Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ran woke in Prometheus Fortress and learned that he had been pulled from Earth into the Real Zone to undertake mecha missions. After discovering that he recognized the worlds shown in the mission archive, he entered his first group Newbie Mission in Gundam SEED.

• Xiao Ran woke in Prometheus Fortress and learned that he had thirty minutes before his first mission.
• Xiao Ran questioned the Main System about the fortress, his weak attributes, the different zones, and whether he could return home.
• The Main System explained that most pilots lost their mission memories after returning, and Xiao Ran realized his knowledge of Earth’s mecha stories could give him an advantage.
• Xiao Ran recognized the mission archive’s mecha worlds and was sent into the group Newbie Mission in Gundam SEED.

Xiao Ran woke in Heliopolis as a participant in a mission requiring him to escape the colony within eight hours, and he weighed ways to survive while getting closer to the Gundam SEED plot. After heading toward the Industrial Academy, he saw colony security hovercars rush past, signaling that something had happened.

• Xiao Ran read his mission briefing, learned his attributes and the rules of the Prometheus Fortress, and realized Heliopolis would be destroyed if he failed to escape in time.
• Xiao Ran considered several escape routes and chose to approach Kira Yamato and board the Archangel as his best balance of safety and opportunity.
• Xiao Ran used his assigned identity as a university teaching assistant to find Kira Yamato's school and Professor Kato's classroom on a laptop.
• Xiao Ran left his dormitory and followed students toward the Industrial Academy, discreetly avoiding attention from other participants.
• Xiao Ran waited at a station as colony security hovercars sped past, while a young girl reacted with surprise to news on her phone.

Xiao Ran learned that five Mission World participants had taken hostages at the Spaceport and worried that their actions could disrupt the plot. At Professor Kato’s office, he met another newcomer participant, Chiru, who abruptly fled after recognizing Kira as a Coordinator, leaving Xiao Ran wondering how he knew.

• Xiao Ran watched footage of five armed participants holding more than a hundred hostages and demanding a spaceship, then memorized their faces and noticed other likely participants in the crowd.
• A girl invited Xiao Ran to ride with her and her companion to the Institute of Technology, where he went to Professor Kato’s advisory office.
• Xiao Ran greeted Kira, Sai, Miriallia, Tolle, Kazui, and Cagalli while concealing that he was a newcomer, and he noticed the silver-haired participant Chiru among them.
• Xiao Ran considered how to avoid letting Chiru discover his plot knowledge as they waited for Professor Kato to return.
• A violent tremor shook the room, and Chiru leapt up and ran out, cursing that following Kira had been a waste of time.
• Xiao Ran heard Chiru refer to Kira as a Coordinator and wondered how he had learned Kira’s identity.

Xiao Ran and his students fled a ZAFT attack on the Colony Satellite as two Ginns devastated the area, and the Strike Gundam and Aegis Gundam entered the battle. After the fighting, Kira was revealed as the Strike’s pilot, but a group of armed survivors confronted Xiao Ran and the others and shot him in the cheek.

• Xiao Ran led Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, and Kazui out of the academy as tremors and reports of a ZAFT attack sent people fleeing.
• The group dodged the destruction caused by two Ginns while Xiao Ran protected the others and struggled to keep running.
• The Strike Gundam and Aegis Gundam emerged near them, and the Strike defeated one Ginn as the battle followed its expected course.
• Xiao Ran stopped the others from fleeing and sheltered them from the Ginn’s self-destruction blast.
• Kira appeared at the Strike Gundam’s cockpit, leaving his friends shocked, before armed survivors fired at Xiao Ran and wounded his cheek.

Xiao Ran and his companions faced six Participants from the airport hijacking, who threatened them at gunpoint to make Kira leave the Strike Gundam. Kira entered SEED Mode and killed the attackers, but Xiao Ran was shot and discovered that the wounds had cost him most of his health.

