Chapter Summaries

Xiao Ran discovered that the supposed hostage warehouse was filled with poisoned corpses and a massive bomb, then escaped an ambush as explosions devastated the island. He destroyed the remaining anti-aircraft position and caught up with the retreating Mithril forces while Luo and Gates sent twelve Hell Monarchs after them.

• Xiao Ran found corpses and poisonous green smoke inside the warehouse, spotted a huge bomb, and flew away as Luo's hidden forces opened fire.
• Luo mocked Gates's failed trap, while Gates shot a mercenary and demanded that the bomb be detonated.
• The base and several sites across the island exploded; Gates learned that the anti-aircraft positions had also been rigged with bombs and killed a technician.
• Gates and Luo led two red and ten blue Hell Monarchs in pursuit of the retreating Mithril forces.
• Xiao Ran destroyed the last anti-aircraft position, then flew ahead of the pursuing AS units and reduced the interference disrupting communications.

Xiao Ran and the Mithril team escaped an ambush at the island base, then he stayed behind with Luo and Sousuke Sagara to intercept the pursuing Amalgam force. As the battle began, Xiao Ran and Luo accepted missions requiring them to defeat the pursuers and protect Mithril’s retreat.

• Xiao Ran rejoined the retreating Mithril team and warned Captain Malanka that the hostages were dead and pursuers were closing in.
• Xiao Ran ordered the team to withdraw while he, Luo, and Sousuke Sagara stayed behind to cover them.
• Luo accepted a C-Class mission to protect Sousuke Sagara and the Mithril team, and Xiao Ran received a harder mission to repel, destroy, or capture all pursuers.
• The twelve pursuing AS units arrived, and Xiao Ran launched into the air as Sousuke Sagara and Luo attacked from behind cover.
• Xiao Ran opened fire on the pursuers and asked Luo to report his Guts index; Luo answered that it was fifty.

Xiao Ran’s Variable Fighter tore through Amalgam’s AS pursuit force, destroying multiple units while Sousuke Sagara and Luo fought Kowloon’s team. Luo finally activated the λ-DRIVER with a hundred points of fighting spirit as Xiao Ran moved to attack the last nearby targets.

• Xiao Ran used the Variable Fighter’s speed and weapons to destroy two blue-gray AS units, including one piloted by an enemy participant.
• Xiao Ran warned Sousuke Sagara to deal with the mass-produced AS units and identified the red Hell Monarch as the unit targeting Kharg.
• The enemy split into two groups: Kowloon led three AS units toward Sousuke and Luo, while seven targeted Xiao Ran’s Variable Fighter.
• Xiao Ran evaded the red Hell Monarch and the attackers’ fire, then used his Beam Saber to split apart three AS units gathered below.
• Xiao Ran destroyed three more participant-piloted AS units as Luo announced that he had reached one hundred fighting-spirit points.
• Luo activated the λ-DRIVER in his Demon King Mecha and charged an enemy AS while Sousuke attacked the red Hell Monarch; Xiao Ran questioned how long Luo’s forced activation would last.

Xiao Ran and his allies defeated the attacking force and captured several survivors, then brought them aboard Danner's Son for questioning. Gauron tried to recruit Xiao Ran, who warned that Amalgam's plans had been undermined, just as Tessa entered the detention room.

• Xiao Ran destroyed eight enemy machines while Luo and Sousuke Sagara helped bring down the rest, including Gauron's machine.
• The Blond Man and a long-haired woman surrendered, and Mithril later found three more survivors, including Gauron and Gauron's injured younger twin disciple.
• Mithril transported five captives to Danner's Son, where they were restrained under heavy guard as Xiao Ran received confirmation that his mission was complete.
• Gauron recognized Xiao Ran and offered him money to join Amalgam, but Xiao Ran refused and threatened him.
• Xiao Ran revealed that Mithril had arrested Amalgam's bribed traitors and likely captured its senior spy, then warned Gauron against trying to seize the submarine.
• Tessa entered the detention room with El-Elf and Kalinin, and those inside raised their right hands toward her.

