Chapter 6

After Xiao Ran's injuries were treated, Kira drove the Strike Gundam, carrying several people, away from the devastated area to a park that was largely undamaged. He then explained the sequence of events to everyone.

Several men hurriedly carried the unconscious Murrue Ramius out of the Strike Gundam's cockpit. Xiao Ran, who was resisting the urge to climb into the cockpit, cast an envious glance at Tolle and Kuzzey, who had already climbed in. With his limited mobility, he helped Miriallia bandage Murrue Ramius's wounds.

After finishing the bandaging, Xiao Ran began to casually scan Murrue, the first "big sister" in the Gundam SEED universe. Despite being around the same age as Xiao Ran, she exuded a maturity that he rarely saw in girls of his age from his previous world. Her determination, decisiveness, and bravery were qualities he seldom encountered, yet she was not lacking in gentleness.

Murrue was still unconscious, her cheeks flushed from the gunshot wound. Even in her unconscious state, her brows were furrowed, which made Xiao Ran slightly dazed. Although this world had been made more realistic, it didn't mean that Murrue's real-life appearance was less attractive than her animated form. This wasn't cosplay; it was a true representation, and her beauty remained unchanged.

Whether it was Kira, Murrue, or Miriallia, Tolle, and the others, they were no different from their animated counterparts. In fact, the transformation into a real world made them seem even more relatable.

"Teacher, are you thinking about something inappropriate?" Miriallia, who had grown closer to Xiao Ran due to his repeated assistance, couldn't help but tease him, noticing his dazed expression.

"No way," Xiao Ran's face turned red as he denied it. "Although I admit this woman is very attractive, I'm not the type to have wild thoughts just because I see a woman. I was just wondering about the relationship between this woman and that MS. Kira mentioned that the MS seemed to belong to the Earth Forces, so why was it in Orb? What role does Orb play?"

"I won't believe all those explanations," Miriallia covered her mouth and laughed lightly. Her laughter seemed to wake Murrue, who groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

Seeing Murrue awake, Miriallia, thinking she had woken Murrue, said apologetically, "You're awake. I'll get you some water."

Murrue, who had just woken up, groaned in discomfort and struggled to get up. Xiao Ran quickly pressed down on her uninjured arm, "You'd better not move around."

Murrue stopped struggling, and Miriallia, who had fetched a bottle of water, said, "Here, drink some water."

"Thank you," Murrue said softly, and with Xiao Ran and Miriallia's help, she sat up. Kira, noticing the situation, hurried over, "Are you okay?"

After taking a few sips of water, Murrue shook her head at Kira. Perhaps recalling the incredible scenes in the cockpit, her eyes looked at Kira thoughtfully.

Kira, still somewhat naive, thought Murrue was blaming him for his rash actions and turned his head away, "I'm sorry, I acted rashly just now..."

Murrue realized her behavior was hasty and was about to shake her head when a voice rang out, "Wow, is that a Gundam? It looks so cool."

"Can it be activated?" Kuzzey's voice also sounded.

Murrue turned to the source of the voices and was shocked to see two boys who looked like students running into the Gundam's cockpit. For Murrue, who considered the Gundam extremely important, this was a serious dereliction of duty. Ignoring her discomfort, she jumped to her feet, pulled out a gun, and aimed it at Tolle and Kuzzey in the cockpit.

"Get out of there now!" As Murrue's voice fell, a bullet shot out of the gun and hit the cockpit's outer wall, scaring Tolle and Kuzzey, who shrank back and looked at Murrue in fear.

Xiao Ran, who had been largely unnoticed since Murrue woke up, looked at Kira with a puzzled expression as he ran over to block Murrue, "What are you doing! They were the ones who carried you out of the cockpit!"

"Sorry," Murrue frowned and turned the gun toward Kira, her eyes showing a mix of guilt and determination, "I'm grateful for your help, but that's a military secret, not something civilians like you should be involved with."

"What, wasn't Kira the one driving it?" Tolle turned his head to the side, responding with a cold and mocking tone.

This cold and mocking tone made Murrue aim her gun at Tolle and the others standing nearby. "Now, all of you stand over there."

