Chapter 282 - Bestial Personality!
The hover car stopped not too far from the combat hall, and Ling Lan carried Luo Lang stealthily out of the car. Due to Little Four's intervention, this hover car had registered as an empty car on the academy mainframe all this while, going around the campus on its designated route. Just like that, Ling Lan snuck Luo Lang into the combat hall without anyone the wiser.
Little Four had long found an empty private combat room, so Ling Lan dashed straight into the room with Luo Lang over her shoulder and Little Four instantly sealed the doors shut behind them.
Of course, on the records of the optical supercomputer of the combat hall, the private room they were in was still listed as unoccupied. However, Little Four used some concealment methods to hide the room from being displayed among the other empty rooms. In other words, regardless of which list one looked in — occupied or unoccupied rooms — they would be unable to find this private room Ling Lan and Luo Lang were in. Similarly, no one would notice one missing room among all the other hundred or so rooms, so this eliminated any chance of Ling Lan and Luo Lang being discovered.
Knowing that Little Four had handled all the precautionary measures, Ling Lan set Luo Lang on the ground and reached out a hand to pat Luo Lang awake.
"Boss, I feel terrible!" The moment Luo Lang woke up, he could feel his body burning up. He panted torturously, forcefully suppressing the need surging from deep within his body.
Yes, he needed comfort and relief, he wanted to take the person before him into his arms ... but this person was his most beloved and revered Boss Lan! Even if Luo Lang's whole being was screaming at him with want, he held himself back from pouncing at Boss Lan.
Having impure thoughts about Boss Lan was an insult to his boss, Luo Lang felt. Of course, another reason was that Luo Lang believed pouncing forwards would be useless anyway — Boss Lan would surely smack him dead with one slap ...
Seeing that Luo Lang could still maintain some rationality even now, Ling Lan's heart eased. She had been most afraid that Luo Lang would have lost his mind completely to the drug at this point, and so be unable to activate his innate talent.
Ling Lan did not dare to delay; she quickly told the plan to Luo Lang. Luo Lang's gaze brightened at her words — if he could solve his lack of control over his innate talent from this incident, his suffering would not have been in vain. So he said, "Do it. Boss, if I really lose my mind, hit me till I wake up ..."
A trace of ruthlessness appeared in Luo Lang's eyes — he had always been willing to be harsh on himself. Even if his entire body became littered with wounds, he still wanted to complete this mission. How could he, Luo Lang, lose to such a trifle as this aphrodisiac?
"Okay!" Ling Lan nodded solemnly in response. This moment did not permit her to be soft-hearted.
Luo Lang pushed aside Ling Lan's hand which had reached out to help him up, climbing to his feet on his own waveringly. In order to hold back the roaring carnal urges within his body, his glossy red lips had been bitten through in several spots. Blood welled up from the wounds to flow downwards, falling onto smooth ivory skin to pool at the hollow of his neck, strangely beautiful in its own right. However, all of Ling Lan's and Luo Lang's attention was currently focused on receiving Luo Lang's personalities. Neither noticed the odd beauty of the scene.
"Innate talent, activate!" Luo Lang used the remnants of his rational mind to activate his innate talent.
Ling Lan saw the shaking figure of Luo Lang go still all of a sudden, and then a wild presence poured out from Luo Lang's body. This aura made Ling Lan frown slightly, a trace of disappointment in her eyes, because this was not the personality Ling Lan and Luo Lang were hoping for. However, Ling Lan's disappointment came and went in a flash. Luo Lang's innate talent was unstable — activating it for a specific personality was like drawing the lottery. If they had gotten it right in one go, now that would truly be miraculous.
Luo Lang slowly raised his head. His initially clear eyes were now bloodshot — there was no longer any trace of Luo Lang's primary identity, only endless savagery and blatant bestial desire remained in his gaze. He slowly opened his mouth wide, slipping out his tongue to lick at his bloody lips. This appearance clearly smacked of greed, but paired with Luo Lang's exquisitely beautiful face, the action actually gave Ling Lan a sense of flirtatious seduction.
"F*ck!" Ling Lan could not help but curse internally. Who the heck was the real woman here?! The truly male Luo Lang doing such an erotic act — not only did it not cause revulsion in others, it even came off as extraordinarily mesmerising. At this moment, Ling Lan was hit hard by jealousy ...
"Ah ..." Though Luo Lang's small face was currently as red as a plum, brimming with seductive allure, the sound coming from his throat was the cry of a wild beast. That's right. This time, Luo Lang had awakened a bestial personality. It had no so-called rationality to speak of, only retaining the most basic bestial instincts.
Luo Lang in this identity did not recognise any Boss Lan; he only wanted to eliminate this prey before him that made him feel threatened. Thus, he lunged forwards without hesitation, both hands reaching out savagely at what he felt were the fatal points of the other.
Just as Ling Lan was about to activate her Domain and control Luo Lang, Ling Lan recalled Instructor Number One's reminder. She needed to beat back these uncontrollable personalities of Luo Lang's. Erm ... beat back? Alright, she would just do it with her fists then.
Ling Lan resolutely raised her fists and punched out fiercely, striking Luo Lang's thin and lanky body full on.
Luo Lang was sent reeling back with a 'bam', his entire body crashing heavily to the ground.
"The activation of the bestial personality has greatly increased the strength of Luo Lang's body. It's at least three times tougher than before. In the past, this level of power would have sent Luo Lang flying, but now, it is only enough to strike him down ..." Ling Lan looked at Luo Lang struggling up from the ground, and mentally began cataloguing the benefits this activated personality brought to Luo Lang. "Also, the endurance of his body has also increased by quite a bit. This punch of mine did not injure him."
Luo Lang had already climbed up by this time, his lips curled in a growl in response to the pain of that last hit, and then he leapt forwards once more. His speed and strength clearly showed that he was not at all affected by that first attack. It could even be said that the minor pain had made this personality of Luo Lang's even fiercer now.
"Then, let's add on three times the strength. I don't believe I can't bring you down!" Ling Lan instantly increased the power behind her fists, once again sending a fist at Luo Lang and sending him flying. Yes, the horrific strength behind her fists this time had sent Luo Lang flying the moment the hit landed. Luo Lang was seen to crash into a wall and then slide down it to slam into the ground.
"Howl!" Pained cries spilled from Luo Lang's throat. This force had made him feel intense pain. Struggling, he tried to climb to his feet once more, his crimson eyes glaring at Ling Lan before him, filled with brute ferocity and killing intent. The intense pain had caused Luo Lang's bestial instinct to become utterly berserk.
"Still not submitting? Then I'll hit you till you submit." Ling Lan sniffed coldly and charged forwards with a clenched fist. Before Luo Lang could get up, she pressed Luo Lang into the ground and began pummelling him.
Seeing this scene, Little Four's pair of little legs could not help but tremble violently ... Boo hoo hoo, Boss is really too savage! He is so scary 1 !
This unending set of combination punches made the savage light in Luo Lang's eyes fade, his crimson eyes actually revealing a trace of meekness, as if begging for mercy. Ling Lan paused with her fists held high, harrumphed coldly, and said, "Do you submit?"
"Awoo!" A vaguely stubborn cry escaped Luo Lang's mouth. Ling Lan's eyebrow quirked, and she punched down once more, forcefully.
"Hooowl!" Luo Lang's bestial personality finally gave up and begged for mercy. This cry was unlike the one before — it carried an undertone of fawning.
An idea sparked in Ling Lan's mind. She stopped her punches and ordered, "Let the primary identity out to talk to me. And don't you dare slip away. Otherwise, every single time you come out, I'll beat you!"
Ling Lan's warning snuffed out all thoughts the bestial personality had of running away. He howled several more times pleading for mercy, and very soon one of Luo Lang's eyes changed noticeably. The originally wild red of that eye gradually cleared up.
"Ugh, it hurts ... Boss, I'm back?" Sure enough, Luo Lang's primary identity had returned.
Seeing this, Ling Lan sighed in relief, then said, "Your other bestial personality should still be here. Try and control him a bit."
That clear eye of Luo Lang's revealed pleasant surprise, while the other crimson eye narrowed, as if planning to resist. Ling Lan raised her fist without hesitation and punched right at that crimson eye.
"Ouch!" Luo Lang sucked in a cold breath. Ling Lan had not held back for this punch — the intense pain of it made both of Luo Lang's personalities moan in pain.
"I've said before, don't try to run. Actually daring to disobey my order." Ling Lan glared fiercely at that blackened panda-eyed crimson eye. Her icy gaze made the bestial personality no longer dare to rebel, obediently signifying its submission.
