"If you intend to use me to threaten the Federation, that's impossible." Revil didn't believe Yang Hui's professed sincerity. The contrast between rumors and reality, coupled with what he had seen with his own eyes at the research base, made him rank Yang Hui among the most dangerous individuals.
"Why would I use you to threaten the Federation?" Yang Hui let out a laugh. That suggestion was beneath Revil's usual standards.
"...My eyes aren't blind yet. This fortress hidden in Granada, the space large enough to accommodate warships, the MS production lines, the unseen MS and warship prototypes... You have people in Zeon's inner circle, so you must have them in the Federation as well. Your ambition is not small."
"And then? Should I eliminate Zeon first and then overthrow the Federation? Or should I first instigate a regime change in the Federation and then eliminate Zeon?"
"..." Revil fell silent, ignoring Yang Hui's words, for he could hear the mockery and disdain within them.
That's right, disdain!
It was as if in Yang Hui's eyes, neither the Federation nor Zeon was worthy of his attention, not even worth possessing.
"What do you want to do?"
"It's simple." At this moment, although Yang Hui's expression remained casual and lazy, his tone and gaze were filled with an unquestionable, inviolable aura. "Cleanse the corrupt Federation and eliminate the mad Zabis. Is this answer to your satisfaction, General Revil?"
"..." Revil couldn't answer that question. Was he satisfied? It was acceptable, he supposed. As a pillar of the Federation, he was naturally aware of what a mess the current Federation was. Fortunately, the head of the military, General Gopp, was an old friend of his, and he and a few other core high-ranking officials could control most of the military's power. This was what had kept the Federation from rotting completely. In Revil's view, the Federation was indeed in need of a cleanup.
Then there was eliminating the mad Zabis. When he heard "Zabi," Revil thought of the Zabi family, especially that madman Gihren Zabi. Anyone who would drop a colony on Earth without a second thought had to be eliminated, down to the last cell!
Therefore, Yang Hui's answer almost completely aligned with Revil's own goals, but... he still felt something was off. It wasn't that Yang Hui's words were unbelievable, but rather... he felt that Yang Hui was telling the truth, but only half of it. What was his ultimate purpose in doing all this? Power? Status? Money? Fame? Or something else?
Unless one was a psychopath, all human actions had a purpose. Even aimlessly wandering around had the dual purposes of passing the time and searching for a purpose.
Was Yang Hui a psychopath? Obviously not.
So, what was Yang Hui's purpose? This was crucial. It would determine whether Revil would cooperate with Yang Hui, and with what attitude.
"It seems General Revil still doesn't trust me."
"No, I do trust you..."
"Is that so?"
"But I also don't. You're definitely hiding something, and it's very important."
"Shouldn't you keep such thoughts to yourself and investigate me secretly?"
"You said it yourself, there should be sincerity in cooperation."
"...Heh." Yang Hui paused for a moment, then shook his head and chuckled. "Is this me... aiding the enemy? Or being the hunter who becomes the hunted?"
"These are minor details. Yang Hui, my boy, I cannot trust you."
"So?"
"But we can cooperate. I'm talking about the opportunity to cooperate."
"That is precisely what I was hoping for, General Revil."
An old man who doesn't die is a wily fox. Revil was in his sixties or seventies, having dedicated his entire life to the Federation and the Federal Army. To have survived the treacherous intrigues of the Federal Army and climbed to his current position, he was no naive and kind-hearted man.
So, after all that Yang Hui had shown him, if Revil had believed him immediately, Yang Hui would have been the first to disbelieve it.
Either his men had rescued a fake, or Revil was putting on a front while secretly plotting how to get rid of him.
The opportunity to cooperate was the answer Yang Hui had hoped for from the beginning. The suspicion Revil displayed was, in fact, a sign of his frankness toward Yang Hui. This was the foundation for cooperation and the only sincerity the other party could offer at the moment.
"Well then, General Revil, please get some rest. And perhaps change into some suitable clothes? Honestly, it's quite unsightly for a portly man to wear clothes that are too small."
Hearing this, Revil looked down at himself, his face turning dark.
You brat! I suspect your men prepared these clothes for me on purpose!
"Besides, it's also strange for you to be wearing an officer's uniform."
His brow furrowed slightly, then the corners of his mouth curled up. Revil shook his head with a wry smile. This kid really liked to speak in half-truths, and his conversation topics jumped around quite a bit. Or perhaps he was alluding to something else. It was hard to grasp his true thoughts.
"Rest is unnecessary. I've had enough rest already," Revil refused. Whether it was his time as a prisoner or the journey from Side 3 back to Granada, he had been resting the whole time. Now that he was free from his restraints, he was a little impatient. "Give me the latest intelligence reports, as well as the data on the warships and MS."
"Hmm?" Seeing Revil suddenly acting so familiar, Yang Hui was taken aback for a moment. "General Revil, our cooperation hasn't even begun yet."
