Why would I join the army if I can’t drive a Gundam!

Chapter 337 The Man Who Deceived the World
The situation in Zum City changed so quickly that the citizens of Zeon had no time to process it. One second they were shocked that the respected Minister Ramball had been assassinated, and the next they learned that the minister was fine and that it was just a smokescreen put out by the remnants to disrupt public order and life.

In the third second, everyone was shocked to see a large number of federal troops appear in the streets and alleys of Zim City. They said they were there to carry out a special mission. These soldiers just stood around in the streets and alleys and did not affect the lives of the citizens. In fact, the soldiers would even buy food and other souvenirs from the streets and alleys.

They claimed they were there for tourism, but a large number of heavily armed troops surrounded various government offices.

While the citizens of Zim were still in shock, another piece of news arrived: the remnants of the Zabi family, unwilling to accept defeat, had colluded with some scoundrels within the Republic's government in an attempt to carry out subversive activities.

Now everyone was on edge. After all, in general, if something like this happened, the city of Zim might have to impose martial law or a curfew, and prices would even rise significantly. There was no way around it; the local people had experienced similar situations countless times before.

So, without paying attention to what would happen next, everyone rushed to the supermarket to buy daily necessities and even items like space survival kits. But when they got there, they found that the market prices hadn't changed at all.
At this point, everyone finally noticed the last piece of news: all the rebels had been arrested, and apart from a one-month external lockdown, there were no other martial law orders for Zim.

The civilians of Zim felt a little unreal. After all, so many things happened that day, yet they had no impact whatsoever. In the past, there would have been life-or-death battles in the streets, and they might have even had to turn off the temperature control to make it snow, or use riot control armored vehicles to spray water everywhere.

As for daily necessities, it goes without saying that Hamon had made preparations in advance, and Markarius had approved the use of reserves through his authority. Therefore, even a month-long lockdown would not have a significant impact on Zim City.

Of course, it's not impossible to say that it has no impact at all. After all, sealing off Zum means that the entire colony can only enter but not leave for a month. This will be quite troublesome for civilians who are engaged in trade or business trips. But no matter how troublesome it is, it must be overcome. After all, Makarius sealed off Zum mainly to prevent any hidden Zeon spies from tipping him off.

Moreover, this blockade was another tactical deception against Mark Bey, aimed at indirectly verifying the authenticity of the intelligence in Mark Bey's hands. If Markarius ignored Zum and simply wiped out the remaining party members before retreating, it would inevitably make Mark Bey suspicious. If important intelligence had been lost, why didn't you carry out a thorough purge at home and instead retreat so easily? There was clearly something wrong with that!

Therefore, Makarius can only suffer the hardships of the people of Zeon. As for the infamy, let Prime Minister Darcia bear it. The old man's resignation is a foregone conclusion, and there is no chance of any comeback. This can be considered as an exchange for the Federation not sentencing Monahan to death. So, let the old man make the most of his remaining value before he leaves.

In fact, Makarius was quite easy to talk to. During the blockade of Zeon, his troops basically did not shoot or kill anyone because it was completely unnecessary. All the arrest operations were either carried out by intelligence agency special forces or by mobile suits clearing the way with a punch. The former could at least be accompanied by a few warnings, while the latter was just a deliberate punch.

After some of the troublemakers were hammered to death, the rest of the arrests were much easier. Of course, Makarius had his own less-than-easy preparations. Outside the satellite, he had left a large squadron of mobile suits carrying heat-insulating film dispensing devices. These devices should be familiar to the Zeon, as the Zeon army had used them to coat the outer walls of the satellite when they were at Deifius Island.

Of course, Makarius had no intention of dropping the colony satellites off Earth, but he did make a show of wanting to throw them into the sun.

Otherwise, why would Ramball take the initiative to find him? It was all to kowtow to this guy at a crucial moment. He even secretly sent a message to Sera, who then took an express flight back to Zeon.

Although Makarius didn't actually intend to do it, many people clearly took it seriously, especially the Federation officers and soldiers who had heard Nagase Ying's explanation. As a result, Makarius was treated like a precious treasure during his days in Zeon. During the day, the captains of the fleet would come to feed him snacks from time to time, and at night he could enjoy the gentle comfort of Ramball. Everyone racked their brains to coax him. Even Char couldn't help but say in private that the pain of the past would never happen again.

Amuro was the only one who was carefree enough to snatch snacks from Macarius, because he didn't sense any crazy destructive mentality from Macarius at all.

However, Makarius did not offer any further explanation, as there was nothing to explain. After capturing the remnants of the Zum City, he convened another operational meeting targeting the Macbeth fleet.

"The lockdown of Zum is just the first step!"

In the conference room, Markarius, who was drinking the health tea that Sera had brewed for him, put down the teacup and said in a deep voice.

"We need to create another false impression for him from the sidelines, making him even more convinced that the information he has is true. That way, he will fall into our trap without any precautions!"

"Therefore, we still need Anaheim's help!"

"But those guys are still colluding with the remnants of the party. Wouldn't it be better if we just wiped them all out in one fell swoop?"

"The idea is good, but unfortunately, the Federation needs Anaheim, and we need Anaheim too!"

Being an enemy of Anaheim is not contradictory to defeating Anaheim. In fact, what the Federation should eliminate is the Vist Group that controls Anaheim, not Anaheim itself. The latter is an important part of the Federation's social welfare system, providing a huge number of jobs and playing a vital role in maintaining social stability!

"So, we'll proceed according to the original plan? But will the remnants fall for it?"

"Definitely. Right now, we're playing our cards right in front of Mark Bay. He'll be paying close attention to our every move because it's all about whether he can keep his head. So, if we move, he'll have to follow suit!"

