An advanced guide for experienced modelers, from building blocks to hand-building Gundams

"The Dawn Society didn't hire you to play dirty." Erica put down her cup, her tone becoming serious. "Face the gap between us and the provider of the blueprints. Learn from his design ideas, constantly improve yourself, and design better machines. That's what I want you to do."

Erica breathed a sigh of relief when she saw these engineers, who had been in self-doubt, regain their fighting spirit and begin to carefully study the design drawings in their hands.

"Roz Links...if he had continued to improve in the field of mobile suit design..."

……

"Bang..."

"I shouldn't have made that bet with you!!!"

In a restaurant room, Rhodes drank a glass of juice with a look of grief and anger on his face, and slammed the glass onto the table with a bang.

Obviously, I guessed it right, but seeing that my private money for buying juice was taken away by Mu, I felt heartbroken.

"It's just orange juice, you won't get drunk! Don't use the tone and movements like you're drinking!" Mu, who had changed into casual clothes, was holding a bottle of beer and avoided the residual juice that was thrown out of the glass when Ross slammed the glass on the table.

Adhering to the concept of "eat as much as you can without having to treat yourself", Mu was constantly stuffing food into his mouth and chewing it.

"Damn it! I've already won the bet, but I'm heartbroken! My private money!"

Knowing himself as a man of his word, Rhodes approached Mu the day after getting the answer, intending to give him the chips for the bet.

But now that Mu has been promoted to major, he no longer cares about money, so he changes the stakes of his bet and asks Rhodes to treat him to a meal.

After a series of events, it became what it is today.

"Hey, you're not married yet, are you? You can save up some private money quickly." Mu patted Ross's shoulder with the expression of an experienced person.

While the two were still bragging in the restaurant, Rhodes's communicator rang.

"Malu's communication?" Rhodes took out the communicator and took a look, a little confused.

But the next second, Ross connected to Mariu's communication.

"This is Ross, what's going on?"

"...Rods, maybe Frey will contact you via communication after a while." On the other end of the line, Mariu was sitting in her office, turning a pen in her hand.

"You may know that Thor's family came to visit them today."

Thinking of what had just happened, Malu sighed and put down the pen in his hand.

"Among them, Fulei also came over and asked for your contact information."

"I see. Thanks for the reminder." Ross reached out and poured himself another glass of juice. "I'll take care of it."

"Okay...you...you, come on." As if he didn't know what to say, Malu was silent for a long time before hanging up the phone as if escaping.

When the call was disconnected, Mu came over with a subtle expression.

"What's wrong? The girl you punched has fallen in love with you?"

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'm going to punch you right now. Don't worry, it won't hurt." Rhodes, who was drinking juice from a cup, felt his fists harden when he heard Mu's words.

Seeing the blue veins popping out on Ross's fist, Mu moved slightly away from Ross's position.

"Ding ding ding..." Ross's communicator rang again, this time it was an unfamiliar number.

But when Ross answered the call, it was not Frey's voice that came out, but a deep, hoarse male voice.

"Is this Mr. Ross Links?" Before Ross could respond, the vaguely familiar male voice spoke, "I'm George Alustar."

Compared to George when he first met him in the Eighth Fleet, his tone now no longer had the pride he had before. Instead, it sounded more like a slightly desperate mood after suffering some kind of misfortune.

"Excuse me, do you have time? Please allow me to treat you to a meal to express my gratitude."

Although he said he wanted to treat Ross to a meal, Ross could hear the plea for help in his tone, as if he had made a decision and was going all out on Ross's reply.

"...I have time. When and where?" Rhodes subconsciously touched the holster under his armpit. The grip of the RE-45 made Rhodes feel a little relieved.

"That's...wonderful. Please come to this address tonight. Fleur and I will host a dinner at our home."

After a brief greeting or two, George hung up the phone.

"...It feels like the Hongmen Banquet." Mu took a sip of beer and expressed his guess.

"Whether it's a Hongmen Feast or not, we'll have to see it to know." Ross finished his juice and stood up. "I heard something else in the tone of the communication."

"Be careful not to be cheated. Things on the phone are not very credible." Mu Ye finished his beer and picked up the menu beside him.

"Waiter! These two sets are packed!"

"Damn, you're addicted to taking advantage of me, aren't you?"

……

It was almost 5 p.m., and Rhodes, still wearing the same jeans and bomber jacket, followed the navigation to the address George had sent him.

It is not a magnificent hotel, nor an embassy, but just a simple residential building with a relatively new appearance.

However, Rhodes could clearly feel that several eyes were staring at the address George gave, and even one or two eyes were looking at him.

"Ding Dong..." Ross walked to the house number marked with the address and pressed the doorbell.

"Oh! It's Mr. Ross!" The door was quickly opened, and it was Fleur who was just about to go out.

Seeing Ross coming, Frey seemed very happy and took Ross's hand and pulled him into the house.

"My dad has been waiting for a long time. I'm going to go buy groceries first. I'll let Dad chat with you. He seems to have a lot to say."

When Ross walked into the living room, George was there looking at a bottle of red wine.

Although George seemed to still maintain the courtesy when they first met, Ross could clearly see the tiredness in George's eyes, and the relaxation when he saw Ross.

"Mr. Ross, thank you for coming to my house. Frey has always said she'd cook for you." George put down his glass of wine and tapped something on a tablet. "Even though she looks like she can't cook, she's a top student in Home Economics at Heliopos."

Finally, George turned the tablet around and showed Ross the words on it.

[Please don't make any noise. I'm being monitored right now. You probably saw quite a few people following me when you came here.]

