Gene wants to reinforce? No way!

"How about it, Captain Cruze? Do you agree to my terms?" Xiao Ran asked, holding his communicator and smiling at Cruze on the screen. "Or are you going to give up on Lacus Clyne?"

Cruze snorted and looked at Lacus, who had a hint of a naive smile on the communication video. He slammed his hand heavily onto the mobile suit's control panel. "All units, cease your attack and withdraw from the combat zone."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Captain Cruze," Xiao Ran said with a relieved smile. "We will contact you again after your withdrawal."

"Hmph." Cruze snorted and ended the communication. Xiao Ran sighed powerlessly as the large screen went black. He turned to Mwu and said, "Forgive my unauthorized actions, but I don't think you would have wanted the entire vanguard fleet to be wiped out here. Quickly contact the remaining two Drake-class battleships and send out rescue teams to see if anyone can still be saved."

Mwu glanced at Xiao Ran and stood up. "Bargyll, I'll leave things here to you. Lieutenant Xiao Ran, please follow me."

Bargyll stood up and replied, "Yes!"

In the captain's quarters, Xiao Ran sat in a chair, looking at Mwu across a table. Mwu clasped her hands under her chin, wanting to question Xiao Ran several times. In the end, she just looked at Xiao Ran's pale face and sighed helplessly. "Are you alright?"

Expecting to be questioned about why he had acted that way, Xiao Ran was taken aback when Mwu actually showed concern for him. He stared blankly at Mwu until she flushed slightly and snorted in annoyance. Xiao Ran then snapped back to reality and quickly said:

"I'm fine. I just expended too much energy, and my head feels a bit empty."

"It's good that you're alright," Mwu said, glancing at Xiao Ran and nodding gently. "Why did you do that? We shouldn't have used civilians to threaten them, and you took it upon yourself to hand Lacus Clyne over to them."

Xiao Ran shook his head. "Even if I hadn't done that, and just watched the last two Drake-class battleships be sunk, I believe Lieutenant Junior Grade Bargyll, who values the Archangel immensely, would have done the same. Besides, can the Archangel resist three battleships and five Mobile Suits? If we had delayed further, the other Loorasia-class battleship that's been tailing us could have appeared at any moment. Then we would have faced at least 8 Mobile Suits and four battleships, with four of those Mobile Suits being Gundams. What do you think would have happened to the Archangel?"

Mwu shook her head. She knew that the Archangel alone was no match for three battleships and five Mobile Suits. Once combat began, the Strike Gundam would be tied up by the Aegis Gundam, Mu's MA would be tied up by a GOUF, and the Archangel, facing three battleships and three Ginns alone, would have an over 80% chance of being sunk.

Xiao Ran looked at Mwu seriously. "And Mwu… do you really want Lacus to be taken to the lunar base?"

"I am a soldier now, and Lacus will secure many favorable conditions for us," Mwu sighed helplessly and continued. "But from my personal standpoint, I don't want that. Lacus's identity is too special, and I don't want to see her treated in any special way. It's just that this approach…"

Xiao Ran interrupted Mwu. "Isn't that for the best? I also don't want Lacus to fall into the hands of the Earth Forces. And right now, only Lacus can help us escape this dangerous situation. Although the method isn't ideal, Lacus herself doesn't object to this approach, so I don't see anything wrong with it."

"Moreover, we can also take this opportunity to return Lacus to them. A war shouldn't make children like her bear responsibility or become bargaining chips for victory or defeat. At the same time, we can hand over the civilians on board to ZAFT, and let them send these civilians back to Orb, or even settle in a PLANT. It's much safer than them running around with us. It might even draw away a ZAFT battleship.

"We've preserved our own combat strength, bought ourselves time to breathe, returned Lacus to the enemy, and reduced their combat power. It's a win-win situation, don't you think?"

"But why did you want their captain to come along?" Mwu asked, confused. "What if he didn't?"

"As long as that person named Cruze dared to follow the shuttle to the Archangel, we would be absolutely safe during the shuttle's return trip. We could leave from a distance during that time. As for your question about him not coming, I think it's unlikely. Lacus's identity is too special; he wouldn't dare not to come."

Mwu wore a wry smile and said softly to Xiao Ran, "Although we haven't had many serious conversations, I can never win an argument with you. I'm always easily convinced by your words and left speechless."

"Don't forget my profession," Xiao Ran said, spreading his hands. He met Mwu's gaze, and they both laughed.

After leaving the captain's quarters with Mwu, they parted ways, one heading to the bridge and the other to the hangar.

As soon as he arrived at the hangar, Xiao Ran was slapped heartily on the shoulder by Sergeant Maddox. "Kid, I never expected you to take down two Mobile Suits on your first sortie. Well done."

Xiao Ran smiled. "Not at all. I just used the machine's speed to catch them off guard. It's everyone's credit."

