711 - 719

Chapter 711 - Win-win Situation!

"Peak of Qi-Jin? No, if he could suppress our force of presence this easily, he must be a domain realm master." They knew what Ling Lan's physical skills level was, the moment she came in.

They immediately changed their attitude and became more serious. Their air of arrogance disappeared. When they first entered the base, they were stunned. However, they told themselves that it was because of 250 Mecha Clan's powerful background, not because of their own efforts. However, the appearance of Ling Lan pushed this thought out of their minds.

"Regiment commander!" The ten team leaders of 250 Mecha Clan stood up simultaneously and greeted Ling Lan.

They wanted to increase Ling Lan's prestige. Ling Lan was a cold and stern leader, but she never cared much of her rank. In 250 Mecha Clan, the ranks between soldiers were similar to each other. This was because most of the soldiers in 250 Mecha Clan were veterans. They used to be team leaders of other battle teams and some were even previously regiment commanders. None of them was ranked lower than a major.

The regiment commander before Ling Lan didn't have a higher military rank than these veterans so he had a hard time controlling them. If Ling Lan didn't rule with an iron fist, the veterans would not have listened to her.

Her strength also played a huge role. In the military, only the strong had the right to speak. Ling Lan would brutally beat down anyone who tried to rebel against her, forcing everyone to bow down to her. In order to become a qualified regiment commander, both strength and the methods used were important.

Ling Lan knew what the team leaders wanted to do so she emitted a stronger force of presence. The other regiment commanders lowered their heads uncontrollably.

"Sit!" Ling Lan sat on the seat specially prepared for her. It was the chairman's seat. Seemed like her subordinates wanted her to control the meeting.

The other regiment commanders realized that unconsciously, Ling Lan had taken control of the meeting. They were upset but they had to admit that her force of presence was too strong. They had no choice but to lay low.

Ling Lan leaned on the chair. She glanced at Han Jijyun and Li Lanfeng. She wanted them to host this meeting.

Han Jijyun looked at Li Lanfeng. He noticed Li Lanfeng seemed to be a little absent-minded. He didn't seem to have any intention to host the meeting. Hence, he coughed and said, "Thank you for coming to 250 Mecha Clan's base to discuss the action plan against the Black Giant Ants with us." (The ant-like creatures had been officially named as the Black Giant Ants by the Federation.)

"Since this is a collaboration, all the mecha clans must cooperate with each other. The missions and tasks of each mecha clan should be stated clearly. Hence, can regiment commanders…"

As Han Jijyun was speaking, Ling Xiao had walked into the meeting room quietly and gotten himself a seat at the side. He had suppressed his physical skills and his force of presence. He smiled. He didn't expect his daughter to be so strong. She managed to subdue everyone with her force of presence alone. As expected of his daughter…

Ling Xiao started feeling proud of himself. He suddenly felt someone looking at him. The person shifted his gaze away but Ling Xiao still caught him. He looked up and frowned. It's Li Lanfeng again!

Li Lanfeng didn't know that Ling Xiao had noticed him. At that moment, he was confused. If Ling Lan liked people who were straightforward, why did she like Ling Yu? He only met Ling Yu a few times but he could tell that Ling Yu was not a direct person. He was a cunning person just like him.

However, Ling Lan trusted him. Li Lanfeng noticed this through Ling Lan's small actions. He even realized that Ling Lan trusted Ling Yu more than Qi Long and Luo Lang. Was this because Ling Yu was his loyalist?

Li Lanfeng knew that every big family had a bunch of loyalists. He also had a few loyalists that only belonged to him, they were loyal, firm, and only listened to him. Even if he ordered them to die, they would do it without any hesitation. However, even if that was the case, he was still unable to trust them…

So, why does Ling Lan trust Ling Yu that much? Li Lanfeng couldn't find the answer. He was puzzled.

He felt a cold gaze looking at him. He raised his head and saw Ling Lan's eyes filled with concern.

Ling Lan must have noticed something was amiss with him. Li Lanfeng felt apologetic. He was too immersed in his own thoughts and was unable to participate in the meeting. It meant that he couldn't help his mecha clan to secure more resources. However, Ling Lan's show of concern made him happy.

The confusion in his eyes disappeared.

If Ling Yu was able to gain rabbit's trust, I can too!

Li Lanfeng regained his confidence and started taking part in the discussion. He gave it his all. He worked together with Han Jijyun and misled the other regiment commanders. In the process, the officers agreed to some 'unfair' rules.

Ling Xiao looked at the ambition in Li Lanfeng's eyes and furrowed his brows. He didn't have any opinions on his daughter's other friends. He just didn't like Li Lanfeng. He felt that this person was dangerous…

I must trust my daughter! Ling Xiao suppressed the urge to move Li Lanfeng away from Ling Lan. He must trust that his daughter could handle her own business.

