Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Although the mainframe announced him the winner, Qi Yaoyang felt that he lost. In an actual battlefield, he would have died together with Ling Lan and she was still just a recruit. Qi Yaoyang felt devastated. For the first time, he felt that he was getting old.
Ling Lan was too composed. Her expression was cold and indifferent. Qi Yaoyang couldn’t get an answer from her so he could only accept what she said.
He was suspicious of Ling Lan’s actions but that didn’t prevent him from being extremely satisfied with her. Her close-combat and long-range attacks were near perfect. She managed to force him into a dire situation using her long-range attacks and displayed intelligence in the close-combat. Even after the battle, she was still humble.
Qi Yaoyang acknowledged Ling Lan. He felt at ease for his little son. He smiled and said, “Ling Lan, I will leave my son in your care now.”
“Huh?” Ling Lan was stunned. Wasn’t she just doing a mission? Why did she become a nanny suddenly? Who was his son?
Qi Yaoyang laughed when he saw a change in expression on her cold face. He didn’t explain himself and just disappeared in front of her. He had left the virtual world.
“Boss, are you going to take care of a baby?” Little Four could finally speak. He was worried that he would disturb Ling Lan so he forced himself to stay quiet during the battle.
Ling Lan rubbed her eyebrows in frustration. She didn’t have the time to think just now because everything happened suddenly. Now that she calmed down, she felt that her examiner looked familiar. She was sure that she had never seen her examiner before so it might be because one of her team members looked like the examiner. If that was the case, what the examiner said in the end made sense.
At this moment, Senior Colonel Mi regained his senses and left the spectator stand. He saw Ling Lan in deep thought in the atrium and walked over hurriedly. “Ling Lan!”
He didn’t see the person that he wanted to see so he asked her, “Did your opponent come and find you?” Her opponent would have told her whether she passed or not.
Ling Lan didn’t reply to him. Instead, she asked, “Is my opponent Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang?”
Senior Colonel Mi’s eyes lit up. “You found out too?”
“As expected.” No wonder he said that sentence to her. Seemed like Qi Yaoyang was jealous because Qi Long wanted to follow her.
Ling Lan understood Qi Yaoyang’s feelings. If she told her father that she wanted to go to the 3rd Division… she didn’t dare to imagine what would happen. Whatever it was, there was no good outcome. If she compared it this way, Qi Long’s father was extremely good-tempered. Ling Lan gave Qi Yaoyang a thumbs up in her mind.
Ling Lan didn’t know that Qi Long was almost beaten to death by his father when he said that he wanted to follow her. However, this proved that Ling Lan was right about Qi Long. He was a strong-willed person. Even his father couldn’t do anything about his stubbornness and let him have his way in the end.
“Did you see Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang?” Senior Colonel Mi repeated his question when he noticed that Ling Lan didn’t reply to him.
“Yes,” Ling Lan replied.
“Did he say anything?” Senior Colonel Mi asked.
“He said…” That his son will be under my care? Ling Lan looked at Senior Colonel Mi with a puzzled expression. Senior Colonel Mi was not someone who would like to gossip. Why was he so interested in such gossip suddenly?
“Did you pass?” Senior Colonel Mi was speechless. Was Ling Lan not worried about this?
“I lost, right?” Ling Lan shrugged. The moment she left the battle, she knew that she lost. However, she was not depressed. Losing meant that she was not strong enough. This was why her father asked Lieutenant General Qi Yaoyang to be her opponent. He wanted her to understand her own strength.
Ever since Ling Lan became an imperial operator, she started becoming arrogant. She felt that she could only be defeated by real imperial operators. However, Qi Yaoyang defeated her today. It reminded her that within the Federation, there might be many people like Qi Yaoyang. She was not as strong as she thought she was. She needed to work harder.
As expected, her parents understood her well. Her father must have noticed her arrogance long ago so he used this method to remind her that she didn’t have the right to be so proud yet. She needed to work harder.
Senior Colonel Mi heard Ling Lan’s reply and knew that she misunderstood the rules. He smiled and said, “Did you think that passing or failing the mission is dependant on whether you win or lose?
So it is not! Ling Lan’s eyes lit up. Even though she was not depressed by her loss, she would be happier if she could continue her missions.
Senior Colonel Mi nodded his head seriously. Ling Lan was elated. She recalled what Qi Yaoyang said to her and knew that he was trying to tell her that she passed.
She was so stupid! Ling Lan knocked her head angrily. She had become more reliant on other people since she started living with her parents. She was not as sharp and vigilant as before. In the past, she would have noticed such an obvious hint long ago. However, today, she needed Senior Colonel Mi to remind her before she understood it.
