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Chapter 276 - Infiltration!

At the Tianji Mecha Clan headquarters, a shadowy figure dropped stealthily into the flower garden. At this particular time, this landing spot was precisely the blind spot of all the patrols and sentries ...

With just one step, Ling Lan slipped into the corridor of the garden. By this time, Little Four had long cooperatively manipulated the surveillance feed of the corridor. In the monitoring room, the monitoring staff could only see images from several seconds ago ...

Ling Lan's speed was ghost-like, leaving only a streak of shadowed light as she passed through the dim lighting of the corridor. Crossing the corridor, she arrived at the foot of the main building. She did not choose to enter the hall, instead dashing over to a blind spot by a wall.

Then, Ling Lan's hands could be seen to fly swiftly, aiming for the irregular spots on the wall, using them as makeshift handholds to pull her entire body up, crawling up the wall like a lizard in the blink of an eye to reach the fourth floor. At this moment, Luo Lang was stowed within one of the bedrooms on the fourth floor. She needed to rescue Luo Lang first before she considered anything else.

Moreover, Little Four had already given her a view of the entire headquarters beforehand. Therefore, she knew that the 4th floor, which was where she was climbing to now, had a room with an unlocked window. She would be able to open it and enter from there, and there was coincidentally no one inside at the moment. This was undoubtedly a good opportunity which could shorten the time Ling Lan needed to infiltrate the base.

Ling Lan came to that window, and lightly pushed it open. In the silent depths of the night, even the lightest creak would be striking. Ling Lan was extremely calm — without any hesitation in her movements, she opened the window just wide enough for her body and slipped into the room.

Right outside the room was the main corridor — Little Four was already displaying the image of the corridor outside for Ling Lan, notifying her of the closest patrol. They were still a distance away, so Ling Lan did not hesitate to open the door, just as if she were still in her own villa. She walked out blatantly into the corridor, without any bit of the sort of wariness and care one should have when breaking and entering into someone else's home.

Ling Lan had faith in Little Four's judgment, and Ling Lan did not have the time to spare anyway, because Little Four had told Ling Lan that someone with nefarious intentions against Luo Lang was already heading towards the bedroom Luo Lang was in. She needed to hurry.

After travelling for a distance, Little Four suddenly warned her that there were two patrollers approaching from around the corner.

With a fleeting step, Ling Lan was at the corner. Several nimble steps up the wall later, she had climbed up to the crossbeam, and laid herself flat over it. If someone came up from behind Ling Lan, Ling Lan's figure would be clearly exposed to the eye, but from the opposing direction, Ling Lan's body was entirely obscured by the crossbeam. It would be impossible for the incoming patrollers to discover her presence behind the beam ...

Perhaps the patrollers too did not expect that the impregnable headquarters 1 in their eyes would actually be infiltrated by an enemy, who had already gotten to the 4th floor. Mind you, security was strict on all floors below this one, so any intruder would typically not be able to get past the 2nd floor. Thus, they were somewhat slack, casually breezing past the crossbeam, never once considering to even lift their heads to look up 2 ...

Ling Lan waited for the two men to pass below her, then quietly dropped back down to the ground. In order to eliminate any latent problems, her palms whipped down like knives, chopping onto the napes of the two men.

The two men toppled as the chops landed, and Ling Lan grabbed hold of a man with each hand. She then dragged them to the next equally empty room and tossed them into it.

These were all just small fry, so Ling Lan did not intend to be too harsh on them. In the internal energy she had used during the hand chops, she had only included a little bit of her innate talent's special power. If the other did not manage to clear out that bit of special power, their progress would be greatly impeded — this was Ling Lan's punishment for their role as accomplices to the villain 1 .

After tossing them into the room, the remaining matters would be Little Four's responsibility. Little Four would lock the doors, and just as when they had been on the spaceship, before the morn of the next day, the men's communicators would be non-functional. Before Ling Lan had completely vented her rage, Little Four would ensure the men had no chance of contacting the outside world.

After settling the two men, Ling Lan swiftly hastened towards her destination. Along the way, with Little Four's advanced warnings, in order to avoid detection by the enemy, Ling Lan employed sneak attacks to bring down all enemies in her path before they could notice her.

Meanwhile, in the monitoring room, as Little Four had used a constant loop of false images to replace the video feed, those patrollers taken down by Ling Lan still appeared to be patrolling along their designated routes, again and again ...

********

The white-uniformed youth finally felt the pain in his head leave him, his spiritual power recovering to his normal levels. He walked out excitedly from the infirmary in the base, prepared to properly enjoy the spoils of victory he had gained today. Thinking of that beauty finally capitulating to pleasure under his body, his heart felt hot; it was as if he had not felt this excited in a long time.

The white-uniformed youth was the dux of the starship command specialization, named Shi Mingyi 1 . He was one of the vice regiment commanders of the Tianji Mecha Clan. Technically, he was unqualified to take on a vice regiment commander role based on his abilities, but he just so happened to have a batch of faithfully loyal subordinates, one of whom was even the best mecha expert in the clan beneath the regiment commander. Due to that subordinate's emphatic support, Shi Mingyi had become a vice regiment commander of Tianji last year.

Since shouldering the role of vice regiment commander, Shi Mingyi had used the resources of the Tianji Mecha Clan quite often to seek out information on all the fair-faced youths in the various specializations. Of course, he was cunning about it — those with substantial family backgrounds, he would not dare to touch; he typically went after those from common stock, or those students without very significant backgrounds. One after another over the past year, there had already been five or six youths who had fallen into his wicked hands. And now, these victims had all become team members in his fold, holding him in extraordinary love and admiration, loyal to a fault.

It was also precisely for this reason that Shi Mingyi's fondness for men had not yet been exposed. Adept at deception, he used his trump card to gather a great deal of good favour among the regular cadets, setting himself up as a sunny, righteous, and honest person. He was the consummate good student in the instructors' eyes, the dux who the students respected, the just vice regiment commander of the Tianji Mecha Clan ...

Moreover, Shi Mingyi knew very well where the secret of his success laid — apart from himself, no one else knew that his spiritual mutation was Hypnotism. No one other than his closest confidantes knew he liked men. On the outside, he buried this proclivity of his deeply. Even though all types of gorgeous young men were gathered by his side, due to his own handsome appearance, he fit in well enough that no one had ever thought anything of it ...

As a vice regiment commander, Shi Mingyi had a personal lounge within headquarters, at the end of the 4th floor. Even though it was just a small bedroom of about 20 square metres, it was furnished lavishly, with the entire floor covered in shag carpeting.

When one opened the door and entered the room, the first thing one would see would be a grand old-fashioned wooden armchair directly facing the doorway. However, this armchair was very strange, taller than regular chairs by 30 to 40 centimetres, almost at the height of a standard table. Who knows whether it was truly meant for sitting on or was just a decoration. Behind the armchair was a thick cloth curtain, hiding the scene deeper into the room from view.

Shi Mingyi cast a careful glance out the doorway, confirming that there was indeed no one there before softly shutting the door behind him. After that, he deadbolted the door and set a protective passcode, assuring that other than himself, no one else would be able to enter his room.

That done, he stepped past the armchair and parted the curtain. Inside, there was only a single circular waterbed, with chains as thick as one's thumb draping down from it on all sides, culminating in a strange aesthetic. Additionally, on the ceiling, a flat and sparkling mirror was embedded, clearly reflecting everything on the bed.

A youth in a green uniform was lying on the bed. On his delicate face, his eyebrows were knitted, his eyes closed tightly. It looked like he was deeply unconscious, but perhaps because there was some discomfort affecting his body, his complexion was pale, causing him to look even more pitiful and fragile. The sight of him almost caused Shi Mingyi to be consumed by the flames of lust — he wished desperately that he could morph into a ravenous wolf and gobble up this delectable youth instantly.

This lovely youth on the bed was precisely the one Ling Lan had spent so much time and effort to find, Luo Lang.

Besides the large bed, there was nothing else that could be seen within the room. The walls on all four sides were covered by thick, floor-length curtains.

Shi Mingyi gulped, slowly walking over to sit on the edge of the bed. He gently stroked that exquisite face of Luo Lang, so enchanted that he almost did not want to stop.

His fingers slid down slowly from Luo Lang's face to his neck, and then slowly unfastened the buttons on Luo Lang's uniform. He tugged open the top of the uniform forcefully, revealing the white shirt inside it, along with a faint trace of soft white skin.

