498 - 502

Chapter 498 - Close Range Combat!

Boom, boom, boom… the beams all made their mark on the respective mecha they had targeted. Due to Ling Lan decision in attacking from a distance where the power of the beam gun was at its strongest, in addition to the analysis of power of the mecha in accordance to the cockpit's endurance, this round of simultaneous shots made the A.I. of the opposing 9 mecha instantly consider the mecha as "destroyed". The A.I. of the mecha forcibly shut off and the 9 mecha all dropped towards the ground.

"Assholes!" The two captains who were in the rear were so angry their eyes were red upon seeing this scene. They didn't think that the 7-man team that they were facing didn't give a shit about dying. Facing their 24-man battle team, they didn't even think about retreating and even proactively attacked first.

The vision of their members were blocked by the members in front and in addition to the sudden development, they didn't see that they had already lost 9 members in this round of attack. Upon finding out they had been attacked, they could only give out an order in anger and frustration, "Return fire!"

Like that, the remaining 15 mecha all took out their beam guns and shot at the opposition. Perhaps because the return fire was rushed, many shots ended up missing. They weren't like Ling Lan's small team who had already locked on to the target that they were going to shoot at.

However, many beams of light had hit the opposing mecha. Right when they were hit, the left arm of their mecha erupted out a light screen that guarded their front side. When the beams hit these force fields, the force fields only fluctuated a bit, then the beams disappeared without a trace. The beams that they had shot out didn't do any damage to the opposition.

"It's modified mecha!" One member said with surprise upon seeing this situation.

This discovery made the Second Men's Military Academy and the Federal Defence Military Academy's allied battle team become flustered. Modified mechas were considered luxurious items in the Federation. It would strengthen and toughen a part of of common mechas. Some mecha modification masters could even increase the performance levels exponentially. The force field that the opposing side had was without a doubt made for beam gun attacks.

None among military academy cadets would use modified mechas. This wasn't because they didn't have the money, but because the military academies didn't allow modified mecha from outside the academy. However, creations by those taking the modification major within the academy were allowed to be used. However, the modification ideas that cadets brought up as research topics usually existed only in the virtual world. Perhaps it was also that some theories and data were not applicable onto real mecha. After all, the cadets were still young, their theories and research would have inadequacies here and there, and would be unable to be transferred to the real thing.

Although they couldn't use modified mechas, the cadets still clearly knew the strength and power of modified mecha. In mecha history, there once was a special-level modified mecha that had shot down five ace mecha in battle. Although there were many reasons the ace mecha were shot down, and there might have even been the factor of luck, the ability of the special-level modified mecha was pretty much similar to ace mecha; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to continuously take down and destroy five ace mecha.

This was also the reason which made the alliance members of the Second Men's Military Academy and the Federal Defence Military Academy become flustered. The seven mecha in front of them were three special-class mecha and four advanced mecha. After taking into account modifications, they were equivalent to a battle team consisting of four ace mecha and 3 special-class mecha. What were ace mecha like? One ace mecha could exhaust a full 12-man team of special-class mecha, not to mention three. Could they really take them down?

This was also the reason why Ling Lan had been confident in starting a battle with the opposition. With this card that they had up their sleeve which could guard against long-range attacks, Ling Lan was confident in bringing down the enemy numbers to the same as their own before getting into close-range combat.

"Calm down! Attack! Attack!" The two team leaders from the alliance were both yelling into their commlink channels. Right at that moment, if there were to be even the slightest of flustered movements among their side, then that would spell catastrophe for them. They were regretting their decision right then. Why were they so careless? Why didn't they think about why a 7-man team that couldn't even form a full team dared to come towards them. They had definitely had something up their sleeve, and they even neglected this point.

However, it was like they were riding a tiger and unable to climb down. Both sides would only be able to rest once one side was eliminated. The only choice was to tough it out and take out the opposition, or else the result they faced in the end would be defeat and elimination. This wasn't what they wanted and was not something they were willing to accept.

After the orders were screamed out by the alliance team leaders, their team members instantly woke up. They shot beams out wildly in an attempt to get the enemy side's force fields to reach their maximum absorption capacity. They knew very clearly that if they didn't break the force field, they would have no way of dealing with them.

After turning on their force fields, Ling Lan's small team also pulled on the triggers of their beam guns to retaliate. Compared to the opponent's random shooting, Ling Lan's small team paid more attention to accuracy. They were so confident only because of the beam absorption shield that Chang Xinyuan had made specifically for them. It could definitely protect their mecha.

Both sides were fighting viciously. Ling Lan's side still remained unscathed, while on the other hand, the Second Men's Military Academy and the Federal Defence Military Academy alliance lost four more mecha. One of the two mecha were taken down by Ling Lan alone.

Talent in profound insight once again showed its strong power when random shots were bouncing around. Whichever mecha Ling Lan's eyes laid upon, then that mecha's weakness would appear before her eyes. Thus, Ling Lan only shot out two shots and was able to acquire success.

"F**k. Give up on long-range and get ready for close combat!" The two team leaders of the allied battle team were both smart people. Failing to get any results even after having shot so many beam attacks towards the other side, they quickly realized that the beam guns had probably been rendered useless. If they wanted to turn the situation around, then they could only bet on their close combat abilities to stand their ground.

Seeing that the opposition had switched to close combat weapons, Ling Lan calmly ordered, "Get ready for close combat!"

With that said, Ling Lan's little team instantly equipped the cold weapons from their backs. Because Ling Lan liked using large cold weapons as close combat weapons, the other members of the little team all had a cold weapon in their hands. Even long-range mecha were the same.

"I'll be responsible for C3, C4, and C5; Zhao Jun is responsible for B5, and C6; Lanfeng is responsible for B7 and C7; the rest are free-for-all!" The opponent had 11 mecha left. In the two rounds of beam gun attacks, Ling Lan saw through each mecha's overall strength from their launch timing and movements. Thus, she arranged a formation that was suitable for the rest of the mecha.

C4 and C5. One was from the Second Men's Military Academy and one from the Federal Defence Military Academy. They were also the strongest in their battle team. It didn't even need to be said that both of them were definitely the team leaders of these two teams. In order to make sure none of her own team members would be eliminated, she had to first take down these two strongest individuals. However, this wasn't enough. So that most of her own team members could engage in one-on-one battles, she had to intercept one more person. Thus, at the same time, Ling Lan took on the member that was beside these two.

Zhao Jun was now an ace operator, but his mecha was disadvantaging him. Ling Lan didn't dare to assign three people to him. Instead, she assigned the two special-class operators, B5 and C6, to him.

However, even if she and Zhao Jun took on 5 people, the opponents would still number one more than them. Ling Lan had no choice but to let the last special-class operator, Li Lanfeng, take him on. However, Li Lanfeng physical constitution was on the weak side and had problems with endurance. The opponents that were allocated to him was one special-class operator and one advanced mecha operator. However, even if it was like this, Ling Lan still couldn't help but worry whether Li Lanfeng could actually take on the arduous task…

The 4 mecha leftover was comprised of two special-class operators and two advanced mecha operators. If Qi Long and the others couldn't think of something to take them down, or even ended up eliminated, Ling Lan would definitely find them afterwards to sit down and have a "talk".

Ling Lan's allocation was very clear. Qi Long and the other three all found the opponents they were responsible for.

"I'll be responsible for B2!" Qi Long was eyeing a special-class operator with strong abilities. Having reached special-class operator level himself, he really wanted to do battle with another special-class operator once in order to confirm his real potential.

