A year had passed in the blink of an eye. Yang Hui and the Ian Linda couple, who had been taken along, safely returned to Celestial Being, and the source of Yang Hui's tumultuous year, the fourth person who had come back with them—Ian and Linda's daughter, Mileina.
Yang Hui regretted bringing the couple to Jupiter instead of just Ian. He had spent the entire year living through hell, surviving only on their constant stream of "dog food."
The dog food was one thing, but why did they bring a child into this mission? If you're going to make a baby, take care of it yourself! Why do I have to be the babysitter!? Mileina should be five years old by now, so why is she only just born?
Unable to make sense of these changes, Yang Hui could only attribute it to the butterfly effect, quantum mechanics, parallel dimensions, and other such factors.
But now, finally, the hellish life was over.
As soon as they disembarked, a familiar figure rushed into Yang Hui's arms and hugged him tightly.
"Welcome back."
No grand words, no eternal vows—just the simplest words, yet they carried infinite longing and love.
"I'm back."
Holding his lover in his arms, all of Yang Hui's frustrations melted away. He felt everything he had sacrificed was worth it.
The others didn't interrupt this beautiful scene, and they all began unloading their work. Once they were almost done, Yang Hui and Leesa separated.
"How's it going?" As the tender moment ended, it was time to get to business. Leesa directly asked.
"It's going well. Over the past year, I've completely absorbed the theory of GN particles and solar furnaces. And also..." Yang Hui turned around, proudly showing off the results he had achieved with Efman and his wife over the year.
"Seven!" Even Leesa couldn't help but exclaim. According to VEDA's calculations, the three of them were expected to bring back three solar furnaces. The resources used for the Jupiter mission had already been paid back, and now it had multiplied—truly a great profit.
"Yeah, seven, and they're the latest model of solar furnaces. The GN particle dispersion range, purity, power, concentration... all exceed that of the older models," Yang Hui proudly introduced.
"Do you have specific data?" Leesa asked.
"Yes, I'll send it to you shortly. Any major issues we should be aware of?" Yang Hui asked.
"No, the world is still the same. No large wars, but small skirmishes continue. According to VEDA's predictions, three years from now, the conflicts will reach a peak—that's when the plan will begin," Leesa explained.
"Three years... That's a bit tight," Yang Hui calculated the time. With the five upgraded Gundams, the design and construction of a new Gundam, the training of the Gundam pilots, and the adaptation to new equipment and new machines...
"I understand."
"Good, let's head to the conference room. There are two people I want you to meet."
"Alright." Yang Hui nodded. He already had a good idea of who the two were.
...
Celestial Being's entire team gathered in the conference room. Seeing two familiar yet unfamiliar faces confirmed his guess.
"Let me introduce you. These two are Setsuna F. Seiei and Snape Stratos, Lockon's brother. Both of them are Gundam pilots," Leesa introduced the two of them to Yang Hui, then turned to introduce Yang Hui to them, "This is Myer Stewart, also a Gundam pilot and MS designer."
Setsuna appeared young and not yet open to outsiders, merely nodding as a greeting. Lyle, on the other hand, was more enthusiastic and greeted Yang Hui warmly.
"Ah, finally met you in person, Myer. I'm Snape Stratos, though I prefer you call me Lyle." Lyle Dylandy, also known as Snape Stratos, extended his hand to Myer.
"Hello, Lyle." Yang Hui didn't ask if Lyle was using his real name and just referred to it as another operative code name.
"Ha ha, as expected, Myer is as easygoing as the rumors say. With you around, Miss Leesa surely has no eyes for anyone else." Lyle said, pretending to lament.
"Huh? What? Want to try?" Yang Hui, catching the underlying meaning, smirked, showing a mischievous grin.
"Please, teach me, Myer. Although I've seen your simulation records and data, I still want to experience it firsthand," Lyle said seriously.
At this point, Setsuna also came forward, indicating that he wanted to participate too.
"...Alright, let's see your fighting styles. It'll help me with the modifications to your Gundams."
Without further delay, the group headed to the familiar simulation room.
The first one to fight with Yang Hui was Lyle. As soon as the battle began, Yang Hui realized that Lyle had done his homework. He was familiar with Yang Hui's combat style, but... familiarity and being able to counter it were two different things.
Within half an hour, Lyle was defeated. However, Yang Hui had high praise for Lyle. After all, he was the man who managed to defeat Ali Al-Saachez in the second season. Yang Hui realized that it was a waste to have Lyle replace Lockon as the sniper in the second season. Lyle's ability to perform moving shots far exceeded his long-range sniper abilities.
