Chapter 270 - Setting a Trap?
Concerning this order by General Ling Xiao, the high-ranking military officers already in place were extremely puzzled. As the commander, the highest ranking leader within the division, personally leading a team to oversee an exceedingly minor assessment was definitely beneath him.
Although the First Men's Military Academy was a place to revere in the eyes of the students from the other military academies, for the various army divisions, no matter how talented the students of the First Men's Military Academy were, they still would not draw too much of the divisions' attention ... the several assessments conducted every year were just a routine job to the divisions, not given any special emphasis ...
Of course, if an unmatched prodigy were to appear, the various divisions would most certainly change their lackadaisical attitude, sending out their highly capable men to lead their teams to try and snatch the student from the other divisions. If this had been the case, General Ling Xiao's decision to personally lead a team would still have some degree of reason to it. But this year, there had been no news of any exceptionally outstanding character within the First Men's Military Academy. As such, this trip of General Ling Xiao was truly not worth it in the soldiers' eyes. The general might as well remain in the base camp and continue negotiating with the other commanders for talent — he would probably gain more for his time that way.
However, these men were all people who had been transferred over from various other divisions; they were not close confidants of General Ling Xiao. And so, though they might have objections towards this unexpected decision of General Ling Xiao, not many dared to say anything. And even those who wanted to object found themselves unable to say anything when faced with that warm and kindly smiling face of General Ling Xiao ... cough, cough, cough, saying no to that smiling face really required courage and determination.
In the end, there was naturally no one who actually raised any objections; Ling Xiao extremely easily became the leader of the assessment team. This made Ling Xiao rejoice secretly — it looked like having no close confidants within the division actually had its good points ...
Of course, Ling Xiao was still rational. He knew that using his commander's status to participate in the assessment was extremely inappropriate. Thus, he concealed his name and changed his surname, and rummaged up his past major general uniform for the trip. This made the officers of the 23rd Division let out a great sigh of relief — although it was still rather ostentatious for a major general to lead an assessment team, at least it was not too illogical. This would not humiliate the 23rd Division too much.
When Lan Luofeng found out about Ling Xiao's decision, she was both happy and sad. Happy that Ling Xiao could go to the First Men's Military Academy to visit their daughter Ling Lan personally and see how she was doing, but privately sad that her daughter could not regain her true female identity, instead needing to stay at the First Men's Military Academy and impersonate a man, hanging out with all those men for at least another four years ...
Having her emotions stirred up by all this, Ling Xiao was once again struck by tragedy. That night, he was once again chased out of the bedroom, forced to stay in his study for the entire night ... Of course, Ling Xiao put it nicely by claiming he had work to do, but everyone here knows exactly what was going on.
In the end, when the time came for Ling Xiao to go, Lan Luofeng decisively made Ling Xiao bring along several boxes worth of stuff, instructing Ling Xiao to make sure to hand them over to Ling Lan no matter what. As for how he could do that, that was not a problem Lan Luofeng had to worry about.
Ling Xiao was incapable of denying Lan Luofeng's requests, so amidst bitter chuckles, he brought all of the boxes onto the military ship ... thus, there was now one more thing Ling Xiao had to worry about, and that was how he could deliver so many things to Ling Lan without drawing any attention!
Right then, Ling Lan had no clue that her old man was actually abusing his authority to hide his identity and come to the military academy to conduct assessments. At the moment, Ling Lan's wrath had been incited by a sudden incident ...
Due to Li Shiyu's intervention, Luo Lang, who originally would have needed at least one month to recover, was already spiritedly running about just after ten days.
Still, Ling Lan was worried, so she conducted a thorough examination of Luo Lang's body 1 , and discovered that he was indeed fully recovered without any remnant problems. Even more shocking to Ling Lan was the fact that Luo Lang's physical constitution was actually much improved from its original baseline. This made Ling Lan curious about Li Shiyu, wondering how he had managed to repair Luo Lang's body so well ...
Perhaps, Li Shiyu was someone she could collaborate with! Ling Lan was extremely pleased with Li Shiyu's treatment methods. In order to ensure the lives and safety of her team, tying down a skilful military doctor was necessary 1 . Ling Lan decisively stretched her greedy hands out towards Li Shiyu ...
At this moment, Li Shiyu, who was at the treatment centre researching Li Yingjie's and Qi Long's physical data, suddenly sneezed violently. This made the instructor beside him very worried — was his beloved disciple being tired out too much lately, causing his immune system to be weakened?
His instructor's concern made Li Shiyu somewhat uncertain himself, so he quickly ran a full-body exam on himself. The results showed that all his body levels were above average standards, indicating that he was very healthy. This made Li Shiyu extremely puzzled — why had he sneezed all of a sudden? As the dux of the military medical research specialization, he took every signal from his body very seriously ...
However, since the exam said he was fine, being extremely busy, he very quickly cast this strange sneeze to back of his mind, once again immersing himself into the new treatment plans he had developed. He looked towards the two within the healing pods, mentally cackling in his heart. He would definitely let these two fellows have a good taste of the power of the gene agent S-modification!
At this time, he could not help but regret that Luo Lang had recovered too quickly. He had not expected Luo Lang to react differently to the gene agent S-modification. This surprised him immensely — it was unfortunate that Luo Lang's wounds were not that serious, so one tube of the gene agent S-modification had healed him for the most part, giving Li Shiyu no chance to use a second tube on him, thus causing him to lose one experimental subject.
Li Shiyu was on one side feeling sorry, while Luo Lang, on the other, was seeing the great benefits of that one tube of gene agent S-modification. Those training tasks which Luo Lang had been barely enduring before could actually now be completed without him breaking a sweat. This let the various instructors in charge of physical conditioning set aside their worries. They had been afraid that Luo Lang would not be able to keep up after missing ten days of classes, affecting his final results in the end. Unexpectedly, after going through the arena fight, not only had Luo Lang's physical skills realm stabilised, his body constitution seemed to be much better than before. The instructors were thrilled by this ...
Qi Long still had not recovered enough to return, Han Jijyun and Lin Zhong-qing were in different specializations, while Boss Ling Lan had already received an exemption for the physical condition assessments and so did not attend physical training courses. Thus, over these past few days, Luo Lang was basically going to class and leaving class with Xie Yi.
On this day, Xie Yi and Luo Lang were just about to return together to the dormitories when Luo Lang was abruptly called out by a student on some matter. Initially, Luo Lang had wanted to ask Xie Yi to wait, but then, he suddenly received a notification from the treatment centre, telling him to hurry to the Military Medical Research Centre for a follow-up examination.
Luo Lang found it a little strange — back when he had recovered, Li Shiyu had said with a constipated expression that 'you can leave now, don't come here anymore!'. Why then would Li Shiyu call him back now for a follow-up?
Luo Lang wondered about this for a moment, but still decided to go once. Regardless of whether there was a follow-up, he would be able to find out what was going on by going there. Thus, he said goodbye to Xie Yi and left on his own.
Luo Lang came to the closest hover car stop near him and boarded a car. The military academy was just like a city of its own — relying on one's two legs to get to the centre would take one to two hours, so Luo Lang naturally chose the convenience of public transportation.
The hover car brought him all the way to the gates of the Military Medical Research Centre. He had just disembarked when a blue-uniformed senior rushed forward to greet him, asking, "Luo Lang, right?"
Luo Lang nodded and said, "Yes, that's me!"
"Dux Li asked me to take you straight to the examination centre. Please come with me." The senior indicated for Luo Lang to follow him.
Luo Lang did not think much of it, following the blue-uniformed senior for a distance, where they then saw a hover car parked not too far from them. The senior explained, "The examination centre is rather far. To save time, we'll take a hover car there."
During the final stages of his treatment, Luo Lang had also been to the examination centre before. Thus, he knew that it was indeed quite a distance away, and so got into the car without any objection. The two of them split up to sit in the front and back row, with the senior seated in front. After the senior keyed in their destination into the hover car's A.I., the hover car swiftly raced off.
However, very soon, Luo Lang noticed something strange. The scenery passing outside the window was extremely unfamiliar, not at all like the route he had taken to the examination centre previously. Luo Lang's heart clenched and he asked, "This road doesn't seem to be going to the examination centre."
