Chapter 240

Lopez Estate.

Flay followed a family friend into the mansion on the estate. The so-called upper-class circle was surprisingly small, and Flay's unfamiliar and young face drew some attention and whispers.

Although Flay's father had once served as the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Atlantic Federation, the Allster family also had a small reputation in the Atlantic Federation's political scene.

But Flay was still young at the time, and under her father's overprotection, she had not yet stepped into the social occasions of the upper class. She only knew a limited number of children of officials of the same age, but looking around, none of them seemed to be present here.

"Am I not qualified to be here..."

Feeling the subtle, scrutinizing gazes of everyone, this thought could not help but arise in her heart, and Flay's footsteps faltered.

The family friend beside her immediately noticed Flay's condition. While smiling and waving to people she recognized, she whispered to Flay, "Don't be afraid; your father never showed cowardice on such occasions."

"That's right, to still put on a cowardly appearance needing others' protection at this point would be an insult to the Allster family name."

Hearing the family friend's words, Flay pulled herself together.

The family friend had specifically brought her to such a place to strive for her to re-enter this circle.

Wasn't it agreed that she wanted to enter politics to gather information for Major Natarle?

How could she shrink back!

In her mind, she couldn't help but recall that pink figure beside Kira. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was indeed far behind her.

That songstress had always been so composed and calm, revealing a dignified air within her gentleness.

Every time she faced her, she couldn't help but feel ashamed of herself.

But now, let her learn from her aura!

Once a spoiled young lady, having experienced the pain of war, her heart, twisted by hatred, was finally redeemed, followed by more than a year of humble love, and then she resolutely chose to withdraw, completing her final transformation.

When Flay Allster was introduced to various celebrities by the family friend, she had already begun to radiate a mature aura beyond her years.

Introspective and self-respecting, peaceful and humble, this girl who had experienced war began to prepare to shine her own light in this world.

The banquet began, and Wang Liumei, as the host, gave a speech and then raised a glass with the guests.

Next was the time for free interaction. Wang Liumei began to approach several targets she had selected, probing their stances through conversation.

It wasn't that one could see anything from a few simple words, but it was a preliminary probe to allow her to make an accurate judgment on the direction of future recruitment.

The targets she focused on were basically those with significant family power who held important positions in the federal government and whose stances did not lean toward Blue Cosmos.

Unfortunately, as a member of LOGOS, her contact with these people inevitably aroused their vigilance, and the results of the initial contact were not ideal.

But Wang Liumei was not discouraged; she simply turned to the next target, a famous female diplomat.

The other party's father and brother both held important positions in the government, and she had a younger brother who was a business tycoon with family industries spanning various sectors, and her in-laws had considerable influence in the military.

Most importantly, this family's political stance was relatively clean and not overly constrained by LOGOS, matching Wang Liumei's expectations.

With some expectations, Wang Liumei began to approach this female diplomat. However, the other party seemed to have brought a girl with a somewhat unique temperament, who did not look like an ordinary sheltered young lady, which inevitably drew Wang Liumei's attention.

Was it the other party's daughter?

But there didn't seem to be any relevant records in the files, and she didn't look like it either.

Holding some doubts, Wang Liumei began to communicate with the female diplomat.

Perhaps because they were both women, the other party didn't seem so guarded against Wang Liumei. After some superficial conversation, the female diplomat began to introduce the girl beside her to Wang Liumei.

"Her name is Flay Allster, the daughter of the late Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Allster; to me, she is like a daughter."

Such an introduction piqued Wang Liumei's great interest in Flay.

Generally, one wouldn't introduce a junior like this on such an occasion; was this a sign of full-scale promotion?

"Nice to meet you."

Wang Liumei nodded and introduced herself.

"Nice to meet you."

Flay looked at the radiant Wang Liumei and was secretly surprised in her heart.

This girl, who looked younger than herself, actually radiated an aura no weaker than that songstress.

The foster daughter of the former head of the Lopez Conglomerate, who had now become the true master of the conglomerate.

