Although Main Mission One merely required them to occupy a piece of territory as their base of operations, it was precisely because of that that Xiao Ran had several ways to complete it. Occupation, negotiations, integration, or invasion could all achieve the objective. Too much freedom instead made Xiao Ran wary.
Moreover, this was a Special Mission. Based on the intelligence Luo had told him about Special Missions long ago, combined with the factional leanings of Full Metal Panic, Xiao Ran even felt that the way he completed the first-stage mission would likely affect the direction of the following two stages. He had to be even more cautious in handling the first stage.
But based on Xiao Ran's understanding of this world's Federation—or rather, of every force called the Federation—people like them, "outsiders," would have over a seventy percent chance of provoking conflict and war if they wanted to obtain an independent territory for a base, even with clear identities on this Earth.
Arrogant, overbearing, and self-righteous had practically become the defining traits of forces like the Federation. They clearly had little strength of their own, yet always acted like they were in charge. If they did not have some protagonist squad under their command, other forces would have beaten the crap out of them long ago. The most typical example was the SEED World, a complete representative of being beaten flat.
Then there was his identity. This inexplicable identity seemed to bring some convenience in quickly integrating into Earth, but knowing nothing about it meant it was bound to be a trap. Whether it was a large trap or a small one remained unclear, but anything that could bring convenience could naturally bring trouble as well. It was completely a double-edged sword, depending on whether Xiao Ran could wield