After Wang Hu and the other two figures had completely disappeared, Balthazar stopped Martin from sending people to pursue them.
Seeing that they couldn't chase after Wang Hu and the others, Martin didn't say much.
He then began arranging soldiers to conduct a thorough search of the entire mansion, making sure to find all possible bombs.
"Andy." Seeing that Martin and the others had withdrawn, Aisha stepped forward and took Balthazar's hand, knowing he must be in a bad mood.
"Don't overthink it. Given the situation just now, your decision was the right one."
"I know."
Staring blankly in the direction where Wang Hu had disappeared, Balthazar let out a relieved smile after half a cup of tea's time.
"Andy?" Aisha called out her lover's nickname, somewhat worried about his mental state.
"Hope?" Shaking his head, Balthazar let out a heavy sigh.
"Truly, only when spoken by an East Asian does it sound convincing."
"So, what are you thinking?" Aisha, who knew her partner intimately, brightened up, fully aware of how much Balthazar detested war.
After hearing Wang Hu's plan earlier, she had actually been more eager than Balthazar to join the cause.
Simply because, in such a world, her lover would no longer suffer.
Gently patting Aisha's hand, Balthazar understood her as deeply as she understood him.
"It's not possible," he shook his head, saying something that puzzled Aisha.
"Why?" Aisha immediately asked, clearly Wang Hu's suggestion still had feasibility.
"I am currently a ZAFT soldier, so naturally, I must fight for the overall interests of PLANT."
"It has nothing to do with anything else, only because I am in this position."
Balthazar walked over to the fireplace and picked up a cup of cold coffee, deeply inhaling the aroma from the cup.
"Besides, Wang Hu's plan is ultimately just a plan—whether it succeeds or not is still uncertain."
"And if any part of it goes wrong, it could lead to the failure of the entire plan. The biggest potential failure lies in Wang Hu's identity."
"What are the chances that a plan proposed by a soldier would gain approval from the upper echelons?"
"He attempts to resolve human conflicts through the infinite universe, but even with today's technological capabilities,"
"traveling between Mars and Earth requires a long time, let alone the development of outer space."
"The cost involved is terrifying to think about, and in the early stages, there would be almost no returns."
"The biggest challenge of such a plan isn't the investment, but the long, even generational, time and patience required."
"However, humanity as a whole is the most impatient species—we are only interested in the immediate future."
"So, Wang Hu's plan is just a castle in the air, an illusion?"
Unable to hide the disappointment on her face, Aisha had thought she could save Balthazar from his suffering.
But after her lover's explanation, Aisha had to admit,
facing the centuries-long timeframe required for space development...
Humanity as a whole might indeed give up halfway, ultimately turning back to compete for interests within the known world.
This is supported by historical evidence—even during the Age of Exploration when faced with limitless overseas benefits, the ruling classes still engaged in prolonged wars over their limited territories.
The continuous flow of wealth brought back ultimately became the very fuel for nobles to wage wars.
"Actually, that's not entirely wrong," Balthfeld countered Aisha's statement.
"His plan is also based on the fact that his civilization differs from ours, conceived from the perspective of his own cultural background."
"I have some outdated data here—a comparison of core industrial statistics between the East Asian Alliance and the Atlantic Federation from a certain year."
"In shipbuilding, the East Asian Alliance's annual output was 42.32 million tons, while the Atlantic Federation's was only 600,000 tons. In cement production, East Asia produced 2.023 billion tons compared to the Atlantic Federation's roughly 100 million tons."
"In steel, East Asia produced 1.36 billion tons versus the Atlantic Federation's 70 million tons. For electricity generation, East Asia reached 9.2 trillion kilowatt-hours while the Atlantic Federation managed only 4 trillion kilowatt-hours."
"In automobiles, grain, and meat production, East Asia recorded 30.16 million vehicles, 700 million tons, and 96.41 million tons respectively, whereas the Atlantic Federation had only 10 million vehicles, 570 million tons, and 46 million tons."
"In key industries like steel and shipbuilding, the Atlantic Federation's output was merely a fraction of East Asia's."
"So, possessing the world's leading industrial manufacturing capacity that can sustain year-round progress and persistently drive toward its goals, the East Asian Alliance is indeed the civilization most likely to pioneer space exploration on this planet."
"Andy!" Aisha's eyes lit up again as she urgently asked, "So there's still a chance?"
"Hmm." Balthfeld suddenly looked at his lover, hesitating and conflicted for a moment before saying, "What if—I mean what if—we give Wang Hu a push?"
"What do you mean?"
There are very few fools among Coordinators, and Aisha counts among their elites. She instantly understood her lover's meaning.
Since Wang Hu proposed the plan, as long as he reaches a sufficiently high position and remains committed to advancing it without forgetting his original intentions!
Lowering her head, Aisha prevented Balthfeld from seeing the mist forming in her eyes.
Just as Balthfeld mistakenly thought his lover disagreed and was about to change the subject—
"Andy, wherever we go, even if it's hell, having you is enough."
"Aisha." Gazing tenderly at his lover, Balthfeld slowly walked over and embraced her tightly.
