Gundam: From Piece to Player

Kycilia's schemes are mostly manifested in these underhanded methods, and the danger she poses comes from her unpredictability.

This time, however, Kalma took control of the negotiations.

Thanks to Sally's intelligence, he was able to hold his own in the negotiations with Kycilia.

“Brother, let’s discuss the details of this matter further.”

"no problem."

Kalmar wasn't worried that Kycilia would change her mind; she was almost certain that Kycilia would agree.

He had countless expenses: using money to maintain a private army, accelerate research and weaponization at the New Human Research Institute, and borrow even more money if he had the funds. He didn't believe Kycilia could resist the opportunity to expand her power.

“There’s one more thing,” Kycilia tapped her finger on the table. “Has ‘Prince Hamlet’ contacted you?”

"What prince?"

Karma had anticipated Kycilia's question, but he pretended not to understand.

“It’s nothing. Just a trivial matter.” Kycilia leaned back in her chair.

Has Char's identity been exposed?

It's not surprising, given that clumsy disguise... and the conspicuous mask it wore, it was practically announcing its own suspiciousness.

Karma recalled the scene in her mind when Char, as the second graduate, took the stage and received the certificate of merit from the military academy's principal, Dozle.

Kycilia, representing the guest, was also present at the time; it turns out that was back then—

As expected of the woman who wanted to be Char's mother, she recognized her immediately.

Unfortunately, Char is attracted to maternal lolis, and you're neither. Why don't you send Haman to seduce him?

This time, Karma deliberately turned her gaze toward the girl with the gourd-shaped haircut who was typing.

Harman returned a questioning look.

Karma felt a little relieved; it seemed that mind reading wasn't a universal skill among the new humans.

Because if Harman could read minds, her expressions would be even more beautiful and interesting.

Chapter 40 Human Lie Detector

Karma left, and looking at the teacup on the table whose water level had never dropped, Kycilia stood up and walked over to the little girl who was operating the computer at the desk.

The little girl stopped typing and reached out to adjust the screen's angle so Kycilia could see more clearly.

The screen displayed the entire text of Karma's conversation between Kycilia and Karma.

There are several lines of highlighted yellow text above.

In front of Kycilia, Harman would always think carefully about whether what she was going to say was appropriate before she spoke, just as she was about to ask Kycilia for her next instructions.

Kycilia took out a laser pointer and shone it on the screen. The red dot landed on a sentence that wasn't highlighted on the computer screen.

"Is this also the truth?"

Harman looked at the screen.

[If you won't do it, I'll do it myself; I'm really short on money... or I can talk to the commander-in-chief.]

"Yes, Lady Kycilia." Haman nodded, not daring to hide anything.

“Very good.” Kycilia smiled dangerously. “Very good. I never expected that my brother would have such ambitions without my knowledge.”

Her gaze shifted to another sentence highlighted in yellow.

What prince?

This is also a lie, namely that Karma knew who the prince she was talking about really was.

This gave Kycilia some ideas.

Has Hamlet already allied with Karma?

Haman possesses the ability to see through other people's lies, making him practically a human lie detector. This greatly surprised Kycilia, which is why she had Haman eavesdrop on their conversation. Kycilia needed to assess her brother's ambition and the level of threat he posed.

She couldn't help but think that if she had that ability, she could distinguish friend from foe much faster.

"Haman, what kind of person do you think my brother is?"

Harman carefully considered his words.

"Lord Kalmar is actually somewhat like you."

Kycilia couldn't help but laugh at the unexpected answer.

That's really bad news.

In September, the Principality of Zeon basically completed its war mobilization, with 80% of its production capacity put into war preparations, and fully transitioned to a wartime economy.

Kiran's impassioned speeches would be broadcast on the radio almost every Sunday night at 9 p.m.

Logically speaking, the people of Zeon should unconditionally support their commander-in-chief... and enthusiastically join the army to produce bullets and weapons, but it just so happens at this critical juncture.

A civil unrest broke out in Colony 102, with rioters seizing the municipal radio station and openly opposing Gihlen's rule.

Even the municipal radio station was taken over by rioters, and it's unclear where their weapons came from.

Such a provocative act quickly drew fierce criticism.

But what awaited them was not Kirian's personal guard.

Instead, it is the 101st Airborne Division, specializing in atmospheric warfare, the most elite and ace airborne force in all of Zeon.