Right then, Shi Mingyi could hold back no longer — he ripped apart the white shirt impatiently, and with a tearing sound, the rest of the buttons were sent flying, and Luo Lang's lovely body was exposed just like that before Shi Mingyi. The two pretty pink nubs on Luo Lang's chest almost made Shi Mingyi salivate ...

"Exquisite, truly exquisite ... who would have expected such an exquisite beauty to appear in the First Men's Military Academy? All those I have sampled before were just trash!" exclaimed Shi Mingyi, his fingers trailing down Luo Lang's chest. He revelled in the sensation he was receiving from his hand, feeling how smooth and warm the other's skin was, how supple ...

Perhaps these touches made Luo Lang uncomfortable, for his brow creased even more noticeably. However, the effects of the anaesthetic were too strong; he still laid there unmoving.

Shi Mingyi had initially planned to properly savour the other, but seeing the other unresponsive like a dead fish, he felt somewhat dissatisfied. After some thought, he tugged over a chain hanging by the head of the bed, and looped it around Luo Lang's left hand, securing it. Next, he pulled yet another chain from the other side and secured Luo Lang's right hand as well.

Then, he pressed a button at the head of the bed, and the curtain on his left-hand side was pulled aside to reveal a cabinet. Inside the cabinet were countless sex toys, and even some SM equipment 1 , and there was of course several high-tech safes installed within it as well.

Shi Mingyi pressed a finger onto the screen on one of the safes, and the initially dark screen lit up to display a numbered keypad. Shi Mingyi deftly keyed in a string of numbers, and with a dull click, the door of the safe sprang open. There was a considerable number of medical agents inside it, as well as several one-use syringes.

Shi Mingyi removed two tubes of agent from the safe, and then took out a one-use syringe set. He filled the syringe with one of the agents, walked over to Luo Lang, and injected its contents into Luo Lang's arm. This was closely followed by the next tube of agent, which he also injected into Luo Lang's arm.

After doing all this, Shi Mingyi discarded the one-use syringe set into the rubbish bin. He then shut the safe, returned to the bed, and pressed another button. The curtains drew close once more, restoring the room to its original state.

1. 固若金汤: I like the original idiom here, but it would not work well in context. Breaking the composite characters down into its intended meaning, the idiom is 'as secure as metal walls and a deep moat'. However, if you try to translate the words at face value, they actually read 'solid as gold soup'. :p This is because certain words have been omitted to keep this idiom in 4-character format, and so have to be inferenced, while other words are to be taken metaphorically, as with 'soup' for 'moat'.

2. T/C: Classic rookie mistake. Tsk.

3. 为虎作伥: The original idiom here is literally 'being the servile spirits of a tiger'. This idiom is based on old superstition, where people believed that people who were killed by a tiger would become evil spirits contracted to the tiger, helping the tiger to kill even more people. That aside, Ling Lan's mercy is still pretty harsh, considering how steep the competition is in this militaristic world from what we've seen.

4. From this point on, the white-clothed dude is known as Shi Mingyi, though the author had been letting others address him as 'Brother Xi' previously. Either the author forgot she needed to put a 'Xi' in his name, or 'Brother Xi' was just an alias. In any case, just know that these two names refer to the same character.

5. SM stands for 'sadomasochism', which means the giving or receiving of pleasure involving pain. SM equipment can include collars, chains, restraints, whips, and paddles.

Chapter 277 - How Dare You!

Very quickly, Luo Lang moaned and opened his eyes, and saw the white-uniformed youth beaming at him. Luo Lang's expression changed drastically, for he knew now that he had not managed to escape in the end and had been abducted by the other.

He struggled, then heard the clinking noises coming from above his head. Looking up, Luo Lang saw his hands bound in metal chains, and as the anaesthetic had not completely worn off yet, he still felt weak and powerless.

"Who are you? Which organisation are you from? Why did you capture me?" Luo Lang quickly calmed himself down and spoke up to ask. His voice was rather hoarse and weak — in Shi Mingyi's ears, it naturally had a particular flavour of enticement.

"Shi Mingyi, 4th year dux of the starship command specialization and vice regiment commander of the Tianji Mecha Clan. And as for why I captured you?" Shi Mingyi smiled and reached out to stroke a hand over Luo Lang's face, expression besotted as he said, "That's because I like you ..."

Luo Lang tried to evade Shi Mingyi's fingers in revulsion, but was unsuccessful. And then Shi Mingyi's words registered, causing him to freeze for a moment, but he quickly understood and yelled in rage, "Let go of me, you pervert!"

"A pervert, is it? If I must become a pervert to like you, I will willingly succumb to this depravity!" Shi Mingyi's face shifted to reveal a bitter smile. This expression startled Luo Lang, but logic quickly reasserted itself as he scolded, "Of course you're a pervert, or else how could you do something like abduction?"

Shi Mingyi's body jerked back as he pressed a hand to his forehead. He closed his eyes to rest his mind for a beat before opening them again. Right then, his initial seemingly earnest smile was nowhere to be seen ... there was only darkness and a trace of ruthlessness left on his face. "Still not working? Who could have expected that your spiritual power is this strong, actually repelling me once more, reflecting damage back at me. Looks like, I need to first let you taste the all-consuming pleasure of the body before you'll be willing to submit to me."

That said, he began to take off his clothes. Luo Lang's irises contracted, and his pearl-white teeth bit down harshly on his own lips. He was trying to use pain to chase away the effects of the anaesthetic, desperately circulating the Qi-Jin in his body, hoping that he would be able to recover enough Qi-Jin for a final suicide attack.

Yes. Luo Lang was prepared to die with his enemy in his attempt; he would not suffer this humiliation ...

Within the yawning emptiness in his body, Luo Lang suddenly sensed the presence of internal energy again. Pleasant surprise flashed through Luo Lang's eyes, but very quickly, his expression changed once more, the initial paleness of his face being replaced by a rosy flush.

"Haha, you're feeling it now, right? This is some ultra-potent aphrodisiac. It will make you beg me to give it to you again and again, turning you into a complete slut ..." Shi Mingyi began laughing gleefully at the sight.

He was just about to rip off the clothes on the lower half of Luo Lang's body when a frigid aura enveloped the entire room ...

"How dare you!" A glacial voice rang out by Shi Mingyi's ear, instantly dousing Shi Mingyi's blazing fires of lust with a deluge of ice-cold water, cooling him down rapidly.

Meanwhile, on the bed ... Luo Lang, who had been planning to kill himself along with his captor, had relieved joy shining from his eyes. His line of sight had coincidentally shifted to look up at the mirror on the ceiling, and from its reflection, he could see a stony and stately figure standing at the curtain by the door — it was Ling Lan!

"Boss ..." Luo Lang cried out emotionally. His eyes turned red uncontrollably, as his heart full of rage, sorrow and despair instantly melted into a pool of tender emotions. So this was Boss, his boss that deserved his loyalty and trust ... he had come at this most critical moment to save him.

Shi Mingyi whipped his head around in shock, and seeing that familiar figure before his eyes, his expression shifted as he called out, "Ling Lan! It's you ..." He reflexively looked towards the area behind Ling Lan. He had clearly set a passcode — didn't Lu Yong-guang say before that no one would be able to crack the lock, and would only be able to break down the door by force to enter? How then had the other snuck in without a sound? Without him sensing anything at all?

"You've made me angry ... you, have to pay the price for your transgressions!" Ling Lan's face was a sheet of ice, for she had seen Luo Lang's current state. The killing intent in her heart waxed thicker. The blood-soaked killing intent concealed deep within her body all this while abruptly exploded out into the room, instantly dominating the entire space.

Qi Long, Luo Lang and the other little companions who had grown up alongside Ling Lan held special places in Ling Lan's heart. Ling Lan took care of them like her own younger brothers — in fact, in Ling Lan's heart, they were even like sons to her — the emotions she invested in them were beyond the norm.

Ling Lan's killing intent was extremely dense now, but she controlled it skilfully, not allowing any bit to leak out of the room. As the main target of the killing intent, Shi Mingyi instantly felt himself plunged into a crimson world. Countless knives of light and swords of shadow hurtled towards him — he felt himself being pierced by these countless phantom blades, but also felt his limbs being sliced off bit by bit, his gut dissected, and his heart torn out, but he could not die. He watched helplessly as his body, his innards, were finally reduced to a puddle of bloody water, which then vanished without leaving a trace.

