As soon as he returned to the hangar, Yang Hui was greeted with a thunderous welcome.
"Colonel, that was so cool!"
"The Colonel is mighty!"
"Colonel, when can I be as cool as you?"
"In your next life!" Yang Hui replied with a laugh.
"Colonel, I love you!" the female members declared boldly.
"Please don't. Natarle would skin me alive," Yang Hui said, his survival instinct kicking into overdrive.
"Hahahaha..."
"Well done. The test results are perfect; we can move straight to deployment," Tim Ray said to Yang Hui.
"Then let's get started. Begin the adaptive training for the pilots first, and then start the upgrades and modifications for their machines."
"No problem."
With the testing of the Psycommu System and the Wing Funnels concluded successfully, the development, production, and maintenance departments would be swamped for the remaining time. Within such a short window, they had to complete a series of tasks including final testing, production, and retrofitting. Even the pilots had to participate in a heavy schedule of new tests and training to adapt to the new equipment.
However, no one complained. Instead, everyone was bursting with energy. This was a new leap forward for the Twelfth Independent Technical Division. No MS pilot disliked powerful new equipment, and no one wanted their comrades on the front lines to be anything less than safe.
"Colonel Yang Hui, General Revil has requested your presence."
"Alright, I'll head over right now."
Having caused such a stir, it was impossible for Revil and Tianem not to know. They would certainly want to ask for details.
"Young Yang Hui, you've put on another spectacular show for us, haven't you?" As soon as Yang Hui arrived at Revil's office, the General's complaints began. "Couldn't you find a more remote place for your experiments? You're making us work overtime to enforce an information blackout."
"There was no time, General Revil. Between development, testing, production, deployment, and training, I couldn't afford to waste time traveling," Yang Hui said, spreading his hands to show his perceived innocence.
"Hmph. It's easy for you, but it's hard work for us. Do you have any idea how much of a headache it is to suppress this information?"
"Actually, there's no need to block the information, General Revil."
"Bullshit! If such a powerful weapon is leaked to the Principality of Zeon, do you know how many officers and soldiers it will get killed?" Revil barked.
"This data was originally obtained from the Flanagan Institute. Even if it's incomplete, Zeon definitely has related research materials. They are certainly developing their own Psycommu System as we speak."
"But the progress is surely different. At least we have succeeded; we still don't know what their situation is."
"Rest assured, General Revil. No one can steal data from the central database of the Twelfth Independent Technical Division," Yang Hui said confidently. Ordinary people couldn't even enter the division's base; anyone who wasn't a member required multiple layers of security clearance and inspections to get in.
And as for the top-priority development department, it went without saying. Aside from the development staff, even other members of the same division couldn't enter without a permit. Didn't you see those kids earlier? As excited as they were after seeing how cool the Wing Funnels were, they could only wait at the door and weren't allowed to barge in.
"So... you don't intend to hand it over to us?" Revil asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Of course not. It's useless to you."
"You brat! What did you say!?"
"It's the truth. The screening and testing for NTs have only been conducted by the Twelfth Independent Technical Division, and the equipment only exists here. What use would it be to you?"
"Don't underestimate the Federation Army's ability to execute orders, young Yang Hui," Revil said irritably. "The moment you give it to me is the moment I can implement it across the entire Federation Army."
"But there's no time, General Revil. My people are all aces to begin with; not only is the probability of NTs appearing higher among them, but their adaptive training is much faster than pilots in other units. Also... I know those guys at the Central Research Institute. They love adding unnecessary bells and whistles, dragging out the deployment time. The war might be over by the time they produce results. It's a waste of time, energy, and resources."
Yang Hui wasn't just talking nonsense. Based on his knowledge of the original timeline, the efficiency of the Federation's Central Research Institute was terrifyingly low. They were also prone to over-engineering finished projects—like the NT-1 Alex Gundam. It was a dedicated NT Gundam intended for Amuro, yet the war ended before the Alex had even finished its testing.
"Besides, if I give it to you and you hand it over to others, doesn't that just increase the risk of information leakage?"
"...Tch, you brat."
Yang Hui shrugged. He truly had no intention of handing over the technical data for the Psycommu System and the Wing Funnels to Revil and Tianem right now. The reasons he stated were part of it, but on the other hand, this technology held little meaning for the current Federation. To put it bluntly, the Federation's best NT pilots were already in his hands. Even if you tested the entire army, how many more could you find?
Looking for them among civilians would be time-consuming and labor-intensive, requiring retraining and the weeding out of those unwilling to fight.
The war wouldn't stop for a minority. By the time they finished training, who knows how long it would take. Yang Hui had calculated the timeline; Zeon's total defeat was only a matter of two or three months away.
"Get out of here. You'd better produce results that convince the entire army when the time comes."
