Chapter 573 - It Is Not A Problem!
"Roaring Flame!" Zhao Jun said. The three of them were too nervous just now so they just asked for plain water. However, all of them wanted to try the teas available in the General's manor. The teas in this manor were specially prepared for the General. It was a rare opportunity for them so they didn't want to miss the chance to taste the teas.
"South Pole!" Li Lanfeng needed a cup of cold tea to calm himself down. He was in more stress compared to the other two people. He hated to see Mother Lan's disappointed expression.
"Attentiveness!" Li Shiyu wanted to taste the famous Attentiveness tea.
Ling Lan entered the teas that they wanted into the system and soon, four teacups appeared in front of them. Zhao Jun immediately took his Roaring Flame and Li Lanfeng took his South Pole. Ling Lan took the remaining two cups and walked towards Li Shiyu. She passed the Attentiveness tea to him.
Li Lanfeng and his friends felt more relaxed as there were no elders around them. They wanted to taste their teas in peace.
However, this elegant and peaceful atmosphere was broken by someone.
Zhao Jun gulped down his tea and burped. He let out a deep breath and said, "This feels so good."
Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu wanted to punch him. They were just getting into the mood to have a peaceful tea-tasting session but Zhao Jun destroyed the atmosphere.
They looked at their teacups. If they knew that this was going to happen, they would have come secretly. They wouldn't bring this person along…
Ling Lan was unaffected. She calmly raised her teacup and took a small sip.
To Ling Lan, teas were meant for drinking. Whether you sipped it or gulped it, it was a personal preference. She had nothing against it.
Ling Lan's indifference calmed Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu down. They shook their heads. They were still inexperienced. They had much to learn from their boss.
They threw away their unhappiness and started tasting the tea.
It… felt really good! Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu suddenly realized that Zhao Jun's description was accurate. Did Zhao Jun drink the tea correctly? Were they too focused on the formalities? Did they seem too ostentatious?
They didn't manage to find the answer. Ling Lan had already put down her cup and said, "You all came three years before me. You all should understand more about the 23rd Division. What do you all think about the division?"
Ling Lan had asked Little Four to search for information about the 23rd Division but the information he got was all written materials. She found her father to discuss this too but her father was the person-in-charge of the entire 23rd Division. Hence, his perception was different from soldiers. It was not useful to Ling Lan.
Ling Lan was just a new member of the 23rd Division so Li Lanfeng's opinions were more informative to her. Zhao Jun and Li Shiyu could not give her any useful tips. One of them was taken in by an ace mecha clan while the other was sent to work in the hospital. There were no chances for the two of them to understand the soldiers at the bottom of the rank.
As expected, when Ling Lan finished asking her question, Zhao Jun and Li Shiyu looked at Li Lanfeng simultaneously.
Li Lanfeng was sent to the grass-roots units the moment he ended his recruit training camp. He became a recruit platoon leader and worked his way up from the bottom.
This experience allowed Li Lanfeng to understand the grass-root units better and knew what the hidden problems in the 23rd Division were.
Li Lanfeng said seriously, "Overall, the 23rd Division is a united and organized division. People entered the 23rd Division because of General Ling Xiao. Everyone respected and admired him. He is the only recognized leader in the 23rd Division."
Ling Lan frowned. The military would not be happy with a division that had only one influential member.
As expected, Li Lanfeng continued, "Besides the divisions of the three great marshals, none of the other divisions had only one person in power. Normally, two to three factions influenced the division. One of the factions might hold a greater power…" Li Lanfeng hesitated before saying, "For instance, the 4th and 5th Division is under the influence of the Li family but they don't have the authority to make their own decision because there are other factions. They need to consult them. However, for the 23rd Division, no one will dare to go against General Ling Xiao."
Li Shiyu looked at Li Lanfeng secretly. Li Lanfeng just said a secret that only the direct successor of the Li family would know. How did he know about this? Li Shiyu remembered that Li Lanfeng studied with his cousin before. Did his cousin tell him about it unknowingly? Was Li Lanfeng not his relative? Was there something going on behind the scenes?
"The military does not wish for a 4th great marshal to appear," Ling Lan said softly.
The three current great marshals would not like to have a new person joining their ranks and diluting their power too. Ling Lan knew that her father was clear about the consequences. However, he still went ahead and controlled the entire division. Why did he choose to take the risk?
"Yes. The spies sent from the other factions were mostly taken out of the 23rd Division in the reorganization effort the year before. Only a few harmless people were left. The other factions knew that they couldn't get people into the top positions so they put people into the grass-roots units. Hence, alliance groups appeared within the soldiers. Some instances include the Pu Jun Alliance Group and the Jun Ying Friendship Association."
"These alliance groups are made up of spies from the various factions," Ling Lan said sarcastically. No matter what era it was, military power was always at the heart of the power struggle.
"Yes. When this batch of new recruits ends their training camp, these alliance groups will appear and try to rope you all in." Li Lanfeng thought of something and said, "The two alliance groups I mentioned have grudges against each other. One of them represents the elite soldiers while the other represents the normal soldiers. Their conflict worsened recently. It must be the doings of the various factions. If not, these two groups would not go against each other so quickly."
"In the eyes of the normal soldiers, recruits from the military academy belong to the elite team," Ling Lan said thoughtfully.
The headquarters wanted the soldiers in the 23rd Division to be dissatisfied with their leaders. The headquarters didn't want to see such a united 23rd Division. Ling Lan didn't expect them to fear her father so much. They were willing to weaken the strength of the military in order to prevent the 23rd Division from rising in power.
"Yes. Recruits from the military academy will be discriminated against by the Pu Jun Alliance Group. Then, the Jun Ying Alliance Group will step in and recruit them." Li Lanfeng recalled the situation he faced in the past. The two groups appeared to be on opposite sides but in actual fact, they worked together to force you to choose one of them.
"If you don't join any side, will you be discriminated against?" Ling Lan asked.
Li Lanfeng nodded his head bitterly. "I didn't join any side so my situation was bad at the start. The soldiers only recognize me after my platoon completed many missions. However, I was promoted to the mecha clan soon after and entered the temporary battle team with Li Shiyu and Zhao Jun. I didn't spend much time at the bottom so I couldn't get a deeper understanding of them." Li Lanfeng was afraid that he would misguide Ling Lan so he added in the last sentence.
Ling Lan nodded. Li Lanfeng was relieved that Ling Lan understood him. He continued, "I don't understand why General Ling Xiao allowed the conflicts between the elite soldiers and the normal soldiers to happen. He could have done some things to alleviate the situation." Did General Ling Xiao close one eye because he was afraid of the different factions?
Li Lanfeng's query reminded Ling Lan of what her father said to her a few days ago. She thought that he wanted to tell her what real brother-in-arms was but now, she realized that he wanted to tell her how useless the efforts by the headquarters to harm the 23rd Division were.
Ling Lan smiled. "All these are not a problem."
Li Lanfeng looked at her in shock. Zhao Jun and Li Shiyu raised their heads too. To them, this was something that could destroy the foundation of the division. It was important to prevent such conflicts from occurring.
"Relationships between brother-in-arms are not developed during everyday interactions," Ling Lan said with a calm expression. She didn't continue after that.
Zhao Jun didn't understand what she was saying. Li Shiyu felt that he got a hint of it while Li Lanfeng smiled after pondering over her words.
Zhao Jun saw Li Lanfeng's expression and knew that he understood Ling Lan. He asked hurriedly, "Lanfeng, hurry up and tell me what is happening? Why did the boss say that all these are not a problem?"
Li Shiyu looked at Li Lanfeng too. He had some ideas but he was not sure if he was right.
"You can only become someone's brother-in-arms after the two of you experience the battlefield together," Li Lanfeng smiled as he hinted them.
Zhao Jun was enlightened. He slammed the table. "Yes, once people went through life and death together, such conflicts are not important."
Li Shiyu exclaimed, "Those people are wasting their efforts. Seems like General Ling Xiao plans to bring the 23rd Division to the battlefield soon."
"Of course. A division that never went to the battlefield is not a real division," Ling Lan replied him firmly. She was certain about her father's plans for the division. Within these two years, her father would definitely send a request to the headquarters to let the division to go on the battlefield. All the conflicts would be resolved on the battlefield. There would be no more huge grudges once they returned.
"We are still inexperienced. The problems that we worry about are nothing in General Ling Xiao's eyes," Li Lanfeng mocked himself. His mood got better.