Because Qi Long only had successfully advanced to special-class before the beginning of the tournament when the military academies had set out, there wasn't enough time for him to become familiar with the new special-class mecha. Thus, he couldn't help but operate his own advanced mecha and participate in the tournament. This was something that Qi Long regretted, hating himself for not advancing earlier.

"I'll be responsible for C1!" Li Shiyu said quickly. He had his eyes fixed on the last special-class operator. He had already reached the peak of advanced mecha operators. Having touched upon special-class operator level, in comparison to Luo Lang and Xie Yi, he was more suitable in taking on a special-class operator.

Luo Lang also had his eyes on C1, but after seeing that Li Shiyu had already taken that one, he chose an advanced mecha operator at random. Xie Yi had some wisdom. He knew that among the seven of them, his capabilities were the weakest. Even the opponent that his teammate had chosen was of similar strength to himself. It was even possible that age and experience made them more of a seasoned veteran. They needed to use their maximum effort to fight them off.

Hearing Li Shiyu proactively go head to head with that special-class operator, Ling Lan raised her brows a bit. Her ideal match-up was that Luo Lang was more suitable to face that special-class operator. It wasn't because Luo Lang's operating skills were better than Li Shiyu, but because of Luo Lang's innate talent. Once he activated his innate talent talent, it would increase the ability of Luo Lang's mecha operating skills…

However, Ling Lan's thought only flashed through her mind. Since the members had already made their own choices, as the team leader, the only thing she should do was to put 100% trust in her team members. She should trust that they would definitely be able to do the job right.

Finally they arrived in the range for close combat. Ling Lan roared, "Move in!"

Already with targets in mind, Ling Lan's group morphed into fierce beasts after hearing the orders and viciously jumped towards their opponents.

Ling Lan was originally in very back of the battle team, but her speed was the fastest out of the seven of them. After one stomp, Ling Lan's entire mecha suddenly flew up into the sky and went past Xie Yi and Li Lanfeng who was in front. It was like a tiger coming down a mountain, flying towards C3, C4 and C5, the three people who were in the rear line of the opponent's side.

C4 was the team leader of the Second Men's Military Academy. When he saw that it was a special-class operator that came towards them, his desire to do battle instantly was set aflame. He roared, "He's mine!"

C3 and C5 heard this and moved their mecha, preparing to pass by Ling Lan's sides. The large sword in Ling Lan's hand suddenly shook and a horizontal slash followed, sending a strong shockwave that quickly spread towards both the left and right sides.

"Bang! Bang!" C3 and C5 hurriedly put up the weapon in their hands and blocked that sudden wave of light, making two loud noises.

They were originally going to fly past Ling Lan's mecha, but instead they were sent flying back a few steps from Ling Lan's strong sword strike. They looked at the special-class mecha in front of them with surprise. They hadn't expected that this insignificant special-class mecha was going to intercept all three of them. Two of the three were team leaders. Was this guy crazy? Or was he planning on sacrificing himself to give the other members a chance to escape?

Chapter 499 - Crisis!

On the other side, Zhao Jun had intercepted B5 and C6. Li Lanfeng intercepted B7 and C7. Qi Long and the other three each faced the opponents they had chosen.

The team captain of the Second Men's Military Academy instantly became angry after seeing that his opponent had intercepted both C3 and C5. Was he looking down on him? He angrily said, "You guys go. I'll take care of him." After saying that, he operated his mecha and darted towards Ling Lan. He was ready to teach a lesson this person who seemed to look down on everyone.

C4 was full of pride and didn't want to cooperate with someone else to take down one opponent. As the second strongest mecha operator in the Second Men's Military Academy, he thought that no one was on his level except for the three ace operators, including some others who were at the peak of advancement from special-class operator, such as the strongest special-class operator from the Third Men's Military Academy, or Zhao Jun who had already reached ace operator level but had no choice but to use a special-class mecha.

The special-class operator in front of him who was not even known was the same as the others.

C3 and C5 knew of C4's character and knew that he didn't want them to have a hand in this; thus, when they saw C4 move in and was about to get in range with the opponent, they decisively operated their mecha and flew towards Ling Lan's sides. They were about to go around her once again. They weren't ready the first time and were knocked back because they looked down on the opponent. This time, they were fully focused and used all their strength. They believed that they would definitely be able to move past the opponent and join the battlefield.

"Bang!" Ling Lan lifted her large sword and intercepted C4's attack. However, it was as though she judged her opponent's strength incorrectly causing her mecha to tilt backwards uncontrollably…

Seeing this, C4 was greatly happy. Right when he wanted to continue attacking and finish his opponent off, he felt a force coming from the mecha's abdomen area. The mecha could not be controlled and was flying backwards.

The severe shaking made C4 feel that blood was coming up from his chest. If it wasn't for the cockpit's defensive function, even though his physical constitution was also monstrous, a strike like that would have been enough to harm him. But even so, this strike made the A.I. determine that the mecha was damaged severely. The power level dropped by 30%.

Self created mecha skill—Rabbit Sky Leap! This was Ling Lan taking the area of effect physical skill Rabbit Sky Leap and making it into the mecha skill Rabbit Sky Leap. This was three times stronger than a normal stomp. However, it was this kind of power that could do damage to mecha. This move was probably a mecha skill that was named after her…

Ling Lan hadn't really fallen down. While she was flying backwards, she forcefully stabbed the large sword in her right hand into the ground. The 10 to 15 meter long sword blade was instantly stabbed half its length into the ground. Finding balance by using the sword, the body of the mecha stood up once again. Right after, she sidestepped and held the hilt of the large sword with both hands. Using the sword as a pivot point, her two legs flew upwards and forcefully swept towards her right.

"Bam!" Another loud sound followed. C5, the Federal Defence Military Academy's battle team team leader who was going around from the right, was sent flying back forcefully by this sudden kick from Ling Lan. Ling Lan's stance didn't change, moving swiftly using the sword as the center and went 180 degrees. The entire mecha looked as though it was out of control, tossing itself rapidly towards her left. In an instant, her mecha reached C3 who had been trying to find a path around her.

"Bam!" There was another sound. The outcome met by C3 and C4 was not so different from C5. They were all sent flying back from the side kick. The three of them pretty much fell to the ground simultaneous and on the same spot.

At the same time, Ling Lan used the forced she kicked C3 with and performed a backflip. Her mecha once again landed on the ground. She slowly walked towards where she had left her large sword. She grabbed the hilt, pulling it out with great force. The large sword was instantly taken out from the ground.

The three allied battle team members, who quickly stood up, were now maintaining a defensive stance. They cautiously watched this plain-looking special-class mecha that was in front of them. The outer appearance of this mecha was the same as theirs. They were all real life models specifically used for military academies. In this mecha tournament that had more than of it including special-class mechas, it was common enough for people to simply disregard.

But it was this ordinary special-class mecha that had defeated them in one move. Although the three of them hadn't combined their attacks and were defeated one by one, the feeling of being defeated in a single move them didn't sit well with them. Especially C4 and C5. As the battle team's team leader for their military academies, they felt disgrace for being defeated by someone who wasn't even well known.

They subconsciously looked at the logo on the chest of their opponent. It seemed as though there was something painted on it. The image was there one second and gone the other, unable to be seen clearly by others. This was possibly an accident, or it could also be on purpose. Nevertheless, they could not determine at this moment which military academy this 7-man battle team was from.

However, this didn't hinder them from determining the strength of the opponent. The opponent's close combat ability was very strong. They were pushed back in two consecutive hits and one was the same result when they were fully focused. This proved that in terms of close combat, the strength of the opponent had already surpassed them. If they wanted to defeat the opponent, they wouldn't be able to do it with just one person…

C4 surreptitiously signaled to C3 and C5. It meant that they would attack together. C3 and C5 nodded, showing that they understood. The opponent's attitude was very clear. If they wanted to go past him, then they had to defeat him.

