Gundam SEED

In the darkness, Xiao Ran felt as though he had dreamed a very long dream. Like an observer, he had learned the history and broader course of this world from a textbook. But just as he tried to delve deeper, he woke from that dreamlike state. The moment he opened his eyes, he found himself in a room less than five square meters in size. The clean, bright room contained only a bed, a wardrobe, and a desk. It was simple, yet cozy.

Before he could get up and properly inspect his surroundings, his left hand began to vibrate. Raising it, he saw that an inconspicuous smartwatch had appeared on his previously bare wrist. A string of messages had already appeared on its screen.

"Mission World: Gundam SEED"

"This mission is a group Newbie Mission. Mission difficulty: Unknown."

"This mission will issue a group Newbie Main Mission. One hundred newcomers will participate. Upon completing three Main Missions, you will receive the basic reward of 1,000 Merit Points and may choose to return to the fortress."

"Main Mission 1: Safely escape the Heliopolis Satellite Colony within eight hours. (Incomplete)"

"Failure penalty: None."

"Main Mission 2: Will unlock upon completion of Main Mission 1."

"You have been synchronized with this world's language. All languages and text appearing in this world will automatically be converted into your native language."

"You have obtained basic knowledge of this world. (Temporary. Will be cleared upon leaving this world.)"

"This world is a newbie world. You may obtain a personal newbie unit in this world, but you will be forced to accept a Side Mission based on the unit's grade. If the mission fails, you will be unable to obtain the current unit, and Merit Points equivalent to the unit's grade will be deducted. Those with negative Merit Points... will be erased!"

"Warning: You are forbidden from informing any resident of this world of anything related to the Prometheus Fortress. Five hundred Merit Points will be deducted for every sentence spoken. Those with insufficient Merit Points will be erased."

"Your current Merit Points: 0"

"Character data conversion activated. Real Zone No. 678. Your attributes are as follows: Accuracy (2), Agility (1), Reflexes (6), Spirit (8), Constitution (3). All participants will have fatal points removed. Fatal areas, including the heart and head, will become vital points. Attacks to vital points will not cause immediate death, but will instead deduct double Endurance. Endurance equals Constitution × 10. Your current Endurance is 30. You will die when Endurance reaches zero. Negative effects will appear below ten points. You will be unable to perform any actions below five points. You will fall unconscious when Spirit reaches zero."

After Xiao Ran finished reading the information on the watch display, the text changed into an ordinary time display as though it knew he was done. Yet in Xiao Ran's eyes, the eight-hour countdown visible only to him had already begun ticking down second by second. At the bottom of the display were two options: Attributes and Missions. Naturally, those too could only be seen by the owner of the watch.

Rubbing his head, which was aching from having the rough history and development of the Gundam SEED world poured into it by the system, Xiao Ran let out a breath. "As expected, the system won't throw us into this world without knowing anything. It will still provide general information, such as the division of factions, major events that happened in this world, and our starting location and basic identity."

"The information known to all participants should be the same. It should match what an ordinary person in this world would know about the outside world at this moment. The only difference is the identities assigned to us participants, and none of us know each other's identities. No, that's not right. Under special circumstances, only I should know who they are."

"To the other participants, there are no plot characters and no story plot. All they can do is passively take part in the mission. But I'm different. I can use my familiarity with the plot and its direction to gain greater benefits for myself while completing the missions."

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, Xiao Ran chuckled. "And of course there's no penalty for mission failure. If you haven't safely left Heliopolis after eight hours, death is the only outcome. Once ZAFT begins its attack, the Colony Satellite will break apart within six hours at most. Humans simply can't survive under those circumstances."

After getting out of bed, Xiao Ran first opened the wardrobe and chose an ordinary casual outfit, changing out of his Doraemon pajamas. As he did, he thought, There are currently only four ways to safely leave Heliopolis within eight hours.

First, ignore everything and buy a ticket to Earth. But then I'd lose the chance to come into contact with the plot characters.