"Don't worry, General Revil."
Yang Hui felt no pressure at all. With the Psycommu System and the Wing Funnels, he might not be able to exert 100% of his power yet, but he could manage at least sixty to seventy percent. With sixty to seventy percent of his combat strength, tearing Zeon's rear lines to shreds would be easy. It would give Revil plenty of ammunition to silence any critics.
However, after returning to the base, Yang Hui contacted his secret base in Granada. He ordered them to build a specific Mobile Suit and contacted Cardeas to arrange for the cargo to be delivered to a specific location at a designated time.
...
Time flew by, and the scheduled date arrived. It was time for the Twelfth Independent Technical Division to set out. Yang Hui, however, took his own machine and followed a Federation fleet toward the Zeon Republic separately.
The captain was an old acquaintance of Yang Hui's—Paul Cassias. En route to the Zeon Republic, they encountered an Anaheim transport ship. Under Yang Hui's instructions, this transport ship joined the Federation fleet formation to travel toward the Zeon Republic together.
However, upon arriving at the Zeon Republic, the Anaheim transport ship detached from the formation and headed to a port alone to deliver its cargo.
"Isn't this nice? Bringing me another gift?" Char teased.
"I'm just afraid you might accidentally die on the battlefield. When does Degwin Sodo Zabi arrive?"
"He arrives tomorrow. The formal negotiations begin the day after."
"Then you're going to be busy today. The things I brought you—get them set up quickly."
"What things?"
"See for yourself."
Char caught the PAD Yang Hui tossed to him. At the very first glance, he looked up at Yang Hui with a sharp gaze.
"What use is this to us?"
"Keep scrolling, then you'll know."
After flipping through a few pages, Char's expression turned exceptionally grim. "Is this intelligence real?"
"Does it matter if it's real or not?"
"...Indeed, it doesn't."
Information on the Solar Ray System. Whether the intel was true or false, or whether the Solar Ray System was fully built, it demanded attention. There were no obstructions between Side 6 and Side 3. In such an environment, being stared down by a strategic-class weapon capable of destroying a colony in one shot meant no one could sleep soundly.
The first gift Yang Hui brought Char was a large-scale defense system called "Umbrella." This was a defensive system manufactured in a rush that could completely block an attack from the Solar Ray System. However, because it was a simplified version of the "Parasol" system, it couldn't provide absolute defense and had a limited number of uses. According to calculations, it would be scrapped after three uses at most.
In truth, Yang Hui didn't know if the Solar Ray System was finished either. Just in case, he had prepared this system for Char.
"The operation of this system is simple, and it comes with a manual. You just need to deploy it."
"I'll have someone... no, I'll oversee this personally." The deployment of the Umbrella system was of vital importance; Char didn't feel comfortable leaving it to anyone else.
"Let's go together. I'll take you to see the second gift while we're at it."
"Mm," Char replied somewhat dismissively. He didn't care what else Yang Hui had brought him; his only concern now was the deployment of the Umbrella. Compared to the safety of Side 6, any other gift was trivial.
And then...
Very quickly, Char was proven wrong. The second gift Yang Hui had prepared for Char was two brand-new Mobile Suits.
One was fiery red, the other was blue and white; otherwise, they were identical. They featured Zeon's signature mono-eye and rounded armor. The heads resembled ancient knight helmets with a pointed antenna, and beneath the heavy knight-like armor lay a vast array of thrusters.
The left hand held a high-output Beam Rifle, while the right carried a composite weapon consisting of a Beam Saber and a shield. Inside the shield was a mounted Super Bazooka that could be used in combination with the Beam Rifle.
Most peculiar was the backpack, which looked like angel wings. At the end of every wing segment was a menacing cannon muzzle.
"This is?"
"New machines for you and Kira. MSN-01..."
"Sazabi."
"What?" Yang Hui blinked, looking at Char with a strange expression.
"Sazabi. That's its name."
"What the hell? Are you making a pun?"
"Exactly."
Well, that confirmed it. Yang Hui had always been surprised in the past—why would Char, who hated the Zabi family so much, name his final machine Sazabi? Was it really a pun? "Sa" sounding like "Kill" [Sha].
As it turned out... that really was the reason.
"Fine. I was going to call it the Avenger."
"It doesn't sound as good as Sazabi."
"Fine, fine, whatever you like. It's your ride anyway."
"What is this wing backpack?" Char asked, pointing at the wings on the back of the Sazabi.
"NT-use weaponry utilizing the Psycommu System: Wing Funnels. They are controlled, autonomous combat units operated via psychic waves. You'll have to find time to master them yourself. You can ask Kira; he has a lot of experience with this type of weapon."
"Haha, no problem. I like this gift very much!"