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Chapter 66 - Still Ended Up a Boarder

Somewhere on the planet of Doha, in a top-secret location, someone was reporting the results of their operation through a communicator. "Sir, the people below have sent back the news — we have failed."

"What happened?" The screen was pitch-black, and the disguised voice that came through was cold and mechanical.

"There were way too many people protecting that brat, not just those opposing us, but even the Blades showed up."

"The Blades? Why are they involved?" The other could not understand why the bladed forces would appear here and now.

"Sir, what should we do now?" The caller's forehead was dripping with sweat. His superior was unforgiving of failure — he was deeply afraid that he would lose his head over this.

"Looks like the situation is a little complicated." The bladed forces' involvement was clearly a concern to the other. "Ling Xiao's son ... perhaps they are using him as bait now."

"It can't be." The caller just could not believe it. Ling Xiao was the Federation's hero — how could they treat a hero's child so heartlessly?

"Hmph. For their own benefit, what wouldn't the people in power abandon?" The other laughed coldly, tone mocking as he continued, "If Ling Xiao were still alive, and found out that the country he defended with his life was using his only descendant as bait, putting him in danger, he would probably be filled with endless regret."

As if finding his own words rather pointless, the mechanical voice regrouped and commanded sternly, "Forget going after Ling Xiao's son. Using him as bait to draw us out? In their dreams!"

"Understood!" The caller reflexively stood up to receive his orders, however, he was still worried, so he asked, "Sir, that boy is the child of a god-class operator — according to the transmitted data, his potential is excellent. If he is like Ling Xiao, and grows up to be another god-class operator for the Federation, this will be very disadvantageous for our Empire. Shouldn't we just take the risk and eliminate him ...?" god-class operators were just too strong beyond belief, capable of deciding the ultimate outcome of a battle if they were present.

The speaker of the mechanical voice picked up on the worried tone of his subordinate, and chided in dissatisfaction, "Didn't you do research on the information regarding god-class operators? Over the last several hundred years, has the offspring of any god-class operator manage to achieve that pinnacle? Even ascending to the level of an ace operator has been difficult for them. Didn't the geneticists of our Empire publicize their research thesis? When a particular bloodline has culminated in a god-class operator, that means that the energy potential within the genes of that bloodline has already peaked. This also means that all the energy potential of that bloodline has been consumed by the produced god-class operator, resulting in his descendants becoming more and more mediocre ... Ling Xiao's descendants are done for."

Otherwise, Ling Xiao's son Ling Lan wouldn't have failed to even make the top 10 of the Central Scout Academy. The decline of the Ling family was a foregone conclusion, so they weren't really worth their attention.

This news dropped onto the caller's head like a bomb, sending his mind reeling. If Ling Xiao's son wasn't a real threat to the empire, then why had his superior spent so much effort trying to assassinate Ling Lan?

As if sensing his subordinate's bewilderment, the mechanical voice rang out once more through the communicator, "It has been almost seven years since Ling Xiao's death, but all the military personnel of the Federation have not forgotten this extraordinary god-class operator, still filled with unflagging admiration for him. If at this time, news that his son had been assassinated by official mecha operators of the Federation were to spread ... how do you think the military men in service of the Huaxia Federation will react?"

The sweat started to flow freely from the caller's forehead. "They may start to suspect that Ling Xiao's death was due to a conspiracy, a sacrifice in the power struggle among the upper ranks of the military — a mutiny may occur within the Federation." Who knew that his boss had been planning to use Ling Lan's death to set up such a large stage?

"What a pity the opponent also thought of the same thing, and decided to just play along with our trick, choosing to use Ling Xiao's son as a sacrificial pawn to bait us. I think, even if we really killed Ling Xiao's son, the opponent will be able to fabricate evidence to pin the blame on our Empire." The mechanical voice was filled with regret. This exchange was his loss — it was just lucky that he had discovered this early on, and managed to clean up after himself, only exposing some unimportant pawns in the process.

Listening to the analysis of the situation by the mechanical voice, the caller's forehead was beaded with sweat; he had almost ruined his superior's grand plan. He quickly nodded and bowed, saying, "Yes, Sir, I understand now."

"We shall scatter our forces and lay low for now. Don't do anything rash. The matter of the Ling family ends here." The mechanical voice decisively gave up on the operation to assassinate Ling Lan. He just could not let the opponent pin the death of Ling Xiao's son upon the head of the Empire.

Ling Xiao's death had already shown him the fervour of the military men of the Federation. Due to his death, the conflict between the two nations had escalated into an epic long-standing feud, which currently still showed no signs of stopping. If Ling Xiao's son's death became more fuel to the flame, he was afraid that the Empire would become overrun by those military men of the Federation and be utterly destroyed.

"Yes, Sir," responded the caller, before carefully shutting his communicator and turning to relay his superior's orders.

Just like that, the threat towards Ling Lan was resolved. When Ling Lan later became the Federation's star warrior of a new generation, these people would be filled with regret, beating themselves up for not choosing to continue with their assassination operation ...

Meanwhile, the commander of the Blades had received news from 413, who had secretly escorted Ling Lan all the way home. The assassination attempt this time had chilled him, even as it infuriated him. He had never expected that the opponent had already managed to secretly control some of the high-ranking people within the federal military.

The band of mecha operators 413's squad had captured and brought in were indeed serving military men of the Federation, but unfortunately, they really didn't know anything and were just a bunch of idiots who had been used.

Still, the commander of the Blades had been able to confirm that the power base of the opponent hidden within the Federation was considerable, and that a bunch of traitors had already been gathered around him. But for now, his greatest worry was for Ling Lan's safety. Ling Lan may have narrowly escaped this time — but what about next time?

The commander of the Blades hesitated for a brief moment, but finally connected to that particular contact number once more ... in the end, when he shut his communicator, the tension in his brows had faded and his expression was light and cheerful.

Although that old fellow had mercilessly extorted a substantial sum from him, it was alright as long as his objective had been achieved. At the most he'll just have to take on a couple more strenuous jobs in the meantime, but for the preservation of the bloodline of the Federation, this trouble was worth it!

********

Early the second day, Ling Lan finally escaped from the torments of Number Five. With low spirits, she levered herself out of bed and washed up, and then rapidly wolfed down her prepared breakfast. There was no helping it — the distance to school was rather far, so she needed to hurry to make sure she had enough time for the journey. Of course, Ling Lan was also considering whether she should look for a place close to the scout academy to live — wasting so much time every day on commuting was not a sustainable plan in Ling Lan's opinion.

Ling Lan decided that she would discuss the matter with her mother when she returned from school that day. Just as she finished her preparations and was about to leave, an unexpected guest showed up on the Ling family doorstep — the dean of the Central Scout Academy.

The dean's arrival was for one purpose only, and that was for Ling Lan to give up her special class right to be a day student. This was because Ling Lan was the only person this year who chose to be a day student, so the dean was concerned that Ling Lan's grades and progress would be held back by this.

Of course, as the academy was the one to request for the student to relinquish this right, the academy promised that Ling Lan could request something else from the academy, as long as the request was within the academy's means.

Although Lan Luofeng was very tempted by this offer, she could not agree. Why had Ling Lan chosen to be a day student to begin with after all? Because of the problem of her gender. If she stayed with someone else, the risk of exposure would be too high — Lan Luofeng could not afford to take the risk.

Even if Lan Luofeng wanted to refuse, she still needed to have a legitimate reason for refusing. This moment fully displayed Lan Luofeng's ability to improvise. In an instant, she actually managed to concoct a believable excuse — she said that ever since Ling Xiao had passed away, she had contracted an extremely severe case of depression. Consequently, she could not bear to be apart from her loved ones for long. If Ling Lan were to board at the school, she would be unable to control herself, and may end up harming herself.

Ling Qin, who was standing to one side, was very cooperative, immediately affecting an extremely morose expression, nodding gravely to affirm that what his mistress said was true. Meanwhile, with a face full of worry for her mother, Ling Lan regretfully declined the dean's kind offer.

Playing the pity card was obviously a smart move, for the dean's expression was awkward and filled with helplessness. Just as the three believed that the dean would give up on his plan, the dean seemed to come to some momentous decision and suggested an arrangement that shocked the three of them.

He actually suggested that Lan Luofeng live together with Ling Lan in the school. And since the academy had the iron-clad rule of not allowing non-staff to live on campus, the dean even went so far as to offer Lan Luofeng a position at the school as a teaching assistant, so that she could legitimately board at the school.

The dean also promised that Ling Lan and her mother could live alone in one of the villas at the school, where they wouldn't be disturbed. On top of that, the dean even specially permitted Lan Luofeng to bring along two servants to help her manage the villa.

With this, there was no longer any reason for the three to refuse. Ling Lan quickly thanked the dean, agreed that she would relinquish her right to be a day student, and would try her best to finalise the procedures required to board at the school as soon as possible.

Having received a satisfactory answer, the dean was greatly pleased and automatically offered to give Ling Lan the day off so that she could finalise all the procedures today itself. Then, without leaving a trace of his visit, he left, only leaving behind three dumbfounded people who hadn't regained their senses sitting in the living room.

