Gundam 00: Rise of China

Chapter 97 Betrayal of Companions Once Again

"Everyone knows the target location this time, right?"

"But before the mission, I would like to clarify one thing: our objective is to destroy the suspected nuclear energy facility of the People's Revolutionary Alliance."

"Instead of a bloodbath that leaves no one alive."

In space, the four Gundams, which have always operated separately in recent missions, have once again come together to advance toward the same mission objective.

The reason for the previous separate operations was that there were too many self-marked locations, requiring multiple operations to be carried out simultaneously.

However, the greater reason is that the four of them are becoming increasingly estranged from each other.

If possible, the princess on the Ptolemy would not want these four people to act together.

She was genuinely worried that Tieria might stab Alleluia in the back, or that the other three might stab Tieria in the back.

However, Veda highlighted the mission objective in red again, and he demanded in unusually strong terms that the objective be destroyed.

Forced into a corner, the princess had no choice but to reunite the four estranged individuals after Veda threatened to destroy the country and exterminate the race.

However, as Miss Huang had expected, even though she had privately communicated with Lockon beforehand, as they got closer and closer to the mission objective,

Rockon was still implying something, and in the four-person communication channel, he almost explicitly warned someone by name.

There's nothing I can do; it's all because of the tasks I've been working on lately.

You should know that whether it's Lockon, Setsuna, or even Allelujah who has become taciturn and clearly has mental problems.

The three men acted with restraint when attacking facilities related to the People's Revolutionary Alliance.

The only problem is that Tieria went too far, to the point that Celestial Being's already notorious reputation within the Gravity Sphere has been further amplified.

It's almost on par with all the notorious illegal armed groups in history!

Lockon himself didn't want to be a member of an illegal armed organization; he wanted to do what he wanted to do before joining Celestial Being!

"Lockon, you don't need to be sarcastic."

How could she not understand the meaning behind Lockon's words? And Tieria was not unaware of the recent news in the gravity field.

His anger had never subsided, and he immediately retorted in a low voice to Lockon.

"I am carrying out Veda's instructions, fulfilling the mission to eradicate war."

"The Celestial Beings' reputation has fallen to this state entirely because of that bastard you all protected, hasn't it?"

"Moreover, once our mission is completed and what the People's Revolutionary Alliance is doing is made public..."

"Then everyone will understand that what we are doing is righteous!"

Tieria is not a brainless person; his various experiences during this period have helped him grow in some ways.

For example, arguing and tearing someone's heart out—Tieria would never have said such things in the past.

I'm afraid he'll just keep repeating Veda's commands over and over again.

But now he invoked the principle of momentary justice, and precisely used Alleluia, which Lockon was trying to protect, to shut the other party up.

"you!"

I wanted to say something, and I did have something to say.

Lockon stared at Tieria's face on the screen, and after weighing the options in his mind, he decided to give up.

For him, it would be a waste to reveal his and Miss Huang's deductions here.

The civil war between the four Celestial Being Gundams is about to begin, and we are still far from that time.

Neither I nor Miss Huang have truly understood this world!

They hadn't even made up their minds about which table to place their chips on.

However, neither Lockon nor Tieria noticed.

When the group got emotionally charged over what happened during the mission, they came out of their rooms and threw themselves back into the mission, Allelujah.

He stared at the coordinates marked on the Gundam model, his calm expression masking a hidden unease.

Alleluia opened his mouth several times, wanting to say something, after all, he was very familiar with the coordinates of this mission.

It was so familiar that it was the hell of his own nightmares, and the beginning of all his misfortunes!

Oh, are you feeling apprehensive about returning to your homeland?

If you're afraid to face it, that's okay. Just leave everything to me, just like before.

After that Heavenly Pillar incident, Hallelujah's consciousness, which had become fully active, emerged.

Seeing his cousin Alleluia's hesitant and shy expression, a nameless rage suddenly ignited within him.

This is a mixed feeling of anger at their lack of ambition and disgust.

Either don't do it at all, or do it thoroughly. There's no such thing as pleasing both sides in this world.

On the Ptolemy, you refused to say anything when faced with the Empress's concern and inquiries.

"Isn't it just that you're worried about people finding out about your dark past?"

"Everything that happened on that ship that escaped the super-soldier testing base—all the evil deeds I, that is, you, committed!"

We killed them with our own hands in order to survive!

"Shut up!"

The chanting of Hallelujah in his mind made Allelujah, who was already anxious, even more irritable.

Allelujah really doesn't want to talk to anyone about the Super Soldier Experiment and his escape from it.

He didn't want to see the strange looks people would give him after they learned about his past.

No matter what the reason, one's hands are stained with the blood of former comrades.

If someone kills their companion without hesitation to survive, who would trust them?

Haha, then let's go all the way.

Anyway, isn't Veda's order a perfect excuse?

"Our target this time is the super-soldier testing base. All we need to do is obey the orders of Celestial Being's Veda and eliminate that damned satellite."

That way, no one will know about our past, right?

Oh, and there's that guy named Wang Ye, and our Mary too.

Let's wipe them all out, let's destroy them.

In that way, we can live cleanly and honestly, still the people who carried lofty ideals and acted for the great cause of eradicating war.

"The pilot of Celestial Being's Gundam!"

Hallelujah and Allelujah are of one mind; Hallelujah knows exactly what Allelujah is thinking.

With a cacophony of laughter, Hallelujah emboldened Allelujah, who was now cornered.

No, we can't do that.

Perhaps Allelujah had this in mind when he destroyed the Super Soldier Test Base by himself alone in the original timeline.

By personally eradicating one's dark past, one can then live an upright life.

But now, he met Mary much earlier, and also met Wang Ye, whom he would not have met otherwise.

Forcibly banishing Hallelujah's strange ramblings from his mind, Hallelujah recalled the resolute gaze he had seen on Mary in the gravity chamber of the Sky Pillar.

Wang Ye, that man.

Why did Mary end up in the People's Revolutionary Alliance?

Gripping the control stick in the cockpit, I had a thousand questions I wanted to ask the other person in person.

Alleluia had one more thing he kept from everyone, and that was when this coordinate appeared before him.

he!

I already knew this was definitely a trap!

But just as he was unwilling to talk about his dark past, he was equally unwilling to admit that it was a trap.

His sixth sense was telling him where he was and where he would be once he arrived.

All the problems that once troubled me will be easily solved.

"Hmph, hypocrite."

Noticing Allelujah's naive, almost escapist choice, Hallelujah offered a dismissive assessment.

"He's betraying his comrades again."

"You are a disgusting thing."

"Crunch, crunch."

The sound that came from Allelujah gripped the control stick even tighter in response to Allelujah's assessment was the sound of Allelujah gripping the control stick even harder.

And observing the world, observing the Celestial Organization, and also observing the gaze of Setsuna, his nominal comrade.

Lockon and Tieria had been arguing earlier, and he hadn't said a word for a moment.

Allelujah, who was now trying his best to control his expression, also remained silent when Setsuna, who saw and understood his unusual behavior, noticed it.

"I am the pilot of Gundam."

He muttered to himself, and in that instant, a change in his understanding seemed to occur; a sense of anticipation crept into his heart.

That is, through this mission, we might be able to see the true nature of this world.

Thinking of this, I suddenly looked up and was able to clearly see the target location of this mission.

That is, the mysterious satellite colony in the L4 of the People's Revolutionary Alliance.