"Before going to the examination centre, I need to go to the dormitories first to collect an examination study report," said the blue-uniformed senior, turning his head back to smile apologetically, "This report has to be submitted to the examination centre today. I had originally planned to send it along with you, but I unexpectedly forgot to bring it with me when I left earlier. I'm sorry for making you accompany me for this extra trip, but don't worry, your scheduled examination time is half an hour later. My living quarters isn't far. We'll be able to rush back in time."
Hearing this, Luo Lang replied, "So that's how it is. I understand."
Though he said that, Luo Lang had already sensed something fishy about the situation. He began thinking back on the notification he had received earlier and this person who had come out to greet him. It was all actually quite puzzling — if he truly needed to have a follow-up examination, why would it be a staff member from the treatment centre who contacted him? Mind you, in order to track their recovery, Li Shiyu had taken down the contact numbers of all three of them, so Li Shiyu could have just sent the message to him personally ...
Moreover, if he was supposed to go to the examination centre from the start, why didn't they ask him to go there directly? Why had they asked him to come to the Military Medical Research Centre first? The more Luo Lang thought about it, the more suspicious things seemed, so he said, "Why don't we do this, Senior? You go to your dorm to retrieve your report, while I'll head to the examination centre first. Maybe Dux Li has some instructions, so it would be better for me to get there earlier. There should be another hover car stop in front. You can just let me down there."
The senior turned his head and said with a smile, "It's fine. Dux Li is not at the examination centre. This is just a routine examination. Once the report is out, it just needs to be sent to him."
With that, Luo Lang could already confirm that the other was definitely not sent by Li Shiyu. This was likely a ploy by some person or faction against him. He sifted carefully through his memories of this period of time since entering the academy — he had always trailed Qi Long, desperately working towards completing his physical training. He had no memory of offending anyone, so this scheme should not be directed at him personally ... could it be that there was some other faction who wanted to target their New Cadet Regiment, thus wanting to take him as a hostage to threaten Boss Lan?
How could Luo Lang allow himself to be taken just like this? With that thought, he suddenly pointed towards the front, his complexion paling dramatically as he shouted, "Senior, what's that?"
The blue-uniformed senior quickly turned his head around to look, but saw nothing there. In his bewilderment, he suddenly felt a pain at the back of his head, his sight grew dark, and he fell over unconscious ...
1. T/C: *mutters* Mind out of gutter, mind out of gutter.
2. The author really uses the term 'tying' here. <.< Oh my, is it just me, or is the author on an innuendo roll?
Chapter 271 - Become Friends?
With a flip of his body, Luo Lang was at the front seat. He pulled out the information the other had keyed in earlier, trying to change their destination, but found that it had already been locked in by the other, with no way of changing it.
Of course, this was just a measure which would work against regular cadets like Luo Lang who were not in the hacker specialization. A competent hacker would still be able to crack this relatively basic lock, but unfortunately, Luo Lang did not have the skills on this front. He could only watch helplessly as the hover car flew towards the destination the other had set, unbelievably frustrated.
Luo Lang understood that to stop the travel route was impossible, unless he used violent means to destroy the hover car ... but, extremely rationally, he rejected this idea, because the hover car was flying rapidly at an altitude of over 100 metres. The moment it was broken apart, he would plummet along with the car. At this height, no matter how confident Luo Lang was, he could not guarantee he would be able to land safely. If things did not work out, he might once again be gravely injured.
Luo Lang really did not want to end up in Li Shiyu's hands again. Although the other truly had superior skills in treatment, his methods of tormenting others were also extremely masterful. Most importantly, 'for your own good' was putting it nicely — you really had no way of resisting, and would even have to grudgingly thank him for the torment after the fact ...
Besides that, Luo Lang also really wanted to know who the opponent was. An unknown enemy was most often the most fearsome and troublesome type. If he could find out some information on the opponent, it would undoubtedly be a great help to the New Cadet Regiment. More importantly, Luo Lang was also afraid that if he escaped this time, the opponent might turn their sights on the other members of the New Cadet Regiment. Other than Ling Lan, Qi Long, and Wu Jiong, Luo Lang's strength was obviously a bracket higher compared to the other members, and so his chances of escaping were also much better than any other member. For these reasons, Luo Lang decided to brave the tiger's den to probe the opponent's identity.
Having made his decision, Luo Lang no longer concerned himself with the hover car. He tied up the unconscious blue-uniformed senior by his side using the other's belt — the binding method naturally being the one Ling Lan had taught them — and then dumped the other in the backseat. Then, he stared straight ahead with a grim expression, silently trying to memorize the path of the hover car.
The hover car moved very swiftly. In less than 20 minutes, the hover car began to slow down from its initial rapid speed. Luo Lang readied his guard, because he knew he was about to arrive at the destination the opponent had set — the enemy was upon him.
Although the journey had taken less than 20 minutes, with the hover car's speed, they were likely to have already travelled over several hundred kilometres, already very far away from the Military Medical Research Centre. The surroundings were extremely unfamiliar to Luo Lang — towering mountains and dense forest were all around them. Besides the wailing cry of some unknown beast, the surroundings were so silent that it was rather unnerving. Luo Lang used the optical supercomputer of the hover car to zoom in on the environment, and found that other than mountains and trees, there were only more mountains and trees, no sign of human presence whatsoever.
Luo Lang's brow began to furrow tightly — he had originally thought that the hover car would bring them directly to the opponent's main camp, or perhaps a temporary outpost. Unexpectedly, he had been brought to such a bleak and remote area; this left Luo Lang at somewhat of a loss.
The hover car was slowing down more and more, even as its height was slowly descending. In the end, the hover car manoeuvred into a narrow gorge, and after passing through it, Luo Lang was greeted by the sight of an average-sized patch of grass. It was lush and verdant, with countless small blooms of myriad colours dotting this sheet of green, giving observers a sense of extraordinary beauty.
At the edge of the grassy patch was a sea of trees. Luo Lang could hear the sound of a babbling brook coming out from the trees, causing everything to seem that much more beautiful and harmonious. This made Luo Lang's initially high-strung vigilance ease a little, but only for a split second — Luo Lang very quickly had his guard up high once more, no longer lingering in his appreciation for that patch of lovely grass. Instead, he paid close attention to the movements of the hover car beneath him.
The hover car slowly moved onto the grass-patch and began to descend until it had landed fully. After that, the hover car emitted a mechanical voice, "You have reached your destination. Please disembark."
Following this announcement, the car doors swung open. Luo Lang did not choose to get off, instead turning on the A.I. again, trying to see if he could enter a new address. In this extremely foreign place, Luo Lang's first move was to try to implement a Plan B — he wanted to set it so the hover car would automatically return from this place back to the dormitories after waiting for 10 minutes.
But very quickly, Luo Lang found that he had failed. The other had already thought of this possibility, and had programmed the A.I. to shut off on its own the moment the hover car arrived at its destination, switching into parked mode. It would not accept any new instructions from Luo Lang, so Luo Lang really had no choice but to remain.
Seeing this, Luo Lang could not help but be chilled by the opponent's attention to detail. It should be known that the hover cars of the military academy would never turn off their engines. They were powered by photonic energy — whether it was sunlight or starlight, all of it would give the hover cars power. Therefore, the hover cars could theoretically continue driving on forever, unless some other mechanical issue occurred or their A.I. programming malfunctioned.
Luo Lang knew that this situation now meant that the opponent must have a high-level hacker on their side, one capable of modifying the operating system of the hover car's A.I., thus forcing the car to power down automatically when it arrived at its destination.
This arrangement of the enemy forced Luo Lang to stay, because there was nothing at all around here 1 — no village-houses, no stores, no hover car stops ... in other words, once someone came here, other than taking the hover car which had originally brought them here back, they would not be able to summon a new hover car over to pick them up, unless they used their communicators to request assistance from the academy mainframe ...
Luo Lang was almost certain that his communicator would be unable to contact the outside world by now. The opponent had planned things so thoroughly, so it was unlikely they would have missed such a large hole in their plan.