The leader of the 23rd Division was Ling Xiao. If no accidents happened, the successor of the division would be Ling Lan. As Ling Lan's comrade, it was his responsibility to worry and solve problems for Ling Lan.
"So, just allow conflicts to happen." Ling Lan decided to learn from her father and disregard this issue.
She smiled and asked them, "Are you all planning to stay at your current position or come back to be my team member?"
"We will definitely come back." Li Lanfeng glared at Ling Lan. They waited three years for him. He couldn't kick them away even if he wanted to.
Zhao Jun nodded. No other captain was better than Ling Lan. He made the most amount of improvement during the time he was in Ling Lan's team. Zhao Jun was an ambitious person. He wanted to get stronger so he didn't want to leave his boss.
Li Shiyu replied, "Since I promised to be your team member, I will do it unless you don't want me. I have informed the hospital that I will just work part-time there. Once you form your battle team, I will get us our totem for the team."
"Form the battle team…" Ling Lan realized that she needed to get this done before the recruit training camp ended. Who would assess her?
Times flies. The recruit training camp ended. Many high-level officers appeared in the recruit camp on the day the training camp ended. They looked at this batch of recruits. This was an outstanding batch.
Most of the battle teams had gotten the name list of this batch of recruits.
There were many exceptional talents that applied for the 23rd Division. It was the best batch of recruits the division ever had.
Among them, 7 recruits had reached the Qi-Jin level of Physical skills. There were a few high-level mechanics as well as one master-level mechanic. The battle teams fought to get the master-level mechanic into their team. Getting a master-level mechanic was like having another life on the battlefield. This meant that there was a higher chance of survival for the team. No battle team could resist this temptation.
There were also five ace operators. The teams prepared themselves for a fierce fight as everyone wanted to get their hands on ace operators.
Chapter 574 - Activate The Battle Team!
When everyone in the 23rd Division gathered at the recruit camp, a hover car drove out of the General's manor.
He Xuyang and Ling Lan sat beside each other in the backseat. He Xuyang looked at Ling Lan's calm expression. He was worried so he asked, "Young Master Lan, why don't you wait a while before forming your battle team? You can familiarize yourself with the rules and regulations first."
If a captain managed to complete the missions to build a battle team in the Mecha World, he could apply to form their battle team in the real world.
However, the formation of a battle team was not easy. Many recruits applied to form their battle teams and failed. There were three missions to complete to form the battle team. Two missions were in the virtual world and one was in the real world.
"I know. There are three missions, right?" When her father knew that she wanted to form her battle team on the last day of the training camp, he told her that it was not an easy feat. He said that she needed to pass three missions.
However, Ling Xiao wanted to test his daughter's adaptive ability so he didn't tell her what the three missions were.
He Xuyang's eyes lit up when he heard what Ling Lan had said. "The general gave you some advice?" If he did, Young Master Lan would have a higher chance of succeeding.
Ling Lan replied, "No. Father only told me that there were three missions. He wanted me to experience the missions myself. If I didn't succeed, it means that I am not strong enough and do not have the ability to lead my team."
He Xuyang wanted to cry when he heard this. General, why are you so fair and just? If Young Master Lan failed, he would be deeply affected and might not be able to recover from the blow. Our future successor of the 23rd Division would be gone…
He Xuyang wanted to help but he didn't know what the missions were too. He had no battle team under him and he didn't know any captains personally. Hence, he was unable to get any information about the missions.
Ling Lan smiled when she saw the worried look on He Xuyang's face. She consoled him, "It will be fine. I know what I am doing." If she couldn't pass the missions with her current ability, it meant that no recruits would be able to do it within this short period of three months. If that was the case, there was no point in allowing the recruits to have the chance to form a battle team right after their training camp.
If theory was tested, Ling Lan was not afraid too. She had Little Four. Everything could be found in his database. Little Four had been wandering around the virtual world all these years and even managed to download some secret information into his own database. If there was a question that Little Four couldn't answer, it must be from another world.
The hover car that Ling Lan and He Xuyang was in was manually controlled. The person driving was Second Lieutenant He. Lan Luofeng thought that Ling Lan just needed to register to form a battle team so she let Second Lieutenant He to drive her dear daughter over to the location.
If she could, Lan Luofeng wanted to drive her daughter over personally. However, she knew that she couldn't appear in the public together with Ling Lan. She also knew that Ling Lan would not be coming back. They had to resume their old life where she could only contact her daughter through a communicator. Ling Lan would be a normal soldier in the 23rd Division while she was the wife of the Regiment Commander. By right, they were strangers again.
Ling Xiao left in the morning to settle some things at the headquarters of the 23rd Division. He looked indifferent when he left the manor but when Ling Lan saw the He Xuyang waiting for her in the living room, she knew that her father was worried about her too. He just didn't show it.
The hover car drove for more than an hour and He Xuyang talked for the entire journey. When they were reaching, Second Lieutenant He said, "Young Master Lan, we are almost at our destination." The hover car slowed down as she spoke.
Ling Lan secretly heaved a sigh of relief. She didn't expect her father's adviser to be so good at nagging. If she was not patient enough, she might have knocked He Xuyang unconscious to stop him from talking.
Ling Lan saw a gate with high walls around it. She couldn't see what was within the walls.
After some inspections, the hover car finally stopped on a vast plaza. When they were passing through the checkpoints, He Xuyang told Ling Lan that this was the secret base of the 23rd Division. Outsiders were only allowed in if the general gave his words.
"I don't think that every new captain has the chance to clear their missions here." Ling Lan glanced at He Xuyang coldly. If every captain came here, this place would be known by everyone. It would not be a secret base anymore.
He Xuyang felt an oppressive aura when Ling Lan looked at him. It was as though the person he was facing was not Ling Lan but General Ling Xiao. He hurriedly replied, "Of course. Outsiders would not be able to come here at all. However, General Ling Xiao was the one that arranged for you to come here." If you have any opinions regarding this arrangement, please go and find the mastermind. Don't harm innocent people like me.
"My father must have his reasons for making such arrangements." Ling Lan retracted her gaze. She was clear how sly her father was. There was definitely something going on.
"Yes, yes…" He Xuyang nodded fervently. He wiped the cold sweat off his forehead when Ling Lan was not looking. Sob, who said that accompanying Young Master Lan was an easy task? He must find that person and pluck out all of his teeth.
He Xuyang managed to see Ling Lan's real character so he didn't dare to stay beside her any longer. He took out the acceptance letter that General Ling Xiao gave him and passed it to a soldier on duty. The soldier guided them to a slightly dilapidated warehouse. The warehouse was a distance away from the entrance so they took some time before they reached there.
He Xuyang looked at the soldier on duty with a puzzled expression. The soldier gave a forced smile and nodded firmly. This was the correct location.
He Xuyang and Ling Lan entered the warehouse. Before they could say anything, the soldier on duty disappeared.
The two of them looked at each other. There was no one to guide them so they look around themselves. Very soon, they found a person lying in a login pod.
"Brother, I have something to look for…" He Xuyang smiled as he knocked on the login pod. When someone knocked on the door of the login pod, the system would tell the person in the virtual world that someone was looking for him. This way, the person in the login pod would not be interrupted.
He Xuyang waited silently for three minutes before he lost his patience. He pressed the force-stop button on the login pod. The next moment, he heard the person inside the pod started to swear.
The door of the pod flew open and a middle-aged soldier with a beard glared at them. "Which idiot interrupted my competition?" His gaze landed on Ling Lan. Ling Lan raised her right hand and pointed at He Xuyang.
From the malevolent aura surrounding the soldier, he was definitely an expert in physical skills. Ling Lan didn't want to offend such a person. Also, she was speaking the truth. He Xuyang was the one who pressed the force-stop button.
The middle-aged soldier looked towards He Xuyang. The anger on his face suddenly disappeared. He was stunned. He frowned and said impatiently, "He Xuyang, Adviser He, why are you here today?"
He glanced at Ling Lan again. Ling Lan was calm, decisive, and emotionless. He admired him. This kind of person was born to be a soldier.
However, when he looked at Ling Lan again, his expression changed. He immediately got serious.
He Xuyang felt depressed when Ling Lan betrayed him without any hesitation. Why was he so heartless? Did Young Master Lan forget that he was his companion?
He Xuyang was focused on expressing his displeasure so he missed the change of expression on the middle-aged soldier's face. If he noticed it, he would be able to guess Ling Lan's secret. He missed the chance to uncover the secret so he became one of the last people to know the truth.
He Xuyang was depressed for a moment but managed to regain his composure quickly. He said with a stern face, "Senior Colonel Mi, I have brought a recruit for registration."
