Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ran and his allies established that he would hold supreme authority over the Burning Legion and discussed rules to govern the growing team. They then planned how to recruit newcomers and fill the available Newbie Mission spots.

• Cruze proposed confirming Xiao Ran as the Burning Legion’s sole core, and Xiao Ran supported the proposal.
• El-Elf recommended a single leader, delegated authority, balanced rules, and advancement opportunities; Naluo agreed, and Basak accepted the plan.
• Cruze declared the authority structure settled, and Xiao Ran asked Cruze, El-Elf, and Zechs to draft the Legion’s rules with help from an Advisory Group.
• Xiao Ran proposed splitting ten newcomer recommendations between Basak and Naluo, selecting ten more candidates from the Legion Territory, and choosing five recruits to undertake the next Newbie Mission.

Xiao Ran balanced the Burning Legion’s new recruit slots between Basak’s berserkers and Naluo’s people, then planned a named team drawn from his allies. At the empty legion base, he assigned Luo to earn Merit Points and considered how to fund the legion through trade and production tied to his territory.

• Xiao Ran chose five of Basak’s tribesmen and five of Naluo’s people for the ten planet-based nomination slots, leaving Earthlings without a slot.
• Xiao Ran selected Skull Squadron, S.M.S. bridge crew members, and Glan Glan for his ten named recommendations, while considering replacing one with an exceptional S.M.S. pilot.
• Xiao Ran and the others entered the nearly empty Burning Legion base, where he said Merit Points and materials would be needed to develop it.
• Luo agreed to inspect C-class mecha in the Trading Zone and earn Merit Points before the next mission, with Basak offering to accompany him.
• Xiao Ran explained that trading goods from the Super Dimension Fortress Frontier territory could provide income, but that importing or producing them still required time, labor, and resources.

After returning to the 25th Fleet, Xiao Ran reorganized its leadership and economy around Prometheus, then sold an intact MACROSS-class Battleship to Old Luo. The appraisal exceeded his expectations, leaving the battleship’s value and its Space Jump system as the chapter’s final focus.

• Xiao Ran returned to the 25th Fleet after a month away and was pulled into urgent work by Former President Glass and Catherine.
• Xiao Ran gave L.A.I. technical data and explained Prometheus to fleet leaders and companies, which soon transferred most of their assets to the fleet.
• Xiao Ran announced trade cooperation with allied fleets, offering technology and goods from Prometheus through the 25th Fleet.
• Luo built a modified C+-class Astray unit and considered earning Merit Points by manufacturing units for sale.
• Xiao Ran removed the supplies and units from his stored MACROSS-class Battleship and offered the intact ship to Old Luo.
• Old Luo appraised the battleship at at least eighteen million Merit Points, potentially over twenty million, because its Space Jump system and other equipment were in perfect condition.

After selling an intact battleship, Xiao Ran received nineteen million Merit Points and spent the remaining rest period strengthening the team, arranging equipment, and procuring supplies. The Burning Legion accepted an unknown mission, and Xiao Ran prepared to enter a beginner world with four companions while the rest of the team took a separate roster.

• Luo paid Xiao Ran nineteen million Merit Points for the battleship and waived the remaining mecha maintenance fees.
• Xiao Ran strengthened El-Elf, Saki Maski, and Zechs, used the serum on El-Elf, and then raised the rest of the team's attributes to the fifty-point limit.
• Graham advanced to B-class Pilot, and the team trained together until Zechs understood the gap between B-class and C-class Pilots.
• Xiao Ran and Luo procured supplies for the 25th Fleet and arranged new mecha, while Zechs received the Black Astray.
• Xiao Ran chose El-Elf, Zechs, Nalu, and Saki Maski to accompany him to a beginner world, while the rest of the team prepared to undertake another mission.
• The team submitted its mission roster at the Legion Hall, and Xiao Ran spent the final two days speaking privately with Cruze.

Xiao Ran and the Burning Legion prepared for their first Legion Mission, while Xiao Ran's group entered a recommendation mission in the Gundam world. The chapter ended with Xiao Ran and his companions realizing their attributes had been suppressed differently and beginning to assess their situation.

• The Burning Legion finalized rules that bound members to Xiao Ran, protected Legion secrets, and required members who left to forget the Legion and return its rewards.
• Xiao Ran sent Mwu, Sheryl, Basak, and their companions aboard the Watcher for a Legion Mission, while he, El-Elf, Zechs, Saki Maski, and Zoe prepared to enter a separate mission.
• Prometheus sent Xiao Ran's group to the Gundam world, designated Rau Le Creuset as the Legion's successor, and issued a group Newbie Mission to survive for ten hours.
• Xiao Ran and his four companions woke together in a furnished room and found that most of their attributes had been restricted to twenty-five.
• Xiao Ran noticed that El-Elf and Saki Maski's Constitution had not been reduced and suspected the difference was tied to their bloodlines.

