Chapter 475 - The Third Match!
Both of them were ace operators, equally matched in skill, but they still needed to determine a winner in the end. After battling hard for many rounds, both of them wanted to end it. In unplanned unison, they both used their most powerful offensive skill.
"Whirlwind Strike!" This was Jiang Shaoyu's ace sure-kill technique.
"Rippling Strike!" This was the ace top-class skill Lin Xiao had been keeping as a trump card.
A mecha could be seen beginning to rapidly spin while holding its weapon, while the cold weapon held by the other mecha began spinning furiously. One used their entire body with mountainous force, while the other's terrifying destructive force was derived from rapid rotations, aiming to scratch the surface and create an opening—both weapons finally struck each other!
"Bang!" A large shockwave shook the arena, ripples even forming on the transparent barrier surrounding it. From this, it was apparent that the impact was truly powerful.
In the space above the arena, however, the two cold weapons respectively wielded by their owners withstood each other. The two mecha looked as though they were frozen in time, neither of them moving an inch!
Boom! A large shattering sound erupted in the arena. The audience was surprised, not knowing where that sound had come from. Just as they were all still making guesses about it, a series of shattering sounds erupted in the stadium. This time, somebody suddenly shouted out in shock, "Quick, look at their cold weapons!"
That shout drew the audience's attention to focus on the cold weapons of the two mecha. Those with keen observation immediately figured out where the shattering sound had come from—it was from where their cold weapons had clashed. Cracks actually appeared on the blades and following the sharp shattering sounds, more and more cracks formed… The great force born from ace level techniques had utterly shattered both mecha's cold weapons.
After a "Crack!", both mecha's cold weapons could not hold their original shape and shattered into pieces, and not only that, the arms of their mecha also fell apart simultaneously.
The two arms of Jiang Shaoyu's mecha holding his sword began to crumble. While the same was happening to Lin Xiao, his situation was a bit better compared to Jiang Shaoyu, the reason being that he was wielding his sword with one hand; thus, only his right arm was breaking apart.
This basically determined the final winner. After both launched strikes at one another, the resulting great force destroyed both arms of Jiang Shaoyu's mecha, whereas Lin Xiao was lucky enough to still have his left hand intact. Without both arms, Jiang Shaoyu could no longer use his left hand to hold a gun and match Lin Xiao in a long-range battle. Although Jiang Shaoyu had tried his best to delay the match until the end of the time limit, he would ultimately still lose to Lin Xiao due to the scoring.
Jiang Shaoyu lost to Lin Xiao again. This meant that in terms of mecha piloting, Lin Xiao was indeed more capable than Jiang Shaoyu, and that was why he was able to defeat his opponent twice and win.
Just like that, the finals opponent for the First Men's Military Academy became the First Co-ed Military Academy. This result made the two girls—Luo Chao and Han Xuya—feel conflicted regarding the two academies—they didn't know if they should be cheering for their own military academy or cheer for Boss Lan. In the end, Luo Chao decided to be a bit selfish and cheered for her Boss Lan! It was a pity for those seniors, who were just heartlessly abandoned by their two juniors, Luo Chao and Han Xuya.
However, before the finals, the battle for the third and fourth place had to be fought. This battle was between the two schools with no chance or luck in getting into the finals, the Second and Third Men's Military Academy. Since their strength levels were on par with each other, they also fought hard for five matches, and because of the destruction of his mecha's arms from the previous fight, Jiang Shaoyu had to use the reserve mecha. Zhou Chao-Ling managed to only keep the match at a draw, most likely because the lack of time had led to the reserve model not being calibrated to the best possible condition. It could also be that after losing to Lin Xiao, his mentality was wavering, in addition to his careful and solid control of the mecha. This had resulted in the match remaining at a draw until the end of the match.
Neither of them landed a decisive blow. No points were deducted as both their mecha operation had been near perfect. Their scores were the same at the end; however, military academy rankings were unlike single battles, as they could not end with a draw. In the very end, the official could only ask the teams to draw numbers out of a bag to determine the winner.
It should be known that Jiang Shaoyu was extremely unlucky in this tournament—he picked a number first, yet he managed to pick out the smallest number. Just like that, the Third Men's Military Academy was deemed victorious for this match, taking third place, while the Second Men's Military Academy unexpectedly fell to fourth place, reaching an all-time low compared to the last 30 years. It had to be noted that in many of the previous years, the Second Men's Military Academy had always placed in second place in the group tournament.
After losing the group matches, the Second Men's Military Academy's overall score dropped to fourth place. If they did not manage to turn things around in the next day's battle royale, the Second Men's Military Academy may again produce the lowest overall score ever. This made both instructors and cadets of the Second Men's Military Academy feel suffocated—mind you, they had been planning on taking first place.
After the matches determining the third and fourth place came to an end, the backstage began to become busy. After 30 minutes, the final group matches for the title of first and second place that everyone was awaiting would begin.
But a new round of battles for who goes in which match ensued in the First Men's Military Academy's group.
"Let's use the same tactic?" Mu Shaoyu said while readying his fists.
Han Yu, who had already woken up from his meditative state, said, "Of course!" The good luck they had was not easy to come by. They must seize the moment and use it to their advantage.
Zhao Jun was also full of confidence. He hadn't missed out on any matches since they started using rock-paper-scissors to determine the match lineup. He had a feeling that his luck would be very good this time as well.
Qiao Ting glanced at Ling Lan and softly asked, "How about it?"
"Sure!" Ling Lan said indifferently.
The five of them formed a circle once again and began to play rock-paper-scissors to see who would win.
"Hahaha, like I said, my luck is overflowing in this tournament! Thanks guys, looks like I have taken the first match!" Zhao Jun laughed hysterically, his eyes full of pride. He had once again taken down four people with a single rock.
"Mother, your luck is f***ing off the charts today. " Mu Shaoyu angrily bumped Zhao Jun with his shoulder. Zhao Jun didn't react in time and was bumped out of the circle. He wanted to stand firm right after, but suddenly his knees felt weak, causing him to kneel down and drop heavily to the ground. He began to curse loudly, gritting his teeth from the pain.
Mu Shaoyu and Han Yu began to laugh hysterically after seeing Zhao Jun's situation, pointing and screaming out that he was getting what he deserved for his prideful behavior.
Ling Lan flicked the lowered finger on her right hand and coldly looked towards Qiao Ting who was beside her. Qiao Ting coolly turned his head away but, unfortunately, the red spot behind his ear had exposed his embarrassment—not only had Ling Lan secretly done something, even the proud Qiao Ting had not managed to reign in his depressed feeling, which was why he had also quietly punished the overly prideful and arrogant Zhao Jun.
Of course, he had faced the consequences of his actions. Ling Lan glanced disdainfully at Zhao Jun who had already gotten up and begun to rub his knees—to think he had the audacity to show off in front of her.
The four of them ignored Zhao Jun and started the next round of rock-paper-scissors. This time, Mu Shaoyu was tossed out.
Mu Shaoyu crouched down and held his head in frustration in the face of this result. 'Why did I use paper? If I had used rock, then wouldn't the second round have been mine for the taking?' This time, he had ended up the one to hold the line in the fifth match. Just the three of them, Ling Lan, Zhao Jun, and Qiao Ting, would be able to savagely acquire three wins even without Han Yu. What would he be doing if he went after them?
While Mu Shaoyu was flooded with regret, the others had determined a winner after starting a new round. Qiao Ting calmly retracted his fist, but revealed a bit of joy between his brows. "Thank you for giving me the second match!"
Han Yu angrily took back his scissors and faced Ling Lan who had also lost from using scissors.
After a few seconds, the match was decided—Han Yu looked at his palm as if he was about to gobble it up. Ling Lan said coldly, "Captain Han, thank you for your generosity."
Just like that, the order in which the contestants from First Men's Military Academy would be going into battle was established. First match: Zhao Jun; Second match: Qiao Ting; Third match: Ling Lan; Fourth match: Han Yu; Fifth match: Mu Shaoyu!
Time passed by very quickly and the half hour quickly passed. The matches between the First Men's Military Academy versus the First Co-ed Military Academy had begun.
It was the first match; Zhao Jun was up. Whether it was the audience or their opponents, they had all given up on trying to figure out what order they would send out their members into battle. Who knows who they'll be sending out, so they thought. Even Qiao Ting could appear in battle in any of the first three positions. Anything can happen, right?
Although Zhao Jun had advanced to ace operator level, the mecha he brought was a special-class mecha and that being the case, he could only use the special-class mecha. However, a special-class operator operating a special-class mecha and an ace operator operating a special-class mecha were two completely different concepts. No matter if it was speed or power, ace operators could operate the special-class mechas to their limit.
The First Co-ed Military Academy sent out their fourth strongest member for the first round, a special-class top-level operator with capabilities similar to that of Zhao Jun. He didn't really inconvenience Zhao Jun that much and was easily defeated. Zhao Jun took the first match without any issues.
The First Co-ed Military Academy wasn't ready to give up just yet because, in reality, they were more happy than regretful. Although they did think that it was a pity that their fourth strongest had become a sacrifice for Zhao Jun, the result of having used a somewhat weaker member to make the First Men's Military Academy expend their second strongest player was doubtlessly a good one.
After ten minutes of intermission, the second match of the finals began. Qiao Ting went out onto the arena which made everyone restless again. Although the audience didn't care about what order the First Men's Military Academy had set up, was it really wise to send out their strongest member into the second match?