Senior Colonel Mi was elated when he heard this. He looked at Ling Lan excitedly and said, "Is this the recruit that the headquarters gave me?"
Senior Colonel Mi didn't like recruits that came from the military academy. He felt that they were liked mass produced products from a factory. They were all good but not special. He preferred normal soldiers that started from the bottom. All the soldiers under him were people who fought their way to survive on the battlefield.
However, he was satisfied with this recruit and was willing to accept him into his team. He could see that the recruit's physical skills were at the domain level. He was now the youngest person to have reached the domain level. But, his information was not in the database so this recruit must have hidden his true abilities.
As compared to those arrogant idiots who wanted everyone to know how good they were, he admired smart people who worked hard secretly and hid their true skills to fool their enemies. This kind of people was not only able to survive on the battlefield, but they would also be able to handle the struggle for power within the division as well. This recruit would have a bright future ahead of him.
Chapter 575 - He Is Ling Lan!
Senior Colonel Mi liked this cold-looking young man but He Xuyang's reply broke his dream. "No, no, I brought him here so that he can form his own team."
"He is a captain?" Senior Colonel Mi said in a disappointed tone. However, it was understandable that such a powerful recruit would want to form his own team and create his own achievements.
After Senior Colonel Mi regained his composure, he felt puzzled. "He can complete his mission in other places too. Why must he come here? You made me happy for a moment."
He Xuyang gave an innocent face. "It was the general's order."
Senior Colonel Mi glanced at Ling Lan curiously. He understood that the general must have taken a fancy on the young man. He tidied his messy hair and tried his best to look good. He opened his communicator and said emotionlessly, "Name?"
Ling Lan knew that he was asking her so she replied, "Ling Lan."
"Ling Lan? Which Ling and which Lan?" Senior Colonel Mi asked instinctively. Before Ling Lan could reply to him, he suddenly raised his head. "You are Ling Lan?"
Ling Lan frowned. Senior Colonel Mi's expression made her feel that something was amiss. Things seemed to be getting out of her control.
He Xuyang was not surprised by the reaction. Senior Colonel Mi was the other reason why he decided to accompany Ling Lan to this place. He wanted to see his expression. He Xuyang knew Senior Colonel Mi for many years and this was the first time he saw a huge change of expression on the colonel's face. He was extremely satisfied.
He Xuyang smiled happily and replied, "Yes, this is Ling Lan. He was the one that defeated the captain of your substitute team in the special forces."
Ling Lan was speechless. Adviser He must be taking revenge on her. The mission this time would be hard. She didn't expect this place to be the headquarters of the special forces. She entered the lion's den herself, on the orders of her father.
Ling Lan suddenly realized that Ling Xiao liked to make things difficult for her. Throwing her into the First Men's Military Academy was an instance of it.
Ling Lan felt her head hurting. F**k, this is not logical. Shouldn't she be the one creating troubles for her father? She must get her revenge next time.
Senior Colonel Mi looked intently at Ling Lan. He was no longer relaxed and casual. He seemed like a wild beast that saw its prey. Ling Lan was vigilant.
Of course, no matter what Senior Colonel Mi's attitude was, Ling Lan would not let down her guard. She knew that she had embarrassed the special forces three months ago.
Senior Colonel Mi entered her name into his communicator and then pointed at the login pods beside him. "Just choose one and go in. The mainframe will tell you the relevant details of the mission."
After he finished talking, he entered his login pod. Before he closed his door, he paused. He reminded the two people in front of him with a stern face, "Don't press the force-stop button again. Once I finish my mission in the virtual world, I will come out." He didn't want them to disturb him.
He Xuyang looked at Ling Lan in concern. He looked as though he wanted to wait for Ling Lan to finish her mission but Ling Lan asked him to leave. She told him that his father needed his assistance. He Xuyang was happy that he could leave. Truthfully, he didn't want to stay here any longer.
After He Xuyang left, Ling Lan was left alone in the warehouse. She sighed loudly. Whatever plans her father had, she welcomed it. In fact, she even felt excited when she knew that she was in the headquarters of the special forces. The torturous training in the learning space nurtured Ling Lan's desire for challenges. If the special forces wanted to take revenge, she didn't mind fighting them again.
Ling Lan made her decision and entered the virtual world…
"Hey, I have never seen this brat before. Who is he?" Ling Lan immediately heard someone exclaiming beside her. She had no lag time when she entered the virtual world so she could sense everything the moment she entered.
A few people were gathered around her. Ling Lan pretended to be stiff for a moment so that they wouldn't realize her secret.
"I have never seen him before too. However, today is the last day of the recruit training camp. Did the commander went to the recruit camp to find new blood?" from the age and the looks of this young man, he must be a recruit. The people thought that he was an official member of the special forces because only official members could enter the headquarters of the special forces. Substitutes didn't have the right to come here.
In order to protect the members of the special forces and prevent the location of the special forces headquarters from being exposed, every single member of the special forces underwent a thorough background check before entering the team.
They had to be strict with the recruitment of the special forces because they were the ultimate weapon of the division. If the special forces got destroyed, the entire division would drop in strength and become a third-rank division. The division would not be able to regain its strength in a short period of time.
"That is possible. Maybe the commander felt frustrated after the three months in the Blades Training Camp and wanted to vent his emotions on someone," a 30 years old soldier placed his hand on his chin and said.
"Yao Lang, don't remind me of the Blades…" Everyone was frightened. They remembered the three months of torture that they went through. Wasn't it supposed to be a vacation? Weren't they supposed to relax and enjoy themselves during those three months? If their commander didn't go through the training with them, they might have rebelled during the training. Of course, even if they did rebel, they would fail. The instructors there were crazy. They were all beasts!
Yao Lang recalled the scary times in the camp and changed the topic immediately. "I am just kidding. Even if the commander took a fancy on him, he needs to undergo three to six months of background check. Hence, it is impossible for him to be recognized by the commander today."
This meant that the recruit must be chosen by the commander at least three months in advance. That was the time when the recruits from the military academies came in. If it was six months ago… he could only be a normal recruit.
They dismissed the option that he was a normal recruit. No matter how talented a normal recruit was, he would be unable to catch up with a recruit from the military academies in such a short time. Their starting points were totally different.
Although their commander liked normal recruits, he would not let a normal recruit enter the special forces before the recruit showed his true potential. He would be harming the normal recruit if he did that.
Normal recruits were not as talented as the recruits from the military academies. They could only rely on fights on the battlefield to gain experience and improve themselves. If not, they would never be able to surpass those soldiers from the military academies.
"Did the commander set his eyes on this recruit the moment he came here? Is there a prodigy among the recruits this year? Why is the commander so willing to accept him? He never liked recruits from the military academies," someone asked in a puzzled tone.
"The one who defeated Lian Shaojing can be considered a prodigy," someone replied sarcastically.
"The recruit was also heavily injured. He even missed the three months of recruit training camp…" Another person answered.
"Lian Shaojing had to recuperate for at least a year. If you look at it this way, Lian Shaojing had a more serious injury." Someone expressed his opinion.
"The recruit might still have to stay in the hospital after three months. No one said that he would recover completely after three months. He might have to wait for the next batch of recruits to come in before being assigned to a team."
According to the rules of the division, if a recruit missed the graduation ceremony, he would have to wait for another year to be assigned to a team.
Someone suddenly asked, "Don't tell me that this is Ling Lan."
"That is impossible." A commotion arose among the people. Ling Lan embarrassed the special forces. The commander would never take a fancy on such a person… unless Ling Lan was really a prodigy…
But that was impossible too. Their commander was someone who was not satisfied with ace operators as well as people who fully mastered their physical skills. He would only make such exceptions if he found someone in the domain realm or an imperial operator. Could a recruit reach these two statuses?
Not everyone was Ling Xiao.
The people around Ling Lan noticed that his eyes were regaining conscious. They knew that his lag time was ending. One of them exchanged glances with Yao Lang and Yao Lang took a step towards Ling Lan. He stood right in front of Ling Lan.
Ling Lan looked at the person that appeared in front of her. He was lean as compared to the others. He smiled at her but Ling Lan felt the coldness in his smile.
Ling Lan didn't feel any oppressive aura from this person. His physical skills must be lower than the domain realm. She didn't know his mecha operator status but from the conversations just now, she predicted that this person must be the adviser of the group.
Chapter 576 - Prime!
