Chapter 503 - Taken Advantage Of vs Being Taken Advantage Of!
"This is unbelievable!" The vice president was surprised at this outcome. Although he wasn't capable of becoming an outstanding mecha master due to talent, having studied the basics of operating, he knew clearly that what had happened was a miracle—facing three times the amount of opponents, defeating the 24-man battle team and not losing a single member out of the 7-man team.
Ling Xiao's right hand that was set down danced around for a bit. He said while smiling, "Mr. Vice President, this is really nothing. This seven-man team winning this battle is actually more because of luck. If something like this were to happen again, the result may be very different."
The vice president grew more interested upon hearing this. He quickly asked why Ling Xiao would make such an assumption.
Ling Xiao answered, "Actually, the biggest problem of the 24-man team was that their team leaders had issues." He listed out his thoughts, "Firstly, the team leaders underestimated their opponents. They also affected their other team members to similarly underestimate their opponents. This was also the reason why many of their mecha were shot down in the initial exchange. This is actually the main point that affected the battle. If they hadn't underestimated their opponents and were more careful, the seven-man team wouldn't have had any chance.
"Secondly, the mentality of the team members were not up to standard. When they saw that their opponents had modified mechas, they became flustered and let the opponent shoot down a few more mecha. This lead to the difference in the number of mecha between the two sides to become very small.
"At the end, although many of their mecha operators attacked under cooperation, they are still allied battle teams. They are members of different military academies. They didn't really trust each other and so they were unable to entrust their backs. They were still on guard even in the middle of their cooperation. Although it seemed as though it was 2 vs 1 and even 3 vs 1, in reality, it was just a changed up 1 vs 1. It isn't hard to understand how the seven-man team defeated them.
"Regarding these three points, as long as they had compensated for one them, the outcome of this battle would have definitely been different." Ling Xiao stopped for a few seconds, "That's why I said the seven-man team was very lucky. All these reasons caused this victory. If had met up with a team from one military academy, the result would not be like this."
Ling Xiao's words made everyone present agree and nod their head. Seeing this, Ling Xiao let out a sigh of relief. He silently wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead—he had finally managed to decrease the influence of this matter to the lowest.
When it came to his beloved baby daughter, she would either not do anything, or do something that would shake the heavens. It was the same when she arrived at the military academy, and even more so now. Even if he was Ling Xiao, he was still having trouble enduring it all.
Ling Xiao's simple and clear explanation made the vice president's surprised heart calm down a bit. Ling Xiao was famous for being fair and just, never lying. He would definitely not be wrong. Thus, he nodded and said, "I also thought that this luck is too much, or it's as though…" It was scary. It was as though he had been seeing another Ling Xiao.
Ling Xiao smiled and didn't speak. Now he had to firmly attribute Ling Lan's performance to luck. He only hoped that his own image he had spent many years creating would grant his excuses more credibility.
Although Ling Xiao had continued to downplay Ling Lan's team's performance with his words, in reality, deep in his mind, he wanted to tell everyone proudly that the leader of that team was his daughter. It was his daughter… With a daughter like this, he felt that this life was so worth it.
The division representatives on the sides all had perplexed expressions. Many of them quietly ordered their officers to find out detailed information on the small 7-man team. They, of course, believed what Ling Xiao had said, but luck was also a form of strength. For those seven to have been able to create this classic scene of defeating more with less, they were definitely exceptionally talented individuals. These representatives actually had a mission coming into the mecha tournament, and that mission was to try their best to dig out talents in order to increase the strength of their respective divisions.
Many of the division representatives looked upon the calm and collected General Ling Xiao with fear in their eyes. They all sincerely hoped that the performances of the cadets just now did not catch Ling Xiao's eye, or else they wouldn't be confident that they would be able to go against the idol of the entire army. At this moment, they fully understood the incredible charm of the idol. The exceptional seeds in their divisions would show a face of respect when hearing about Ling Xiao. These representatives believed that if Ling Xiao were to change up his division, there would be many people in their own divisions answering the call to go into Ling Xiao's.
Fortunately, Ling Xiao was a just person and never thought of using such methods. They couldn't help but be happy.
Perhaps Ling Xiao's words had affected the judgment of the referee team. The referee rewound the scene many times to study it and came up with the same judgment as Ling Xiao. They believed that such a surprise effect was indeed due to many coincidences and luck-based elements. In short, the things they analyzed from all the details seemed to be logical and proven.
Ling Xiao didn't look at these theories and data. As long as the referee team acknowledged what he had said, he didn't care about the reason used to prove this point.
At this moment, Ling Lan appeared beside Li Lanfeng after seeing that both Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun had successfully defeated their opponents one after another. She was just in time to intercept Li Lanfeng, whose mecha was falling forward because it had lost power and could not be controlled.
"How are you doing?" Ling Lan asked while frowning. Her voice was colder than normal.
Li Lanfeng knew that Ling Lan was angry, but he didn't know why he felt amazing. He coughed heavily and replied after a while with great effort, "I'm not going to die."
"You were messing around again." Even if Ling Lan was angry, that had been Li Lanfeng's choice. His path to advancement could not be stopped by Ling Lan.
Li Lanfeng smiled and looked at Ling Lan. He finally felt that this person beside him was no longer that far away. Li Lanfeng, who had used up all of his physical and spiritual energy, fainted amidst this feeling of satisfaction.
Ling Lan's expression changed instantly. She quickly discovered this situation since she was using her spiritual power to monitor Li Lanfeng's condition. She quickly yelled, "Come over here quick to save him Li Shiyu!"
After saying this, Ling Lan operated her mecha and laid Li Lanfeng's mecha on the ground. She quickly opened the door of the cockpit and jumped right in. She got to Li Lanfeng's cockpit. She found the passcode lock on the side of the cockpit door and quickly inputted a long string of password combinations. After a sound of a lock opening, Li Lanfeng's cockpit was opened.
Ling Lan didn't hesitate and went straight in. She first saw the bloodied control panel and her expression changed greatly. She turned her sights to Li Lanfeng in the seat. She found that Li Lanfeng's eyes were closed shut and his breathing was slowly becoming weaker. Ling Lan was mortified. She quickly unbuckled Li Lanfeng's safety belt and took Li Lanfeng out of the cockpit…
Li Shiyu had already retrieved the first-aid box and arrived. He saw Li Lanfeng's unconscious condition in Ling Lan's arms and was also mortified. He quickly walked up and held Li Lanfeng's right wrist to feel his pulse. He found that his pulse was becoming weaker and weaker and knew that the situation was dire.
He quickly took out the emergency medicinal agent and pried open Li Lanfeng's mouth, wanting to pour it into his throat. However, it seemed as though Li Lanfeng was in too much pain as he was gritting his teeth very firmly; the medicine was unable to be administered by mouth in that instant.
"Use a needle!" Ling Lan saw this and calmly reminded.
Li Shiyu quickly turned around, his fingers dancing about quickly as he immediately prepared an emergency shot. At the same time, Ling Lan unzipped Li Lanfeng's protective suit and found that it had already been painted red by the blood on the inside. They couldn't see even one piece of muscle that wasn't damaged. The broken muscles and blood made for a motifying sight and made Ling Lan frown uncontrollably.
Li Shiyu took the needle, his left index finger quickly pressed on Li Lanfeng's arm. After that, the needle had already accurately gone into the blood vessel and a dose of emergency medicine was shot into Li Lanfeng's body. Very quickly, the originally disappearing pulse and breathing began to become stronger. This made Li Shiyu and Ling Lan instantly let out a sigh of relief.
Li Shiyu saw that Li Lanfeng life was no longer in danger, so he took out the support analysis machine and began to analyze the condition of Li Lanfeng's body. He found that his condition was very bad. All of the motor functions of his body had broken down. He could only rest. In other words, Li Lanfeng no longer had the chance keep fighting.
After finding out everything about Li Lanfeng's injuries, Li Shiyu then systematically gave Li Lanfeng shots that could heal him. When Li Lanfeng became stable, he would then report this situation to Ling Lan.
"With the medicine that we prepared, are you certain that you can cure Li Lanfeng?" After hearing about the situation, Ling Lan thought about it for a bit before asking Li Shiyu.
