Chapter 254 - 720 - 727

Chapter 720 - Shopping?

In the office of the Regiment Commander of the 3rd division, Qiao Ting passed the information he collected in these few days about 250 Mecha Clan to his regiment commander.

His regiment commander took the documents and read them. When he saw the names of Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong, he frowned.

He lowered his head and pondered for a long time. Then, he looked up and met Qiao Ting's eyes. His eyes were dim. "Qiao Ting, we were given an order to provoke 250 Mecha Clan to determine their general capabilities. What do you think we should do?"

Qiao Ting replied emotionlessly. "If the order is not given by our direct superiors or the headquarters, I feel that we shouldn't do it." Ling Lan was not an easy person to bully. Instead of embarrassing 250 Mecha Clan, they might become their stepping stone. He already did such a stupid thing in the past, so he didn't want to do it again.

The regiment commander was shocked. No matter who his opponent was, Qiao Ting never backed down. Why was he so apprehensive today? Was there someone he was afraid of in 250 Mecha Clan?

The regiment commander didn't expect himself to guess accurately. Even Qiao Ting, who never shrunk back, didn't want to offend 250 Mecha Clan. Was it worth it to do it for the sake of a major general of the same faction?

"Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong, members of the North and South Stars. They are mecha operators with a title."

"Long Qigang, Lu Yulong, Jiang Shaoguan, Zhuang Shaohan, Wu Yang… they are all experienced soldiers on the battlefield. They were very famous in their previous division. Hmm, Gu Dongyang? He is in 250 Mecha Clan too…" The regiment commander looked at the familiar names on the list and started remembering the old days. He remembered the days on the battlefield. Suddenly, he saw a familiar name and exclaimed in surprise.

Qiao Ting was puzzled. Gu Dongyang? He had a title too but he wasn't on par with Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong in terms of status. Why was the regiment commander so surprised?

"I need to consider this!" The regiment commander was confused. He knew Gu Dongyang would not be able to operate a mecha anymore. How did he manage to stand up again?

The regiment commander had a mysterious look on his face. He gritted his teeth in the end and said, "I need to know if he really regained his power."

He initially didn't want to provoke 250 Mecha Clan for Major General Jiang Wei but now, he decided to understand the situation of the mecha clan first.

"Why can't he just retire obediently? Why must he be so stubborn? Cough…" Qiao Ting heard his regiment commander sighing.

He knew his regiment commander had decided to provoke 250 Mecha Clan. Qiao Ting didn't say anything. He politely bidded farewell to his regiment commander. Before he left Soldier City, he would do his last job well.

The Soldier City was the satellite city of Planet General. Much money was spent to modify Soldier City, the weather here wouldn't be too bad.

Luo Chao and Han Xuya could finally have a good night's sleep. The next morning, when they saw the beautiful and bright sun, their fatigue was dispelled.

"Ah, Luo Chao, the sunlight is so comfortable. We have not seen sunlight for half a year, right?" Han Xuya pulled the curtain open. The warm sunlight entered into the room. She closed her eyes while basking in the gentle sunlight happily.

Planet Juhao was not suitable for humans to live in. There was no sunlight, it was enveloped in darkness all year round. After spending so much time on Planet Juhao, Han Xuya felt she was getting moldy.

"Yes, the sunlight is so beautiful." Luo Chao walked to the window and enjoyed the sunlight with Han Xuya.

"Why don't we go shopping?" Han Xuya's eyes lit up as she asked the question.

They had not gone shopping for almost a year. Luo Chao was tempted too. However, she still had some qualms. "We are not familiar with Soldier City. Furthermore, when we came yesterday, I didn't see any woman around. Is it safe for us to go out like this?"

Luo Chao still remembered how she was teased when she went shopping during the Grand Mecha Tournament. Not everyone in the military was good, there were some perverts mixed in, ruining her whole experienced.

Luo Chao's words reminded Han Xuya. She looked at Luo Chao. With the sunlight shining on her, making her looked pure and beautiful. Then, she thought of the stupid men outside who had not seen a woman for a few years. She would definitely not be able to stop them alone. Han Xuya forgot she was a woman and that it would be dangerous for her too.

However, Han Xuya was unwilling to give up on this opportunity. She pondered for a moment and an idea came to her. "Nevermind, we can get our Boss to protect us." They could use this opportunity to get closer to their Boss too.

As Luo Chao's best buddy, she must help Luo Chao to win the heart of their Boss. She would feel at ease if her Boss got together with Luo Chao.

"No, no. No way." Luo Chao waved her hands in shock. Han Xuya would not be stopped by her so she rushed out of the room, running towards Ling Lan's room.

"Xuya, don't go. Boss is very busy. He has many things to do." Luo Chao wanted to cry. How could they trouble their busy Boss just because they wanted to go shopping? Luo Chao felt guilty. She reprimanded herself for not holding Han Xuya back. She chased after her hurriedly to stop her before she did anything stupid.

Unfortunately, Han Xuya's physical skills were higher than Luo Chao's. No matter how hard Luo Chao ran, she was unable to catch up with Han Xuya.

When Luo Chao arrived at Ling Lan's room, she saw Han Xuya smiling brightly at her. She struck two fingers and gave her a 'peace' sign.

Huh? What does that mean?

"Luo Chao, Boss agreed to go shopping with us." Han Xuya's excited voice could be heard. Luo Chao was surprised when she heard footsteps coming behind Han Xuya, revealing Ling Lan. She met Ling Lan's gaze. Ling Lan was already in her military attire.

"Boss, actually, we can just ask my brother to accompany us." Luo Chao's face turned red. Although she was elated that she could go shopping with her Boss, she still gave a logical suggestion.

Erm, Boss, please don't agree… sob, when did I become such a bad girl? I disregarded how busy he is just because I want to go shopping with him… Luo Chao was embarrassed. She felt sorry for her Boss who always took care of her.

"I want to familiarize myself with Soldier City too." Although she couldn't enter Planet General, Ling Lan still wanted to take a look at Soldier City. After spending so much time in that horrible place, she needed to experience the life of a normal person again.

Well, she would never admit that she actually wanted to go shopping too.

Chapter 721 - Secret?

Millions of soldiers resided in Soldier City so there were many entertainment spots in the city. The luxurious shopping street in Soldier City was similar to the shopping streets in all the other cities. The only difference was, the staff of the shops was soldiers.

Normal businesses were not able to set up in Soldier City. All the shops in Soldier City were under the Purchasing Department of the military. The products were internally distributed supplies so their quality was guaranteed. Not only were they better in quality than those products outside, but they were also relatively cheaper too.

Hence, all the soldiers in Soldier City spent most of their salary here. Some bought necessities they currently needed while others bought in bulks to bring them back after their term in Soldier City ended. Even if they couldn't use it, it was a good gift to normal people. Normal people might not be able to buy military supplies even if they wanted to.

Today, the street was extremely busy. Besides the soldiers who resided at Soldier City, the top ten mecha clans were here too. The soldiers of these mecha clans took the chance to do some restocking. The price here was more affordable compared to the price at their division. Additionally, they needed to prepare some presents too. If they met any comrades after going back, they would be able to give them something.

There were female soldiers in Soldier City but they were rare. However, there were many female products sold. Everyone knew those high-ranking officers, with the exception of a few younger ones, had either a wife, mistress or a girlfriend. To make their women happy, they were willing to spend a lot of credits on them. Thus, the sales of these shops were good.

The moment Han Xuya and Luo Chao arrived at the shopping street, they were attracted by the huge array of products available. If their Boss was not beside them, they would have gone berserk, rushing into shops while shouting happily.

They had not used their salary for almost a year so they had enough credits to buy whatever they wanted. Their boss even secretly gave them a bonus of 100,000 credits. This was their salary for an entire year. It was enough to let them buy things without any qualms.

Sob, their Boss really pampered them. Han Xuya and Luo Chao were touched.

Han Xuya went to ask her other comrades after she received the bonus from her Boss. Haha, those guys only got 50,000 credits. This was halved of what their boss gave them. The two ladies were elated. Their boss was obviously biased towards them. As smart people, they would not boast about their bonuses and create trouble for their boss. However, their smile got brighter and attracted the attention of many soldiers on the street.

Everyone on Lingtian came out to shop together. They were all extremely happy to receive an additional bonus from their boss. They were touched by their boss's selfless love towards them.

Erm.. actually, Ling Lan was generous because Little Four helped her to invest the extra credits her comrades had left. The investment managed to do well so all of her comrades had millions of credits now.

To prevent her comrades from losing their minds due to the sudden wealth, she didn't tell them how much their real assets were worth. The bonus was also a reward for them as they performed well in the land clearing mission.

It meant that this pile of money didn't belong to Ling Lan. It was theirs. Just like this, these people, who were kept in the dark, pledged their loyalty to their boss.

Although the people from Lingtian came out shopping together, they didn't stay with Ling Lan. The temptation to shop with their Boss was huge but they were all forced away by Han Xuya's unrelenting stare.