For the First Co-ed Military Academy, this was like being wild with joy after striking gold, the reason being that they sent out their weakest member for the second match. Using their weakest member to expend the opposing side's strongest ace operator was a wonderful thing for them. Even if they had gone to great pains to formulate a plan, the result may not have been as good as this. There was even a member who slapped himself hard in the face to see if he was dreaming.
Naturally, no issues cropped up in the ensuing fight—Qiao Ting easily defeated his opponent and took the second match!
The First Men's Military Academy had taken the first two matches. Now they would be able to be the crowned champions of the group tournament after winning the next match, but the audience didn't couldn't see it happening. Some people even frowned at the result, as the First Academy's two strongest ace operators were already expended. There was still three matches left—could the other members of the First Men's Military Academy really be able to take one of the remaining three matches?
It should be known that among the three people left from the First Co-ed Military Academy, there was not only an ace operator, but also two other similarly capable special-class peak-level operators. By contrast, the three members left in the First Men's Military Academy were the weakest three. If the order of the next three matches was weakest versus strongest… then the situation would not look well for the First Men's Military Academy.
"The third match is the most important one!" Everyone held the same thought in mind.
Chapter 476 - The Secret of Rock-Paper-Scissors?
If the First Men's Military Academy followed through to win this third match, then first place would belong to the First Men's Military Academy; however… if they suffered a setback instead, the morale of the First Men's Military Academy would be affected. The result was hard to determine.
In the First Men's Military Academy's audience area, Qi Long and the others were waiting for the third match to begin. Seeing how everyone was growing somewhat bored, Lin Zhong-qing took out a bag of goodies from his backpack and handed it to Xie Yi who was sitting beside him.
Xie Yi opened the bag and saw that it contained sunflower seeds to help pass the time; these were great for keeping one occupied during these dull moments. Very quickly, the members of the Lingtian Battle Clan divided a large portion of those seeds amongst each other. Lin Zhong-qing also didn't forget the other teams and handed out another three to four bags.
While everyone was munching on sunflower seeds, they began to discuss who would be the next one from their academy to come out onto the arena.
"Boss said it before, they determine the order by rock-paper-scissors. Since luck is the main factor, you really can't predict the outcome," Luo Lang said amongst all the discussion.
Li Lanfeng's hands, which were peeling sunflower seeds, slightly shuddered—is it really just luck? He wondered, his mouth revealing a small smirk. If Rabbit did something, it couldn't be so simple, right?
Sitting beside Li Lanfeng, Han Jijyun noticed the former's odd behavior. He quickly shot a glance towards Li Lanfeng, knowing fully well that Li Lanfeng had also realized the secret behind the ordering after having watched many matches. Other than the fixed sequence in the beginning, the ordering through pure luck using rock-paper-scissors still followed a certain pattern.
Zhao Jun was obviously on the brink of advancement, so the continuous fighting was benefiting him and thus, Zhao Jun always came out in the third match. This was the work of both Qiao Ting and their boss.
Han Yu was not very capable; therefore, they cut down his appearance in the matches. Mu Shaoyu's strength wasn't bad, so he would have more of a chance to be in the first three matches than Han Yu. The three that had gone a long way since the beginning of the finals, Zhao Jun, Ling Lan, and Qiao Ting were the three strongest individuals from the First Men's Military Academy. Their chances to come out and do battle were the highest. It was obvious that the order decided by the rock-paper-scissors arrangement was, in reality, not really determined by luck.
Han Jijyun was very impressed with Li Lanfeng right now. He had known since he was very young that his Boss Lan would not do something so immature—there had to be a hidden meaning to all this—so when the Boss had said they would decide using rock-paper-scissors, he had thought long about this decision, as to why he would use this method.
Every time they finished determining the order, he had always carefully examined it and now he was finally able to understand something. He hadn't thought that someone like Li Lanfeng, who joined them afterward, also knew so much about the Boss… He really was looking out for the Boss if he could come to such a conclusion as well.
Han Jijyun would not exclude anyone who looked out for the Boss. A thought flashed in Han Jijyun's mind, and he said, "Senior Li Lanfeng definitely knows who will be the next person on the lineup."
Han Jijyun's words made everyone quickly direct their eyes towards Li Lanfeng. Li Lanfeng turned his head towards Han Jijyun, his hands shaking. Han Jijyun's eyes were bright as day, his pupils dilated, almost separating them from his sockets. This wasn't the expression of a prankster, but one of sincerity…
Li Lanfeng immediately knew of Han Jijyun's intentions—the latter wanted to give him a chance to prove himself in order to improve his standing with the other teammates, to prove that he was a competent strategist.
Li Lanfeng smiled. Only he knew of the excited expression he had under his masked expression. He calmed himself down with great effort. He couldn't waste the chance that Han Jijyun had given him. He pulled himself together, pumping his fists together and coughing once. This made those who were waiting for the answer to shoot a bunch of cold, sharp glances at him.
Li Lanfeng did not dare to hesitate any longer; otherwise, he would be making everyone angry. He said, "If my guess is correct, Boss Lan will be the one coming out to fight."
"Why will it be Boss?" Luo Lang, unlike the others who were deep in thought, asked in confusion.
Seeing this, Xie Yi held his forehead and laughed bitterly. Compared to those intelligent individuals from the other teams, Luo Lang, being in this team, was really a newbie at this.
Li Lanfeng looked towards Han Jijyun and smiled. "Junior Jijyun understands this as well." Since Han Jijyun gave him a chance to show off, he had to return the favor and give Han Jijyun a chance as well.
And of course, Han Jijyun understood Li Lanfeng's intentions. He didn't object to it and began to explain, "In this match-up, Boss Lan and the others probably want to show how domineering the First Men's Military Academy is, and take first place by defeating the opponent in the first three rounds. Therefore, the order in which they appear will definitely be the strongest individuals from our military academy. Since both Zhao Jun and Qiao Ting have been sent out, then the third match will definitely be our boss."
After hearing this, Luo Lang was still quite perplexed. He asked, "Didn't they say they would decide by rock-paper-scissors? Then why is it definitely going to be Boss coming out for the third match? The other two have a chance too." After saying that, he whispered, "Luck isn't something that you can determine."
Xie Yi could no longer stand Luo Lang's newbie remarks and quickly added, "We are probably basing it off luck, but with Boss's capabilities, luck is not even in the equation."
Right then, Luo Lang had a realization. This was true. For monsters like their boss, whether they came out to fight or not, luck would not be an issue—it was up to whether their boss wanted to or not.
Seeing that Luo Lang had come to an understanding, Xie Yi silently wiped away a streak of cold sweat. Luo Lang finally stopped his continued humiliation of the team and Xie Yi…'Ugh? What just happened?'
The First Men's Military Academy predicted that the next to come out would be Ling Lan. Shortly after, the third match was about to begin.
The large screen showed a few large characters. "First Men's VS First Co-ed, Third Match: Ling Lan VS Ye Feiyang!"
Seeing those words, Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun both smiled, now knowing that their predictions had been accurate.
The crowd in the bleachers once again erupted into a heated discussion after the information of the players who would be in the third match was announced.
"Ye Feiyang is the second strongest special-class top-level operator in the First Co-ed Military Academy, only weaker by a bit compared to Lin Xiao. Looks like the First Co-ed Military Academy made a good choice!" said those who were in favor of the First Co-ed Military Academy.
"Ling Lan should be considered the third strongest in the First Men's Military Academy, only behind Qiao Ting and Zhao Jun. This match still has something going for it." Due to Ling Lan's previous performances, many members of the audience were looking forward to how she would do.
"Although that Ling Lan's basic training is perfect, looking at his previous opponents, they were comparatively weaker. This time he probably won't be as lucky with this opponent!" There were some who looked down upon Ling Lan.
In the First Co-ed Military Academy's side of the bleachers, Luo Chao's face suddenly turned bright red after seeing the names on the big screen; she was unable to contain her admiration.
Han Xuya made a face upon hearing the seniors sitting around her saying that there was a chance they would be able to take this match. She lightly nudged Luo Chao and whispered, "Hey, Senior Ye doesn't stand a chance right?"
Although Han Xuya wasn't completely certain of Ling Lan's mecha operating capabilities, like everyone else, she believed that Ling Lan was a special-class operator. However, from her childhood, her image of how Ling Lan was invincible was etched in stone for her. She had always believed that Boss Lan was invincible amongst those of the same level.
Luo Chao carefully glanced at the seniors around her and upon seeing that their attention was not on her, she quickly nodded her head. Truthfully, from how Luo Chao saw it, Boss Lan would not lose even if Senior Lin Xiao went up to fight, and the one currently on the field was Senior Ye—he was pretty much just delivering himself on a platter for Ling Lan.
Luo Chao began to feel pity for Senior Ye who was amiable and caring to them. Boss Lan would hopefully go easy on him since he was their senior.
Luo Chao suddenly felt sorry towards her own military academy and seniors for having such thoughts. She felt guilty, which made her already red face turn even redder, and she subconsciously began to play with her fingers. She would rather have her senior lose and not Boss Lan who took care of her when she was little.
Luo Chao bit her lip and decided she was going to be selfish this time. She… would only cheer for Boss Lan.
Right then, the two mechas of the contestants entered the arena. They were none other than Ling Lan and her opponent Ye Feiyang.
Ye Feiyang's mecha was the same as Ling Lan's—both were balanced-type mecha! Following Ling Xiao's advancement to god-class, there had been an exponential increase in mecha operators choosing balanced-type mecha for use. This made the not so valued balanced-type mecha instantly become the Federation's most popular type.
