Half a minute later, Uchiha Hikari piloted her mecha, bursting out of the river's surface. In one hand, she held Samson, the dragon, while the other gripped Ye Sheng and Jiude Aki. She hovered above the Moniah.
On the deck, Professor Mans instinctively raised his sniper rifle, aiming at Freedom Strike for a split second before lowering it. What was the point? If he were facing a dragon, he'd know where to shoot for maximum damage. But this? A giant metal can? Even if it was hostile, would a sniper rifle do anything?
"You…" he started.
"Two for you, two for me. Got a problem with that?" Hikari's voice cut through the rain, slightly distorted by the mecha's speakers and the storm's interference.
The message was clear enough, though.
"…A girl?!" Mans muttered, stunned. "Wait, we can't confirm she's human and not a dragon yet. But that voice… if it's not disguised, it's definitely female."
His mind reeled, too shocked to process what "two for two" even meant.
Hikari, meanwhile, nudged Freedom Strike closer, hovering just above the Moniah's deck. Under the tense stares of Selma and the first mate, she released her right hand, gently lowering Ye Sheng and Jiude Aki to the deck.
She'd fished them out of the water on her way up. Their oxygen tanks were nearly depleted, leaving them in a groggy, half-conscious state, unaware of what was happening. Bloodstains and scratches marked their bodies, but their steady heartbeats confirmed they were alive.
Mans hesitated, glancing at Hikari before signaling the third mate to retrieve them. Once his two prized students were safely carried to the cabin, he turned his attention to Freedom Strike's other hand. "That dragon…"
"My trophy. Got a problem?" Hikari's voice came again, sharper and clearer now, laced with a cold edge.
"Uh…" Mans faltered, at a loss for words.
In midair, Hikari shot him a glance before speaking calmly. "There's still a chunk of dragon down there. If you move fast, you might salvage something. As for this canister? Consider it payment—payment for rewriting your doomed fate."
"No need to thank me. I'm just a Gundam pilot passing through."
With that, she spun Freedom Strike around, its ten wings folding as it vanished into the storm.
Only then did Mans snap out of it. He ordered Selma to send a second diving team to collect samples of Samson's blood and remains scattered in the nearby waters. Then he hurried back to the cockpit, dialing Principal Anghot to report the mission's bizarre outcome.
…
Later that evening, Principal Anghot connected with the Executive Department, announcing the failure of the "Kui Gate Plan" to the gathered students and professors.
Professor Schneider and the others were visibly disappointed. The Executive Department had poured time, effort, money, and even risked exposing dragons to the world—after all, the mission was at the Three Gorges Dam. Capturing a Dragon King, or at least a third-generation dragon's body, would've made it all worthwhile.
But now? The Dragon King's bone bottle, practically in their grasp, had been snatched by a Gundam. A Gundam!
If not for the photos and footage from the Moniah, Schneider would've thought it was an April Fool's prank. The only silver lining? No casualties. Even Ye Sheng and Jiude Aki, though injured, were out of critical condition after emergency treatment. They'd need bed rest but would recover fully.
While the Executive Department sulked, two groups were buzzing with excitement.
The first? The boys of Cassel Academy.
A Gundam! A freaking Gundam! What twenty-something guy hadn't dreamed of piloting a mecha through the skies? And when that badass machine was piloted by a girl with a soft, cute voice? Absolute game-changer.
Within half a day, students were already talking about taking leave to visit China and see the mecha in person. Topics like "Female Freedom Strike" and "Gundam Dragon Slayer" dominated Cassel's online forums, with discussions raging.
The other excited group? The Academy's Equipment Department, lovingly dubbed the "madhouse" by Anghot.
"I knew it! Mechas can be built in real life!" Director Akadulla declared. "Someone beat us to it, and that's a disgrace to every researcher in this department! I propose we start the 'Fourth-Generation Mecha Project' to build our own!"
"But Freedom Strike already exists," Deputy Director Carl pointed out. "If we copy its design, won't we be called out for plagiarism?"
"No problem! We'll build the RX-78-2 Gundam! And if that mysterious pilot's already made one, we've still got Unit-01 or Optimus Prime to fall back on!" Akadulla said, brimming with confidence.
His enthusiasm was infectious, sparking excitement across the department. But just then, a dissenting voice piped up.
"…I don't think we can build something like that."
"?"
Every head in the room turned, glaring at the naysayer.
The researcher held up a freshly printed photo, pointing at it as he explained. "These micro-missiles are fine—their power doesn't seem too far beyond what we've built. But this 'beam saber'? I can't even wrap my head around how it works. Highly condensed plasma? That tech's still just theoretical, isn't it?"