Hence, the three ladies, Ling Lan, Han Xuya, and Luo Chao went shopping together. Of course, to other people, Ling Lan was a man. Many soldiers on the street didn't have a girlfriend so they got jealous when they saw Ling Lan moving around with two ladies by his side. They wished they could take his place. However, the cold aura around Ling Lan stopped them from doing anything stupid.

Ling Lan noticed the desire in Han Xuya's and Luo Chao's eyes. As expected, no ladies could resist beautiful accessories and clothes. Even if they currently couldn't use them, they still wanted to buy them.

Ling Lan nodded. They were the only two females in her team so she would try to fulfill all their desires. Ling Lan forgot she was a lady too. No wonder Mother Lan always complained that the five years in the military academy had made her less lady-like.

They entered a shop and saw all the trending accessories laid out on the counter. There were clothes and jewelry too. Ling Lan had no interest in these but she got tempted too.

However, the moment they entered the shop, the chatty staff members sprung into a corner as though they got frightened.

"Boss, retract your cold aura. Don't scare them." If there was no one attending them, how were they supposed to shop? She pulled Ling Lan's sleeve and reminded her.

Ling Lan was enlightened. The staff was not real soldiers. They were only a soldier in name but in fact, they were normal people. They were unable to handle her force of presence. That was why they hid from her when she came in.

Ling Lan had no choice but to retract the cold aura around her. The shop regained its warm atmosphere. One of the young ladies noticed the change in the temperature and looked over curiously.

She saw three female soldiers (?) standing at the door. One was gentle-looking, one was quite handsome, and one looked very young and had a kind of androgynous beauty. Just by standing there, they were able to become the center of attention.

The young lady was puzzled. Why did they hide? Just now, she felt fear. It was like when their superior came to inspect their work. They didn't dare to look at their superiors so they hid in a corner and pretended to be busy. They must be thinking too much just now. It must be because they felt guilty for chatting during working hours.

The young lady found an explanation for her actions. Since there were customers, she gathered her courage and walked towards them. She greeted them enthusiastically, "Officers, what would you like?"

Besides people like them, everyone else in Soldier City was soldiers. In order to become a part of the staff at Soldier City, they needed to have ample knowledge about the different titles and ranks of a soldier. The young lady glanced at the three customers. The two ladies were second lieutenants while the other one was a major. She was surprised. At first, she thought that these two ladies brought their younger brother or younger sister out for shopping. It seemed like she was wrong.

She started to greet them with more respect. There were many lieutenants in Soldier City but majors were less common. She didn't dare to offend them.

"Boss, Luo Chao and I will go and shop around. Would you like to take a seat and wait for us?" Luo Chao wanted to start shopping immediately but she couldn't just leave her Boss like this. Her Boss might get angry for neglecting him.

When the attendant heard this, she got agitated. More sales meant more commission for her. She hurriedly asked, "Are you not interested in the products we have?"

Ling Lan shook her head. She was not uninterested. It's just that with her current status, she couldn't use them.

The attendant was disappointed. She looked at Ling Lan's young face and suddenly thought of something. She quickly introduced the second floor to her. "Officer, we have a doll section on the second floor. You can go up and take a look. Our resting area is on the second floor too. If you get tired of shopping, you can have a rest."

Luo Chao heard this and knew that the attendant had misunderstood something. She laughed and turned to look at Ling Lan's pure face. She didn't expect her Boss to look like this after he retracted his force of presence. Her face turned red. She believed that only Xuya and her saw this side of Ling Lan before…

Luo Chao looked at Han Xuya instinctively. She noticed that the careless Han Xuya didn't realize the change in their boss. Luo Chao felt something sweet spreading through her heart. She might be the only one who saw this side of Ling Lan. Was this a secret between her and her Boss?

Just as Luo Chao was immersed in her own thoughts, Han Xuya laughed loudly. "Haha. You are so funny. How can you ask our boss to go to the doll section? He is a man. Why will he like these dolls?"

Han Xuya's words stabbed Ling Lan's heart…

Who says I'm not a woman? Fine, I'm not supposed to be one. However, that does not mean that I don't like dolls, right? Ling Lan was sad. She walked towards the second floor while ignoring Han Xuya. She was afraid that she might kill her accidentally.

Chapter 722 - Caution!

As the attendant looked at her in shock, Ling Lan slowly walked up the stairs. She saw a whole house of dolls and soft toys. Surprisingly, a few bulky men, from majors to lieutenant colonels, were standing in front of the shelves of the soft toys with a troubled look.

The attendants that should be attending to them were nowhere in sight. They might have frightened them away or they might be busy with other customers.

Ling Lan was walking past them but when a cold-looking lieutenant colonel saw her, his eyes lit up as though he saw his life savior. He hurriedly called out, "Excuse me…"

Ling Lan stopped in her tracks. She looked at the person curiously. Why did he call her?

"Erm, sorry to disturb you. My daughter is around the same age as you. I want to buy something for her. What kind of dolls do girls your age…" The officer's face turned gentle when he talked about his daughter. At that moment, he realized he wasn't sure what gender the person in front of him was. He looked at Ling Lan's epaulette and got a shock. "I'm sorry, major."

If this person is a major, he should be a man. The lieutenant colonel knew although there were many outstanding women in the military, their rise in rank would be much slower than a man would. The new generation was even more stringent towards women, so to be a major while being a young female was quite unlikely.

Ling Lan knew without her force of presence, such situations would definitely happen. However, she had a good impression of this lieutenant colonel. It might be because he reminded her of her father, Ling Xiao. Both of them pampered their daughter very much.

Thinking about this, she nodded and said, "How old is your daughter?" She had read many novels and mangas in her past life. Even if she didn't have a clear idea of what girls in this world like, it should be similar to her own experiences.

"She is 15 years old." The lieutenant colonel's eyes turned gentle. He had not seen her for three years. Is she doing well?

15 years old… a young lady. She should like cute things like me. Ling Lan pointed to a cute soft toy. "This one."

The lieutenant colonel looked at the round ball which had a dumb-looking face on it. He couldn't tell what this was. Would his daughter like it? However, since someone of a similar age chose it, it should be right. The lieutenant colonel thought for a moment and decided to listen to the young man. He took the soft toy.

The officers around them had been eavesdropping on their conversation. The moment the lieutenant colonel took the soft toy, they hurriedly grab the rest too.

These officers shopped together to buy gifts for their daughters. To maintain their fierce and stern image, they rejected the help of the attendants and wanted to do it themselves. However, they underestimated the complexity of a young girl's mind. They looked at all the soft toys dejectedly. After thinking for a long time, they still didn't know what to buy.

Luckily, one of them was smart enough to grab a young man who was of a similar age. This young man helped them solved their problems.

After they paid for the soft toy, they suddenly remembered the minimum age to enter the military was 18 years old. If the young man was from the military academy, he should be at least 21 years old now… how could there be such a young major?

They turned back but the young man was nowhere in sight. It was as though he never here… the officers felt a chill down their spine. Did they see something they shouldn't have?

After Ling Lan helped these officers, she walked towards the resting area which was located deeper in the shop.

Ling Lan liked those soft toys but she couldn't buy them. To prevent herself from being tempted by the soft toys, she decisively waited in the resting area for Han Xuya and Luo Chao to finish shopping. That way, she would not feel the pain of not being able to buy what she wanted.

Ling Lan was smart and logical. She didn't give herself any chance to make a mistake. She sat on the sofa and flipped through the internal information viewable only to a major on her communicator, trying to find some useful information.

Suddenly, her pocket started bulging. A few white lines slowly weaved out of her pocket. Very soon, something white and round popped out of her pocket. It surveyed its surroundings before climbing out. It was Little White, the creature Ling Lan smuggled from the Planet Juhao.

It noticed its master was focused on her communicator and wasn't paying attention to it. It was elating. It wanted to leave Ling Lan and shop somewhere else. However, just as it was about to escape, a slender hand grabbed it.

"Ouch!" It hurts! Little White looked at its master with tears in its eyes. Didn't she know it hurts to pinch someone?

With its size and its expression, Little White could win over the hearts of 99.99% of young girls. Even Ling Lan felt her heart softening. But, the brutal training in the learning space made her firm. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Little White dangerously. "Painful? Hmph!"

How dare it used its spiritual power against her? No wonder she lost her concentration for a moment. Was Little White looking for death?

Little White knew it had angered its master. It lowered its head to show its master it knew its mistake. It also held Ling Lan's finger with some of its tentacles and pulled it lightly. It seemed to be whining and asking her for forgiveness.

Ling Lan wanted to laugh. After leaving the Planet Juhao, Little White's intelligence seemed to have increased. It didn't know where Little White learned this cute action from. Every time she wanted to scold it, it would use this expression to get away…

Little Four heard his boss's thoughts and hurriedly ran away.