"Understood. I'll contact the headquarters in Gabro right away!"

Marcarius's second step was also to help Mark Bay indirectly confirm the information, but the target became Anaheim. His plan was to directly contact Earth using communication codes and request that they take over the GP03D Dendrobium orchid and add it to the next phase of the operation.

At the same time, he also needed to requisition the mobile space dock Labian Ross, manufactured by Anaheim Electronics. It was a large support vessel equipped with a huge living area and nuclear pulse engines, capable of self-propelled navigation, and essentially a mobile logistics base.

In addition, he also needs to mobilize the Luna II garrison, the Earth orbital fleet, and other forces. These tasks cannot be accomplished by a brigadier general alone; they require the cooperation of the Federation Army Headquarters.

Such a high-profile mobilization could not possibly have escaped the notice of Mark Bay and the remaining intelligence agents within Anaheim. At this point, he would certainly have no doubt about the data model in his hands.

Then, the moment of the final battle arrived!
The data model that Markarius prepared for Macbeth wasn't particularly precise, but its general parameters were correct. In fact, strictly speaking, it wasn't much different from the minaret's positioning system. The only difference was the determination of its relative coordinate system. After all, celestial bodies in the universe are constantly in motion, so there can't be any stationary coordinates for use in space travel.

Therefore, the system in Mark Bay's possession can lead him into a special space region within the Reef Space Domain. There is nothing particularly special about that place, except that the space is relatively hidden and there is a secret path leading to near-Earth orbit. This data was collected by the Federation Forces when they were searching for the Delaz fleet. Macarius has already scouted the location in the Z Gundam. The place is excellent. Once Mark Bay goes in, he will never have a chance to come out alive!
Soon, Makarius's report was submitted to the Gabro headquarters. The old men at headquarters were naturally aware of his entire battle plan, so they cooperated fully.

"Then let's have a mobilization exercise. Anyway, those guys won't understand what we're trying to do. As long as we get moving, that's enough!"

"But wouldn't the strike group be a bit short-handed? Should we take this opportunity to send some reinforcements to Brigadier General Makarius?"

Tianm stroked his mustache and asked Rebil, who was standing beside him.

"Okay, then send two more squadrons to join him!"

Rebil nodded. So far, Makarius had done a good job, especially in eliminating the biggest cancer within the Zeon Republic. Although the personnel had not yet been transferred to Earth due to the need for secret operations, for the Federation Council, capturing the person was enough!

The speaker has even offered to promote Makarius to a higher rank and award him a commendation, which is quite rare for the parliament!

"Furthermore, I think it's time to put the investigation into Anaheim on the agenda!"

"There's no rush for now. Once Makarius takes action, those guys in Anaheim will get restless too. If we're going to sweep, we'll sweep up the trash clean. But for now, we can't let them notice anything amiss!"

Then, an order from the Union Army's Gabro headquarters flew into the von Braun branch in Anaheim.

The large-scale base defense MA Dendrobium, which has been completed, will be officially handed over to the strike battle group. Makarius is now racing against time to get to the moon, while Anaheim must complete the preparation of the machine before they arrive, and at the same time complete the preparation for the departure of the large dock ship Labianros!

After this order was issued, the von Braun branch was also thrown into turmoil, because the normal procedure for transferring the machine was for Anaheim to hand it over to the Federation General Armaments Logistics Department for a final inspection, and only after confirming that there were no problems would it be handed over to the front-line combat troops.

Now, Makarius has skipped this process entirely, which clearly indicates that they urgently need such a machine to supplement the fleet's combat power.

So, what situation could have led a fleet led by the Federation's top ace, consisting entirely of brand-new warships, with top-notch personnel and equipment, to require such an urgent replenishment of combat power?

Furthermore, at the same time that von Braun received this order, the Federation Earth Orbit Defense Fleet and the Luna II Fleet also began large-scale mobilizations. On the space route, civilian ships could only clearly see the silhouettes of the Federation warships moving around. What does this mean?
"Okay, okay, okay, okay!"

While ordinary people were worried about this strange situation, Mr. O'Sullivan did not think so. On the contrary, he was in a good mood and wanted to sway a few times while walking to show his good mood.

"War, war is good! Without war, how would we have the chance to make a fortune!"

"I can't believe that Mark Bay actually did it! Even the Federation Army's top ace was defeated by him!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, this is truly unprecedented!"

"Yes, now we need to find a way to replenish Mark Bay's equipment! The Federation fleet has already been mobilized, he's definitely no match for them. We need to find a way to help him, otherwise, how will we expand production after this battle is over in a few days?"

"Leave this to me. I'll figure out a way to get him in touch! I guarantee the mission will be accomplished!"

Mark Bay’s close drinking buddy, Grenada’s former general manager, Sindeman, immediately patted his chest and made a guarantee.

"Also, Mr. O'Sullivan, I think we could also hand over those two machines to Mark Bay and the others!"

"What if, I mean what if, they take out that Federation ace, Makarius!"

"You're right, but can they really do it?"

"We should at least give it a try. Maybe we'll just get lucky. Even if we can't take them down, those two machines will still boost their combat power, enough to give the Federation a headache. If the war can reach a stalemate..."

"Alright, you don't need to say anything more. Give it to him, but don't forget my request!"

"It's natural!"

As O'Sullivan spoke, he stood up. In the sky outside the porthole, a huge spaceship that looked like a flower was parked on its orbit. Not far below the window, in the massive research and development factory, a strange machine with a design more like Zeon was being pulled out of the hangar by a transport vehicle.

(End of this chapter)