Chapter 296 - 1141 - 1151

Chapter 1141 Judgment!

After three days, the merits rewarded for the battle were announced.

All of the meca clans in Base Nebula received a third-rank group award, while the mecha clans who had fought in the battle received a second-rank group award based on the battle reports. Some mecha clans had also received a first-rank award. Mecha operators who performed well were also awarded with individual awards for their achievements.

Lingtian, which had put in the most effort and could even be considered the determining factor of the entire battle, was not mentioned even once during the announcement of the rewards. There was only a small tidbit explaining that Lingtian Mecha Clan's achievements and rewards hadn't been arranged and would be publicly announced in the next few days.

Lingtian Mecha Clan weren't weirded out by this. Wasn't the battle on Planet Haijiao the same as well? After every battle, the military awards and merits always had difficulty appearing on their laps.

They understood that it was because their regiment commander was always making great surprises. These surprises were so large that the military couldn't quickly digest it. Only after the military or rather the entire Federation ran around in circles, would they be able to even get a glimpse of their awards.

Without mentioning other people, just the foreign affairs officers, who were at the Intergalactic United Nations, would be berated with insults and questions every day. They even had a few times when they were in handcuffs. They were so disheveled that they couldn't even maintain the impression of being foreign affairs officers.

Thus, all the departments in the military, especially the foreign affairs department of the government didn't really have a very good impression of Lingtian. When Lingtian was mentioned, they would think of those audacious bastards… it was a love and hate relationship.

In this situation like this, how could the military's higher-ups give out awards so easily? They still had to try their best to nitpick and try to find problems with their perfect result in order to find ways to decrease their military merits. The lower the merits, the better they would feel. Doing this wasn't any beneficial to them but they still wanted to do this just for the sole reason of looking at a defeated Lingtian. These higher-ups would be extremely exhilarated when that time does come… or not.

However, Lingtian wasn't scared. Lingtian wasn't a step-son with no connections or anything as there was still the big boss standing behind them. General Ling Xiao was definitely not going to allow the military to give them any less than they deserved.

During the time Lingtian was waiting for the final results, Ling Lan wore her uniform and took Li Lanfeng, Zhao Jun and Li Shiyu, who didn't show up much, to Piercing Arrow's camping ground.

"Major General Ling, welcome to our camp." After receiving the notification, Yu Wei led a portion of his leaders to welcome them.

"Regiment Commander Yu, sorry for the intrusion." Ling Lan nodded calmly towards Yu Wei and followed him into his camping ground.

Everyone sat in the living room of the command center. After sitting down, Yu Wei asked Ling Lan for the reason why they were here today.

Ling Lan glanced at Li Lanfeng nonchalantly.

Li Lanfeng understood and said, "Regiment Commander Yu, we came here to see someone. We have some things we'd like to ask him."

Yu Wei's curiosity peaked. "Who are you looking for?"

"Zhang Han!" Smiled Li Lanfeng.

Zhang Chao looked at Li Lanfeng with a stunned expression on his face and said anxiously, "Leader Li, how do you know my brother's name? Is this visit because of the leather whip? I've already taught him a lesson for disrespecting your subordinates."

"It's not because of that. We just want to ask him if he knows someone," Li Lanfeng explained in a warm tone.

Hearing this, Zhang Chao was no longer worried and said, "Alright, I'll call him over here."

Zhang Chao quickly contacted Zhang Han for him to come to the command center as there were very important visitors who wanted to ask him something.

Not long after, Zhang Han arrived. Once he entered the living room and saw that Ling Lan was sitting in the main seat, his expression changed. His footsteps slowed down and his shoulder started slouching down.

"You good-for-nothing, get over here." Seeing Zhan Han's cowardly posture, Zhang Chao became angry and shouted towards him.

Zhang Han put his head down, slowly walked towards Zhang Chao and said weakly, "Elder Brother!"

"Major General Ling has something to ask you. Answer him well." Zhang Han's helpless expression made Zhang Chao feel sorry for him, so he held in his anger and prompted him with care.

"Yes, I understand." Zhang Han nodded and walked in front of Yu Wei and Ling Lan and then saluted. He waited for the hard-hitting questions.

Seeing Zhang Han standing on attention, Li Lanfeng spoke, "Second Lieutenant Zhang, do you know Major Wang Junzhi?"

Zhang Han had a blank expression on his face. "No, I don't know him."

Li Lanfeng turned on the virtual screen on his communicator and showed Wang Junzhi's image.

"Second Lieutenant Zhang, think carefully, have you seen this person before?" Li Lanfeng was very patient with his words.

Zhang Han thought for a while and after a few seconds, he shook his head again. "I'm sorry, I really don't remember."

Seeing this, Zhang Chao quickly added, "Although my little brother is a bit useless, he doesn't really go out that much other than going out to buy daily necessities. He would stay in the camping ground most of the time so he won't know many people from the outside. I never heard him speak of this person so he probably doesn't know him."

In reality, even Zhang Chao felt that the person in the image was unfamiliar. After all, Base Nebula was like a large city and every clan had their own location to set up camp. Some were even built away from the center of the base, so a lot of people might not even see each other even after retirement.

Li Lanfeng seemed to not want to let up and continued to ask, "You also haven't met him in the virtual world?"

Zhang Chao thought deeply for a moment before shaking his head with determination. "No, I definitely hadn't seen him before."

"Alright, thank you, Second Lieutenant Zhang. Now there's another thing that we hope you can cooperate with us." Li Lanfeng no longer focused on the matter about Wang Junzhi. He just gestured to Li Shiyu for him to come over.

Li Shiyu walked in front of Zhang Han and said politely, "Second Lieutenant Zhang, please cooperate with my examination of you."

"Why?" Zhang Han performed a guarded stance.

"I have to make sure you were in a conscious state when you answered those questions just now," Li Shiyu took out an evaluation booklet and said helplessly.

Li Shiyu was conducting this examination because there were countless types of medicinal agents in the market. Some medicinal agents could even successfully control a person's thoughts and force them to answer only about what they wanted to fool the investigators. Thus, all documented questionings needed the evaluation of military doctors. This was to confirm that all of the answers made by the person in question were answered in a conscious state.

Hearing this, Zhang Han instantly loosened his guarded stance and didn't refuse Li Shiyu's examination of him.

After the evaluation, Li Shiyu nodded towards Li Lanfeng and then returned beside Ling Lan.

Li Lanfeng stood up and smiled towards Yu Wei. "Sorry, Regiment Commander Yu. We will need to take Zhang Han with us."

Yu Wei was stunned. Zhang Han was even more stunned as he shouted, "Why?"

Zhang Chao was also stunned and said, "What's the meaning of this?"

Li Lanfeng smiled but didn't speak. Li Shiyu, who was standing beside Ling Lan, spoke up, "Although Second Lieutenant Zhang doesn't have any mind-numbing medicinal agents in his system, he still has something else controlling him."

After hearing this, Zhang Han's expression's darkened instantly, "You're lying.

"According to data I have examined, after around 10 days, you would have to use that thing again. Otherwise, you would suffer a fate worse than death." Faced with Zhang Han's anger, Li Shiyu calmly spoke out about what he had determined.

Chapter 1142 Interrogation

After hearing those words, Zhang Han's face turned pale as a sheet… Seeing Zhang Han's pale face, Zhang Chao knew something was wrong and immediately shouted, "Zhang Han, what are you hiding?"

Faced with Zhang Chao's intense look, Zhang Han only bit his lip as his face scrunched up in pain.

"You're not a very good older brother…" Li Lanfeng shook his head. "You don't really know your little brother. Your little brother has a lot of secrets. Right? Second Lieutenant Zhang, or rather Mr. Spectral User Zhang?"

"Spectral user? Spectral ability user!" Zhang Chao could hear the memories of his precious little brother shattering apart like glass. The useless little brother in his memories was a spectral ability user?

"Little Han, is this true? Why didn't you tell us?" Zhang Chao felt as if a sharp knife had been stabbed into his heart as he screamed out loud. His little brother actually kept such a big secret from him and everyone in their family.

Hearing his elder brother's questions, Zhang Han just laughed coldly in response. "Didn't you and every single one of the family always think of me as useless? In their eyes, they only saw you as a good son they are proud of."

"How can you say that about mom and dad?! They love you!" Zhang Chao couldn't believe what words were entering his ears.

"Heh, they'll only give me some of their care and affection when they suddenly remember it once in a while." Zhang Han's face turned red in anger. He screamed angrily, "I don't f*cking need such cheap love."

A hint of wild vengeance showed on Zhang Han's angry face. The look Zhang Han was giving him caused Zhang Chao to back up a few steps and fall into a chair behind him. He didn't know how to deal with this version of his little brother, it was as if he had turned into a total stranger.

Right at that moment, Zhang Han suddenly turned around and rushed towards the door of the living room.

Boom! A silhouette suddenly flew backwards from the door and landed onto the ground.

Zhang Han held his chest in pain and looked ruthlessly at the soldier standing at the door who sent him flying back. It was Zhao Jun!

"Second Lieutenant Zhang, you should learn to be a little smarter. Don't do anything useless." Li Lanfeng walked beside him and knelt down. "Although your strength isn���t bad like your elder brother, for you to still think of escaping with domain realm masters around you… You're really daydreaming here."