"Little White, there is a limit to my patience. This is the last time. If you disobey me again, you will disappear permanently," Ling Lan threatened in a calm tone.

She liked Little White's cuteness but she knew what it really was. If she didn't manage to subdue it, Little White could cause huge damage to the human world. Ling Lan couldn't let that happen. Hence, she must watch over Little White carefully and prevent it from going out of her sight.

Chapter 723 - Oppression!

Little White's chubby body flopped around. At the same time, it clung on Ling Lan's hand and began to rub against it. It hoped Ling Lan would let him off easy this time.

Ling Lan glanced at it coldly and then continued to read through the information on her communicator, no longer paying attention to it.

Little White instantly lowered its head down depressingly after it saw its 100% effective cutesy move had failed. It crawled up Ling Lan's shoulder weakly and curled up there without moving a muscle. It would be looking for a death wish if it continued to try to get on Ling Lan's good side, since Ling Lan had already given it a warning.

Qiao Ting took his men and walked around the streets. Of course, they weren't there to buy anything, but instead they had received a mission from their regiment commander. Their mission was to stop those from 250 Mecha Clan. Of course, Qiao Ting's regiment commander's target was Gu Dongyang. This made Qiao Ting become curious about what kind of resentment did his regiment commander harbor against Gu Dongyang. Gu Dongyang had only just appeared and his regiment commander couldn't wait to get information on him.

Although he couldn't refuse the mission given by his regiment commander, Qiao Ting didn't actually want to do this mission. Thus, he didn't go to the area where men liked to shop, but instead came to the shopping district for women.

"Captain Qiao, are you to buy something nice for your significant other at home?" A member saw Qiao Ting had brought them here and had an understanding expression. He pointed to a shop and smirked.

In the past three years, Qiao Ting became very close with his team members. Ever since he lost to Ling Lan, Qiao Ting stopped being a lone wolf. Even though he still spoke little to no words, he was still different from the time when he was in the academy. The difference was like heaven and earth. This made him face less problems and issues in the army. He quickly got used to it and formed good relationships with these veterans mecha operators.

Qiao Ting sent a glance towards the shop and couldn't help but swear, "Sh*t". It turns out inside the shop that the veteran pointed at, Qiao Ting actually saw a familiar face behind the glass… Luo Lang!

No, he saw that person standing close to another girl. Qiao Ting instantly remembered that person was probably not Ling Lan's right-hand man, Luo Lang. Instead, it was the legendary Luo Lang's younger twin sister, Luo Chao.

Having Ling Lan as his rival for life, he, of course, would have information of his subordinates. Qiao Ting felt his head throbbing in pain. He wanted to avoid Ling Lan, but God wouldn't let him do that. He just walked around randomly and managed to find Ling Lan's members…

Qiao Ting was still thinking whether he should pretend not to have seen them and instantly turn around to leave the area. His comrades on the other hand, were staring at the girls by the window. They felt their hearts were pierced by an arrow of love and were instantly excited to go up to them and introduce themselves.

In their eyes, Qiao Ting was a genius whose future held no bounds. If the girls inside the shop could marry Qiao Ting, it would definitely be an honor for them. These girls would definitely not think about rejecting someone of this caliber.

Just like that, Qiao Ting was dragged into the shop by his comrades, which didn't give any chance to make an excuse to leave.

Luo Chao and Han Xuya were shopping excitedly. They suddenly felt the shop being intruded by many people and, Luo Chao raised her head. She saw seven or eight military officers walking towards them with eerie smiles on their faces. They exuded the intention of surrounding them.

Luo Chao panicked. She immediately pulled on Han Xuya, who hadn't noticed them. Han Xuya turned around anxiously. After seeing those military officers, her face instantly steeled and she pushed Luo Chao behind her to protect her.

Those military officers were mostly senior captains. The youngest officer in the group was actually the highest ranked, a major. Those officers didn't seem to be malicious and was just looking at them with smiles on their faces. They would then exchange looks with the young major from time to time.

Han Xuya glared angrily at the young major, who had irritated look on his face. She suddenly discovered that this person seemed very familiar. Han Xuya immediately widened her eyes and shouted in surprise, "Qiao Ting!"

Han Xuya loved gossip and stories. After returning to Lingtian Battle clan, Han Xuya was very interested in Ling Lan's time in the First Men's Military Academy. From gathering little bits of gossip, she managed to know of all the glorious achievements Lingtian Battle Clan had achieved in the First Men's Military Academy. Of course, some of the gossip she gathered was for her best friend, Luo Chao.

The only reason Han Xuya had remembered Qiao Ting was because she knew Qiao Ting was her Boss's only rival within the military academy. She also knew that during the Grand Mecha Tournament when Ling Lan led the clan as the regiment commander, Qiao Ting fell into Ling Lan's trap and became the deputy regiment commander back in the day. She and Luo Chao had a chance to participate in the event and thus saw how Qiao Ting looked in real life.

Qiao Ting smiled bitterly in his heart. As expected, he was recognized by them. Of course, his expression the outside was still calm and he nodded towards Han Xuya, "Second lieutenant, it's been a long time."

Qiao Ting's team members who stood beside him had a surprised look on their faces. "So he knew them~Captain Qiao definitely has a crush on one of them for a long time. Wonder which one it is? Is it the cool-looking girl in the front or was it the soft and shy girl in the back?" They began to think wildly.

"It's been a long time indeed. Who knew we would see you here. Are you here to buy something or…" Han Xuya watched Qiao Ting cautiously and began thinking whether Qiao Ting came to find her Boss. Additionally, she was also on her guard against him because he might take them as hostages to fight against her Boss…

Han Xuya seemed to be brash and forthright on the outside, but it was clearly contradictory to her personality, which was overly cautious.

"Of course, he came here to find you." Before Qiao Ting could answer, one of the 30-year-old senior captains replied with a smile.

"Qiao Ting doesn't speak much. If he wants to get a girl, it would be somewhat difficult. As a good comrade, they have to at least help him. Since Qiao Ting doesn't dare to say it," thought the senior captain who spoke up.

"As expected, they didn't have any good intentions!" Han Xuya's eyes steeled and went into a defensive position. As long as they had the thought of attacking them, she would immediately counterattack. However, her words were still the same, "Qiao Ting, the Boss is on the second floor. If you want to find him, then you can go straight to the second floor. What kind of man are you to mess with women like us?"

Luo Chao also felt something was off and silently took out a few tranquilisers. If those men moved oddly ever so slightly, she would give them one or two darts. They shouldn't think they could bully them just because they were women.

Han Xuya and Luo Chao weren't scared because their Boss was here. As long as they hold off their first attack, their Boss would most definitely run to save them. They were very trusting of Ling Lan in that aspect.

After hearing frustration from the words of the two girls, Qiao Ting's comrades felt something was off. One of them silently pulled on Qiao Ting's sleeve and softly asked, "Captain, are they not the girls you like?" Who is this 'Boss' they spoke of?

Qiao Ting smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Of course not. I have something against their Boss…"

"Rival?" Qiao Ting's comrades' expression instantly changed. The easygoing atmosphere instantly evaporated. Ling Lan was now their rival as well since he was their captain's rival.

"Yes, my rival," Qiao Ting nodded. This was something that could not be changed. Qiao Ting no longer wanted to hide it from them. After all, they would probably work together with him in the same mecha clan after they return to the 3rd Division.

"Is he really strong?" When Qiao Ting first entered into the 3rd Division, he was already an elite ace. He was nurtured by the higher-ups of the 3rd Division. Someone he considered as his rival should definitely be quite capable.

"Stronger than me!" Qiao Ting tried his best to make sure his face didn't twitch. It was the first time he had lost and he lost badly. If it was possible, he didn't want to mention it again. However, Qiao Ting wasn't someone who hides his past. He told his comrades the real events of the past since they had asked him.

Qiao Ting's words made everyone's eyes widen. Stronger than Qiao Ting?

"Also a military academy cadet? Same year? No, probably not the same year. You are the strongest from the First Men's Military Academy in that year." One of the senior captains began to count his fingers and tried to guess the situation of the Qiao Ting's rival.

"The strongest? Back then, I was just a frog in a well. Their Boss had defeated me when he was only in his second year while I was in my fifth year. That's right, my rival is younger than me by three years, but he is stronger than me." Qiao Ting told the truth to his confused team members.

"No, how is that possible?" Everyone began to shout in surprise. Wouldn't a monster like that instantly enter the Flying Dragon Special Forces? Why would someone like that appear in the world of commoners?

Those who could enter the stationed army all knew some secrets that were not publicly information in the military. For example, there were two ways of entering the Flying Dragon Special Forces. One was to be picked out from billions of people. These types of members were considered outer circle members and couldn't enter the core of the Flying Dragon Special Forces. The real core of the Flying Dragon Special Forces were monsters they nurture from when they were very young. In other words, a random person from that group would surpass Qiao Ting's existence. However, Flying Dragon Special Forces's level was too high and wasn't something such low ranked officers such as themselves could touch upon. Thus, they could only gossip about it and couldn't see it for their own eyes.