This was not only physical agony — it was also a spiritual torment. There was a moment where he even wanted to end his life by biting his tongue off, unwilling to bear this endless suffering any longer 1 ...

In reality, he had really bitten his tongue. However, perhaps because he did not have enough strength, or perhaps he did not really want to die in his subconscious mind, for although he had bitten his tongue, he had only wounded it and not severed it completely. Still, this allowed him to stumble onto an escape by chance — the intense pain shook him out of the illusion of hellish torment, to return to reality.

However, even so, the power which had crashed onto him from the start had still caused internal injury to Shi Mingyi. The moment he regained awareness, a lance of blood spurted from his mouth, and his entire body wavered on his feet.

At this time, Shi Mingyi could already tell that he was no match at all for Ling Lan. He had some understanding with regards to force of presence. He knew that it was one of the abilities one gained in the late stages of Qi-Jin. He had studied it and formed it himself — it would push a crushing pressure onto the intended target, effectively subduing them. He had never before encountered such a formidable embodiment of presence however. Its power was not only presented on a physical plane, but also on a spiritual one. If he had not stumbled onto a way out of its effect by chance, he might have been trapped in its endless torments until he died.

Shi Mingyi knew that he had misstepped this time. Who knew that the seemingly easily bulliable Luo Lang actually had such a powerful boss behind him? Shi Mingyi did not want to die, so he decided to use his last resort ...

"Boss Ling, I think this is a misunderstanding." Shi Mingyi tolerated the pain in his mouth, forcing a stiff smile onto his lips.

Ling Lan quirked a brow at these words. "Oh?" She had sensed a strange tendril of spiritual power trying to invade her spiritual domain.

This should be a type of spiritual attack, but it was not one Ling Lan was familiar with. It did not cause any discomfort, and seemed exceedingly harmless. Of course, Ling Lan would not permit any strange spiritual power to just invade into her spiritual domain. With a swift spiritual shake, she crushed this cord of spiritual power.

Sure enough, the moment Ling Lan destroyed this cord of spiritual power, Shi Mingyi's body jerked, his already pale face becoming even paler, losing all trace of blood. She even saw the other's eyebrows lock tightly together, the muscles on his face spasming. It looked like the rebound force had been extremely powerful — the other had not been able to bear it without reacting.

"Little Four, what spiritual power is this?" Ling Lan was curious, so she asked Little Four within the mindspace.

Little Four immediately answered, "This is a type of mid-level awakened innate talent, Mesmerise!"

Sensing Ling Lan's confusion, he explained, "It's actually what you call 'hypnotism' in your world. With this ability, a person can beguile another to change how they view them ..." Little Four silently wiped off the cold sweat from his forehead — luckily, he still had nine instructors to be his solid backup, otherwise he would not have been able to elaborate anything on this kind of mysterious awakened innate talent ...

Ling Lan's initially tepid face became frigid once more — this type of ability in the hands of such a scumbag ... how many innocent people had suffered at his hands? In an instant, Ling Lan decided to rid the other of this innate talent.

Shi Mingyi found that his Hypnotism had backfired on him, and felt a surge of despair. He knew now that the other was most likely someone with a mental spiritual mutation, able to defend against this ability of his, just like Luo Lang. He was not content to just give up and be captured, so when he saw Ling Lan appear to be thinking about something, he leapt forwards with a spring of his right foot, pouncing towards Luo Lang on the bed, planning to grab Luo Lang to use as a hostage ...

As long as Luo Lang was in his hands and the opponent became afraid to act, it would give him the chance to sound the alarm in Tianji's headquarters and he would be able to live! Yes, he did not want to die ... because he had seen the boundless killing intent within the opponent's eyes!

"You're asking for it!"

Seeing Shi Mingyi try to grab Luo Lang in a final desperate bid for survival, Ling Lan growled furiously.

Following this sound, Shi Mingyi's darting body crashed onto the ground. A powerful spiritual charge had been sent straight at his brain — he only felt his brain being struck harshly, and then there was a soft 'splat' as if his brain had split open, and he fell unconscious.

Ling Lan's figure shifted and she was instantly by Luo Lang's side. She asked, "Luo Lang, how do you feel?"

"I'm okay, Boss! I just feel weak." Despite the red flush suffusing Luo Lang's face — the aphrodisiac in his body already beginning to show effect — because it was still in the early stages, he could still bear it. He was extremely ashamed about how he had been captured so easily, finally even needing to trouble Boss Lan to come save him.

"Anaesthetic?" Ling Lan scanned Luo Lang's body, and found that the anaesthetic had already mostly run its course. As long as they waited patiently, Luo Lang would return to normal, but there was still another extremely strange agent within Luo Lang's body.

"What is this?" Ling Lan was rather puzzled.

"Boss, Luo Lang has been dosed with an aphrodisiac." Little Four had described Luo Lang's condition to the instructors of the learning space. When he had told Instructor Number Nine, she had kicked him right out of her space, while Instructor Number Five had only reacted with a sleazy and lecherous smile. Fortunately, Instructor Number Four had taken pity on him and secretly told him the answer ... but, what was this thing called an aphrodisiac? Little Four decided to rifle through his databases to find out.

"What?! Aphrodisiac?!" The veins on Ling Lan's head popped out in anger. She swept a freezing gaze at the unconscious Shi Mingyi lying on the ground, and unhesitatingly lifted a foot to stomp heavily on the other's unprotected back. She ground her heel mercilessly into his back for a moment, and the cracking sounds of bones breaking could be heard. Shi Mingyi's backbone had been pulverized by Ling Lan 1 .

"Is there an antidote? Little Four, search the scene." Ling Lan ordered as she broke the chains holding down the wounded Luo Lang.

1. T/C: Anyone else feels like this really seems to draw inspiration from the Tsukuyomi technique of Uchiha Itachi in Naruto?

2. T/C: Ouch. But I can't say he didn't deserve it.

Chapter 278 - Little Four Takes Action!

Little Four saw many buttons at the head of the bed and so infiltrated into the system. Very soon, he had found that safe of Shi Mingyi's which contained so many agents. Opening it, he discovered that aside from the antidote for the anaesthetic, the other agents were all myriad types of arousal-enhancing agents, which were collectively known as aphrodisiacs.

Little Four had already found the description of aphrodisiacs in his database. With a troubled expression, he said in the mindspace, "Boss, it seems like there are no antidotes for aphrodisiacs. The only antidote is to find him a woman ... but this whole academy is all boys, you are the only girl."

Seeing Ling Lan sweep a fierce glare in his direction, Little Four quickly ducked his head and muttered at his fingers, "Of course, if that's really out of the question, it's also fine to find a man for him ..." According to the database, there were cases where men helped men to clear out the aphrodisiac, although, Little Four really did not understand why the antidote had to involve males and females ... the innocent Little Four still did not really understand what was meant by the carnal pleasures of love.

"You can just stop giving those rotten ideas of yours," huffed Ling Lan in exasperation.

Right then, Luo Lang struggled to sit up, and tolerating the discomfort of his body, he said to Ling Lan, "Boss, I'm fine." Luo Lang did not want to hold his boss back at this dangerous moment.

Ling Lan threw a glance at Luo Lang's trembling legs — in this state, could he really follow her to charge out of Tianji headquarters? Ling Lan did not think Luo Lang could really do it.

Perhaps sensing Ling Lan's distrust, Luo Lang bit gently at his lower lip, face determined as he said, "Boss, believe me, I can do it!" He, Luo Lang, would not lose to anaesthetic, and he also would not lose to this ridiculous aphrodisiac ...

Luo Lang's determination made Ling Lan sigh internally. Although Luo Lang looked like the most delicate one among all her companions, the stubbornness and aggression in his bones were no less than Qi Long's — it could be said that the other members of the team were a bracket weaker than him in this respect. Ling Lan believed that if she really permitted Luo Lang to follow behind her, even if he pushed himself till he was littered with injuries, Luo Lang would still stubbornly keep pace behind her as long as he remained conscious. What a little fellow who tugged at one's heartstrings ...

Ling Lan could only nod and say, "Understood!"

Ling Lan's reply made a smile bloom on Luo Lang's face — Boss was still willing to believe in him ...