"What can you do even if you capture me? I have already sent out all the available information about Lingtian. You guys are too late." Zhang Han knew he couldn't get away so he decided to let it all out.

Zhang Han's words suddenly awakened Zhang Chao from his trance. He immediately stood up and rushed towards Zhang Han. He held him up by his collar and shouted angrily, "You bastard! What nonsense did you do?"

Zhang Han glanced at Zhang Chao coldly and then slowly forced Zhang Chao's hand away from him. "Don't you think it's disgusting that you're acting all concerned about me now?"

Zhang Chao's eyes narrowed as he forced out his words through his gritted teeth. "What the f*ck did you just say?"

"Cleaning up after me. Didn't you always hate it? Didn't you want me to completely disappear from your sight? You think you hid your hate, your disgust and your contempt well from me? Sometimes, you don't even try to hide it…" Zhang Han smiled but it was deathly cold. "Them as well. They always hoped that such a useless son didn't exist. That way I won't embarrass them in front of others. Even though they hated me so much, they still had to pretend to show concern for their son. I find it hilarious every time I see all your fake smiles and concern"

"Scram!" screamed Zhang Han. "What I do is my own choice! It has nothing to do with you."

"Zhang Han!" Zhang Chao shouted angrily while holding back his tears. The wounds of his heart were showing in his eyes. Although he indeed hated Zhang Han's uselessness, he was still his little brother and his mom and dad's son in the end. How could they not care for him? However, their love for him, in his eyes, became all fake. These series of events took a huge toll on Zhang Chao's heart.

Zhang Han turned towards Li Lanfeng and coldly said, "Didn't you people come here to take me away? What are you waiting for?".

Li Lanfeng smirked. "Lingtian is a humane mecha clan. Isn't it nice for you brothers to resolve your resentment first?"

Zhang Han laughed coldly, "I don't have anything to say to this stranger." After he said his piece, he closed his eyes to show that he didn't want to see anyone or speak to anyone.

Li Lanfeng looked at Zhang Chao apologetically and then gestured at Zhao Jun to take Zhang Han back to Lingtian's camping ground.

Zhang Chao stood on the side in a daze. When he saw Zhao Jun dragging Zhang Han up from the ground, he quickly dashed to him, held onto Zhang Han's arm with his trembling and said with a desperate expression on his face, "I just want to ask one question, did you… did you betray the Federation?"

He could only think of this reason. Otherwise, Lingtian's regiment commander wouldn't take two leaders and a military doctor and come to Piercing Arrow personally to capture such a small member of their clan.

Zhang Han slowly opened his eyes and scoffed, "Don't you already know?"

This answer immediately froze Zhang Chao's heart. There was no hope now… he was in despair

At that moment, Ling Lan stood up and spoke to Yu Wei, who was completely stunned by what was happening in front of him, "Sorry for the trouble, Regiment Commander Yu."

Before Yu Wei could react, she vanished completely without a trace.

Zhao Jun, Li Lanfeng, Li Shiyu and Zhang Han also disappeared at the same time.

Not long after, they returned to Lingtian's command center in their camping ground and entered a small conference room.

After noticing some movements in the small conference room, Luo Chao walked out of her office. After seeing it were Ling Lan and the others, her face lit up and she smiled. "Regiment Commander, you're back."

"Have Qi Long and the others come back yet?" Ling Lan asked indifferently.

While they went to Piercing Arrow, Qi Long, Luo Lang, Xie Yi and Han Jijyun took her orders and went to the mecha clan, where Wang Junzhi was stationed, to arrest him.

"Not yet." Right as Luo Chao answered, they heard movement from outside the conference room.

Xie Yi was dragging someone into the conference room with Qi Long, Luo Lang and Han Jijyun following behind him.

The person that was dragged in was indeed Wang Junzhi who received information about Lingtian and sent it out from the virtual world.

Wang Junzhi trembled slightly when he saw Zhao Jun holding Zhang Han. However, he quickly calmed down. Afterwards, he saw Ling Lan who was sitting on the main seat of the room. He instantly shouted, "Major General Ling, I'm innocent. I'm innocent."

Ling Lan glanced at Luo Chao. Luo Chao understood what her look meant so she quickly walked out of the small conference room and closed the door behind her.

"Sit!" Ling Lan gestured to Zhao Jun and Xie Yi to let go of the two people and pointed towards two chairs in the conference room.

The sudden politeness made Wang Junzhi and Zhang Han look at each with fear but the two of them still calmed their nerves and carefully chose a chair to sit on.

Qi Long, Li Lanfeng, Zhao Jun and the others all randomly chose a chair to sit on after the two of them had sat down.

However, Wang Junzhi and Zhang Han discovered that they had chosen positions that surrounded the two of them. If they were to make any sudden movements, they would be put down the instant they moved.

After everyone sat down, they all activated their communicator's virtual screens to document the interrogation.

Wang Junzhi and Zhang Han's eyes meet each other again. They were both thinking and calculating how they would get out of this situation.

Chapter 1143 An Excuse!

"Actually, we can just use a sedative to interrogate the two of you. However, doing so would also cause you two unrecoverable injuries," said Ling Lan nonchalantly with her legs crossed. "So please, do spare me my time and speak for yourselves."

"I will only give you one opportunity to explain as clearly as possible to me. It would be up to yourselves to see whether you can survive after this all ends." After saying her piece, Ling Lan not even spared them another glance as she started to read the documents Luo Chao had prepared near her seat earlier.

She didn't like doing such tedious work. Just looking at the numerous different documents already made her head spin. Unfortunately, in her position, she couldn't avoid it.

Zhang Han thought for a moment before he raised his head up high and carefully said, "Actually, we didn't want to do anything. We were just interested in Lingtian that's all."

It was as if his words went into deaf's ear as Ling Lan just continued looking intently at the documents in her hands. "Those words that could fool a child aren't necessary here."

Teces

"Haha!" A chuckle from the side of the room entered their ears. What Luo Lang perceived as funny was not so funny to others.

"Luo Lang, ultimate level day training for one day!" Ling Lan didn't even move her head as she gave out his punishment.

"Ul-…" Luo Lang looked at his Boss with a terrified look. That was his Boss's level. He would definitely die on the training ground if he went through with that.

Xie Yi decisively put his hand over Luo Lang's mouth to muffle his gasp of terror.

Hearing the slight gasp, Ling Lan sent a glare at him from the corner of her eyes. She could see Xie Yi had sweat running down his forehead while he looked at her with a fawning expression.

Ling Lan's finger started lightly tapping the tabletop which caused the entire conference room to turn completely silent. The sweat on Xie Yi's forehead ran down even faster, even Luo Lang had woken up from his daze and had his head down in terror. He didn't dare to make any more noises. He was afraid if he made a scene again, his punishment would multiply.

One day's worth of the ultimate level was already going to bring to the brink of death. If it was to multiply, he would definitely die.

Everyone in the room was worried about Luo Lang. Ever since they returned from the battle with Caesar, Boss had become even more ruthless with their training. The standard day training had leveled up to an enhanced edition, and it was already making their days a living hell. The ultimate level… even Qi Long, who was considered to be someone with a monstrous physical constitution, didn't have the confidence that he would be able to handle it. Two days… They didn't even dare to imagine how terrible the final outcome would be.

The chilling atmosphere in the conference room also terrified Zhang Han and Wang Junzhi. Could they actually successfully leave Lingtian alive?

Ling Lan's finger slowly tapped the tabletop for a dozen or so times. Right when everyone's hearts were about to jump out of their bodies, Ling Lan took back her glare and focused on Zhang Han and Wang Junzhi. She said calmly, "Don't do anything stupid. I'm not a very patient person, you see. Next time you try to bullsh*t me, I won��t be wasting my breath and would just use a sedative."

Ling Lan's tone of voice was very indifferent and her expression showed that she didn't care at all. However, this seemingly uncaring expression caused Zhang Han and Wang Junzhi's heart to drop to the end of their stomach.

They weren't idiots. They could clearly sense the coldness and mercilessness of Ling Lan's words. Once Ling Lan lost her patience, what waited for them was probably the most brutal way of interrogation.

Even if they haven't actually seen the outcome of such methods of interrogation, they had read it about in military documents. This method had a very high success rate. However, the damage it would cause to the interrogated individual was terrifying. Most would have mental regression and they eventually become mentally retarded or have dementia, etc. There were even some who had drowned in their wandering thoughts, never to be woken up ever again.

All in all, after a few sessions of interrogation, other than a few lucky survivors, the rest all had their minds broken apart.

Zhang Han's body began to tremble in fear. He didn't want to become a useless idiot who didn't even know himself.

Even Wang Junzhi, who had experienced quite a bit in his life, had a deathly pale expression on his face.

Zhang Han suddenly held his body, raised his head and was about to say something, but Wang Junzhi spoke before him, "Regiment Commander Ling, I'll talk."

"My regiment commander and I grew up together so he would always tell me about the interesting happenings of the base. When Commander Yu gathered all the regiment commanders at the command center, it knew it was definitely to announce Regiment Commander Ling as the commander-in-chief of the base." Wang Junzhi licked his chapped lips and smiled bitterly. "I myself, am very good at all aspects except two. One would be that I like gossip… It was because of this that I accidentally became friends with Master Ming."