"I never believed it back then, but in reality, monsters really do exist…" Qiao Ting replied softly. Although he knew many secrets after entering the division including how there were many other monsters like Ling Lan that existed, Qiao Ting still felt those monsters had nothing to do with him. Ling Lan was the sole person that had defeated in his entire life.

Qiao Ting's words made everyone's sights turn back onto Han Xuya and Luo Chao, making the two of them panic. Although the conversation between Qiao Ting's group made them understand it wasn't what they had thought, they still broke the peace. Now, the two girls didn't know whether they would take ruthless measures to take revenge.

Originally, the group thought that Qiao Ting had someone he liked among the two girls and didn't measure the girls' abilities. Now that they knew these two were subordinates of a monster, a few eyes instantly sized up Han Xuya and Luo Chao.

"The physical skills of these two girls actually reached the refinement stage. As expected, the subordinates of a monster isn't too bad." One of the senior captain's eyes glimmered. He wanted to see the monster Qiao Ting had mentioned, who was the Boss of these two girls.

At that moment, a cold voice rang from behind them, "Qiao Ting, you have a problem with my team members?"

Qiao Ting's body trembled fiercely. He turned around instantly and saw Ling Lan standing high above the staircase on the second floor. He was glaring at him coldly as though a king was looking down at his subjects, releasing his regal aura.

"He became stronger again." Qiao Ting's expression changed slightly. Although Qiao Ting knew that in three years time, Ling Lan would definitely become stronger. It was just when the truth was in front of him, he still felt depressed about it. The result, he worked hard to get for three years, seemed to not make him get ahead. Luckily, he was not left in the dust either.

"Ling Lan, I didn't think we would be able to meet here after three years." Qiao Ting instantly steeled himself and broke free from the pressure Ling Lan exerted purposefully. He then replied calmly.

Ling Lan didn't answer. She walked down the stairs lightly step by step. Each step seemed easy, but each step was stepping on the hearts of Qiao Ting's group. A few of the weaker ones even had hallucinations about their hearts being trampled by Ling Lan…

Feeling that his team members were in trouble, Qiao Ting's aura exploded outwards in an attempt to quell the aura Ling Lan had sent towards them.

Qiao Ting thought that he would be injured. However, when his aura exploded, it didn't clash with Ling Lan's aura. That was because his aura didn't hit anything. Qiao Ting's body trembled fiercely, causing him to almost fall over. Luckily, Qiao Ting's basic physical skills were solid which gave him the chance to balance his lower body.

"Compared to three years ago, you've grown much stronger," a voice rang from behind Qiao Ting.

Qiao Ting turned immediately. No one knew when Ling Lan had arrived behind him, which was where Han Xuya and Luo Chao were.

"Compared to three years ago, you've gotten much stronger as well." Qiao Ting knew he had lost again but didn't want to give in to his opponent. The control Ling Lan had on his aura had already reached the stage of Purity. Qiao Ting was much worse in this area compared to Ling Lan.

"It seemed that you're doing well for yourself," Ling Lan looked at Qiao Ting's insignia and said.

"Still can't compare to you. Becoming major in your first year and then a regiment commander." Qiao Ting hated this fact. If this person didn't exist, his achievements would definitely be the top among those around him. However, with this person around, all that he achieved seemed to be not enough.

"My luck is quite good," Ling Lan replied. With her own father helping her and in addition to the time in the military academy, where she somehow managed to complete a legendary mission which accidentally made her team into a five star battle team. This gave her a higher starting point than other military academy cadets. Of course, her comrades were also quite strong. They number of ace operators they had already reached the requirements for a four star battle team. This made her Lingtian Battle Clan acquire their first four star battle team mission.

All of this made her shorten the time she needed to work for her achievements. Ling Lan thought about it and felt that luck was something she could not live without, for her to have gotten to her current position.

To Qiao Ting, Ling Lan's honest words were just for show. He was also quite lucky, but why couldn't he achieve Ling Lan's achievements?

Seeing Qiao Ting's inconsiderate expression, Ling Lan knew Qiao Ting didn't believe her words. She didn't continue speaking about the subject. She immediately pointed towards the two girls, Han Xuya and Luo Chao, who hid behind her pretending to be weak, "Enough of that. Tell me, what's this all about?"

"I saw people I recognized and came to greet them? What, I can't do that?" Ling Lan questioning damaged Qiao Ting's pride. He also replied coldly.

Chapter 724 - Invention!

"Other people can, but you can't." Ling Lan glared at Qiao Ting with eyes filled with malice. She only had these two younger sisters and had already decided to have them be partnered only with someone in her team. She wasn't going to give them up to outsiders. Furthermore, this person in front of her was her rival. If she did, wouldn't that be sending lambs to slaughter?

"Why?" Qiao Ting's eyes narrowed. What did he mean by that? Is he doubting my capabilities?

Ling Lan's cold glare was like sharp blade, "I'm worried when it comes to you." As expected, Qiao Ting had impure thoughts about the two girls in her team.

"Are you worried or are you looking down on me?" Qiao Ting's eyes had a hint of anger. Is he not worthy enough to be his rival?

"Since you understand, why would you even ask?" Ling Lan's smirk was somewhat cold. She didn't have any qualms with Qiao Ting, but now she marked him down as a possible threat in her mind.

It should be known that Luo Chao and Han Xuya were two girls they had protected from when they were young. He wants to take them away? Does he treat me as air? Is he looking for a death wish?

The conversation between the two of them had already diverted into a weird direction. Everyone had stunned expressions on their faces as they watched the two of them quarrelling. Didn't Qiao Ting say they were rivals? Then, what is with this current situation?

Qiao Ting considered Ling Lan as his life-long rival. However, Ling Lan didn't care about him at all… Ling Lan's behavior had completely angered Qiao Ting, causing his force of presence to explode out. Some of Qiao Ting's team members could not defend against the force and was sent a few steps back. At the same time, the countertop of the shop was toppled by the force. Everything was in disarray.

Qiao Ting's force of presence was the overwhelming type. It wasn't like Ling Lan's, which was targeted. Other than the targeted person, no one would be able to feel it. As Qiao Ting's force of presence exploded out, the attendants in the shop screamed in horror as they held their heads and went into a fetal position.

"Sh*t." Ling Lan reacted and a pressure immediately came down from the sky. Qiao Ting could feel a literal mountain on his shoulders. The immense pressure made his legs tremble at an incredible rate. It was as though he was going to be forced onto his knees by the pressure…

The force of presence that had originally erupted in the shop seemed to have been quelled and vanished instantly. The attendants no longer felt the overwhelming pressure and lifted their heads in confusion. They saw the young major, who released the terrifying pressure, now had sweat dripping down his forehead. His entire body was shaking furiously as though he was sick.

"Miss, is that major sick? Do we need to call emergency services?" One of the attendants saw the situation and quickly realized something was wrong. She wanted to help so she asked the owner.

"Dumbass. Those are experts fighting with each other. You're asking for a death wish if you run in there now." The owner wasn't as inexperienced as the attendant. She knew what was happening just from the looks of things. It seemed that the young major's opponent was even stronger, otherwise how could he have easily quelled the young major's explosive and wild force of presence? It was because of his actions that her shop still existed.

The owner thought about it and couldn't help but give a grateful look towards the person facing against the young major. That person seemed to have felt her look and glared coldly at her direction. The owner then felt herself falling into an icy dungeon. She tucked her head down in terror and didn't dare to look again.

That person is so cold. She didn't think that the rival of that young major could be such a terrifying person. The owner was in shock, but was happy that although the person seemed to be cold-hearted, he was actually not. Otherwise, her entire store would have been destroyed.

After enduring the extreme pressure for some time, Qiao Ting felt he had already reached his limit. He seemed to hear his knees cracking. He might have to kneel down in front of Ling Lan in the next second…

Could it be that he would have to kneel down to Ling Lan and give up all of his dignity? Or perhaps, the idea of them being life-time rivals was only just in his own head, while Ling Lan didn't not seem to care about it? Qiao Ting's eyes glimmered with uncertainty as his heart trembled.

So, Ling Lan looked down on him? Why wouldn't he? Back then, he lost by the difference of one move. And now, in a battle of aura, he didn't even have the power to counterattack… What did he have to let Ling Lan view as a rival?

Qiao Ting started to give up. He couldn't compare to the monsters in this world and Ling Lan is that type of monster! Under the pressure of Ling Lan's domain, Qiao Ting began to doubt himself while on the verge of fainting. His knees began to slowly fall towards the ground…

Ling Lan's expression was filled with regret. Is Qiao Ting only capable of this much?

No! Others could make him lower his dignity and honor, but not this person in front of him! The fighting spirit in Qiao Ting's heart was ignited. His knees, that were originally buckling, straightened up once again. This made Ling Lan's eyes glimmer. The force of presence she was retracting, exploded out once again, forcing Qiao Ting to be under an even stronger pressure.