Sure enough, when he peeked down at his communicator, his communicator was displaying an alert saying 'signal disrupted, device out of contact'. Who knew how long his device had been flashing that alert — Luo Lang's attention had just been elsewhere, which was why he had not noticed till now.
Luo Lang knew that a tough fight was sure to follow. The opponent had set such an elaborate trap to draw him here, they would not just want to meet him for a chat. He sighed silently, getting off the hover car with his sense on high alert, stepping foot on this lovely patch of grass.
With his back to the hover car, he swept his gaze over the perimeter on all three sides before him. Seeing no one, he was frowning in puzzlement when he suddenly heard the sound of a hover car coming from behind him. Luo Lang snapped his head around and saw three hover cars flying swiftly towards him. In the end, the three cars circled around to surround him before they slowly descended to land.
Soon, 7 or 8 people had disembarked from the three hover cars. The person in the lead was dressed in a pressed white uniform, and he was smiling as he looked at Luo Lang. His figure was tall and stately, his face extraordinarily handsome — he definitely possessed the figure and appearance that Luo Lang dreamed of having — but his sparkling, flirty eyes disturbed Luo Lang. Those eyes just did not seem to fit the other's overall appearance somehow, resulting in a huge deduction in the overall sense of perfection.
The other youths were all dressed in blue uniforms. They looked to be about twenty years old, definitely senior cadets of the military academy; it was just hard to tell which year exactly they were from. They stood around almost randomly, but still keeping Luo Lang completely within their circle.
Luo Lang stared warily at the group. This behaviour of the other side let him know that these people were most definitely the ones who had tricked him here. The two sides stared at each other silently for 2 to 3 minutes, neither side saying a word.
Luo Lang clenched his teeth. From the looks of it, the opponent was not planning to speak up first. Thus, he decided to take the initiative. Looking towards the obvious leader of this group, the white-uniformed youth, who must be a dux of who knows what specialization, he asked coldly, "Was it you who set up this trap to bring me here?"
The white-clothed youth laughed and clapped his hands, "Bingo! How clever!"
"Bringing me here, what business do you have with me? I think, I have never seen you before, so I should not have offended you somehow," Luo Lang said.
The white-clothed youth laughed again and said, "Haha, of course not! Actually, I just wanted to become friends with you."
Luo Lang scoffed at these words, "Become friends? Using this kind of despicable method?"
The white-clothed youth frowned, and said sullenly, "Could it be that Yong-guang 1 didn't tell you that I wanted to discuss something with you?"
"Using a text message to trick me into going to the Military Medical Research Centre, then using the excuse of an examination at the examination centre to trick me onto a hover car and bringing me here by force. What do you think?"
Hearing all this, the white-clothed youth said exasperatedly, "Yong-guang misunderstood my intentions! I just said that I especially admired your performance during the arena fight, actually being able to achieve an upset, defeating a stronger opponent. This deserves my respect. I most admire your type of resilient and tenacious spirit. So, I told him that if I had a chance, I'd like to get to know you, maybe become friends or something ..."
At this point, the white-clothed youth began muttering to himself, "Yong-guang clearly said that he could help me do that ... how did things turn out this way?" So saying, he abruptly raised his head and asked Luo Lang, "Where's Yong-guang? Let me ask him what exactly is going on? I had clearly asked him to invite you here. This place is my favourite spot. I thought you might like it too, which is why I arranged to meet you here."
The white-clothed youth's expression was earnest, as if the truth was just as he said. With that explanation, Luo Lang began to doubt whether things were really like that — was it this Yong-guang who had made a mistake?
However, Boss Lan's cautionary words very quickly rang out in his mind. 'When you are still uncertain whether an other is a friend or foe, you need to guard against the other as if they were an enemy ...'
Luo Lang's heart clenched, cold sweat breaking out along his back. Without knowing it, he had slowly been letting down his guard. He abruptly stared penetratingly at the seemingly earnest face of that white-clothed youth, and said coldly, "No need. He is my hostage now. Why don't you tell me what you intend?"
Luo Lang's wary gaze made the lips of the white-clothed youth twitch, his gaze quickly becoming bleak as he said, "I really had no bad intentions." That said, he bowed his head somewhat mournfully.
"If you have no bad intentions, then help me unlock the settings of the hover car. It's getting late, I should go back now," responded Luo Lang coldly. No matter what the other said, he was determined not to believe it. Who would do such a bizarre thing as this just to make friends? It was suspicious however he looked at it.
Resigned, the white-clothed youth said, "Okay. I really don't know how things turned out this way. All of this was done by Yong-guang. You need to wake Yong-guang up, he should be able to resolve this."
Luo Lang peered intently at the white-clothed youth for a long moment. Then, without shifting his line of sight, his hand reached into the backseat of the hover car behind him, and smacked that person called Yong-guang awake.
1. 前不着村后不着店: Original phrase translates literally to 'no village before and no inn behind'. Basically, nobody at all around for miles.
2. 永光: FYI, this guy, who is likely the unconscious dude in the car right now, has a name which translates directly into 'forever light' ('light' as in bright light).
Chapter 272 - The Mission of the New Cadet Regiment!
Yong-guang moaned and opened his eyes. Waking to find himself all tied up, his face paled, but just as he was about to shout, he noticed his companions standing right outside the car. Joy bloomed on his face as he cried out, "Elder Brother Xi, save me!"
The white-clothed youth saw this and his face turned stony as he barked, "Yong-guang, I ask you. Didn't I say I wanted to become friends with Luo Lang? Asking you to help me invite him out for a meeting, why did you make such a mess of it?"
Yong-guang's gaze flickered. He looked towards Luo Lang, then looked back at the white-clothed youth, and after some thought, he said, "Honestly, I had wanted to invite Luo Lang out properly, but the companion by his side was very wary and cautious. Every time I tried to approach, that person would stop me. Even though I said I had no bad intentions, only wanting to get to know him, the other just would not believe me. In the end, I had no choice but to do things this way. I was originally thinking to explain the situation after we arrived at the destination, but I unexpectedly angered Luo Lang, who knocked me unconscious along the way."
At this point, Yong-guang bowed his head dejectedly and apologised, saying, "I'm sorry, Luo Lang, for misleading you."
"All of this was really just your idea?" Despite the other's explanation, he did not manage to make Luo Lang relax his guard. Luo Lang's right hand was still gripping the other's neck securely — at any strange movement, he would be able to finish off the other instantly. This action of his was also a silent warning to the other people there to not move recklessly, for he had a hostage in hand.
In response to Luo Lang's question, Yong-guang said, "Yes, I'm from the hacker specialization, so I could only use a hacker's method to invite you out." Yong-guang was rather proud of his own methods, but very quickly deflated again, "I was originally just thinking of using the Military Medical Research Centre's system to send you a message, but that system is just too hard to crack. In the end, I could only use the treatment centre's system. Luckily you did not suspect anything."
Yong-guang's words explained why he had received the message from the treatment centre; this rather convinced Luo Lang of the veracity of his words. However, he also began chiding himself internally — it was just as Boss Lan had said — he was all a fighter's brawn and courage, without a strategist's mind 1 . He had not noticed such a simple and obvious flaw ... if not for the fact that the subsequent events had been too out of the ordinary, he might not have noticed right up till the very end.
Luo Lang made a decision then and there that he would definitely go find Han Jijyun when he had a chance for some remedial lessons. Even if he could not become someone as astute as Han Jijyun, he just could not let an opponent use such a simple scheme to lure him out. This was too disgraceful! He could already foresee the teasing he would receive from his companions when he returned.
"That hover car was also your doing?" Luo Lang continued to ask.
Yong-guang's downtrodden demeanour was swept away in an instant. Beaming with pride, he said, "Of course! All this is just a piece of cake 1 !" With regards to his own specialization, he was still very confident in his abilities.
The other's reactions chipped away a little more of Luo Lang's scepticism. As if aware that the ice on Luo Lang's face was thawing, the white-clothed youth immediately spoke up to say, "You see, Luo Lang, I really had no bad intentions. I just felt that we would click, so I wanted to get to know you." Saying this, there was actually a trace of hurt on the youth's face.
