The follow-up results of the "Bat Extermination Operation" came out in less than a week. Grudick was sentenced to fifteen years in prison, but he retained his honors and would be able to return to the military after serving his time. This allowed Grudick to continue fighting as a member of the Federal Army after his release, rather than ending up with nothing and secretly gathering intelligence for Flit, ultimately being silenced for knowing too much.
Everyone in Diva received commendations, a medal of the highest honor, and all were promoted by one rank.
Although the members of Diva were all scattered, they were still part of the Federation, and as members of the Federation, there would naturally be a day when they could fight side by side again, so there was no excessive sadness.
If anyone benefited the most from this battle, it was undoubtedly Yang Corporation.
Originally, Yang Corporation was just a leading military enterprise, and it had never had a good reputation among the public. After all, military enterprises were often seen as merchants of death; without them, there would be no war.
But once the news spread that the two most important young masters of Yang Corporation had disregarded their own safety to personally participate in the "Bat Extermination Operation" and contributed greatly to it—arguably being a decisive factor in the outcome of the war—they were hailed as heroes, and Yang Corporation's reputation skyrocketed.
With a good reputation came customers. Yang Corporation's previously lackluster civilian machinery sector suddenly rose to a level comparable to its military sector, achieving both fame and fortune.
Of course, all of this was just on the surface. The greatest gain was the captured Genoace and the technical data brought back from the Anbat Fortress. After selectively submitting some to the Federation, what remained was the most valuable asset for Yang Corporation.
Not to mention, at least the two machines could now reach a perfect B-grade, no longer needing to be as cautious as before when piloting them in battle.
None of this was what Yang Hui was concerned about; what he cared about most was the notification that the mission had ended. The timeline of the Gundam AGE world was quite long, spanning three generations of the Asuno family, several times longer than that of the Gundam OO world. Since the Gundam OO world was divided into stages, the Gundam AGE world should be the same, so all they needed to do now was wait to return to Prometheus Fortress.
But it had to be said… sometimes surprises—no, shocks—came so suddenly.
[The first stage mission in the Gundam AGE world is complete. The "Bat Extermination Operation" was a complete success, all important characters survived, rewards include one construction opportunity, one building enhancement opportunity, one skill extraction opportunity, one skill enhancement opportunity, and a (small) resource package. The world deviation will be calculated uniformly after the Gundam AGE world ends...
PS: The skill extraction opportunity, skill enhancement opportunity, and resource package must be used after returning to Prometheus Fortress.]
"..."
Yang Hui and Graham were stunned, and the next notification drove Yang Hui crazy.
[Second stage mission released: Join the Federal Army, participate in the war against VEGAN, ensure the success of the Nora Laim Defense War, and assist Flit Asuno in launching a coup to seize power from the Federation's high ranks, exposing the secret relationship between the Federation's high ranks and VEGAN.
PS: Before the success of the Nora Laim Defense War, ensure that all members of Diva survive. The reward will increase for each additional survivor.]
"What the hell! Mephis! Can you explain this?"
[What does the commander need explained?]
"The mission! What does this second stage mission mean? How can there be such a huge gap between the first and second stages? Shouldn't there be a small task before returning?"
[Commander, I never said that the mission world is divided into several parts.]
"Then what about the Gundam OO world?"
[Because the Gundam OO world is the commander's beginner world, the difficulty was lowered. Completing each world fully is the normal situation; at the same time, based on my calculations, the commander is very likely to sacrifice in the final battle of the Gundam OO world, which is also a protection for the commander.]
"..." Yang Hui had a thousand curses in his heart that he didn't know whether to say or not. Are you implying that I'm weak?
"Yang Hui, is there a big problem with this mission?" Graham asked. Delaying the return to Prometheus Fortress wasn't a big deal; the more missions, the more rewards, right? Why was Yang Hui unhappy and looking like he was about to explode?
"Problem? Heh, the problem itself isn't a problem…" Yang Hui rolled his eyes coldly.
"Then why…"
"...It's just that the Nora Laim Defense War happens 25 years later."
Graham: (⊙ω⊙)
"So, to complete the second stage mission, we have to stay in this world for at least another 25 years, and also…"
"And also!?"
"...The Gundam AGE world doesn't have one protagonist, but three. It's a heroic chronicle spanning three generations of the Asuno family. Now that the second stage mission has come out, there will naturally be a third stage, which means…"
"..." Graham turned pale, meaning he would have to stay in this world for decades with Yang Hui until Flit's grandson was born and the war ended before they could return to Prometheus Fortress!
This was simply outrageous! Decades later, he would be an old man, right?
