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However, this does not mean that he had absolutely no reaction:

"Therefore, I will tear your Principality of Zeon to shreds—all your ridiculous aristocracy and high-sounding ideals."

The disgust and hatred were very strong, but everything was shrouded in a shell called reason.

"I see, ha—"

Malid suddenly burst into laughter:

"You do seem different from the others."

Throughout the entire story, the boy emphasizes his own thoughts and choices.

"You are very...pure, but I'm curious how long you can maintain this purity!"

"Then this has nothing to do with you."

Meeting that undisguised, probing gaze, Gao Ren responded coldly:

"After all—you're already dead."

"Ah yes, that's right, but that's precisely why I was able to break free from my original identity."

'Splash'

He ripped off his magnificent Zeon uniform and threw his black, classic shawl directly into the fire in front of him.

“Mariet Sangreen is dead at your hands, so enjoy your glory and victory, hero of the Federation,”

He spoke, and it seemed that along with the burning of his uniform, his madness and anger were also consumed:

"But never forget that even if the duchy loses in this war, the ideas and classes you despise will not disappear, and you yourself will be trapped in that cycle of hatred!"

Gradually, amidst the tremors, everything before my eyes was distorted and swallowed by darkness.

The twinkling starlight flowed, lifting both body and consciousness.

finally……

"tick"

"tick"

In a daze, an unfamiliar ceiling appeared before my eyes.

"...A hospital ward?"

He subconsciously looked around, but could only see a splash of silvery white—his guardian was now quietly sleeping by the bedside, clearly just as exhausted.

Perhaps that's why she wouldn't notice what still lingers in the air—the dissipating clouds formed by the mockery and will of the dead.

“Malet Sangrin…”

Perhaps that guy will never hear such words.

but……

"I am not a hero—"

He knew exactly what he was doing; setting aside the thoughts that followed, all he initially wanted was revenge.

but……

"Beep beep beep beep beep"

On the bedside table, a large number of messages appeared on the communication terminal:

"The schedule of the Federal Propaganda Department?"

He is still alive, and if he wants to take action, he must wear this identity.

"The Federation's...hero."

Author's message

…………

A point about a controversial feature: the air tax

The argument that Zeon or the Federation would throw those who couldn't pay the air tax into decompression chambers is a classic example, with both sides sticking to their own versions of the story.

However, this claim comes from "The Goddess of Death in the Universe," in which the female protagonist, having lost her parents and being unable to pay the air tax to the Federation, is thrown into a decompression chamber and thus forced to join the Zeon army.

But here's a classic problem—the female protagonist lives in the asteroid belt and has said that to them, the colony is no different from Earth. Anyway, the female protagonist eventually meets Zeon's people and claims that she has been bought out by Zeon.

Second, because of the issue of military establishment, the Mongols have maintained a relatively substantial independence for a long time, so I'll leave it at that who gets the air tax.

At least during the One Year War, only Zeon mentioned an air tax.

Chapter 114: The Military Police Return

"Alright everyone, welcome to 'Defense Perspective.' As you all know, today, thanks to our persistent efforts, our Federation forces have successfully recovered most of the land in the Arab region. And today, we are very honored to have with us one of the key figures, and also a hero of our Federation—Lieutenant Gao Ren!"

On the television, accompanied by the host's deep voice, the camera gradually turned to a boy.

He was wearing a military uniform specifically for formal occasions, the traditional brown color of which seemed somewhat out of place with his overly young face.

"Hello everyone, I'm Gao Ren—"

…………

July 21, UC.0079

The Earth Federation launched a two-pronged attack, completely occupying Turkey while also bringing most of the Arab world back under its rule.

"Another resounding victory! It fully proves that those invaders from outer space are nothing in the face of the Federation's true iron fist."

Impetuous and fanatical.

It's not just those shady news outlets and independent media; even 'authoritative programs' that have partnerships with the federal government say the same thing:

"I imagine that soon, when our Federation officially launches a full-scale attack, these damned aliens will be driven out of Earth. We will push the main battlefield into space and completely erase the damned Principality of Zeon from the space map, restoring Side 3 to its original state."

Of course, from another perspective, it's entirely possible to say that this is the idea of ​​a federal propaganda machine.

For the Earth Federation at present, every battle must be a victory, and every victory must be a crushing one—at least in their view, the inhabitants of Earth, the Moon, and even the various sides only need this fact.

"So it's completely worthless—"

'patta'

"Hey!"

Amid Shirley's strange screams, Gao Ren, who had just come out of the bathroom, casually turned off the abstract program on the TV with the remote control.

What are you doing?

"Stop garbage from invading televisions."

Meeting his guardian's reproachful gaze, Gao Ren couldn't help but roll his eyes:

"This kind of stuff is obviously nonsense and there's nothing to see here."

