1219 - 1231

Chapter 1219 Against The Rule?

The cries from the officers of Twilight sparked the compassion of the officers from their alliance nations. They stood out and supported them in condemning Ling Xiao. The alliance nations of the Federation couldn't sit still and watch their buddy getting bullied. They stood up and supported the Federation. In the end, no consensus was reached. Both sides were angered and they decided to fight for their own twisted sense of justice.

A war was inevitable. Of course, since Caesar didn't make their stand, a few strong alliance nations decided to be bystanders too. Hence, the intergalactic war didn't grow to a wider scale. Even so, all of the nations on the Federation's side prepared beforehand in case Caesar decided to participate in the war suddenly.

A new order reached Ling Lan who was at Base Nebula.

In the meeting room, Ling Lan leaned against the comfy cushion of the commanding officer's chair as she half-closed her eyes. She placed one hand on the side of her head and asked calmly, "What do you all think of this order?"

All the upper echelons of Lingtian were gathered in the meeting room. Although Ling Lan had reminded all of them to be prepared, they were still in shock when they received the order.

"It looks like the spy in the military headquarters has started his plan," Yang Mingzhi said in a serious tone. He put his head down as a look of uncertainty flashed passed his eyes. If someone wanted to harm General Ling Xiao, why did they let him reach such a high position in the first place?

"Can we push the timing back by telling the headquarters that we are just a newly formed independent army?" Some brigade leaders expressed their opinions. Lingtian Independent Army had only formed for a few months. They had enough manpower but the cooperation and cohesiveness of the brigade members were still lacking. This wasn't a good time for them to go to the battlefield.

"It's almost impossible. The order said that we're going there to take a look at the battlefield to gain some experience. We're not going there to fight. The military is giving every new soldier a chance to visit the battlefield. We were informed we should be thankful to the military for letting us have the chance to gain some merits without doing any work." Han Jijyun smiled bitterly.

This order was definitely given after much thorough planning. No loopholes could be used in their favour. If Boss hadn't told them that someone might want to use Lingtian to scheme against Ling Xiao, they might never see the killing intent behind this order.

"We should still try to delay it as much as possible." Liu Furong said, " If an "unfortunate" event were to befall us on the battlefield, they might blame it on us for being too cocky."

"That's right. We can't let them have any chances of blaming us." Everyone agreed.

"Even if we didn't give them any chances, they will still think of ways to send us to the frontline," Li Lanfeng said coldly. If someone wanted to scheme against them, they wouldn't be able to stop it no matter how careful they were. Ling Lan was Ling Xiao's only son. They wouldn't be able to evade this.

"The fewer the openings we give them, the fewer the opportunities they will have to harm us." Han Jijyun looked at Li Lanfeng directly in the eye as he spoke. However, he wasn't as confident as he was previously.

"No matter what happens, it's always better to be prepared. I agree with Leader Han," Li Lanfeng was surprisingly supportive of Han Jijyun's statement.

Han Jijyun retracted his gaze after gaining Li Lanfeng's approval. He looked down with confusion. Ever since they came to Base Nebula, Li Lanfeng wasn't as overbearing as he was before. He stopped criticizing him and he even sometimes gave him the chance to perform in front of Ling Lan. Han Jijyun believed that Li Lanfeng could easily think of his ideas too. However, why the sudden change in attitude? Did he miss something?

Everyone freely expressed their opinions on the order. No matter what order the military gave them, they would just do what they were supposed to do and remain calm through it. Once they noticed something was amiss, they would try to drag the time. After all, they were a newly formed independent army. It was normal that there were mistakes when passing down orders.

After everyone was prepared, Ling Lan sat up and looked at everyone casually. However, her presence said otherwise as it turned nail-bitingly cold in an instant.

The change in her presence silenced the entire meeting room. They sat up straight too and turned serious.

"Everyone, this is my final decision!" Ling Lan said coldly.

Everyone stood up and waited for their commander's decision.

"Base Nebula will head towards Twilight three days later at 8am sharp." Ling Lan took her military cap and left the meeting room after speaking

After Ling Lan disappeared, everyone started talking

"Our commander said that Base Nebula will leave… Was I mistaken?" Yan Three was shocked. He tried to dig out the wax in his ears that was causing him to hear pretty nightmarish stuff.

"You're right. Our commander said that Base Nebula will leave for Twilight three days later at 8am." The brigade leader beside Yan Three confirmed that he didn't hear wrongly.

"Didn't the military stationed Base Nebula at the Nebula Boundary? Is our commander breaking the rule?" Some brigade leaders were worried.

"Since Boss already made the decision, it means that he has found a way around the problem." Luo Lang smiled brightly. He had complete confidence in Ling Lan.

"Yes. Boss will never make unwise decisions." Qi Long trusted Ling Lan completely too. Ever since he was young, Ling Lan had proven to Qi Long that his confidence in her was correct.

Luo Lang believed Ling Lan just because he wanted to while Qi Long trusted Ling Lan because of his experience. The sources of their confidence were different but the result was the same.

"This must be his way of retaliating." Han Jijyun muttered to himself. He was still in deep thought about the holes around Li Lanfeng's personality.

"With Base Nebula, we can choose to attack or defend. This is a good decision," Li Lanfeng complimented.

He had been trying to think of a way out of this but he couldn't find the perfect solution. He had thought of moving Base Nebula out but Base Nebula was always stationed at the Nebula Boundary. If he moved it, Ling Xiao's enemy might use it as a reason to punish them. Thinking back, he was too timid. Even if he didn't move Base Nebula, their enemy would also try to harm them. In that case, it was better to provide Lingtian a better ride.

As for what would happen after that, he would just have to wait and see.

Chapter 1220 What's Their Background?

All the citizens of Huaxia were elated when they heard that General Ling Xiao had destroyed Three Stars Lock. Although an intergalactic war was inevitable, none of them actually blamed Ling Xiao for it.

Some might be unhappy at Ling Xiao's reckless decision but their voices were drowned out by the excitement of everyone else.

The entire Federation started busily preparing for war. The battlefield of the intergalactic war was at Twilight.

There were only two ways for the war to end. The first way was to have Twilight be destroyed in its entirety. That way, the alliance nations of Twilight wouldn't have a reason to fight anymore. The second way this war would end was to have the Federation spend all their resources on the war, and thus retreating in defeat.

None of them wanted to lose this war. This meant that the war would definitely be bloody and brutal.

The Federation activated their military spaceports and entered DEFCON 1.

The goods shipment military spaceport was busier than ever before. This spaceport was in charge of the transportation of logistics. More than half of the logistics required for the battle was quickly transported out from this spaceport fleet by fleet.

The fleets in charge of the transportation of logistics were Logistics Fleet 017, Logistics Fleet 018, and Logistics Fleet 019 of the logistics headquarters. These three fleets had already rushed to the spaceport. They would leave once the goods were fully loaded.

A few hover cars suddenly stopped beside the mothership of Logistics Fleet 017. They slowly lowered their altitude until it was capable for the passengers to walk out of the car.

A few guards stepped out of the hover car, then made a semi-circle formation protecting their superior who was still in the car. Then, a major ranked guard carefully scanned his surroundings before opening the car door.

A major general around 40 years old stepped out of the car. A senior colonel, who was waiting at the entrance of the mothership, rushed over when he saw the major general. He promptly saluted and said, "Major General Qiu, the commander is waiting for you. This way please."

Major General Qiu was about to open his mouth but the distant sounds of approaching hover cars attracted his attention. He turned to look to his side to see the new arrival.

A few hover cars were finally revealed in the distance.

Major General Qiu turned and smiled. "Major General Xu is coming. Let's wait for him."

"Yes, Major General Qiu." The senior colonel didn't dare to reject him.

As they were speaking, the hover cars had already landed on the ground. A major general with bristly white hair stepped out of the car with a stern face. He looked around 50 years old.

Major General Xu saw the incoming figure and nodded at him. "Major General Qiu, long time no see."

Major General Qiu smiled and replied, "Indeed. We've been truly busy with our own missions. I suspect we haven't met for three years."

"Well, the Federation is constantly at war." Major General Xu kept a straight face.

"It can't be helped. Our nation has never learned the word 'surrender'. We will only retaliate." Major General Qiu didn't mind the unfriendly expression on Major General Xu's face. They had been working together for many years so he knew this old man's temper. If it wasn't for the help of the head of the logistics department, Major General Xu wouldn't be able to be promoted to this high of a rank.

"All in all, the Federation is still not strong enough. That's why people still dare to provoke us," Major General Xu replied coldly.

"But, we are getting stronger, right? We just need to take things slowly. Stop having such high expectations," Major General Qiu replied helplessly.

"I know. I'm just commenting," Major General Xu replied in a perfunctory tone. However, Major General Qiu knew he was speaking the truth.

After the two major generals had ended their conversation, the senior colonel, who was waiting at the side, saluted and said, "Major General Xu, Major General Qiu, our commander is waiting for you inside. This way please."

The two of them followed behind the senior colonel before finally arriving at the control room.

