Chapter 7

After having a 'friendly' conversation with Meyrin, Xiao Ran prepared to start communicating with Kira and the others. This communication was crucial, not only affecting the future development of the plot but also closely related to Xiao Ran himself. Whether Kira would join the Archangel later also determined whether Xiao Ran could safely leave the Heliopolis colony and complete the main mission.

Moreover, when Meyrin discovered that her gun had no bullets and stared intently at Xiao Ran, a prompt from his soul forced him to negotiate seriously with Meyrin, emphasizing the severity of the situation.

"Ding, triggered mandatory side mission: Help Meyrin Ramius resist the next wave of enemy attacks and ensure the safety of Kira Yamato, Tolle Koenig, Miriallia Haw, Sai Argyle, and Kuzzey Buskirk. Reward unknown."

"Failure penalty: None."

"Completion of the mission will trigger subsequent missions."

When he received the mission, Xiao Ran was somewhat taken aback. After all, without his appearance, the normal plot would still have Kira piloting the Strike Gundam to repel the enemy. But now, with his presence, and because he had removed all the bullets from Meyrin's weapon, Kira and the others were no longer under threat, and they also had no reason to help Meyrin.

A mission with no failure penalty, Xiao Ran did not believe in this. If he could not change Kira's bad impression of Meyrin at this moment, without any deterrent, Kira might not get back into the Strike Gundam. Once the Gundam was seized, the plot would be completely disrupted. Without the familiar plot, he could not gain any benefits, and if any consequences arose, he could not guarantee that he could bear them. This was the greatest punishment for him.

Meyrin left, seeing that the Strike Gundam had no power, she left on her own initiative. Knowing what she was going to do, Xiao Ran asked the most sensible Sai to follow her.

"Teacher, why did you agree to her?" Miriallia looked at Meyrin and Sai's departing backs, puzzled, and turned to Xiao Ran.

Tolle and Kuzzey also had a puzzled look: "Teacher, why should we care about her? She even pointed a gun at us when we tried to help her."

"We can't escape involvement even if we don't help her." Xiao Ran shook his head and looked at Kira: "Kira, do you understand why?"

"Yes." Kira nodded slightly and said solemnly: "Because this is a military secret of the Earth Forces and Orb."

Tolle was puzzled: "What do you mean?"

"A unit of the Earth Forces' MS is in the neutral country of Orb, and it came from the Dawn Factory. Do I need to explain more?" Xiao Ran patted Tolle's shoulder helplessly, genuinely worried about his intelligence: "An MS of the Earth Forces in Heliopolis, who would believe it has nothing to do with Orb? The ZAFT attack today was also because of these MS. I even suspect that Orb may have developed its own MS during this period."

"Then what?" Tolle and Kuzzey looked bewildered.

"What does it mean for Orb to develop an MS? A secret! What does an MS of the Earth Forces mean? Still a secret! Even if the others are seized, at least there is one last unit. This Gundam is the last lifeline for the Earth Forces, representing the possibility of mass-producing MS. If it is seized again, where do you think the Earth Forces' anger will be directed?"

"Us?" Tolle pointed to himself in shock.

"Or what?" Xiao Ran countered, seeing the shock and surprise on their faces, he continued: "We know the military secrets of both Orb and the Earth Forces. Even if we don't help Miss Ramius, do you think it will have nothing to do with us? Some people in Orb might arrest us to ensure this secret is kept, without even waiting for the Earth Forces to make a request."

"The most critical part is Kira. The Gundam was piloted by him just now, and he probably modified the OS of the entire unit. He alone was able to modify the OS to a combat-ready level and even destroyed a ZAFT unit with just a knife. What does this mean? Don't forget, before Kira piloted this thing, he had never touched an MS. So, he will attract attention not only from Orb and the Earth Forces but also from ZAFT. A pilot with the potential to become an ace, I believe no side will easily give up on him."

Kira, hearing Xiao Ran shift the topic to himself, looked at Xiao Ran with shock: "Teacher... This... This is not possible, right?"

"This is not impossible, and there are also those terrorists. We can also blame this on the Earth Forces' Miss." Xiao Ran shook his head and looked at Kira seriously: "So now we can only trust Miss Ramius and believe that she will selectively forget what happened today after we help her."

Kira fell silent. He was just naive, not unintelligent. His genius mind quickly flashed through various possibilities, and Xiao Ran's serious words had already made him somewhat believe. However, such a situation was still too hard for him to accept.

Seeing Kira's silence, Xiao Ran felt a bit sorry and said unconsciously: "A loss may turn out to be a gain. The future may not be as bad as you think."

