"Stop pretending to be righteous over there! If it weren't for your East Asian Army attacking..."
"None of this would have happened in the first place."
The East Asian Army's disaster relief operations in Orb's capital were proceeding in an orderly manner, though the soldiers themselves were the very instigators of this war.
In traditional terms, they were the aggressors.
While most Orb citizens were trembling with fear,
seeing the massive humanoid weapons nearby, along with the intimidating unmanned dragonflies and spiders,
they remained cooperative and didn't dare say much.
Additionally, the East Asian Army soldiers behaved quite amiably, even proactively supporting or carrying severely injured residents.
Superficially, the scene appeared relatively harmonious.
But isn't there an old saying that goes?
Nice people get bullied, tame horses get ridden.
You can't expect all Orb citizens to remain calm and "reasonable."
Thus, a young boy shouted the words above, his crimson eyes glaring as he roared at the East Asian Army soldier.
He completely ignored the anxious and tense expressions of his parents and younger sister behind him.
"Sorry, so sorry, sir! Shinn... he's still just a child. Please don't blame him."
Seeing that the East Asian Army soldier was only staring at Shinn without taking further action,
and considering the East Asian Army's reputation was far better than that of the neighboring Atlantic Federation Army,
the gentle Mrs. Asuka mustered her courage, rushed to Shinn's side, and tried to pull him back into the evacuating crowd.
If not for some delays earlier, they would have evacuated much sooner.
Had they boarded the East Asian rescue ship back then, this wouldn't be happening now.
While silently praying, Mrs. Asuka kept stealing glances at the East Asian Army soldier.
"That's right, sir."
Mr. Asuka quickly stepped forward, shielding his wife and son. He fumbled in his pockets and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.
With a forced smile, Mr. Asuka moved to offer a cigarette,
hoping to appease the East Asian Army soldier and protect his family of four.
"Dad! Mom! What are you doing?!"
"I didn't say anything wrong! They're the ones who caused all this! Why are you being so polite to them?!"
However, the complexities of the adult world were beyond Shinn's understanding at that moment.
Impetuous and at that rebellious age, he shouted while struggling against his mother's grip.
His entire demeanor radiated defiance and resentment toward the East Asian Alliance.
"Shinn!"
Mrs. Asuka's face turned pale with terror. Without thinking, she covered her son Shinn's mouth.
Perhaps due to extreme fear, she accidentally covered his nose as well.
'Is Mom trying to suffocate me?'
Although Shinn was a Coordinator, his mother was an adult whose strength temporarily surpassed his.
Struggling with these strange thoughts, he desperately tried to break free.
But Mrs. Asuka, too afraid to let Shinn free, only tightened her grip.
Meanwhile, other citizens being evacuated under the East Asian Army's direction noticed the Asuka family's situation.
Feeling a sense of shared vulnerability, they stopped and turned their attention toward the scene.
From time to time, mournful cries and curses could be heard from the crowd.
It's over!
Seeing the situation around him, Mr. Asuka felt as if he had fallen into hell.
Even if one hasn't eaten pork, they've seen pigs run. Because of his son's actions, his family was likely to be made an example of!
Even if the East Asian Army didn't act immediately, they would surely face retribution later.
Sure enough, under Mr. Asuka's desperate gaze.
The cigarette he offered to the East Asian Army soldier was pushed back, and he watched as the soldier reached toward his waist.
Mr. Asuka grew extremely tense, and the surrounding crowd was equally on edge.
Was he going to draw his gun?
Was he going to execute the troublemaker?
This thought crossed the minds of both the Asuka family and those around them.
Killing one to warn a hundred was the most effective way to intimidate people.
"Mmmpff!"
Shinn struggled even more fiercely, his face turning bright red.
"Hiss, exhale~"
To everyone's surprise, instead of drawing a gun as the crowd expected, the East Asian Army soldier pulled out a cigarette.
"Want to try?"