"There needs to be sincerity between collaborators. You said so yourself."
"...Heh... Hahahahaha..." Yang Hui covered his face and laughed, letting Revil see his wilder side. "General Revil, you truly are an excellent partner."
Yang Hui didn't play coy. After leading Revil to the room prepared for him, he tossed a data storage device directly to Revil, letting him look at it himself.
The contents were exactly that: intelligence and data on warships and MS. The intelligence included all the latest information on both the Federation and Zeon, even many classified secrets that neither the Federal Army's intelligence department nor Zeon's Kycilia's Agency could obtain. However, the warship and MS data was an abridged version, so he wasn't afraid of Revil turning on him after seeing it.
Moreover, Yang Hui believed that Revil was a smart and suspicious man. By so generously satisfying his request, Revil would suspect that Yang Hui was already prepared for him to turn hostile. A smart man like him would know what the right choice was.
"Hmm... It seems my guess was correct. Zeon isn't a monolithic bloc internally. Has Gihren Zabi's approach already caused a lot of dissatisfaction? And that young man... the 'Red Comet,' Char Aznable. Is he..."
There was one thing Revil hadn't told Yang Hui. On his way back to Granada from Side 3, he had actually been intercepted by a Musai-class Cruiser. The person leading the unit was none other than Char. Logically, Char should have recaptured him and taken him back to Side 3, but strangely, he had let him go!
Throughout the journey, Revil had been pondering Char's motive for letting him go. At first, he didn't know that his rescuers were Yang Hui's men, so he suspected that either Federation agents or someone from the Zabi family had intentionally let him escape.
But the chance encounter with Char couldn't be explained. If they were Federation agents, Char would have had no reason to let him go. If they were from the Zabi family, Char shouldn't have intercepted him.
But now... he began to wonder if the inscrutable Char and the inscrutable Yang Hui, these two young men he couldn't see through, also had some kind of cooperative relationship.
"The young people nowadays are truly terrifying," Revil lamented before continuing to look through the contents of the data storage. "The Pegasus-class warship and the M1 Astray, is it? The warship is quite good, but the MS... hmm? A miniaturized Minovsky Reactor? Heh, now that's a trump card one can't refuse."
Revil smiled helplessly. He now understood Yang Hui's purpose in being so generous. It was to display his own value, to make Revil see him as important—so important that he couldn't afford to let him go.
At first, Revil thought Yang Hui was just a meticulous, ambitious mastermind who excelled at pulling strings from behind the scenes. But now, with this data, Yang Hui was telling Revil that he also possessed top-tier scientific research capabilities and held the very things the Federation needed most right now.
If he had known Yang Hui's plan from the start, Revil might not have made the request. Before, he still had the chance to back out, but not anymore.
"This kid really loves to keep people in suspense. This little bit of data just leaves you hanging. But... I wonder how the M1 Astray series compares to the V Project... Forget it, I'll have to wait until I get back to Earth to find out."
After reading all the data, Revil physically destroyed the storage device. He then changed into the Lieutenant General's uniform that had been prepared for him. Looking at himself in the mirror, Revil tore off the unsightly bandage on his head and properly put on his cap.
"Zeon, Gihren Zabi, I'm back. Your doom has come!"
At this moment, Revil's posture was much straighter. The weary, aged look on his face had faded, replaced by determination and authority.
Revil had been defeated and captured, but he had returned. Reborn from the ashes, he was now stronger. He would prove to the Federation that as long as he was here, the Federal Army would not collapse. Zeon would ultimately be defeated, and the Zabi family would pay for their crimes!
After a final check to ensure his attire was in order, Revil opened the door to leave the room, but he froze before he could even take a step. The voices of several young men came from the other end of the corridor.
"Damn it, that bastard Yamato! One day I'm gonna kill him!"
"You've said that a dozen times. Have you ever succeeded?"
"No... but I'll definitely kill him!"
"Give it up, you can't do it."
"Misha's right, Kabu. Kira is just too terrifying."
"Seriously, Kira's so young, how is he so strong?"
"I'd like to know too! Pfft—did you guys see the look on the Boss's and Uncle Banagher's faces when they got instantly wrecked by Yamato?"
"Pfft—Hahaha... Stop, Kabu... Hahaha... I can't help but laugh whenever I think about it."
"Haha... That was the first time I've ever seen the Boss make that kind of face. It was like..."
"He'd eaten shit!" they said in unison.
"Yes, yes! Exactly like that, hahaha..."
"Ho ho? This sounds like an interesting topic. I wonder if an old man like me would have the honor of joining in?"
"Who are you?" The chatting Andy, Michael, and Gabriel hadn't noticed Revil's approach. The sudden interruption broke the cheerful atmosphere. Gabriel, who had the worst temper, turned around angrily, and then...
Clang~ x3
Three cans slipped from their hands simultaneously, clattering to the floor as the unfinished drinks spilled everywhere.