********

The dean walked out of the Ling family gates, boarded his hover car, and finally dropped his noble bearing to slump in his seat. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, and once again lamented to himself at how difficult the Ling family was to handle. He thought back to the time when he had to persuade Ling Xiao — he had also had to sacrifice a lot then to succeed ...

However, he had still managed to achieve what his old friend had asked of him. Although the academy had had to pay a steep price, the result was still wonderful. The dean smiled in satisfaction. He had gotten many concessions from his old friend for this, so it was overall worth it.

********

Ling Qin was the first to regain his senses. With a face full of joy, he turned to say to Lan Luofeng, "Mistress, this is a great thing! If Young Master Lan lives at the school, her safety is guaranteed."

Lan Luofeng remained uncertain and suspicious, smiling wryly as she said, "Uncle Qin, why do you think the academy is so accommodating towards Ling Lan, even going so far as to open a backdoor like this for her? I'm very worried. Ling Lan had just been ambushed, and now right after, the Central Scout Academy is giving Ling Lan such preferential treatment?"

It should be known that the gates of the Central Scout Academy were not so easily entered. The work benefits offered by the school was unquestionably the best in the Federation, so even a lowly teaching assistant position there was still highly sought after by countless highly-educated people. Lan Luofeng had never dreamed that such a coveted position would just fall into her lap due to her connection with Ling Lan. Of course, Lan Luofeng was not impressed by the position since she didn't need it. Although the Ling family seemed weak now, it still had a substantial foundation, enough so that both Ling Lan and Lan Luofeng could live N-lifetimes without having to trouble themselves over living expenses.

Lan Luofeng's words made Ling Qin hesitate as well — could it be that this was just another plot against Ling Lan? Ling Qin was beginning to become a little fearful. The assassination attempt and its series of attacks had troubled the heart of the old man, and he hadn't had time to get over it yet.

Seeing this, Ling Lan hurried to remind them, "I hear that the Central Scout Academy has the highest safety ranking, and students are prized most highly by the academy. Ever since the academy has been established, not a single student has ever been harmed on school grounds. Grandpa Ling Qin, is this rumour true?"

Ling Qin's eyes brightened, as if reminded of something, "Mistress, Young Master Lan is correct. The scout academies are run independently of any government or military system, and god-class operators are the ones in charge of protecting them ..."

Ling Qin's gaze was passionate and heated; Ling Lan was very familiar with such eyes — some rabid fans of superstars in her previous world had eyes which shined with the exact same type of light.

Ling Lan knew that Ling Qin's passionate reaction was drawn out by the god-class operators he mentioned. What exactly was that all about?

Ling Lan was determined to let Little Four dig up some information on this later on. Suddenly, she realised that she really didn't know much about this world at all. The assassination incident had given her her first glimpse of real mecha, blinding her with obsession for a moment ... these past few years, she had just been focused on training hard and had rather neglected all the interesting things in the outside world.

In truth, Ling Lan could not be blamed for this. Some information was actually classified by the government, and Little Four had felt that Ling Lan really didn't need to know about these sort of things at her age, and so hadn't collected these information. As such, Ling Lan naturally wouldn't have known about any of this.

Thus, poor Ling Lan was still unaware that her father was the idol of the military men of the Federation, and that he had been the youngest god-class operator of the Federation.

Ling Qin's words reassured Lan Luofeng, and so she happily ran upstairs to pack for both Ling Lan and herself.

Just like that, Ling Lan did not show up in Special Class-A for the first official day of school. When the homeroom teacher of Special Class-A glossed over the fact that Ling Lan had already applied for the day off, his tone was obviously protective. This stirred up the discontent of the other students in Special Class-A, provoking a flurry of private discussion ...

While Qi Long didn't think much of the matter, Luo Lang seemed to have sensed something, but only Han Jijyun had a serious expression on his face ...

Boss Lan, who are you really?

Chapter 67 - The Impudent Challenger

In the mirror, a little boy was wearing the rumoured military-style uniform of Special Class-A. The bold red, the fitting tailoring, the glittering bronze leather boots that were so polished that one could almost see one's reflection in it, and the leather belt with a metal buckle around his waist — all of it added a dash of charm to the already handsome boy, swaying the heart of the woman beside him, causing her heart to swell with motherly love.

Lan Luofeng framed her face with her hands, expression dreamy as she said, "Lan Lan, you really look so much like your daddy today — so handsome beyond compare."

Ling Lan couldn't help but roll her eyes. Praise her if she wanted to praise her — why did she have to bring up her old man? Could it be that she was praising her on the surface, but was actually thinking about her old man?

Thinking about Lan Luofeng's long previous history of such occurrences, Ling Lan was pretty sure her mum was caught up in her own romantic fantasies again. She decided to disregard the woman, turning to say to Ling Nanyi directly, "Grandma Chamberlain, I leave mum in your care."

Ling Nanyi was Chamberlain Ling Qin's wife. This time, moving into the scout academy, Lan Luofeng and Ling Lan had brought Ling Nanyi along, tasking her with the running of the villa. And Ling Nanyi had then also selected a servant girl who was deadly loyal to the Ling family with an impeccable record to come along with her, to help her with the cleaning of the villa.

With a smile, Ling Nanyi replied, "Young Master Lan, please don't worry."

That done, Ling Lan waved goodbye to them and walked to the villa doors. Just as she opened the door ... Lan Luofeng finally shook herself out of her love-dazed state. "Ling Lan, what do you take your mother for? You ingrate!" Lan Luofeng bellowed from behind her. She had just registered what Ling Lan was implying, and her ire was raised.

Ling Lan turned to look back with a smile. "Congratulations, Mum, you haven't become a complete idiot." That said, she slipped out of the house.

"Crash!" Some unidentified item slammed into the doors, and Lan Luofeng's lion roar could be heard once again. "Ling Lan, just you wait, you'll get it once you get home!"

With a smile on her lips, Ling Lan left the villa behind. She knew her mum was just talk — when she really returned later, her mum would definitely hug her close and kiss her all over her face, almost seeming as if she wouldn't stop until Ling Lan's face was visibly swollen with her love. There was a time when Ling Lan wondered whether this bad habit was something her mum had learned from her dad ... but unfortunately she had no frame of reference, and so the truth would never be known.

Ling Lan slowly walked over to the main road which led to this patch of villas. At this dawn hour, there were already quite a few children and teens about, dressed in the same red uniform. Though their ages ranged, the direction they were headed in was the same — towards the learning area of the scout academy.

It turned out that this villa area that Ling Lan was boarding in was specially allocated for the Special Class-A students — from the first grade to the tenth grade, all of them were in this area.

However, very few of these students were walking like Ling Lan. They wore shoes which jetted air out backwards and were flying freely over the main road.

These shoes were called jet-rollers, very similar to the roller skates of Ling Lan's previous world, which had wheels attached to the bottom of the shoes in either two rows or just one single row. However, jet-rollers were even more advanced than roller skates. On both sides of the shoes and the heel area, miniature drivers were installed, which could draw power from the energy storage unit to power the jets. When a certain velocity was achieved, the shoes would lift off the ground along with the person wearing them. Of course, their maximum achievable height was only about 2.5 metres.

Ling Lan was a little puzzled. The school rules did not allow students to use external powers to fly or speed around within school grounds — how could these special class students be so daring to do so so blatantly?

"It can be confirmed that these students are all second grade and above," Little Four jumped out to say.

"Look it up, why can they use jet-rollers in school?" Ling Lan didn't believe that they were so free just because they were in Special Class-A; there must be some other reason.

"Found it! Apparently they used battle points to redeem those jet-rollers, which is why they can use them in school." Little Four was reliable as ever, piggybacking on a random wireless signal to log on to the school intranet, and quickly finding the answer that Ling Lan needed.

"The redeemed jet-rollers are specially customized by Central Scout Academy, tagged with the Central Scout Academy's identification code, which is why they can be used within the school grounds. Other jet-rollers are forbidden — if found to be used, demerits will apply, and the student will immediately be downgraded by one class level." Without waiting for Ling Lan to prompt him, Little Four continued to supplement his explanation.

That's more like it! Ling Lan had just been wondering how the academy could differentiate between redeemed jet-rollers and those brought in from the outside, but Little Four's explanation answered all her questions. She stared enviously at those seniors zooming around, and decided that she would also redeem one when she had the chance later on.

Ling Lan walked to one of the hover car stops servicing the villa areas. The academy was just too vast — if the students were to walk, they would definitely not get to the learning area within an hour. And as new students, they didn't have jet-rollers, so the only way they could save time was to rely on these hover car stops set up by the academy.

Even before she arrived at the stop, Ling Lan could see the long line of people in wait. A little put off, Ling Lan scratched her brow. Looks like she wouldn't be able to take the first few cars, but hopefully she wouldn't be late still. Ling Lan had actually left the house a little late due to Lan Luofeng's fussing.