Seeing how Ling Lan's expression was still extremely calm and did not fluctuate when he suddenly got close to him, Yao Lang had a glimmer of admiration in his eyes. He believed Ling Lan was a good seed just waiting to grow. He smiled and asked, "Hey little kid, is it your first time here? What's your name?"
Ling Lan of course wouldn't answer him. She wasn't stupid. She was at the headquarters of the special forces. If she carelessly told him her name, it would be giving them a chance to take revenge on her. Thus, Ling Lan chose to remain silent and calm as she continued to look at Yao Lang and didn't think to even answer his questions.
After been given the cold shoulder by Ling Lan, Yao Lang's comrades who were watching the situation from the side all instantly burst out in laughter. One of them was so exaggerated he was slapping his leg as he laughed, "Hahaha, that's too funny. Yao Lang, it seems that this day would come eventually."
Yao Lang always used his fake smile and easily had people place their trust in him. Thus, they would always use him to speak to strangers,and he would easily win people over. This made those veterans who had malevolent auras be green with envy. Now, they finally saw Yao Lang get rejected. These comrades of his of course wouldn't pass up on an opportunity to laugh at him.
Yao Lang smiled bitterly. He didn't think that the smile that always made it convenient for him had lost its effect and was ignored by this little kid in front of him.
He wasn't willing to give up and coughed as he continued to speak, "Only those who are in our special forces can come to this place, so you're our comrade. You don't have to be so defensive."
Ling Lan had already made a decision to not expose her identity. She continued to stare at Yao Lang in a way as though he didn't exist.
Yao Lang finally couldn't hold up his smiling expression and walked back to his comrades in defeat.
"Yao Lang, not everyone gets affected by that move." Right as he returned, he heard his comrades mocking him.
Yao Lang didn't get angry and only shrugged his shoulders. He said nonchalantly, "Why don't you guys try? I'll treat whoever succeeds to a meal."
After Yao Lang's words, everyone's eyes glimmered as they all shouted in unison, "Palace of Celebrations." That restaurant was the only seven star luxurious restaurant chain in the Federation. Those who went to eat there were only top-ranking officials in the Federation. It wasn't because these special forces members couldn't afford it, but after one meal, they probably wouldn't be able to live comfortably for an entire season. Thus, hearing that they had a chance to spend the money of someone with deep pockets, Yao Lang's comrades of course would choose the most luxurious place.
Hearing this, Yao Lang's face instantly dropped and became distressed, "You people want me to eat nutrient solutions continuously for years?" Thinking about that kind of lifestyle, he instantly felt that it was terrible.
"Well you said it. If you're willing to bet, then you should accept the loss as well." He comrades would of course not be willing to give up on this great chance. The cost of a seven star restaurant was indeed high, but the taste was irresistible. Every year, they would go and eat there once and treat their stomachs. Then they would work hard on the tasks afterwards… as they had to somehow earn their next season's life expenses.
Having been motivated by the Palace of Celebrations, they teased Ling Lan one by one in an attempt to make Ling Lan have a reaction and receive the reward from Yao Lang's bet. Unfortunately, Ling Lan's emotions had already been trained in the training space and became extremely tough. This level of interference had little to no effect on her.
Afterwards, the number of those who were defeated became larger and larger, and finally all of them squatted down on the ground depressingly as they started to draw circles on the ground. At that moment, Yao Lang's expression was brightening up. He finally didn't have to eat nutrient solutions everyday and the person who saved him was none other than the cold youth with icy air around his body. Yao Lang's impression of Ling Lan was becoming better and better… He decided that if one day this youth needed his help, he would definitely help him out once.
Yao Lang and his comrades' activity had attracted other special forces members who were walking by. When they spoke to those who were drawing circles on the ground, they also enthusiastically joined the group that was teasing Ling Lan… When Senior Colonel Mi returned, he saw this scene.
"You bastards, what are you guys doing?" Seeing Ling Lan had been surrounded, Senior Colonel Mi's heart skipped a beat. He thought that his subordinates were preparing to teach Ling Lan a lesson because of Lian Shaojing's incident so he immediately shouted at them.
Seeing their leader return, the members who were enthusiastically teasing Ling Lan quickly moved away from her. They looked at their team leader with fear. When did this scary god-like man appear?
Yao Lang saw the Senior Colonel and knew the situation was bad. He quickly smiled and said, "Leader, we saw that there was fresh meat. So, we were just giving him a warm greeting."
Senior Colonel Mi dashed towards them and kicked the members who were slower in moving away from Ling Lan, "What are you guys doing surrounding him like that. Go mind your own business."
Those who were kicked cried out in agony. Their faces were filled with sadness as they said, "We only wanted to ask the new guy his name…"
"Name?" Senior Colonel Mi stared at them for a moment. Did these guys not know that this person in front of them was Ling Lan?
"Yeah. The new guy's really cold and wouldn't even introduce himself to us. Leader, where did you find this weirdo?" someone complained. Was it that hard for them to eat a meal at the Palace of Celebrations?
"Yeah, we'll be brother-in-arms in the future, so he should at least tell us his name." No one wanted to give up the chance of immediately winning the bet. Even if the most ruthless leader was standing in front of them, his presence wouldn't stop them from crazily thinking about eating fine cuisine.
"Who said he's your brother-in-arms? This is what you get for assuming. Take that and that." Senior Colonel Mi saw that everyone still didn't budge. This time, he kicked the last person that was speaking. "Sh*t, they dare to add salt to my wound." Did he not want Ling Lan to join the special forces? Unfortunately, he was only here to activate his own battle team.
"Leader, I'm sorry, sorry. He's not part of the battle team… then why is he here?!" The person who spoke suddenly realized the situation and instantly shouted out loud while he was begging for forgiveness and dodging the senior colonel's kicks.
Senior Colonel Mi was also tired and gave him a dirty look instead, "He's here to activate his own battle team. What, he can't do that?"
That person didn't dare to disagree and nodded, "Yes, yes, yes, if leader says yes then it's possible!" Sh*t, why would he come to their special forces camping grounds to activate a battle team. Couldn't he just find any camping ground and do it?
"Leader, who are you going to arrange as his opponent? How about letting me have a go?" That person turned around and was kicked by the Senior Colonel many times once again. This person thought that he should try to get something out of it. Since this mystery person came here, he wanted to teach him a lesson to make him understand that in the division, new meat must know their place…
They only wanted to ask for a name. Couldn't he just tell them? Wuwuwu, their chance to go to the Palace of Celebrations! After he thought to this point, that person felt that his heart was aching. The fine cuisine was just at his fingertips!
Unfortunately his suggestion was refused by Senior Colonel Mi, "It has nothing to do with us. I'm only bring him to the arena."
"What? He came to our special forces unit but his opponent isn't actually one of us? Then why did he come here?" Someone shouted in surprise and everyone became confused. If this person's opponent was not from their camping grounds but from another team, he wouldn't come our part of the map right?
Senior Colonel Mi looked at glared at all of them angrily, "Is there any other place that can contact the special forces of the Federation?" General Ling Xiao only asked Ling Lan to come here because he thought of this point right? Thinking that his special forces unit was actually looked down upon by General Ling Xiao and wanted another division's battle team to defend the location, Senior Colonel Mi felt another knife stab him in the heart…
"What? He's looking for people from other battle teams? This is looking down us right?"
"Leader, who made this idiotic decision at the headquarters of division? It's too over the top. Looking down on us like this. If they don't give a us a good reason, then we can only go to the headquarters and teach that person a lesson." Everyone there felt it was unfair. The special forces was originally a bunch of proud soldiers. They always had the ideology that they would fight if there was a reason to and would also fight if there weren't any reasons to when handling problems.
"Go ahead!" Senior Colonel Mi suddenly grinned. The grin was filled with evil intent and made everyone shudder.
Yao Lang's alarm inside his head had sounded. When the leader showed this type of smile, him and his comrades would not die but be close to death's door. He didn't want to die without knowing the reason and quickly interjected, "Leader, our battle team still has something to do so we're not going to bother you anymore. We…"
"It's alright, I'm not busy. I'm really not busy at all," Senior Colonel Mi cut off Yao Lang and calmly replied. Hearing this, Yao Lang knew that they were in trouble.
"You guys want to know who arranged this? And what to fight that person?" Senior Colonel Mi looked at everyone with his evil grin. "Alright, I'll give you a chance. I won't punish those who actually go and pick a fight with this person."
Everyone's eyes gleamed. Only Yao Lang intuitively felt that it wasn't that simple.
"You guys are welcome to find General L-I-N-G X-I-A-O! Okay, remember to go and pick a fight with him!" Senior Colonel Mi's words made everyone shudder. Was their leader trying to make sure they were punished no matter what?