• Xiao Ran recognized two of the six approaching Participants as airport hijackers, while the burly man threatened to kill his friends unless Kira left the Strike Gundam.
• Xiao Ran warned Sai, Tolle, Miriallia, and Kazui that the hijackers would kill them regardless, and Kira responded by entering SEED Mode.
• Xiao Ran counted to three and told everyone to rush toward the Strike Gundam as Kira returned to the controls.
• Kira used the Strike Gundam's Vulcan Auto-Cannon to kill all six Participants within seconds.
• Kira found Xiao Ran wounded by two bullets in the shoulder, and Miriallia began treating him with a First Aid Kit.
• Xiao Ran checked his watch and realized the two nonfatal shots had reduced his health by eighteen points.

After the injured Mwu Lamias woke, she discovered Tolle and Kazui in the Strike Gundam and detained the group as witnesses to an Earth Alliance military secret. Xiao Ran disarmed her pistol and negotiated a peaceful arrangement, leaving Mwu agreeing to his terms while asking for help, especially from Kira.

• Kira carried the injured group to a park in the Strike Gundam, where Xiao Ran and Miriallia treated Mwu Lamias's wounds.
• Mwu woke and threatened Tolle and Kazui for entering the Gundam, then ordered the group to give their names and said they must remain with her.
• Xiao Ran recognized that Mwu's pistol had been emptied and revealed the bullets he had removed, leaving her without an advantage over the group.
• Xiao Ran explained that he understood why the Earth Alliance had a secret MS in Orb and asked Mwu to promise not to pursue them after they parted.
• Mwu agreed to Xiao Ran's request for peaceful cooperation and said she needed his help, especially Kira's.

After receiving a forced mission to help Mwu Lamias defend the Strike Gundam and protect Kira and his friends, Xiao Ran persuaded Kira to pilot the Gundam and promised to shield him from the consequences. Kira repelled Cruze’s attack, but the appearance of a spacecraft inside Heliopolis left Xiao Ran convinced events had gone badly off course.

• Xiao Ran explained that the Earth Force and Orb’s secrets put him, Kira, and the others in danger, and he asked Kira to pilot the Strike Gundam to protect them.
• Kira agreed to Xiao Ran’s request, and Tolle, Miriallia, and Kazui also decided to help Mwu defend the Gundam.
• Mwu and Sai brought the Gatling Gun Equipment to the Strike Gundam, and Mwu guaranteed that she would forget what the group had witnessed afterward.
• Cruze’s GOUF attacked as Kira finished installing the equipment, and Kira activated the PS Barrier to protect Xiao Ran and the others from its Shield Cannon.
• Kira fired a red beam through the colony wall and damaged the GOUF, forcing Cruze to flee through the hole.
• A spacecraft appeared inside Heliopolis, and Xiao Ran realized that events had diverged from what he expected.

After boarding the Archangel, Xiao Ran accepted a mission to help the Earth Force ship escape ZAFT and persuaded Mwu to let him and the students stay aboard until the colony alert ended. He warned that ZAFT would likely launch a decisive assault on the Archangel and the final Gundam, leaving Mwu concerned for Heliopolis.

• Xiao Ran accepted the side mission to ensure the Archangel escaped ZAFT's pursuit in exchange for a D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill.
• Kira carried Xiao Ran and the others aboard the Archangel, where Second Lieutenant Bargyll greeted Mwu and reacted with surprise at seeing Kira.
• Mu revealed Kira was a Coordinator, prompting the guards to aim their weapons at Xiao Ran's group before Mwu ordered them lowered.
• Xiao Ran asked to leave with the students, but Mwu explained the level-nine alert had sealed the Life Pods and offered to let them go once it was lifted.
• Xiao Ran agreed to remain aboard and offered to operate weapons himself, while refusing to let his students enter danger again.
• Xiao Ran predicted ZAFT would commit overwhelming forces to capture or destroy the last Gundam, possibly causing Heliopolis to collapse.