C4 became the temporary captain. He looked towards the opponent and, holding in the shame in his heart, yelled, "Attack!"

The three of them suddenly split up; they went up, left and right. They pounced towards Ling Lan from three different directions.

Ling Lan's lip showed a hint of a cold smirk. The thing she feared the least was being attacked from all sides. It would have been a headache for her if they had one person keep on her heels, while the other two circled around her from two different directions and ran. Their decision was just what she wanted.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!" The three's weapons made contact. Ling Lan retreated as she blocked, blocking their attacks one by one. The three saw that and became happy, which lead to them attacking Ling Lan more ferociously.

In that second, Ling Lan was being pushed back by the three of them. She could only block passively, unable to proactively attack. However at the same time, the three of them were kept busy by her, and not given a chance to leave Ling Lan's side.

At this moment, there were 6 pairs of mecha fighting to the death in the battlefield behind Ling Lan.

Luo Lang's situation was the best out of the six of them. Having operating capabilities that was slightly better than his opponent , he was at a slight advantage and pushed his opponent to their limit. However, it wasn't easy to change the advantage to a victory in such a short time. The opponent's endurance was strong. Knowing that his capabilities were not as good as his opponent, he used all of his strength to defend. The opponent knew well that they outnumbered them. They just needed to drag it on until the opposition was defeated, then they would be able to join forces and attack together and victory would still be theirs.

Facing an opponent that had a clear objective, and one who wasn't fighting blindly and impulsively, Luo Lang would either have to drag it out until the opponent could no longer endure the pressure from his attacks and become defeated, or he could choose to find a chance for a one hit-kill, striking down the opponent.

Luo Lang chose the latter because there was someone in the team whose situation was dire… Luo Lang could wait, but his teammate could not.

Luo Lang instantly wore a cold expression. The extremely calm personality was the most suitable for operating mechas. This personality appeared in an instant.

Xie Yi's situation was pretty good as well. The opponent was an advanced mecha operator. Their operating skills were on par. The only thing Xie Yi lacked compared to his opponent was experience. This also showed in the beginning of the battle. When the battle began, Xie Yi was at a disadvantage. However, Xie Yi got used to it and brought the fight to a stalemate.

Ling Lan's hellish training finally brought about its power. How could someone break from high pressure attacks from their opponent when they got back up after being beat down by Ling Lan's shower of attacks that felt like a thunderstorm?

Xie Yi endured the time he couldn't adapt at the beginning and began to show his capabilities. As time passed, his battle was becoming easier and easier, and the situation was becoming more advantageous for him. At this moment, Xie Yi was at a slight advantage. He was the second team member in Ling Lan battle team who got an advantage.

Other than Luo Lang and Xie Yi, the situations of the other four people in the team weren't so perfect. Because of his mecha holding him back, Qi Long was being pressured by his opponent. However, Qi Long's operating capabilities and vision range was already at special-class level. Additionally, he was used to being pinned down by Ling Lan's attacks. Even if at the moment he looked like a small boat traveling in a stormy sea that would be destroyed, Qi Long was in reality the one in the least danger out of all of them. It wouldn't be easy for the opponent if the opponent wanted to take him down.

In Ling Lan's mind, Qi Long was the one person that she was the least concerned about in the battle team. To use Ling Lan's words to describe the situation, even if they were to toss Qi Long into mountains, tundras, and deserts, this guy would still endure it and live on.

Zhao Jun seemed to be having a hard time because he had to go against two operators who were at the peak of the special-class level. Having his focus split between two made him get hit many times, and his mecha had taken some damage. However, Zhao Jun was still at the level of ace operator; while he was hit a few times accidentally, he dodged the ones that went for vital points. Most of the attacks had just scratched him. This kind of exterior damage wasn't going to damage the mecha too much. The power of the mecha didn't decrease.

After a bit of fighting, Zhao Jun had gotten used to the combined attacks of the two people. Although the situation wasn't the best, as he was pressured by the joint attacks of the opponents making him unable to counterattack in such a short amount of time, it was still impossible for the opponent to defeat him.

Even though the situation seemed dire, Zhao Jun had completed the task Ling Lan gave him. The two special-class operators were being stalled by him.

The person that was in the most trouble was the 'Li' family's brothers. Whether it be Li Shiyu or Li Lanfeng, they were both in a crisis at this moment.

Of the two mecha that Li Lanfeng faced, one was a special-class operator and the other a advanced mecha operator. Looking at it, it seemed that it wasn't too bad. However, because the two opponents attacked him together, it was the same as Zhao Jun's situation. Li Lanfeng was being pressured by the two opponents. However, Li Lanfeng's mecha operating skills were opposite of his teammates. The others leaned on offensive power while Li Lanfeng was really strong in terms of defensive power.

This was because of Li Lanfeng's spiritual power. He could always find best point to intercept an opponent's attack. Thus, every time the opponents attacked, Li Lanfeng could parry them. His mecha wasn't damaged like Zhao Jun, but knowing Li Lanfeng's weakness, his teammates knew that Li Lanfeng could not endure a battle that was dragged on for too long…

In reality, in the commlink channel of the team, the sound of heavy breathing could be repeatedly heard. This proved that Li Lanfeng's stamina was running out. It was possible that Li Lanfeng would not be able to endure for much longer.

Chapter 500 - Mutual Understanding!

Compared to Li Lanfeng's silent crisis, Li Shiyu's crisis was more obvious. Although Li Shiyu had already touched upon the area of special-class operators, he still wasn't a special-class operator in the end. At the same time, he was operating an advanced mecha that was weaker by one level. Not long after pairing off with a special-class operator, Li Shiyu was in a crisis.

Advanced mecha operators and special-class operators—although the difference between them wasn't as large as ace operators and special-class operators, there was still some difference. This difference was magnified in battle. Li Shiyu couldn't dodge once again and the opponent's beam saber hit his mecha's right arm with great force.

A force field instantly appeared and deflected the beam saber. Li Shiyu wiped away the cold sweat he had shed just now. He was rejoiced that he had asked Chang Xinyuan for some contraband before coming into the battlefield, especially the force field that was from the original team. It was also because the two of them had a very good relationship that Chang Xinyuan installed another one for him. On Li Shiyu's mecha, both the left and right arms had one installed. It was the extra force field that saved him this time.

However, with Li Shiyu tricks on used up, his situations was becoming more and more dangerous.

Li Shiyu once again exhaustedly blocked three attacks from the opponent. The nervousness and using up all of his strength made his fingers shake uncontrollably. He felt the numbness and soreness coming from his fingers. Li Shiyu knew well that this was the result of overusing his fingers. He didn't know how long he would be able to endure. It was possible that he would lose the ability to operate the mecha in the next second.

"I see. This is the capability of a special-class operator. Even though I'm close to advancing, the difference between me and my opponent is still huge. I probably can't even block 50 hits. I'm not sure how many hits I've blocked up until now. Was it 30?"

Li Shiyu's mind was now in chaos. The shadow of defeat made Li Shiyu anxious. In reality, Li Shiyu hadn't hoped to win against the opponent, but he had thought that he would be able to endure for certain amount of time. He didn't think that he had miscalculated the strength of special-class operators… this miscalculation would not only have be faced with the crisis of failure, but at the same time it would bring catastrophe to the others in the team.

Reality was very harsh. The captain went against three special-class operators, two of whom were captain-level mecha experts. Zhao Jun intercepting two top level special-class operators was already his limit. Li Lanfeng was also dragging his weak body and fighting the death against his two opponents. The others in the team were all using all their strength to fight with their opponents… If another enemy appeared, they would definitely break the team and destroy their last hope.