Not only did the East Asian Army soldier light one for himself, but he also offered one to Mr. Asuka.
"I've smoked your brand before—too mild. This one's more potent."
"Huh?"
Mr. Asuka was completely stunned but instinctively accepted the offered cigarette.
In his dazed state, he even let the East Asian Army soldier light it for him.
This scene left the surrounding crowd gaping, with some rubbing their eyes in disbelief, thinking they were dreaming.
"Sir?"
After taking a drag, Mr. Asuka suddenly snapped back to reality.
Oh my god, what have I done? Challenging authority—do I have a death wish?
At this thought, the cigarette in Mr. Asuka's mouth fell to the ground.
Immediately, without caring that it was now dirty, he crouched down, picked it up, and hastily stuffed it back into his mouth.
It looked comical, but neither he nor those around him found it funny.
Because what was that dirty cigarette in Mr. Asuka's mouth?
It was the lifeline of his entire family.
"Mmmpff!"
Shinn, unaware of these thoughts, grew even more frantic, his face reddening further and bloodshot eyes appearing as he struggled wildly.
But fueled by maternal love, Mrs. Asuka mustered even greater strength to restrain Shinn, all while keeping her attention fixed on her husband ahead.
"It's dirty," the East Asian Army soldier said, pulling out another cigarette.
"No, it's not dirty," Mr. Asuka replied with a forced smile, taking a deep drag.
"Sigh, alright, as long as you're happy."
With a resigned smile, the soldier understood all too well the man's inner turmoil.
Being a man is exhausting.
Then he shifted slightly to look at the family Mr. Asuka was shielding behind him.
"Sir, there's nothing worth seeing there."
Mr. Asuka moved again, blocking the soldier's view.
"You, you..."
The East Asian soldier was genuinely amused, but understanding the situation, he raised his voice.
"Madam, you don't want to suffocate your child, do you?"
"That boy's nose is covered—he looks like he's about to be smothered."
"What?" Mr. Asuka exclaimed, turning around in alarm.
"Huh?" Mrs. Asuka, reminded only then, finally noticed her son's actual condition.
"Gasp, gasp, gasp."
As the mother released her hand from covering her son's mouth and nose, Shinn finally had a chance to breathe the dusty air.
Gulping down deep breaths, he felt as if he had been given a new lease on life.
"Brother, are you okay?"
Equally unaware of her brother's condition, Shinn's beloved younger sister Mayu crouched down and asked her brother who was sitting on the ground.
"I'm fine." After recovering for a moment, Shinn jumped up.
A troublemaker will always be a troublemaker - even in this state he hadn't learned his lesson. His first reaction was to shout at his father.
"Dad, you're so embarrassing!"
"You..." Mr. Asuka stared at his brainless son, not knowing what to say.
"Alright, alright, sir, don't be angry. He's just a child."
The East Asian Army soldier instead came over to comfort him.
"Mm, thank you."
Perhaps because of the soldier's attitude, or perhaps due to their brief interaction, Mr. Asuka gradually let down his guard, and this thank you was spoken with genuine sincerity.
"Stop pretending to be a good person over there! Hypocrite!"
But Shinn wouldn't care about any of this. Later, he would dare to oppose even Cagalli after she became the Supreme Representative - his defining trait was defying both heaven and earth.
Then Shinn challenged the East Asian soldier: "You..."
Mr. Asuka, unable to even exhale his smoke properly, wished he could slap some sense into his dear son. This feeling of repeatedly dancing on the edge of death was truly testing his limits!
"I'm getting too old for this," thought Mr. Asuka, who was actually still in his prime but suddenly felt much older.
"We are indeed good people, this isn't hypocrisy, young man."
Despite being repeatedly provoked, at least the people around were beginning to feel some dislike toward Shinn. The East Asian Army soldier remained very patient and good-natured.
"He's not even angry? The East Asian Army is this friendly?"