Seeing this, Luo Lang's heart could not help but soften, but Ling Lan's stern expression once more floated to the surface of his mind. That cold gaze of his pierced Luo Lang's inner heart, causing his heart to clench once more, causing him to once again harden his somewhat softening heart.
When the white-uniformed youth saw mental clarity reassert itself in Luo Lang's eyes once more, he could not help but jerk back, his initially wounded expression stiffening for just a moment ...
Ling Lan, who was currently in the mecha world performing a mission, suddenly stopped moving, causing Little Four to ask in confusion, "Boss, what's wrong?"
"My spiritual power has been stirred!" Ling Lan answered with a frown.
"What happened?" Little Four was very shocked. He had not sensed any people with spectre abilities near them in the virtual world; it was impossible for anyone to have attacked Boss.
"Could it be something from the virtual world?" Ling Lan asked Little Four. When it came to the virtual world, Little Four knew better than she did.
"No, there are no spectres within a hundred square li of us. Unless this world has another entity like me around, but even so, it should not be able to escape my sensors," replied Little Four with confidence.
Ling Lan's brow scrunched up even tighter. If it did not come from the virtual world, then where had this attack come from?
Right then, Ling Lan had already forgotten that, back during the grand armed melee, in order to protect Qi Long and the others, she had unleashed several strands of her spiritual power, lodging them within the minds of her team members. Back then, Ling Lan had been afraid they would get too caught up in fighting that they might make a wrong decision during a critical moment. Thus, she had left these spiritual power strands in their minds to jolt them into awareness again at those critical moments ...
Originally, she was supposed to take those strands back once the grand armed melee ended. However, by virtue of the chain of events that had followed — her being targeted for an assassination, being seriously injured and unconscious and leaving for home, and then when she woke up, she was immediately taken in by Mu Shui-qing as a disciple to train in Divine Command — she had forgotten to seek out her companions to reclaim those spiritual power reserves of hers.
With the passage of time, these spiritual power strands had been absorbed by her companions' spiritual power, becoming part of them. However, there was an unintended benefit — whenever her companions were attacked by a spiritual power user, Ling Lan would sense it. At present though, Ling Lan did not know about this, which was why she was extremely puzzled over the source of this attack.
"I need to log off. Something just doesn't feel right." Ling Lan decided to listen to her gut, immediately logging off from the virtual world.
********
Inside the villa of Ling Lan's team, one room on the third floor was specially used for the login pods to the virtual world. The moment Xie Yi returned to the team home, he immediately ran to the third floor. As long as it was not during meal time, Boss Lan, Luo Lang, and the others would be in the virtual world, and Xie Yi needed to find Boss Lan before Luo Lang heard of this matter to discuss how they could advise Luo Lang to accept the mission set by the military academy this time.
It turned out that ten days later would be the first assessment for the 5th year seniors who applied to the various army divisions for enlistment. It could be said that this would certainly affect the futures of those students, as well as affect the reputation of the First Men's Military Academy.
This was because those students who passed this first assessment would obtain the best resources the divisions had to offer and gain the best cultivation, and be deployed to the best troop for their development. In comparison, the assessments after that would not provide such great treatment anymore. This was why all the military academies would put their all into doing their best for this first assessment.
The assessment teams sent by the various army divisions would not only come to the First Men's Military Academy, but would also set up station at several other military academies. Those locations would gather all the enlistment hopefuls from the other military academies for assessment — the competition could be said to be extremely fierce. Thus, every year, the military academies placed the greatest importance on this very first assessment. It should be known that, in the past, the students of the First Men's Military Academy would dominate half the passing group. This was why the First Men's Military Academy had always reigned supreme over the other military academies.
The First Men's Military Academy naturally hoped to continue extending their reign of good repute, hence placing a high standard on all aspects of the assessment teams' visit. The school hoped to have everything as perfect as possible, so it could leave a good impression on all the assessment officers of the various army divisions, in hopes that the officers would be merciful during the assessment of their students. Meanwhile, the most essential piece was the welcoming reception ...
As the First Men's Military Academy consisted entirely of manly men, the school could not do as other co-ed military academies did, sending out beautiful ladies to receive the officers. This time, they received news that their sworn rivals, the Federal Co-ed Military Academy had sent out the so-called loveliest female squad to welcome the officers. This made the top ranks of the First Men's Military Academy extremely agitated.
If they still sent out some rough and hairy boys to welcome the officers this time, with this stark contrast, would the examiners be irritated? Thinking that this could affect their cadets' results, their hearts were burning with desperation, as they racked their brains to think of a counterplan 1 . Heaven knows who suggested it, but someone mentioned that there were some among the boys who were graceful and beautiful too, such as the 1st year Luo Lang. (Due to his participation in the wagered fight, quite a few people knew of Luo Lang now. Even the top ranks of the school administration had caught wind of him.) The administrators latched onto this suggestion like their lives depended on it, swiftly settling on seeking out some of the more refined and gentle-looking youths to handle this matter.
In the end, after some study, everyone decided that the 1st year freshmen were still the most suited for this job. The freshmen were innocent, not as slick as the older cadets — so if they really ended up making any faux pas, on account of their young ages, those officers would likely be able to overlook it.
Finally, this matter was handed over to the New Cadet Regiment to execute. Who asked Luo Lang to be a member of the New Cadet Regiment? Moreover, the New Cadet Regiment was the only organisation the freshmen of this year would acknowledge — who else would the administrators seek out if not them?
Xie Yi had been called out by a student for precisely this reason. Their first year homeroom teacher had asked that student to pass on the word, calling Xie Yi to the homeroom teacher's office. (Ever since Qi Long and Li Yingjie had been injured, Xie Yi had temporarily taken their place to become Wu Jiong's assistant, helping Wu Jiong to handle the matters of the New Cadet Regiment, which was why the teacher would seek out Xie Yi.)
The moment Xie Yi arrived at the homeroom teacher's office, he saw Wu Jiong there as well, giving him a hint that this was likely regarding the New Cadet Regiment. Reality proved that Xie Yi was right. The homeroom teacher plainly told them the intentions of the top ranks of the military academy, tasking the New Cadet Regiment with the job of receiving the examiners. Additionally, he kept subtly and pointedly bringing up how excellent Luo Lang was, strongly suggesting that it would be most appropriate for him to lead the welcoming committee.
Wu Jiong and Xie Yi could only smile wryly — the homeroom teacher's words had let them understand clearly what the top file of the military academy was after. They had set their hopes on the lovely androgynous face of Luo Lang ... However, Luo Lang had always hated others judging him by that feminine face of his. The two of them really had no idea what Luo Lang would do when he found out about the administrators' plan. Would he go berserk and flip the principal's desk in anger?
After that meeting, the two of them discussed things over, and felt that Boss Lan was likely the only person who could handle Luo Lang for this. Thus, Xie Yi had rushed back to the villa and straight up to the third floor to find Ling Lan.
Xie Yi had just stepped into the login pod room when he saw Boss Lan's exclusive login pod swing open. Ling Lan sat up primly, prepared to climb out of the login pod.
Seeing this, Xie Yi said happily, "Boss Lan, I was just looking for you to discuss something." That said, Xie Yi shuffled over to lift up Ling Lan's towel from the counter and passed it to Ling Lan.
"What's up?" Ling Lan smoothly accepted Xie Yi's offering of her towel, and began walking as she asked. She was moving towards the restroom to one side, prepared to wash up.
1. 只有武夫之勇,却无智者之谋: Pretty much as translated. The Chinese equivalent of 'all brawn and no brains', though it's less harsh I think, since it's more 'having the valour of a warrior, but not the mind of a strategist', which just means one's strengths lay elsewhere. It's not easy to be either warrior or strategist after all.
2. 小case: The original phrase here is 'small case'. Yes, the English word was actually used in the raw. Chinese modern slang for a minor case, something really easy to do, a trivial thing.
3. T/C: Oh what little faith these people have in the professionalism of their colleagues in service. =.=
Chapter 273 - Where Is Luo Lang?
Xie Yi quickly hurried over and said, "It's like this ..." He explained the task the military academy had set for the New Cadet Regiment to Ling Lan, "The top rank of the academy has set their sights on Luo Lang, wanting Luo Lang to be in charge of the reception team. The intention being that those going to welcome the examiners should be those who are more on the graceful and slender side."