After helping Tessa uncover the traitors aboard Danner's Son, Xiao Ran rested and checked on Yani, who had awakened as a Whispered. He learned that the island attack had pushed the United States and the Soviet Union toward war, and suspected Amalgam had engineered the crisis to trigger a global conflict.

• Tessa thanked Xiao Ran for helping expose the traitors and asked El-Elf to watch the captured enemies while she questioned them.
• Xiao Ran found Chidori scolding Sousuke Sagara and learned that Yani had awakened with unfamiliar knowledge in her head.
• After resting, Xiao Ran discovered that American forces were preparing a retaliatory operation and that the Soviet Union was mobilizing in response.
• Tessa and Richard warned Xiao Ran that the escalating confrontation could become a world war and leave Amalgam free to expand.
• Xiao Ran suspected Amalgam had arranged the attack to destroy the base and hostages, create a pretext for war, and influence the people who could start it.

Xiao Ran warned Tessa and Richard that Amalgam might be engineering a world war to expand its power, and laid out preparations for Mithril to survive and fight back. He agreed to keep Mithril’s captured prisoners from returning to Amalgam, while insisting that his group would pursue its own objectives if Mithril rejected his demands.

• Xiao Ran described how Amalgam could profit from a war between the Soviet Union and the United States, leaving Tessa and Richard shocked.
• Xiao Ran suspected evil-faction participants within Amalgam were driving the crisis and concluded Mithril had to prepare for war.
• Xiao Ran urged Mithril to relocate its forces to Merida Island, target pro-war figures and Amalgam, seek allies, and prepare new weapons and λ-DRIVER users.
• Xiao Ran insisted Luo take control of Mithril’s research, logistics, and manufacturing, explaining that Luo could disable AS units and nuclear missiles.
• Xiao Ran said his group would protect Danner's Son and its remaining crew but would leave Mithril if it rejected his conditions.
• Tessa asked Xiao Ran to help Mithril and agreed to report his proposals to the higher-ups; Xiao Ran agreed to take responsibility for the captured prisoners so they could not rejoin Amalgam.

Xiao Ran confronted Kowloon and Gates in detention, pieced together Amalgam’s plan to provoke a world war by framing Mithril, and considered using an N-Jammer to limit the coming destruction. He left to ask Luo about building a more powerful unit, but learned that materials and time made a true MS uncertain.

• Tessa and Richard discussed Xiao Ran’s authority and concluded that Kowloon’s group would fall into his hands if they refused his demands.
• Xiao Ran visited the detention room, where El-Elf told him the interrogation had revealed little useful information.
• Xiao Ran outlined Amalgam’s likely plan to provoke a war and expose Mithril as the aggressor; Kowloon confirmed most of his deductions and mocked Gates for calling his disclosure betrayal.
• Xiao Ran realized Mithril would be framed for attacking the Soviet Union, then ordered the prisoners kept under guard and told El-Elf to kill them if they made a suspicious move.
• Xiao Ran proposed using an N-Jammer to disable nuclear weapons and many AS units, then asked Luo about building a unit on the level of Justice Gundam.
• Luo explained that producing a true MS would be difficult because of the lack of suitable materials and facilities, and he could not guarantee how long alternatives would take.

Xiao Ran learned that Mithril had rejected most of his demands and warned Tessa that Amalgam was maneuvering to provoke a war and frame Mithril. Tessa pleaded for his help, and he made clear that he would not act unless Mithril accepted his terms, leaving his next move dependent on Main Mission Two.

• Luo told Xiao Ran that the timing for creating N-Jammers was uncertain, so Xiao Ran began preparing the necessary data and materials.
• Tessa reported that Mithril had agreed to pursue negotiations, search for λ-DRIVER pilots, gather intelligence on Amalgam, and put Luo in charge of the Technology Department, but rejected the rest of Xiao Ran's demands.
• Tessa told Xiao Ran that Danner's Son was heading to the United States to be handed over to its government, and asked what he would do after Mithril's refusal.
• Xiao Ran warned Tessa that Amalgam could attack a Soviet base and frame Mithril, leaving it blamed for escalating the war and facing hostility from other countries.
• Tessa panicked and begged Xiao Ran to help save Mithril; he said he had no solution unless it accepted all his demands.
• Tessa promised to convince Mithril's leaders and left, while Xiao Ran told Luo he would wait to see whether Main Mission Two involved Mithril before taking action.

