The aroma of dinner filled the small Simmons kitchen, bringing a comforting warmth. Sally placed the last plate of perfectly roasted vegetables on the table, the soft overhead light casting a warm glow over her busy figure.

"Aiden, eat more vegetables. You've been studying so hard lately." Sally placed the largest roasted carrot on Aiden's plate, her eyes filled with concern. "You looked a little off when I came back this afternoon. Was the library too boring?"

Aiden's grip on his fork tightened. The aroma of the food on his plate felt like a heavy burden. He forced a smile, trying to sound relaxed and natural. "It's okay, Mom. I'm just... a little tired from reading." He lowered his head, fiddling with the carrot chunks with his fork, not daring to meet his mother's gentle eyes. The immense secret weighed heavily on his chest, making every breath a carefully disguised one. "By the way, Mom..." he said casually, his voice a little dry. "Yesterday... I was sorting through some old things, and I came across a picture of Dad."

The air in the restaurant seemed to freeze for a moment. Sally's hand holding the spoon paused, and the smile on her face faded, covered by an indescribable complex of emotions: a mixture of nostalgia and a deep, hidden sadness that Aiden couldn't quite decipher.

"Oh?" Sally's voice softened, her eyes falling on the pattern of the tablecloth. "Really? Which one?"

"It was... wearing white clothes, in a place that looked like a laboratory..." Aiden tried to recall the vague fragments that flashed through his mind, cautiously testing his heart, his chest pounding. "Dad... what did he do for a living? I don't think you've ever mentioned him."

Sally was silent for a few seconds, the air so still that only the ticking of the clock on the wall could be heard. She sighed softly and raised her eyes, her gaze somewhat vague, as if gazing into the distant past. "He was... a researcher. Very smart, always lost in his own world." Her fingers unconsciously stroked the edge of the table. "At a research institute in Von Braun City... He wasn't very forthcoming about what he did, and I don't really understand those esoteric things." Her voice carried a subtle hint of fatigue and evasion. "Later... due to work, he moved very far away, making it difficult to contact him." She paused, her tone softening yet firm again, with a mother's protectiveness as she quickly ended the subject. "Let the past be the past, Aiden. We have each other now, and that's enough. Eat quickly, it's getting cold."

Von Braun City! Aiden's heart leaped. The name instantly connected with the data card in his pocket! His father had worked there! This couldn't be a coincidence! He suppressed the urge to question, nodded obediently, and buried his head in his food, which tasted like chewing wax. Sally's reaction confirmed his suspicions—everything about his father was shrouded in a deliberately vague fog, carrying an unearthly aura. The blue card seemed to come alive in his pocket, its coldness burning his skin.

It was late at night, and the simulated moonlight outside filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting a pale streak of light on the floor. Sally's door had long been closed. Aiden held his breath, making sure there was no sound outside. Then, like a thief, he slipped silently to the desk and turned on the slightly outdated home computer.

He took a deep breath, his fingertips trembling slightly as he pulled the scratched blue data card from his pocket. The touch of the cool metal perked him up. He carefully inserted it into the card reader on the side of the computer.

Buzz—

The computer's fan instantly sped up, emitting a low hum even louder than usual. The screen lit up, displaying the standard removable storage device icon. Aiden clicked on the icon, revealing a single, encrypted file, a long, meaningless string of letters and numbers. He double-clicked it.

The screen suddenly went black! Then, a glaring red window popped up, filling the center of the screen like a cold warning:

[Access Denied - ERR 0xC0DE EAGLE NEST]

[Unauthorized access attempt detected. Data protected by the highest level (Kite Nest) protocol.]

[Please contact your system administrator or obtain the appropriate key.]

Beneath the bright red text, a dazzlingly complex, rotating dynamic lock pattern, composed of countless tiny geometric shapes and ever-shifting energy lines, exuding a cold, unapproachable aura.

"Kite Nest Protocol?" Aiden muttered the unfamiliar term, his heart sinking. This was no ordinary encryption! He tried every naive method he could think of—entering the original owner, Aiden's, birthday, Sally's birthday, even variations of the name "Simon." The red warning box remained motionless, offering no feedback at all. Only the cold, silent, dynamic lock mocked him.