"Luo Lang, this is a good chance. Control it quickly," Ling Lan quickly instructed Luo Lang.
How could Luo Lang not understand at this point? Ling Lan was helping him to subdue this bestial personality. Without even thinking about it, within his spiritual realm, Luo Lang's primary identity charged without hesitation at the bestial personality beside him ...
The bestial personality instinctively tried to fight back but was paralysed by an invisible force.
It turned out that Ling Lan knew the bestial personality was hiding within that one red eye of Luo Lang's, and so she had released a bolt of spiritual power to press down on Luo Lang's crimson eye. Of course, fearing that she would harm Luo Lang's primary identity, she had not dared to use a spiritual charge.
Unexpectedly, this move of Ling Lan's had unintentionally helped Luo Lang out, allowing him to successfully take control of this bestial personality.
The two personalities fought and tussled within Luo Lang's brain. Due to the pressure from Ling Lan's spiritual power as well as the deep-seated fear the bestial personality now had over Ling Lan's previous pummelling — it was fearful that it would be beaten even worse if it defeated the primary identity — the bestial personality's fighting spirit was obviously weaker than the primary identity's. Under this panicked anxiety, its resistance grew weaker and weaker. In the end, the primary identity subdued it completely, making it fully submissive to the primary identity.
Just like that, Luo Lang was fortunate enough to conquer his first secondary personality, Bestial Instinct 1 . Before he could share this joyful news with Ling Lan, regaining full control of his body, that burning desire within his body rolled over him once more, and this time it was even stronger than it had been at the start.
If his body had not just been pummelled so hard by Ling Lan, his entire body's skin and muscles aching all over, he would not have been able to retain any bit of rationality. In a pained tone, Luo Lang said, "Boss, I've subdued him, but I don't think I can bear any more ..."
"Hurry and activate your innate talent again," Ling Lan's expression changed drastically at his condition, and she quickly urged him to continue with the plan.
"Yes, Boss!" Luo Lang decisively withdrew the Bestial Instinct personality and activated a different personality with his innate talent. Once a personality had been conquered, as long as the primary identity did not want it to emerge, then the personality would definitely not emerge.
1. Author uses the male pronoun here. Maybe Little Four was so frightened he forgot Ling Lan is a girl for a moment? :p
2. Not quite sure if the author means to name the identity or is just describing it here, but let's just go with a name for now. Will edit as necessary later.
Chapter 283 - The Target Appears!
Following the emergence of Luo Lang's new personality, a wave of blood-tinged killing intent swept down on Ling Lan. Ling Lan was extremely familiar with this killing intent — it was the bloody intent accumulated after killing over hundreds of thousands of people ... could it be that the personality that Luo Lang had activated this time was a Killing Dao personality?
Sure enough, when Luo Lang lifted his head to look up with half-lidded eyes, a sharp and cold bolt of killing intent shot towards Ling Lan. At the same time, Luo Lang's hands shifted into an attack stance — it was the One-Inch Punch that Luo Lang was so proficient in.
"Looks like the rational ones are harder to deal with than those irrational ones." Observing Luo Lang's current stance which appeared to be without any notable weaknesses, Ling Lan could feel that things were now a little troublesome. This personality was giving Ling Lan a vague sense of pressure.
D*mmit, no wonder Instructor Number One had said that she would be able to subdue these personalities with her strength at half step to Domain. If she did not have those 10 seconds or so of Domain ability, up against this Killing Dao personality, even if she was already at the optimal peak of Qi-Jin, she would still have to expend quite a considerable amount of effort to defeat him.
As expected, when a follower was too powerful, the pressure upon a boss was great! Heaven knows what other personalities Luo Lang possessed ... in particular, that Transcendent Cold personality mentioned by Instructor Number One, was very likely not an easy one to get along with either. At this thought, Ling Lan felt her teeth begin to ache inexplicably. It really wasn't easy for her to be a boss ...
Ling Lan's somewhat emotional musings made her initially seamless aura ease a little — anyhow, the Killing Dao personality felt that his chance had arrived. And so, Luo Lang could be seen dashing forwards like an arrow to arrive before Ling Lan's face, his long prepared One-Inch Punch striking out at Ling Lan from the most uncomfortable angle for her.
This angle made it extremely hard for Ling Lan to block. If she chose to dodge, the Killing Dao Luo Lang would gain the upper hand. Then, even someone as powerful as Ling Lan would have a very hard time snatching back the flow of the fight anytime soon unless she immediately brought her Domain into play.
Just as the Killing Dao Luo Lang thought he had succeeded at his ploy, an extremely bizarre scene occurred. Ling Lan's waist twisted abruptly, evading this killing move of Luo Lang's with an extremely exaggerated snake-like flexible move.
Her supple and flexible body, which made Instructor Number Four salivate, had completely displayed its prowess here. Ling Lan, who was brimming with masculine strength, had still kept the physical flexibility and suppleness unique to women under Instructor Number Nine's careful tutelage. She had even learned how to utilise this suppleness to its maximum effect.
Having avoided Luo Lang's killing move, Ling Lan charged forwards to meet Luo Lang, sweeping out both her elbows to attack the other's chest.
Luo Lang reacted swiftly — the moment his blow met air, he knew that things were bad for him. He rapidly retreated, but he still was not quicker than Ling Lan's attack.
A 'bam' rang out — Ling Lan's elbows had struck Luo Lang's chest, pushing him back several paces. As a vital point had been hit directly, even though Ling Lan had already held back on her power, it was still enough to injure Luo Lang. A trickle of blood flowed out from the corner of Luo Lang's lips.
"Killing Dao personality? I'm someone who has fought my way out of the Killing Dao. Trying to beat me with the Killing Dao? In your dreams!" A cold smirk graced Ling Lan's lips.
Perhaps the other powerful personalities would cause Ling Lan to hesitate and harbour reservations, but the Killing Dao personality was not among their ranks. Ling Lan, who could be considered an old hat at the Killing Dao, naturally knew everything there was to know about the Killing Dao. Not to mention that the killing intent emanating from Luo Lang's body right now was truly no match for the killing intent hidden deep within Ling Lan's body. In other words, Luo Lang's Killing Dao personality was still rather immature right now. Perhaps after Luo Lang has been through several battlefields and killed a few more people — perhaps then this Killing Dao personality would be much more developed.
"Let me show you what a real Killing Dao is like!" An idea tumbled through Ling Lan's mind, and the blood-soaked killing intent deep within her body poured out in a torrent. The sheer thickness of it caused the temperature of the sealed room to plummet, also causing the expression of the Killing Dao personality opposite her to shift slightly, a trace of unconcealable greed revealed in its eyes.
As the Killing Dao personality was nourished by bloody killing intent, even as Ling Lan's substantial blood-soaked killing intent frightened it, it was also deeply attracted by it. Uncontrollably, it began to absorb Ling Lan's bloody killing intent, its expression carrying a trace of intoxication. Right then, even if he knew very well that consuming this blood-soaked killing intent might put him under the control of the other, the Killing Dao personality just could not resist in the face of this temptation.
Seeing this, Ling Lan's brow quirked — she had caught on to the weakness of the Killing Dao personality. The corner of her lips tilted up, and she abruptly retracted all the blood-soaked killing intent she had released. The Killing Dao personality who had been blissfully absorbing the blood-soaked killing intent suddenly found that the killing intent was gone and could not help but blink blankly. After realising what had happened, he turned a dejected gaze upon Ling Lan, a type of speechless complaint contained within it.
That look actually reminded Ling Lan of those adorable puppies in the photos she had seen in her previous life. It was the look when those puppies had had their favourite toy snatched away — unbelievably moe no matter how you looked at it 1 .
Suppressing the laughter in her heart, Ling Lan stared coldly at the Killing Dao personality. Her entire demeanour screamed — I'm not going to give it to you. What can you do about it?
Motivation to kill flashed across the Killing Dao personality's eyes. He really wanted to kill the other, snatch the other's bewitching blood-soaked killing intent for himself, and absorb it completely. But very quickly, he calmed down. Just based on the other's blood-soaked killing intent which was a hundred times more potent than his own, as well as the other's previous bizarre evasion skills and efficient attack, he was still no match for him right now, much less talk of killing the other.
Still, that thick and beguiling blood-soaked killing intent — he could not simply give up on it just like that ... the Killing Dao personality looked at Ling Lan with a complicated gaze, and finally opened his mouth to speak, "Unexpectedly, you are like me. And stronger than me!" A trace of yearning flashed through the Killing Dao personality's eyes.