The hand Ling Lan was using to wipe her face with her towel paused for a beat, then swiped roughly once more as she said with a cold chuckle, "That bunch of top ranks must have something wrong with their brains. The assessment officers of the divisions are here to see brave and skilful warriors, not this superficial nonsense."
Xie Yi nodded emphatically, "Right? Wu Jiong and I felt right then that something was off, but before we could refuse, the instructor had implied that this was a mission the New Cadet Regiment must carry out."
"Unable to refuse?" asked Ling Lan, her eyebrows locking up. She really disliked this mission — Luo Lang would likely be extremely resistant to this mission as well.
"If we could refuse, we would have pushed it off a long time ago. The instructor said that, as long as we complete this mission, the school will guarantee that within one year, no other faction will bother us." Xie Yi shared the benefit the school was promising as well, though this was of course still a type of threat.
"Hmph, faking generosity by piggybacking others. They know very well that Leiting will help us settle everything in these two years. Actually just promising this, what great planning," commented Ling Lan with a cold huff. She threw her towel into the washbasin and strode out of the washroom.
Xie Yi hurriedly rushed forward to clean the towel in the washbasin a little, wringing it dry and hanging it back in its place, as he replied, "Right? But with the school's promise, some factions might make less underhanded moves behind the scenes." Leiting would only help them resolve the conflicts on the surface, so the New Cadet Regiment would still have to handle any manoeuvres behind the scenes themselves.
In this half a month after the wagered fight, there had indeed been no disturbances on the surface, but behind the scenes, the regiment members had still received taunting and bullying to a certain extent. It was just that the perpetrators seemed to have no clear connection to any of the factions, seeming to be acting purely on personal grudges. But Wu Jiong and Xie Yi knew very well that things were not that simple. Simply staying on top of all these miscellaneous trivial matters had given them a lot of stress. Thus, this vow of the military academy was still rather attractive for the New Cadet Regiment.
"If our New Cadet Regiment is given a stable year's time, allowing the regiment members to successfully complete their final exams, in the second year, we will no longer have to be afraid," added Wu Jiong.
This kind of backstage harassment might not bother the top ranks of the New Cadet Regiment much, but they were still extremely detrimental to the lower ranking members. Mind you, the first year was the most critical physical conditioning phase, which was of the utmost importance to every freshman. If they did not have a secure environment to complete these physical training courses, it might affect their final assessment results. This was why Wu Jiong and Xie Yi had agreed to the mission in the end — for the sakes of their regiment members, it was necessary for them to suffer some things.
Ling Lan walked over to sit on a sofa at one side. As she listened to Xie Yi, she could not help but knock on the arms of the sofa, thinking for a long while before saying, "Looks like, Luo Lang will have to take one for the team." This statement sealed Luo Lang's tragic fate for the near future.
At these words, Xie Yi's expression eased. He took a seat on the sofa beside Ling Lan's and sighed, "He'll just have to. For the sake of our New Cadet Regiment's future!" That said, he added obsequiously, "Of course, this matter still requires you, Boss Lan, to act. Luo Lang listens to you best."
Ling Lan threw a cold glance at him in response, frightening Xie Yi so much that he quickly ducked his head, afraid to make eye contact.
Frankly, they had only called on Boss Lan to act because they had no other choice. That punk Luo Lang may look as soft and gentle as water, but he was actually a firecracker, liable to explode with a tiny spark. If they tried passing on the news themselves, they might only manage to touch on the subject — before they managed to elaborate and clarify the whole mission, Luo Lang might already have flipped the table in anger.
However, Boss Lan was different. Luo Lang adored Boss Lan, and listened well to Boss Lan's words. If it came from Boss Lan, regardless of how unhappy Luo Lang was with the news, he would still obey docilely and complete the mission perfectly. This was why Wu Jiong and Xie Yi would seek out Ling Lan for help.
At the heart of it, whether it was those of Ling Lan's team or those of the New Cadet Regiment, they all had a kind of unquestionable trust in Ling Lan. In their minds, as long as a task was taken on by Boss Lan, any challenge would no longer be challenging ... what blind confidence they had in Ling Lan!
Seeing Xie Yi's cowed expression, Ling Lan turned her gaze aside and said dispassionately, "Only this once." Ling Lan did not wish for them to develop the habit of relying on her. There would come a day when they would go their separate ways and fight on their own.
At these words, Xie Yi finally smiled. With Boss Lan's promise, this matter was sure to go off without a hitch. He decided that he would inform Wu Jiong right after this, and ask him to select some of the more genteel looking freshmen with refined manners, to cooperate with Luo Lang in completing this mission.
At this moment, Ling Lan was also mentally considering what to do. She did not want to be a tyrant boss, assigning missions to her followers by force without caring what they thought. She wanted to ask Luo Lang's opinion — if Luo Lang was at all reluctant, she decided that she would go forth together with Luo Lang to complete this welcoming mission.
Ling Lan knew very well that if she too was in the welcoming committee, Luo Lang would definitely have no more mental resistance to the mission, and would instead follow her enthusiastically. Besides, as a girl, Ling Lan did not feel there was anything disgraceful about accepting this mission 1 .
Ling Lan would make this decision because she felt that she herself matched the conditions the top ranks of the academy had set for the welcoming committee. With the union of her parents' strengths, when she looked into a mirror, even she could not help but be enchanted by her own lovely face ...
Indeed, Ling Lan was pretty good-looking, and her slender frame had none of the bulky muscularity of the typical male. By all accounts, she indeed fit the criteria very well, but she had forgotten her own millennium-long unmelting ice block of a face, as well as her piercing gaze which chilled others to the bone. Just standing there, she exuded a boundless air of domination ... how then could she possess the gentle and accommodating air the upper ranks of the military academy requested?
It had to be said that Ling Lan was actually quite tragic — having such a lovely face, but no one dared to even look straight at her ... The domineering air coming from her body completely overshadowed her unbelievably beautiful face. At first glance, all everyone could think was that this person was really cool, really strong, really dominant! Forever unrelated to the phrases beautiful, pretty, or adorable ...
After thinking about it, Ling Lan decided to first discuss things over with Luo Lang to see what the other thought. So, she asked Xie Yi, "Where's Luo Lang? Why didn't he come back together with you?"
Xie Yi was taken aback. "Luo Lang told me he would leave first. Did he not come back here?" He quickly stood up and ran to Luo Lang's login pod to take a look. There really was no one inside. Xie Yi instantly frowned and said, "This fellow, where has he gone?"
Ling Lan also frowned. Luo Lang typically would not run around needlessly — could it be that something had popped up? Ling Lan rapped on the arm of the sofa once more and said, "Tell me the situation when you last saw Luo Lang."
Xie Yi carefully recalled the scene for a moment, then replied, "I had originally asked Luo Lang to wait for me, because the homeroom teacher passed a message for me to meet him at his office. Luo Lang had said yes at first, but then, soon after, he said he had something to do and asked to leave first. Since I did not know what the homeroom teacher wanted, or how long it would take, I agreed. After saying goodbye to him, I went to the homeroom teacher, while Luo Lang left the training field."
"Initially agreeing to wait for you, but then saying that he had something to do and leaving ... this means that within that brief window of time, there was a change in Luo Lang's state of mind," Ling Lan analysed.
"Yes, I wonder if Luo Lang suddenly recalled something, or did something happen within that period of time to change his mind?" Xie Yi mused. Suddenly thinking of something, his face paled and he said, "Could he have been tricked away by that person?"
Ling Lan's face darkened. "What's this?"
Xie Yi quickly told Ling Lan all about the senior who had been constantly trying to find a way to approach Luo Lang over the past few days. Back then, he had already found the other rather fishy, which was why he had actively stopped him. However, the other's intentions were extremely concealed, so all he had were speculations, hence he had not spoken to Luo Lang of it. At this point, Xie Yi was filled with regret. He should have warned Luo Lang earlier to be careful.
