"Tch... They ran off after just one kill? I thought I could really cut loose."
Watching the BuCUEs retreat en masse, Xia Chuan clicked his tongue in mild dissatisfaction.
Finally returning from space—where movement depended on thrusters—to Earth's gravity, Xia Chuan, who had spent over twenty years on the planet, felt completely in his element during the engagement, brimming with enthusiasm.
But just as he took down one BuCUE and was ready to show off... he suddenly noticed the remaining BuCUEs turning tail and fleeing as if they'd seen a monster?
This left Xia Chuan feeling like he had strength to spare with nowhere to use it, utterly frustrated.
"The intel from our landing battle must have reached them... Not many will dare fight you from now on."
Lu Tianming shrugged and smiled. If he were in Waltfeld's position, he'd probably order the BuCUEs to retreat too—why would a bunch of mass-produced units pick a fight with this cheater for no reason?
Xia Chuan thought it over and found the logic sound. Besides, having fewer fights was definitely a good thing.
As the two conversed, the surviving members of the resistance below had gathered together, seemingly intending to speak with Lu Tianming's group.
"I'll go down and talk with them, see if cooperation is possible."
After a moment's consideration, Lu Tianming spoke. If they could reach an agreement, there might be a chance to enter the city where the Desert Tiger was stationed and meet him face-to-face.
Then he could bring Lacus along to meet and talk with him... perhaps gaining another ally from ZAFT's side.
Xia Chuan glanced at the armed resistance members below and didn't object, instead saying:
"Alright, if there's any danger, just run toward me. If nothing else, I can definitely kick them to death."
Hearing Xia Chuan's words, Lu Tianming nodded slightly with a smile, but still took his pistol and made basic preparations before opening the cockpit and descending.
When the resistance members saw the cockpit open, they warily raised their weapons, but were immediately glared back into submission by Ashuman.
However they usually acted was fine, but behaving like this toward their saviors... really showed poor judgment...
As Ashuman sighed inwardly, his gaze returned to Lu Tianming—was the pilot of that machine really such a young boy?
He wondered what his personality was like, whether he was easy to get along with... Achieving so much at such a young age, he was probably a proud youth.
After some thought, he glanced toward Kisaka, seemingly asking if he could go first to test the waters.
As people directly saved by Lu Tianming, they had reason to approach and express gratitude, which would also allow them to gauge his situation.
However, Kisaka and Cagalli's status was somewhat different, so he couldn't order them around.
Fortunately, Kisaka was understanding. He nodded and brought Cagalli before Lu Tianming, bowing first to express thanks:
"Sir, we are extremely grateful for your assistance earlier."
As he spoke, he subtly winked at Cagalli, signaling her to express gratitude as well.
"Why should I thank the pilot of that thing... Fine, fine, I'll do it."
Cagalli tried to refuse quietly, but seeing Kisaka's stern expression, she wisely chose not to resist.
Initially, she held onto her negative first impression of the Strike Suit, even extending that resentment to Lu Tianming, which made her reluctant to thank him.
Still, she knew deep down that he had saved her life, and combined with Kisaka's prompting, she followed behind him and gave an unwilling bow.
"There's no need to worry about such things. With a common enemy, supporting each other is only natural."
Lu Tianming smiled in response while scanning his surroundings.
Kisaka testing the waters, the tsundere and awkward Cagalli, Ashuman expressing gratitude while remaining wary... Everyone seemed to be acting contrary to their true feelings.
...It felt a bit strained.
Lu Tianming sighed softly. If they continued guessing each other's thoughts and communicating through veiled probes, who knew how long it would take. He cleared his throat, deciding to cut through the clutter and get straight to the point:
"I'll be direct—our unit and the affiliated battleship plan to remain in this area for some time. Given our limited understanding of the local situation, we hope to establish temporary cooperation with your side."
"If you're willing, I'll contact our Captain to proceed with further discussions. If not... just consider this visit as if it never happened."
The sudden proposal of cooperation from this stranger who had fallen from the sky caused a stir among the surviving members of the resistance group. They began whispering among themselves, questioning whether the offer was genuine, if he could really contact the Captain, and so on.
Lu Tianming ignored the murmurs of the ordinary members and focused directly on Cagalli, Kisaka, and Ashuman—the three with the most authority.
The trio was indeed taken aback by Lu Tianming's bluntness, but they reached a consensus quickly. After Cagalli and Kisaka nodded in succession, Ashuman stepped forward and solemnly stated, "We are indeed willing to cooperate with your side."
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Through Lu Tianming's mediation, the resistance group held talks with the Archangel and formally decided to enter into an official partnership. This included, but was not limited to, briefing them on the current war situation and assisting with supply replenishment.
In return, they didn't ask for much from the Archangel—only that they help resist when "Tiger" launched an attack. The rest was considered repayment for saving their lives.
As for Lu Tianming—he habitually piloted the Strike Suit back to the hangar and stayed in the cockpit.
After all, going out might trigger an encounter with the "Flay-type wild monster," so it was better to quietly adjust the OS in the cockpit to make the Strike Suit's body more adaptable to gravity.
Though it seemed Xia Chuan was already quite accustomed to ground conditions...
Noticing Lu Tianming still tinkering with adjustments, Xia Chuan asked curiously, "By the way, aren't you joining their political discussions? Why stay here?"
"Don't want to go... The main plan is already settled. Let Mr. Mu handle the remaining ceremonial formalities."
Lu Tianming stretched lazily, wearing an expression of complete resignation.
"Besides—Cagalli didn't go either, right? It's not like I'm the only one slacking off."
Lu Tianming switched the monitor's camera feed to show Cagalli sitting nearby and idling. She wasn't going over to chat with anyone either, just sitting there staring at the Strike Suit as if lost in thought.
If she can slack off and space out, why can't I sit here and work without being bothered?
But as it turned out, Xia Chuan didn't follow Lu Tianming's train of thought at all. After glancing at Cagalli, he seemed to think of something suddenly and blurted out:
"Damn, so you want to steal Cagalli after taking Lacus? If you keep this up, Kira and Athrun might really end up living together someday."
"?"Hearing Xia Chuan's sudden complaint, Lu Tianming felt his head go numb."
I was just trying to use an example to prove I wasn't intentionally slacking off by not going... How did you jump to this topic?
And mainly because what he asked... really left me at a loss for how to respond for a moment.
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