Undeterred, he attempted a forced bypass, searching online for cracking methods and even trying several gadgets he'd found that claimed to crack standard encryption. The results were even worse. While running one of the tools, the computer screen suddenly flickered violently, as if a connection was broken, emitting a crackling noise. The fan spun to its limit, emitting a sharp whistle, and the entire computer began to heat up!

"Hello! Hello!" The red orb, previously quietly waiting in the corner, suddenly issued a rapid alarm, its electronic eyes flashing red. "Danger! Hello! Dangerous intrusion detected! System overload! Hello! Danger! Stop immediately! Hello!"

Eden was so frightened that he quickly force-quit all programs and removed the data card. The computer screen flickered a few times before slowly returning to normal, and the fan noise gradually subsided. Hello's alarm stopped, its electronic eye returning to a soft blue glow. He rolled his eyes in confusion. "...Danger clear? Hello?"

Cold sweat soaked Aiden's back. He stared at the silent data card in his hand, now more like a silent Pandora's box filled with unknown dangers. He held it to the desk lamp, meticulously examining every detail. Squinting in the bright light, he carefully traced a finger beneath a particularly deep scratch on the edge of the card.

There, in the subtle grooves of the metal card casing, a tiny, almost worn-out mark seemed to be engraved. He picked up a small, high-powered magnifying glass Amuro had forgotten on his desk (he used it to examine circuit boards) and pointed it at that spot.

In the magnified view, a faint logo emerged: an abstract, geometric model of atomic orbits orbiting a tiny planet silhouette. Below it was a line of tiny, almost indistinguishable initials: [V.B. R&D]. V.B. R&D? Von Braun Research & Development? Aiden's heartbeat quickened again. This confirmed his mother's words, and it once again pointed the card to that technological powerhouse on the moon—Von Braun City! Just what kind of secrets had his father left behind?!

Lunchtime at school was as bustling as ever. Sunlight streamed through the vast dome skylight into the cafeteria, and the air mingled with the smell of food and the chatter of young boys and girls. Aiden, carrying his plate, tried to blend in with the seemingly carefree atmosphere, but the cold touch of the data card in his pocket and the shadow of last night's failed decryption weighed on his heart like a lead weight.

"Hey, Aiden! Look at this!" Kai Sidon hurriedly carried his plate and squeezed in to sit next to him, triumphantly slapping a brand new plastic model on the table—a model of a Salamis-class cruiser, its sleek lines and towering guns. "I just had to beg my dad to buy it yesterday! Cool, right? This is a man's romance! The backbone of the Federation Space Force!" He mimicked the sound of a battleship firing. "Boom, boom, boom! That Zeon junk, one shot will send it back to the furnace!"

Flau Poe sat across from Aiden, nibbling on her vegetable salad. Her gaze shifted from Gai's model to Aiden's face. Aiden twitched his lips in agreement, saying, "Pretty cool," but the smile never reached his eyes. Instead, there was a heaviness and... worry that Frau couldn't understand. It connected to his pale, evasive appearance in the library. Frau's slender fingers unconsciously clenched the plastic fork, slightly deforming the small potted plant leaves that served as decoration on the edge of the plate. She hesitated for a moment, then spoke softly, "Aiden, are you... really okay? I've always felt like you've been worried these past few days."

Aiden's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly shook his head, trying to cover it up by eating gulps of food. "It's okay, it's okay. I'm just... uh, trying to figure out a difficult math problem." The excuse was weak. "Math problems?" Hayato Kobayashi, sitting next to Frau, raised his head, pushed his glasses, and asked seriously. "Which chapter is it from? Maybe we can discuss..."

"Hey, you nerds!" Kai interrupted him impatiently, waving his model battleship. "Why are you thinking about that? I'm telling you, my dad said another batch of reinforced armor plates for the Luna II arrived at the port yesterday! Do you know how thick that stuff is?" He gestured exaggeratedly. "Those little Zeon water cannons aren't even enough to tickle us! They only dare to yell a few words on TV. If there's a real fight? Humph, our Federation fleet can crush them with just ramming!" The contempt and confidence in his tone were as matter-of-fact as the aroma of French fries wafting through the cafeteria.