Once they entered the door, they saw a major general standing with his back facing them. There was no one else in the room. He seemed to have waited for a long time.

The major general turned around when he heard the door opening and saw Major General Xu and Major General Qiu. He smiled.

"Major General Qiu! Major General Xu!" "Major General Di!"

The three of them greeted each other before sitting down.

"I invited you this time because I want to discuss the matters about Lingtian Independent Army with you as they will be the ones escorting us for our next deployment." Major General Di went directly to the point.

Major General Xu and Major General Qiu exchanged glances at each other. All three of them belonged to the logistics transport fleet but they had their own missions so they seldomly interacted with one another, causing their relationship to remain as acquaintances. Thus, they had their guards up when Major General Di suddenly talked to them about such important matters in an upfront manner.

Major General Di noticed their hesitance and smiled bitterly. "I know that it's suspicious to talk about such important things with you the moment you come in. However, the order is too weird. The Lingtian Independent Army hasn't contacted me yet so I feel a little worried."

Major General Xu frowned. "Explain."

Major General Di replied, "I've done my research about Lingtian Independent Army. They are just a newly formed independent army. Normally, newly formed independent armies would only be given missions such as this escort mission after three years from their formation. However, this escorting mission is an important war mission. Why did the higher authorities give the Lingtian Independent Army this mission?"

It was understandable that Major General Di would worry. This supply run was extremely important for the war. There must be no mistakes. Whether it was the 4th division, the 7th division, the 13th division, the 23rd division, or those reinforcements that were going to the battlefield, they would have a shortage of logistics supplies soon. If it wasn't replenished in time, the result of the war would be greatly affected. The advantage that General Ling Xiao had created would be lost too.

Major General Qiu didn't reply as he just glanced at Major General Xu. Compared to Major General Di and him, the head of the logistics department trusted Major General Xu more. Maybe Major General Xu might have inside information on this issue.

Major General Xu was unhappy when he noticed Major General Qiu and Major General Di's blatant stares. His expression darkened. However, since they were old colleagues, he decided to answer their queries. "Maybe they are coming to gain merits."

Major General Xu was also worried when he received his order. Hence, before he left, he asked his head about it. This was what his head replied to him. It allowed him to understand that the Lingtian Independent Army wasn't a simple independent army.

"What's their background?" Major General Qiu and Major General Di were very smart people so they immediately deduced the crucial factor on the issue.

Chapter 1221 Commander Ling Lan!

"The head didn't say in detail. He just told me that they have a powerful background so they should get some merits." Major General Xu finally spit out the truth. They were all in the same situation. No one would be spared if this mission were to fail.

"Is he a general from Planet General?" Major General Di frowned. He hated those incapable officers with powerful backgrounds. They were able to get merits just because they came from a good family. Their positions weren't a depiction of their ability.

"From the head's tone, he seems to respect Lingtian," Major General Xu recalled carefully before answering.

"It looks like the situation is not as bad as we think." Major General Qiu heaved a sigh of relief.

"As long as they're not those useless second generations, everything is fine." Major General Di was just worried that Lingtian consisted of a bunch of incapable young masters who didn't know how to fight and only knew how to enjoy themselves. This kind of people would call them names and throw all kinds of fits if they didn't listen to them.

Major General Di had been in the logistics department for quite a long time. Whenever he met this kind of people, he would feel extremely stifled. He feared that one day he might have a heart attack just by watching those child-like behaviours coming from an adult. That was why he was afraid of meeting more of those manchilds.

"Why haven't they contacted us? We've almost finished loading up the cargo, yet there is still no news from them. Even if there's a delay, they still should contact us to inform us." Major General Di felt that Lingtian was being irresponsible so he got angry.

"Let's wait for them to come. If they don't arrive at the stipulated time, we'll report to the military headquarters and then leave ourselves," Major General Qiu said.

"Agreed. After all, we have our own escorts to protect us. The only danger we have to be careful of is Twilight, but with the 13th division maintaining the frontline, Twilight shouldn't be able to ambush us." Major General Di felt that it was better to interact less with this irresponsible Lingtian Independant Army.

Major General Xu frowned. He reminded Major General Di, "We can't be too sure of that. General Ling Xiao is able to sneak through the death wormhole and destroy Three Stars Lock, so who knows what Twilight might do? It's better to be careful."

"What do we do then? Are we going to wait until they come?" Major General Qiu said in a helpless tone.

"The time is not up yet. Let���s wait until the designated time. They might be able to reach before the time is up." Because of the head's respect for Lingtian, Major General Xu had a good impression of this independant army. That was why he spoke up for them.

"I hope so." Compared to Major General Xu, Major General Di and Major General Qiu's impression of Lingtian wasn't good.

Soon, the day of the departure arrived.

The three major generals boarded their mainships and started a video call.

Major General Di looked at the time on his communicator. He said calmly, "There's still one hour left."

"This is atrocious." Major General Qiu was furious. They had tried contacting Lingtian but for some reason, they couldn't reach them.

Major General Xu kept a stern expression. He didn't say anything. He wouldn't judge Lingtian until the final moment.

Suddenly, a voice sounded out from the mainframe on Major General Di's side. "Signal coming in. Decoding.'

"Identity confirmed. It's Lingtian Independent Army. Commander, do we accept the call?" The mainframe asked its commander.

Major General Di's expression softened a little. He took a deep breath and said, "Yes."

A cold-looking lieutenant general appeared on the screen of the three major generals. The person on the screen must be the supreme commander of the independent army.

Young. This was the first impression they had of this officer. Their next impression was cold. When they looked into his eyes, they could feel a chill up their spines.

"Nice to meet you. I'm the commanding officer of this mission, Ling Lan," Ling Lan said calmly.

The military just ordered Lingtian to escort the starships, they didn't state that Ling Lan would be the commanding officer of the mission. However, based on military rules, when different departments participated in a mission together, the highest-ranking officer would be the commanding officer.

Ling Lan knew that if she gave up this position, people might view her as weak or just incapable of handling the role. All in all, they would look down on her if she didn't forcefully grab a hold of the post.

If she was alone, she didn't mind people judging her as it wouldn't affect her in any way.

However, she was currently the commander of Lingtian Independent Army, representing a whole army. If people looked down on her, they would look down on Lingtian Independent Army too. The reputation of her soldiers would be packaged with their reputation. All the soldiers in her army would be affected negatively if she was viewed in a negative light. Thus, after all considerations, Ling Lan had to take over the position of the commanding officer for the sake of her soldiers.

Major General Di never thought of passing the position of commanding officer to someone else, especially not to someone he didn't trust.

However, he couldn't outright reject Ling Lan. He looked at the lieutenant general insignia on Ling Lan's shoulder and felt stifled. Her rank was higher than all of them.

While Major General Di was feeling frustrated, Major General Xu remained calm. He asked, "Do you have an order to do so?"

"Based on military rules, the position of commanding officer would belong to the highest ranked officer." Ling Lan had already asked Little Four to look through all the military rules and regulations. From the moment she knew that she was pushed to the frontline because of her father, she had made up her mind to gain the commanding power.

"We're a logistics fleet." It wasn't necessary to enforce the military rules on them.

"Are we going on a tour around Twilight?" Ling Lan raised one of her eyebrows as she looked at Major General Xu intently. Major General Xu's breath was immediately forced back into his body by her words. His words got stuck in his throat.

"Lingtian is already waiting outside the port. Please depart on time." Ling Lan disappeared from the screen once she finished saying her piece. It seemed that she only appeared to inform them that she was the commanding officer.

Chapter 1222 Many Things At One Go

A huge starship fleet moved slowly towards the Twilight battlefield.

In the middle of the fleet, many huge transport motherships could be seen. They made up two-thirds of the fleet. There were battleships and escort starships protecting them.

The labels on the starships were different but they all started with the same word. This meant that they were from the same department but of different teams. Only the serial numbers and the numbers behind the word were different.

However, three starships had different logos.

It was a black phoenix with its wings spread out. The word 'Ling' was printed in bold below the black phoenix. It was hard not to notice this logo.

This wasn't the only reason why the starships stood out. The other reason was that the three starships were Destruction Devils, the most powerful battleship model in the Federation.

However, Destruction Devil hadn't been officially launched in the market. Only a few top-level fleets managed to get one or two for testing purposes. Destruction Devil wasn't the perfect starship but it was already miles better than other battleships. It optimised the steering ability and speed of the starship. The agility of the starship was increased too. This was a huge breakthrough in starship manufacturing

Its speed couldn't be compared with a mecha but it was definitely more powerful than other battleships. However, the cost of making a Destruction Devil was very high. If not, all the battleships in the Federation might have been changed to Destruction Devil.

The military didn't want to give up such advanced technology yet so they started experimenting with how they could make a Destruction Devil while lowering the cost price. Once they solved this issue, there would be a new era of starships.

Yet, even though Destruction Devils were expensive, the Lingtian Independent Army managed to procure three of them. Even with limitless money, it was impossible to procure such commodities without the help of Ling Xiao.

"Lingtian Independent Army really has a powerful background." The three major generals were having a discussion virtually.

