Who is Playing the Love Development Game in Gundam

"He Kui, you're back!"

Meyrin, who was at a small desk, immediately jumped up with joy when she saw He Kui enter.

"Yes, Meyrin. What's up?"

"I've already cracked the Haro system you gave me!"

"That fast?"

He Kui's tone held a hint of surprise. He had been observing Meyrin's progress over time. With a clear goal, her growth was rapid, likely more than she had shown during her school days.

Judging by her current progress, Meyrin's skills in electronic warfare were already surpassing her sister's—a talent worth nurturing.

"Then here, take this and keep up the good work."

He Kui's voice had a patient, almost brotherly warmth.

"Yes!"

Meyrin happily accepted the Haro he handed over.

---

[You gifted Meyrin Hawk: Electronic Warfare +60]

[Meyrin's Affinity: 70]

[Experience Bonus: +3]

[Electronic Warfare: B-Level (7653/10000)]

With Aegis equipped with the quantum firewall, there was little concern about it being hacked, but on the offensive side, it still lacked something. He might need to use Aegis to hack through the Joshua firewall. While offline decryption might be simpler, upgrading his electronic warfare skills to A-Level would be safest in the meantime.

"I'll be in my office. Let me know if anyone comes."

"Got it!"

---

Two days later, the ceremony to officially appoint He Kui as director took place.

Held in the main hall of May City's District 1, it was the same venue where he had received his earlier commendation.

Only this time, He Kui was no longer a minor figure in the crowd—he was one of the few seated at the front. After greeting May City's district governor and several council members, He Kui welcomed the day's most distinguished guest: Representative Amagi.

With his son safely back home, Amagi seemed softer, more at ease, his voice and presence warm and inviting.

"Director He, congratulations."

"Thank you."

"Allow me to make some introductions."

Amagi stepped aside, revealing a group of Zala team members standing before him—a clear sign of how much the situation had changed.

"Director He, nice to meet you."

Due to He Kui's elevated status and the formal occasion, even Diego, who was typically competitive with him, held back, joining the others in a respectful salute.

"Hello, everyone."

"They're here to get a look at our new machines."

"Has a pilot been selected yet?" He Kui raised his eyebrows.

"Not yet, but over the coming days, we'll start testing elite pilots for compatibility," Amagi explained.

The young soldiers behind him straightened their postures as he spoke.

"I see." So the selection process for new pilots had begun, and the best pilots in PLANT would soon gather here in May City.

"By the way, have you heard about the hijacking of Duel?" Amagi asked.

". . . No."

Though his heart raced momentarily, He Kui quickly regained his composure. This information was highly classified—Elin wasn't even aware of it. The National Defense Council had kept it under wraps primarily due to the embarrassment it would cause.

Their most advanced MS and an elite pilot had been overtaken by some unknown figure in a cloak—an infuriating situation. Although Yzak hadn't faced consequences, he clenched his teeth in anger at the mere mention of the Duel and hijacking.

It seemed that, for him—and for Aegis—the resentment ran even deeper than with Strike.

"I see," He Kui replied as Amagi handed him a tablet with detailed information.

He Kui skimmed through it. The account was accurate, mirroring the events. It mentioned a possible MS retrieval or a covert operation by the Earth Alliance's Blue Cosmos, in line with the decoys he had intentionally planted to mislead the investigation.

"I remember we modeled the cockpit's external override switch after the Earth Alliance MS design. We'll need more robust defensive measures."

"I'll work on upgrading the cockpit's defenses," He Kui replied. Even though he was the one who had entered that cockpit, he could still easily bypass any new security measures he implemented.

"Well, maybe that person's dead by now."

From behind, Diego's voice broke in, attempting to comfort Yzak.

"Impossible!"

Yzak's brows shot up as he bristled like a porcupine.

From the mocking tone he'd heard just before blacking out, he was certain the hijacker had no intention of dying. Anyone capable of boarding a machine in such chaotic conditions had to be physically resilient, likely even stronger than an ordinary Coordinator.

"There's no way they drowned," Yzak growled. "I'll find them and—"

"Confess your feelings?" Diego teased.

"Blast them to pieces!"

Yzak snapped.

He Kui couldn't help but chuckle at Diego's remark. "Amagi, please continue."

Giving Diego a Gundam? He Kui thought to himself. He'd rather pilot it himself and let Diego continue with his love confessions.

"Anyway, Nicol was unlucky to get his leg shot up like that," Diego added.

"Yeah . . ."

Nicol forced a laugh, averting his gaze in embarrassment.

It had been a cheap shot, sure, but there was no denying he'd been one-shotted by an unknown figure.

"Amagi, what if we upgraded the cockpit locks with biometric recognition?" He Kui suggested, unable to hold back a smile.

"Sounds like a good idea."

He Kui wasn't worried about being Yzak's target. As long as he kept his comms off, Yzak wouldn't be able to identify him amid the chaos of battle. And even if he did, He Kui felt confident enough in his skills to handle the situation.

"Better than certain people getting dumped into the sea," Athrun murmured.

"Hey, at least I managed to hold my own against Strike for three hundred rounds."

Could he be any more shameless? The others exchanged exasperated looks at Diego's boast.

Meanwhile, He Kui's discussion with Amagi grew more serious as they ignored the banter behind them.

"The chairman's intention is that, in addition to increasing the production of GAT-X, we should upgrade some GINN production lines and continue developing experimental units. Ideally, we'll need three."

"The plan is to have one variant based on Strike with a general-purpose backpack, another similar to Aegis as a mobile turret for hit-and-run attacks, and a final unit with full implementation of the Dragon Fang."

"We want you to take on the Strike variant development. Can you finish it within two months?"

"If it's a general-purpose unit, that shouldn't be an issue."

"Excellent. This machine may seem simple, but it will serve as a foundation for our future pursuit of more advanced mobile suits. Do your best."

"Thank you. I won't disappoint the chairman."

Though the model entrusted to him appeared to be the simplest of the three, simplicity meant easier mass production. The National Defense Council had effectively assigned him the role of spearheading the next-generation MS development—or at least, its preliminary stages.

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