Chapter 687 - It's Them!
Chen Yifan scolded them. "You're sorry? If you really are sorry, just please take care of yourself!"
Chen Yifan was afraid of Chen Yi'an's simple-mindedness. He was afraid that he would lose his life because of it. His parents were busy with work so he spent most of his childhood with Chen Yi'an. To his parents, he might be a capable and strong-willed child. However, he would also meet setbacks and feel depressed too. At that time, Chen Yi'an was the only person who cried with him. They supported each other all those years until he went to the Third Men's Military Academy.
Compared to his parents, Chen Yifan felt closer to his brother. This was why he was willing to enter the military with him although he had lost his confidence and trust in it.
Chen Yi'an shrunk back his neck when he saw how angry Chen Yifan was. Sob, his older brother is too fierce.
Zhao Jun saw that Chen Yifan was Qi Long's old opponent so he stopped attacking. He brought Zhou Yu and Chen Yi'an to the side so that they could watch Qi Long's and Chen Yifan fight each other.
Qi Long rubbed his hands excitedly when they moved aside. He cracked his knuckles loudly. He had been tormented by Ling Lan all these while so he wanted to torture someone back. His team members were much weaker than him so he couldn't bear to fight with them. The other members of Lingtian knew what Qi Long was like so no one would agree to battle with him. It was hard for him to find an opponent nowadays.
Unexpectedly, Chen Yifan appeared. He was someone who was on par with him during the Grand Mecha Tournament. Finally, he had the chance to have a good fight.
"Chen Yifan, if you beat me, I will let you passed the test." Qi Long enticed Chen Yifan.
"No need. I admit defeat," Chen Yifan replied decisively.
Qi Long's heart dropped. "You, what did you say?" He must be dreaming. He must be having a dream.
"I said, I admit defeat!" Chen Yifan replied back clearly.
"What?" Qi Long screamed sadly. Why couldn't he admit defeat after fighting him?
Chen Yifan looked at Qi Long. Do you think that I'm stupid?
"Don't you remember that you are on par with me in terms of skills." Qi Long tried to persuade him. "Victory is unpredictable. Don't you find it a pity to give up now?"
"That is mecha piloting skills. I know that your physical skills have reached the peak of Qi-Jin. I will not torture myself needlessly," Chen Yifan replied calmly. He had investigated all his opponents who participated in the Grand Mecha Tournament. Thus, he knew Qi Long's physical skills level. Chen Yifan was at the early stage of Qi-Jin. He was not Qi Long's match. Also, his little brother had failed the test. There was no point in him passing the test anymore.
Qi Long didn't understand Chen Yifan well. If Qi Long said that he would let Chen Yifan's little brother pass the test if he could withstand his attacks for five minutes, Chen Yifan might have fought with him.
Qi Long's hope was broken. He leaned against the door and knocked his head against it. The door opened after he knocked it two times.
He didn't knock the door opened with his head. The person inside opened it.
"If you continue knocking your head like that, the door will break." Han Jijyun stopped Qi Long from knocking his head with his hand as he glared at him. He didn't understand why Qi Long was destroying public property. Was he not afraid that Boss would punish him?
Qi Long pointed behind him with a pitiful face. "Chen Yifan doesn't want to fight with me."
"Chen Yifan?" Han Jijyun was stunned. This name sounded familiar. Where did he hear it before? He followed Qi Long's finger and saw a familiar face.
Han Jijyun thought for a moment. He remembered who he was. "Chen Yifan, why did you become a logistician?" Han Jijyun asked in shock. He couldn't maintain his composure anymore. Chen Yifan was an ace operator. No ace operator would become a logistician.
"Someone you know?" Li Lanfeng asked with a smile.
"Erm, we participated in the Grand Mecha Tournament at the start of the year when we were still in the military academy. He is our opponent from the Third Men's Military Academy. Ace mecha master, Chen Yifan." Han Jijyun managed to calm himself down quickly and introduced Chen Yifan to Li Lanfeng.
Li Lanfeng narrowed his eyes. Was there some kind of plot behind this? Why did an ace operator become a logistician? Li Lanfeng was used to scheming so naturally, he would think there was some kind of scheme going on here.
Chen Yifan was shocked to see Han Jijyun here too. Qi Long's appearance already surprised him. Now, even Han Jijyun was here… why were they in 250 Mecha Clan? From what he knew, recruits who didn't have a battle team would be allocated randomly by the mainframe. Did they choose to enter 250 Mecha Clan so that they would stay together?
No, any battle team that could take in the two of them must be a four-stars battle team or above. A four-stars battle team wouldn't appear in this forsaken mecha clan. Chen Yifan felt confused. 250 Mecha Clan didn't appear like a useless mecha clan but to have the most powerful mecha master from the First Men's Military Academy as well as the best strategist, this was definitely not a forsaken mecha clan.
The mainframe did place recruits randomly but it would place them in a mecha clan that fitted their capability. This was to ensure the strength of the battle teams. The best cadet would go to the best mecha clans.
Of course, there were people who offended someone high ranked and got assigned to a low-level mecha clan out of spite.
Chen Yifan looked at Han Jijyun. Did this happen to him?
However, when Li Lanfeng appeared, this thought was rejected. Li Lanfeng's face reminded him of who Zhao Jun and he were.
"Li Lanfeng? Zhao Jun?" Chen Yifan said in shock.
Li Lanfeng raised his eyebrows. "You know us?" Since he was familiar with them, he must have a reason for coming to 250 Mecha Clan. But, why did he reveal himself so quickly… maybe he was trying to disguise himself and make them lower their guard around him. Li Lanfeng got vigilant.
Chen Yifan smiled bitterly. "You were the members who participated in the Grand Mecha Tournament before us. Our school lost terribly that year so we studied how you fought against us. You two left a strong impression on us." He turned and looked at Zhao Jun. " I found you familiar just now but couldn't remember where I met you. However, when I saw Li Lanfeng, I remembered everything." Chen Yifan glanced at Li Lanfeng.
"You remembered Li Lanfeng but you don't remember me?" Zhao Jun touched his chin. He was depressed. Was he too average-looking? He was sure that he looked quite fierce.
Chen Yifan looked at Li Lanfeng cautiously. "Major Li's mask is memorable."
"Haha, so it's the mask that you remembered, not the face." Zhao Jun felt much better.
Li Lanfeng glared at Zhao Jun. This pighead. Why was he helping his opponent to scold him? I must end my friendship with him today!
Chen Yifan instantly pretended that he never saw anything when he noticed that Li Lanfeng was on the verge of exploding in anger. However, by now, he knew that 250 Mecha Clan was not a forsaken mecha clan. Two powerful recruits appearing at the same place might be a coincidence but three or four were not. This mecha clan was not as simple as it looked.
The designated time arrived. None of the recruits managed to enter the hut and complete the mission.
Li Lanfeng, Zhao Jun, Qi Long, and Han Jijyun brought Chen Yifan to the field where they laid their ambush. Very soon, the other teams brought the recruits that they caught and gathered them there too.
When Luo Lang came in with a bunch of badly bruised and half-dead recruits, some recruits rejoiced in their hearts. They were not the worse ones.
Chen Yifan saw Xie Yi, Li Yingjie, and Luo Lang appearing. The veterans called them team leaders. He had seen the information about these veterans. They were people who received many merits and achieve many achievements before. His heart stopped. He observed everyone and noticed that the 250 Mecha Clan was split into 10 teams. Seven of the team leaders came from the First Men's Military Academy. Was the 250 Mecha Clan controlled by the First Men's Military Academy?
He remembered that General Ling Xiao was from the First Men's Military Academy too. Chen Yifan felt that his guess was correct.