By right, they should have the authority to check the details of all divisions and independent armies. But, when they wanted to obtain details about Lingtian Independent Army, their mainframe told them that their authorization wasn't high enough to access such data.

What background did the commander of Lingtian have? Was it a secret division formed by the military? Unfortunately, Lieutenant General Ling never showed his face after that video call. They weren't able to get more information out of him.

"Ling Lan… do you think he has any relationship with General Ling Xiao?" Major General Xu looked at the frightening character "Ling" on the starship. For some reason, it reminded him of General Ling Xiao.

"Ling Xiao only has one son. Wasn't Prince Ling heavily injured during the battle on Planet Haijiao which eventually caused him to be retired from the army?" Major General Qiu told everyone what he knew.

"He didn't retire. He just rests at home. If he was asked to retire, the soldiers would be disappointed with the military. After all, he created a miracle. The military won't be so stupid to degrade his accomplishments." Major General Di immediately corrected Major General Qiu.

Major General Xu raised his eyebrows. There was excitement in his eyes. "So there's a chance he's Prince Ling, right? Based on his achievements on Planet Haijiao, it's reasonable for them to give him an independent army. That way, he'll be able to enjoy his remaining life in the military." He paused for a moment and frowned. "That's not right. Ling Lan said that he's the commanding officer of this mission, and his rank is lieutenant general. That means that he has actual commanding power in the independent army."

"Even if he was awarded with so many merits because of the battle on Planet Haijiao, even if there is a possibility he is Prince Ling, he won't be able to be the commander of an independent army so quickly. Is there something we don't know?" Major General Xu couldn't find an answer. He furrowed his brows in ponderment. The military kept the battle at the Nebula Boundary a secret. No one knew what happened besides a few key personnel.

"No matter what the truth is, it will come to light one day," Major General Di said in a low voice.

The other two major generals agreed with what he said. They pushed their frustrations away and waited patiently for the truth.

The starships from Lingtian maintained a triangular formation behind the transport fleet.

Yang Mingzhi and Liu Furong were on one of the three Destruction Devils. They sat in the control room and chatted over tea.

"Our commander asked us to lead ten mecha brigades to escort the transport ships to Twilight. While doing so, he is bringing Base Nebula over to Twilight. It's obvious that he doesn't want us to get involved in the mess." Liu Furong frowned. He was worried about the punishment they might receive for moving Base Nebula.

Yang Mingzhi looked up and smiled lightly. "Our commander has always done things with caution. He would never put himself in a hopeless situation."

Liu Furong relaxed a little and he started thinking about the possible reasons for Ling Lan to be seemingly so reckless.

"You mean that we're his trump card?" Liu Furong seemed to understand something.

"Besides us, who are the leaders of the other eight mecha brigades?" Yang Mingzhi's smile got brighter. When he received the list of the ten mecha brigades from Ling Lan, his worry for his commander disappeared. His commander had also thought of the situations he thought of and had made the necessary arrangements to counteract every possible problem.

"Qi Long, Han Jijyun, Li Yingjie, Zhao Jun… all of them are deathly loyal to the commander. Even Yan Three is loyal to Ling Lan. Cao Mingde, Luo Lijiang, and Xuhong are the deputy leaders of Luo Lang, Xie Yi, and Li Lanfeng. They were recommended by their leaders and got promoted to brigade leaders. They are trustworthy too," Liu Furong smiled as he replied.

"You too. Vice Commander Liu, you're loyal to Ling Lan too." Yang Mingzhi smiled back.

"Aren't you? Although you belong to the First Marshal's faction, I believe that you won't betray the commander if there's a dispute between him and the First Marshal," Liu Furong said firmly.

Yang Mingzhi retracted his smile slowly. After a few seconds, he replied in a resolute tone, "If the commander doesn't betray the nation, I will never betray him."

Liu Furong smiled. Yang Mingzhi smiled too. The atmosphere turned lively.

Only Yang Mingzhi knew how important his words were.

"Master, based on the surveillance and feedback from all the satellites I can connect to, there's no sight of our enemy around the transport team." Meng Lan's clear voice echoed in the resting room of the command center.

Ling Lan was leaning on her chair, resting with closed eyes. She opened them slowly. "Thank you for your hard work, Meng Lan."

Meng Lan smiled gently. "It's my honour to work for you."

Chapter 1223 Display Of Love

When Meng Lan disappeared, Ling Lan heard the sound of the door sliding open.

Clear footsteps were heard. They stopped behind her.

"Lanfeng? What's the matter?" Ling Lan asked calmly.

A fair hand was gently placed on the handle of her chair. A beautiful face suddenly appeared in front of her eyes. Li Lanfeng's body was so close to Ling Lan's body that she could practically feel the heat emanating from his body.

Li Lanfeng leaned his head closer towards Ling Lan and stared at her in the eyes. His smile was seductive and enchanting. Ling Lan could feel her heart pounding furiously. However, she was able to control herself immediately and stopped her heart from beating too quickly. She forced her heart rate to return back to normal.

Externally, all Ling Lan did in response to such seductiveness was just calmly blinking, she didn't twitch in front of such seduction. However, it had to be noted she had even seen such a seductive side to Li Lanfeng before. What happened to him?

"What is it?" Ling Lan asked in concern.

"Nothing." Li Lanfeng forced out a smile when he didn't see any changes in Ling Lan's expression. He didn't seem affected by his beautiful face. As expected of the straightest of all straight men. He couldn't seduce him with his looks.

Li Lanfeng felt nervous about the chances of him being with Ling Lan. For an instant, he thought about giving up this forbidden love. If he could watch Ling Lan quietly at the side, he would be happy too, he hoped… He would watch him marry a lady and have children…

When he thought about Ling Lan being someone not him, Li Lanfeng felt a sharp stabbing pain in his heart. In the end, he wasn't willing to let Ling Lan go. If Ling Lan remained single for the rest of his life, he might be able to control himself. However, if Ling Lan were to love someone, he might go berserk. He would definitely turn crazy and might do something he would regret for the rest of his life.

It was true he couldn't bear to hurt Ling Lan, but he would definitely hurt the person he loved. He would scheme against the person secretly until she laid rest in a coffin.

This was how scary he was. Because of his Phoenix Thrall Fate, his personality was twisted to the extreme, making him an incredibly selfish person. He would never let go of the person he loved.

However, if he really did that, would he be able to hide it from Ling Lan? Li Lanfeng knew it was impossible to pull the wool over Ling Lan's eyes. He was smart but Ling Lan was just as smart, if not more. He was good at scheming but not at strategizing. Ling Lan, on the other hand, was adept in both. He was as ruthless as him too.

Moreover, Ling Lan was more proficient in hiding his emotions and thoughts than anyone he had seen. He would never reveal his plans to anyone. On the front, he and Han Jijyun were in charge of strategizing. To other people, Ling Lan was just a cold, vicious, heartless, and a powerful man of prowess. Yet, not many knew how smart he was.

Li Lanfeng wasn't afraid of any strategist except for one, Ling Lan.

Ling Lan just had the aura of invincibility around him. Of course, it might be because he liked him. However, to his other comrades like Qi Long, Ling Lan was undefeatable too.

was

Deep down inside, he hoped that he would be able to stand beside Ling Lan and take some burden off his shoulders.

No one knew how tough Ling Lan's life was but Li Lanfeng knew. He noticed everything about Ling Lan. Maybe at the start of their relationship, he just felt sorry that Ling Lan had to work so hard. However, this initial feeling developed into a stray path. By the time he realised it, it was too late.

"Don't keep things from me. Our relationship isn't so fickle." Ling Lan could see the pain in Li Lanfeng's eyes.

Compared to anyone else, Ling Lan was more patient and gentle to Li Lanfeng. If Qi Long or her other comrades were so hesitant, she might have started hitting them already.

One of the reasons why she couldn't hit Li Lanfeng was his face. After all, Ling Lan was a beauty lover. She couldn't bear to hit beauties. Even when she was training Luo Lang, she would be more gentle towards him. He was as powerful as people like Qi Long but his beautiful face softened her heart.

Why are you treating me so well? Li Lanfeng wanted to pour his soul out when he saw Ling Lan's concerned gaze. However, just as he was going to speak out his real feelings, his logical side took over and he calmed down instantly.

"Ling Lan, have you pursued someone before?" Li Lanfeng gathered his thoughts before asking

Ling Lan thought about her middling love life before answering, "I don't think so."

Pursue someone? In her past life, all she thought about was how to survive the next day. She had no chance to fall in love with someone.

This lifetime, she had to protect the Ling family and her mother before her father came back. Her only goal back then was to become stronger, so she didn't have the time to think about superficial things like love. After her father came back, she was forced into the First Men's Military Academy. At that time, she was trying her best to hide her female identity, so she couldn't bother pursuing love. After she entered the military, she put all her effort into raising her comrades as she made a two years promise to her mother, leaving her with no time.

