Simultaneous Time Travel: Gundam? All Teammates are Old Six

Chapter 14: The Prelude to the Business Plan – "The Final Entrustment"

[Archangel, Bridge]

"Let's make a deal."

Ling Yu's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a steel needle, precisely piercing the deathly silence of the bridge.

Frey Alsta's body stiffened, a hint of confusion flashing in her empty eyes.

transaction?

Her father’s signal had just disappeared in a burst of fire that swallowed the stars, and the fate of the Montgomery was still unknown.

And this person was whispering in her ear, talking about a deal?

"What...did you say?"

Her voice was hoarse and broken, like shattered glass.

Ling Yu's smile remained unchanged, but the cynicism had faded, replaced by a profound understanding of everything.

He released his grip on her chin and gently took her cold fingertips in his hand.

A neatly folded piece of paper, with a warm, smooth texture and a subtle metallic sheen, was gently placed in her palm.

"It's not a transaction," Ling Yu corrected, his voice deep and magnetic. "This is... a 'final entrustment' from your father."

He paused, then spoke slowly and deliberately.

"A business plan that can change your life."

The moment the words left his mouth, the surrounding air froze.

Captain Murrue, Lieutenant Natal, and Kira all had frozen expressions on their faces.

They looked at Ling Yu's charlatan-like face, at the nonsensical "paper" he handed over, and at the "final entrustment" and "business plan" that came out of his mouth.

This madman from Heliopolis has finally gone completely insane.

"What nonsense is he spouting!" Natal's hands were bulging with veins, and the gun grip was creaking as she held it.

This is disrespect for the dead and a desecration of war.

Maru remained silent, her sharp gaze fixed on Ling Yu. Her mind raced, trying to extract any logic from this absurd behavior.

Encrypted information? Some kind of psychological manipulation?

Kira was completely dumbfounded, looking helplessly at Frey, who was standing there dumbfounded, and then at Ling Yu, who was acting strangely.

"Please give me a private room."

Ling Yu ignored all the scrutinizing gazes and spoke softly to Maru, his tone calm and firm.

"I assure you that this 'entrustment' is of paramount importance to all of us."

Maru met his gaze.

Those eyes held an almost obsessive fervor and confidence.

Is he a madman, or a wise man as deep as the abyss?

She didn't know. But the advance team was about to be destroyed, pushing the Archangel into a desperate situation.

She couldn't let go of any possibility, no matter how small.

"Take them to my... temporary rest room."

Maru finally gave the order, her voice filled with exhaustion and a resolute determination to burn her bridges.

[Archangel, Captain's Temporary Rest Area]

February 7, CE71, early morning.

The air in the lounge was cold and filled with a suffocating sadness.

Frey sat on the edge of the metal bed, her body trembling slightly.

Tears fell silently, wetting the cover of the document in her hand.

Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs George Alsta: Emergency Trust Agreement on Wartime Property and Guardianship – Top Secret, for Personal View Only

The title, stamped in gold, felt like a red-hot branding iron, searing into her heart.

"Your father... he foresaw today's situation."

Ling Yu's deep voice broke the deathly silence in the room, like a stone thrown into an icy lake.

Frey suddenly looked up, her teary eyes filled with overwhelming hatred and doubt.

"Foresight? What did my father foresee? Did he foresee us being tricked into a trap, and foresee his death at the hands of ZAFT?!"

"No."

Ling Yu stared intently at her, his gaze sharp and unwavering.

"He foresaw that hatred itself is a double-edged sword. It can burn the enemy, but it can also consume oneself."

He gently took the document from Frey's hand and turned to the first page.

The fingertip taps on a "legal clause" that has been altered by the system.

"So, he entrusted me with a 'gift.' A 'gift' more important than MS, warships, or even our lives."

"He knew that on the battlefield, hatred alone wasn't enough. You needed more advanced 'weapons'."

Ling Yu raised his head, his eyes deep, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.

"This document is not a will, nor is it a declaration of war to send you to your death."

"This is... a business plan."

Frey was completely stunned.

Business plan?

In this universe intertwined with blood and fire, at this moment when her father is about to turn to dust?

Her sanity was on the verge of collapse amidst extreme grief and absurdity. Her vision began to darken at the edges, and the sense of absurdity and excruciating pain tore at her nerves.

"Are you... insulting my father?" Her voice trembled, her nails digging deep into her palms.

"An insult?" A glint flashed in Ling Yu's eyes, then his expression was filled with compassion. "No. This is a 'way out' left to you by your father, His Excellency George Alstar, the Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs."

He handed the document to Frey again, sliding his fingertips across it.

"War, in the end, is a struggle for resources and interests. Your father saw this clearly. He didn't want you to become a pawn who only acts impulsively and seeks revenge; he wanted you to become... someone who could 'manipulate' war."

Ling Yu's tone suddenly rose, each word like a nail.

"Look here, 'Secret Funding from the Joint Parliament'! This was originally funding for the development of secret weapons, but now it's your 'venture capital'!"

"And here's more, 'ZAFT internal faction funding'! Your father has a special 'informant' within ZAFT! This money is used to turn pacifists who are dissatisfied with Sara's radical policies against him!"

Frey's pupils suddenly contracted.

An informant? Inside ZAFT?

absurd.

But her father was indeed a high-ranking officer in the coalition forces, and she knew nothing about his secret operations.

Ling Yu didn't give her a chance to think, his fingertips sliding to another part of the document.

"And this too, the 'Post-War Resource Priority Exploitation Agreement'! That's worth way more than the mobile suit itself!"

His tone became excited, as if he were presenting a blueprint for wealth that could overturn the world.

"What he's asking you to do isn't to pilot a mobile suit into battle, playing some life-or-death 'child' game!"

"What he asked you to do was... 'invest'!"

"Use your power to make those ZAFT bastards pay the 'price' for their actions today—bankrupt them! Let them know what the power of capital is!"

Ling Yu even emphasized in a mentor-like tone:

"Using capital to strangle war—that's what your father truly wanted! He paved the way for your 'post-war reconstruction' in his own way!"

"This 'legacy' will keep Patrick Sala, and even that Kruse, up at night!"

Ling Yu looked at Frey.

Her eyes were no longer empty with despair.

A glimmer of light, both utterly absurd and faintly carrying a hint of possibility, ignites within it.

Her fingers gripped the document he called the "business plan" tightly once again.

[Warning! Frey Alstar's mental threshold has bottomed out and rebounded; her descent into darkness... has stalled.]

[Congratulations, pilot! The epic mission "The Revenge Princess Who Turned Twist" is now partially complete! Reward: 2000 System Points.]

The next phase of the mission has begun: [Sharpening the Blade of Capital].

Ling Yu's lips curled into an almost imperceptible smile.

He looked at Frey, whose tearful eyes had stopped flowing, replaced by a distorted light, a mixture of confusion, hatred, and a hint of... ambition.

"So, Miss Frey."

Ling Yu leaned closer to her, a mischievous glint in his eyes that only she could understand, a shared sense of sympathy and knowing smile, and whispered again:

"Your father forged a knife for you called 'Revenge.' But he hopes that you will use this knife to earn your own... 'hard-earned money.'"

"After all, emptying the enemy's coffers is far more painful than taking their lives, wouldn't you say?"