"..." Hearing Kati's question, Yang Hui fell silent.
"Yang Hui?" Kati was taken aback. It was the first time she had seen such an expression on Yang Hui's face, as if he were afraid of her knowing something.
"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong. The ELS will definitely be attracted by the bait," Yang Hui looked up and said firmly to Kati.
Sensing the look in Yang Hui's eyes, Kati had doubts but did not press further.
"...Understood."
"However, don't get complacent. Our current opponents are only Ural-class transport ships and Gags. The number of ELS is still terrifying. Once they consume other MS or warships during battle, they are likely to reshape themselves. So... be mentally prepared for the possibility that the opponents will all be Gundam-types."
"Understood!" Everyone chorused.
The meeting ended there. Yang Hui went to a secret room known only to him and Aeolia Schenberg; even Regene Regetta, who had also uploaded his consciousness to VEDA, was unaware of its existence.
There was no lighting in the room, only the rows of indicator lights beneath the incubation pods faintly illuminating the corridor.
"Old man, is everything ready?"
"All fifty Eco-Terminals are ready for immediate use."
"...Prepare them. Put them into the Gags and wake them up just before contact with the ELS."
"I understand. What about him?"
At the end of the room, the lights converged on one incubation pod. Unlike the other pods, which were identical and completely soulless, the person inside this one was a living human being.
Descartes Shaman, an ace pilot of the Earth Federation Forces and the first Pure Innovator confirmed by the Earth Federation government.
Because he was a Pure Innovator, Descartes considered himself superior to ordinary people, remaining defiant and arrogant, referring to regular humans as inferior species.
At the same time, because he was the only Pure Innovator in the military, he was subjected to military research and experimentation. His dissatisfaction turned into resentment. Regardless of his performance in the original timeline, Yang Hui could feel only boundless scorn and hatred through Brain Quantum Waves—hatred that had reached a level of mad world-destruction. Therefore, after gaining control over him, Yang Hui had placed him into a forced sleep. Now, he would be sent to the ELS along with those Biological Terminals.
However, to prevent his anger and resentment from affecting Setsuna's dialogue with the ELS, and to prevent the ELS from learning ace-level piloting skills and various intelligence from him, Yang Hui had processed his brain while installing nanomachines in his body. His memories were erased, turning him into a vegetable.
Although he was a vegetable, a Pure Innovator had an advantage that Biological Terminals did not: he was still a living person. His Brain Quantum Waves were much stronger than those of a soulless Biological Terminal. With him as the core to trigger resonance among the Brain Quantum Waves of all the Biological Terminals, he would surely attract the attention of the ELS.
"Send him along with them."
"...I understand."
Looking at the cold expression on Yang Hui's face, Aeolia Schenberg saw right through him, knowing he was putting on a front and acting tough. But he didn't call him out, watching his back until the room door closed.
Leaving the secret room, Yang Hui went to the R&D department to find Setsuna, only to find quite a few people gathered there.
"I'm so jealous, another new machine."
"GNT-0000, 00 Qan[T]. Designed personally by old man Aeolia. The two GN Drives of the OO Gundam were modified to achieve a stronger synchronization effect. Large GN Capacitors are placed in the arms and knees to store GN Particles. It is equipped with the Quantum System and the Quantum Burst System. When activated, it will release an excessive amount of GN Particles in an instant to achieve ultra-high-level Brain Quantum Wave communication capabilities."
"A machine truly dedicated to communication."
"Still want it? How about you go talk instead of Setsuna?"
"Forget it, I'm not cut out for that."
"But... if it's for communication, what's with these insane armaments? A High-Frequency Vibration GN Buster Sword, a GN Composite Armament that integrates both shield and gun, small GN Cannons on both shoulders, and sixteen sword-type GN Super Dragoons... I assume the forty-meter greatsword isn't missing either?"
"That's nothing. Look over there."
"What is that? Looking at the size... an armament?"
"The All-Blade Backpack. You can also understand it as the OOQ's 'negotiation-failure' mode."
"Holy crap! Are you serious?"
"That's what the VEDA data says."
"Alright, as expected of Aeolia Schenberg."
"What are you all doing huddling here?"
"Yang Hui, you're here. Do you have a share in this machine?" Graham asked, putting an arm around Yang Hui's shoulder.
"Actually, no." Yang Hui spread his hands. He really hadn't participated in the OOQ Gundam. "The old man designed this machine long ago. Then Professor Eifman and Old Wang made some modifications before starting production. I didn't even have time to get involved."
"It's a good thing you didn't have time to get involved, otherwise there wouldn't be a 'conversation mode' at all," Graham teased.
"Am I really that excessive?"
"Are you not!?" Everyone shouted in unison.
Not just Graham, but Neil, Lyle, Allelujah, Asemu, Kira, Athrun, and the others all rolled their eyes at Yang Hui. Look at the MS and warships Yang Hui designed—which one wasn't insane?