At that moment, footsteps were heard. The field was really noisy but for some reason, Chen Yifan could hear the footsteps clearly.
No, everyone heard it too. The recruits were curious. They raised their heads and looked at the direction where the footsteps were coming from. The field instantly turned quiet. The footsteps became clearer and louder.
Chen Yifan looked up too. He saw a person properly dressed in military uniform. He had a short whip in one hand as he walked up the track along the hill. Chen Yifan felt his body tensed up. He could feel an imminent sense of danger. He straightened his back as though this action would give him more strength.
The person walked over naturally. Within a minute, he had arrived in front of them.
"Regiment commander!" The 10 teams shouted in unison.
Chen Yifan's eyes almost popped out. He knew this person. Ling Lan, the real leader of the First Men's Military Academy during the Grand Mecha Tournament last year. He was rumored to be the real king of the First Men's Military Academy but he started his closed door meditation during this Grand Mecha Tournament so many people had forgotten about him. However, Chen Yifan had looked at the information of the members from the First Men's Military Academy before. Ling Lan was someone he could never forget.
Ling Lan was the first person to break away from the conventional battle royale method and come up with a new battle strategy. No one had any advantage over their team so the results were predictable.
Such a legend actually appeared in front of Chen Yifan as the Regiment Commander of 250 Mecha Clan! Chen Yifan was dumbfounded. Ling Lan was in the same year as Qi Long. This meant that he was a recruit too. A recruit as a regiment commander… Chen Yifan felt that his world was turned upside down.
Chen Yifan blinked. Then, he saw the epaulette on Ling Lan. It was the epaulette of a major. A senior captain was the highest rank for a recruit. He was probably able to become a major because he was appointed as a regiment commander. The lowest rank requirement be a regiment commander was a major.
The military rank was not very important. The main thing was, he was a regiment commander. As someone who came from a military academy, Chen Yifan knew what this meant. Although Ling Lan had the same rank as Li Lanfeng, Ling Lan had actual military power.
As Chen Yifan was digesting what he saw, Ling Lan walked in front of everyone and started scanning the crowd.
She saw that the soldiers of 250 Mecha Clan were still energetic after the mission and nodded her head. She felt satisfied. The hellish training had made them more motivated.
Ling Lan didn't know that these mecha operators were energetic not because they felt motivated, but because they wanted to torture the new recruits. They were like Qi Long. They needed to torture other people in order to feel better.
Hence, 250 Mecha Clan moved towards an unpredictable direction. All the mecha operators, as well as logisticians, became a bunch of psychopaths who got excited when they see their opponents. All their enemies were afraid of them. Their name spread far and wide.
Chapter 688 - New Mission!
Ling Lan ordered the ten leaders. "Report your results!"
The first person who reported to Ling Lan was the big brother figure of the ten teams, Yang Mingzhi. He took a step forward and shouted, "Team 01, 24 members. Successfully subdued 52 recruits."
The other teams reported their results too.
Ling Lan nodded. The performance of the ten teams was not bad. There were still some flaws but Ling Lan decided to let them off this time.
The mecha operators saw their regiment commander nodding and were elated. They passed the mission. A moment ago, they were afraid that Ling Lan would not be satisfied with their performance and start a new round of hellish training. They had been repeating this process for a few months. Now, when they receive a new mission, they would feel dying again.
This time, their regiment commander was satisfied with them but they needed to know what made their regiment commander so satisfied. The mecha operators were observant people. They tried to find why their regiment commander let them off this time.
Overall capability? Bullshit. Their current capabilities were still similar to their last mission.
The performance during the mission? The mecha operators felt that there weren't many improvements compared to their last mission too.
They couldn't find a reason. The mecha operators watched as their regiment commander walked towards the badly beaten up recruits.
They suddenly had an enlightenment. Their regiment commander was a vicious person. He killed two mecha operators at the start of their training. (Since the mecha operators of 250 Mecha Clan didn't interact with each other much, they were not sure how many mecha operators there were in the mecha clan. Hence, until now, they were still fooled by Ling Lan.) They must be too gentle and kind. This must be why their regiment commander kept torturing them. This time, however, they vented their frustration at the recruits and were a little harsh on them… was this why their regiment commander was so satisfied?
With this idea in mind, the mecha operators got more vicious and bloodthirsty in their future battles. They hoped that their regiment commander would be satisfied with them. Ling Lan, on the other hand, thought that they were under too much pressure so she treated them better.
This caused the mecha operators to harden that idea in mind. They thought that their guess was correct. Hence, they turned even crueler. Ling Lan got more worried about them and tried to lessen the intensity of their training… this cycle continued. Due to a strange combination of circumstances, the 250 Mecha Clan became devils on the battlefield. Of course, all these happened in the future. We could ignore it for now.
The new recruits didn't expect their regiment commander to come. When they saw Ling Lan looking at them with her cold eyes, they trembled in fear. She didn't say a single word but her cold aura and force of presence told everyone, she was a frightening and heartless person.
There was only one thought in their head. Would they be sent back by this scary regiment commander?
The recruits were distributed by the mainframe but they could still be sent back to the recruit training camp if their regiment commander in the mecha clan was not satisfied with them. These recruits had to go through the recruit training camp again. After that, they would be sent back to another mecha clan. If their new regiment commander was not satisfied with them again, they would be sent out of the military. These people would be deemed unfit for the military. They would have a hard time finding jobs or partners in the future.
Since they chose to enter the military, besides those young men that got thrown in by their parents, most of them wanted to continue staying here. If they got sent back this time, they believed their next regiment commander would still be dissatisfied with them. They would then be sent out of the military. This was not what they wanted.
After knowing their possible future, a few young men who had a more fragile heart started sobbing. They just reached 20 years old. They couldn't handle such a hard blow.
"Weak." Ling Lan said with a hint of anger when she saw some recruits crying and frowned.
The moment she said this, those recruits that were trying their best to control their emotions broke down. Almost everyone started crying.
Ling Lan felt speechless. She thought that the mecha operators in 250 Mecha Clan were bad enough. However, these recruits were worse. Additionally, why were they staring at her like she was a devil? F**k, her looks were definitely not bad. No, she was definitely a good-looking person… erm, this was not the main point. The point was, why were they looking at her like that? Was there something wrong with their eyes?
Ling Lan felt depressed. She wondered why no one liked her. Ling Lan was unaware, those people weaker than her would be severely impacted by her cold aura. Only those that were stronger could withstand her force of presence. Hence, these recruits could only see her cold aura and her indifferent eyes.
As Ling Lan's gaze got colder, the recruits felt that they would definitely be sent back. Crying is contagious. Soon, all the recruits started tearing up.
F**k, why are they crying? Why are men so weak? Ling Lan snorted. All the recruits got a shock. They didn't dare to make any sound. They cried silently. The tears on their young faces made them looked pitiful.
Forget it, I don't want to look at them anymore! Ling Lan shouted helplessly, "Lin Zhong-qing!"
"Yes!" A voice rang through the field. A figure suddenly appeared behind Ling Lan. It was from Lin Zhong-qing.
"I'll hand these recruits to you. You have three months to make them into real men. If they still cry like this, I will not show them any mercy." Ling Lan was afraid that she would be unable to control herself and hit these people. After so many years of hardships, she couldn't stand someone crying.
"Yes, regiment commander!" Lin Zhong-qing received the order.
After handing these recruits to Lin Zhong-qing, Ling Lan walked towards Chen Yifan. He was the only one who wasn't scared of her.
Chen Yifan felt his heart beating quickly when he saw Ling Lan walking towards him. He only looked calm but in actual fact, he was frightened too.
"Chen Yifan?"
"Yes!" Chen Yifan instinctively stood up straight.
