Simultaneous Time Travel: Gundam? All Teammates are Old Six

Chapter 41: Black Tea and Conspiracy, an "Invitation" from ZAFT

The Archangel's mess hall was filled with a chemically aggressive smell.

Inferior oils, burnt spices, and spoiled proteins are mixed together.

At the center of the odor, Ling Yu was facing a tubular object the color of discarded engine oil.

On the data terminal, the recipe image is golden and shiny—[Elsa teaches you how to make: Authentic Bavarian-style German sausage].

What he had on his plate was a cable that had been scorched by an electric axe.

"That doesn't make sense..."

Ling Yu poked the hard shell with his fork, making a crisp "bang" sound.

"The steps are exactly the same, so why is her dish considered delicious while mine looks like industrial waste?"

"Perhaps..." Kira Yamato adjusted his glasses, his face pale, "the problem isn't with the steps, it's with the executor."

"Shut up, what do you know about cooking, you programmer!"

Ling Yu picked up a sausage and stuffed it into his mouth, his teeth crunching against the hard shell.

The footsteps stopped at the entrance of the cafeteria.

Frey Alsta stood there, calmly looking at the plate of "dark cuisine".

"This might have a market in peacetime," she suddenly said.

The cafeteria fell silent instantly.

Ling Yu, with half a piece of food he couldn't chew still in his mouth, asked indistinctly, "Huh? This thing... has a market?"

"right."

Frey approached, ignoring the smell, and analyzed the situation with clear logic.

"First, its raw materials are scarce resources on the ship."

"Secondly, its production consumes a considerable amount of energy."

"Third, it has a gimmick: 'The secret formula from ZAFT's top lover'."

She looked at Ling Yu, a slight smile playing on her lips.

"The definition of luxury goods is to take scarce resources, package them with a captivating story at a high cost, and then sell them to people who don't need them. Your product has all the elements."

Ling Yu was stunned.

This woman has transformed into a cunning capitalist.

"Welcome to the team, my partner." Ling Yu spat out the hard lump in his mouth and suddenly smiled.

"Looks like the 'three meals a day' I provided for you was a bit unfair."

"You'd better have proper meals for yourself."

Frey looked back at him quietly, the light in her eyes brighter than any lamplight.

The piercing alarm shattered the routine.

Archangel - Bridge

"Captain! Two ZAFT Reconnaissance Kins have been spotted directly ahead!"

Maru Ramias's coffee cup hovered in mid-air.

"Right steer 30 degrees, avoid it!"

The alarm sounded again less than ten minutes after the flight path deviated.

"At the three o'clock position, we've encountered the ZAFT underwater 'Gun'!"

Natal Bakirul frowned: "The ZAFT density in this area is too high."

"Hard to port! Emergency dive!"

The Archangel scrambled to change course. But no matter how it turned, it always "coincidentally" brushed past a small group of enemies.

The other party did not attack, but merely followed from a distance.

Like a pack of sheepdogs, they drive the lambs in a fixed direction.

"Something's not right." Mu La Flaga's expression was grave. "We're like we're being chased, but they're not going all out."

"Oh."

A soft laugh rang out.

Ling Yu was leaning against the communications desk at some point, a mocking expression on his face.

"This isn't a patrol, it's herding sheep."

One sentence froze the air on the bridge.

"They're sending out invitations, wanting to invite us to a specific place for tea."

Maru's eyes narrowed sharply.

"We can't follow their lead!" Natal immediately retorted. "We must break through!"

"And then?" Ling Yu shrugged. "Run headlong into their encirclement? Don't be silly, Major Natal. You can't win on the battlefield just by willpower."

He walked to the tactical map, ran his finger across it, and stopped at a narrow waterway.

"The road has been paved; all we can do is try to make sure this cup of tea isn't too scalding."

He accessed a private, encrypted channel and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

[System prompt: Consume the "Dawn Desert" communication token to fake a distress signal from a civilian transport ship under the "Dawn Desert" command?]

"confirm."

A faint, encrypted signal blended into the background noise of the ocean.

On the radar, the ZAFT dots indeed showed a momentary delay.

Mu and Maru exchanged a shocked glance. He had done it again, in a way they couldn't comprehend.

[ZAFT Hydra-class submarine - bridge]

The cold, electronic voice echoed in the command center.

"Sir, a civilian distress signal from 'Bright Desert' has been detected, with coordinates coinciding with the 'target'. The expulsion force has been suspended. Requesting instructions."

The adjutant turned to the figure in the shadows.

Xiao Ran quietly observed the three-dimensional tactical map. The dot representing the Archangel, like a toyed mouse, was sliding towards his predetermined destination—the Strait of Malacca.

On his personal system interface, data streams were scrolling rapidly.

The variable "ghost" has intervened.

[Behavioral pattern: Asymmetric confrontation.]

Threat Level Assessment: Low.

[Probability of strategic deception: 97.3%]

"Dawn Desert?" A cold smile appeared on Xiao Ran's lips.

That variable is resorting to its underhanded tricks again.

"Sir?" the adjutant urged, "Should we classify it as a trap and attack directly?"

"No."

Xiao Ran's voice was as calm as ice.

"Order the troops to retreat ten kilometers and adopt an evasive posture."

"Retreat? But sir," the adjutant said anxiously, "that's like releasing a tiger back into the mountains!"

Xiao Ran slowly raised his head, his gaze behind his glasses completely calm.

"A prey whose muscles are constantly tense is difficult to kill with a single blow."

"It made him think that his cleverness had succeeded, and it made him and his crew relax."

Only when they think it's safest,

The "black tea" we offered

That's why it feels so incredibly hot.

His gaze pierced through the screen.

It's as if I've already seen that "kindred spirit" from another world.

Let me,

Let's have some fun together.

Archangel - Bridge

"Report! ZAFT forces are retreating!"

The communications officer's excited shouts ignited a suppressed cheer.

"Great! We've got them!"

"Mr. Ling Yu, you're amazing!"

Maru's tense body relaxed, and her gaze towards Ling Yu was extremely complex.

Ling Yu showed no joy whatsoever.

He held a nutrition bar in his mouth, chewing slowly, as if he were savoring his last supper.

Natal's voice rang out as she walked to the chart and reported the facts.

"Captain, according to the latest route plan, the Strait of Malacca is just ahead. We... must pass through there."

In an instant, the cheers stopped abruptly.

All eyes were focused on the bottleneck-like waterway on the nautical chart.

After finishing chewing, Ling Yu precisely tossed the wrapper into the trash can.

He sighed softly, his voice not loud, but it carried throughout the entire bridge.

"It's over."

"Now we really have to drink tea, and it'll be the Overlord Tea, no less."

He turned around and gave a smile that looked more like a grimace to the astonished crowd.

"We have no choice but to accept this invitation."