Chapter 113: I Want Them All (Not Really)
"Where did this one called Quattro Bajeena come from? I can't find out anything about him at all." Lelouch paced back and forth in the room, acting a bit annoyed, "Mr. Frontal, do you have any clues?"
"I did gather some information on my side." Char took out a stack and handed it to Lelouch, "This man first came to prominence during the One Year War and participated in many important battles. After the war, he seemed to have disappeared, but he joined the Prime Minister's Office in a behind-the-scenes role. Now that TITANS is in charge, I'm afraid he is appearing as the face of another force in the Federation Army. It is said that this man, Captain Quattro, is very resourceful, intelligent, sketchy with things, and calculating, so we must take him seriously."
"Targeted by a troublesome man." Lelouch flipped through the information in his hand and fell into a deep thought, after a long time, he slowly spoke, "With the recruited men and the supplies you supplied, we are already in a tight spot to deal with Britannia. If the Earth Federation army really wants to make a move, then we can't afford to support two fronts at all."
"I have a different idea." Char pushed his sunglasses and said in a deep voice, "We are not a match for Britannia in the first place, I don't think it's a bad thing for the Federation army to join in. The more muddy the water is, the better it is for us."
"Oh?" Lelouch's eyes brightened up. He immediately figured out the trick, "You are right, the man's original target should be TITANS, but TITANS is too large, he can not act rashly against it, so he chose the Black Knights to find a breakthrough and play on the issue. "
"That's exactly what happened." Char smiled faintly, "To us, Captain Quattro isn't an enemy, but—"
"— but someone we can work with." Lelouch also smiled out confidently, "As long as we can contact him, we can completely convince him to put on a show with the Black Knights, or even swipe each other's battle records over and over again. The Black Knights can make a name, and he can gain importance in the Federation. It's a win-win situation."
"You actually thought of this step?" Char made a surprised and slightly reluctant look, "I also only vaguely thought there was a possibility of cooperation, I haven't thought of how to take advantage of this, it's really remarkable."
Lelouch turned his back to Char and disdainfully brushed his mouth, when he turned around, his face had been replaced with a sincere smile, "Mr. Frontal, you've been doing underground work for so many years, there is a lot I can learn from you."
"There is no need to comfort me, I know myself, the future is for you young people." Char waved his hand expansively, "I can find where Captain Quattro is and contact him. I have accumulated some available channels after all these years."
"Then I'll trouble you." Lelouch didn't dwell on this, "I can foresee that the Black Knights are about to have a big opportunity, and we are a big step closer to our ultimate goal."
"Lelouch, you are truly one of the smartest people I've ever met, and I probably shouldn't say that." Char posed as if he was imparting life lessons, "But I hope you won't let your sense of other factors interfere with our grand plan for revenge. Suzaku Kururugi is still a knight of the round table of Britannia after all, and his feelings for Princess Euphemia are not ordinary."
"I don't need you to say this. I certainly understand it." Lelouch's voice was incomparably cold, "He is a very good source of information, and I will use him if necessary."
Char nodded gratefully at his words.
"Now that we're done with business, let's relax a bit." Lelouch took out a chess set from under the table and put it on the table, confidently setting the black pieces in front of himself, "Mr. Frontal, are you interested in playing a game with me?"
Half an hour later, Char wiped the sweat vaguely visible on his forehead, pushed down his king helplessly, and let out a long breath, "Give up."
The corners of Lelouch's mouth rose slightly, and as usual, he extended his hand to shake Char's hand, "Mr. Frontal, you are good enough to have fought me to this point. In my countless games so far, only one person has narrowly defeated me, so you don't have to feel frustrated."
Char could guess with his eyes closed that it was Schneizel, but he didn't press the issue, instead, he kept lamenting, "The younger generation will suppress the older. You are also the second person who has beaten me so far, and I am convinced of my loss."
"Mr. Frontal, you're indeed a master, I wonder who was the first one to win over you?" Lelouch showed extreme interest. He had always regarded chess as evidence of his superior intelligence, and did not want to see any master who was not defeated by him.