Li Lanfeng and Han Jijyun were a formidable pair when they worked together. The other regiment commanders were not easy to deal with too. Hence, Ling Lan just sat at the side and kept quiet throughout the discussion. She only said four words during the meeting. Besides telling everyone to sit, all she said was 'let's do this' at the start of the discussion.

The results of the discussion were good. 250 Mecha Clan got the advantages that they wanted and the other regiment commanders were happy too. They gave up some advantages but they secured a base to stay. The 250 Mecha Clan agreed to let them use their temporary base as their station to freshen their weapons, equipment, and energy.

Of course, those weapons and equipment were provided by the 7th division. They would send the resources over through their starships. 250 Mecha Clan only had around 200 mecha operators. Hence, the regiment commanders of the mecha clans from the 7th division felt that 250 Mecha Clan would not be able to use much of their resources even if they gave it to them.

Since they got so many resources for free, 250 Mecha Clan had to make sure that everyone from the 7th division was treated well. The temporary base could only hold around 2000 people so the logisticians from the 7th division couldn't enter their base. This was a huge challenge to the logisticians of 250 Mecha Clan. Lin Zhong-qing had a long discussion with He Chaoyang, Yuan Youyun, Li Jinghong, and Luo Shaoyun. In the end, they gritted their teeth and decided to take on this challenge.

This land clearing mission was a good experience for the logisticians of 250 Mecha Clan. After this mission ended, all the logisticians became outstanding logisticians, building a strong foundation for 250 Mecha Clan as it moved to become a super mecha clan.

The mecha operators from 250 Mecha Clan also performed exceptionally well during this mission. They were experienced veterans so they managed to quickly regain their abilities, performing like their past peak state. Some of them even felt their bottlenecks loosening.

It was a win-win situation for both parties. The 7th division was glad 250 Mecha Clan didn't request for more things. Mind you, if 250 Mecha Clan didn't let them use their base, they could forget about clearing the Black Giant Ants. If they didn't have a powerful backend system to ensure that their weapons and equipment were repaired as soon as possible, they would be unable to attack the Black Giant Ants continuously. Once the Black Giant Ants managed to escape due to a window of time, they wouldn't be able to annihilate them anymore. Even if they managed to find some good resources, they would have to constantly keep their guard up against the Black Giant Ants.

If the Black Giant Ants were smart enough and decided to attack their logisticians instead, they would be in danger. 250 Mecha Clan's base had a protective shield. If those creatures wanted to attack the base, it would be hard for them too. This was why building a temporary base was so important in a land clearing mission.

As time goes by, all the divisions determined that the creatures on this planet had a certain degree of intelligence. Some were even as smart as humans. Those divisions that didn't realize this at the start were ambushed by the creatures on the planet. Some mecha clans got annihilated just like Bing Ge.

Chapter 712 - Satisfied!

Ling Lan felt that 250 Mecha Clan was quite lucky when she heard about the news. The giant circular creature at the bottom of the lake was powerful but it was not really smart. Hence, it was not as scary as those creatures with high intelligence. This allowed her to subdue it rather easily..

Of course, Ling Lan knew she would win against the creature even if it had high intelligence, especially because of her father at her side. If her father couldn't even defeat the creature, then the Federation should just give up on this planet. No matter how many divisions they sent over, they would never be able to take over this planet.

Very soon, the clearance of the Black Giant Ants started. The logistics department of 250 Mecha Clan got busy.

At the start, the mecha operators from the other mecha clans were not used to the working style of the logisticians from 250 Mecha Clan. The first thing they did was to fill up a form that asked them about their favorite food and certain habits that they had.

The mecha operators were puzzled as to why they needed to answer these questions. However they soon forgot about the doubts, they were too engrossed in the services provided by 250's logisticians. Whether it was their food or their living conditions, everything was accommodated to them. The logisticians in charged of their mechas would take notes of their likes and habits and install their favorite weapons on their mechas. They even prepared backup energy storage units based on the different models of mechas.

The mecha operators from the other divisions didn't take notice of these small little things but when they left 250 Mecha Clan's base and went back to their own temporary base after it was built, they then realized they were not happy with the services there. At first, they thought that it was due to their base not having the same facilities as 250 Mecha Clan's base. However, after returning from their missions a couple of times, they finally understood what the main difference was, the logisticians!

During their time in 250's base, there would always be enough ammo in their weapons. Now, they kept having problems with their weapons and equipment. This caused them to have no choice but to end their missions halfway through.

This was when they realized the reason why they felt so much difference was due to the logisticians. Compared to the logisticians of 250 Mecha Clan, their own logisticians were too bad.

Besides the logisticians, the mecha operators from other mecha clans were also astounded by 250's mecha operators. They had the least number of people but the number of Black Giant Ants they killed were as many as them.

Those mecha operators that had the honor of fighting alongside them, saw how frightening they were. Their decision making in battle and mecha piloting ability exceeded them. After working with them for a couple of times, they realized this group of outstanding mecha operators consisted of ace mecha masters that had made a name for themselves a long time ago. They were either regiment commanders, team leaders of mecha clans or team leaders of battle teams in the past.

