199 - 203
Chapter 199 - Fellow Disciples?
At this moment, Lan Luofeng could not hold back from saying, "Ling Lan, don't worry too much. Your father can handle things." Although Lan Luofeng was extremely annoyed with Ling Xiao, her trust in Ling Xiao was still unshaken.
Ling Lan thought for a moment, and then asked, "Can you make sure my gender won't be discovered?" Since Ling Xiao had decided to send her into the military academy, he must have a sure plan.
"Yes, I will arrange everything." Ling Xiao's eyes were filled with confidence; he would never take any chances with his daughter's life.
"Then I'll go," Ling Lan decided. Honestly, the greatest reason why she had not wanted to go study at the military academy was that she feared her true gender being discovered; there were just too many events involving body check-ups over the first year. She had the confidence to hide once or twice, but with such a large number of occasions, she was uncertain she could keep the charade going. Since Ling Xiao could help her eliminate this problem, Ling Lan naturally had nothing else to worry about.
Besides, Ling Lan really wanted to see Qi Long, Han Jijyun, Luo Lang, and the others again. When they found out that she would be studying with them at the First Men's Military Academy, their expressions would probably be supremely interesting.
A faint smile bloomed on the corners of Ling Lan's lips. Honestly speaking, she had really been reluctant to part with them. She had spent so many years with the group after all ... the ties and emotions among them had already burrowed into their respective bones — they were not something she could so easily cut away.
Ling Lan's decision brought a temporary end to the fight between Ling Xiao and Lan Luofeng. The family of three could finally put their attention on their breakfast. However, as the first meal together as a reunited family, the atmosphere was a little strange. It should have been heart-warming, but due to the remnant outrage in Lan Luofeng's heart, along with Ling Lan's subtle discomfort towards Ling Xiao, the overall atmosphere was rather awkward.
Although Ling Xiao tried his best to please Lan Luofeng and Ling Lan, the latter two were in no mood to accommodate him. This caused Ling Xiao to suffer through a rather awkward breakfast, dejection colouring his brow subconsciously.
Seeing this familiar expression, Ling Lan's hand, which was holding her chopsticks, trembled. Right then, Ling Xiao's expression was almost exactly like the expression of the Ling Xiao in the legacy space when she had refused to call him 'daddy'. This made Ling Lan's heart pound, that initial sense of unfamiliarity with this Ling Xiao abruptly melting away. At this moment, she finally felt that the gentle Ling Xiao before her now who loved to smile, was truly the same Ling Xiao that she had willingly called 'daddy' previously ... the current Ling Xiao just did not know this yet.
Ling Lan opened her mouth, but still did not manage to utter 'daddy'. The spiritual entity Ling Xiao was the Ling Xiao of 17 years ago, while the Ling Xiao now was the Ling Xiao of 17 years later 1 . Whether in terms of appearance or physical aura, the two were somewhat different. This brief period of time spent together was not enough for Ling Lan to get over these differences. Besides, Ling Lan had always been a girl who did not open her heart readily to others.
"In that unknown world, were there also many strange and wonderful things?" Even though she wasn't able to call Ling Xiao 'daddy' just yet, Ling Lan still could not bear to see Ling Xiao being so awkward. So, she decided to help him out by initiating a conversation.
Ling Lan's question caused Ling Xiao's eyes to light up. His initially somewhat dejected expression instantly become energetic and lively, and he said excitedly, "Yes! Although the technology there was outdated, they had very rich mineral resources. Many of the materials there are those which the Federation lacks. But, please don't spread this information, I did not tell anyone else about this ..."
Seeing Ling Xiao animatedly telling Ling Lan all about the unknown world he had been at, a smile gradually emerged on Lan Luofeng's face. Ling Xiao and Ling Lan were the two people she loved the most; of course she wanted the two of them to get along. At this moment, Lan Luofeng had completely forgotten to hold onto her grudge against Ling Xiao.
Right then, Ling Lan was actually somewhat regretting her choice of topic. She had not pegged Ling Xiao as a chatterbox, but once he started speaking he could not be stopped ... this made a green vein pop out on her forehead, and she almost flipped the dining table to signal an end to the topic.
Ling Lan did not know that, if it wasn't for her question, Ling Xiao would not have been so excited about the topic and spilled everything about the unknown world in a rush to her. Clearly, Ling Lan's curious tone had thrilled Ling Xiao beyond reason, causing him to lose his composure. He just wanted to make his daughter happy —— any Twenty-four Filial Exemplars dad would involuntarily become foolish, long-winded, and unprincipled in front of his daughter.
As if taking pity on Ling Lan's poor ears, the heavens sent someone to rescue her. A cold harrumph rang out in the dining hall, "If you've returned, why have you not scrambled over to see me?"
Ling Xiao was in the middle of his excited narration when he was shocked by this sudden voice. He leapt up quickly and choked out, "Master! Why are you here?"
"Darn brat, can't I be here?" Although Mu Shui-qing was scolding Ling Xiao, his tone was emotional. It was clear to see how much Ling Xiao's return had impacted the old man. If not because he wanted to give Ling Xiao some personal time with his family, Mu Shui-qing would definitely have come seek Ling Xiao out as soon as he heard the news.
Only then did Ling Xiao remember that it was Mu Shui-qing's appearance 3 years ago which had saved Ling Lan's life. His master must have been worried that Ling Lan would suffer another assassination attempt, and so had remained at the Ling family mansion to protect her.
Ling Xiao was instantly overcome with remorse. Because of him, his wandering master had no choice but to stop his travels to stay at the Ling family mansion to protect Ling Lan. In the end, it was still his failing ...
"Ling Lan, bring Ling Xiao over to see me." Mu Shui-qing did not bother himself with Ling Xiao's thoughts. He gave an order directly to Ling Lan, and then went utterly silent.
"Yes, Master!" replied Ling Lan calmly. Her voice was not very loud — you could perhaps even call it very soft — so Ling Xiao, lost in his guilty feelings, did not notice what she said.
Ling Lan's cold face could not help but twitch as she glanced at the pensive Ling Xiao. She had forgotten that she had another identity — as a disciple of Mu Shui-qing as well, Ling Xiao would be her senior brother ...
They were father and daughter, but also fellow disciples of the same sect ... the seniority and relationship hierarchy between them was really such a mess!
Conflicted, Ling Lan put down her bowl and chopsticks. Standing up, she waved goodbye to Lan Luofeng, and then departed swiftly from the dining hall. Alright, right now, she too was utterly confounded by the complicated tangle of her relationship with her father.
Ling Lan's greeting startled Ling Xiao out of his reverie, and without her having to call him, Ling Xiao too said goodbye to Lan Luofeng and followed Ling Lan out of the house to arrive at a back courtyard —— the site of Mu Shui-qing's seclusion.