Just imagine—his brother Neil could perform pinpoint sniping while Lyle circled around clearing enemies, or Lyle could go on an assault while Neil provided sniper support from a distance. They would be the ultimate team.
This confirmed for Yang Hui that recruiting him was a brilliant decision.
Next was Setsuna. Setsuna's level... how should he put it? Was he disappointed, or did he not disappoint him at all?
His accuracy with firearms was less than his throwing accuracy with the GN beam sabers. His movement was too straightforward, and when the battle started to stagnate, he became impulsive, absolutely loving close combat.
As a result, Setsuna broke the record for the fastest defeat in the simulation, losing in just 15 minutes.
Leaving the simulation room, Setsuna was hit hard. He couldn't believe the Gundam he revered as an angel had been shot down so quickly.
"Come on, relax a bit, Setsuna. After all, you've just started piloting MS. Getting shot down is normal," Yang Hui tried to console him, though his words didn't sound very comforting.
Setsuna glanced at Yang Hui but walked off without a word.
"Hey! Wait! We haven't done the debriefing yet!" Yang Hui called after Setsuna's retreating back.
"Ah, let him rest. He's pretty shaken up, Myer. I'll bring him back later," Lyle said, trying to calm things down.
"That's fine. I actually have something to report to VEDA. We'll do it later. By the way, Lyle, the machine you used in the simulation wasn't one of the existing Gundams, right? It was newly built?" Yang Hui asked.
"That's right. It's the GN-006, the Virtue Gundam, built after I arrived. It's not finished yet, but it's just waiting for you guys to come back," Lyle explained.
"I see... That's great. It saved a lot of time. Within a week, I'll finalize the modification plans with Ian. If you need anything, let us know in advance."
"Okay!"
"Thanks!"
"Good work, Myer."
The four of them responded in unison.
...
In the familiar Communications Room 001, with external communication completely blocked, Yang Hui once again met Ioeria after a year.
"I've already been informed. You did an excellent job."
Ioeria hadn't expected that within a year, Yang Hui would bring back seven solar furnaces, all with standardized specifications and upgraded beyond the previous models.
"Old man, we'll talk about that later. We're in danger right now," Yang Hui said, his eyes changing, with rainbow-colored light flashing in his eyes. However, this state only lasted a moment.
"Oh? You noticed?"
"Yeah, I almost pissed myself when I first discovered it," Yang Hui replied, still shaken.
Jupiter, where the ELS were hiding... for some reason, the ELS were dormant now, but it was essentially a huge powder keg ready to explode.
Having lived for a year in an environment with high purity and concentration of GN particles, Yang Hui had naturally evolved into a purebred change-maker. But now, he couldn't control the quantum brainwave, so he had kept the change-maker form turned off.
When he first awakened, his brain quantum waves immediately detected the massive ELS hiding in Jupiter, almost giving him a heart attack. Even someone without trypophobia couldn't handle that feeling.
Thankfully, Yang Hui quickly retracted his brain quantum waves, and for the past year, he had locked himself in a room that blocked those waves. Otherwise, the ELS might have been prematurely awakened.
Before he could control his brain quantum waves, Yang Hui wouldn't easily activate the change-maker state. Although there was no need to worry about being detected by the ELS here, the brain quantum waves could connect to others' thoughts and absorb their emotions. If too many people were around, a flood of foreign emotions would overwhelm his brain, and he'd turn into "Fool Yang Hui."
Moreover, Yang Hui wasn't yet a complete purebred change-maker; his physical abilities had been enhanced across the board, and his perception had improved, but his brain quantum waves were still uncontrollable, and he lacked the tolerance needed.
"Mm, precisely because of this, I devised the Celestial Being plan. Humanity doesn't have much time left. According to VEDA's calculations, in three centuries, the alien entities hidden on Jupiter will awaken, and contact will be made. Yet humanity is still engaged in internal strife—such foolishness."
"Well, well, calm down, old man. We've got us too, right? But, I suggest you have VEDA recalculate, including variables for the speed of change-maker awakenings and the spread of brain quantum waves. These alien entities will be drawn to the quantum waves, and the timeline will be shortened," Yang Hui reminded.
"...I understand."
"Alright, I'll be busy now. Sigh, looks like no time to rest again."
After the communication ended, Yang Hui went to the Gundam production facility to meet Ian and Linda and immediately began the modification plans for the six Gundams.
"This is the preliminary plan Linda and I made for the Virtue, Destiny, and Gundams, including the Virtue and Mystical Angel. Take a look and see if anything needs to be changed."
Yang Hui took the PAD and examined it, finding no issues. This was the result of their discussions over the past year. Once the three pilots confirmed it, they could proceed, and then they'd begin preliminary work on the other Gundam modifications.
(End of Chapter)