Andrew never expected Lu Tianming to charge out so decisively.
When he tossed the gun to Lu Tianming earlier, part of him genuinely wanted to see the young man's capabilities, but more than that, he simply intended to return a favor and help him defend himself.
After all, if not for Lu Tianming's warning earlier, Andrew might not have detected the ambush in time to protect himself.
Moreover, the attackers were likely targeting him specifically—Lu Tianming and the others were merely caught in the crossfire... There was no need for him to charge out so fiercely.
Andrew leaned out, about to call Lu Tianming back, only to find the guy... already unstoppable in his slaughter.
At that moment, Lu Tianming moved like the protagonist of some individualistic war film, each shot precisely taking out one or two approaching enemies. He would then seize the lull in enemy fire to swiftly change cover before finding new angles to resume his precise eliminations.
Occasionally, a few tried to flank him for a surprise attack, but Lu Tianming detected them with uncanny accuracy. A quick turn and rapid fire were all it took to eliminate all would-be ambushers.
He shot when he had the angle, retreated when he didn't. Sometimes, after emptying a magazine, he would even pick up enemy weapons along the way to continue fighting.
Within moments, before Andrew's own men had even fired more than a couple of shots, Lu Tianming had already cleared the battlefield.
Seeing no more enemies left in the street, Lu Tianming finally emerged from his cover. He drew the now-empty pistol from his waist and returned it to Andrew, saying modestly:
"Thank you for the armed support earlier. If you hadn't lent me that gun, I really wouldn't have known what to do."
Hearing this, Andrew nearly choked—after that display, how could you claim you wouldn't have known what to do?
Too many targets, couldn't decide which to kill first, was that it?
Even Xia Chuan couldn't hold back, honestly complaining:
"You're laying it on a bit thick.".. though I have to say I enjoyed watching it."
Lu Tianming felt somewhat helpless. He wasn't putting on an act—he genuinely believed that without the gun, things would have been much more troublesome... Like in card games, sometimes you only need one or two cards to get started, but if you just can't draw those specific cards, you can really get stuck.
Meanwhile, Cagalli had been watching in stunned silence... From the moment the table was overturned to the start of the battle, and now until its conclusion, she had remained in a dazed state.
This guy Lu Tianming... was actually this strong?
Cagalli had only known previously that he was good at piloting MS, but when it came to individual combat, she thought her experience of personally destroying BuCUEs with a bazooka gave her more authority on the subject.
During this outing, she hadn't considered Lu Tianming as a bodyguard at all... just as a companion coming along for shopping.
She had even thought that if any danger arose, she would be the one stepping forward first to protect Lu Tianming and Lacus, these two 'amateurs.'
Only now did she realize that this guy's individual combat skills were equally monstrous.
"But... who are these people exactly? Why did they attack us?"
Cagalli stared at the terrorists lying on the ground—some dead, others barely alive—feeling thoroughly confused.
Aside from their resistance organization, were there others daring to cause trouble in Tiger's territory?
"They're extremists from Blue Cosmos. And strictly speaking, they weren't attacking 'us' but rather 'me'."
At this point, Andrew made no attempt to conceal his identity, directly removing his sunglasses to reveal himself:
"Allow me to introduce myself—Andrew Waltfeld, also known as... the Desert Tiger."
"Wh-what?!"
Cagalli thought she had already experienced her daily quota of shocks, but it seemed this was just the beginning?
Seeing the enemy commander inexplicably appear before her, she immediately bristled and pulled Lacus behind her, cautiously taking two steps back.
Andrew found Cagalli's reaction amusing... After all, who was she protecting? That was Lacus.
If she just revealed her identity, no one in this city would dare lay a finger on her.
"...So when you asked about our identities and supplies earlier, that was also you testing us?"
Cagalli finally realized, belatedly, Andrew's earlier probing.
"You could say that... But there's no need to be so wary of me. You just saved my life, and I'm not that ungrateful."
"Looks like you've lost quite a few supplies. Why not come rest at my residence? I can have people purchase whatever supplies you need."
