bookbashuk Chapter 13: The Player's "Optimal Solution," and Fate's "Zero Probability&q
Chapter 13: The Player's "Optimal Solution," and Fate's "Zero Probability&q
[ZAFT Army, Kruze's flagship - Gamov]
The bridge was spotless. The only sound in the air was the steady hum of the cooling system.
On the main screen, the universe is divided into countless tactical windows.
A crimson explosion of light silently bloomed inside one of the windows, like a cheap firework set off during a festival, fleeting and ephemeral.
Xiao Ran stood behind Kruze, like an emotionless statue. His glasses reflected the cold data stream on the screen, and his pupils were completely unmoved.
The personal terminal on his wrist was calculating the massacre known as "The Noose" in real time with efficiency far exceeding that of military-grade computers.
[First wave of attacks hit rate: 98.7%]
[The enemy's advance flagship, the USS Montgomery, has lost its main engine heat signature.]
[The second wave of attacks is expected to cripple its remaining MA forces in 3 minutes.]
"Well done, Xiao Ran."
Kruse's voice carried a hint of lazy laughter. He didn't even turn around, but simply elegantly held a cup of coffee, appreciating this symphony of death choreographed by data.
"Efficient, and ruthless. I like this kind of art."
Xiao Ran nodded slightly in response.
Art?
No. This is science.
Remove all distracting terms called "emotions," and war is reduced to a cold, hard mathematical problem. Life is nothing more than a variable that can be canceled out on both sides of the equation at any time.
This is what war should be like.
On the ZAFT Armory System interface in his mind, a marker representing Anomaly-01 remained quietly on the Archangel's signal source, without any abnormal fluctuations.
This in itself is an anomaly.
The "funny guy" who used to jump around was now as quiet as a dead man.
Xiao Ran's fingertips unconsciously tapped the terminal casing.
The feeling of unease was fleeting.
No problem.
In the face of the absolute "optimal solution", any clown's struggle is meaningless.
Let's clear away these decaying remnants of the "old era" before tackling this interesting bonus question.
[Archangel, Bridge]
Dead silence.
Ling Yu's hysterical roar seemed to still echo in the bridge, sucking away all the air.
Everyone looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at a mental patient, a mixture of pity, incomprehension, and a hint of offended anger.
Natal's hand was already on the gun handle, but she didn't pull it out. It would be unbecoming of a soldier to use force against a pitiful creature driven mad by war.
"Take him...to the medical room." Maru waved wearily, her voice hoarse.
However, before she could finish speaking, a piercing static noise suddenly blasted from the public channel that Ling Yu had just forcibly turned on.
That wasn't a response.
It was a scream.
"...Zzz...We've been...ambushed! The coordinates are...Zzz...Ah!!"
After a piercing scream, the communication abruptly ended.
Inside the bridge, the last vestiges of jubilation that had just risen, along with pity for Ling Yu, were instantly frozen into ice.
Immediately afterwards, another channel automatically connected; it was an encrypted communication from the Eighth Fleet flagship, the USS Montgomery.
The resolute face of Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs George Alsta appeared on the screen.
But at this moment, only horror and disbelief remained on that face.
Flames were shooting into the sky from the porthole behind him.
"This is Montgomery! We've been ambushed by a large ZAFT force! Again, the flight path is a trap!"
"How ironic, to be killed by the very machine you developed..."
His voice had barely reached halfway when the screen suddenly went white.
The violent shockwave from the explosion turned the scene into a blur of snowflakes.
The final scene shows a ball of orange-red fire, with the escorting frigate behind the USS Montgomery exploding with a deafening roar.
The USS Montgomery is in grave danger.
Signal, interruption.
The color drained from Frey Alsta's face at a visible speed.
The muscles in her face twitched stiffly, as if she were trying to force an "impossible" smile, but it only made her expression more distorted.
"dad?"
She murmured unconsciously, her fingers gripping Kira's arm so tightly that they dug into his sleeve, her knuckles turning deathly pale.