"Do you want to advance?" asked Ling Lan with a quirked brow.
"Yes!" replied the Killing Dao personality resolutely. If he could just continue to absorb that killing intent, he would definitely become much stronger.
"If you're willing to submit to your primary identity, I'll allow you to fight with me once a week." Ling Lan offered her conditions.
The Killing Dao personality's eyes revealed a trace of disdain — he felt that his primary identity was just too weak, not at all worthy of commanding them, the secondary personalities. A weak primary and strong secondaries — this was the true reason why Luo Lang was unable to control his alter egos.
"Are you unwilling? Then I will make it so your primary identity never ever activates his innate talent." A smirk hung on Ling Lan's lips. "Let you train your so-called Killing Dao on your own forever in that spiritual realm inside him. Perhaps you can also become strong that way," said Ling Lan sarcastically. Hells, these secondary personalities actually dared to look down on their primary identity. Did they not consider that they still needed the primary identity to activate his innate talent? What a bunch of simple-minded fools.
Ling Lan's words made the Killing Dao personality's complexion pale — this was something he was truly afraid of. Although a large part of why they, the alter egos, were unwilling to submit to the primary identity was because the primary identity was too weak, at the same time, they were also very afraid that once the primary identity took control and had a choice, some of the more unsavoury personalities would no longer have a chance to come out. Thus, they collectively decided not to submit to the primary identity, choosing instead to fight for that one out of several tens or so chances 1 of coming out when the primary identity activated his innate talent.
"Think carefully about it. A chance every week to get some fresh air, or to be trapped forever in the spiritual realm. Any smart person would know the right choice." Ling Lan was extremely calm. Right now, she had the initiative and power, so she was not afraid that the other would disagree. Since the alter ego wanted to become stronger, and it also knew that she, who was proficient with the Killing Dao, was an extremely great rival, the Killing Dao personality must know that it would require sparring with her to obtain experience in the Killing Dao.
Furthermore, she still had an ultimate move up her sleeve ... that killing intent of hers was excellent nourishment for the Killing Dao personality. If the other was willing to accept her conditions, she would not mind feeding it once a week as well. After all, she could always gain more blood-soaked killing intent from the learning space, so she did not mind wasting this little bit of it 1 .
Seeing the gaze of the Killing Dao personality begin to waver, Ling Lan decided to up the ante. She offered up her ultimate killing move. "Also, every week, if you behave well, I can give you some of my blood-soaked killing intent."
The Killing Dao personality's eyes sparkled, "You're speaking honestly?"
"Of course! A gentleman never goes back on his word — once a promise has been made, even a team of four horses cannot take it back 1 !" stated Ling Lan proudly, her chin lifted high. Would she, Ling Lan, lie to her own follower?
"Deal!" replied the Killing Dao personality firmly. That final lure was too much for him, and besides, being able to get some fresh air once a week, it was worth it even if he had to submit to the primary identity.
"Then let your primary identity out now," said Ling Lan.
Very soon, Luo Lang's primary identity had emerged once again. This time, due to the Killing Dao personality's willing cooperation, it was extremely easy for Luo Lang to take control. It only took several seconds to succeed.
The moment Luo Lang took back his body, he could feel the fearsome power of the aphrodisiac. This time, he did not need Ling Lan to remind him — with the final bit of his rationality, he immediately activated the next alter ego.
Just like that, Luo Lang activated his innate talent again and again, channelling his alter egos, while again and again, Ling Lan beat them into submission, tempted them with benefits, tricked them ... anything, as long as she could get these secondary personalities to agree to submit to their primary identity. Ling Lan could be said to have used up her bag of tricks. Again and again she redefined the baseline of her ethics, leading Ling Lan to silently sigh at how she really was not a good person ...
Just like that, heaven knows how many alter egos she had helped Luo Lang conquer; Ling Lan was feeling rather numb by now. Faint traces of sunlight had begun to peek out from within the dark sky — it was getting ever closer to dawn. Observing from the side, Little Four could not help but become anxious.
This was because, even with Little Four's help, it would be extremely difficult to sneak back to their living quarters without any trace during broad daylight. Little Four did not know whether he should manipulate things to create the illusion that Boss and Luo Lang had left the villa early this morning to come train in the combat hall ...
Alright, there was still that final bit of time. Little Four decided to wait a little longer in patience. If daylight truly broke, then he would ask his boss whether he should carry out his plan.
In the meantime, Luo Lang had activated yet another new personality. The emergence of the personality brought along a surge of ice-cold air, causing the temperature within the private room to drop noticeably.
The arrival of this chill made Ling Lan's spirits rally — could it be that the Transcendent Cold personality she had been waiting for all this while had finally appeared?
Luo Lang's cold and unfeeling gaze swept over, and when he saw Ling Lan, his brow furrowed and he said "So it's you."
Ling Lan was taken aback — she had met this personality before? She abruptly recalled that this personality had appeared before not too long ago on the stage during the wagered fight with Leiting. He had been extreme in his cold rationality — paying the price of his own arm to perfectly ensnare the opponent, achieving an upset by defeating his stronger opponent from a weaker position. Undoubtedly, this was a personality who could be extremely cruel to himself for the sake of victory.
"Severing one's seven emotions and six desires, only allowing oneself to retain endlessly cold rationality, and taking everything into consideration without qualms that could lead to victory ... you should be that Transcendent Cold personality." Ling Lan believed that the other was certainly the target she had been seeking. As expected, a tough opponent.
"That's right. It's unexpected that you actually know all those details about me. Not simple at all ... no wonder the primary identity is willing to recognise you as boss," responded the Transcendent Cold personality dispassionately. Of course, a hint of contempt could still be discerned from his tone.
1. T/C: Such a sadistic thought. Ling Lan, careful, your #5 side is showing.
2. The author's phrasing is ambiguous, so I'm not sure if this is truly indicative of how many alter egos Luo Lang has.
3. T/C: It's amazing how blasé Ling Lan is about gaining more blood-soaked killing intent now. It's like -- sure thing! I'll just pop off to the learning space and torture myself with more insane mind-breaking training and get more killing intent. Easy peasy! <.<
4. 君子一言,驷马难追: A Chinese saying, literally 'one word from a gentleman cannot be chased up to by a team of four horses', i.e. a promise given cannot be reclaimed.
Chapter 284 - Scheming!
"I've been looking for you for a long time," said Ling Lan coldly, "I think you should already be aware of the current condition of this body."
"Seeking me out just for this?" The Transcendent Cold personality figured out why he had been brought out and could not help but scorn, "This kind of little problem, and he already can't take it? That's too disgraceful."
Due to the effects of the aphrodisiac, even though Luo Lang's face had been punched till it was black and blue, it was still flushed an eye-catching rosy pink. However, his eyes now were clear, as if not at all affected by the chaotic desire within his body. Sure enough, the Transcendent Cold personality possessed the ability to detach himself from all seven emotions and six desires, and was thus able to be so serene in the face of disaster.
However, Ling Lan was beginning to get a vague sense that something was not right. She began to think back on how when each personality had appeared, those personalities had not lost control due to the aphrodisiac — they had not lost their minds and behaved wildly. Even when that mindless Bestial Instinct personality had appeared, what he had displayed had only been the basic instinct of a wild beast and nothing else ...
Could it be that as long as another personality took charge, the effects of the aphrodisiac would actually be contained? In that case, why would Luo Lang suffer the ravaging of the aphrodisiac every time after he conquered those personalities? Ling Lan was rather perplexed.
All these doubts merely flashed through her mind — Ling Lan did not have the time to ruminate on them. Now, the most important thing was still helping Luo Lang to conquer this Transcendent Cold personality so that Luo Lang could fully overcome the effects of the aphrodisiac.
Ling Lan did not think that the aphrodisiac of this future world would be so strong, lasting over the course of an entire night. Every time they had switched alter egos, she had seen Luo Lang's agonised expression of forced tolerance in between. This made Ling Lan rather worried about Luo Lang's body. She wondered whether it was too much for him and had harmed the very foundations of his body ... she hoped that it was truly as Instructor Number One had said, that there would be no negative aftereffects!
Ling Lan suppressed the worry in her heart and began to negotiate with the Transcendent Cold personality. "Speak. What would make you willing to submit to the primary identity?"
It would be best if they could avoid a fight — whenever Ling Lan encountered a rational personality that could communicate, she would not resort to violence right away, instead going into negotiation mode first. Ling Lan herself was afraid that Luo Lang's body would not be able to withstand all this pummelling.