Andrew raised his hands innocently, watching the inexplicably vigilant Cagalli.
Cagalli felt conflicted... If they retreated now, they definitely wouldn't be able to replenish their supplies. But venturing alone into enemy territory carried great risks if the Desert Tiger harbored ill intentions.
Seeing Cagalli's hesitation, Lacus gently patted her shoulder and said:
"Don't worry, Mr. Andrew is a good person. He won't do anything dangerous."
Lu Tianming watched her belated nervousness and suppressed a laugh as he comforted her:
"It's fine... With your reaction speed, if he really wanted to harm you, you'd have been downed several times over. Since he's inviting you now, it means he means no harm."
"Besides, if anything happens, don't you still have your bodyguard?"
Seeing Lu Tianming's reassurance, Cagalli finally nodded in reluctant agreement.
There was no particular reason—mainly because Lu Tianming's capabilities made her feel secure.
After handing the supply list to Andrew, he called for a vehicle while having his subordinates handle the procurement.
Suddenly, as if finally processing things, Cagalli turned to Lu Tianming with a suspicious look:
"Wait... were you subtly insulting me earlier?"
She hadn't registered it clearly in the moment, only vaguely recalling Lu Tianming mentioning something about slow reactions.
Lu Tianming shook his head decisively:
"No, must be your imagination."
"Really not?"
"Really not... If you keep dawdling, the car will leave without us."
——————————————
Rather than a residence, Andrew's home was more appropriately described as a manor.
In the center of the vast and magnificent courtyard stood a tall mansion, so spacious that Lu Tianming felt he might get lost inside if not for Andrew personally leading the way.
Cagalli and Lacus, covered in dust from the recent battle, were immediately taken by Andrew's lover, Aisha-Traine, to change clothes and freshen up upon entering.
Meanwhile, Lu Tianming, guided by Andrew, entered the main reception hall and removed his sunglasses—apparently, the distance had caused the audio-visual information sharing with Xia Chuan to become intermittent, and he had even given up on continuing the connection.
Since that was the case, he might as well take them off—after all, the link enhancement effect would persist as long as the sunglasses were nearby.
"Would you like some coffee? I'm quite confident in my coffee-making skills."
Andrew picked up the coffee pot and poured a cup for both Lu Tianming and himself.
Lu Tianming lifted the coffee cup, took a sip... and couldn't discern much from it.
"How is it? What do you think?"
"Just tastes like coffee, I don't really understand it. But it goes down smoothly."
Lu Tianming shook his head. Apart from drinking Americanos to stay up late before his transmigration, he had little experience with other types of coffee. When it came to professional tasting, he was completely clueless.
He could only offer a simple evaluation.
"I'll take that as a compliment then... After all, not many Coordinators are interested in this stuff, so it's hard to find people to ask for opinions."
Andrew sighed with some regret; Coordinators were all rather unappreciative.
"Speaking of which, judging by your earlier movements, you should be a Coordinator too, right?"
"No."
Lu Tianming smiled and shook his head, speaking sincerely.
"I am a pure and genuine Natural."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Andrew raised an eyebrow, finding the result somewhat unexpected.
Originally, when Zala's faction claimed that the Strike Suit's pilot was a Natural, he thought it was nonsense—a way to demonize the Strike Suit's performance advantages and justify military expansion.
Moreover, the recent battle had further convinced him that Zala's faction was purely fabricating.
To put it another way, it was like hearing that someone naturally trained could outperform others with enhancements—no one would believe it, and they'd suspect the person was secretly using even more drugs.
"You... are truly a Natural? There's no one else here now, you can tell the truth."
Andrew still found it hard to believe and pressed for confirmation.
"...Why would I lie to you?"
Lu Tianming was exasperated; this question seemed to follow him everywhere, almost a routine occurrence.
Upon hearing Lu Tianming's affirmative reply, a deep shock flashed in Andrew's eyes. He couldn't help but cross his arms and lean back tactically, scrutinizing Lu Tianming carefully before nodding thoughtfully:
"If you really are a Natural... no wonder Zala's faction, while using you for propaganda, also wants to eliminate you as quickly as possible."
