms wide as she charged toward Reid, excitedly shouting,
"Daddy!!"
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