"Yes, but during the recovery time, Li Lanfeng can't operate a mecha. Otherwise, the recoil from the mecha will destroy Li Lanfeng's muscles again. It will be hard to control if that happens." Li Shiyu was very confident in himself, but he spoke out his own worries. He then added, "Actually, the best choice would be to send Li Lanfeng to the area for those who are eliminated and let the medical team of the tournament treat him from all aspects. If they were to combine treatment pods with other treatment, then he would need only 2 to 3 days to fully recover."
Ling Lan didn't say anything. After a few seconds passed, Ling Lan then asked, "You mean that if you were the one who treated him, it would take more than two to three days?"
Li Shiyu smiled bitterly and said, "Without the treatment pod's vacuum sealed anti-bacterial treatment, even if my medicines are amazing, the potency of the medicine would not be utilized to its full potential. If nothing went wrong, he would need a week's time to fully recover. However, with this kind of weather…" He frowned and looked at how the snowy weather from hours before had now changed into mid-summer. It was so hot that it felt that each breath could burn up. This kind of extreme change in weather was definitely not fit for the injured to nurse their injuries.
"Would there be any unchangeable after-effects to Li Lanfeng's body if we delay the time of treatment?" Ling Lan looked at Li Shiyu seriously. She had to know about this point very clearly.
"That won't happen," Li Shiyu said firmly.
Ling Lan got the answer she wanted. She then let Li Shiyu bandage up Li Lanfeng's injuries. Li Shiyu was very fast. A few minutes later, he had finished bandaging up Li Lanfeng's entire body.
Seeing that the treatment was done, Ling Lan walked out and picked up Li Lanfeng, who was now in deep sleep. She looked at Li Shiyu, who was now organizing the first-aid kit, thought for a bit and said, "Both you and Li Lanfeng operate balanced mecha. You will operate Li Lanfeng's special-class mecha."
These words dumbfounded Li Shiyu. He suddenly raised his head and looked towards Ling Lan. However, because of the sun, he couldn't see Ling Lan expression. He only felt that Ling Lan was staring down at him with a heavy look, making him feel extremely pressured.
"Why?" Li Shiyu bit his lip and asked.
"Didn't you advance to special-class operator? And Li Lanfeng can't operate a mecha anymore. Then you will take Li Lanfeng's place. This is the best arrangement," Ling Lan replied calmly.
"How did you know I advanced to special-class operator?" Li Shiyu himself didn't think that he would advance to special-class operator during battle. Originally, it was most dangerous to advance during battle. It was easy to be interrupted and even be killed while an individual was still getting used to the feeling of advancement. However, he was very lucky as due to Li Lanfeng's help, he had successfully gotten past the most dangerous moment of advancement.
"If you hadn't successfully advanced to special-class operator, how could you have consecutively helped Li Lanfeng get away from danger? Two special-class operators are not individuals that can be held back by one advanced mecha operator." Having been watching the entire battle, of course she hadn't missed the energy spike during the moment Li Shiyu had advanced.
"If it wasn't for Li Lanfeng, you wouldn't have even had a chance to advance. Thus, you should continue to battle in Li Lanfeng's place!" After saying this, she kicked the ground and her entire body flew up into her cockpit.
Following a clicking sound, the cockpit door was then closed. She placed Li Lanfeng in her passenger seat. Right when she buckled him in firmly with the safety belt, she heard Qi Long ask worriedly, "Boss, is Li Lanfeng alright?" Seeing that Ling Lan had taken him into his own cockpit, they knew that Li Lanfeng situation was dire.
"It's okay, he's just in a state of recovery and can't operate a mecha anymore," Ling Lan responded calmly.
Perhaps Ling Lan's tone was too calm, as Qi Long and the others instantly calmed their anxious thoughts. They thought that Li Lanfeng had only been slightly injured—they didn't know that Li Lanfeng had been on the brink of death.
"Boss, are you going to take Li Lanfeng and continue the mission?" Xie Yi asked confusedly. "Shouldn't we leave him here and let the staff members send him to the area for those who are eliminated?" Having been injured, wouldn't it be better for the staff members of the mecha tournament to treat him?
"In my team, I won't let anyone be left behind." Ling Lan's cold voice rang in everyone's ears. "I never took the battle royale as a game. To me, this is a battlefield."
Everyone shook. They didn't think that Ling Lan would take the battle royale so seriously, to the point that he would consider the tournament to be a real battlefield. They felt ashamed of themselves. Compared to their boss, their thoughts were considered playing around. They always felt that this tournament was a tournament that didn't have any possible dangers.
"I will not give up on any member of my team. I also hope you guys remember that in any situation, you shouldn't abandon your teammates. I believe that Li Lanfeng wants to greet the victory of the battle royale together with us." Ling Lan's words shook everyone. Xie Yi felt even more ashamed of himself. Wasn't what he suggested the same as leaving Li Lanfeng behind? After going to the elimination area, Li Lanfeng would be treated, but in reality, it would also mean that Li Lanfeng had been eliminated and sent out of the battle royale.
Li Shiyu looked at Ling Lan's mecha that had already risen up into the air. Suddenly, he felt that he was really lucky to have joined Ling Lan's team. With a responsible leader like this, its team members would definitely achieve greater heights than others. He didn't hesitate any longer and jumped into Li Lanfeng's cockpit. When he saw the control panel that was painted red by Li Lanfeng's blood, he thought of Li Lanfeng's bloodied fingers when he was bandaging him up.
Li Shiyu used his hand to wipe the control panel and his fingers immediately became stained by the thick blood. "In order to save me, you injured yourself to this degree without care. Why would you do that?"
Li Lanfeng gave him a familiar feeling. Familiar to the point that he could almost believe it was 'that person'. If he didn't clearly know that that person could never operate a mecha, he would have impulsively taken down Li Lanfeng's mask just now to see what his real face looked like…
"Is it really as you said? That by being with him for too long, I end up subtly sharing the same temperament as he?" Li Shiyu began to wipe at the control panel and quickly returned it to its original silver-white color.
"However, why would you know my promise with him? Is it possible that you guys are so close that he would tell you about this?" Li Shiyu tightly held the cloth in his hand. "Or maybe, you are him…"
Li Shiyu closed his eyes. "No, I can't guess randomly without evidence. He wouldn't lie to me, he wouldn't lie, he wouldn't." After feeling that he had calmed down, he then opened his eyes and smiled bitterly. "Whenever I come across matter that involves him, I can't keep calm. Maybe I'll find Li Lanfeng and talk to him. Perhaps, there are some questions he will be able to give me an answer to. That'll be better than just thinking randomly."
Li Shiyu took a deep breath and tossed Li Lanfeng's matter to the back of his mind. He went back to getting used Li Lanfeng's mecha. He had to thank the fact that he operated balanced mecha and that he talked to Li Lanfeng about operating every day. Also, he had entered Li Lanfeng's mecha and watched him operate it first-hand before. All of this allowed him to get used to it quickly.
It should be said that in terms of mecha operating, the members of the Li family were very talented. After around 10 minutes, Li Shiyu had grasped around 70-80% of Li Lanfeng's mecha. He was already carrying out some of the basic operations smoothly.
Right then, Ling Lan and the others were modifying their mecha. They had to thank Chang Xinyuan; he had invented a paint that could instantly cover up mecha. At this moment, Ling Lan and the others were comparing the logo on the Second Men's Military Academy's logo in order to recreate them.
Actually, all of mecha used for all the military academies had all the same shapes and colors. The only difference was the logo on their chest and Ling Lan was recreating said logo.
Ling Lan's situation was constantly being shown on a small window on the screen in the monitoring room. The other people's attention was probably drawn towards the battles of other military academies. Ling Xiao, who was watching Ling Lan all along, seemed to not care on the outside, but in reality, he was constantly paying attention to what his own daughter was doing.
When he saw that his daughter had picked up a boy like a princess, he almost lost control and crushed the teacup in his hand—man, he dared to take advantage of his daughter!
Ling Xiao definitely didn't see that it was his daughter that held the boy like a princess and not his daughter being held up like a princess. In short, in Ling Xiao's eyes, it was his daughter that was taken advantage of and not his daughter taking advantage of someone else.
Forget the fact that Ling Xiao was really angry. The odd movements of Ling Lan's team were quickly noticed by the others. One of the division representatives yelled towards the staff member for the big screen, "Zoom and enhance the image of that seven-man battle team."
The staff member quickly turned the image to Ling Lan and company. The big screen was instantly filled by Ling Lan's team.