Xiao Ran rejected relying on Mithril and chose an independent course for Main Mission Two, planning to take control of Danner's Son and preserve its righteous-camp status. He ordered preparations to secure the ship and seek Colonel Tessa's cooperation as the mission's three-month faction and combat restrictions ended.

• Xiao Ran and Luo discussed ending their cooperation with Mithril, finding an industrially strong partner, and bringing Colonel Tessa and Danner's Son under their control.
• Main Mission One ended with an A rating and a Golden Treasure Chest, and Main Mission Two began with options to join a righteous faction or independently weaken an evil faction.
• Xiao Ran chose the independent mission option, reasoning that it would let them either defend Mithril or attack Amalgam without being tied to Mithril.
• Xiao Ran ordered El-Elf to kill the Americans they had captured, except that Kowloon could be spared if he agreed to join them, and asked Luo to make collar bombs.
• After Luo celebrated receiving an A, Xiao Ran ordered him to prepare to take control of Danner's Son and arrange a meeting with Colonel Tessa, while instructing him to preserve the ship if she resisted.

Xiao Ran warned Tessa that Amalgam was preparing to attack Mithril and demanded that Merida Island be evacuated, while offering several terms for taking control of Danner's Son. Tessa left to consult Mithril's leaders, and Xiao Ran planned to find new allies and gather resources as Mithril's forces were defeated.

• Xiao Ran concluded that joining Mithril would be too dangerous after it rejected his proposal and faced an impending Amalgam assault.
• Tessa told Xiao Ran that Mithril's leaders had refused to evacuate their bases despite her efforts.
• Xiao Ran warned Tessa that Amalgam would attack Mithril from multiple directions and urged her to evacuate Merida Island using Danner's Son.
• Xiao Ran offered Tessa the choice of cooperating with him, having Danner's Son taken by force, or separating from him; Tessa asked for time to decide.
• Tessa agreed to begin evacuating Merida Island and hurried away to consult Richard and Kalinin.
• Xiao Ran rested and considered new partner countries, capturing equipment and personnel from Mithril and Amalgam, and rebuilding Mithril under his control.

Xiao Ran left Danaan with Luo, El-Elf, Chidori, Yani, and the Amalgam prisoners after Tessa agreed to provide a helicopter, while warning her that Mithril faced overwhelming enemies. Tessa ordered Mithril to prepare for evacuation, and Xiao Ran headed for Japan to find a large ship and make plans for the coming chaos.

• Xiao Ran planned to deploy N-Jammers to weaken local military forces and give his group an advantage.
• Xiao Ran told the hesitant Tessa he was leaving Danaan and taking the Amalgam prisoners to use as sources of intelligence.
• Tessa begged Xiao Ran to stay, but he warned that Mithril would face many powerful enemies and refused to remain.
• Tessa agreed to provide a transport helicopter, and Xiao Ran departed with Luo, El-Elf, Chidori, Yani, and the prisoners.
• Tessa ordered Richard to return to Merida Island and prepare Danaan to evacuate personnel, facilities, and supplies.
• Xiao Ran told El-Elf they were heading to Japan to seek help and find a ship large enough to serve their needs.

Xiao Ran questioned the captured mercenaries and offered Kuruzou employment in exchange for helping him build a force against Amalgam. Kuruzou accepted after killing Gates, while Xiao Ran remained focused on acquiring equipment and personnel from Amalgam and Mithril.

• Xiao Ran sent El-Elf and Luo Ba to interrogate Gates and the surviving pursuer, ordering them to compare the prisoners’ information and kill anyone who lied.
• Xiao Ran offered to hire Kuruzou, but rejected his demand to kill Kasim and instead promised access to enhanced abilities, machines, and a wider world.
• Kuruzou recognized Xiao Ran’s golden eyes as evidence of unusual powers, then learned that Xiao Ran planned to target Amalgam and take resources from Amalgam and Mithril.
• Xiao Ran freed Kuruzou and the twin sisters, and Kuruzou picked up the discarded gun and shot Gates after wondering whether he might also be a monster.
• Kuruzou returned the gun and declared himself Xiao Ran’s mercenary.