The moment they entered the yard, they saw Mu Shui-qing sitting up straight on a wooden chair in the garden. Ling Xiao saw that Mu Shui-qing's hair was all white now. Though he continued to smile, his eyes abruptly turned red as he cried out softly, "Master!"
Mu Shui-qing peered intently at Ling Xiao, cataloguing the condition of his body, before nodding in satisfaction. "Not bad, no signs of any latent problems." Apparently, Mu Shui-qing's first priority was to scan Ling Xiao's body for any problems. After all, back then, Ling Xiao had been blasted by a tremendous force to an unknown world — though he managed to survive, he must have received some heavy damage back then.
Mu Shui-qing had been extremely afraid that Ling Xiao had paid the price of depleting his vital energies to earn the chance of survival. But now, from the looks of it, the situation was not as horrible as he had imagined. This reassured him greatly.
"Thank you, Master!" said Ling Xiao gratefully. He naturally knew what Mu Shui-qing had done.
"Other than to check you over properly, there is one more thing I want you to do," said Mu Shui-qing.
"Please instruct me, Master," said Ling Xiao respectfully, slightly toning down his smile.
"Help your master assess Lan-er 1 ," said Mu Shui-qing, pointing to Ling Lan, who was standing behind Ling Xiao.
"Ah? Master ..." Ling Xiao's small smile froze. He would never have expected that this was what Mu Shui-qing had wanted him to do. Ling Lan was only 16 years old — could she withstand the force of presence of a god-class operator?
"I forgot to tell you. Three years ago, I've already taken on Ling Lan as my true disciple. In fact, she is already your junior sister." After spending three years together, Mu Shui-qing naturally knew Ling Lan's true gender by now.
That said, Mu Shui-qing began to laugh heartily. Ling Lan could just feel the trace of mischief running through Mu Shui-qing's laughter — he really gave off the impression of an old prankster right then.
Hearing this, Ling Xiao's expression changed drastically. He almost spewed blood, and could no longer hold onto that unchanging smile on his face. Flustered, he said, "Master, Ling Lan is my daughter!" Couldn't you have taken on Ling Lan as my disciple on my behalf instead?!
Mu Shui-qing glared at him. "Before me, the only thing that matters is the relationship within the sect. At other times, it's up to you what you want to call each other."
Mu Shui-qing's determination caused Ling Xiao to rub at his forehead, head aching. At this moment, he no longer had any bit of his usual genial air, his entire aura rather prickly. Godd*mmit, what the hell was this?! He had not even gained his daughter's acknowledgement — and now his seniority was undercut by a whole generation, making him his own daughter's senior brother? No wonder the common folk all called his master an old beast — sure enough, he did not act on logic, but on personal whim.
Ling Xiao began to resent his master's offbeat manner of doing things.
"Master, father and I do not suit this type of address. Let us just address each other as normal." Ling Lan was just as conflicted, suddenly finding that calling Ling Xiao 'senior brother' was even harder than calling him 'daddy' ... Previously, since Ling Xiao was dead, Ling Lan had not thought this would be an issue.
Hearing Ling Lan verbally acknowledge him as her father, Ling Xiao felt a frisson of joy course through his heart. But he was immediately depressed again. This meant that Ling Lan only acknowledged their blood relation; it did not mean that Ling Lan had accepted him emotionally, otherwise Ling Lan would have just called him 'daddy' rather than 'father'. Ling Xiao was very clear on the difference between the two forms of address.
However, Ling Xiao immediately bucked up again. Since Ling Lan had already acknowledged the truth of their blood relation, he believed that it would not be long before she would be able to accept him wholeheartedly as her dad.
Ling Xiao's heart was filled with motivation — to obtain the acknowledgement of the two most important women in his life, he would definitely work hard. He would use all his love to fill up the gaps left by his absence of 17 years.
Seeing the conflicted and rebellious looks on the faces of his two disciples, Mu Shui-qing could only regretfully set aside his pranking nature. Still, Ling Xiao's reaction had pleased him well — he had finally managed to rip that unchanging smile off of Ling Xiao's face! So it wasn't that Ling Xiao was inherently even-tempered ... it was just that there had been nothing important enough in the past to warrant a change in his expression!
"Oh alright, suit yourselves." Mu Shui-qing finally let Ling Xiao and Ling Lan off the hook. This made both Ling Xiao and Ling Lan sigh internally — if Mu Shui-qing had truly insisted, they could only have obeyed their master's command against their will, and first address each other as fellow disciples. Of course, this would undoubtedly be rubbing salt into the wounds on Ling Xiao's heart. After all, right now, he still had not managed to have Ling Lan willingly acknowledge him as her dad yet.
1. T/C: @.@ What a mind-bender.
2. 兰儿: The '-er' part is a diminutive suffix in Chinese. It's basically a nickname of endearment, meaning something along the lines of 'Little Lan' or 'Lan-lan'. I considered translating it to 'Lil Lan', but I've already been using that for constructs like '小X', which literally translates to 'Little X'. So, decided I might as well keep it, and give you all a mini lesson in Chinese diminutive suffixes. :3 If in future there are cases where the 'er' is a different character in someone's name, I will include a note then.
Chapter 200 - Ling Xiao vs Ling Lan!
"However, Ling Xiao, don't hold back. Ling Lan is not as weak as you think she is. She has already obtained your legacy," reminded Mu Shui-qing.
A strange light entered Ling Xiao's eyes. Ever since he had found out that his legacy had suddenly disappeared from the Central Scout Academy, he had already had the premonition that Ling Lan had obtained the legacy. However, so much had happened since he returned that he had not had a chance to ask Ling Lan about it. Now though, Mu Shui-qing's words proved his premonition right. This put him in a very good mood. His legacy had been meant for Ling Lan to begin with — he had only been worried that the military would confiscate it and refuse to hand it over to Ling Lan.
In reality, his worries were not unfounded. The military had indeed refused to hand over the legacy directly to Ling Lan, placing it instead in the virtual world of the Central Scout Academy for all the scout students to attempt when they found they could not crack it. They had still been plotting to keep Ling Xiao's method of ascension within their control.
Although Ling Xiao did not know how Ling Lan had managed to fool those monitoring staff to successfully obtain his legacy from right under the military's nose, this was the situation that Ling Xiao had most wanted to see. He could not help but give his daughter countless thumbs ups inside his heart!
"Alright, Lan-er, just let ... me properly assess how much you've learned?" Ling Xiao swallowed the word 'daddy' he had been about to say, forcibly changing it into 'me'.
Ling Xiao was still very careful — before Ling Lan accepted him, Ling Xiao did not want to put pressure on her and make her unhappy.
Ling Lan did not respond, merely giving a cold martial salute, and getting into a defensive stance as she instantly activated a spiritual shield.
To determine whether one has studied well in the Divine Command Sect, of course one would have to examine one's prowess in spiritual confrontation. The sect's unique combat style was very familiar to Ling Xiao and Ling Lan who were both from the Divine Command Sect.