"What are they doing climbing onto their mechas? Can you zoom towards the chest area?" Because of the big screen, everyone saw Ling Lan's odd movements and instantly became curious.
The image zoomed in again and finally focused on the chest area. A familiar logo came into view.
"Isn't that the logo of the Second Men's Military Academy? Aren't these guys from the First Men's Military Academy? Were we wrong and these guys are actually from the Second Men's Military Academy?" Some people were confused by all this.
Yes, although they had cooperated with Qiao Ting the first time and helped relieve him of any suspicion, that didn't mean that they were from the First Men's Military Academy. The original logo had been covered up, to begin with; there wasn't any clear evidence that could tell them their identity. They didn't want to just accept that fact. Perhaps it was allied forces as well. Many military academies and referee began to rethink the situation.
"No, it can't be the Second Men's Military Academy. That logo is a fake." Although the imitation was very similar, the material was different. If they looked closely, there would be a difference. Some of the people who had sharp eyes were able to see this difference.
"Fake? Holy sh*t. Don't tell me they're trying to sneak into the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters. Who are these people? Isn't this a bit too brave?" Many people were amazed at this fact, and even more people became more interested in this 7-man battle team. Without a doubt, they had an exceptional strategist with them.
Upon seeing this scene, Ling Xiao instantly cheered up… However, in order to successfully sneak in, just having the logo wouldn't be enough. "What else does my daughter have up her sleeve?" Ling Xiao thought curiously.
"General, that seven-man battle team is led by Young Master Lan, isn't it?" He Xuyang saw that most of the crowd had been drawn towards the 7-man battle team. They didn't pay attention to them, thus he tilted his body to Ling Xiao and whispered in his ear.
Ling Xiao frowned as though he was asking. "How do you know?"
He Xuyang laughed silently and said, "Young Master Lan's way of operating actually has similarities to you." It wasn't clear as to why the people here hadn't discovered this point.
Ling Xiao smiled and nodded lightly to confirm He Xuyang's guess. He Xuyang had received an answer that satisfied him. He sat up and thought, "Young Master Lan is really strong! The general actually has someone to inherit his will."
By the time Li Shiyu had pretty much grasped how to handle Li Lanfeng's mecha, Qi Long and the others had reached the end of the needed time for modifications. Ling Lan was now modifying the logo on Li Lanfeng's mecha because she was quick and had already finished the logo on her own mecha long ago. When Ling Lan finished, she knew that everyone was ready and quickly led the five mecha away from their position.
Very quickly, the staff members moved to the scene. One of the staff members ran towards the advanced mecha that Ling Lan had left behind. He examined it carefully, but afterwards discouragingly reported to the monitoring room. "They destroyed all the logos on their mecha. There's no way for us to determine which military academy they're from. The A.I. has been locked up and the data has been erased. There's no way to find anything regarding the seven-man battle team."
Everyone who heard the report from the staff member were all nodding in admiration.
"They really are very careful. They even didn't leave behind any information in the mecha they abandoned."
"Impressive, really impressive. They even thought of a small detail like this. Their captain isn't just brawns and no brains."
"It could also be that they have an amazing strategist. However, we shouldn't underestimate these cadets."
Chapter 504 - Despicable?
"There so many monsters among this year's academy cadets. We originally thought that Qiao Ting was monstrous. We didn't that there were actually more. Just looking at their strategies, we know that there's definitely an impressive individual in there. We just don't know which military academy they're from." Many of the division representatives said this with regret. If they knew exactly which military academy that individual was from, they would able to try tactics to recruit them.
Qiao Ting was indeed very monstrous, but he had already been drafted into the Third Division. The others could only watch, unable to do anything. Now that they saw many exceptional cadets, these division representatives all began to move about.
The monitoring room was disrupted by the exceptional performance of Ling Lan's team. In the area between Area S and P of the battle royal, Qiao Ting waited for an hour and finally greeted the people they were going to ally with.
"Who knew that we could actually cooperate for once." Lin Xiao looked at Qiao Ting, the representative of the First Men's Military Academy. He thought about the magic of fate.
"I also didn't think that a commander like yourself isn't defending his own headquarters, coming here instead to discuss matters of cooperation." Qiao Ting was also surprised by the representative that the First Co-ed Military Academy had sent. He now really wanted to know how Ling Lan had discussed everything with the Co-ed Military Academy to actually make them put importance on their alliance.
"You came, so it's no surprise that I came here," Lin Xiao smiled modestly and said.
"I'm not the commander," Qiao Ting said, brow raised and expression disapproving.
Lin Xiao felt that he couldn't follow up with anything after Qiao Ting said those words. In reality, he still hadn't figured out why Qiao Ting would have given up the position of commander to Ling Lan. Although Ling Lan was indeed very exceptional, Lin Xiao believed Qiao Ting was even more exceptional.
Thus, he laughed and changed the subject, saying, "Why did you use our signal to tell me to come and meet up with you?" Qiao Ting had used the signal that Lin Xiao and Ling Lan had previously set up for communication purposes.
Qiao Ting calmly replied, "We may have a third party joining our alliance."
Lin Xiao frowned. Just for this? Was it really necessary to use the signal? It had made him put down everything he was doing and bring his team with him. Lin Xiao felt discontent, but he didn't show it and only calmly asked, "Who is it?"
"The Third Men's Military Academy."
Lin Xiao was shaken. "It's them? You're willing to cooperate with them? All three of us are rivals in this competition, you know," he said in disbelief.
"Aren't you guys allied with us right now?" Qiao Ting glanced at Lin Xiao with a half-smile. In the beginning, he didn't think that the military academy that they allied with was the First Co-ed Military Academy.
"That's because I don't want to worry about anything to focus on going against the Second Men's Military Academy." Lin Xiao was straightforward. If Jiang Shaoyu hadn't fantasized about Luo Chao, he wouldn't have lowered himself to ally with the First Men's Military Academy. As an ace operator, he had his own pride. It was only that… compared to Luo Chao's importance, he would be willing to give up on this pride temporarily.
"Then we have more of a reason to ally with the Third Men's Military Academy. You wouldn't have to worry anymore and we will have what we want as well." Qiao Ting told Lin Xiao his plan, and the latter's eyes lit up. He discovered that Qiao Ting's idea was pretty good and the hope of success was very high. The Third Men's Military Academy had always wanted to get rid of their "ten thousand year fourth place" name. If the three of them cooperated and took care of the Second Men's Military Academy, the rest would be able to be placed in the top 3. This alone would be enough to lure the Third Men's Military Academy.
"Are you going to to the Third Men's Military Academy to convince them?" Lin Xiao couldn't help but look forward to it.
"Convince? Do I really need to that? If the Third Men's Military Academy is smart, they will come to us." Qiao Ting told Lin Xiao about what had happened to the Third Men's Military Academy during the past few hours.
Lin Xiao heard all this and couldn't help but bite his tongue. The Third Men's Military Academy was too bold and reckless… Wait, the Third Men's Military Academy didn't have the daring resolution to make all the military academies in Area S and P their enemies. Even if the First Co-ed Military Academy would not dare do something so bold and reckless, they definitely wouldn't do a stupid thing like this. The only possibility was that they were set up by someone else.
"Who did it behind their backs? So despicable!" Lin Xiao asked with schadenfreude. A question that he could think of would definitely have been thought of by Qiao Ting.
Qiao Ting didn't answer; he only gave a deeply meaningful smile. Lin Xiao was stunned and pointed at Qiao Ting, saying, "You guys…"
Qiao Ting took a deep breath before speaking, knowing fully what the finger pointing meant. "Yeah, those guys who did it behind their backs are indeed despicable." Qiao Ting felt so f**king amazing to be able speak openly about how Ling Lan was despicable.
Lin Xiao understood, took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, they really are shameless." Since he had proactively asked them to form an alliance, all of the benefits of the Co-ed Military Academy was squeezed out by Ling Lan. Thinking about it now, Lin Xiao's chest was still kind of hurting. It seemed that that guy was indeed shameless.
The two of them let out the frustration in their hearts in unplanned unison. They shared a look once again and felt better about each other.
However, Lin Xiao quickly thought of the drawback of forming an alliance with the Third Men's Military Academy. "If we do ally with the Third Men's Military Academy, we will be making enemies of the allied battle team of both Area S and P. Is it really worth it?"