"I will take my teammates into the future and create countless moments of success and glory. I will not allow failure to appear. Senior Li, do you know what it means to fail in the battlefield? It means death! That is a result that we cannot accept!"

Li Shiyu suddenly remembered a time when Ling Lan was beating on the team members and almost took half their life spans. He had gone to find Ling Lan to find out why after he was given first aid and this was what Ling Lan had told him:

"If I'm harsh to them now, they'll live longer in the future!" Ling Lan's expression at the time was deeply serious. Even if she was blamed by them, she would not back down. Li Shiyu still remembers how they had parted on bad terms afterwards!

Li Shiyu always thought Ling Lan was too ruthless, training the team members as if they were enemies, his methods so brutal to the point of being unbearable to write them all down. Li Shiyu was against this, defied it even. This was also why he was the one who drank Ling Lan's poisonous tea the least.

Now, however, Li Shiyu realized that his mistake was beyond wrong. Qi Long's operating skills had been weaker than his own back then, but not only did he successfully advance to special-class operator as of present, he could also operate an advanced mecha and be on par with the opponent using a special-class mecha. Furthermore, Li Lanfeng, who could only endure 10 minutes of intense fighting before, had managed hang in there to this moment while being sandwiched by two people. Even though he was breathing heavily, he didn't lose any ground against the opponents.

While everyone was successfully holding their opponents at bay, he was the only one losing. Other than being attacked without the chance to fight back, he was backed up into a corner. He could lose and be eliminated from the battle in the next second. It was even possible that because of his failure, the entire team would face extermination…

Li Shiyu was regretting it all in this moment. He didn't regret that he went to battle as a special-class operator—he only regretted not joining Qi Long and the others in the beginning to accept Ling Lan's brutal training regiment. Maybe then, the situation now would have turned out differently.

"Dodge!" Suddenly a scream went through the commlink channel of the team. Li Shiyu immediately woke up from his thoughts and saw the large sword of his opponent special-class operator almost about to strike his chest area. If he was hit by this, just with the opponent's positioning, it would be either the mecha becoming half broken or being determined to be eliminated. No matter which outcome it was, it would be a nightmare for Ling Lan's team either way.

A loud boom! This was the sound of cold weapons striking each other and not the sound of them hitting mechas. Everyone's attack seemed to slow down in an unplanned unison where all their focus was on Li Shiyu.

They saw a special-class mecha appear bside Li Shiyu, and the large sword in its hand blocked the sword strike that was about to hit Li Shiyu.

"Lanfeng!" Li Shiyu looked at the person who saved him from trouble with surprise. His face was full of disbelief. The Li Lanfeng who couldn't even protect himself actually came to his aid…

"Shiyu, don't forget the promise you made to that certain someone!" Li Lanfeng said angrily. In order to save Li Shiyu, the angry Li Lanfeng had operated to his limit in an instant, causing damage to his body greatly. Blood dripped out of the corner of his mouth uncontrollably.

Those words of his were like thunder that struck Li Shiyu's heart.

"Brother, what's your dream?" A young Li Shiyu was looking at Li Mulan in front of him, teeming with respect. That unparalleled face that made him want to see but did not dare to look at made Li Shiyu's little heart always beat intensely for a few beats.

Li Mulan smiled faintly making Li Shiyu smile as well. His face uncontrollably blushed and his heart beat faster uncontrollably once again. It was as though it would jump out of his chest the next second.

"Dreams, huh?" Li Mulan's expression was a bit blank. He looked at the endless ocean outside of the window. "I really want to go out and see the world. What else could be out there other than this endless sea? I want to become an exceptional mecha operator even more. To be able to operate the mecha and fly freely in the stars… freedom… free…" Li Mulan's expression was sad because this was a dream that he could never make into reality.

Li Shiyu felt a pain in his heart. He suddenly screamed out, "Brother, you can definitely do it. I will travel the world and help you find medicine that can cure your condition. Then you will be able to operate a mecha and become a mecha warrior." The young Li Shiyu still didn't know back then that a medicine that could cure his cousin did not exist in this world. He was merely thinking innocently that since they world was so big, he would eventually find medicine that would be effective.

Li Shiyu's words made Li Mulan turn around, his eyes filled with tenderness. He took out his pale white hand, softly flicked Li Shiyu's forehead and laughed, saying, "Alright, but if you want to travel the world, you have to become a strong mecha operator."

Li Shiyu instantly thumped his own chest and said confidently, "Don't worry, brother, I will definitely become the strongest mecha operator!"

"The strongest? That goal is pretty amazing. You'll be going through a lot of hardships then. Are you not afraid?" Li Mulan smiled as he asked.

"I'm not afraid! I will definitely become the strongest mecha operator! Definitely!" Li Shiyu was worked up. Why did his eldest cousin brother not believe him? Was he someone that people couldn't trust?

"Okay, I will wait until you become the strongest mecha operator. My future is in your hands," Li Mulan responded while smiling. The strongest? Not everyone was Ling Xiao.

Li Shiyu felt his eldest cousin brother's perfunctory attitude. He suddenly took out his tiny hand and said seriously, "Brother, let's make a promise. When I become the strongest mecha operator, I will travel the world and find the medicine that can cure you."

Li Mulan saw Li Shiyu's serious expression and the casual smile he was wearing gradually vanished. A few seconds later he asked, "You really want to make a promise?"

Li Shiyu nodded forcefully. "We definitely have to make a promise. I, Li Shiyu, will do what I promise."

Li Mulan stared at Li Shiyu earnestly. Li Shiyu met his eldest cousin brother's eyes without hesitation, showing his seriousness.

Li Mulan finally smiled once again. He took out his right hand and said, "Okay, then let's promise."

Li Shiyu carefully formed an oath with Li Mulan and set their promise in motion… After many years, when he understood that there was no medicine in this world that could cure his eldest cousin brother, his thoughts changed. He entered the military medicine major in order to do self-research and create that medicine.

Yes, the promise from then was five years ago. It had been tossed aside into a corner and completely forgotten by him.

"The strongest mecha operator?" Li Shiyu clenched his fists, his eyes reddening. He had actually forgotten the promise he had made with his eldest cousin brother. He actually forgot!

"How can I lose here? How would I become the strongest mecha operator if I can't even defeat the special-class mecha operator in front of me? How would I complete the promise I made with my eldest cousin brother…" Li Shiyu's eyes instantly became clear. "Forget the mistakes of the past. If I lose, then it would be adding oil to fire. I will not allow it."

Li Shiyu's fingers suddenly danced around. With the emotion of regret, frustration and agitation, Li Shiyu's fingers moved faster and faster. In the end, he broke through the limit of advanced mecha operators and his fingers seemed to be leaving behind afterimages. It was indeed the speed of special-class operators where the fingers reach shadow level.

"Bang!"

Li Shiyu blocked the sneak attack from the advanced mecha operator who was trying to hit Li Lanfeng. While Li Lanfeng was busy helping, intercepting and splitting his focus to face special-class operators' attacks, from a undetected position, a sword was silently stabbed towards Li Lanfeng.

Li Shiyu, who woke up in a timely manner, blocked the almost effective hit in a timely manner.

"Bang!"

Another block. This time it was Li Lanfeng. He once again helped block Li Shiyu's opponent's attack. While Li Shiyu intercepted the advanced mecha and unable to take into account of other things around him, a sword attack came towards him from the opponent.

Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng helped each other intercept attacks. The original one-on-one fights had now became a two-man cooperation. The two of them had never collaborated before, but at this time, as if it they had a surprising mutual understanding of each other. This made their three opponents helpless to do anything to them in that moment.