"Qiao Ting, you said you will be my rival in this lifetime. Then, let me take a look and see if you're qualified!" Ling Lan's eyes looked at Qiao Ting with determination, hoping he would surprise her.

Ling Lan clearly knew she needed an opponent who was on the same level as her. There would definitely be countless hard battles in the future. If she didn't have an opponent of a similar level pressuring her, her growth would definitely be stagnant. She was afraid that if her current situation continued on, that in a situation where she was to fight against a stronger opponent, she would be defeated and be unable to do anything about it.

Ling Lan liked the feeling of being pressured into a crisis-like situation. This filled her with motivation. She clearly knew after her father had returned to the division and solving everyone of her problems, she was more dependent on him. Compared to her speed back in the day, her advancement speed was clearly much slower now. Although part of the reason was because the higher the level, the harder it was to advance, the actual reason was because she no longer felt pressured and lowered her own standards. Without pressuring herself to the limit with a hellish training program, she wouldn't be able to continue the speed of her advancement from back in the day.

Initially, Ling Lan didn't know about this issue regarding her growth. However, Li Shiyu's discovery on Planet Juhao woke Ling Lan up from her relaxed state, giving her a sense of crisis. However, that wasn't enough, after all, the problems arising from Li Shiyu's discovery would be in the future. It wouldn't give Ling Lan an instantaneous feeling of danger. Thus, Ling Lan must find an existence that could constantly remind her and pressure her. When she knew Qiao Ting's Qi-Jin stage was at the stage of optimal peak Great Perfection, she hatched an idea.

If there was no existence like that, then she must create it. Thus, Ling Lan decided to create an opponent that could match up to her. Shadowing her and pressuring her constantly forcing her to be in a heightened state. This would make her train harder to grow.

Of course, whether her idea could come to fruition would depend on whether Qiao Ting could advance by himself.

It should be mentioned that she was already satisfied with Qiao Ting's current performance.

At that moment, the uniform Qiao Ting wore was soaked with sweat. His comrades saw this and tried to go over to help him. Ling Lan shot a cold glare at them and everyone felt they had been frozen in place, unable to move a muscle.

"So this is Qiao Ting's rival! So strong!" These captain rank officers lowered their heads uncontrollably under Ling Lan's gaze. They couldn't put any strength into resisting. This made them admire Qiao Ting, who was resisting the pressure from Ling Lan completely, even more. Qiao Ting was probably the only one qualified enough to be considered a rival for someone this strong.

Ling Lan didn't think that her actions of forcing Qiao Ting to advance, accidentally helped Qiao Ting take in a group of loyal brothers-in-arms in the future. However, even if she knew about it, she wouldn't be afraid. After all her subordinates also needed opponents, just like her.

Qiao Ting's eyes were now blackened with blood because the blood vessels in his eyes burst. Ling Lan was no longer in front of his eyes, only his memory from the past 20 years was there. He saw himself handsome and dignified at the age of 20, but took a fall after losing to Ling Lan at the age of 21. He saw himself trying his hardest in the division for three years, but in the end couldn't even defend himself against one attack from Ling Lan.

Could it be that he, Qiao Ting, was a stepping stone for Ling Lan prepared by God? If that was the case then he wasn't willing to give in! He wasn't willing to give in! Every level he obtained was acquired from his own efforts and, wasn't given to him by God. The blood, sweat and tears Qiao Ting had put into every step on his path could dye the his whole path red. Why should he be the stepping stone? Why?

Qiao Ting felt that God wasn't just. He didn't lack talent, he worked hard, but why did God give up on him to instead aid his rival? Qiao Ting's anger ignited and the bottleneck of his body suddenly loosened.

"If he can become a domain user, then I, Qiao Ting, can do it as well!"

Qiao Ting didn't want to submit to Ling Lan. He immediately put forth his entire body's Qi-Jin. He forcefully pushed towards the bottleneck that couldn't be broken easily… He was sure that to fight against a domain expert, he must become one. He knew about the fact that those who were below domain stage were considered ants to those domain experts.

"Still lacking a bit?" Ling Lan knew advancing in Qi-Jin was between the line of life-or-death. If it was possible, an individual should choose a safe place to advance. Currently, they were in a place that wasn't a good place to advance. Luckily, she was a domain expert and could expand her domain outwards to create a safe space to make sure he wasn't disturbed during his advancement.

Qiao Ting's advancement towards the domain stage wasn't something that happened naturally. It was Ling Lan's domain pressure that ignited Qiao Ting's unwillingness to give in. In the end, with his own Qin-Jin resisting from the inside, he created a catalyst for breaking through his bottleneck.

This type of condition was an opportunity that could arise only by chance and was considered to be Qiao Ting's catalyst. Of course, Ling Lan had a hand in this as well.

Originally, Ling Lan was experimenting whether she could use her domain to force the bottleneck of Qi-Jin to loosen up. Now, it seemed that it was indeed effective. It was too bad Qiao Ting was the first person Ling Lan experimented on. It couldn't be helped since Ling Lan's subordinates with the strongest physical skills, Qi Long and Zhao Jun, had only reached the peak stage of Qi-Jin. They hadn't actually reached the level of optimal peak Great Perfection. Even if Ling Lan wanted to force the matter, she wouldn't be able to acquire this type of results.

"Bam!" The pressure from the outside along with the pressure from the Qi-Jin inside Qiao Ting clashed. His body could not endure the pressure from both sides and began to crack open, causing blood to gush out from the wounds. Not long after, Qiao Ting became coated in blood. This terrified the attendants in the shop, causing them to scream once again.

Chapter 725 - Pseudo Domain!

Compared to Qiao Ting's pitiful expression, Ling Lan's expression didn't change. She kept staring at Qiao Ting. If Qiao Ting had reached his limit, she would immediately stop exerting her pressure. She didn't have any qualms against him. Instead, she admired him quite a bit. This was also why she chose Qiao Ting to be her rival. No would want someone who they hated to always appear in front of them.

The immense pain caused Qiao Ting to regain some clarity. He was overjoyed to find out that he has a chance to advance to the domain stage. If he couldn't hold on to this chance now, he wouldn't know when he would get another chance to advance to the domain stage again.

Risking everything on the line, Qiao Ting let out an angry roar. He gathered up all of his Qi-Jin, ruthlessly crashing it onto the loosened barrier that was originally as hard as steel.

"Bam!" Qiao Ting seemed to have heard the sound of the barrier being broken down. The Qi-Jin that had seemed to be in a narrow river, now suddenly felt it had entered an ocean. The limitless power began to flow through his body. He even felt that if he exerted all of the power inside his body, he would flatten the place where he stood in an instant.

Additionally, the pressure that he couldn't resist against a moment ago, now seemed to be a slight breeze. Is this the power of a domain?

"Your condition is still not stable. Are you planning are dropping back down to Qi-Jin?" Ling Lan felt that the domain stage Qiao Ting had just broken through into was very unstable. There were already signs of it dissipating, thus she immediately spoke up to remind him.

After all, he had broken through only by using outside forces and not by himself. Acquiring a domain through this kind of shortcut would result in an incomplete domain. The barrier that had been broken by force was actually slowly reverting back to its original state. If Qiao Ting didn't try his best to stabilize his domain, everything he had acquired from his breakthrough would slowly disappear as time goes by. In the end, Qiao Ting would drop back to Qi-Jin.

"The domain you have acquired is actually considered a pseudo domain. Only after you have put in a lot of hard work to continue to be in the pseudo domain state would you find the real secret of the Domain. Then, you would be considered to have entered the doors of the domain stage." Ling Lan quickly deduced Qiao Ting's situation and was somewhat disappointed with the result. It seemed that there were still many issues using this method to help her comrades to quickly advance to the domain stage. She needed to find a different way.

Ling Lan's chilling voice made Qiao Ting, who was overjoyed with excitement, feel his heart dropping. He looked at Ling Lan with a complicated look on his face, then quickly closed his eyes. He focused to feel the changes brought upon by advancing to the domain stage along with the secrets of the Qi-Jin in his body.

The team members who Qiao Ting had brought, felt the change in Qiao Ting's aura, as it was becoming stronger and stronger. It was as though Qiao Ting had ascended to a much higher and distant state than them. Remembering that Qiao Ting was at the peak of physical skills in Qi-Jin, optimal peak Great Perfection, their expression changed instantly. Their expression immediately turned into a mixture of both joy and fear. Could it be that their captain had actually advanced to domain stage?

Although the Federation paid more attention to mecha piloting skills than physical skills, all mecha operators knew that physical skills was an essential part in operating a mecha. The higher the physical skills, the higher the level of a mecha an operator can pilot. Of course, there were other factors involved in mecha piloting advancement, but no one could deny that physical skills was definitely one of the important factors in determining how far one could reach in their mecha piloting path.

