Chapter 3

"Goodness, someone is actually taking hostages at the spaceport. What on earth are they trying to do?"

The girl's words made Xiao Ran feel as if his head had been hit. He never expected that other participants in the mission world would actually do such a thing in an unfamiliar and strange environment, stirring up such a huge conflict and incident right from the start. Even if all 99 other participants, besides him, went to the spaceport together, could they really obtain what they wanted from the most heavily guarded spaceport on the entire colony satellite?

Gently pushing aside the person in front of him, Xiao Ran took two steps to the girl who had just exclaimed, "Excuse me, may I have a look?"

Without waiting for the girl's consent, Xiao Ran had already snatched the phone from her. The girl was about to scold him, but upon seeing Xiao Ran, she stuck out her tongue and shrugged at her companion, looking helpless.

Completely ignoring the girl's expression, Xiao Ran focused all his attention on the phone screen. It was a live report. On the screen, the security forces were confronting a few people who had taken many passengers hostage. The camera lingered on each of the hostage-takers' faces for a couple of seconds.

Without paying attention to the voice-over, Xiao Ran carefully memorized the appearances of these 'hostage-takers.' There were five of them in total, one woman and four men, each armed with one or two thermal weapons, which seemed to be standard issue for the satellite security forces. These five people had taken at least a hundred hostages and were confronting the security forces, who had them surrounded.

The five people showed no fear, seemingly unconcerned about the security forces' encirclement, but there was a hint of tension in their expressions. Among the five, one man looked burly and not very trustworthy, while the other four, in Xiao Ran's opinion, were either handsome or beautiful, though they seemed a bit more muscular, with ruddy or pale complexions. But why would they do something so reckless?

Just then, the phone played the demands of the five hostage-takers—a spaceship that could leave the satellite.

Xiao Ran was speechless for a moment, "Are they idiots? They clearly have a formal identity arranged by the System, and the identity cards were placed in the most conspicuous place after waking up. Following the normal procedure to buy a ticket and leave should take only a few hours. Are aliens always so direct, or are there just a lot of idiots among them?"

"Even if you manage to hijack a civilian spaceship, can it withstand the attack of the security forces?"

Xiao Ran scratched his head, unable to understand what these five people were trying to do. He thought the aliens among the participants were probably a bit eccentric, but a few details he noticed left him puzzled and confused.

"Why do these five people seem to know each other?" Xiao Ran frowned, noticing the eye contact between the five 'hostage-takers,' as if they were familiar with each other. He thought, "The mission just started, and everyone is new, so they shouldn't know each other. Could it be that the System just put five people together and sent them here? If so, could the same thing happen to other participants?"

Xiao Ran felt a chill. His personal attributes were already the lowest among the new participants, and while he could gain some advantages by knowing the plot, he couldn't withstand the chaos caused by these reckless aliens, let alone face a team alone.

"I can only hope that these five people are just a coincidence." Xiao Ran prayed, looking at the five people on the phone screen and memorizing them. He also noticed several people with strange expressions in the background, which caught his attention due to their numbers.

"Those people with strange expressions are probably new participants. Since so many participants have gone to the spaceport, it seems that my decision not to go there to buy a ticket was correct." Xiao Ran looked at the phone screen again, deep in thought, and then returned the phone to the girl, "Thank you."

The girl took the phone, stuck out her tongue, and asked worriedly, "It's okay, teacher. But, teacher, is everything alright at the spaceport? For something like this to happen in Heliopolis, could it mean that the war has escalated?"

"Maybe, but I think this is just an individual act. As long as you stay alert and avoid danger, you should be fine." Xiao Ran looked at the innocent girl and smiled, trying to reassure her.

At that moment, a hovercar stopped beside the waiting area. The girl nodded and was about to pull her companion into the car when she suddenly stopped and looked at Xiao Ran, "Teacher, if you don't mind, we can go together."

"Thank you." Xiao Ran smiled and got into the car.

The ride was silent. When the hovercar entered the university, Xiao Ran thanked the two girls and parted ways. Although the two girls looked young and lively, with sweet and vibrant appearances, Xiao Ran, whose life wasn't truly his own, had no intention of doing anything unnecessary. He asked for directions to Professor Kato's office and found his target in less than ten minutes.