Now, they knew why the logisticians of 250 Mecha Clan were so amazing. They had to serve people of such high caliber(This was just their guess). This made the mecha operators from other mecha clans respected 250's mecha operators even more.

Smart people knew that if they could get some advice from famous and powerful mecha operators, they would make fewer mistakes in their pursuit of strength. The people who just advanced to an ace mecha master was very different in terms of ability and experience when compared with those that were at peak level ace mecha masters.

Some people knew about the reason why these mecha operators were sent to 250 Mecha Clan, but seeing how strong the mecha operators were, they started suspecting whether the rumor they knew was fake. Did they spread these rumors to cover up the truth? Maybe the 23rd division wanted to form a named ace mecha clan to be in charge of passing down the legacy of the 23rd division.

They remembered that the regiment commander of 250 Mecha Clan had the surname 'Ling'. This confirmed their suspicion. This regiment commander must be under General Ling Xiao. It was understandable for a general to use his own people to groom the mecha clan that would pass down the legacy of the division.

The regiment commanders who saw Ling Lan before had to admit that this young man was indeed an extraordinary person. He was able to subdue this bunch of outstanding and arrogant mecha operators. The regiment commanders that worked with Ling Lan for this mission saw her exceptional commanding and fighting abilities and decided that they would never fight with her.

The final conclusion the 7th division came to was that 250 Mecha Clan was a future named ace mecha clan the 23rd division wanted to groom. It would become the most important mecha clan which would pass down the legacy of the 23rd division.

This news started to spread within the 7th division and then started spreading to the other divisions too. Unbeknownst to Ling Lan, 250 Mecha Clan started to gain fame among the grass-roots mecha clans within each division. Some soldiers even wanted to enter 250 Mecha Clan.

The mission to clear the Black Giant Ants was a success. After the last batch of Black Giant Ants was killed, all the mecha operators shouted in happiness. They knew that once the Black Giant Ants were cleared, the mecha clans that participated in this mission would have a safe spot to build their temporary base. The temporary base of 250 Mecha Clan had inspired the regiment commanders of the mecha clans in the 7th division so they decided to build a combined temporary base. The command center accepted their request.

Not long after, a base larger than 250 Mecha Clan's base appeared on the land where the Black Giant Ants once existed. Ling Lan didn't want to participate in the division of resources after this. The mecha clans from the 7th division would get the best resources but they would not cut back on the resources they would give 250 Mecha Clan.

Ling Lan didn't place much importance on the resources they got from the Black Giant Ants mission but Lin Zhong-qing still sent He Chaoyang over to supervise the other mecha clans. Lin Zhong-qing felt that no matter how little it was, it was still valuable. There must be no mistakes. He was in charge of the living conditions of the entire 250 Mecha Clan. Hence, he needed to make sure nothing went wrong.

Since 250 Mecha Clan didn't make a fuss over their gains and resources, the 7th division had a better impression of them. This caused a chain reaction. The 7th division was satisfied with the 23rd division due to 250 Mecha Clan's action while the 23rd division had a good impression of 7th division too from the feedback they received from 250 Mecha Clan.

Hence, the two divisions were satisfied with each other, they formed a good relationship with each other. Coincidentally, the areas where the other mecha clans from the 23rd Division and 7th division landed were around the same area. Because of this satisfactory collaboration, the mecha clans under the two divisions met up for a discussion if their territories overlapped with each other instead of fighting each other.

Both parties made consensus. If they found the same resource, they would follow what 250 Mecha Clan did and work together. This was something unexpected.

This collaboration had a deep impact. In the future, these two divisions continued to maintain their good relationship.

When everyone was fighting for resources in the Federation headquarters, these two divisions would work with each other to let each other gain resources. Even if they had different viewpoints about issues that might cause a conflict to occur, one side would keep quiet and not mess with the other party.

Compared to the 7th division which had been around for a few centuries, the newly built 23rd Division gained more benefits from this collaboration. The support from the First Marshal as well as the help from the 7th division allowed 23rd Division to rise in rank. They started to hold more power in the discussion within the Federation.

The Second Marshal and Third Marshal gritted their teeth secretly when they noticed this. However, they never linked the reason for this relationship to be the land clearing mission or to 250 Mecha Clan. They thought that the 7th division helped the 23rd Division because Ling Xiao was once under the 7th division.

Of course, all these happened in the future. As the land clearing mission progressed, more mecha clans started building their temporary base. With 250 Mecha Clan continuing to cooperate with the 7th division, they didn't stop expanding their territory. After some time, they found some small mineral caves.

Ling Lan had not informed the higher authorities about the huge energy mine she found at the bottom of the lake. Based on what Ling Xiao said, they should first let the staff officer department reached a consensus with the headquarters of the Federation. This was to prevent other people from sucking away the gains the 23rd division should have.

Chapter 713 - Nuwa Element!

The 23rd Division was still young compared to the other divisions. It didn't have much influence in the military, even if its general was one of the god-class operators in the Federation, it was still not able to prevent others from snatching their resources.