Looking at Kai's beaming, unwavering faith, and listening to the occasional chuckles and teasing of Zeon's "country bumpkins" from his classmates, Aiden felt a cold sense of powerlessness once again. They lived like they were trapped within a transparent glass case, oblivious to the approaching storm, mocking the hazy shadows outside. He couldn't help but speak, his voice a little hoarse: "Kai... your dad works at the port. Has he... has he heard any bad news? For example... are Zeon's mobile suits really that weak?" He struggled to choose his words, trying to pry open a crack without exposing himself.

Kai's eyes widened like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. "Hey! Aiden! What do you mean? Are you buying into those boastful Zeon propaganda films?" He slammed the table, his voice rising. "My dad said it! Federation intelligence shows that Zeon's mobile suits are just clumsy, underpowered targets! No match for our battleships!"

Just then, a deep, hoarse voice, thick with the scent of alcohol, interrupted, like a bucket of cold water poured over Kai's head.

"Targets? Humph!"

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. Kai's father—a slightly overweight middle-aged man in oil-stained port work clothes—had suddenly appeared at their table. His face was flushed, his eyes clouded with fatigue from work and alcohol, and he held a half-empty bottle of wine. He'd clearly come to see Kai and had overheard his son's outburst. Kai's face flushed crimson in a flash, a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. "Dad! You... why are you here?"

The man ignored his son's embarrassment. His bloodshot eyes swept over the battleship model on Kai's desk, his lips curling into a sardonic, bitter grin. "Reinforced armor plates? Haha... boy, do you know how many times those masters up there have changed the alloy formula for that batch of armor plates? Just to save a few fucking credits!" He took a swig of his wine, his voice thick with suppressed indignation. "The defective rate is appalling! Some of the ones I've inspected didn't even meet the standard thickness! They even collided with corners and crushed Zeon!"

His calloused fingers nearly jabbed at Kai's nose, the reek of alcohol gushing out. "Your father is at the port every day, I see more than you do! Federation? Ha! The resupply request for Luna II Fortress has been held up by those Earth bureaucrats for three months! Three months! The guys on the front lines are practically puking on compressed biscuits!" He grew increasingly agitated, his voice a bit abrupt in the cafeteria, drawing a few glances. "A new railgun?" He scoffed, pointing at the imposing barrel on the model. "The coils are made of damn recycled copper! The heat dissipation design is flawed! It'll break after just a few rounds! Are Zeon mobile suits weak?" A complex glint flashed in his cloudy eyes, a mixture of fear and resentment. "The Port Guard secretly conducted simulated confrontations! Our latest sphere maneuvering pod is a sitting duck against their Zaku's drill data! Every shot is a sure hit! The target is us!"

These words were like thunderbolt, shattering the dining table into a dead silence. The color drained from Kai's face in an instant, leaving only the pale, humiliating shock of being exposed in public by his father. His lips trembled as he tried to retort, but no words came out. Frau and Kobayashi's eyes widened in shock, clearly hearing such deflating and cruel inside information for the first time.

Aiden's heart sank to the bottom. There was no surprise, only cold confirmation. Every word of Kai's father's drunken accusations was like a cold nail, hammering the "prophetic" information he had gleaned from his memory about the Federation's corruption, bloat, underestimation of the enemy, and the initial advantages of Zeon mobile suits into the very reality before his eyes! This wasn't just a fantasy, but a bloody, present-day hidden danger!

"Dad! You've had too much to drink! What nonsense!" Kai finally found his voice, sobbing and furious, as he abruptly stood up, trying to pull his father away to avoid further embarrassment.

The man stumbled at his son's tug, then, seemingly realizing his loss of composure, irritably shook Kai's hand away, muttering, "You little bastard, you know nothing..." He took another swig of his drink and staggered out of the cafeteria.