Someone in the surrounding crowd exclaimed in surprise.
Immediately, another person chimed in: "Good thing it's the East Asian Army that came. If it were the Atlantic Federation Army, tsk tsk tsk..."
"That young man would have been long gone."
Whispers, murmurs.
Shinn in the center wasn't deaf - after hearing this, his temper grew even worse.
"Are you still Orb citizens? Remember your stance!"
"You're all a bunch of cowards, spineless!"
"Me?" Mr. Asuka could no longer hold back - this was courting death!
Taking two quick steps, Mr. Asuka was about to let Shinn experience some loving discipline.
"Sir, that's not necessary. Leave this to me to handle."
Mr. Asuka's raised hand was caught by the East Asian soldier.
"Sir soldier?" Turning to look at the soldier beside him, Mr. Asuka wore a pained expression.
In his view, this East Asian Army soldier must be nearing his breaking point too.
Indeed, after being repeatedly provoked like this, even the best temper would reach its limit.
"He's still a child."
With trembling lips, Mr. Asuka was doing his utmost to still try to save his son.
"I know."
The East Asian soldier smiled and raised his hand under Shinn's stubborn gaze.
Just when everyone thought the soldier would at least give Shinn a good beating, an unmanned spider approached from the distance. The East Asian soldier then pulled out a tablet.
He connected to the approaching unmanned spider through data exchange.
Tap, tap, tap - the East Asian soldier operated the tablet and pulled up some videos.
"Come here. Ah, you can all come take a look too."
The East Asian soldier waved to Shinn, then addressed the people around them.
"What do you want? I'm not afraid of you."
His mouth remained defiant as ever, and Shinn was the first to walk over.
Then some of the bolder people in the crowd also stepped forward.
They collectively looked at the tablet in the East Asian soldier's hand, where the screen clearly displayed the battle situation in Orb's main urban area.
It was even a live broadcast from multiple different video angles.
"The Orb military bears primary responsibility for the damage to the main urban area," the East Asian soldier said while handing the tablet directly to Shinn, gesturing for him to freely switch between views.
Falling silent, Shinn stared at the images on the screen, where the East Asian Army was making efforts to control the spread of the battlefield.
In contrast, Orb's defending forces showed no such consideration. Although their resistance against external enemies was understandable, truth be told, they also showed no regard for the destruction caused to the city.
"Fake! It's all fake!" Shinn rapidly switched between camera angles, unwilling to believe what he was seeing. He also believed this was some deceptive trick created by the East Asian Army.
Yet no matter how many angles Shinn switched between or how many live feeds he watched, the content remained largely consistent: their own Orb forces fought with reckless abandon, while the enemy East Asian Army remained restrained. Sometimes, to protect buildings and other structures, the East Asian Army's Rem units would even actively intercept Orb's attacks by leveraging their thick armor.
"How can this be..." Seeing was believing, and Shinn felt profoundly shaken.
"There are recordings here too," someone suddenly said. A person watching the tablet with Shinn reached over, snatched the device from his hands, and after some tapping managed to find recordings of previous battles in their very area.
"Bastards!" several people cursed. After watching multiple recordings from different angles, they largely confirmed that the destruction in their area had indeed been caused by their own Orb military.
"But you still shouldn't have attacked Orb!" Seeing the situation unfold this way, Shinn's face flushed red as he continued to accuse.
"Attacking Orb was our doing," the East Asian soldier nodded, his words instantly tensing the recently eased atmosphere. "But we can control the extent of damage here."
Pointing at the smoke rising throughout the city, the East Asian soldier posed a question: "What if next time it's not us who come? What if others come instead? Or what if no one comes, but a 'Light of Peace' falls during your sleep?"
"We have families too. We don't want what happened to you to happen to them. Though it may sound selfish, we have to do this."
"We gave the Asuha family a chance. They forced us to take action. Or do you think we actually enjoy war?"
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