Xiao Ran organized his group to locate their scattered allies in a Space Colony while anticipating an imminent Zeon attack. After finding Ram, he set out with Zechs to gather more members, still weighing whether to join the Earth Federation or Zeon.

• Xiao Ran used the tracker to locate ten moving newcomers and, with El-Elf, determined they were intruders in an unoccupied house.
• Xiao Ran armed the group lightly and sent El-Elf to fetch a car so they could meet their scattered allies.
• Xiao Ran explained the Space Colony to Saki Maski and recalled the battles from Gundam 0079, realizing the first attack could happen soon.
• Xiao Ran and his group drove to the nearest red dot, where Zechs found Ram waiting nervously at the door.
• Xiao Ran had El-Elf record the locations of the remaining allies, then left with Zechs to find them before the battles began.

Xiao Ran gathered the ten newcomers scattered across the satellite and brought them to the meeting point, where El-Elf and the others had assembled the rest of the group. With an evacuation alarm sounding ahead of Char’s attack, Xiao Ran decided they would head for the shelters and seek protection from a force in the colony.

• Xiao Ran and Zechs located Jetta and Tori, who joined them after Jetta contacted Naluo and persuaded Tori.
• Xiao Ran convinced the wary berserker Asa to join by explaining why he had been sent to find the newcomers and showing him their customary greeting.
• Xiao Ran, Zechs, and Asa recruited the remaining newcomers, with the Orin people welcoming their own and Asa persuading the berserkers.
• An evacuation alarm announced a military operation and sent civilians toward shelters, so Xiao Ran hurried to collect the last two newcomers.
• Xiao Ran reached the meeting point and found El-Elf, the 25th Fleet crew, and the other newcomers waiting there.
• Xiao Ran assigned Naluo to guide the Orin newcomers and Asa to lead the berserkers, then ordered everyone to seek shelter and find a force that could protect them.

Xiao Ran raced to the shelter during the Colony Satellite crisis while deciding which faction to join and planning to seize Gundam. After recognizing Amuro, he sent his people to follow him and drove toward the enormous elevators with Saki Maski and El-Elf.

• Xiao Ran led twenty-five people in six cars toward the shelter and considered whether to join Zeon or the Federation, prioritizing getting Gundam.
• Xiao Ran spotted Amuro and Haro in a red convertible and ordered Zechs to follow their car.
• Xiao Ran's convoy reached the shelter, where he directed Zechs, Nalu, and Luca to shadow Amuro inside.
• Xiao Ran took Saki Maski and El-Elf and sped toward the enormous elevators.

Xiao Ran led El-Elf and Saki Maski into the Earth Federation military district to seize a Gundam before Char’s Zakus attacked. Saki Maski took control of the RX-78-2 while El-Elf fought the soldiers, leaving Xiao Ran’s group committed to keeping the machine.

• Xiao Ran drove through the military checkpoint as a Zaku II appeared, confusing its pilot.
• The Zaku II pilot destroyed a transport truck carrying Guncannon parts while Xiao Ran raced into the underground hangar.
• Xiao Ran crashed his car into a transport vehicle beside the RX-78-2 and ordered everyone to get down as soldiers fired at them.
• El-Elf threw grenades and attacked the Federal Army soldiers while Saki Maski pulled Xiao Ran from the car.
• Xiao Ran told Saki Maski to use the Gundam against the enemies outside, and she boarded the RX-78-2.

Xiao Ran and Saki Maski took control of Gundams and prepared to protect their team, with Xiao Ran planning to reach the White Base. Seeing the Federal Army’s overwhelming attack on the two Zakus and Saki, Xiao Ran faced the choice of whom to fight and made up his mind as another Gundam brought him a Beam Rifle.

• Saki Maski activated Unit 2 while Xiao Ran ran deeper into the passageway to find another Gundam.
• Xiao Ran climbed into the RX-78-1, started it, and walked it toward the exit.
• Xiao Ran decided to secure the White Base and protect his team, accepting that he might offend both the Earth Federation and Zeon.
• Xiao Ran saw that more than a hundred missile vehicles and several older Guntanks were attacking the two Zakus and Saki Maski’s Unit 2.
• Another Gundam appeared beside Xiao Ran’s Unit 1 and handed him a Beam Rifle, and Xiao Ran made up his mind.

