"Hmph, you cowardly rat!" Tieria, frustrated after multiple failed attacks, became increasingly impatient. His attacks grew more reckless, not noticing that the joints of the Gundam Virtue were starting to glow faintly red.
"Got you!"
For some unknown reason, Yang Hui's Iron Man suddenly stopped moving. But he didn't need to think about why; all he had to do was destroy the Iron Man in front of him.
However, just as the GN rocket launcher was aimed at the Iron Man, the Gundam Virtue suddenly collapsed and fell to the ground.
"What's going on!? Why is the Gundam Virtue like this!? Why can't it get up!?" Tieria pulled at the control sticks, but couldn't get the Gundam Virtue to stand again.
Meanwhile, Yang Hui's Iron Man had already reached the Gundam Virtue's front, aiming his rapid-fire smoothbore cannon directly at Tieria's cockpit. Yang Hui's voice rang out, cold and final, like the pronouncement of death: "Checkmate."
"Bang, bang, bang..."
The simulation ended. The Gundam Virtue's cockpit was destroyed, and the pilot was killed.
"What did you do!?" As soon as he left the simulation pod, Tieria stormed up to Yang Hui, seething with anger.
Yang Hui glanced at Tieria, recognizing him as a sore loser. He didn't answer Tieria but instead looked at Ian.
"Ian, have all the data been collected?"
"All collected."
"Good, since everyone is here, let's go over the replays."
"Hey! I'm asking you!" Tieria, growing even more irate as Yang Hui ignored him, tried to grab Yang Hui by the collar. But Yang Hui swiftly caught his wrist and spun him away.
"You should be grateful this is just a simulation. Otherwise, you'd already be dead," Yang Hui said coldly.
"What did you say!?"
"Isn't it true? If this were the real deal, would you have had a chance to come and cause trouble for me? And by the way, you're not my superior, so I have no obligation to answer your questions."
"You!"
"Don't understand? Then watch and learn! You're a Gundam pilot, not a kid who lost a fight!" Yang Hui's tone sharpened as he lectured.
"Ugh..."
Seeing that Tieria had nothing to say, Yang Hui turned his attention back to Ian. "Ian, please bring up the records and data from the battle. Let's do a proper review."
"Okay... okay."
Everyone, including Ian, was taken aback by the change in Yang Hui. He had been so easygoing before, but now he was radiating authority.
Of course, Huang wasn't surprised. She knew that Yang Hui was genuinely angry. After all, Tieria's performance was appalling. He was behaving like a rookie pilot, relying too heavily on the Gundam Virtue's high performance to bully the enemy. In a real battle, this kind of behavior would be a death sentence.
Yang Hui had no patience for those who treated their lives lightly on the battlefield. This also showed how serious he was about Celestial Being's plan.
The footage began to play, and everyone, including Tieria, watched in disbelief as their seemingly invincible Gundam was defeated.
"Ian, zoom in on the spots where the Gundam Virtue took damage."
"Done."
Everyone's faces were filled with astonishment, and Tieria was practically shouting, "Impossible!" All of Yang Hui's shots had struck the Gundam Virtue's joint areas, which had no external armor covering them.
"Wait, wait, wait, is this for real? High-speed shooting, and every shot hits its mark like that?"
"Plus, he had to dodge the Gundam Virtue's fire. The entire time required extreme focus. Such intense action for an hour—can a human even manage that?"
Lockon and Allelujah, the ones most qualified to comment, were particularly impressed. Their own Gundams—Lockon's Dynamis and Allelujah's Kyrios—were specialized in sniper and high-mobility combat, respectively. Yet Yang Hui seamlessly combined both their skills and managed to hold out for such a long fight. It was terrifying.
"But this still doesn't make sense! Even the basic armor, made of the latest E-carbon, shouldn't be that fragile," Ian countered.
"I was using 200mm high-explosive armor-piercing rounds."
"Armor-piercing high-explosive rounds! I see... damn it! How could I have missed that!" Ian finally understood.
The high-explosive armor-piercing rounds were also known as "Internal Killers." From the outside, there didn't seem to be much damage, but the internal structure under the armor took massive damage. Even E-carbon, the newest material, couldn't withstand dozens of hits from such rounds.
"Now, let me break down the flaws in this battle for everyone, Tieria, pay attention."
"Tch!" Tieria was still upset with Yang Hui, but as Yang Hui had said, this wasn't a child's play. Losing meant losing, and he had to listen to the lessons.
Yang Hui nodded and continued his analysis: "First, the Gundam Virtue's movement was practically non-existent. This gave me the opportunity for precise shooting. Whether or not the attack could penetrate the armor, defensive and evasive actions still needed to be made. Otherwise, you're just a live target—it's only a matter of how long it takes to destroy you.