"Er, I think I'm okay. Look at my Dawn Gundam, it doesn't have any crazy armaments, right?"
"The combination of bits and the Voiture Lumiere isn't crazy enough!?" Everyone shouted again.
"...Is it?"
"It is when you're the one using it!" Everyone agreed.
The combination of bits and Voiture Lumiere wasn't particularly insane on its own. Jehart's Gundam Legilis used both types of equipment, but there was a world of difference between the Gundam Legilis and the Dawn Gundam.
If Jehart piloting the Gundam Legilis could take on a small fleet, Yang Hui piloting the Dawn Gundam could massacre an entire full-strength fleet!
That was the gap in Psychic Energy. Jehart couldn't manipulate the bits and the Voiture Lumiere as effortlessly as Yang Hui, who commanded them like a disciplined army.
Yang Hui shrugged. This wasn't a problem with the machine; it was just that he was that excellent. It had nothing to do with the machines he designed.
"By the way, will it be ready in time? This machine." Lyle looked at the OOQ Gundam, which was still undergoing final tuning, and asked with some concern. The ELS could attack at any moment. If this machine couldn't be used, how would they complete the dialogue, and how would they defeat the ELS?
"So we can only trust the Professor and Old Wang. After all... Ugh!"
Right then, Yang Hui's expression changed drastically. He looked to be in immense pain, clutching his head and kneeling on the floor.
"Yang Hui! What's wrong!?"
"Tieria!"
"Hey! Setsuna! Are you okay!?"
"Amuro! What happened to you all?"
Not only Yang Hui, but Allelujah, Setsuna, and Amuro were all clutching their heads with pained expressions.
"These Brain Quantum Waves... what on earth... Ugh!"
"So massive... so chaotic... so loud... Aaaaah!!"
"They're coming! All forces, move to Battle Condition One!" Yang Hui forcibly stabilized his will and spoke to everyone, then stumbled step by step toward the command center.
The others didn't dare delay, quickly helping up their distressed comrades and rushing to the locker rooms to change into pilot suits and board their machines.
Along the way, Yang Hui saw many people with pained expressions. He had recovered by now, but that massive, disordered surge of Brain Quantum Waves that had just crashed into his brain felt as painful as having his head hit by a truck covered in steel spikes.
"Yang Hui! Are you all right?" Seeing Yang Hui drenched in sweat, Sumeragi rushed forward to support him. Many in the Command Room had also been affected, and she judged that something must have happened.
"I'm fine... They're here. All forces, move to Battle Condition One!"
"Okay..."
"Something is happening at Jupiter!"
"Io and Ganymede have been destroyed!"
"A localized gravitational field has occurred at Jupiter's Great Red Spot!"
"The ring has collapsed and is being absorbed into the center!"
"In the center of the Great Red Spot, a cloud with a radius of 100,000 kilometers is moving toward the center!"
"New Great Red Spots detected... one... no, two!"
"In the centers of the two secondary Great Red Spots, clouds with a radius of 60,000 kilometers are each moving toward the center!"
"The orbital elevator observatory has the same reports..."
"That is!"
Everyone was stunned. A total of three Great Red Spots had appeared on Jupiter's surface. A giant object with a radius of 5,000 kilometers and two giant objects with a radius of 3,000 kilometers were detected. At that moment, they revealed their true forms. Densely packed large and small-scale ELS, like clouds, flew out of the hollows on Jupiter's surface, erecting a silver curtain in front of Jupiter. Behind the curtain, two moon-sized giant ELS and one giant ELS no smaller than Earth followed closely behind. The two moon-sized ELS flanked the Earth-sized ELS like guards.
They had known from the beginning that the ELS's terrifying numbers were calculated in the trillions, but it was just a number without a concept. Until now, when it actually appeared before them, even the bravest person with the most thorough mental preparation couldn't help but tremble.
Just what kind of numbers were required to erect a silver curtain in the vastness of space?
"Damn it!"
There were no preliminary explorations or tests like in the original timeline; it was a full-scale assault by the entire species, and the numbers were at least three times those of the original story! Furthermore, the presence of planet-scale large ELS rendered all their preparations futile.
"Feldt, arrival time of the ELS at Earth!"
"Time until arrival at the Earth Sphere... 95 days!"
"More than three months... have Revil come here to Hold the Fort. Deploy the defensive lines immediately!"
"Understood!"
"I'll go help the Professor and Old Wang. You need to finish tuning the OOQ before the ELS arrive."
"Understood. Leave it to me."
Yang Hui nodded and headed back to the R&D department. Sumeragi immediately contacted all fleet commanders and Kati for a remote video conference: "Commander Revil is to come to the Celestial Being central headquarters immediately to deploy defensive lines. All fleets are to calm everyone's emotions. We still have hope in this battle!"
"Understood!" Everyone replied.
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