"Submit? He's not worthy enough yet," Transcendent Cold responded icily.
"Yet? Which means that it's possible in the future? Does this mean that you actually think well of him?" asked Ling Lan with a quirked brow.
"He is our primary identity. Once he has become stronger than us, we will naturally submit to him," Transcendent Cold replied evenly. This was the truth. Luo Lang's innate talent was out of his control only because the primary identity was too weak, so the secondary personalities could not be blamed for running wild.
"Why don't you all try submitting now? This is actually beneficial for you all as well," suggested Ling Lan.
Transcendent Cold shook his head bleakly and refused, saying, "We have our pride. We only submit to the strong. If the primary identity never finds a way to be stronger than us, he will forever be unable to control us. This is the price he must pay. There are no shortcuts."
"Is that so?" Ling Lan shot back with a half-smile. The reality before them now proved that shortcuts did exist — they just had not been discovered yet before this.
Ling Lan's rebuttal made Transcendent Cold's breath choke. He fell silent for several seconds before opening his mouth to say, "Of course, it's not really that they don't exist. If there is a boss who gains the willing acknowledgement of all of the secondary personalities, we can listen to that boss's orders and recognise the primary identity as our main host."
The Transcendent Cold personality stared coolly at Ling Lan and continued, "It seems that you have discovered this shortcut. Those subdued secondary personalities were most likely conquered by the primary identity in this way. If you defeat me, I too will be willing to submit to you. At that time, you can ask me to submit to the primary identity. I will be willing to obey."
"So that's how it is." Only now did Ling Lan truly understand. Instructor Number One had suggested this method, not for her to seek out the Transcendent Cold personality, but for her to subdue each and every one of these alter egos to help Luo Lang gain complete control.
"Who knows how many alter egos are left ... Do I have to keep fighting till the last one to end this?" Ling Lan muttered to herself, chuckling wryly internally. If luck would have it, she might just have to spend days here — this was truly an onerous task. That's why she had said that being a boss was not so easy ...
"No need. As long as you defeat me, the other secondary personalities will acknowledge you too. Because I am the strongest one among all the alter egos." Transcendent Cold heard Ling Lan's mutters, and replied. Even though his tone was exceedingly cool and level, Ling Lan could still hear the pride and confidence of Transcendent Cold from his words.
That aside, Transcendent Cold's words had also explained why Instructor Number One had said that she must seek out the Transcendent Cold personality. It looked like Luo Lang did not need him specifically to overcome the crisis of the aphrodisiac — rather, Ling Lan needed to defeat the other so Luo Lang could truly master his innate talent.
This so-called chance was just Instructor Number One's excuse to get her to act. No wonder as time passed, Luo Lang's resistance to the aphrodisiac had seemed to get stronger and stronger. Unlike at the start when he had almost lost his reason, he had always been able to successfully activate his innate talent, holding on till the emergence of the next alter ego. In fact, as he had been fighting, the aphrodisiac was already being diffused. It was as the Transcendent Cold personality had said at the start — the aphrodisiac within Luo Lang's body was just a trivial matter, because the drug was already nearing its end, and the effects were no longer that strong.
At this thought, the tension in Ling Lan's heart eased. Since the aphrodisiac was no longer an issue, as long as she defeated this personality before her now and completed the task of letting Luo Lang freely control his innate talent, she would have achieved a rousing success.
"Fine. Let me try then and see how strong exactly is this Transcendent Cold personality." Ling Lan calmly stretched out her right hand, signalling for the Transcendent Cold personality to make his move.
This was the stance a superior used against an inferior — with regards to this, the Transcendent Cold personality did not feel offended or underestimated. This was because the moment he came out, he had sensed the horrifying strength hidden deeply within Ling Lan's body. He knew very well that this person before his eyes was not that opponent he had met that first time he had emerged. This opponent was much stronger, but that did not mean that he had no chance of winning.
A mocking smile appeared on the lips of the Transcendent Cold personality. With a spring of his feet, his figure suddenly disappeared, and in the next second, his fist had arrived before Ling Lan's face. This speed of his had clearly broken past Luo Lang's original speed, hitting Luo Lang's physical limits ...
"Good!" Ling Lan yelled out in approval. Her head tilted to one side, evading the punch, and her palm struck back without any hesitation, aiming for the only opening in this attack of Luo Lang's, the only fatal weakness —— his chest!
Ling Lan thought that Transcendent Cold would choose to evade, because if this palm strike landed, based on the strength differential between Luo Lang and her, Luo Lang was certain to be heavily injured. Someone proficient in combat would not be so idiotic as to welcome death ...
However, Transcendent Cold's actions shocked Ling Lan — the other did not dodge, charging forwards fearlessly instead.
"F*ck, a lunatic!" Ling Lan had not expected the other's actions, and since the other was charging forwards intentionally, Ling Lan's palm made contact with Luo Lang's chest in the blink of an eye.
There was already no time to change moves — Ling Lan could only pull back the powerful internal energy behind her palm. Thus, despite striking Luo Lang's chest, as there was no internal energy behind it, her palm did not harm Luo Lang. But right then, there was a sudden twist — Luo Lang's other long readied fist with three layers of One-Inch Punch struck out in a diagonal attack at Ling Lan's lower side.
Stuck in the tail-end of her move, Ling Lan had no possibility of evading. Still, who was Ling Lan? The reflexes of one at the optimal peak of Qi-Jin was incomparable to that of one at early stage Qi-Jin. Ling Lan's other hand swept down into a block and the two forces collided. Powerful forces erupted between the two of them.
A 'boom' of collision, and the two were thrown back uncontrollably. They each stumbled back several paces before finding their footing again.
Even Ling Lan, due to insufficient preparation and a hasty block, now felt heated blood roiling in her chest, a surge of copper-sweet stench pushing at the back of her throat. It should be said that the heartless scheming of Transcendent Cold, in tandem with the three layers of One-Inch Punch he used, had given Ling Lan a bitter taste of trouble.
"Actually daring to use Luo Lang's life to trap me ..." Ling Lan's eyes turned bleak and cold, freezing air beginning to emit from her body. At this moment, Ling Lan's wrath had been piqued.
She found that this Transcendent Cold personality before her was truly without all seven emotions and six desires, only retaining endless cold rationality. For the sake of victory, he had even factored Ling Lan's brotherly affection for Luo Lang into his calculations ... From the start, he had known that his attack would be fruitless, but he also knew that Ling Lan cared for his body very much and would not really want to hurt him, and this was his chance. Frankly, he had almost succeeded. However, Ling Lan was just too strong — despite falling into his trap, she had still managed to withstand his attack by relying on her own superior strength.
"If your heart had not had any reluctance, my plan would not have succeeded," said the Transcendent Cold personality, "Hence, this is not my fault."
At these words, Ling Lan almost spewed out a mouthful of blood. So she was the only one to blame for taking this hit? But thinking about it, what the Transcendent Cold personality was saying was not wrong either — if she had not been reluctant to harm Luo Lang, the other would not have been able to trap her.
"How bloody despicable. Are you not at all worried I would just go through with it for real and kill you?" asked Ling Lan sullenly.
"If that happened, then it would be my mistake. Death would be well deserved." The Transcendent Cold personality's expression was indifferent. In his mind, if his carefully thought-out plan had not succeeded, death would be a proper price to pay — there was nothing to argue about there.
Facing this emotionless Transcendent Cold personality who only knew how to scheme, unafraid of death and impervious to flattery and petty tricks, Ling Lan felt somewhat like her hands were tied. Hells, this personality was just too troublesome to handle — did she really have to fight with lethal means?
It had to be said that the Transcendent Cold personality had indeed latched onto Ling Lan's vital point. Ling Lan could not bear to harm Luo Lang — even though Luo Lang currently looked rather battered, his entire face a swathe of black and blue, his body swollen red and bruised with no patch of unmarked skin, all of these injuries were only skin-deep. Luo Lang would only need to lie in a healing pod for one to two hours, and he would be back to normal. However, if Ling Lan had really been ruthless and injured Luo Lang grievously, Luo Lang may just have to return to the Military Medical Research Centre and would not have been able to be discharged for 10 days to half a month ... and this was why Ling Lan was now caught in a dilemma.
"Boss, dawn is breaking. Should I create an illusion of you and Luo Lang coming out from the villa this morning to come spar at the combat hall?" Right then, Little Four, who could delay no longer, piped up with an alert within Ling Lan's mindspace.
