Captive

(Seeking votes and collections)

After receiving guidance from Mu and Kira, Xiao Ran re-organized the piloting techniques that existed only in his memory and instincts, thoroughly understanding them bit by bit until they truly became his own.

Later, Xiao Ran excitedly invited Mu for another sparring match. The result was that Xiao Ran, after much effort, used the superior performance of the Strike Gundam to destroy all four wired pods of the Moebius Zero. However, he lost the match again due to his mobile suit's energy being depleted.

Kira, who had been watching their battle from the side, finally discovered a key issue: "Teacher, your operational commands when piloting the MS are not accurate or fast enough. Your reaction time during aiming is insufficient, your proactive prediction is less than ten percent, and your initiative is lacking. Not to mention the hit rate, you're completely unable to unleash the full performance of the Strike Gundam."

Xiao Ran nodded gently and said with a slight smile, completely unfazed, "There's nothing I can do about it. After all, piloting an industrial MS isn't as complicated as combat. I think being able to operate the Strike Gundam like this is already a sign of exceptional talent. Of course, compared to you, I'm still far behind."

"Not at all..." Kira, hearing Xiao Ran's praise, sheepishly rubbed his head. "After all, I'm a Coordinator, and there's no comparison between me and you, a Natural."

"Speaking of Coordinators..." Mu walked over to the two of them and asked Xiao Ran with great curiosity, "How did you manage to operate an OS designed for Coordinators?"

"Hm?" Kira blinked in surprise.

"I'm not entirely sure about that either," Xiao Ran shook his head and chuckled. "Perhaps it's as I said before, exceptional talent, hehe."

Although Xiao Ran couldn't explain it verbally, he was certain in his heart that it was due to the D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill, which allowed him to bypass the OS differences between Coordinators and Naturals. The key was that the OS had to be normal, and the word "general" was crucial.

However, even though it was a general-purpose OS, it wasn't specifically written for Xiao Ran. His piloting experience was too short, and his skills weren't refined enough to ignore minor discrepancies. Consequently, he often made small errors during operation, such as moving a few meters too far forward or a few meters too short when retreating.

This meant that while Xiao Ran could compensate for some of these shortcomings in space combat using his Space Combat Proficiency skill, his flaws would be infinitely magnified against elite-level enemies. They could seize opportunities at any moment and deliver a fatal blow.

"Strange, really strange." Mu shook his head, looking puzzled. Unable to figure out what was going on, he gave up trying to think about it further. He patted Xiao Ran's shoulder and said to both Xiao Ran and Kira, "Alright, I've wasted enough time here. I need to hurry and adjust the Moebius Zero's new equipment."

"Okay." Xiao Ran nodded. After Mu left, he and Kira departed the hangar together.

On their way back to their rooms, Xiao Ran noticed Kira's hesitant expression multiple times and found it a bit strange. "Kira, what's wrong? If you have something to say, just say it."

"Teacher..." Kira looked up at Xiao Ran, who was taller than him, and asked hesitantly, "Teacher, why are you piloting an MS?"

"Why?" Xiao Ran raised an eyebrow, knowing that Kira was suspicious of him. It didn't make sense for him, Xiao Ran, to be piloting an MS while letting a student take the front line. He replied, "That's a strange question. I also thought I wouldn't be able to pilot a combat MS. Although I might have experience piloting industrial MS, you should understand that combat and industrial are completely different concepts."

Kira nodded gently. "Yes."

Xiao Ran tilted his head slightly, seemingly recalling and narrating, but in reality, he was thinking about how to phrase his explanation. "A few days ago, I discovered the virtual training machine in the hangar, which piqued my interest. I wanted to see if I had the ability to pilot an MS. Over the past few days, I've been conducting virtual battles in the hangar every day. Perhaps I truly have some talent as a Natural. Relying on my previous experience piloting industrial MS, I got the hang of it quickly."

After saying this, Xiao Ran turned his head to look at Kira beside him. "What do you think of my piloting skills?"