After the main referee in the center of the arena made sure the two competitors were ready, he waved the green flag in his hand and then the match officially began.
Ling Lan didn't really change her battle strategy, still going with her choice of long-range attacks. After the green flag was waved, she flicked her fingers a few times, then began to quickly operate her mecha. From the perspective of the normal audience members, it felt as if Ling Lan's mecha had rapidly flown backward at the same time the green flag was waved.
In the eyes of top-level operators however, Ling Lan had taken a delay of milliseconds to move after the flag was waved and thus hadn't performed a good flag-speed control. Going by this, it seemed that her flag-speed control from before was only by pure luck; the top-level operators all made this conclusion. Only Ling Xiao's face had a smile growing.
Ling Lan's opponent, Ye Feiyang, also made a similar display. Once Ling Lan moved, he moved as well, operating virtually at the same time Ling Lan did, minimizing his starting movement delay as much as possible, and this made the eyes of those top-level operators light up. They guessed there were many talented individuals in this year's tournament.
Ye Feiyang didn't choose to move back like Ling Lan, but instead closely followed after Ling Lan in the same direction. He wanted to engage in close combat with Ling Lan.
Ye Feiyang was someone who always came prepared—other than Qiao Ting, Ye Feiyang had studied the battle recordings of the other four contestants because those four were likely to be his opponent.
Among those four, Ling Lan was the one whom he had paid most attention to as she operated a balanced-type mecha just like he did. After careful study, he couldn't deny that Ling Lan was pretty much invulnerable when it came to long range combat. He wasn't confident that he would be able to take the win if they fought a long-range battle.
When he was forming his battle strategy, Ye Feiyang decided to try to stay as close as possible. Although using balanced-type mecha required strong skills in close combat and long-range combat, people would always have their own preferences. Lin Xiao, for example, favored close combat more and was weaker in long-range combat. Similar to Lin Xiao, Ye Feiyang was also slightly better at close combat than long-range combat… Since Ling Lan's long-range abilities were that strong, it wouldn't make sense if his close-range combat was even stronger. Ye Feiyang didn't believe that Ling Lan could be such a monster and firmly believed that Ling Lan's skill in close combat was weaker than his own. He hoped to use his strong suit instead of his weaker side, not giving the opposition any chance at long-range combat.
In the bleachers of the First Men's Military Academy, Qi Long watched the two mecha—one running and one chasing. He nudged Han Jijyun who was beside him with his elbow. "Jijyun, I'm seeing correctly right? That guy from the First Co-ed Military Academy wants to engage in close combat with Boss Lan?"
Chapter 477 - A Great Move!
'Is that guy crazy? The worst thing that could happen if he competes with Boss in ranged combat is that he could get hit and lose all his points. The only thing that could be even worse than that is probably the shots being too strong, accidentally destroying his mecha, but that wouldn't bring harm to himself as long as he operates well. When it comes to close combat, though…'
Qi Long's body shook violently as he thought back to that time when he was beaten to a pulp. He firmly suppressed that thought, holding it back—he really didn't want to bring up that memory again.
Qi Long's words made Han Jijyun's hands shake, so much so that he couldn't hold the sunflower seed in his hand and let it fall. At that moment, Han Jijyun's teeth began to ache. Seriously, he really didn't want to recall the experiences of doing close combat with Boss Lan, alright?
Looking around him, he saw that everyone else had terrified expressions. It seemed that because of Qi Long's statement, they had all gone back to those horrific times. Luo Lang's reaction was the most exaggerated, holding himself with his arms and shaking violently, his handsome face turned completely pale.
Aside from Qi Long, Luo Lang had taken the hardest beating by Boss Lan because the latter wasn't too fond of Luo Lang's delicate and beautiful appearance, always wanting him to become stronger. It was a shame that after so many years, Luo Lang had ended up becoming more delicate and beautiful each time he was beaten by Boss Lan—completely unlike Qi Long who looked like he was evolving into a wild beast. This had made Boss Lan disheartened and helpless, always thinking that she wasn't beating him hard enough, and so she would then proceed to beat him even harder.
"Do you guys think we should give a heads up to the medical team to let them be ready at a moment's notice?" Li Shiyu said weakly. After experiencing close combat with Ling Lan, Li Shiyu had immediately initiated research for a psychological and emotional medicine to prevent his team members from accidentally being beaten to insanity by Boss Lan.
"Probably won't need it, right? Boss Lan knows when to stop," Chang Xinyuan, who had joined the gang later and still had high hopes for Ling Lan, said with uncertainty.
Knew when to stop? Was their boss capable of this? Qi Long and the others looked at the sky, baffled. It was probably better if they directly contacted the medical team rather than hoping their Boss would limit himself.
In the arena, Ling Lan and Ye Feiyang were flying rapidly, one after the other. Ling Lan's mecha's speed had already reached the limit of special-class operators, but unfortunately, she still couldn't throw her opponent off her tail. This meant Ye Feiyang's control of his mecha was similarly remarkable, as expected from the second strongest individual from the First Co-ed Military Academy.
Of course, if Ling Lan really did want to lose him, she could do it. It was just that if she did that, she would have exposed her real operating potential. Ling Lan didn't forget that the imperial operators hidden above them, along with the referee team monitoring the match, were all top-class operators. She didn't have the confidence that she would be able to conceal anything in front of them.
"Man, so troublesome!" Ling Lan thought, frustrated. She had originally wanted to use this chance in the team battles to practice her long-range operating skills. Unfortunately, this guy, Ye Feiyang, clearly wanted to fight a close-up battle with her until the very end.
She favored close combat more, but it was just as she said: it was annoying! She was so familiar with close combat that she was afraid that she might go berserk, performing top-level techniques that she shouldn't perform and exposing her actual level of control—too many people had found out about it already. In the beginning, when she was battling with Qiao Ting, she hadn't managed to keep her secret from the principal, and her mentor, Tang Yu. She really needed to be extra careful as she couldn't let any more people find out.
Ling Lan wasn't a stubborn person who would decide to do something as they would want all the time. Since fighting at long range was out of the question, Ling Lan wouldn't force the issue but instead, choose to meet the demands of close combat from her opponent.
Ling Lan made a decision and instantly operated her mecha to perform a 180-degree spin, and at the same time, her mecha's engine which was rapidly propelling her forward stopped completely. In addition to that, at the moment she spun around, with her right hand she took out a beam saber from behind her, while with her left she took out a beam handgun holstered by her waist.
Ling Lan had originally wanted to continue to fight using long-range attacks, so the equipment she had on her was mostly prepared for long-range purposes. The two weapons she had drawn were the only two standard types of equipment on balanced-type mecha that could be used in close combat.
"Ling Lan changed up his strategy first. It seems the opponent is pressuring him, forcing him to give up on the long-range combat that he is more adept in and choose the other side's desired mode of combat. Looks like Ling Lan is going to be passive." After seeing Ling Lan's actions, the audience all sighed internally, worrying greatly about Ling Lan's prospects in this match. This added more uncertainty to whether the First Men's Military Academy could take first place or not.
Ling Lan's decision also attracted Qi Long and the others' attention. Qi Long even yelled out, "Boss really did choose to fight in close quarters."
"Do you guys think Boss will use everything at the beginning and violently beat his opponent to a pulp?" Qi Long asked, his expression full of interest.
"No way!" Han Jijyun and Li Lanfeng said simultaneously. They looked at each other and smiled seeing how they had both come to the same conclusion.
"Why? Boss's close combat skill is so overwhelming," Qi Long asked in disbelief.
Han Jijyun didn't say anything in explanation to his sworn brother, but instead made a 'please' gesture towards Li Lanfeng—it seemed he wanted to hear Li Lanfeng's thoughts first. Li Lanfeng wasn't as modest and directly said, "Boss Lan has been hiding his prowess for so long, so he wouldn't give it all up just because of this match." Li Lanfeng knew Ling Lan well. When it came to enduring, no one could compare with Ling Lan.
"Then we were simply worrying for nothing just now?" Qi Long said with regret.
Li Lanfeng didn't answer this time, and instead, turned to Han Jijyun and hinted to him that he should answer. Han Jijyun didn't give any excuse to not answer. He explained, "Your worries weren't unnecessary. We were just saying that Boss Lan would not go full throttle right at the start to destroy the opponent. We didn't say that he wouldn't destroy his opponent."
"Ah?" Qi Long turned his head and immediately understood. "Are you guys saying that Boss will destroy his opponent at the end and take the match?"
"Correct." Han Jijyun nodded firmly.
"If it's like that, then we should bet on it. We'll bet on how many hits Boss Lan uses to defeat his opponent," Xie Yi said with a large smile on his face.
"How are we betting?" Qi Long seemed to also be quite interested in this.
"Within 10 hits, the return is 10-fold; Within 20, the return is 5-fold; Within 30, the return is 2-fold; Within 50, 1 to 1!"
"You don't have a choice of more than 50 hits?" Chang Xinyuan asked confusedly.
When Luo Lang heard this question, he laughed coldly. "With Boss Lan's capabilities, 50 hits is the limit no matter how much he tries to conceal it!" At this, Xie Yi nodded firmly in agreement. When it came to talking about battle strength, Luo Lang's intelligence increased at an exponential rate—there was no way he would be wrong.
"I bet 10 hits! 10,000 credits!" Qi Long said instantly. He was quick to start because he wanted to make Han Jijyun give up on his attempt at stopping them from betting. They already knew that there wouldn't be a hard beating in the beginning, so why would he be so confident in betting on 10 hits? It was clearly impossible.