However, when Ling Xiao activated his spiritual pressure, Ling Lan finally understood what kind of existence a god-class operator was. Ling Xiao's spiritual power was as vast as an ocean, but thick and substantial — just activating it made Ling Lan feel like she was a tiny boat on a raging sea, struggling desperately to stay afloat. If she were at all careless, she would be consumed entirely.
Just this little taste let Ling Lan know that Ling Xiao's spiritual power was more formidable than Mu Shui-qing's, even drawing an unfathomable fear from within her.
Ling Lan's expression turned grim. Of course, on the outside, Ling Lan only seemed to grow even colder — the temperature of the entire space plummeted, bringing a faint chill into the air.
"Your spiritual self mutation is actually along the line of the element of ice!" Ling Xiao sensed the drop in temperature, and his brows furrowed. This type of mutation path was actually not very suitable for piloting mecha. Or more precisely, this spiritual mutation could not add anything to a mecha operator's control skill. That way, it would be very difficult to achieve the merging of human and mecha as one ... For Ling Lan, this meant that she might not be able to touch the gates of becoming an imperial operator in the future. In other words, there was almost no hope for Ling Lan to ascend to become an imperial operator.
Ling Lan knew that the spiritual mutation Ling Xiao was referring to was her awakened innate talent. She replied calmly, "The direction of mutation is not important, and whether or not it is suitable for operating mecha is also not important. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so few imperial operators in the Federation. I believe that ascension to the highest level still depends on serendipity and whether I am putting in enough effort!"
"Lan-er, talent is very important for operating mecha, but the suitability of one's spiritual mutation to mecha is even more important. One cannot lack either one," said Ling Xiao with a sigh. He had seen countless mecha operators who had had the same belief as Ling Lan at the start, thinking that there was hope as long as they worked hard. But in truth, every operator of imperial level and beyond possessed a spiritual mutation which enhanced their mecha operation with its associated abilities. In other words, there had not been a single imperial operator whose spiritual mutation was unsuitable for operating mecha thus far.
"Just because no one has found the way, does not mean that the way does not exist." Ling Lan had full confidence in herself. Instructor Number One had said before that her other awakened innate talent, the top-rated Profound Insight, was the talent best suited for operating mecha. Although she did not know whether her dual awakening would bring some unforeseen challenges to her mecha control, she believed that as long as she worked hard enough, she would not lose to the various prodigies of this world with their exceptional talents.
Of course, the inherent weakness of her body was also something that would hold Ling Lan back from ascending to a higher level; the physical weakness of women could not be so easily compensated for. However, for 16 years, Ling Lan had been training hard with the full set of foundational physical skills of the learning space, along with the Qi exercises of her past life. This had caused all aspects of her physical capacity to become infinitely close to that of the boys of the same age. As long as she continued her training, this inherent disadvantage would slowly be resolved, and would no longer be a factor holding her back from ascending.
"Good, ambitious!" Ling Lan's confidence and conviction swept away Ling Xiao's dejection. He was heartened, and his spirits rallied.
This minor recovery allowed his spiritual power to gather once more. If Ling Lan had not already entered combat mode and kept her guard up impeccably, she might have been overwhelmed by this sudden fluctuation and received damage to her spiritual self.
But even so, Ling Lan still felt a large force slamming into her brain, and was knocked briefly unconscious! This also allowed Ling Lan to experience how her opponents had felt back when she had used her spiritual attacks on them.
"Heptashield!" chanted Ling Lan mentally. Her fingers twitched, and her spiritual power suddenly shifted rapidly — three approximately 1 square unit 1 spiritual shields appeared instantly.
The heptashield, as its name implied, was a top-level Divine Command Sect technique involving the formation of seven shields. It swiftly divided the spiritual power of an operator into seven parts, each part forming a shield in the formation. The defensive ability it created was definitely not limited to the total of the defence values of the seven shields added together — rather, it used the flexible movement of the shields to provide a comprehensive defence with no dead angles. If practised till the end stage, the shield formation could even be used for offence. Of course, Ling Lan currently wasn't at that level yet — out of the seven shields, she could only control three.
Seeing this, Ling Xiao's smile deepened. "Not bad. I can't believe you've already learned one top-level technique!" The very first top-level technique Ling Xiao had learned in the past had also been the heptashield. However, back then, he had already been 18 years old, while Ling Lan was currently only 16 right now, so she had learned this technique a whole 2 years earlier. This just proved that, with regards to spiritual power, his daughter's talent was definitely at the most aberrant level ...
At this time, Ling Xiao did not know that Ling Lan possessed such tremendous spiritual power because this was the accumulation of the spiritual power of both her lives, nothing to do with innate talent. However, all of this was not important, because Ling Lan's current spiritual power was indeed already much, much more than any of her peers.
"Let me test the defensive ability of your heptashield." With this warning, Ling Xiao charged forwards with a powerful surge of energy. Ling Lan knew that this was the most basic of spiritual power attacks — as long as one has had any spiritual training, the spiritual charge was an attack they would know!
However, a god-class operator's spiritual charge was unlike a regular person's spiritual charge — although Ling Lan could sense that the opponent was only hurling one cord of spiritual charge at her, she could still sense the great threat posed by the attack coming right at her.
Ling Lan's brows furrowed and the fingers of her right hand flicked lightly. The three shields defending her body immediately shifted into the way of Ling Xiao's attack trajectory. Ling Lan believed in her sense of danger 1 — this should be a hint given to her by Profound Insight. Ling Xiao's attack may seem normal, but there was probably some trick hidden within it.
Ling Xiao's spiritual charge struck the first shield. Without putting up much resistance, the shield shattered. Seeing this, Ling Lan's expression remained unmoved, merely directing the second shield forwards. The second shield was swiftly shattered as well, but it managed to sustain itself for 2 to 3 seconds before shattering, unlike the first which had shattered upon contact.
Without any hesitation, Ling Lan brought her third shield forward to meet Ling Xiao's spiritual charge. But just as the shield was about to encounter the spiritual charge, the spiritual shield suddenly contracted, becoming a small mirror shield the size of one's palm between blinks.
Ling Xiao's spiritual charge crashed soundlessly into that tiny mirror shield of Ling Lan's. If not for the pebbles and twigs and leaves on the ground being thrown in the air to fly away from the point where Ling Lan and Ling Xiao met, no one would know that the two people facing each other were currently locked in a most dangerous spiritual clash.
The observing Mu Shui-qing tilted his head slightly, dodging a random rock that had flown in his direction. The smile on his face was growing increasingly wider, like a wildly blooming garden cosmos 1 , as radiant as it could be.
Mu Shui-qing was naturally very satisfied. His whole life, he had only taken in two disciples. It went without saying that Ling Xiao was his most accomplished disciple, now among the strongest in the Federation — a god-class operator, who were called ultimate weapons in this world. And then there was Ling Lan ... Mu Shui-qing felt that their Divine Command Sect surely existed for the sake of an aberrant prodigy like her. Mu Shui-qing believed that the Divine Command Sect would definitely flourish in her hands.
