Guarantee

(There will be another chapter tonight. The next chapter will explain the real reason Xiao Ran invited Rau Le Creuset. Heh heh, look forward to it!)

Xiao Ran frowned as he looked at the Dawn Desert Resistance members surrounding the car with weapons. Rau, standing beside him, shrugged and raised his hands, looking at Xiao Ran as if asking what was going on. This made Xiao Ran feel a bit embarrassed, as he was the one who invited Rau, and he hadn't expected such treatment.

"It's fine," Xiao Ran said softly to Rau, then got out of the car and asked loudly to the surrounding Resistance members, "What's going on?"

A Resistance member stepped forward, gave Xiao Ran a displeased look, and said, "You left alone, why did you bring someone back? Who is this person? And this is our Resistance base. What if this person you brought back is an enemy, or what if you were followed!"

Xiao Ran slapped his forehead in realization. Perhaps he had been too relaxed earlier, or perhaps it was because he had never experienced hiding and evading like the Resistance did, that he hadn't considered this. What the other party said was completely reasonable, and Xiao Ran had no desire to argue.

He could only repeatedly apologize and say, "I'm sorry, it was my oversight. This person is an old friend of mine. He's from the Scrap Dealer, not ZAFT. We also paid attention to whether anyone was following us when we came back. You can rest assured, I can take full responsibility if anything goes wrong."

"Scrap Dealer?" The Resistance member glanced at Rau, frowned, and nodded. "Since he's from the Scrap Dealer, then there's no problem. We also have some dealings with the Scrap Dealer. But please be more careful next time. Although you are our guests, if you do anything that threatens us, we will eliminate the threat."

Xiao Ran quickly said, "I'm sorry, I really apologize."

"Mm." The Resistance member who spoke nodded, waved to the others behind him, and said loudly, "Those who are not busy, go out and patrol. Ask those people over there if ZAFT forces have made any unusual moves."

Watching the Resistance members hastily leave, Xiao Ran turned to look at Rau and said with a wry smile, "It seems I've caused them a lot of trouble."

"I think so too," Rau agreed wholeheartedly, resting his hands behind his head. "But they're not having it easy, still stubbornly resisting ZAFT under these circumstances. Actually, I think if both sides could just talk properly, there would be no need for fighting here."

"If everyone thought like you, then it would naturally be a happy occasion for all," Xiao Ran shook his head, made a gesture for Rau to follow, and continued after Rau caught up with his pace, "But there are always some people who, for their own benefit, stir up tensions among various parties, constantly causing small-scale battles in different places, and then escalating the scale of the battles to draw the whole world into war. They can also gain greater profits from it."

Rau asked, "Are you talking about those arms dealers?"

"You know?" Xiao Ran was a little surprised.

Rau nodded. "Of course. Those people are big clients of our Scrap Dealer. A lot of the things we recycle are bought by them, either for disassembly and research, or for remelting and manufacturing."

As they talked, the two arrived at the passage leading into the Archangel. Xiao Ran asked Rau to wait a moment, then contacted the bridge through the communicator at the entrance of the passage and transferred the communication to Mwu. "Captain, I have a friend who I hope you can grant docking permission to."

"A friend?" Mwu's surprised voice came through the communicator. Suddenly, the communication display in front of Xiao Ran lit up, and Mwu's image appeared, looking at him strangely. "You have friends even here?"

Xiao Ran glanced at Rau, who was looking around carelessly beside him, then said to Mwu, "A friend from the Scrap Dealer. I hope to bring him to tour the Archangel, and of course, the Gundam."

"Gundam!?"

Mwu had thought Xiao Ran just wanted to bring his friend to see the Archangel, but she hadn't expected him to want to see the Gundam as well. Mwu knew Xiao Ran wouldn't be so reckless, and she also understood that this visit wasn't just about looking with their eyes, but about truly understanding. This made Mwu momentarily stunned, but then she said with some difficulty, "Xiao Ran, the Archangel and the Gundam are classified information of the Earth Force. How can this be?"

Xiao Ran shook his head. He had invited Rau Le Creuset to the Archangel with a deeper purpose, but he couldn't explain too much to Mwu at the moment. He only said, "I'll stake my life on it, my friend will absolutely not leak a single word of what he sees. If, I say if, before the Archangel and the Gundam are made public, or before you confirm that you've been treated as pawns, if even the slightest bit of classified information leaks from my friend, you can pick up your gun and shoot me at any time."

After Xiao Ran finished speaking, not only Mwu was stunned, but even Rau, who had been acting as if nothing was happening, turned and looked at him in astonishment. Although they had only met for the first time and had just gotten acquainted, Xiao Ran's decisive attitude and his willingness to trust Rau without question touched Rau Le Creuset. The suspicion he had harbored in his heart about Xiao Ran's inexplicable invitation dissipated at this moment.

Mwu remained silent, but she was wavering, wanting to agree to Xiao Ran's request. Seeing the expression on Mwu's face, Xiao Ran said softly, "Trust me, Mwu. You, the Archangel, and Kira and the others are all very important to me. I won't let anyone threaten the Archangel, nor will I let anyone treat you as pawns."

After a moment of silence, Mwu finally looked up at Xiao Ran through the display. "Alright, I'll allow him to board. I don't know anything else."

"Thank you," Xiao Ran smiled. He looked at Mwu's figure, a hint of warmth flashing in his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by reason. After the communication ended, Xiao Ran took a deep breath and turned to look at Rau Le Creuset. "I'm sorry for making you wait. To avoid the problem we just had, I thought it would be better to inform the captain of this warship."

Rau Le Creuset shook his head. "It's alright."

"Then please," Xiao Ran walked into the now-open passage door and nodded at Rau.

After the two entered the Archangel, Xiao Ran spent about an hour showing Rau Le Creuset around various parts of the ship. Rau Le Creuset was so excited that he kept taking notes and drawing with paper and pen. "As expected of the Earth Force's most advanced warship. Many of the concepts are very successful, a multi-functional warship that combines high-speed assault, mobile suit deployment, and heavy firepower. Our ship can't even compare to this one."

Xiao Ran smiled. "Heh heh, I'm glad you like it. Later, I'll try to find a way to get some detailed information about the Archangel and quietly give it to you, but you can't leak it."

"No need," Rau Le Creuset put his paper and pen back into his pocket, shaking his head with a serious expression. "You've already done enough for me out of your curiosity. You are a true friend, a good person, willing to do so much for a friend and your student. I don't want to put you in a difficult position anymore. With what I've jotted down, even if I can't create something exactly like this ship, I can at least make something similar."

"So you're also a very excellent mechanical engineer?" Xiao Ran asked deliberately.

"Of course!" Rau Le Creuset said proudly. "Among the people I know, I dare say no one can claim to be better than me!"

Xiao Ran nodded and flattered him. "My friend once told me that Rau Le Creuset is definitely a very formidable mechanical genius. Anything he recycles, after passing through his hands, is no different from new."

"Haha," Rau Le Creuset laughed heartily, then rubbed his hands together and looked at Xiao Ran expectantly. "Then shall we go see that thing?"

"Of course," Xiao Ran nodded and smiled. "And I have something prepared to give you."