Xiao Ran returned to Japan with Chidori, Yani, El-Elf, and Kowloon, then began building a force and preparing to seize control of the country ahead of a coming world war. He explained the conspiracy threatening Mithril to Chidori, who reacted with fury at Sousuke Sagara for keeping her in the dark.

• Xiao Ran left CL alive on the island and flew to Japan with Chidori, Yani, El-Elf, and Kowloon, while Luo stayed behind to guard the equipment and the others.
• Xiao Ran and El-Elf cleared out their safehouse, then Xiao Ran assigned Chidori to contact Hayashimizu Atsunobu and Tsubaki and ordered El-Elf to plan a takeover of Japan.
• Xiao Ran asked Kowloon to take control of Amalgam's forces in Japan and recruit people who would obey Xiao Ran's orders, and Kowloon agreed.
• Xiao Ran told Chidori that Amalgam planned to attack Mithril and provoke a war between the Soviet Union and the United States, eventually causing a Third World War.
• Chidori angrily vowed to confront Sousuke Sagara for hiding the danger from her and remaining in a dangerous place alone.

Xiao Ran warned Chidori, Hayashimizu Atsunobu, and Tsubaki that Amalgam was moving the world toward war while El-Elf investigated Japan’s power structure. Hayashimizu offered the Lin Quan Family’s unconditional support, revealing that it already knew about Mithril, Amalgam, Xiao Ran, and the attack on the American military base.

• Xiao Ran assigned Luo to protect Chidori and Yani while Amalgam’s M9 units launched a strike on a Soviet base holding nuclear weapons, intending to provoke the Soviet Union and create an opening for an American offensive.
• Hayashimizu Atsunobu arrived and explained to El-Elf that four families and three conglomerates held much of Japan’s real power, and he identified his own family as one of them.
• El-Elf asked how the families and conglomerates could be controlled, and Hayashimizu said they would need to be made afraid while also being offered something to pursue.
• Xiao Ran told Hayashimizu and Tsubaki that Amalgam threatened to plunge the world into a new war and that they needed to help stop it.
• Hayashimizu pledged the Lin Quan Family’s unconditional support and said it knew about Mithril, Amalgam, Xiao Ran, and the events at an American military base.

Xiao Ran secured the Lin Quan Family’s support by agreeing to serve as its shield while he took control of Japan and opposed Amalgam. He ordered Hayashimizu Atsunobu to gather allies and resources, then learned from Tsubaki that many martial artists in Japan had mastered qi.

• Hayashimizu Atsunobu explained that the Lin Quan Family would support Xiao Ran to protect its power and keep Japan out of war, while keeping the option to switch sides if Xiao Ran failed.
• Xiao Ran and Hayashimizu Atsunobu agreed to cooperate, with Xiao Ran accepting that he would draw pressure away from the Lin Quan Family.
• Xiao Ran ordered Hayashimizu Atsunobu to win over Japan’s other families and conglomerates, eliminate opponents with El-Elf, and prepare trusted personnel, a ship, and AS units.
• Xiao Ran invited Tsubaki to join his efforts and offered to have a friend teach him stronger martial arts; Tsubaki agreed, saying he would protect Chidori.
• Tsubaki told Xiao Ran that many practitioners of Severed Vein Style and other schools had mastered qi, prompting Xiao Ran to consider recruiting them as a combat force.

Xiao Ran arranged to build up his forces and began coordinating with Hayashimizu Atsunobu while awaiting reinforcements. After American M9s triggered a nuclear crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union, Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi agreed to let Xiao Ran lead the Lin Quan Family’s cooperation and support his plan to use N-Jammers to prevent nuclear warfare.

• Xiao Ran sent El-Elf to bring Luo and the others to his location, while Tsubaki went to recruit friends who could use qi.
• Hayashimizu Atsunobu arrived with news that American M9s had attacked a Soviet military base, launched a nuclear bomb at the United States, and detonated the remaining bombs, plunging both countries into armed conflict.
• Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi introduced himself as Atsunobu’s father and offered to represent the Lin Quan Family in cooperating with Xiao Ran.
• Xiao Ran proposed deploying N-Jammers to suppress nuclear energy and N-Jammer Cancellers to keep his own power plants and AS units operational.
• Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi accepted Xiao Ran’s lead and said representatives from other families and financial groups would soon arrive to negotiate.