Xiao Ran rejected joining either the Earth Federation or Zeon and instead maneuvered the three Gundams to make the Zeon Zakus fight the Federation forces. His group withdrew under the guise of needing reinforcements, leaving the two sides battling as Unit 1 lay disabled in the open.

• Xiao Ran decided to avoid both factions and ordered Unit 2 and Unit 3 to follow him away from the fighting.
• Xiao Ran and El-Elf fired near the Federation formation while approaching the Zakus as if they were allies, and Saki Maski followed.
• Xiao Ran's Black Mecha shielded the Zakus from missiles, and he told their pilots that the Gundam team needed them to take over the fight.
• The three Gundams moved behind the Zakus and headed away from the shelter, then Xiao Ran made Unit 1 collapse so the Federation would concentrate its fire on him.
• The Zaku pilots retaliated against the Federation forces, prioritizing the Guntanks and destroying most of them amid explosions that also damaged missile vehicles.

Xiao Ran’s group trapped two Zeon Zakus and forced one pilot to carry an offer of cooperation to Char. Xiao Ran explained to El-Elf and Saki Maski that seizing the three Gundams gave their group leverage to stay independent of both the Earth Federation and Zeon.

• Xiao Ran led Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 into the satellite passage while the third Zaku accompanied them.
• Xiao Ran’s three Gundams pinned the Zaku pilot, and Saki Maski sealed the isolation chamber to trap the two Zakus inside.
• Xiao Ran offered the pilot the choice of dying or delivering a proposal to Char, and the pilot agreed to cooperate.
• Xiao Ran told the pilot to tell Char that the pirates would sell him the three machines if he met them in person.
• Xiao Ran explained to El-Elf and Saki Maski that the seized Gundams would help their twenty-five-person group avoid becoming cannon fodder for either faction.

Xiao Ran, El-Elf, and Saki Maski planned to protect the newcomers by gathering intelligence and creating a safe faction for them, then moved to seize the satellite’s warship. Saki Maski destroyed the two Zakus while Xiao Ran and El-Elf reached the White Base to suppress it.

• El-Elf recognized that they needed intelligence on the Earth Federation and Zeon, while Xiao Ran explained that their priority was helping the newcomers survive and complete their missions.
• Xiao Ran ordered Saki Maski to destroy the two Zakus and told her and El-Elf that he and El-Elf would seize the White Base as a temporary base.
• Xiao Ran and El-Elf left the isolation chamber for the spaceport, and Saki Maski entered the satellite after closing the outer hatch.
• Saki Maski piloted Unit 2 through the ruined satellite and killed both Zaku pilots with precise Beam Saber strikes.
• Xiao Ran and El-Elf arrived at the White Base, whose defenses were no match for their Gundams.

Xiao Ran kept White Base pinned beneath the three Gundams while he gathered his allies and organized a rescue effort. As Nalo led people out to help the wounded, Michel urged everyone to move quickly before Zeon attacked again.

• Xiao Ran and El-Elf used Unit 1 and Unit 3 to immobilize White Base without boarding it.
• Saki Maski arrived in Unit 2 after defeating two Zaku IIs, and Xiao Ran praised her for completing her task.
• Xiao Ran told Nalo to bring wounded soldiers and civilians to the spaceport, while Zechs followed Amuro.
• Nalo recruited Captain Jeffrey and others from the shelter to join the rescue effort.
• Nalo's group emerged into the devastated colony, where civilians mourned their destroyed homes.
• Michel found a vehicle and urged the group to rescue people quickly and reach safety before another Zeon attack.

Nalo and Jeffrey led nearly a thousand civilians and wounded people to the White Base, where the crew debated whether to shelter them. Xiao Ran put on his new mask and told Captain Jeffrey and Bright Noa that his group had come for the three Gundams and the White Base, leaving them to wonder how he had learned of the secret project.

• Nalo urged the civilians to head for the spaceport together, rescue survivors, and gather supplies, while she and Jeffrey coordinated their progress.
• Nearly a thousand people reached the untouched White Base, prompting its captain to weigh taking them aboard against the risks to the ship.
• The captain asked Bright Noa what to do, and Bright recommended identifying the Gundam pilots and their purpose before deciding how to proceed.
• The White Base contacted the three Gundam pilots, but Saki Maski and El-Elf ignored the request while Xiao Ran put on a mask made by Luo and accepted it.
• Xiao Ran told the captain and Bright that his group had come for the three Gundams and the White Base, and that they had used Zeon's attack as an opportunity.