With such a wife, what more could one ask for?
"Brother Wang Hu, please let me join the Requiem of Zero plan!"
Meanwhile, having successfully left the Desert Tiger's residence, Kira couldn't contain his surging excitement and shouted loudly to Wang Hu halfway along their path.
"Of course, of course." Wang Hu glanced at the exhilarated Kira, indicating that his participation was always intended for the plan.
"Hmph." Noticing that Wang Hu hadn't even mentioned her, Cagalli snorted coldly. "Someone like you could never have the capability to advance such a grand plan."
"Moreover, even we in Orb don't have the ability to develop space!"
"Orb may not, but we in the East Asian Alliance do."
Wang Hu turned his head and extended two fingers, slightly bringing them together while leaving a narrow gap between them.
"The gap between our East Asian Alliance and Orb is just like this slit."
"Hmph." Initially thinking Wang Hu was looking down on Orb, Cagalli felt somewhat angry.
But upon seeing the gap between his fingers and hearing his explanation, Cagalli suddenly felt a bit happy.
"At least you know what's valuable. In that case, when I return, I'll reluctantly persuade my father to join your plan."
"Though it appears small, the gap is as vast as the universe itself. That's why you can't achieve what we can."
Cagalli and Wang Hu spoke almost simultaneously.
In an instant, the blonde girl's face turned extremely unpleasant, as if she had eaten expired food.
"Wang Hu!" The sound of Cagalli grinding her teeth was so loud that the other two could clearly hear it. Clenching her fists and unable to bear it any longer, she disregarded the fact that she was still wearing a dress.
She chased after Wang Hu, punching and kicking, determined to vent her anger at his perceived disdain for Orb.
"Alright, alright."
After taking quite a beating from Cagalli, Wang Hu grabbed the girl's hand.
"If Orb is willing to join, that would naturally be best. Uniting all forces that can be united has always been our principle."
With a serious expression, Wang Hu spoke earnestly.
"Wang Hu." Gazing closely at his face, Cagalli's cheeks flushed, and she fell silent.
Naturally, the rest of the journey passed without conversation, and the three smoothly arrived at the designated meeting point.
There, Li Chengzhi, who had already purchased and transported the supplies and arranged for subsequent deliveries, was waiting with Cagalli's personal driver.
"Everything go smoothly?" Seeing Wang Hu appear, Li Chengzhi glanced at Cagalli, whose appearance had drastically changed, and asked.
"OK." Making a hand gesture, Wang Hu indicated that everything had gone well.
"Cagalli." While Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi were quietly conversing, Cagalli's driver looked at the girl in her dress.
Ahmed awkwardly approached and whispered a compliment.
"You look really beautiful today!"
"Hmm." Still immersed in her earlier exchange with Wang Hu, Cagalli seemed distracted.
Her eyes remained fixed on Wang Hu, who was talking with Li Chengzhi not far away.
"Made contact with headquarters?" Wang Hu lowered his head to look at the note his friend handed him, reading the military order demanding his immediate return, and asked.
"The higher-ups have questions for you. Also, the reorganization and training of the new unit require your input."
While purchasing supplies, Li Chengzhi had also connected with the local East Asian underground intelligence agency.
Or rather, the organization capable of procuring so many supplies right under the Desert Tiger's nose was undoubtedly backed by the East Asian Alliance or other forces.
So, since they were buying with Orb's money anyway, why wouldn't Li Chengzhi choose his own people?
"Not planning to use some excuse to arrest me, are you?"
Wang Hu had known since planting bombs at Balthلد's house that Li Chengzhi could contact the East Asian Alliance.
Now, he chuckled and cracked a dry joke.
"East Asians don't deceive East Asians." Li Chengzhi replied with an even drier joke, though aside from a few bad apples, the statement itself wasn't wrong.
"Understood." Glancing back at Kira, Wang Hu paused for a moment in thought.
"Having broken through the Desert Tiger's encirclement, we'll return to our homeland with the Organization's transport convoy."
"But for now, let's have Kira continue escorting the Archangel - we should see this through to the end."
"Agreed." Facing this proposal, Li Chengzhi didn't raise any objections.
With the East Asian Alliance's local capabilities, transporting two Gundams back wouldn't be difficult, but moving the Archangel would be utterly excessive.
Moreover, the East Asian military hadn't projected its power to this region yet. To specially dispatch a fleet to escort a battleship that theoretically still belonged to the Atlantic Federation Army...
Did they think the East Asian Alliance was running a charity?
If the Atlantic Federation Army were to declare the Archangel now belonged to the East Asian Alliance, that might be worth considering.
Thus
Having broken through the Desert Tiger's blockade line, they entered the vast, boundless ocean.
With the Strike Gundam's power, plus the route Wang Hu and he had planned for them in advance, they should be able to hold out until returning to the Allied Forces headquarters in Alaska.
Once they reached there, having Kira proceed to the East Asian Army garrison in advance would settle everything.
At the very least, the Strike Gundam with its ultimate cockpit should be able to protect Kira, right?
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