At this moment, Mu Shui-qing could not help but look at Ling Xiao, thinking: Ling Xiao, oh Ling Xiao, you should take a look at the heptashield belonging to Ling Lan!
The moment Ling Xiao's spiritual charge met Ling Lan's small mirror shield, he felt his own spiritual charge being repelled back at him by a massive force!
This spiritual power that had been reflected back at him escaped his control in an instant, actually becoming part of the other's attack force targeting him!
"Heptashield!" Ling Xiao's eyebrows lifted in surprise. His fingers flicked and seven shields appeared around him. With a thought, one of the shields flew forward instantly to block this reflected spiritual power.
"This heptashield is different from mine ..." Who was Ling Xiao? He had noticed that Ling Lan's heptashield was different at a glance — his seven shields could only block, but could not reflect attacks.
"Is it because of the contraction?" Ling Xiao flicked a finger, and one of the shields swiftly shrunk down to become palm-sized as well. However, the shield only became much thicker, without any sign of that mirror surface like Ling Lan's had. "Looks like this is not the only reason!"
Although Ling Lan had managed to reflect Ling Xiao's spiritual charge, she did not manage to stand steady. She was forced 5 to 6 steps back before all the force behind Ling Xiao's spiritual charge dissipated. Still, even so, she felt a nauseous roiling in her chest. Ling Xiao's power had been too formidable; she had only withstood the hit with great difficulty.
1. measurement unit unspecified.
2. T/C: You will not believe how tempted I was to use the term 'spidey-sense'. />.<\\
3. a type of flower, also known as the 'Mexican aster'. Binomial name: Cosmos bipinnatus.
Chapter 201 - Acceptance Letter!
Ling Lan did not hold back that heavy breath in her chest. She let it out slowly, finally settling the discomfort she felt. Although Ling Lan had successfully withstood one spiritual blow from Ling Xiao, she only became more convinced of Ling Xiao's unfathomable power. This was because Ling Xiao's spiritual charge had been so effortless on his part, so casual that it was frightening to consider.
This was the second time Ling Lan had felt like this after encountering Instructor Number One. It was as if she would not be able to catch up even if she worked hard her entire life. If Ling Lan had not been through all kinds of perverse torments under Instructor Number Five, causing her mentality to be extremely secure, this clash might have caused a flaw to appear in her mental state.
From the sidelines, Mu Shui-qing chuckled and said, "Ling Xiao, what do you think? Ling Lan's heptashield is very impressive, right?" Mu Shui-qing's tone was undoubtedly smug. Inheritance was all well and good, but innovation would undeniably make a master even more excited and pleased. The ultimate goal of a legacy was for a pupil to surpass their master 1 , after all.
Even the consistently prodigious Ling Xiao was amazed by Ling Lan's innovative breakthrough. The smile on his face grew even more radiant as he nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, it's too unexpected. I never knew the heptashield could be used this way." He looked at Ling Lan with pride, "This should be the results of your own research, right? What a great idea."
The heptashield had always been categorised as a defensive ability, with basically no offensive capability. Only in the later stages, once one became extremely proficient in its use and had the power to back it, could one use the heptashield's mobility to deal some small attacks to an opponent. However, in comparison to Ling Lan's improved reflective shield, the offensive power of that was insignificant.
Ling Xiao's praise made Ling Lan somewhat shy. After all, this successful outcome was the result of the combined research of Little Four, the instructors, and herself. Ling Lan now knew that Little Four's so-called calculations and planning were actually all the work of the instructors. The instructors had just not wanted her to know that they could learn from the techniques of the real world and study them and modify them, and so had made Little Four take credit for them.
Ling Lan rubbed her nose, and then began to explain the thought process behind the instructors' and her modifications to the technique. "Because I didn't want to passively wait for an opportunity, so I thought, if I could attack even as I was defending, wouldn't that change the flow of the battle? I was just thinking how I could make a shield have offensive capability ...
"I tried many things, having also tried to use the shield as a weapon to attack the opponent. I found that it was all useless, because once the attack failed, it would switch into spiritual charge form. The shield would break apart on its own." Speaking of her past failures, a small smile appeared on Ling Lan's lips. During that period of time, the instructors had all had troubled expressions — even Instructor Number Five had not been able to maintain his typical perverse smile, becoming somewhat frenzied by their consistent failures.
"Later on, after happening to see the movement of a trampoline, I wondered if I could make the shield become like a trampoline. As it defended, could it also make the force it received bounce back? After studying it for quite a while, I finally managed to come up with this type of shield. As for why the surface is like a mirror ..." Ling Lan trailed off here, a mischievous smile faintly appearing on her lips.
Ling Lan did not clarify, instead bringing out her heptashield once more. She positioned the three shields right in front of Ling Xiao, and then quickly changed all of them into the palm-sized mirror-surfaced small shields ...
"Can all of them reflect?" asked Ling Xiao, irrepressibly curious.
"Attack and see," said Ling Lan, "Try to use as little strength as possible." The current defensive shield was not as strong as the original version of the heptashield; if Ling Xiao used too much power, he might not be able to see the effect.
Ling Xiao nodded and casually unleashed a spiritual charge. The force and pressure of this spiritual charge were not as strong as that of his previous one. The spiritual power broke through the first shield, and then broke through the second ... but again met obstruction on the third shield, and the remaining power was reflected.
"The defence power of the mirrored surface is greatly weakened, and not every surface has the ability to reflect. Looks like the reflective ability is not because of the mirrored surface ..." With this one strike, Ling Xiao had found the strengths and weaknesses of the shields. He understood that the appearance of the shields was not the most important thing — all of it was a show that Ling Lan wanted others to see.
The three mirrored shields destroyed, Ling Lan merely condensed three new shields before her. This time, the three shields did not change at all, looking exactly the same as Ling Xiao's heptashield.
At this point, Ling Xiao did not need Ling Lan to prompt him. He immediately sent a spiritual charge at the shields. The attack once again broke through the first and second shields, but was obstructed at the third shield, where the force was reflected back once more.
"This time, the reflective shield looks exactly like a normal heptashield. That means that the reflective ability is not due to external factors but an internal quality ... but, why is it always the third shield which reflects? Are you free to choose which shield has the reflective ability, or is it restricted to the final shield? Or can all three shields have the power to reflect?" Gaining new information, Ling Xiao just had even more questions.
"I can only control one reflective shield at present, because the spiritual composition of the reflective shield is different from the original heptashield. As for which shield is reflective, that is up to me to choose," answered Ling Lan, "The reason why I place it on the third shield is because your power is too strong. Without the two shields before it to whittle away some of the power, I am not confident the reflection would succeed. Father, you should know that the reflective ability of the modified shield has its limits. If an attack exceeds that limit, the shield will just break and fail to have any reflective effect."