Li Shiyu went through dangers and more dangers, making it out of his biggest crisis. The situation was once again stable. However everyone knew that the stalemate would only last for a moment. It would definitely be broken eventually, but it was merely unknown as to whether Ling Lan's team or the allied battle team was going to break the stalemate.

Chapter 501 - Sure-kill!

As expected, after being in a stalemate for a while, the situation was broken. The one who broke the stalemate was none other than Ling Lan.

Ling Lan, who was originally being pressured, swung her sword with full force and sent that regular member back a few steps. Right after that, she kicked twice in mid-air and kicked back the attacks of the two team captains.

This created a chance for Ling Lan to counterattack. She stretched her left and right hands backward and the large sword in her hand began to move at a great speed. The attack was like a tidal wave, coming at the three of them continuously…

After the captain from the Second Men's Military Academy blocked Ling Lan's three attacks, he discovered that he actually didn't have any more chances to counterattack. The situation where they were originally pressuring Ling Lan through their 3-man cooperation was now actually turned on himself instead.

He quickly stared at the two beside him and discovered that their situation was the same; they could only passively defend for themselves. He was very surprised as this was a truly odd situation. Logically, while Ling Lan was attacking another person, the other two that were left alone should be able to use this chance to perform a sneak attack. Also, he felt that his opponent was obviously attacking someone else, but when he attacked, it was as though the one being attacked was himself. He could only passively change his attack to a defensive move… It was as though he was the opponent's puppet, under control and only able to move with the opponent.

"It's rhythm!" The Second Men's Military Academy's captain was, after all, full of experience and immediately understood what was going on. The three of them were moving to the opponent's rhythm, thus they could only follow the rhythm of the opponent. This was also the reason why they were being pressured.

"We have to break the opponent's rhythm!" thought the Second Men's Military Academy's captain decisively. He prepared to get out. Only getting out would get him out of the rhythm of the opponent. Then he would be able to clearly see the rhythmic movements of the opponent, find a chance to interfere and break it.

Right when he wanted to move his mecha and get out of Ling Lan's attack range, however, he discovered that he couldn't move. Swords came from all sides and it was as though his mecha was locked in place. No matter where he darted towards, he could only block and be unable to counterattack. He didn't even have a chance to retreat.

"What's happening? I can't even retreat?" The Second Men's Military Academy's captain could not think too deeply in this tense moment. He could only use the commlink channel of the team to remind the two he was cooperating with. "Retreat, then find a chance to attack again."

The Federal Defence Military Academy's captain was also an experienced captain; he understood right after he heard those words. But right when he wanted to get out and retreat, he discovered that swords were surrounding him from all sides. No matter which direction he turned to, they were all locked down. It was the same as the Second Men's Military Academy's captain. The only option he had was to block.

The ordinary member also felt the same. This member yelled, "Captain, I can't retreat. I've been locked down." Compared to the calmness of the two team captains, this member was obviously not as calm.

All three of them were locked down? How was that possible? There was only one possibility that a mecha would be locked down and unable to counterattack in close range combat. That possibility would be that the opponent had used a chain combo attack and enveloped their opponent in their attack range. This was the specialty of chain combos and was also why the chain combo was considered the sure-kill technique for ace mecha operators in close combat.

The Second Men's Military Academy's captain thought of this point and his expression changed greatly. He screamed, "Chain Combo technique?"

No, this wasn't possible. Chain combos would only appear in a one-on-one as a sure-kill technique in close combat. He had never heard that someone could successfully perform a chain combo while they were facing more than one person…

The Second Men's Military Academy's captain's was currently in a fit of chaos. He couldn't believe his own guess, but he had to admit that this guess was possibly the truth. If that wasn't the case, then he wouldn't be able to explain the reason why the three of them were locked down at the same time.

The three of them became flustered because of the possibility of a Chain Combo technique. How could Ling Lan pass up on a chance like this?

"Ahh!" The member who was least capable was the first to be unable to endure. After being hit three times by Ling Lan in an instant, his entire mecha was sent flying by the force of the attacks and struck a towering tree with great force. He bounced off the tree and fell to the ground. Perhaps the force was too strong as he bounced on the ground a few times and then showed no signs of movement after that.

Ling Lan ignored that member. Now with one less opponent, Ling Lan's attacks were now more bloodthirsty and ruthless.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" In the blink of an eye, there were continuous sounds of the large sword striking a mecha. The two mecha suddenly flew backwards. Ling Lan wasn't going to stop. She operated her mecha and followed them with a whirlwind strike. The firmament brought about a whirlwind and struck the two of them with great force.

This attack made the two mecha go in two different directions and plummet into the ground. The intense force made the mecha slide many meters out and leave a deep sliding mark on the ground.

Captain-level special-class operators were not as easy to go against as standard special-class operators. After being hit consecutively, the mecha were still struggling to get back up…

"Crash!" A dark flash came down from the sky and stabbed through one the neck area of one the mechas that was still trying to get up. This nailed the mecha on the ground and instantly stopped its movement.

"Bang!" Ling Lan's mecha came down from the sky with the right hand of her mecha open and forcefully smacked down the other mecha that tried to get up and fight.

"Crack!" A crack sounded out. The five fingers of Ling Lan's mecha had exerted force. The incredible force broke the operating system on the neck of the mecha and destroyed the last hope of survival for the opponent.

All of this had actually happened across the span of seconds. By the time her opponents reacted, Ling Lan had already finished off the three of them. She walked towards the mecha that she struck with her sword from the sky, gripped it by the hilt, and cooly and slowly pulled out the sword from the mecha's neck.

This scene made the all of the allied battle team members terrified. This scene made the members of Ling Lan's team become excited. It was as though they had taken steroids as they proceeded to attack their opponents crazily.

"Bang, bang, bang!" The first to decide their battle was Luo Lang. Luo Lang had already held the upper hand, to begin with. Now, adding on the activation of the calm personality, he was at an even greater advantage. The opponent, on the other hand, was immediately broken mentally due to how Ling Lan had easily defeated her three opponents in what seemed like a god-like mode. That change in mentality allowed Luo Lang to easily defeat his opponent.

Just when Luo Lang had decided his battle, Xie Yi also achieved a result of his own. The mental endurance of advanced mecha operators were obviously weaker than that of special-class operators. After discovering the truth that the cooperation of the three strongest, including the captains, had been easily defeated by their opponent, Xie Yi's opponent also became anxious and lost control. Xie Yi would definitely not pass on such good chance. He attacked consecutively a few times, defeated his opponent and was victorious.

Luo Lang took care of his opponent. Right when he was getting ready to help Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu, he heard his boss' voice telling him to stop as he moved his feet. "Luo Lang, wait!"

The gaze of the very calm Luo Lang turned towards Ling Lan and he asked softly, "Are we not going to help them intercept one opponent?" The situation seemed dire as the two of them were facing three opponents. Even the Luo Lang that had activated the very calm personality could not help but worry about the possible scene of the two of them losing and becoming eliminated. Logically, they should go help them intercept one opponent to decrease their burden.

Ling Lan's expression was extremely calm, as though she wasn't even a little bit worried. "Don't be hasty. Keep watching."

Luo Lang put back his weapon and returned to Ling Lan's side. He looked on coldly just like Ling Lan.

"Why didn't you give a helping hand when Li Shiyu was in the most danger?" Luo Lang asked without holding anything back. Although the normal Luo Lang respected Ling Lan very much, Luo Lang's other personalities did not have this similar feeling. They even dreaded it. Perhaps they were not convinced when they had lost to Ling Lan. The extremely calm personality's attitude wasn't very friendly when he talked to Ling Lan.

