"I'm coming now."
Andrew finished speaking without giving Fred a chance to respond, already pushing off with his toes and leaving only an afterimage before Fred's eyes as he charged straight toward him.
That fist, thick like a sand pot, was already before Fred in the blink of an eye.
Veins bulged like coiling green dragons across his wrist, clearly demonstrating the muscular power contained within.
Though it was just a simple straight punch, Andrew made it move with the force of a missile, complete with the sound of tearing air.
It was probably more impressive than the kung fu stars Fred had seen in movies during his previous life.
"Holy..."
Fred maintained a calm expression, but inwardly he gasped in surprise.
Even though he had been prepared, Fred was still shocked.
How was it that the plot never revealed Tiger was this skilled in combat?
No, in the original storyline, he had never seen the other engage in close combat.
Moreover, here he had no experience facing off against a genuine Elite Coordinator.
Though shocked, Fred reacted swiftly, sidestepping to avoid the attack before striking Andrew's arm with his right hand to dissipate the force.
"Is this... Ancient Martial Arts?"
Watching his full-power strike being effortlessly neutralized, Andrew paused briefly before speaking with some surprise.
"Yes."
Fred acknowledged.
Wing Chun, in this era, could indeed be considered ancient martial arts.
This was also one of the few skills Fred had brought from his previous life, aside from making charts.
Originally, his Wing Chun in his past life was just for physical fitness and casual practice.
It was never meant for actual combat.
But this life was different - he had the Golden Finger.
Even just practicing Wing Chun daily at home for exercise over thirteen years had made him exceptionally proficient. Though not yet a grandmaster, the techniques had become perfectly suited to his body.
He had never used it at the gym.
It was meant to be his little trump card.
He hadn't expected to be forced to reveal his trump card before he even had a chance to use it properly.
Of course, it didn't matter if Patrick and the others knew - they wouldn't spread it around.
Even with Wing Chun, he wasn't confident he could defeat Andrew before him.
The man truly fought like a tiger.
Moreover, Andrew was using Military Combat Techniques. Though Fred was more skilled with Wing Chun, his absolute combat power was insufficient.
While Fred was rapidly analyzing the situation, the two had already become locked in combat.
On the spectator stands, Patrick grew increasingly astonished as he watched.
He had thought Fred wouldn't last three moves against Andrew.
After all, Fred's physical abilities didn't appear that impressive, and he was only thirteen.
But relying on that Ancient Martial Arts, he had stubbornly held out for over ten exchanges.
In a few more years, would he be able to match Andrew?
What weaknesses did Fred even have?
Who was the Coordinator here - Fred or himself?
Even Patrick, who had always adhered to the theory of Coordinators' superiority, couldn't help but entertain this thought.
So, Fred must be a Coordinator, right?
He just hadn't reported it.
But was that possible?
With the Atlantic Federation's level of crackdown on Coordinators, there were very few institutions even on the black market that could perform the procedures.
And a first-generation Coordinator of this caliber...?
As Patrick marveled, Lenore and Athrun nearby were similarly wide-eyed with astonishment.
Athrun's eyes shone with even more admiration.
So cool, what was that?
A legendary lost ancient martial art?
How did his brother learn it?
Did he have a mysterious master teaching him, like the background stories of heroes in Kira's games?
Could it be that his brother fell off a cliff and had some miraculous encounter?
The more he thought about it, the more excited Athrun became.
Meanwhile, Fred remained completely unaware of the three people's thoughts, his entire focus devoted to the opponent's attacks.
Every punch from Andrew, every shift in footwork, was directly transmitted from his retinas to his brain.
"I can't win," Fred thought helplessly.
He was already giving it his all, but Andrew's strength was too great, and that power combined with his well-proportioned physique meant absolute speed.
He simply couldn't breach the opponent's centerline.
And without breaking through the centerline, victory was impossible.
If this continued, he would only exhaust himself before being taken down by one of Andrew's punches.
Yet Fred didn't stop or surrender.
His Golden Finger was constantly working.
Not only was his Wing Chun proficiency improving, but his physical stamina and resistance to blows were also increasing with each hit he took.
Even getting beaten made him progress.
Given that, there was no reason to surrender.
Finally, after another dozen or so exchanges in their intense struggle, Fred's movements lost their original power under the high-intensity exertion.
Andrew's coiled dragon-like fist struck heavily against his abdomen.
"Ugh..."
Fred staggered back several steps, gritting his teeth but still refusing to surrender.
This time, even Andrew, who had been thrilled by the challenge, couldn't help but pause in surprise.
Fred clearly couldn't defeat him, yet he refused to surrender. He had taken a direct hit that should have been excruciating, yet he still wouldn't yield?
Wasn't this just a sparring match?
This young man... besides being incredibly strong, possessed a stubbornness that even he found startling.
Fred, of course, wasn't thinking as complicatedly as Andrew. He simply felt that having such a powerful opponent was rare and wanted to train himself.
"Enough."
Before Fred could ask to continue, Patrick interrupted them.
It wasn't that he wanted to stop them, but Athrun had been shaking his arm so much it was about to cramp.
This little rascal was acting as if the guy across really was his brother.
Though complaining internally, Patrick was equally astonished.
After all, Fred seemed genuinely prepared to keep fighting.
Such fighting spirit made him even more satisfied.
This satisfaction even made him willing to overlook whether the other was a Coordinator or not.
After all, the Atlantic Federation had Coordinators too, so having a Natural on their side wasn't anything strange.
"I'll arrange what you mentioned. I look forward to working with you," Patrick said as he approached Fred, patting his shoulder.
His attitude was noticeably better than before.
Clearly, in his mind, Fred held a rather important position among their people.
"Alright..." Fred responded, feeling some regret inside.
He still wanted to fight. His resistance to blows was quite good—he could probably take two or three more hits.
But it would seem strange to mention that now, so Fred simply nodded along.
Having things arranged quickly was fine too.
Blue Cosmos could make their move at any time.
"We'll continue this when you get to PLANT!"
On the other side, Andrew, who had also enjoyed a satisfying fight, stepped forward with a hearty laugh.
He paid no attention to the fact that his leader was still speaking nearby.
"Excellent!"
This Fred was quite intriguing.
With Andrew as a sparring partner, his close combat skills could once again improve more efficiently and steadily.
Just thinking about it made him happy.
After everything was arranged, Fred didn't disturb the couple's long-awaited reunion and took his leave.