Han Jijyun asked confusedly, "How do you have so many credits?" That'll end up in a terrible loss, Han Jijyun thought. He shouldn't put this month's added meal allowance into the pool.
In Ling Lan's battalion, every member would give a certain amount of credits to Ling Lan. Qi Long and others were already in the habit of giving up all of their allowances. Ling Lan would give all this money to Little Four to organize. A portion of the money went to Lin Zhong-qing for the battalion's logistics and supply fund, and there was also an additional portion set out for extra meal allowance to increase the team member's nutrition intake. Of course, if there was the need to purchase large weapons or other necessities, they could ask Lin Zhong-qing. If they still didn't have enough money, then Lin Zhong-qing would ask Ling Lan to add more funds.
In response to his sworn companion's question, Qi Long whispered something in Han Jijyun's ear. Han Jijyun's serious expression suddenly changed, then he pointed at Qi Long with a horrified look and said, "You…"
Seeing that his sworn brother was going to blurt out his secret, Qi Long covered Han Jijyun's mouth with lightning speed, talking in a whispering voice, "Shhhh, don't say it out loud!" If Boss knew he had participated in a bet, he would definitely get his ass kicked.
Of course, Qi Long hadn't just randomly placed a bet. He only made bets on Ling Lan's matches because he knew their boss was amazingly capable. He would win the bet every match, and although betting on the number of hits had a lower betting win rate, it would still definitely be a win for him. Not once had Qi Long considered the possibility of their boss losing.
Qi Long making his bet made the rest of the team members become more interested. Luo Lang chose 20 hits. According to Boss's habits, giving up 10 hits would be the utmost limit, then he would finish off the opponent within the next 10 hits. 20 hits were definitely the utmost limit that Boss Lan could endure.
As for Li Shiyu and Chang Xinyuan, they chose within 50 hits, both staking 2,000 credits each. Lin Zhong-qing chose 30 hits after carefully thinking about it and believing that that was the safest bet, similarly betting 2,000 credits. Only Han Jijyun and Li Lanfeng didn't bet. Xie Yi, of course, wouldn't let these two get away so easily; he persisted in trying to convince them to participate, saying it was a team build exercise and that was why they shouldn't miss out.
Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun looked at each other and said virtually at the same time, "30 hits!" Han Jijyun wagered 5,000 credits, while Li Lanfeng wagered 1,000 credits, the lowest amount out of the rest.
After hearing Li Lanfeng's bet amount, Han Jijyun looked at Li Lanfeng. The both of them smiled simultaneously before returning their attention to the arena.
Right then, the two mecha in the arena were not fighting. It turns out that after Ling Lan's mecha suddenly turned and stopped, she had floated in mid-air waiting for Ye Feiyang, but Ye Feiyang was unsure of what to do. Although his decision was relatively decisive, the inertia from the sudden stop made him move forward for more than 10 meters, leaving the distance between the mecha to be less than 50 meters. The two mecha faced each in the air and the atmosphere of the whole arena became tense. No one knew whether these two mecha would make a move on each other in the next second.
Ten seconds passed. One minute passed. Three minutes passed. The two mecha still didn't move an inch. The audience members began discussing among themselves due to the long wait. They couldn't understand why these two were looking at each other for so long, as it just didn't make sense. In the other matches, weren't all of them diving straight into fighting after engaging in close combat?
Some brilliant mecha operators did realize what was happening because both of their defenses were impossible to breach, meaning that both of them hadn't found a chance for an opening. Now, they had to keep enduring, waiting for an opportunity.
"Tsk, another weakness!" Ling Lan was getting restless. During this time, she had not seen just one of the weakness her opponent had involuntarily exposed, but she controlled herself to not take action, the reason being that these openings were hidden too deep and weren't something a special-class operator should be able to to see—Ling Lan had no choice but to let them go.
Just when the audience was at the limits of their patience, Ling Lan's eyes lit up because she saw an opening that a special-class operator could see, so she took action. However, the way in which she acted was surprising, yet also seemed logical. It was how Ling Lan should have acted anyways.
In fact, the method of attack Ling Lan had acted upon was not close combat based—she had ultimately fired her short-range beam handgun.
Short-range beam handguns were suitable for mid to short range attacks, as it had a short range but was quite powerful. For close combat mecha, short-range beam guns were a bit useless, but for someone like Ling Lan who had strong long-range capabilities, this short-range beam gun was precisely the weapon that she used the most smoothly.
The facts above were what the audience had thought to be true.
However, once Ling Lan attacked, her actions seemed to prove another thing—when a gun was shot consecutively to create an area of effect attack, the tricky angles that the beams shot out at would seal all possible routes of evasion for the opponent.
One had to admit that Ye Feiyang was very skilled at operating. Although he was in a somewhat difficult position, he still managed to dodge Ling Lan's consecutive beam shots. Ye Feiyang was unwilling to be passive like this, so he operated his mecha with great effort, using spontaneous, lightning fast footwork with the goal of closing the gap between the two mecha in order to seal the opponent's beam gun. But of course, Ling Lan wasn't an idiot. She knew what her opponent was trying to do, but to make sure she kept her prowess hidden and to also leave some dignity for her opponent, she dodged quickly instead.
Just after these seven to eight attacks, Ling Lan got an unexpected feeling. He had only given up a small opening, yet Ye Feiyang was able to use that to successfully move close to her. Since Ye Feiyang was prepared for close combat, his choice of weapons was also of the close-range type. The weapon in his right hand, unlike those long and large weapons that others were fond of, was an odd short sword used in close combat.
Ling Lan's eyes lit up at this development. She was very familiar with this weapon. It was exactly the weapon that she was best at, but one that she also sealed away. Ling Lan subconsciously looked at her opponent's empty left hand…
"Bzzz!" The two mecha's beam saber and short sword finally clashed for the first time. The collision of the two different weapons created a fury of sparks in the air, the beam saber's high temperature was eating away at the short sword. It could be seen that after one hit, a large black spot appeared on the once polished surface of the short sword. However, both contestants knew very well that it merely looked serious—all one needed to do was take a cloth and wipe the black mark off, and the short sword would then be as good as new.
"Bzzz! Bzzz! Bzzz!" The sound of the beam saber and short sword clashing coming in one after the other. The battle between Ling Lan and Ye Feiyang was extremely fast-paced, and this made the audience members instantly shift from their initially bored state to a very tense mood. Many those watching even almost forgot to breathe, worrying that a single breath could disturb the performance of the contestants in the arena.
The two of them clashed for around five to six hits. When their weapons clashed again, the audience could not hold in their excitement and began to cheer. As bystanders, they saw at an angle that Ling Lan could not see—Ye Feiyang had secretly taken out a sharp spike by his mecha's waist. He planned on forcefully stabbing the right shoulder of Ling Lan's mecha when Ling Lan used her whole body to defend against his short sword.
Ye Feiyang was a dual-wielding operator! After seeing this, the audience came to a sudden realization. The reason Ye Feiyang didn't choose a long weapon and went with a short sword was that he was a dual-wielding operator. He hid the other cold weapon in the very beginning in order to use it when he got the chance.
The attack came too suddenly, and it was also something no one could have seen coming. Everyone believed that once Ling Lan was struck, the engine on her right side would produce a loud exploding sound; this would be the result from operating over the limits. Using the great force generated by the right-side engine, Ling Lan's mecha moved the attacked side of the body and performed a large sidestep. Ling Lan dodged timely enough for the spike to only scratch the surface slightly.
However, it was possible that Ling Lan's focus was all used on this right-side dodge. The left hand of her mecha holding the beam gun suddenly lost control and released its grip, the short-range beam gun dropping down.
Ling Lan's reaction was very timely. She quickly reacted, grabbing the short-range beam gun once again. However, she had ended up grabbing the gun backward in her haste; the entire barrel was facing upwards.
"That was a mistake!" The audience sympathized with what occurred. Just then, maybe it was because of the way she had grabbed it, but the short-range beam gun suddenly shot a beam of light from the barrel. The beam coincidentally hit the left wrist of the hand that Ye Feiyang was holding the spike and striking forward with.
The attack was so strange and sudden, similar to his own, that Ye Feiyang was not prepared. This made it seem as if Ye Feiyang had come in to make his attack only to just to get hit.
"Boom!" A small explosion sounded out at Ye Feiyang's wrist. This was a long range shot by Ling Lan and the defense energies of the wrist joints were the weakest. One shot destroyed the wrist's operating wiring system, making the left no longer able to hold the spike, instantly falling to the ground.
"It wasn't a mistake!" Those who thought she had made a mistake saw this development and instantly changed their views on her actions. However, the top-class operators weren't swayed by the success of the shot, but instead began to frown. They were speculating whether that shot was calculated or if it happened just by chance. After some speculation, most of them believed it to be a mistake because if it was calculated, then that would mean Ling Lan knew beforehand that the opposition would attack her in the way he did. With that knowledge, she would have been able to perform this sequence of operations to achieve this result. However, even they hadn't known beforehand that Ye Feiyang was a dual-wielding operator.
It was because dual wielding operators came solely from the top-level elite Ye family. Even the top-level mecha operators from the army who could dual-wield were either descendants of the Ye family or had joined as one of their officials. This guy Ye Feiyang was undoubtedly a descendant of the Ye family. It was just that they hadn't figured that out in the very beginning.