"Luo Lang is not that foolish. A stranger would not be able to trick him away so easily. There must be some reason which he could not refuse ..." Ling Lan did not think Luo Lang was that gullible. Even if Luo Lang was indeed all dumb innards behind an intelligent face 1 , he still did not lack basic judgment.
"Wait here for a moment. I'll log onto the virtual network to see if I can find any useful information." Ling Lan decided to depend on Little Four for this, lying back down into the virtual login pod. She was prepared to let Little Four use the virtual network to look up the various surveillance stations in the military academy, to see where Luo Lang had gone.
Xie Yi nodded, settling down quietly onto the sofa. No matter how anxious he was, he did not make any sound. He knew what Ling Lan was heading into the virtual world to do — their entire team knew that Boss Lan was most likely also a very high-level hacker — perhaps Boss would be able to find some clue within the virtual world.
********
Meanwhile, Luo Lang, who was facing off against a crowd, had not let down his guard due to the warning jolt he had received from Ling Lan's spiritual power. After listening to what the white-clothed youth had to say, he contemplated silently for a moment before replying, "I really want to believe what you're saying, but I cannot under these circumstances. If what you say is true, then unseal the hover car and let me go home."
The white-clothed youth responded sadly, "Luo Lang, is it really impossible for us to become friends?"
At these words, Luo Lang laughed. This laugh was unbelievably lovely and charming, causing the white-clothed youth's gaze to darken briefly, becoming deep and unfathomable, but his loss of composure only lasted for a split second. Not thinking too much about this, Luo Lang missed this swift change.
Luo Lang said amidst his laughter, "If you really want to be friends with me, come find me openly. I will not reject someone who sincerely wants to become friends."
The white-clothed youth instantly broke out into a smile, making his face incomparably sunny and bright. This caused Luo Lang's impression of him to rise by several notches once more. Still, even so, his vigilance was not reduced — that cold and piercing gaze of Ling Lan's made him fear to relax.
"Yup, I'll let Yong-guang unseal the hover car then. I'll come find you tomorrow, is that okay?" said the white-clothed youth with his sunny smile, his tone extremely earnest and sincere. Perhaps he was too earnest, for no matter how one looked, he exuded an air of silliness.
Luo Lang only continued to smile politely without saying a word, waiting for the other to fulfil his promise.
1. T/C: This sentence ... offends me somewhat. What do you mean 'as a girl'? As if it's a matter of fact for girls to play this sort of role? Grrr ... Aaaanyway, don't mind me. Our Ling Lan can be rather traditional minded sometimes. >.<
2. 聪明面孔笨肚肠: This is my first time seeing this phrase, and I found it hilarious. A must-keep! XD The translation I used is pretty literal already, just edited to improve the flow in context. FYI, the original goes 'smart face dumb insides'.
Chapter 274 - Tianji Mecha Clan!
Yong-guang heard what the white-clothed youth said, and could not help but smile bitterly and say, "Being all tied up like this, how can I unseal anything? At least untie my hands." He turned his head to look at Luo Lang and said, "Since Elder Brother Xi has already said this, why don't you untie my hands so I can help you unseal the hover car?"
The white-clothed youth's gaze settled on Luo Lang's body once more, filled with anticipation.
Luo Lang hesitated briefly — he saw the three other hover cars not too far off and an idea sparked. "No need to unseal this one. Aren't there three perfectly fine cars over there? If you don't mind, let one of them take me back!"
The white-clothed youth nodded at this and said "Don't mind, of course I don't mind! You can choose whichever of the three hover cars you like."
Luo Lang smiled, but did not point out which car he wanted. He carefully lifted Yong-guang, using him as a hostage to block his body, carefully retreating. When he was not too far away from the three hover cars, he jumped backwards abruptly, leaping to the side of one of the hover cars. Pulling the door open, he continued to keep Yong-guang as a shield before him as he slowly retreated into the car.
Luo Lang sat down, and seeing the other side still standing where they were without moving a single step, he could not help but relax. It looked like they truly had no ill intent — his tightly clenched hand loosened.
Right then, Yong-guang, who had been docilely cooperative all this while, sensed the weakening of the grip around his neck. With a forceful twist of his body, he wrested free of Luo Lang's grasp, throwing himself bodily towards the ground ...
Luo Lang was greatly startled, but just as he was about to lean out of the car to reach out for the other, he suddenly heard an extremely soft mechanical click. At the same time, a beam of silver light flashed right in front of his eyes.
Luo Lang felt an unprecedented sense of danger coming right at him, and the muscles of his entire body tensed up. Many years of battle experience ensured he did not panic — with a sweep of his right leg, he kicked out at Yong-guang who was about to hit the floor, sending him flying into the air. Meanwhile, he used the rebound force of this kick to glide swiftly deeper into the hover car, trying to dodge that threatening silver light.
Quicker than words could say, despite Luo Lang's nimble reflexes, he still did not manage to overcome the speed of the silver light. Luo Lang did not manage to dodge cleanly. The silver beam grazed Luo Lang's right shoulder, drawing a streak of blood, which swiftly dyed Luo Lang's green uniform red.
Luo Lang ignored the wound on his arm — as he had glided into the hover car, he had hooked the car door with his right leg, shutting it, and Luo Lang then quickly pressed down the lock button from the inside, sealing the car. Other than the person inside, anyone outside who wanted to open the car would need to use brute force now.
After doing all this, Luo Lang calmly activated the A.I. of the hover car. Right now, he prayed that he would be able to successfully activate the hover car and escape from this place before the opponent managed to destroy the hover car. By now, no matter how dumb Luo Lang was, he still knew he had fallen into the opponent's trap. That white-clothed youth had been lying through his teeth, and was certainly not as pure and earnest as he had portrayed himself to be. Luo Lang secretly hated himself for being taken in so easily by the opponent, actually beginning to like the other. That was why he had become distracted at the end, wasting all his efforts thus far, getting injured by the other's underhanded methods.
Luo Lang decided to remember this bloody lesson — next time, he definitely would not make such an idiotic mistake ever again ...
Outside the hover car, a youth dressed in a blue uniform, mostly shielded from view by the white-clothed youth, lowered his hands in frustration. In his hands was an extremely exquisite, well-crafted, pocket-sized crossbow, and that streak of silver light had been a pocket-sized bolt fired from the crossbow.
He pulled back the crossbow, frowning as he said, "Elder Brother Xi, what do we do now?" Who could have expected that Luo Lang would be able to react so quickly even when he had attacked so abruptly, actually managing to dodge ...
The white-uniformed youth glared broodily at the tightly locked hover car, and sniffed coldly. "What else can we do? Smash it! I don't believe he can escape my grasp."
He was standing at the fore, so he had seen very clearly. When the bolt had brushed by Luo Lang, some blood had been drawn, so the bolt must have injured Luo Lang. He believed that, based on the compound on the bolt, as long as the other was wounded, it would be enough to force the other to stay.
"Yes, Brother Xi!" Receiving their instructions, the others began to move swiftly. They all ran towards the other two hover cars, taking out the metal bats they had prepared from within the cars. The military academy kept a close watch on firearms, forbidding students from using those highly volatile and damaging weapons outside of their classes. Thus, students would always use this type of metal bats in their personal scuffles.
Seated inside the hover car, Luo Lang watched nervously as the A.I. booted up. He could already sense those people outside surrounding this hover car. Very soon, the clanging sounds of impact rang out from all sides of the hover car. Luo Lang knew the opponent was trying to break the hover car by force, trying to keep him behind.
Time was tight — Luo Lang was so nervous his forehead was sweating. His eyes were locked onto the screen of the optical supercomputer; with all his attention focused on the screen, he neglected the trace of numbness that had appeared in his own right arm.
When the supercomputer finally displayed the notification to enter his intended destination, Luo Lang was overjoyed. As long as he managed to enter the address, he would be able to get the hover car to bring him away from this place ... he was just about to lift his hand to key in the information when he found that he could not move his right arm. His heart clenched in fear, but before he could investigate why, he felt his vision blur, his head becoming groggy and heavy.
Not good! Ultra-effective anaesthetics! Luo Lang naturally knew what was behind this. It went without question that that silver bolt which had injured him must have had ultra-effective anaesthetic smeared on it, otherwise he would not have presented with its effects so quickly.