On the bridge, everyone seemed to have their throats choked, unable to utter a sound.
Reality, in the cruelest way, proved the madman's ravings to be true.
No.
He's not crazy.
Natal turned around abruptly and stared intently at the young man who was still standing in front of the communications station.
That person didn't look at the screen, nor at anyone else.
He just kept his head down, as if looking at the watch on his wrist, as if the terrible communication just now was nothing more than a boring interruption.
Ling Yu was obviously not looking at his watch.
On his retina, the cold system panel was updating the final results of this tragedy.
[The survival probability of the key plot character 'George Alsta' is too low.]
Survival probability revised to: 0%.
[Prerequisite task failed]
[Warning! Frey Alstar's mental threshold has fallen below the critical point, and her corruption process is... 17%... 34%... 58%...]
"Hold……"
Ling Yu cursed under his breath.
He underestimated the ruthlessness of the player who came up with the "optimal solution".
The opponent doesn't care about the plot or the characters; all he wants is victory—the most efficient and perfect victory.
This damned sense of familiarity... why does Ling Yu always feel like the other person knows him so well, like...
He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and find a way to break the deadlock.
Just as Ling Yu was lost in thought,
"Ling, Ling Yu, I beg you, please save my father. You must have a way, right?" Frey rushed over in despair, grabbing Ling Yu's clothes and pleading desperately.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, her eyes lit up: "Why don't you pilot the MS? Like last time, drive them all away! Yes! With you there, we can definitely win!"
I'll beat you, you're dead.
Should I just drive the assault rifle out and unleash a barrage of attacks?
Stop being funny.
A mobile suit crashing into the encirclement of an entire fleet to rescue people is something a comic book protagonist would do, not something a third-rate "playmate" like him could accomplish.
Heroes...can't save everyone.
"Ling..."
"Sorry, I can't do that." Ling Yu coldly interrupted Frey.
As the light in Frey's eyes gradually dimmed,
Ling Yu saw the epic-level quest "The Revenge Princess Who Turned the Tide" on the system interface.
And then there's that string of glittering rewards—[Micro Fusion Furnace Technical Data (Incomplete 1/3)].
My heart, uncooperatively, started beating faster.
To complete the mission, Frey must be prevented from turning evil.
To prevent her from turning to the dark side, we must give her a new "hope," a stronger goal that can replace "revenge."
Ling Yu's expression changed.
The frenzy and cynicism quickly faded, replaced by an absolute calmness, the focus and greed of a businessman when he discovers a huge business opportunity.
He opened the system store and his fingertips flew across the dazzling array of products.
[SSR Card: Kira Yamato's "No Killing" Oath (After use, it forces the target to be unable to kill the humanoid MS cockpit for 24 hours)] - Too expensive.
[SR Card: Lux's "Heavenly Voice" (One-time use, greatly enhances the persuasiveness of a speech)] - Can't afford it.
His finger finally stopped in an inconspicuous corner.
It was an N card with a plain, unadorned white glow.
[N Card: Business Plan (One-time Use). Effect: Simulates the rise of a business empire. Price: 300 points.]
"You're the one."
Points deducted. Congratulations to the driver for obtaining an N card: Business Plan x1.
Ling Yu closed the system interface and slowly raised his head.
He ignored the complex gazes of Maru and Natal, a mixture of shock, fear, and inquiry, and walked straight across the silent bridge to Frey, who was already distraught and swaying precariously.
Under everyone's astonished gaze, he offered no comfort, no explanation, but simply reached out and, with an undeniable force, gently lifted Frey's chin, forcing her empty, lifeless eyes to look at him.
There was no trace of mockery left on his face.
All that remained was a charlatan-like, compassionate smile.
He leaned close to her ear and whispered in a voice that only the two of them could hear, like a devil's whisper:
"Don't cry, my beautiful lady."
"If you don't want your father to have died in vain."
"How about I offer my suggestion? We can... discuss a deal."