Listening to Ling Lan's explanation, Ling Xiao could not help but nod along. When he heard his daughter say his power was strong, he couldn't help but preen internally. Could this be considered his daughter's roundabout way of acknowledging him as her father? Ling Xiao was being overly optimistic about this. Ling Lan was just stating the facts, without any other thought in mind.
"Also, the defensive ability of a reflective shield is lower than that of a normal heptashield. Till now, I have not found a way to solve that issue." A trace of regret appeared on Ling Lan's face. If she could make the defensive power of the reflective shield equal to that of the original heptashield, only then would her innovation be considered successful. Right now, it was still an unfinished product.
"Ling Lan, you are still young! You still have so much time to perfect this technique," said Ling Xiao, "The creation of a new technique must go through countless experimentations and revisions. Don't be impatient."
This advice startled Ling Lan — that's true, when did she become so impatient? Instructor Number One had plainly told them before that developing a new technique required the test of true combat. In the process, countless adjustments and revisions were doubtlessly necessary. What remained in the end would definitely be the result of countless reforging.
"Thank you, father!" Even if she was unable to call Ling Xiao 'daddy' so intimately right now, Ling Lan would not be stingy with the address of 'father'.
Emotion flashed through Ling Xiao's eyes. This was a good sign! His daughter's tone seemed to be softer than it had been previously — did this mean that his daughter had already accepted him?
Ling Xiao decided to strike while the iron is hot, and take the chance to interact well with Ling Lan now, so he began asking more about the spiritual construction of her reflective shield. Ling Lan had never thought to hide this information, so when Ling Xiao asked, she began describing all her findings to him.
Mu Shui-qing looked at the father and daughter pair before him discussing the command of spiritual power, and the heart-warming scene made his eyes feel a little damp. In the past three years, he had fantasized before how wonderful it would be if Ling Xiao still lived! Who would have thought that three years later, his fantasies would become reality ... the heavens were truly kind to this old man for letting him see this scene ...
********
Time passed swiftly; a month's time over in the blink of an eye. Sometime during the month, the acceptance letter from the First Men's Military Academy arrived as expected.
However, on the day the letter was collected, another case of domestic violence occurred in the Ling family. Seeing the acceptance letter rekindled Lan Luofeng's dormant grudge with a new dose of anger. She instantly gave Ling Xiao a kick, not forgetting to add on an elbow attack as well ... As Ling Xiao was afraid that he would harm Lan Luofeng accidentally, he did not dare to use Qi to protect himself. So, Lan Luofeng's attacks landed squarely on Ling Xiao's body, causing him to grimace in pain.
Not just that, that night, Lan Luofeng staunchly refused to let Ling Xiao into her bedroom. However, early the next day, Ling Lan was lucky enough to see Ling Xiao being kicked out of Lan Luofeng's bedroom, so she knew that Ling Xiao had still managed to sneak into Lan Luofeng's bedroom successfully last night!
In contrast to Lan Luofeng's anger, the main victim in question, Ling Lan, seemed not at all concerned. Since Ling Xiao had said that he would be able to help her handle all those tests and training that could expose her gender, what else was there for her to worry about? Besides, she was actually quite curious about the First Men's Military Academy.
Meanwhile, in this one month, Ling Lan had often sparred with her father Ling Xiao. Of course, this was just a nice way of putting it — in fact, she had been one-sidedly bullied by Ling Xiao via all manner of torments. When it came to combat, Ling Xiao showed no mercy. This made Ling Lan miss Qi Long and her band of companions terribly — because when she fought with them, she would be the one playing Ling Xiao's role.
However, Ling Lan's fate of being tormented ended after a month. This was because Ling Xiao had finally succumbed to military headquarters' consecutive desperate summons, finally being summoned out of the Ling family mansion back to military headquarters. A week later, the military would hold a large press conference for him, where they would announce the official commencement of the formation of the 23rd Division. Just like that, Ling Xiao transformed from an extremely free house husband and male nanny extraordinaire into the busiest great general in the Federation.
Accompanying Ling Xiao to military headquarters was the still fuming Lan Luofeng. Of course, Lan Luofeng had not intended to go with Ling Xiao at first, but she had been bundled up and sent on her way with Ling Xiao by Ling Lan. Mind you, in one more month, she too would be setting off for the First Men's Military Academy to register. Was Lan Luofeng supposed to be left all on her own then at the mansion to guard an empty nest?
Furthermore, Ling Xiao was now the most eye-catching superstar general of the military, neither lacking in looks nor reputation. The number of people who liked Ling Xiao must be staggering — if Lan Luofeng continued to sulk and make things difficult for Ling Xiao, what if another woman found some opportunity to wedge her way in? Wouldn't Lan Luofeng regret that to death?
Ling Lan clearly knew that Lan Luofeng was the type that was unyielding on the outside but soft on the inside 1 — if not, during this one month, her dad would not have constantly been kicked out of her mum's bedroom in the morning ... Ling Lan did not have to wonder to know what they had been doing during the night.
However, a few times, Ling Lan had seen Ling Xiao rubbing his knees inexplicably. This made Ling Lan suspect her great father had been punished by her great mother to kneel on a mecha circuit motherboard ...
Ling Lan had seen that thing before — it had lots of parts sticking out vertically on it, all of them very solid and very pointy. At this thought, Ling Lan could almost feel her knees aching in sympathy. She could not help pitying Ling Xiao — her great mother was actually quite the black-bellied character.
1. 青出于蓝而胜于蓝: The original phrase here is a Chinese idiom that translates literally to 'green is born from blue but is better than blue'.
2. 嘴硬心软: literally 'mouth hard heart soft'.
Chapter 202 - Preparing for Departure!
A week after Ling Lan sent her parents off, the military called a press conference, announcing the news of Ling Xiao's return to life to the public!
Ling Lan looked at the unbelievably handsome and elegant Ling Xiao on the screen and could not help but be in awe. Her father in this life was truly impeccable whether it was in terms of appearance or air of presence. However, she of course admired Ling Xiao's loyalty and steadfastness in love and marriage much more. Whether it was in her past life or this one, a good man, in Ling Lan's opinion, was someone responsible like Ling Xiao.
"Daddy, can I really believe that you will come back?" Ling Lan thought back to the young Ling Xiao in the legacy space — after 17 years, Ling Xiao seemed to still be the same Ling Xiao ...
"Don't disappoint me, Daddy! You must give Mummy happiness!" Seeing the mature and gentle Ling Xiao, who seemed as if he could accept anything, Ling Lan could not help but press a hand to her own chest, muttering to herself with a complicated expression.
As long as ... as long as I can confirm that you are the same man as before, I will definitely willingly call you 'daddy'! All of Ling Lan's feelings for her father had been given to the Ling Xiao from the legacy space who had watched her as she grew up. This was also the final reason why Ling Lan was still unwilling to call Ling Xiao 'daddy'.
