After Setsuna and the Dylandy Brothers finished their battle with the Trinity team, they returned to space as instructed.
The operations meeting room was packed with people; everyone from Ptolemaios had gathered. Although they all felt a sense of foreboding, they still hoped to learn the truth from Yang Hui and Sumeragi.
On the screen, Yang Hui wore an unusually serious expression. He scanned the room before informing them of the full scope of the Celestial Being plan. He first asked, "Before I tell you, I want to remind you that this truth is very cruel. You still have the chance to withdraw. If you choose to leave, no one will hold it against you. We will arrange a completely new identity for you, allowing you to live a new life. Once you know, there will be no chance to withdraw."
"Gulp~" Christina and Lichty instinctively swallowed, and the others also wore grave expressions. Despite the distance, they were still intimidated by Yang Hui's presence.
"I am a Gundam Meister; completing missions is my reason for existence," Setsuna said first.
"This time, I agree with you," Tieria echoed.
"Completing missions, the Celestial Being plan," Feldt unusually spoke up before Christina.
"Seriously, I feel underestimated," Neil scratched his head.
"That's right, Myer. We were prepared for this the moment we joined Celestial Being," Lyle said.
"Exactly, Myer, please don't underestimate us."
"Mm-hmm."
"Everyone…" Yang Hui had reached this point, and no one chose to withdraw. Sumeragi felt a surge of emotion at this scene.
"Go on, what exactly is going on?" Tieria asked. He cared the most about the Celestial Being plan and was therefore the most eager to learn its true nature.
"Since everyone has made their decision, I will tell you the true purpose of the Celestial Being plan. First, eradicating war is not the true purpose of the Celestial Being plan; that is merely the first phase. The first phase is divided into three parts. The first part is the emergence of Celestial Being, applying pressure on the world to force them to unite; the second part is to increase that pressure, making the world's union tighter while concentrating all hatred on us; the third part is to resolve hatred, to eliminate hatred. Once the world unites to eradicate hatred, there will be no more hatred, and the world will understand each other, ultimately uniting together; thus, eradicating war."
Yang Hui explained the entirety of the first phase in one breath, and as expected, everyone's expressions turned grim, including Feldt, who rarely showed emotion.
Though it wasn't stated directly, they all understood—they were pawns, existing as the hatred to be eliminated.
"Ha, although I had such suspicions, hearing the truth is still hard to bear," Neil raised his head and sighed.
He and Lyle were the most contemplative among the five Gundam Meisters, so they realized early on that eradicating war through force was impossible; such actions only deepened hatred without achieving anything.
"How could this be… Is this really our only outcome?" Lichty clenched his fists, lowering his head in frustration.
"I refuse! I don't want to die! Myer! Ms. Huang! You must have a way, right?" Christina asked anxiously.
"Calm down, Christina," Feldt admonished.
"But…"
"Calm down, Chris. Since Myer said this is just the first phase, there must be a follow-up. Celestial Being won't be eliminated at this time, right?" Lasse comforted Christina by patting her shoulder, then looked at Yang Hui.
"Don't worry, Yang Hui and I have already devised a plan. The goal is for everyone to survive," Sumeragi said.
"Phew~ You scared me! Ms. Huang, you should have said that earlier!" Christina complained.
"You didn't give me a chance to say it," Sumeragi shrugged.
"Ugh~" Christina was left speechless.
"But Ms. Huang, if we can all survive, doesn't that mean the concentrated hatred hasn't been eliminated?" Lichty asked.
"So… Gundam and Ptolemaios must be destroyed for us to survive," Myer stated.
"No way! I disagree!" Tieria and Setsuna immediately opposed. Setsuna regarded Gundam Exia as extremely important; although he accepted Myer's statement, in his heart, Gundam Meisters were Gundam, and Gundam was Gundam Meisters—these two were one and the same.
What Tieria cared about wasn't Gundam itself, but the GN Drive, which was the absolute core of the Celestial Being plan. Without the GN Drive, even if people survived, what would it matter? The entire plan would still be a failure.
"Calm down, can you let me finish?" Yang Hui covered his face. Why did these two start opposing before he even finished speaking?
The two obediently fell silent, waiting for Yang Hui to continue, but their expressions clearly conveyed: "If I'm not satisfied, I absolutely won't comply!"
"The final battle is inevitable. The three major nations have already obtained Quasi-GN Drives, ten units per nation. With the technology levels of the Human Reform League and UNION, guided by Old Wang and Professor Eifman, they will soon be able to mass-produce them. By then, we will face a large number of MS that are not far off in performance from Gundam. This battle cannot be won, so the destruction of Gundam and Ptolemaios is inevitable.
My plan is for each unit to fight hard, and in the end, to directly evacuate with the GN Drives. If Gundam is destroyed, so be it; if it isn't, we'll take it with us, but we must ensure the safety of the people and the GN Drives. Gundam can be rebuilt, or even improved, but the people must not be harmed.
Once everything is over, we can find a place to hide and wait for the start of the second phase," Yang Hui explained one by one.
"I see, I agree," Tieria said after a brief moment of thought, accepting Yang Hui's plan.
However, upon hearing this, Yang Hui's veins bulged. This bastard, did my plan, which was developed through the joint efforts of me, Sumeragi, and VEDA, really need your approval?
The two who held opposing views had already convinced one person, but Setsuna still refused: "I won't give up Gundam Exia."
"I'm not saying you must give up Gundam Exia. I mean, in a critical situation, you can abandon Gundam to ensure the survival of the people and the safety of the GN Drives."
"Even so, I won't give it up."
"Sigh…" Yang Hui gave up. Setsuna was stubborn; once he made a decision, no one could change it. However, thinking back to the original plot where Gundam Exia could also be preserved, the enhanced version of Gundam Exia should be fine too, right?
"Just pay attention to it then. After all, it's enough for the Celestial Being forces to be wiped out; it's not necessary for Ptolemaios and all six Gundams to be completely destroyed." Gundam Rasiel was Yang Hui's favorite machine; who would want their beloved machine to be destroyed?
"I have a question about the Trinity team…"