"I know you are an ace mecha master… if you pass the team challenge, I'll make you a member of a team." Ling Lan would not let Chen Yifan wastes his talent. Thus, she gave him a chance to be a member of a team.
Chen Yifan was hesitant. He looked at his younger brother. Chen Yi'an was the reason why he entered the military.
Ling Lan smiled mockingly. She knew what Chen Yifan was thinking. She said nonchalantly, "A logistician services a mecha operator. Whether you are the one doing the service or the one getting serviced depends on your capabilities. Additionally, you need to have the ability if you want to protect someone."
Ling Lan's words allowed Chen Yifan to understand how he could protect his younger brother. At the same time, Ling Lan warned him to not think too highly of himself. If he didn't meet her requirements, she was willing to send him away. She didn't mind letting him be a logistician. She could afford to waste his talent.
Chen Yifan was shocked. He was a smart person so he understood what Ling Lan was trying to tell him. He could be a mecha operator and let his younger brother be a member of his logistician team.
"Yes, I understand!" Chen Yifan's eyes lit up for the first time. He seemed to have found a new goal.
Ling Lan smiled. When will Chen Yifan stop lying to himself?
Ling Lan looked away from Chen Yifan. She didn't care much about him. Although she wanted to let him joined the battle team, she would not spend as much effort on him unlike with the comrades she grew up with. If Chen Yifan managed to prove himself. she would give him the chance to become a part of Lingtian Battle Team.
Ling Lan walked past Chen Yifan and walked to the front of the crowd. She shouted, "Disperse!"
After that, she disappeared. It was as though she was never there. All the mecha operators took a moment to register that they managed to escape their regiment commander's punishment. Everyone cheered happily. They were a stark contrast to the recruits who were crying their hearts out.
Chen Yifan narrowed his eyes when Ling Lan disappeared. If he wasn't able to see how Ling Lan disappeared, Ling Lan must have reached another realm in terms of physical skills. He knew that Ling Lan probably hid her true capabilities. As there were no changes to the youngest person who entered the domain realm in the Federation's records.
As expected, 250 Mecha Clan was not a forsaken mecha clan. It might even be the mecha clan that had the most potential in the 23rd division. Chen Yifan looked at the confused Chen Yi'an and the stunned Zhou Yu. He sighed. The three of them must be extremely lucky to have met such a powerful regiment commander. They would have a good future ahead of them.
The other recruits calmed down when they were told that they would not be sent back. They were elated. However, they soon started crying again because of the harsh training. They realized that despair was scarier than being sent back…
Time passed quickly. Two months had passed. Within these two months, the people in 250 Mecha Clan continued their training. No one in the Federation knew that a vicious beast was growing in the 23rd division.
Ling Lan sat in her office and was looking through documents. Without Little Four's help, she could only rely on herself. She asked Little Blossom regarding Little Four's progress but he just replied with Little Four's evolving was going smoothly. He didn't know when Little Four would finish his evolution. Little Four and Little Blossom were two different kinds of intelligent entities. Hence, they were unable to understand each other.
"Beep, beep!" The optical supercomputer belonging to 250 Mecha Clan reminded Ling Lan that she had a new message.
Ling Lan opened the message. She frowned. It was a land clearing mission.
When the Federation finds a new planet that was five-star and above and had signs of life on it, they would inform all the divisions and request them to send some mecha clans to explore and open up the virgin soil.
For the first five years, the first mecha clan that discovered the natural resources on the new planet would get a portion of it. After that, the Federation would start taking more of it. 10 years later, all the natural resources on the planet would be excavated.
The reason why the Federation gave such benefit to the battle teams was because land clearing mission was dangerous. Many mecha clans were annihilated on unknown planets. If there were not enough rewards to entice them, no one would be willing to send people over. Hence, because of these privileges, divisions always sent their best ace mecha clans to go for these land clearing missions.
The fund given by the Federation was not enough to let the division grow stronger. The divisions needed the natural resources gained by their battle teams to increase their military strength. You could say that this land clearing mission was to instill divisions with a competitive spirit and let them provide for themselves. Although this might make it harder for the Federation to control the divisions, it was the only way to not burden the civilians with the expenditure of the military.
There were pros and cons with this decision but for now, there were more pros.
The mecha clans that would receive the land clearing mission were normally the most powerful ace mecha clans in a division. This was a dangerous mission but it could allow them to gain many raw materials. Based on the rule, if the natural resource they found on the planet was a one-time thing, the mecha clan only had to hand over 80% of it. If it was a sustainable natural resource, the mecha clan would get 10% of it.
It didn't seem like a lot but if they really managed to find a sustainable natural resource, it would bring them over a billion credits. This was a huge sum of credits to a mecha clan.
If a mecha clan wanted to become stronger, they needed to have advanced technology and equipment. All these cost credits. If they waited for the Federation's fund… god knows when they would get it. The Federation had to consider the entire strength of the military and not just a single mecha clan. Hence, they would not pay attention to individual mecha clans.
Chapter 689 - Spiritual World!
If 250 Mecha Clan received the land clearing mission, it must be the doings of Ling Lan's 'fair' father, Ling Xiao. There was no other way such a mission with bountiful rewards would be handed over to a 'useless' mecha clan like hers.
Ling Lan would not reject this mission but she felt this mission came too early. Land clearing missions were extremely dangerous. She felt that the members of 250 Mecha Clan were still lacking in some areas. Additionally, there would be other mecha clans from the 23rd division participating in this mission. This meant that they needed to collaborate with other mecha clans. Ling Lan had not done any training on collaboration. She was not sure if something would happen to her clan members if she brought them on this mission.
Ling Lan's head started hurting when she thought about this.
"Master, if anyone doesn't listen to you, you can let me eat them up." Little Blossom felt Ling Lan's frustration so he popped up and tried to help her.
In her mindscape, Ling Lan flicked Little Blossom's forehead. As expected of a Doomsday Flower, he only thinks about eating!
However, Little Blossom's words reminded Ling Lan, she could just beat someone up if a person didn't listen to her. She was more powerful than all the other mecha operators. She believed that she would be able to subdue them.
Ling Lan gathered all the team leaders, the person-in-charge of the logistics, Lin Zhong-qing, the person-in-charge of the medical department, Li Shiyu, and the person-in-charge of the experiment department, Chang Xinyuan. They had a discussion and decided to leave behind the mecha operators and logisticians who performed poorly. In the end, Ling Lan brought close to 200 mecha operators and almost 300 logisticians with her. She asked Lin Zhong-qing to prepare all the equipment they needed. If he lacked anything, he must report it to her so that she could ask He Xuyang for it.
Poor He Xuyang. To Ling Lan, he was her big fat cash cow… oh, no, he was her best helper. If she needed to find anything, she could just look for him.
Soon, the time of the mission arrived.
The commander-in-chief of the Rising Sun fleet of the 23rd division received an order to pick a mecha clan up. He looked at the said mecha clan in disbelief. He looked at his order again to make sure that he was not under an illusion.
The useless mecha clan, 250 Mecha Clan, was in this mission too? Had his superiors given up on this mecha clan so they let them seek their own death through this mission? Qi Aiming couldn't help but think this way. All the higher authorities in the 23rd division knew the background of 250 Mecha Clan and knew what kind of mecha operators were in there.
He felt a little frustrated. He thought that only his Rising Sun fleet was participating in this mission. However, since there was another mecha clan, he needed to remove some people from his fleet. The number of starships for each mission was fixed. Luckily, 250 Mecha Clan was a useless mecha clan so Qi Aiming felt that they would not snatch resources with them.
Speaking of this, we need to know that each division had its own personal fleet. This fleet only serviced the people from their division. They would rarely be an occasion where people needed to board a starship belonging to a different division.