An idea sparked in Ling Lan's mind at these words. Yes, by creating this illusion, she would have a reason to send Luo Lang back to the Military Medical Research Centre to trouble Li Shiyu again ...
She could say that, as they had fought, Luo Lang's old wounds had flared up again. As his primary physician, Li Shiyu would need to take responsibility for this.
Chapter 285 - Completion!
At this thought, Ling Lan's lips could not help but curve up into a slight smile. Since she now had a way to resolve Luo Lang's injuries, then there was no reason for her to be merciful and hold back.
Ling Lan clasped her hands together tightly, her fingers emitting the sounds of cracking joints. This action made Transcendent Cold's gaze shift, because he had sensed that his initial plans were likely to be useless now ... still, could the other really bear to be vicious? If that was the case, then, for the primary identity to have acknowledged such a person as boss, wasn't he too bad at judging character and also too pitiful?
Before the Transcendent Cold personality could ascertain Ling Lan's true thoughts, Ling Lan leapt forwards. This time, she was prepared to initiate attack. A fist was sent flying straight at Luo Lang's face. The force behind the punch was fierce and domineering — even before it could touch him, the Transcendent Cold personality could already feel the horrific power contained in the fist.
His countenance shifted, and with a quick slide step, he dodged this attack of Ling Lan's.
There was a loud boom as Ling Lan's fist struck the floor of the private room. The ground instantly split apart under the tremendous force.
In fact, the private room was built with high-tech ultra-durable materials, capable of withstanding attacks of Qi-Jin below Domain stage. The effect being displayed right now was also a product of the technology — after 10 seconds, the ground would be restored to normal.
Seeing this great crevasse appear on the private room's floor, the Transcendent Cold personality confirmed that this person across from him was now truly determined to be ruthless. At this moment, he could not help but scorn his own primary identity once more, thinking that his primary identity really had bad judgement. His boss must not care much for him at all; otherwise, how could he have switched over to become so vicious so easily? Damm*t, what a failure of a primary identity.
Since he could no longer count on the other's mercy, the Transcendent Cold personality abandoned his original plans without any hesitation, beginning to look for other openings to exploit.
Meanwhile, the two of them could be seen darting around each other, one attacking one evading, actually fighting on pretty even ground. It had to be said that Transcendent Cold was the strongest among all the alter egos because he utilised Luo Lang's physical body to its maximum ability — whether it was in terms of speed or power, he had pushed it to the limit. For Ling Lan to defeat the other, it was likely impossible within a short period of time.
This was because the other was calculating the best evasion path for himself under his body's constraints. Transcendent Cold's formidable calculation ability had allowed him to escape by a hair's breadth several times already.
"Looks like it's impossible without using Domain," thought Ling Lan.
Frankly, with Ling Lan's capabilities, it was not impossible to take the other down if she went all out physically. However, she did not dare to use all her strength at optimal peak Qi-Jin, much less the threefold version of One-Inch Punch. This greatly restricted Ling Lan's attack range, which was why Transcendent Cold could escape so many times.
The strength Ling Lan was currently using was carefully calculated so that even if she hit Luo Lang, Luo Lang would only be heavily injured, but no great tragedy would occur. If she added an extra share of strength, she was afraid she might accidentally snuff out Luo Lang's little life.
Right then, the Transcendent Cold personality was finding that even if he schemed a lot, it was futile against Ling Lan who was several times stronger than him. Once strength reached a certain degree, all schemes would become useless.
The Transcendent Cold personality experienced the emotion called hopelessness for the first time ... however, it was not in his character to admit defeat just like that. So, he decided to trade injury for injury; this was an extremely helpless kind of ploy — if he was not at his wits' end, he would not resort to this willingly.
Both fighters intended to bring this fight to a close — when Ling Lan attacked again this time, the Transcendent Cold personality did not dodge. He immediately raised his right fist and with a loud bellow, the 4th form of One-Inch Punch was executed without hesitation ...
Seeing this, rage flickered in Ling Lan's eyes. Without any hesitation whatsoever, she yelled out, "Domain, activate!"
In the private room, a super mini Domain appeared, instantly wrapping around Luo Lang's entire body. In the midst of performing the 4th form of One-Inch Punch, Luo Lang was frozen in that stance just like that, suspended in the air, immobile.
The smaller the Domain, the longer Ling Lan could maintain it. Of course, even with the smallest Domain, Ling Lan could only hold it for no more than one minute. As for this tiny Domain, Ling Lan could hold it for approximately 40 seconds. Although it was not very long, it was more than enough to subdue the Transcendent Cold personality.
"D*mn it!" Ling Lan roared, her fist hurtling over to strike the immobile Luo Lang squarely. At the instant her fist struck, Ling Lan dismissed the Domain holding Luo Lang secure.
Still, the Transcendent Cold personality no longer had any way of dodging her attack. The fist landed squarely and Luo Lang's entire person was sent flying to crash heavily against the wall of the private room and then bounce off it to crumple to the ground.
A heaving sound, and Luo Lang was spewing out several mouthfuls of blood on the ground. Ling Lan had not held back in this strike; her finely calculated internal energy had been borne by Luo Lang in its entirety. It was unsurprising that Luo Lang had received severe damage.
"Do you know? I really hate you right now. With Luo Lang's current abilities, using the 4th form of One-Inch Punch will cause the Qi-Jin in his body to run rampant. An unlucky chance could cause his combat realm 1 to fall. The first time, on the arena stage during the wagered fight, you did not want to lose to an outsider and used it. Even though you paid the price of your right arm, I tolerated it ... but now, just because you did not want to lose to me, you chose to use this type of move that would deal 100 damage to the opponent but deal 1000 damage to yourself 2 . Are you a godd*mn bloody idiot? What Transcendent Cold? You are just a freakin' brainless blockhead! Calm and level-headed my ass!"
Ling Lan, who was extremely incensed by the other's actions, had a stony expression on her face as she grabbed the Transcendent Cold personality off the ground and began rapping him smartly on the head with her fists, berating him fiercely all the way.
This attitude of Ling Lan's made the Transcendent Cold personality instantly descend into a confused stupor. Perhaps, in his world, this type of fire-breathing dragon behaviour was completely incomprehensible ... wasn't he the one who had gotten injured? Why was the opponent so enraged? Perhaps he had been tricked from the start ... perhaps the other's affection for his primary identity was in fact sincere, and the other had not been utterly merciless?
Taking stock of his own injuries, Transcendent Cold believed his judgment was accurate. He should have been dejected by the discovery, because he had actually been fooled by the opponent and had lost his chance to win. But for some reason, his heart actually felt lighter, as if this was how things should be.
Transcendent Cold's stunned gaze had never shifted from Ling Lan's face — fuming, Ling Lan did not have any patience to speak of. With an angry glare, she said, "What are you looking at? Do you godd*mn submit or not?"
"..." Transcendent Cold let his silence speak for him. He was already having his head rapped while he was in the other's hold — how could he not submit?
Seeing Transcendent Cold's cooperative attitude, Ling Lan's mood improved. She patted Luo Lang gruffly on the head and said, "If you had just done so from the start, wouldn't things have been better?" Perhaps noticing the Transcendent Cold personality's dejected expression, Ling Lan added, "Also, I'm your boss. What's there to be discouraged about in losing to your boss? How pathetic."
He was pathetic? Well, at least he's still better than the primary identity, right ...? The Transcendent Cold personality could not help but scrunch his brow; he was unwilling to accept this critique. "But the primary identity being so weak, won't Boss look down on him?" Subconsciously, the Transcendent Cold personality had actually begun to worry about the place his primary identity held in their boss's heart.
"Why don't you let the primary identity out now?" Ling Lan sent another fist flying to beat away Transcendent Cold's gloomy emotions. Transcendent Cold did not want to suffer any more of Boss's fists, so he could only obediently let the primary identity out.
"Boss, you've settled yet another personality?" The moment Luo Lang came out, he asked happily. Gathering one personality after another under his control, Luo Lang could feel himself becoming stronger. His innate talent was also beginning to feel increasingly easier to wield.
"Yes, congratulations on escaping from your abyss of misery." Seeing Luo Lang appear, Ling Lan's initial wrathful expression calmed into cool stoicism once more, and her tone was as indifferent as it ever was. Luo Lang, as the primary identity, did not sense anything out of the ordinary, but the Transcendent Cold personality on the other side could sense the subtle change in Ling Lan's aura. It was still cold, her voice just as cool, but compared to when she had been fighting with him, her aura was actually considerably warmer. So apparently even this icy attitude of their boss would change when interacting with the different personalities.