Right at that moment, Ling Lan darted forwards, and before Luo Lang could react, she had already pinched the back of Luo Lang's neck forcefully. With a trace of incomprehension in his eyes, Luo Lang fell unconscious.

Ling Lan's left arm reached out and tugged, pulling Luo Lang easily into her embrace, her lips parted to say softly, "Silly little fellow, isn't it much more convenient if I carry you?" 1

"Ah~ah~ah~ah~ah~! Boss, you actually gave away your first virgin hug to this brat Luo Lang!" Little Four went utterly berserk at this sight. I mean, this was Boss Lan's first hug! He had originally set it so that he, Little Four, would be the one to receive it ... why had this brat taken it away now? At this moment, filled with envy-jealousy-hate, Little Four was unbelievably resentful at how backward the technology of this world was, actually lacking any physical constructs which an intelligent bio-entity could inhabit and use. Otherwise, he would long have taken Boss's first hug for himself.

"Shut your mouth. My first hug has long ago been given to Mum ..." Little Four's words rendered Ling Lan somewhat speechless. Wasn't her mum the first to hug her right after she was born? It should be ... right? Ling Lan was a little uncertain.

"It doesn't count for the same gender. It must be for the opposite sex. The opposite sex, you hear me? And also, it must be you, Boss, who initiates the hug." Little Four objected stubbornly, insisting that Mummy Lan's hugs did not count.

"Then, it still would not be Luo Lang. My first hug has already been taken by Dad," Ling Lan calmly revealed the truth to Little Four. The thing he was obsessing over had long been given out long ago.

Little Four was stunned. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"At that time, you were already completely bowled over by Dad ... you could see nothing else but him," said Ling Lan disdainfully. Every time Little Four saw Ling Xiao, he would become a crazy fan, with not one whit of the level-headedness so-called intelligent bio-entities should have. Ling Lan once again confirmed that this Little Four was definitely a factory reject.

Ling Lan even suspected that Little Four had only been able to appear in the primitive Earth of her previous life because the person who had created Little Four had not been able to accept this flawed product. Based on the 'out of sight, out of mind' mantra, had that person thrown Little Four into a primitive dimension for him to live and die as fate decreed?

Ling Lan felt that this hypothesis was very reasonable — when Little Four sensed Ling Lan's thoughts, he was sent spiralling into a tantrum. He vehemently objected to this preposterous theory, insisting that he, Little Four, was a special intelligence entity that was truly one of a kind among the celestial and mortal realm. He hoped that Ling Lan would properly cherish him, this omnipotent follower ...

Of course, Ling Lan had already gotten used to this behaviour of Little Four's — when she was younger, she would still end up resorting to 'domestic violence' out of sheer aggravation, but now, she had become extremely indifferent to it, calm and unruffled in the face of it. Ling Lan felt that Little Four deserved a lot of credit for her slackface-fu 1 being so strong; without his antics day after day, year after year, helping her to train up her heart and tolerance, she would not have been able to maintain it so well.

Just like this, under Little Four's raging frenzy, Ling Lan hefted Luo Lang over her shoulder. As she left, she did not forget to stomp mightily several times over Shi Mingyi's body. Ling Lan was not purely venting her rage — these few stomps carried her unique Qi-Jin. It could be said that without some peerless expert's help in driving out this energy from the other's body, even if Shi Mingyi's shattered bones were treated and healed, he would not be able to stand up again.

When Ling Lan left Shi Mingyi's room, Little Four subsided from his initial frenzied state into extreme calmness. Eyes bright, he asked, "Boss, can I act now?"

They had planned things this way from the start — after they had rescued Luo Lang, all the surveillance equipment within Tianji's headquarters, along with the exclusive mainframe belonging to Tianji headquarters, would be open game for Little Four. He could play with them however he liked — though of course, the condition being that whatever he did would not be traced back to the New Cadet Regiment ...

"Yup, and don't forget to find out who were those involved in Luo Lang's kidnapping." Ling Lan's lips quirked up slightly, her eyes endlessly cold, "Luo Lang's abduction never happened. You know what to do."

"Kill them all?" Little Four was thrilled by these words — Ling Lan had always forbidden him from acting overtly in the virtual world; he had actually felt very constrained. Mind you, his greatest talents laid in the virtual world, where he could determine whether everyone lived or died ...

"No, there's no need for that. Those scum are not worthy for my Little Four to commit this crime. You only need to crush their spiritual selves and that'll do ..." Ling Lan said to Little Four within the mindspace as she stroked his head tenderly, though the words she spouted were exceedingly vicious. Little Four might not understand yet, but at times, living was a fate worse than death!

"Got it, Boss, leave it to me ..." Little Four cast down these words and then went off to complete his task and 'kill' some people.

Ling Lan stared at the spot in the mindspace where Little Four had disappeared. Her emotions were a complicated jumble ... she did not know whether this decision of hers was too cruel. After all, destroying another's spiritual self was equal to turning the other into an idiot. Shi Mingyi's brain-space had been crushed by her, so it was confirmed that he would be a handicapped idiot when he woke up again. She did not regret this, even thinking that leaving him with his life was already a mercy. However, those other people she had set Little Four after were only accomplices. Other than participating in Luo Lang's abduction, they had not done too many bad things ...

At this time, Ling Lan could feel Luo Lang's body on her shoulder becoming hotter and hotter, and that trace of compassion and hesitance in her heart vanished. Indeed, those people might have only been accomplices, but if not for them, would Shi Mingyi alone have been able to capture Luo Lang? If Luo Lang was destroyed by this ...

At this thought, Ling Lan could not stop herself from slamming a fist into a wall. Her hidden energy flowed from her hand into the wall, spreading out into the surrounding area, creating countless cracks inside the wall. As Ling Lan's strength was released in an extremely skilful manner, there was not a trace of the internal damage on the surface of the wall.

The coldness in Ling Lan's eyes grew thicker; she decided she would be true to her heart. She could not bear the outcome of losing Luo Lang, and so could not find it within herself to forgive those people. Therefore, they needed to pay the price for this current situation.

Those who harmed her brothers, she would make them pay the price in blood. If not, how could she face those comrades of hers who trusted her and loved her? For this reason, even if her hands became stained with blood and sin, she was willing to sully them.

********

Right then, in the initially quiet monitoring room of Tianji headquarters, a shocked cry rang out suddenly, "What happened? Why is my screen here black?"

The staff on-duty within headquarters discovered the strange state of his monitoring channel, and instantly leapt up in shock.

"Me too over here. The screen's black too!" Another monitor shouted as well.

"I can't see anything here now either!" The monitoring room was instantly in a state of panic.

"Don't panic, check the mainframe system immediately," ordered the on-duty leader calmly.

Following this order, everyone in the room began to move. They all attempted their own methods to try and connect with the mainframe system, but found to their dismay that nothing worked. They just could not contact the mainframe system — it was as if the mainframe had been sealed off.

"Leader, I have no response here!" One team member shouted out, his face drenched with sweat.

"Me too, over here, there's no way in!" Another team member lowered his hands in frustration. No matter how many times he tried to connect to the mainframe, the signals he sent were like rocks sinking into the ocean.

"Not good, it's a hacker attack. Cut all connections with the mainframe. Activate the secondary A.I. system." The leader seemed to come to some conclusion, his face paling drastically. He hurriedly instructed his team members to cut off all headquarters' terminal connections with the mainframe which had been invaded. After that, he would be able to activate the secondary A.I. to take over all the surveillance systems and safety measures within headquarters.

"Yes, Leader!" The leader's orders rallied the team members' spirits. It was true that they had not run out of options yet — they still had the backup secondary A.I. system. As long as they could hold out for the duration of time needed for it to activate, they would be able to guarantee that Tianji headquarters remained properly safeguarded.

However, after they had manually cut off the mainframe's electrical supply and activated the secondary A.I., they found that the situation remained unchanged. All of the equipment were still in a frozen state, unable to be used ...

"Leader, what now?" One of the team members looked to be younger than the rest, and he actually began to sob uncontrollably. If any great incident occurred while their systems were incapacitated, the consequences of failure would be too much for all of them to bear.

"Relying on us alone will not be enough. Quickly, go gather all the hacker members in the clan and get them to come here to the monitoring room ..." At this time, the team leader could no longer remain calm. Sweat poured from his forehead, dripping off it like rain.