Then, because of unforeseen circumstances, she had to continue to stay in the military. Her military rank just kept rising and rising, attracting more attention than ever. More and more wanted to harm her and her family. She was busy dealing with all the schemes thrown at her and had no time for love. Thinking back, she was almost 50 years old if she counted her past life. Yet, she hadn't had a taste of love. Ling Lan suddenly felt sorry for herself. In the novels she read in her past life, so many ladies managed to find their Mr. Right after they transmigrated. Why hadn't anyone confessed to her yet?

Fine. She was currently disguised as a man now so if a man really falls in love with her… Ling Lan shuddered. She didn't think she could accept it. Similarly, if she fell in love with a man, she couldn't chase him with her current identity too, right?

Ling Lan was immersed in her own thoughts so she didn't see how bright Li Lanfeng's eyes had gotten when she said that she never pursued anyone before. His face turned radiant because of it. Since Ling Lan never chased anyone, this meant that he never liked anyone before.

"I wanted to get some advice from you but I think that you can't help me now." Li Lanfeng smiled as he teased her. A simple smile was enough to blind Ling Lan with his beauty.

Although Ling Lan almost got enchanted by Li Lanfeng's beauty, she still heard the mocking in his tone. She glared at him coldly and said, "I have two fiancées."

This was a stab to Li Lanfeng's heart. His smile immediately disappeared.

Ling Lan felt immensely satisfied seeing that smug smile off his face. The best way to hurt a single man was to flaunt her love life.

Chapter 1224 Definitely Smile More!

"I'm more experienced than you." Revenge was revenge, but Ling Lan's offer to help Li Lanfeng still held true. She pointed at the sofa in her office and said, "Sit. Let's talk. It's better than you thinking about it yourself."

Ling Lan's love guru-like demeanor awakened once again. Previously, Li Lanfeng's questions about love were too sudden. She was just not prepared back then. In addition, Little Four found random weird books which made her speak about random stuff. It was probably because of that that Li Lanfeng was hurt from his pursuit of love. All in all, it was her fault. Ling Lan decided that this time, she must carefully help Li Lanfeng make a plan for him to catch the attention of the love of his life. She must pave Li Lanfeng's path towards a happy marriage. After all, she didn't want to see her amazing strategist become completely destroyed just because he failed in his pursuit of love.

In reality, Li Lanfeng was the last person she would think to get hurt by love. Moreover, with his intelligence, he should have easily nabbed anyone he liked. As expected, in the world of love, intelligence was not effective.

Ling Lan felt a bit of schadenfreude. She didn't forget that Li Lanfeng had teased her about her inexperience in such matters. Women loved to hold grudges. Even if Ling Lan reined it in most of the time, she still showed a hint of female instinct on these types of things.

Ling Lan's words made Li Lanfeng stand up helplessly. However, rather than listening to Ling Lan and walking to the sofa she pointed towards. He instead dragged a chair to the side of Ling Lan, sat beside Ling Lan and leaned towards the armrest of her chair.

While he was doing so, Ling Lan just discovered that Li Lanfeng had already unbuttoned the top button of his uniform for comfort. It was possible that she was mesmerized by that face of his so she didn't see his exposed skin. Li Lanfeng's current movement allowed his sexy collarbones to show from the slight opening of his white dress shirt. When combined with his beautiful face, it magnified the seductiveness he was oozing. Just seeing the supple flesh caused Ling Lan to have the urge to just rip open the shirt…

'Calm down. Get back on topic!'

Ling Lan closed her eyes and erased the sudden impulse she just had. When she opened them again, she returned to her calm self.

"It seems you're pretty bored recently. Maybe that is why you have so much time to worry about your feelings." Ling Lan mercilessly mocked Li Lanfeng with her words.

'Man, you can worry about love and stuff, but you sitting there all demure-like in front of me is like calling me to do something to you. You're really testing my limits here. I want to push you down and gobble you up…'

When Ling Lan realized what kind of thoughts were going through her head, she suspected that maybe her Yin and Yang were not in balance. It was probably why it was so hard for her to control her lust. Was it going to flood out?

While Ling Lan was doubting her life choices, Li Lanfeng pouted after hearing Ling Lan's words. He said in a slightly saddened tone, "I'm always worrying about it, it's just that you never paid attention to it."

'He is just like a masochist who couldn't get any love from his dominatrix… Stop!' Ling Lan felt her thoughts were going haywire today. Why did she keep thinking strange things? Dominatrix? Masochist? What were those things… She really didn't know…

"There's been a lot of matters recently. I probably missed it from being so busy." Ling Lan tossed away the random thought in her head. Li Lanfeng's words probably meant he was blaming her for not being a good enough friend.

"You're not busy, but rather you're so dense that it makes me want to bite my tongue off," Li Lanfeng mumbled under his breath. Faced with this log of a person, all of the looks he gave her every once in a while was wasted effort.

Ling Lan could only hear the word 'dense' and knew Li Lanfeng was blaming her for not understanding him. After thinking about it, she realized that she didn't care about Li Lanfeng enough. She was also very uncaring of her other subordinates… It was odd. Ling Lan actually felt bad.

Alright, since she had time today, she was going to comfort Li Lanfeng and prove that she was actually a good friend.

"How about this? I have some time today. How about we think about ways to help you get past that difficult point in your pursuit for love?" Ling Lan was a bit excited about being the facilitator of love. She didn't have any friend in her past life. In this life, Li Lanfeng became her only friend that wasn't deathly afraid of her.

Thinking about Qi Long and the others, Ling Lan felt a bit miserable. Although she led them from when they were young, they still felt like they were her sons. However, it was also because Qi Long and the others admired her too much. They would always bow before her and respond to her every whim. If she was to tell them they were her friends, Qi Long and the others might be afraid that they might have done something wrong that their Boss was using words to insult and whip them…

It was good that this fearless Li Lanfeng was willing to become her friend. The accidental meeting in the virtual world back then saved her from the possibility of not having any friends.

She could finally experience the joy of gossiping with friends about their relationships and other embarrassing things. When she was bedridden and reading novels in her previous life, Ling Lan really wanted to feel what it would be like to have friends.

"That person doesn't like me." Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan with a bewitching look. He looked somewhat hurt and his wronged expression was just like Little White when it wanted to be comforted. Ling Lan suddenly had the urge to pat him on the head to comfort him.

"You confessed? And got rejected?" If that was the case, then she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Was she going to have to order that person to accept Li Lanfeng's heart?

Li Lanfeng shook his head, "No, I didn't do that. However, I listened to your advice and tried to flirt in different ways… I've already done everything that I can to show my feelings, but that person still has no response to my advancements."

"Is that person pretending to not understand or do they not understand the intent behind your actions?" Ling Lan felt that the distinction between the two was important. If that person pretended to not understand, then it actually meant that person rejected him. Li Lanfeng would not have any chance in that case. If that person was dense, Li Lanfeng still had hope.

After hearing the question, Li Lanfeng sat up and leaned towards Ling Lan. He smiled earnestly and said, "That's something I want to know as well."

"I suggest you smile more to the person you like what you are doing right now. The person you liked won't be able to reject you."

'It's only because I have good self control and held back my urges from pushing you down that you are able to sit there meekly. I trust that other women wouldn't be able to control themselves like me.' Ling Lan really felt that Li Lanfeng's earnest smile was too strong. Even she was hanging on by a thread, not to mention other women.

Of course, if that person didn't like him or might even be disgusted by Li Lanfeng's looks, then it would be a different story. The only thing Ling Lan could do was to light a candle and pray for Li Lanfeng.

"It really works?" Li Lanfeng's eyes were filled with happiness as they lit up brightly. When Ling Lan saw the excited eyes, she could soften her gaze and nod instinctively.

"Alright, I will definitely smile more in the future," Li Lanfeng had a big smile on his face as he said that. His entire face was so bright with that smile that it made Ling Lan unable to keep her eyes off of him in that instant.

Chapter 1225 Thank You, Rabbit.

"You don't hate my looks right?"

'Hopefully, Ling Lan will like my face.' Li Lanfeng looked at Ling Lan with an expression that only he knew the meaning of.

"Of course. And remember no matter what kind of looks you have, it's all given by your parents and should be considered as precious. We should all respect it and accept it," replied Ling Lan earnestly.

She knew Li Lanfeng hated his own looks. However, Ling Lan didn't believe there were any problems with his looks. Perhaps in the division, his looks might cause some trouble, but in Lingtian, Ling Lan was confident that those weird things wouldn't happen. Thus, Li Lanfeng didn't need to worry and didn't need to hate his innocent looks.

"Those are not just comforting words, right?" Li Lanfeng asked softly.

"You know me. What I say is how I truly feel. Do the two of us need to make it so formal and speak untruthfully to each other?" said Ling Lan with a certain look on her face. In reality, she loved his looks very much. Of course, in order to uphold Li Lanfeng���s impression of her, she definitely wouldn't tell him that.

"So, you like it." A smile began to form on Li Lanfeng's face once again. However, this time, it was truly a smile filled with joy unlike when he had to pull up a facade.

"Of course. I like it very much." Everyone liked beautiful things. Ling Lan didn't feel that was something to be embarrassed about.

