Lu Tianming smiled wryly... It was indeed useless to try to hide anything from Lacus.
Seeing that he couldn't brush it off, Lu Tianming simply admitted it—after all, it wasn't anything bad:
"...You guessed right. When I bid farewell to Andrew earlier, I informed him about this matter and asked him to be wary of potential assassinations from the Zala faction when he had time."
"But I never expected things to develop like this."
He spread his hands helplessly. Initially, he hadn't planned on being able to bring out the Freedom... After all, as ZAFT Forces' latest MS, the Freedom was highly confidential.
What surprised him was that the assassination attempts by the Zala faction had forced Siegel to personally lead a team to retrieve the Eternal.
"But then again, you've already thanked me. What difference does it make whether I admit it or not? It's not like we can undo anything."
"Or are you planning to give me some tangible reward?"
Hearing this, Lacus tilted her head slightly, as if genuinely considering whether a mere verbal thanks was insufficient and if there were more substantial ways to express gratitude.
After a moment of thought, she seemed to have a sudden inspiration, a smile curling at the corners of her lips as she said:
"If Mr. Lu doesn't mind, I would indeed like to offer you some... tangible repayment."
Upon hearing Lacus's words, Lu Tianming raised an eyebrow curiously—she was practically penniless now, so what could she possibly give as repayment?
Though he had no intention of extorting anything from Lacus... he was still curious, so he nodded and smiled:
"Of course I wouldn't mind."
"In that case... please close your eyes, Mr. Lu."
Though Lacus's tone was mysterious... out of trust in her, Lu Tianming didn't refuse—he simply closed his eyes lightly, waiting to see what gift she might offer.
But then he only heard a few light footsteps gradually approaching—undoubtedly, it was Lacus walking toward him.
Soon, he felt Lacus's hands gently grip his shoulders as if attempting something... then her voice sounded again:
"Mr. Lu... could you lower your head a little, or just bend down slightly?"
Without suspicion, Lu Tianming nodded and leaned forward slightly, lowering his posture.
Lacus seemed to readjust her stance, placing her hands back on Lu Tianming's shoulders to gauge the height while seemingly rising on her toes—satisfied, she continued:
"Alright, you can open your eyes now."
That's... it?
Lu Tianming was puzzled. From the sounds, it seemed like Lacus hadn't done anything—just adjusted the height... with no further action. What could she have possibly accomplished?
Just as he curiously opened his eyes, Lacus's serene and beautiful face filled his vision, her faintly fragrant scent washing over him.
Before he could process what Lacus had done, a warm sensation spread from his lips, halting all coherent thought.
After her successful "surprise attack," Lacus retreated as lightly as a dragonfly skimming the water, one hand gently covering her lips... whether consciously hiding the "criminal weapon" or masking the blush of tension on her face was unclear.
She lowered her head slightly with a hint of shyness, yet her gaze remained lifted, fixed intently on Lu Tianming's face. With a tone laced with anticipation, she asked:
"How did you find this little gift...?"
Lu Tianming was momentarily at a loss... even with prior experience handling Flay, the current situation was vastly different.
For a moment, he truly didn't know how to respond.
Fortunately, someone from the Archangel happened to come looking for Lu Tianming to return for mobile suit repairs... giving him an excuse to extricate himself.
"...The Archangel's work takes priority. Shall we discuss this later after returning?"
Lu Tianming pointed toward the Archangel, asking Lacus with some embarrassment.
He expected Lacus to press the matter... but instead, she simply nodded understandingly, moved closer to gently link arms with him, and intertwined her small hand with his. Smiling, she said:
"Very well, in that case, let's return together."
——————————————————
Aside from Lacus and Lu Tianming, there was actually one other person with flushed cheeks at this moment.
That was the famous Red Uniform pilot of the ZAFT Forces—Yzak Joule.
Of course, his flushed face wasn't due to any particular reason... it was purely from boiling anger.
In the combat records viewing room, watching the Strike Suit from their last battle—which had charged into their encirclement as if divinely aided, effortlessly dismantling their offensive like cutting through melons and vegetables, even nearly capturing them all—Yzak felt simultaneous surges of resentment and frustration.
Damn it, how could we lose again?
He pounded the table in discontent, his pent-up rage with no outlet, leaving him red-faced with fury.
Recounting his battles against the Strike Suit felt like a history of varied defeats.
Blinded by flash grenades, kicked by flying attacks, ignored outright by the cheating Strike Suit without even a glance, then sliced apart by the Strike Suit with new upgrades...
At first, they could at least put up a fight, but why did it increasingly feel like they were just roadside trash later on...
"Yzak, don't be so angry. This time, the Strike Suit only achieved this result by exploiting an information gap."
Seeing that Yzak might injure himself with rage if he continued watching, Nicol quickly offered consolation from the side.
"After all, before this, no one expected that guy to deploy with three Striker Packs at once."
"Moreover, he benefited from the short duration of the combat... according to calculations, even with three packs supplying energy, the Strike Suit's combat style wouldn't allow it to sustain operations for long."
"It's even highly possible that he didn't pursue us further not because he was driven off by missiles or intentionally let us go... but because he simply didn't have the energy reserves to continue the chase."
Nicol systematically analyzed the combat scenario with Yzak. While the Strike Suit's instant quadruple elimination appeared intimidating at first glance, a careful examination revealed that the opponent's utilization of information asymmetry and deliberate choice of combat tactics for rapid suppression were the primary reasons for such astonishing results.
As for piloting skills... though undeniably present, they merely served as icing on the cake, increasing fault tolerance.
Hearing this, the pent-up frustration in Yzak's heart eased slightly, yet he remained somewhat conflicted:
"But at that time we also had equipment information asymmetry, yet he still handled it normally?"
Unaware that what he perceived as information disparity was actually something Lu Tianming had already understood through his transmigrator's knowledge, Yzak still believed they had held informational advantage during the previous battle.
This question left Nicol somewhat stumped as well... Indeed, upon careful analysis, they were actually the ones who had gained the initial advantage.
However, just at that moment, Athrun suddenly pushed open the screening room door and entered:
"Who held the advantage in past battles is now meaningless... What matters is that we still hold trump cards and can catch them by surprise."
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