1. T/C: *fans myself* Ling Lan here makes me want to swoon. Why you playin' the role of the ML, Ling Lan? Why?! Meanwhile, poor Luo Lang has been delegated to the role of damsel in distress ... <.<

2. T/C: A play on the term 'kung-fu'. Though that's not precisely what the author used, I think it works well in capturing the playful tone here.

Chapter 279 - Domain Master?

"Yes, Leader!" The team members quickly turned on their respective communicators, thinking to contact the hackers in their Tianji Mecha Clan. However, they soon found that their communicators were all dead.

"The communicators cannot make external contact ..." This realisation made the faces of all the team members change drastically. They, who had initially already calmed down after receiving their leader's orders, began to panic and lose control of themselves again, completely at a loss on what they should do.

This was not something any ordinary hacker could do — mind you, taking control of a student's personal communicator was not that simple. The hacker would need to break through the defences of the S-tier mainframe of the military academy and obtain all its administrative rights; only then would they be able to control the communicators of the cadets. Could it be that the one attacking Tianji headquarters was a god-class hacker?

"How could this be?" The team leader jumped up in fright at his team members' words. He began examining his communicator in disbelief, and found that it was truly as his team members had said — his communicator was completely unresponsive.

"No. This type of ability, even if it were the number one hacker of our school, Leiting's Lin Zhidong, he would not be able to do this ... could it be that this attack is from the outside?" The team leader's face went dark at this thought. No matter how powerful an attack was from inside the school, it was still just inside the school — there would be no real harm to the military academy's mainframe. However, if the attack was an external one, their school would be in danger!

He said anxiously, "You all continue trying to login to the mainframe, I'll go find the instructors ..." Such a formidable hacker attack — only the instructors would have the power to save them.

That said, the team leader rushed out of the monitoring room, prepared to go find the instructors of the hacker specialization and report what was happening here. If his guess was right, this attack was very likely a sinister plot of an outside faction targeted at the military academy — their Tianji was just unluckily the spot they chose to infiltrate from.

Meanwhile, at this time, with Luo Lang over her shoulder, Ling Lan was swiftly making her way across the 4th floor corridors. Every 20 to 30 metres, Ling Lan would smack a palm at the wall. This action seemed extremely casual, and did not appear from the outside to cause any damage to the wall.

However, Ling Lan herself knew that the spots where she had chosen to hit were all the main structural points of support of this building. When she had come, she and Little Four had already discussed beforehand that Little Four would be in charge of destroying all the surveillance facilities here, while she would demolish the entire building. She wanted the Tianji Mecha Clan to fall from their perch in the clouds into a pit of dust and ashes. Once they were no longer the lofty 2nd faction of the school, they would no longer have the wherewithal to commit any more dirty criminal acts.

Besides, Little Four had already given Ling Lan the blueprints of this building before she had even entered it. On the map, he had even thoughtfully provided several spots which were most appropriate for Ling Lan to attack.

After finishing with the 4th floor, Ling Lan immediately chose to go downstairs. After ambushing several patrolmen in the stairwell who were slacking off with a cigarette break, she successfully came to the second floor, and then continued with her demolition work.

Right then, Little Four suddenly began to shout excitedly, "Boss, I've found Lu Yong-guang!"

After Little Four had destroyed the mainframe of the Tianji headquarters and all the surveillance equipment, he had begun searching for those people who had helped Shi Mingyi abduct Luo Lang, and very quickly, he had found that the biggest culprit was Lu Yong-guang. If he had not used the treatment centre to send a fake message to Luo Lang, Luo Lang would not have gone there, and what happened next would never have happened.

"Destroy him!" Ling Lan replied clinically. Having decided on her personal code of honour, Ling Lan's way of acting became even more cold and resolute.

"Roger that, Boss!" answered Little Four excitedly. He could finally show off his amazing skills to his boss.

The initially cute steamed bun-face of Little Four stretched as he opened his mouth wide. Two sharp fangs began to grow out from within it, and the area around his marble-round eyes began to turn bruised and mottled as his face became paler and paler, in stark contrast to his lips which were as vibrantly crimson as fresh blood.

'Thwack!' A strong finger-flick sent Little Four's gruesome head bending back. Face dark, Ling Lan said, "What the hell are you doing? Who are you trying to scare with this demonic appearance?" Little Four appearing with such a demonic aura without any warning ... no matter how composed Ling Lan was, she could not help a shudder from coursing through her heart. D*mnit, since she was a kid, she had never liked watching horror films.

Little Four was flicked back to his original form by Ling Lan — seeing Ling Lan's angry expression, Little Four quickly covered his head with his arms and scurried away, er, no, went off to carry out his task of 'killing people' ...

********

Right then, Li Lanfeng, who was in the military academy's virtual world revising his training courses, suddenly felt an extremely familiar yet horrifying energy explode within the virtual world. His spectre energy was blaring violent warnings at him, and had automatically activated itself to form a powerful defensive shield.

"This is spectre energy. How is this possible?" Li Lanfeng stared in the direction of where the explosion originated from, his face filled with disbelief. He knew very well that this energy had come from within the military academy, otherwise he would not have sensed it so acutely. This energy was something only spectres could sense — could it be that there was another spectre hidden within the military academy?

An extremely cold and unfeeling face emerged in Li Lanfeng's mind ... could it be him? Only he had given Li Lanfeng the vibe that he could be kin, but Li Lanfeng just could not be sure. This explosion of energy — did it prove Ling Lan was also a spectre like him?

Could that person be his companion? At this thought, Li Lanfeng's heart pounded, so hard that it almost seemed as if it would leap out of his throat. His heart, which had been so lonely all this time, could not help but yearn for this, just like when he had encountered that rabbit seven years ago.

********

Lu Yong-guang, who was in the virtual world searching for information, was currently ecstatic. He had obtained the 2nd-tier warrant of vice regiment commander Shi 1 as he had wanted. To get this, he had done quite a number of questionable things, but the rewards were bountiful. Lu Yong-guang felt that it was very worth it — heaven destroys those who do not look out for themselves, after all.

This 2nd-tier warrant entitled him to withdraw a 2nd-tier resource from the Tianji Contribution Department. The types of 2nd-tier resource were abundant — in order to avoid wastage, he had decided to first do some research in the virtual world, so that he would be able to make the best choice and select a resource most appropriate for himself.

Just as he was reading all the materials he had gathered with relish, he suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of danger rise within his heart. Before he could react, he felt a tremendous force steamrolling over his body ...

Lu Yong-guang felt his consciousness fading, his vision becoming blurry and unfocused, and then everything turned completely black as he finally became fully unconscious.

If there had been anyone by Lu Yong-guang's side, they would have found that Lu Yong-guang's body in the virtual world was slowly disappearing. This was distinctly different from the typical log-off process, where a person would turn into a flash of white light and disappear swiftly from the virtual world. Instead, this was a slow process — his body was disintegrating slowly, becoming countless small particles which drifted into the air, finally becoming a slight breeze within the virtual world to disappear without a trace.

Meanwhile, Lu Yong-guang's real body, lying in a virtual world login device, never ever opened his eyes again. He had become a vegetable. Little Four hated how the other had abetted evil for his own greed, and thus had not shown any mercy. He had crushed the other's awareness completely, not even giving him the chance to live as a simpleton.

As for the other people involved, Little Four still obeyed Ling Lan's directive. He only destroyed part of their brain region, leaving that last thread of awareness. In other words, they would still wake up, but they could only live the rest of their lives as dullards.

When Ling Lan was about to finish her sabotage of the 2nd floor, Little Four returned to Ling Lan's mindspace after completing his tasks.

"Boss, all done!" said Little Four smugly, his hand raised in a victory sign. However, he was still rather regretful that his boss had not been there to witness his great prowess in the virtual world. Little Four secretly decided that if there was a chance in future, he would definitely make sure Boss got to see how he killed and tormented those scumbags in the virtual world with her own eyes. He would let Boss truly understand the meaning behind his status of god of the virtual world.

"Alright, now it's my turn." In the blink of an eye, Ling Lan returned to the central area of the 2nd floor. She raised one hand and shouted, "Domain, activate!" 1

A half step to Domain was enough to allow her to activate her Domain for a few seconds. Although it might be ineffective in neutralizing opponents due to how briefly it could be used, it was more than enough to demolish this building which had already been structurally weakened by her ...

Right then, the entire space about 10 metres around Ling Lan had become her Domain, and then Ling Lan could be heard to roar, "Explode!"