Kira turned to look at Xiao Ran, his face showing a hint of difficulty.

Xiao Ran smiled and said nonchalantly, "Just say it."

"Very poor," Kira mumbled, burying his head. He spoke truthfully. "Teacher's piloting skills are probably not much different from an average ZAFT grunt pilot, but compared to the Red Stripes, especially the pilots of the Aegis, Blitz, Duel, and Buster Gundams, you're still far behind. When facing any one of them, you can only defend yourself."

"It seems I'm still just a grunt, haha." Xiao Ran laughed heartily, completely unbothered, and reached out to ruffle Kira's hair. "You kid, you're my goal now. Just wait. Although you're a Coordinator, I'm not that simple. Maybe one day I'll catch up to you."

Just as he finished speaking, the Archangel's broadcast sounded: "All personnel on the bridge, Lieutenant Kira, Captain Mu, please report to the bridge. I repeat, all personnel on the bridge, Lieutenant Kira, Captain Mu, please report to the bridge."

Xiao Ran and Kira exchanged a glance, and they started running. A few minutes later, they arrived at the bridge. Except for Captain Mu, all other bridge staff were already present, including students like Miriallia. Shortly after, Mu also rushed in.

Xiao Ran stood on the bridge, looking out into the vastness of space through the transparent reinforced glass. Ahead of him, a long string of debris belt seemed to flicker in and out of existence, causing Xiao Ran's thoughts to drift unconsciously into the distance. It wasn't until Mu patted him curiously that he snapped back to attention. At this moment, besides the Archangel's three highest-ranking officers, Mu, Bargyll, and Mwu, everyone else had already left the bridge at some point.

"What are you thinking about?" Mu asked. Mwu and Bargyll also looked at Xiao Ran with confusion.

"The vengeful spirits of those over two hundred thousand people in the debris belt," Xiao Ran said, shaking his head slightly and smiling faintly. "It's tragic. Just one nuclear bomb... I don't know how the person who launched it feels now. Two hundred thousand people died because of him. Heh, I don't know why, but I feel like crying. I also don't know what the will that you true soldiers are proud of is. Slaughtering innocents? Heh."

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving the three of them with ringing ears and stunned expressions, speechless for a long time.

Xiao Ran returned to his room. What he said on the bridge was half to conceal his true thoughts and half a genuine outpouring of emotion. Thinking about Lacus and Kira meeting, Xiao Ran found it very interesting. However, being truly in this world and approaching Junius 7, nearing the bodies of those two hundred thousand deceased people, made Xiao Ran feel a lingering sense of dread.

Xiao Ran, who had been resting in his room, was not disturbed by anyone until Kira and the others returned after resupplying from the sunken warships in the debris belt. He left his room and was called to the bridge by Mwu, where a dispute was taking place.

As soon as Xiao Ran entered, he calmed the agitated students with just one sentence, persuading them to agree to resupply the most crucial water and other lacking items from the fragments of Junius 7.

"Those people are dead, but we are still alive. While we must show respect to the deceased, what about the living? Should they die of thirst in space because of that respect? I don't want to disturb their rest, but some things must be done to survive. Death is not terrifying; what's terrifying is the inability to face death. If you are unwilling to go, then I will go. I will complete this resupply with the necessary respect and silence."

Xiao Ran's words left the student army with no grounds for rebuttal. Mwu did not force everyone to proceed with the resupply to Junius 7 immediately. An hour later, Xiao Ran piloted a work ship, carrying Miriallia, who held a bouquet of origami lilies, to Junius 7 to mourn the souls of the departed.

Looking down at the land beneath him, Xiao Ran could only endure for a minute before he couldn't help but close his eyes. The scenes that appeared in his mind were far more terrifying than what he had seen in the anime. While not everywhere, if one paid attention on Junius 7, one could find various grotesquely twisted corpses, some even with their stomachs burst open and eyes bulging. The intact corpses that appeared in the anime were almost nonexistent; their contorted faces seemed to be screaming their injustices to the world.

