In the hangar, Xiao Ran leaned against Strike Gundam's foot with his arms crossed, head lowered in thought. Luo climbed in and out of Strike Gundam's cockpit, clambering up and down as he carefully studied its data and design concepts bit by bit. Most importantly, he examined the technologies that had not been applied to Astray Gundam Red Frame, using them to compare the differences between Strike Gundam and Red Frame.
Xiao Ran suddenly looked up at Luo, who was completely immersed in his own world, and sighed faintly in helplessness. It was not because of anything Luo had done, but because Xiao Ran had gained nothing from his thoughts just now.
In his considerations, Xiao Ran assumed that he would leave this world after the final battle between ZAFT and the Earth Force ended. There were still more than six months until then, but despite all that time, other than Mook Units, he could not find a single mecha that suited him, satisfied him, and was worth taking away.
In the world of Gundam SEED, Freedom, Justice, and Providence were naturally excellent machines. Xiao Ran wanted them desperately, but those three had not even appeared yet. Even if they had, they would at least be B-class Mecha. Setting aside whether he could obtain one, Xiao Ran simply did not have the ability to pilot a B-class Mecha. If he could only bring out eighty percent of a C-class mecha's performance, then it was impossible to say what performance he could draw out of a B-class Mecha.
As for the several Gundam Astray units that had appeared so far, before modification, their ratings should have been between D+ and C-. Unfortunately, Red, Blue, and Gold all already had owners and had been modified. Apart from Luo, the other two owners were no simple characters either. No matter which of the three he chose, obtaining it was impossible.
As for the five G Series Gundams, they were undoubtedly all C-class mecha. Of the five—Strike, Aegis Gundam, Buster Gundam, Duel, and Blitz Gundam—Aegis Gundam had probably been lost in its self-destruction, Blitz Gundam had been cut in half by Kira and exploded, and Buster Gundam had always been in Yzak's hands, making it impossible to acquire. The only ones he could possibly obtain were Buster Gundam and Strike Gundam. Xiao Ran could only leave Buster Gundam for Dearka to pilot. Although he was fairly satisfied with Buster Gundam as an artillery-type mecha, especially with the Phase Shift Armor he possessed, it could absolutely become an outstanding gun platform. But Buster Gundam also had its shortcomings: it was weak in atmospheric combat. Unable to fly, its mobility was far too poor, making it completely unsuited to Xiao Ran's preferred style. Even for the sake of the plot, he would give up this machine.
Xiao Ran had considered Strike Gundam as well. It did not suit his style, and he had no idea how he would change its equipment if he entered the next world. Would he have to use his own two hands? His hands could not lift those equipment packs, which were enormous compared to his body. In other words, he had ruled out every mecha that needed backpack changes to display its maximum combat power for that reason.
Then there were the three Enhanced Human machines: Calamity, Forbidden, and Raider. Xiao Ran was somewhat interested in the transformable Raider Gundam, but the weapons it carried were not particularly satisfying. Though they could be modified, it was still unclear whether he could capture it.
What about the other machines that had appeared? There were quite a few machines in the side stories, but Xiao Ran had no way to come into contact with them. Unless he completely abandoned Archangel now, gave up all the advantages he had accumulated since arriving in this world, and turned around to cling to Luo's thigh, he might have a chance to encounter the other side-story machines. But if he really did that, it would be putting the cart before the horse.
In truth, Xiao Ran hoped to obtain a fast mecha capable of flying within Earth's atmosphere, preferably a mid-range type. Being effective at both close and long range would be even better.
He could think of plenty of machines, but none that satisfied him. No wonder Xiao Ran had sighed. Having come to this familiar world, he naturally did not want to leave with nothing more than a Mook Unit. Even if it was not a Gundam, he hoped to at least obtain a C-class mecha. That way, he could narrow the gap between himself and the other participants, while also ignoring the series of problems caused by replacing his machine after upgrading his D-class Piloting Skill.
Compared to that, Xiao Ran would rather pilot a D-class mecha as naturally as an extension of his own limbs, bringing out one hundred percent of its power and even exceeding its limits at times. He did not want to pilot a C-class mecha that could only display eighty percent of its performance. That remaining twenty percent might be the difference between victory and death. If he could not fully control the machine and gave a mistaken command at a critical moment, then even death would earn no sympathy.