"Leader just say it, how you are going to punish us." Everyone at the scene were beaten completely. They didn't even think and asked for their punishment. Going to find General Ling Xiao… Wuwuwu, they didn't want to be public enemy number one.
"Get the f*ck out of my face first. I'll teach you guys a lesson when I'm in a better mood," said Senior Colonel Mi angrily. He didn't have any thought of teaching his subordinates a lesson at the moment. he had to take Ling Lan to the arena's combat hall as soon as possible.
Seeing that they had the chance to escape, everyone in the special forces wouldn't dare to stay in this area any longer. Very quickly, everyone left. They were afraid that if they left any slower and be in the sights of the leader, the leader remember their punishments. That way, they would be able to leave with their lives.
Ling Lan felt the entire world had become peaceful again. After going through this, Ling Lan understood that not only women liked to gossip. These men from the special forces were just as gossipy.
Although Senior Colonel Mi wasn't in a good mood, he still explained, "I had something to do temporarily. You waited long right?"
Ling Lan shook her head calmly, "It's alright, your team members made it enjoyable."
Senior Colonel Mi's heart sank. As expected of father and son, both of them were proficient in bringing about problems for him.
Senior Colonel Mi thought back to just a few moments ago. As he logged back into the virtual world and was just about to arrange one of his generals to test Ling Lan's mecha operating capabilities. He then received General Ling Xiao's phone call.
"General, would you like me to do?" Senior Colonel Mi saluted and waited for Ling Xiao's orders.
"The mecha operator for this evaluation will be arranged by me," Ling Xiao said calmly. "Bring Ling Lan to the arena in the combat hall and I will arrange an examiner to wait there."
Hearing this, Senior Colonel Mi was stunned. Did the General not trust his arrangements?
It seemed as though Ling Xiao knew Senior Colonel Mi's question and explained, "You should know Ling Lan's real identity right?" Back then, it was Senior Colonel Mi who arranged for one battle team from the Bladed Special Ops Team to secretly protect Ling Lan. That helped Ling Lan escape from the assassination when she was six years old. This was also why when Senior Colonel Mi had applied to join the 23rd Division's newly formed special forces, Ling Xiao immediately approved of it. Senior Colonel Mi had long received Ling Xiao's trust and was someone he was willing to put his full trust in.
"Ling Lan had gone through some hardships when he was young, but ever since I returned, Ling Lan's life had been too smooth these past few years. You have to teach him a lesson!" Ling Xiao said.
"If necessary, I can fight in the arena personally," Senior Colonel Mi let out a sigh of relief. However, he still didn't want people from other battle teams to evaluate Ling Lan, thus he asked for the permission to personally do the evaluation.
"Of course I want you to fight him. I'm leaving it up to you for the real world," Ling Xiao said.
"Don't worry General, I won't practice favoritism. If Ling Lan really wasn't up to standards, I wouldn't let him pass." "Of course if he is indeed up to standards of being the leader of a team, I still wouldn't just let Ling Lan lose," Senior Colonel Mi thought. Senior Colonel Mi admired Ling Lan. He had his opinions about how General Ling Xiao wanted to pressure Ling Lan. However, Ling Xiao was still Ling Lan's father, so Senior Colonel Mi still respected Ling Xiao's decision.
He only hoped that Ling Lan would be able to get past the two levels General Ling Xiao had set up in the virtual world. Then afterwards he would be able to fight with Ling Lan in the real world.
While Senior Colonel Mi was in his own memories, the two of them had arrived at the arena in the combat hall. Neither of them knew who was going to be Ling Lan's opponent for the mecha evaluation.
After Ling Xiao notified Senior Colonel Mi, he quickly contacted another person.
Quickly, a strong and mighty middle-aged man appeared in the virtual screen.
"I didn't think that you would actually contact me Ling Xiao." The man smiled, "Now I should call you General. You climbed the ladder faster than I did you punk."
Seeing this person, Ling Xiao's eyes showed hint of joy, "Elder Brother Yaoyang, you're climbing the ranks pretty quick as well. I should first congratulate you on becoming a Lieutenant General."
"If a punk like you didn't exist, I would be basking in the glory. However, after comparing to you, the speed that I climbed the ranks is not even worth mentioning anymore." The person called Elder Brother Yaoyang by Ling Xiao had an expression of indifference. He quickly changed into a stern expression and asked, "Is there something important for you to suddenly contact me this time?"
When they were young, Yaoyang had led Ling Xiao in the 7th division for some time and the relationship between them was very good. However afterwards, he was selected to be positioned in the 3rd division. They were both busy and contacted each other less and less. Fortunately, they met each other before their achievements and did not become strangers. As long as they contacted each other, the two of them would return to the similar relationship they had from back then.
It was also because of this reason that their friendship was not known to anyone else other than the two of them. This had made sure that Elder Brother Yaoyang escape the military's clean up of Ling Xiao's influence after he had "died" in battle. Now Yaoyang still held enough power and had advanced to Lieutenant General.
It was just that when he successfully advanced to Major General and entered into the military's higher ranks and wanted to investigate conspiracy behind his good friend's death, Ling Xiao had returned alive. The first thing Ling Xiao did was to notify this Elder Brother of his to not make any sudden moves.
It was also because of Ling Xiao's reminder that Yaoyang was able to be at peace in the 3rd division in the past few years. His behavior of following orders and regulations to the letter helped him pass the evaluation from the 3rd division's commander. After that, the commander saw him as a confidant and then afterwards, Yaoyang successfully ranked up into the rank of Lieutenant General.
Ling Xiao was silent for a few seconds, then he mumbled, "Elder Brother Yaoyang, you know my son's called Ling Lan right?"
"Of course I know. My family's Qi Long, my idiot son. Every time he comes home he would tell me about how his Boss was amazing and how he would follow his Boss in the future. Even if I wanted to ignore your son, I couldn't."
It turns out, he was Qi Long's father, Qi Yaoyang. As he finished, he continued in dismay, "I finally understand now. It seems that my youngest son was raised for the Ling family. I wanted to him to come to the 3rd division but he would rather die than come here. He was rolling on the flooring crying that he wanted to go to your 23rd Division."
Qi Yaoyang's rambling made Ling Xiao show a hit of joy in his expression. It couldn't be helped that his daughter was so strong and made Qi Yaoyang's son desperately follow her. As expected of his own daughter.
The proud expression on Ling Xiao's face hurt Qi Yaoyang's feelings. Man, was he showing off? Unfortunately he couldn't counterattack. His son indeed respected his Boss more than him. Sometimes Qi Yaoyang wanted to use force to hold Qi Long down but he didn't know when Qi Long grew a monstrous physical constitution. Even if he beat Qi Long to a pulp, he wouldn't be able to make Qi Long change his mind… Thus he could only let him be. Did he really have to kill that little punk to make him listen?
Thinking up to this point, Qi Yaoyang said viciously, "Since we're talking about your son, did your son caused any trouble for you?"
Ling Xiao's eyes showed a hint of a smile, "Of course not. My precious… is very well-behaved," He almost said 'daughter' out loud. Luckily, Ling Xiao reacted quickly.
Well-behaved? Qi Yaoyang thought of the mighty Boss that he had heard about from his son. He couldn't connect that adjective Ling Xiao had said to this person. In the end, he could only determine that Ling Xiao was a controlling parent.
However, what Ling Xiao said afterwards stunned Qi Yaoyang, "Actually, I came to you, Elder Brother Yaoyang, because I wanted to tell you that Ling Lan was preparing to activate her battle team."
"Why so early?" Qi Yaoyang frowned. "Don't tell me you don't know what would happen after he activates the battle team?"
Ling Xiao smiled bitterly, "Of course I know. That's why I came to you. After all, this also affects your son's future. You and I both know that the Federation and Twilight will definitely have a huge battle between them and the Federation must win this battle dominatingly. This way they would be able to stop the countries around the Federation from making any moves. And this battle would be a long one."
"You came to me not only to notify me about this right?" Qi Yaoyang knew clearly that this wasn't the reason Ling Xiao had came looking for him. "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
"Be the examiner for Ling Lan's first level mission in the virtual world," Ling Xiao said without hesitation.
"You really are ruthless. I am an imperial operator. Isn't it too cruel to be bullying your own son like this?" Qi Yaoyang raised a brow. "I remember that your son is an ace operator."
