Go Find Harbadun

Xu De fell into deep contemplation.

Previously, Revil had wanted to recruit him.

But now, they had lost a space station, and their cosmic forces had been more than half depleted.

Not to mention the emergence of the Neutron Jammer.

It was likely that even Revil himself was unsure of where he would be headed in the future, and naturally, he no longer had much of a mind to recruit him.

Rather than recruitment, it seemed more like he merely wanted to build a rapport and offer a favor.

And perhaps he could take this opportunity to persuade Revil to lead his people away from the Third Fleet.

"I'm not sure yet, but I want to try piloting this type of machine."

Xu De turned his head to look at the massive Ginn.

Don't let the Ginn's current prowess fool you; in a year or eighteen months, it would be obsolete once again.

He had to keep up with the pace.

"This thing, a Natural cannot pilot it."

"Moreover, there are some people in the upper echelons who hold deep prejudices against MS."

Revil frowned as he spoke, though his tone remained inclined toward reason.

Revil was a soldier; to him, the Ginn was merely a weapon, a tool for killing and winning battles.

But the fanatics of Blue Cosmos in the higher-ups would not think that way.

Hearing this, Xu De said.

"I know, but they have introduced a new jamming weapon, and future battlefields will return to within-visual-range combat."

"In this regard, the advantage of the MS remains significant."

"Hmm..."

Watching the pensive Revil before him, a sense of nervousness rose in Xu De's heart.

He wasn't entirely sure if Revil had heard about Halberton's desire to build a Gundam.

If he could successfully obtain a recommendation from Revil, that would be for the best.

If not, he would have to find another opportunity to meet with Halberton on the Moon.

With his combat record of capturing one Ginn and shooting down another, he should be qualified to meet the man.

Although his value wasn't yet considered very high, the other party was only a Major General, not the Supreme Commander of the Moon; it should be enough of a ticket to get in.

Just as Xu De maintained a calm exterior while feeling tense inside, Revil finally opened his mouth.

"I understand your intentions."

"However, based solely on your achievement of capturing one Ginn, even if the higher-ups have plans for the practical application of MS, I'm afraid..."

Facing the stern Revil, Xu De breathed a sigh of relief.

A direct refusal meant there was still a chance.

Immediately, Xu De added.

"My black box also contains a record of a solo Ginn kill."

"Hmm, this..."

"What!?!?!"

Revil's voice was exaggeratedly loud, momentarily drowning out the noise of the scene.

At this moment, the calm and self-possessed Lieutenant Colonel's composure vanished, replaced by a look of utter astonishment.

His eyes widened, staring fixedly at Xu De.

He had assumed that Xu De had been separated during the collapse of the World Tree and had captured the Ginn then.

Even that was already exaggerated enough.

Now Xu De was telling him that he had shot down a Ginn before even capturing one?

Was the Ginn nothing more than cheap cabbage?

"Are... are you certain?"

Revil's voice trembled slightly.

If it were true, then Xu De's value was far greater than he had imagined—greater by a massive margin.

"Yes."

Xu De said.

"In that case... this might actually be possible!"

Revil grew agitated upon hearing this.

Xu De had shot down two Ginn units single-handedly.

Although there were no concrete statistics yet, based on what Revil had witnessed on the battlefield.

Xu De might even be one of the individuals with the greatest combat achievements in this engagement.

Taking down a Ginn with nothing but a Mistral was a massive challenge; the disparity between the two machines was immense.

As far as he knew, no one had ever managed to shoot down three Ginn units without any support.

"It was just a stroke of luck, really."

Seeing Revil's excitement, Xu De felt a genuine, modest sense of embarrassment.

"The enemy pilot got impatient and gave me an opening; my Linear Cannon just happened to strike the reaction device inside his engine."

"Perhaps it was a quality control issue with that Ginn."

Xu De explained simply.

Rushed into production for the battlefield, the quality control of the Ginn was likely even worse than he had imagined.

"That still required you to seize the opportunity!"

Revil said, turning around to leave.

"Follow me. We're taking a shuttle to the Menelaus right now."

There was a reason for his urgency.

After all, Xu De's background was different from theirs.

If the wrong people found out, they might very well suppress Xu De's combat records.

Those people from Blue Cosmos were certainly capable of such disgusting tactics.

At most, they would offer Xu De some meager compensation later, and since he would already be under their command, it would be difficult for him to resist.

In the current situation, before news of Xu De's feat could spread, going directly to that brilliant commander was the fastest solution.

Such a genius was worth his full support.

Moreover, after that last battle, his direct superiors were gone.

The connections he had cultivated for so long were gone as well, so he had to find a new path for himself.

Halberton was a fine choice.

Amidst the chaos, Xu De and Revil quickly arrived aboard the Menelaus.

It was also the flagship of the Eighth Fleet.

"Revil, what are you doing here?"

Seeing the arrivals, a middle-aged man with the same rank of Lieutenant Colonel as Revil, and roughly the same age, walked up to them.

They were currently in a small pilot ready room, and there was no one else around.

This Lieutenant Colonel's expression was rather unfriendly.

Naturally, given the defeat they had just suffered.

Everyone here looked unhappy.

"Cook, I have something to report to the Admiral."

Hearing this, the Lieutenant Colonel named Cook looked at Xu De and said coldly.

"Bringing a Corporal along?"

"Yes, it's a matter of importance."

Cook was likely a trusted aide to Halberton; otherwise, even if they were of the same rank, Revil probably wouldn't have been so polite.

Xu De stood at attention, observing, his face remaining stoic as if their conversation had nothing to do with him.

"The Admiral is still in a meeting; you should know what the situation is like right now."

"It's not just the Operations Department; the entire Command Headquarters and even the decision-making level are in a state of total disarray."

No longer bothering to cast his gaze on a mere Corporal, Cook shook his head and said.

Xu De understood the urgency of the high command.

This wasn't just a simple defeat.

The Earth was not a monolith; if they didn't handle this well, they wouldn't just lose face—the domestic populace and even other nations might stop listening to them.

But for Xu De himself, this was an opportunity.

The Atlantic Federation was desperate to turn the tide and demonstrate their strength, so the Gundam project would be fast-tracked.

However, the cost would ultimately fall on the people; those merchants of death would likely squeeze the public and the military for every penny later on.

There would inevitably be more chaos back home.

If he couldn't become a Gundam pilot, his future would be difficult to navigate.

Xu De thought of many things in this moment, yet only a brief instant had passed.

After hearing Cook's words, Revil continued to ask.

"How much longer until the Admiral can see us?"

"I'm not sure. I suggest you leave for now."

"This..."

Revil was left speechless by the other man's cold, uncompromising tone.

Considering the current state of their Third Fleet, with their superiors all gone, it was clearly quite difficult to expect the other party to be polite.

Just then, the door to the ready room swung open.

Following a cool breeze caused by the air pressure difference between the room and the corridor, a girl's voice reached Xu De's ears.

"Uncle~ did you find that corporal named Xu De yet?"

The girl was beautiful, her long, dark brown hair framing a petite body whose curves were accentuated by a tight-fitting pilot suit.

Her voice was dainty and sounded as if she were acting spoiled; it was not at all the attitude a soldier should have toward a superior.

Then again, under normal circumstances, no soldier would call their superior "Uncle," either.

Xu De observed her calmly, already forming a guess as to the girl's identity.