The militants intended to use the city's terrain and colonial ventilation to engage the invading airborne divisions.

The 101st Division, after entering the city, directly attacked the colony's weather center, injecting large amounts of inert and tear gas through the ventilation system.

After the entire colony was soaked in special gas.

The 101st Division stormed the prison, rescued the imprisoned police force, armed them, and re-equipped them with non-lethal riot weapons. Guided by these leaders, they steadily advanced.

With the help of local police, the rebels were wiped out in just two days, at the cost of 45 people suffering minor injuries.

They successfully recaptured the entire city, captured a mob of 1200 people, killed and arrested 12 riot leaders, and also apprehended a suspected federal military advisor.

Instead of interrogating the federal advisor, Kalmar turned his attention to the riot leader and took him out of the temporary detention center for a talk.

Of course, this was under the condition that he was handcuffed and guarded by soldiers the whole time.

"It is my honor that you are the national idol of Zeon, Major General Karma."

"What benefits did the Federation promise you?" Karma crossed her arms.

“We must fight for our right to work, an eight-hour workday, and fair pay.” The riot leader stared at him.

"To openly defy the country for such a small amount of power is treason. Have you ever thought about your family?"

“My family has already gone to other sides. When the Federation arrives, they will liberate the Zeon people from tyranny.”

That's the reason they gave.

Karma waved her hand in disappointment, losing interest in the conversation.

The riot leaders were quickly taken away by the SS, sentenced to death by hanging, and the execution was carried out the following day.

The reason why the riot leaders had such unrealistic expectations of the Federation may be because humans tend to have wonderful fantasies about things they have never seen.

Perhaps they will also fall into despair after seeing the true face of the Federation... What a terrible competition.

Let's strip away the idealistic veneer that Zeon Deikun draped over Side 3.

Gihren's ability to gain popular support actually stems from SIDE3 nationalism, or more narrowly speaking, the hatred of the SIDE3 people towards the Federation.

The riot leader, however, believed that Side should never have become independent and should instead become part of the Union again—a capitulationist stance.

If Zeon still existed after the One Year War, its successors would probably have to continue using Gihren's methods to build Zeon's national identity, just as many nations in human history were invented in the process of resisting other nations.

After suppressing the rebellion, Garma was officially appointed by Gihren as the Commander-in-Chief of the Earth Attack Force. Although his rank was not promoted, his actual power increased significantly.

It is now completely independent of Dozru's Space Attack Force and Kycilia's Space Assault Force.

To Karma's surprise, many Gihren supporters also began to curry favor with him—were they considering him one of Gihren's possible successors?

It's just a bit ridiculous.

Just as Kalmar was gaining popularity, his "good friend" came knocking on his door.

"What brings you here, my friend?"

"I heard you had a victory and got promoted, so I came to visit you."

At this moment, Char was already wearing the special helmet that looked just like Darth Vader's, and the officer's uniform with the bird-shaped cape.

This all-too-familiar design serves as a stark reminder of the impending war in Kalmar.

Karma wasn't wearing her general's uniform; she was simply wearing an engineering cap and a yellow technician's uniform when she met him, and there was a faint smell of engine oil in the air.

After joining the training battalion, Char's rank was promoted from lieutenant to captain due to his excellent training performance.

"Your mobile suit," Garma said, looking at the brand-new MS-06S that Char had brought, "has it been modified?"

"I had the testers raise the limiter's critical point without damaging the structure."

Have you lost weight?

"No, weight reduction would affect structural stability, so I gave up on it."

"I thought you would focus on weight reduction and maneuverability, but I didn't expect you to pursue high-speed control of the machine."

“Kalma, you’re saying exactly what my mechanic said,” Char explained. “The point of increasing speed is to be able to escape in a hit-and-run attack on a ship. Maintaining energy at high speed is very important.”

"I don't like to specialize my mechs in close combat like some ace fighters do."

Chapter 41 Can you keep up with my speed?

"Sounds pretty good. Have you tested it?" Karma leaned against the railing, examining the Red Zaku.

"It feels pretty good when just doing simple acceleration and maneuvering."

"That means it hasn't undergone rigorous physical testing," Karma suddenly asked with interest. "Interested in a drill with me?"

Char pursed his lips, recalling unpleasant memories. The MS Training Battalion had previously fought against the 101st Division of Karma at Colony 83.