"If we don't make them our enemies, then whose headquarters are we going to attack?" Qiao Ting glanced at Lin Xiao proudly, his eyes full of confidence. The only reason he agreed to take his team and come out wasn't to carry out Ling Lan's orders, but to take the territories personally and prove his capabilities at the same time. It was also to make the First Men's Military Academy have the highest cumulative score and take the champion of this year's battle royale.
Qiao Ting's words made Lin Xiao smile. If he wanted to swallow up all of Area S and P, the strength of their two academies would slightly off. However, when adding on the Third Men's Military Academy… it would be enough. Thus, Lin Xiao said, "Then we'll wait until the Third Men's Military Academy comes knocking on the door of their own accord."
Hearing this, Qiao Ting's lips showed a slight smile. He looked towards the sky and thought to himself, "Ling Lan, even when it comes to strategy, I will not lose to you."
Qiao Ting had continued to warn himself that Ling Lan shouldn't be the rival that he should be paying attention to. However, the arrangements that Ling Lan had made that seemed to be messy yet contained deeper intents uncontrollably made Qiao Ting feel dreadful once again. He couldn't control it and made Ling Lan into his rival once again.
Qiao Ting and Lin Xiao began waiting for the representative from the Third Men's Military Academy to come to them to talk about cooperation. At that moment, Ling Lan's team had passed Area S and was heading towards Area M. Only by going through Area M would they be able to to get into Area Q. Ling Lan target was none other than the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters that was situated in the center of Area Q.
Although there weren't as many military academies that picked out Area M compared to Area P, there were still around 20 or so military academy powers in the area. Even if Ling and company were very careful, they would still encounter battle teams in this area.
Here, one had to praise the modification made by Ling Lan on the logos before they set out. Using the identity of the Second Men's Military Academy, it helped them move through smoothly. Many of the battle teams that they had bumped into saw that it was the Second Men's Military Academy and didn't do anything to intercept them. Some even enthusiastically asked which of the Second Men's Military Academy's battle teams they were.
With Little Four's help, Ling Lan had already find out the name of the allied battle team that they had defeated, and thus she wasn't flustered. She immediately gave up the name of the allied battle team. Ling Lan's calm and collected behavior, of course, didn't cause these battle teams to suspect anything. Just like that, they slowly crept their way through Area M and slowly got closer towards Area Q.
While Ling Lan appeared carefree on the outside, she was not so on the inside. She had discovered that the Second Men's Military Academy had formed a huge alliance with the other military academies in Areas Q and M and were defending these two areas like they were digging for gold. Ling Lan speculated that once this alliance had readied their rear lines, they would send out most of their forces to attack Area S and P… Of course, Area P was the real golden territory. Only there would they understand the idea of those who win will become kings and those who lose will become peasants.
Ling Lan deceived another battle team and passed by them. They flew on for another half an hour. She looked at the map and found that their location was on the edge of Area M, it wouldn't be long until they reached Area Q. Seeing the target headquarters drawing increasingly nearer, Ling Lan let out a small sigh of relief.
Ling Lan didn't think that the Second Men's Military Academy also had such an exceptional strategist. The formations of all the military academies in Area M pretty much made it impossible for any battle teams from Area S to get sneak in. If it wasn't for the fact that she came prepared beforehand, it was possible that they would have been found out the moment they entered Area M.
Nevertheless, the path they had taken to this point had been a perilous one for Ling Lan because some of the battle teams were actually 24-man teams comprised of top-level special-class operators. If they had been found out, even if Ling Lan could escape, the other team members in her team would have definitely all been taken down. Ling Lan couldn't risk that happening.
However, luck was not always going to follow Ling Lan. When Ling Lan and the others were just about to enter Area Q, a 12-man battle team of all special-class operators headed towards them. They heard the other party yell from afar, "Which battle team are you?"
Ling Lan calmly replied, "XX battle team!" They didn't keep on asking. Right when Ling Lan thought that she successfully deceived a team once again, she suddenly discovered that the flying speed of the other party had accelerated many times over. The originally far distance instantly became very close.
Ling Lan quickly ordered, "Prepare to fight!" Ling Lan felt that they had definitely made a mistake, but Ling Lan couldn't figure it out right then. What made them slip up? Hadn't it been all unicorns and rainbows up until now?
Hearing her order, Qi Long and the others quickly took out their respective beam guns and cold weapons from the mounts on their back, holding one in each hand. They waited for Ling Lan's final order.
"Are we going to attack first or wait?" Ling Lan hadn't decided yet. He heard Little Four scream out, "Boss, look here."
An image appeared on the mecha screen. Many mecha were hiding in the desert below. Ling Lan's expression changed slightly and she quickly asked, "Little Four, what are the coordinates for the image?"
Little Four answered confusedly, "It's the desert below you."
Ling Lan glanced at the radar area and discovered that aside from the battle team that was flying towards them, no other battle team had appeared. Ling Lan didn't need to think to know that the mecha hiding in the desert had definitely turned off their engines; only by doing this would the mecha be undetectable by the radar.
This made Ling Lan terrified. She had almost fallen into a trap just now. If Little Four hadn't reminded her of this, once they chose to attack, they would not have been able to go back. When faced with being surrounded from both the inside and outside, even if it was Ling Lan herself, she wouldn't have enough confidence to make sure she could escape.
Chapter 505 - Infiltration!
Ling Lan's team patiently waited for that battle team to come closer. They seemed to be calm on the outside, but inwardly they were nervous and cautious. Ling Lan had already told her team members about the countless mecha hidden around them. Everyone knew that danger was just around the corner.
Right when that 12-man team of special-class operators drew near, the team leader coldly asked, "Who are you guys?" The smallest team around here was a 12-man battle team. Ling Lan only had six mecha. That was why they felt something was weird.
Ling Lan calmly replied, "We bumped into a battle team that was hidden. We fought a huge battle and although we won, a few of our members paid the price." Ling Lan suffused a good amount of spiritual power in those words to increase her persuasive ability.
It had to be said that it was safer for Ling Lan to combine spiritual power and persuasion compared to using only spiritual power to affect the opponent. This wouldn't get rid of someone's suspicions and make them feel a discrepancy, but instead slowly weaken an individual's suspicions and in the end, make them naturally let go of such thoughts.
There were too many people here. Ling Lan didn't have the certainty that she could affect everyone with her spiritual power. In order to not raise the suspicions of the others nearby, she could only be more careful. Even if she knew that talking more with the other party would increase the chance of being exposed, Ling Lan felt that she couldn't take that risk.
Sure enough, Ling Lan answer made that team leader's suspicions decrease greatly. In reality, he was only wondering why there would be a broken team in the area between Area Q and M. It should be known that the patrolling battle teams around them were all full teams. This was also the reason why he stopped Ling Lan and not because he really suspected they were the enemy.
Hearing Ling Lan's answer, that team leader was surprised. He quickly asked, "Where? Which military academy did you guys bump into?"
Ling Lan responded coldly, "Please forgive me for not being able to inform you of that location before I report it to my commander. In truth, I'm not sure who the opponents were!"
Ling Lan's answer angered the other side, but there were no problems with her words. Usually, when something like this happened, they would naturally make a report to their own commander first, and then let him decide whether or not to tell the allied military academies. His question was indeed over the top.
"Haha, as expected of the Second Men's Military Academy. Very disciplined," the team leader said grudgingly. He felt that he lost some pride. "However, we're all friends here. Some information should be shared, right?"
Ling Lan hesitated slightly, as though she was struggling with the thought. After a while, she replied, "It's not that I don't want to tell everyone. It's just that I really don't know which military academy the opponent was from. At the border of Area S and M, we found a suspicious team who hid their identity. When we went up to ask them about it, they suddenly attacked us. If it wasn't for that, our battle team wouldn't have been lost so many people," Ling Lan responded as she bit her lip.
The team leader looked at the 5 mecha that were following behind Ling Lan. Two special-class mechas had scratch marks on the outer mecha shell. Three advanced mechas also had a few scratches and kinks. His eyes immediately flashed with a hint of disdain. Only a battle team that was this inferior could be successfully sneak attacked by opponents. If it were his battle team, he would not have lost a single mecha and would have been able to let the opponent only come not be able to leave at all…
Having underestimated Ling Lan, he wasn't interested in asking more questions. As for the team that had entered the border, it was probably a battle team from Area S. Battle teams from Area S had already probed Area M many times. Not only had the team in front of him bumped into them, other allied battle teams had also bumped into them. All of them had losses or victories.
