After Xiao Ran left the Ptolemaios, everyone aboard began preparing for the first mission, which would begin very soon. First, the Arios Gundam would be sent to Earth, while the Exia Gundam would be sent to AEU's orbital elevator. With the families and conglomerates backing Celestial Being, transporting Gundams from space to Earth or from Earth into space was an extremely simple matter.
Before joining Celestial Being, Xiao Ran had never known that the families and conglomerates behind it possessed such astonishing power. Within the three great powers—the UNION, Humanity Federation, and AEU—these families and conglomerates firmly held part of the power. There were Celestial Being supporters in both the military and government, and they were also Celestial Being's primary source of intelligence.
Their financial power was even more terrifying. They even held shares in all three orbital elevators. Tiandu, Celestial Being's space colony, had likewise been funded and constructed by those conglomerates and families. The flow of funds and the transport of materials into space had gone unnoticed by every faction. One could imagine just how vast the influence of the families and conglomerates behind Celestial Being truly was.
But it made sense when he thought about it. Celestial Being had developed for two hundred years, and its technology had surpassed Earth's normal technological level in every respect. Even releasing a tiny portion of that advanced technology would let the families and conglomerates that obtained it make a fortune. They had helped each other for two centuries, and if their accumulated economic strength were ever exposed, it would absolutely shock everyone on Earth.
Once Miss Huang began making arrangements, the people aboard the Ptolemaios would not even need to act personally. Someone would help them deliver the Gundams anywhere in the world.
Xiao Ran returned from space to Earth.