"One match to determine the outcome."
Inside the cockpit, He Kui stated directly, already prepared.
Last time against the White Whale, he didn't get to enjoy the fight, and the previous Thunderbolt Short Sword was too much of a cheat. As for the Lunar Mad Dog, he was overwhelmed by multiple opponents.
Now, having a rare chance to face off against the elite of the Red Uniforms, He Kui felt a surge of excitement.
"No problem!"
Dearka said without any hesitation as he chose the Strike.
Seeing this, He Kui didn't overestimate himself; after all, Dearka was an elite, so he opted for a Duel.
As the selection time ended, the battle officially began against the backdrop of the lunar battlefield.
Although the simulated graphics were a bit rough, thanks to the realistic physics engine, it posed no problem for the two of them.
As the match started, on the desolate surface of the moon, the soil reflected sunlight, emitting a silvery glow.
With the countdown finished, both Mobile Suits activated simultaneously, instantly accelerating, and the lunar dust flew up beneath them like two silver dragons.
As the Strike retreated into the air to create distance while launching missile countermeasures, He Kui skillfully maneuvered across the lunar surface, taking advantage of his superior mobility.
The Strike, not letting up, pressed forward with its powerful firepower.
Beams rained down on him like raindrops.
Meyrin gasped at the sight, and Lika, sitting next to her, caught this moment.
"Don't worry, he won't be hit so easily."
"Right."
Lika said, glancing at Iron Wall.
"Yeah."
Iron Wall nodded, and the battle on the screen grew increasingly intense.
He Kui, piloting the Duel Gundam, darted around like a swallow in the Strike.
Unlike last time, He Kui had developed a much stronger reaction ability.
On the other hand, the Strike's powerful firepower naturally meant high energy consumption. In contrast, He Kui's strategy of focusing on dodging while occasionally taking potshots conserved much more energy than the Strike.
As long as he could avoid the attacks, he would surely gain the upper hand.
After several rounds of confrontation, as the Duel's beams once again kicked up a cloud of dust on the lunar surface, He Kui sensed the moment was right and executed a backflip with his Mobile Suit.
The dust on the moon was sent flying high due to He Kui's massive movement.
This caused Dearka to temporarily lose sight of his target.
At that moment, Dearka looked at the white expanse beneath him, feeling quite nervous.
He hadn't expected He Kui to be so evasive, even dodging several of his seemingly guaranteed hits with incredible reaction speed.
Now, after all this, he had only 30% energy left, and his micro-missiles were down to just three.
He faced two choices: one was to disregard his energy and cover the area below with firepower.
The other was to conserve energy and wait for an opportunity.
If he had more than 50% energy, the first choice would definitely be more prudent.
But now, with so little energy left, a round of firepower coverage would consume nearly 10% of it.
He couldn't be sure if He Kui's goal was to exhaust him or to strike.
Thus, the Strike remained in place, motionless, only vigilantly watching the swirling dust before him.
Soon, a shadow darted through the dust, and Dearka squeezed the trigger of his Beam Rifle.
The beam energy pierced through the dust, accompanied by the explosion of the impacted object.
"Wait."
Before Dearka could celebrate too long, he realized that this small-scale explosion didn't resemble the scale of an MS explosion at all, and he quickly began to elevate his Mobile Suit.
However, he was given no further opportunity; the Duel Gundam, missing an arm, appeared at the edge of the mist, aiming its remaining hand holding the Beam Rifle at the Strike's engine.
With a calculated shot, the screen in front of Dearka went black.
At that moment, Meyrin, watching this unfold, had her eyes shining brightly.
Even without scientific capabilities, He Kui's skill was more than enough to become a squad leader or even be included in an elite team for the most dangerous missions.
The all-capable He Kui was like a hero from the television shows.
And this hero was the one closest to her, a realization that made Meyrin's heart race.
On the other side, Nicol, also a spectator, had been so astonished today that he felt numb.
Amidst the varied thoughts of others, He Kui soon exited the simulation chamber, followed closely by Dearka.
"Can the Duel's arm be detached?"
Dearka asked him with a resentful look.
"Sure, just release the lock."
Of course, this required full system permissions, but for He Kui, it was a piece of cake.
"But how could you dodge everything? With the Duel's output, there should be many places you couldn't avoid."
"Did you forget you can adjust the system's energy output distribution? Until the final shot, most of my energy was focused on propulsion."
He Kui chuckled.
"That's why your beams were so easy for me to dodge."
It was both a way to lower his guard and a feigned attack due to lack of energy.
"Exactly, and your attack method is too simple and crude. Although your aim is excellent, it would be a disadvantage against a relatively agile opponent."
"..."
Hearing this, Dearka suddenly recalled how he had performed against the three new type MS from the Federation with this Mobile Suit.
Indeed, most of his attacks had been dodged.
Though he kept telling himself it was the Mobile Suit's fault, just now, He Kui, a researcher, had used the same type of Duel. "If I lose again, don't blame my equipment."
After patting Dearka on the shoulder, He Kui left the hangar with Meyrin.
Not long after, at the Defense Committee headquarters, Joule and Amalfi received a video from Iron Wall on their computers.
"Even without the Liberator, his combat power is still impressive."
Joule said, her expression invigorated as she watched He Kui's performance.
"Didn't we already know that from the lunar battle?"
"Even if his defense is strong, his marksmanship is indeed among the best in our ranks."
Amalfi shrugged in response.
"Too bad we can't send him to the front lines."
Joule sighed.
Although his hit rate might drop against elites, for ordinary soldiers, He Kui was their nightmare.
As long as there were no elites to restrain him on the battlefield, He Kui could definitely become a human harvesting machine.
"His value lies here."
"According to Patrick, it seems there's an intention to have He Kui participate in the Genesis project."
Amalfi said repeatedly.
"Accelerate the progress?"
"Yes."
Amalfi nodded.
The previous decision not to let He Kui join was due to a lack of trust, but over time, He Kui had indeed been diligent.
And every speech he gave was excellent.
"But his relationship with Lacus is a problem."
"We only have Athrun on our side."
If Athrun were a girl, it might have been possible to negotiate.
Joule's rare thought carried a hint of mischief.
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