No matter how talented a Qi-Jin expert was, most would only be able to reach ace level. Only a lucky few could perhaps enter the early stage of imperial level, but wouldn't be able to advance any further than that unless they advance to the domain stage. For domain experts on the other hand, as long as their talent in mecha operating wasn't bad, they could easily enter imperial level. The mecha operators who could enter the garrison army all knew that the real kings of the battlefield weren't ace operators, but rather, it was the imperial mecha operators who lowered their level down to ace level. These people were considered the real undefeatable kings of the battlefield.

If Qiao Ting actually advanced to the domain stage, along with his terrifying mecha piloting talent, in the future, Qiao Ting would definitely become an imperial operator. With such a strong individual being their captain, in the future, their battle team would perhaps become a five star battle team, maybe even a legendary battle team.

Thinking up to this point, some senior captains were overjoyed. They were originally hesitating whether they should continue to follow Qiao Ting. Now they affirmed their decision and beliefs to follow Qiao Ting. After all, it was really rare to be given a chance to follow an imperial operator who had yet to develop and grow, and they could work together to bring honor to themselves.

At that moment, Luo Chao and Han Xuya also saw through the reason why Ling Lan had pressured Qiao Ting. They looked at their Boss with a perplexed look. Is it good to be helping his own rival?

The time Qiao Ting used to stabilize his state of mind wasn't too long. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Ling Lan standing in front of him. His eyes showed a hint of gratefulness and fighting spirit. I probably have the qualifications to be considered as Ling Lan's rival now, right?

"Ling Lan, I will remember this favor you have done for me." Qiao Ting was silent for half a second and then finally spoke. Qiao Ting wasn't someone who returned kindness with ingratitude. He will keep this favor that Ling Lan had done for him in his heart. However, it didn't mean that he was going to give up on becoming Ling Lan's rival. Qiao Ting had already made a decision. One of these days, he would definitely return the favor to Ling Lan.

"This was the results of your own hard work, it has nothing to do with me," replied Ling Lan calmly. She didn't want to take credit. Her main motive was not to help Qiao Ting to advance but to instead, use Qiao Ting as an experimental lab rat . The main reason why Qiao Ting was successful was because of Qiao Ting creating his own catalyst for his advancement and the results of his own hard work.

Ling Lan didn't care about whether Qiao Ting would be able to return the favor. Qiao Ting and her were on different paths. In the future, they may perhaps battle each other.

Ling Lan didn't want Qiao Ting to return her any favors. However, Qiao Ting was a proud individual. Once he makes a decision, he would definitely not change it because Ling Lan didn't want it. He only nodded towards Ling Lan and then told his teammates to leave. When leaving, he didn't forget to transfer some credits to the store as reimbursement for the items he had broken in the shop.

Qiao Ting walked to the door and suddenly stopped. He hesitated for a moment then turned around and said to Ling Lan, "My regiment commander is very interested in your subordinate, Gu Dongyang. He probably has sent someone over to go fight him. If you go there now, perhaps you'll arrive before it happens."

Qiao Ting considered this information as interest given to Ling Lan. Qiao Ting felt more relaxed and left the shop without caring about his teammates' stunned expressions.

"What? They're from 250 Mecha Clan? Captain, why didn't you say something earlier…" A frustrated voice of team member echoed from behind the door. The 250 Mecha Clan that their regiment commander had ordered them to fight actually appeared in front of them and they missed them just like that?

"If I told you, could you even stand against him?" Qiao Ting's sneering echoed afterwards.

"Ugh… not sure." His team members understood they had met up with a Big Boss. They wouldn't be able to go against him.

Ling Lan watched as Qiao Ting left into the distance and quickly began to think.

Luo Chao anxiously shouted, "Boss, let's contact Captain Gu quickly." Although she didn't know whether Qiao Ting's words were true or false, she still wanted to notify Gu Dongyang to be on guard. There was nothing wrong with that.

Ling Lan's right hand's index finger and thumb rapidly rubbed against each other. She then instantly had a decision, "No need, you can keep shopping."

"Why? If by any chance Qiao Ting spoke the truth, isn't Captain Gu in danger?" Han Xuya was also somewhat anxious.

"What dangers are there in Soldier City?" Ling Lan said indifferently.

Although soldiers of the Federation belonged to different divisions and could have fights with each other, they still wouldn't use ruthless methods. Furthermore, this was probably Gu Dongyang's private matter and should be resolved by Gu Dongyang himself.

Ling Lan knew very well that although she was the Regiment Commander of 250 Mecha Clan, she wasn't 250 Mecha Clan's babysitter. They must rely on themselves to resolve their own problems. She would only be their shield for her clan members when necessary.

After answering Han Xuya's question, in the next second, she disappeared out of the two ladies' sight. Han Xuya and Luo Chao knew that their Boss must have returned to the lounge on the second floor.

After sitting down and before Ling Lan could think, she heard protesting roars. She then saw Little White crawling out from her back collar with great difficulty while breathing heavily. It turns out, Ling Lan had ordered Little White to stay in her back collar to hide it, which in turn almost suffocated Little White. Thus, after seeing an opportunity to come out, Little White immediately crawled out to save its little life. At the same time, it wanted to protest against its immoral master for torturing pets…

"Pets? Do pets behave like this?" Ling Lan's expression had a hint of coldness. She pinched Little White's chubby white cheeks really hard…

"Rawr… please let me go. I don't dare to do it again." Other than pleading for its life, Little white could only hold back its tears and accept its master's pinching. In Little Four's words, "Pets don't have freedoms!"

Yes, as expected, the feeling was great. Rubbing it was very comfortable… Finally being able to pinch and rub Little White, Ling Lan's eyes squinted in satisfaction.

"Oh, that's so cute. I like that one." A cute voice suddenly rang near Ling Lan.

Ling Lan frowned. Were those words said to her?

She looked over and saw five people, not too far from her, at the doll section near the staircase. They could see her from that location. It was possible that they were customers that came to look for dolls and accidentally saw her rubbing Little White. That was why that person said what she said.

In the group of five, there was a petite girl. She saw Ling Lan not paying her any attention and became frustrated. She was a girl who was taken care of by the heavens. She could feel the frigid coldness emanating from that person coupled with the disrespect and uncaring vibe exuding from Ling Lan, she instantly couldn't take it.

She immediately rushed towards Ling Lan and stood in front of her with her hands around her waist, "Hey punk, I'm talking to you."

Ling Lan still kept a straight face and continued to rub Little White. She was not even interested in speaking with this arrogant lady.

Ling Lan indeed treated her own comrades well, but this didn't mean she would treat everyone nicely. With a cold and heartless appearance, she was sometimes indeed quite cold and heartless.

"You, you, you…" The petite girl was completely angered by Ling Lan's attitude. She pointed at Ling Lan and finally said, "Do you know who I am?"

Chapter 726 - Dispute!

Ling Lan frown deepened even more. She knew that with this girl's terrible attitude, trouble would come no matter if she replied or not. She coldly glanced at Little White. After all, it was this little thing that caused all this trouble. Why must it be that cute?

It had to be said that Little White's appearance was indeed quite mesmerizing to people, even Ling Lan was mesmerized by Little White. It seemed that its ability to mesmerize people was quite powerful.

The arrogant girl saw that the young man was playing with 'her' toy. She already considered Little White as 'her' toy. The anger inside her burned even stronger. Without thinking, she immediately walked up and tried to grab Little White out of Ling Lan's hands.

Right as her hands went forward, she discovered that she grabbed nothing. The young man who was sitting on the sofa, was now standing behind the sofa. The soft white ball-like plushie was standing on the young man's shoulder, jumping around and making silly faces towards her.

That doll is actually alive! The arrogant girl's eyes glimmered brightly. The urge of possessing it became even stronger. She was definitely going to get her hands on that doll.

Ling Lan hated trouble so, she didn't want to start a fight with the girl. After dodging her attempt at grabbing Little White, she prepared to move past them and go down to the ground floor.

"Stop him!" Although Ling Lan didn't want to cause any trouble, the stubborn girl was not willing to stop causing trouble. She immediately called out to the others who came with her to stop Ling Lan.

After she yelled, three captain level officers who wore their uniforms stepped out and blocked off Ling Lan's path.

Ling Lan raised a brow and a cold sharp light struck the three of them. The three of them instantly felt their hearts tremble. After seeing Ling Lan was actually a major, they were stunned and immediately responded, "Major, please wait a moment. Young Miss Qi has something she would like to talk to you about."

One of the officers had sharp eyes, saw through the movement Ling Lan had used to dodge Young Miss Qi's hand. The movement was light and without much effort. This made him understand Ling Lan was much stronger than them. Additionally, by looking at Ling Lan's appearance, the officer could determine that Ling Lan was also younger than them. With these conclusions in the officer's mind, he concluded that this person in front of him was either a genius nurtured by the division higher-ups or had a strong background. No matter which it was, he wasn't someone they should offend.

