In the SEED world, the golden light gate reopened in the empty underground space where Wang Hu and the others had departed.
Clatter. As the golden light gate reappeared, the soldiers surrounding it raised their guns in unison.
The cannons of heavy combat vehicles also aimed at the gate, ready to unleash an endless barrage of firepower at a moment's notice.
"Quite the reception."
Wang Hu, who emerged first, glanced around and spoke with a hint of amusement.
General Li stepped out from the crowd, not bothering to check on his own son first. Instead, he addressed Wang Hu, who remained unfazed and unbothered by such a unique welcoming ceremony.
"Welcome back, Captain Wang Hu."
"Do you need me to go for a physical examination?" Although he had urgent matters on his mind, Wang Hu remained compliant.
Seeing the medical staff who had been eagerly waiting nearby, Wang Hu indicated his willingness to cooperate.
"A necessary procedure." General Li was very satisfied with Wang Hu's attitude.
That's right, he thought. This is the mindset a true soldier of the East Asian Army should have.
It was nothing like in some Western films, where field agents returning from a mission would view normal internal debriefings and check-ups as a sign of distrust.
Then they would kick up a huge fuss, like something out of a long, stinky, and illogical romantic soap opera.
With a wave of his hand, General Li motioned for the surrounding soldiers to lower their guns slightly. He then accompanied Wang Hu and the others to undergo the standard procedures.
He stayed with them throughout the entire examination, using his presence as a sign of how much he valued Wang Hu and his team.
Once all the procedures were completed, they sat down in the same ordinary office, with host and guests taking their respective seats.
Wang Hu began to formally report on the details of their trip to the Homeworld.
"The Breaking Ball World, and Lelouch's C World."
After receiving a confirming glance from Li Chengzhi and the other two, General Li closed his eyes and fell into deep thought.
In principle, General Li agreed with Wang Hu's proposal to provide aid to those two worlds.
Putting aside the Breaking Ball World's Heavy Nuclear Fusion Technology and Quantum computer technology, as well as the C World's Sakuradite, Geass, and World Consciousness—all of which held great research value—the simple fact that they all shared a common ancestry meant that this world's East Asian Alliance had no reason to stand by and do nothing.
"I'm going to see the Premier."
The decisive General Li stood up and, in one smooth motion, also grabbed the USB drive from the desk where Wang Hu had placed it.
The drive, containing the technology given by the Homeworld, was taken along with him.
Watching General Li depart in a hurry, Wang Hu and the others took their leave as well. The trip to the Homeworld hadn't been long, but it had been mentally exhausting.
They had to seize this opportunity to rest and recuperate.
They believed that the next time General Li summoned them, there would be a new mission waiting.
Meanwhile, as Wang Hu and his team relaxed, preparing to rest, General Li, a man seemingly born to toil, rushed to the capital of the East Asian Alliance.
He was granted an immediate audience with the highest authority in the East Asian Alliance, the Premier.
After briefly explaining his purpose, General Li sat in a subordinate position, quietly awaiting the old man's decision.
Many things needed no further explanation; the right people would always make the right decisions.
Everything Wang Hu had reported had already been placed on the old man's desk before his arrival.
In fact, even before he got there, the high command of the East Asian Alliance had already made a decision.
"General Li, give them our full support. I'm putting you in charge of this matter. The council of elders authorizes you to mobilize all necessary forces."
The old man, sitting calmly in his chair, didn't ask questions like whether Wang Hu could be trusted, nor did he mention the current difficulties the East Asian Alliance was facing due to the April Fools' Crisis and the ongoing war.
His eyes, though slightly clouded with age, were still sharp, and his words were resolute.
"Yes, sir. I will not betray the nation's trust."
Having received the expected answer, General Li gave the old man a look of deep respect. Without lingering, he immediately rushed back to the base.
Time waited for no one. General Li was keenly aware of the heavy burden on his shoulders, on the shoulders of the East Asian Alliance of this world.
Although they had mobilized the entire strength of the East Asian Alliance, cracked the Coordinators' Neutron Jammer, and begun to emerge from the energy crisis, the effects of the April Fools' Crisis and the war still had a profound and far-reaching impact on the entire East Asian Alliance.
It was tangibly slowing down the East Asian Alliance's recovery.
With the appearance of the Homeworld, he had thought they could obtain enough resources to compensate for the East Asian Alliance's losses and then take another great leap forward.
He never expected that not only would there be no replenishment, but they would also be saddled with the heavy responsibility of supporting the East Asian Alliances in two other worlds!
At this thought, General Li, who always maintained the image of an iron-willed soldier in front of others, couldn't help but show a trace of fatigue.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Thinking about the three-front war the East Asian Alliance was currently facing, he repeatedly mulled over the next steps in his mind, striving to avoid a single misstep that could cause the East Asian Alliances of all three worlds to capsize and fall into an endless abyss.
"What's there to be afraid of?" General Li muttered through clenched teeth after formulating a preliminary plan in his head.
"Back when we were starting from scratch, not only did we win a fight against seventeen factions, but we also completed the bandit suppression campaigns in the southwest and northwest."
"Later, while enduring natural disasters and without the support of our big brother, didn't we still achieve the great feats of developing the atomic bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the satellite, and industrializing the entire nation?"
"How can things now be any harder than they were back then?"
In the Breaking Ball World, a golden light gate quietly opened in a secluded area of the UEG Gabon Joint Base.