A heavy, awkward silence enveloped the table. Kai lowered his head, his shoulders trembling slightly, filled with shame and indignation. Frau looked worriedly at Kai, then at Aiden, noticing that Aiden's expression was even more solemn than before. Deep within his eyes swirled a sense of urgency far beyond his years, bordering on despair. It wasn't simply discomfort over this embarrassing family episode, as she and Kai shared. He seemed to hear a kind of doomsday knell in Kai's father's angry, drunken rants. That look made Frau's heart tighten.

Zeon Principality, National Defense Officers Academy.

In a highly classified communications room, the lights were dim. A vast star map was projected in the center of the room, countless blips representing colonies floating like dust against the deep black of the universe. A stern-faced junior officer, dressed in a Zeon Intelligence uniform, was reporting to a shadowy figure on the other side of the screen. The cold light of the screen illuminated the tiny beads of sweat on the presenter's forehead. "...In summary, the undercover agent codenamed 'Hyacinth' has sent back the latest intelligence fragments. After cross-comparison, the credibility assessment is B+." The officer's voice was steady, but the speed of his speech was slightly rapid, indicating the importance of the content. "Target: Early concept blueprints of the 'Vulture' project (presumably a prototype of a Minovsky particle space dispersion device), codenamed 'Kiss Nest'-level encryption. Intelligence indicates that the blueprints may not have been completely destroyed in the 'accident', and there is a very low probability that copies or key data fragments have been leaked through unofficial channels. The final suspected connection point..." The officer's fingers moved on the console, and the star map quickly zoomed in, locking onto a point of light in the Lagrange point L5 region. "...pointing to the SIDE-7 region. However, the specific location, carrier form, and owner's identity are currently unknown. This intelligence comes from a single source and has a time lag. It is recommended to designate it as a secondary observation target and allocate limited resources for preliminary screening."

On the other side of the screen, a shadow shrouded the blond figure. He leaned back in the wide chair, only his slender fingers tapping silently and slowly on the armrest, like a venomous snake slithering over a dead leaf. The cold lens of his monocle reflected the faint light of Side-7 on the star map, like a pinprick of dust trapped within.

"Side-7..." A low, golden voice rang out.A male voice with a subtle, elemental quality echoed, its tone unmistakable, yet the air in the communications room suddenly dropped several degrees. "'Kite's Nest'... interesting. A forgotten bird's egg, landed on the edge of a Federation nest." He seemed to be muttering to himself, yet also to be issuing orders to the void. "Continue to follow up on the intelligence on 'Hyacinth'. Initiate a 'Dust'-level penetration scan. Target: SIDE-7. Focus: personnel with backgrounds in scientific research institutions, anomalous data flows, and old case files. Remain silent. I want to know... whether there truly is a spark that could ignite the stars." His voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable penetrating power.

"Yes, sir..." The officer subconsciously started to utter a title, then abruptly stopped and said, "...Sir!" The screen went dark, and the communications room returned to darkness and silence. Only on the star map, the dot of light of SIDE-7, as if quietly marked with a cold red circle by an invisible hand, remained. Aiden leaned against the cold metal wall at the rear of the teaching building, the simulated afternoon sun unable to dispel the chill seeping into his bones. Kai's father's drunken roar, the Zeon officer's roar on the screen, the scornful jeers of his classmates, and the red-circled blip on the star map... countless sounds and images raced frantically in his mind. Time! Time is the cruelest enemy! Every day, every second, it pushed him and everything he held dear into the abyss known as "Loum" and "Operation Britain"!

He couldn't unlock that damned card on his own! He needed a key! A key to unlock "Kite's Nest"! And the only person he knew in the world who might hold that key...

Aiden bolted upright, a desperate glint in his eyes. Fear still coursed through his veins, but a faint, stronger flame, called "hope," overpowered it and burned. He couldn't wait any longer!

The school bell rang, and students streamed out of the classrooms like a tide. Aiden didn't head for the main gate. Instead, he walked against the flow, his steps determined, towards a relatively secluded old teaching building deep within the campus. There was the school's electronics group's activity room, and Amuro Ray was a frequent visitor, almost a half-owner.

Pushing open the door labeled "Electronics Workshop," with its peeling paint, a distinct aroma of solder, rosin, circuit board cleaning solution, and a hint of ozone washed over him. The room was cluttered with instruments, disassembled electronic components, and half-finished circuit boards. It seemed a bit messy, yet brimming with creative energy.