Xiao Ran took responsibility for the Archangel’s predicament and helped Captain Mwu prepare to escape the colony satellite before ZAFT’s next attack. As ZAFT arrived with seven mobile suits, Xiao Ran urged Kira to decide whether to pilot the Strike Gundam, leaving Kira facing the choice with his friends’ lives at stake.

• Xiao Ran apologized for his role in the events that brought Kira and the others aboard the Archangel, then warned that ZAFT might attack the neutral colony satellite.
• Bargyll reported that the Archangel needed an hour to reach standard readiness, and Mwu ordered the crew to resupply the ship and service the Strike Gundam and Moebius Zero.
• After having his wounds treated, Xiao Ran went to the bridge, where Mwu asked him to persuade Kira to pilot the Strike Gundam again.
• A bridge alarm revealed five Ginn units and the Aegis Gundam and Duel Gundam approaching, prompting Mwu to order battle stations and suspend resupply.
• Xiao Ran told Kira and the others that ZAFT had deployed seven mobile suits, then asked Kira to pilot the Strike Gundam while promising to support him.

Xiao Ran helped the Archangel fight off ZAFT forces at Heliopolis while Kira piloted the Strike Gundam, and he completed his first mission with an S rank. The satellite’s central axis was struck by a missile, and Xiao Ran lost consciousness as the Archangel was thrown into chaos.

• Xiao Ran argued for equipping the Strike Gundam with the Sky Striker Pack and took control of a Vulcan Cannon to support the Archangel.
• Mwu ordered the Archangel’s main guns to fire through the hull breach, destroying one Ginn before Kira launched in the Strike Gundam.
• Xiao Ran helped Mu target enemy mobile suits as the battle damaged the satellite and the Archangel struggled against the remaining Ginns.
• Kira’s piloting changed dramatically during the fight, and he destroyed a Ginn with a Beam Saber while also damaging Duel Gundam’s shield.
• Xiao Ran’s Main Mission One completed with an S rating, and Main Mission Two tasked him with choosing a faction and reaching D-rank mecha-operation skill.
• A missile struck the satellite’s central axis, and the resulting explosion sent the Archangel rolling and knocked Xiao Ran unconscious.

Xiao Ran woke aboard the escaping Archangel, discovered that he had completed missions with an S-rank evaluation, and extracted the D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill. The skill enhancement painfully raised his attributes, leaving him delighted despite learning he would owe 750 Merit Points when he returned to Prometheus Fortress.

• Xiao Ran woke injured and checked his wristwatch, which showed Main Mission One and both Side Missions completed, while Main Mission Two remained incomplete.
• Xiao Ran realized the completed Side Mission Two reward would grant him the D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill and extracted it.
• Xiao Ran endured intense pain as the system implanted the piloting skill and raised his attributes to meet its enhancement requirements.
• Xiao Ran learned the system would charge him 750 Merit Points for the 15 added attribute points, but decided the boost was worthwhile.
• Xiao Ran prepared to claim the two Golden Treasure Chests from his S-rank evaluation.

After unlocking Personal Storage Space, Xiao Ran opened two Golden Treasure Chests and gained powerful skills, mecha plugins, components, attribute points, Merit Points, and Part Fragments. He learned Luck and left the chapter eager to put his new rewards to use.

• Xiao Ran unlocked Personal Storage Space and learned that treasure chests could be broken down into lower-tier chests.
• He opened a Golden Treasure Chest and received Luck, an Atomic Repair Robot, a Power Shot Module, Complete Energy Deflection Armor, attribute points, and Merit Points.
• Xiao Ran learned the A-Class Skill Luck, which increased his item acquisition chance and could improve reward quality.
• He opened the second Golden Treasure Chest, and Luck helped him obtain Scrap Dealer, Space Combat Proficiency, extra attribute points, Merit Points, and Part Fragments.
• Xiao Ran celebrated his new skills, despite reopening the wound on his right arm.

Xiao Ran learned Scrap Dealer and Space Combat Proficiency, improved his attributes, and woke after two days unconscious. Kira Yamato told him about the Archangel’s escape from Artemis and revealed how much the recent fighting and personal upheaval had shaken him, leaving Xiao Ran concerned about Kira’s fragile state and the consequences of changing the story.