The group looked at Murrue with anger but eventually complied, standing next to Xiao Ran. Miriallia, in particular, hid almost entirely behind Xiao Ran.

Murrue walked up to them, gun in hand, "State your names one by one."

"Sei Aguirre."

"Kuzzey Buskirk."

"Tolle Koenig."

"Miriallia Haw."

Kira hesitated, then, under the threat of the gun, said, "Kira Yamato."

Finally, it was Xiao Ran's turn, but he remained silent, looking at Murrue with a puzzled expression, or rather, at the gun in her hand.

Murrue frowned, finding it strange that this man, who seemed to be around her age, was with the children, "And you, your name and identity."

"Xiao Ran, assistant teacher at the Industrial College," Xiao Ran smiled, having no intention of hiding anything from these characters.

"Teacher?" Murrue looked at Xiao Ran, then introduced herself, "I am Murrue Ramius, an officer of the Earth Forces. I'm very sorry, but because you saw and touched our military secrets, I can't let you go so easily, no matter the reason."

She paused, then continued, "I must notify the relevant authorities. Until they decide how to handle you, you must all move with me."

"How can you do this!" Kuzzey exclaimed in surprise. Tolle, already angry, added, "What is this!"

Sei also said angrily, "We are civilians from Orb's Heliopolis, a neutral country, and have nothing to do with the military. You have no right to do this!"

"Exactly, it's already strange that the Earth Forces are on neutral territory. I have no obligation to follow your orders!"

"It's all because you appeared here that this happened!"

Tolle and Kuzzey's angry words made the situation tense. Xiao Ran, still puzzled, remained silent, his eyes fixed on Murrue.

Seeing Tolle and Kuzzey's words becoming more and more unreasonable, Murrue frowned and raised her gun again.

"Click, click..."

Murrue suddenly froze at the sound, and Xiao Ran, who had been staring at her, finally showed a look of realization, "I see, that's it."

The sound of the empty gun and Xiao Ran's sudden words made the situation quiet, and everyone looked at him in confusion.

Miriallia, puzzled, said, "Teacher?"

"Miss Ramius, I think you're wondering about this, right?" Xiao Ran, feeling a bit nervous, smiled at Miriallia and, turning to Murrue, pulled out several shiny, golden bullets from his pocket with his good hand, "Sorry, but seeing your gun, I thought it might pose a threat to my and my students' safety, so I removed all the bullets. The bullet you just fired was an accident; I didn't expect there to be a bullet in the chamber after removing the magazine."

Honestly, Xiao Ran didn't want to do this, but the gun was too dangerous.

After hearing Xiao Ran's explanation, Kira and the students breathed a sigh of relief. No one would be happy to be threatened with a gun twice in one day. Xiao Ran's quick action to defuse the danger also earned him more respect from the students, while Murrue stared at him with a frown.

"Miss Ramius," Xiao Ran smiled, trying to ease the tension, "The situation has changed. Although you are a soldier, you have no advantage over five ordinary men. The control of this MS called Gundam might also change, so can we talk this out?"

Murrue closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but even with her eyes closed, she could still see Xiao Ran's annoying smile. She tried to calm herself and finally lowered her weapon, "Alright."

"Good, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do. As a teacher, I would have to stand in front of my students first, even though I know I'm no match for you," Xiao Ran pretended to be relieved, chuckled, and said seriously to Murrue, "As an adult, I won't use the neutral excuse to deceive myself. Neutrality and fairness are built on peace and power. I understand the cruelty and expansiveness of war, and I understand what this secret means to the Earth Forces. I also understand why the Earth Forces' secret is here."

Xiao Ran looked at Murrue sincerely, "So I don't want to offend you or be remembered by you. I hope we can get along well. I can help you with something, but you must promise that after we part ways, you won't hold us responsible for today's events. Can you promise that?"

Murrue, after hearing Xiao Ran's words, felt that his insight was terrifyingly sharp and looked at him deeply, "Do you believe my promise?"

"I do," Xiao Ran answered firmly.

"Alright, I agree," Murrue looked at Xiao Ran seriously, "But I need your help, especially his."

Xiao Ran smiled, "No problem, I'll give my students a reason to cooperate."

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