Violent explosions answered her cry, beginning from the Domain area furthest from Ling Lan. Since the person controlling the Domain was Ling Lan, in order to guarantee Luo Lang's safety, Ling Lan had chosen the safest sequence of explosion.

Following the activation of the first explosion, Ling Lan's figure was like a streak of light, passing by the corridors of the 2nd floor in a flash.

At the end of the corridor was a window — right before she would crash into it, Ling Lan's readied palm pushed out forcefully, sending a surge of invisible energy at it, shattering the glass panes of the window into smithereens. And at the moment Ling Lan broke the glass, she leapt down from the second floor with Luo Lang. With a soft touch of her feet on a branch outside, she flew off in a sprint, leaving the Tianji headquarters without a sound, vanishing without a trace in an instant.

Meanwhile, violent explosions began to rock Tianji headquarters. Several minutes later, the entire Tianji building could no longer withstand the destructive power of the explosions, collapsing in on itself, and the people on duty inside could be seen rushing out amidst horrified wails and howls.

Of course, this did not account for those who did not manage to escape in time. Those people were trapped within the ruins, but with the abilities of any student of the First Academy, even if they were trapped under rubble, they would not die.

Ling Lan's use of the immense power of half step into Domain to blow up the entire building startled several old beasts 1 who had been laying dormant within the school all this time. They charged over to the scene as soon as they could, hiding in the shadows, trying to sense the remaining energy signature to try and see which tough customer had done this ...

"Actually a Domain stage? This energy signature is very unfamiliar. I have never seen it before ... Hells, how did a foreign Domain stage master make their way randomly into the military academy?"

When they confirmed the energy signature was unfamiliar, they could not help but look at one another, all of them equally shocked. They, who had always taken pride in the fact that the military academy's defences were no weaker than that of the Federation's military headquarters, felt deeply burned by this scene before their eyes.

"Looks like, the other has already left." After closely investigating the scene, they did not sense any presence of the Domain master remaining in the area.

1. This is in reference to Shi Mingyi, the pervert.

2. T/C: Hm. I guess she has already taken out all the surrounding guards so she wasn't afraid of being heard ...

3. Not meant literally. This phrase is referring to the ancient masters chilling in the school compound, old and powerful. Like how Mu Shui-qing was called an old beast.

Chapter 280 - The Aftermath!

These few old beasts were filled with worry, unsure whether this Domain master was still within the school planning his next act of destruction. What bothered them even more was — for what reason had the other come to the military academy to do such a thing? Also, were the defensive capabilities of the military academy really as foolproof as they had imagined? If it were, then how in the world had this Domain master gotten in?

They just could not figure it out, and so one of them said, "Let us return and discuss this with the principal!"

This suggestion was agreed upon by all those present. They might not be overly clear on what was going on in the academy, but the principal of the school should know better. Perhaps he would be able to give them an answer. They left as quietly as they had come — no one else at the scene even knew that some supreme strong masters had been there to investigate the scene.

********

The emergency assistance system of the military academy was extremely efficient. It had not even been 5 minutes since the building had collapsed when the first batch of relief workers had rushed to the scene, beginning to rescue the students trapped within the rubble ...

Right then, Ling Lan, who was already far from the scene, was sitting with Luo Lang in a hover car, swiftly flying towards the destination that Little Four had set. At the very moment those old beasts had appeared, that was when Ling Lan had gotten into the hover car and left. If she had been later by just one second, she might have been caught by those old beasts. No matter how composed she was normally, Ling Lan could not help but feel cold sweat running down her back at this time.

It was unexpected that this seemingly laid-back academy actually had so many powerful masters holding the fort 1 . Luckily, she had escaped swiftly enough with Little Four's spot-on assistance — any bit of error, and she would have become a turtle in a jar 2 .

Of course, Ling Lan had already taken precautions against this right from the start. She was well aware that there would definitely be some super strong masters holding the fort inside the military academy — even the Central Scout Academy already had a few Domain masters in-house, not to mention the First Men's Military Academy 1 . Thus, Ling Lan had made arrangements beforehand, choosing to begin running the moment the first explosion was set off. Reality proved that her decision was correct.

Escaping by the skin of their teeth, Little Four breathed out a great gust of relief. With some remnant fear, he patted his little chest and said, "Gosh, Boss, that was too close! I can't believe we really managed to escape right under the noses of those Domain masters."

"It's all thanks to you, Little Four, for finding the best escape path, as well as getting a hover car here in time." Ling Lan could not help but pat the hover car they were riding, filled with admiration at Little Four's accurate calculation ability.

Even if she had run at full strength, without Little Four's flawless coordination in getting this hover car here to cover them, she would not have been able to escape from the other side's powerful sensory range. She would certainly have left some energy vibrations of her own on the roads she travelled, and they would have been the evidence which would expose her.

Praised by Ling Lan, Little Four joyfully clapped his hands to his face and wriggled his bum, taking a good long while to calm down again. Then, he thought of those patrolmen who had been knocked unconscious by his boss, and could not help but ask worriedly, "Boss, will there be any problems with those people you knocked unconscious?" It was not that Little Four cared whether they lived or died — as an intelligent bio-entity, he had no feelings 1 — Little Four was just worried that his boss would be burdened by guilt if anything really happened to them.

"They're fine. The supports of those areas where I stashed them, I did not sabotage. Even though the building collapsed, those few rooms will be alright," replied Ling Lan evenly. Although she had destroyed the entire Tianji building in revenge, she would not let these uninvolved people die in the process. She was someone who clearly discriminated between justice and mercy.

"Boss, you're really awesome! Actually planning so thoroughly." Little Four resolutely began sucking up, fully slipping into the role of a brown-nosing lackey, fanning Ling Lan's mood even higher. It should be mentioned that, the moment Ling Lan succeeded in destroying Tianji's headquarters, her mood had already become all kinds of amazing.

In the meantime, those supreme masters of the school had already had a round of discussion with the principal, but still had not received a satisfactory answer. Very soon, another piece of news arrived — according to the info they had gleaned from those members of the monitoring team of the Tianji Mecha Clan, before the building collapsed, it was suspected that their Tianji headquarters had been hacked by an imperial level hacker.

As more and more people were rescued out, a number of clan members were found trapped in the wreckage who had had parts of their brains ravaged, leaving them as mentally-handicapped people. Among them, one member who was from the hacker specialization was gravely injured; he was reduced to a vegetable instantly. The Military Medical Research Centre determined that there was no possibility of him ever waking up again.

The discovery of these people made the masters speculate — in this incident, had there been a fearsome spectre involved as well? Three people with exceptional skills in their respective realms appearing at the same time at the military academy ... this possibility caused chills to run through those masters.

Where in the world had these people come from? Which faction were they affiliated with? With their capabilities, they could have taken down the mainframe of the military academy if they wanted — why had they chosen to strike out at a group of a small faction within the school?

For a time, all sorts of conspiracy theories ran rampant among the upper ranks of the military academy. There were even some who cast suspicion on the other military academies — they speculated that the other schools were trying to affect their First Academy's results in the great assessment this time, and so had purposefully created this disruption. Those schools must have been trying to make the students panic and lose all mind to prepare for the exams, thus affecting the final test results and causing the First Academy to lose their secure spot at the top ...

These speculations received quite a significant degree of agreement from those of the upper ranks, leading them to spread their investigation out far and wide, indirectly helping Ling Lan out.

Of course, there were still other possibilities being considered by the upper ranks of the administration, but no one even thought to consider the involvement of any cadets.

In truth, there was indeed no one who would even suggest the possibility, for anyone who voiced this possibility would most probably be laughed out of the room. Oh please, what do you take a Domain master for? And what of an imperial level hacker? How could a mere academy cadet become such a horrific existence? If they really were at that level, would they still need to come study at the military academy? They would have long been snatched away by the various army divisions ...

As for the spectre? That was even more unimaginable. Mind you, anyone who possessed this kind of horrifying ability would have already been taken in as the secret weapon of the federal military since birth — how could they be hiding within the ranks of cadets in the academy?

It had to be said that the upper ranks of the military academy were taking things a little for granted; sometimes, the truth just really happened to be those things that seemed completely preposterous and impossible ...