"That's what I met on the Anaheim Game Matchmaking Platform a few years ago." Char fell into a faint memory, "I remember that person's ID was called … Woundwort."
Sending Char off, Lelouch was alone in the room, quietly doing his deduction. As more and more forces joined this chessboard, the complexity of the situation would increase geometrically, and even with his intelligence, it would take quite a bit of brainpower.
"Once Quattro is involved, it's only a matter of time before TITANS enters, and I lack access to the information of the Earth Federation. Frontal, you think this will limit me?" Lelouch sneered to himself, "But you'd never guess that I've already found a way to hook up with Char Aznable."
After finishing his thought, Lelouch rearranged the chessboard and played with himself. Unable to find an opponent but to use himself as an opponent, invincibility makes him feel so lonely.
"Full Frontal, Char Aznable, Quattro Bajeena, Paptimus Scirocco, Schneizel Britannia." His long fingers swept over the pieces, tapping on one with each name, "You are all in my calculations."
He picked up the piece called Suzaku Kururugi and landed it heavily on the board, and barked at the king called Charles Britannia, "Checkmate."
It was time to go back to see his sister after this game, but then Lelouch suddenly remembered the master Char had said and felt some itch to play. He turned on his computer and skillfully logged into the Anaheim Game Platform. As a chess enthusiast, he naturally had an account on the largest matchmaking platform in the solar system, and his rank was quite high. As for his win rate - it was a frightening zero loss.
He typed in "Woundwort" in the search bar of players and was surprised to find this person online, so he initiated a match. "Woundwort" agreed readily and took the initiative to play black in the backhand.
"Still so arrogant when you see my win rate?" Lelouch's gaze became cold and penetrating, "You will pay for your arrogance."
Half an hour later, Lelouch watched dumbfounded as his king was eaten by the opponent's piece, so shocked that he couldn't move and forgot to wipe the sweat on his forehead. The one called Woundwort quickly left the room, and the status showed that he was currently —
"Playing gobang in the newbie area?!" Lelouch exclaimed in disbelief, "That's ridiculous!"
…
"Ahhhhhhhh, lost again!" Ange slapped the table unhappily, "Ade, help me get revenge!"
"This is the newbie area already, my Miss Friday." Ade had hugged Ange on his legs for a long time. To be honest, his thighs are very sore, but he can not speak it out, otherwise, someone will blow up again, "I, the great Dr. Lingus, actually reduced to the point of playing gobang in the newbie area. If anyone knows it, I will be too ashamed to go out from now on."
"Who knows it's your account if you don't talk about it? Who knows what Woundwort means?" Ange squirmed restlessly, "Do you feel aggravated to avenge me? Dr. Lingus is great, huh?"
"Oh, if my various certificates are stacked up, they can be higher than your breasts." Ade sighed helplessly, took the mouse, and chose to launch another challenge. The opposite side probably thought that he could abuse this rookie again and happily accepted.
The battle was so one-sided that it got a little boring. Ange just felt that the opposite side was so miserable that even she couldn't look at it anymore, so she took the initiative to change the topic, "Is that guy just now very powerful?"
"Quite impressive, didn't you see that his win rate is 100%?" Ade absentmindedly clicked the mouse, "Though he is not as good as me."
"Hmph, look how proud you are." Ange smiled proudly, "Ade, why are you so good?"
"This kind of game, where all the rules can be digitized, is too easy for me, it's just a comparison of calculations. At this point, Alice is much stronger than me." Ade casually threw down the mouse, "Won. I avenged you."
"That's awesome!" Ange lifted her head and gave him a hard kiss on the cheek, "One more, this time, I'll win."
An unbearable rookie matching was staged in front of his eyes, and what was even scarier was that Friday was even more "rookie-like" than the opposite side.
"Don't place your piece here, he'll move like this." Realizing that Ange was going to lose again, for the sake of his account's win rate, he couldn't help but point out, "I'm quite surprised you can read chess."