Dual-wielding was not actually using two cold weapons at the same time, but rather using them in unison. Paired with it came a set of mecha dual-wielding techniques, which allowed the cold weapons the user wielded become 1+1 > 2, even increasing the power many more times over. This was why dual-wielding was a technique that only the Ye family had access to, unlike those techniques which anyone could use easily.
Ling Lan's attack made the referee team busy. It was, of course, an effective attack; they should make the proper deductions for it. However, they wanted to clarify whether Ling Lan's attack was a mistake or not because this affected how the contestant would be judged on their overall performance.
The referee team overall score would be written into the contestant's file and used as a reference to determine the officer rankings when they entered the army, and thus they had to be very careful about it.
One hit destroyed the opponent's left hand and derived the opponent of their ability to hold a weapon with their left hand. This result had basically reduced Ye Feiyang's battle strength by half. No matter if Ling Lan did it intentionally or it was all luck, the current situation on the arena was without a doubt greatly in Ling Lan's favor.
Having his left hand suddenly destroyed, Ye Feiyang was unusually frustrated. He was so confident with himself that he didn't believe that this hit was all by Ling Lan's design; he believed that it was a matter of luck. He could only be frustrated that his luck was so terrible.
However, Ye Feiyang didn't let up after losing his left hand. Although dual-wielding gave him confidence that he would be able to take the match, he also believed that even with one weapon, he could take down this opponent in front of him who was weak in terms of close combat.
These consecutive face-offs gave Ye Feiyang confidence boosts one after the other. The two of them fought through another 6 to 7 hits. Ling Lan was slowly losing and was now was being pushed to a corner.
This also proved that Ling Lan was indeed weak in close combat. The audience was not surprised at the fact. If Ling Lan was equally outstanding in long range and close range combat, they would have been truly shocked and surprised, perhaps thinking that it was the coming of another Ling Xiao. And that was why Ling Lan's current performance made them feel that it was normal.
Despite seeing that Boss Lan had already traded over 10 blows and already losing all of his credits, Qi Long was not planning on giving in. He asked, "Xie Yi, how many hits has it been?"
"It definitely passed 10 hits already," Xie Yi, who was watching the battle excitedly, replied with a face of irritation. He wasn't thinking of how he had hosted the betting game.
"It's already been 20 hits. If no issues arise, then Boss Lan will finish the opponent within 10 hits," Han Jijyun explained kindly.
"You're that sure that Boss will defeat his opponent within 30 hits?" Qi Long asked angrily in response. He had lost the bet and so had Luo Lang. If the number of clashes went over 30, then Han Jijyun and Li Lanfeng would also lose the bet. It was possible that the winners would be Li Shiyu, Chang Xinyuan and the rest.
"Most definitely. Boss was never very patient in close combat. It's just as Luo Lang said—it will be really hard for Boss to endure up to 20 hits. 30 hits were a number that I came up with because of Boss's impressions of the First Co-ed Military Academy. The seniors take care of Luo Chao and Han Xuya, so he has to give them some dignity because of that. However, 10 more hits would be Boss's limit, even though his acting seems perfect right now." Han Jijyun said this with confidence because Li Lanfeng looked at it the same way, which emboldened him.
In the arena, Ye Feiyang attacked more ferociously after seeing that his opponent was being pushed back. He wanted to keep up the advantage and not give his opponent any chance to recuperate.
Ye Feiyang consecutively attacked three more times in following. Ling Lan could only block strenuously. Due to the powerful blows dealt by the opponent's short swords, the energy of her beam saber had depleted very quickly—the light of the beam saber began to flicker, showing the sign that it was running out of energy.
Upon seeing this, joy flashed in Ye Feiyang's eyes. Without a beam saber, how could anyone be able to go against him? He revved his engine once again and rushed rapidly towards his opponent.
"Bzzz!" The two's beam saber and the short sword clashed again. This clash depleted the beam saber's last bit of energy and the blade of the saber suddenly disappeared, only leaving a lonely hilt. With no blade to stop it, the opponent's short sword came straight for Ling Lan.
"Goodness, Ling Lan's going to lose!" The audience began cheering. They couldn't think of anything that could turn this situation around for Ling Lan who no longer had a beam saber.
"He blocked it!" Just when everyone was in despair for Ling Lan, however, she was able to quickly throw away the hilt in her hand and hold onto the wrist of her opponent's sword arm. Just like that, the two mechas were suddenly in a deadlock.
However, this deadlock only lasted for a moment—Ling Lan tossed up the short-range beam gun that she had been holding backward, her left hand following and catching the gun. She didn't make a mistake this time, accurately holding the beam handgun in her hand, and in the next moment, without anyone being able to react, a powerful beam of light struck near Ye Feiyang's shoulder.
Her beam saber had run out of energy, but everyone had forgotten that the short-range gun in Ling Lan's hand still had ample amounts of energy. She caught Ye Feiyang's right wrist, making him unable to dodge. This beam blast lasted three whole seconds which directly destroyed Ye Feiyang's least defended right shoulder joint, paralyzing his entire right arm.
With this, both arms of Ye Feiyang's mecha were practically destroyed. Seeing this, the main referee hesitated as to whether he should stop the match because right now, Ling Lan was benefiting from the situation. He couldn't think of any ways for Ye Feiyang to turn this situation around.
Everyone thought that Ling Lan would continue to attack with the short range beam gun. She only needed to deal with two more effective hits to make Ye Feiyang's score fall to zero. They believed that after shooting off a couple of blasts, the winner of this match would be Ling Lan. However, Ling Lan's next move stunned everyone—she tossed up the short-range beam gun in her hand, and then she held up her mecha's fists and swung them towards her opponent…
Close quarters hand to hand combat? Wasn't this giving away victory to the opponent? The audience didn't forget that even though the opponent had lost the use of his right arm and his left wrist no longer functioned, his two legs were still undamaged. Ye Feiyang still had a chance to turn this around if it came to hand to hand combat.
"Oh, it's a chain combo technique!" When Ling Lan landed a punch and then immediately followed by a swirling kick, everyone knew that this was not just an attack. This was what close combat mecha operators described as the most basic skills, but it referred to the same top-level technique name as chain combo. Everyone was on the edge of their seats because, after two hits, the opponent's points would be deducted to zero, with no chance of turning it around. Everyone only wanted to see how many hits Ling Lan's chain combo could go up to. According to a special-class operator's capabilities, the maximum would only be five hits.
"Three, four, five!" Ling Lan indeed successfully performed five hits, reaching the maximum chain combo for special-class operators. Of course, that wasn't her limit, but Ling Lan made it seem so.
Although Ling Lan seemed to be weaker than her opponent in close combat, with her always being pushed back, the five-hit chain combo, in the end, was quite aggressive and bold, leaving her opponent in the dust. They did not know whether that Ye Feiyang had fainted from Boss Lan's five hit combo.
"29 hits!" Li Lanfeng said after seeing Ye Feiyang's mecha being beaten down from the sky by Ling Lan. He knew the conclusion had presented itself—Rabbit had won. He began to smile.
"Why did Boss do something so unnecessary and use a chain combo when two shots would have done the job?" Luo Lang asked, perplexed.
"That's because Boss was holding it for too long. He's invincible in close combat, yet he still has to make people believe he isn't that strong. If he didn't let it out, he probably would have died of frustration. What's more important, chain combos are techniques that are most tormenting to people. Boss would not like his opponent to be finished that easily," said Qi Long, laughing maniacally.
"Boss used the five-hit chain combo to prove that he is also exceptional in close combat. Being pushed back, in the beginning, was because the opponent was stronger than him. Boss really did make a great move this time," Han Jijyun said after figuring out the reason Ling Lan did what she did.
Boss knew very well of what it meant by not going overboard. Enduring for too long would also cause others to suspect something. Using a five-hit combo to prove his exceptionality and at the same time show off his young and passionate side. This was the kind of attitude that was very in tune with what an exceptional academy student should have. This way, Boss would not be an unexpected member of the First Men's Military Academy where geniuses were everywhere.
Chapter 478 - Guest Award Presenters!
The main referee quickly waved the red flag signaling the end of the match after Ling Lan's five-hit combo; he had already received the match results from the referee team. Ling Lan's five-hit combo had directly reduced the opponent's score to zero. There was no doubt as to who the winner was.
The First Co-ed Military Academy had lost the third match as well. At this result, the students of the First Co-ed Academy wore sorrowful looks on their faces. Their opponent had managed to snatch three matches to take the win, while their strongest team leader Lin Xiao still hadn't even gone out to battle. This gave them the illusion that they had more strength to expend.
Lin Xiao saw the result and smiled grudgingly. "In reality, the purpose behind the First Men's Military Academy's lineup order was very defined—to use their strongest to take the first three matches. We were too conservative in that aspect, so losing was on us as well."
Lin Xiao had unwillingly accepted the result. The other side had to have so much confidence to have done something like that. If it was him, he wouldn't have dared, which was why their lineup had given the opposition an advantage and thus losing him his chance to participate.
At the First Men's Military Academy's audience area, Mu Shaoyu let out a sigh of relief after seeing Ling Lan finally win this match. If Ling Lan had lost, it would have been risky to depend on Han Yu and himself to win the next match. He wasn't underestimating themselves, but just that the opposing ace operator Lin Xiao gave off a lot of pressure.
However, Ling Lan's luck really wasn't bad! "Who knew that Ling Lan would be able to grab onto the opponent at a crucial moment, giving him the chance to determine the winner with one shot! So lucky!" Mu Shaoyu exclaimed.