"To be honest, your place is quite convenient. There are quite a few shops downstairs, and the flow of people is quite large."

After taking a look at George's tablet, Rhodes found a random seat and sat down.

Then, he kept looking around George's house.

"Are you just here to treat me to a meal today?"

"Yes, I hope to express that you protected the transport ship we were on outside the atmosphere." George quickly tapped on the tablet, displaying these paragraphs.

[I want to hire you to protect Fulei, or at least keep her away from the war.]

【Orb is about to be engulfed in war.】

"This isn't a difficult matter, but how have you been doing lately?"

After seeing these two sentences, Ross was surprised, but he remained calm.

"It's OK, but I've been having some troubles at work lately. You can see I've become quite haggard."

[Blue Cosmos, in a few days, will use a large mobile armored vehicle with the ZAFT logo and related features to attack Orb and throw Orb into the water.]

"Really? It seems like everyone is having a hard time. How could trouble find a civil servant like you?"

After seeing the name Blue Cosmos, Ross narrowed his eyes, and even George could feel a chilling atmosphere emanating from Ross.

"In today's world, who can stay away from war and stay out of it? There will always be an impact."

This time, George pressed the tablet for a long time, and the atmosphere on the scene was temporarily tense.

"The envoy was killed," you understand? The target of the attack wasn't the leader of Orb, it was me.

"As long as I'm killed by that machine, they'll have a reason to intervene in Orb. The destruction of the city by the super-large MA will also arouse Orb's resentment towards ZAFT."

[I will definitely die. Their first target of attack is me, so I would like you to protect Frey.]

"...Okay, I'll accept your thanks."

After thinking about it for a moment, Rhodes sighed and accepted George's proposal.

"...Thank you, Mr. Rhodes. It's just a small gift, not a token of respect."

George seemed relieved, deleted the text on the tablet, and took out a bank card from his pocket.

Rhodes took the bank card handed to him by George. The password of this bank card was written on the back.

After Ross put the bank card into his pocket, the sound of Frey opening the door with a key was heard.

----split line----

PS: I do have a cold, with a slight fever, but I'm starting to feel better after taking some medicine. But I might have to wait until I feel better before I can start posting twice a week.

It is the peak season for influenza recently, so everyone should take care of their health.

Last night when I was sleeping, a cockroach crawled onto my foot, which was quite uncomfortable.

Volume 48: Chapter is a little better, I’m back to update.

After a seemingly peaceful dinner, Ross walked on the streets of Orb at night, wondering what he was thinking.

For some reason, Frey said she wanted to see Ross off, but she followed Ross until he was a street away from her home.

"Just send it here. It's too late now. You should go back first, Fulei."

Standing at the crossroads, Ross urged Fleur to go home for the second time.

"...Mr. Ross, Dad's intention isn't to express his gratitude to you, is it?" Frey was silent for a long time before she asked this question.

"Dad's heart isn't that broad, especially since you hit me. He has never forgiven you."

The neon lights of the commercial street make the street look prosperous. People stroll on the street, stopping at the door of a store from time to time and then going into the store.

Parents with their children, affectionate couples, teenagers playing tricks on their friends... It's as if the war had never happened. Everyone still lives their lives as usual, looking forward to a better tomorrow.

But around Ross and Frey, it was as if the world had slowed down, and the solemn aura made people subconsciously avoid them.

Ross wanted to irresponsibly tell Frey about George's commission, but when he opened his mouth, he found that he couldn't say anything.

"Tell me, Roz, what did Daddy tell you?"

In a trance, Frey felt like she was back on the Archangel. Everyone had their own secrets and past, but she, naive, knew nothing.

"...I'm sorry, I can't tell you. It's for your and your father's safety." Ross faced Frey's death stare, thought about it, and finally said this.

"Maybe in a few days, you'll know."

"I can't say... I can't say..." Fulei clutched the hem of her clothes tightly, wanting to do something, but she found that she couldn't do anything. A feeling of helplessness suddenly came over her. "Finally, when will I know the truth?"

"After everything has gone to its worst? And then tell me there's nothing I can do?"

"...If you're lucky, you won't know." Ross took two steps towards Frey and extended his hand.

Frey subconsciously thought that Ross was going to use the Correction Palm again, so she took a half step back, her body tensed, and closed her eyes.

But the imagined pain did not come. Ross reached out and patted Frey's shoulder.

"Don't take it so seriously. Go back and be with your father." Ross's voice was a little deep, as if he had made up his mind. "Even you can do something."

……

Rhodes returned to the factory he had bought long ago in Orb.

At this moment, in the factory, Zesta was standing aside while the Haro men were operating the robotic arms to carry out maintenance and preparation work.

The light shone on Zesta's body, and the edges of the steel shimmered slightly.

"You're back, Ross." Christina, who was directing the Harolds, walked towards Ross. After seeing Ross's expression, she frowned slightly.

That familiar sense of seriousness was only felt when Ross went out to fight.

"Are you going to fight?"

"...Yeah, that's right." Ross took out the communicator and looked at the number on it.

Then, Ross dialed Cagalli's number.

Walking to Zesta's feet, Ross looked up at Zesta, who had been fighting with him for a while.

The atmosphere at the scene was somewhat dull, with only the sound of communication standby and the sound of the Haro men operating the mechanical arm to reinstall the armor that had been deployed in Zesta's preparation mode.

Finally, after the last piece of armor was closed and locked, the communication rang.

"Sorry, sorry, Roz, I was just in the shower."

Cagalli's voice came over the comms. "What happened?"