Second, follow the plot and enter an escape pod. This should be the most ordinary method. I'm sure most of the hundred participants will ultimately end up taking this route without even realizing it. But if I choose an escape pod, unless I'm especially lucky and get onto the one Flay takes, it'll be difficult to get involved in the plot and gain more benefits. There's also no guarantee I won't be picked up by some country's rescue team. Being rescued by Orb or PLANT would be fine, but if it's an Earth Force rescue team... just thinking about it is enough to make me drunk.

Third, go to Kira Yamato's battle site before entering an escape pod, then follow Kira Yamato and the others aboard the Archangel. This should be the simplest way to join the plot. I hadn't expected the system to assign me this profession. Using this identity to approach them should be easy enough.

The last option is to do the opposite: follow Kira Yamato to the factory where the Gundams are seized, then search for Orb's Gundam Astray production facility and infiltrate it. I could stay there until Luo appears. That way, I could avoid the danger of battle and obtain my first unit.

At the thought of this method, Xiao Ran's heart could not help but skip twice. In the end, however, he gave a free and easy smile. "Right now, I don't have the ability to complete the Side Mission that comes after acquiring a unit. I need to have some Self-Awareness. The safest method with the greatest gains should still be the third one. After all, I can use my familiarity with the plot to fight for more benefits."

Patting down his clothes, Xiao Ran turned his head toward the room's only desk. A laptop with only a keyboard sat atop it. Having received information about this world, Xiao Ran was naturally not unfamiliar with such a civilian product. He quickly turned it on and searched the desktop for what he needed. Before long, he found it.

"Well, as a university teaching assistant, being able to look up this sort of thing on a computer is perfectly normal." Xiao Ran stretched as he opened a file named Documents. He quickly found what he was looking for. "Kira Yamato, Professor Kato's student. This school is pretty impressive. Is it entirely based on a system of Individual Guidance from teachers? Professor Kato's classroom is... there it is."

Having found the information he needed, Xiao Ran picked up the ID card on the desk and hugged the laptop as he prepared to leave the room. But at the instant the electronic door in front of him opened, his body trembled involuntarily. In the end, after a faint, helpless sigh, Xiao Ran stepped forward with firm strides.

As he followed the corridor out of the dormitory building, Xiao Ran maintained a relaxed, lazy demeanor the entire way, appearing just like a genuine ordinary person. Even when he noticed someone, his gaze would never linger on them for more than a second, lest he attract attention or suspicion. Of course, those people were the other participants.

Looking at the satellite where the ground was also the sky, Xiao Ran gazed into the distance. The sensation of seeing rooftops facing overhead made an excited smile emerge on his face. It was the excitement and smile of a small-time nobody entering a grand manor and seeing something novel. But unless someone looked closely, no one would notice that emotion on Xiao Ran's face. Instead, they might think there was something wrong with him, grinning so lewdly and cheaply early in the morning.

After discreetly observing his surroundings, Xiao Ran could clearly see that the entire Colony Satellite was divided into three areas, namely its three enormous landmasses. He did not dare wander around recklessly. Who knew which Living Zone the plot characters would appear in? The most appropriate choice was to head straight for the Industrial Academy.

He followed people who appeared to be students all the way to the waiting area, but Xiao Ran did not discover a single suspicious-looking person, much less any of the Key Figures who had appeared in the plot.

Checking the eight-hour countdown, nearly forty minutes had already passed. Time was ticking away second by second, and Xiao Ran was somewhat anxious as well. But there were too many people lined up ahead of him, so he could only wait for them to board one by one. Before it was his turn to reach the front, Xiao Ran was Astonished to see several hovercars bearing the markings of the colony's security forces speeding past before his eyes.

"What happened?" The question had only just flashed through Xiao Ran's mind when quite a few people at the station had already taken out their phones and connected to the network.

A young girl stared at her pink phone and covered her mouth in surprise.