Zhao Jun pouted upon hearing this—was it really luck? He believed that Boss had definitely done it on purpose.
Who knew Boss Lan was such an amazing actor that he was able to act like a mecha operator who had seemed to be pushed back so naturally. If he had always been pummeled by Ling Lan, he probably wouldn't have been fooled by Boss Lan, but to Zhao Jun, however, Boss Lan's performance was unexpected. He had initially thought that Boss Lan would beat the opponent to a pulp, but now it looked like his thinking had been too simple compared to Boss Lan. Boss Lan wasn't that impulsive—he clearly knew what would benefit him the most.
Qiao Ting stared at Ling Lan's face that displayed on the big screen and suddenly frowned, his eyes showing a hint of confusion. In reality, he had a sneaking feeling that Ling Lan did not perform to his best. The memory of that time when Ling Lan had easily pummeled him with one strike was still fresh in his mind… Back then, Ling Lan's aura was extremely intimidating, which him the feeling of being unable to fight back… Was it because his mecha was so damaged at the time and thus he couldn't fight back?
Qiao Ting couldn't find an answer right away. He could only put this uncertainty in the back of his mind. Maybe after one year or so, he would be able to find the answer during another bout with Ling Lan.
Ling Lan's win meant that the mecha group battle matches were over; however, Ling Lan and the others still couldn't leave the arena because there was an award ceremony. All of the top four winners had the chance to go up on the stage to receive an award.
Each team went up one by one to receive their awards. The first award to be presented was fourth place, then third, then second. The guest who presented the awards for them was going to be the vice president of the Federation.
It finally got to the turn of the First Men's Military Academy who placed in first place. Their five members lined up and walked on stage. Right when they had stopped and stood on the stage, the host announced that the guest who would be handing out their award would be General Ling Xiao.
The crowd erupted at this announcement.
Upon hearing that the guest to hand them the award was Ling Xiao, Ling Lan's heart began to race. She remembered that the guest presenter would normally still be the vice president. Had Ling Xiao requested this sudden change-up? Ling Lan's hairs shot up at the thought. Knowing that her father would always take opportunities to validate his own existence in front of her, he definitely could have made such a request.
Hearing this announcement, Zhao Jun who was standing beside Ling Lan became excited. "Boss Lan, it's, it's, it's General Ling Xiao…"
"Calm your a** down! Don't make me look bad!" Ling Lan reprimanded coldly while rolling her eyes.
It wasn't like her father grew an extra head or something—did he have to be so excited? But this was because she couldn't understand the feeling of meeting your idol in person. Zhao Jun was unfortunately reprimanded.
Seeing how Boss Lan's expression was so calm and collected, Zhao Jun felt ashamed of himself, feeling as though he was bringing down the team. He inadvertently turned his head towards the other three and saw that Han Yu and Mu Shaoyu were just like him, their faces red with excitement. Although Qiao Ting was trying his best to remain calm, him taking deep breaths and squeezing his fists showed that he was not actually calm.
Zhao Jun's feeling of embarrassment instantly evaporated. Man, guess it wasn't that he had made them look bad, but actually because their Boss Lan wasn't human—that's why he could ignore someone like Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao quickly walked up onto the stage, with his first adviser He Xuyang walking alongside him. For Ling Xiao's own protection, staff members were not allowed to get close to him. They could only hand the trophies to He Xuyang, then have He Xuyang pass them on to Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao was very handsome and was someone who always had a smile on their face. He gave off an aura of warmth, which made the anxious feelings of the boys dissipate.
Ling Xiao walked straight forward to stand before Qiao Ting who was the first in the line. Right when Ling Xiao stopped, Qiao Ting, still trying his best to contain himself, gave a cadet's salute to Ling Xiao. The latter smiled and returned it with an army salute and then turned around, and took the trophy and certificate He Xuyang passed to him. He carefully handed them to Qiao Ting and then said, "Qiao Ting, keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing your performance once you enter the army!"
"Yes, General!" Qiao Ting said, immediately standing up straight, full of excitement. If he wasn't already arranged to be in the third division, he really would have wanted to sign up for the 23rd Division and successfully become General Ling Xiao's subordinate.
Ling Xiao then handed awards to Mu Shaoyu, Han Yu and Zhao Jun, giving them each some words of encouragement—and now it was Ling Lan's turn.
Ling Lan gave her father a cadet's salute with a straight face and Ling Xiao returned an army salute. He handed the trophy and certificate to Ling Lan who respectfully received them.
Right then, Ling Xiao said smiling, "Son, your performance wasn't bad. Keep up the hard work!"
S… son!!! Ling Xiao actually announced their relationship without caring that Qiao Ting and the others were around. Ling Lan became stupefied.
Ling Lan's facial expression made Ling Xiao laugh, his smile now even bigger. He suddenly made an "Ah" sound and said with frustration, "I was so excited that I forgot that I promised you I wouldn't talk about this!" Ling Xiao turned his head towards Qiao Ting and the others who were shocked, smiled weakly and said, "You guys gotta help keep it a secret, okay?"
"Oh oh oh…" The four of them subconsciously nodded. Qiao Ting was the first to return to himself and earnestly replied, "Yes, General!"
After saying that, Qiao Ting glanced at Ling Lan with eyes filled with astonishment and sudden realization. Ling Lan was this outstanding despite being at such a young age. It turned out that his father was the god-class operator Ling Xiao. Ling Xiao probably went through countless means in order to make Ling Lan stronger.
At that moment, Ling Lan felt her teeth itch. She had even deliberately withheld this information from the members of the team she had joined afterward, but it was all for naught now that her father had made such a blunder. Now, even if it wasn't brought up and discussed openly, the information that Ling Xiao was her father would still spread through the higher-ups of all mecha clans. It would become the military academy's hidden and unpublicized secret.
Ling Lan was so angry that she began grinding her teeth, then squeezed out one sentence, "Father, you can leave now."
Such an impolite tone made He Xuyang who was standing on the side laugh out loud. Young Master Lan was still the same as before, not leaving General Ling Xiao with any dignity.
Ling Xiao shot a glance towards him. He Xuyang quickly readjusted his demeanor, pretending he hadn't laughed just now. When Ling Xiao turned back to Ling Lan, there was a look of aggrievement in his eyes. He had only just wanted to be identified as Ling Lan's father in front of everyone. And also, my baby girl, when are you going to call me "Daddy"?
Seeing how Ling Xiao was just shamelessly standing in front of her, Ling Lan felt helpless. "You are a freaking General! A General! Can't you maintain your general-like demeanor? What is that saddened expression for? I'm not like Mom. I don't submit to this crap!" Ling Lan thought.
Ling Xiao and Ling Lan looked at each other straight in the eyes, neither willing to give in. Ling Xiao stood by Ling Lan for so long that it led to those below the stage break out in a discussion, not knowing what was happening on stage.
Ling Lan was so angry she bit her tongue. Her dad was crafty enough to threaten her to only leave the stage when she called him dad… She squeezed out another sentence, "Daddy, you can go now."
Ling Xiao smiled with satisfaction, then left the stage together with He Xuyang. With staff members leading the way, Ling Lan angrily marched down the stage. She would definitely get back on the loss she suffered this time! Ling Lan decided that tonight, she would find Lan Luofeng and cry to her. She needed Ling Xiao to understand that the ultimate weapon was in her possession.
Compared to Ling Lan's upset feeling, Zhao Jun had an expression of someone who was just dreaming—he pretty much walked off the stage on all fours. Han Yu and Mu Shaoyu were also so mesmerized that they were bumping into each other. Their comical behavior made the audience erupt in laughter; however, this was understandable since Ling Xiao was the idol of everyone in the Federation.
"Hey guys, what do you think General Ling Xiao said that made Zhao Jun and the others behave in such a poor manner?" Chang Xinyuan asked curiously in the spectator area. He believed that Zhao Jun would not have behaved like that just from meeting General Ling Xiao.
There were a few people who knew that Ling Xiao was Ling Lan's father. Looking at each other, they guessed it was probably that General Ling Xiao had disclosed this information at the podium, which was why Zhao Jun, Han Yu, and Mu Shaoyu were behaving unusually. Although Qiao Ting didn't make a mistake, he still appeared to be a bit absent-minded, like he was surprised by something. They couldn't think of anything else aside from this information that could surprise them to this extent.
However, this information was Boss Lan's personal information. If Boss Lan didn't say anything then they couldn't reveal this secret to the other three who did not know of it.
Li Lanfeng was someone with keen senses—he instantly became aware of their exchanges through their lines of sight. He thought for a moment before asking Han Jijyun, "Can't say it?"
Han Jijyun was silent at first, but then said, "It is Boss Lan's information. We can't really say anything."
Li Lanfeng's eyes lit up. Han Jijyun's words actually gave him a clue. "General Ling Xiao and our Boss Lan both have the surname "Ling". Is there a connection between Ling Xiao and Boss Lan?"
Han Jijyun didn't answer, but silence was also a way of answering. Li Lanfeng's thought process opened up. "Of course there are many types of connections. It could be a nephew from the clan or a nephew born from a cousin's family. However, although these relationships would surprise people, they wouldn't give such a shock to the point where they forget themselves… I remember that General Ling Xiao got married a year before he was deployed. If you calculate the year and time of his "death", then it's very possible that he had a posthumous child. If that was the case, then that child would be the same age as Boss Lan…"
Han Jijyun smiled weakly and thought, "Li Lanfeng, can't you just be a little less smart?"