Xiao Ran pressured the White Base crew to surrender the warship while promising to protect them and preserve the Gundam data. After the crew chose to evacuate, El-Elf began inspecting and taking control of the ship, as unrest grew among the refugees.

• Xiao Ran offered the White Base crew three choices and argued that preserving the Gundam data would benefit the Earth Federation.
• The old captain and Bright decided to evacuate White Base and leave its data behind, while Naluo watched the crowd for agitators and Xiao Ran ordered Amuro Ray and his father kept under surveillance.
• The old captain and Bright led the crew out of White Base to organize the refugees.
• El-Elf inspected White Base, found no bombs, hacked its Main System, and cut off its communications except those with the three Gundams.
• Saki Maski piloted Unit 2 into the hangar carrying Unit 1, and some people in the Spaceport began to make their move.

White Base recruited people from the satellite before departing to draw Zeon away, while El-Elf warned them of the danger and sorted potential participants among the newcomers. As the boarded passengers weighed whether to stay, the Black Mecha launched from the Spaceport.

• El-Elf broadcast White Base’s mission, limited capacity, and the danger of facing Char, prompting some people to stay while Captain Jeffrey led a group aboard.
• Ozma and other Skull Squadron members entered White Base with two unconscious people, while Alto and Luca stayed behind to guard them and discuss keeping Xiao Ran’s plans secret.
• Luca recorded the passengers, and El-Elf analyzed their identities, marking more than fifty people as priority targets and estimating that the ship held over seventeen Earth Federation soldiers.
• El-Elf fired several shots to quiet the crowded hangar, sealed the hatch, and warned the passengers that joining White Base could make them unable to return to their former lives.
• The Black Mecha’s eyes lit up, and it launched from the Spaceport as the passengers made their final choices.

Xiao Ran piloted Gundam Unit 1 out to meet Char and sensed that the Red Comet had begun evolving toward an NT. After Char’s Zaku II failed to damage the Gundam, Xiao Ran charged at him bare-handed, prompting Char to take the duel seriously.

• Xiao Ran detected Char’s anger, excitement, and emerging NT potential as the two pilots met in space.
• Xiao Ran inspected Unit 1 and found it powerful and durable but poorly armed and dependent on propellant for its thrusters.
• Xiao Ran taunted Char by curling a finger at his Zaku II, and Char charged in to test the Gundam and its pilot.
• Char’s machine-gun fire left Unit 1 unharmed, revealing the Gundam’s superior armor.
• Xiao Ran rushed Char head-on without drawing a weapon, and Char felt an unfamiliar pressure and stopped treating the encounter as a simple test.

Xiao Ran defeated Char's Red Mecha in Gundam Unit 1 and revealed his overwhelming skill. He then offered Char a trade, ending by asking whether Char had shut down all communication channels except theirs.

• Xiao Ran evaded Char's attacks while closing in, and Char recognized the black Gundam's superior performance and its pilot's frightening control.
• Char felt pressure from Xiao Ran's Brainwaves, then tried to retreat and strike Gundam Unit 1 with his heat hawk.
• Xiao Ran stopped the heat hawk with his shield, destroyed the Zaku II's head, and appeared behind Char before Char could react.
• Xiao Ran told Char that his potential could let him reach Xiao Ran's level, then claimed that with a suitable mecha he could destroy the Earth Federation's space fleets.
• Xiao Ran rejected both Zeon and the Federation, called himself a free space pirate, and offered Char a trade for what Char desired most.
• Xiao Ran asked whether Char had shut down every communication channel besides theirs before naming what he wanted to trade.

Xiao Ran revealed that he knew Char’s true identity as Casval Rem Daiken and proposed that Char join his independent force to end the war between the Earth Federation and Zeon. Char listened to Xiao Ran’s plan, but the conversation ended with Xiao Ran invoking Char’s sister as a reason to cooperate.

• Xiao Ran switched to video communication, introduced himself as Alex, and revealed that he knew Char was the eldest son of the Daiken family.
• Char removed his helmet and mask, then asked whether anyone else knew his identity; Xiao Ran promised to keep it secret and help conceal it.
• Xiao Ran said he wanted to build a third-party force to end the war and chose Char for his abilities, heritage, and potential as a Newtype.
• Xiao Ran demonstrated his golden eyes and described his Newtype abilities, while Char considered the possibility that he was evolving too.
• Xiao Ran proposed that Char gather Daiken loyalists, seek General Revil’s support, and use Zeon’s internal conflict to eliminate the Zabi family and end the war.
• Char questioned why he should risk joining Xiao Ran, who answered that Char could rely on him to confront the Zabi family and that Char’s sister was with his group.