After saying all that, Wang Junzhi had an odd expression on his face. "Master Ming is usually a very tight lipped individual but after a few drinks, he would speak nonstop. When that happens, gossip, stories and rumours about everything would spill out from his mouth."

"Lingtian's actions of wiping out Knight Ace Mecha Clan and the two other mecha clans that came after it and then turning the tides of the main battlefield which forced Caesar to escape in panic…" Wang Junzhi raised his head and glanced at Ling Lan. His eyes filled with admiration. "I was watching everything and it made my blood boil. I admire Regiment Commander Ling and Lingtian. Knowing Regiment Commander Ling had participated in the battle, I definitely wanted to get some information about Lingtian from my regiment commander so I can calm my obsession for Lingtian."

"With the relationship I had with my regiment commander, he of course agreed to my wishes. That was why when he knew Regiment Commander Ling was Prince Ling, he told me right away." After saying this, Wang Junzhi had an embarrassed look on his face, "Now the second weakness I have is that I like to show off. That was why I couldn't help but go into the virtual world and find Master Ming to show off a bit."

After saying all this, Wang Junzhi had an honest expression on his face, "Regiment Commander Ling, I don't harbor any ill intentions and I am not familiar with this Second Lieutenant Zhang. Thus, taking me here is definitely a mistake."

After hearing all that he had to say, Ling Lan raised her head and glanced at Wang Junzhi coldly. "Are you done?"

Wang Junzhi nodded. "Regiment Commander Ling, I know I went against military rules so I will accept any punishment. However, I will never do anything detrimental to Lingtian or to you. I just like to gossip."

Ling Lan turned towards Zhang Han and asked nonchalantly, "Then, what about you?"

Zhang Han seemed to feel a terrifying cold dagger slowly sliding across his abdominal muscles. He couldn't help but tremble from the freezing cold touch.

"I went to Master Ming also because Master Ming had a lot of information that I don't know," Zhang Han raised his head and said with a pale expression on his face.

He wanted to get some information from Ling Lan's expression, but Ling Lan had already returned to looking at the documents in her hands. He couldn't find anything and could only feel a vast and limitless coldness coming at him from all directions. This coldness was slowly seeping into the crevices of his body, making him feel afraid and despair.

Just one mistake was enough to make him unable to make amends?

No, he still had a chance.

Zhang Han said calmly, "I was always considered to be useless. From when I was young, I had always wanted to make those people who called me useless to eat their words. I wanted to achieve my goals and become better, much better than my older brother… It was originally just a dream that I had. However, one day, I suddenly realized that I wasn't useless. I had the power of the god of the virtual world, spectral abilities."

After saying all this, the darkened expression on Zhang Han's face instantly brightened. "At that moment, I knew my dream wasn't just a dream anymore and that I was going to succeed one day."

Chapter 1144 Do You Understand Now?

However, almost immediately, Zhang Han's expression darkened once again, "However, I also discovered that other than being able to fly freely in the virtual world, I still wasn't as good as my older brother in the real world and I was still the same trash in their eyes…"

Zhang Han tightly clenched his fists as he remembered his past. "I just can't accept that, especially after realizing I am a spectral ability user. Then, I began to wonder how I can get stronger than my brother? That was when I began to gather intelligence and information from the virtual world to sell. I used the money I made to buy genetic agents to improve my physical constitution…" After saying all this, he sneered lightly. "All of the money from my family was used to aid in my brother's development. Why would they think of using it on trash like me? I can only depend on myself. Just like that, I improved bit by bit. However, the more I improved, the more medicinal agents I required which in turn caused me to need more money. Afterwards I crazily gathered information to sell to those who needed it. It is the same now as well. I sold information within the base that isn't important and information that won't bring harm to the base."

"And Master Ming was my main source of information. That's because Master Ming modified mechas for the best mecha operators in the all the mecha clans so he would receive the most information…" Zhang Han explained the reason why he would go to Master Ming's place.

"But I didn't betray the Federation. The information I sold were carefully chosen and were only some unimportant side gossip. The information I sold would definitely not bring any harm to the base or the Federation." Zhang Han looked at Ling Lan with a determined look on his face. Although he made mistakes, they were not big mistakes.

After Zhang Han finished speaking, the entire conference room became oddly silent. Qi Long and the others were silently documenting the confessions and they also wrote out their own opinions on the matter.

Ling Lan seemingly finished a portion of the documents in her hand before she raised her head and asked, "All done?"

Zhang Han and Wang Junzhi glanced at each other. Then, they stared intently at Ling Lan and shouted in unison, "Yes sir!"

"I understand now. Qi Long, take Major Wang Junzhi back." Ling Lan turned to Qi Long and gave out an order.

"Yes sir!" Qi Long quickly stood up.

"When you're there, tell Regiment Commander Pan that Major Wang Junzhi has broken the rules of the military. Let him deal with it and report the results back to me," Ling Lan said nonchalantly. Then, she put her head back down and used her finger to softly flip to the next page of her document.

"Yes, regiment commander!" Qi Long saluted Ling Lan and then turned to Wang Junzhi and smiled. "Major Wang, after you!"

After hearing Ling Lan's orders, Wang Junzhi instantly breathed a sigh of relief. He then subconsciously glanced at Zhang Han.

When their gaze met each other, Wang Junzhi quickly turned around to leave… Despite him wanting to know what Zhang Han's outcome was going to be, he still didn't dare to stay in that conference room any longer. The pressure Prince Ling was putting on him was too immense. He had a feeling that if he didn't leave now, he wouldn't be able to get out ever again.

Wang Junzhi and Qi Long left the conference room. Zhang Han was waiting for Ling Lan to hand out the punishment, but one minute had passed and Ling Lan was still reading the document. Then two minutes, three minutes… Not long after, five minutes had passed, but Zhang Han still wasn't told how this matter was going to be resolved.

Ling Lan just continued to focus on the document in her hand. She seemed to have forgotten that there was still someone in the conference room waiting for his final verdict.

The others sitting around Zhang Han were also silently sitting in their chairs and writing something on their virtual screens.

"Tell me what you guys think of Wang Junzhi." Ling Lan finally finished reading through the document before tossing it aside with annoyance as she raised her head and spoke to Li Lanfeng and the others.

"Wang Junzhi is a dutiful spy, very suitable to be bait," Li Lanfeng started the discussion with a statement.

"There's definitely something wrong with Wang Junzhi," Han Jijyun said as he frowned. "I also have suspicions of their mecha clan's regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Pan Shangyu."

"Just from the excuse Wang Junzhi had given, it actually didn't make Lieutenant Colonel Pan Shangyu less of a suspect. It made Pan Shangyu more of a suspect instead." Smiled Xie Yi. "He probably wants us to shift our focus onto Pan Shangyu to save himself."

"However, no matter what, he achieved what he wanted. We currently cannot confirm our suspicions of Lieutenant Colonel Pan Shangyu." Li Lanfeng turned to Ling Lan and smiled. "Our regiment commander's reason for letting him go was to use him as bait to capture all of the people involved."

Luo Lang calmly added, "Not only that, we can also have those people loosen their guard. Only when they believe that the crisis has passed, would they be confident enough to move their plans to the next step."

Zhao Jun was silent all this time. After hearing all this, he suddenly raised his head and looked towards Ling Lan. "Regiment commander, I'm confused. Why did we alert the enemy in the first place when we can just silently watch them and wait for them to show up? Now with them having knowledge of us being on high alert, wouldn't they be scared to make any moves?".

Zhao Jun's worry was also Xie Yi's worry. However, Han Jijyun, Luo Lang and Li Lanfeng were all very calm. It was as if they had already understood the meaning behind Ling Lan's actions.

Ling Lan smirked and turned towards the three of them. "What do you guys think?"

Li Lanfeng motioned towards Han Jijyun, gesturing for him to speak first.

Han Jijyun didn't try to be modest and said, "The real spy must make a move."

Luo Lang added, "Caesar needs information on us to help their foreign affairs officers put the Federation in a difficult position at the Intergalactic United Nations. They would just try to get back their so-called justice and fairness."

"In simpler words, we can wait, but they can't," Li Lanfeng said with a smile on his face. "Our regiment commander's action only made it difficult for spies who aren't from other nations but are from different factions within the Federation. It is in case they would create problems for us which would allow the enemy to have chances to do what they are planning."

"After all, even the strongest hacker wouldn't be able to find the real enemy in those situations," added Han Jijyun.

Ling Lan then turned towards Zhao Jun and Xie Yi and said calmly, "You guys understand now?"

"I see. We're really not good compared to you guys when it comes to thinking about things." Laughed Zhao Jun.

Xie Yi shrugged and said helplessly, "As expected, I should just focus on my own mecha team." He couldn't help but look at Luo Lang with a look of admiration. "It's so nice that you can use whichever personality is best suited for the situation whenever you need something. Calm personality, long time no see."

Seeing Xie Yi greet him, Luo Lang pretended he didn't see him and calmly looked at his virtual screen to continue to write down his opinions on the matter.

