Chapter 1080: Chapter 1079: See the Situation Clearly, Recognize Your Value
"......"
Faced with Fang Zheng’s words, the rebels on the other side fell silent for a moment before the curly-haired leader stepped forward.
"If we join you, what will you do?"
"Ougi!"
Hearing the curly-haired man’s words, his follower immediately became agitated.
"Are you really planning to join these people of unknown origin?"
"That’s right."
The curly-haired man nodded.
"Just like he said, everything we’re doing right now... frankly, I can’t see any direction. We fight against Britannia every day, but what are we getting out of it? How many times has this been, and have we succeeded even once? That being the case, I think... maybe it’s better to hear what he has to say. At least, for now, his understanding of the situation is much clearer than ours."
"But..."
Quietly listening to the argument below, Fang Zheng remained silent. He didn’t think highly of these so-called rebel terrorists. If that truck had been carrying a real poison gas instead of that strange green-haired girl, what they did would be undoubtedly a terrorist act, without any room for argument.
Of course, Fang Zheng didn’t agree with their actions, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t understand. Just like the Twin Towers incident in America, when America waged wars in the Middle East, how many people suffered deaths and were forced to flee their homes, families destroyed? Even if only a fraction of them held deep enough hatred towards America, launching such an attack wasn’t unimaginable.
The reason for such actions is simple: America’s geography gives it a natural advantage. They can’t assemble an army to cross the ocean and attack America. And in terms of weapon quality, numbers, and various aspects, those ragtag troops pose no threat to America’s modern military. In such circumstances, retaliating against America is practically a daydream.
Thus, the most cost-effective choice is naturally terrorist attacks.
After the Twin Towers incident, anti-terrorism calls surged, and many didn’t understand why such actions were taken. Indeed, from a political standpoint, it’s inappropriate, but if seen from a "blood for blood" perspective, it makes sense. America’s wars in the Middle East have left countless deaths and families devastated. How many of those victims were innocent civilians?
These people’s actions are quite similar. Considering the Britannian Army’s massacres at the Shinjuku Concentration Camp, this wasn’t the first or second time such things happened. As retaliation, this group trying to steal a poison gas bomb and launch terrorist attacks on Britannian civilians is somewhat expected.
You killed my family, so I make you taste the pain of losing loved ones. An eye for an eye, blood for blood; there’s nothing wrong with that.
Though I wonder, does Britannia have a Twin Tower? If they do, perhaps they could recreate history in another world?
"So, what do we need to do?"
While Fang Zheng was lost in thought, the others had finished arguing, and the man named Ougi seemed to have convinced his companions. He turned his head, looking at Fang Zheng and asked again.
Hearing his question, Fang Zheng responded with a cold smile.
"First, you need to... attend classes."
"... Huh?"
Everyone was taken aback by Fang Zheng’s words, while he leaped down and stood in front of them. Then, he extended his hand and gently waved it, and soon, a 3D image appeared before Fang Zheng.
"First, assume you are a resistance group. What is your political goal?"
Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s question, the group began to ponder. The lead man wanted to answer but was interrupted by Fang Zheng with a wave of his hand.
"If you’re thinking of banishing Britannia and breaking free from the control of the Britannian Empire, that’s possible. But if you want this place to become an independent country again, that’s completely impossible."
"Why?!"
The curly-haired man was shocked by Fang Zheng’s response.
"You’ve probably heard about the situation with those Reapers some time ago."
"Well... we did hear about it."
The curly-haired man nodded, then asked in confusion.
"But weren’t those creatures already exterminated?"
For people living on Earth, the threat brought by the Reapers was far less tangible than those from PLANT, Zeon, and the colonial satellite residents. The latter actually experienced the Reaper’s culling, while the former only read about similar reports on the news or in newspapers, never experiencing it firsthand. After all, the first wave of Reaper invasion on Earth was pushed back at the Lunar Base, followed by another wave, which was annihilated by the fleet led by Fang Zheng, causing no direct impact on Earth’s residents.
To these members of the resistance groups, the metal creature floating in outer space wasn’t as much of a threat as Britannia.
After all, the former was just news, while the latter was a real threat.
For instance, those civilians who were killed by the Britannian Army—they certainly didn’t need to worry about whether the Reapers would wipe out humanity.
Because they were already dead.
"Of course, the Reapers have been eliminated."
Fang Zheng naturally understood what was going on, so he sneered before continuing.
"But who can guarantee that monsters like the Reapers won’t appear again in the future? In this situation, isn’t it foolish for humans to continue killing each other? In fact, the Earth Federation is currently promoting further cooperation for all humanity... Well, I must say, they are not entirely foolish."