"Thank you for liking it, my Rabbit!" Li Lanfeng suddenly leaned his head forward, resting his forehead on Ling Lan's shoulder.

Although Ling Lan was a bit uncomfortable with his sudden act, the nickname Li Lanfeng hadn't addressed her by in a long time made her heart waver. Now she was able to feel the tiredness in Li Lanfeng that he couldn't speak up about. She also felt the temporary weakness he showed as he leaned on her shoulder.

Ling Lan thought for a moment, then put out her right hand and rubbed Li Lanfeng's back. If he wanted to be comforted, then she would comfort him. She wasn't losing anything by doing that.

Ling Lan didn't know that Li Lanfeng, who had his head down on her shoulder, was trying his best to control his excitement and his trembling body. He originally thought he had no hope at all and was only struggling for straws. However, Ling Lan saying he liked his looks made him regain a reason to live.

'Ling Lan, if you're going to give me hope, then please give me even more…' Li Lanfeng was still a calm and logical individual. Despite his excited mood, he still had strong self-control. He still managed to hold back the feelings that was about to burst out.

Unless he was sure of a victory, Li Lanfeng would not allow himself to be backed into a corner. Ling Lan's current impression of him was good and all. Although it was only his looks, the current situation was much better than before. Li Lanfeng wasn't going to let such a good turn of events to be destroyed because of his reckless impulses.

After being silent for one to two minutes, Li Lanfeng stood up straight. In that moment, he was no longer that man who was trapped in his feelings. Instead, he was now the amazing strategist Ling Lan admired.

"Did you sense any danger on your way here?" After clearing himself of any emotion, Li Lanfeng was now able to view the big picture in its truest form. Although he just asked it as a question, his tone was still firm.

"Yeah, moving Base Nebula by my own accord is an easy loophole that could be used against me," When speaking about military matters, Ling Lan's mood began to calm down. As expected, she was not suitable to be a mentor for love and relationships. She was only just talking with words with no personal experience.

"However, if we don't move the troops, Lingtian will be in even more danger." Li Lanfeng had already understood Ling Lan's worries when she decided to move Base Nebula

"Yes. The structure of the military headquarters is complicated as many factions fester within it. In the path to accomplish our goals, there will be many factions trying to stop us in our tracks. Despite us knowing that there's someone behind all this, there are still too many factions involved. We still can't predict who the actual person behind all this is just from the information we gathered from the virtual world." Ling Lan told Little Four to keep an eye on the military headquarters. However, the orders given by the military headquarters weren't given by just one person. It would be given out only after numerous discussions between many factions. Only then would an official order be given.

Without any information on the person behind all of this, Ling Lan and the others could only stay on guard. If they were actually suddenly sent to the frontlines, without Base Nebula as a strong backup, Ling Lan also wasn't confident that she would be able to lead the soldiers in Lingtian Independent Army back home safely.

Dying in the midst of a war was considered to be normal. However, if they were to die from a trap, Ling Lan would feel very wronged. Moreover, she wouldn't be able to handle the aftermath of those deaths. Thus, after careful consideration, she decided to go against the rules and brought Base Nebula with her. That way, at least when the person behind all of this plots against them, she could still depend on Base Nebula to create a path of escape for her to lead her independent army out alive.

"Sending Vice Commander Yang, Vice Commander Liu, Qi Long and the others' brigades to meet up with the logistics transport team is to prepare something in case something happens, right?" Li Lanfeng, like Yang Mingzhi and the others, felt there was more than meets the eye in Ling Lan's decision to send the ten mecha brigades out.

Ling Lan said calmly, "We at least need to send out brigades to guard the transport fleet. After all, it is our responsibility to guard them." Ling Lan didn't admit it or deny it.

Li Lanfeng knew Ling Lan didn't want to answer the question so he stopped prying further into the matter. He knew very well that these things didn't need to be clarified too much as long as everyone knew it in their minds.

It had to be said that the ten people Ling Lan had chosen successfully avoided the issue with her taking Base Nebula with her on her own accord. It was indeed a great idea. If Li Lanfeng were to make the arrangements, he might not have been able to find better suited individuals.

"Let's hope that we won't have to use this plan," sighed Li Lanfeng. If they had to use those 10 individuals, that meant the situation wasn't going well.

"Yeah…" Ling Lan's eyes were dark as the void. It was just as Li Lanfeng had said. If they actually got to that point, both her and her father's situation would definitely be grave.

After knowing that Lingtian Independent Army will be the guarding the logistics transport fleet, Qi Yaoyang's face instantly darkened.

"General, is there something wrong?" His staff officer asked as his heart skipped a beat.

"A newly formed independent army, and is still gathering personnel. If you were the one at the military headquarters making the decisions, would you send them to the frontlines?" Qi Yaoyang glanced at him coldly and asked with disdain.

"I wouldn't!" His staff officer shook his head. Guarding the logistics transport convoy to the frontlines seemed like a standard mission. However, in reality, it was very important. Usually, the troops that guard the convoy were all capable veteran armies from the Federation. It was already very unlikely for weaker armies to be given this mission, not to mention this independent army that was just formed and had nothing to show for themselves.

Chapter 1226 You Have Finished Your Apprenticeship

"They're escorting the logistic transport fleets within the bounds of the planetary sector of the Federation. It seems like a safe and easy mission. They might think Lingtian is there to sit back and gain merits. However, if the mission is really safe, why were there so many ambushes in the past few years? I'm sure that you still remember Mission Nestling, right?" Qi Yaoyang said in a mocking tone.

The staff officer shook his head. "It's hard to forget that mission. The First Men's Military Academy suffered great losses because of that ambush. If General Ling Xiao wasn't there…" The staff officer trembled when he thought of the frightening consequences. The Federation went on a tirade when they heard of the ambush. When they discovered that Twilight was behind the ambush, they swore to raze Twilight to the ground.

"I'm sure that you understand how enticing of a target a newly formed independent army as well as three fully-loaded carriers are. It's definitely enticing enough for Twilight to take the risk." Qi Yaoyang could almost see a net slowly wrapping around the fleet.

The staff officer got anxious. "Shall we send men to receive them?"

After the war had been dragged on for so long, the supplies within each division had depleted greatly. They were all lacking supplies. If this batch of supplies was stolen by their enemies, the morale of the soldiers would drop severely and they would have to resort to more dangerous means to procure supplies like raiding their enemies' starships. It would be a heavy blow to the Federation.

"How do we help them? Do you even know where they are?" Qi Yaoyang asked.

To prevent their enemies from ambushing their logistics fleets, no one would know where the fleet was unless the fleet contacted them directly.

The staff officer was so worried that he forgot this important point. He knew that his idea was useless but he couldn't think of anything else. He asked his general, "What do we do? Are we going to just wait for them to be ambushed?"

"Be ambushed? That might not happen." If it was other independent armies, they might be in danger. But, their enemies were targeting Lingtian Independent Army.

Qi Yaoyang was envious of Ling Xiao. Why did he have such a perfect son? Although Ling Xiao had helped his son secretly, most of Ling Lan's achievements were obtained through his own hard work. He had three sons of his own and he had helped them too, but none of them became as accomplished as Ling Lan. Hence, he deduced that the father wasn't the main factor in his son's achievements.

He felt extremely satisfied that he had made the right decision to stuff his youngest son in Ling Lan's team (He had forgotten how he rejected Qi Long in the past). Under Ling Lan's guidance, his son had exceeded even his own accomplishments. His son, Qi Long, became a major general at 24 years old.

Qi Yaoyang suddenly felt proud of himself for raising such a tiger son. However, this proud feeling only lasted for one second as he suddenly remembered that Ling Lan was 24 years old too but was already a lieutenant general. Comparisons angered people. Qi Yaoyang immediately threw the thought to the back of his mind. He didn't want to see Ling Xiao's smug face anymore. Hmph.

"Why?" The staff officer didn't know the details of Lingtian Independent Army so he was confused by his superior's confidence in them.

"You'll understand soon." Although the staff officer was his confidant, he wouldn't tell him everything. He was exceptionally careful when it came to the safety of his son.

The staff officer had worked under Qi Yaoyang for quite a while so he knew when to push his boundaries and when not not. He immediately stopped probing on the matter and went back to his work. He was still worried about Lingtian but he controlled his emotions.

As Qi Yaoyang's confidant, it was important to know his limits. Qi Yaoyang liked smart people, not talkative ones.

"Master, I've detected turbulence in the Qingri wormhole." Meng Lan suddenly alerted Ling Lan.

"Little Four." Ling Lan turned serious as she called for Little Four.

"Yes, Boss." Little Four appeared beside Meng Lan immediately. Ever since Meng Lan took over the control of Base Nebula's mainframe, Little Four would appear as a hologram occasionally.

"Analyze the turbulence." Ling Lan never expected their journey to Twilight to be smooth. She remained vigilant for any possible danger. She wouldn't let any suspicious activity go undetected. Even if most of it was just residual energy left from meteorite collisions, she didn't let her guard down.

"Yes, Boss."

"Yes, master."