"Little Leng, you're amazing." Seeing Little Leng showing off his strength, Luo Lang excitedly praised him from his mindscape.

Ling Lan looked towards Zhang Han who was trembling and had cold sweat dripping from his forehead. "Second Lieutenant Zhang, do you understand now?"

Zhang Han only nodded with his head but he couldn't open his mouth to speak.

"Although you spewed out a lot of reasons at the beginning, I still think that you being here today is the result of your older brother nurturing you with all that he had…" Ling Lan's finger softly tapped on the tabletop as she half-smiled. "Perhaps, the sedative would be more suitable for your older brother to use."

Hearing this, the trembling of Zhang Han's body immediately stopped. In the next second, he raised his head. His eyes were red with rage and fear as he screamed, "No, he doesn't know anything!"

Chapter 1145 It Won't Work!

"Your relationship with your brother really is quite deep." Ling Lan smirked as she leaned back on her chair. "It warms my heart. However, the more it's like this, the more I want to watch your brother fall into despair because of you. Wouldn't that be fun?"

Ling Lan was now oozing out an aura filled with merciless and evilness. She was completely unlike the warm-hearted and polite General Ling Xiao. Instead, she was like a demon that came from the depths of hell.

"As the commander-in-chief of the base, how could you falsely accuse someone who has nothing to do with all this without any evidence?" Zhang Han clenched his fists and held back his anger. He then remembered something and smiled coldly. "General Ling Xiao has always been a fair and upright individual. He's a role model that our soldiers look up towards. So, Regiment Commander Ling won't do anything that would make General Ling Xiao look bad, right?".

"Are you trying to threaten me by just mentioning General Ling Xiao?" Ling Lan half-smiled and said, "Unfortunately, it won't work. I just need to say that your brother is a spy and everyone will believe in me. Tell me, would Base Nebula believe me or you? The identity of Prince Ling is very helpful in this situation. It sure is enough to let me do anything that I want without anyone trying to stop me…"

After hearing Ling Lan's words, Zhang Han's somewhat brightened expression darkened once again.

"You don't have any chance at turning the tables around. Are you going to continue to work for those people and give up your brother's life in the process or are you going to speak honestly. At least the latter, your brother would be able to live his life peacefully," Ling Lan said calmly.

"Oh right, don't you hate your older brother? You can always choose to not speak and I'll help you get rid of him." Ling Lan seemed to have thought of something, "It's his fault for being an idiot who would bring spies to Lingtian's doorsteps…"

After saying that, Ling Lan's eyes narrowed slightly. Her eyes became cold and ruthless as the shapeless killing intent thickened. "He really is looking to die!"

Zhang Han's eyes shrank back into his eye sockets as his eyes quivered in fear. He felt that Ling Lan wasn't actually threatening him and was rather using this opportunity to kill Zhang Chao for real.

Zhang Han clenched his fist a few times before he finally spoke up, "If I spill everything, can you ensure that us brothers will be safe?"

Ling Lan replied indifferently, "You're not qualified to make such demands with me. If you spill everything, you and your brother may have a chance to live. If you don't say anything then you and your brother will definitely die. As for the information that I want, I would still be able to get it even if you tell me or don't tell me. The difference is what method I would use to acquire it."

Zhang Han knew Ling Lan was speaking the truth. When he entered Lingtian's command center, he wasn't even given the opportunity to struggle. In the end, he would have to give in to Ling Lan's demands.

"Alright. I will tell you what I know. I don't care if I die, but I want you to please keep my brother alive." Zhang Han raised his head and looked towards Ling Lan. His eyes had a pleading look for his brother.

"That would depend on what you say and whether it's worth it for me to do something for your brother," Ling Lan replied coldly.

Zhang Han knew that this was the final thing he could do for his older brother before he would die in the hands of Lingtian. Back then when he was still young and naive, in order to become strong, he trusted the wrong person and walked down the wrong path. In the end, he got so deeply involved that he could not get out no matter what he tried. He didn't want to destroy the family members that he hated but couldn't cut off his ties with…

Zhang Han knew very well of the methods those people used. There was once someone who had walked down the wrong path like him and wanted to get away from their control. In the end, his entire family perished in flames. However, on the Federation's police force's investigation report, it was closed as an accident.

That made Zhang Han realize that his organization was already deeply rooted with the Federation and had great sway in it. That was why they could easily close the case with such an outcome while the situation was under much suspicion.

Chapter 1146 A Good Idea?

Zhang Han calmed himself and began recounting everything slowly. Zhang Han spoke very slowly as he was afraid he would miss a critical detail that might affect the life or death of his elder brother. His actions meant that when he had decided to tell Ling Lan everything. He had already put his faith in Ling Lan's words.

In reality, telling Ling Lan was the best chance he had to escape from that devil of an organization of his. If even General Ling Xiao couldn't resolve this issue, then all hopes would be lost.

After Zhang Han told Ling Lan all that he knew, Ling Lan made Zhao Jun take Zhang Han to Lingtian's isolation quarters.

Those who remained behind were all sitting in their chairs and doing their own things.

Ling Lan then sat up straight and asked, "What do you guys think about what Zhang Han said?"

"It's clear that the spy organization has built quite a foundation in the Federation. There is quite a high possibility that someone from their organization is sitting on a very high-ranking position in the military. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to influence the police system," said Li Lanfeng with certainty. "After all, Zhang Han had probed the higher-ups of the police system using some of his evidence. If the police didn't do anything with those evidence at hand, then that is enough to prove that the political connections of the organization aren't that simple."

"Unfortunately, the organization is quite careful about their identity. The person or people who contact Zhang Han are either low-ranking members of the organization or spectral users who we cannot trace." Frowned Han Jijyun. "Although Zhang Han provided a lot of information, it still isn't very useful for the next step of our plans."

"I am in favour of using the medicinal agent and interrogating him again." The calm personality who had taken over Luo Lang's body, seemed to not be satisfied with the information Zhang Han had provided them. He still wanted to search for more that could be used.

"Zhang Han is still useful to me. We can't turn him into a vegetable yet," said Ling Lan as she shook her head. Although she spoke ruthlessly, in reality, she wasn't planning on hurting Zhang Han and Zhang Chao from the very beginning

Although the information Zhang Han had in his mind was useful, Ling Lan didn't necessarily need it. She just wanted to gather as much information as possible in order to prove what she had determined.

"Then, we can only depend on Wang Junzhi's side," the calm personality saw that Ling Lan wasn't thinking about using that method of interrogation and could only speak out regrettably.

"Alright, you guys go make preparations. Remember to closely monitor the suspicious mecha clans and people." Ling Lan waved her hand to gesture that everyone should go do what they needed to do.

Not long after, Ling Lan was the only person left in the conference room.

Ling Lan crossed her arms in front of her chest, leaned back slightly on her chair and began to think deeply.

Suddenly, two fingers appeared on temples and it started to massage her temples lightly. The force behind the fingers was perfect. It made Ling Lan feel that her tensed up temples had loosened.

2

After being massaged for a few minutes, Ling Lan spoke up, "That's enough, Lanfeng."

Li Lanfeng, who was behind her, smiled as he put his hands down. He turned and walked to Ling Lan's left side.

Ling Lan already knew it was Li Lanfeng from the moment he returned to the conference room.

Ling Lan's finger repeatedly tapped on the table as she thought about Ling Yi… After hearing what Zhang Han had said regarding the method of contacting that organization, she felt a certain familiarity. This made her think about the incident involving Ling Hua from many years ago.

Would that organization forget about Ling Yi? Back then, when Ling Hua betrayed the Ling family, it was for his talented son.

"Don't let Ling Yi out of your sights," said Ling Lan.

"I know. If Ling Yi makes any moves, I will be the first to know." Similarly, Li Lanfeng also placed a lot of importance on Ling Yi, especially because Ling Yi was behaving in a way that seemed like he had a lot of hatred for Li Lanfeng, Li Shiyu and Li Yingjie. His weird behaviour caused Li Lanfeng to become more guarded against Ling Yi. Despite Ling Yi trying his best to hide this side of him, how could he fool the sensitive Li Lanfeng.

The two of them stopped talking and closed their eyes as they sat on their chairs. However, those who knew the reality of it, knew that Ling Lan and Li Lanfeng had entered the virtual world once again. They watched over the entire base in the skies to wait for the spy organization to make another move. They were going to try to pluck out all of them from the base.

At that moment, Ling Xiao had also received information from a source of a report stating that a certain general in the military was a spy along with how this general had planned two assassination attempts on Ling Lan more than a dozen years ago. One of the two assassination attempts was a scare but the other time, he almost succeeded. Luckily, Ling Lan was blessed with luck of the gods and had somehow escaped. However, she was severely injured and needed three years to recover which forced Ling Xiao's mentor to stay in the Ling family manor…

"General, this is big news. We must report it." He Xuyang saw the report and took a deep breath. According to the information written on the report, this general might not just be any general. If they were unlucky, that person could be at a similar point as Ling Xiao in a political standpoint.

"Report to who?" Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows and asked.

"The First Marshal! Other than the First Marshal, the other two can't be trusted," He Xuyang said without hesitation. It would have been impossible for the sky to climb to the position of a general without the help of one of the marshals.