Luo Lang unhesitatingly bit down on the tip of his tongue. Riding this violent jolt of pain, he collected his quickly dissipating consciousness. He had to key in the address he needed to get to in these final moments of awareness.
His right arm was already completely numb, so Luo Lang gritted his teeth, using momentous effort to raise his limp and weak left hand. He began to key in the address of his dorm, and then pressed the button to confirm. When he saw the A.I. display the following message — Destination: XXXXX; please press 'YES' to confirm, press 'NO' to cancel — Luo Lang used almost all his strength to press down firmly on the 'YES' button, and then he fainted dead away.
********
In the virtual world, Little Four was displaying every digital footprint Luo Lang had left after leaving the training hall one by one before Ling Lan.
16:09, Luo Lang received a message from the treatment centre. Contents as below: Cadet Luo Lang, please present yourself at the Medical Treatment Research Centre this afternoon at 17:00 hours for a final follow-up examination. —— Main Service Counter of the Treatment Centre.
16:15, Luo Lang rode a hover car to the Medical Research Centre.
16:52, Luo Lang appeared at the entrance of the Medical Research Centre and met up with someone in a blue uniform.
16:58, Luo Lang went off with the blue-clothed person in a hover car; search for destination in progress ...
At this point, Ling Lan's eyebrows were tightly knitted. "Which goes to say that we still can't find where Luo Lang is now?"
"The hover car has been modified by a hacker. The destination keyed into it has not been recorded into the mainframe databank. For me to find out now, I need to find that hover car which Luo Lang took from all the surveillance footage. This is a little harder and will take more time." With regards to professional questions, Little Four's answers were meticulous.
"Alright, Little Four, take your time." Although Ling Lan was rather anxious, she did not want to show it and give Little Four too much pressure.
Not too long after, Little Four chimed in again. "Lu Yong-guang, 3rd year elite student from the hacker specialization ..." Little Four had discovered the identity of that blue-uniformed person with Luo Lang.
"Is he involved with any faction or group?" asked Ling Lan spiritedly.
"According to the data in the mainframe, he had joined the Tianji Mecha Clan." Little Four very quickly gave her an answer. The military academy mainframe which all hackers found so difficult to penetrate was just like his personal backyard in Little Four's eyes. He could come and go as he pleased, and the information inside it was as if part of his home, free for him to take as he willed.
"Tianji?" Ling Lan's brow furrowed at these words. Ever since Leiting Mecha Clan had lost in the wagered fight, the various factions had toned down significantly. They were afraid they would accidentally offend Leiting, giving Leiting some excuse to vent their anger on them instead. If this matter was really initiated by Tianji, why had they chosen to act during this sensitive period? Could they be trying to take advantage of the instability to knock down Leiting and become the number one faction themselves? Or was this perhaps a setup by some other faction, trying to pit the New Cadet Regiment against Tianji? So that faction could then benefit as the external third party as the two clashed and weakened each other?
There were countless suppositions in Ling Lan's mind. Although she could not be sure whether Tianji was the real culprit, she would not let the other go, so she asked, "Little Four, without affecting the search for Luo Lang, can you take control of all the surveillance equipment inside the Tianji headquarters?"
Little Four replied without skipping a beat, "Piece of cake. Leave it to me!" He had barely finished speaking when an additional window had appeared before Ling Lan's eyes. There was a garden, a living room, other rooms, and also various passages and corridors. Ling Lan knew that this was most likely the inside of the Tianji Mecha Clan headquarters. As expected, when it came to any surveillance equipment being used in this era, Little Four really had no difficulty at all infiltrating it.
Not every faction had a headquarters — only the organisations which ranked within the top four of the school ranking had this honour. The military academy would allocate official venues of different sizes to the groups according to their ranking to become their headquarters. Therefore, every year, the various factions would be embroiled in a brutal competition in order to win one of these four spots on the ranking.
The Tianji Mecha Clan was the second major faction within the military academy, so the headquarters given to them was considerably huge. All the safety and security measures were done up extremely well, and from the video feed, Ling Lan could even see some patrols passing by every so often.
However, Ling Lan was only perusing it cursorily — her main priority was still in waiting for Little Four to come up with his final tracking results.
Time passed bit by bit. Not too long after, Han Jijyun and Lin Zhong-qin too had ended their physical training classes and returned. When they heard the news, Han Jijyun asked Xie Yi to contact Wu Jiong. They waited patiently in the living room, waiting for Ling Lan to exit from the virtual world.
As the skies grew darker and darker, they began to become a little restless. Boss Lan had not logged off after so long — did this mean that he had not found anything useful in the virtual world?
Xie Yi was the first to lose his patience — after all, Luo Lang had last been with him. If he had only been more alert back then and cautioned Luo Lang, perhaps this kind of thing would not have happened. Filled with remorse, he suggested whether they should mobilise the New Cadet Regiment, sending everyone out to look for Luo Lang together.
Wu Jiong was rather stirred by the suggestion — after all, he felt unsettled just sitting here doing nothing.
Chapter 275 - Act Independently!
Han Jijyun was unexpectedly cool-headed, immediately shooting down the two's plan.
Han Jijyun believed that taking reckless action while the circumstances were still unclear would just scare off the villains before they could go after them, and may even make the situation worse. If the opponent became wary and transferred Luo Lang to an even more concealed area, it would make it even harder for them to find him. If this allowed the opponent to successfully hide Luo Lang away for a month's time, even if they managed to find Luo Lang eventually, Luo Lang's future would already be ruined by the opponent. Rather than that, they might as well wait patiently for Boss Lan to emerge before making a decision.
The final exams of the military academy every year were extremely stringent — skipping classes without reason for an entire month would cause a cadet to lose their study right. Many factions would use some underhanded means to steal talent for themselves — kidnapping was one of those methods, but it was used very, very rarely. After all, monitoring them all from above was the surveillance team of the military academy, which kept watch on all the factions and organisations on record within the school. Other than those who were confident they could carry it off flawlessly, the typical faction would not choose to use this method.
The New Cadet Regiment group seated here already had an inkling that Luo Lang had most likely been kidnapped — they just did not know whether it was a personal act, or if some faction or group was behind it ...
This matter caused the mood of the New Cadet Regiment group here to be a little low. Originally, they had all been the elite princes of the Central Scout Academy, growing up smoothly without much hardship along the way. Under Ling Lan's lead, they had not met many obstacles, and though they had been forced into a wagered fight the moment they had entered the military academy, even when everyone had not thought well of their chances, they had prevailed. They had managed to turn the tables around and defeat the Leiting Mecha Clan ...
It could not be denied that they had begun to become proud, their confidence going off the charts, thinking that there were no factions which could prevent the New Cadet Regiment from rising to prominence. However, it was right at this time that Luo Lang had mysteriously gone missing from right beneath their noses. This was like a basin of cold water pouring down on them, causing them to understand that the waters of the military academy were still deeper than they realised. It was still much too early for them to strut around with their tails cocked up high.
"Thump! Thump! Thump! ..." From upstairs, there came the rhythmic, hard sounds of boots striding across the ground, steady and powerful, causing the initially somewhat flustered hearts of those people seated below to settle down. Almost simultaneously, they all stood up and turned their heads to look. A familiar figure was walking down the stairs. Their gazes lit up instantly, the embers of hope flickering in their eyes.
Ling Lan walked down the stairs with an ice cold expression. Seeing the lot of them, she instructed, "Wu Jiong, you all wait here. Pretend nothing has happened ..." Even though Ling Lan's tone was as dispassionate as usual, everyone there could sense the indistinct killing intent radiating from Ling Lan's body, a surge of chilly air penetrating straight into their hearts.
Boss Lan was pissed! Everyone understood tacitly what this meant.
Wu Jiong blinked blankly, but quickly figured things out and said, "Understood, Boss Lan!"
Han Jijyun frowned, a trace of worry flashing through his eyes, and asked, "Boss Lan, you plan to act independently?"
"Yes, I have already found Luo Lang's trail, but that location is unsuitable for group activity. Going alone, it'll be easier for me to rescue Luo Lang," explained Ling Lan.