Actually, Ling Xiao didn't know that the most valuable resource Ling Lan found was not the huge energy source at the bottom of the lake. Instead, it was a yellowish-brown plant that could be found everywhere on this planet.

After Li Shiyu conducted a series of experiments, he concluded that the yellowish-brown plants contained a strange element. This element could not be found in the Federation. Injecting this element into the cells of a human would drastically increase their regeneration ability.

That's right, regeneration of organs and limbs would not be a dream anymore. It would become a reality.

Li Shiyu named this element, the Nuwa element. Legend has it that Nuwa was the creator of humans. Nuwa also used her body to patch the sky. Regeneration of organs and limbs was similar to how Nuwa patched the sky. Hence, Li Shiyu gave it this name.

When Li Shiyu told her about his findings, Ling Lan's first thought was that he was in trouble. This finding, as well as the technique behind this, could change the world. The Federation would never allow this technique to belong to a single person. That meant that Li Shiyu would lose his freedom and be under the Federation's control. He would only live in their secret base with the researchers.

If other countries found out about this, Li Shiyu would be unable to appear in public ever again. No one knew what these countries would do. The worst-case scenario was, extreme advocates of nature might view Li Shiyu as their enemy and think of ways to kill him.

Ling Lan thought about it carefully for a long time. In order to ensure Li Shiyu's safety and freedom, she decided to keep this a secret. At the same time, she told Li Shiyu that he must not tell anyone about this. Even Ling Lan felt burdened by Li Shiyu's findings. This was the first time she realized she was still not strong enough. She was still unable to protect these comrades who trusted her.

Ling Lan, you need to become stronger!

Since her father was the general of the 23rd division, Ling Lan relaxed ever since she entered the 23rd division. She didn't work as hard on improving herself unlike before. In this half a year, she didn't improve much in her physical skills or mecha piloting skills.

However, Li Shiyu's findings caused her to have a sense of crisis. This made her motivated again.

Ling Lan could have told Ling Xiao about this and asked him to solve this issue but she didn't. Ling Lan still had her pride. She felt that as an adult, she needed to be responsible for herself. Li Shiyu was her comrade. She should be the one taking care of this matter.

Additionally, Ling Lan felt that the fewer who knew of this secret, the safer it was.

The three months deadline for the land clearing mission was near. 250 Mecha Clan found a few more normal-sized mineral caves. Some were standard caves while some contained rare minerals. Other mecha clans liked exploring mountainous areas, but 250 Mecha Clan gave up such potential areas and continued guarding their flat piece of land which didn't seem to have anything besides the yellowish-brown plants.

Due to 250 Mecha Clan's inactivity, the 7th division found many resources. They all thought that this was General Ling Xiao's way of giving back to them so they started treating the 23rd Division better. After a series of misunderstandings, the two divisions' relationship got even better. Ling Lan's selfish actions accidentally benefited her father.

Which in turn made the 250 Mecha Clan to be ranked at the bottom in terms of resources found. Because of this, when it was found out the lake within 250 Mecha Clan territory contained a huge energy source, many other mecha clans and divisions had their eyes on it. However, due to the relationships formed through this mission, the 7th division helped them to guard their resources along with their allies and the division under the First Marshal. More than half of the votes supported 250 Mecha Clan so the 23rd division got the right to take over the energy source.

Another reason why they were so generous was that they knew that even with the resource at the bottom of the lake, the resources 250 Mecha Clan found couldn't compare to theirs. Thus, they didn't care about this small loss. Additionally, they could please General Ling Xiao. Hence, without much difficulty, Ling Xiao got the resource.

Ling Xiao was surprised at how easy it was but since he achieved his motive of protecting his daughter's interest, he couldn't be bothered to think about the minor details. He knew that even if the other party had some hidden intentions, it would be exposed sooner or later. He would just take whatever that comes along. He was not afraid of it.

The most dangerous portion of the land clearing mission was done. After that, normal mecha clans would come and scour the planet to see if there were any leftovers. It was still dangerous but compared to their portion of the mission, it was much safer. The Federation made this decision because they wanted to train the normal mecha clans. Of course, if these mecha clans found some resources, they would get some of it. However, those resources were all non-renewable.

Before they left, the command center of the land clearing mission informed 250 Mecha Clan that their temporary base would be taken over by the 23rd division. It would be used by the other mecha clans that would be coming to this planet.

Ling Lan didn't reject the request but she didn't accept it readily too. She took the chance to get some benefits from the command center. Although her father was the general of the 23rd division, she was still the regiment commander of 250 Mecha Clan. She must think for her mecha clan first.

She managed to get many things from the command center. She had to thank Lin Zhong-qing for this. His exceptional negotiation skills turned the representative from the command center pale. From then on, this representative placed Lin Zhong-qing on his blacklist. He never wanted to talk to Lin Zhong-qing ever again.