"That's why you have to suppress your capabilities and operate an ace mecha to fight him. Only those with experience and familiarity with suppressing their capabilities while operating an ace mecha would be able to suppress a similar opponent." Ling Xiao's expression showed a hint of pride. A while ago, he had Ling Lan fought and he knew Ling Lan's real mecha piloting capabilities. It was just that his own daughter thought she had hidden it well.
Qi Yaoyang finally understood and said, "You're saying your son has already… Sh*t, both of you are monsters. He actually managed to advance to imperial level at such a young age and it took me these few years to successfully advance."
"Don't give that sh*t. If it wasn't for the fact that you had to stand guard on the front lines, you would have advanced to imperial level eight hundred years ago. In terms of suppressing one's level and operating an ace mecha, I'm sure other than you, there is no one else who's had more experience. Let me count, you have suppressed it for around 13 to 14 years right?" Ling Xiao instantly exposed Qi Yaoyang's lie.
"Didn't you also suppress it? You used six years to advance from ace to god level… but it took four years in the military academy to advance to ace? Bullsh*t! When you entered the 7th division, that level and those techniques were definitely not possible to achieve in four to five years." Qi Yaoyang also exposed Ling Xiao without remorse. "When it comes to suppressing, you also have experience suppressing, why not do it yourself?"
"Only similar level people can force the real capabilities and hidden potential out of someone. Even if I suppress myself, I still wouldn't be able to completely get on that level. The power difference between higher levels and lower levels isn't that easy to control." Ling Xiao said helplessly. If he could do it himself, he wouldn't have come and ask Qi Yaoyang for help.
"I understand. When is he going for the evaluation?" Qi Yaoyang promised Ling Xiao. In reality, he indeed wanted to test out whether the Boss that his own son had acknowledged was worthy or not.
"Immediately!" Ling Xiao said with a huge smile on his face.
"Sh*t, I knew you it wasn't something good when you came to me. Where is it located?" Qi Yaoyang didn't know what to say. It turns out, Ling Xiao wasn't asking him and didn't even gave him any chances to refuse.
"The special forces arena in the combat hall."
Qi Yaoyang's eyes looked at Ling Xiao with a deep meaning inside them. That place wasn't somewhere he could just go casually. It seemed that Ling Xiao didn't want his son to fall into the eyes of the public. Qi Yaoyang agreed with Ling Xiao's way of doing things. Before their children could grow up and actually hold their own, them, the parents, must protect them to the best of their abilities.
"I understand. I will acquire the clearance and come to the location." Having reached his rank, the originally top secret facilities of every division were no longer forbidden locations.
After Qi Yaoyang said this, he hung up the call. Ling Xiao looked at the virtual screen that was already showing a white light and then turned it off. He opened his communications contacts and scrolled to a number that he had not contacted in the past 20 or so years. Right when he wanted to hit call, he put the phone down instead.
He sighed lightly and said to himself, "Ling Lan, I want you to pass but at the same time don't want you to pass. You should rest for awhile first, then I would make this second phone call."
"Lan'er, if you want to move forward and forward again, it would all depend on the result of your battle with Qi Yaoyang. He is just below the 12 god-class operators and is called the Prime Underlord Sky God by the Federation. If you acquire his acknowledgment, then I will arrange for you to start the second evaluation."
"Don't blame daddy for arranging such a difficult evaluation. It's just that once you successfully activate your battle team, you would no longer have the three year new recruit protection period and would be sent straight into the real battlefield."
"If war was to start, you and your comrades would instantly enter into the most dangerous and bloody battlefield. This is the mission of all the official battle teams. No one battle team can be an exception. Even as your father, as the 23rd Division's commander, I wouldn't be able to stop it from happening."
"However, I also don't want to cruelly stop your dreams. As long as you pass the three evaluations I have set up, daddy will choose to trust you. Trust that you would be able to protect yourself and your comrades. Then, daddy will become your strongest shield, safeguarding you while you ride the waves and create a future that belongs to yourself!"
Chapter 577 - One-Point Sustained Shooting?
Senior Colonel Mi brought Ling Lan into the mecha combat hall. Ling Lan had to choose a mecha that she wanted to use. Currently, Ling Lan had 5 different ace mechas in the virtual world. They were the <King of Close Combat>, <King of Long-Range Combat>, <King of Balanced Mecha>, <King of Beast Combat>, and <King of Star Space>.
Ling Lan looked at her ace mechas and pondered for a moment. She chose the <King of Balanced Mecha> in the end.
When Senior Colonel Mi saw a balanced mecha appearing at the spot where Ling Lan was, he knew that was ready.
After waiting for a while, Ling Lan received the room number and the passcode from Senior Colonel Mi.
Ling Lan entered the room. She was among the stars. She got a shock. Her past battles were mostly on the ground and within the atmosphere. She didn't have much experience fighting in this environment. She was at a disadvantage.
Ling Lan scanned her surroundings and her radar showed no signs of abnormality. She felt like she was the only person in the universe. Loneliness in a vast space might result in agitation and frustration if a person stayed in space for too long. This was why space missions were mostly team missions. There were elite team missions in space too but there were no solo missions.
It was forbidden to enter the universe alone. If a person wanted to wander around the universe, he needed to join a battle team.
After waiting for three minutes, the system reminded Ling Lan, "You have entered the universe. Please immediately activate your oxygen producing equipment to maintain the level of oxygen in the mecha. You only have three hours before your oxygen supply is depleted. Please take note."
A cold light flashed passed Ling Lan's eyes when she heard the reminder. "Was it started already?" She quickly used her radar to scan her surroundings again. There was still nothing within the range of her radar. It was dead silent outside. It seemed as though she was the only one in this entire universe. Of course, there was another possibility that her opponent was outside her radar range.
Ling Lan smiled and pressed a button. Strong interference waves were activated.
Ling Lan operated her mecha and changed her stance. With this stance, she would be able to defend herself even if someone sneaked an attack on her.
In the audience seat, Senior Colonel Mi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw how Ling Lan handled the situation. He turned his head and looked at the other end of the universe. An ace mecha was currently rushing towards Ling Lan's location.
Senior Colonel Mi was surprised. Besides himself, he only knew three other people who were able to activate the chameleon system the moment they enter into a battle. However, from the way this mecha operator piloted his mecha, it did not fit any one of them.
Was it a talented young person? Senior Colonel Mi immediately dismissed this idea. If there was someone who was able to operate like this, he would have heard about him. There was only one possibility. This person became famous before him so he didn't have the chance to interact with him.
Who is he? Where did the commander get such a powerful ace mecha master from?
The people watching the battle were able to see both mechas clearly. Hence, Senior Colonel Mi saw the two mechas the moment they entered the battle. However, when he realized that Ling Lan had not noticed the other mecha, he guessed that Ling Lan's opponent had activated the chameleon system.
Luckily, Ling Lan knew that his opponent was here even though he didn't see him and made the necessary precautions.
But, if Ling Lan was unable to crack the chameleon system, he would be in a dire position. He might be beaten up badly by his opponent and it would seriously badly affect his score. Senior Colonel Mi didn't want Ling Lan to fail his first mission. It would be a huge blow to him…
Senior Colonel Mi started to worry for Ling Lan. He felt that his general was too harsh on Ling Lan. Why did the general want to have Ling Lan suffer like this? Even if he wanted to train him, he didn't need to be so ruthless. What if the child couldn't take the blow?
Senior Colonel Mi thought that Ling Lan was like all the other recruits from the military academies and never had any setbacks in his life before…
At this moment, Ling Lan managed to see a flickering red dot on her radar. It lit up for just a split second and disappeared thereafter. If Ling Lan was not focused, she might have missed it.
"Seems like my opponent is here. In order to activate the chameleon system the moment he enters the battle, he must be stronger than me." Ling Lan accurately predicted her opponent's strength. She felt depressed. Her confidence dwindled.
"I guess father doesn't want me to pass the mission so easily." Ling Lan pursed her lips in frustration. Her father indeed loved to make things difficult for her.
However, she would not give up just like this. Ling Lan grabbed the long-range beam gun attached on the back of the mecha and aimed it towards the direction where the flickering light appeared. She moved her fingers and fired off another interference wave shot out of her mecha.
Senior Colonel Mi saw Ling Lan aiming at his opponent accurately and sat up straight in excitement. "He saw his opponent? Does she have the Hawk eye system on her mecha?"
Qi Yaoyang raised his eyebrows when he saw Ling Lan pointing her beam gun at him. "He saw me? Let me confirm it." In a blink of an eye, he changed his direction. He went to the left side of Ling Lan.