"What could shock Zhao Jun and the others…" Li Lanfeng's eyes lit up. "It could only be that Ling Xiao is Boss Lan's father!" he said without hesitation.
Han Jijyun softly pulled on Li Lanfeng and whispered, "Don't anyone else know until Boss Lan allows it."
Li Lanfeng nodded prudently and said, "I know!" If other people knew Ling Lan was Ling Xiao's child, those who were jealous of Ling Xiao might bring harm to Ling Lan in order to hurt Ling Xiao. Li Lanfeng would not do anything that might possibly bring harm and danger to Rabbit.
Han Jijyun looked deeply into Li Lanfeng's eyes and saw his discreteness and honesty, showing that Li Lanfeng's words came from his heart and were not just for show. Han Jijyun let out a sigh of relief. Good thing he hadn't made a huge mistake—Li Lanfeng was definitely a trustworthy individual.
At the same time, Qiao Ting and the others returned to the backstage and slowly began to calm down. In unplanned unison, they all managed to think about a certain research report that the Federation had publicized.
Han Yu's expression was complicated. He was both envious and admiring of Ling Lan's terrifying figure. However, slowly, his expression became clear. Although he didn't have such a powerful background like Ling Lan, he would not stop marching onwards. This was something that Ling Lan wanted to have but would never be able to acquire.
His expression when he glanced at Ling Lan again was that of sympathy. They had hopes of advancing to imperial class or even god-class, but Ling Lan's fate had already been determined—ace operator was the endgame for the child of a god-class operator. Even if they used secret techniques and remedies to make her stronger, she would still only become a fake imperial operator at the elite ace level who would have a name with a nice ring to it.
Han Yu thought he had found out what the answer was; he believed that the reason Ling Lan was able to advance so quickly was because of secret techniques and secret medications. His previous worries vanished. Now, his rival was only Qiao Ting, while Ling Lan was just something of the past.
Qiao Ting also thought about this issue. His will to fight dwindled instantly. He had spent almost a whole year of time comparing himself with someone who didn't have a future. Perhaps he should be preparing for the third division's examination where his future rival would be, in the army and not the academy.
Mu Shaoyu pitied Ling Lan. He had originally thought that the First Men's Military Academy would have a second Qiao Ting, but now it seemed that wasn't going to happen.
It was only Zhao Jun who, after calming down, first thought about whether there was something wrong with those research results. Having battled with Ling Lan, Zhao Jun fully understood how scary Ling Lan was—he didn't believe that ace-level was Ling Lan's limit.
A person like that had never appeared before, but that didn't mean that they wouldn't appear in the future! It was too early to judge the situation. There was a hint of disdain in Zhao Jun's expression when he imagined the day when Boss Lan became a powerful force to be reckoned with, or like General Ling Xiao, becoming an IN-mecha god-class mecha operator—this would surprise everyone to the point where their eyeballs would fall out of their sockets. Zhao Jung grew excited thinking of this possibility, and he felt that joining the Lingtian Battle Clan would give color his life in different ways. He was now somewhat looking forward to life in the army.
The winners were warmly welcomed by those from the First Men's Military Academy. Since all five of them had their own little groups, they were going to celebrate separately.
Ling Lan used some of her free time to visit Zhang Jing-an, who was still in the medical treatment center, to give him his trophy and certificate.
Zhang Jing-an well on the way to recovery, but it would require at least six months for him to get back to his peak condition. However, the military had made a special exemption and relieved him from this year's military evaluations to compensate Zhang Jing-an. This meant that out of the 23 different divisions, Zhang Jing-an could choose to go to any of them after his injuries healed and receive the best treatment possible after entry. He had pretty much benefited from the accident.
Upon leaving the medical treatment center, Ling Lan was stopped by members of the Lingtian Battle Clan who had been hiding around the main entrance. The members specially gave their congratulations to Zhao Jun and Ling Lan. Of course, there were other members not from the clan as well. Luo Chao and Han Xuya had come after facing the sorrowful faces of their seniors. When Luo Chao arrived, her face was full of guilt, feeling that she wasn't caring for her own seniors.
Han Xuya, on the other hand, was smiling without a care in the world. She firmly believed that she was a part of the Lingtian Battle Clan and that she would be with Boss Lan and the others forever. Since it was like this, then the Co-ed Military Academy's seniors were only considered passersby in her life. Why would she make herself feel uncomfortable for these passers-by? It should be known that Han Xuya was someone who knew how to live. A girl who always had a smile on their face would be happy for the rest of her life.
Ling Lan saw that it was all people she trusted, so she took the opportunity and told everyone in the team about how Ling Xiao was her father. Those who didn't know this was utterly shocked. Chang Xinyuan was the dumbest one. He hadn't thought that the short life-saving branch he had unwillingly held onto was, in fact, a strong and unmoving tree that reached the clouds.
Li Lanfeng had already guessed as much, but it felt different hearing this information from Ling Lan. Li Lanfeng was a bit excited. Didn't this mean that Ling Lan viewed them as brothers and unlike Qi Long and the others?
Without speaking for the entire night, the next morning Ling Lan and Qiao Ting followed the information of a notice to a large meeting hall. There were many sitting inside, all of the representatives from military academies waiting to compete in the tournament.
The battle royale that everyone viewed as the most important event, which would make up half of the overall score, was going to begin. First, all of the academies would gather together and pick out the location of their base in the battle royale.
The battle royale was a "defense and invasion of territories" ultimate battle. The participating military academies could be the opposition or could be allies—it was based on choice. For the base location, only the team that picked it out would know the actual place. Whether a base could be defended to the end all depended on the performance of the contestants.
Of course, successfully defending the base was only a passing grade. How can I take over the opposition's base? This was what everyone participant needed to think about. If they wanted to gain points, then they had to break through more bases without losing their own. The ranking would be based on how many bases were taken over by each team. The higher the rank, the higher the score.
Thus, it was normal that those who were allies just a second ago could turn into the enemy in the next. Similarly, those who were the enemy could turn around to become an ally.
The field of a battle royale was ever changing. It tested the teams' combat ability, strategy, foresight and quick adaptation. It also tested emotions and trust, as suspicion and betrayal would all be present. It could be said that battle royales were merciless—one could only trust oneself.
At the end of the meeting hall, there was a large screen, which showed the scaled down map of this battle royale. There was land, water, forest, desert, grasslands, hills, valleys, tundras and mountain peaks.
There was a small stand in front of the large screen. On the stand, there was a small screen that only the person who drew the straw would be able to see. There were two buttons at the bottom of the screen. One was "Start" and one was "Confirm". First, the person drawing would hit "Start" which would cause the map to begin to split into many different numbers and spin quickly, and then by hitting "Confirm" they would choose a number from the pool. That number would then be the participating military academy's base camp location.
Of course, the base camp would only be known by the person who drew it. After everyone had a chance to draw, the large screen would show a one-minute time limit for bits of information about other teams. This way, everyone would be able to remember their own area along with the other teams who resided around their area. This was to prevent some military academies from not being able to find any other team's base camp, as well as to give more pressure and apply more difficulty to the defenders of the base camp.
The one who went up to draw for the First Men's Military Academy was Ling Lan. She pressed down on the button and the numbers in the middle of the screen flew around rapidly, but Ling Lan was still able to clearly see all the numbers. Every number had a letter in front of it. Using only a few seconds, she saw letters G, S, P, Q, D. Ling Lan began to quickly speculate that those could indicate the area or the type of terrain.
If the letters indicated which area, then there would be no point because no knew how the hosts had sectioned off the different areas. However, if it referred to the type of terrain, then it could be possible to use the letter to find out. Ling Lan had an idea and made a decision. She put her hand on the "Confirm" button, her eyes staring closely at the numbers that were still flickering around on the little screen.
"It's this one!" Ling Lan finger moved, but perhaps it was too fast—her finger had seemed as though it hadn't even moved.
The flickering on the small screen stopped and a number showing "G17" appeared. Ling Lan smirked. Whether she was right or not, she had already done what she could.
After one second, the small screen returned to its original condition. Ling Lan left afterward, returning to her own seat. Qiao Ting didn't even ask Ling Lan what the result of the draw was, as he knew very well that once Ling Lan had walked off the stage, the battle royale had already begun. There could be many traps set up by hackers all around them. Once they started talking to each other, it was possible that the information would leak.
Not long after, everyone had all finished drawing their locations. The map on the large screen suddenly broke into many small pieces, some having numbers and some not.
Ling Lan knew that the ones that had information were drawn by the military academies as their base camps. Those that didn't have numbers were not drawn and were thus not occupied. These were considered to be territories that could be taken to yield some points. Although they would not give as many points as breaking through a base camp, they could be easily taken over without any danger. In order to gain the most amount of points, these unoccupied areas would be given up so easily. Ling Lan similarly did not want to give them up.
Ling Lan quickly skimmed the map, her eyes stopping at the continuous mountain range. The mountain range was split into around 25 to 26 areas. The letter in front was as Ling Lan had speculated and indeed started with a "G". G17's location wasn't too bad. It was in the inner parts of the mountain ranges. There were only three military academies' base camps that were close to them. Ling Lan quickly memorized all this.
Chapter 479 - Commander!
"Boss, don't worry, I've already memorized all of it!" Little Four spoke suddenly, making Ling Lan's heart skip a beat.
Ling Lan's eyes began to move away from the mountain ranges and while doing so she said, "Little Four, don't bother me. I want to know how much I can remember in one minute."
