Who is Playing the Love Development Game in Gundam

Inside the waterfall, a spacious tunnel stretched out, wide enough for standard warships and transport vessels. With his Mirage Colloid active, He Kui silently followed the rapidly moving GINN, keeping a safe distance.

As the creator of the Mirage Colloid detection system, no one understood its parameters better than he did. Coupled with interference from the ground-based neutron jammers, even a pilot as skilled as Creuset wouldn't sense He Kui's presence.

However, the distance was tricky. He Kui was too far to launch a sneak attack, and by the time he reached the destination following Creuset, the man would likely be gone. Maybe he could catch him on his way back?

As he considered this plan, Creuset suddenly turned around and fired his beam gun directly at him. The shot missed, grazing He Kui's MS and hitting the reinforced tunnel wall.

"You're following me, aren't you?" Creuset's voice echoed through the external speakers of his MS rather than a communication line.

He Kui instinctively stopped his thrusters, breaking into a cold sweat even behind the screen.

"Not coming out, are we?"

Was Creuset bluffing, or had he really detected him? He Kui was sure he hadn't done anything that would reveal his position to Creuset's radar.

Or maybe Creuset had some kind of supernatural sense for killing intent?

He Kui hesitated, but Creuset fired another beam shot. Due to the delay, He Kui barely managed to raise his anti-beam shield, successfully blocking the attack—but in the process, he was exposed.

Realizing he was caught, He Kui deactivated his Mirage Colloid.

"How did you know I was here?" he asked.

"Just a hunch. Now, who are you?" Creuset replied, aiming his gun at He Kui's MS. The opponent's skill level was far below his own; he could eliminate him instantly if they fought.

The only reason he held back was that the MS and its timing were suspicious. Finding a GINN here, equipped with Mirage Colloid but lacking a friend-or-foe identifier, seemed too odd to be just a lone pilot. Was this part of an ambush?

"A passerby. I'm no threat to you, Captain Creuset."

If he could, He Kui would've loved to grab Creuset's pristine collar and explain that his weapon faced an opponent with multiple advantages.

"No threat, yet you have killing intent?" Creuset sneered, his tone icy.

Was this some kind of sixth sense? Could he actually sense killing intent?

He Kui suddenly felt fortunate that he hadn't let any stray thoughts wander the last time he encountered Creuset; otherwise, he might not be here now. Perhaps his reckless actions were the punishment for his overconfidence.

"Don't you have other priorities, Captain Creuset?" He Kui said, throwing away his mining laser in a gesture of surrender.

"What's your organization's goal?" Creuset didn't lower his weapon.

For a moment, He Kui was puzzled—Creuset thought he was part of an organization? It made sense; an advanced MS like his wouldn't usually belong to a lone operator.

"Using war to maintain this world's existence," He Kui replied, feigning an enigmatic tone. In reality, he was mimicking a philosophy associated with a certain group—though he tweaked it to sound grander. As long as it didn't link back to him personally, it should work.

"Why the killing intent toward me, then?"

"You should understand, Captain Creuset," He Kui replied ambiguously.

If he was indeed part of an organization, then killing him here wouldn't matter much. Creuset was better off capturing him for questioning.

"Deactivate your weapon system and disembark," Creuset ordered coldly.

Getting out wasn't an option. If Creuset saw he was an android, the evidence would pile up.

"Apologies, Captain Creuset. Our group, 'Pallas,' cannot be captured." With that, He Kui triggered the self-destruct mechanism on the mining laser he had discarded.

A smokescreen erupted from the explosion, and He Kui activated the Mirage Colloid while surging upward with his thrusters. Shield held over his cockpit, he maneuvered the MS to safety. Following his final command, the MS charged forward with unyielding resolve.

Outside the smoke, Creuset fired his beam rifle repeatedly. His frightening intuition allowed him to accurately target He Kui despite the Mirage Colloid, and soon, both arms and the shield of He Kui's MS were obliterated.

As the MS integrity dropped below 30%, its self-destruct protocol automatically activated. Taking advantage of the resulting explosion, He Kui piloted the Aegis into a small maintenance entrance.

Outside, Creuset lowered the shield protecting him, his expression darkening. Although the explosion hadn't harmed him, the other pilot's recklessness surprised him.

"Pallas?" Creuset mused, considering if it referred to the Greek goddess Athena or was an acronym.

Had this group discovered his actions? Were they aligned with ZAFT, or perhaps the Blue Cosmos leader Azrael?

Lacking sufficient information, Creuset was forced to let it go for now and exited the tunnel.

Watching Creuset's departing figure, He Kui exhaled in relief, though his heart sank at the sight of his dismantled GINN scattered across the ground.

Months' worth of carefully hoarded materials, gone in an instant.

And without a functional MS, how could he warn Andrew? They'd only fought briefly, and he hadn't been able to speak to anyone.

The odds of a Cyclops system being present below were too high.

If it activated, it would be a massacre, likely wiping out both Freedom and Justice alongside everyone else.

He Kui's mind raced as he weighed his options. He couldn't afford to hesitate. Kira, Mu, the Archangel—they were his only hope of altering the course of events. His plan decided, he commanded Aegis to shadow the GINN once more.

Luckily, he had already reached the exit. Stepping outside, he spotted Creuset disembarking from his cockpit, the Joshua military base sprawling out before them like a miniature city.

Watching Creuset's every move, He Kui took in the sight of the white GINN. No, he couldn't kill him like this—not without undeniable proof. Even if Andrew trusted him, other commanders wouldn't. Acting now would only compromise his own position and reveal too much.

With that decision, He Kui carefully avoided any trace of hostility, keeping his sensors away from Creuset's MS while tailing him from a safe distance.

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