Kira was slightly stunned by Xiao Ran's words, completely unable to understand what he meant, but he was willing to trust this teacher who seemed to have helped them a lot and also enlightened him: "Teacher, what do you want me to do?"

"My opinion?" Xiao Ran was also stunned for a moment, and after seeing Kira nod affirmatively, he sighed slightly: "Before I say it, I hope that no matter what happens in the future, you won't hate me."

Miriallia tugged at Xiao Ran's hand: "Say it, teacher. I believe Kira is not that kind of person."

"Ha ha." Xiao Ran smiled bitterly, shook his head, and said: "Miss Ramius is definitely going to find the Gundam's weapons and power source to prepare for the next ZAFT attack. The satellite has already been raised to an alert level of eight, so it's difficult to avoid this trouble. Since that's the case, why don't we take control of the situation ourselves?"

"Kira, I want you to pilot this Gundam, to protect us and the satellite until this incident is over. If I could, I wouldn't want it to be you, but among us, only you have this ability!" Xiao Ran patted Kira's shoulder heavily: "And I will do everything I can to ensure you have no worries afterward, even if it means risking my life. Do you believe me?"

The simple Kira was moved to tears by Xiao Ran's words, recalling his previous selfless actions, and nodded heavily: "Teacher, I believe you."

"Um." Xiao Ran nodded with a smile, but seeing Kira's determined look, he also felt a bit uneasy, sensing something was not quite right. No, perhaps many things were already not quite right. At this moment, Xiao Ran, looking at the already overpowered Kira, silently prayed for the Aslan quartet.

Soon, everyone chose to believe what Xiao Ran said and decided to help Ramius temporarily protect the Gundam until the incident was over. Not only Kira, but also Tolle, Miriallia, and Kuzzey, for their home and future freedom, became equally determined.

Not long after, Meyrin and Sai drove a large truck loaded with artillery equipment to the side of the Gundam. When they saw the excited expressions on Kira and the others' faces, they were somewhat puzzled, but after Xiao Ran asked Meyrin a final question, they both understood.

"Do you promise to selectively forget what happened today after this matter is resolved?"

"I promise." Meyrin looked deeply at Xiao Ran and finally nodded, then said slowly: "Thank you."

"No need." Xiao Ran smiled: "We take what we need."

In his heart, Xiao Ran added: "But what I need is not what you think."

Although the work was dragging on due to the lack of resistance from everyone, when Kira piloted the Strike Gundam and equipped it with artillery weapons, the plot still developed to that point. Captain Creuset's Sig and Mu La Flaga's MBF-01A1 Astray Gold Frame fought their way into the satellite colony.

Although they were fighting, it was clear to anyone with eyes that the Astray Gold Frame was no match for the Sig, and it couldn't even keep up. It could only watch as the Sig quickly approached Kira and the others.

"Hurry!" Although everyone knew the speed of the equipment was limited, seeing that the Astray Gold Frame couldn't even block, they could only watch as the Sig got closer and closer, and the shield cannon was raised in their direction, fear rising in their hearts.

Except for Kira, who was in the Gundam, the others hiding behind the Gundam's large feet were the most calm, with Xiao Ran being the most composed. He watched as the artillery equipment slowly attached to the Gundam, and when it finally clicked into place, he instantly pushed the two people closest to him to the ground. Similarly, Meyrin also made the same move.

"Bang! Bang!" The shield cannon fired as soon as it locked onto the Gundam. Kira Yamato roared and pressed the button to activate the PS shield, controlling the Strike Gundam to shield Xiao Ran and the others.

Several loud explosions came from the Gundam, and the ground trembled. Xiao Ran felt a strong jolt, his ears ringing, and saw a cloud of black smoke. The front was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything clearly.

Creuset heard the explosion and saw the smoke, thinking his attack had been effective, but a red beam suddenly cut through the smoke, piercing the sky and the ground of the satellite, leaving two sparks in its path.

"Such power!" Creuset was shocked, looking at the standing Gundam, not even noticing the red lights and alarms in the cockpit. Seeing the image on the screen, he drew a sharp breath: "One shot through the outer wall? Who is piloting that thing?"

"Boom!" Another loud explosion came from a mountain wall on the satellite, flames and smoke rising.

"Tch, reinforcements!" Creuset gritted his teeth, stepped on the pedal, and pulled the control lever. The Sig, which had lost its right arm and leg, quickly passed through the large hole Kira had created and escaped from Heliopolis: "The last unit, I can't let it go!"

Kira was still surprised by the large hole he had created, but when a new spaceship appeared in his sight, he was left speechless. How did a warship fly into the satellite?

But the most speechless was Xiao Ran, who had just stood up from the ground, his face full of disbelief: "This... This is completely wrong..."

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