After Ling Xiao knew about this, he laughed heartily. There were many capable people under his daughter. His daughter didn't forget to groom her comrades while she was improving herself. As expected of his daughter. She inherited all of his good traits.

While praising his daughter, Ling Xiao remembered to compliment himself. At that moment, he had forgotten that the things his daughter extorted were all his…

Well, even if Ling Xiao remembered, he would still give it to his daughter willingly. He might even help his daughter to extort more things from the 23rd division if he had the chance to.

After finishing everything, Ling Lan ordered Lin Zhong-qing to remove Meng Lan from the base. She was not kind enough to give away the intelligent entity which Little Four created. Although Meng Lan was just a powerful intelligent system and not someone like Little Four, she was still much better than the mainframes from the Federation.

Ling Lan couldn't bear to give Meng Lan away. To Ling Lan, Meng Lan was the personal mainframe of 250 Mecha Clan. She was in charge of the safety of 250 Mecha Clan's virtual world. She made sure their information would not be leaked out.

Suddenly, an alarm rang throughout the entire base. "Level one alert. Level one alert. A huge creature had appeared outside of the base. All mecha operators, please get into position and prepare to fight."

Meng Lan stopped her removal process. The entire base was on level one alert. Her voice rang throughout the entire base and all the mecha operators rushed to their mechas.

"What happened?" Ling Lan was looking through the documents for their land clearing mission when she heard the alarm.

Meng Lan displayed some images on the screen. Numerous tentacles appeared outside their base. A huge circular object rose above the surface of the lake. However, it didn't attack the base. It just stayed there, seemingly to remind the base of its presence.

"What is it trying to do? Is it not afraid that I'll kill it?" Ling Lan was shocked. The creature was the sidekick she took in. It had been peaceful for these past three months. Why did it suddenly start creating a ruckus when she was about to leave?

"No, it seemed to be angry that you are leaving." Little Four yawned. Little Four was awake now but he always seemed tired. He would sleep whenever he had the time to.

As for Little Blossom, he was taken away by Number Five for training. Ling Lan wanted to bring Little Blossom back. However, Number Five just stared at her with dead-pan eyes. He seemed to be telling her that if Little Blossom didn't go for training, she would have to replace him. Hence, Ling Lan pretended that she said nothing.

Sob. Little Blossom, I know that you are suffering. I'll compensate you when you are back.

Ling Lan felt guilty so she decided to compensate Little Blossom when he comes back. If Ling Lan knew that Number Four was the one who was training… she would probably still let Little Blossom handle it.

Chapter 714 - Little White!

Ling Lan was conflicted about having Little Blossom experiencing Number Five's training methods. That type of training was inhumane. There were several moments in the training that almost broke her, but luckily she managed to get through those moments.

However, Little Four seemed to be able to communicate with Little Blossom, who was training. Thus, he could obtain the circular creature's thoughts. After all, a part of Little Blossom was inside the spiritual entity of the circular creature. Little Blossom could easily acquire the creature's thoughts. If it had any antagonistic thoughts towards Ling Lan, Little Blossom wouldn't hesitate to order his clone to devour the spiritual entity of the creature.

"Angry? What's there to be angry about? It should know that we're not from this planet. Once our mission end, we will leave." Ling Lan had a headache. How come all of the helpers she recruited were all so troublesome?

"Boss, you should comfort it. Otherwise once you leave, it would cause a big ruckus. Without daddy's power, there's no way to stop it." As Little Four spoke, he also yawned, then he rubbed his eyes and said, "I'm tired Boss. I'm going to sleep."

After saying that, Little Four disappeared, not noticing Ling Lan's worried expression. Ever since Little Four had awakened, he was not as hyper as before. Instead, he was always quite sleepy. In a day, he would only be awake for one to two hours. For the rest of the day, he would be asleep.

Ling Lan was worried that Little Four's forced awakening might have caused some problems in his evolution. Unfortunately, Little Blossom wasn't here so Ling Lan couldn't ask him about the possible problems which might arise from the evolution of intelligent entities…

Although Ling Lan was worried, she would just watch Little Four sleep everyday… She was afraid that if she told him about it, it would harm Little Four.

Ling Lan tossed her worry to the back of her head and took a deep breath. She signaled Meng Lan to turn on the headquarter's public announcement channel, "All available mecha operators standby."

After giving this order, Ling Lan stood up and opened her room. She saw her father, fully equipped in his gear, standing in front of her.

"Dad, I have to trouble you to come with me again." In order to prevent the circular creature from going berserk, she must use her dad, this god-like individual, to keep things in check.

"It's my pleasure!" Even though Ling Lan had a mask on, Ling Lan almost couldn't defend against her father's bright smile. As expected, her father was also a demon. Luckily, her mother reined him in. Ling Lan silently rejoiced for all the women in the Federation. If it wasn't for the fact that her father had a significant other, it was possible that those women who saw his smile, would make a fatal mistake…

Not long after, Ling Lan and Ling Xiao landed their mechas on the shore of the lake. The circular creature saw the two of them appearing and began to cry out. Ling Lan seemed to hear the sorrow from its cries.