Little Four and Meng Lan started analyzing the data. Ling Lan closed her eyes and rested her mind. Suddenly, she saw a familiar figure.

"Little Blossom?" Ling Lan was uncertain.

She looked at the expressionless little girl with long hair floating behind him. Was this Little Blossom? Wait, Little Blossom was a boy!

"Yes." Little Blossom replied indifferently.

"Your hair…" His hair was so long that it was almost touching the ground. Ling Lan didn't know what to say.Little Blossom waved his hand, and his hair was chopped off until ear length. The chopped locks of hair turned into rays of light and disappeared in the air.

"I forgot to cut it," Little Blossom replied. His face turned red as he spoke. He looked extremely cute.

'Is he embarrassed?' Ling Lan looked at Little Blossom who was trying his best to remain calm. She almost laughed out loud. "It's perfectly normal. When I get busy, I forget to cut my hair too." In reality, Ling Lan was able to cut her hair with a single thought. Hence, she was just consoling Little Blossom with empty words.

Little Blossom looked at her brightly. There was a faint smile on his face.

"Why are you so free today?" Ling Lan remembered that Number Four had taken Little Blossom away for tutoring. She hadn't seen him in a long time.

"I finished my apprenticeship," Little Blossom said.

"Congratulations." Ling Lan clapped softly. She was proud of Little Blossom. When Little Blossom saw the happiness in his master's eyes, his core was reactivated and his data reconfigured. It happened so quickly that he felt his body heating up.

"I wonder what you have learned. I hope to see you in action soon." Ling Lan was curious about what Number Four taught Little Blossom.

Chapter 1227 Welcome Home

In the past, her instructors told her that she would only be able to learn under the mysterious Number Four if she understood something. She wondered what was the thing she had to understand. Even until now, she didn't know the answer.

Little Blossom tensed up at Ling Lan's words. He replied expressionlessly, "It's nothing. It's just some useless knowledge."

In the learning space, Number Four was furious when she heard Little Blossom dismissing her profound knowledge.

"What do you mean by useless. It's bewitching. The power to bewitch anyone within a second.'

Number Four wanted to teach that little bastard a lesson. However, before she could get her fists ready, she heard a cold voice beside her. "Number Four, forget it."

"Number One!" Number Four stomped her feet in frustration.

"There's no use forcing him if he doesn't like it," Number One appeared beside Number Four and said calmly.

"Do you mean that my skills are not worth learning?" Number Four raised head and looked at Number One with puppy eyes. Her eyes were dewdy and glistening as she looked at him. The emotions in them were overwhelming. Even a cold-blooded person would melt from her gaze. Unfortunately, Number One's blood was like ice. He wasn't affected at all.

"Boring." Number Four glared at Number One before turning around elegantly and disappearing on the spot.

After a few seconds, Number One heaved a sigh of relief and his body relaxed a little.

"Number Four has become more powerful." Number One frowned before going back to his own space.

"Little Blossom, the knowledge you were given might not seem useful now but in the future, it might be able to help you out of a life-or-death situation. Don't underestimate any knowledge." Ling Lan taught Little Blossom earnestly. She believed that all the knowledge her instructors taught her were useful.

Little Blossom listened to Ling Lan attentively. He pondered over her words and nodded thereafter.

"Do you still need to go back?" Ling Lan was afraid that Little Blossom would disappear from her side again.

Little Blossom shook his head. "My instructor said that I've learned everything I could. I just need to figure out how to use them on my own." Little Blossom didn't think that he needed the knowledge of bewitching, but since his master said that they might be useful, he would analyse them when he had the time.

"That's good. Little Four misses you." Ling Lan smiled.

Little Blossom's eyes lit up. Little Four was the same as family to him. Little Blossom had always been discriminated against by his own kind so he treasured his relationship with Little Four (It couldn't be helped. Little Blossom's true form was the arch enemy of all intelligent entities).

"And I miss you too," Ling Lan continued.

Little Blossom was touched. He wasn't alone anymore.

"I… I miss you all too," Little Blossom whispered.

"Come." Ling Lan waved at Little Blossom.

Little Blossom rushed over and entered Ling Lan's mindscape. Ling Lan hugged Little Blossom in her mindscape and said in a low voice, "Little Blossom, welcome home."

"Yes, I'm back." Little Blossom finally felt that this space was his home. He wasn't just a guest anymore.

"Little Four is analysing some data. You can go and find him. He'll be happy to see you." Ling Lan believed that Little Four would be elated to see Little Blossom. He was always thinking about Little Blossom when he was bored.

"Okay, Boss." Little Blossom nodded. He surreptitiously changed the way he addressed Ling Lan. He felt that Ling Lan was his family now. She wasn't just his master

nov

Ling Lan noticed the changes in Little Blossom. She felt happy for him. She preferred this happy Little Blossom to the one before.

Little Blossom disappeared immediately to look for Little Four and Meng Lan. Ling Lan didn't care what they did in Base Nebula as long as they didn't destroy it.

Compared to the original mainframe of Base Nebula, Ling Lan trusted the three of them more.

After some time, Little Four and Meng Lan held hands and came back to Ling Lan's mindscape with Little Blossom walking behind them.

Little Blossom could devour all kinds of data. Little Four and Meng Lan were happy that he was back but they didn't dare to touch him directly.

"How is it?" Ling Lan asked the moment she saw them.

"We found them." Little Four was beaming happily. Not only did they locate their enemy, Little Blossom came back too. He wasn't alone anymore.

Ling Lan sat up straight as she motioned Little Four to continue.

Little Four continued, "We found the source of the turbulence. They should be coming from a number of imperial mechas."

A virtual screen appeared beside Little Four as he spoke. The map of the Qingri wormhole was displayed on it. A few light-years away, there was a meteoroid zone. The meteorites there moved in unpredictable patterns so both the Federation and Twilight deemed this place as a dangerous zone. No spacecraft were allowed to get near the zone.

The source of the turbulence came from there.

"That explains why they're there," Ling Lan replied coldly. Only imperial operators had the ability to protect themselves in such a dangerous zone.

Their enemy made a lot of effort to ambush them. Ling Lan wondered if the mastermind hiding in the military took part in this scheme.

"What do we do now? Shall we order the mecha operators to prepare for battle?" Little Four asked.

"Only imperial operators can fight with imperial operators." Ling Lan closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they were filled with killing intent.

"Where is the transport fleet?" Ling Lan asked.

"Here. They will reach our position in approximately 40 minutes." Meng Lan pointed at a spot on the map.

"Meng Lan, order all the leaders and deputy leaders to prepare for battle," Ling Lan ordered.

"Yes, master." Meng Lan quickly released Ling Lan's order to the leaders and deputy leaders.

"We're not fighting now?" Little Four asked curiously.

"Let the transport fleet meet them first." One day, her comrades would need to fight on a battlefield without her. This ambush would be a good training practice for them. Ling Lan decided to watch the performance of her brigade leaders first before moving out herself.

Chapter 1228 Ambush!

Beep! Beep! Beep!

A blaring noise was heard in this quiet meteoroid zone.

The lumps on the meteorites started coming to

life.

The imperial mechas dropped their disguise and revealed their beautiful mecha bodies. From the appearance and logos on the mechas, they were an imperial mecha clan from the Twilight Empire. There were approximately a hundred mechas.

"There are movements detected." The leader of the ambush team spoke on the team channel.

"16, 17, capture the signal and confirm the coordinates," The leader ordered calmly.

"Yes!" Two rough voices replied.

About ten seconds later, 16 and 17 shouted simultaneously, "Found it."

"Send the coordinates to the team channel," the leader said.

Two maps appeared on the screens of the imperial mechas. The coordinates 16 and 17 located were less than a kilometer apart.

"The position of our targets is confirmed. Everyone, prepare for battle." The team leader immediately ordered his team members to prepare to fight (When two samples of coordinates of the same target are less than three kilometers apart, it's considered accurate).

"Yes!" All the imperial operators took out their weapons and prepared for ambush. They were all carrying long-range beam guns. They aimed their guns at the huge transport fleet. Their plan was to destroy the first transport starship in the first volley of beams.

These imperial operators had been restraining their urge to kill for a long time. They were powerful but in this dangerous meteoroid zone, they must constantly maintain their vigilance. One mistake could cost them their lives.

Imperial mechas were more powerful than an ace mecha but it didn't have the Divine Shield system like a god-class mecha so they had to actively dodge incoming meteors, which caused them to be quite irritated

They had been hiding for more than 60 hours in order to ambush the transport fleet. To prevent their target from noticing them, they only activated their disguise system. All their other systems were turned off. It meant that they were locked up in the small cockpit for almost three entire days. If they didn't have a strong mind, they might have gone crazy.

"They're finally here." Everyone had killing intent in their eyes. After being locked up in a small space for a long time, it was common to have negative emotions. They needed a massacre to release their stress.

They also wanted to use this massacre to show the Huaxia Federation that Twilight wasn't an easy prey to bully. Since they destroyed Three Stars Lock, they would have to pay the price for it.

After some time, three starships appeared at the far end of the universe. They proceeded in a triangular formation.