Ling Lan maintained her current speed as she walked towards the stop. Right then, she heard a familiar voice shouting out from somewhere not far behind her, "Jijyun, Luo Lang, hurry up! We're going to be late ..."

It was Qi Long! Ling Lan was extremely surprised; what a coincidence to bump into Qi Long and the others here. A mischievous smirk appeared on her lips. The three boys still didn't know she had started boarding at the school, so they probably wouldn't expect to bump into her here so early in the morning.

Sure enough, Qi Long didn't notice that the person walking in front of him was Ling Lan. Just as he was about to zoom past Ling Lan, she stuck a foot out in his path.

"Qi Long, watch out!" From behind, Luo Lang could see this very clearly, but because he was too far away, he couldn't do anything to stop Qi Long aside from yelling out to him, hoping that he would notice in time.

Qi Long truly had the intuition of a wild beast — Ling Lan had stuck her foot out at the most perfect timing to catch him unawares, but even so, just before the moment Qi Long would trip, he managed to catch himself in time to draw his feet back enough to just slide by Ling Lan's foot, escaping the fate of being tripped. However, everything happened too fast, so Qi Long's rhythm was still thrown off. His landing was uneven and he stumbled, almost falling down anyway.

"You goddamn bastard ..." After finding his feet, Qi Long turned around, raging, fully prepared to teach the sneaky fellow a lesson, but was faced with Ling Lan's cheeky grin instead.

"Boss, it's you!" Qi Long was overjoyed. He took a large step forward and enveloped Ling Lan in a bear hug, before voicing his doubts, "Why are you here?"

Han Jijyun and Luo Lang had also rushed over angrily in the meantime, but at Qi Long's joyful shout, their anger melted away into pleasant surprise. Han Jijyun's eyes were even sparkling as he asked, "Boss Lan, you've decided to board at school?" Seeing Ling Lan here, there should be no other possibility.

Helplessly, Ling Lan said, "I had no choice. The school forcefully cancelled my day study right, so I could only board at the school."

"That's great! Now we can always learn and train together." Qi Long was the most pleased by this; he finally had someone who could keep up with him in a fight. Yesterday, he had sparred with Luo Lang, but Qi Long had not been satisfied at all. Sparring with Boss Lan was still the best, although he would always be thoroughly trounced by Boss Lan.

Han Jijyun and Luo Lang's expressions were also pleased though, and amidst laughter and chitchat, they arrived at the hover car stop. By this time, there was already much fewer people waiting in line. Han Jijyun flashed his communicator at the stop's sensor, and the sensor responded in an automated mechanical voice, "The hover car you require will arrive in 3 minutes and 20 seconds. Please be ready."

Very quickly, the students lining up before them had all boarded a hover car and left, and their group of four was next. The academy's hover cars were all built for four people, with two seats in the front row and back row respectively, and looked quite like a convertible car from Earth. Their hover car arrived very punctually, 3 minutes 20 seconds later on the dot from the time Han Jijyun had checked. Ling Lan's group of four seated themselves randomly on the two rows and selected the first year Special Class-A classroom as their destination.

********

They had just arrived at the classroom doors when the preparatory bell indicating the start of class rang out from within the classroom. The children within the classroom immediately found their seats and began their final preparations for the day ahead. When Ling Lan walked in, she drew their curious gazes. Because Ling Lan's was an unfamiliar face, they quickly surmised that Ling Lan was the mysterious student of probable remarkable origin who had taken leave on the very first day of school yesterday.

Han Jijyun signalled Ling Lan to follow him. It turned out that the homeroom teacher had already assigned everyone's seats yesterday, and Ling Lan's seat was directly behind Han Jijyun's, while Qi Long and Luo Lang were seated to the right and left of Ling Lan.

"How did it end up this way?" Ling Lan was very surprised. This arrangement was very convenient for them to converse and interact, but it was just too coincidental for all four of them to be seated together.

With a resigned expression on his face, Han Jijyun replied, "Your seat and mine are according to the teacher's original arrangement, but Qi Long's and Luo Lang's are the results of battle." It looked like Han Jijyun had tried to stop Qi Long and Luo Lang, but had not succeeded.

"What do you mean 'results of battle'?" Ling Lan was curious.

Qi Long piped up excitedly from the side, "After the teacher finished assigning the seats, he said that if anyone was unhappy with their seats, they could challenge the student who had the seat they wanted. If they won the challenge, then they could switch seats; if they lost, then they'll have to serve the student they challenged for a month. Both Luo Lang and I won."

Ling Lan was speechless. This world was truly a dangerous world — they were all so young, but the teacher was already starting to cultivate their fighting spirit. Looks like she really couldn't take it easy if she wanted to achieve something in this world.

Right at that moment, the bell signalling the official start of class reverberated through the classroom, and an elegant and refined youth sedately entered the classroom. He was their first grade Special Class-A homeroom teacher.

In the new students' first week, there was no official teaching. The first half of the day was taken up by a course teaching them about the academy's rules, while the later part of the afternoon was allocated for physical training and getting used to the academy's training machinery and facilities.

The homeroom teacher of Special Class-A was named Cheng Yuanhang. When he saw Ling Lan, his gaze turned cold, and then he announced to the class, "Yesterday I said that if anyone had a seat they preferred, they could challenge the owner of that seat as they liked. Originally, the activity should have ended yesterday, but because a student was absent yesterday, we could not just end it. So, I'll ask again today — does anyone here want Ling Lan's seat?"

Ling Lan's brow furrowed. Looks like the homeroom teacher didn't like her, otherwise he wouldn't specifically call her out by name.

The students looked at one another, but no one made a peep. Nobody wanted to challenge Ling Lan. Think about it. Challenging a fellow student with unknown capabilities just for a seat that was not that much different from another — and if you lost, you'd have to serve the other for a month ... no matter how you looked at it, it just wasn't worth it. Although Ling Lan's rank was only 17, Qi Long and Luo Lang whose rankings were behind him had risen up like dark horses and had shown just how unexpectedly strong they were. The students couldn't help but be wary after that.

Just as Cheng Yuanhang thought no one would challenge, a weak and skinny child stood up and said, "I want to challenge!"

"Lin Zhong-qing?" All the students were in an uproar. The dead-last of Special Class-A actually wanted to challenge the upper middle ranking Ling Lan? Wasn't that just looking for trouble?!

Chapter 68 - You've Lost

Ling Lan wasn't particularly bothered by Lin Zhong-qing's impudent challenge, but her follower Qi Long was riled up instead. He felt as if his boss had been looked down upon, so with a loud slap on his table, he stood up and shouted, "Dammit, daring to challenge my boss? You're too cocky! Teacher Cheng, I'm willing to accept his challenge and fight on behalf of my boss."

Qi Long's interruption startled Lin Zhong-qing, but then a trace of glee flashed through his eyes. Perhaps no one else saw it, but Ling Lan did. Of course, all the credit should be given to Little Four who was comprehensively monitoring the classroom. No one's expression within the classroom could escape Little Four's sharp eyes.

Qi Long's unexpected request for battle caused rage to cross Cheng Yuanhang's face. Coldly, he said, "Qi Long, don't test my patience."

Cheng Yuanhang had really been angered. How old were these children? Already forming groups and saying boss this boss that — what do they take this sacred Central Scout Academy for? Cheng Yuanhang was of commoner descent, and had only achieved the success he had today via the cultivation of the Central Scout Academy. As such, he deeply loved the academy, and loathed any bad children that might harm the academy's reputation.

And Ling Lan, Qi Long, and the others in his group, were all bad children in Cheng Yuanhang's eyes. Especially Ling Lan. On the very first day of school, he had already made the dean come personally to request leave for him — Cheng Yuanhang was very dissatisfied by this. The esteemed dean was the person Cheng Yuanhang respected the most. In his opinion, getting the honourable dean himself to come and handle the trivial procedures of applying for leave — this must definitely be due to pressure exerted by the power backing Ling Lan ...

Because of this, Cheng Yuanhang privately came to the conclusion that Ling Lan's inclusion in Special Class-A must be due to manipulation of a back door. Against these second-generation rich degenerates who relied on their family background and power, he was full of contempt. Therefore, Cheng Yuanhang had decided to give Ling Lan a harsh awakening right at the start of today, so that the boy would understand that the Central Scout Academy was not a place where he could dominate just with his family connections.

Of course, Qi Long wasn't content to just step back. Just as he was about to argue the point, Ling Lan stepped out from the side and pressed him back into his seat, signalling for him to stop speaking.

Ling Lan then turned to look at Cheng Yuanhang, and asked serenely, "What do you think, Teacher?"

Cheng Yuanhang gave her two options. "You can choose to accept the challenge, or you can refuse. But refusing means that you automatically give up your seat. Student Ling Lan, what is your choice?"

Ling Lan looked steadily at Lin Zhong-qing, and said, "Since Student Lin wants to challenge, of course I shall accept."

When Lin Zhong-qing heard Ling Lan accept, a complicated expression crossed his face. There was a trace of unease, but more a sense of relief — this was not the typical expression a challenger should have.

