After spending some intimate time with Setona, He Kui appeared outside the government building on the Moon.
At that moment, Malchio was also in the square outside the government building. The gentle sunlight cast a halo around him, making him appear almost divine as he calmly delivered his speech among a crowd of his undernourished supporters.
"We are currently situated within the boundless canvas of the universe, facing unprecedented survival challenges. Various negative emotions are like icy chains, tightly binding our fate. But please believe that it is precisely in this abyss of despair that the blazing light of 'SEED' lies hidden, waiting to be ignited by the fire of our belief, illuminating our path to evolution."
As He Kui listened to Malchio's speech from within the crowd, a thoughtful expression crossed his face.
Admittedly, Malchio's speech wasn't bad, but in the past, he hadn't emphasized SEED so frequently. Moreover, he himself had said that not everyone could possess SEED.
Now, however, it seemed as though he was leaning towards the idea that everyone could awaken SEED?
He Kui didn't understand, but his supporters seemed to grasp it, cheering excitedly in the crowd.
"Do you know how to awaken that SEED?"
Driven by curiosity, He Kui grabbed a young man beside him and asked.
"If I knew, would I still be standing here?"
The young man looked at him with disdain.
"Then what are you cheering for?"
"The mentor said that if we can ignite SEED, then we can ignite it!"
"Oh."
He shouldn't have asked.
Those who could come here to listen to him on an empty stomach, instead of queuing for food, were likely his devout followers. The number of people here must be in the thousands.
As Malchio was about to leave, He Kui controlled Little Bird to follow him. However, this time, when Little Bird tried to follow Malchio into the government building, Malchio, who was blind, seemed to sense something and turned his head.
His gaze was directed precisely at the position of He Kui's Shin.
"..."
In the camera feed, He Kui locked eyes with Malchio, and his heart tightened slightly.
Being so far away from a blind man, he had the illusion that they were facing each other directly.
But it seemed to be just his imagination, as Malchio quickly averted his gaze and, with the help of others, walked along the red carpet into the building.
He Kui couldn't follow any further. The government building was heavily guarded; not even a mosquito could fly in, let alone Little Bird.
Just as He Kui was pondering whether to investigate further before leaving, Mattias contacted him.
"I have some news. It seems that last night, two Atlantic Federation Nelson-class ships and one Archangel-class battleship docked at Copernicus."
"ZAFT at the Ptolemy base should have received the news as well. The entire base is on high alert. You should receive the news soon too."
Mattias spoke with a calm tone.
"That's a bit strange, isn't it?"
Hiding Aegis in the shadows of an alley, He Kui frowned slightly at the screen.
"Yes, it is a bit strange. Their actions are too blatant."
Even without Mirage particles, the fact that they were so openly displaying their unusual movements was full of incongruity.
Previously, when they had attempted to breach ZAFT's defenses to nuke PLANT, they hadn't been so reckless.
"However, no matter what, Copernicus is still a neutral city. ZAFT definitely wouldn't take the initiative to attack unless it was a last resort."
"And then, your friend can seize the opportunity."
"Mm, thanks."
"No problem. I just got this information a bit earlier than ZAFT's military."
Mattias shrugged and then continued.
"I'm heading down to Earth soon, so communications might not be as timely."
"Is that okay?"
The clan's influence is strongest on Earth, and Mattias is undoubtedly a traitor they want dead.
"It's fine. I know them very well."
With that, Mattias smiled and ended the communication. He Kui, on the other hand, opened a map of Copernicus on one of his screens again.
According to the intelligence, the port where those Nazca-class ships were docked wasn't far from his location.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived at a street near the port.
The usually quiet street was now slightly bustling.
However, this bustle wasn't a good sign.
"Haha, just play with us. We have plenty of food on our ship."
"Yeah, as long as we're happy, we might even give you a bite to eat, haha."
Seeing several soldiers in Atlantic Federation uniforms surrounding a panicked girl who was on the verge of tears, He Kui frowned slightly.
Their tone also made He Kui feel a bit physically uncomfortable.
If their food supply was controlled, they probably wouldn't escape this situation either.
After all, Coordinators are naturally good-looking. From what he'd seen in comics, elf girls who fell into human hands never had a good ending.
Even if, as in the original trajectory of his memories, Orb were to fall, it wouldn't fare much better.
Being occupied is like that; in the end, it's the grassroots who bear the cost.
Of course, Copernicus hasn't been occupied, but it's almost the same.
Looking at the girl who was being grabbed and looked terrified, He Kui, who didn't have a voyeuristic streak, thought for a moment and then focused his gaze on a military vehicle parked by the roadside, clearly belonging to the Atlantic Federation.
Little Bird flew under the vehicle unnoticed by anyone. The Quantum Virus, capable of infiltrating MS, easily hacked the vehicle.
'Boom!'
With a loud explosion, the vehicle burst into flames and turned into scrap metal.
"What happened!?"
The soldiers panicked as they looked at the wreckage.
"I don't know! Report it immediately!"
The girl, now unnoticed, hurriedly fled the scene. Watching their reactions, He Kui frowned slightly.
Something's off. They seem like just ordinary soldiers.
Not that ordinary soldiers are bad.
But if their target was really ZAFT's Ptolemy base and they intended to send a team for a surprise attack, they should have sent elites.
What just happened could be a matter of personal ethics, but now, look at them.
Their own vehicle exploded, and they might be under attack.
Yet these guys are standing in the middle of the street as if they're not afraid of dying quickly.
It doesn't seem normal at all.
But what's their purpose?
Assuming this is a ruse, what could their true objective be? Ultimately, attacking their lunar base for the sake of a single technology doesn't seem feasible.
Of course, if both sides were evenly matched, it might make sense.
But now, with the Atlantic Federation being pushed to the brink, would they still care so much about a mere Nym alloy?
If he were Creuset, to make both sides suffer heavy losses, would it be the "mass driver?"
He Kui's gaze lowered slightly.
But which one? Orb, Victoria, or Kaohsiung.
If he were Creuset, he would undoubtedly advocate using the nuclear bomb in an attack on Earth's mass driver, attempting to reignite a nuclear war.
However, he had no specific information about the target. It seemed he would need to consult a professional for answers.
(End of Chapter)