In front of Yang Hui stood the virtual image of Aeolia Schenberg, the founder of Celestial Being. This was the moment his consciousness had fully uploaded to VEDA, and his physical body was nothing more than a decoy now.
Just like Tieria, who had uploaded his consciousness into VEDA and, even if he died, was just considered a terminal body replacement.
Wait!
There's a problem here!
The reason Tieria could do this was because he had evolved into an original Innovator, so now Aeolia had also reached that state. Does that mean...?
Yang Hui studied the image of Aeolia carefully, trying to discern something, but since it was just an image, he couldn't make anything out.
However, Aeolia seemed to notice what Yang Hui was doing and asked, "Are you looking for this?"
Yang Hui froze for a moment, and the next second, his expression slightly changed. The image of Aeolia had transformed, and the whites of his eyes were filled with colorful, flowing light.
"You are indeed an Innovator," Yang Hui exclaimed, his voice filled with surprise.
"It seems my guess was correct. You indeed know many things," Aeolia said calmly.
"Ha…" Yang Hui exhaled, although he was prepared, he was still taken aback.
"You are quite an extraordinary existence, Yang Hui. After I designed and established the super-large quantum calculation system, VEDA, we ran extensive calculations for the future. Though the process had countless possibilities, under Celestial Being's intervention, only one result remained.
However, 23 years ago, something changed. This was the first major change in more than two hundred years. After extensive calculations, we eventually traced the source back to you.
VEDA's new calculation results revealed two possibilities: one was to eliminate you before you interfered with our plan, and the other was to modify the plan with you as the core. After careful consideration, I decided to choose the second option. I want to see what possibilities this variable will bring," Aeolia said, his expression unchanged.
"Heh, there's no need for that," Yang Hui immediately rejected. He didn't want to be the core of Celestial Being's plan, especially not to replace Setsuna to communicate and merge with the ELS in the end.
"You've already missed your opportunity, Yang Hui. The moment you joined Celestial Being, the plan was set in motion. You, I, Leesa Kyujo, and everyone else in Celestial Being, as well as all of humanity on Earth, can no longer stay uninvolved," Aeolia said.
Yang Hui felt frustrated, but as Aeolia said, even as a civilian, it was impossible to stay uninvolved in this revolution. Especially with the coming of the ELS, no one would be able to escape.
And Yang Hui was a man who liked to control his own destiny. He would rather die fighting than entrust his safety to others.
"Ha…" Yang Hui took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down, and asked, "You didn't come here just to say all this, did you?"
"That's right. I came here to announce your appointment."
"My appointment? Aside from being an MS designer and a reserve Gundam pilot, is there anything else?" Yang Hui asked, confused.
"From now on, you will be the chief executor of Celestial Being's plan, with the same authority as me. You will have full control over all of Celestial Being's resources..."
"Wait! Although I appreciate your trust, I must refuse," Yang Hui immediately rejected.
He didn't know how deep the waters of Celestial Being were, but one thing was for sure: without the backing of a large family or a huge corporation, he wouldn't be able to hold his ground against the supporters and monitors.
For example, the Kona family had been planning to take over Aeolia's plan and change it so that the Kona family would become the rulers of Earth.
Many other supporters' descendants had also become corrupted over the years. In the end, aside from Celestial Being's military forces, who were kept in the dark and fully committed to executing the plan, everyone else had their own agendas.
He would not accept being manipulated by a bunch of scheming old foxes.
"Refusal is not an option. This was decided long before you joined Celestial Being. This appointment has already been delivered to the overseers before you even joined."
"I… damn it!" Yang Hui was so furious that he almost wanted to storm into VEDA's main body, drag out Aeolia's physical form, and beat it to death. They decided this without even consulting him? Is this how you treat people? Is this even polite?
Aeolia's face remained unchanged as he quietly waited for Yang Hui to stew in his impotent rage.
"Ha…" Feeling somewhat exhausted, Yang Hui calmed himself down, analyzing the current situation. Since he couldn't avoid it, he might as well make the best of it.
"So, I have control over all of Celestial Being's resources?" Yang Hui asked.
"Yes," Aeolia confirmed.
"I understand."
With that, their first conversation came to an end. Although frustrated, Yang Hui's appointment as the highest commander of Celestial Being had become a fact. There was no point in protesting anymore. Since Yang Hui knew so much, he had to make more arrangements.
However, before the communication ended, Yang Hui asked Aeolia, "Are you really an Innovator?"
