Three hours later, Yang Hui stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in simple pajamas, gazing down at the panoramic view of Prometheus Fortress from above.
Sensing someone approaching from behind, he turned and gently embraced the delicate figure: "Not resting a bit longer?"
"I'm not that fragile," Yurin replied softly, her face glowing with a rosy, enchanting allure, though her slender legs felt somewhat weak.
"Heh." It was the first time Yang Hui had seen Yurin act tough. Without hesitation, he scooped her up in a princess carry and laid her back on the bed. "Just rest a little more."
"I'm really fine. I still need to—"
"And have your legs give out in front of Fram and the others?"
"Mmm~"
"Hahaha..."
Though Yurin's bashful expression reignited Xiao Yang Hui's vigor, concern for her well-being held him back from a second round. After tucking her in, he began changing clothes.
Truth be told, Sumeragi and the others had meant well by giving Yurin this opportunity—since they had accompanied Yang Hui for so long in the Gundam SEED world, they thought it fair to let Yurin, who had stayed behind at Prometheus Fortress, have her turn.
Good intentions, but poor execution. They had underestimated Yang Hui's combat prowess—even against five, he held his ground effortlessly. How could Yurin possibly match him alone?
"Seems Yurin won't be leaving bed for a while," Yang Hui mused as he stepped out, only to run into a smirking Sumeragi heading his way.
"Your tactical forecast was off again."
"Fine, this time I analyzed human emotions but overlooked practical conditions."
"Sure it wasn't intentional?"
"Uh—" Faced with Yang Hui's teasing grin, Sumeragi faltered, her gaze darting away. "No..."
"Really not?"
"No!"
"Mm, I believe you."
"Yang Hui! Aaaah!!!!"
"Hey hey! No need for violence! I said I believe you! Ouch!"
...
"Everyone's requests for custom mobile suits... snort... sorry, have all been collected."
"..." Yang Hui shot Creuset a resentful glare. He definitely laughed just now. Definitely! No question about it!
Flit and the others weren't much better—their faces twitched uncontrollably, lips quirking up repeatedly before forcibly smoothing out, only to repeat the cycle.
"Ah, just laugh if you want."
"Pfft—HAHAHAHA!"
"Serves you right!"
"You totally had it coming!"
Creuset wore a silent, mocking smirk, while Flit and the others burst into uproarious laughter, reveling in schadenfreude with refreshed spirits.
Yang Hui could only sigh. He couldn't blame them—his ears were bright red, swollen to twice their normal size, with the left one tilted clockwise and the right counterclockwise.
Sumeragi! Care to explain why you pulled in completely opposite directions with each hand!?
Yang Hui marveled at the enigma of women—the most bizarre yet terrifying creatures across all worlds and dimensions.
You'd think they were weak when they can't even twist open a bottle cap, yet they could flip your skull right off with ease!
Take Sumeragi, for instance. As a tactical forecaster, physical strength wasn't her forte, and she certainly couldn't compare to Yang Hui's Innovator-enhanced physique. But once a certain switch flipped, she managed to displace his ears—without breaking skin or drawing blood!
"Why not get it fixed?" Flit asked with a laugh. The medical facilities at Prometheus Fortress could regrow missing limbs, let alone something as odd as ear displacement... Hmm? Wait a minute. Odd?
"A new look is nice," Yang Hui said unconvincingly—though no one would buy that excuse! The word "unwilling" might as well be written across his face.
"Ms. Huang won't let you fix it, will she?" Creuset pointed out the truth.
"..." Yang Hui glared with dead-fish eyes. Some things were better left unsaid. "Your Providence could use a few missing screws."
"Oh dear, how terrifying," Creuset feigned panic, waving his hands dismissively. He didn't take it seriously—Yang Hui might joke around, but he wouldn't actually sabotage things when it came to business.
"Alright, let's all check the list. What kind of requests did we get?"
Creuset nodded and shared the compiled list on everyone's PADs. As they skimmed through, Yang Hui, Flit, Madonna, Erica Simmons, and the Professor all relaxed.
"Not bad. No outrageous demands."
Though they had asked for input, most requests were straightforward—mainly specifying the Mobile Suit's role: high mobility, heavy firepower, melee specialization, balanced range, etc.
For example, Yzak and Dearka essentially wanted their custom units modeled after the Duel and Buster. Zechs requested high mobility with one high-output melee weapon and one ranged weapon—basically a fusion of the Gundam Epyon and Tallgeese. Zhang Wufei remained devoted to the Twin Dragon Gundam's flame-spewing dragon heads and Beam Trident, so modifying the original design would suffice.