Although he enjoyed traveling between different worlds and experiencing various battles, staying in one world for decades was still a daunting prospect!
"Yang Hui…"
"Don't look at me like that; I'm just as frustrated."
Yang Hui was indeed frustrated. The Gundam AGE world was one of the most unique among all the mech battle works he knew. While other works also had long timelines, they were divided into many different works for publication. Only Gundam AGE briefly summarized the stories of three generations in just 49 episodes.
"Wait! Mephis, let me ask, if I enter the Gundam UC world, I won't be stuck from the One Year War all the way to UC 0225, right?" Yang Hui hurriedly asked. If there was one series with the longest time span, it was undoubtedly the origin of all Gundam—the UC era. Excluding various dark histories and subsequent inheritances, the UC era's story lasted over a hundred years. He couldn't possibly experience the entire UC era, right? Wouldn't that make him an ancient monster?
[No.]
"Phew~ That's good."
The UC era was a world Yang Hui had to visit no matter what. Its long timeline and numerous works had an undeniable advantage: there were many talents! Just look at how many named characters there are in Gundam AGE! Is there even a fraction of that in the UC era?
Not to mention Yang Hui had always thought about saving so many tragedies that shouldn't have occurred in the UC era, like the love-hate relationship between the mule and the duck, Camille and his women, General Revill's death, and so on.
"Yang Hui, Graham, what's wrong with you?" At that moment, Yurin suddenly appeared. Seeing Yang Hui and Graham looking lost, she couldn't help but ask with concern (mainly worried about Yang Hui).
Yang Hui felt a bit helpless. He didn't know whether to tell Yurin the truth. If they returned to Prometheus Fortress, Yurin had to be brought back, so she had the right to know. But the first stage of the mission had just ended, and he didn't want Yurin to be affected by the overwhelming truth from the start.
Faced with this complex psychology, Yang Hui could only cast a pleading look at Graham, but… it was of no use.
"I believe in you!"
Although he didn't say it, Graham's expression and thumbs-up conveyed that meaning to Yang Hui.
"Just knew you were unreliable!" Yang Hui naturally returned the "same" look and then turned to Yurin.
"Yurin, it's okay."
Yurin pretended to understand on the surface, but the sadness in her eyes was caught by Yang Hui. Yang Hui was the first and currently the only person she wholeheartedly trusted since her family passed away. Perhaps it was a case of like attracting like, or perhaps the hidden feelings in her heart were influencing Yurin, but discovering that Yang Hui had secrets from her still made her very sad.
"Yurin, this involves our biggest secret. It's an endless vortex filled with various battles and dangers. Are you… sure you want to know?" Yang Hui didn't soften his heart to tell Yurin directly because she was a very kind girl. If she didn't want to get involved, Yang Hui would choose to give up.
"I… I…"
Faced with Yang Hui's serious tone and Graham's equally serious expression beside him, Yurin fell into a dilemma for a moment.
"It's okay, Yurin. You can think about it carefully."
Yang Hui turned to leave, wanting to give Yurin space to think, but at that moment, Yurin grabbed the back of Yang Hui's shirt.
"Will… will you leave me?" Yurin asked timidly.
"...If you don't want to know… then yes." Yang Hui steeled his heart and nodded. His thoughts had changed because of Yurin. Initially, he thought he would definitely take Yurin with him, even if it meant keeping her as a mascot in Prometheus Fortress.
But in front of the hesitant Yurin, Yang Hui realized that he shouldn't force someone to make a choice because of personal feelings. He and Yurin only had feelings for each other and a hint of ambiguity, and it was still unclear what kind of emotions they had. Since nothing had happened yet, he shouldn't force a kind girl to get involved in his vortex and bear his responsibilities.
"Then I want to know!"
The suddenly resolute Yurin stunned both Yang Hui and Graham.
"You… you promised me you wouldn't leave me alone…" Yurin said, her face flushed as she sobbed. She was afraid of battle, but even more afraid that Yang Hui would leave her. If that happened, she would be alone again.
She didn't blame Yang Hui for being heartless; after all, it had been made very clear that knowing the consequences meant endless battles and dangers. If she didn't want to know, Yang Hui's heartlessness in leaving her was to protect her.
"...Okay." Yang Hui nodded and gave Graham a look, signaling him to leave first so he could be alone with Yurin.
Graham smiled and turned to leave. His indifference to romantic matters didn't mean he disliked seeing others' affection. Since both parties had made their decisions, he just needed to wait for another comrade to join them.
"Ha, Yang Hui, I hope you know how to explain this to Ms. Huang and the others."
(End of Chapter)