Thus, he said, "In that case, I won't hold you from returning to your headquarters to report to Alliance Chief Jiang."
"Thank you for understanding!" Ling Lan let out a sigh of relief. She looked at the other party and made a hand sign to her team to move out. She then led her team members and quickly flew towards Area Q. Since they were discovered by a battle team and passed open space at the same time, Ling Lan no longer hid. They proudly flew towards the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters.
Seeing the figures of Ling Lan's battle team disappearing into the distance, one of the members of that team leader's team asked, "Captain, are you not going to remind them? If they go back, they will definitely not have a good time." When they had come here, they received a new order. That order was that battle teams were restricted from getting close to the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters.
"This matter is related to the Second Men's Military Academy. What does it have to do with us?" the captain smiled coldly and said. That beat-up battle team didn't show him any respect, so why should he remind them? Also, that guy Jiang Shaoyu was delusional to think that he could control the entire alliance. That would depend on whether they agree or not. He was very happy to see instability within the Second Men's Military Academy. This would make it so Jiang Shaoyu wouldn't have the energy to deal with them.
The captain knew very well that even though they were allied forces, they still were cautious of each other. They were scared that they would be stabbed in the back by the allies. In the face of personal interest, who knew what the other could do. There wasn't anything like a gentlemen's promise here.
This team leader didn't think that his carefulness had actually helped Ling Lan. It had to be said that although Jiang Shaoyu had unified Area Q and M on the surface, in reality, all the allied battle teams had their own plans. They weren't truly cooperating and because of this reason, a little pest like Ling Lan had successfully sneaked through to their central area. They would hide and deal a crippling blow to the Second Men's Military Academy.
Ling Lan ran like mad all the way, got out of the encirclement and wiped away the cold sweat she had. That moment just then was the most dangerous time Ling Lan had experienced during the infiltration. However, they had unexpectedly and easily passed it. Ling Lan rejoiced greatly, but still felt terrified after the fact.
"Captain, we're getting close to the Second Men's Military Academy," reminded Li Lanfeng. He was sitting in Ling Lan's mecha's passenger seat, looking at the map to find the direction, and he found that the target was very close.
"Lanfeng, what should we do next?" Ling Lan turned around and asked. Since she wanted to develop Li Lanfeng, Ling Lan would let him perform at all times.
"We must find a place to rest up," Li Lanfeng said. "Our mecha have already been active for 18 consecutive hours. Everyone's tired."
Ling Lan nodded in agreement. "You're right. Just tell me any recommendations you have."
Li Lanfeng smiled and replied, "My suggestion is that we should take over the headquarters of a weaker military academy as our headquarters in Area Q."
"Why not let us find a remote area as our area to rest?" Ling Lan asked.
"We don't know much about the situation in Area Q. Also, no one knows whether the areas that are considered to be uninhabited actually have people occupying them or not. Even if there weren't people there, if a battle team suddenly appears, it would be very unexpected. Instead, it would be better to take over a headquarters and hide in the shadows of the light." Li Lanfeng spoke out his reason.
Ling Lan was satisfied. She used her fingers and started drumming on the control panel. She calmly asked, "Which one did you choose?"
These words of Ling Lan made Li Lanfeng let out a sigh of relief. When Ling Lan had asked that question just now, it was without a doubt a test for him. Now it seemed that he had passed. Li Lanfeng was filled with joy. He decisively pointed towards an area on the map and said, "Right here."
"Jianqiao Military Academy?" Ling Lan had already clearly seen the area that Li Lanfeng had chosen. Her lips perked up. "Not bad indeed."
Jianqiao Military Academy's rank in all of the military academies was on the lower side. In Area Q, they weren't the worst of the allied forces. Those who were of the lower-middle tier were not really valued by the allied forces. Additionally, they would also not be like the worst one that the allied forces would watch all the time to make sure they don't fumble the ball. Li Lanfeng's choice was made after deep and prepared thinking.
Having been acknowledged by Ling Lan, Li Lanfeng's lips involuntarily showed a hint of a smile.
Since they had decided, Ling Lan let the others and silently changed their direction, now flying towards Jianqiao Military Academy, which was a few hundred yards out from the Second Men's Military Academy. And at this time, night fell and went into the 16-hour night-time.
The commander who stayed behind to protect Jianqiao Military Academy was frustrated. He didn't think that Jiang Shaoyu would be so unreasonable and force all the allied forces to send out 80% of their headquarters' battle strength to participate in the patrol work of the entire Area M and Area Q. Looking at the two 12-man battle teams that were left in the headquarters, along with some logistics personnel, and comparing this to the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters that had five layers of military strength defending it, along with Jiang Shaoyu in the center, he became even more frustrated.
"Only the Second Men's Military Academy's headquarters is important? Are we, the other allied military academies' headquarters, unimportant and can be tossed aside whenever?" the commander thought angrily. If a battle team were to infiltrate right now, even if it were a 12-man battle team, it would still be a destructive blow to Jianqiao Military Academy. Their academy wasn't greatly capable. They had barely assembled a 12-man special-class operator battle team, but it was sent out by Jiang Shaoyu, leaving only these 2 weak and broken teams… Each battle team only had four special-class operators while the others were advanced mecha operators.
The commander felt sadder and sadder as he looked at them. He believed that unless there were no enemy battle teams that would infiltrate their headquarters, they would definitely have no way of fighting back. Those assault battle teams were all merciless fellows.
Just like that, the commander went through the daytime while being angry and frustrated. Seeing that night had fallen, the captain ordered the logistics personnel to turn on the light sources. In order to make sure they were safe, they made the headquarters light up as though it was daytime. However, it was because of this that the light sources were used up. There weren't enough light sources for the battle teams to move around to every corner of the headquarters. The two battle teams huddled up in the middle of the headquarters and didn't set up any patrols around the perimeter. Of course, looking at the strength they had left for defending their headquarters, they couldn't really spare too many people to do something like that.
"It's snowing again." Before the sun went down, it was still a hot summer climate. After sunset, it went into dark winter and snow began to fell. The commander could not help but sigh. This crazy weather was really making it hard for them.
He looked at the logistics head and asked, "Do you think we should make some hot soup and let everyone drink some to warm their stomachs?" Although there were temperature controls in the mecha cockpit, people shouldn't stay in mecha for 24 hours. Otherwise, the mecha operators could feel sluggish due to the cramped space and this could even easily lead to a poor state of mind, such as depression and frustration. Thus, during the course of the day, they would always set a time for the mecha operators to leave their mecha and rest up.
The logistics head nodded his head and replied, "This idea is very good. We didn't hear anything odd from Area M during the day. Area Q has Area M guarding it, so we actually aren't in too much danger. We'll just let the two teams get off and eat one at a time. Nothing big will happen."
"I know. This is also why Jiang Shaoyu demanded us to send out 80% of our military strength to patrol the two areas. Although I'm really angry, I had a reason to not go against him. Compared to Area M, our Area Q is much safer," said the commander. Although it was largely because they couldn't defend against the overpowered Second Men's Military Academy, this reason was also part of it. A lower ranked military academy like them would be satisfied as long as their own headquarters didn't get taken.
Just like that, the two mecha teams were informed that they could eat a hot meal. They were all so happy. No one wanted to just chew on buns as they were tasteless. It was a disgusting nutrient solution… After entering the battle royale, they had been eating this for every meal. They had already gotten tired of it.
Just like that, the members of one of the battle teams, who were originally in the mecha, came down to rest. When Ling Lan heard Little Four report this situation to her, she actually had a strange thought that she could actually be the main female lead for once.
Ling Lan was originally worried about how to deal with the two battle teams. Although the two battle teams were composed of a mixture between special-class operators and advanced mecha operators, their numbers were way more than theirs. Ling Lan was confident that they would definitely achieve victory from her team member's hard work. However, her objective was to not alert the surrounding powers and silently finish the job. This was the certain way of realizing the goal of taking down the headquarters secretly.
She hadn't expected that the other side would make a decision like this right when she had started worrying. This was like someone giving you a pillow when you wanted to sleep. It was so lucky that it was not so different from the set-up of a supposed main female lead in a novel.
Ling Lan would not give up such a good opportunity. She quickly led her team members and infiltrated Jianqiao Military Academy's headquarters. Although Area Q's headquarters was considered to be easy to defend and hard to attack, this also required that the other party had more than enough strength to defend. Right now, the headquarters that had pretty much zero defensive power, which allowed them to easily infiltrate into the heart of headquarters.