In order to settle the collapse of the building this time and allow the students to prepare for the upcoming exams without any worries, the administration suppressed the entire incident. They also gave a plausible explanation to those members of the Tianji Mecha Clan who had reported the attack by the imperial level hacker. They said that their investigations showed that this series of errors had occurred because the military academy mainframe had malfunctioned.

As for why the Tianji building collapsed, they used the excuse of the building being too old, paired with a lack of proper maintenance. Although this building had been built about 100 years or so ago, it should be known that the current passing standard of a building was at least 500 years. Using this kind of excuse, did it mean this building was constructed with tofu pulp?

Regardless of whether the cadets believed it or not, or had any complaints, the military academy stuck with their answer. The incident of the Tianji building collapse was quelled just like that.

Subsequently, the Tianji Mecha Clan suffered a great decline due to this incident. For a very long period of time, they did not recover. Meanwhile, the 3rd rank Wuji Mecha Clan and the 4th rank Doha Central Mecha Clan took advantage of the situation to challenge the Tianji Mecha Clan to a mecha clan wagered fight, in order to fight for their ranking ... Lacking capable fighters, and with their morale low, the Tianji Mecha Clan lost both battles, aggrieved. They slid down from their position as 2nd faction straight to the 4th faction, becoming the laughingstock of the military academy for a stint.

Under these circumstances, the Tianji Mecha Clan's Regiment Commander could only swallow this humiliation with silent resentment ... it was a shame that he did not know that the main culprit of Tianji's downfall was Ling Lan of the New Cadet Regiment — if he knew, he would most certainly have used all his strength for revenge.

It should be said that Ling Lan's operation this time was very perfect. She had finished off every single person who had participated in Luo Lang's abduction, but the Tianji Mecha Clan had no clue that the source of all their woes was Luo Lang. She had kept Luo Lang out of this incident perfectly.

All of Ling Lan's detailed planning was to protect Luo Lang. Even though Luo Lang had not suffered any significant damage, she did not wish for her beloved younger brother to be the sideshow of the military academy and be gossiped about. This would place an unneeded burden on Luo Lang's spirit.

Reality proved that Ling Lan's worries were not unfounded. After Shi Mingyi's innate talent had been destroyed by Ling Lan, those 'lovers' of his who had been enthralled began to regain their clarity of mind. When they recalled everything they had done, they were exceedingly appalled and regretful, as well as filled with a burning hatred for Shi Mingyi. If they had all been level-headed people with high tolerance and resilience, perhaps this matter would have blown over in silence. However, as luck would have it, there was a student with an extremely fragile soul among the group of victims. He could not take the humiliation, thinking that his life had been utterly ruined.

That night, carrying an army knife he had created himself, he slipped into the treatment centre when the staff members were unguarded. He then dragged out Shi Mingyi from his healing pod and rapidly slashed and hacked at him till he died before committing suicide. By the time a staff member found them, it was already too late.

This incident raised a great uproar within the military academy, until the investigation team of the school found that student's suicide note and will in his dorm, thus revealing the truth of the matter. Subsequently, spiritual mutation research instructors in the military academy specially investigated Shi Mingyi's spiritual mutation ability and discovered that Shi Mingyi had the ability of hypnosis.

Only now did everyone see the true colours of Shi Mingyi. Because of this incident, the reputation of the Tianji Mecha Clan dropped once again — many members stated that they could not accept that one of their clan's vice regiment commanders was a person like that, and chose to quit the mecha clan. This was yet another nail in the coffin of the Tianji Mecha Clan.

Of course, there were also some residual effects from these events. Among those ex-subordinates of Shi Mingyi, those of them who were good-looking were all labelled as ' brokeback 1 ', causing them to receive all kinds of strange looks within the academy. Other than one extremely tough and resilient cadet who managed to bear it all to graduate successfully, the others all found various reasons to drop out and leave the school. It could be said that these excellent youths with their bright futures had all had their futures ruined by Shi Mingyi ...

On the other hand, due to Ling Lan's conscientious planning, Luo Lang was not caught up in any of this. When Luo Lang regained his awareness, he was extremely grateful, and vowed silently to himself that he would repay Ling Lan's many instances of great kindness by dedicating his future to Boss Lan!

Of course, all of this would occur only after Luo Lang was aware again. Right now, Ling Lan's great mood from demolishing Tianji's building was abruptly dampened, because she found that in the backseat of the hover car, Luo Lang's condition was deteriorating.

1. T/C: This is the First Academy though, Ling Lan, I'm not sure why you wouldn't expect this. O.o

2. i.e. easy prey.

3. T/C: Oh, so it looks like she does know. The previous paragraph may seem contradictory then, but maybe she is remarking on the sheer number of masters? Hmm.

4. T/C: Really now ...? *is extremely sceptical*

5. i.e. gay. I'll not go into the reference again since it's already been covered in a previous chapter.

Chapter 281 - Resolution!

Despite being unconscious, Luo Lang's entire face was becoming redder and redder, as his breathing became more and more laboured, and his body began to spasm. This meant that the aphrodisiac in Luo Lang's body was already in full swing.

This caused the typically composed Ling Lan to be at a loss, unsure what she should do. Would dousing Luo Lang with cold water help? Having the barest knowledge of aphrodisiacs, Ling Lan could only be clueless 1 .

Little Four could sense his boss's helplessness, and so quickly rushed off into the learning space to request assistance. Very soon, he returned to say happily, "Boss, Instructor Number One is looking for you."

Ling Lan's heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly instructed, "Little Four, take care of the hover car and Luo Lang ..."

Before she was even done speaking, a black vortex had appeared before her eyes, about to swallow her whole.

F*ck, again?! Ling Lan's attention strayed for a split second, and she was pulled right into the learning space by Instructor Number One.

********

This was Instructor Number One's personal space. It was forever shaded by cloudy skies, a plateau shrouded in clouds at the peak of the tallest mountain. As usual, Instructor Number One was sitting on the plateau in solitude, resting his eyes as he meditated.

Ling Lan appeared out of thin air behind Instructor Number One. Seeing Instructor Number One's figure, Ling Lan called out respectfully, "Instructor Number One, greetings!"

Only then did Instructor Number One open his eyes and say dispassionately, "So you've come!"

Ling Lan could not help but grumble internally — how much faker could these words be? Instructor Number One was the one who pulled her in here ... was it possible for Instructor Number One to not know when she was coming?

"I heard Little Four say that one of your friends has been dosed with aphrodisiac?" Number One spared no mind to Ling Lan's opinion, asking her about the situation without beating around the bush.

"Yes, Instructor Number One, can this aphrodisiac be cured?" Hearing what he had to say, Ling Lan's eyes lit up. Right, why had she forgotten to come ask the instructors in the learning space? Little Four's mind was still the quickest, thinking of this. Ling Lan firmly gave Little Four a mental thumbs up.

"Aphrodisiacs have no antidote," replied Instructor Number One calmly.

Ling Lan's gaze dimmed at these words — could she only watch as Luo Lang suffered?

"However, that doesn't mean there is no solution," Instructor Number One continued to say. This caused Ling Lan's initially low spirits to perk up once more. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Instructor Number One, hoping that Instructor Number One would be able to tell her a good plan.

"Your companion's name is Luo Lang, right?" Instructor Number One did not seem to notice Ling Lan's impatience, actually beginning to stray from the topic.

Ling Lan quickly replied, "Yes, Instructor Number One. What method exactly can we use to resolve the aphrodisiac in Luo Lang's body?" Please, the flames were already lapping at their brows ... Instructor Number One, could you just be efficient and give a direct answer?!

Instructor Number One's cold gaze swept over to stare at her, freezing Ling Lan's anxious impatience instantly, and her mind cleared.

"Calmed down yet?" huffed Instructor Number One coldly, somewhat dissatisfied over Ling Lan's loss of composure.

"Sorry, Instructor Number One, I lost control of my emotions." Realising her lapse, Ling Lan quickly bowed her head and admitted her fault.

"Being concerned for a companion is not wrong, but remember, no matter when, you must keep calm. Otherwise, not only will you be unable to help your friend, you might even make things worse for them." Instructor Number One could understand Ling Lan's current anxious state of mind, but he could not condone it. On the battlefield, once one lost their composure, not only would they destroy themselves, they would also drag their brother-in-arms down with them — this was unacceptable.

"Understood!" Ling Lan nodded. At this moment, her gaze was no longer lost and panicked; there was only cool rationality and determination in her eyes.