"Let's talk down there." Ling Xiao also felt that the circular creature had something to say and immediately prompted Ling Lan to go down.

Ling Lan's communication method was related to the Divine Command sect. If the fact that Ling Lan could communicate with the creatures of this planet was leaked, the military would definitely focus on her. There could even be people thinking about using her for their own gains.

Ling Xiao didn't want the higher-ups to focus on Ling Lan, it might even cause her to be in danger. However, if it was found out, Ling Xiao wasn't afraid. At most, he would let Ling Lan publicly announce their relationship. It was just that, as his child, she would be under a lot of danger. Unless it was necessary, Ling Xiao definitely didn't want Ling Lan to fall into the palms of the higher-ups.

"Alright." Right as Ling Lan answered, his father ruthlessly kicked the creature, sending it to the middle of the lake.

Ling Lan could feel the hopelessness from the creature. It was as though she heard the circular creature's petulant cries, asking why did Ling Xiao kick it.

"I'll tell you at the bottom of the lake." While comforting the circular creature, she piloted her mecha and kicked the circular creature into the lake. The two of them stepped on the large body of the creature and instantly sank into the lake.

The water in the lake began to turn. Countless tentacles flailed with great force as if they were being attacked. Those tentacles splashed a lot of water around, then disappeared into the lake without a trace. After a short while, the surface of the water returned to its original calmness.

"Did the regiment commander get into a fight with that thing?" Many mecha operators asked this question.

"He should be. When we first landed on this planet, we had already battled with this kind of creature. We originally thought there was only one, but we didn't think that the bottom of the lake had another one as well." A mecha operator who was one of the first to arrive on this planet, explained to his comrades. He also mentioned the long drawn-out battle with the large circular creature. This made the mecha operators who landed after the first batch felt regretful that they weren't there to witness it. They hated themselves for missing out on such an exhilarating battle.

"When do you guys think our regiment commander will be able to take that thing down?" Many mecha operators began to place bets on whether or not their regiment commander would be defeated by the large creature. No way, how could that be possible? It had to be said that, Ling Lan's powerful image was engraved in the minds of every mecha operator and logistician in the 250 Mecha Clan.

"That big thing is very powerful. It will probably take some time." The mecha operators who had battled with the circular creature knew very well that it could severely injure their team leaders. In the end, it was taken down by the regiment commander's long range attack, otherwise the outcome would have been unpredictable.

While everyone was guessing about the brutal battle happening at the bottom of the lake, the circular creature, Ling Lan and Ling Xiao had arrived at the bottom of the trench.

Ling Lan put her mecha's arms on her hips and looked at the circular creature, who was rolling around under her feet, with a cold glare, "Alright, who do you want? Please, can't you maintain your image of being a terrifying monster? Isn't such childish behavior too shameful?"

Hearing this, the circular creature finally stopped rolling around, protesting its feeling of being wronged. It began to roar, saying that it didn't want to be left alone.

Ling Lan laughed coldly, "With your body, where can you run to? You want me to stay at this trash place forever? It you're not satisfied, I can instantly get rid of you. Then you won't be alone anymore."

The circular creature's body immediately froze. It seemed to remember that its life was in the hands of this person in front of it. In the next second, it pounced towards Ling Lan. Wait no, it sent out two tentacles and wrapped around Ling Lan's mecha's thigh firmly. It was softly caressing her mecha's thigh with its head, trying to get on Ling Lan's good side.

"Dad, where did it learn something like this?" Ling Lan looked to Ling Xiao helplessly. It had only been three months and this circular creature already learned the bad habits of the human race.

Ling Xiao coughed and said, "In the past three months, too many people from 250 Mecha Clan came here. Perhaps it learned by observing them."

"Alright, speak properly, don't act cute." Ling Lan's beam shield flashed and shook off the circular creature's tentacles easily. Of course this was also because the circular creature was afraid of hurting Ling Lan, thus it didn't use any force.

"Rawr…"

Follow her? How would that be possible? No starship would dare to transport a creature of this size.

Ling Lan shook her head, "No way. I can't take you with me with your large body."

"Rawr…"

"You're saying your body can be stretched freely?" Ling Lan said with surprise in her voice.

"Rawr…"

"Oh, not stretching but splitting the main body. The primary stages of splitting, the main body is small." Ling Lan thought about it and believed it seemed right. Otherwise, if the creatures here could freely stretch their bodies, it would be quite terrifying.

"Oh yeah. Are there any other creatures on this planet who has your ability?" Ling Lan thought of this possibility and felt irritated. If there were creatures with this ability with a high degree of intelligence, then those creatures would be the bane of the soldiers who remained on the planet for future missions.

In order to make Ling Lan happy, the circular creature told her everything it knew. It cried out once again, telling Ling Lan, no other creature on this planet had the ability to change their body size.