Ling Lan's beam gun followed him without any hesitation.
Qi Yaoyang knew that Ling Lan had indeed cracked his chameleon system. he said in a depressed tone, "How much allowance did Ling Xiao give his son? He even implanted the 'slightly useless' and expensive Hawk eye system into his mecha…"
Qi Yaoyang also thought that Ling Lan was able to see him because of the Hawk eye system. The Hawk eye system was only useful against the chameleon system. There were no other uses for it and it was very expensive. Hence, many mecha operators didn't want to waste their money on this system. There were not many mechas with the chameleon system in the virtual world so there was not much need for it.
Besides the Hawk eye system, there were other ways to tackle the chameleon system. However, these methods required advanced controls and they were not as accurate as the Hawk eye system.
Ace operators were arrogant people too. Everyone felt that they were the best so they didn't want to install any systems. They wanted to prove their capabilities. This thinking caused lesser people to install the Hawk eye system as they were afraid of being judged.
Thus, the Hawk eye system became a useless system. Low-level mecha operators wanted to install it but didn't have the ability to. Ace mecha masters could install it but they didn't want to.
Senior Colonel Mi saw Ling Lan's actions and slapped his thigh happily. "Good! It is the Hawk eye system."
Although Senior Colonel Mi and Qi Yaoyang disliked the Hawk eye system, they had different feelings when they realized that Ling Lan installed it. They felt that Ling Lan made ample preparations for this battle. He went through all the challenges he might face and thought of solutions for all of them. He must have installed the Hawk eye system just in case his opponent had the chameleon system. He made the right decision.
Qi Yaoyang was happier than Senior Colonel Mi. This proved to him that Ling Lan was a careful and meticulous person. He would make ample preparations and be willing to go the extra mile to make sure that every end was covered. If he was to lead a team in the future, his team would not act rashly and be at a disadvantage because of the lack of preparation.
Qi Yaoyang secretly gave Ling Lan 10 points. The strength of a captain was important but traits like calmness, meticulous, and decisiveness were equally important. He could only allow his son to be under a captain with all of these qualities.
Qi Yaoyang knew that the chameleon system was useless now so he gave up on it. A silver ace mecha appeared in the universe.
"Preparing to attack me forcefully? Did you ask whether I am willing to let you do it?" Ling Lan's eyes turned cold and she pushed her trigger. Powerful beams shot out of her gun. The force of the beams caused Ling Lan to lose control of the gun slightly. When firing the last few shots, her mecha shook.
"One-Point Sustained Shooting!" Senior Colonel Mi frowned slightly. This kind of attack was useless against a fully-prepared ace operator. Was Ling Lan nervous or was she using these attacks to find a loophole in her opponent?
If it was a normal ace operator, Ling Lan's beams might have caused him some alarm. However, Qi Yaoyang had reached the status of the imperial operator 17 years ago. He was just hiding his abilities so he remained as an ace operator for the last 13 years. Hence, these attacks were nothing to him.
Just as Qi Yaoyang was about to dodge the last beam, the beam exploded. The sudden change caught Qi Yaoyang but surprise. His expression changed and his fingers froze on the spot…
"Bang!" A loud explosion occurred.
In the last second, Qi Yaoyang activated his light shield and managed to block the surprise attack by Ling Lan.
The A.I. flashed a reminder on the screen in front of him. Qi Yaoyang was elated when he saw the reminder. He activated the light shield 0.003 seconds before the beam hit him. This meant that Ling Lan had a chance of successfully hitting him just now. Ever since he became an ace operator and the Sky God of the Federation, only god-class operators were able to successfully hit him.
It was natural for ace operators to reach the imperial operator status after an accumulation of experience and time. There was no real improvement in abilities. This was why Qi Yaoyang was able to pretend to be an ace operator for so many years and no one saw through him. He had to advance to an imperial operator status in the end because he was already at the peak level of the imperial operator status, and was only a step away from being a god-class operator so he couldn't hide his abilities anymore.
Qi Yaoyang loved fighting. He hid his abilities because he knew those imperial operators had to return to the Federation and protect the headquarters along with the god-class operators. However, he wanted to stay at the frontline. He couldn't bear the thought of not being able to fight anymore. Qi Long's love for fighting must be inherited from his father.
"That must be a modified Synchronous Shooting. Interesting." Qi Yaoyang's eyes lit up in excitement. He was in a battle mode now.
At first, Qi Yaoyang only came because Ling Xiao had invited him to assess Ling Lan's strength. He had no interest to fight Ling Lan seriously. But, the beam shot perked up his interest and he was willing to have a serious battle with Ling Lan now.
Senior Colonel Mi was dumbfounded. The exploding beam stunned him. "This is not the One-Point Sustained Shooting!" This was a skill that only ace operators could operate——Synchronous Shooting!
How could he be fooled? Was it because of the standard One-Point Sustained Shooting stance?
"This is not the stance for Synchronous Shooting. I overlooked it and I was fooled by it." Ling Lan's opponent was fooled too. That was why he activated his light shield. Senior Colonel Mi shook his head and exclaimed, "The youngsters these days are getting powerful. I didn't expect Ling Lan to combine the actions for Synchronous Shooting and One-Point Sustained Shooting. It was so perfect that it could fool people into believing that it was just One-Point Sustained Shooting."
"Also, he modified the Synchronous Shooting technique. This should be an A-rank modification, right?" The more Senior Colonel Mi thought about it, the more he admired Ling Lan. He was such a daring person. He only just advanced to ace level but he already succeeded in modifying a technique. Improving his hand speed shouldn't be a problem for Ling Lan, right? He was really a talented operator. Senior Colonel Mi envied Ling Lan. He had been stuck with his hand speed for a long time.
However, Senior Colonel Mi didn't have the time to think about anything else. His attention was attracted by the battle.
The two mechas were having close combat now. Qi Yaoyang was using a close combat mecha. His operation skills were strong and his mecha had been strengthened to support his amazing hand speed. Within a short period of time, he successfully closed in on Ling Lan and forced her to give up on her long-range attacks.
Chapter 578 - Dishevelled!
"Bang!"Two giant swords slammed onto each other.
Ling Lan reacted quickly and threw away her gun away the moment Qi Yaoyang attacked her with his sword. She grabbed her sword and blocked the attack successfully.
The force of the attack placed immense pressure on the engine of Ling Lan's mecha. Her mecha immediately entered the red danger zone. Ling Lan frowned. The huge stress caused Ling Lan to increase her hand speed and she reached the hand speed of an ace mecha master. Ling Lan's fingers seemed to have disappeared in the air.
Qi Yaoyang felt a strong force coming from his opponent. His opponent actually managed to push his sword away. Qi Yaoyang was elated. He quickly used more strength to push his sword down on Ling Lan's mecha.
At this moment, Ling Lan did something unexpected. She gave up resisting and allowed Qi Yaoyang's giant sword to knock her away. She even changed the direction of her engine from the back to the front. These two forces allowed her to distance herself away from Qi Yaoyang. There was no gravity in the unexpectedly so she was able to travel a few thousand meters away easily.
Qi Yaoyang was shocked by Ling Lan's move. He didn't expect Ling Lan to use such a method to break free of his control. Fortunately, his beam gun was now gone. Qi Yaoyang remembered that Ling Lan threw his gun away. If he still had his gun, he might be able to gain the upper hand.
An alarm started to ring by his ear. Qi Yaoyang instantly dodged. A huge beam flashed passed his mecha. He got a huge fright.
"Why does he still have a long-range beam gun?" Qi Yaoyang was puzzled and stunned.
Senior Colonel Mi was surprised too. Where did the beam gun come from?
The beam gun in Ling Lan's hands was the one that she used at the start. Didn't she throw it away?
Senior Colonel Mi rewound the scene so he went back to the time when Ling Lan threw his gun away and reviewed it. He finally realized the secret.
Ling Lan didn't throw his gun away. He swung it behind him. Since there was no gravity in space, the beam gun floated behind Ling Lan's mecha and got blocked by the mecha. This was why Qi Yaoyang didn't see the beam gun.
When Ling Lan distanced himself from Qi Yaoyang, he must have chosen his direction properly and passed by the beam gun. Hence, he was able to grab the beam gun and take it back.
Not only that, when he was moving back, he made use of his body angle and blocked Qi Yaoyang's view. During this time, he quickly placed his sword back and carried the beam gun in his hand. All these actions were done smoothly. Before Qi Yaoyang realized anything, he fired at him. Qi Yaoyang almost got hit by this shot.