• Xiao Ran learned Scrap Dealer and Space Combat Proficiency, then raised his low attributes to ten and put his remaining point into Accuracy.
• Kira Yamato visited Xiao Ran after he woke and explained that Xiao Ran had been unconscious for two days and that Heliopolis had collapsed.
• Xiao Ran told Kira that neither the Gundams nor mass production could end the war soon, and urged him to focus on surviving their immediate crisis.
• Kira recounted how he and the others retrieved Flay, fought ZAFT, were detained at Artemis, and escaped when ZAFT attacked the station.
• Xiao Ran recognized Kira’s emotional strain and worried that his role as Kira’s mentor might affect Kira’s future bond with Lacus.

After waking from his two-day coma, Xiao Ran comforted Kira and Miriallia, then spoke with Mwu about joining the Archangel and its route. He learned the ship was already heading toward the Debris Belt to find supplies, leaving him to consider how his advice had matched the crew’s current course.

• Xiao Ran reassured Kira that he and the Archangel’s crew shared the burden of fighting, and Kira left to find him food.
• Xiao Ran reflected that events remained close to their expected course and anticipated meeting Lacus at Junius 7.
• Miriallia brought Xiao Ran food and confided her fears, which he patiently helped her work through.
• Mwu thanked Xiao Ran for helping Kira and the Archangel, then asked whether he would help the ship and its civilians.
• Xiao Ran explained that the Archangel should avoid Artemis and seek supplies in the Debris Belt, and Mwu revealed that the ship was already headed there because its water was running low.

Xiao Ran joined the Archangel as a sergeant and discovered that his faction mission could be completed, then focused on improving his skills while recovering and training. As the Archangel neared Junius 7, someone watched him defeat a virtual opponent and remarked that a teacher could pilot an MS.

• Mwu told Xiao Ran that Kira had driven back the Duel Gundam after Xiao Ran was incapacitated, and Xiao Ran was shocked by Kira’s growth.
• Xiao Ran agreed to join the Archangel but refused to recognize himself as an Earth Alliance member; Mwu accepted and assigned him as a sergeant responsible for bridge fire control and staff duties.
• Xiao Ran’s mission prompt identified his faction as the Earth Alliance Archangel and allowed him to choose whether to complete the mission; he decided to improve his rank and piloting skill before doing so.
• Xiao Ran recovered, trained in virtual mecha simulators, and discovered proficiency values for his piloting and space combat skills.
• Xiao Ran found that he could draw out more of a mecha’s performance in space but still could not match Kira’s ability to operate the Strike Gundam.
• While Xiao Ran practiced in a virtual Ginn, an unseen observer applauded his victory and remarked that a teacher could pilot an MS.

Mu discovered that Xiao Ran had used the training simulator’s actual combat mode with a standard Ginn and Kira’s modified Strike Gundam, despite being a Natural. She challenged him to a virtual match, which began with Xiao Ran piloting the Strike against her Moebius Zero.

• Xiao Ran explained to Mu that his experience teaching industrial MS made him confident he could pilot combat MS as well.
• Mu checked the simulator data and realized Xiao Ran had operated a Coordinator-configured Ginn and Kira’s modified Strike Gundam in actual combat mode.
• Mu asked Xiao Ran to compete against her, and he accepted as the hangar crew and Kira’s friends gathered to watch.
• Xiao Ran selected the Strike Gundam with the Sky Striker Pack and launched to face Mu’s faster Moebius Zero.
• Mu locked onto Xiao Ran, who raised the Strike’s shield and charged while spinning, but her shot struck and slowed him.

Xiao Ran fought Mu in a virtual training battle, surprising the onlookers with his skill before losing to Moebius Zero’s modified weapons. Afterward, Mu and Kira reviewed the recording with Xiao Ran and helped him understand how he could improve.

