Wang Hu's face fell. What kind of talk was this coming from Creuset?
"You wouldn't want to see the Archangel sink, would you?"
Was this something a man of Creuset's caliber should be saying?
"It seems we've really become too familiar with each other."
Shaking his head helplessly, Wang Hu felt like he was being forced into prostitution.
"Heh heh heh." Creuset chuckled lightly. They were indeed too familiar. Staring at Wang Hu—one of his only two friends—on the screen!
Just as Creuset opened his mouth to say something, his Adjutant suddenly spoke first.
"Respected Qilin of the East Asian Army's Nova, Captain Wang Hu. During the previous battle, we have reached a ceasefire agreement with the crew of your battleship Archangel."
"In gratitude for your rescue of our stranded personnel, we pledge that after you return Miss Lacus,"
"All ZAFT fleets will yield right of way until your fleet rendezvous with the Eighth Fleet."
"Ugh." A surge of blood rushed to Creuset's throat. He immediately cut off the private communication channel with Wang Hu.
Otherwise,
He would rather die than let Wang Hu see him in this state!
Thinking this, Creuset wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and turned to glare fiercely at the Archangel surrounded by numerous Genes.
As an intelligent man, how could he not guess what had roughly happened!
"Hah?" Dearka and Yzak had endured enough shocks for one day. What they thought would be a turning point in the battle had vanished in an instant.
The two merely offered a perfunctory "hah" in response, then went about their own business.
One went to find Nicol, while the other flew to Athrun's side—Athrun who was covered in wounds.
"Things aren't easy on your end either," Dearka remarked with a sigh, speaking to the despondent Athrun.
"How is Nicol?" Athrun asked weakly, feeling utterly worthless.
Even now, he couldn't repay his friend's sacrifices.
"Probably... not dead," Dearka shook his head gloomily, glancing at the Blitz Gundam being towed back by the Duel Gundam.
"What?" Athrun jolted in alarm and hurriedly flew out.
"Creuset, heh heh heh." Wang Hu piloted the Zeta Gundam past the Gouf Ignited, brushing shoulders with the Aegis Gundam.
"Hey, Athrun." Staring at the terrifying wounds on the Aegis Gundam, Wang Hu shook his head playfully.
After that, it was time for everyone to return to their own sides.
The advance team merged with the Archangel, sailing in the same direction as the eleven ZAFT battleships nearby, clearly demarcated yet parallel.
In this bizarre yet harmonious atmosphere, as soon as Wang Hu returned to the Archangel and disembarked from the Zeta Gundam, a crowd immediately swarmed around him.
"The East Asian Army's new Gundam?" Mu pushed through the crowd, gazing enviously at the imposing Zeta Gundam.
"Mhm." Wang Hu nodded, then turned to Li Chengzhi. "Using Lacus as a hostage?"
"Didn't you already anticipate this?"
Failed to translate content with standard model. Please boost the chapter to continue.
"Also, character personas need to align with their backgrounds. A politician's daughter won't necessarily become a politician, but it's equally unlikely she'd be a naive innocent."
"Repeating lies until you start believing them yourself just makes you look foolish."
After speaking, Wang Hu gazed at Lacus with amusement, Li Chengzhi observed her with scrutiny, while Kira watched her with bated breath.
All three waited for Lacus's response in that moment.
Clearly, it would be pointless if Lacus were merely pretending, and understanding this, her own aura shifted dramatically.
She now carried some of the imposing presence of the later Lady Yumi!
Though slightly less formidable than the Lady Yumi at her peak in Wang Hu's memory, Lacus at this moment still made Kira feel suffocated.
"Mr. Wang Hu, what does it feel like to kill someone?"
Lacus fired the first shot, her cool tone carrying undeniable pressure.
It was like a street beggar standing before a queen—an inexplicable sense of inferiority welled up from within.
"Ten billion. The number of lives lost by your hands."
Kira felt intensely uncomfortable around Lacus, but Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi possessed wills of steel.
Especially Wang Hu, facing Lacus's opening gambit—he saw no need to follow her rhythm.
He directly threw a question back at her:
"Humanity must always move forward."
Had it been anyone else, Wang Hu's unconventional response might have disrupted their momentum or thrown them off balance.
But this was Lacus—you speak your piece, I'll speak mine. Since Wang Hu answered a question with a question, she would respond in kind.
"Ten billion or even more hatred cannot be extinguished." Shaking his head, Wang Hu carefully observed the charisma radiating from Lacus.
A Super Coordinator? Perhaps not as mystical as rumored?
"Hate cannot be forgotten, but we shouldn't drown in it. Humanity reflects and elevates itself through such cycles."
Lacus met Wang Hu's gaze squarely, and with each exchange, the girl's presence grew slightly stronger.
Imperceptibly, she positioned herself on the moral high ground, espousing truths no one could deny.
"Indeed, that's logically sound."
To Kira's astonishment—as he stood trembling—Wang Hu seemed convinced by Lacus.
"Brother Wang Hu?" Kira couldn't decipher his own emotions, but had these two reached an understanding?
Yet just as Kira's thoughts wandered, Wang Hu stepped forward under the watchful eyes of those drawn by their conversation.
Slap! Slap! Two crisp sounds echoed through the hangar.
"Good texture," Wang Hu remarked, blowing on his slightly reddened palm.
"Huh?" Kira stared dumbfounded at Lacus, whose imposing aura had vanished completely, replaced by two blazing red handprints on her cheeks.
"You know? Being a moral paragon isn't easy—especially when demanding others be paragons too."
Wang Hu addressed Lacus, whose goddess-like demeanor had been slapped away.
"Well? Are you angry? If this isn't enough—"
"I recall in the old era, there were many who held lofty ideals but ended up getting off on their own self-righteousness."
"Should we give them the full treatment of what they've endured?"
"Captain Wang Hu, this shouldn't be your true self." Lacus didn't know what those torments Wang Hu mentioned were.
But she strongly felt the frustration of a scholar trying to reason with a soldier.
In the past, her appearance, status, and talents had always earned her respect wherever she went.
She was confident that even if she fell into the hands of Blue Cosmos, her abilities would prevent her from receiving overly harsh treatment.
So why could Wang Hu before her so effortlessly slap her twice without hesitation?
"What kind of self?" Wang Hu laughed heartily, revealing eight perfectly white teeth in a standard smile that gleamed with heart-piercing coldness under the hangar's overhead lights.
"Because of your status? Your appearance? Or your talents?"
"Those additional advantages of yours only matter within the rules. Outside the rules, you're just a pretty woman who can bear children for others."
"In our history, women more beautiful and of higher status than you have met tragic ends."
"So to me, if someone is beautiful and speaks beautifully but can't solve practical problems, their value is reduced to just the label of 'woman'."
"Then can you solve all our current problems? And don't talk about mutual understanding either."
"I can understand but cannot accept it. If you keep spouting meaningless platitudes, the consequences will be severe - don't say I didn't warn you."
Opening her mouth slightly, watching Wang Hu who exuded an aura of primal wildness, Lacus' mind raced rapidly.
Coordinators naturally possessed high intelligence, and Lacus was among the best of them.
So Lacus understood perfectly well that Wang Hu before her absolutely wasn't just making empty threats.
But Lacus also understood that any answer she could give to Wang Hu's question...
Would definitely not satisfy him!
(End of Chapter)