Standing outside the door, Xiao Ran quickly recalled the plot in his memory and pushed open the electronic door. When he walked in with a smile, his expression stiffened for a moment but quickly returned to normal. He greeted the people in the room as if nothing had happened, "Hello, is Professor Kato not here?"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked at the uninvited guest with surprise.

Sai, wearing yellow glasses, quickly came over, "Teacher, Professor is not here right now."

"You're Sai, right? Professor is not here." Xiao Ran looked a bit troubled but was secretly relieved. He hadn't expected Sai to recognize him, and the others' unfamiliar yet not entirely strange reactions, especially... so he deliberately said, "This is troublesome. I had something I wanted to ask Professor."

Sai thought for a moment and said, "If you're not in a hurry, you can wait here. Professor said he would be back soon."

"I'll wait here then." Xiao Ran was secretly pleased and nodded, turning to greet everyone in the room, deliberately hiding his true self, "It's obvious that Murrue and Tolle are a couple, right? Professor told me he thinks highly of you two."

"Teacher, you're making it up, Professor wouldn't be that boring," Murrue and Tolle's faces turned red, causing others to chuckle.

Xiao Ran chuckled, "Professor also told me that he often makes Kira work hard."

"Where, Professor has taught me a lot," Kira scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed.

"Don't worry, I'll suggest to Professor that you get the best grade in the final exam." Xiao Ran nodded and smiled, greeting the least noticeable person, Kuzzey, and waving to the other two in the room, "Hello."

In the room were Kira Yamato, Sai with yellow glasses, Murrue and her boyfriend Tolle, who would die piloting the Skygrasper, and the least noticeable Kuzzey. Besides Xiao Ran, there were two more people, one named Cagalli, whom Xiao Ran recognized, and another person who shouldn't be there, someone Xiao Ran had no memory of.

The only explanation for the extra person was that he was a new participant from the Prometheus Fortress, just like Xiao Ran. There was no other explanation.

This new participant had silver hair, which wasn't unusual in a world of Coordinators, as they could have various hair colors. He looked about fifteen or sixteen, but his face lacked the innocence of his age, instead showing a composed demeanor. He occasionally turned to look at the busy Kira, and Xiao Ran caught a glimpse of impatience and anxiety in his eyes. It made sense, with only eight hours to escape the world, and already about two hours had passed, being stuck in such a place as a student was understandably frustrating.

Moreover, the characters in the room, except for Cagalli, seemed familiar with him, as if he belonged there. This made Xiao Ran marvel at his luck, being born with the protagonist's classmate and teammate buff, which was almost a divine blessing in the Gundam SEED anime. As long as he didn't do anything stupid, he wouldn't die.

"Since you're so impatient, why don't you just leave?" Xiao Ran was annoyed but showed no expression, determined to maintain his disguise as a native. Although the unknown participant looked young, the information from the Prometheus Fortress system made Xiao Ran wary of any participant, even if they were blind or crippled, they were still stronger than him.

Time passed, and even Xiao Ran felt impatient. He made up his mind, "If this participant doesn't leave, I'll either find a way to get rid of him or figure out a way to eliminate him."

This thought was serious. Xiao Ran absolutely couldn't let other participants know he was familiar with the plot. Having such a participant around would be extremely inconvenient, and any slip-up could lead to suspicion. Xiao Ran didn't want any participants to join him on the Archangel, so he was determined to eliminate the threat, even if it meant killing the other participant.

At that moment, a violent tremor shook everyone in the room, and Xiao Ran, caught off guard, fell to the ground. Before he could react, he saw the silver-haired participant, who had been standing silently, leap into the air, land on the ground, open the door, and vanish.

In the distance, a voice filled with frustration could be heard, "I thought following this so-called Coordinator would be beneficial, but it's just a waste of time. To hell with it, I need to get out of here."

The words of the silver-haired participant made Xiao Ran pause, but then his eyes narrowed, "How did he know Kira is a Coordinator?"

"Hey, Kira, where are you going!" Sai shouted at the fleeing silver-haired participant, but he was already gone.

Although surprised by his knowledge of Kira's identity, the silver-haired participant's actions left Xiao Ran speechless. Watching him leave just a minute before the plot's main events, Xiao Ran suddenly thought of the five participants who had taken hostages at the spaceport. He murmured, "There are so many eccentrics among the aliens..."

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