Qi Aiming was puzzled as to why the headquarters gave this order but he still ordered one of the ships to fetch the 250 Mecha Clan. Fortunately, the 250 Mecha Clan would only be taking his ship temporarily. Once they reach the new planet, he wouldn't need to care about them anymore.
Qi Aiming felt that the problematic mecha operators from the 250 Mecha Clan would definitely cause trouble on the new planet. The person who was in charge of them was unlucky. He just hoped that they would not ruin the reputation of the 23rd division.
A large fleet of starships floated in the universe. It looked magnificent. The entire universe seemed to be filled with starships.
All the 23 divisions and those independent divisions sent their ace fleet over. They all tried to reduce their numbers but there were still many starships. After all, there were close to 30 divisions sending in their people.
The 250 Mecha Clan was in one of the starships among the fleet. They were not the only mecha clan on the starship. To increase their chances of finding a natural resource vein, Qi Aiming had maximized the capacity of all the starships.
He thought that the 250 Mecha Clan would be a nuisance on the trip but luckily, everyone from 250 Mecha Clan stayed in their room and rarely came out. Qi Aiming couldn't help but feel relieved.
The fleet journeyed for more than ten days before reaching the infamous Road of Aiguta. The Road of Aiguta was a place where many black holes congregate. There were more than 10,000 black holes here. Normally, the presence of a black hole would exhibit a strong gravitational force around it. Once any starship came near it, they would be torn into pieces.
However, the Road of Aiguta was different. The gravitational force around each black hole was at a normal level. A starship could get near it easily. A few powerful countries knew the secret that some black holes could lead to another unknown planetary sector. To prevent other smaller countries from being aware of this, powerful countries sealed the route to the Road of Aiguta and collaborated with one another to explore the unknown planetary sector together.
When there were benefits to be gained, everyone would choose to cooperate with one another no matter how deep their grudges were.
The new planet they found this time was within an unknown planetary sector. Since the Federation discovered this new planet, they got the right to excavate the resources.
Why were the gravitational forces of the black holes in the Road of Aiguta so low? Researchers concluded that it might be because the different gravitational forces from the various black holes somehow managed to reach equilibrium and created a node where the gravitational forces are low. They also felt that there was a probability that one day, this equilibrium might be disrupted and the Road of Aiguta would become the Road of Death.
Without the exact data of the positions of the black holes, starships could get lost easily. After all, only a few of the 10,000 black holes were safe. Those starships that entered this area accidentally, normally disappeared without a trace.
Because of this, the Road of Aiguta was also known as the Aiguta Maze. Starships could get lost here forever.
The huge fleet of starships carefully passed through multiple black holes. At that moment, the navigator on the starship was extremely nervous. He knew that a single mistake from him could result in the death of the entire fleet.
Luckily, all the starships managed to arrive at the designated black hole safely. Soon, the fleet vanished. The Road of Aiguta became peaceful again. It was as though the thousand starships fleet never existed…
The moment Ling Lan entered the black hole, she noticed that her comrades, who were talking to her, suddenly froze. She seemed to be the only one who was conscious. What is happening?
Ling Lan felt cold sweat on her forehead. This scene was too eerie. She didn't dare to touch her friends. She was afraid that her rash actions might harm them.
Just as Ling Lan was at a loss, a loud bang was heard in her mindscape. A small and plump little body dropped from the sky and landed right in front of Ling Lan.
"Ouch!" Little Blossom's eyes were filled with tears as he rubbed his head that was hurting.
When Little Blossom appeared, Ling Lan felt calmer. At least she was not the only person left in this world. Just now, Ling Lan felt like she was abandoned by her friends. She was having a minor mental breakdown from the loneliness.
"Master, Number Five kicked me when I was sleeping!" Little Blossom immediately rushed over and hugged Ling Lan's leg when he saw her.
"Why did he kick you?" Ling Lan rubbed Little Blossom's head as she consoled him. He was the one who calmed her down so she was exceptionally gentle towards him.
"Ah, I remember now. Number Five ask me to tell master something." Ling Lan's words allowed Little Blossom to remember what Number Five said when he kicked him.
"What is it?" Ling Lan asked curiously. Number Five seldom said anything. He normally asked Ling Lan to experience his hellish training personally. Most of the training that Ling Lan gave the 250 Mecha Clan were inspired by Number Five's training. The only difference was that she was not as harsh as Number Five.
"Tell that idiot, Ling Lan, that if she wants to solve this problem, suppress her spiritual power until it's below level five." Little Blossom repeated every single word Number Five said.
Number Five had been observing everything so when he heard what Little Blossom said, he held his forehead and sighed. "What an idiot!"
"So I'm an idiot?" Ling Lan gritted her teeth. She knew that Number Five always talked about her behind her back but she still felt furious when she heard his words personally.
Of course, this little person in front of her was an idiot too! Ling Lan instantly flicked his forehead. Little Blossom started groaning in pain. He didn't know why his master changed her expression so suddenly. Sob… give back my gentle master.
Ling Lan calmed down and started pondering over Number Five's words. She immediately understood that this must have happened because of her strong spiritual power. Additionally, she practiced the spiritual power cultivation technique from the Divine Command sect which strengthened her spiritual power. However, Ling Lan never tested her spiritual power before since she didn't have a spiritual mutation so, she didn't see the need to test it. Therefore, she was not sure what level her spiritual power was at.
Only hackers and people with spectre abilities would go and test their spiritual power. No one else would do such a thing.
But, even without a test, Ling Lan knew that her spiritual power was above level five. When she was six or seven years old, Little Four told her that he had set her spiritual power to level 5. After so many years of cultivation, her spiritual power would only be higher.
Ling Lan was relieved after finding out the reason. Just as she was about to suppress her spiritual power, she thought about something. She looked at Li Lanfeng.
Li Lanfeng's tense body started relaxing after he noticed Ling Lan's gaze. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.
Li Lanfeng was frightened. What was happening?
Ling Lan noticed that Li Lanfeng couldn't speak and frown. She tried to talk but realized she couldn't make a sound too. She thought about what Number Five said and was enlightened. The image she was seeing now was feedback from her spiritual power. This was the spiritual world. The five senses could not be used in the spiritual world.
This meant that she was not able to communicate with her mouth. She needed to use her spiritual power…
"Lanfeng, don't worry. This is our spiritual world. Our body is frozen just like the others." The anxious Li Lanfeng heard Ling Lan's voice and calmed down instantly. Why was Ling Lan able to talk when he couldn't?
Ling Lan noticed his doubt so she continued, "I'm using my spiritual power to communicate with you."
Li Lanfeng's eyes lit up. Then, it dimmed again. He must have learned this skill from Ling Xiao's sect. Ling Lan had given him many things. He couldn't be too greedy.
"When I'm free, I can teach you." Ling Lan replied generously. She understood what Li Lanfeng was thinking. There were many minor techniques like this available in the learning space. Even if she didn't teach the technique from the Divine Command sect, there were other similar skills she could share.
Li Lanfeng was elated. He seemed more vibrant now. Ling Lan smiled. Sometimes, the black-bellied Li Lanfeng was quite cute too.
"This happened to us because our spiritual power is above level five. We need to go below level five," Ling Lan explained their situation to Li Lanfeng.
Li Lanfeng nodded. He had spectre abilities so he knew what level his spiritual power was at.
"As long as we suppress our spiritual power, this problem will be solved."
Li Lanfeng nodded. He closed his eyes and started suppressing his spiritual power. Soon, he got out of the spiritual world.
After Li Lanfeng succeeded, Ling Lan felt at ease and started suppressing her spiritual power too. However, just as she was about to go below level 5, her spiritual power suddenly went out of control.
Damn it!
Ling Lan was shocked. She wanted to try suppressing her spiritual power again but she realized that she could no longer control it.