Ling Xiao's return not only invigorated the entire Federation, but also stunned the countries bordering the Federation, their attitudes towards the Federation beginning to change. Before Ling Xiao's return, although the Federation still had eleven god-class operators, five of them were already officially in their old age, their condition deteriorating significantly. Three of the five were even already at the phase when they were just waiting for heaven to call 1 — whether they could maintain even half of their combat ability was a question mark.
The Federation only retained 5 to 6 god-class operators who were in fighting form. Compared to the other countries, they did not have that many more god-class operators in their peak. This was also why the Federation had not had a lull in battle for these 10 over years, because it no longer possessed enough combat power to deter its border countries.
But Ling Xiao's return to the Federation made the Federation's combat power increase tremendously, because Ling Xiao was young enough that his future was immeasurable. He might very well become the strongest god-class operator in legend. Not just that, Ling Xiao also was sitting on a method to ascend to god-class operator, which could let the Federation cultivate even younger god-class operators. Of course, god-class operators were not that easy to cultivate, perhaps requiring ten to twenty years or even longer. That said, many high-level operators would probably be produced in the process — there definitely wouldn't be few ace operators or whatnot. This was something the other nations really did not want to see.
This restored the Federation's deterrent power to its initial state before Ling Xiao's death. All the countries became extremely friendly, respectively sending delegations to congratulate the Federation. All the ambassadors' attitudes were obviously much more respectful than before. This made the Federation's government extremely happy — it should be known that in the 17 years after Ling Xiao's 'death', the Federation had lived in a very repressed manner. But now, they could finally have better days.
Ling Xiao's popularity and high status also caused the initially ignored and rather bleak Ling family to once again become busy and lively. Ling Lan was in no mood to entertain these materialistic fair-weather 'friends', so she summarily announced that she was isolating herself for training, the Ling family mansion officially closing its doors to all visitors.
During this time, Ling Lan had also received congratulatory letters from Qi Long and the others. They were all extremely happy on their boss's behalf, while also thrilled that the idol of their hearts was still alive. If they weren't currently part of an exploration team on an interplanetary adventure, they would definitely have rushed over to the Ling family home to visit Ling Lan, and taken the chance to understand the entire story at the same time.
Their correspondence made Ling Lan happy, but of course she did not forget to remind them to be careful outside. Originally, Ling Lan had also wanted to tell them that she would be joining them at the First Men's Military Academy this year, but she held back the words as they were about to spill from her mouth.
Ling Lan wanted to give them a surprise! Of course, Ling Lan would never admit that she actually wanted to see their expressions as their jaws dropped in surprise ... She was such a great boss, how could she be so evil?
********
Another twenty days passed, and it was finally time to register at the First Men's Military Academy. Even though Lan Luofeng had contacted Ling Lan several days ago, saying that she and Ling Xiao wanted to rush back to accompany her to register, Ling Lan had strongly refused. This was because the assembly point listed on the acceptance letter was the intergalactic spaceport on Doha. In other words, she just needed to board the direct transfer to the spaceport. For such a short journey, it really wasn't necessary to drag the busy Ling Xiao back here.
Lan Luofeng initially refused to agree to Ling Lan's opinion, but Ling Xiao unexpectedly supported Ling Lan's decision. Back when Ling Xiao had agreed, Ling Lan could hear Lan Luofeng roaring angrily in the background — although Lan Luofeng had agreed with father and daughter in the end, Ling Xiao most probably had to pay a painful price for this. As for what that price was, Ling Lan could not know.
On the night before she left, after Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng had shared updates with one another as usual, Ling Xiao had unexpectedly appeared beside Lan Luofeng, requesting to speak with her.
On the screen, Ling Xiao was again dressed in his general's uniform, and the fatigue between his eyebrows was hard to miss. His gentle voice rang out, and Ling Lan's heart throbbed. "Lan-er, I have arranged everything. For the first year, other than the theory classes, you are not scheduled to take any physical training courses, and you have been exempted from all the tests and assessments. However, I can only solve the official courses on the academy's side. It's up to you to handle the private and informal combat training that often occurs among students ... Take care with everything!"
"Understood, Father!" said Ling Lan gratefully. However, Ling Lan's voice sounded as calm as ever, and was just as cold to Ling Xiao's ear. He sighed. When would his daughter open her mouth and call him 'daddy'? Perhaps even act like a sweet little girl in front of him begging for attention ...
A visualisation of Ling Lan acting cute appeared in Ling Xiao's mind. A coy and bashful expression appearing on that icy cold face ... Ling Xiao abruptly found himself feeling unwell. Fine, Ling Lan was the best just the way she was. Ling Xiao wept — was he destined not to have a daughter-like daughter in his life 1 ? At this moment, the hatred in his heart began to rise ... the ones who had created this horrible outcome were definitely those people who had trapped him — he would never stop going after them.
Ling Lan felt a flash of killing intent sweep over Ling Xiao's body, but he returned to normal in the blink of an eye. If she had not been so attuned to killing intent due to the learning space, she might have been fooled by how quickly Ling Xiao had concealed it. She was somewhat puzzled — what was it that had caused Ling Xiao to suddenly be filled with killing intent?
Composed again, Ling Xiao looked at the calm-faced youth on the screen. Knowing that his 17-year long absence had already forced Ling Lan to be self-sufficient and be responsible beyond her years, the remorse in his heart grew.
No, this would not do. He must take on the responsibilities of a father. He must let Ling Lan know that, from now on, there was someone who would weather storms for her. "Ling Lan, at the military academy, you do not have to worry about anything. Do whatever you want to do. Dad will support you no matter what!" Ling Xiao said assertively to Ling Lan.
Instantly, Ling Lan found herself speechless. Ling Xiao's words made her recall that widespread phrase in her previous world: My dad is Li Gang 1 !
A scene popped up in Ling Lan's mind — arrogantly, she led her group of arrogant underlings around (Qi Long's team members all made cameo appearances), and whenever she saw anyone who rubbed her the wrong way, she would set her underlings on them with an imperious wave of her arm ... and if anyone dared to question her actions, she would throw down these words audaciously: My dad is Ling Xiao! Sue me if you dare! You fool!
Truly spoken with the arrogance of a second-generation military elite! Ling Lan instantly slapped this scenario out of her mind. It was really all too familiar — definitely like the setup for a minor villain in a novel, like she was a small boss for the main character to defeat in his quest to level up. If that was the case, then wouldn't Ling Xiao be the final ultimate boss? Godd*mmit, the more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed! Ling Lan could not help but shudder. Could it be that she had not travelled to a future world, but into a novel instead? She really did not want to become this type of 2nd-generation good-for-nothing who would obviously just be cannon fodder!