Xiao Ran and Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi consolidated control of the country, prepared a fleet and forces for Xiao Ran’s coming operation, and gave Luo a research department and a powerful machine to protect the country in Xiao Ran’s absence. As Xiao Ran prepared to depart, Luo revealed his unusual wolf-shaped Zoid as his exclusive unit.

• Xiao Ran and Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi planned their alliance, assigned El-Elf to help recruit allies and eliminate opponents, and arranged for Luo to reproduce the N-Jammer and N-Jammer Canceller.
• After two days of war and unrest, Hayashimizu Nobuyoshi invited the other major families and financial groups to meet, where gunfire erupted and El-Elf led forces against their enemies.
• Over the next three days, El-Elf, the Lin Quan Family, and their allies secretly eliminated the enemy list and took control of two-thirds of the country’s power.
• Luo received a research department and national industrial support, while Xiao Ran’s personnel, Variable Fighter, Demon King Mecha, and M6 units were loaded onto a prepared freighter.
• Xiao Ran left an Astray Melee Type at Luo’s research department, and Luo brought his pale-green wolf-shaped Zoid aboard the freighter as his exclusive unit.

Xiao Ran left Luo to secure the Lin Quan Family’s position and set out to plunder enemy facilities while completing Main Mission Two. He traveled with a small team and learned that Kowloon was building a force in the Middle East.

• Xiao Ran handed Gundam Astray to Luo, then tasked him with producing N-Jammers, selecting G Series pilots, and working with El-Elf to consolidate control.
• Xiao Ran planned to plunder facilities belonging to the Soviet Union, the United States, and Amalgam, while waiting for Mithril to come under attack so he could recruit its displaced members.
• Xiao Ran set out to complete Main Mission Two by destroying hostile facilities and disrupting enemy operations during the plundering campaign.
• Xiao Ran left Chidori and Yani in the Lin Quan Family’s care and traveled to the harbor with the twin sisters, C.L., Hayashimizu Atsunobu, and a convoy of people.
• Xiao Ran contacted Kowloon, who said he was fighting in the Middle East, building a force, and eliminating people he considered useless.

Xiao Ran explained that the freighter would serve as a disguised forward logistics base for raids rather than a transport ship. After setting sail, he chose an Amalgam stronghold on Shima as the first target and gave Hayashimizu Atsunobu maps to plan the operation.

• The convoy reached the harbor, and Xiao Ran boarded the modified freighter with his team as it set sail north.
• Hayashimizu Atsunobu asked why Xiao Ran had chosen a slow cargo ship instead of faster aircraft.
• Xiao Ran explained that the freighter would be a disposable offshore base, while helicopters and captured aircraft would provide mobility and carry seized supplies.
• Xiao Ran ruled out immediate attacks on the United States and the Soviet Union and selected Amalgam's stronghold on Shima as the first target.
• Xiao Ran gave Hayashimizu Atsunobu a disk of facility and factory maps and asked him to draft a raiding plan.

Xiao Ran gave Hayashimizu Atsunobu a sensitive map and considered him as a future successor to the forces he had built. He then flew ahead to Sakhalin Island, scouted Amalgam’s fortified base, and prepared to clear threats before his team arrived.

• Xiao Ran handed Hayashimizu Atsunobu a disk containing a detailed map of important facilities, and Hayashimizu Atsunobu agreed to keep it secret.
• Xiao Ran considered cultivating Hayashimizu Atsunobu to manage his forces after he left the world, while reflecting on the possibility of making the world a Legion Territory.
• Xiao Ran departed the freighter in his Variable Fighter as Luo, Yufang, Yulan, and the combat personnel prepared to follow by helicopter.
• Xiao Ran reached Sakhalin Island and identified an Amalgam stronghold equipped with Soviet military hardware and several sealed warehouses.
• Xiao Ran observed the base, planned to destroy its anti-aircraft guns and warehouses, and waited for the helicopters before attacking its threats.