Ling Lan breathed a sigh of relief. Without this ability, the soldiers of the Federation would be safer. It would also not affect the 250 Mecha Clan's rewards.

Ling Lan told the creature to split apart in front of her. If its body was really small, she would take it with her.

Hearing this, the circular creature was very happy. Soon, the creature suddenly cracked open right in the middle. A white mini-version of the circular creature swam out from it.

It looked similar to a ball. Its two eyes almost took up the surface area of the ball. It had countless number of tentacles at the bottom of it, but those tentacles were very soft. They were like bits of string, moving along with the flow of the water. It actually looked cute.

Ling Lan saw how the circular creature looked after it split its body. She was silent for a few moments and then finally said, "In the future, I'll refer to you as Little White."

Previously, Ling Lan didn't even think about giving a name to the main body of the circular creature. Now that she saw a cute miniature ball, she automatically gave it a name. As expected, ladies cannot reject a cute creature. Even though Ling Lan's outer expression was cold and heartless, it was still hard for her to suppress her feminine side.

Hearing the name, Ling Xiao had a look of hopelessness on his face. He suddenly discovered that his daughter didn't have any talent in giving names…

"Rawr…" Little White cried out excitedly. It could finally leave this lifeless and desolate place. It turns out, the actions of Little White was planned. It wasn't actually because it would miss Ling Lan… Too bad Ling Lan was used by Little White this one time.

Ling Lan told Little White to hide in the space between her large sword and its sheath. Little White squeezed its body into the space. Seeing this, Ling Lan actually had the thought of pinching Little White, thinking that it would be very soft and stretchy…

Wah wah wah. It took her two lifetimes to discover she actually liked toys and dolls that were stretchy, soft and cute… In the cockpit, Ling Lan couldn't help but blush. She definitely couldn't let others discover what she liked. Otherwise, she would lose her dignity as the Boss.

Chapter 715 - A Familiar Face!

250 Mecha Clan was probably the first clan to leave the planet. Of course, Ling Lan also smuggled a special pet from the planet, Little White. According to military regulations, all soldiers, who participated in land clearing missions, were not allowed to take any lifeforms out from the planet. Even a little speck of dust was not allowed.

The reason Ling Lan was successful in smuggling Little White on board was not only because Little White's small body, but also because, Little Four was just too good. She successfully got past the detectors at the port.

After 250 Mecha Clan entered the planetary sector of the Federation, Ling Xiao, who had been alongside Ling Lan, quietly left. Ling Lan knew that her father must quickly return to the 23rd Division. First Staff Officer He probably couldn't endure the pressure coming from multiple parties anymore, since Ling Xiao was gone for three months.

250 Mecha Clan on the other hand, still needed to go to the Federation's military headquarters. 250 Mecha Clan's performance during the land clearing mission was outstanding. They managed to squeeze into the ranks of the 10 best performing clans. They would go there, as well as the nine other clans, to receive additional merits from the military.

"Other than our clan, what clans are going to the military headquarters?" Even though 250 Mecha Clan's mecha operators were veterans and had also received similar rewards in the past, they had never received it in such a high honor. They were unable to hold back their excitement and joy in their hearts. Their daily conversations were always about this topic.

These veterans knew it was all due to Regiment Commander Ling Lan's contribution that allowed them to enjoy such an honor. They were very grateful towards Ling Lan. However, veterans were not the same as recruits, who outwardly showed their feelings. These veterans kept their gratefulness in their hearts, but their respect for Ling Lan was not any lower than that of any recruits.

Major General Jiang Wei, Department Head of the Federation's Military Safety Department, at the age of 40, was considered to be one of the more famous officers from the Federation.

He was currently looking through a file. The file was a list headquarters had sent him about the 10 of the top performing clans in the land clearing mission. In the first, second and third place were top clans that were known throughout the galaxy.

Jiang Wei smiled. As expected, the clans that could receive additional merits were those powerful and capable veteran clans. After flipping to the end of the file, Jiang Wei's expression was one of astonishment. It was because the two clans that were ranked at the bottom two were clans he had never heard of.

One of the mecha clans was, of course, the 7th Division's Courage God Ace Mecha Clan. It wasn't considered to be one of the stronger mecha clans from the 7th Division. Jiang Wei thought hard for a moment and suddenly remembered, a few years ago he had approved the title application of the Courage God Ace Mecha Clan from the 7th Division. The title they applied for was called Courage God.

He didn't think that only in few years, this mecha clan had grown to such heights. Jiang Wei's expression was joyful. Didn't a mecha clan that had an outstanding performance which he had personally approved of, confirmed his decision he made was indeed the correct one?

However, when Jiang Wei read the name of the tenth mecha clan, a stunned expression was shown on his face. 250 Mecha Clan of the 23rd Division? Perhaps others wouldn't know about the story behind 250 Mecha Clan, but as one of the creators of 250 Mecha Clan, Jiang Wei knew exactly what 250 Mecha Clan was all about…

He couldn't help but rub his eyes. The number 250 at the front was indeed not a mistake.