"Boss, looks like that midget has an ulterior motive in challenging you." Once again, Little Four had caught on to Lin Zhong-qing's change in expression, and spoke up to caution Ling Lan.

"Ok. Let's wait and see." Ling Lan secretly put up her guard. Although Lin Zhong-qing looked rather weak, she had read N-many amount of novels, comics, and anime, and knew that there were many main characters who liked to pretend to be weak to fool their opponents 1 , who knew if this Lin Zhong-qing wasn't someone like this? Ling Lan kept her attention focused as she continued her vigilance.

Ling Lan's acceptance of the challenge caused all the first year Special Class-A students to become excited. Under Cheng Yuanhang's lead, the whole class came to one of the combat halls within the academy.

Walking up to the Information Input Station within the main hall, Cheng Yuanhang personally keyed in Ling Lan and Lin Zhong-qing's battle request, and under 'Nature of Combat', he selected the option of 'Open Arena'.

Pensively, Ling Lan glanced at Cheng Yuanhang. Looks like this teacher was really against her — it wasn't just her imagination.

This wasn't the first time Ling Lan had come to this combat hall. On registration day itself, she had already requested a fight here before together with Qi Long. Thus, she knew very well that there were many options under 'Nature of Combat', ranging from 'Closed and Private', 'Closed Small Arena', 'Semi-Open Small Arena', 'Open Small Arena', 'Closed Arena', 'Semi-Open Arena', to 'Open Arena' ...

Any option with 'closed' meant the fight would be private and hidden, rejecting any viewing audience, just like her spar with Qi Long. Back then, they had chosen a 'Closed and Private' battle, while this battle between her and Lin Zhong-qing was actually best suited for the 'Semi-Open Small Arena' option.

A 'semi-open' battle would open a unique combat room, and audience members would need to have the room's passcode to enter. They would just have to let the Class-A students know the passcode, then they would have been able to fight a match without any outside disturbance. In that situation, even the side who lost wouldn't have his embarrassment broadcast to the public and lose face.

But an 'open' fight was different — this type of battle was open for viewing for all students within the Central Scout Academy. Furthermore, before the fight, the combat hall would even do a comprehensive announcement. As such, open battles were usually only used during the ranking battles every six months, extremely rare under normal circumstances.

Sure enough, the news of the Open Arena battle was announced repetitively by the combat hall, drawing all the other students who were here for their own individual practice to the side of their ring. When this impromptu audience saw that there were two new students on the stage wearing eye-catching red clothes, they knew it was a fight between Special Class-A kids. Pleasantly surprised, they started discussing the fight in earnest, and the atmosphere around the arena became even livelier.

Quite a few students even turned on their communicators so they could contact their good friends to come spectate as well.

Ling Lan and Lin Zhong-qing were currently standing on the left and right side of the stage respectively, facing each other. In contrast with Ling Lan's calm composure, Lin Zhong-qing looked extremely nervous.

Cheng Yuanhang looked at the two people on the stage and asked them, "Are you two ready?"

The two nodded in confirmation, and Cheng Yuanhang issued the command, "Battle, start."

Lin Zhong-qing heard Cheng Yuanhang's call to start, but he didn't choose to attack immediately. Instead, he retreated swiftly, putting some distance between him and Ling Lan.

"What is he trying to do?" asked Little Four in confusion.

"We'll know when we fight. By the way Little Four, while I'm fighting, don't make any sound to distract me," reminded Ling Lan worriedly.

She still remembered the time a while back when she had been going through combat training with the Ling family loyalists. Due to Little Four's importune interruption, she had been struck heavily by one of the loyalists, almost gaining a serious injury. Fortunately, the Ling family medicinal bath and the Qi exercises were very reliable, supporting Ling Lan so she didn't have any lasting damage. Still, that one time was enough to scare Ling Lan half to death — it turned out that her life was still not guaranteed.

Little Four immediately pulled an imaginary zipper across his mouth in response, signalling that his lips were sealed. He would definitely not cause Ling Lan any trouble.

Ling Lan activated her Qi circulation, and could instantly feel all her senses heighten. When she looked at Lin Zhong-qing once again, she had the feeling as if the entire course of the battle was within her grasp ... it was glorious.

This was also part of the results of two nights of training under Number Five — a newly discovered ability. Although it had only been two nights in real time, due to the time rate conversion, Ling Lan had actually been tormented viciously under Number Five's hand for a little over two months, almost driving Ling Lan up the wall.

Luckily, this ability had progressed from its erratic functionality based on her mental condition, to its current stable functioning of working 5 to 6 times out of 10. Ling Lan's suffering had been worth it.

The next second was it! Ling Lan's intuition told her that Lin Zhong-qing's attack was coming.

Sure enough, of the two people facing off, Lin Zhong-qing was the first to attack. He swooped in abruptly, and his angle of attack was a tricky one.

Many of the higher grade students nodded in approval when they saw Lin Zhong-qing's attack. Lin Zhong-qing's timing was spot on as well — the time he attacked was the precisely the point when a human's mental focus would wane after intense concentration; it was when people were the slowest. Moreover, his attack stance was also great, not just any regular combat art.

However, Ling Lan's reaction shocked and awed the watching students. As if well-prepared, Lin Zhong-qing's attack only made her move a tiny step, and with a slight tilt of her body, she had easily dodged his attack.

"F*ck, this kid is just too confident in himself. Actually choosing to dodge in such a narrow range, isn't that too much?" The older students were all rather stunned, and started criticizing Ling Lan for being too reckless in her evasion movements.

Qi Long and Luo Lang looked at one another, and read the shock and surprise on each other's faces. They knew very well that using the smallest angle possible to dodge was Ling Lan's specialty. This was definitely the most energy efficient way of dodging, but only Ling Lan would dare to do so. Qi Long and Luo Lang didn't even dare to try — this was closely related to confidence and ability, and they just weren't at that level yet. However, what shocked and surprised them was not that they were familiar with this evasion move, but because they had sensed that Ling Lan had an even deeper understanding of this type of small-range evasion now, which made her movements look extremely graceful and natural.

Lin Zhong-qing's first strike struck air, but he didn't retreat directly, choosing to follow up with a flurry of combo punches, moving forward with the determined air of wanting to defeat quality with sheer quantity 1 . Unfortunately, Ling Lan's strength was really just too far above him — this sort of tactic was no problem at all for Ling Lan.

Gently swaying her body, Ling Lan swiftly dodged all of Lin Zhong-qing's combination attacks, and somehow, she found herself once again in that strange state she had achieved during her fight with the five alpha wolves. This state was still currently not under Ling Lan's control, so whether she could enter it or not was really up to her luck.

Once she entered this state, all of Lin Zhong-qing's attacks became weakness after weakness in Ling Lan's eyes. With just one punch, she would be able to knock Lin Zhong-qing down ... it's just, now, seeing Lin Zhong-qing's desperation as he attacked with clenched teeth; his rage and stubbornness made Ling Lan decide to just wait a little longer.

Lin Zhong-qing's boxing skills only consisted of a few moves, and after Ling Lan saw the second repetition of the attack pattern, she knew it was time to end this.

Ling Lan did nothing other than make a simple fist, and throw it out firmly at the largest weak point in her eyes.

Bam! Ling Lan's fist smacked into a soft ball of flesh, and then that thing was sent flying out like a cannonball, to land heavily on the arena floor.

With just this punch, Lin Zhong-qing had been hit, and was now lying still on the ground without any sign of getting up.

All the observing students were gobsmacked. Was this not a battle between two Special Class-A students, but rather a battle between a Special Class-A student and someone from the regular classes? They knew very well that although Special Class-A had a ranking of 50 spots, all the children didn't really differ much in terms of ability, and were practically on par with each other. But this scene before them shattered everything they knew — was there such a large gap, such as that between clouds in the sky and dirt on the ground, even among the Special Class-A students?

"You've lost," said Ling Lan calmly towards the fellow lying on the stage who was still unwilling to get up. Although her punch had seemed heavy, it definitely would not have done any significant damage to the opponent.

Original literal phrase here was 'liked to pretend to be a pig and consume a tiger'. Basically, play a fool so that strong opponents would underestimate you, and then you would be able to defeat them with ease.

Original literal phrase here was 'kill a master with a flurry of wild punches', which refers to overwhelming a skilled fighter with sheer luck and unrestrained raw power.

Chapter 69 - Ling Lan's Problem

Expression dark, Lin Zhong-qing sprang to his feet and said dejectedly, "It's my loss." However, he quickly raised his head again, and with wide, open eyes, and a face full of tenacity, he added, "But next time, I won't lose to you again." The fight and confidence in his eyes were still present, not at all dampened by this loss.

Contemplatively, Ling Lan looked at him, and then said sedately, "I'll be waiting." This little guy was no fool — with that performance, he had probably drawn the attention of the homeroom teacher.

Sure enough, Cheng Yuanhang started applauding from below the stage, expression approving as he said with a smile, "Not bad, Ling Lan, as expected of one of the higher ranking students in our class." Then, he turned to look at Lin Zhong-qing with an expression of deep appreciation for talent, clearly showing who Cheng Yuanhang truly approved of, and said, "Lin Zhong-qing, your performance was very good. Failure is the mother of success — keep it up, you'll succeed one day."

