"There's an old saying in East Asia: 'Having a sword but not using it is different from not having a sword at all.'"
"What exactly are you trying to say?" Caridad responded with visible resistance.
Seeing her reaction, Zhou Tianming sighed. Apparently, the issue of Kira's origins wasn't as simple for her as he'd imagined. Even after all these years, she still harbored strong resistance toward those who knew the truth.
"Don't waste Kira's talents. He'll need them someday," Zhou Tianming said before turning to leave.
Clenching her fists, Caridad couldn't help retorting: "As long as you people stay away from us, Kira won't need those talents! He just needs to live an ordinary life!"
Zhou Tianming paused his steps.
Caridad shrank back slightly, pressing her lips together tightly.
He turned around: "Did you hear about the spaceship exhibition incident a few days ago? Why do you think the Atlantic Federation shot down that ship?"
Without waiting for her response, he continued: "Because someone wanted to crash that ship into Copernicus City. You understand what that would mean, don't you?"
Caridad stood frozen in shock.
"The ship that stopped them was my Black Tortoise." Zhou Tianming spoke calmly: "I'm not trying to boast. I just want you to understand - in that situation, I had a choice. You wouldn't have."
"Caridad, the world isn't kind to us. Don't let Kira regret not having choices when the time comes."
"..."
"Meeting Kira today was pure coincidence. No one will come looking for you again."
With that, Zhou Tianming left without looking back. Just as he'd said, his visit here had truly been a spur-of-the-moment decision.
A great war between Coordinators and Naturals was inevitable. One could either drift with the tide in constant fear, or grasp the power of choice and fight against the current.
Gundam!
That was the power he intended to master.
...
Caridad remained standing, watching Zhou Tianming's retreating figure. Despite his small stature, he carried an intangible strength.
"Was I really wrong?" Caridad murmured, but shook her head moments later. "No, Kira just needs to live safely. As long as he never faces danger, he'll never need that power."
She turned to leave.
After walking about ten paces, she saw Lenore waiting ahead.
"Finished talking?"
"Yes."
"Everything alright?"
Caridad shook her head, then paused before asking: "Do you know that boy?"
"First time meeting him. My husband saw him six years ago."
Caridad looked surprised: "Six years ago? But he would have been..."
"Yes. There was an incident back then. That child saved a close friend of mine. My husband has held him in high regard ever since."
"Six years ago..." Caridad couldn't help thinking of that catastrophe.
"So you too..."
Turning around, he gazed silently in the direction where Zhou Tianming had disappeared.
That evening during dinner, Caridad learned from Kira about his encounter with Zhou Tianming and the bullying he had endured.
"Kira..."
Watching Kira's cheerful grin, Caridad felt a tumult of emotions, Zhou Tianming's words echoing once more in her mind.
After washing up and lying in bed, she instinctively searched online for the meaning behind that phrase.
Reading that segment of history left her deeply moved.
"Sister... Kira..."
...
Not long after parting ways with Caridad, Zhou Tianming also set sail aboard the Black Tortoise.
Destination—the Junk Guild.
At 7 a.m. the next morning, Zhou Tianming stretched lazily as he entered the bridge: "White Rabbit, are we there yet?"
"Arrived in the vicinity of the Junk Guild at 1:23:17 a.m. today. Distance: 3,000."
"Magnify the view." Zhou Tianming took his seat in the captain's chair. "Let's see how things look there now."
The Junk Guild, originally the size of a basketball on the display, now filled the entire forward screen.
It had visibly shrunk, its once spherical form now riddled with gaps and fractures, exposing mechanical structures within.
"Wow~ Can it still function like this?"
"Based on visual assessment and comparison with the original schematics, the surface is completely unusable. However, the underground sections have been modified and remain habitable."
Watching the spaceships coming and going through the breaches, Zhou Tianming understood: "I see. They've all gone underground—now it's truly an Underground Black Market."
"Are those all pirate ships?"
"According to official bounty records, 80% are known pirates with registered identities."
"Pirates, huh..." After a moment's thought, Zhou Tianming's eyes sharpened. "White Rabbit, prepare for combat."
"Strike first to avoid a hundred blows! Time to flex some muscle!"
...
Inside the Junk Guild, within a cramped metallic chamber—
A group of oddly featured pirates huddled together, their faces etched with fear.
"Boss Sam's been out of contact for too long..."
"Could he already be..."
"Has the Council of Nations finally decided to wipe us out? I don't want to die!"
"Shut the hell up!" A burly man roared. "Where was this cowardice when we were pillaging and killing? What's there to fear? At worst, it's just death!"
"You wanna die, go ahead—don't drag us into it! We're not ready to die!"
"What the hell did you just say? Say it again!"
Arguments escalated into brawls, the scene descending into chaos.
Beep beep beep—
An alarm blared, and the bruised pirates scrambled to contact their ships.
"What's happening?"
"Is the Council of Nations here?"
Moments later, they returned to their vessels, staring through their displays at a lone ship opposite them.
After a quick scan, they burst into laughter: "No weapons? What kind of Junk Dealer is this? Trying to reclaim the Junk Guild or something?"
"Tch!" One pirate spat, his face twisting into a snarl. "Even stray dogs dare show up now? Think so little of us? Battle stations! Everyone, launch!"
...
The Junk Guild resembled a beehive as over fifty small and medium-sized ships swarmed out like wasps.
"Did I just poke a hornet's nest?" Zhou Tianming muttered. "Why so many at once?"
"Activating [Yin-Yang]. Since they're all out, let's settle this in one go!"
The black and white fish on the back of the Black Tortoise rose and rotated, electricity dancing and flickering across the hull.
The next second, the missile bays of the distant spaceships aligned in a row opened, launching thousands of missiles of varying sizes and functions, surging forth like a tidal wave.
With a flash of electricity, the Black Tortoise charged straight ahead, leaving a long trail of light from its thrusters in the cosmic space.
"Repulsion Field, deploy!"
Upon initial contact, the invisible repulsion field deflected the missiles to the side. The Black Tortoise cut through the wave like a reef in the ocean, advancing unswervingly.
As it plunged deeper into the missile storm, the Yin-Yang surged with electricity, unleashing countless bolts of lightning in all directions.
The electricity danced across the missiles, triggering instantaneous explosions.
The Black Tortoise weaved through flames and flashes.
In the blink of an eye, it emerged from the inferno of explosions, its tattered camouflage peeling off the external armor.
Its wings spread, accelerating rapidly as it charged toward the pirates.
The pirate ships rotated their main guns, firing electromagnetic cannons and solid-shell artillery, the projectiles hurtling forward.
But against solid munitions, the Black Tortoise's repulsion field showed no fear. The Yin-Yang rotated, and the repulsion field condensed around the hull, forming a faint silhouette.
Electromagnetic cannon shots exploded into bursts of electricity upon contact, their trajectories deflected as they grazed the hull.
Solid shells were outright repelled, failing to even touch the external armor.
The next moment, it plunged into the pirate fleet, the Yin-Yang on its back spinning rapidly as the repulsion field expanded outward.
A central explosion sent the surrounding spaceships crashing into each other.
"White Rabbit! Deploy the Black Scale!"
Rectangular hatches on the white hull of the Black Tortoise opened, releasing small black metal fragments.
Like guided projectiles, they flew toward the surrounding ships, attaching themselves to various parts of their hulls.
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