Upon hearing Lu Tianming's words, Xia Chuan immediately turned pale—assuming he had such a thing to begin with.
Getting a faceful of... whatever that was—sounded incredibly strange.
He was about to curse and ask which blind fool's rescue capsule this was when a mysterious possibility occurred to him.
"You don't think this could be the one Flay is in, do you?"
Hearing this, Lu Tianming's expression froze, and he shared Xia Chuan's disgust.
Flay Allster—one of the few characters in the original story who could genuinely disgust Lu Tianming.
Lu Tianming's assessment of her was: a troublesome character who used all her cunning to cause trouble and internal conflict.
It could be said that without her in the original story, the protagonist Kira would have borne at least half the pressure.
Currently, Lu Tianming couldn't even be bothered to deal with her. In his original plan, he had even intended to rendezvous directly with the Archangel and leave, avoiding this troublesome individual altogether... yet here they were, running into her anyway.
Xia Chuan had considered quietly kicking the capsule aside—but the Archangel was already slowly approaching, preparing to initiate recovery operations.
Seeing this, Lu Tianming let out a helpless sigh—it seemed there was no avoiding it after all.
——————————————
Truth be told, the Archangel didn't want to recover this rescue capsule either... after all, taking on a group of people out of nowhere would strain the battleship's already limited living supplies.
But given the current circumstances, it was clearly not an option for the Archangel to refuse.
The rescue capsule was practically glued to the Assault Suit... leaving the Assault Suit behind while taking the capsule just didn't make sense.
Moreover, the rescue capsule's thrusters appeared damaged—whether from colliding with the Assault Suit or being caught in the earlier battle was unclear. In any case, it seemed impossible to send this thing to its intended destination.
After some consideration, they decided that since the Archangel was short-handed anyway, taking in some refugees and conscripting a portion of them might actually benefit the battleship's operations. Combined with humanitarian concerns—leaving them to die would affect morale—they ultimately decided to recover both the rescue capsule and the Assault Suit.
However, the decision to conscript some of the refugees for work aboard the battleship sparked outrage among the people in the rescue capsule... who were now arguing with Murrue and others in an open area of the hangar.
"Rescuing refugees is your duty as soldiers! Why should we have to work for you in return?"
"Staying with you would be dangerous, right? Can't you prioritize sending us to a safe location?"
"We're citizens of a neutral nation! We refuse to be dragged into your war!"
"Let's be honest—all of this is your fault! If it weren't for you Federation Army, we wouldn't be suffering like this!"
Sudden war, confined spaces... these refugees were already distressed by the inexplicable situation. Now, seeing Murrue and the others, they vented their emotions freely as if they had found scapegoats.
After all, in the minds of these people from "neutral" nations, they normally shouldn't experience war.
The original sin of attracting war lay with these Earth Alliance Forces members before them.
Since the destruction of their homes was their doing, wasn't it only reasonable to demand they prioritize sending them to safety?
"In the original work, these people weren't this unreasonable. What's going on?"
Xia Chuan was somewhat puzzled. He remembered the original story didn't have so many strange scenes.
"...The original only showed you the tip of the iceberg of this world. The real world is much more complex than the animation, isn't it?"
Lu Tianming shrugged. The original actually only showed scenes of the refugees being settled afterward... As for what happened at the very beginning, who knew.
"Don't know, and it's none of my business anyway. I'm going to recharge and rest."
Xia Chuan appeared lazy and indifferent, as if it had nothing to do with him. After all, he was just an MS... No matter how noisy it got, it wasn't his concern.
Recharging felt great.
Seeing Xia Chuan's laid-back attitude, Lu Tianming didn't say much more. After fighting continuously for so long, he needed a break too.
So Lu Tianming didn't stay to bother him further. He pressed the button beside him, preparing to open the cockpit and leave this steel cage where he had spent who knows how many hours over the past day or two.
All he wanted now was to quickly put an end to this farce and get some proper sleep.
————————————————
"Everyone, please calm down..."
Murrue looked troubled as she faced the unruly crowd of refugees. These people had been confined in rescue capsules for most of the day, and nearly everyone was filled with anger and resentment. At this point, no amount of explanation seemed to work—they just wanted to be taken to safety as soon as possible.
"...Captain Ramius, should we resort to extreme measures?"
Badgiruel frowned slightly, instinctively reaching for the sidearm at her waist as if considering a show of force to intimidate them.
"Don't be rash... Wait, why is Lu Tianming coming down?!"
Murrue subtly shook her head. Using force to suppress them in this situation would only backfire.
Just as she was about to say something more—she suddenly noticed the cockpit of the Strike Gundam opening on the other side of the hangar, and Lu Tianming slowly climbing out.
Why couldn't he stay inside a bit longer, choosing to come down right now!
Murrue felt anxious, her hands involuntarily clenching... With tensions at their peak, his appearance now would only put him in the spotlight and make him the target of everyone's anger!
If he had just waited a little longer until the crowd dispersed, everything would have been fine!
The mechanical sounds of the Strike's cockpit opening were quite loud, and Lu Tianming's emergence attracted many eyes.
The ship's only Mobile Suit pilot... Many people, upon realizing his identity, began silently calculating how to win him over to their side.
Others, however, saw him as a new target, ready to redirect their complaints toward him.
But just as these individuals were preparing their arguments, Lu Tianming landed lightly in front of them, raised an eyebrow, and said coldly:
"You've made enough of a scene, haven't you? If so, let's end it here."
His sudden statement left everyone stunned. Clearly, no one had expected him to say something like that. The carefully prepared words on their lips were abruptly cut off.
"What do you mean? Do you think our fight for our legitimate rights is just a joke? It was you who dragged us here without any explanation in the first place!"
A woman's voice rang out from the crowd... Lu Tianming glanced over and saw it was Flay Allster.
It didn't surprise Lu Tianming that she had the nerve to speak up... After all, her father was quite a high-ranking officer in the military. With such a background, she had the confidence to speak even when facing regular troops.
Moreover... speaking up now could help her gain a good reputation and position within the small circle of survivors.
Upon hearing Flay's words, the survivors from the rescue capsules all turned their gazes toward Lu Tianming.
Their stares were like sharp swords pointing at him, as if ready to pin him down for interrogation.
"This is bad..."
Seeing Lu Tianming in such a predicament, Mu couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for him.
He wasn't worried about Lu Tianming being wronged... Instead, he feared that the young man's fiery temper, once provoked, might lead him to do... something impulsive.