Thus he softly apologized and said, "Young Miss Qi is the daughter of the 13th Division's vice general. If she has offended you, please do not hold a grudge against her." Of course, he was also informing Ling Lan of Young Miss Qi background, in hopes Ling Lan would be scared of her background.

"A daughter of a vice general can be this arrogant?" Ling Lan rubbed her chin as she went into deep thought. She couldn't help but think that maybe the reason why Ling Xiao had sent her to the First Men's Military Academy even after knowing she was a girl, was because he didn't want her to become like this and humiliate him in public?

Thinking about Ling Xiao's cunningness and evilness, Ling Lan instantly confirmed her theory.

Seeing Ling Lan had been blocked by her people, the arrogant young lady was overjoyed. She slowly strutted over while flaunting around in an arrogant manner, before arriving near Ling Lan and pointed at Little White, who sat on Ling Lan's shoulder and said, "I'm taking this thing. Tell me how much do you want for it."

Ling Lan looked at her coldly. That look made the arrogant young woman feel like ice was jammed into her bones. It was as though her father was looking at her, making her feel terrified.

Ling Lan saw the young woman had been frozen solid by her so she began walking away. After the three captain rank officers saw the young miss of the vice general not ordering them to impede his way, so they looked at each other and then voluntarily moved aside to open up a path for Ling Lan to pass.

Right as Ling Lan had reached the staircase, the arrogant young woman seemed to have woken up. She was admonishing herself for actually becoming oddly afraid of that young man. Without thinking again, she ran towards Ling Lan like a cannonball.

"Bam!" The young woman was sent flying back as fast as she ran towards Ling Lan, by an invisible force, falling to the ground, skidding on it for a few meters. "Bang!" Her head hit the leg of a sofa, causing a part of her head to swell.

"Ow!" The arrogant young woman cried out in pain. She placed her hand on her swollen head and angrily shouted, "You actually dare to hurt me. Attack him!"

"Ah!" Not even a second after she said that, the arrogant young woman found herself being ruthlessly choked by a silky white and yet strong hand. She could only grab ahold the hand in pain as her eyes widened with fear…

This person actually wanted to kill her! For real!

"Major, please don't be angry." The expressions of the three captain rank officers changed instantly. Right as they were unsure as to what they should do next, the hatted person standing beside them suddenly spoke up.

Her voice was as clear as jade, instantly quelling Ling Lan's rising anger.

"Decadent Voice!" Ling Lan didn't think that she would be able to experience this innate talent at this place. Ling Lan was surprised. From what she knew, the popular singer Li Yinfei within the Federation was someone who had awakened the innate talent 'Decadent Voice'. Of course, the reason why Ling Lan was so familiar with this innate talent was because one of the men in her team, Zhao Jun, awakened this innate talent that Zhao Jun thought of as an embarrassment. This made it impossible for Ling Lan to forget it.

Ling Lan looked over with curiosity and saw that person taking off the hat that covered her face. She had the face of that well-known figure; Li Yinfei!

"Young Miss Qi had a lapse of judgement, she didn't mean to offend you on purpose." Li Yinfei gracefully bowed towards Ling Lan. Every one of her movements were perfect without any flaws, even the three captain rank officers couldn't help but be draw-in by Li Yinfei's gracefulness, showing drunken expressions on their faces even though they should be worrying about the person they were supposed to protect.

"Boss, Li Yinfei's innate talent seems to be not only just Decadent Voice." Little Four felt something was off and immediately jumped out to tell his Boss.

"I know. It is impossible for her to become the entire Federation's goddess with just Decadent Voice." The feeling Little Four felt was, of course, also felt by Ling Lan. However, she didn't have any major problems with Li Yinfei, thus Ling Lan didn't care to dig into her secrets.

"Please forgive Young Miss Qi." Li Yinfei was not afraid of Ling Lan's cold expression and continued speaking with a smile on her face.

Ling Lan just looked at Li Yinfei's face silently. When she saw Li Yinfei's smile starting to be a little stiff, she suddenly spoke, "Don't you know the move she just made would severely injure a commoner?"

Hearing this, Li Yinfei's smile was even bigger, "But, you're not a commoner, major."

"So, you're saying I'm making a scene out of nothing?" Ling Lan raised a brow. This Li Yinfei was interesting. Her ability in public relations was quite strong. Ling Lan wanted to know what would happen if she met Xie Yi.

"Those are your words, major." Li Yinfei smiled again. If the smile from before seemed to at a political standard, the second smile she gave seemed more sincere, instantly decreasing the distance the two of them.

"As expected, she is born to be a public relations officer. Too bad she became a singer of the soul." Ling Lan thought. Although Xie Yi was good in public relations, his smile was more sly the more someone looked at it. It wasn't the same as Li Yinfei's smile that slowly made others feel good and closer to her, without fail.

Ling Lan wasn't planning to be ruthless towards the arrogant young woman in the first place. Her actions were only to give her a warning that she couldn't do as she pleases even though she was the daughter of vice general. After all, Ling Lan's real identity was the daughter of a Division Commander. If people were under the impression of the daughters of division commanders were all arrogant and unreasonable girls, Ling Lan would feel wronged. Why must one bad apple spoil the whole barrel?

Thus, after hearing Li Yinfei's words, her hand instantly loosened.

"Cough, cough, cough…" The arrogant Young Miss Qi could finally breathe fresh air. She instantly began to cough, only stopping with great difficulty. Then she raised her livid eyes and said, "I won't let you off easy. I will definitely have my daddy teach you a lesson."

After hearing these words, the three captain rank officers' faces turned yellow. Li Yinfei's eyes showed a hint of irritation. Does this Young Miss Qi not see everyone's lives are in the palm of this major's hand?

Just from the one movement of this major, Li Yinfei knew the three captain rank officers were no match for him. Additionally, the major knew about Young Miss Qi's background, but was still so ruthless. This could only mean that the major's background was strong enough to not care about the consequences of his actions. Someone with a brain would have taken the advantage of the tame situation and made peace already, but this dumb Young Miss Qi didn't know when to stop. She continued to make the situation worse. If it wasn't for the fact that Li Yinfei had followed her here, she would definitely not care about this dumb woman…

"Wait until your father becomes the division commander, then we'll talk." Ling Lan smiled coldly. She wasn't afraid. Ling Lan was very trusting of her father, Ling Xiao's prowess as a political figure. If it was for her, her father would be able to take care of it all, even if the top three generals banded together, not to mention a small vice general.

"You, you, you piece of sh*t. Wah…" Realizing the threats she always used were ineffective. The young woman who didn't know what to do about Ling Lan, actually plumped down on the ground and began to cry.

Ling Lan rolled her eyes. This is the daughter of a vice general? Idiotic. Ling Lan suddenly rejoiced that her father had tossed her into a men's Academy. Otherwise, her intelligence might be degraded like that as well?

Li Yinfei was stunned by Young Miss Qi's unusual behavior. She frowned and comforted, "Young Miss Qi, please get up and talk."

Hearing this, Young Miss Qi instantly stood up. She quickly rubbed away the tears and shouted loudly, "I don't care. I will get that thing no matter what." She still won't give up on Little White.

Li Yinfei's head spinned. She originally wanted to form a healthy relationship with the daughter of one of the division's leaders to make going in and out of the division easier. Now it seemed that she had made a poor choice of choosing that someone to form a healthy relationship with. If she had known that this woman had mental issues, she would definitely not have agreed to go shopping with her.

However, if she didn't bring her back safely, she might not be able to endure the anger and frustration that will be put on her by the vice general. Li Yinfei could only bite her lip and ask, "Major, Young Miss Qi really like these types of creatures. Where you did you get it from or buy it from?" Taking Ling Lan's pet was out of the question. Li Yinfei could only ask a different question and hope this way the situation could be fully resolved.

Ling Lan looked at Li Yinfei with a half-smile, "Only one exists in this world."

…

"Sh*t, what do you actually want?" Li Yinfei, who smiled for the entire time, could no longer smile. At that moment, she understood that this cold-faced major did not have any thoughts of compromising, thus she didn't even want to say anything perfunctory.

Li Yinfei became cold. Why should she be here helping the situation if this person didn't want it in the first place? She should do what they want, make the situation as big as possible.

Chapter 727 - Mixing It Up!

As expected, after hearing Ling Lan words, the arrogant young woman angrily pushed down on the communicator on her wrist…

"Boss, are we intercepting her communicator?" Little Four shouted enthusiastically. He could finally have the chance to do something.

"Unnecessary. Let's just allow this situation to get more complicated," Ling Lan stopped Little Four from doing anything.

After finally contacting someone, the arrogant young woman finally began to act proudly once again, "Just you wait, my people are coming here right this moment."

"Dumbass!" Ling Lan clicked her tongue at her while looking at her with eyes filled with disdain and mockery. After she said her piece, she disappeared from the second floor in an instant.

