The Three-Person Squad

"If the lieutenant has no objections, I'm fine with it."

"Of course. Before that, though, I'd like to see what you two can do."

Xu De thought about it at length, but in reality, barely any time had passed.

At those words, Moody shrugged, while Draco gave a soft snort.

"Just watch and learn, kid. I'll show you what an elite can do!"

Moody headed toward the simulator, looking supremely confident.

"Quit bragging. I'll crush you in no time."

Draco looked like a young aristocrat, and his manner was cool, but in battle mode he became a little more vulgar.

Xu De looked toward the large screen.

He knew they were strong, but they still had to test things out before they could work together.

He had already shown what he could do, so now it was their turn.

At least he didn't dislike the rapport between the two of them.

He had already completed most of the first step toward becoming a Gundam reserve pilot.

Next, he had to learn to pilot a Gundam proficiently, thwart Le Creuset's plan to seize the Gundam, and, ideally, drive him back himself.

That was a crucial step. After all, if things followed his original memories, he would still be in danger of dying.

He had driven Hal off, but plenty of challenges even worse than Hal lay ahead.

If those two were really as capable as the records claimed, then allying with them was the best choice.

That was the best way to avoid as many future dangers as possible.

At the very least, even with a year to prepare, Xu De didn't think he stood much of a chance alone against the red-uniformed squad led by Le Creuset.

As Xu De weighed his options, the two on the big screen battled fiercely, neither gaining the upper hand.

They just moved as if in slow motion.

They didn't have Xu De's ability to focus on operating a particular part, like overclocking a single-core processor.

Instead, they coordinated their movements as a whole, which made them painfully slow.

Still, they were at least capable of piloting the machines.

And they had potential. At the very least, just as the records suggested, they were stronger than everyone else here.

It wasn't unheard of for Naturals to pilot Mobile Suits. Le Creuset and Yun'ao were living proof.

At the end of the day, Coordinators were human too. Their genetic potential had simply been greatly enhanced.

So why couldn't he bring out his own potential?

As for whether it was possible, he'd leave that to the future to decide.

Draco and Moody had no idea that Xu De had just been thinking about events more than half a year away.

They simply fought it out on the virtual battlefield for a long while, until finally both of them stabbed the other's cockpit at the same time.

Xu De even wondered if the two of them had done it on purpose.

Before long, they climbed out together.

"I'll win next time!"

Lidi gave his opponent a thumbs-up, looking bright and cheerful.

"Hmph."

Draco merely snorted in annoyance, then turned his cool, emerald-green eyes toward Xu De.

"So?"

"Let's work well together."

Xu De smiled and held out his hand to them.

The other two clasped his hand as well.

The three of them wore entirely different expressions.

One was sunny, one was cold, and one was calm.

But their joined hands spoke as one.

The other candidates looked as if they'd eaten shit when they saw the alliance take shape.

After all, judging by what those three had just done in the simulator, they'd be formidable opponents if they teamed up.

How was that fair?

The others couldn't help looking toward the observation room, hoping the bigwigs up there would say something to stop the three of them from cheating.

Unfortunately, no one said a word. They acted as if the three had made some trivial decision.

Looking at the scene before him, Xu De understood a little more.

They didn't mind forming teams because they wanted to assess everyone's teamwork. The two across from him had probably known that from the start.

They likely had more information than he did.

But that worked out perfectly.

The three of them made a proper combat squad.

Although Gundam units had a five-person crew, that included specialized roles for certain missions.

Strictly speaking, a three-person squad was ideal.

That was a lesson warfare had taught them from ancient times to the present.

From geometry to biology, from the three-by-three formation to the Three Heroes, there was a reason the number had always been three.

"Damn it, I could do that too!"

Seeing the three of them form a squad, and getting no response from their superiors, someone couldn't hold back any longer and walked over to the simulator.

More and more people joined them, evidently planning to test their abilities and form squads of their own.

"Heh, heh."

Moody hummed as he watched them, looking to be in a pretty good mood.

Xu De, meanwhile, was secretly amused. His two teammates had very distinct personalities.

Moody was clearly cheerful on the surface and scheming underneath.

As for Draco, he seemed cruel and ruthless on the surface, but when he got into the fight, he was downright ferocious.

So, did that make them a good match?

The three of them had no plans to train for now, watching as the others gave it a try.

They were clearly trying to learn about their potential allies—and rivals.

After all, they were all elites. Their scores on paper might not be impressive, but who knew what they were really capable of?

"Holy crap!"

Xu De had thought as much, but reality was still harsh.

Those who'd claimed they could do it too were beset by mishaps soon after they entered the simulator.

Some flailed in space as if they were drowning, panicking instead of thinking clearly.

Those who chose a ground-based simulation were just as bad, stumbling around as if they were drunk.

"Beach Kid, how did Xu De do that just now?"

After quite some time, and several failed attempts by people who refused to give up, everyone looked at the three-person squad led by Xu De with fear in their eyes.

In the end, only those three had managed to pilot a Ginn well enough to fight.

It was like flailing your arms blindly in space: the momentum you created would make your body spin.

Now they all understood how difficult it was.

They could pilot the machines, and with a little more time, they might manage to reach Moody and Draco's level.

But the gap between them was real.

They had only two days. That meant twenty-four hours of training per person.

Even if everyone progressed at the same rate, they still couldn't catch up.

"Boring."

Draco snorted.

"Well, that's about how it goes."

"You'd already done specialized training, so you knew how to pilot them."

Moody shrugged, as if he'd seen this sort of thing plenty of times.

"I'm going to train."

Xu De didn't say anything. He turned his attention away and went back to his simulator.

They were probably guaranteed to win, but the final test would likely come down to a fight to the last person standing.

When that happened, he'd still have to compete against those two. With them around, he couldn't afford to stop for even a moment.

If he wanted to improve, he could only rely on his own efforts.

Neither Bella nor Revil, nor anyone else, could help him with that.

"Damn, you're sneaking off to train?"

"Hmph."