Chapter 690 - Lay Eggs?
Little Blossom was also forced back to the learning space due to Ling Lan's spiritual power going out of control. He didn't even have the time to say goodbye to his master.
Ling Lan's mindscape was in a mess. Her spiritual power had turned into a huge whirlpool.
Ling Lan didn't lose her consciousness. The moment she realized that something was amiss, she compressed her conscious until it was very small and hid it in a corner of her mindscape. Then, she used the small amount of spiritual power she could still control to encase her conscious and prevent it from being torn apart by the whirlpool.
Even if her mindscape was destroyed and she had to become a vegetable temporarily, she would still have the chance of waking up as long as a part of her conscious was still intact. Ling Lan would fight for every opportunity to live. Hence, she immediately prepared for the worst when she noticed that things were going out of hand.
After doing all this, Ling Lan didn't just sit there and wait for her death. She had already planned her route of retreat so she could focus on her current situation calmly. Ling Lan was clear that if she started getting anxious, she would be dead.
Ling Lan didn't waste her time and try to gain control over her spiritual power. Since it was already out of control, she should keep the remaining amount of spiritual power she still had and slowly wait for an opportunity to fight back.
Ling Lan quickly noticed that the uncontrollable spiritual power didn't harm her body. Her mindscape also showed no signs of getting destroyed. The whirlpool was just attracting all the energy from its surroundings.
Since this is her spiritual world, the spiritual energy it was attracting belonged to her, right? Ling Lan was puzzled. However, she found the answer soon. She felt another force merging with her spiritual power. Her spiritual power should have caused havoc in her mindscape but for some reason, an equilibrium was achieved.
This seems familiar——the black hole! No, it should be the force released when a black hole formed! How did it manage to merge with her spiritual power?
Ling Lan didn't understand what was happening. No one would be able to explain the situation to her too. She wasn't sure what would happen if her spiritual power merged with the force of the black hole. Would this be a problem? Ling Lan tried to control her spiritual power to determine if it was any problems with it but her spiritual power just ignored her. It stubbornly continued with the merge and seemingly had a good time interacting with it.
Although it seemed harmless now, Ling Lan was still on her guard. After her spiritual power finished merging, the whirlpool started calming down.
The danger came suddenly and disappeared suddenly too. Ling Lan was speechless. She started examining her mindscape and realized, to her surprise, a white and smooth egg had appeared!
Egg? Egg!
Ling Lan tapped the egg with a dumbfounded expression. The egg trembled in her mindscape. It seemed to be trembling from the itchiness. Maybe it was trying to greet her.
"Master, did you lay an egg while I was away? Will it be my little master when it hatches?" Little Blossom had been worried about his master. When he noticed that he could enter her mindscape again, he immediately jumped in. The first thing he saw was a white egg. He experienced a series of emotions shocked, then excited, then a sense of release. Sob, I finally have a little master now. I am no longer the youngest. I can bully little master now.
Little Blossom kept being bullied by Little Four. When he tried to retaliate, Little Four told him that younger people should be bullied by older people. For instance, Ling Lan bullied him so it was right for him to bully Little Blossom. Little Blossom got tricked. He thought that this was the norm.
Ah, let's have a moment of silence for the future little brother of Little Blossom. Although he was nowhere in sight, his evil brother was already waiting for him.
The reason why Little Blossom thought that Ling Lan laid the egg was that Little Four taught him that laying eggs was a way of generating offsprings. Little Blossom couldn't swallow data so his knowledge came from what people taught him. Hence, he assumed his master was able to lay eggs…
Ling Lan was speechless. Lay eggs? Did she lay an egg? She didn't even know where the egg came from… since it appeared in her mindscape, she did feel like she laid it. Ling Lan quickly dismissed the thought and reminded herself that she was human. I almost got influenced by Little Blossom and thought that I was an animal.
As expected, Little Blossom got beaten up by Ling Lan. Little Blossom finally experienced the family abuse that Little Four kept talking about. Sob, master, hurry up and lay more eggs. Little Blossom wants to bully little master! Although Ling Lan emphasized that she couldn't lay eggs, Little Blossom still believed she could.
No matter how much Ling Lan hit him, Little Blossom remained stubborn. Ling Lan suddenly missed Little Four. Previously, she felt that Little Four was not very sharp and used proverbs the wrong way. However, compared to Little Blossom, Little Four seemed extremely sharp. He was able to give her some consolation during critical times and not make her even more frustrated. People needed to be compared to show how important they were.
Ling Lan vented her frustration and managed to calm down. She used her spiritual power to examine the egg. Maybe because Ling Lan's spiritual power and the egg came from the same source, she was able to successfully see what was happening inside the egg.
There were no signs of life inside the egg. It was filled with spiritual energy. The spiritual energy swirled around the center of the egg. Because the spiritual energy being too dense, it formed a hard surface that made it look like an egg. In actual fact, it was just a spiritual energy shell formed due to the density of the spiritual energy.
The spiritual power core at the center of the egg was extremely dense. If the density of her spiritual energy in her mindscape was 1, the density of the spiritual power core was 1000. If the spiritual energy in the core was released, mindscape could increase by a thousand times.
Ling Lan was worried and elated. She was elated because her spiritual power had gotten stronger and worried that there would be a hidden danger. If this spiritual power didn't listen to her and got out of control, her mindscape would be destroyed.
Just as Ling Lan was feeling complicated, Little Blossom exclaimed in surprise, "Master, your spiritual power is so low."
Ling Lan got a shock. She heard noises coming from the real world. Her friends had woken up. She had left the spiritual world unknowingly and returned back to her own body.
"What level is my spiritual power now?" Ling Lan was unable to sense her spiritual power because of the series of events that had happened.
"At most level three," Little Blossom replied. His boss's spiritual power was much weaker than before.
"Very good!" Ling Lan replied in satisfaction. That meant that when she entered the black hole again, this would not happen. She didn't want to experience it another time, It was too frightening.
"Boss, did you level up again?" The moment Ling Lan opened her eyes, she saw Qi Long's face right in front of her. He seemed to be stunned.
"What is the matter?" Ling Lan pushed his head away. She was not used to having someone so close to her.
Everyone was looking at her with the same dumbfounded expression. Ling Lan looked at them coldly but she noticed their lips were twitching. Li Lanfeng passed Ling Lan a mirror.
Ling Lan took it curiously. Li Lanfeng wanted her to look at herself. She looked at the mirror and was shocked. Was this her?
Li Lanfeng noticed the disbelief in her eyes and nodded. Ling Lan slapped herself and released some of the spiritual energy from the spiritual power core. She stared at her team members again. Everyone lowered their heads in fright.
Ling Lan retracted her gaze with satisfaction and continued their discussion. She didn't expect such consequences to occur after her spiritual power was lowered… Ling Lan wanted to cry. As expected, she was more suitable to be a cold and dominating boss.
After the fleet passed through the black hole, they entered an unknown planetary sector. Ling Lan suddenly missed Little Four. If he was here, she would be able to get some information about this planetary sector. Ling Lan was uncertain if this planetary sector had something to do with his origins, the Mandora galaxy.
The planets in this planetary sector were much further away from each other. Ling Lan only saw two planets after one week of traveling. One of the planets was mist-like. They were mock planets formed by the accumulation of meteorites. There was no use exploring such planets as there were no resources on it. These planets were dangerous too. No one knew when those meteorites would explode or move away from each other.
The other planet was covered in ice. Based on past research, this planet was just a huge ice ball. There was nothing else besides ice. Although it was less valuable than those planets with signs of life, the people from Caesar were still elated that they found this planet first.