• Xiao Ran piloted Strike Gundam against Mu’s Moebius Zero, dodging its attacks and destroying one of its Homing Wire Pods.
• Moebius Zero’s modified Linear Gun severed Strike Gundam’s right arm, so Xiao Ran discarded his shield and charged with a Beam Saber.
• Xiao Ran detached Strike Gundam’s Flight Pack and used it to distract Mu, then struck Moebius Zero with his Beam Saber before its wire pods destroyed Strike Gundam.
• Mu explained that the maintenance crew had modified Moebius Zero’s Linear Gun to fire powerful beams using spare Strike Gundam parts.
• Xiao Ran, Mu, and Kira replayed the battle, and Mu and Kira pointed out mistakes and better ways to handle the controls.

Xiao Ran continued training with Mu and Kira, then confronted the horror of Junius 7 and persuaded the student soldiers to gather supplies despite their doubts. While working in the debris field, he helped Kira capture a Recon Ginn, whose pilot surrendered and turned out to be a girl.

• Xiao Ran challenged Mu again, lost after exhausting the Strike Gundam's energy, and heard Kira criticize his piloting while Mu wondered how a Natural could use the Coordinator-compatible OS.
• Xiao Ran told Kira he had learned to pilot through virtual training, admitted his skills were poor, and promised to catch up to him.
• After seeing the debris field near Junius 7, Xiao Ran condemned the deaths caused by the nuclear attack, then persuaded the student soldiers that they had to collect water and supplies to survive.
• Xiao Ran and Miriallia mourned the dead on Junius 7, and Xiao Ran later stayed behind to oversee water extraction while monitoring the area.
• Xiao Ran spotted a Recon Ginn, told Kira to capture it, and watched the Strike Gundam disable the machine and force its pilot to surrender.
• Xiao Ran saw the pilot emerge from the cockpit and discovered that the green-uniformed captive was a girl.

Xiao Ran defended Kira’s capture of a ZAFT Recon Ginn and its pilot, securing an MS for himself and earning a promotion. The Archangel crew also rescued Lacus Clyne, whose arrival left Kira visibly captivated, and prepared to question her and her bodyguard.

• Xiao Ran explained that capturing the Recon Ginn and rescuing its pilot had prevented deaths, strengthened the Archangel, and given him the MS he wanted.
• Sergeant Maddox opened the Life Pod, and Lacus Clyne floated out with her Harow while Kira hurried to catch her.
• The captured Ginn pilot rushed toward Lacus, and Xiao Ran stopped the guards from firing before Mwu ordered the pilot’s handcuffs removed.
• Lacus agreed to speak with Mwu and asked that her bodyguard be treated gently; Bargyll objected, but Mwu overruled her.
• Mwu promoted Xiao Ran to first lieutenant and assigned him the captured Ginn, while Xiao Ran asked Sergeant Maddox to prepare its parts and weapons.

Xiao Ran and the Archangel crew learned that Earth Force soldiers had massacred the civilians aboard Lacus’s ship, prompting Xiao Ran to condemn the Earth Force and hint at deeper suspicions about the war. Lacus and Moriya were placed under supervision, while Mwu questioned Xiao Ran about what he knew and he left her with an ambiguous warning.

• Xiao Ran noticed that his piloting skills had improved, and Lacus explained that she had been traveling to investigate Junius 7 before Earth Force soldiers attacked her ship.
• Moriya told Lacus that the Investigation Team’s ship had sunk and that she had found no surviving compatriots, prompting Xiao Ran to denounce the Earth Force for attacking civilians.
• Xiao Ran recognized Lacus as Cigel Klein’s daughter and argued that she and Moriya might become allies; Mwu then arranged for both women to remain under supervision aboard the Archangel.
• Kira awkwardly left the corridor after seeing Lacus, and Mwu asked Xiao Ran what he had meant about the crew’s true enemies and who they were fighting for.
• Xiao Ran said he suspected Earth Force officials and Blue Cosmos were driving the war, but told Mwu he had no proof and urged her not to ask more unless she trusted him.