"Got it!" The rational Ling Lan would naturally not do something so stupid. Right now, she not only had to be responsible for herself, she also had to be responsible for her dad. The two of them, father and daughter, could not become a pair of bosses for that mysterious main character to level up!
Although Ling Lan was thinking this way, her heart still felt a surge of warmth. Ling Xiao's behaviour let her know that this Ling Xiao before her had absolutely no three outlooks when it came to his child 1 ...
********
Early the next day, Ling Lan, who was preparing to leave, was once again struck speechless by the Ling Qin couple's overboard way of doing things. Looking at the countless luggage bags that dominated a great half of the grand hall, even the typically calm Ling Lan could not stop her stoic face from twitching. "What is all this?"
"These are all the things you would need, Young Master!" The insensitive Ling Nanyi did not sense Ling Lan's bewilderment. She tugged on Ling Lan's hand and began explaining everything packed in the bundles of luggage. There were two large bags of clothes, one bag of shoes, two large bags of food and snacks, three large bags of medicinal agents, and four large bags of miscellaneous items. And this was all after she had tried her best to cut down.
Ling Lan could not help but rub her forehead. She was just going to school, not moving house ...
"I just need two sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, one week's worth of undergarments, and just give me the medicinal agents which were specially brewed by us. Leave the rest." Ling Lan just did not have the strength to correct what the couple Ling Qin had done. She gave a straightforward list of the things she wanted to bring.
"But, how will that be enough ..." Ling Nanyi was still worried, and even Ling Qin, who had been listening quietly at one side, could not help but frown in disagreement at Ling Lan's list.
Ling Lan said helplessly, "All the other things can be solved with money. Do I really need to bring so much?"
Ling Nanyi was enlightened. She nodded repeatedly, saying, "Right, right, right, why didn't I think of that? You're still the smartest, Young Master." That said, she happily began looking for the things Ling Lan had wanted.
However, she had truly stuffed too much together — it really was rather difficult to find the things Ling Lan wanted in the pile of luggage. However, even as she struggled with the luggage, Ling Nanyi did not forget to remind Ling Qin, "Husband, you should contact Master, ask him to send more credits for Young Master to spend ..."
Ling Qin felt what she said was right. So, he immediately took action — without any care for whether Ling Xiao was busy, he called Ling Xiao's communicator directly and conveyed this request to his master.
A few seconds later, on Ling Lan's communicator, two blindingly astronomical amounts of credits were successfully transferred into her account. Without having to ask, Ling Lan just knew that this was definitely the doing of Ling Xiao and Lan Luofeng. It looked like the couple were doing their best to push her onto the road of idle profligacy ...
1. i.e. may drop dead at any moment.
2. T/C: You could always try to make more daughters you know ...
3. Oh boy, I had to read up on news to get this reference since it's a China modern-day cultural reference. Long story short, in 2010, a young man was driving drunk inside a university one night and hit two people, one of whom died later on. When arrested by security guards, convinced his father's position would give him immunity, he shouted out, "Go ahead, sue me if you dare. My dad is Li Gang!" Please refer to the 'Li Gang incident' on wikipedia if you all want to know more.
4. i.e. Ling Xiao would be willing to go against his three outlooks (world view, life perspective, and value system) for the sake of his child.
Chapter 203 - Send Off?
Doha. As the centre of the Federation, its intergalactic spaceport was also the largest and most luxurious of all the planets in the Federation. The spaceport was built in the outer space of the planet; the room inside it about the size of a city on the planet. Meanwhile, the staff of the spaceport all lived in the spaceport city. Other than a difference in gravity, everything else felt no different from being on the planet itself.
Connecting the spaceport and the planet was a specialised rocket car, while the heart of the spaceport itself was a special platform for it. It would receive the specialised rocket cars from various cities from all over. It could be said that the liveliest and most hectic place in the entire spaceport with the most people was right here. Even during normal periods, it would serve several hundred thousand people every day.
Moreover, today was one of the busiest days of the spaceport, because today was the day when the military academies and the myriad other famous schools held their annual registration. For this reason, all students who needed to register today were rushing to the spaceport with their guardians, causing the entire spaceport to be raucous with the cacophony of human voices as they said their goodbyes.
As the central planet of the Federation, Doha's spaceport was massive, possessing several tens of thousands of navigation frames for interstellar ships to park on. The respective military academies and other renowned schools already had their exclusive ships parked at the various ports, ready to welcome their incoming students. They were only waiting for the students to come and present their acceptance letters to gain entry.
Of course, these spaceships were definitely not going to be at the three districts, X, Y, and Z. Those three districts were restricted for military affairs, only available for combat warships to park at. Regular spaceships were not permitted to enter.
Meanwhile, at this time, in one corner of the hall of the special platform, several youths were gathered. One of the youths was squatting on the floor, a large steamed bun in each hand, while a ham sausage dangled from his mouth as he chewed on it ravenously, as if there was no one else around him. His crassness made the youths who passed by, as well as their guardians, frown reflexively.
"Xie Yi, can you maintain a little dignity?" Among those standing, a youth with looks like a maiden could not help but gripe at the squatting youth, frowning.
"Luo Lang, I'm hungry ..." With great difficulty, Xie Yi found time between bites to say this. This group was precisely Qi Long's team which had agreed to meet up and register together.
"Didn't you eat breakfast before coming?" Luo Lang glared disapprovingly at Xie Yi. Hells, it was almost ten! When exactly had this fellow woken up?
Xie Yi lunged at one hand then the other, and with two large manic bites, the steamed buns in his hands vanished just like that. He did not even chew them much before swallowing them down — however, this manner of eating, which only prioritised speed and not quality, immediately taught Xie Yi a lesson. He, the handsome and brave, infinitely charming Xie Yi was actually choked by the buns ...
Xie Yi pounded his chest desperately. At the side, Lin Zhong-qing saw that the situation did not look right; he hurriedly took out a bottle of water from his backpack, uncapped it, and passed it to Xie Yi.
The moment Xie Yi got his hands on the bottle, he threw his head back and began pouring the water into his mouth, finally catching his breath as the buns slid down. "Damn, that was too dangerous. I actually thought that I would choke to death just now!" That said, he continued to pat his chest weakly in remembered fear, silently thankful for his luck.
"Who asked you to eat so quickly? It's like you haven't eaten your whole life," said Luo Lang, glaring at Xie Yi with contempt.
Xie Yi mumbled lowly, "If I wasn't trying to answer your question, would I have eaten so quickly?"
"What question?" Luo Lang blinked blankly, and then thinking back, he realised what it was and said, "That question about not eating breakfast?" Did that really need an answer? Just by looking at Xie Yi's ravenous manner, one could tell that he hadn't eaten breakfast for sure.
"Hehe, isn't this all because I was too excited to sleep last night? So I overslept today, and didn't have time to eat breakfast ..." Xie Yi was not at all embarrassed, loudly announcing the reason why he had not eaten breakfast.