For the first time, the Transcendent Cold personality felt the emotion called jealousy. He actually began to feel envious of his primary identity, who was able to receive Boss's care and affection.
Luo Lang was a clever babe — hearing Ling Lan's words, he instantly reacted with joy, "You've found the Transcendent Cold personality?"
"Hn. Go subdue it quickly. Your aphrodisiac is also mostly settled," said Ling Lan calmly.
"Don't try to resist. A gentleman should never go back on his word!" Ling Lan's tone shifted abruptly, becoming extraordinarily frigid. Transcendent Cold knew that these words were directed at him. He was just another personality in the same body, but the treatment he received was so different. This tone now and that tone earlier were so obviously worlds apart ... Transcendent Cold thought to himself dejectedly 1 .
Luo Lang could not know Transcendent Cold's thoughts; heeding Boss Lan's words, he pounced at the Transcendent Cold personality beside him. The moment he touched the other, the primary identity could sense how powerful the other was. There were no openings for him to attack, so he could only stare at the other helplessly.
"What an idiot!" Transcendent Cold saw this pathetic display of the primary identity, and barked reproachfully. Still, he did not plan to go back on his promise with Ling Lan. Thus, he could only suppress his spiritual power as much as he could, squeezing it down smaller and smaller, until the point where the primary identity could overpower him.
The two personalities began to merge — the Transcendent Cold personality was experiencing everything the primary identity had been through, including those experiences as the other grew up and his bonds with those companions of his ...
D*mmit, the primary identity was really too bloody weak. If he had been the primary identity, the prized seat of Boss's first follower would definitely belong to him 1 and not that simple-minded Qi Long ... Transcendent Cold thought moodily to himself.
This time, the process of subduing the Transcendent Cold personality took much longer than with the other personalities. Day was upon them, and the combat hall was beginning to become crowded. Some were there to enter Closed Door Meditation and seek out insight, while others were there to practise their combat arts. All the students selected their own private rooms and went off to do their respective things. There were also those students who had no classes today, who did not want to log on to the Mecha World, who had come to the combat hall looking for a spar or two.
Finally, Luo Lang's tightly shut eyes opened. A gleam of cold light came and went, and then Luo Lang could be seen to laugh and say, "Boss, it's done."
"How does your body feel? That is, the aphrodisiac ..." This was what Ling Lan was most concerned about.
1. this is in reference to the stages, such as Qi-Jin.
2. 伤敌一百,自损一千: This isn't an actual idiom as far as I know (or could find). It reads like a modified idiom by the author ... you know, the one that goes 'harm the opponent 1000, harm oneself 800'? Anyhow, the comparison of numbered damage should make the point pretty clear, but I'll also give an alternate version of this (my first translation before I switched it to this more true-to-literal final version): harm yourself by a thousand while only causing a hundred damage to your opponent.
3. T/C: Awww... I'm really starting to feel sorry for this personality. You'll need to work hard to earn Boss Lan's trust, Transcendent Cold!
4. T/C: Oh dear, can't you just hear Little Four's war cry now? :p
Chapter 286 - Misdiagnosis!
"It doesn't feel that strong anymore. After subduing the Transcendent Cold personality, the effects have eased greatly. As expected, the Transcendent Cold personality is the sure-kill move against aphrodisiacs," reported Luo Lang excitedly in his cluelessness.
At his side, Ling Lan's cold face could not help but quiver slightly. Fine, she was a bad person. She absolutely would not tell Luo Lang the truth — that, in fact, all his injuries this night were actually unnecessary.
"How are your injuries?" Ling Lan asked, scratching the bridge of her nose, still feeling somewhat guilty.
Luo Lang chuckled wryly, "Not very good. I'm injured pretty badly. Looks like I'll have to go to the treatment centre for another round of treatment."
"It's better to go to the Military Medical Research Centre," said Ling Lan.
The smile on Luo Lang's face stiffened, as if thinking of something. Ling Lan raised a brow and asked, "Recalling that scumbag? Afraid now?"
Luo Lang shook his head and said, "No, that scumbag has been handled by Boss. What do I have to be afraid of?" That said, a hint of coldness appeared on his face. "I believe that he must be wishing he were dead right now."
Luo Lang had full faith in Ling Lan, believing that his boss would not let the other off so easily. Even though his boss might not have taken that pervert's life to minimise the outcry from this incident, his boss would definitely have used some other method to destroy the other, such as crushing the other's future ... this kind of revenge method was also something he approved of. Hating a person did not mean the other person had to die ... destroying that which he prized most — now that was satisfying.
"Don't worry. He will spend the rest of his life in a daze. No one knows you had been abducted. You only made a visit to the Military Medical Research Centre, that's all ..." Ling Lan conveyed Shi Mingyi's final outcome in a few short phrases, also telling Luo Lang that this incident would end here. There would be no continuation.
"Thank you, Boss!" Luo Lang smiled brightly at these words. Despite the mottled bruises on his face, this smile lit up his lovely features, still making others feel that his smile was very beautiful.
"It's pretty late. We should hurry to the Military Medical Research Centre. The earlier you're treated, the earlier you'll be back on your feet." Ling Lan indicated for Little Four to open the room door, prepared to take Luo Lang to the Military Medical Research Centre.
Luo Lang's smile stiffened and he said with a grimace, "Boss, can we not go there?"
"Why?" Ling Lan asked curiously.
Luo Lang's body could not help but shudder a little, a trace of fear on his face as he said hesitatingly, "The medical agent Li Shiyu uses on us causes too much suffering?" He then proceeded to tell Ling Lan every single one of the effects the medical agent produced in their bodies. Ling Lan's eyes flickered in surprise, and even Little Four within the mindspace was gaping in shock — that medical agent Luo Lang was describing ... why did it sound so much like an enhanced version of gene agents?
Could it be that Li Shiyu had used a medical agent with a similar makeup to gene agents? Ling Lan rubbed her jaw, her expression thoughtful. This would explain why Luo Lang's body had had a significant elevation in baseline. It would appear that that Li Shiyu was much more capable than she had imagined.
"Little Four, tell me. Letting that Li Shiyu become the exclusive army doctor of our team, don't you think that's a good idea?" She could not let such a capable military doctor get away.
A clear curve adorned Ling Lan's lips. Taken in combination with her calculative gaze, Little Four could not help but shiver and say hurriedly, "Yes, Li Shiyu is pretty good! Boss is wise!"
After all, he did not even know Li Shiyu that well, so why should he care how things would turn out for him if he fell into his boss's hands? He only needed to keep his boss happy and that would do. Little Four decisively pushed Li Shiyu into the fire pit!
Having resolved the issue of the team's military doctor 1 , Ling Lan carted Luo Lang off to the Military Medical Research Centre in a great mood. The moment they arrived at the doorway, they bumped into someone. Ling Lan glanced nonchalantly at the other, and her first thought was that the other seemed somewhat familiar.
Of course, Ling Lan did not take it to heart. She was just about to brush by and enter the doors when that person greeted her on his own with a smile, "Morning, Junior Ling Lan!"
Ling Lan had no choice but to stop. Even though Ling Lan appeared very aloof on the surface — her entire body emanating a cold air, and her demeanour seemingly extremely unapproachable — she was actually a very polite and courteous good child. Generally, anyone who greeted her in a friendly manner would not be spurned by Ling Lan.
"Morning, Senior!" Ling Lan responded lightly.
"Hoho, looks like Junior does not recognise me. I'm Li Lanfeng of the 4th year Mecha Piloting Special Class. Last time, after your arena battle, we met at the treatment centre." Hearing Ling Lan's response, Li Lanfeng could tell the other did not know who he was. Thus, he introduced himself good-naturedly, also reminding the other when they had met.
Ling Lan finally recalled who this person before her was. Back then at the treatment centre, he was the one who had spurred Li Shiyu with one phrase into taking over the treatment of her three brothers. At this thought, Ling Lan nodded and said, "So it's Senior Li. Hello."
"Why has Junior come here today?" Li Lanfeng asked curiously. His gaze swept over to see Luo Lang, whose terrible condition was prefaced by swollen eyes and a bruised nose, and instantly cried out, "Eh, why is this junior in such a terrible condition?" He peered closely at the injured person for a long while then cried out again, "Isn't this Junior Luo Lang? Hadn't you already recovered a few days ago and had been discharged?"
Luo Lang laughed awkwardly, and Ling Lan helped him to reply, "Today, we went out early to the combat hall for a spar, and found some minor problem with Luo Lang's body. So we're here to see Dux Li to figure things out."