Of course, it was this easy only because Little Four had disrupted the radars of the opponent's mecha. This was also why Ling Lan dared to openly take her team members into the center of the headquarters.
"12 mechas; four special-class mechas and eight advanced mechas. You guys all choose your own opponents." Ling Lan looked at the defended position up ahead and the mecha and informed her team members.
Qi Long was the first to scream out, "That special-class operator B1 is mine." Qi Long said this without holding anything back after setting his eyes on one special-class operator.
Ling Lan snorted coldly. "What I want is an instant kill. Change your target." This situation was different compared to the last time; they had to end it quickly. She couldn't let Qi Long be headstrong.
Qi Long looked at that special-class operator with regret, but had no choice but to chose the two advanced mechas that were closest to him. "Then I'll take B2 and X1, these two advanced mecha."
Ling Lan calmly said, "I'll only give you one minute. If you pass that time limit, every second will equal one day's of training in the secret room."
Qi Long groaned instantly, "Boss, you're too cruel."
"You can choose to give up and only face one," Ling Lan said coldly. For someone like Qi Long, she had to pressure him. The more he was pressured, the more likely it was for him to be successful.
Qi Long wasn't someone that would admit defeat. Hearing Ling Lan words, he immediately replied, "Okay, one minute. I don't believe that I won't be able to do it!"
After he said this, everyone else looked at Qi Long with sympathetic looks. This guy had fallen into Boss' trap. They could all foresee the miserable result Qi Long was going to face when he returned. However, they wouldn't be good Samaritans and remind Qi Long. They wanted to watch the scene of Qi Long's miserable experience.
Li Shiyu wasn't cruel enough, however; he was afraid that Qi Long would say something more and result would be even more miserable. Thus, he said, "Give that B1 to me."
Li Lanfeng could not help but cover his face. He glanced at Li Shiyu. His dumb little brother helping was worse than not helping. It was obviously pouring salt on Qi Long's wound.
Seeing Qi Long looking at Li Shiyu resentfully and Li Shiyu with a baffled expression, Xie Yi held in his laughter and said, "Give D1, that advanced mecha, to me."
Luo Lang also felt the odd atmosphere between Qi Long and Li Shiyu. He followed up after Xie Yi and said, "I'll be responsible for F2, that advanced mecha." Since they needed to end the battle as quickly as possible, Luo Lang and the others didn't choose opponents whose strength was above their own.
Zhao Jun thought it over and said, "I'm confident that I can take down a special-class mecha within one minute." His words meant that he didn't have the confidence that he would be able to defeat two mecha within a short amount of time. If he was operating an ace mecha, he would perhaps be willing to try.
Everyone looked towards Ling Lan. There were still two special-class mecha as well as four special-class mecha. These numbers made up half a battle team. Even someone like Boss Lan would probably have a hard time defeating them.
Li Lanfeng was frustrated. If he could operate a mecha, he could at least intercept one special-class mecha or perhaps one the advanced mecha. That way, Ling Lan wouldn't need to be responsible for so much. Once again, Li Lanfeng felt his uselessness. He always felt that he was pulling Ling Lan's leg.
Li Shiyu worriedly said, "I think I can be responsible for another advanced mecha."
Zhao Jun followed up, saying, "Then I'll be responsible for two more advanced mecha." How could an ace operator like him lose to Li Shiyu who had only just advanced to special-class level?
"No need. Li Shiyu you are still responsible for B1. Zhao Jun, you're responsible for the special-class mecha, N1. At the same time, you will aid Li Shiyu. Leave all the other ones to me," said Ling Lan calmly as she clenched the Firmament in her hand. Although there would be some difficulty involved, Ling Lan wasn't someone who would retreat from difficult situations.
"Yes, Captain!" Zhao Jun heard Ling Lan's order and his eyes flashed. Was Boss Lan this strong? He suddenly thought of the proud and aloof Qiao Ting. If he knew Ling Lan's real potential, would he still remain as proud?
Ling Lan made a signal and they quickly moved silently towards their targets.
At that moment, the 12-man battle team that was defending in all directions were all looking forward to a bowl of hot soup. They didn't know that the time of their demise was upon them.
"Who knows when Little Shu and the other's will finish eating and rotate shifts with us?" One member licked his lips. Ever since they came into the battle royale, it was the first time he was going to have a hot meal. He had been about to puke from eating nutrient solutions.
"I don't know. That Little Mo even provoked me earlier saying that we were going to eat cold food. Made me so angry," another member said angrily. Although they were of the same military academy, each battle team still had a rivalry relationship and would definitely have a little friction between the two of them.
"Captain Feng won't take too long. Don't worry guys." The captain heard the murmurs of the team members and spoke to comfort them. In reality, he also wanted to immediately go into the resting area and eat a hot meal. Unfortunately, he had lost a bet with Captain Feng just now. He could only let his team members endure it for the time being.
At that moment, Ling Lan was staring at the mechas that guarded different directions. Although there were just about only short and thin trees in Area Q, it wasn't like there weren't any towering trees. There was a dense forest area in the center of Jianqiao Military Academy's headquarters. This allowed those mechas that were guarding the center point to safely hide within it. However, at the same time, this gave the attacker places to hide. Attackers like Ling Lan.
Ling Lan discovered that these people weren't very alert, so much so that some of the mecha operators were just playing around and didn't actually pay attention to their surroundings. This made Ling Lan overjoyed. Their lack of attention undoubtedly brought about a huge convenience for Ling Lan. She was now more confident in instantly taking down six mecha.
Right then, two mecha suddenly turned around and left the area within Ling Lan's line of sight. Ling Lan's eyes lit up and her fingers danced around quickly. Her mecha instantly pounced towards the two mecha from behind a towering tree.
These were two advanced mecha. The distance between them was a bit close. Originally, Ling Lan was worried that when she was taking care of one mecha, the other mecha would discover her. Now, if they didn't see Ling Lan at the beginning, Ling Lan was certain that she could instantly kill these two mecha.
Ling Lan's mecha's speed was very fast. In the blink of an eye, she appeared before one of the mecha. Firmament, held in her hand, slashed horizontally towards that mecha.
Shing! The sharp edge of the Firmament easily tore open the opponent mecha's neck. She didn't need to cut it fully; she only needed to damage the operating system of the mecha then let the A.I. lock up and determine that the mecha was killed instantly.
Now, because Ling Lan's speed was really fast and silent, adding on Little Four disrupting the radar, the teammate closest to this mecha actually didn't realize anything. After taking care of this mecha, Ling Lan used her the tip of her feet to push against the ground. The mecha had already changed its direction and pounced towards that mecha that was closest to the one that was taken down.
Shing… another advanced mecha was killed instantly before they realized what had happened. Ling Lan fixed her eyes on the third mecha… Only using a few seconds, she silently took care of the four advanced mecha. There was no difficulty in going against advanced mecha for Ling Lan whose finger speed had already reached the peak of ace operators.
Ling Lan now changed her target to the two special-class operators who were left. When she took care of the first special-class mecha, the sounds made by Qi Long and the others alarmed another special-class mecha.
That special-class mecha quickly called to the members of the team, but found that there wasn't anyone replying. Right then, he knew that something was wrong. He decisively pushed down on the sound amplification button and screamed at the top of his lungs, "Enemy attack!" At the same time, his mecha was suddenly struck and uncontrollably fell towards the ground.
Right when that special-class operator's finished screaming, he discovered that his cockpit had turned pitch-black. He had already been locked in the cockpit. He thought back to a few seconds ago, but couldn't confirm whether he had successfully sent out the message that they were being attacked.
Ling Lan walked towards the mecha that had fallen and slowly pulled out her Firmament. She had sensed the action the opponent was about to take. She hadn't stopped to think and flung her wrist, tossing the Firmament from her hand, severing the opponent mecha's operating system right before he could successfully send out his voice.
Chapter 506 - Submission!
At this moment, all the other team members had finished their battle. Everyone looked at Qi Long begrudgingly. The one who had made a huge ruckus and woken up that special-class operator was indeed Qi Long. It was because Qi Long wanted to take care of his opponents within one minute. It was the result of Qi Long using his full strength, which made it impossible to bring the noise to a minimum. This was also the reason why he was discovered by the opponents.
Ling Lan put the Firmament on her back and coldly asked, "Qi Long. How long did you take for those two mecha?"