Immersed in this atmosphere of mourning and horror, Xiao Ran himself involuntarily developed an extreme aversion to the Earth Alliance. While he disliked the Earth Alliance's actions in the anime, it was nowhere near the intense disgust and anger he felt now.

After the mourning was complete, Xiao Ran began his work. Knowing the plot, he also paid attention to other things while working, repeatedly scanning the ship's small radar and displays. However, due to the severe interference in this area, the radar's effectiveness was even less than the work ship's external monitors.

Several hours later, the Archangel's ammunition resupply was almost complete, requiring only one more trip. However, other living supplies, especially water, were difficult to extract and would require another four hours of work to complete. To avoid missing any event while transporting goods, after returning to the Archangel the first time and dropping off Miriallia, Xiao Ran took over all the water extraction work himself and stayed on Junius 7 for a long time.

When Xiao Ran saw the Strike Gundam suddenly move on the display, a look of surprise and joy instantly appeared on his face. While manipulating the angle of the work ship's external monitor, he directly connected to the Strike Gundam's private communication. "Kira, find a way to capture it!"

"Teacher? Capture? You're not...?" Kira's voice came through Xiao Ran's ear. Kira's words paused, and then he said, "I understand. I'll try to capture it, but what about the person inside?"

"I'll handle that later," Xiao Ran said, his eyes fixed on the black mobile suit that appeared on the screen, an expression of immense excitement on his face. Without thinking, he said in a low voice, "If it doesn't work, just find an opportunity to let it go."

"Uh, that might not be good..." Kira was worried that the reconnaissance Ginn, which knew nothing, would discover the work ship. However, because of Xiao Ran, he felt a bit helpless.

"Don't worry, I have my own plans," Xiao Ran's tone was full of encouragement. Seeing the reconnaissance Ginn turn to leave, he quickly said, "Kira, it's leaving!"

"I know, Teacher," Kira's helpless voice reached Xiao Ran's work ship. In an instant, Xiao Ran saw the Strike Gundam quickly rush out from cover and raise its beam rifle. Just as the reconnaissance Ginn detected the heat source, the three beams fired from the Strike Gundam's beam rifle hit the reconnaissance Ginn almost simultaneously.

In Xiao Ran's eyes, the Strike Gundam's actions were swift and accurate. With three attacks, it directly disabled the reconnaissance Ginn's arms and head. It then quickly rushed in front of the reconnaissance Ginn, aimed its beam rifle at the Ginn, and placed its other hand on the Ginn's body.

Through the uninterrupted communication, Xiao Ran also heard Kira's voice: "Surrender. In this situation, if you continue to resist, you have no chance of survival. We will guarantee your safety."

The pilot of the reconnaissance Ginn did not reply. Xiao Ran's heart tensed. Honestly, he didn't care about the Ginn pilot's choice. His only concern was that the Ginn pilot might be unyielding, unwilling to surrender with the intention of self-destruction, in which case Xiao Ran would have to pass by this mobile suit.

The reconnaissance Ginn pilot might still be hesitating, but every second that passed was a torment of both fear and joy for Xiao Ran. Fortunately, this torment did not last too long. After one minute, there was a result.

The cockpit of the reconnaissance Ginn opened, and a pilot in a green uniform slowly stood up from the cockpit and raised his hands towards the Strike Gundam. Seeing this, an irrepressible joy and excitement surged within Xiao Ran. His eyes were fixed on the damaged mobile suit, revealing an expression of immense satisfaction.

Just as Xiao Ran was fantasizing about piloting a Ginn and fighting valiantly in all directions, Kira's astonished voice immediately interrupted his reverie: "It's a girl?"

Xiao Ran looked at the figure that flew out of the Ginn's cockpit. In his joyous mood, seeing the perfect, curvaceous figure emphasized by the spacesuit, he couldn't help but let out a whistle.