"What are you so excited for? Isn't it just going to the First Men's Military Academy?" Luo Lang rolled his eyes in exasperation, face filled with contempt.
They had even gone on an interplanetary adventure already — Luo Lang, who considered himself a mature man now, was already extremely calm over their entrance into the First Men's Military Academy. Honestly, Luo Lang was also very excited inside his heart, but he just wasn't as exaggerated about it as Xie Yi was. Of course, he would never admit to this.
Luo Lang's contempt caused Xie Yi to 'tsk' in response. "That's not why I'm excited ..." He lifted his head to look towards Qi Long, his expression filled with emotion, "Isn't it all because last night, the team leader mentioned that Boss Lan will come today to send us off ... I was really moved by that."
Ever since he had met Ling Lan two months ago at the assessment venue, he had been constantly seeking his answer. Finally, during the team's adventure, he felt that he had found his role. However, they had not had a chance to meet with Ling Lan, so he had also not been able to tell Ling Lan the answer he had found.
During their adventuring, although Qi Long and the others would often contact Ling Lan through virtual communication, during those times, Xie Yi had somehow felt like he was an outsider. Even though Ling Lan would nod at him in greeting as well through the screen, not ignoring him, he just had the feeling that, whenever Ling Lan appeared, he would be subconsciously pushed to the side by the companions by his side ...
Even more depressing was that the few times he tried to tell Ling Lan his answer through the screen, the moment his eyes met Ling Lan's stony expression and that pair of cold piercing eyes that seemed as if they could see through his soul, he had become unable to speak.
With regards to this, Xie Yi had to admit that he had an indescribable sense of apprehension towards Ling Lan deep in his heart. This made him not dare to speak recklessly. However, today's meeting would be a great chance. He would not retreat anymore — he would definitely tell Ling Lan what his answer was.
Xie Yi's words caused Luo Lang's expression to become serious. As long as it was related to Ling Lan, Luo Lang's attitude would always become serious. In his heart, Ling Lan was the only peer he trusted and would submit to, an inviolable boss.
Yes, he would not submit to the number two in name, Wu Jiong, or the one who had battled him constantly for third place (sometimes winning, sometimes losing), Li Yingjie, or even the nominated team leader of their team, Qi Long. But he would never not submit to Ling Lan, who had always been formidable, mysterious, and unfathomable since they were young.
This was a kind of unvoiced respect and admiration that had been built up since they were young. With the increment of age, this respect and admiration only grew deeper and deeper, until it finally reached a point where it was indissoluble. In other words, Luo Lang would only submit to one person in this life; he would only recognise one boss, and that would be Ling Lan.
"Xie Yi is right. When I received leader's message, I blanked out completely, almost believing I had heard wrong ..." said Lin Zhong-qing wonderingly.
In Lin Zhong-qing's impression, the cold and dominant Boss Lan would never do such a heart-warming thing like sending them off. He was more likely to send a hologram which would throw down this cold statement: "Don't disgrace me when you are there!" And then all kinds of twisted charm-dominance-coolness-swag 1 would follow, and all that was left for them would be an incomparably lofty silhouette which would then slowly fade away ...
Which was why when Lin Zhong-qing had heard the news, he had been dumbfounded. He did not even remember when he had hung up his communicator on Team Leader Qi Long, where he had then shuffled off to eat a tasteless dinner, and then blurrily drifted off to his bed to fall asleep miraculously. Only when he woke up the next day and bit his arm hard did he realise that he really had not misheard.
Right then, standing to one side, Qi Long could not resist speaking up as well, "You don't have to mention yourself, even I was stunned silly when I received Boss Lan's video-call. My first thought was that I must be dreaming, that the person on the other side was definitely not my boss ..."
Han Jijyun could not bear to listen to this any longer; he said sternly, "Alright, well, the fact of the matter is, Boss Lan is indeed coming to send us off. Buck up, all of you. Don't let Boss be dissatisfied."
Three years ago, due to Qi Long's emotional imbalance, the unhappy Boss Lan had immediately thrown down an assignment, causing them to go through countless torments and suffer terribly 1 . Han Jijyun really did not want for a repeat of that with yet another three-year mission because Boss Lan was unhappy with their conditions ... he would most definitely collapse if that happened.
Han Jijyun's words caused the other people to shudder involuntarily as well. Even the typically slouching and unmotivated Xie Yi changed his original demeanour, becoming spirited and enthusiastic. That mission three years ago had truly frightened the wits out of them. They dared not try something like that again easily.
Seeing his companions change gears into their dashing and energetic personas, Han Jijyun turned with satisfaction to look at the time on his wrist communicator. "It'll be 10 in another three minutes. Boss said to meet at the great hall of platform number 9 right around 10, so he should be here soon."
They all glanced reflexively at their own communicators. Seeing that Han Jijyun was right, they all came to attention and began waiting with their heads lifted high, peering greedily at the crowd coming to and fro on the hall of the platform, hoping to see their boss among them ...
Behind them, in a row of seats by a wall, in a semi-reclined seat, a person who had seemed to be dozing with their face hidden behind a freshly-printed Federation magazine suddenly sat up straight.
This person was wearing an extremely simple white shirt, which was topped by a thin army-green windbreaker, black pants, held up by a gold-buckle belt, and on their feet was a pair of black army boots. This outfit should have been eye-catching, making its wearer appear handsome and spirited, but for some reason the wearer was extremely nondescript, just as if they were a regular pedestrian, causing others to overlook the other instinctively ...
He slowly pulled off the magazine covering his face, revealing a cold and expressionless face. Looking intently at the group of youths trying to find their target, the corners of his lips curled up involuntarily, breaking the ice to allow a faint sense of warmth to appear on his body.
He stuffed the magazine in his hand into the backpack by his side, and then slung the backpack over his shoulder as he walked slowly towards the backs of Qi Long and the others. As his footsteps made almost no sound, Qi Long and the rest did not realise at all that someone was now at their backs.
"Not right!" Suddenly sensing something, Qi Long abruptly turned his head around. At critical moments, Qi Long's innate talent Animal Instinct kicked in.
Qi Long's sudden movement startled the others, who then also turned reflexively. Luo Lang even moved into an attack stance at first notice.
"Boss!" exclaimed Qi Long, voice hoarse with shock, "How did you get behind us?"
Mind you, the place where they had been standing put the entire crowd entering and exiting the platform within their range of sight. There should be no way for someone to avoid their sight to appear directly behind them. Could it be that Boss had the miraculous ability of teleportation? Qi Long could not help but wonder irresponsibly.
1. 邪魅狷狂霸酷拽: This was a nightmare to translate. It's pretty much a string of awesomely frightening adjectives in a ball of non-grammatical emotion. I hope the translated phrase does that justice.
2. T/C: You guys don't know what you're talking about until you've lived through the learning space's training regime. Lol.