Hearing this, Ling Lan was speechless — Teacher Cheng, oh Teacher Cheng, when you say this, could you not do it right in front of me? Wasn't this just cursing her to one day lose at Lin Zhong-qing's hands? Ling Lan was currently simmering with resentment.

Receiving Cheng Yuanhang's praise and encouragement, Lin Zhong-qing suppressed the gratefulness in his heart as he replied, "Understood, Teacher. I will work hard."

That's awesome, he had managed to leave a good impression on his homeroom teacher! Lin Zhong-qing gave himself a mental fist-pump. Then, he turned to look at Ling Lan, who was standing across from him with his hands folded before him, and doubt rose in his heart.

Subconsciously, he swept his gaze to the area below the stage and saw Li Yingjie's unconcealed anger at Ling Lan's success in the limelight. At that, his mind settled.

Heaven destroys those who don't look out for themselves!

By this time, Little Four had sensed Lin Zhong-qing's intentions. In the mindspace, he was so angry that he was stomping around, insisting that Ling Lan should teach that horrible punk a lesson — better yet, she should beat him up until his own mum couldn't recognise him. Darn it, actually daring to think of using his boss — did he really think his boss would be so easily taken advantage of?

At this moment, Ling Lan was flipping through the files on Lin Zhong-qing which Little Four had passed to her. She found out that Lin Zhong-qing was a commoner child, and tracing back N-generations, all information indicated that his family was of perfectly normal commoner descent. Lin Zhong-qing's [S] rank body and tier-1 spiritual power were definitely due to a type of genetic mutation. The child was really quite pitiful. For the sake of money and other benefits, his parents had given him to the military as research material.

However, after six years of research, Lin Zhong-qing was determined as the result of a lucky genetical mishap, and so did not have any research value whatsoever in the stimulation of genetic mutation. As a material with no research value, the military was unconcerned about his whereabouts. Thus, Lin Zhong-qing became a member of the Central Scout Academy this year.

For such a person of 3-lacks (lacking family, lacking money, and lacking power), what was it that pushed him to challenge Ling Lan? If Lin Zhong-qing had only continued to maintain a low profile and avoid attention, he could have smoothly completed his ten years of education at the Central Scout Academy, and then be free to choose the future he wanted.

But he had instead chosen to grandstand, and though he had indeed managed to attract the homeroom teacher's attention, the disadvantages were obviously greater than the benefits, and Lin Zhong-qing did not seem like an impetuous person.

Thinking of this, Ling Lan said, " Little Four, dig a little deeper. I don't think this matter is that simple."

Little Four patted his little chest energetically, saying, "Boss, don't worry, I'll keep a close all-rounded watch on Lin Zhong-qing. I'll definitely find out his secret!" That said, Little Four scarpered off to write out his comprehensive monitoring plan, seeming as if he would not rest until he found out everything there was to know about Lin Zhong-qing. At this moment, Ling Lan made a silent prayer for Lin Zhong-qing. Being targeted by Little Four basically meant that he would have no more secrets to himself.

And so Ling Lan and Lin Zhong-qing's fight ended just like that, but the ripples following the event were not over yet. Among the special class students of the upper grades, rumours spread about a first grade Special Class-A kid who was extremely strong, so much so that his Class-A classmate, who was also within the top 50, had been defeated with just one blow.

Everyone began to anticipate the ranking battles coming in six months. Every year, the top-ranking student of Class-A had the right to challenge across grades. Who knew how far this first year Class-A student could go? How many grades ahead could he defeat? (These people didn't even consider the possibility that Ling Lan wouldn't be the top-ranking student.) At that thought, the first grade students were keyed up, while the upper grade students were eager as well, ready to teach this arrogant upstart a good lesson. (As the rumours spread, they became more and more twisted, finally skewed in such a way that Ling Lan became an extremely strong and capable punk with a terribly arrogant attitude.)

********

In the fourth grade Special Class-A, a sunny youngster grinned cheekily as he said to his companion beside him, "Shiyu, with such a formidable kid in the first grade, your little cousin brother's position at the top is at risk."

"That brat Yingjie — if he doesn't take a loss, he would really think that he's at the top of the world." Li Shiyu's face was full of contempt as he said this, as if extremely scornful of his own younger cousin.

"You Li family members are really something. If your eldest cousin brother really has no talent, then why do you all insist on making him the first in line to inherit? Causing your entire household to be full of civil strife, so troublesome." The sunshine youngster was grateful that he was born in the Yun family. Although there were also some messy affairs within the family, in comparison with the Li family, those issues were not really issues at all, so his family affairs could even be described as clean.

"Yun Xiu, you look down on my eldest cousin?" Li Shiyu's expression was a little strange as he glanced at him.

Yun Xiu threw a sarcastic look at him, "You think? He's older than you by a few months, but he couldn't even qualify for the Central Scout Academy. I heard he was sent by your grandpa family head to the Li family origin planet of Azure to study at the scout academy there? Looks like your family head isn't optimistic about this first inheritor of your family."

Planet Azure was a third-rate planet, and was one of those planets that were rather behind on resources; it could not compare at all with the premium capital planet of Doha. Typically, any child with even a speck of talent would never be assigned there.

"Who knows ..." Li Shiyu's expression was a little lost. He had not had many encounters with his eldest cousin because ever since his eldest cousin had been born, he had been taken away by Grandfather for personal training. From young, the times they met were fewer than few, countable on just one hand. But even so, he had a very deep impression of this elder cousin brother of his. This profound impression was not due to his status as first inheritor, but was something caused by the very essence of his elder cousin himself.

His eldest cousin had a warm aura about him that invited others close, mysteriously drawing in the people around him. Even if everyone in the Li family said that his eldest cousin wasn't fit to be the first inheritor, he had never seen a trace of resentment or dissatisfaction in his cousin's bearing. That never-changing, warm smile led others to become reflexively happy in his presence.

Although Li Shiyu was also a strong contender for the right to inherit, every time after he met his eldest cousin, the yearning to fight for it would lessen just a little more. Sometimes, he even felt that letting his eldest cousin become the family head wasn't such a bad idea. He would be very willing to help his cousin blaze his way forward, eliminating any rebellious Li family members in his path ...

Li Shiyu shook his head, trying to dislodge this notion. His parents would never allow him to do so. He couldn't help but sigh softly. "My eldest cousin, is hard to understand ... viewing him as an enemy is very difficult."

Ever since their eldest cousin brother left for planet Azure, he had not returned in four years. Quite likely, Li Yingjie had very little memory of this cousin brother, which was why he was so fixated on getting the inheritor position. If he really met their eldest cousin, he would very likely start gradually losing the motivation to steal this right from him.

"The old grandfather of your family is still going strong anyhow. Any fight over the position will still have to wait for many years later. It's still too early to think about all this. But, I'm curious. When that self-important younger cousin of yours gets robbed of his rank at the top, what will his expression be like?" Yun Xiu smirked evilly — it was his favourite thing to see the expressions of those pompous brats who thought they were geniuses when they were being ground into the dirt.

"Ho, so your vulgar taste remains unchanged ... well, you'll see in six months," teased Li Shiyu, expression light and casual. Li Yingjie wasn't the eldest cousin he didn't want to fight; he would gladly see him become a laughing stock. Alright, so brotherly ties were weak in the Li family to begin with — it's just that this generation had produced an oddball like his eldest cousin brother.

"Leave me alone, aren't you even more vulgar? That's your younger cousin, you know." Yun Xiu smacked Li Shiyu's shoulder in mock anger. Li Shiyu's interest in seeing Li Yingjie make a fool of himself was no less than his own, as expected of someone from the Li family.

Li Shiyu just laughed at Yun Xiu. One really didn't need that many friends, sometimes just having one who really understood you was enough.

********

Ling Lan's study life had officially begun, or we should say, Ling Lan was getting along just fine. Although the homeroom teacher Cheng Yuanhang had treated her rather harshly on her first day, he had changed his original view of her after seeing her impressive performance, and consequently no longer went out of his way to give her trouble. This was one of the pay offs of her battle with Lin Zhong-qing ...

Another pay off was her popularity among the Class-A students. The entire class consisted of boys (Ling Lan's current identity was that of a boy, so we can just ignore this irregular case), and they followed the mentality of 'survival of the fittest'. As such, Ling Lan's defeat of the last place Lin Zhong-qing in one move was greatly admired by all her classmates, so they all wanted to be friends with her. This was because they felt that they themselves would have been unable to pull off what Ling Lan had done.

Of course, there were still some who were averse to Ling Lan, such as the small group that was led by Li Yingjie. They shunned her subtly, and were even a little combative at times.

Regarding this, Ling Lan was apathetic. She had never considered herself as a femme fatale invincible from all angles — someone who had flowers blooming in her presence, people falling at her feet, who caused havoc on heaven and earth, disturbing gods and spirits alike with her beauty ... (Ling Lan was of the opinion that such a woman was definitely not human.) Thus, it was perfectly normal for there to be people who didn't like her. Furthermore, speaking of Li Yingjie, she also didn't like him in return. That smug look of his was just like that of a narcissistic peacock, not cute at all.