"Haha," Sergeant Maddox chuckled proudly. "Our technology is certainly top-notch. But you, kid, I just saw the machine's logs. I never thought you, who looked so frail, could withstand that kind of pressure. Fortunately, ZAFT's machines are quite sturdy, otherwise, if you had performed such maneuvers, the machine would have snapped."

Xiao Ran naturally knew what Sergeant Maddox was referring to. Escaping from the encirclement of three Ginns could be considered an extraordinary feat, and it had also given him some insight into using mental power, though the consumption was indeed significant.

Sergeant Maddox turned to look at the Ginn being repaired. The joints in its entire lower half had problems due to Xiao Ran's operation, with some areas even showing signs of fracture, all caused by Xiao Ran's rapid turns.

Shaking his head, Sergeant Maddox said, "I watched your combat. It was correct not to charge head-on into the battlefield and get entangled, but perhaps the machine limited your performance. If it were a Gundam, you would have been able to enter the battlefield and fight head-on, not just with countless insertions and evasions. Let me see if I can find a way to reinforce the machine's frame."

"If it were a Gundam, it wouldn't be the machine limiting me, but me limiting the machine," Xiao Ran rolled his eyes, thinking to himself, A Gundam at 80% performance, what's the difference from a Ginn besides durability?

Hearing Sergeant Maddox say he was preparing to reinforce the Ginn's frame, Xiao Ran quickly shook his head and refused. "Sergeant Maddox, no, I think it's fine as it is. At most, you can reinforce the lower limbs with some stabilization measures. Please don't reinforce the frame."

Sergeant Maddox was stunned by Xiao Ran's words. Anyone would want their machine to be as strong as possible, but Xiao Ran, risking frame breakage, was unwilling to reinforce it. This made him confused.

Xiao Ran roared inwardly, What a joke! The Ginn is already D+ class. If you modify it and it breaks through to C class, how am I supposed to pilot it? An 80% performance Ginn on the battlefield is suicide!

But seeing Sergeant Maddox's astonished and confused expression, Xiao Ran forced a smile and explained, "Modifying the machine also takes a lot of time. What if something like what happened today occurs again, and it's not finished in time for combat? Besides, to be honest, my piloting skills are nothing compared to Kira and Mu. I'm completely incapable of frontal combat. I think it's fine as it is, really."

Sergeant Maddox looked at Xiao Ran, who seemed genuinely serious and not joking. He thought about the situation earlier when combat had already begun but they hadn't been able to deploy in time. Although he found it strange why Xiao Ran didn't want the machine to be stronger, he still nodded. "Then, as you said, we won't touch it. After it's repaired, we'll just reinforce the four joints in both legs."

"Then I'll trouble you," Xiao Ran said, relieved. "I'll head back now. The previous battle has exhausted me."

"Go ahead, go ahead. I'll keep a close eye on things here," Sergeant Maddox patted Xiao Ran and pushed him in the direction of the exit, letting Xiao Ran float out of the hangar.

Once Xiao Ran returned to his room, he turned on the simulated gravity. Simulated gravity could be activated in the room during non-combat periods. Xiao Ran wasn't used to floating in mid-air, so he turned on the gravity. The feeling of being top-heavy also made him very uncomfortable, and having his feet on the ground made him feel a bit better. After stretching a bit, he flopped onto the soft bed.

He raised his hand and looked at the wristwatch. "Stats."

Accuracy 7 (11) Affects shooting ability and precision.

Agility 6 (10) Affects close combat ability and strength.

Reflexes 6 (10) Affects reaction speed and agility.

Spirit 2 (10) Affects skill consumption and perception.

Constitution 6 (10) Affects physical fitness and stamina.

(Values in parentheses represent normal values; values outside parentheses represent current physical values)

Stamina 65 (100)

Skills:

D-Class General Mecha Piloting Skill: Can operate D-class mecha normally. Proficiency 67/100. (Upgradeable)

Space Combat Proficiency: LV1, D-Class Skill. Can fight with slight proficiency in space, gaining initial spatial awareness. Proficiency 45/100. (Upgradeable)

Seeing only 2 points in Spirit, Xiao Ran understood the cause of his top-heavy feeling. Moreover, the level of Spirit also affected his Accuracy, Agility, and Reflexes. No wonder his shooting accuracy decreased and his movements became less precise as the battle progressed.

Excluding the inexplicable consumption of Spirit that put Xiao Ran in a state of agile and rapid operation, the actual Spirit consumption wasn't that high. After all, Xiao Ran mostly played a supporting role. The physical exertion wasn't too severe either, with only 35 points lost. During combat, it decreased at a rate of about one point per minute. Considering the high-speed piloting throughout the entire battle, this rate of decrease was understandable.

The truly surprising aspect was the improvement in Piloting Skill and Space Combat Proficiency. One was already over halfway, and the other was close to halfway. The speed of improvement was solely due to Xiao Ran participating in just one battle. If he fought a few more times…

Xiao Ran grinned. "Perhaps my Piloting Skill will reach 100, and then I'll have the strength to pilot the Gundams of this world."