Going Home to Find Mom

"Very well."

Xu De agreed and continued, "So, do you want to do an MS simulation or a Moebius?"

With Bella's intelligence, he had the ability to counter his opponent.

Hal wanted to use him to establish his authority and serve as a sacrificial flag, and he felt the same way.

If he could take down Hal in a spectacular fashion with an MS under everyone's gaze, his spot would basically be secured.

It remained to be seen who would emerge victorious.

"MS will do."

"...Fine."

Xu De, who couldn't understand why the other party was so confident as if he were certain he could pilot a Ginn freely, nodded along.

Either way, a Ginn and a Moebius were the same to him.

Xu De's slight pause was clearly misinterpreted by Hal and several others as fear.

Instantly, the smile on Hal's face grew more sinister; the expression with which he looked at Xu De was as if he were eyeing a lamb ready for the slaughter.

"There's no need to be so serious..."

Watching the two refuse to give an inch, Moody gave a dry laugh, though he didn't say anything further.

Clearly, he had his own calculations.

"Who do you think will win?"

The burly man from before whispered into Moody's ear.

"I don't know."

Hearing this, Moody shook his head, though his gaze couldn't help but drift toward Xu De.

"I think Hal has the better chance of winning."

Listening to Moody's reply, the burly man shrugged and said.

This was the consensus of most people here; after all, even though Xu De had a record of downing two Ginns, his opponent was a true elite seasoned in battle.

As for Xu De, even with his combat achievements in a Ginn, defeating Hal would be quite difficult.

However, the reason they held this opinion was that they viewed Hal as one of their own, while even if Xu De might become a second lieutenant in the near future, none of them had any intention of considering him one of their own right now.

Moody did not answer upon hearing this, merely continuing to watch the fiery Hal and the still, indifferent Xu De, who looked like an emotionless block of ice.

Xu De did not seem that simple.

Although none of the people here were simple, there were few who were truly cautious enough to think about knowing both themselves and their enemy.

They were elites, but they were too arrogant; Moody asked himself, and most of these people were no match for him.

But Xu De was different.

Even though he had already obtained intelligence on Xu De through connections and had thought of ways to suppress him, he was still surprised upon actually seeing the man.

That aura was almost identical to the old captain he had seen in the military.

Simply put, they felt Hal had the advantage because he was a veteran of many battles.

But he, conversely, had an intuition that Xu De had actually faced more battlefields than any of them.

It was a counter-intuitive hunch.

After all, as a recruit, it was impossible for Xu De to have been on so many battlefields.

Yet, that was exactly what he felt.

That was why he had initiated that probing greeting earlier; now it seemed he was indeed stronger than imagined.

Just like that, the scene fell into an eerie silence under the two men's wager.

"Interesting."

Halberton watched the two in front of him with great interest.

He had watched Maliu set up that simulator, and he was very familiar with it; for a first-timer, just walking normally was a struggle.

Even for an elite, he estimated that barely managing basic movements would be the limit.

His original intention was for them to get familiar with it before starting a fight.

To think they would actually fight on their first time piloting—what would happen? Two Ginns wrestling like infants?

Even for someone known as a brilliant commander, he felt a rich curiosity rising about what would happen next.

As for Cook, who had been standing silently beside Halberton the entire time, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The person Bella liked—could he really be so easily provoked?

That seemed unlikely.

Cook was well aware of who Bella had been gathering intelligence for over the past few days.

It seemed Xu De had a promising future, and since it wasn't anything highly classified, he had let it slide.

In other words, Xu De was fully aware of his opponent's strength.

Moreover, Xu De did not strike him as the type of hot-blooded youth who lacked composure.

The aura currently surrounding him, in particular, made Cook understand why both Bella and Revil had taken an interest in him.

That sense of restraint, like a sharp blade sheathed, contrasted with Xu De's actual age; the fusion of the two not only created a unique charm but also made his potential clear to anyone watching.

Observing Xu De's calm expression closely, a spark of curiosity rose in Cook's heart.

Hal was no pushover, and it was hard to say who would emerge victorious.

Under the gaze of the crowd, the two men walked straight toward the simulators simultaneously.

"Watch me beat you until you run home to your mommy, you idiot."

Hal spoke, his face still twisted in a look of disdain.

That discriminatory attitude could no longer be contained, bleeding from his inner thoughts onto his exterior.

It made Hal's expression appear all the more detestable.

To this, Xu De said nothing.

He welcomed this emotional state; it saved him the trouble of having to use any psychological provocation.

The man seemed like he had eaten gunpowder at any given moment.

Though, it was also possible he had just taken too many hormones.

"We'll see who ends up running home to their mommy."

Xu De replied indifferently.

It was precisely this calmness from Xu De that made the ferocity on Hal's face intensify.

Though he didn't speak, his expression was undoubtedly screaming for Xu De to die.

Ignoring the other man, Xu De shifted his gaze to the simulator.

The simulator's interface was similar to the ones they used at Moebius, both featuring modes for direct combat.

Neither of them intended to waste time; they selected their Mobile Suits and began choosing the battlefield.

"Where should we fight?"

Xu De asked.

"Doesn't matter, you pick."

"In that case."

Xu De did not stand on ceremony and chose the ruin map he was most familiar with.

Seeing this, Halberton's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Xu De certainly isn't being polite."

He was well aware of Xu De's prowess in ruin combat, having watched the footage of his record-breaking performance.

For Xu De, choosing that battlefield was like a fish returning to water.

"Indeed..."

Following Halberton's remark, Cook couldn't help but nod.

If anything, he felt even more satisfied.

All is fair in war.

Being a little cunning was perfectly fine; on the battlefield, the winner takes all. If one were to actually insist on a fair duel like a hero or a knight, he would have to call them an idiot before admiring their spirit.

"Why did he choose this map?"

A candidate asked curiously.

"I heard that's what Xu De specializes in. They even call him the God of Ruin in the Third Fleet."

Moody shrugged and said.

"Then he's truly despicable. He doesn't even understand a fair fight—commoners will always be commoners."

The candidate said with disdain.

"You're talking about fairness to a Coordinator on the battlefield?"

Moody asked with a smile.

The man who had spoken turned bright red.

Indeed, their confrontation with a Coordinator was inherently unfair to begin with.

To bring it up now only made him look like a clown.

"Let's see if he's actually as good as they say."

"He'd better not lose even on his home turf."

Amidst the man's stubborn taunts, Xu De and Hal appeared simultaneously on the MS catapults.

Xu De's first MS battle was about to begin.