Ling Lan didn't answer Luo Lang. In reality, when Li Shiyu was in danger, Ling Lan did want to help him get out of the situation. However, in the instant she was about to move, she had discovered that Li Lanfeng, who wasn't far from Li Shiyu, had made a move. Trusting him fully, Ling Lan resisted the impulse to move in. Ling Lan knew clearly that in order for her members to make progress, she had to let fend for themselves…

Ling Lan was someone who could endure much. Even though she clearly knew that Li Shiyu would be eliminated if Li Lanfeng's assistance failed, and the whole team would face the possibility of elimination, Ling Lan would still choose to trust in Li Lanfeng's trust in Li Shiyu.

There was a ruler in Ling Lan's mind. Even if Li Lanfeng failed to save him, she still had a chance to compensate for it… No, even if there wasn't a chance to compensate, she could still take the loss. Truth be told, Ling Lan indeed hoped to attain the highest glory in the mecha tournament. However, when compared to the chance for growth for the members of her team, Ling Lan would not hesitate to choose the latter.

Ling Lan bet a lot this time and also bet decisively. Even if she knew clearly, her choice would decide the result for the First Men's Military Academy. She still did so, made this choice that was clearly selfish, but Ling Lan did it calmly and without regret.

Heaven destroys those who don't look out for themselves! For the future of her own team members, she would have to let the First Men's Military Academy down. Ling Lan silently apologized to the others who were fighting bravely. She was indeed a mortal, unable to be noble and selfless.

"With your capabilities, there were chances for you to move in." Compared to the normal Luo Lang's slow-wittedness, the extremely calm personality of Luo Lang clearly knew the strength of the person beside him.

"I can't live for you guys," Ling Lan finally opened her mouth and said.

Upon hearing this, Luo Lang's entire body shook. The extremely calm personality of Luo Lang instantly disappeared and the normal Luo Lang appeared. "Boss, I will try my best. I will definitely try my best." His eyes were sparkling like nothing in this world. Those eyes and that expression was like a cute dog hoping to be complimented. This made Ling Lan's lip instantly twitch. Okay, she still felt that conversing with the extremely calm personality had meaning. Now, she felt that she was luring an underage child. She felt full of guilt!

Xie Yi finished off his opponent and instantly let out a sigh of relief. He saw that Ling Lan and Luo Lang were watching from the side. He quickly ran over and said, "Boss, I have finished my mission. I would like to return to the team!"

Ling Lan lightly nodded towards Xie Yi. Xie Yi saw this and was greatly happy. Did this mean that Boss was very pleased? Luo Lang saw this and couldn't hold back a laugh. "You only defeated an advanced mecha operator. Why are you so happy?"

"No matter what my opponent was, I was the winner and that's that." Xie Yi didn't care at all. He glared at Luo Lang, smiling and said, "Luo Lang, remind me, wasn't your opponent also an advanced mecha operator?"

Luo Lang snorted. He said with a proud expression, "That's why I'm excited. I'll let you know when I defeat a special-class operator next time."

Luo Lang's proud appearance made Xie Yi's heart flutter. This kind of Luo Lang really made him want to tease him more times. Right when Xie Yi wanted to continue talking, a draft of cold air came from beside him. He shuddered and heard Ling Lan's cold voice ring in the team commlink channel, "Shut up and watch!"

"Yes, Boss!" The two of them quickly stood upright and did not dare to be impudent again.

The three of them quietly watched the ongoing battle. Ling Lan was ready to act whenever. No matter who was in danger, she would move in.

After a few more hits, another person finally finished their battle. The third person who finished their battle came as a surprise to Xie Yi and Luo Lang. However, after thinking more in detail, it was logical. The person was Qi Long.

In reality, the moment Ling Lan defeated her three opponents, including the two captains from the allied battle team, the whole situation of the battlefield had instantly changed. Zhao Jun, who was originally being pressured, was the first to turn the situation around. This was because Zhao Jun's opponent, the two special-class operators, had instantly lost their will to fight after seeing their two captains 'die'.

While facing three people, Ling Lan could instantly kill three people. This kind of terrifying capability shook them. This made them think that if they continue to fight, they would end up the same as their team leaders. From the direction that the seven-man team had come from, they had discovered that the objective of the opponent was Area M. Their own headquarters was in Area M, thus making them unable to let their guard down.

They believed that they had to return to their headquarters and tell their commander that there was a terrifying battle team heading there. This battle team seemed to be really weak, without enough members. Their members' strength levels were uneven with three special-class operators and four advanced class operators. A team that seemed to be easily swallowed up, yet their team captain could instead easily swallow up three special-class operators…

Thinking to this point, they were more in a hurry to leave this place. They didn't want end up the same way as their two team captains. The battle royale had only just started and they didn't want to simply lose and be eliminated like this.

It was this kind of thought process that made Zhao Jun's two opponent stop with full-on attacks. They began to restrain themselves and look for a chance to run away. This was also the crucial reason why Zhao Jun managed to recover and turn the situation around.

In fact, the two special-class operators' decision wasn't a mistake. Their mistake was that they looked down on Zhao Jun and looked down upon Ling Lan. They thought they would have a chance to escape. Their restraint gave Zhao Jun a chance to breathe. Being an ace operator now, he was disadvantaged by his own mecha, or he wouldn't be in such a difficult position from only two special-class operators.

If he wasn't being pressured, it meant that he had the chance to counterattack. How could an ace operator whose finger speed had reached the level of void be considered to be on the same level as special-class operators whose finger speed levels were on the level of shadow? Once Zhao Jun's finger speed increased, he would be able to push the power of the special-class mecha to the closest limit it can get to an ace mecha.

Thus, Zhao Jun's chain of strong attacks had lead to the the two of them being caught with their pants down. When they blocked this round of attacks coming from Zhao Jun, they gloomily realized that that even if they wanted to leave, they couldn't do so anymore. It was now their turn to be pressured and pushed back by Zhao Jun.

They were pressuring Zhao Jun in the beginning, but now the tables had turned and they were now the ones being pressured. Zhao Jun had turned from a bullied character into the master. He now began to bully his two opponents. Zhao Jun was now at an advantage in the situation. That was why Luo Lang and Xie Yi thought that the third person to finish off their opponent would be Zhao Jun.

Who knew that Qi Long would emerge with a new force. Having been pressured the whole time, he decisively activated his Animal Instinct. Animal Instinct was considered a low-level talent out of most talents that awakened. However, it was valuable because it was most suitable for operating mecha. It enabled the ability to instinctively sense opportunities and flaws. It was considered to be the beginner-level of Profound Insight, the simpler version. This was also why the talent of Animal Instinct was considered to be a low-level talent, but was still valued highly by countless mecha masters and army higher-ups.

Unfortunately, no matter how low-level Animal Instinct was, there were still a very few number of people who awakened the talent within the Federation. In order to increase the strength of mecha operators, the army specially researched Animal Instinct. They invented a type of pseudo Animal Instinct, awakened manually which was considered the awakening of the legendary sixth sense.

In order to become stronger, many mecha operators accepted the hellish mode of training. Some were successful, while some failed. Those who failed could end up disabled, but those who were successful would no doubt become a strong mecha operator. There was no halfway result.

When Qi Long, who had the level of special-class operator, operated the advanced mecha to its limit, along with his Animal Instinct, he was able to sense danger and opportunities beforehand. Even when he made some mistakes which caused him to lose control, he quickly got used to it. He somewhat sensed his opponent's weaknesses. The talent of Animal Instinct was still too low-level. It was unlike Profound Insight which let Ling Lan clearly see where the weaknesses were and where the chances were. Animal Instinct only gave the person a reminder. Whether they could grab on to that chance would have to based on the person themselves.