The people from the Federation were frustrated that Caesar found the first planet. However, this feeling didn't last for long. Very soon, they found a new planet that was more valuable than the ice planet. Yet, at the same time, it was more dangerous for them to explore this planet.
The starship that Ling Lan was at, announced to everyone that they have reached their destination. Everyone started getting busy.
To ensure the safety of the starship, it would not land immediately on the surface of the planet. It would send a batch of mecha operators to the planet first to ensure that it was safe to land. Only then would the starship land and start unloading all the pieces of equipment the mecha clans needed to build a camp on the planet.
250 Mecha Clan also had a scouting team to find a safe spot for their camp.
There were three to four mecha clans on a single starship. So 250 Mecha Clan only had two ejection ports for themselves. It was half of what other mecha clans had but since they were much smaller in size, Ling Lan and her team members didn't find it unfair.
The scouting team of 250 Mecha Clan consisted of Ling Lan, the ten teams team leaders, and a few of the most powerful team members within these ten teams. There was a total of 24 people. This was the smallest scouting team among the mecha clans but it was the strongest too.
These 24 people were all ace mecha masters. There were real ace mecha masters both in title and ability. Currently, they were at their past peak form. As for Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong, after Ling Lan's harsh training, they not only managed to regain their ability, they were even stronger than their past peak form.
Yang Mingzhi even felt that he was close to becoming an imperial mecha master. This was a surprise to him. He had been stuck at the ace level for close to 20 years. He couldn't break through the last hurdle which made him lose confidence in becoming an imperial mecha operator. The events that happened in his life also impacted him greatly and made him gave up entirely. He never expected that he would achieve a breakthrough so easily under the lead of his young regiment commander.
Liu Furong's improvement was not as obvious but he also felt his ability increasing. He found hope again. In order to become stronger, he didn't mind becoming the next Qi Long.
The logisticians in charge of these 24 mecha operators were nervous but properly examined their equipment and weapons. Behind them, Lin Zhong-qing and a few others were watching them intently. They had stopwatches in their hands and were observing the speed of the logisticians. Some of them were writing something on a piece of paper.
The logisticians tensed up when they saw this. They didn't want their names to be written on the paper. Past experiences told them that once their name was on it, they would have to spend their next month in hell.
Lin Zhong-qing and his four assistants learned well from Ling Lan. They liked to experiment with what they learned from Ling Lan on the logisticians.
Under such circumstances, the logisticians reached a breakthrough and managed to hasten their speed by more than 10 seconds. This allowed 250 Mecha Clan to be the first mecha clan to send its scouting team out of the starship.
Chapter 691 - New Team Member!
The first person to enter the launching port was Ling Lan. She contacted the JMC that was in charge of her launching port and said coldly, "250 Mecha Clan Mecha No. 1 requesting for launch!"
"Ah, yes!" Ling Lan frowned when she heard an anxious voice from the other end of the call.
"Hello, I'm the JMC in charge of your launch. Sorry to keep you waiting. We are doing the final check. Mecha No. 1's weapons are fully equipped and the engine is normal. You are eligible for launch. The countdown starts now… 3,2,1, launch!"
The JMC hurriedly finished the rest of her work. She was talking to her coworkers just now because, based on past experiences, they thought that there would not be any mecha operators entering the launching port this early. This was why she was not fully prepared. She didn't expect the mecha operators at her launching port to arrive so quickly. He even contacted her personally…
The JMC heaved a sigh of relief after sending Ling Lan away. She felt fortunate that she was not scolded. She wished that this mecha operator would not complain about her work ethics after he came back from the mission.
The JMC learned her lesson and didn't dare to relax anymore. She focused on her work and made sure that the other mecha operators got launched successfully. The other JMCs beside her also stopped talking and waited patiently for their mecha operators to be in position.
They felt lucky that there were not in charge of 250 Mecha Clan.
Why was this so? Because the mecha operators of 250 Mecha Clan entered their launching port more than a minute earlier than the other mecha clans. These JMCs were not normal JMCs. They were very experienced in handling ace mecha masters but even then, they hadn't met any logisticians who were able to work as fast as those from 250 Mecha Clan. Was this mecha clan an elite of the elite clan? The JMCs were not certain about the background of 250 Mecha Clan so they started having other thoughts.
After Ling Lan left the starship, she didn't choose to enter the atmosphere of the planet. Instead, she waited for her members. Soon, all the 24 ace mecha master of 250 Mecha Clan were in position. Just as Ling Lan wanted to give her order, she received a call on her optical supercomputer in the mecha.
Ling Lan was shocked. Only the members and the people at the headquarters of 250 Mecha Clan knew this internal channel. Who was calling her?
Ling Lan accepted the call curiously. She heard a familiar voice. "New member of 250 Mecha Clan, Ling Yu, wishes to join the team."
"Ling Yu?!" Ling Lan's lips twitched. Why is this person here?
"Yes. I received an order from the division headquarters. I will be temporary joining 250 Mecha Clan for this land clearing mission." The person replied to her seriously. "I believe that Regiment Commander Ling had received the notification too."
Ling Lan gritted her teeth. Yes, she did receive the notification. This notification came so suddenly and it made her furious. Was this a sign of not being trusted? Did they think that she didn't have the capabilities to lead her team on this mission so they sent in someone to help her?
Ling Lan was angry but she still saved the other party's embarrassment. She replied coldly, "Since that is the case, please join the team."
"Yes, regiment commander!" He seemed angry. The new member scratched his head.
The new mecha operator quickly joined the mecha team. Although he was a new member, the current members of the mecha team were either experienced mecha operators or members of Lingtian whom she had worked with for a long time. Hence, they were able to rearrange their formation quickly. The new member joined their team smoothly.
"Let's go!" Ling Lan gave her order. The mecha team formed a triangular formation and entered the atmosphere of the planet with Ling Lan at the lead.
Once they entered the atmosphere, Ling Lan felt a strong gravity pushing them down. Her optical supercomputer quickly displayed the relevant information of the planet. Ling Lan moved her fingers quickly and entered the new data into the system to calibrate the mecha so it would be able to fall at a slower rate and not get affected by the gravity.
Within one second, all the mechas managed to control their falling speed. Since there was ample time, Ling Lan didn't fully unleash her hand speed. Hence, all the other mecha operators finished their operation around the same time as her.
In the central command room of the Rising Sun fleet, the mecha clans that participated in this mission were all displayed on the screens around the room. 250 Mecha Clan was on it too.
"Is that our an ace mecha clan? What impressive speed." One of the officers was surprised when he saw the mecha team.
"Yes. The other mecha clans are still at their launching port but they have already finished forming up." The other officers were alerted by this officer and started noticing this mecha team too.
"That is because they have fewer people. How many mechas do they have? 25? Oh, it's 26. Most scouting teams will have at least 50 people so they will definitely be slower." One officer expressed his opinion.
The officer who noticed 250 first was unconvinced. "They do have fewer people but how many mechas of the other clans are ready? 10? 15? No clan has 20 mechas ready yet. How is this not fast?"
The officer that was rebutted was speechless. This was the truth. However, he was too prideful to admit he was wrong so he continued, "They have fewer people so the communicating between themselves is obviously easier. It's normal that they are faster."
"Why don't you ask another mecha clan to try it out then?" The officer that supported 250 Mecha Clan refuted. This speed was the overall speed of the entire mecha clan, including the logisticians. If it was so easy to increase one's speed, there would have been more teams out there by now.
"Stop arguing. The mecha team is already entering the atmosphere." Someone reminded the two officers that were arguing. Both of them kept quiet and turned to look at the big screen.
"Haha, that's good. Our 23rd division is the first division to enter the new planet." The officers in the central command center cheered when they noticed this fact.
"Don't be too happy. The ace mecha clan of the 1st division, God of Hunt, is entering too." Someone spotted signs of other mecha clans.
