Chapter 256

The next day, the maintenance of the Minerva was still ongoing.

However, Shihe finally got the opportunity to go out today, because the supervision of external maintenance was rotated among several technicians.

Having woken up early, she picked out a few sets of casual clothes in her room, but was not very satisfied with any of them.

In the end, she simply borrowed a light blue uniform from a Morgenroete staff member, the reason being that she had no suitable clothes for going out and could not walk the streets in a ZAFT military uniform.

But in truth, only she knew what special significance the Morgenroete uniform held for her on this land.

Leaving the port, she relied on her memory, wanting to find the footprints she had once walked with Li Boyong.

Strolling through the unfamiliar yet familiar streets, every little detail from their encounter on the island to their reunion in space surfaced in her mind.

With a slightly bitter smile, she wandered while immersed in her memories.

Suddenly, some strange images flashed through her mind.

It seemed to be a scene of her and Li Boyong piloting a strange variable MS together in battle, with pilot suits and mecha she had never seen before, an unfamiliar battlefield, and...

When she tried to continue recalling, a violent headache struck, followed by a discomfort as if her heart were being tightly gripped by something.

"What... is this?"

The more she tried to recall, the more intense the pain in her head and heart became, and Shihe had to give up the intention of trying hard to remember.

Leaning against a roadside tree, she gasped slightly for a few minutes under the strange gazes of passersby before she gradually recovered from that pain.

That intense pain made her, out alone, afraid to try and recall again.

But a strange feeling welled up in her heart.

Ever since she woke up, that feeling from deep within her heart, as if something was missing, seemed to have been filled in just a little bit.

Could it be that some other strange experience had happened to her?

An absurd conjecture rolled around in her mind.

But regardless, her state no longer seemed suitable for continuing to wander around.

The fantasy in her heart of a miraculous reunion with Li Boyong on the streets of Orb was, after all, an unrealistic luxury; Shihe embarked on the return journey to the Minerva with disappointment.

After returning to the Minerva, Shihe returned the Morgenroete uniform and then changed into her own military uniform.

By this time, the physical discomfort caused by the pain had eased a lot. After Shihe went to the cafeteria to eat, she went to the lounge to watch the news about the aftermath of the Junius drop with Shinn and the others.

"Damn it, just looking at the reports from Earth, it's as if we did nothing at all."

Shinn shouted, pointing at the pictures on the news screen.

It was no wonder he was so agitated; the reports from Earth basically did not mention the contributions made by the ZAFT military to prevent the Junius drop.

The pictures and data provided were basically all about the Earth Alliance's efforts to save the crisis.

Looking at the Slaughter Dagger on the screen, wasn't this simply that special unit that raided Armory One?

In order to steal the credit, was the Earth side even prepared to acknowledge the regular establishment of that raiding unit?

Such reckless behavior was simply a manifestation of pure malice!

Regarding Shinn's shouting, no one spoke up to stop him; clearly, they were all very dissatisfied with this.

They sympathized with the plight of the Naturals on Earth, but were clearly very dissatisfied with the actions of the Earth Alliance government, and there was also a hint of hidden worry.

At that time, it was clear that ZAFT had also made great efforts, but the Earth side didn't even mention it. Wasn't this deliberately inciting the public's hatred toward Coordinators?

————

Just like the news reports Shinn and the others saw, the Earth side was now filled with reports unfavorable to Coordinators.

Although under the butterfly effect of Li Boyong, the direct number of casualties from the Junius drop had been reduced from the original tens of millions to the current ten-plus million.

But this was still an extremely huge number. If the public's hatred was not directed at Coordinators, but at the incompetent Earth Alliance government, that would be a very troublesome matter.

Therefore, under various pressures, whether it was the rational faction, the hardline faction, or whatever faction, everyone cooperated to try to guide the public's hatred toward Coordinators.

After all, once there was a common enemy, the public would be more united, which was conducive to stabilizing the social situation.

It's all the fault of the monsters in the sky!

As long as they shouted this slogan, the incompetent government officials could avoid being attacked by the angry public and continue to live their decadent lives with peace of mind.

Even if some rational people realized that public opinion was gradually getting out of control, they could not defy the overall situation.

Just like that, "For a Blue and Pure World," a slogan that Coordinators loathed immensely, began to appear frequently in the mouths of Naturals.

Of course, just guiding the public's hatred was not enough.

At times like this, the public also needed something that could inspire them.

For example, a hero who saved the world during a global crisis.

Wasn't that Slaughter Dagger that frequently appeared in the Alliance reports the best material?

Just like that, with the push from the Lopez Conglomerate, Li Boyong gradually walked into the public's field of vision.

Colonel Neo Roanoke, a soldier wearing a strange mask, gradually became a hero in people's minds under the propaganda of public opinion.

Lunar Base, inside a heavily guarded conference room.

Wang Liumei and Li Boyong were alone, discussing the recent trends in the situation.

"How is it? Hero who saved the world, are you satisfied with this title?" Wang Liumei asked Li Boyong with a hint of teasing.

Today, she was wearing an extremely exaggerated bunny girl outfit.

Her newly matured body was extremely seductive under the adornment of such clothing.

"Stop mocking me. I'm not interested in this kind of false reputation; it's just part of the plan."

Li Boyong replied in a somewhat unnatural voice.

When he first met Wang Liumei and saw her dressed like this, his jaw almost dropped.

He knew Wang Liumei had the habit of changing outfits, but this was truly the first time he had seen such an outrageous getup.

Fortunately, with the mask covering him, after a period of conversation, Li Boyong barely got used to Wang Liumei's outfit today.

It's just...

Those ears and twin tails made his hands itch a little.

And those fishnet stockings...

PRPR...

No, that was close, that was close; he almost entered the Wang Liumei route.

Li Boyong forced himself to calm down again and heard Wang Liumei say: "However, regarding the propaganda about you, that leader seems to have expressed dissatisfaction with my arbitrary actions."

"That's to be expected. After all, I am the great sinner who assassinated an Atlantic Federation councilor; if my true identity were exposed, it wouldn't be a good thing for everyone," Li Boyong replied. "And to him, I'm just a tool controlled by brainwashing technology; gaining so much prestige for nothing is actually detrimental to his control."

"But he doesn't know that you aren't controlled by any so-called brainwashing technology at all," Wang Liumei interjected, while playfully spreading her hands and shrugging.

Li Boyong secretly swallowed his saliva, forced his gaze away from Wang Liumei's shrugging, fair shoulders, and asked: "To what extent has that guy's war plan progressed now?"

"They are currently building up public opinion. Once those things are in place, the government will issue an announcement, and at the same time, the Lunar Fleet will set out to attack the PLANT homeland," Wang Liumei said. "How about it, does the hero who saved the world have any intention of stopping the war?"

"Don't joke around, we aren't prepared for that kind of thing yet," Li Boyong waved his hand. "I won't participate in this farce; I'd better go back to the surface to prepare for the next stage of the plan."

"It seems you are very certain that this surprise attack will end in failure, and you aren't worried at all about Shihe-jie, who is likely on PLANT," Wang Liumei said, winding her hair around her index finger as she stated her judgment.

Regarding Wang Liumei's guess, Li Boyong could only respond with a smile.

This girl was smart enough; she should have guessed some things, but unfortunately, he couldn't give any answer.

Otherwise, if he could communicate with this girl with the advantage of spoilers, he would definitely be able to make a more perfect plan.