Mutual Combat Record Check

Surprise aside, everyone quickly introduced themselves.

Except for that Hal, who merely swept a glance at Xu De with the whites of his eyes before letting out a disdainful huff and looking away.

This made the atmosphere momentarily awkward.

Xu De did not mind, simply withdrawing his gaze and standing back in his position.

Halberton was likely right here.

Just as the files indicated, Hal was indeed excessively arrogant and prone to violence.

Although he did not know why Halberton would arrange for this person to undergo the assessment despite knowing this, Xu De had no intention of digging too deeply into the affairs of the higher-ups.

As long as he could pass, that was enough.

Meanwhile, the interactions of the group were being observed by the people in the attic observation room.

"Admiral, the simulators are ready."

"We can begin at any time."

In the observation room, Maliu's beautiful eyes lingered on Xu De in surprise for a moment before she turned back to speak to Halberton.

As the primary initiator of the project, Halberton was sitting in the main seat, with Cook beside him.

Besides the three of them, there were several technical officers from the Special Operations Division recording data at various metallic, high-tech instruments.

Although the official assessment had not yet begun on the surface—this was merely simulation training before they officially piloted the Ginn—the evaluation had undoubtedly started in secret.

Over these past few days, their specific performance would be faithfully recorded by the machines.

"Begin."

Halberton surveyed the ten people on the camera feed, tapped his fingers on the armrest of his chair, and spoke.

Following the Admiral's order, the five simulators in front of the group started up simultaneously.

"Two to a group, taking turns; each person has twenty-four hours of usage time."

"The content is free training. You can engage in mock battles or practice on your own; it's up to you."

"After forty-eight hours, the final combat assessment will begin."

The voice coming through the comms was Cook's.

It matched the information Bella had given Xu De perfectly.

"Yes, sir!"

The group responded in unison.

As for Xu De, he had become a hot commodity for some.

First, more than half of them didn't know what Xu De had done, and among those, a portion felt that pairing up with a corporal like Xu De would allow them to highlight their own strength.

In short, there were many invitations.

"Xu, do you want to be in my group?"

"Xu is obviously supposed to be in my group! Don't you dare cut in line, you bastard!"

Watching the scene before him, Xu De's face remained expressionless, but a sense of speechlessness rose within his heart.

"Alright, Xu De is with me."

A typical handsome young man with blonde hair and blue eyes stepped directly into the crowd, and without waiting for the others to react, he pulled Xu De toward one of the simulators and finished the pairing.

Hearing this, the crowd fell silent, stepping back with a hint of resentment, secretly regretting that they hadn't acted as quickly as this man.

They had lost an easy mark for nothing.

"Second Lieutenant Moody."

On the other side, Xu De looked at the young man before him and spoke with humility.

According to the information provided by Bella, this Second Lieutenant Moody was a member of an elite squad, with a combat record of one Laurasia-class ship and three Ginns.

Of course, this was achieved through squad cooperation.

As for the name of the squad, it had been crossed out with a black line.

"You know me."

Moody said with a playful, irreverent smile.

"You introduced yourself earlier."

"That's not what I meant, and you should know that."

Moody looked at Xu De with interest.

According to his files, Xu De shouldn't have any connections.

However, he was still very strong; he wasn't like those idiots who thought the other party was an easy mark and came over to team up.

"I suppose you could say I know of you."

Xu De did not hide it.

He had his own considerations in mind.

Only Moody had come over from that squad.

In all likelihood, aside from personal willingness, the people selected for this assessment weren't exactly the most outstanding candidates.

Since the immediate combat forces had to resist the impending ZAFT offensive, only they—pilots who hadn't fully matured yet—were left to undergo training.

This was also quite reasonable.

After all, they weren't considered top-tier combat assets; even if the MS project were cancelled later, this training wouldn't be in vain, as it would allow them to immediately return to their units as elite pilots.

They would become immediate combat assets then, and that was likely how Halberton had convinced his superiors.

"That makes things easier to talk about, though I didn't expect Corporal Xu De to be selected with the rank of corporal. Did you have some sort of meritorious service?"

Moody shrugged, forming a sharp contrast to Xu De's serious and cautious demeanor.

These words caught everyone's ears, and the scene quieted down a bit as the discussions about grouping subsided.

Those who were unaware were actually curious, though since the other party was just a corporal, they didn't expect to hear of any major combat achievements.

They figured he had probably just picked up some battle honors while tagging along with his squad.

Is he doing this on purpose?

Under the gaze of the crowd, Xu De looked at Moody's harmless, innocent smile.

The man was clearly asking a question he already knew the answer to.

Was he giving him a chance to flex his muscles, or was he digging a pit?

Of course, the most likely scenario was that he was testing his capabilities.

"World Tree Garrison Force, solo kill of one Ginn, assisted kill of one Ginn."

Xu De stated simply.

"..."

Hearing Xu De's words, those in the room who were unaware fell silent for a moment.

A corporal with two Ginn kills, one of which was a solo kill—wasn't that a bit too absurd?

"Were you piloting a Moebius?"

Moody continued to ask.

"No. Thanks to the trust of my superiors, I was fortunate enough to be granted piloting rights for a Moebius."

Xu De explained.

"I see..."

Faced with Xu De's calm demeanor, some of the others turned their gazes toward the observation deck on the second floor.

No one came out to refute it, which meant... it was true.

Soon, everyone withdrew their looks of contempt, and even those dismissive glares were reined in.

They felt a faint sense of relief that the "easy mark" they had pegged earlier had been snatched up by this mysterious Moody.

Although Xu De's combat record seemed to be on par with theirs, they might truly trip up if they were careless.

Meanwhile, Moody enthusiastically patted Xu De on the shoulder, feigning a look of unexpected amazement.

"I didn't expect you to be so impressive, kid."

"Not as impressive as Second Lieutenant Moody."

Xu De replied.

"True, I did take down a Laurasia-class and three Ginns, though it was a joint effort."

Moody laughed openly.

"Hiss..."

Hearing this, the crowd collectively drew a sharp breath.

What kind of ruthless people were these?

A warship and Ginns—the Sharp Knife Special Forces, indeed.

But if there were five spots... there should still be a chance, right?

Ignoring the gazes of those around them, Moody continued.

"Since you're the newcomer, you go first."

The young man's words sounded generous, but just like with the Moebius simulator earlier, this was a device everyone was seeing for the first time.

Although it was guaranteed that both sides would have twenty-four hours of training time, the person who went first would definitely be at a disadvantage.

"Then I shall accept your offer."

Xu De's reply was crisp and confident.