"Who's the opponent?" Xie Yi suddenly spoke up to ask, his eyes brimming with fiery anger.
"The Tianji Mecha Clan!" Ling Lan bit out each word by word. Her suppressed rage exploded as she uttered these four words, and her right hand reflexively slammed down onto the handrail of the staircase. There was a snap, and the solid wooden railing was actually broken into two pieces by Ling Lan's angry palm.
Han Jijyun's expression could not help but pale drastically at the sight. "Boss Lan, has Luo Lang been harmed?"
Following this question, all the expressions of the others changed greatly as well. Several pairs of furious eyes stared at Ling Lan, hoping he would tell them the answer.
Ling Lan gritted her teeth and said, "Not yet for now. But this does not guarantee that it won't happen later. Thus, I have to hurry over as soon as possible ..."
Ling Lan glanced at Wu Jiong, Han Jijyun and the others, and ordered, "Wu Jiong, Jijyun, I leave this place to you two. No matter what happens, you two must hold the fort. Remember, our New Cadet Regiment knows nothing, and no one has gone out ... as for Luo Lang, he has only gone to the Medical Research Centre for an examination."
After leaving her instructions, Ling Lan rapidly departed the villa without a backwards glance, very quickly disappearing into the night.
Wu Jiong retracted his gaze, turning his head to ask Han Jijyun, "Han Jijyun, say, what do you think Boss Lan is planning to do?"
Han Jijyun indicated for the rest to return to the main hall to sit on the sofa, asking Lin Zhong-qing to bring over a pack of cards for them to while away the time, then replied, "Tragedy is about to befall the Tianji Mecha Clan ..."
"Huh?" Wu Jiong had only guessed that Ling Lan was planning to execute a solo rescue, so he could not understand why Ling Lan did not want to let others know that it was the Tianji Mecha Clan who had abducted Luo Lang.
Han Jijyun merely shook his head, not planning to enlighten Wu Jiong. This made Wu Jiong restless, impatience and annoyance stirring in his heart, causing him to play his cards in a distracted manner.
Xie Yi was in fact similarly uncertain, but he knew his place and so did not think too hard on the matter. Thus, he was not as unsettled as Wu Jiong. In the end, it was still Lin Zhong-qing who could not bear to see Wu Jiong's sorry state, and could not help but hint, "If no one knows that Luo Lang was abducted by the Tianji Mecha Clan, then there will also be no way to prove that the one who wiped out the Tianji headquarters today is our Boss Lan ..."
Wu Jiong's eyes lit up. "So that's how it is." However, he very quickly became despondent, pointing out the flaw in the logic, "But there are surveillance equipment in every area of the military academy ..."
Han Jijyun smirked coldly, "And how much of Boss Lan's methods do you know? If Boss Lan wants you to do this, then you do this. This won't be a mistake."
Wu Jiong suddenly recalled their time on the spaceship — Boss Lan had successfully taken control of the surveillance equipment before then. His gaze brightened once more and he shouted, "I've got it!"
This cry drew the cold glares of the other three there with him. Han Jijyun, in particular, looked at him disdainfully as he mocked, "If you understand, then be quiet about it. Do you want to draw everyone here and negate Boss Lan's alibi?"
Wu Jiong did not become angry even though he had been mocked by Han Jijyun. Since his doubts had been answered, he could now play his cards with an easy mind ...
********
Meanwhile, the moment Ling Lan exited the doorway, she asked Little Four within the mindspace, "Tianji headquarters, which way is it?"
Little Four showed a map to her instantly, with an arrow marking Ling Lan's current location and a red flag marking the position of their target. The information was clear with just one glance. He also spoke up to say, "I suggest you first take a hover car ride, and then choose a stop near them to get off. This way, you can save some strength and internal energy ..." Little Four knew what Ling Lan was going to do on this trip, so he wanted to help Ling Lan reduce the drain on her energy. After all, destroying a headquarters was a laborious task — they should save whatever energy they could while they could.
Ling Lan decided to listen to Little Four's advice. With just one step, she had travelled over 100 metres away, arriving at the closest hover car stop to her living quarters in two steps. Then, she waited for a hover car to arrive. Even if she would use her Qi-Jin sparingly for now, time was still of the essence. She did not hope to see Luo Lang being tormented at this final juncture.
The hover car arrived quickly, and Ling Lan darted into it like a spirit. Before Ling Lan could key in anything, Little Four had taken the initiative to choose a stop about 1 kilometre away for Ling Lan, concealing his command from the system at the same time.
In the mainframe of the military academy, this hover car Ling Lan was riding was still an empty car floating around the school. Furthermore, the moment when Ling Lan had gotten into the car and the period later when she got out would also be altered on the surveillance records. Of course, Little Four's tampering was perfect — no one would ever notice any trace of modification ...
Just like that, with no witnesses or material proof, Ling Lan left her own villa.
********
In one of the rooms within Tianji headquarters, the white-uniformed youth suppressed the intense pain coming from his body, and swallowed the ultra-effective medication his subordinate had brought for him.
"Brother Xi, are you alright?" A blue-uniformed person asked worriedly.
"I bloody didn't expect that Luo Lang to have such powerful spiritual power, able to resist my ability," hissed the white-clothed youth sullenly, "Not only that, he lashed back, wounding me."
The other had clearly lowered his guard and believed his words ... why had he regained mental clarity at the final moment? It was then that he had been injured — if he had not held back from showing any signs of pain, the other might have seen through his act immediately. And also perhaps because he had forced himself to tolerate that rebound force in silence, the injury he had received was 30% worse than it would have been originally.
"Wait till I've healed completely. I'll definitely torment that fellow properly." A savage expression emerged on the white-clothed youth's face, utterly ruining his originally rather charming face, leaving behind only ugliness beyond measure.
"Congratulations, Brother Xi. Not only have you obtained a beauty, you have also obtained a physical skills prodigy, adding yet another great helper for our Tianji Mecha Clan," Lu Yong-guang congratulated at one side fawningly. This improved the white-clothed youth's mood greatly, the viciousness in his face fading considerably, morphing him back into a handsome, lively and sunny youth.
"You performed well this time. Later, go to the contribution department and collect a 2nd-tier resource. I'll give you my warrant in a bit." His mood greatly improved, the white-clothed youth began to reward his underling who had performed well.
"Thank you, Brother Xi. Thank you, Brother Xi!" said Lu Yong-guang with pleasant surprise. He had initially thought he would be lucky to get a 3rd-tier resource, but Brother Xi was unexpectedly so generous this time.
A blue-clothed youth by Lu Yong-guang's side felt that this was not very appropriate, and was just about to speak up about it when a companion standing beside him tugged on his arm, signalling him to stay silent. The lord before them now was an obstinate and conceited person; he was not that just and righteous Lord Regiment Commander of theirs who was currently in Closed Door Meditation 1 .
After basking in a round of flattery by Lu Yong-guang, the white-clothed youth abruptly thought of something and asked nervously, "You've eliminated all signs, right? You're sure no one will be able to trace us back here?"
Lu Yong-guang replied proudly, "Don't worry, Brother Xi, I've handled everything. Even if the number one hacker, Lin Zhidong, gets involved, he won't be able to trace us anytime soon." That said, he laughed and said, "That New Cadet Regiment has also shot themselves in the foot. After offending Leiting, you think Lin Zhidong will help them? Definitely not, and as for the others ... I believe no one will be able to crack my methods."
Hearing these words of Lu Yong-guang, the white-uniformed youth relaxed instantly and began to laugh. His doubts were gone — now, as long as he was given enough time, he would definitely be able to train that beauty well, so that the other would submit to him, body and soul, in the end.
The white-clothed youth was so confident because his spiritual mutation was a type of magical hypnotism. He could easily obtain the favour of others with it. If he wanted the other to love him wholeheartedly, as long as he had enough time, he would succeed. Just like with his previous lovers ... this was exactly how he had reeled them in, and even until now, they still thought they had been willing 1 .
1. T/C: Yet another person in Closed Door Meditation? O.o
2. T/C: I feel icky just translating this character and his thoughts. This sleazebag really needs 'someone' to freeze his balls off.