It was the right decision to leave her parents. She would grow faster without Ling Xiao’s protection.
Ling Lan believed that Ling Xiao would be able to protect her and Lan Luofeng. But, she felt safer if she had the ability to protect herself. The culprit that harmed Ling Xiao last time was still hiding among the leaders in the military. Ling Xiao only managed to dig out a few unimportant people after years of investigation. The mastermind was not found yet. A sense of danger enveloped the Ling family. No one knew when the mastermind would strike again.
“You have found the answer.” Senior Colonel Mi smiled at Ling Lan’s frustration. He guessed that she had passed since her expression was relaxed just now.
At this moment, Senior Colonel Mi’s communicator rang. He answered it and his expression changed. He looked at Ling Lan with pity in his eyes. Ling Lan’s heart dropped. Did she make a wrong conclusion? Did she fail the first mission?
Senior Colonel Mi didn’t have the time to answer her queries. He signaled for Ling Lan to follow him as he sent out messages on his communicator.
Very soon, Senior Colonel Mi brought Ling Lan to the team battle arena. He told her in a serious tone, “The second mission is a team mission. You will lead a team of six mecha operators and fight against another team in the same map. You will only win if all your opponents got defeated. Since you are the leader, you must not be defeated before your team members.”
Ling Lan asked without any hesitation, “Where are my team members?”
Senior Colonel Mi walked to a screen and entered some information inside. Then, he asked Ling Lan to come over. “These are the name list of all the people in the special forces. You can choose five members from the list. You only have half an hour to choose your members. If you can’t make a decision within half an hour, the mainframe would randomly choose your members for you.”
“I can’t choose virtual mecha operators?” Ling Lan frowned. She didn’t expect her members to come from the special forces. This was not a piece of good news. The members of the special forces were all unruly and hard to manage. They would not listen to the orders of a recruit. As compared to them, Ling Lan rather used virtual mecha operators. They were at least obedient.
“No. This is General Ling Xiao’s order.” Senior Colonel Mi shook his head firmly.
Ling Lan had no choice but to look at the name list of the special forces. She tapped a name and the person’s information came out.
Flying Blade: Long-range ace operator (7 years): Specialize in sniping. Ultimate technique: Nine Star Congregation (Seven stars)!
Ling Lan thought about something and called Little Four. “Little Four, I need a long-range sniper, three strong close-combat operators, and a balanced mecha operator. It will be good if one of them is an adviser too.”
“Understand!” Ling Lan instantly sorted through the name list to find the suitable candidates for Ling Lan.
Senior Colonel Mi hesitated when he saw how serious Ling Lan was. Finally, he asked, “Do you need any suggestions?”
Ling Lan looked up in surprise. Senior Colonel Mi was not someone who would give hints.
“If you can, choose a person that has the word ‘blade’ in their name.” Senior Colonel Mi quickly finished his sentence and scanned his surroundings thereafter. This was his first time doing such a thing so he felt guilty.
Ling Lan knew that Senior Colonel Mi was helping her so thought about it and ordered Little Four, “Find operators that have the word ‘blade’ in their name. I need a long-range sniper, a close-combat operator, and a balanced mecha operator. You can decide the last two members yourself.”
Very soon, the information of five people appeared in front of Ling Lan.
Domineering Blade: Close-combat ace operator (17 years). Ultimate technique: Chain Combo!
Devil Blade: Balanced mecha ace operator (16 years). Ultimate technique: Chain Combo! Additional element: Adviser.
Divine Blade: Long-range ace operator (16 years). Ultimate technique: Instant Fire!
Crazy Warrior: Close-combat ace operator (17 years). Ultimate technique: Total Annihilation!
Ice Spirit: Close combat ace operator (15 years). Ultimate technique: Whirlwind Strike!
Little Four noticed that Ling Lan didn’t say anything so he thought that she was dissatisfied with the selection. He quickly explained himself, “Boss, their information looked simple but they have all been ace operators for at least 15 years. They know more techniques than what is written. I also remember you saying that truly powerful operators have simple ultimate technique. However, the power of the techniques will be much greater.”
“You remember what I said,” Ling Lan complimented Little Four.
She had nothing against the list of people Little Four gave her. She was just curious about Ice Spirit. She felt that this nickname was feminine. Could it be a female ace operator? If she guessed correctly, this would be the first time meeting a female ace operator. Ling Lan got excited. “I will choose these five people.”