But the machine Xiao Ran wanted had to be at least C-class, while the one he would rather pilot was D-class. They were not on the same level at all. The gap between grades was not merely a matter of machine strength and performance. More importantly, it was a matter of whether the pilot could fully unleash that performance. If a D+-class mecha's abilities were brought out completely, it was not impossible for it to destroy a C-class mecha that could not be properly controlled.
The reason Xiao Ran had treated Luo so enthusiastically was not merely because Luo was the protagonist of a side story. Another reason was that he knew Luo was undoubtedly the foremost expert in MS machinery in this world. As long as it involved such matters, Luo could handle it with a little work and time. For example, he could modify a C-class mecha, downgrade it into a D-class mecha while preserving the possibility of restoring it to C-class later, reserve equipment ports and plug-in interfaces, and make future modifications and upgrades convenient. The workload would be immense, practically rebuilding the entire machine from scratch.
Among everyone in this world, Luo was the only person Xiao Ran knew who could meet those requirements. That was why he had been so enthusiastic upon meeting Luo, deliberately steering the conversation through various topics until he finally invited Luo aboard Archangel. It had all been for this plan.
Before meeting Luo here, Xiao Ran had planned to leave Archangel and join Orb once Archangel arrived there. At the same time, he had hoped to find Luo, who worked near Orb's homeland, and use the data on Strike Gundam in his possession to make Orb pay Luo's fee for modifying a machine. But not only had he encountered Luo ahead of time, their relationship also seemed to have become quite good. Naturally, Orb no longer needed to get involved. Still, he would give Strike Gundam's data to Orb, but the price would have to change.
"Since I can't find a suitable mecha, I can only have Orb build one that suits me." Xiao Ran narrowed his eyes and looked at Luo as he slowly climbed down from Strike Gundam. Of course, he'll be indispensable too.
When Luo walked over to him, Xiao Ran smiled and asked, "Did you gain anything?"
"I really gained a lot. Without affecting its movement optimization, the joint structures can still be simplified and reinforced slightly. No wonder this thing called a Gundam can bear greater weight in terms of armor, and its structural design is extremely compact. There's no need to worry that sharp changes in direction at high speed will cause the machine to fail under the strain."
Luo spoke with an excited expression, then said somewhat regretfully, "It's a pity I can't get the parameters for that armor that changes the machine's color. But even if I had the data, I couldn't make it without the appropriate equipment. Oh, right, Xiao Ran, can I actually operate the machine for a while?"
"Of course." Xiao Ran smiled, hesitated briefly, then asked quietly, "Do you know General Harborton, who oversaw this project?"
"The Earth Force general who was captured?" Luo nodded curiously. "I know him. What about him?"
Xiao Ran casually turned his head to glance around, then said softly, "Since I belong to the Special Operations Department, I have completely independent authority to act. He previously gave me a set of the machine's specification data and told me to decide what to do with it depending on the circumstances. It's meant to be the final safeguard if Strike Gundam is destroyed. Nobody aboard Archangel knows except me. Interested?"
"Hm? Really?" Luo's eyes immediately lit up.
"We can discuss that later, but you have to promise me something too. If Archangel sinks someday and I die, you must hand the data over to the Earth Force. Consider it fulfilling my promise to General Harborton, as well as the insurance I arranged." Xiao Ran calmly patted Luo's shoulder and said leisurely, "But if I don't die, Archangel doesn't sink, and the Earth Force still treats us as disposable pawns, then I don't think they'll care about these things anyway. What do you think, Luo?"
Luo scratched his head and thought for a moment before smiling in agreement. "Hiss... I think you're right."
Not far away, Maddock from the maintenance crew and Mu watched Xiao Ran and Luo with baffled expressions. Maddock asked Mu worriedly, "Brother Mu, is it really all right for Xiao Ran to do this?"
"I don't know what he's planning either. Maybe the captain knows." Mu shook his head and replied quietly, "But Xiao Ran is definitely the kind of person who sells someone off and then helps them count the money. He won't let himself suffer a loss, so don't worry. As long as he's still aboard Archangel, no matter who he's doing it for, he won't let anything happen to Archangel."
"If the captain has already agreed, what else can I say?" Maddock spread his hands helplessly.
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