Little Four understood and no longer made any noise, silently waiting. Regardless if Boss could remember or not, if there was a need, he would come out and help.
After one minute, the images on the large screen had disappeared. Ling Lang closed her eyes, reviewing and reinforcing what she had memorized in the past minute. Ling Lan decided that she would only rely on her own strength to solve problems unless she had no other way. She wanted to experience what she had learned and obtained from before and use it in the upcoming battle royale.
The announcer hosting the drawing process announced that the drawing ceremony had concluded and then gave notice regarding certain rules during the battle royals, such as that everyone would have a chance to use 50 million credits for supplies and weapons. They could go to the weapons and supply warehouse and give an application for weapons and supplies. Of course, the applications had to be in by 2:00 p.m. This chance would be defaulted if the application was given after 2:00 p.m.
And at 3:00 p.m. exactly, the teams that would be participating along with their weapons and supplies would be flown out by a supply plane to the battle royale's large map area.
Teams had to find their exact base camp location before 12 o'clock midnight. If the camp was not found, then the team would lose their chance to participate in the battle royale. No one knew where the supply plane would leave them in the end. Maybe they would meet up with other teams before they can find their base camp location.
Ling Lan and Qiao Ting recorded all of this on their communicators. After waiting for everything to be ready, they quickly left the meeting hall. The two walked side by side, not really talking as they walked. This made the representatives from the other military academies feel at a loss. Originally, they had wanted to find some hints from their conversation, but they didn't think that these two were so careful that they didn't even speak a single word.
Ling Lan and Qiao Ting took a hover car and went back to the First Men's Military Academy's dormitory district. The two of them didn't rest and went right for the meeting room in the dormitory district. Earlier last night, Ling Lan had notified all the members to gather here at 9:30 and it was now almost 10:00. The rest had probably already arrived.
When they arrived at the door, Ling Lan stopped her footsteps and moved aside to let Qiao Ting go in first. It was only after hearing those inside greeting him with "Boss Qiao" that she walked into the meeting room.
"Boss!" the members of the Lingtian Mecha Clan quickly stood up and yelled in unison.
"Captain Ling!" greeted a representative from a smaller faction. Seeing Ling Lan walk in, he stood up to show his respect and admiration.
Qiao Ting, who had already walked beside the Leiting members, heard these greetings being called one after another. He looked at Ling Lan with a complicated expression, envious of the current Ling Lan. Silently, Ling Lan had become the leader in the eyes of the smaller factions. If he didn't know that Ling Lan didn't have a future, he probably would be more afraid of her. She would maybe have even become his worst nightmare.
Qiao Ting put away this small uneasiness and thought to himself that he shouldn't let Ling Lan affect him anymore. His future was with the army and not with a small military academy.
Ling Lan softly nodded her head towards the representatives of the smaller factions. She saw that Xie Yi had already pulled out the chairman seat that was in middle, acting very much like a servant. Ling looked towards Li Lanfeng who was sitting on the side, who nodded to her softly. It looked Xie Yi's actions were discussed by them beforehand.
Ling Lan didn't hesitate and walked straight towards the seat, and sat down with heavily. She knew that once she sat down, she would not give up on the role of commander for the team! However, she hadn't originally thought of giving up the role. Once the battle royale began, the team could only have one commander, and Ling Lan didn't really want to bet her hopes on someone else. Compared with others, she trusted herself more.
After Ling Lan sat down, she faced the members that were still waiting and said, "Sit!"
This was an obvious announcement of power and status which made Qiao Ting's eyes freeze up. Han Yu's expression became cold at this, his eyes showing a flash of discontent, and even Mu Shaoyu was stunned. Perhaps they hadn't thought that Ling Lan would be so forceful. They had originally thought that everyone would push the role around a bit and then ultimately choose someone that everyone favored. A commander along with similar status vice-commanders combined would have been alright.
However, seeing how Ling Lan had presented herself, it appeared like she wanted to have full control, unwilling to give any power to the others. This made the Leiting, Tianji and Wuji teams feel a bit of discontent. The meeting room began to erupt in whispers, but the representatives from the small factions remained silent.
Ling Lan knew that some of these people might refuse to accept her leadership. Her cold glare began to scan those people who would otherwise refuse to comply, releasing more of her aura.
Those who were originally discussing felt the boundless tension from Ling Lan gaze and aura, and slowly quieted down. In the end, the whole room was silent like it was frozen in time.
Seeing this, Ling Lan stopped her gaze and turned her head to Qiao Ting, telling him, "Senior Qiao. If we want to win the battle royale, then we can't have too many commanders. I will bravely shoulder the authority of commander."
Qiao Ting's mouth moved slightly but didn't make a sound. Qiao Ting couldn't refuse since Ling Lan asked him directly, the reason being that the chance to be in the tournament had been acquired by Ling Lan's Lingtian Mecha Clan. If Ling Lan wanted the authority of commander, it was perfectly logical and made sense.
However, Qiao Ting refused to accept it in his mind. He was clearly the number one and strongest student in the academy, so why couldn't he be the commander?
The role of commander for the battle royal team was very important. He would have the performance of the battle royale, along with the other contestants, written into his file. When he entered the army and advanced in rank, these would all be used for reference. If it was possible, no one would give up on this opportunity.
The vice-captain of Qiao Ting's didn't want the commander position given to others. He knew that his captain couldn't really say anything, thus he spoke up and said, "Captain Ling. I think who gets the role of commander should be discussed amongst everyone first. If there were those who refused to comply with orders, then there would be a problem."
After hearing that, Ling Lan looked down and didn't say anything. She put her finger on the table and began to tap.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
The tapping sound was loud due to the empty meeting room, giving a lot of pressure to Leiting's vice-captain. The smiling face he had beforehand had turned stiff due to the sound.
Right when the vice-captain didn't what to do, Ling Lan raised her eyes and asked coldly, "Then, who do you want to nominate?"
"Our Boss Qiao!" Leiting's vice-captain exclaimed. He had been almost crushed by the pressure in the atmosphere. Although he had originally intended to talk in circles, upon hearing Ling Lan's question, he decided to just blurt out what he was really thinking.
Ling Lan shot a glance at Qiao Ting with a half smile. That glance made Qiao Ting feel ashamed of himself. He didn't think that his vice-captain would throw him on the table like that without using any tact.
Leiting's vice-captain knew that he had already said what he thought, so he no longer needed to keep it in and said, "Our Boss Qiao is, needless to say, without a doubt the strongest. For the role of commander, there's no one else more fitting."
Li Lanfeng chuckled softly at these words. "The commander's strength isn't really important. What's important are the strategic arrangements."
"Boss Qiao has led us to fight in so many mecha battles; his experience was plentiful. He's a much better choice for the commander role than those who have no experience." Leiting's vice-captain said after glancing meaningfully at Ling Lan.
"No experience? If he had no experience, could he beat Boss Qiao? Isn't that right Boss Qiao?" Li Lanfeng said jokingly. He cleverly threw the question back to Qiao Ting, making it difficult for him, as he really had lost to Ling Lan's tactics and tricks.
Being pushed around by Li Lanfeng's words, Qiao Ting helplessly said, "Yanchi stop, we'll listen to Captain Ling's orders." Qiao Ting had no choice but to speak so. Losing to Ling Lan was the truth, which made him unable to deny it. However, after speaking that sentence, it meant that he no longer had a chance to get the role of commander.
Qiao Ting sighed internally. It was a shame the people he took with him didn't have a strategist amongst them; otherwise, it wouldn't have been this easy for Li Lanfeng's words to make it so they just hand over the role of commander.
Seeing how Qiao Ting was like a bird that just lost its feathers, Han Yu's eyes lit up. Right when he wanted to speak and contest for the role of commander, Zhang Jing-an's little team's vice-captain spoke first, "Our Captain Zhang wants me to say something on his behalf. Our team fully supports Captain Ling to be the commander!"
Following this, as if they had agreed on it beforehand, the other leaders of the small factions all spoke, all of them saying that they supported Ling Lan as the commander. Seeing this, Qiao Ting knew that Ling Lan had already reached a mutual understanding with these people. Having fully prepared everything, they would not let them have a chance of even getting near the role of commander.
He had lost again! Qiao Ting gazed faintly at Ling Lan. Although Ling Lan's mecha piloting days were at an end, with that brain of his that thought of everything, he would still become an exceptional strategist in the future.
This time, other than Leiting who put their heads down, only the two mecha clans, Tianji and Wuji hadn't said anything. Everyone focused their sights on Han Yu and Mu Shaoyu in unplanned unison.
Mu Shaoyu saw the situation and knew that the opportunity was gone, so he gave Ling Lan what she wanted and said, "We were only able to participate in the mecha tournament due to Captain Ling Lan's tailwind, so if he becomes the battle royale's commander, Tianji doesn't have a problem with that."
Hearing that, Ling Lan glanced at Mu Shaoyu. Mu Shaoyu was someone who knew when to move forward and when to take a step back. No wonder he could stand so long and firm on the second most influential individual in the military academy. His personality was also very open and very likable. Overall, he wasn't too bad. It was just too bad that the people he knew had problems, recruiting a degenerate into Tianji who almost ended Luo Lang… Ling Lan had originally wanted to start from Tianji after the mecha tournament, but now it seemed that Wuji was more suitable for her to weed out the bad seeds.
Ling Lan had never given up on her desire of controlling the school by her own hand. She had only wanted to wait until the mecha tournament was over to continue that big project.