"Argh! You actually dare to run away… I'm so angry right now." The arrogant young woman stomped her feet. She angrily turned around and looked towards Li Yinfei and the others who followed her and asked, "Do you know which division that person is from?" She was definitely going to have her father to force that division to hand over that bastard.

"Ah, I think it was…" The three captain rank officers couldn't remember it at all, it was like they hallucinated the whole event. How could they not remember which division that person is from? In the end the three of them lowered their heads and softly spoke with embarrassment, "Sorry, we didn't pay attention to that."

"You're all a bunch of idiots. You can't even do such a simple task." In the midst of her frustration, the young arrogant woman went down the stairs to find the owner of the store. She ordered them to give her surveillance footage. Although the owner wasn't willing, she complied after knowing the identity of the young woman. The owner could only helplessly give a copy of the surveillance footage to the woman. She was, however, worried about the young officers who had angered this woman…

Huh? How did that officer look like? The owner couldn't remember. Maybe it was because she was so busy and wasn't paying attention to it, the owner thought that was the case.

After acquiring the footage, Young Miss Qi contacted her father to send him the footage. After crying and complaining for half an hour, she finally made Vice General Qi angry. He ordered all of the soldiers from the 13th Division, stationed in Soldier City along with the 13th Division's Wild Lion Ace Mecha Clan's Regiment Commander, who had just arrived at the city, to aid in search of that person. Then, they were ordered to ruthlessly teach that person a lesson.

Li Yinfei, who left with Young Miss Qi, felt odd. She clearly saw the face of the individual, but why couldn't she remember it? She only knew that the person was young and was a major with cold attitude… Other than that, she couldn't remember anything else. The strangest part was that all five of them only remembered these details and didn't have any other information. It was too much of a coincidence.

Ling Lan appeared miles away from the location in an instant. She suddenly frowned and stopped abruptly. She retracted all of her aura and silently melded with the soldiers walking around the streets. She disappeared into the crowd in the blink of an eye without any traces.

Right after that, two silhouettes suddenly appeared on top of different buildings, overlooking the crowded streets with suspicion, but they couldn't find any traces of what they were looking for.

On one of the buildings, a middle-aged buff man suddenly appeared beside an old man, who was one of the silhouettes from before.

"Elder Lian, did you find anything?" The suspicion in the eyes of the man was still oozing out. It seemed that he was quite worried about the fact that they had lost their target and let the target get away.

"That person is very capable. If my guess is correct, that person should have already reached the imperial level and is a domain expert. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to easily escape from us. Unfortunately, the traces and clues he left was minimal. We can't figure out who he actually is." Elder Lian also had worry in his expression. Imperial level was the strongest existence in terms of domain. These super strong individuals were considered to be the military's trump cards that didn't move about much. Why is that person in Soldier City?

Elder Lian's words made the man's expression changed slightly. Only after reaching their current status, would people understand the terror of an imperial level domain expert…

"Isn't the military planning on honoring the top ten mecha clans from the latest land clearing mission? Elder Lian, do you think this is why that person has come?" The middle-aged man seemed to have remembered something and quickly told Elder Lian his thoughts.

Elder Lian was reminded of this fact and nodded slightly, "Indeed, that's a possibility."

Perhaps there was someone whose background was beyond their understanding. That was maybe why an imperial level domain expert was guarding him or her in the shadows. Something like this was common, but it wasn't overly exaggerated like this time. The expert guarding the VIP was at a terrifying level.

"What should we do now? Should we report this to the military? The middle-aged man frowned. An imperial level domain expert wasn't someone he or Elder Lian could handle.

"It's unnecessary. Every imperial level domain expert would report to the military if they were to be stationed or be on leave. If the military hadn't notified us, then that means they don't want us to know of his existence. We should just pretend we don't know anything." Elder Lian lived for so long and understood very well the military's methods. He didn't want to get mixed up in unnecessary trouble.

The middle-aged nodded his head, symbolizing he understood. Soldier City wasn't like other planets, where people from other countries could mix in. Those who could enter Soldier City would have had their backgrounds checked and were only allowed to enter after finding no issues with them.

Thus, this imperial level domain expert who had entered Soldier City was definitely serving the Federation. Every movement of imperial level domain experts was under the scrutiny of the military. If the military didn't say anything then, that meant all of the movements of this imperial level domain expert was approved by the military.

The two domain experts found the answer that they thought was correct. Not long after, they disappeared away from the building.

At that moment, Ling Lan lifted her head and looked towards the sky. She didn't think that there were actually two domain experts stationed in Soldier City. They were also very strong and were probably domain experts who were given titles. If it wasn't for the fact that she was alert, she may have been discovered.

"Boss, they took the footage." Little Four, who was watching the surveillance of the store,shouted as he saw that the annoying and ugly woman happily took a copy of the footage he had forged. In order to create this video footage, Little Four used up a bunch of his brain cells… Uh, did intelligent entities like him have brain cells? Whatever, if he didn't have brain cells, then he at least had to sacrifice a bunch of 0s and 1s.

Hearing this Ling Lan smirked, "Then, let the scene unfold… I hope they won't disappoint me." She had to test the waters of the military and each division. She hadn't forgotten about the hatred towards the military for her father's losses back then that made her family split apart.

"Oh right, Little Blossom, how do you feel? It's not uncomfortable right?" After planning out everything, Ling Lan finally remembered about Little Blossom, who was in her mindspace holding his big belly while burping continuously.

Little Blossom, who Ling Lan was worried about since he ate too much, now narrowed his eyes with a bright and a satisfied smile on his face. Hearing that his master asked him a question, he immediately replied, "Yes, good… uh… happy!" Little Blossom was hiccuping to the point where he couldn't complete a sentence, but he didn't sound uncomfortable at all.

"Master's so nice." She actually allowed him to devour the memory of so many people. He hadn't tasted anything like that in a long time, he almost forgot the amazing taste of people's memories.

Additionally, he wanted to thank his Elder brother Little Four for saving him from the clutches of that terrifying woman… Little Blossom looked towards Little Four with gratefulness in his eyes. As expected, elder brother was the best.

Little Blossom looked towards Little Four with a raised brow. This made Little Four's hairs stand on end as he shivered… Why does Little Blossom's expression seem so weird? What did he learn from Number Four?

Seeing Little Blossom full of happiness with bubbles coming out of his nose, Ling Lan knew she worried for nothing. They must keep their promise and return Little Blossom to Number Four since he had finished his task…

Ling Lan shot a glance at Little Four, Little Four immediately understood her intent and immediately kicked Little Blossom, who still had a face full of happiness, back into the learning space.

Ahhhh! Ling Lan's mindspace had Little Blossom's cries of agony echoing throughout it as Little Blossom was kicked away. The bubbles of happiness that filled the mindspace were finally destroyed one by one. Ling Lan and Little Four looked at each other with mutual understanding in each other's eyes. As expected, without those things around them, they felt much better.

As for Boss's departure, Han Xuya and Luo Chao didn't know about it. However, not long after, they received Ling Lan's message telling them that he had left temporarily and couldn't continue shopping with them.

Luo Chao and Han Xuya didn't think much of it. If Boss wasn't busy then he wasn't Boss. They were already satisfied that their Boss could shop with them for one to two hours.

In the base camp of the 13th Division troops stationed in the city, not only was the regiment commander of the stationed troops there, the Regiment Commander of the Wild Lion Ace Mecha Clan, one of the top 10 mecha clans, Yue Putian was also there. The two of them watched the video footage of the dispute between the young major and their vice general's daughter. After watching intently, they both frowned.

"Brother He, this will be difficult." Yue Putian and the regiment commander of the stationed troops, He Junyi was his old friend so they weren't formal around each other. He immediately spoke out his thoughts.

"It's actually that person. Our Young Miss Qi really knows how to create problems for us." He Junyi also had a difficult expression on his face.

"Qiao Ting, the person the Third Marshal thinks highly of. He's a genius who is nurtured by the higher-ups of the 3rd Division. Even if it was Vice General Qi, he would still have to weigh the options of whether offending the Third Marshal for his daughter is worth it." Yue Putian rubbed his nose. Ever since he received the orders from his vice general to find out about this situation, he knew trouble was coming.

How could normal people shop in Soldier City? These people were either capable mecha operators or individuals with strong family or military backgrounds. Although Yue Putian had made some preparations knowing that the opponent knew of Young Miss Qi's background and yet still didn't give in to her demands. It meant that he definitely had some sort of background. It was just that after knowing who the person was, his head began to ache.

Qiao Ting can't be touched!

Yue Putian knew this very well, but if he didn't discipline Qiao Ting, he wouldn't be able to face Vice General Qi. After all, Young Miss Qi was vice general's precious baby daughter. It was also because of this, Young Miss Qi was spoiled to the point of becoming this arrogant and irritating person, causing many problems wherever she goes.

She was lucky in the past because those who she offended before were individuals without much background. Those situations were easily handled and wouldn't cause any huge problems. It was just that her luck had finally ran out. After coming to the Soldier City, she managed to anger someone she shouldn't have.