Fine, although Ling Lan wasn't a pure 'face-con' 1 , she was a certified 'moe-con' 2 , only being fond of pretty and adorable children ...

However, the fight didn't just bring Ling Lan good results, it also brought along a large problem.

And that was this uninvited guest, Lin Zhong-qing, before her. Even though Ling Lan had refused the month of service he owed her after he lost his challenge, Lin Zhong-qing would not accept it. He still insisted on paying this debt with full diligence. According to Lin Zhong-qing, you reap what you sow — he took the gamble, so he must pay the price — this was what a true man must do.

A pretty direct translation from the chinese saying, fashioned after other 'complexes' like lolicon, shotacon, and siscon. I don't know if there's an actual English equivalent for this, but it just refers to someone who considers external beauty a key factor in producing strong affection.

Like 'face-con', except with 'moe' in place of external beauty. The concept of 'moe' has already been covered in a previous chapter.

Chapter 70 - The Meaning of Companions!

Lin Zhong-qing's decision was supported by many of the students in Class-A — even teacher Cheng Yuanhang was full of approval — but Ling Lan was aggravated by it.

Bastard! Ling Lan cursed in a very unladylike fashion, extremely disdainful of the people who supported Lin Zhong-qing's high-handed way of doing things. Was causing trouble to others really something a real man would do?

Alright, perhaps if she really was a boy, she wouldn't be so confused by this. But dammit, she was a girl, definitely a girl, forever a girl ... if she let a boy serve her in such close range, and if the truth came out, how would she still get married in the future? Ling Lan had still not given up on the idea of getting married as her true self in the future, primarily because she really wanted to give birth to a child of her own to play with.

Adding up the ages of both her lifetimes, she was already an old lady of over 30 years old. Her mental age was definitely at that particular stage where she desperately wanted to get married and have kids. However, Ling Lan was still rational and knew that she could only think about it for now. If she really wanted to have a child, she would still need to wait for this body to mature, and for that, she would still need to wait for about ten years ... or was it twenty years?

When the horrific concept of twenty whole years crashed into Ling Lan's awareness, Ling Lan was immediately reduced to tears. How was she to pass her days from now on? Did she really have to wait until her mental age was already at the level of the grand Monkey King, Sun Wukong 1 , before she would be able to wed and have kids?

While Ling Lan was still caught up in her melancholic musings and her endless resentment at the cruel drag of time, completely lost in her own mind, that extremely troublesome person in her life right now appeared again.

"Classmate Ling Lan, here are the notes for the previous theory class that I've spent all night compiling." Respectfully, Lin Zhong-qing came over to hand over a blu-ray USB storage drive from this world. The storage drive was very advanced — one only had to align one's wrist-communicator to face the drive and turn on the blu-ray function to transfer all the data within the drive into the communicator, to be read at the user's convenience.

Ling Lan wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry at Lin Zhong-qing's good intentions. She really had no need at all for any notes, for Little Four had the ability to record the entire lecture of a teacher, available for her to peruse whenever she needed.

Of course, Little Four's supremacy could only be fully realised within this period of time — when it came to the second half of the year, the first grade students would be allowed to enter the virtual world to study, so they would no longer have to fear being left helpless when they couldn't understand their lessons.

In the virtual world, all the academy's courses had an equivalent virtual counterpart. However, every time one accessed these virtual classes, one would have to spend credits (i.e. money), or use battle points to redeem credits for use.

Lin Zhong-qing's way of doing things was just a troublesome annoyance to Ling Lan, but a particular little brat had been utterly driven up the wall by him.

********

Within the mindspace, Little Four was throwing a violent tantrum. He felt that Lin Zhong-qing was taunting him, challenging him for his treasured position as Ling Lan's number one follower. The infuriated Little Four lifted the kitchen knife in his hand up high (who knows where he got it from), and swung it around impassionedly. This caused Ling Lan's eyelid to twitch nervously, fearful that Little Four would accidentally cut himself.

Vehemently, Little Four swished the kitchen knife down before him, raging, "I'll kill him. I must kill him. Boss, don't you stop me!"

But I've never even thought of stopping you! Ling Lan would really like to say that, but unfortunately she was afraid that Little Four would start to cry as if tears were free — that amount of tears would certainly be enough to turn her mindspace into an endless ocean ... and she really didn't want to drown to death.

Head aching, she rubbed her forehead and said helplessly, "Little Four, are you able to kill him right now?" Hells, how would an incorporeal Little Four kill a flesh-and-blood Lin Zhong-qing? Don't bring up things that are impossible; people will just laugh at you.

Realizing how idiotic his actions have been thus far, Little Four threw away his little kitchen knife, and pounced on Ling Lan to cling to her thigh as he whined, "Boss, you'll definitely help me, right?"

Was this how the rumoured 'thigh-hugging' 1 felt like? Hn, it truly feels pretty good. Little Four rubbed his face against Ling Lan's thigh. Although Little Four was still just a little bean right now, his actions were already moving towards becoming a little pervert.

Unaware that she was being taken advantage of 1 , Ling Lan stared at Little Four's shameless actions and a vein throbbed on her brow. She dearly wished she could just grab Little Four and give him a good beating. Unfortunately, she had already promised Little Four that she would not resort to domestic violence, so this wish had to be left unfulfilled. This made Ling Lan feel that she had agreed too hastily in the beginning. If she had only known then how much worry Little Four would cause her, she would definitely never have simply agreed to this condition just to cheer him up then.

However, Little Four's next words thoroughly chased away all of these thoughts from Ling Lan's mind. Cold sweat started to flow freely from her pores, and even her legs felt a little weak. "Boss! Just you wait, the moment he logs on to the virtual world, I'll definitely show him! I'll make sure he dies silently within the virtual world, hehehe!"

Little Four's sinister demeanour caused the hairs on Ling Lan's back to stand — how had she forgotten about Little Four's powers within the virtual world? Finally understanding that Little Four's words were not just idle threats, Ling Lan panicked.

That's right. Although she did feel that Lin Zhong-qing was bothersome, and also wanted to get rid of this bother — that didn't mean she wanted him to die! No matter what, Lin Zhong-qing was still an adorable little kid ... although she didn't like this kid so much since he was a little complicated.

She rushed to talk down Little Four, speaking gently to try and dispel this terrifying notion from Little Four's mind. "Little Four, don't worry, that punk is no threat to you. Little Four will forever be the most precious follower in my mind."

At this moment, Ling Lan was unstinting with all the flowery sweet talk she could muster, just so she could get rid of Little Four's killing intent. All this to save a totally irrelevant 'Villager A' — why was life so hard?

Ling Lan's words made Little Four blush instantly. Happily wriggling his little bottom, he asked coyly, "The most precious, most important, number one follower, right?"

Ling Lan nodded decisively. "That's right. Little Four is my most precious, most important, number one follower — no one can take away your position. So Little Four, you can just enjoy looking down upon the other followers fighting beneath you ..."

Er ... she had never thought of continuing to collect followers though ... why did the conversation take such a weird turn as she was speaking with Little Four? Dammit, it must be Little Four's fault. He must have some strange ability to distort the topic of conversation. Ling Lan resolutely put all the blame on Little Four.

Little Four had no idea what Ling Lan was thinking, but hearing what Ling Lan said, he seemed to come to some realisation. "Boss, I understand now. You mean, those other followers are all followers of this follower!" he said, pointing to himself gleefully.

Ling Lan could almost cry. That wasn't really what she meant, right?! Unfortunately, at that moment, she didn't dare not to nod. If Little Four went crazy again, it could be predicted that half a year later, a large swathe of Special Class-A students would be dead. That would definitely result in a terrifying upheaval, and she would most likely be implicated. Therefore, she needed to stop Little Four now.

Alright, so Ling Lan didn't really have the saintly love of a matron goddess; in the end, she was still just looking out for herself.

Decision made, Ling Lan nodded again firmly. In her mind, a scene formed where Qi Long, Han Jijyun, Luo Lang, and the others were chasing the kiddy Little Four around yelling out 'big bro', while Little Four had his little hands on his waist, laughing long and loud into the sky above.

Ling Lan was instantly pained, sweating internally as she made a silent apology: Sorry dear brothers, for the sake of world peace, and humanity's safety, you all will just have to put up with this.

Because she had never imagined that she would actually bring this "nuclear weapon" down upon this world — she was culpable!

Finally, it seemed that Little Four was hit by Ling Lan's candy-wrapped missiles, and calmed down. He stated grandly that he would be merciful, and let that Lin Zhong-qing go this once.

When Ling Lan heard this, she immediately turned up the sugar level, cajoling Little Four until he was all smiles again, no longer having any thought of almost losing his precious number one follower position. Only then could Ling Lan relax and turn her attention to the sticky problem of Lin Zhong-qing. When all was said and done, the root of all the problems was Lin Zhong-qing.