"Let's just use templates, then," Flit suggested. "Add in the Quasi-GN Drive, the new High-Energy Deuterium Nuclear Engine, Mirage Colloid Particles, and other tech. Then configure the armaments based on their requests."
"Agreed. We'll build the prototypes first, have them test, then fine-tune from there."
"No problem."
Despite being split into five teams, the prototype designs were simple and completed quickly before being handed off to production. The real hassle came afterward—adjusting the units based on pilot feedback, with plenty of minor tweaks required.
While waiting for the prototypes to be built, Yang Hui, Flit, and Creuset left the lab. Unlike Madonna, Erica Simmons, and the Professor—who were purely researchers and practically lived in the lab—the former were also part of Prometheus Fortress' leadership and had other duties to attend to.
"About the next mission's roster—same as last time?" Creuset asked. From his conversations with the veterans, he'd learned a fair bit—both about the Gundam AGE world and how the Fortress operated. He knew a thing or two about how the last team selection had gone.
"I don't think that'll work," Flit objected first. "Last time, the core system wasn't established yet—everything was chaotic, so we rushed the decision. Plus, everyone was from our world back then. Even if internal competition led to losses, there wouldn't be major complaints."
"That's right. And last time, it wasn't completely unbalanced either—there were people from both the Federation and VEGAN factions, with roughly equal numbers. But now we have people from three different worlds, so naturally each team will have veterans from one world leading a group of newcomers," Yang Hui suggested.
"In that case... I know what to do."
"Huh?" x2
Yang Hui and Flit stared blankly at Creuset. They had only just finalized the plan, yet Creuset already knew what to do? Why didn't they know? And... what was with that villainous expression on his face?
"I'll go have a chat with them..."
"Is that really necessary?" Yang Hui asked with a strange expression. "What exactly are you planning to say to them?"
"To make them recognize their place..."
"No." Yang Hui objected. Creuset's approach wasn't needed in Prometheus Fortress—at least not in its current state. With the small number of people and the framework just being established, creating obvious class distinctions now could easily breed resentment. After all, the current members might all become core pillars in the future.
"A class system is essential. Only with hierarchy can there be order. It's better to establish it now while the framework is still being built, rather than waiting until there are more people and they've grown accustomed to the current disorder before introducing class distinctions," Creuset said seriously.
It's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but hard to go back. Once people get used to treating everyone around them as equals, suddenly finding themselves beneath others would breed jealousy—even hatred.
"I understand the importance of a class system, and I don't oppose its establishment. But I don't think it should be dictated by your words alone. It should be determined through rigorous methods."
Yang Hui didn't deny the necessity of a class system—it was the core of order. But for order to be complete, hierarchy alone wasn't enough. There also needed to be a clear promotion system: who belonged where, and why.
"Then... what method do you propose?" Creuset asked. Establishing order wasn't something that could be done overnight—it was a long process, and because of its length, there were many forks in the road. One wrong turn, and the carefully built order could collapse.
"This is the plan we've come up with so far. Take a look." Flit transmitted the proposal he and Sumeragi had drafted to Creuset.
Creuset scanned it, and his furrowed brow relaxed. As expected of Sumeragi. And Flit—former Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Army in the Gundam AGE world. Given the current conditions, this system was remarkably complete.
"Yang Hui's position is unshakable. Members of the core decision-making group will each serve as department heads in their respective fields. And then..."
"Strength."
That's right—strength. Not just Mobile Suit piloting skills, but also the professional capabilities of ship captains and commanders.
Prometheus Fortress wasn't a place for games. Aside from researchers and facility staff, everyone here would participate in combat. Strength was the foundation of survival—and the core factor in the fortress's development speed.
Those with greater strength can complete missions more effectively, bringing greater benefits to Prometheus Fortress.
"So... in the end, it comes down to this? A competition of strength?" Creuset found the concept of "capability" as the deciding factor reasonable, yet the method felt somewhat crude.
"The simplest solutions are often the most effective—and this is currently the most appropriate approach. While our numbers are still small, we should establish the framework. Once the structure is in place and precedents are set, there will be far less resistance later."
"Hmm... That makes sense. But there are exceptions, aren't there? Like... people such as Kira and Athrun?"
Combatants like Kira and Athrun certainly couldn't start from the bottom. Exceptional talents naturally require special consideration—that much is certain. The capable and sensible are always favored (including by the heavens themselves! wink).
"You were originally going to say yourself, weren't you?" Yang Hui smirked, eyeing Creuset with amusement.
"I won't deny it." Creuset shrugged. He was indeed one of those exceptional talents—a man capable of deceiving the entire world.
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