The Embryonic Form of a Secret Organization

"And even Milai is dead...!"

Hearing Price's words beside him, Xu De snapped back to reality.

He had an impression of this person named Milai.

The man was decent, possessed talent, and had a sense of loyalty, but he seemed far too reckless and utilitarian.

Simply put, his desire for advancement was so great that he would lose his reason and fail to remain calm in the face of massive gains.

While his death was regrettable, there was nothing to be done about it.

Sometimes, survival on the battlefield depends not just on strength, but on one's mindset.

If there had been time, perhaps Milai might have changed.

If his first battlefield hadn't been so brutal, perhaps Milai's future would have been bright.

But the world does not have so many "ifs."

Whether it was his original world or this one, it was all the same.

That is why one must be cautious and prudent.

After a moment of contemplation, Xu De continued.

"The dead cannot return to life; all we can do is continue to live on."

"We understand."

The voices of the few men blended together in response.

"Also, regarding what happened this time, you should know what to say, right?"

Xu De urged them once more.

"Of course, we got separated."

Hans nodded, taking over Xu De's words.

The others had no objections upon hearing this.

After all, Xu De had saved them, and they were people of integrity.

Furthermore, he had taken good care of them from the very beginning.

Not to mention that selling out Xu De would bring them no benefits and only harm.

Given his character and moral bottom line, they wouldn't do such a thing.

"Then the only thing left is to bring the mobile suit back."

Xu De looked at the Ginn, which had only its cockpit and a few joints damaged, and said.

"You all come and help."

"Right!"

At these words, there was a touch of sorrow in the others' voices, but also a hint of excitement.

Their hearts were filled with complex emotions.

The sorrow was for Milai.

The excitement was because, even though the main carry was Xu De, they had captured a Ginn together.

"Carefully drag it back."

As soon as Xu De finished speaking, the Earth Alliance reinforcements appeared from the direction of the moon.

Having achieved its operational objectives, ZAFT finally began to retreat.

The entire retreat could hardly be called orderly.

There were even quite a few Ginns that had gotten too caught up in the killing to retreat in time, only to be cornered and destroyed.

In short, after a chaotic mess, the three-colored signal flares representing the order to withdraw finally flashed repeatedly throughout this debris-filled sector of space.

It was almost like the finale of an SD series.

However, Xu De's state of mind at this moment was far from that.

At the very least, having just experienced a massive battle that he had never even encountered in his previous life, Xu De had absolutely no sentimental reflections.

He only wanted to hurry back, take a shower, get some sleep, and then find an opportunity to head to the moon and meet Halberton.

Likewise, the others breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing those signals.

Although it seemed they had lost this battle, at least they had survived.

As long as they were alive, there was a chance.

"After we get back, I will submit a report on our merits. You all extract the combat data from your systems and send it to me."

After Xu De used the various sensors on his mobile suit to inspect the Ginn behind him, he spoke directly.

"Ah..."

Hearing Xu De's words, the group still walking toward the main force froze in unison.

"This was captured primarily by your own efforts, Xu."

Although the credit for capturing a Ginn with a Mistral was incredibly tempting, Flint and the others still refused.

"That's right, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be alive."

"Exactly."

Hans and Price echoed the sentiment.

Listening to them, the tension on Xu De's face relaxed slightly.

"No need for modesty."

"When I file the report, I'll definitely have to submit the combat footage."

"Your humility won't change anything."

Even civilian vehicles had dashcams these days.

As a Moebius, it certainly had surveillance equipment.

Though, calling it surveillance was more like a black box.

Beyond recording, it was used to verify combat achievements.

Otherwise, in the chaos of the battlefield, who would know who scored the kill? This black box served as the evidence.

"Besides, I had already destroyed one Ginn before this."

There was no need to fight them for this credit.

"But, even so... what!?!?"

Hans and the others let out a collective shout upon hearing this.

The booming sound erupted through Xu De's comms.

"Exactly what I said."

Xu De replied indifferently.

It was as if he hadn't destroyed a Ginn, but merely stepped on an ant by the roadside.

"One Moebius, two Ginns..."

Hans continued to mutter on the other end of the line.

The others didn't mock Hans for his dazed state.

Having just finished their own confrontation with a Ginn, everyone knew the true weight of Xu De's achievement.

Xu De had actually downed one Ginn before arriving, and after arriving, he helped them capture another.

Given the glaring performance gap, the fact that someone could manage to take down two in a single battle was staggering.

"Xu, you've broken a record, haven't you!"

Hans, finally snapping out of it, said excitedly.

"You must have!"

Price added as well.

"Perhaps, but there are many strong people in this world."

Xu De didn't grow arrogant, merely stating the fact.

Not to mention those further away, Le Creuset—whom they hadn't faced head-on yet—and the future Mu were both prime examples.

"But regardless, that's still incredible!"

Hans said.

His friend's future was limitless; he would likely only grow more formidable as time went on.

Xu De was not a man to be confined to a small pond.

This thought echoed in the minds of the others as well.

Following Xu De in the future would likely lead to a life of prosperity.

The established big shots had no use for them.

But Xu De was different; he was loyal, upright, and they shared a bond forged in life-and-death combat.

They were naturally positioned to become his close confidants or core subordinates.

And if Xu De were to eventually become a Lieutenant Colonel or even a Major General, he would certainly need his own team.

"Xu, why don't you start a group chat?"

Flint, who always had a plan, said slowly.

"It would make it easier for us to chat when we get back, and to communicate about combat records and such."

He said it that way, but Xu De understood the underlying meaning perfectly well.

Although it had not yet reached the point of forming cliques for personal gain, Xu De still keenly realized that this might be the small, embryonic form of an organization destined to take root in the grassroots military.

As for the future of this group, only time would tell.

"Fine."

Xu De did not refuse.

First of all, this group had not reached any level that would warrant serious scrutiny; calling it a gathering of colleagues would be perfectly acceptable.

Moreover, this world was different now, and he could hardly be blamed for the Atlantic acting inhumanly.

He understood the principle that there is strength in numbers.

Especially in this world.

He wasn't talking about building some underground force.

At the very least, the more people he knew, the more sources of information he would have.

With more information, there would be more opportunities.

With more opportunities, he would be that much safer.

Therefore, Xu De had no intention of refusing.