"The First Marshal?" Ling Xiao frowned, "That might not be a good idea, but…"

It was a chance to probe him!

Soon after, Ling Xiao sent the document to the First Marshal directly.

After a short while, Ling Xiao received the First Marshal's call.

Ling Xiao accepted the call and a virtual screen appeared in front of him. The First Marshal's strict and proud face appeared in front of Ling Xiao.

The First Marshal didn't waste any time and asked, "What other evidence do you have?"

Ling Xiao said respectfully, "I just received the report and sent it to you First Marshal as soon as I could."

"Do you think this report is real or fake?" The First Marshal frowned intensely. He didn't want spies within the higher-ups of the military as this would greatly affect the public image of the military. However, the information on the report was logical and evident. He couldn't pass it off as a hoax.

"The source of the information is very reliable." After saying that, Ling Xiao's expression suddenly became serious, "I still remember back then when my mission was leaked and Twilight laid a trap for me. Our ambush didn't work and I was ambushed instead… That mission's detailed time was only known by a few generals. That alone answers how I could have been ambushed."

"You think this spy is connected to the person who set the trap for you?" The First Marshal's expression turned grave.

"Otherwise, they wouldn't make a move on my son…" said Ling Xiao. Only his enemies would be worried that his son would take revenge after knowing the truth. That was why they wanted to get rid of the underlying threat and not leave any possibility of that happening

"You're right. In that case, I'll let you handle this matter," said the First Marshal as he nodded in agreement. "It's time to make them pay. I will give you the go-ahead for that." Back then, although Ling Xiao had escaped the trap, he had still wandered away from home for 16 years. Thinking about this made the First Marshal's heart ache. Thus, he opened the gates of convenience to let Ling Xiao exact his revenge personally.

"Thank you, marshal." Ling Xiao's facial expression quickly turned warm as a burst of gratefulness appeared on his face. As expected, Ling Xiao still wanted to personally exact revenge on the person who plotted the assassination on his son.

The First Marshal's face then disappeared from the screen. Ling Xiao turned towards He Xuyang who was completely dumbfounded, shook his head and smiled, "That's why I said this wasn't a good idea."

Chapter 1147 Making A Move?

The news of a mecha clan called 'Lingtian' from the Federation completely wiping out Knight Ace Mecha Clan had spread through the human universe like wildfire. The unknown name of 'Lingtian' instantly entered the database of intelligence agencies of all nations.

"Lingtian? What is their purpose?" As the Federation's most prominent enemy, the military of Twilight Empire was quickly alerted after hearing such outstanding achievements of a mecha clan from the Federation.

"The intel our spy had sent us over the years never had this mecha clan's title." The officers of the military immediately flipped through all the data on all the secret mecha clans within the Federation. After looking through them many times, they still didn't find any data on Lingtian.

"How is this possible? How could we not have any information on such a strong mecha clan?" The generals of the military were all discontent. "What is our spy doing?"

"Notify him to get his hands on all of Lingtian's data as soon as possible. The Twilight Empire must not commit such a blunder ever again." An unknown mecha clan suddenly appearing made the higher-ups of the Twilight Empire's military anxious. Twilight Empire knew very well that a war between the two nations was inevitable. It was only just that they didn't know when or where the war was going to completely erupt.

Thus, as soon as something happened that was out of their control, the Twilight Empire would consider it as meeting with their worst enemy. Just like how they were now treating Lingtian Mecha Clan.

"Roger!" A secret message was transferred between many nations. After many layers of encryption and disguise, it had reached the Federation.

In a large and gloomy apartment, a black-cloaked male was slowly reading a message on his communicator with a serious expression. When he read the last sentence of the message, his serious expression instantly froze.

"This is really troublesome!"

Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid this troublesome task… He had to do it even if he didn't want to do it.

The Federation's military was still having non-stop discussion regarding Lingtian's participation in the battle that occurred at the Nebula Boundary. Some thought that despite Lingtian achieving great feats, they were too ruthless in their ways of handling Knight Ace Mecha Clan. Lingtian's ruthless actions had dampened the valiant and glorious image of the Federation in the public eyes. Rewards could be given, but there also needed to be punishment to adhere to military regulations.

However, many also believed that a battlefield was a dog-eat-dog world. In order to live, why did it matter that they had completely wiped out Knight Ace Mecha Clan? Not only did Lingtian not make any mistakes in the grand scheme of things, they also achieved great feats and showed the power and wrath of the Federation. They should be well awarded for their service.

There were also some fence sitters who believed that they should just leave the matter be. However, these opinions weren't accepted by many and were completely ignored in the end.

In the end, the two opinions of the military couldn't convince the other side. Thus, someone suggested having Lingtian's regiment commander come to the military headquarters to personally tell them about the details of the battle and the reason why they completely wiped out Knight Ace Mecha

Clan…

Ling Lan received the summon and frowned. She watched the base in the virtual world from one end to the other, waiting for the spy to pop out so she could finally catch them in the act. However, she didn't expect that her plans would be completely ruined after the summon.

What annoyed her more was that this summon had given a timeframe in which she needed to leave within two hours. Otherwise, she wouldn't be able to arrive at the conference meeting at the military headquarters.

"All leaders and department heads, come to the conference room for a meeting within 10 minutes," ordered Ling Lan. After the order was sent out, Lingtian started to scramble together, resulting in a giant mess. Luckily, most of the leaders and department heads were still in the camping ground. However, even so, these leaders and department heads still needed to push everything aside to their deputies to even arrive in the allotted time.

When the last leader arrived in the conference room, Ling Lan looked at the clock. She nodded when she saw everyone arrived on time and said, "The reason for me calling you here is because there is an emergency summon for me to return to the Federation and report the battle with Caesar to the military headquarters."

"Why is it so sudden?" Qi Long asked with doubt in his voice.

Ling Lan said calmly, "The summon said that the report and the video I sent in was incomplete and had many doubtful points so they required me to provide the answers personally."

"Is it because of us wiping out the mecha clans completely?" As a veteran mecha operator who had been in many battles, this was Yang Mingzhi's first thought. This was the easiest reason to denounce the actions of an individual or a group.

"That's not the main issue," Ling Lan said as she shook her head. "I suspect that the spy organization has made its move."

"Luring the tiger away from its lair!" Han Jijyun said with a serious expression on his face. "Once our regiment commander leaves Base Nebula, there wouldn't be anyone here to put pressure on those mecha clans. Those people who are of different factions would definitely begin to act. Then, those who are connected to the spy organization would be able to silently take over."

"Luckily, we already managed to find a few of them," Xie Yi said joyfully.

"Those people aren't the most important," said Li Lanfeng as he shook his head. "Is it only Caesar who has a spy organization? I don't think so…"

"I feel that this summon was probably sent out because all of the spy organizations within our nation have made a move. That's why they successfully managed to send an emergency summon so that they could catch us with our pants down," Li Lanfeng told everyone what he was thinking. "Thus, not only do we need to look for spies from Caesar. We also need to find spies from other nations who have infiltrated the base."

"Saying all that doesn't do anything. We need to think what we can do if we don't have our regiment commander in the base." Han Jijyun's eyes burned brightly as he stared at Li Lanfeng.

The confidence he had almost lost due to Li Lanfeng was slowly recovering through his hard work. Now, he finally dared to directly face his opponent who had caused him immense distress.

"For the spectral users, I can take care of them. However, without our regiment commander holding the fort and making all the arrangements, it's probably difficult for us to pluck out all of those spies." Li Lanfeng seemed to not have understood what Han Jijyun wanted to say and just smiled while speaking what he was thinking.

"I think that it is a good opportunity to lure them out," said Han Jijyun. "Although we don't have our regiment commander holding down the fort, the opposition still made a mistake, and that mistake is that we have Meng Lan."

A mainframe like Meng Lan was very capable in terms of defending the virtual world and analyzing the data within it. Although they won't have Ling Lan to hold down the fort which would also lower Meng Lan's power, it was still enough to go against those spies who had no knowledge of Meng Lan.

"That way, we wouldn't have to wait for them to show up. The faster we get rid of those spies, the earlier we would be able to take over the base and move to the next stage of our plan." After saying all this, Han Jijyun's expression became somewhat excited.

Han Jijyun's words made everyone's eyes brighten up. They knew about the three stage plan Ling Lan had made for Base Nebula. While they were amazed by their regiment commander's overall plan, they were also waiting for the final outcome to come to fruition. Currently, they were in the planning stage of the entire plan, and that was to create a worry-free base.

After hearing all of this, Ling Lan tapped her finger on the table.

Everyone turned towards her. Ling Lan tapped around seven or eight times before slamming the table and said coldly, "Now, I will give out orders!"

Everyone quickly stood up.

"Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong and Qi Long will be responsible for the mecha teams. Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun will be responsible for taking command of the base. Lin Zhong-qing will be responsible for cooperating with the base's logistics."

"Yes, Regiment commander!"

"I have already upgraded Meng Lan so she should be able to satisfy your needs. Your mission will be to completely clear out the spies within the base during my leave." Ling Lan's words were laced with killing intent.

"Yes, Regiment commander!"

Chapter 1148 Repay Using My Body?

"Dismissed!" After making arrangements for Lingtian and the base, she prepared to leave the base and report to the military headquarters.