Amuro, with his back to the door, was hunched over a large workbench. Fluorescent lights flickered on the bench, the green light of an oscilloscope pulsed, and complex hexadecimal code cascaded down the logic analyzer's screen. He held a heat gun, carefully blowing on a circuit board covered in delicate chips, his concentration rapt, as if the entire universe were condensed within the tiny space beneath his fingertips. In a corner of the workbench, a Haro Sphere, its casing removed, revealed its delicate inner workings.

Aiden's heart raced, his palms sweating. He took a deep breath and stopped a short distance behind Amuro.

"Amuro."

Amuro paused, but didn't immediately turn around. He simply turned off the heat gun. The humming stopped, leaving only the faint buzz of the equipment in the lab.

"What's up?" Amuro's voice was still the usual calm, the kind of quiet indifference he'd experienced when his own world was interrupted.

Aiden didn't beat around the bush, knowing any pretense would be shattered by Amuro's keen sense. He pulled the scratched, blue data card from his pocket. The cold metal shone dimly in the lab light. He reached out and held the card out of Amuro's peripheral vision.

"Let me take a look at this, Amuro." Aiden's voice was low, with a barely perceptible tremor, yet remarkably clear. "I've tried, but I can't open it. It...it's a relic of my father."

Amuro finally turned slowly. His gaze from behind his glasses first fell on Aiden's face, sharply capturing the tension and heaviness deep within his eyes. Then, his gaze shifted to the blue card in his hand. When he saw the tiny [V.B. R&D] mark on the card, Amuro's pupils constricted almost imperceptibly. "Von Braun?" He whispered the name softly, with a technician's instinctive sensitivity. "Relic?"

Aiden nodded vigorously, meeting Amuro's inquiring gaze. He struggled to form his words, half-truthful and half-sincerity: "Yes. He used to work there. I recently... came across it. I tried everything..." He gestured to a nearby computer, "but it nearly froze. It even said 'Access Denied Due to Kite Nest Protocol.'" He paused, his voice lowered, a weight and pleading tone that transcended his years. "Amuro, I... I have a feeling the contents of this card are important. Maybe... more important than we can imagine. Maybe... it affects the safety of many people. I can't open it... I have no choice but to come to you."

The activity room was silent. Only the oscilloscope's light bar continued to flicker tirelessly. Amuro's gaze lingered for a few seconds on Aiden's anxious and earnest face, then returned to the blue card, etched with the marks of time. The technical challenge, the Von Braun Mark, the Kite's Nest Protocol, the uncanny sense of crisis emanating from Aiden's words... these elements drew him in like a magnet. He could sense Aiden wasn't telling the truth, but the weight of his words, combined with the mystery of the card itself, formed an irresistible puzzle.

Time seemed to freeze. Aiden's heart was in his throat, his palms cold and clammy, and he could practically hear the blood rushing through his veins. 365 days! The countdown flashed frantically in his mind.

Finally, Amuro's eyes narrowed slightly behind his lenses, a focus that only comes with a true challenge. He reached out, his movements steady and precise, and took the cold blue card from Aiden's sweaty hands. His fingertips brushed over the fine scratches on the card, feeling the texture of the metal, then flipped it over and stared at the [V.B. R&D] logo. "...Military-grade triple dynamic encryption." Amuro's voice was soft, a calm technical analysis, yet it resonated like thunder in Aiden's ears. "'Kite Nest'... I've seen that name in the marginal notes of some old technical safety manuals. Legendary-level protection." He raised his head, his gaze as sharp as a knife, piercing through his glasses and gazing deep into Aiden's eyes. "Aiden, what did your father... leave behind?"

The simulated sunlight from outside filtered through the dusty glass, carving a vast, cage-like shadow across the cold floor. Aiden stood in the shadows, staring at the fateful blue card in Amuro's hand, feeling like a prisoner trapped by time. A flame of hope and fear mingled silently under Amuro's calm gaze.

365 days. The countdown, at the moment the cold fire was ignited, had never been so clear and cruel.