********

This time, Ling Lan no longer wanted to reject diplomatically. She pushed the USB drive back directly, and said coolly, "I don't need it." She had even refrained from putting it more politely — do you see how much effort she was expending just to save this fellow? Even Qi Long and the others had had to pay a 'painful' price for this objective, although they weren't aware of it ...

Ling Lan's brusque refusal froze Lin Zhong-qing's expression, but he soon regained his composure. He hesitantly took back the blu-ray USB drive, and pretended not to notice Ling Lan's cool dismissal, continuing to ask with a smile, "Classmate Ling Lan, where will you all be going later?"

There was just one period of Mandarin class in the early afternoon, and then it was all free time until lunch time. As Ling Lan's personal attendant, Lin Zhong-qing needed to know what Ling Lan was going to do next.

Ling Lan merely glanced coolly at him, saying nothing. Ling Lan already had no more patience to continue going back and forth with Lin Zhong-qing.

Beside her, Han Jijyun seemed to have picked up on Ling Lan's mood, so he spoke up, "Lin Zhong-qing, we do not welcome you here, and we do not need your so-called service. We hope that you do not come looking for our Boss Lan anymore."

Being rejected formally and verbally for the first time, Lin Zhong-qing could no longer maintain his smile. His face fell and he looked at Ling Lan with a troubled expression. However, this time he did not continue to cling on with words, but just bowed politely to Ling Lan before he turned and left.

Lin Zhong-qing's abrupt departure puzzled Qi Long. "What does he mean by that? Will he not bother us anymore?"

Uncertainly, Luo Lang replied, "Probably. We've already said it so clearly."

Han Jijyun watched Lin Zhong-qing's gradually departing figure, and his brows furrowed as he said, "Boss Lan, this person ... is probably not so easy to chase off."

Ling Lan nodded. "Yes. Him sticking to me is not because he lost the challenge, but for some other purpose."

Han Jijyun was startled. "What purpose?" He had not sensed anything at all, thinking all this time that Lin Zhong-qing was simply doing this so he could fulfil his bet, to show how trustworthy he was and gain some brownie points in the teachers' eyes.

At this moment, Han Jijyun felt a little lost; he had self-categorized himself as the intelligent strategist in Ling Lan's group. He had categorized himself this way because his combat ability was no match for Qi Long's — Qi Long was a natural born fighter, certain to be a high-level mecha operator in the future. Already aware of Qi Long's superior combat prowess, Han Jijyun was mentally prepared, and so wasn't too depressed by it. But he had never expected that Luo Lang, who joined in later on, would also be stronger than him in combat ability. This caused him to abruptly lose his self-set place, so he had no choice but to search for a different position he could fill. Very quickly, he had noticed that their group was still lacking a wise strategist. With regards to this character setting, Han Jijyun felt that he was quite suited to the task. So although he didn't state it outright in front of his companions, his actions and the learning courses he chose all started leaning in that direction, a clear sign of his determination.

However, Ling Lan's words floored him once again. Could it be that he wasn't suited for this character setting after all? The more Han Jijyun thought about it, the more insecure he felt, and his mood dipped significantly.

Seeing Han Jijyun's expression change, Ling Lan felt a headache coming on again. Why did these little fellows by her side all require so much care?

Ling Lan could only deepen her wry smile and say, "Actually, I'm not too sure myself. It's just that every time Lin Zhong-qing looks at me, his gaze gives me that sort of feeling ... perhaps I'm just thinking too much."

Although Ling Lan's expression was a little exaggerated to the point of suspicion, those words weren't actually lies. She really still wasn't sure what Lin Zhong-qing's motives were in trying so hard to get on her good side. However, Ling Lan wasn't anxious. She believed that with the passage of time, she would naturally learn of the other's plan.

Besides, they were all just six year old brats right now, not involved in much power struggles for wealth or political clout. No matter how much Lin Zhong-qing plotted, not much harm could come to Ling Lan. This was yet another reason why Ling Lan was not at all impatient, and could just ignore Lin Zhong-qing.

Ling Lan's words let Han Jijyun temporarily push away the uncertainty in his heart. With a serious expression, he said, "Since Boss Lan has said so, there must be something wrong with Lin Zhong-qing. We need to be a little more careful." Despite Ling Lan's rather ambiguous explanation involving intuition, Han Jijyun decided to put his faith in her full-heartedly, and started cautioning the others to be more alert.

It wasn't just Han Jijyun who trusted Ling Lan — even Qi Long and Luo Lang were the same, nodding firmly to show that they understood.

The unquestioning faith of her companions surprised Ling Lan slightly, and an indescribable swell of warmth rose within her heart. Was this what was meant by the trust of one's companions?

In her previous life, Ling Lan had always been stuck in the hospital, constantly struggling at the border between life and death. She had never experienced what the term 'companion' meant, but now, Ling Lan felt as if she understood it a bit better.

It was soon proved that Han Jijyun's judgement was very accurate — Lin Zhong-qing was not someone who easily backed down.

At noon, Ling Lan and the others had just walked into the school canteen when they heard a familiar voice cry out, "Classmate Ling Lan, here, over here."

Ling Lan lifted her head and looked over, and saw Lin Zhong-qing waving at them enthusiastically with a wide smile on his face, just as if that awkward situation earlier that afternoon had not happened at all. She was thoroughly impressed by Lin Zhong-qing's thick skin. Already having been denied so heartlessly, how could he still greet them so passionately? This child's resilience was really just too strong.

Qi Long and the others looked at one another, unsure how they were supposed to react. All their lives, they've never met such an agreeable child — they couldn't find it in themselves to keep rejecting Lin Zhong-qing in the face of his unreserved smile. Even the typically cold-hearted Han Jijyun had nothing to say.

Ling Lan exhaled a quiet breath. Fine, she too found it impossible to continue refusing such a resilient child, so she said, "Let's get to know him a little better. The four of us, against one of him — no matter what how you look at it, we won't lose."

These words were unanimously approved by all three of her companions, and so they headed towards the beckoning Lin Zhong-qing.

However, internally, Ling Lan was more vigilant than ever. This Lin Zhong-qing was so unbelievably tolerant — what he wanted must not be trivial.

She couldn't help but sigh again. The children of this world were definitely non-human ... even with two lives worth of experience, she could only stay ahead of them by a little. If she compared her true six year old self from her previous world with these children, she would undoubtedly lose all the way to distant Siberia 1 .

1. A character from the Chinese classic <Journey to the West> who has a really, really, really long life.

2. A concept that has been covered in a previous chapter. Here, it functions as a pun since Little Four wants to rely on Ling Lan's help (metaphorical meaning) but is also literally hugging her thigh.

3. Literal phrase here was 'her tofu was being eaten'. If your tofu is being eaten by someone, it means they are taking advantage of you physically, typically via molestation of some sort. As for the origin of the phrase ... perhaps smooth white skin just looks like tofu to the Chinese?

4. This a rather literal translation, but I thought it was cute so I kept it. :p Basically, lose really, really badly.

Chapter 71 - Lin Zhong-qing's Objective?

The actions of Ling Lan's four-man group surprised Lin Zhong-qing for a beat, but he was then overcome by a surge of joy. In all honesty, when he had greeted them, his heart was pounding, for he was afraid that Ling Lan and her group would just ignore his existence.

Unexpectedly, Ling Lan and her friends were really headed in his direction — this made him suspect for a moment that he was in a dream.

Lin Zhong-qing's tenacity and perseverance had gained him the favour of the simple-minded organism Qi Long; afraid that his sharp-tongued mate Han Jijyun would say something to hurt Lin Zhong-qing, Qi Long hurriedly called out, "Lin Zhong-qing, why are you looking for us?"

Naturally, Qi Long's good will was felt by the perceptive Lin Zhong-qing. With a grateful glance at Qi Long, he said smiling, "I just wanted to tell Classmate Ling Lan that, I've found him a seat."

Although Lin Zhong-qing had been smiling at them all this while, it was normally just a polite facade; but this time, his smile seemed to be somewhat genuine. For the first time, Ling Lan felt that Lin Zhong-qing actually looked pretty cute when he smiled.

Han Jijyun frowned slightly, and his originally cold expression became even colder. Meanwhile, Luo Lang sniffed, as if displeased at Lin Zhong-qing's unnecessary action. It was true though. A red-coat student would never lack for a seat. If they found a seat they liked (as long as the seat wasn't occupied by another red-coat student), they need only walk up to that person, and without having to say a word, the student dressed in a uniform of any other colour would automatically relinquish their seat.

Of course, Ling Lan's group of four would never do such a tasteless thing. The dining area was very large, so there would always be some seats open — they just needed to spend a little time looking that's all.

Lin Zhong-qing was unconcerned with what Luo Lang and the others thought. Solicitously, he pulled out one of the chairs and said to Ling Lan, "Classmate Ling Lan, please sit here."

Ling Lan looked at his slightly fawning face, and thought back on that slightly sincere smile, and felt her heart soften. So, she did not refuse, sitting on the chair he had pulled out. After all, Lin Zhong-qing was just a six year old child — Ling Lan, who was really a quirky auntie at heart, was truly unable to resist such a little kid.

