svetikya Chapter 38: The Wind and the Ghost's First Greeting: Can I Become You...?
Chapter 38: The Wind and the Ghost's First Greeting: Can I Become You...?
[ZAFT Africa Theater - Somewhere on a Sand Dune]
The night was as dark as ink, and the cold moonlight gilded the boundless sea of sand with a deathly silver edge.
"Slaying Wind," this steel behemoth born for hunting, moved silently across the sand, gliding like a ghost. Inside the cockpit, Xiao Ran's eyes were colder than the desert outside the machine. On the tactical screen, a faint energy signal was moving limping along the route he had predicted.
To him, Bartfield's romanticized "radio silence" order was nothing more than another example of emotion overriding reason. The strong never place their hopes on the "benevolence" of others.
[Target locked on "Anomaly-01", energy response accuracy 99.9%... Damage assessment: Left arm and shoulder armor completely destroyed, power system output reduced by 37%.]
[The optimal hunting strategy has been generated...]
The data stream rolled coldly across Xiao Ran's retina. He had disobeyed orders and gone on a solo mission for this very moment. He wanted to personally dissect this "variable," using the sharpest scalpel to completely remove it from the chessboard of this world.
found it.
Ahead, in the shadows of a rocky chasm, a black "ghost" was struggling to move its broken body.
A cruel yet rational smile curved Xiao Ran's lips. Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed the control lever all the way forward!
The engine of "Slaying Wind" let out a deep roar, and the four-legged nozzles burst out with powerful thrust. The machine transformed into a shadow that hugged the ground, rushing straight for its prey!
---
【Rock Rift Valley - Ghost Cockpit】
"System, you shady businessman! I suspect you're pulling strings! Are you targeting me just because I'm handsome?!"
Ling Yu was still indignant about the sausage recipe, cursing and swearing as he manipulated Gene, who only had half a body left, to move towards their temporary hiding place.
Suddenly, a piercing alarm shattered the tranquility of the cockpit!
[WARNING! High-energy reaction rapidly approaching! Target locked!]
Ling Yu suddenly looked up and saw a huge red warning sign on the tactical screen, like a bloodshot eye, staring intently at him.
Holy crap!
Before he could finish speaking, several crisscrossing lines of fire shot through the night sky! They weren't beams of light, but physical projectiles! The angles of attack were extremely tricky, perfectly predicting all his possible evasive maneuvers.
Ling Yu instinctively pulled the control stick, and the wrecked "Ghost" rolled awkwardly to one side. Several shells flew past the fuselage and exploded into bursts of fire on the rock wall.
Immediately afterwards, four cables gleaming with a cold metallic light, like the fangs of venomous snakes, shot out from the sand and dust, instantly embedding themselves in the ground around the "ghost," forming a deadly cage!
The menacing four-legged hound he had seen on the distant dunes was now coldly watching him with its menacing composite sensors.
"Damn it, mad dog!" Ling Yu's scalp tingled.
The opponent's machine performance was clearly superior, and their piloting skills were so precise they seemed inhuman, filled with the chilling killing intent drawn by engineers with compasses and protractors. Every shell, every movement, was like a violent demonstration of the optimal solution.
The "Slaying Wind's" pod cannons began charging, and the crisscrossing barrage relentlessly covered the immobilized "Ghost."
This is pure technological dominance! A calculated massacre!
---
"it's over."
Xiao Ran coldly stared at the "Ghost" on the screen, enveloped in a barrage of fire. Although this "anomaly" exhibited chaotic behavior, its individual combat capabilities had to be eliminated immediately. He wouldn't allow any uncontrollable factors to disrupt the perfect blueprint he had laid out for ZAFT, a path to victory.
However, just as the artillery fire was about to engulf the "Ghost," the wrecked machine suddenly made an inexplicable move.
It gave up all struggle and instead used its remaining right arm to push off the ground!
[SR Card - Emma Singh - Activate!]
【Characteristic: The Hammer of Discipline (grants the pilot superhuman calmness and tactical discipline for a short period of time)】
Inside the cockpit, all the mania in Ling Yu's eyes vanished instantly, leaving only absolute calm in his mind.
He spoke into the public channel, using the authoritative tone of a headmaster, enunciating each word clearly:
"I'm the man who could be your mother!"
Xiao Ran's eyebrows twitched slightly at this inexplicable and crazy remark.
Immediately afterwards, Ling Yu's voice became even more powerful:
"You, the one driving the four-wheeled sled! Yes, that's you! Disobeying orders and deserting from the unit without permission—you disciplinary student must receive the iron fist of the disciplinary committee chief!"
"boom--!!!"
A loud bang didn't come from Xiao Ran's attack, but from behind "Lu Feng"!
Xiao Ran's pupils constricted sharply. A row of high explosives, pre-buried beneath the sand dunes, detonated instantly, sending up a cloud of dust! This was… a trap?!
This brute actually had the mind to set a trap?!
The massive sandstorm instantly obscured the "Ghost's" composite sensors, turning the tactical screen into a static mess. Amidst this chaos, the "Ghost's" right arm, which had been used as a fulcrum, suddenly exerted force, propelling the entire machine high backward like a spring. Using the shockwave from the explosion, it forcefully broke free from the wired pod's restraints!
A plan that's cool to the point of madness.
For the first time, a crack appeared on Xiao Ran's perpetually icy face. His composure shattered, and a furious anger at being mocked surged through his mind. He forcefully activated "Slaying Wind," recklessly charging into the sandstorm!
The two machines clashed and fought in the pitch-black sandstorm, engaging in a primal collision and battle. The once calm hunter transformed into a frenzied beast; while the usually unpredictable "Ghost," with the blessing of the "Disciplinary Committee Chairman," executed each block and dodge with textbook precision.
"You can't escape." Xiao Ran's voice came through the public channel amidst the sandstorm, icy and chilling.
"clang!"
The two machines briefly separated and confronted each other amidst the turbulent airflow.
Ling Yu whistled and responded in an extremely irritating tone: "Young man, don't get so hot-tempered. Fighting is so boring. How about grabbing a coffee sometime? My treat, you pay."
Just then, several beams of light appeared on the distant horizon. The Archangel had finally arrived.
On Xiao Ran's tactical screen, the signal for friendly support remained at zero. He took one last, deep look at the black Gene that was barely visible in the sandstorm, and ultimately chose to retreat.
Xiao Ran piloted the "Slaying Wind" and disappeared into the night. His heart was far from as calm as it appeared. The strength of that "Ghost," and his tactical maneuvers, completely exceeded the data model's predictions. This man must die.
On the other side, inside a new, hidden cave.
Ling Yu looked at his almost broken "ghost," his expression more solemn than ever before. The calm he had shown earlier was gone, leaving only the lingering fear of surviving a close call.
"What grudge do I hold against them? I have a feeling that the pilot on the other side has a problem with me..." he muttered to himself, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.
"It seems that I won't be able to hold my own unless I bring out something truly impressive."