"Only three starships? What's wrong?" The leader of the imperial operators was stunned. Based on the intel he received, there should be many transport ships.

"Let's wait for a while." The leader of the imperial operators felt that the three starships weren't worth attacking. In an ambush, the first contact was always the most important. The leader didn't want to waste this chance.

Once they were discovered, their enemy would be prepared for an ambush. It would be then too hard for them to destroy the transport ships behind the three starships. They wouldn't be able to monitor all the starships too, so many might just split into different directions and escape.

The three starships got closer to them. However, there was still no sign of the huge transport fleet. Were these starships just patrol ships? Were they not part of the transport fleet?

"No, these are not patrol ships. They're battleships." As the starships got closer, the imperial operators managed to see the details of the ships clearly.

"This is the newest battleship model, Destruction Devil." The leader of the imperial operators managed to guess the models of these starships accurately.

"Shall we attack?" One of the imperial operators was excited. This was the newest battleship model. That meant that it was the best battleship of the Federation. If they were able to destroy three of them today, they would be heroes.

"Leader, let's attack them. Let these three Destruction Devils be the price for destroying our Three Stars Lock," another imperial operator shouted. They were losing their patience. They needed to fight so that they could release their stress. If they kept controlling their emotions, they might really go crazy. They had already loaded their guns. It was inhumane to ask them to wait again.

The team leader of the imperial operators remained calm. His team members kept requesting to fight but he didn't act rashly. He asked the mainframe of his mecha to scan the area behind the three battleships first. He wanted to know if the transport fleet was hiding behind them.

"There's no other sources of energy found in this planetary sector." The mainframe reported its findings.

The leader frowned. By right, the transport fleet should have reached the Qingri wormhole by now. Why were they traveling so slowly?

They were afraid that their enemy would hasten their pace so they came here three days ago.

"Leader, don't hesitate anymore. We've already scanned the planetary sector. There are no starships behind them." Another imperial operator urged his leader to initiate the ambush.

All the mainframes of the mechas found no signs of other starships in this area. The transport fleet might have met with some accident and got delayed in the process. There were more than a hundred imperial mechas on their side so they should be able to destroy the three Destruction Devils in less than two hours.

Destruction Devil battleships had strong cannons and the shell of the ship was strong. However, it was still lacking in the other aspects when compared to fighting against an imperial mecha clan. The leader believed that they would be able to destroy the three starships.

The leader contemplated for a while. He felt that attacking the three starships with no backup wouldn't affect their overall plan. Hence, he ordered, "Everyone, prepare to attack."

The beam guns were lifted up to their eye level. All of them pointed at the three Destruction Devils.

"Attack!"

More than a hundred beams flew towards the first battleship.

Chapter 1229 Jialan Ship

Just as the imperial operators felt that the starship was going to explode, it suddenly lit up brightly and rose up quickly.

Most of the beams missed the starship. Those that managed to hit the starship got blocked by the light shield, resulting in the light shield dimming a little.

"That is a beam shield. How are they able to have a beam shield around the whole starship?" Most starships were unable to have a whole beam shield around them due to the amount of energy it required to sustain it. Normally, starships would usually form beam shields around 30 meters long, and they would just move it around the starship to block any incoming projectiles.

If the shields didn't move fast enough, the projectiles would hit the starship, causing huge damage. Moreover, starships moved slowly so it lacked the agility to dodge projectiles. That was why it couldn't be the main strength in an intergalactic war. To put the nail in the coffin, the production cost of such starships was exponentially higher than mechas.

"Ah, look behind them." Someone exclaimed.

When the starship rose up, the imperial operators from Twilight managed to see what was hiding behind it.

There were more than 40 mechas hiding behind the starships. The mechas evaded the beams and charged towards them.

"Ace mechas in the meteoroid zone? Are they looking for death?" The imperial operators from Twilight scoffed when they saw ace mecha operators rushing towards them rashly.

"No, there are not just ace mechas. They have imperial mechas too." Someone with amazing eyesight managed to see the appearance of the mechas even though they were moving at high speed.

"They have imperial operators… who owns these starships?" The leader of the Twilight imperial operators was astounded. Did they accidentally attack some powerful figure's starship?

Only an important figure of the Federation had such powerful guards.

"They only have 40 imperial mechas. They're not our match. We'll settle them first before attacking the three starships." The leader of the Twilight imperial operators suppressed the uneasiness in his heart.

They had more imperial operators on their side. There was no need to be afraid.

"Yes!" All the imperial operators took out their sword from behind their backs and fought with the ace mechas from the Federation.

The Twilight mechas quickly surrounded the mechas from the Federation. Suddenly, three powerful beams shot towards the Twilight mechas.

Bang!

The imperial operators in the line of fire moved away quickly. However, there were some mechas who didn't evade on time. They got scratched by the three beams.

Imperial mechas had beam shields protecting them but the beams shot from starships were too powerful. It depleted all the energy of the beam shields in an instant and even caused heavy damage to the body of the mechas.

If the mechas were hit by the beam without any shielding, they would be instantly vapourized. The imperial operators that managed to barely escape from the gates of hell felt cold sweat pouring down their back.

"Be careful. The beams are coming from the main cannon of Destruction Devil." The leader of the Twilight imperial operators was at the back so he saw where the three beams came from.

"Damn it. How dare a starship attack us. Are they looking for death?" The imperial operators from Twilight were furious. They turned their mechas and started flying towards the starships without waiting for their leader's order.

The leader wanted to stop them. However, he saw that they still had around 60 mechas on their side fighting against the mechas from the Federation. He felt that they still had the advantage. Hence, he didn't stop the imperial operators who were charging towards the starships.

After all, they needed to stop the starships from attacking them too. That way, they wouldn't have to remain vigilant of the starships while fighting with the mechas from the Federation.

After killing these ace mecha operators from the Federation, they would take care of the three Destruction Devils. If they were able to drag one back to Twilight, they would be able to convince Caesar to help them by gifting it to them. The Federation would surely be dead meat then.

"Luo Chao, are you alright?" Han Xuya was nervous when she saw the imperial mechas flying towards them.

Luo Chao was lying in the cockpit. She smiled and said, "Xuya, don't worry. Boss designed this battleship for me. I'll make sure I maximise its performance."

"Okay. You can concentrate. I won't disturb you." Han Xuya quickly kept quiet.

This was the first time they were using a starship to fight with mechas. However, their enemies were not normal mechas but imperial mechas. The difficulty of the battle increased. If it was her, she might be in a flurry now. However, Luo Chao seemed confident. Her confidence probably came from her innate talent.

"Jialan, please help me," Luo Chao called in a soft voice.

"Jialan is here. Please give your order." A cute voice was heard.

A beautiful young girl with her hair tied up in two buns appeared on the virtual screen of the cockpit. She gave a shy smile. She looked slightly like the young Luo Chao.

"Come, Jialan." Luo Chao smiled.

Jialan ran over and jumped into Luo Chao's arms. The moment she entered Luo Chao's arms, Jialan disappeared. Luo Chao closed her eyes and went into deep sleep.

"I always find it amazing when Luo Chao controls the Jialan Ship." Han Xuya was a little envious. She sat at the side and grabbed the handles of her chair tightly. Things were going to get exciting

"Everyone, sit on your chairs and buckle your safety belt. If you don't have one, just tightly grab a fixed object. Jialan Ship is officially activated." Luo Chao's gentle voice echoed through the entire ship.

The soldiers on Jialan Ship immediately stopped what they were doing and dashed to the nearest seats. They buckled their seat belt tightly. Those that weren't able to return to their seats in time found a fixed object and hung on it for dear life.

After everyone was in position, the Jialan Ship dived 90 degrees and evaded the beams shot by the imperial mechas.

"Ah!" High-pitched screams were heard throughout the sialan Ship. However, this was just the beginning. The Jialan Ship rose up 180 degrees again. The main cannons were aimed at the imperial mechas.

"F**k, how is that possible. No starship is able to move like that." The imperial operators from Twilight were flabbergasted by the movement of the Jialan Ship. They couldn't believe their eyes.

Chapter 1230 Birthday Present!

Starships were bulky and heavy, so rarely able to put up any resistance when they were attacked, they would usually just tank the projectiles and fire back at them. However, the starship in front of them was almost as agile as a mecha. What the hell was it? Why was it able to move so quickly?

Boom! The main cannon of the starship was fired. The imperial operators didn't expect the Jialan Ship to launch its cannon so quickly. There was only a short distance between them so two of the imperial operators didn't react in time and got devoured by the beam.

Two explosions were heard. When the beam disappeared, two black balls were seen where two mechas previously stood.

The other mecha operators from Twilight knew that their comrades were dead. There was no way they could escape.

"Damn it!" The mecha operators from Twilight were infuriated. They thought that they could destroy the three starships easily but instead, they were the ones on the losing end now. They even lost two comrades almost instantly.

"Revenge! Take it down!" The imperial operators started hurling attacks at the Jialan Ship angrily. However, the Jialan Ship was always able to find a way to evade their attacks. Even if it couldn't avoid some attacks, the beam shield would be activated at the right time to minimise the damage.