In reality, Qi Long always trusted his gut feeling and was also good at grabbing hold of this feeling. There were many times that he had used this talent of his to avoid a crisis and be victorious. This time, Qi Long did the same. When felt there was a chance, he would decisively attack.

Perhaps Qi Long's attack was too unexpected, or perhaps his opponent didn't think that he would be able to see through the weakness of his attack. The opponent who didn't react timely was took a full hit from Qi Long's attack and his mecha was instantly heavily damaged.

Qi Long saw that one hit had landed and decided that he had to keep going while he had the upper hand. He caught on to the opponent's weakness once again, attacking consecutively and heavily for a few times. Finally, he broke the opponent's mecha and took the victory in the battle.

Qi Long had won. Right when he wanted to go to Boss' side to report, he felt his fingers were in indescribable pain before he could even operate his mecha. He instantly held his hands and screamed in agony. Receiving no kind of operation, the mecha immediately fell down, making Luo Lang and Xie Yi extremely surprised and terrified. They both darted towards Qi Long and asked loudly what had happened.

While Qi Long furiously shook his hands that were trembling uncontrollably due to overexertion, he comforted Luo Lang and Xie Yi telling them he was alright. After a while, he finally felt his fingers were his again, and then he operated his mecha towards Ling Lan. He happily said, "Boss, I did it." He had managed to use an advanced mecha to defeat a special-class mecha. He didn't let Boss down.

"Not bad!" Ling Lan responded plainly. Qi Long smiled even more happily. He knew that Boss' "not bad' actually meant "very good"! It was just that Boss didn't like to praise people. Those of them who followed Boss all knew that. For example, this "not bad" was the best comment they had gotten in all these years. Qi Long thought to himself in happiness.

Perhaps Qi Long's victory had irritated Zhao Jun. Zhao Jun's attacks became more ruthless. His two opponents seemed to communicate with each other, and then they bit their lip and attacked Zhao Jun crazily.

Seeing this, Zhao Jun was surprised. The way his opponents were acting was going to cause damage to both sides. This made Zhao Jun, who had victory in his grasp, hesitate a bit. His originally fierce attacks instantly slowed down.

Right then, the two opponents had originally seemed to be going all-out, when one suddenly went right while one went left to dart behind Zhao Jun. Seeing this, Zhao Jun was instantly short on breath. He only realized now that the crazy all-out attack was all faked. The two of them had been trying to confuse him. Their real objective was to leave this place.

Zhao Jun operated his mecha and instantly went to block them off. However, because he was slow by one step, he could only choose to intercept one direction. If he was to hesitate again now, it was possible that he wouldn't be able to intercept even one.

Seeing that Zhao Jun had chosen his direction to intercept, the special-class mecha operator running away to this direction knew that he didn't have a chance anymore. He screamed, "You need to get out!" He pounced onto Zhao Jun, thinking that he had to keep his opponent busy to create a chance for his teammate to escape.

Right then, he had already forgotten that there were many 'enemies' beside them, watching them with eagle eyes.

Seeing that there were someone who wanted to escape, Xie Yi screamed. Right when he wanted to move in and intercept, a dark flash flashed before his eyes. He saw Boss Lan's Firmament stabbing towards the neck area of the opponent's mecha like a flying sword.

Normal dull swords possibly couldn't break through the outer protective shell of mecha. However, Firmament was different from other large swords. The biggest advantage it had was its sharpness. In addition to the maximum power Ling Lan had used from the special-class mecha, it was a sure-kill with one sword strike. The mecha from before proved this point and now another mecha proved this point once again.

In the cockpit, that allied battle team special-class operator saw that he was just about to leave the lion's pit and get into the deep forest. He felt extremely happy. However, right then, he suddenly felt that the mecha was struck by a strong force at the top. The next second, the entire mecha had lost control. Without the ability to operate the mecha, the pilot could only watch his mecha flop forwards and hit the ground with great force. In the end, he heard the A.I. announce that he had been defeated and eliminated, then his entire cockpit became pitch-black.

Even now, he still didn't know how he was defeated and who defeated him. Clearly no one had caught up to him, so how could he have been eliminated? No one could answer his questions at this time. He could only wait until the end of the battle royale and find out the truth from watching the recording of the tournament.

However, he knew one thing and that was their allied battle team had been completely decimated. Although there were still three members who were battling, he believed that the seven-man team who hadn't lost a single member would easily take down his remaining three teammates.

Ling Lan instantly took care of that opponent that thought of escaping. With only one opponent left, Zhao Jun didn't give the opponent any more chances. He attacked consecutively and defeated the opponent mecha.

Zhao Jun retrieved Ling Lan's Firmament with a face full of irritation. He walked towards Ling Lan and held up Firmament to return it to her. He then said, "Sorry Boss. I made a mistake back there."

Ling Lan picked up Firmament, waved it around coolly and hung the sword on the secured dock on her back. Then she coldly said, "When we go back to the academy, you're training in the secret room for a week!"

Man, he had fumbled at a crucial moment. If she didn't give him something to be scared about, he wouldn't know how pain feels like. Let's see if they dare to fumble again next time.

Chapter 502 - Persistence!

"Yes, Boss!" Hearing this, Zhao Jun shuddered and responded with a face full of agony. One week? Was he going to live after that?

After that, Ling Lan walked past Zhao Jun in satisfaction and stared with great focus at Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng who were still fighting a hard battle.

Seeing that Boss' focus was no longer on himself, Zhao Jun groaned. He held his head and squatted down. His repeatedly said to himself, "I'm going to die. I'm going to die."

Qi Long, who had already recovered a bit of energy, stood up, walked towards Zhao Jun, patted him on the back and laughingly said, "Bro, my condolences." Here, we should excuse Qi Long's schadenfreude. It should be known that the person who was beaten up by Boss most badly was Qi Long. If Qi Long was considered to be second in terms of being beaten up the most badly, no one would dare to claim to be the first. Now, there was finally someone else going to hell with him. This made Qi Long feel that this world had tossed out other people as well. This allowed him to find balance in his mentality.

"Qi Long, you…" Zhao Jun pointed a finger at Qi Long, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. The bastard was pouring salt on his wound. He didn't have anything like Qi Long's monstrous physique, being able to hover on the edge of death only to revive in the next second.

"My condolences!" Luo Lang said this very sincerely. In reality, Luo Lang was indeed very sincere. This kind of sincere behavior did even more damage than Qi Long's, almost making Zhao Jun's heart stop and die.

"Heh heh, my condolences!" said Xie Yi as he also patted Zhao Jun's shoulder, adding another kick to Zhao Jun's depressing heart. Zhao Jun was angry and was getting ready to discipline these juniors who didn't respect their seniors. Right then, Ling Lan let out a "Hmph".

Everyone instantly became quiet. Zhao Jun angrily squatted there and mumbled, "I won't get angry, I won't get angry…"

With Boss Lan beside him, he really didn't dare to get angry. He was afraid that if by any chance he made Boss angry, the original punishment of one week would turn into two weeks. If he wasn't lucky, it might turn into a month. He would definitely die in there and be unable to come out.

Moving away from Zhao Jun's anger, Li Lanfeng and LI Shiyu's situation wasn't looking good right then. Li Lanfeng felt that he had already reached his limit. There were many times that he made operating mistakes due to his lacking physical condition. It was all Li Shiyu using all of his might to compensate for him.