"Regiment commander, you should take some people with you." Seeing Ling Lan was going to leave alone, Li Lanfeng walked up and stopped her.

"Hmm?" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows in confusion. She didn't understand why Li Lanfeng would suggest this. She was just going to report what they had done. What did he mean by 'taking some people with her'?

"There are probably many people at the military headquarters who don't believe in Lingtian's strength so they might use this opportunity to challenge us instead," smiled Li Lanfeng. "I think you shouldn't personally teach those trash a lesson, especially those people who are clearly spoiled…" Compared to Ling Lan, Li Lanfeng was more knowledgeable about what kind of place the military headquarters was and what type of people was in it.

Hearing this, Ling Lan frowned. Although Ling Lan behaved like the type of person who liked to act more than talk in reality, she was still quite lazy. For her, if she could not do anything, she would try her best to not do anything. After Li Lanfeng's reminder, she discovered that her trip to the military headquarters was indeed not as easy as she had originally thought.

Lingtian had received many military merits which had caused people to become jealous and resentful, especially so when she wouldn't be exposing her real identity on this trip. Despite the higher-ups of the military headquarters reaching a consensus that she was Ling Xiao's son, they still just kept that information in their minds and didn't announce it to the public. Perhaps some of the high-ranking officials might even be happy to see others challenging her. They would be able to use that chance to suppress the 'arrogance and fierceness' of her and her father.

"Thus, taking a few of us with you would also be good for handling those challenges and some miscellaneous stuff." Li Lanfeng smiled. He didn't want his Ling Lan to handle such small matters herself.

"You're right," Ling Lan nodded "I'll take Luo Lang and Xie Yi."

Luo Lang and Xie Yi were quite capable and they were enough to handle all kinds of people challenging them.

"The relationships within the military headquarters are weird and complex. Leader Gu was once the vice regiment commander of the police force of the military headquarters. He can help you deal with these relations." Although the summon given to Ling Lan for her to return to the military headquarters was sudden, Li Lanfeng had already made arrangements in such a short amount of time on who should be following Ling Lan.

"That would be good. With Leader Gu there, it will be more convenient for us at the military headquarters." Ling Lan acknowledged the people Li Lanfeng had suggested.

"Plus, Li Yingjie also has nothing to do in the base. You might as well take him to the military headquarters to open his eyes and broaden his horizon," Li Lanfeng continued.

Ling Lan raised her eyebrows and half-smiled. "I always feel that you're plotting against your younger brother."

Li Lanfeng didn't hide anything and smiled, "The Li family has received many benefits because of you so we should stand in the line of fire for you. Otherwise, I don't think I would be able to stay here anymore after all that we've owed to you."

Ling Lan felt bad for Li Yingjie. What did Li Yingjie do in his past life for him to have such a heartless and calculating older brother? "It's your debt, but you send your younger brother out to repay it… You really are shameless."

"Didn't he also receive benefits from you? The debt should be repaid so plotting against him isn't considered to be shameless in my opinion," Li Lanfeng smiled. He didn't feel any remorse for plotting against others. Ling Lan admired his honesty. Having a dark heart and yet pretending it was like nothing was also a type of strength.

Li Lanfeng's plotting against someone meant how honest he was with them. This made Ling Lan involuntarily think of something evil. She smirked and said, "The benefits that Li Yingjie have reaped will be repaid this time, but what about you? How are you planning on repaying the many benefits that you have received from me?"

Li Lanfeng saw the teasing and playful look Ling Lan had on her face. He felt his blood rushing up to his head. His ears that were not covered by the mask instantly reddened and were quickly turning even redder.

"Hmm? Have you never thought about repaying me?" Seeing Li Lanfeng who was usually talkative become speechless, Ling Lan felt that something was off so she asked a second question out of curiosity.

Li Lanfeng's hands silently clenched together. He couldn't hold back the impulse he had. He spoke out what was in his mind about how he would repay his debt, "How about I repay with my body?"

"Repay with your body? Interesting…" Ling Lan raised her eyebrows. "How do you plan on doing that?"

Ling Lan, of course, didn't think that Li Lanfeng was actually serious about what he said and thought he was joking. However, she was quite surprised at Li Lanfeng's kind of humour.

"You can do whatever you want. Anything you wish for, my regiment commander." Li Lanfeng smirked. He looked like he was joking but was also serious about it. This half real half fake behavior annoyed Ling Lan as she flicked her finger at his forehead.

"Whoo-" Li Lanfeng shuddered from the sharp pain on his forehead.

"Hurts doesn't it? Don't ever say anything that could be easily misunderstood," Ling Lan said nonchalantly.

"…" Li Lanfeng could only put his head down and rub his forehead.

"Currently, other than Li Shiyu, no one else knows what you actually look like. However, if one day you actually let go and face the world with your actual face, these words that you have said just now may create problems for you in the future." Ling Lan stopped for a moment and then continued, "Although I allow every member do as they please, I still don't want something like the incident with Luo Lang to ever happen again, especially on you. You are much more likely to encounter such problems."

"Don't do this in the future. It's for your own good," Ling Lan spoke from the bottom of her heart.

Although Li Lanfeng knew Ling Lan was worrying about him, he was still sad in his heart. 'Ling Lan, I don't want you to worry for me. What I want is you, but you will never want me..'

"Don't worry, I only do this in front of you…" Li Lanfeng smiled. However, no one knew that there was a teardrop in his eye that didn't dare to drop.

"I'm just afraid you'll get used to it and not pay attention to it." After thinking of that face that could destroy the world, Ling Lan felt nauseous. If Li Lanfeng were to show his real face and wink flirtatiously while saying he would pay with his body… her mecha clan will definitely become a bloody battlefield.

"All in all, just be careful in the future." said Ling Lan with worry in her voice. In order to make sure her mecha clan doesn't fall apart, she must watch over Li Lanfeng.

"Ling Lan, Mr. Regiment Commander, I need to let loose sometimes." Li Lanfeng smiled bitterly.

As expected, he didn't have any chance. Despite knowing the outcome, he still couldn't let go. He would always try to probe Ling Lan. After smashing into a wall and breaking everything in his body, he still couldn't control his desires. He couldn't be saved. From the moment he knew about what he wanted, he knew that he couldn't be saved anymore.

After hearing all this, Ling Lan felt her head ache.

Chapter 1149 Someone Who Shouldn't Be Offended?

Ling Lan knew well of the facade Li Lanfeng wore in front of others. Truth be told, Ling Lan also couldn't confirm whether she had actually seen through Li Lanfeng's real personality.

His facade was probably due to the instinct of someone who was adept in strategizing. They would never allow anyone to see their real side so unless it was either a partner they deeply loved or a family member they deeply cared about, the real side of those people would never see the light of day. All those hassles they went through were to avoid their deepest fear, losing control of their destiny, fate, and themselves.

Despite it being a necessary instinct for a competent strategist, the constant pressure they were under, the facade they constantly had to keep up, was very draining for anyone that even the most competent strategist would sometimes succumb to their instincts, unable to distinguish between their true selves and their facade.

With such a threat looming over Li Lanfeng, Ling Lan of course didn't want Li Lanfeng to constantly have to put up a facade even to a friend like her. In the end, she could only helplessly say, "I'll let you loosen up when you're with me."

At the very least, she could endure the temptation of his beauty. Compared to others in her mecha clan, she was more confident in herself.

Li Lanfeng, who was originally in despair over his fate, raised his head with unconcealed happiness. His eyes that were saddened instantly brightened up.

'Ling Lan, are you giving me hope? You should know that if this keeps happening, I might not be able to hold back. I won't be able to hold back…' Li Lanfeng felt the wildest desire in his heart finally seeing the light of day. A small yet determined sprout rose from the brown soil to finally see the light.

A small starship moved slowly towards Planet General's satellite city, Soldier City!

This starship had brought Ling Lan and company to report the details of their recent battle to the military headquarters.

After getting off the starship, Ling Lan and company were then ushered to a special shuttle in Soldier City that went directly to the military headquarters on Planet General.Read more chapters at Listnovel.com

The previous time they came to Soldier City, they were rewarded the top 10 mecha clan award. However at that time, they did not have a chance to explore Planet General which had quite dampened her team's atmosphere. This time however, she finally arrived at the planet that represented the top brass of the Federation's military.

Ling Lan was alright, but Luo Lang, Xie Yi, and Li Yingjie couldn't hold in the excitement in their hearts. With the thought of meeting royalty, they carefully took their first steps on Planet General.

Gu Dongyang on the other hand was full of smiles. He was more than happy that he could see his old comrades again. Although everyone went their own separate ways in the end, they still cherished the friendship they had from when they were young and experiencing hardship together.

Ling Lan and company were guided to the reception center of military headquarters to rest as they waited for them to be summoned to make a report.

The name 'reception center' didn't give off a sense of luxury, but its amenities in it could be considered luxurious as there were even high-class suites where visitors could rest for the night. Ling Lan and company were invited by the military so they didn't need to worry about the fee of using the suite. If they were here on private business, Ling Lan felt that even her monthly salary as a regiment commander wasn't enough for her to stay for a few days.