"Second, pay attention to the Gundam Virtue's movements during its turns earlier. I used a few evasive maneuvers to figure out its maximum torque range. So, in the later stages, I pushed the Gundam Virtue's joint movements to their limits, damaging its internal framework with the armor-piercing rounds and accelerating the damage to its limbs."
"Finally..."
Ian brought up the record of the Gundam Virtue's cockpit, showing Tieria's frustrated expression. Tieria's face turned bright red from anger, and he nearly stormed off.
"...The real issue was that, in his rush to defeat the enemy, Tieria lost his cool and didn't even notice the damage warnings on the mobile suit. This is the last point: in battle, no matter where or when, one must remain calm. Only by staying calm can you analyze the situation and find a solution. If you can't think of a way, it's fine to wait for the battlefield forecast's instructions..."
At this point, Yang Hui smiled at Huang, who returned the smile sweetly.
Everyone felt like they had suddenly been hit by a wave of relationship drama, but they had no evidence.
"...So, stay calm. Always remember that."
The review ended, and no one had any doubts about Yang Hui anymore. His analysis and guidance had earned their respect, and even Tieria, who had been the most annoyed, couldn't help but respect him, though he remained too proud to admit it.
"Next, Lockon, please get into your mobile suit. Then, Allelujah. I need to understand your skills and style. Ian, please record all the data."
"Alright, General, but be gentle, okay?"
"I got it."
"Understood. I'll record everything."
"Mm, Huang, take the others to familiarize themselves with the surroundings. If there are ship simulations, it's best to prepare in advance."
"I understand."
Yang Hui quickly assigned everyone their tasks, and it was clear that he had already been accepted as the team's commander.
...
About three hours later, Lockon, Allelujah, and Tieria were drenched in sweat, slumped on the ground with their backs against the simulation pods.
Not only had they gone through individual simulations, but they had also participated in team exercises. In their three-on-three simulation battle, Yang Hui had ended up sacrificing himself with the Gundam Virtue in the final round due to the Iron Man's limitations.
Every simulation battle ended with Yang Hui's victory.
"Wait, General, this is too much!" Lockon exclaimed.
"Three Gundams... and we only ended up in a draw?"
"Who... exactly are you?"
Facing the complaints of the three, Yang Hui waved his hand, signaling for them to rest. Once they were ready, he would go over the combat review. Meanwhile, he went to speak with Ian about improving the Gundams.
"Mearin's incredible, isn't he?" Allelujah remarked.
"Definitely a top pilot, but every country has records of their ace pilots in VEDA, and there's nothing about him," Tieria recalled, thinking back to the information he had accessed.
"I might have a guess," Lockon said.
"Who?" Both Allelujah and Tieria asked, turning to Lockon.
"The Human Reform League's 'Young Tiger.'"
"It's him!" The two were shocked. Though he had disappeared from public view, the achievements of the Human Reform League's "Young Tiger" during the Pillar Defense Battle were considered an unbreakable miracle by all the military forces. After that battle, the name "Young Tiger" became famous worldwide, but after that, "Young Tiger" had retired from the military. Anyone who knew his real identity had been forced to sign a confidentiality agreement. If they leaked it, they would be labeled as traitors. The information about him was the top priority task for intelligence agencies worldwide.
"Well, that's just my guess. Regardless, with Mearin on our team, our mission will be much easier, won't it?" Lockon didn't mind Mearin's true identity. He valued a strong and reliable teammate above all else.
"That's true. I'm going to rest. Mearin really doesn't show any mercy."
Allelujah and Lockon left, while Tieria stayed behind, deep in thought. With the highest 7-level access to VEDA, as a candidate for Celestial Being, he shouldn't have missed any information.
With that thought in mind, Tieria, no longer in the mood to rest, headed towards VEDA's communications room.
Meanwhile, Yang Hui and Ian were having a heated discussion.
"Ian, there are serious issues with the Gundam."
"How is that possible? Isn't it just a pilot problem?"
"No, the Gundam itself has many issues that need improvement. For example, the Dynamis's sniper aiming system is a disaster. While it has Haro assistance during sniping, having a Gundam pilot take their hands off the controls during battle is fatal; Virtue's weaponry is too simplistic, limiting its combat capabilities. And what's up with that shield? Turning it into mechanical pincers and a GN energy sword is flashy but useless in actual combat. It would be better to swap it for a GN shield and a GN assault rifle combo; as for the Gundam Virtue's GN rocket launcher, its charge time is too long, making it vulnerable while charging. The charge time needs to be shortened, and the dual GN cannons on the shoulders overlap too much with the GN rocket launcher's role; they might as well just go with dual GN rocket launchers..."
At first, Ian was resistant to Yang Hui's comments, but after hearing each suggestion, his respect for Yang Hui grew. Every one of Yang Hui's proposals was spot on.
After a long discussion, Yang Hui suddenly asked, "By the way, Ian, do I have a personal Gundam, or do I just rotate with the others and pilot the existing ones?"