To have such remarkable skill at this age...

Wang Liumei began to chat with the female diplomat, and as they talked, the topic unconsciously shifted to Flay.

Wang Liumei was quite curious about this girl of the same age, and under the guidance of her rhetoric, the topic unconsciously shifted to Flay.

The female diplomat, who was proficient in verbal work, seemed not to notice at all that she was being led, and followed Wang Liumei's intent to talk about some of Flay's stories.

Hearing that Flay had once been on the Archangel and then had the experience of being a crew member on the Dominion, ripples arose in Wang Liumei's heart.

After coming to this world, Wang Liumei had naturally used the power at her disposal to investigate some of Li Boyong's past—not out of distrust, but out of a hint of curiosity.

So she also knew some of Li Boyong's experiences; if she remembered correctly, Li Boyong had also served on those two ships.

Then, did this girl know that guy Li Boyong?

Thinking of this, Wang Liumei's interest in Flay grew even greater. She made up her mind to find another opportunity in a couple of days to invite this girl to the estate for afternoon tea.

Seeing that her experiences seemed to have caught the attention of the head of the Lopez Conglomerate, Flay was not at all timid and took the opportunity to join the conversation.

And just as Flay was taking the first step of growth after completing her transformation, in an izakaya far away in Orb, a boy who could not stop thinking about Flay was gloomily drowning his sorrows in alcohol.

The boy wore glasses and was still dressed in the Orb military uniform, looking refined yet revealing a hint of toughness, but now his face was flushed from excessive alcohol consumption, and a pair of slightly red, swollen eyes indicated that the owner had shed tears while drunk.

"Sai... you've had too much to drink. Tomorrow is a rare day off; do you plan to sleep in your bed all day?"

Beside the bespectacled boy, another boy also wearing an Orb military uniform advised him.

"Tolle, you're so long-winded. It's rare that we both became pilots of the new mass-produced machines and successfully became Second Lieutenants; shouldn't we celebrate such a happy event properly?"

Sai, hearing his good friend's advice, couldn't help but complain.

"If you're celebrating, then stop crying!"

Tolle retorted with a jab.

"I'm not crying..."

Sai took off his glasses and wiped away his tears with his sleeve.

"Tch, you're really pathetic. Is it really worth crying like this just because Flay left?"

Tolle curled his lip and then said, "Don't blame me for being meddlesome, but the situation between you two is really not appropriate right now."

"What do you know!"

Sai fell silent upon hearing this; his relationship with Flay was truly hard to explain clearly.

After a pause, Sai changed the subject, "Don't talk about me; have you and Miriallia made up?"

Tolle sighed upon hearing this, "Ever since I decided to join the Orb military with you, we've been in a cold war."

"You'd better be careful; I heard Sergeant Madok say that the ZAFT guy named Dearka has been contacting Miriallia."

Sai reminded him.

"Don't mention it; one of the reasons for the cold war between Miriallia and me is that guy."

Mentioning the name Dearka made Tolle very unhappy, and he couldn't help but hammer the table, "If I meet him on the battlefield, I'll definitely use my Murasame to shoot him down."

"Forget it; that guy is a Coordinator; you won't be able to beat him at all."

Sai laughed and teased his friend irresponsibly.

"Hey, hey, do you have any conscience at all?"

Tolle rolled his eyes, "If it weren't for joining the Orb military with you, would Miriallia and I be in a cold war? Don't talk so much at a time like this; just show me you'll help me beat him."

"Help, help, I'll definitely help."

Sai nodded, suppressing a laugh.

As they spoke, the two boys who had just become Second Lieutenant pilots were seriously discussing how to shoot down Dearka.

Amidst the laughter and noise, Arnold Neumann and several other former Archangel crew members opened the door to the izakaya.

"Yo, you guys arrived so early."

Uncle Madok from the maintenance crew greeted them with a smile.

A gathering of the former male crew members of the Archangel began.