The Breaking Ball Wang Hu, who had been waiting there for some time, saw the CE Wang Hu emerge first.
Following closely behind him, nine more elite soldiers stepped out.
"We're not late, are we?" CE Wang Hu asked with a greeting.
"It's fine, not too late," the Breaking Ball Wang Hu said, glancing at his watch to make an estimate.
"About half an hour ago, Liu Peiqiang was still in his room. By now, he's probably just getting to the entrance to pick up the flowers."
"Logically speaking, we still have time. But are you sure this is okay?"
As he spoke, the Breaking Ball Wang Hu pointed to a nearby surveillance camera.
"Right in front of that one's eyes. The footage of your arrival has probably already been seen by the surveillance tower."
"What does it matter?" CE Wang Hu shrugged, completely unconcerned.
"We're not some squad sent by a God-space to carry out a mission, forbidden from letting the people of this world know our origins."
"If it's this easy to put the base on alert, wouldn't that save us a lot of trouble?"
"That's true." Perhaps it was a case of being too close to the problem to see clearly, or perhaps it was due to a difference in their initial character traits, but the Breaking Ball Wang Hu hadn't thought of that.
If the appearance of CE Wang Hu and his team alerted the entire base and caused it to go on lockdown, not only would the Digital Life Faction be unable to make a move, but Mr. Zhou would also likely rush to the base immediately.
"So you need to broaden your perspective."
Waving his hand to signal the soldiers behind him to get to work, CE Wang Hu walked over to the Breaking Ball Wang Hu and slung an arm around him.
"There were too many people on the Homeworld earlier, I forgot to ask. Do you have a sweetheart in this world?"
"Most importantly, have you made a move on a certain someone?"
"A certain someone?" They were both Wang Hu, and while there might be differences in intelligence, on certain matters, they understood each other perfectly without needing any hints.
Annoyed, the Breaking Ball Wang Hu slapped CE Wang Hu's hand away. "I have no intention of becoming a new dad on someone's household register."
"Though maybe there'll be a chance in the future to have a certain programmer change his name, that's for sure."
"Oh?" CE Wang Hu gave him a thumbs-up, thoroughly approving of his other self's taste in this world.
As the two of them chatted idly, a good ten minutes passed, yet the entire base remained calm and peaceful.
Despite them standing brazenly under the ubiquitous surveillance cameras, the base's command tower hadn't noticed the group of people gathered there at all.
"What did I tell you?"
Once the subordinates CE Wang Hu had brought with him finished their initial preparations, he saw that there was still not a soul in sight.
He raised an eyebrow. "Even heaven is on our side."
Out of caution, CE Wang Hu used "heaven" as a substitute for MOSS.
"Yeah," the Breaking Ball Wang Hu said, convinced.
"It's true that an outsider sees things most clearly. I'll take the lead in dealing with the terrorists who have infiltrated."
"According to the plan, I'll leave the drones and missiles to you."
"Don't worry." With a rather mysterious smile, CE Wang Hu said confidently.
"I won't disappoint you. I brought a secret weapon."
"A secret weapon?" The Breaking Ball Wang Hu looked his other self up and down suspiciously.
He suppressed his curiosity and hurried off with the reinforcements.
In any case, the space station's fall was about to happen soon. The secret weapon CE Wang Hu had prepared would have to be revealed eventually.
On the other side, Liu Peiqiang, the original predestined protagonist of the Breaking Ball World, was walking happily with a bouquet of flowers he had managed to get by bribing the gate guard with a few packs of cigarettes.
Because the fate of all humanity on Earth was at stake, the selection of astronauts like him was extremely strict.
Furthermore, taking certain matters into consideration, they were explicitly forbidden from getting married.
Of course, it wasn't that they were absolutely prohibited from falling in love, getting married, and having children, just that it was best if it didn't happen during the training phase.
Therefore, Liu Peiqiang was very hesitant and timid about whether he should confess his feelings today.
"Huh?" But before he could make up his mind, he arrived in front of the space elevator cabin his beloved was supposed to take today. Liu Peiqiang was surprised to find the Breaking Ball Wang Hu already waiting there with two unfamiliar faces.
"They are?"
Liu Peiqiang couldn't say he knew every member of the base, but he recognized most of the astronauts.
However, he had never seen any of the people with the Breaking Ball Wang Hu during his training.
Logically, this shouldn't be possible. Could it be that his contemporary, the Breaking Ball Wang Hu, had such strong social skills?
Had he befriended senior astronauts from previous classes or junior ones from later classes?
Or were they new astronauts here for training?
Walking over slowly, Liu Peiqiang stared at the men, who had East Asian faces and carried the same aura as himself.
Coming from that military unit, even though he was now an astronaut, Liu Peiqiang would swear that he would never mistake a comrade.
And that made it even more wrong!
All the newcomers from the East Asian Alliance were sent here by Zhang Peng, who was like a father to him. He hadn't heard Zhang Peng mention any newcomers from back home recently.
"Wang Hu." Liu Peiqiang clutched the flowers in his hand tightly, no longer able to worry about his crush, Han Duoduo.
He questioned his friend, his eyes fixed on the men in white training uniforms who had suddenly appeared.
"Who are they? Newcomers sent from back home?"
As he asked this question, Liu Peiqiang prayed in his heart that the Wang Hu before him would not give him the wrong answer
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