"I was just about to go see Young Master Shiyu myself. Let's go together," suggested Li Lanfeng, sensing Ling Lan's anxiety. And so the three of them strode together into the Military Medical Research Centre to seek out Li Shiyu.
********
At this time, Li Shiyu was in the process of checking the data charting the stats of Qi Long and Li Yingjie from the night before. Seeing the numbers improve day by day, he let out an internal sigh of relief. It looked like the gene agent S-modification did indeed have a significant effect in increasing one's physical constitution. Even with regards to wound recovery, it had strengthened that by several folds — another ten more days or so, and Qi Long and Li Yingjie would probably be fully healed, ready to go back and continue attending physical training.
Thus, he was in high spirits when he suddenly heard someone call out to him from behind, "Young Master Shiyu, hello!"
Li Shiyu turned his head and saw that it was Li Lanfeng. He could not help but smile and say, "Lanfeng, so you've come." During this period of time, Li Lanfeng would pop by to visit him whenever he had the time; this had caused the relationship between the two to become extremely close.
However, Li Shiyu's good mood came to a screeching halt when he saw the person standing next to Li Lanfeng.
"What are you here for?" Li Shiyu rolled his eyes at Ling Lan, his entire face darkening instantly. He was still bearing a grudge over the incident of Ling Lan threatening him.
Ling Lan seemed oblivious to Li Shiyu's displeasure, saying calmly, "I've come here, to return Luo Lang to you." This statement caused Luo Lang, who was standing behind her, to blink blankly, extremely bewildered at why his Boss Lan would say such a thing.
"Return? What do you mean?" Li Shiyu was similarly taken aback, staring at Ling Lan uncomprehendingly.
"His old injuries have flared up again. Who should I look for if not you?" The corners of Ling Lan's lips quirked. Her cold gaze settled firmly on him, and that gaze was so sharp that Li Shiyu's heart skipped a beat or two.
Luo Lang secretly wiped away the cold sweat which had sprung out from his forehead at these words. Boss, you're truly too black-bellied ... actually daring to blame these injuries on Dux Li.
Li Shiyu composed himself, then rebutted fiercely, "How can this be? When he left, all his numbers were clearly as good as they could ever be ..."
"But, he was really injured." Ling Lan pointed at Luo Lang, signalling for Li Shiyu to go and examine him.
Li Shiyu stepped forward and felt Luo Lang's pulse. His expression changed instantly, and he hurriedly felt Luo Lang's chest, checking on his internal injuries, and then turned to glare furiously at Ling Lan. "Why were you so vicious?"
Ling Lan calmly tugged on her own sleeves to straighten them and replied coolly, "You think I would be so vicious while sparring with my own brother?"
"Then where did these internal injuries of his come from? Are you saying that someone else assaulted Luo Lang?" Li Shiyu asked angrily, pointing at Luo Lang's chest.
"Well, of course there was no assault. Early this morning, Luo Lang and I went to spar for a bit in a combat room. We only exchanged a few moves and this was the result," Ling Lan replied calmly, "I only used the strength level Luo Lang was used to from before, but when I hit Luo Lang, he actually became so injured. This made me suspect that Luo Lang's body may not have been fully recovered to begin with, and you actually discharged him 1 ?"
"Before he was discharged, I checked to make sure all of his stats were within normal standards before letting him go." Hearing Ling Lan questioning his professionalism, Li Shiyu glared at her. This was something he could not accept.
"I believe you, but I don't trust these machines." Ling Lan thumped a treatment device by her side, "Some injuries may have always been hiding within a patient's body, but those diagnostic devices may never find them. For example, Major General Bob of the Caesar Empire had similarly been declared completely healed by the best hospital, but half a year later, an old wound reared up again, and in the end he could not be saved despite emergency care ... or like with Governor Thira of the Ayin Alliance, who, also due to misdiagnosis, missed the best window of time for treatment and so had to retire prematurely. Even in our Federation, this type of misdiagnoses is not few in number ... do you need me to list out the examples? Li Shiyu, do you think you can say confidently and unreservedly that these examination devices are truly, completely foolproof?"
Ling Lan queried forcefully as she read out the name list of misdiagnosis cases that Little Four had compiled. This caused Li Shiyu's face to flush and pale erratically, but he just could not find any words to rebut the other because everything Ling Lan had said was fact. Even his instructors would never dare to give an absolute guarantee.
"But, the accuracy of the machines is as high as 99.97% ..." Li Shiyu protested weakly. Although there was indeed the chance for misdiagnosis, the odds of it happening were just too low to consider.
"So, there is still a 0.03% chance of error. Can you guarantee that Luo Lang does not fall into this category?" Ling Lan abruptly interrupted Li Shiyu, eyes trained intently on the other as she asked this question.
Li Shiyu's mouth flapped open and closed, but he found that he could say nothing definite. Even though he believed deep down that he had not misdiagnosed Luo Lang, when it came to medicine, there was indeed no way to guarantee a hundred percent safety.
"I heard that, a truly exceptional military doctor is able to determine on his own whether a person has fully recovered, before matching his personal judgement with the output of the diagnostic machines. This basically eliminates all possibility of a misdiagnosis. I would like to ask ... Dux Li, are you already at this level?" Ling Lan was unrelenting, chasing Li Shiyu with another question.
1. T/C: Lol! Ling Lan hasn't even gotten him yet and she already considers it a done deal.
2. T/C: Omg, Ling Lan, you are utterly shameless.
Chapter 287 - Apprehension!
Li Shiyu could only continue to remain silent, because his medical skills were indeed still not yet at that level. Typically, military doctors who achieved that stage were those who had been practicing for up to 20 years and more; only accumulated medical experience could allow them to do so.
"If you cannot do that, then how can you argue with me that Luo Lang's injuries are not a relapse of his old injuries?" asked Ling Lan with a raised brow.
Boss, you're so despicable! Little Four and Luo Lang saw Li Shiyu being questioned so harshly by their boss that he was completely flummoxed, and they could only shake their heads mutely and sigh.
So easily and casually shunting responsibility to the other, without having to owe the other anything to boot ... once more, it was proven why only Boss Lan could be their boss. Sure enough, Boss Lan was stronger than them on all fronts. Even in terms of despicableness, this was so.
Li Shiyu's chest heaved up and down, making Ling Lan rather worried about whether he would pass out from anger. She could not help but begin reflecting on whether she had taken things too far ... (And you only know this now?) 1
"Fine. Consider this occasion my fault and just let Luo Lang return for treatment." Li Shiyu finally managed to suppress his anger and replied through clenched teeth. He glared fiercely at Luo Lang, causing Luo Lang to feel a chill penetrate straight to his very bones.
Seeing that stormy expression of Li Shiyu's, Luo Lang turned a pitiful look on his boss, pleading — could he not be treated by Li Shiyu again? Ling Lan pretended to see nothing, but she was cheering for Luo Lang inside her heart. In order to become even stronger, oh Luo Lang, why don't you just endure this suffering for a while? Ling Lan believed that leaving Luo Lang at the Military Medical Research Centre would definitely yield excellent results.
After resolving the issue of Luo Lang, Ling Lan cheerfully left the Military Medical Research Centre. Seeing this, Li Lanfeng quickly said goodbye to Li Shiyu and left as well. He had borne witness to all of Ling Lan's cutting questions earlier and knew that Li Shiyu must be in a terrible mood right now. He was not going to stay and chance earning any spillover hate value.
Li Lanfeng had not forgotten that he had entered together with Ling Lan — if Li Shiyu thought he was Ling Lan's companion, then it would be a tragedy 1 . Besides, he had some things he wanted to say to Ling Lan, so leaving now would be killing two birds with one stone.
And so, Ling Lan and Li Lanfeng left the Military Medical Research Centre together. After walking for a distance, Ling Lan halted abruptly. Lifting a brow, she turned to Li Lanfeng who had been trailing behind her all this while and asked, "Can I help you?"
Li Lanfeng smiled and nodded. Taking a step forward, he drew closer to Ling Lan, causing Ling Lan to frown slightly. This was because she did not like strangers to get too close to her, but Li Lanfeng's following words made her forget all of this.
"Luo Lang's injuries ... have something to do with the Tianji incident, right?" Li Lanfeng said under his breath so only the two of them could hear.
Ling Lan shot a cool look at Li Lanfeng and asked in return, "The matter of Tianji ... I heard their headquarters collapsed. The academy administration is investigating now; there's no official report yet. Pray tell how Senior Li came to this idea? Could it be that you have some insider information? Can you tell this Junior and clear my confusion?"