"I'm a princess, princess, do you understand?" Ange protested loudly, her voice getting smaller and smaller, "But I just know the rules. I can't win against anyone."
"Sorry, I often forget that setting." Ade reached out and stroked the young girl's soft hair, "But you do look a little more like a princess after the hair is grown longer."
"What do you mean, like a princess? I'm a real princess!" Ange abruptly got up from Ade and ran to the other end of the room to open the luggage and rummage around, "You don't believe me, do you? Wait for me, don't turn around without my permission!"
After Ade took the mouse and played the game quickly, the man he was playing chess with came back to challenge him, but he decisively refused. He browsed the news for a while, until the sound of Ange clapping her hands came from behind him.
Ade turned his chair, and then froze. Princess Ange in front of him was wearing a blue and white dress in a gorgeous style, with white silk gloves covering her arms. Her legs were wrapped in pure white stockings, and her feet were wearing a pair of exquisite high heels, with a necklace around her neck and earrings in her ears, she looked noble and elegant.
Ange picked up the hem of her skirt and gave a slight salute, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Ade."
Ade's mouth opened and closed like a fish that had landed, but he didn't know what to say, and only after half a day did he come up with the sentence, "Why did you stuff this outfit inside the luggage?"
"This is bought by Momoka. She said as a princess, I must prepare a dress like this." Ange said and spun around in place, the skirt slightly raised a little from the centrifugal force, "It's too embarrassing to dress up at home, so I didn't wear it. How about it? Ade, is it good-looking?"
Ade nodded desperately, looking a bit silly. Ange could not help but elegantly cover her mouth and smile. The young lady moved lightly in front of him and stretched out her right hand to slightly scratch his cheek, the silky touch of the glove made him jolt.
"We still have almost two hours before the meeting with Ms. Haman." Ange leaned down and whispered softly in his ear, "Her Highness is running low on intelligence again lately, can you educate her properly?"
The opening of the young girl's dress was very low, and the "white" in front of Ade made him feel dizzy. He swallowed hard with the sound of rapid breathing.
"Don't break the dress." These were the last words he remembered.
So unsurprisingly, the meeting with Haman was postponed.
"Let the Speaker of the Supreme Council wait for you for an hour." Haman looked at him with more than a sneer, "Lingus, what do you want to say?"
"I'm not feeling well, please excuse me." Ade coughed awkwardly, "I'm really very sorry."
"Lying about not feeling well, you even forgot that I am an NT, did something happen to lower your IQ?" Haman seemed to be in a good mood and smiled when she said, "Since your apology is sincere, then forget it. After all, I also owe you a favor."
Haman, who had been in a hurry to settle the civil unrest, was suddenly told that the culprit of the civil unrest had been killed, and the rest neither ran away nor surrendered and were overwhelmed by Haman's harsh tactics. All of a sudden, P.L.A.N.T.'s political situation became unprecedentedly stable and united.
After that, Haman immediately launched the public opinion campaign that she is good at, and under the bombardment of the paid Internet trolls, firstly, someone made the meme that all the chairmen of P.L.A.N.T. would die in an accident, and then she was hailed as the "great woman who broke the curse of the chairmen."
She then took advantage of the public opinion to launch a vigorous rectification campaign in the government and the army, and with the help of Ade, she arrested all the suspected people he had an impression of, and replaced them with her own beloved.
"You saved P.L.A.N.T. from a civil war, I owe you a great debt of gratitude." Haman's voice was sincere, "I accept all of your conditions, and I will support you unconditionally when you need me."
"Thank you." Ade also bowed his head sincerely. Any words would be superfluous at a time like this, Haman was a much higher ranked NT than Char and naturally understood how heavy the weight of these two words was.
"For insurance reasons, I need to set up a liaison in the moon, preferably someone we can trust, so you can immediately contact me if there is an emergency." Haman suggested, "Lunamaria or Meyrin, you choose one."
Ade answered decisively without thinking, "I want none of them. Can you give me a male liaison instead?"