Qi Long knew he was in trouble. He didn't dare to conceal anything, and replied with a face full of pain, "1 minute 17 seconds."
"When we return, you're going into the secret room for a month," Ling Lan said determinedly.
"Why, only 17 seconds. That's seventeen days." Qi Long stomped his foot.
"You alerted the opponent. You have to be punished," Ling Lan said coldly. He had almost caused the entire plan to fail. If she didn't punish Qi Long, she wouldn't be able to face her terrified little heart.
Upon hearing this, Qi Long immediately lowered his head and dared not to speak again. He was afraid that if he spoke further, Boss would increase the punishment exponentially. He had already experienced this kind of result many times while growing up. Having learned his lesson, he would definitely not let the month become two months or even three months. That would really be considered inhumane.
After taking care of this battle team, Ling Lan's team carefully and cautiously hid their mecha. They looked towards the temporary tent the Jianqiao Military Academy had set up for resting at the center of the headquarters. They originally thought that the noise that Qi Long had made would alert the people inside, but they discovered that the other side hadn't moved at all. It was probably because of the peace they had up until now, as well as the allied patrol pattern of the Second Men's Military Academy that made the Jianqiao Military Academy numb to danger.
"There's a total of 22 people in there." As the scout, Luo Lang didn't need Ling Lan to order him and immediately turned on the thermal detector and determined the exact number of people in the tent.
"Zhao Jun, you support. Everyone else, we're battling using physical skills." Ling Lan instantly came to a decision. She was the first to open her cockpit and jump out.
Everyone was hot on her trail and all flew to the ground. Zhao Jun looked on as Ling Lan led Qi Long, Luo Lang, Xie Yi, and Li Shiyu into the tent like monkey demons. He felt really miserable. Why did he leave him here to support? He wanted to fight toooooo.
Li Lanfeng enviously looked at the silhouettes of Qi Long and the others. He really hoped that he was the one who was following Ling Lan.He took a look at his own weak and entirely bandaged body and couldn't help but sigh.
Going against 22 people who weren't really on guard didn't give Ling Lan and the others any pressure. It was just that Qi Long, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi were brutal enough. They defeated a bunch in just a few seconds. This made Li Shiyu, who was extremely nervous, discover that he had nothing to do after he had knocked out only one opponent and was getting ready to go onto the next. He deeply felt that this team that he was in, whether it was its captain or its members, was made up entirely of a bunch of brutal individuals.
Ling Lan ordered her team members to lock the stunned opponents into their mecha, and then they searched around many times. After confirming that there weren't any more enemies, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Seeing the hot meals that the Jianqiao Military Academy had made, they were wild with joy. Although the nutrient solution's taste was pretty good thanks to Boss' modifications, they had already consumed it for many meals and couldn't take it anymore. Especially when it came to a glutton like Qi Long, his eyes were glowing green upon sighting the food.
Ling Lan picked up Li Lanfeng who was still in the mecha. Although Li Lanfeng wanted to walk himself, Ling Lan glanced at him and made him not dare to say anything that objected to her picking him up. "Wuwuwu, Rabbit's cold eyes are so cruel!"
Of course, Zhao Jun was still miserably guarding the mechas cautiously. Zhao Jun hid in the mecha and bit on his little handkerchief. "Wuwuwu, is it really okay for you guys to bully the new guy? That's despicable right?"
Now content with a full belly, Ling Lan made Qi Long switch places with Zhao Jun, asking him to come down from his mecha to rest up. When Zhao Jun finally ate the hot food he had been waiting for, he instantly cried tears of joy. He felt so happy and he finally felt alive again.
"Cough…" Li Lanfeng coughed uncontrollably. Ling Lan looked at Li Shiyu. Li Shiyu felt his pulse and calmly said, "It's alright. It's just the temperature inside the tent is lower than the cockpit. Li Lanfeng's body can't get used it quickly."
"Do you want to go back to your mecha to rest?" Ling Lan asked with care. Li Lanfeng's injuries were severe. Ling Lan had taken it to heart all along. She was afraid that his injuries would worsen.
"No, it's alright. If I can't even get used to a temperature difference like this, how would I be able to go on the battlefield in the future? The conditions there won't have the same conditions we have here." Li Lanfeng raised the bowl of hot soup in his hand. Being able to drink a bowl of hot soup right now made his body and soul feel comfortable.
Ling Lan didn't oppose Li Lanfeng. It was just as Li Lanfeng had said. Right now, they were in the mecha tournament's battle royale. It was only simulating some of the environments on the battlefield. In reality, it wasn't difficult because their supplies and everything were fully prepared. If it was something he couldn't handle now, Li Lanfeng would definitely not be able to go onto a real battlefield.
Li Lanfeng drank a bowl of hot soup and felt much better. He then took out the map and spread it out on the ground. He pointed at the Second Men's Military Academy on the map and said, "Captain, the Second Men's Military Academy is here. They are around 147 kilometers away from us. It would take around 7 minutes to reach it with an advanced mecha's speed. There's only half the time left until the battle royale ends and that is 36 hours. I suggest that we hide here and wait for the very end. We attack when the Second Men's Military Academy's defense is at its weakest."
"How will that happen?" Ling Lan asked plainly.
"When Jiang Shaoyu leaves, that will be our opportunity to strike," Li Lanfeng said without hesitation.
Ling Lan lips perked up a bit and glanced towards Li Lanfeng. "You're that confident that Jiang Shaoyu will leave the headquarters?"
"I've carefully studied Jiang Shaoyu before. He is a strong-headed person who likes to perform. How can he give up on attacking to sit calmly in his headquarters?" Li Lanfeng's mouth showed a smile with a hint of confidence. "He will definitely lead a team and move out."
"What do you think he will do?" Ling Lan showed a hint of praise in her tone. Li Lanfeng's prediction was the same as her own. Now full of expectations, Ling Lan couldn't help but increase the difficulty for Li Lanfeng. She wanted to know whether or not Li Lanfeng could predict the timing at which Jiang Shaoyu would move out.
"After 12 hours, I believe, Jiang Shaoyu will use the last hours of daytime, which is the last 24 hours, to attack Area S and P," Li Lanfeng said decisively.
Ling Lan went silent for one second. Jiang Shaoyu was a rash person… When he found out that something had happened in Area S and P, could he really be patient enough to wait until the last 24 hours? However, moving out after 12 hours would not bring about any danger to them if anything happened during that time. Li Lanfeng's judgment was very accurate. Thinking to this point, Ling Lan nodded and said, "Then we move out after 12 hours."
Luo Lang saw that Ling Lan and Li Lanfeng had decided on the time to move out. Knowing that they had 12 hours to rest up, he was instantly overjoyed. He looked at the receiver in the tent and smilingly took out a transmitter from his pocket. "Then I'll make this headquarters into ours first."
Right when he moved, he heard the sound of a hidden weapon flying towards him. Luo Lang promptly dodged and caught the hidden weapon—it actually turned out to be a large metal pot. He immediately jumped up, exclaiming, "Hot, hot, hot!" The large pot was tossed between both of his hands. It wasn't because he didn't want to throw it on the ground, but because Luo Lang clearly felt the information that was being sent by Ling Lan's ice-cold glare. If he dared to throw it down, he would definitely be dead.
In this situation, even if Luo Lang felt like it was burning, he still wouldn't dare to throw it down easily. He could only change his hand to save the two hands that were being burned to a crisp.
Finally, the large pot was no longer hot, and Luo Lang then slowly put down the large pot. His looked at Ling Lan with grief and said, "Boss, why did you throw a big steel pot at me." That brutal steel pot was actually kicked towards him by Ling Lan.
"Turn on your calm personality." Ling Lan glared at him coldly. As expected, it was better for the normal Luo Lang to appear during normal times.
"You need something from me?" Luo Lang was very obedient. Right when Ling Lan finished speaking, he turned on his extremely calm personality.
"Save some intelligence for your original personality," Ling Lan said plainly.
The extremely calm personality's eyes lit up and showed a hint of dread. He hadn't expected that the boss of the original personality actually knew the secret of this talent.
"Next time, I don't want to see such a dumb Luo Lang." Ling Lan pointed her finger at the extremely calm personality. "Don't try to provoke me. When I defeated you guys, it was to increase Luo Lang's strength. It wasn't to let you guys take abilities from the original." Right when Ling Lan finished, a powerful wave of spiritual charge made the extremely calm personality shake. His face was pale, and his eyes were no longer calm. They actually showed fright, as though he had seen a ghost.