"Shi Mingyi has become a vegetable ..." Li Lanfeng commented with a half-smile, "Other people may not know where his predilections lay, but I know very well. It's such a coincidence that Luo Lang's appearance is exactly the type that Shi Mingyi favours. I've also found out that Luo Lang had visited the Military Medical Research Centre once yesterday afternoon. But I asked Young Master Shiyu and he knew nothing of it."
Ling Lan's expression did not change at all at his words. As calm as usual, she replied, "Senior Li, baseless conjecture will only lead people to the wrong conclusion. If you want to know why Luo Lang went to the Military Medical Research Centre yesterday afternoon, I can give you an explanation."
Ling Lan paused for a beat then continued, "In fact, since the beginning of yesterday afternoon, Luo Lang had felt something off about his body. So, after finishing the day's physical training courses, he hurried off to the Military Medical Research Centre, thinking to find Dux Li. However, our New Cadet Regiment suddenly received a mission from the administration of the military academy, and this mission was directly assigned by the upper ranks to Luo Lang by name. That's why we called Luo Lang to return, and this is also why Luo Lang had rushed back without seeing Dux Li."
On this end, Ling Lan was composedly spinning a believable tale for Li Lanfeng, while inside the mindspace, the flustered Little Four was hurriedly modifying information on the mainframe according to Ling Lan's words. Who'd have thought that even after she had wiped the slate so clean, this Li Lanfeng before her now had actually still managed to pick at a corner?
As expected of those within the military academy ... this seemingly harmless, genial, gentleman-like Li Lanfeng actually possessed such formidable deductive abilities ... quite frightening when he began to scheme. It was lucky that the other had not been more patient, coming to her immediately with just this bit of suspicion, thus giving her the chance to fill in all the gaps. Otherwise, if he had continued to investigate stealthily just like this, he might really find something incriminating. At that thought, Ling Lan could not help but feel some delayed fear, becoming rather apprehensive towards Li Lanfeng.
Once Little Four returned to confirm that he had settled everything, Ling Lan continued to say, "All of this should be recorded within the school mainframe. I believe that Senior Li has many talents in your camp, so you should be able to find the relevant records ..."
Ling Lan's words made Li Lanfeng's heart clench — had he truly made a mistake?
Just as Li Lanfeng was wavering in shocked indecision, Ling Lan advised him with a half-smile, "That's why, Senior Li, we need to learn how to fully understand the truth first before coming to conclusions. Otherwise, it's very likely that we will bring unwanted trouble to ourselves and others. I believe Senior Li agrees with me, right?"
Ling Lan's words were vaguely threatening, but Li Lanfeng did not mind at all, instead smiling to say, "I was just afraid that this matter really had something to do with Junior Ling Lan and your friends. You all have just offended Leiting, and now if you all offend Tianji as well, life will really become very difficult for you all in the military academy. But since this matter has nothing to do with you juniors, then I can stop worrying."
Li Lanfeng's words made Ling Lan's brow furrow lightly — what was the intention of Li Lanfeng telling her all this? Was he really just being nice?
Li Lanfeng did not care what Ling Lan thought, directly bidding farewell to her. Before he departed, he left one last statement behind which could be taken as an expression of concern, or which may perhaps have some deeper meaning. He said, "Junior, your spiritual mutation is very powerful, but try to use as little of it as you can. You cannot be certain that there is no one else at this military academy with a spiritual mutation similar to yours ... be careful in all things!"
That subtle smile Li Lanfeng directed at her before he left raised warning flags in Ling Lan's mind. What in the world had Li Lanfeng discovered? In her bewilderment, Ling Lan turned to Little Four to ask what he thought, but Little Four's answer only made Ling Lan even more confused.
Little Four said that this Li Lanfeng overall gave him a sense of familiarity, but Li Lanfeng was keeping everything under a tight lid. The slight trace of aura he exuded seemed like someone they knew, but it was also somewhat foreign as well ... Little Four just could not tell who he was like right then; perhaps if they interacted with him a few more times, Little Four would be able to find something more useful ...
Alright, since Little Four also had no good answers, Ling Lan could only push Li Lanfeng to the back of her mind for the moment. Besides, Li Lanfeng did not seem to have any bad intentions right now anyway, so Ling Lan decided not to waste too much effort thinking about him, because she now needed to begin working on the mission the New Cadet Regiment had accepted.
Although Luo Lang had returned to the Military Medical Research Centre to continue treatment, the selection of the honour guard to welcome the examiners still had to proceed. Ling Lan brought Wu Jiong and Xie Yi along, and they began selection activities among the New Cadet Regiment. Over the course of a few days, they finally rounded up a full team of members who fit the criteria the school administration wanted.
Subsequently, Ling Lan's team took charge of the training of this reception team. Those ceremonial tasks, such as lining up and welcoming procedures, were all handled by Wu Jiong, who was from a military elite family. Meanwhile, Ling Lan hung back till the end, where she then unleashed her horrifying force of presence upon them, letting these members accustom themselves to the feeling. Ling Lan believed that these examiners would certainly consist of battle-hardened soldier kings, so they would definitely carry a thick air of killing intent about them. If the members of the reception team could not get used to this type of oppressive killing intent, then no matter how perfect their preparations in lining up and welcoming the others were, the moment the members met the examiners, they would still be scared spineless by them and become unable to move. That would be too disgraceful for their New Cadet Regiment.
Ling Lan's words received everyone's agreement. In particular, Wu Jiong was deeply moved ... No wonder every time he saw his father or his grandfather, he would be so afraid that he found himself stilling in fright. One look was enough to almost send him slumping to the ground in fear. This was probably the endless killing intent they had cultivated from their experiences on the battlefield affecting his mind and spirit.
On Ling Lan's end, training for the reception was going on like a raging fire, while Luo Lang continued to endure the unbearably torturous treatment procedure under Li Shiyu. With regards to Luo Lang's return, Qi Long and Li Yingjie were filled with extreme schadenfreude.
Frankly, when Luo Lang had left this abyss of misery so early, getting away from the research centre, the two of them had been rather disgruntled. Think about it — they had all been injured within the same trench 1 , so what right did Luo Lang have to escape so quickly while they had to continue staying here and suffer? Of course their feelings would be imbalanced! Thus, when they found out that Luo Lang had returned, all their discontentment was cleared away.
It could only be said that these two were the absolute worst of good friends!
Another ten days went by, and Luo Lang finally recovered fully. Once again, he was discharged by Li Shiyu. Of course, before he was discharged this time, Li Shiyu ran countless examinations on him, even asking his instructor for a second opinion, because he was now extremely afraid that Ling Lan would continue extorting him.
However, in the eyes of Li Shiyu's instructor, this action was so commendable that he was touched. Look at this beloved disciple of his. How cautious and meticulous he was! As a military doctor, this was the correct attitude to have, being responsible for one's own patient till the very end ... and so the instructors' satisfaction levels towards Li Shiyu once again reached an all-time high, which was an unexpected boon for Li Shiyu. Who knows how Li Shiyu would feel about this when he finds out? Should he hate Ling Lan or be grateful to her for creating such a beautiful misunderstanding?
Being discharged along with Luo Lang were Qi Long and Li Yingjie. Qi Long, in particular, had recovered astoundingly quickly. Although his injuries had been the worst among the three of them, his physical constitution was the best and his body's ability to absorb the medical agents was also very strong. Thus, the three of them coincidentally ended up recovering altogether to be discharged at the same time.
When the three of them stepped out of the Military Medical Research Centre, they were so moved that they instantly hid their faces and cried. D*mmit, they were finally free of that hell!
Even the typically upbeat and fearless Qi Long had been thoroughly traumatised by Li Shiyu's fearsome treatment methods, while Li Yingjie found fear growing within his heart. From this point on, he had an unshakeable psychological apprehension towards his cousin brother. In future, this would cause him to not dare to disobey Li Shiyu's orders at a critical moment ... 1
It had to be said that Li Shiyu had indeed achieved his objectives through this move. He had established a 'brotherly bond' with Li Yingjie, making them able to watch out for one another in the end. And though this bond was somewhat counter to his original imaginings, at the bottom of it, Li Yingjie would still listen to him now 1 .
1. Author thought alert! XD
2. T/C: Hmm... wouldn't it be even more suspicious that you're now leaving with Ling Lan as well? O.o
3. i.e. battleground
4. T/C: Aaaand, spoiler-author strikes again! Lol. I'm numb to it now.
5. T/C: The Li family relationships are really rather twisted. <.<