"The mecha clan from the 2nd division, Whirlwind, and the mecha clan from the 3rd division, God of War, is entering as well."
As expected of the divisions under the three great marshal. They had a 50 man team but their speed was only slightly slower than a 26 man team. The 23rd division managed to gain an upper hand due to their numbers.
"Oh right, which mecha clan was that? Once this mission ends, we must heavily reward them." Although there were not many people in this mecha team, it was a fact that the 23rd Division was the first division to enter the planet. This was an accomplishment for them.
"Its 250 Mecha Clan!" The officers were shocked when he saw the name of the mecha clan. They knew that the 250 Mecha Clan borrowed their fleet to participate in the mission but they didn't pay any attention to them. They thought that the higher authorities wanted to give them an opening gambit or a warning. Unexpectedly, the 'useless' 250 Mecha Clan was a fast and highly-skilled mecha clan. Are they dreaming?
Everyone looked at the mecha team that landed safely on the surface of the planet. They were astounded.
"We were fooled by the division headquarters." A calm voice came from the entrance of the command center.
"Commander-in-chief!" All the officers stood up and greeted him. Qi Aiming walked into the central command center. He looked at the mecha team on the screen with a complicated expression. If they could get this mecha clan, the Rising Sun fleet might become the most powerful fleet in the 23rd division. Unfortunately…
He remembered the smile on his superiors face when he submitted this request. He knew that there was no hope of that happening.
Qi Aiming sighed. If he had requested for 250 Mecha Clan right from the start, he might have a chance. However, now, no fleet would be able to get 250 Mecha Clan anymore. Their general looked as though he had given up on 250 Mecha Clan but in actual fact, he had high hopes for this mecha clan. It was too late to benefit from this mecha clan.
At this moment, Ling Lan and her team had already reached the lower layer of the atmosphere of the planet.
The environment on the planet was bad. The optical supercomputer tested the temperature on the planet. It was higher than 40 degrees celsius. There was no oxygen in the air too. If she didn't see the reddish spots which looked like plants when she was coming down, she would have suspected if there were any living things on this planet.
Ling Lan carefully controlled her mecha and landed on a yellowish-brown spot which seemed studier. The moment she landed, she felt her mecha sinking into the ground.
This is not good. The ground here was not able to support the weight of a mecha. Ling Lan felt a sense of danger. She used her fastest hand speed and quickly calibrated her mecha.
The mecha stopped sinking down. She raised one of her mecha legs and took a step forward. The mecha didn't sink. The weight of the mecha had reached an acceptable range for her to walk.
"Set your mechas to floating mode. The floating level will be at 53. Set traction to 11 and granular load to 27." Ling Lan quickly shared her mecha setting to her team members.
She was confident that her team members were able to change their settings based on the situation but she didn't want them to lose their focus on their surroundings so she told them her findings.
The other members quickly changed their settings while they were in mid-air. When they landed, no one sunk. This meant that Ling Lan had found the correct settings in an instant.
After they landed safely, they noticed that the red spots they thought were plants were actually the color of the ground. On the other hand, the yellowish-brown spots which they thought was the ground were actually plants.
As expected, their logic couldn't be applied in a new environment.
Ling Lan and her team landed on an empty field. This was a good and a bad thing. It was good because this place was safer compared to a forest or a swamp. However, risk and opportunity came together. They would have less of a chance of finding a natural resource vein on this planet.
"Regiment commander, we are so unlucky. We landed on a flat field." One of the mecha operators said in a depressed tone.
"Our main goal is to let everyone experience what it's like to go on a mission. It'll be good if we can find some natural resources. If not, it's fine too," Ling Lan replied calmly. She was not after the monetary gains. If she really wanted to equip 250 Mecha Clan, she could use the account that Little Four gave her. There were enough credits in the account to equip 10 mecha clans. It could be said that the only thing Ling Lan didn't lack was credits.
The disappointed members managed to feel better after seeing how calm their regiment commander was.
They used their search device on their mechas to scan the area. Ling Lan noticed that around 10 kilometers away, there was a thermal signal. Since they didn't have any urgent goals, Ling Lan decided to go there.
They quickly ran towards the direction. They wanted to save their energy so they didn't choose to fly.
Along the way, Ling Lan accepted Li Lanfeng's request for a private call. "Rabbit, who is Ling Yu? Is he suspicious?"
"No." Ling Lan replied, "He is from the Ling family." Ling Lan added on.
"Is General Ling Xiao worried about you? Is that why he sent Ling Yu over?" Li Lanfeng asked carefully. He detected a sense of unhappiness in Ling Lan's tone.
Ling Lan's lips twitched. As expected, her team members knew all about it. What a bastard her father was… he destroyed the reliable and domineering image she worked so hard to build.
"Maybe." Ling Lan squeezed the words out of her mouth. Couldn't her leopard learn to act dumb for once? Luckily, he didn't know Ling Yu's real identity. If not, her image would really be destroyed.
Damn it. Her father really knew how to make things difficult for her!
Chapter 692 - A Creature With Tentacles!
Putting Ling Lan's thoughts aside, all of them managed to arrive at their destination soon.
It was a huge lake. The surface of the lake was shimmering with light. There seemed to be no end to the lake with waters that were deep blue and clear. However, Ling Lan and her team members couldn't be certain if there were creatures inside the lake. The steam over the lake and the heat emitted from the lake told them that the temperature of the water was high.
Xie Yi started taking a sample of the water and examining it without Ling Lan's command. He told everyone what he found through the team channel.
"The temperature of the water is at 87 degrees celsius. Can fish survive at this temperature?" One of the mecha operators were stunned. Fish would be cooked at this temperature.
"You are a veteran. Have you forgotten lifeforms here might be different from what we know? I'm pretty sure the fish on this planet are not afraid of high heat," Someone refuted.
"There is a fish like that in the Federation too. It's known as Aomu Fish. It can live within 50 degrees celsius to 60 degrees celsius water. If the temperature of the water gets below 45 degrees celsius, it will die." Someone reminded everyone to not be restricted by their own ignorance.
"No one knows what is in the lake. Let's be more careful." As the most experienced mecha operator, Yang Mingzhi felt obligated to remind everyone to be aware of their surroundings when he noticed that they were too focused on talking.
Everyone instantly focused their attention on the lake.
Ling Lan knew that these people still had problems fighting in a high pressured situation. They had relaxed for too long and lost their vigilance on the battlefield. This was not something that could be solved with training. Only real life-or-death situations would allow them to regain their vigilance.
"Regiment commander, why do I feel that the heat in the lake didn't trigger the thermal signal?" Li Lanfeng looked at his optical supercomputer. He noticed that the thermal signal came from the lake but 87 degrees celsius was too low for the thermal detector to give such a signal.
Ling Lan stared at the surface of the lake for a few seconds. She said slowly, "Seems like we need to go into the lake." She had this query too. There might be something in the lake which caused it to have such a high temperature. She didn't know if it was a natural resource vein in it.
However, entering the lake was a dangerous task. Entering the bottom of a lake or a river was usually the most dangerous place to explore. There was water resistance and the water would affect the mecha operator's vision too. Most importantly, no one knew what was under the water.
Ling Lan pondered about it and chose Qi Long, Zhao Jun, Liu Furong, Gu Zhengyang to enter the lake with her.
Li Lanfeng wanted to say something but he stopped himself. He really wanted to go with Ling Lan but he knew that if anything happened there, with his stamina, he might drag the whole team down. He could not cause trouble for his rabbit.
Ling Lan asked Yang Mingzhi to be in charge of guarding the perimeter and asked Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun to help him. She glanced at Ling Yu who was standing still like a piece of wood. After some thought, she said, "Ling Yu, you'll go down with me too."