The boy casually hung the towel he had used to dry his hair on a chair and then walked to the window.

Outside the window is a beautiful garden view.

A casual glance might bring a touch of freshness, but if you look up, the vast cave structure will block your view.

There is no sky here, and what hangs high above is not the sun.

Earth Federation Forces Headquarters – Gabro.

Under artificial lights, a district defined as an 'upscale residential area' stands quietly here. The enclosed underground space provides a sense of security to some extent, but after looking at it for a while, there is a strange sense of oppression.

He had been in this environment for several days.

"Actually, there's no need to be on edge all the time. This time is just like before."

That's right. Now, just like after the Battle of Rouen, due to some special reasons, all the members of the SRT Lion Dance Squad have returned to Gabro.

The official reason was, of course, recuperation—the internal war report on Anatolia had already been submitted, and the damage caused by the furnace nuclear explosion meant that all of the Gundam's structures needed to be melted down.

Meanwhile, the Lion Dance Squad participated in two battles in different regions within just 6 hours, and the pilots also needed to take a break to adjust their physical and mental health.

Of course, this is just a pretext. If the Earth Federation really cared about the mental health of its 'heroes,' it wouldn't be rushing to film various propaganda programs about him.

It's hard to imagine that all that messy stuff being shown on TV now was filmed by him in just two days after he woke up.

For Gao Ren, even though these things didn't require any brainpower and only involved repeating pre-prepared prompts, it was still an unspeakable torment.

Clearly, to the Federation, the boy named Gao Ren was nothing more than a notorious bully; there was only one thing that truly prevented him from returning to the battlefield:

"Ding Dong"

The sudden doorbell rang from below, causing Gao Ren to squint his eyes.

After exchanging a glance with Shirley, he grabbed a coat and put it on, then walked down the stairs to the entrance.

Through the peephole, the soldiers standing at the door could be clearly seen.

They weren't fully armed, but their stereotypically serious expressions and the military caps they wore testified to their identities.

EFMP (Earth Federation Military Police) – Federal Military Police.

"So, what can I do for you?"

“Excuse me, Lieutenant Gao Ren, I am Captain Taksa Markel.”

Although they did not open the door immediately, they still saluted:

"Regarding the report submitted by Lion Dance and SRT on 'that matter,' the Joint Chiefs of Staff has further investigation results—"

Ultimately, that's the real reason they're on "vacation".

…………

On July 18, the Earth Federation launched a powerful strike operation against the Turkish base.

This operation was a complete success, making an indelible contribution to the Federation's strategy for conquering the Black Sea coast, and even becoming a key focus of the Federation's propaganda efforts.

However, only a few people know that this operation still has problems that cannot be ignored.

First, the intelligence department was negligent and failed to detect Zeon's strategic intention to use the base furnace as bait for a large bomb, which almost caused heavy losses to the front-line assault troops.

Secondly, there was the short-sightedness and political infighting at the top. The great victory touted by the propaganda department was just a facade, and beneath that glamorous exterior lay a great deal of sacrifice.

The bursts of fire, the scattered pieces of life on the battlefield, and the precious lives of the soldiers—even when reduced to numbers—are utterly terrifying.

Unfortunately, the higher-ups didn't care about this kind of thing, and it wasn't even worth setting up a separate investigation team. The only thing they really cared about, the only thing they were willing to use their 'precious' resources to investigate, was this:

"Based on the special circumstances reported by General John Gowan, the source of the Black Dog Squad and its 'unregistered MS' has been identified."

Meeting Gao Ren's gaze, the military police handed him a report, and with just a glance, he saw the enormous symbol:

"EXAM?"

"That's right. The machine itself originated from the EXAM project, which has been approved by the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There are a total of three prototypes."

"Is this one of them?"

"That's right, but according to the military police's investigation, the project team only produced prototypes for testing and data collection. Two of the three units have been completely destroyed, and the remaining Unit 1 has been dismantled down to just the head. There are clear clues to follow."

"So where did that mobile suit from the Anatolia base come from?"

Of course, by the time Gao Ren asked this question, the report in his hand had already been turned to the next page.

"It's logistics—some people within the project team kept the machines and handed them over to some military units for private use. The military police have arrested all the people involved."

So, that's the final conclusion.

"You mean this is just a case of certain individuals acting arbitrarily?"

"That's right, that's the result of our military police's investigation."

The overly simplistic response hovered on the edge of Gao Ren's rationality.

"Then what about the pilot of that 'EXAM GM'?!"

"This point has already been clearly stated in the report."

Following his gaze, the boy's eyes moved to the end of the report, where all the brief descriptions seemed to be summarized in a single sentence:

"All of this was—the Black Dog Squad's spontaneous action?!"