With that thought, Fred quickly ended the call with Heinline and lowered his head to continue reading intently.
Just as Fred was formally preparing to begin his research, aboard the flagship Agamemnon-class vessel of the Third Fleet of the East Asian Space Force stationed outside April City.
Chen Tai was looking at the documents before him, his face full of curiosity.
"Can't find that masked young man?"
"That's correct."
The adjutant lowered his head in shame as he spoke.
"Our people have no information on the other party whatsoever."
"Hmm..."
After a moment of contemplation, Captain Chen shrugged, feeling no surprise in his heart. Instead, it felt like a suspicion had been confirmed.
PLANT is vast, not to mention that East Asia has never had many spies operating abroad.
Relying solely on publicly available residential records of Coordinators, it would indeed be impossible to locate someone deliberately protected by ZAFT.
Moreover, this fact indirectly confirmed Chen Tai's belief that the other party's identity or background was not simple.
"Captain Chen, do you think the other party might be someone with knowledge of this incident?"
While Chen Tai was deep in thought, the adjutant asked, puzzled.
"But if they were someone with knowledge, we could easily investigate others on the ship."
"Why focus on investigating this individual?"
The other party wore a mask, clearly concealing their identity intentionally. If they merely suspected the ship's involvement in the Mendel operation, they could have started by investigating the ship and its other crew members.
"It's not that simple."
Chen Tai shook his head but said nothing more.
In his view, however, that young man was not just someone with knowledge of the operation but might even have been one of its core participants.
This was the conclusion he drew from the situation at the time.
Of course, it was only an intuition, with no evidence whatsoever.
"Captain Chen, should we conduct a deeper investigation?"
The adjutant asked cautiously upon hearing this.
"No need."
Chen Tai waved his hand. Since his suspicion had already been confirmed, there was no need to continue. Doing so would only make them seem like the sneaky, underhanded types from the Atlantic Federation.
Not only would it alert the enemy, but there was no guarantee they would find anything.
After all, the young man at the time appeared very composed and unlikely to reveal any flaws from a casual investigation.
Moreover, the Mendel incident had dealt a blow to those Blue Cosmos types, which he rather admired.
The last time Blue Cosmos suffered such a major setback was Copernicus a few years ago.
That Atlantic Star seemed to have disappeared as well. It was unclear whether they had been secretly dealt with by the Atlantic Federation for refusing to cooperate or if they had fled.
But if they did flee, did that family truly have the power to escape right under the noses of Blue Cosmos?
These scattered thoughts only lingered in Chen Tai's mind for a moment before he snapped back to reality and looked up at the adjutant before him.
"Seal the records."
"And register the ship's information on the monitor."
In the vast expanse of PLANT, he had no intention of finding that masked young man.
However, he had a feeling they might meet again in the future.
"Understood."
Upon hearing this, the adjutant gave a crisp military salute and turned to leave the room.
With everything arranged, Chen Tai swiveled his chair and gazed out the window. In the vast expanse of space, the space colonies of PLANT drifted silently.
Beautiful, yet troubling.
"World peace," Chen Tai sighed inwardly.
...
In the blink of an eye, the next day arrived. Fred sat before his computer, welcoming his new team of researchers.
Four men and three women—seven in total, all experts in their respective fields.
At this moment, the seven looked at Fred with curiosity, but even more so with respect.
After all, as core research personnel, they had all heard of Fred's achievements.
He was one of the principal researchers behind PLANT's latest battleship.
Though they didn't understand why PLANT hadn't publicized his name, it wasn't entirely incomprehensible—such research was inherently sensitive.
In their view, this was a form of protection for Fred. And following such a distinguished figure was both exciting and inspiring.
If they could successfully complete this research, they would become key contributors to the future of MS development.
Unlike battleship research, this project had the potential to reshape the future of the world and the nature of warfare.
How could they not be thrilled?
Moreover, Fred's recent instructions revealed a deep familiarity and confidence in the research, further elevating their admiration.
Fred, observing the enthusiasm of the group, said nothing, his smile as calm as ever.
After assigning tasks and outlining the schedule, he spoke.
"That's all I have to say, but I'll reiterate one last time."
"I'm very pleased to collaborate with all of you, and I hope we can successfully complete this research together."
"Thank you, everyone."
Fred offered a few words of formal encouragement.
Yet no one dismissed it as mere routine. Instead, their eyes shone even brighter.
Words carry weight depending on who speaks them.
If it were an ordinary person, they might not care for empty platitudes.
But encouragement from Fred was genuinely inspiring.
"Thank you, Director Freed!"
After everyone responded in turn, the work officially began.
With his tasks temporarily settled, Fred stepped out of his room at noon.
Emerging from the soundproofed space, the sounds of daily life from the living room drifted up the stairs.
Though indistinct, he could hear Lacus chatting and laughing with his parents.
Hearing this, Fred's lips curved slightly.
When Lacus first arrived, he had assumed it was merely to test him—to confirm his trustworthiness and satisfy her curiosity about The Clan.
But now, hearing how well Lacus was getting along with his family, Fred couldn't help but wonder.
Could it be an indirect attempt to persuade him to stay?
Of course, given their cooperative relationship and the fact that Lacus was not a villain but a principled individual, he had little reason to worry.
With these thoughts, Fred descended the stairs, the sounds growing clearer with each step.
"My brother is so mean! He used to trick me into thinking that if I swallowed watermelon seeds, a tree would grow in my stomach! And he'd always bully me, saying he'd just take one bite, then eat my whole ice cream!"
Flay's complaining voice reached Fred's ears.
It also made the young man unable to hold back a chuckle.
"That's just too mean!"
Lacus chimed in.
"I'll help Flay get revenge!"
"Huh?"
Hearing Lacus's words, Fred silently quickened his pace down the stairs.
Just kidding—if Lacus, that scheming one, really decided to get back at him, he'd probably end up with a real headache.
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