Instructor Number One's icy stare was fixed on Ling Lan for several seconds. Under this stare heaped with pressure, Ling Lan did not retreat, staring right back at Instructor Number One with a steady gaze.

"Remember what you've said today!" Instructor Number One retracted his gaze in satisfaction, before continuing to say, "You've forgotten that no matter how long you spend in the learning space, only a second would have passed outside. It won't delay you from saving your friend."

Ling Lan bowed her head in shame; she had indeed forgotten about this. It was just as Instructor Number One had said — she had lost her mental balance, her calm, and her judgment. This kind of weak display was indeed worthy of a scolding.

"I remember that, Luo Lang is the one who activated the innate talent Alter Ego, and has still not found a way to control it?" Instructor Number One saw that Ling Lan was already reflecting deeply on her mistake, and so continued with their previous topic.

At this time, Ling Lan had already centred herself and was back to normal. She responded calmly, "Yes, Instructor Number One." This was also a problem that had been bothering her. She wanted to help Luo Lang, but really did not know where to start. It should be known that Luo Lang's innate talent was an excellent one, but it was just unfortunately out of control. It was like a double-edged sword; even as it cut the enemy, it would also cut its user. This was also why Ling Lan had always restricted Luo Lang from activating his innate talent before this. An unstable innate talent would not be acknowledged by either the military academy or the army divisions.

"That is indeed a very good innate talent ..." At this point, Instructor Number One glanced reflexively at Ling Lan, silently awed by how beloved Ling Lan was by the heavens. Even the companions by her side had awakened such powerful innate talents. "If you want your companion to fully master this innate talent, this aphrodisiac incident is actually a great opportunity."

Ling Lan's gaze brightened at these words, but remembering the instructor's previous counsel, she took in a deep breath and suppressed the emotional surge she felt, merely asking calmly, "May I request Instructor Number One to clarify?"

Instructor Number One nodded silently — this reaction of Ling Lan pleased him greatly. Thus, he did not make things difficult for Ling Lan any longer, directly stating the solution, "Find an enclosed space and let Luo Lang activate his innate talent. Within his innate talent, there should be one Transcendent Cold personality. As long as this personality can be brought to the surface, the aphrodisiac issue will be resolved."

"Extremely frigid?" Ling Lan was rather perplexed — how could this particular personality nullify the aphrodisiac?

"In fact, this will let him cut off all the seven emotions and six desires 1 , leaving him in an extremely cold and rational mode. As long as he can stay in this personality until the aphrodisiac has run its course, your companion will have safely overcome this hurdle," replied Instructor Number One.

"Will there be any latent issues?" Ling Lan asked after some thought. She did not wish for Luo Lang to have any remnant problems from this method.

"No, but in the process of activating the personality, you need to make sure that your companion retains his rationality. If the wrong personality is activated, you will need to beat it back so that another personality can be activated. And this point will require your strength to enforce. Based on your capabilities at a half step to Domain, you should have no problems," explained Number One, "Remember, you must keep him conscious. If it's not an aware personality, you must beat it back, until your companion manages to master how to activate his personalities while retaining his awareness."

"Understood, Instructor Number One. Is there anything else I should watch out for? If there is nothing, I would like to return now and resolve this as soon as possible," said Ling Lan with a grim expression. Right now, her mind was most concerned over the problem of Luo Lang and the aphrodisiac.

"Go. Once you are done helping your companion, come back and seek me out ..." Instructor Number One waved his hand, and Ling Lan was sent out of the learning space. The dim space once again subsided into silence. Instructor Number One sighed, his gaze complex, before once more closing his eyes.

Several seconds later, a tear suddenly appeared three metres behind Instructor Number One. A ravishingly beautiful woman in a uniform walked out of the tear — it was Instructor Number Four. Glumly, she whined, "Big Brother, why won't you let me teach her about sex? This is obviously a great chance. Not only can she help clear the poison from her companion, she can also learn what is meant by the weaponry of women ..."

"Now is still not the time. Ling Lan's Dominance Dao is gradually entering an optimum state. We cannot cause her heart to waver," said Number One coldly, " Besides, Ling Lan doesn't have any need for this type of weaponry 1 . You are only asked to always be prepared, just in case she cannot regain her female nature in the future ..." At this point in his speech, Instructor Number One's forehead was tightly creased. Even though Ling Lan's progress on her Dominance Dao was astounding, in direct contrast, the gentle grace unique to women had slowly faded away ... could this be the price of walking the Dominance Dao?

"That would be such a shame. Ling Lan has such great qualities," said Instructor Number Four with a forlorn gaze. The supple flexibility of Ling Lan's body was truly marvellous — this was closely tied to Number Nine's efforts in cultivating her. It would allow Ling Lan to require only half the effort for double the effect when learning the arts of feminine wiles. She was an absolute high-quality jade ... it was such a pity she had no place in her life right now for these arts to come into play.

"If Ling Lan had not proven successful on the other fronts, I would not stop you. But reality shows that her future will be brighter if she continues to walk the Dominance Dao." Instructor Number One's tone held steely conviction. Ling Lan was undoubtedly his most prized successor; there was no other.

"Since you, Number One, have said so, what can I do? But, when Ling Lan is done with her Dominance Dao, you won't be able to stop me anymore from teaching Ling Lan the arts of female seduction." Number Four cast these words down sulkily and then returned to her own space.

She had just known her debut was not going to be so early. She still had so many years to wait! She dearly wished Ling Lan could grow up quicker — it would be best if she could arrive at that age where her heart would flower into the spring of love ... at that time, that bloody big brother could no longer prevent her from teaching Ling Lan the methods of women.

Seeing Number Four vanish from his space, Instructor Number One took in a deep breath, calming down his ruffled emotions.

Truly amazing — actually stealthily performing the art of allure right in front of his face without displaying any signs. If his will had not been strong enough, he might really have found it difficult to resist ... Instructor Number One thought about how Ling Lan would also possess this type of allure skill in the future, and combine it with her current cold-domineering-swag aura ... Number One's brow creased tightly once more. Alright, so he just could not imagine what that result would be like, but somehow it did not seem that it would turn out that lovely.

"Forget it, let's worry about it when we come to it." Instructor Number One was unexpectedly displaying some Ah-Q mentality 1 — because he too could not bear to refuse Instructor Number Four and her passion for teaching so many times. In future, Ling Lan would just have to bear with it.

Without knowing it, Ling Lan had been sold out by the Instructor Number One she deeply revered. Even someone as cold and unyielding as Instructor Number One had no choice but to give way a little when faced with the extraordinary charm and allure of Instructor Number Four.

********

Sure enough, Ling Lan was back in the hover car after only a second on the clock. Little Four said joyfully, "Boss, you're back? Have you found a solution?"

Ling Lan nodded and said, "Yes, Little Four. Change destinations immediately. Head for the combat hall!" To find an enclosed space, the only option was the private combat rooms at the combat hall. She did not forget to caution, "Little Four, do not leave any sign that we're going there."

"Yes, Boss!" With that, the hover car silently changed directions and began flying rapidly towards the combat hall.

1.莫宰羊: Author, why you gotta be so hipster? This phrase draws on the Chinese dialect, Minnan, and is written based on sound. Thus, it cannot be translated literally. (If you do, it means 'don't kill the goat'. =.=) The meaning is actually 'don't remember' or 'don't know'.

2. 七情六欲: A Chinese idiom that refers to the unavoidable aspects of human experience. The seven emotions refer to pleasure, anger, sorrow, joy, love, hate, and desire. The six desires are where things get a little trickier. There seems to be various interpretations of what the 'six desires' refer to. One interpretation is to associate it with the six human senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, and will/passion (mind/heart). The other versions are rather more complicated to explain and are not really necessary for comprehension of this story. If you are interested to find out more, please research it on your own. :3

In short, #1 is saying that Luo Lang needs to cut off all emotion and human desire.

3. T/C: Anyone else get the sense that Number One is being an overprotective grizzly papa bear here? Rawr! No man is good enough for my Ling Lan! She will remain pure forever!

4. 阿Q精神: This is in reference to the main character of 'The True Story of Ah Q' written by Lu Xun. In modern Chinese language, the term the "Ah Q mentality" is used commonly as a term of mockery to describe someone who chooses not to face up to reality and deceives himself into believing he is successful (wikipedia, 2018). In other words, #1 is trying to fool himself that everything will work out alright despite his scepticism.