Since there is a bodyguard, she should use it.
"Yes, regiment commander!" Ling Yu received the order. Very soon, the six of them jumped into the lake.
The moment they entered the lake, the six of them changed their mecha setting to suit the underwater environment. Their mecha got used to the environment and slowly sunk. It took more than ten seconds for them to sink to the bottom of the lake. It was deeper than expected. There was no light at the bottom of the lake. However, the mechas had searchlights on them so they were able to see within 30 meters around them.
The six people cautiously explored the bottom of the lake. While they were sinking, they didn't see a single fish at all. This caused them to doubt if there were any creatures in the lake.
"Be careful!" Qi Long felt his boss kicking him. Ling Yu, who was protecting Ling Lan, fired a beam shot at Qi Long's direction. If his boss didn't kick him, he would have been hit by the beam. Qi Long was furious. Was there something wrong with Ling Yu? Wasn't he boss's bodyguard?"
"Qi Long, inspect your mecha and see if there is a problem." Ling Lan's cold voice rang inside Qi Long's ears. Ling Yu still had his beam gun in his hand. However, it was not aimed at him. It was aimed at his side.
Qi Long got a shock. He knew that things were not what it seemed. He immediately inspected his mecha and noticed that there was a round-shaped burn mark on the mecha's chest. He didn't know when he got this scar. It looked like a burn mark was formed by electricity.
Qi Long replayed what happened. After slowing down the video feed ten times, he finally saw a silver whip-like tentacle appearing beside him suddenly and attacking him. If his boss didn't kick him away, he might have been seriously hurt. At the same time, he also noticed that Ling Yu's beam sliced the silver whip-like tentacle. That was why the tentacle retreated and stopped attacking him.
With Ling Yu standing by, Ling Lan bent down and picked up the tentacle that was sliced by Ling Yu. After it was sliced, half of it dropped onto the bottom of the lake.
The tentacle kept forming sparks in Ling Lan's hand. Ling Lan was prepared for its attack so she protected her hand using the shield. After a few seconds, the sparks disappeared. The silver whip-like tentacle had used up all its energy and stopped moving. It started to turn dark silver.
"This tentacle has powerful electricity in it. Even if it leaves the main body, the electricity will not disappear immediately. Some of it still remained in it." Ling Lan explained what happened to the other five people. "Based on the way it attacked, it should be a creature with tentacles."
Everyone gasped when they heard that. The hardest type of creature to deal with under the water were creatures with tentacles. This creature even had electricity in it. They were not afraid but it still made their heads hurt.
Ling Lan signaled at Ling Yu to put down his gun. The creature that attacked them had moved away or was hiding. Ling Lan swallowed the questions she had and turned to face everyone. "Be careful. It is injured so it will definitely attack us again."
"Yes, regiment commander!" Everyone was on their guard. With such a scary opponent being near them, all of them moved with vigilance. They even activated their shields. At the bottom of the lake, each mecha was shining with light from their beam shield. Ling Lan knew this would make them easier targets but it was better than dying unknowingly in the tentacles of a tentacle monster.
"Regiment commander, we are unable to contact the people above." Liu Furong frowned as he told Ling Lan the bad news. Just now, Ling Lan ordered him to contact Yang Mingzhi to inform them about the situation under the water so that they could be on their guard.
"Seems like the water is able to interrupt signals," Gu Zhengyang guessed.
"Maybe this is the ability of the tentacle creature," Zhao Jun had another guess.
"No matter what, we are rich." Qi Long smiled brightly as he stared in front of him intently. All he could think of were credits. He didn't look as though he just met a life-or-death situation. He was as lively as usual.
"I didn't expect our luck to be so good." Their current situation was quite bad but everyone's mindset was good. They started making the best out of the situation.
They knew that if they wanted to explore this lake, they needed to get rid of the tentacle creature first. They didn't know how many creatures there were. Furthermore, if they killed all the tentacle creatures only to realize that this was just an ordinary lake with no ability to block signals, their efforts would be in vain.
Yet, everyone looked at the situation positively and accepted the challenge happily. Ling Yu nodded his head. He was satisfied with the performance of these team leaders.
At the side of the lake, the 20 people who stayed back split into two teams. One of the team rested while the other guarded the area. A portion of them guarded the lake while another portion guarded their surroundings.
The person in charge of the group that was guarding the lake was Li Lanfeng. Luo Lang and Xie Yi helped him. Li Lanfeng trusted Ling Lan and the others but he still couldn't help feeling worried. He kept looking at the lake and hoped that his friends would return soon.
Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. "Luo Lang, Xie Yi, look. Did you see something below the surface of the lake just now?" He saw a flash of silver just now. This caused him to be on his guard.
Luo Lang and Xie Yi immediately looked at the lake. But, they didn't see anything.
"There seemed to be nothing," Luo Lang said with uncertainty.
Xie Yi smiled. "You must have mistaken. How can there be any creatures in a lake with such a high temperature?" He moved his mecha after he finished speaking and looked in another direction.
Luo Lang seemed to agree with what he said. He turned his mecha around indifferently too and placed his focus on the other side.
Li Lanfeng muttered, "Maybe I'm wrong." He spun his mecha around too.
When the three of them turned around, six long tentacles shot out of the lake and slashed towards the six mechas that were near the lake. Three of the mecha belonged to Li Lanfeng, Xie Yi, and Luo Lang.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The moment the tentacles appeared, Li Lanfeng, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi shot their beam guns at the six tentacles as though they were prepared for its attack.
This creature which snuck up of them was caught off its guard. All the six tentacles got sliced off. The other three mechas at the side of the lake had received an order from their leader and quickly dodged.
After seeing the attacker, Yang Mingzhi, Han Jijyun, and Li Yingjie quickly came over too.
Two of the tentacles dropped on the yellowish-brown plants at the bank of the lake. They kept twisting as though they still had life in them. The plants that got in contact with the tentacles were burnt immediately. The electricity in the tentacles was strong.
The mecha operators who noticed this felt a chill down their spines. If these tentacles landed on their bodies, they might turn into ash instantly. There was no chance of survival. This was just a portion of the electricity left in a broken tentacle. If they were hit by the main body, their mechas might not be able to withstand the electricity too.
Yang Mingzhi and his group met up with Li Lanfeng's group. They saw waves forming on the surface of the river. Suddenly, numerous tentacles shot out of the river and rushed towards the people at the bank. It must be furious that Li Lanfeng and his friends hurt it so it wanted to kill them.
"F**k, that is a tentacle creature. Everyone focus! Don't get dragged into the water by it." Yang Mingzhi quickly reminded everyone. He immediately raised his beam gun and shot at the tentacles.
He was worried about the group that went down. He wondered if they were safe. This kind of creature was harder to deal with in the water.
After a round of shooting, they managed to destroy close to 200 tentacles. This only happened because none of them missed a shot. However, there were still 800 more tentacles rushing towards them.
"We have too little people. We can't fight with it." Yang Mingzhi immediately gave an order. "Everyone, retreat till the tentacles can't reach you."
Many mecha operators didn't agree with this order, especially the people from Lingtian Battle Team. Under Ling Lan's guidance, they didn't like to retreat. However, they remembered what Ling Lan told them. The person-in-charge was Yang Mingzhi. Even if they wanted to continue fighting, they still had to listen to him. Hence, they retracted their weapons and started retreating.
In a battlefield, everyone must be able to obey commands immediately. If not, they might put everyone in danger. The members of Lingtian got brainwashed by Ling Lan successfully so they didn't create trouble for Yang Mingzhi.
Although everyone moved quickly, the monster in the lake was much faster. Before the mecha operators could move to a safe distance, the tentacles had already reached them.