"All artificial Innovators were created using my genetic blueprint as the core."
Well, no one knew this—Aeolia was the real mastermind behind everything. Poor Alessandro Kona, poor Li Fongs, they would die without ever realizing they had been played from the very beginning.
Leaving the communications room and returning to the meeting room, Yang Hui saw that everyone was still waiting for him. Huang was already chatting happily with the others.
"Eh! Is Mearin your fiancé?" Christina asked, covering her mouth in surprise.
"Yes, we were planning to get married soon, but now it seems it will be postponed," Huang said with some regret.
"Shh, how romantic!" Lockon whistled teasingly.
"Is this a husband and wife team heading into battle?" Lasse laughed.
"Nothing surprising, right? Didn't Ian's wife also become part of Celestial Being?" Allelujah said.
"How nice. I don't even have a girlfriend," Rysht grumbled.
"What are you talking about?"
"You're back!" Huang immediately grabbed Yang Hui's hand when he approached, confirming their engagement.
Everyone teased and congratulated them, except for one person who didn't understand the atmosphere.
"Now that you're back, let's begin," Tieria said, walking up to Yang Hui, looking somewhat impatient.
"Hey, Tieria, can't we..."
"Alright."
"Mearin..."
"Time is tight, isn't it? As fellow pilots, what better way to understand each other than through combat?"
"Well, yes," Lockon originally wanted to persuade them, especially considering that Yang Hui had given up his wedding to join Celestial Being. But since Yang Hui had already accepted Tieria's challenge, Lockon couldn't help but feel helpless.
The group headed to the simulation training ground. Yang Hui and Tieria wasted no time and entered the simulated cockpits.
"Ian," Yang Hui's voice came through.
"What is it?"
"Please record our data, especially mine. The future development of the mobile suits will need your help."
"No problem, leave it to me."
With the conversation finished, the simulation began. The chosen battlefield was a plains area. Tieria chose his beloved Gundam Virtue, while Yang Hui's choice surprised everyone: it was a land-based high-mobility Iron Man MS from the Human Reform League.
"Hey, Mearin, is this decision a bit rash?" Lockon commented.
"Indeed, while the Human Reform League's MS is more advanced than UNION and AEU's, it's still too fragile against the Gundam Virtue," Christina added.
"Huang, aren't you worried?" Christina asked Huang.
It was then that the others realized and looked at Huang.
"I'm not worried," Huang replied. If it weren't for needing to hide his true identity, she would've just shared Yang Hui's battle record.
Four years ago, during the Pillar Defense Battle, Yang Hui piloted a land-based Iron Man high-mobility type, though specially equipped. Despite being fundamentally an Iron Man, he single-handedly wiped out 23 enemy MS, earning the title of "Young Tiger."
Seeing Huang's attitude, everyone's curiosity about Yang Hui's piloting skills grew, and they focused intently on the screen.
"Let's begin, let me see the level of the Gundam pilot."
"Virtue, start destroying the targets."
Tieria, ever serious and concise, immediately began the battle. The countdown ended, and the GN Rocket Launcher was raised in front of Virtue's chest. Green GN particles enveloped it as pink beams began to gather at the barrel.
"Ha, this is too overconfident," Yang Hui sighed and started moving his Iron Man.
Soon, the GN Force Field dissipated, and the massive pink beam shot out, but Yang Hui had already predicted its trajectory and dodged in advance.
The GN Rocket Launcher was indeed powerful, but it needed time to charge, and after firing, it needed time to refill the GN particles. It was during this time gap that Yang Hui closed the distance with the Gundam Virtue.
The 200mm rapid-fire smoothbore cannon fired. Facing the incoming shells, Tieria didn't even attempt to dodge or defend, relying on the Virtue's heavy armor and newly developed E-carbon armor, thinking that the Iron Man's shots wouldn't deal any effective damage.
Indeed, the cannon shells merely sparked on Virtue's armor.
The subsequent battle became rather monotonous—Virtue charged, and Iron Man dodged and shot, one couldn't hit, and the other couldn't penetrate.
"Ha, this is boring."
"Looks like Mearin is going to lose," the other Gundam pilots murmured, thinking the outcome was certain. After all, Virtue's performance was overwhelming, and the Iron Man was only barely avoiding the shots, one hit would end it.
But Huang disagreed.
"No, he's going to win."
"Huh?"
Everyone looked at Huang and then back at the screen. Soon, their expressions changed to shock.
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**End of Chapter 5**