"Too luxurious." Ling Lan got into her own exclusive suite and frowned. This setup could already be on par with the standard of an 8-star hotel.

"It can never be too luxurious, Regiment Commander Ling. Soldiers like you fight with you life around the territory of the Federation. Soldiers such as yourself, of course, would need to be treated with the best we have after returning home from a tough battle," said the logistician accompanying Ling Lan with a slight smile on his face.

"Plus, the military isn't spending any of its funds to upkeep this place. Just the profit from those buildings in front of us are enough to handle the spendings of the building that serviced soldiers," explained the logistician.

"You're saying that soldiers aren't the only ones living here?" Li Yingjie was curious after hearing the explanation.

"Of course. We serve many wealthy second generations. These people have more than enough money to spend on such luxuries. In order to broaden their horizon, they specially went through certain connections to come and experience the suite themselves." After saying that, the logistician formed an annoyed expression on his face. "Those people would usually cause trouble from time to time. If it wasn't for the fact that they were supplying us with a mountain-load of money, they would be instantly kicked out of Planet General."

"However, most of them are aware of their place so they wouldn���t cause trouble for the soldiers here that frequently." The logistician looked down on those wealthy second generations. Those people only picked on those weaker than them and feared people stronger than them, such actions were the complete opposite with the belief of a soldier.

Ling Lan sent Xie Yi a side-long glance and Xie Yi smiled. "Thank you for taking us here. We can take over from here now."

The logistician knew what Xie Yi was implying with his words. He knew fully well that these soldiers were probably going to discuss something not suitable for his ears to hear, so he didn't insist and handed them the card for the suites.

Before leaving, he looked towards these four young soldiers and felt the need to say something. He then said, "Don't worry about those wealthy second generations. What you should be careful of are those soldiers with a powerful background. Try your best to not offend them. Here, they are this." He surreptitiously put up his thumb to show that those people hold great sway in Soldier City that could reach the heavens.

"Thank you. We will be careful." Xie Yi smiled with sincerity. It was such a warm smile that it made the logistician feel warm inside. He felt quite glad that he had done the right thing in his mind.

After the logistician left, Gu Dongyang, who was completely silent like a painting on the wall, sighed lightly. "After so many years, Planet General is still like this and is becoming worse and worse."

"Oh, I never asked you why you left the police force here and went to join a regular mecha clan." It should be known that the vice-commander of a police force would just need to work for at most ten years to be promoted into a commander of a certain division who commanded multiple mecha clans. They might also be promoted to a staff officer which was one of the highest peaks of military rank.

After hearing Ling Lan's words, Gu Dongyang smiled bitterly. "Back then, I was too naive. I just couldn't stand by and watch a descendant from a powerful family bully another descendant from a normal elite family. The result of me forcing myself into the situation was being tossed into the trashiest mecha clan for the rest of my soldier life."

"Back then, I thought after three or five years, I would be able to restart my life anew once everything had died down," Gu Dongyang said slowly. "I just didn't expect that those people would still hold a grudge against me. They did all in their power to make sure that I couldn't get back on my feet for 10 years. After being repressed for so long, I couldn't handle it anymore and so I voluntarily decided to go to the place where those people wouldn't have any say, the frontlines. I wanted to make a new path from myself, but…" After saying all this, Gu Dongyang stopped talking.

That decision made him lose all faith in himself and it also led to him being traumatized until he couldn't continue to pilot mechas into battle. In the end, he became useless trash who was tossed into 250 Ace Mecha Clan in the 23rd Division. Back then, he thought he was going to just live out the rest of his life with his new depressing identity. However, contrary to his expectations, his life started to turn around after entering 250 Ace Mecha Clan.

After thinking about this, the blues on Gu Dongyang's face dissipated quite a lot. His eyes returned to his original brightened gleam.

"Who is it?" Li Yingjie, who was listening to Gu Dongyang, held it in for a long while. He finally couldn't hold it in anymore and angrily asked Gu Dongyang.

Gu Dongyang was surprised. "Little Leader Li?"

"Who was that bastard that pushed you down for ten years? Since we're here, we must teach him a ruthless lesson." Li Yingjie clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles made an audible crack sound. It was proof that he absolutely detest the bastard.

After following Ling Lan for so long, Li Yingjie had long let go of the thought of making his own mecha clan. He now had Lingtian as his number one priority, so he instantly exploded in anger when he heard that his own comrade was bullied for a decade.

"Little Leader Li, that person has both power and status. You should calm down first. Calm down." Gu Dongyang didn't want to drag Lingtian into his own personal matter.

He admired Ling Lan very much but he also worried about his young regiment commander. At such a young age, he already had to be responsible for such heavy matters. He was also worried about these youngsters who grew up so quickly on the battlefield. He really didn't want to add more on their already filled plate.

Chapter 1150 Commandments!

"Power and status? Is he better than our regiment commander?" Li Yingjie had an arrogant expression on his face. Although Li Yingjie didn't want to admit it, the reality was that Ling Lan was probably the entire Federation's military's most powerful and influential second generation.

Moreover, Ling Lan's power and influence didn't just come from her family background. If they were just talking about family backgrounds, then the other prince in their mecha clan, Qi Long, was at a similar level to Ling Lan. Plus, there were also the descendants of other generals and three marshals who could be in argument for having the most powerful background.

The true source of Ling Lan's power and influence was not her background, but her actual military power and achievement she had raked over the years. If the higher-ups one day wanted to get rid of Ling Lan and her mecha clan, they must go through the military's committee members or use the military judicial court to officially convict Ling Lan to get rid of her.

This was the benefit of creating her own army. With an army behind her, the military could easily never push her around. This was also the final goal of regiment commanders of strong mecha clans.

Ling Lan was definitely very lucky for being able to establish her own capable army so quickly. Under the watchful eyes of the different factions, neither side wanted Lingtian to become a weapon for their opposition. In the end, all the factions could only watch as Lingtian became independent. The tiny fish they had eyed had finally grown too large for their appetites. In the end, Ling Lan received the respect, power, and influence she rightfully deserved.

Not only that, Ling Lan was also welcomed and loved by the public. Despite her look and real name being not known to the public, the nickname 'Prince Ling' was already imprinted into the minds of everyone in the galaxy. Moreover, he also wasn't a third gen or fourth gen, she was a true and true second generation descendant of a powerful individual. In terms of identity, she was above every other person in the Federation. Only in terms of background, could Qi Long be somewhat considered on par with Ling Lan.

After comparing everything, Li Yingjie couldn't find a single existence that was more impressive than Ling Lan. Following such an amazing Boss made him not understand Gu Dongyang's carefulness and worries.

Li Yingjie's words made Gu Dongyang smile bitterly, "Our regiment commander is indeed the most capable person I've ever met. Currently, with how far I have gotten, I will not be afraid if I were to encounter that person again. It's just that it's our first time here so we should be alert. If by any chance we offend those people, they would still be able to meddle with the rewards we deserve even though they realistically can't do anything to us. I can't let my own private matters affect the benefits and rights of everyone in the clan. That's not worth it."

Gu Dongyang's words calmed Li Yingjie a bit. His worries had its merit but Li Yingjie still didn't want to let up. He was used to being cocky from his childhood. Even though he lost a few times to Ling Lan, he still couldn't find ways to deal with Ling Lan so in the end, he concluded as long as he didn't make Ling Lan angry, he could do whatever he wanted to do.

After being beaten a pulp a few times, Li Yingjie followed behind Ling Lan and went through the military academy and the division with her. Under the command of this omnipotent regiment commander, he had made a name for himself and was better than ever before. Not only did his cockiness not decrease, it actually increased quite a lot.

"I don't believe that they could actually stop us from receiving our rightful rewards," Li Yingjie still spoke these words in the end. At the very least, he believed the Li family wouldn't sit and watch as their benefits got taken away, as these awards were most likely going to affect his and his second oldest brother's power who were the two people who were mostly likely to take over as the family head.

There was also that person who the Li family kept their eyes on, Li Lanfeng… Although he didn't like him, his grandfather thought fondly of him. Whenever his grandfather were to talk with Li Yingjie, he would always nag him to learn from Li Lanfeng. However, all that nagging went to deaf's ear. He wasn't planning on learning from that secondary descendant whose eyes were filled with cunning and deceit. He had told his grandfather many times that Li Lanfeng was a cunning individual and wasn't someone who could be trusted. They must be on guard against him… Unfortunately, no one believed what he said.

Even his second elder cousin brother Li Shiyu didn't believe him. He would rather believe a person who was in a branch part of the family than to believe in his younger brother!

After thinking about all this, Li Yingjie felt frustrated.

Just what kind of charm did Li Lanfeng have to make so many people from the Li family trust in him? Li Yingjie was quite annoyed, but he couldn't find anyone to speak to about his worries. After all, this was a matter within the Li family…

"I won't lose!" Li Yingjie's frustration only lasted for a moment. In the next second, he returned to his chipper self. He clenched his fists and made a silent promise to himself that he would definitely find evidence of Li Lanfeng's cunningness, so he could finally rip that disguise off him and finally show to everyone his ugliest side.

Gu Dongyang pretended to not hear Li Yingjie's words. Everyone knew very well that this trip to the military headquarters with their regiment commander was not a peaceful one, it was instead actually going to be a battle with words and wits and no one knew what the final outcome will be.