"They're afraid you might truly become that legendary New Human."
"You mean... the one George Glenn spoke of?"
Lu Tianming naturally understood what Andrew was referring to. He wasn't talking about the New Type concept from the UC Gundam series but rather the term used by the first Coordinator—George Glenn.
Andrew nodded and continued:
"'The meaning of Coordinator is to serve as a bridge between humans and the new humans who will be born in the future, that is, the person responsible for coordination.'... This is the original definition George Glenn gave for Coordinators."
"However, the concept of new humans is just an idea, with no evidence or hope of their emergence... So most people don't have a deep impression of this statement."
"Instead, the Coordinators, who were supposed to be the bridge, are now being portrayed by Zala's faction in PLANT... as some kind of superior beings."
"Really, if you ask me, the root of the current war lies in George Glenn's decision to publicize Adjustment Technology. Otherwise, people wouldn't have developed such a meaningless concept of superiority and inferiority."
Andrew let out a light sigh, as if in his view, the emergence of differences between people caused by the birth of Coordinators was the true source of the current chaos.
Lu Tianming shook his head and refuted:
"That's not entirely accurate. Even before the Cosmic Era, there were histories of wars waged under the banner of superior races, when humanity had no genetic adjustment technology."
"And after the emergence of Adjustment Technology, there are still places in the world where Naturals and Coordinators can coexist harmoniously... ORB is the most typical example."
Upon hearing this, Andrew was momentarily stunned, realizing that Lu Tianming indeed made a valid point.
Wars would still occur without Coordinators, and peace could still exist with Coordinators... His perspective on war was somewhat challenged, and he frowned slightly as he asked:
"Then—in your view, what is the true root of this war?"
"All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit, all the coming and going is for gain. War is merely a struggle for interests, while Coordinators and Naturals... are nothing more than an excuse."
"Even if humanity weren't divided into Coordinators and Naturals, there would be other divisions."
"Such as Cosmic dwellers and Earthlings, Earth Alliance and colonial resistance organizations..."
"As long as humanity desires to explore space, this conflict is inevitably unavoidable."
After hearing Lu Tianming's words, Andrew lowered his head and took a sip of coffee, pondering silently for a while before digesting Lu Tianming's perspective:
"I see. Regarding the cosmic resources as the prize, the early entrants, having borne the risks of pioneering, don't want to share what they've obtained with the Earth side who would reap the benefits without effort."
"And the Earth side is unwilling to stand by and watch the promising new frontier being occupied by others, thus engaging in competition for these resources... Is that what you mean?"
Lu Tianming nodded. It was so much easier to talk with someone perceptive like Tiger—just a simple hint and he understood the meaning.
Unlike Cagalli... conversing with her always felt like giving a political tutoring session, requiring so much effort and energy.
He hoped her single-minded nature might change slightly after his tutoring, that she would learn to consider things more thoroughly.
Lu Tianming sighed inwardly, then continued:
"Yes, as for George Glenn... he merely opened Pandora's box of genetics, accelerating the progression of the situation and intensifying the existing contradictions."
Just as the two were about to continue their conversation, the door to the reception hall suddenly swung open. Cagalli, dressed in an emerald green gown, forcefully pushed it open and loudly demanded:
"Hey! Lu Tianming, why didn't you tell me earlier that Lacus is actually that Lacus Clyne from PLANT?!"
Behind her stood Aisha and Lacus, who had changed into a pink chiffon dress, both wearing expressions of helplessness.
Lu Tianming let out a light sigh and turned to look at Cagalli with a resigned expression. He tapped his forehead as if hinting at something and retorted:
"'Lacus is actually Lacus'—do you even hear what you're saying?"
"Isn't it possible that I never hid it from you from the very beginning? Who would've thought you'd completely fail to notice?"
Hearing this, Cagalli suddenly froze as if waking from a dream. After pondering for a moment, she realized it really was true...
The iconic pink hair, plus the name Lacus—any normal person would immediately think of her, wouldn't they?
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