If the emergence of the Reapers had any positive significance, it would be precisely this. By invading the Earth Federation’s network, Fang Zheng also saw that the upper echelons of the Earth Federation had finally realized the existence of threats in the universe far more terrifying than any Coordinator, Mutant, or New Humanity, and thus finally began to abandon their original estrangement and attempt to cooperate with each other.
"Therefore, in the current context, deepening cooperation and ultimately forming a unified human government is the trend, and if you jump out to declare independence at this time, no power will support you, and the Earth Federation might even intervene to stop you."
Fang Zheng analyzed the current situation for them, immediately causing a group of people to turn pale. In the end, they were just a bunch of uneducated, ignorant, and shortsighted terrorists. How could they understand something as complex as international relations?
"Then what can we do? According to what you said, are we just destined to live like this forever?"
Soon, the discouraged man with a headband threw his gun on the ground, complaining dejectedly. The curly-haired man remained silent for a moment, then looked at Fang Zheng again.
"Then what did you mean earlier when you said we could escape Britannian control?"
Good, at least someone is thinking clearly.
"As I said, your political demands are incorrect."
Facing the curly-haired man’s inquiry, Fang Zheng waved his hand dismissively.
"If you continue on this path, the Earth Federation will certainly suppress you. But on the other hand, if you switch to a different approach, the Earth Federation might not only refrain from suppression but might even support you to a certain extent."
"Really?!"
Hearing this, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they hurriedly rushed over, staring intently at Fang Zheng.
"What exactly should we do?"
"Don’t be in such a rush."
Seeing the Resistance Group members gathering around, Fang Zheng waved his hand again, signaling them to stay in place.
"Let’s start with the current situation of the Earth Federation..."
Since Fang Zheng said he would help them, he naturally did his homework. In fact, before these people arrived, Fang Zheng had already thoroughly researched the recent history of this world by hacking into the network.
Originally, this world only had the Earth Federation, which at the time consisted of the Eurasian Federation, the Atlantic Federation, and the Chinese Federation. Britannia was the leader of the Atlantic Federation. At the time, because Britannia had the strongest national power and the most advanced technology, it also held the dominant position within the Earth Federation.
And the Nightmare Mecha was also first invented by Britannia. Subsequently, to seize the resources needed for the Nightmare Mecha, they invaded Japan and turned it into District 11. Afterward, Britannia, having seized the resources, began a path of monopoly.
If everything had gone smoothly, then Britannia unifying the Jianghu for generations would have been just around the corner.
Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Just a few years ago, the occurrence of a time-space quake changed everything.
Due to the fusion with another world, many problems arose. For example, Zeon, and the emergence of the Earth Federation Army from that world, quickly altered the original power comparison. The other world did not fully merge with this world. In fact, only a portion of the forces from the other world arrived due to the time-space quake.
And quite "coincidentally," most of these belonged to the sphere of influence of East Asia and Europe from that world.
People, you see, always like to seek out their own kind. For instance, even if Asuna and her group time traveled to a parallel world, they would still like to visit Japan. Fang Zheng also likes to tour the lands of China in another world. These pilots and legions would certainly seek out familiar forces to turn to.
So now, Britannia was at a loss.
Zeon and PLANT, because of similar values and mutual hostility toward the Earth Federation, aligned with each other, while most of the Federation’s forces turned to the Chinese Federation and Eurasian Federation. Ironically, Britannia, which had been prominent within the Earth Federation, only got some scraps.
In the wake of technological exchanges with that parallel world, the Eurasian Federation and Chinese Federation soon developed their own Mobile Suits, freeing themselves from Britannia’s stranglehold on resource distribution. They also manufactured warships and legions containing their own technology.
As a result, Britannia, having failed to obtain the technological foundation, fell significantly behind in this technological arms race. Originally, if things continued this way, in another three to five years, regardless of what happened with PLANT, the Atlantic Federation’s influence in the global government would have been completely eroded by the Eurasian Federation in conjunction with the Chinese Federation.
Unfortunately, the arrival of the Reapers shattered this beautiful blueprint. During the previous Earth-Moon defense battle, the Eurasian Federation and Chinese Federation expended most of their forces to fight the Reapers. Ironically, because they were "less technologically advanced," it was the Atlantic Federation, responsible for ground defense due to not engaging in space combat, that benefited and suffered little loss...
Hmm? Why does this scenario feel so familiar?
If we compare the Reapers to the Axis Powers, and the Eurasian and Chinese Federations to the Allies...
Isn’t this another form of historical repetition?
If things continue like this, then with Britannia at the helm, the Atlantic Federation regaining influence within the Earth Federation would just be a matter of time.
This is naturally not what the other two sides wish to see.
And this also provided Fang Zheng with room to maneuver.