"If I can defeat you guys, then I can easily get rid of you guys! There's a limit to my patience." Ling Lan glared coldly at the extremely calm personality. The killing intent that was held up in her body was released. The thick killing intent made the extremely calm personality become even paler. He even felt that Ling Lan's expression that was full of killing intent was enough to swallow up this personality of his. What was this power that made the extremely calm personality be this surprised and frightened?
"I understand," replied the extremely calm personality as he bit his lip.
"Call me Boss!" Ling Lan's eyes coldly glared at him, her aura increasing once again. It pressured the extremely calm personality, making him unable to stand and uncontrollably kneel down.
"Yes, Boss!" replied the extremely calm personality with a pale expression.
"You understand what to do, right?" Ling Lan stared at him and continued.
"Yes, I know. I will discuss this with the other personalities."
"Discuss?" Ling Lan's eyes narrowed and her killing intent flashed by in an instant. The extremely calm personality suddenly felt his heart become cold as ice. He discovered that the original's boss really wanted to get rid of them, the personalities, and was not just saying it to scare him.
"I will notify them. We will definitely be able to do it." As expected, the extremely calm personality was extremely calm. He instantly made a decision and decided to completely submit to Ling Lan.
Ling Lan's eyes sparkled, the look in them switching between killing intent and hesitation. Luo Lang's talent was a double-edged sword. Although it could increase Luo Lang's capabilities, the original could easily be controlled by those other personalities… Perhaps getting rid of Luo Lang's talent was the safest choice for him.
How could the extremely calm personality not notice Ling Lan's hesitation and killing intent. He immediately said, "Give me another chance. We will crown the original as king."
Ling Lan's sudden pressure on Luo Lang's different personalities made everyone at the scene nervous. They knew that what Ling Lan was doing had meaning, and thus they just watched silently on the side. They didn't dare to make any noise to interrupt Ling Lan and Luo Lang.
Ling Lan started at the extremely calm personality for a few seconds. When the extremely calm personality almost couldn't handle it, Ling Lan finally said, "I hope you guys can do what you say. You can go back now."
Upon hearing Ling Lan's words, it was as though the extremely calm personality was reborn and he instantly disappeared. Luo Lang saw that he was kneeling, scratched his head, suddenly realized something and his expression changed a little bit.
"Do you know what happened?" Ling Lan asked indifferently.
Luo Lang's face color changed for a bit. After a while, he replied, "Thank you, Boss. I understand." He looked at the transmitter in his hand and laughed coldly. "If it wasn't for the fact that you discovered it, Boss, I would really have become an idiot. Those guys, they actually…" The anger on Luo Lang's face showed only for a second. They had actually silently taken way the intelligence that was his and he actually had no idea.
"It's because you're not strong enough yet. If you were strong enough, you would be king," Ling Lan said coldly.
Luo Lang nodded his head with great force. "I will definitely become stronger Boss. I will, definitely." His right hand instantly clenched together and the transmitter in his hand was crushed into pieces. The beautiful face of his showed a smile wrought with anger. It looked so demonic that it made it hard for others to look straight at. This made many of the onlookers involuntarily turn their eyes to the side…
If he had put the transmitter onto the receiver, all of the military academies in Area Q and Area M would know that Jianqiao Military Academy was taken over. He had almost done something so idiotic like exposing themselves just now… Luo Lang's eyes went cold from the thought. These personalities really did need a beating.
At the Second Men's Military Academy, Jiang Shaoyu received a new report. He looked at and frowned, saying, "I didn't think that the First Men's Military Academy, the First Co-ed Military Academy and the Third Men's Military Academy would form an alliance. They are now clearing the headquarters of the other military academies in areas S and P."
Upon hearing Jiang Shaoyu's words, one of the captains beside him worriedly said, "What do we do, Commander? Are we going to give up on Area P?"
"Give up? If we wait until they take down Area P entirely, even if we swallow up Area M and Q, our cumulative score would still not as much as theirs. How could us, the Second Men's Military Academy, become fourth place?" Jiang Shaoyu denied that possibility.
"However, with our strength, if we wanted to go against the cooperation of the three military academies, it would be very difficult," another captain smiled bitterly and said.
"And their headquarters are all in Area S and P. Even if we wanted to set up a sneak attack, we wouldn't have the chance," said one captain who was going through the information on the report. He felt great dismay. How was it that those three academies were so lucky as to actually be placed into the two dream areas.
"They're all in Area S and P? No, that's not right…" Jiang Shaoyu seemed to have remembered something. He asked his deputy, "Zhuge, where is that map that we drew earlier?"
Zhuge smiled and set the mentioned map out in front of everyone. He pointed at Area G17. There, the First Men's Military Academy was indicated.
"What's happening?" One captain looked at the marking on the map and looked at the report in their hands. It was clearly written that the First Men's Military Academy was in Area S and the one guarding it was Qiao Ting.
"It's just a game of hide and seek. The First Men's Military Academy created a fake headquarters in Area S to fool everyone. The real headquarters was hidden by them. The person who came up with this plan is a genius. If it wasn't for the fact that we remembered the real location of the First Men's Military Academy, I would perhaps have been fooled as well." Zhuge's eyes showed some surprise. He was very curious as to whom had created this plan. It was definitely an insanely good move. Even he hadn't thought of this.
Jiang Shaoyu looked at Area G17 and immediately laughed out loud, saying, "A divine blessing from the heavens. I didn't think that Qiao Ting would be so daring and actually leave his headquarters."
Zhuge was not surprised. He smiled and asked, "Commander, are we preparing to attack G17?"
"You're the one who knows me best, Zhuge. Since they created a fake headquarters, I believe the defenses of the real headquarters in G17 won't be too strong. This is our chance. As long as we take down the First Men's Military Academy, all the points they have gained will be given to us. We will not give up first place to anyone," Jiang Shaoyu said coldly. The previous tournament games had made them lose a lot of their dignity. From the very beginning, he had thought to take revenge for the embarrassment incurred through the battle royale.
Zhuge nodded and gave Jiang Shaoyu another piece of paper. Jiang Shaoyu opened this and his eyes showed that he was overjoyed. "So you've already arranged it, Zhuge."
"Yes. When I received word that the First Men's Military Academy was in Area S, and with Qiao Ting defending it, I created this plan and hoped could be of use to the commander."
"Of course it's useful. It's amazing. Your plan is to keep most of the military strength of the three big military academies in Area P… Hehe, the First Men's Military Academy, the Third Men's Military Academy—I will let them fall completely from the heavens. It's too bad that we made it easy for the First Co-ed Military Academy," Jiang Shaoyu said with regret.
"We don't have a choice. The First Co-ed Military Academy's headquarters is in the center of Area P. Our guys have no chance of getting close to there. I hope those allied forces are good enough and can take down the First Co-ed Military Academy's headquarters." It wasn't because Zhuge didn't want to swallow up all three big military academies, but because the First Co-ed Military Academy's location was at an advantage. No matter how he thought about it, it wouldn't be successful. It would even affect the other two plans. In the end, he had no choice but to give it up. However, although he said this, he still didn't think that the allied battle teams would succeed.
"We can only do it this way. However, having the First Men's Military Academy and the Third Men's Military Academy as trophies will be more than enough." Jiang Shaoyu wasn't too greedy.
Immediately moving out was better than just thinking about it. Jiang Shaoyu couldn't wait any longer. He quickly gathered up the battle teams, splitting them into going towards two directions. One direction was on the surface, composed of ten or more battle teams who would move towards Area S. Their target was the Third Men's Military Academy's headquarters.
The other half of battle teams was led by himself to quietly sneak into Area S. They prepared to go around Area P at the border and move into Area G.
"It is indeed a good plan. The real headquarters of the First Men's Military Academy has been exposed. It looks like the First Men's Military Academy and the Third Men's Military Academy will face the most difficult time in this battle royale." Those in the monitoring room who had discovered Jiang Shaoyu's movements began to worry for these two military academies.
"I think that I'm more worried about the Second Men's Military Academy," said one officer. He pointed at the headquarters of the Jianqiao Military Academy. Although it was still the Jianqiao Military Academy's headquarters on the surface, everyone in the monitoring room knew that it had already been taken over by that small mysterious team.