Even though Ling Lan's plan was perfect, Qi Yaoyang was still a strong operator. He managed to dodge the attack with his own strength so Ling Lan didn't succeed.
"As strong as I expected!" Ling Lan was not disappointed with herself. Instead, she got even more excited. She smiled and licked her lips instinctively. Fighting spirit lit up in her eyes. She could feel her body shaking with anticipation. It seemed to be telling her that this was the kind of battle she wanted.
It had been a long time since Ling Lan met someone her match. In the military academy, she dominated over Qi Long and her other teammates. When she came back, her father dominated her. This kind of match was not interesting at all. Ling Lan had enough of torturing other people but she didn't want to be the one getting tormented either.
In the Mecha World, her ID was known to everyone from the military academy. She didn't want to expose her powers too much so she didn't use her full strength when fighting against strong opponents. Besides the learning space and excluding the life-or-death situation she faced on the battlefield as well as the mecha combat tournament, this was the only time she fought with all her might.
Ling Lan dared to show her true power this time because she trusted her father. She believed that he would keep everything confidential. The people that he sent must be his own people too.
Ling Lan was smart enough to know that she could not hide her abilities from her father. The more she interacted with her father, the more she realized how sly and cunning he was. Her little tricks meant nothing to him. However, if her father didn't expose her, she would just pretend that she managed to trick him.
Despite her excitement, Ling Lan could tell from how her opponent dodged her attack that he was much stronger than her. Although they were both imperial operators, the difference between an amateur imperial operator and a top-level one was stark.
"I don't want to lose." Although Ling Lan looked as though she didn't care much about winning or losing, she was a stubborn and competitive person. That was why she bore with the pain for over 20 years in her past life in order to continue living. This time, she even made herself underwent the torment in the learning space so that she could continue living peacefully. Without her stubbornness and competitiveness, she would not be able to endure all these sufferings.
Ling Lan turned calmed. She entered the Celestial Realm. She could only see her opponent. Her innate talent, Profound Insight, was automatically activated.
"Where is my chance?" The sweat on Ling Lan's forehead dripped down. She couldn't see any weakness in her opponent. Was her opponent's operation perfect?
"No, that is impossible. Even father can't have a perfect operation. Ling Lan, you only have one chance. You need to calm down and steady yourself. If not, you would lose your opportunity." Ling Lan motivated herself. She must believe in herself then there would be a chance.
In such battles, opportunities occurred within a second. Qi Yaoyang rushed towards Ling Lan and Ling Lan retreated back. She tried to maintain a comfortable distance between them so that she could fire her long-range attack.
"This is a test of mentality." Senior Colonel Mi looked at Ling Lan with concern. In his eyes, Ling Lan was a young man. Young people often lacked patience.
"Let me see how long you can maintain your calmness and patience." Qi Yaoyang could accelerate but when he saw Ling Lan's countermeasures, he had a change of heart. He slowed down instead. He wanted to assess Ling Lan's mentality.
The two mechas flew around the universe at a high speed for three minutes. Ling Lan's mecha continued to aim at Qi Yaoyang. She had not fired a shot. Ling Lan was drenched in sweat. Droplets of water kept dripping down her forehead.
Ling Lan was totally focused for these three minutes. She didn't even blink. Normal people would have felt sore in the eyes but it seems like Ling Lan had not felt anything. Only the increasing redness in her eyes showed how tired she was.
"Not bad. You have good patience. Let me give you a chance." Qi Yaoyang was extremely satisfied with Ling Lan. Not only was Ling Lan patient, but he was also calm. There was no mistake in his operation. Qi Yaoyang got what he wanted so he decided to give his opponent an opportunity.
Ling Lan had been waiting for a chance all these while. However, when she saw the weakness, she didn't think that this was it.
Qi Yaoyang purposely showed a loophole to Ling Lan but Ling Lan didn't do anything. She maintained her posture. Did she not notice the weak point? Was she just numb? Did he form the wrong conclusions about her?
Qi Yaoyang was puzzled so his hand speed decreased naturally.
Ling Lan's eyes lit up. This was the opportunity. She moved her fingers and fired many times with the beam gun. The beams shot towards Qi Yaoyang furiously.
"This is bad!" Qi Yaoyang had a fright. There was a difference between purposely showing weakness and truthfully displaying a flaw. Qi Yaoyang was on the losing end now.
"It is the N-point Blockade!" Senior Colonel Mi exclaimed in excitement. This move left no room for the opponent to retreat. The opponent could only receive the attacks head-on. The opponent would suffer dire consequences and would leave Ling Lan with at an advantage.
This technique was indeed Qiao Ting's skill, N-point Blockade. However, Ling Lan fired six shots this time. As compared to the four shots that Qiao Ting fired, he was able to expand the range of his attacks. If he was able to get a ballistic sniper rifle, he could unleash the full potential of the skill. Now, with an unsuitable gun, the power was halved.
"Impressive." Senior Colonel Mi nodded fervently. The difficulty of the N-point Blockade was its constant shooting. 3 constant shots would make it a [B] rank technique. A special-class operator would be able to do this as it was quite simple. The 4th shot, on the other hand, was difficult. Many people got stuck at the 4th shot. When a person managed to overcome this obstacle, N-point Blockade would become and [A] rank technique. Most ace operators would be able to reach this level. The 5th shot and the 6th shot could only be achieved after years of practice and experience.
From the 7th shot onwards, every shot became more difficult. The N-point Blockade became a [S] rank technique on the 7th shot. On the 8th shot, it was a [SS] rank technique. On the 9th shot, it was a [SSS] rank technique. Only a few imperial operators managed to complete the 9th shot. Normal people stopped at the 8th shot and couldn't breakthrough anymore.
Ling Lan only fired 6 shots but due to his age, it was already an amazing feat. This technique was something that required a lot of practice and experience. Talent would not allow him to master this technique.
This was the reason Senior Colonel Mi was elated. He had seen many talented people but he rarely saw a talent that was willing to torture himself. These geniuses all had a smooth life so they lacked the mentality to push themselves further. In the end, few of them managed to become formidable. Many gave up halfway and some even died on the battlefield. It was quite unfortunate.
Ling Lan's 6 shots formed a circle and enclosed Qi Yaoyang within. They blocked all routes of retreat for Qi Yaoyang.
Qi Yaoyang was at a disadvantage but he still had a chance. Ling Lan's attack seemed perfect but it was flawed.
A perfect N-point Blockade needed 9 shots. 6 shots were not enough to fully block an imperial mecha master like Qi Yaoyang.
Qi Yaoyang was decisive and rushed towards the gap closest to him in the N-point Blockade. At this moment, he felt a sense of danger. Years of battle had allowed him to gain an instinct towards danger. Without any hesitation, he moved his fingers and his mecha twisted its body. It disappeared into thin air. When it appeared again, it was out of the N-point Blockade range.
Bang! A series of explosion occurred at the spot where Qi Yaoyang was at. A huge ball of smoke appeared there. The force of the explosion was frightening. Qi Yaoyang could feel cold sweat running down his back. If he didn't react fast enough, his mecha would be destroyed. That would be really embarrassing. He would not have the face to continue to assess Ling Lan anymore.
"Ling Xiao, your son can't be underestimated." Qi Yaoyang smiled bitterly. He rarely underestimated his opponent but when he did, he almost paid a huge price. Was this a lesson for him? Was it trying to tell him that he needed to give it his all for every battle?
This time, Qi Yaoyang took Ling Lan as his real opponent. He no longer saw her as a mentee.
Qi Yaoyang suddenly remembered what Ling Xiao said to him. He said that only people with similar capabilities could force the true potential from each other…
F**k. Ling Xiao must be talking about him too. Qi Yaoyang gritted his teeth. He could almost imagine Ling Xiao laughing at his plight.
"This bastard!" Qi Yaoyang scolded with frustration. After that, he calmed himself down. This was the Sky God of the Federation. Someone who was able to manage his emotions perfectly and let himself to enter the best mental state in an instant.
People familiar with Qi Yaoyang would know that once he entered this mental state, he was almost invincible. Only a god-class operator would be able to defeat him.
Senior Colonel Mi was shocked by the explosion. He was also stunned by how Ling Lan's opponent escaped. This was a technique that needed the skills of a god-class mecha master and the Divine Wind system. It was known as the instantaneous teleportation. There was only one non-god class mecha operator that could operate this technique. He was the Sky God of the Federation, Qi Yaoyang!
Was Ling Lan's opponent Qi Yaoyang? Senior Colonel Mi almost fainted from this realization.