Seeing Ling Lan take a seat, Qi Long and the others quickly chose a seat before them at random and sat down as well.

Ling Lan's first ever concession to him was obviously a good sign. Suppressing the emotional upheaval within himself, Lin Zhong-qing asked carefully, "What would Classmate Ling Lan and your friends like to eat? Let me bring it over for you all."

'Bring' and not 'buy'! Lin Zhong-qing very clearly articulated to Ling Lan and the others what his bottom line was in terms of service.

Ling Lan cast a searching look at Lin Zhong-qing. This child was just too artful with words and phrasing — he avoided offending them, but also didn't let himself be pushed into a corner. As long as this type of person got a chance, he would certainly become a commendable man.

Ling Lan decided that she would give Lin Zhong-qing that chance. She indicated for Lin Zhong-qing to push his wrist-communicator closer, and then used her own communicator to transfer some credits directly to Lin Zhong-qing. Not much, just 240 credits — the exact amount to pay for six deluxe set meals.

In this era, personal communicators not only could send and receive messages, but were also equipped with the ability to retain personal identification information, bank cards, and other miscellaneous services, truly providing multipurpose convenience.

"Six deluxe set meals, a double portion each for Qi Long and I." Ling Lan pretended not to see Lin Zhong-qing's stunned gaze, tonelessly listing out what they wanted to eat.

Frankly, Lin Zhong-qing could not be blamed for his reaction. Set meals were typically only chosen by children from the commoner families. Any child from a slightly better family background would basically order separate dishes which had an overall better taste.

Lin Zhong-qing did not know that Qi Long's and the others' credits had long ago been confiscated by Ling Lan on the first day of school. Since then, the communicators of the five of them, including Qi Long (as well as the two girls always hanging out with them), had never contained more than 1000 credits.

Thus, their every meal changed from the luxurious spread of delicacies they began with, to the current simplistic set meals, though these set meals were still of the deluxe variety. Even so, this was undoubtedly many brackets below what they were having before.

Of course, this wasn't a baseless decision by Ling Lan. Through Little Four's research, they found that the food groups within the academy's deluxe set meal could fully provide all the nutrition that the children needed. Even Ling Lan and Qi Long, who had extraordinarily high metabolisms, were able to fuel their bodies sufficiently by eating a double portion of said set meal. Of course, Ling Lan would never tell Qi Long and the others that after she went home, she still had to supplement her diet with a gargantuan supper. It couldn't be helped. Ling Lan was a glutton to begin with, and on top of that, every night she would be tormented ceaselessly by Instructor Number Five, so her energy consumption was rather off the scales.

Lin Zhong-qing very quickly regained his composure, and he felt the stirrings of gratefulness within his heart. Was this Ling Lan and the others' strange way of preserving his dignity? He said nothing, only casting a brief complicated look at Ling Lan before nodding heavily and leaving to help them get their food.

Looking at Lin Zhong-qing's departing back, Han Jijyun's frown eased slightly. With a hint of uncertainty, he asked, "Boss Lan, you seem to have some admiration for him?"

Hearing this, Qi Long and Luo Lang turned to look at Ling Lan, and waited for her answer. This would affect how they would treat Lin Zhong-qing — whether he should be considered as a companion or not, the treatment would be completely different.

"Yes, I have some admiration for his tolerance. If we were to switch places, I don't think I'd be able to bend as far as he has." Carrying out one's responsibilities while tolerating shame was not something everyone could do; even Ling Lan, with her two lives of experience, could not say for sure that she'd be able to endure it.

Ling Lan's words caused Qi Long and the others to descend into a thoughtful silence. Lin Zhong-qing's humility had made them forget that he was only six years old just like them — what kind of experiences had he lived through to have learned to be so tolerant?

Right at that moment, the sounds of a commotion could be heard coming from not too far away. Ling Lan and the others all turned to look, and saw a significant crowd surrounding a lone figure. Among those in the crowd were students dressed in red, as well as those dressed in uniforms of other colours, while the one being surrounded was definitely wearing bright red clothes.

They seemed to be arguing, which greatly surprised Ling Lan and her group. After all, the hierarchy within the school was clear — unless it was an uncompromisable conflict, the students in school uniforms of any other colour would never challenge a red-coat student. For if they were caught by the school disciplinary committee, it wouldn't end well for them.

"It's Lin Zhong-qing," exclaimed Luo Lang in surprise. From his position, he could just see the profile of the red-coat student being surrounded.

"The ones surrounding him seem to include some of our classmates." Han Jijyun had also seen some familiar faces in the crowd, and his frown deepened. Although Lin Zhong-qing was ranked lowest within their class, in last place, his popularity within the class was still pretty good. What reason could there be for him to be in a standoff with their classmates?

"It's Li Yingjie's group," said Qi Long with clear dislike. Ever since Qi Long had helped Li Jinghong brush off Li Yingjie, within the class, the two of them were constantly at odds. Every time they met, they couldn't resist exchanging a few barbed words. If one had to name Qi Long's most hated person within the academy, Li Yingjie would be it.

Right now, in the first grade Special Class-A, there was the incipient formation of two clear power bases. One of the power groups was Li Yingjie's — having the prestige of being at the top of the rankings, he naturally drew a portion of the students to his side. Meanwhile, the other power group was Ling Lan's party. In contrast with Li Yingjie's abstract rank, the strength displayed by Ling Lan's one-move defeat of Lin Zhong-qing was much more persuasive. Many students did not really acknowledge the legitimacy of Li Yingjie's ranking — after all, part of it was just based off interviews, and not truly earned through real battle with other students. This situation was very vexing for Li Yingjie, causing jealousy and hate against Ling Lan to rise within him. He believed that it was Ling Lan who was hindering his steps towards uniting the first grade Special Class-A under his rule.

After some thought, Ling Lan said, "Let's go find out what's going on."

Lin Zhong-qing was currently on an errand for them after all; it was the morally right thing to have a little concern for him.

The four of them walked over to the scene of the commotion and heard the surrounding students in lively whispered discussion. After listening for just a moment, the four of them had gotten a rough idea of the situation.

It turned out that when Lin Zhong-qing was passing by Li Yingjie's group, he had been stopped by one of the lackeys dressed in white. The lackey had ordered Lin Zhong-qing to go see Li Yingjie for a talk. Although Lin Zhong-qing's family background was common, and he was in last place within Special Class-A, he still had the pride of a red-coat student. How dare an insignificant white-coat student order him around with such a tone? He naturally did not respond well, refusing tersely without any concern for politeness.

If that lackey had just stopped there, this matter would have been swept away just like that. Unexpectedly, the lackey had brashly grabbed hold of Lin Zhong-qing. Enraged, Lin Zhong-qing had immediately sent the white-coat lackey flying with one kick.

Lin Zhong-qing's actions were taken as provocation by Li Yingjie's group, who all jumped up in anger and surrounded him, demanding that he apologise. And so this scenario was the result!

Right then, Lin Zhong-qing's expression was extremely dark — if it wasn't for his extraordinary tolerance, he most likely would have already started throwing punches, and this standoff wouldn't have happened.

The appearance of Ling Lan's group of four made Lin Zhong-qing's expression lighten a little, a trace of astonished delight flashing through his eyes.

On the other hand, when Li Yingjie saw Ling Lan and her group, his expression darkened noticeably, looking a little grim, but was mostly disgruntled. It looked like he was unhappy with Ling Lan's group butting in.

Suddenly, Ling Lan's steps paused. With a strange expression, she looked at Lin Zhong-qing, a possibility flashing rapidly through her mind.

Was Lin Zhong-qing's tolerant behaviour these past few days just so he could depend on her to handle Li Yingjie and his group?

When Ling Lan stopped, Qi Long and the other two stopped as well. Although they didn't know why Ling Lan had stopped, it was already a habit for them to follow Ling Lan's movements, so they also stopped without hesitation.

Seeing Ling Lan's group stopping still, Li Yingjie's expression eased a little. He was very pleased at Ling Lan's understanding of the situation. He really didn't want Ling Lan to come interfere in his plans at this moment, and Lin Zhong-qing was his first target.

In contrast, when Lin Zhong-qing saw Ling Lan staying put, his expression changed. He could vaguely sense Ling Lan's intent to just observe from the side-lines, and this troubled him. His initially somewhat calm expression dimmed significantly, and there was actually an almost unnoticeable trace of despair in his eyes.

Ling Lan frowned deeply, troubled and a little puzzled. If Lin Zhong-qing could thicken his skin and suck up to her, then why couldn't he do the same with Li Yingjie? Could he have some other unknown reason for this?

With a shift in thought, Ling Lan decided that she would help out Lin Zhong-qing this one time. After all, doing so was no skin off her nose — she was already on bad terms with Li Yingjie anyway.

Her halted steps resumed once more ... Ling Lan's actions rekindled Lin Zhong-qing's deadened and hopeless eyes, and there was even a hint of gratefulness within his newly brightened gaze.