Originally, Li Lanfeng, who was an expert in debating, was the most suitable to help Ling Lan. Unfortunately, ridding the base of spies required Li Lanfeng's abilities. The base needed it more than them. Ling Lan did indeed want to take back their awards and merits but she needed to make sure her own headquarters was safe first.

After seeing everyone ignoring him, Li Yingjie turned frustrated as he sat down on the sofa in the living room with great indignation written on his face. He called out towards Ling Lan, who was standing in front of a window, looking at the view outside and ignoring what they were saying with a saddened tone. "Boss Lan, do you think that we should just endure anything that comes our way?"

Hearing the confusion, Ling Lan closed the curtains of the window, turned around and said calmly, "Have you guys forgotten what I said when I named the clan 'Lingtian'?"

Li Yingjie's eyes brightened. He knew his dominant Boss Lan wouldn't just endure without retaliating back. It was because of such dominance that he was willing to follow Ling Lan. Plus, following Ling Lan not only made it not frustrating, but it actually made him become even more arrogant than when he didn't follow him. This type of dominance was unreasonable and was very satisfying for him.

Ling Lan's words made everyone in the room stand still. They began to recall the time of their clan's inception and what their regiment commander had said to them then.

"Lingtian Mecha Clan's Commandments: Number 1) Don't cause trouble. Number 2) Don't run away. Number 3) Kill all that stands in our way." Ling Lan's cold voice echoed into everyone's ears. "I want you all to remember that."

"There isn't anyone in this world who could make Lingtian lose this determination," Ling Lan said without hesitation.

She didn't need the people in her clan to compromise. Even if there was a need to compromise, it was something her as a regiment commander needed to do, not her members. It was just like how her father, Ling Xiao, pushed her into becoming a regiment commander under the worst circumstances, but he protected her to let her grow quickly. She was also going to protect her subordinates the way her father protected her in order to let them do what they wanted to do without any worry.

"Yes, regiment commander!" Everyone held back the excitement in their hearts and stood up and saluted to Ling Lan.

This was their regiment commander, Ling Lan!

Gu Dongyang looked at the cold yet determined regiment commander Ling Lan with a complicated expression on his face. After a short moment, he slowly breathed out. The heavy feeling he had felt when he entered Planet General slowly dissipated. A smile slowly appeared on his face and the negative feelings he had for the past 10 years or so disappeared just like that.

Chapter 1151 The Four Elite Families!

In a convertible hover car, two people were sitting in it and quickly driving towards their destination.

"I just received news that Lingtian Mecha Clan's Regiment Commander Ling has arrived," suddenly said the charming young man sitting on the left.

The cool-looking young man sitting on the right side didn't have any reaction to the sudden news.

"Why aren't you saying anything?" The charming young man glanced at his comrade.

"What should I say? We��ve only just met him once back then," the cool looking young man responded coldly as he turned towards the other young man.

"Yeah, it was only just one encounter… But this person was deemed to be trash and yet still led his mecha clan and achieved feats that even us, the Flying Dragon Special Forces, feel shocked about. Aren't you just a little bit curious?" The charming young man's eyes brightened and burning desire began to show within them.

"You're still not going to let that go?" Frowned the cool-looking young man.

"I kept telling myself that that person had died. However, when I saw Little White appearing in front of me, I had a feeling that the person hadn't died yet." The charming young man bit his lip. Despite the other person having explained everything so well, he still held the hope that the impossible was possible. He was basically waiting for a miracle to happen.

"I've looked through Pei Shaoyun's data. It's perfect. Everything lines up perfectly; his personality, his quirks, his habit of pouting nothing seems weird. However, it being so perfect makes me think that it's not real," said the charming young man.

"Mu Chaoran, you're going down the rabbit hole again. Anyone who went to the Scout Academy would have data as detailed as that. I think there's nothing wrong with it," said the cool-looking young man helplessly.

"Tang Ningyu, my intuition is very accurate," replied Mu Chaoran in a serious tone. "This a power that us, the Northeastern Muqi, are born with. The difference is whether or not the person could awaken this ability. Once it is awakened, then that person will be considered to be the next family head of Northeastern Muqi."

It turns out, these two people were Tang Ningyu and Mu Chaoran from the Flying Dragon Special Forces. The two of them became work partners and stayed together no matter if they were on a mission or on leave.

Mu Chaoran's serious attitude made Tang Ningyu put more attention into the conversation, "It's that strong?"

"Of course it will be very strong after awakening it. I could pretty much sense all incoming dangers," Mu Chaoran responded. "It could even determine whether the person I'm talking has goodwill or evil intentions. Moreover, this is still just the early-stages of the awakening. According to the Muqi family's records, once it reaches a higher stage, it could even have the power to go against gods. However, this power is connected to the path the individual wants to awaken. The family head of each generation who had awakened this ability to the highest stage were still very terrifying even though they were very different in terms of what powers they had. Even if they hadn't reached the level to go against the gods, it wasn't too far off."

"The four main elite families aren't like the great Li family and Ye family. They have people everywhere, but because of the limitations made by the military, they can never gain real military power. Other than those people, the other two areas are considered to be the existence of titans." Mu Chaoran sighed.

"Our family only focuses on improving our physical skills which has caused our relations with many of the factions to deteriorate to basically strangers. However, it was because of this that our family managed to withstand the test of time for thousands of years and never fall in history. The four elite families all have their own special powers. Ancient writing dictates that 'The Empyreal Zhuge's Tianji can see all secrets and determine the future of all things. Northeastern Muqi can detect and escape from all crises. Old Martial Beitang are brave and invincible. The Divine Dash of the Zhou family can move thousands of miles in one step.' These all point towards the real capabilities of the four elite families."

After saying this, Mu Chaoran sighed again, "Unfortunately, as time went by, the number of individuals who could actually fully awaken our family's powers had decreased significantly. In this generation, in our Northeastern Muqi, there still hasn't been anyone who has awakened the god-like powers of our ancestors which has been quite a worrying matter for the current family hea… If it isn't present in one generation, it would be a fatal blow for the Northeastern Muqi."

"Not only you guys, but from what I know, even Old Martial Beitang is the same. Most of their descendants live a normal life," Tang Ningyu said calmly. "While those who are somewhat capable would awaken random powers and be sent out by their family head."

Tang Ningyu had a secret. He was actually from Old Martial Beitang. Back then, he was sent to the Flying Dragon Special Forces because he had awakened the strongest offensive element, the lightning element, not his family's powers.

In reality, in large families such as their own, they wouldn't send many of their descendants to the military like some smaller families. It was only because these families wanted to ensure their traditions were passed down so they would heartlessly send out those who awaken abilities that were not part of their family's clan. They would completely cut off any connection with them in order to guarantee the purity of their family bloodline.

This was why he and Mu Chaoran were sent to the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

He could understand the family's decision, but he ultimately could not forgive them for it. Thus, he never came into contact with the four elite families. Other than the information he had read about while in the Flying Dragon Special Forces, he didn't know anything else about the four elite families.

However, Mu Chaoran was very different than him. He was very confident in his family and had always considered himself a part of the Northeastern Muqi. This was also the reason he couldn't become like Tang Ningyu… The Flying Dragon Special Forces definitely wouldn't let someone who considered themselves as part of an elite family to take over as their highest command.

"I heard that Empyreal Zhuge and the Divine Dash Zhou family also don't have any god-like prodigies in this current generation." Mu Chaoran also saw their information in the database of the Flying Dragon Special Forces.

It wasn't because they didn't awaken their clan's powers, but rather because they had average talent. There wasn't any chance they could improve in the future, not to mention acquiring god-defying talents.

"Actually, I admire the Li and Ye families. They didn't seal themselves off to the world. Whether they are fighting for control with the military or trying to cooperate, they at least still have their own wills and powers to make decisions. Unlike our four elite families where we are just trying to live in between cracks and to even just stay alive…" Mu Chaoran couldn't help but sigh for the third time. He didn't know which ancestor of theirs decided that the four families must choose such a path. It glorified the four elite families but under the glory, the four elite families were walking on thin ice that was on the brink of collapse.

"However, only these four families have passed down their legacies from thousands of years ago. In these thousands of years, how many Li families and Ye families have appeared?" Tang Ningyu said calmly. "The choice is between being glorified for a short time or staying alive for an eternity. The four elite families chose the latter and the Li and Ye families chose the former. The two choices are no different. The only difference is the concept."

Mu Chaoran thought carefully for a moment and then smiled, "You're right. We have to thank the choices of our ancestors. Their seemingly random decisions allowed us to be born into this world successfully." If the four elite families had chosen to be glorified for only a short time, they probably wouldn't exist anymore.

"Stop talking about the four elite families. I'm already tired just of the thought of them. Are you going to see Ling Lan at the reception center?" Tang Ningyu finally asked the question he had in his mind all this while.

"Yeah, he's Little White's current master. I still don't want to give up and want to ask about Little White." Mu Chaoran eyes darkened. He also felt he was going over the deep end. He knew the result of asking but he still wanted to ask.

Sometimes, even he couldn't understand what kind of spell Shaoyun put him under to make him fall so deep into this rut.