While the Jialan Ship was battling furiously with its enemies, the other two starships focused on escaping. They weren't as agile as the Jialan Ship so they could only slowly evade the incoming projectiles. The speed of Destruction Devil was the fastest among all the starships. It might be slower than mechas but it had better stamina. The imperial operators were able to catch up with them but they would take some effort to stop them.

"Jialan is performing really well." Meng Lan smiled in satisfaction as she observed the battle from the operations center on Base Nebula.

Meng Lan was the one who brought Jialan up. In human words, Jialan was like her daughter.

"Yes. Jialan is a smart girl. She is cooperating very well with Luo Chao." Ling Lan was satisfied too.

"Hmph. I'll take credit for that," Little Four said proudly.

"Yes, you made the most contribution. You were the one who made my father busy for an entire month." Ling Lan flicked Little Four's forehead.

Jialan Ship was a Destruction Devil but it wasn't just any normal Destruction Devil. Among the three Destruction Devils her father gave her, one of them was still lying in Base Nebula.

That's right. The Jialan Ship that Luo Chao was controlling was secretly designed by Little Four. He wanted to give Boss the best birthday present. However, making a starship required a lot of time so by the time Little Four finished constructing it, it had already passed Ling Lan's birthday.

But, Little Four still gave it to Ling Lan. Ling Lan scolded him when she received the present.

She was angry because there was no way she could explain the presence of the starship to the military. Even if she was the commander of an independent army, there was no way she could get her hands on a Destruction Devil. Destruction Devil was the secret of the military. Well, nothing was a secret to Little Four.

Fortunately, Little Four bought the shares of the company that manufactured the Destruction Devil a long time ago. However, the starships weren't put up for sales yet at that time.

Little Four knew his mistake so he quickly deleted all the information about the Destruction Devil. In actual fact, some people tried to get information about the Destruction Devil through the company but Little Four stopped them just in time.

Ling Lan knew that she couldn't use this starship but she was unwilling to let go of it. This starship was much more powerful than the Federation's Destruction Devil. Hence, after much thinking, she decided to ask her father for help.

That was why Ling Xiao took three Destruction Devils and gave it to the Lingtian Independent Army. Many people were unhappy and jealous of Lingtian. However, the military felt that it was alright for the Lingtian Independent Army to have Destruction Devils. They should support an up and rising army.

Thus, Ling Lan managed to swap the Destruction Devil Little Four made for her with one of the Destruction Devils her father got her.

She was lucky that she had Little Four. Little Four allowed her to evade all the radar scannings from the satellites so that she was able to sneak the Jialan Ship into Base Nebula.

All in all, the Jialan Ship had a rough journey into her arms. Ling Lan was so worried about it that she didn't sleep properly for a couple of months. If an error occurred in their plan, Ling Four's hard work would be taken by someone else.

To her relief, everything ended properly. She warned Little Four that he mustn't create such huge presents again as it was too hard to hide them.

Jialan was more advanced than Destruction Devil in terms of its operations.

This was the result of Little Four's research on god-class mechas. He successfully installed the spiritual power control system on a starship.

Of course, in order to control the starship perfectly, the captain must be someone who had navigator talent and knew how to pilot a starship.

People with similar innate talents could control the starship too but no one knew what the result was. There was no data available to refer to. Plus, Ling Lan always wanted to hand the Jialan Ship to Luo Chao. There were no other better candidates in her mind. She knew that Luo Chao always wanted to become a starship commander so she wanted to fulfill her wish.

"The other two Destruction Devils seem inferior when you compare them with Jialan." Li Lanfeng was always trying to appear in front of Ling Lan ever since that talk.

"If we want to improve Destruction Devil, we need to tackle the mainframe." Ling Lan was unsatisfied with the other two starships after seeing the Jialan Ship's performance.

"Shall we groom another Jialan?" Li Lanfeng knew what the Jialan Ship's mainframe was. Were they able to create more mainframes like Meng Lan and Jialan?

Chapter 1231 Modified Mechas!

"We were lucky to have created Jialan. If we want to create another one of her, the success rate is very low." Ling Lan wasn't greedy. Jialan's appearance was a coincidence. Even Little Four couldn't understand how she came about.

Jialan was the work of Little Four and Meng Lan. However, Little Four said that if he was to do the same thing again, even with all the data he had recorded, he wasn't confident he could create another Jialan.

Actually, Jialan was just a bunch of foundational data that experienced a sudden change. Its appearance was accidental. Little Four and Meng Lan didn't think that they could be as lucky the second time.

"I see." Li Lanfeng finally understood why it took so long for Jialan to appear after Meng Lan was created. Jialan's intelligence wasn't as high as Meng Lan too. Meng Lan could control an entire base and even more while Jialan was only able to control a starship.

The next intelligent entity might only be able to control a mecha. Li Lanfeng felt that the intelligent entities created would get weaker and weaker.

"Boss, shall we send reinforcements? Those two Destruction Devils can't withstand much longer." Little Four was agitated. He felt that the Destruction Devils were Boss's property. They mustn't be damaged.

Ling Lan looked at the mecha operators who were fighting furiously and then glanced at the two Destruction Devils. Only the Jialan Ship seemed to be having an easy time. This battle proved that the Jialan Ship was powerful enough to tackle an imperial mecha clan.

After getting the data she wanted, Ling Lan nodded and ordered, "Send the imperial operators out."

The brigade leaders and deputy leaders weren't the only imperial operators in her army. There were many veteran soldiers who managed to advance to imperial level in this period of time.

Her independent army wasn't strong enough to apply for imperial mechas on its own from the military. However, with the help of her father and the logistics department of the 23rd division, she still managed to get imperial mechas for all her team leaders.

But, that would only be around 40 imperial mechas. It wasn't enough to satisfy the needs of the Lingtian Independent Army. Fortunately, they had Chang Xinyuan and Little Four. Chang Xinyuan was a master in modification while Little Four could steal anything he wanted from the virtual world.

They disassembled a few imperial mechas and compared it with the blueprints of imperial mechas. After a few months of experimentation, Chang Xinyuan managed to modify the ace mechas using Ling Lan's infinite supply of metal and accessories.

Hence, those mechas that looked like ace mechas weren't actually ace mechas. They had the internal structure and systems of an imperial mecha. Some of their systems were even better than imperial mechas. But, the mechas hadn't been tested in battle yet.

This battle would be a good opportunity to test the modified mechas.

Ling Lan seemed calm but if you looked carefully, you would notice that her hands were clenched tightly. If the ace mechas were able to fight with imperial mechas on equal grounds, the strength of her army would reach a new height. They would be the rulers of the battlefield.

"Haha, it's finally our turn to perform," Xie Yi shouted happily when he heard Ling Lan's order. He was waiting on the launching port.

"Be careful. You're just a pseudo imperial operator," Luo Lang reminded Xie Yi.

"Okay. I'll be careful." Xie Yi smiled obediently at Luo Lang's face on the screen.

Luo Lang felt puzzled.

A few days ago, he heard some brigade members commenting on their leaders. When they spoke of Xie Yi, they said that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing. They mentioned that he could probably fight it out with Big Leader Li.

Luo Lang knew that Li Lanfeng was a scheming individual, but Xie Yi had always been positive and vibrant in front of him. He didn't think that he was a wolf in sheep's clothing

wa

Was he scheming? He always appeared so idiotic in front of him. Luo Lang felt that Xie Yi was as stupid as him sometimes. That was why Luo Lang didn't mind hanging around Xie Yi as it made him feel quite secure about his insecurities.

Luo Lang started to feel uncertain about his image of Xie Yi. Since so many people felt that way, there must be some truth to the claim. However, based on his daily interaction with Xie Yi, he just couldn't picture Xie Yi to be as smart and deceiving as everyone said. For instance, his reply just now was really stupid.

Luo Lang wasn't someone who liked to think so when he couldn't find an answer, he just threw the problem to the back of his mind. He hung up the video call after Xie Yi replied to him and waited patiently for the JMC to call him.

When the first modified mecha was ejected out of Base Nebula, it caught the attention of the people fighting

Little Four would only be able to hide Base Nebula if no heat was emitted out of it. Once a mecha was ejected out, the heat produced by its engine was enough to expose them.

The team leader of the Twilight imperial mecha operators heard the alarm in his mecha. He quickly searched the area and found the mechas that had appeared a few kilometres away.

"The mechas are from the Federation. We walked into a trap." This was his first reaction.

However, when he noticed that there were just around 40 ace mechas, he scoffed. "How arrogant of them. Are they looking down on imperial operators?"

They wouldn't need much effort to destroy those mechas.

Imperial mechas were stronger than ace mechas but they weren't invincible like the god-class mechas. If there were many ace mechas, they might be able to destroy an imperial mecha. But, they would need at least five ace mechas to surround an imperial mecha.

He just needed to send a few imperial operators to fight against the approaching ace mechas.

The only thing that worried him was the Destruction Devil. The leader of the Twilight mecha operators could see that Jialan wasn't a normal Destruction Devil.