"Flay!"
How should one describe it? Kira's expression perfectly illustrated what it meant to be both shocked and delighted.
Seeing the red-haired girl floating toward him, Kira's previously gloomy expression vanished completely. The pure-hearted boy clearly wanted to give her an enthusiastic hug.
But perhaps due to some hesitation, Kira stood there awkwardly, fidgeting as if unsure what to do with his hands and feet.
"Your classmate?" Wang Hu glanced at Flay, whom he'd briefly encountered on the satellite before, teasing Kira with the question.
"Yes," Kira answered Wang Hu's question quickly without even turning his head, his gaze fixed on the girl.
"Oh?" Wang Hu nodded understandingly, then suddenly gave the bashful boy a firm pat on the back, sending him stumbling toward the girl.
At the same time, Wang Hu loudly exclaimed:
"Rescuing people and ending up saving your own classmate—only you could pull that off, Kira!"
"Take your classmate to the living quarters to settle in, then come to the bridge afterward. You're the key man on this battleship now!"
"Brother Wang Hu!"
Propelled by the strong force, Kira's outward reluctance masked whatever he truly felt inside—something only he could know.
On the surface, he seemed caught off guard, but the corners of his mouth twitched as he fought to suppress a smile.
And so, the boy met the girl, the two of them floating in the low gravity, spinning gently in midair.
"Tch, this kid." Wang Hu chuckled and turned away, leaving the space and time to the two teenagers who had just survived disaster.
Flay blinked her large eyes, having just escaped danger. Peering over Kira's shoulder, she studied Wang Hu as he walked away.
Then she turned her gaze to Kira, whose face was flushed red.
"Thank you for saving us."
"Don't mention it—it's what I should do."
Hearing the girl speak, Kira quickly released his hold on Flay.
Mimicking Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi's manner of speaking, he answered her question.
"Did you join the East Asian Army or the Atlantic Federation Army? 'Key man'?"
Flay was amused by Kira's clumsy imitation. Coming from a family of diplomats, she had naturally picked up certain skills.
Otherwise, she wouldn't have become the school's goddess. Having not yet experienced the pain of losing her father, her mind was still sharp.
Smiling at Kira, she asked another question.
"No, I didn't. I haven't joined the Allied Forces."
First denying any military enlistment, he then quickly corrected himself.
"But if it's the East Asian Army... I'd actually be willing!"
Thinking of Wang Hu and Li Chengzhi's conduct—and comparing them to others—Kira knew exactly which side he'd choose if he ever enlisted.
"I see." Flay nodded, her mood gradually stabilizing through their back-and-forth.
"That man earlier was Captain Wang Hu, right? The Qilin of the East Asian Army?"
Well-versed in certain matters, Flay deliberately elevated Wang Hu's nickname by a significant degree.
"Yeah." Kira seemed surprised. "You've heard of Brother Wang Hu too? Both he and Li Chengzhi are good people—they've treated me very well."
"Well, you are the key man, after all."
Flay had fully regained her composure as the school's goddess, teasing Kira with a lighthearted joke.
"Captain Wang Hu also invited you to the bridge. He probably wants you to attend the meeting."
"Oh, right." Kira suddenly remembered Wang Hu's instructions before leaving and quickly responded.
"Then, Flay, I'll take you to the living quarters. Tolle and Sai... Sai are there too."
Kira hesitated slightly when mentioning Sai's name but still said it.
"Sai is there too?" Flay's eyes lit up, noticing Kira's unusual tone when mentioning the name.
"Yeah." Kira nodded, his mood dipping slightly. As he led Flay to the living quarters, he spoke little.
Once they arrived and found Tolle and the others, Flay saw Sai but didn't hug him as she had in the original timeline.
"Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, and Katz."
She called out all her classmates' names, even Katz, who was usually overlooked at the academy.
Flay's demeanor lived up to her reputation as the campus goddess.
"Flay!" The boys were equally surprised.
Sai handled it better—his background allowed him to interact with Flay as an equal.
Tolle and Katz were more flustered. What young man wouldn't admire her?
Especially when it was the campus goddess herself. Tolle restrained himself better, mindful of Miriallia's presence beside him.
But Katz, the overlooked one, couldn't contain his excitement just from Flay saying his name.
If Flay had beckoned him, Katz would have undoubtedly become a devoted follower.
"Flay, you...?" Miriallia wasn't the jealous type. She shot Tolle a glance, somewhat satisfied with his restraint.
The girl stepped forward and took Flay's hand, asking warmly.
"Me?"
The two girls walked off hand in hand, whispering to each other.
"Kira?" Tolle and Sai gathered around Kira, eager for an explanation.
Glancing subtly at Sai, Kira quickly recounted what had happened and then said,
"Big Brother Wang Hu asked me to meet him on the bridge. I'll be back soon."
Meanwhile, after parting ways with Kira in the hangar, Wang Hu arrived on the bridge just as Mu and the others were discussing their next steps.
"Surrender is out of the question."
Having already debated before Wang Hu's return, Mu was wrapping up his closing remarks.
"In that case, let's all agree to head here for now!"
As in the original timeline, they chose to take refuge at the Eurasian Federation's Space Fortress, which was considered friendly territory.
"However..." Mu nodded at Wang Hu as he entered and raised a pressing issue.
"Creuset out there will undoubtedly pursue us relentlessly. Traveling such a long distance through open space while constantly engaging in combat is too dangerous!"
"Especially since our supplies and ammunition reserves won't last long, and the battleship is understaffed and underpowered."
Faced with this practical problem, the three highest-ranking officers on the bridge—excluding Wang Hu—fell silent.
The gravity of the situation demanded careful consideration.
"Captain Wang Hu, Captain Li Chengzhi."
After some thought, Natarle Badgiruel had a plan in mind. But before voicing it,
she looked at her two East Asian colleagues, and an uncontrollable competitive urge surged within her.
Aren't you two supposed to be impressive? What brilliant ideas do you have now?
"400,000 encircling 30,000, in terrain full of cliffs, rivers, and marshes—utterly treacherous ground."
"Lieutenant Badgiruel, do you think you could lead those 30,000 poorly armed troops to victory against those well-equipped 400,000?"
Facing Natarle Badgiruel's provocation, Wang Hu stepped beside Li Chengzhi and held him back, preventing another argument with the female lieutenant.
"Don't joke about this." Badgiruel was stunned at first, then quickly ran several mental simulations based on her military expertise.
Each time, the conclusion was the same.
Absolutely impossible!
Escaping with 30,000 was hard enough—victory was out of the question.
Thus, she believed Wang Hu was simply mocking her and angrily replied, "Impossible. If Captain Wang Hu has no solution to the Archangel's current predicament, there's no need to spin such a ridiculous tale."
"Oh." Wang Hu smiled faintly, observing Badgiruel's furious expression and the puzzled looks from Mu and Murrue.
"Your people can't do it, but ours can!"
"Hey, Wang Hu, be serious." Mu quickly stepped in front of Badgiruel—the lieutenant was about to lose it over Wang Hu's words.
Playing the mediator, Mu repeatedly signaled for Wang Hu to back down just this once. There was no shame in yielding to a woman!
"Why let the enemy dictate how we fight?"
Just as Wang Hu spoke, Kira happened to walk in.
Many years later, Kira would still remember that scene—Wang Hu standing confidently before the group, laying out the battle plan with unwavering determination.
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