The feedback force from mecha operating was pushing Li Lanfeng's body to its limit. Right now, countless small cuts were forming in all the muscles in Li Lanfeng's body. Fresh blood had painted his protective suit red…

Were they going to lose? Li Lanfeng felt increasingly numb. It was as if his entire mind was evaporating. It was as though in the next second, he could close his eyes and faint… Li Lanfeng bit his tongue furiously. The extreme pain instantly resuscitated his consciousness that was close to breaking.

"No, I can't lose! If I lose, then what qualifications would I have to fight side by side with Rabbit?" Li Lanfeng seemed to see Rabbit's disappointed expression and the silhouette of him walking further and further away from him.

"I won't let Rabbit down! I won't!" Li Lanfeng screamed in his mind. Fighting alongside Ling Lan was Li Lanfeng's biggest obsession. At this moment, this obsession made Li Lanfeng revive once again and reignite his will to fight.

"Li Lanfeng, hold on! We can't give up!" Li Shiyu, who was beside Li Lanfeng, hurried to encourage Li Lanfeng. Li Lanfeng's previous operating made him understand clearly that the former had reached his limit.

As he was so focused, Li Shiyu didn't know that his teammates had already finished their battles and were watching from the side. He didn't want them to lose and bring about a catastrophe for the team. Thus, when he was encouraging Li Lanfeng, he was also encouraging himself.

"Of course!" Li Lanfeng pretty much used up all of his body's strength to squeeze out these two words.

"Even if we go down, we still have to go down slower than the enemy. Rabbit, I understand the meaning of that statement now." Li Lanfeng's expression went cold instantly. Now, he no longer had any warm feeling to him, only a boundless killing intent.

His two hands that were previously practically empty of energy and numb with pain suddenly began to rapidly dance about. His fingers appeared to create afterimages, like flowers in fantasies that slowly bloom. However, this scene quickly disappeared and Li Lanfeng's fingers suddenly disappeared along with it. All that could be visible were the lines of red blood marks appearing one after another on the white and silver colored control panel before him. In the end, the entire control panel became painted in a deep blood red color. It was a terrifying scene.

Li Lanfeng's operating went from the shadow level of special-class operators into the void level of ace operators. Operating above his own level had repercussions; the price he had to pay was that his fingers had become torn apart.

However, operating above his level had a huge effect. Li Lanfeng's mecha suddenly turned in mid-air and instantly escaped the encirclement of the three people, fully disappearing from the opponents' screens. In the next second, he appeared behind the advanced mecha operator and silently stabbed using the large sword in his hand.

These movements could only fool advanced mecha operators. The two special-class operators saw them very clearly. They uncontrollably screamed, "Quick, dodge!"

However, the target of Li Lanfeng's attack was the advanced mecha operator who was the weak link. How would he let the opponent just escape like that? Although the advanced mecha operator used all his might to operate his mecha to dodge to the side after his teammates had reminded him, Li Lanfeng had already guessed that the opponent could move in reaction. He accurately stabbed through the abdomen of the opponent using his large sword. If it wasn't for the fact that the battle royale restricted attacking cockpits, this sword strike would most definitely have stabbed through the advanced mecha operator's cockpit and killed him instantly.

However, even so, the A.I. determined the advanced mecha operator was killed instantly by Li Lanfeng. The mecha instantly became locked up and smashed into the ground.

After taking care of one advanced mecha operator, Li Lanfeng didn't feel relaxed. The two special-class operators that were left were their real opponents. That advanced mecha operator was actually the one out of the three opponents who was the least threatening.

Li Lanfeng only took care of this advanced mecha operator because he was easier to take down. He took him down with one hit and created a feeling of terror in order to make the two special-class operators have feelings of doubt.

Once they had doubt, they would be more careful and hesitate. Li Lanfeng's final objective was to make them hesitate.

It should be said that Li Lanfeng's sudden explosive power did indeed surprise the two special-class operators. Just think: a person that was pressured by them to the point where they couldn't even counterattack suddenly exploded and instantly killed one of their teammates. No matter how one looked at it, it was very odd. Additionally, they discovered that the 'enemies' around them had actually defeated their teammates. They were like prey that was being eyed by tigers at this moment. This made the two of them think a lot.

If it was as Li Lanfeng had predicted; the two special-class operators had begun to be very careful. No, beyond that, they did not have the will to continue to fight and find a chance to escape. This instantly took the pressure off a bit for Li Lanfeng and Li Shiyu. The two of them then began to slowly move in to counterattack.

The two special-class operators didn't hesitate for too long. When they blocked Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng's first attack, it was as though they had discussed it beforehand; they both found a direction to run towards. Of course, the directions they chose to escape from was directly opposite from where Ling Lan and company were waiting. They didn't want to run into the trap themselves. In their minds, they thought that they would able to successfully retreat if they escaped their opponents' range of attack…

They had underestimated Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng, and had also underestimated Ling Lan and company. They had only just flashed away when Li Shiyu and Li Lanfeng chased towards the direction they were heading towards, as if they had already known beforehand where they would try to escape to.

One of the special-class operators saw a shadow flash in front of him. He saw Li Lanfeng appear on the path of the direction he was escaping towards.

"How is this possible?" As a fellow special-class operator, he dodged, but how could the opponent be one step ahead of him? He was confused and didn't understand, but he didn't have time to think deeply. He could only bring up the large sword in his hand and ruthlessly attack the opponent.

Since his plan was seen through and he was now blocked by someone, he could only force his way through.

On the other side, although Li Shiyu's reaction was very fast, his mecha was only an advanced mecha. He was one level below the opponent. The opponent quickly stretched out the distance meters ahead of him.

Right then, Zhao Jun who was still angrily squatting this entire time suddenly heard Ling Lan yell, "Go make up for your mistake for me!" In the next second, someone had kicked his mecha in the butt. His entire mecha flew up and went towards Li Shiyu.

"Boss, murder!" Zhao Jun scrambled and operated his mecha. Its engine instantly activated. Due to the force behind Boss' kick, Zhao Jun quickly turned the engine to the maximum and passed Li Shiyu and flew towards the opponent that was just about to escape into the deep woods.

"Shit!" Seeing Zhao Jun chasing, Li Shiyu was very angry. He hurled the large sword in his hand towards his opponent.

A "bang" occurred. The large sword actually hit the opponent, making him stumble. His entire mecha shook and fell down. However, the operating skills of that special-class mecha operator were very strong. He instantly balanced the mecha and continued to run towards the deep forest.

"Bang!" A powerful sound rang out. Li Lanfeng and his opponent had clashed swords. The two of them both retreated a few meters back. Ling Lan frowned a bit. Her fingers moved a bit, but she gave up in the end.

It was because when Li Lanfeng stood firm, he ruthlessly pounced towards the opponent. He used this attitude to tell Ling Lan that he would take care of this opponent himself. Even if Ling Lan felt that it was inappropriate, she still chose to respect Li Lanfeng's decision.

"Bang!" This sound was the sound of Zhao Jun intercepting the special-class operator. This sound meant that that special-class operator who wanted to escape no longer had any chance to do so.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Li Lanfeng and the opponent rammed against each other many times. Finally, he rammed his opponent's sword out of his hand. Having been operating at a level higher, Li Lanfeng had used his special-class mecha to its limit. This wasn't something that operating levels of special-class operators could deter. Losing the large sword meant that the opponent had no chance. Indeed, Li Lanfeng used this chance to perform a chain combo and knocked out the opponent on the fourth hit.

When Li Lanfeng defeated his opponent, Zhao Jun also defeated the last opponent. This 24-man versus 7-man battle seemed to have a huge difference in strength. In the end, however, the result was Ling Lan's seven-man team being victorious. This result caused all the officers and referees in the monitoring room to go into an uproar.