How is this possible? How could a mecha clan like that be one of the top 10 performing clans in this mission? Jiang Wei went into deep thought. Did Ling Xiao have something to do with it?

Ling Xiao and Jiang Wei were from the same generation and, of course, they are in the Federation's military most powerful group of people. In the past, due to Ling Xiao climbing up the military ladder too quickly, he outshone Jiang Wei's achievements, it was like comparing the Sun to a random lantern on the street. Although Jiang Wei's performance was outstanding as well, advancing to be a major general at such a young age, it was pale in comparison to Ling Xiao's. Being in the same generation as Ling Xiao, all of the attention was on Ling Xiao and Jiang Wei's existence was completely forgotten. This made him very jealous and spiteful towards Ling Xiao. Back then, he was the one who suggested to send these 'damaged goods' of mecha operators to the 23rd division, simply to irritate Ling Xiao.

After thinking 250 Mecha Clan definitely had some sort of secret, Jiang Wei couldn't help but laugh coldly. He wanted to see what Ling Xiao had done to those mecha operators. If he was to discover that Ling Xiao had been mistreating those mecha operators… He would definitely not let him off easy!

Jiang Wei made a decision, immediately contacted a commanding officer of clan under his command and issued a few orders.

The venue was not in the Federation's main capital on Planet General. It was instead one of Planet General's large satellite city, Soldier City. The reason why the top 10 clans was not allowed to enter the main capital was to ensure the safety of the capital's countless high-ranking officers. No one could confirm that there wasn't any assassins or spies hidden within these top 10 mechas clans.

Soldier City's name was just as it sounded. The city was to garrison many ace mecha clans defending the main capital. Although these clans did not appear in the eyes of the public and silently protecting high-ranking officers, there was no doubt the ace operators within these clans were considered one of the strongest groups. These clans were of similar levels to the special forces of all the divisions.

These clans defending the capital would have ace operators nicknamed 'Guardians of South Sea'. After guarding the capital for five years, these operators would be able to leave the main capital and take up a position in one of the many divisions. At that time, these ace operators would become commodities for the divisions to fight for. Every time, these individuals would make divisions fight fiercely for them, causing dents in their relationships with each other.

Other than these 'Guardians of the South Sea', the Soldier City also had clans from all 23 divisions. They would also protect the division representative from their own division. However, the capabilities of these clans were incomparable to the 'Guardians of the South Sea'. The clans guarding their division's representative would change every three years. Currently, it was right at the end of a three year period. The entire Soldier City had mecha operators coming in and out, and was very busy. The chaotic scene increased the number of disputes in the Soldier City. The battle arenas in Soldier City hadn't closed since then.

Inside Soldier City, once any clan had any disputes or problems with another clan, they were not allowed to resolve it by fighting privately. If they wanted to resolve these disputes, they must fight in the arena. These people could choose to fight solo or in group in the arena. Once an individual or group demanded a battle in the arena, their opponents would not be able to refuse the challenge.

In order to make sure there wasn't anyone with malicious intent, those who were challenged could invite comrades similar capabilities to their opponents to stand in for them or join the battle. Inside the arena, any injuries or deaths were considered legal and reasonable.

Almost every year, there would be soldiers who perish in the arena by mistake. Although every year there was such a gruesome scene, the battle arenas were legit and not frowned upon because it was the only place for soldiers to resolve personal vendettas. No one denied this fact.

Although the mission of protecting the capital seemed to be a waste of time and somewhat dangerous, it was still a highly-valued mission. Once these operators finish the three year guarding period, they would return to their divisions, receiving promotions and increasing the chance of becoming a high-ranking officer.

Many capable and ambitious mecha operators could not refuse such a good opportunity for a promotion. In other words, in order to advance to a higher rank, one needed to have the connections or be very capable while wasting three years of their life.

The division higher-ups must also think carefully on who to select to provide the connections for. If a dispute was to happen and a battle in the arena was set up, but those who participated were only second-rate individuals who got in through connections, wouldn't they be brutally beaten up? It would humiliate the entire division. No high-ranking officer dared to spread their connections too freely, but every three years they would put in a few people by going through connections in Soldier City.

The clan from the 9th Division stationed in Soldier City was doing some information handover procedures. In the group of new members, two familiar faces appeared.

"Young Master 13, congratulations," Ye Ling had a faint smile on his face and congratulated the cold-looking young man. It was indeed Ye Xu, who had split with Wu Jiong years ago.

Ye Xu snorted coldly and didn't reply. In reality, he hated going through a backdoor through connections in order to get promoted faster. In the beginning, the achievements he had achieved were all gained by his own hand. Ye Xu couldn't help but remember the times when he fought and grew with Boss Lan. That was when he was the happiest, not like now where he didn't have any choice but to do things he didn't want to do.

"The family head said that after this mission, Young Master 13 would be a mecha clan's vice regiment commander. After another year, when you become familiar with all the procedures in a clan, you would be able to be an official regiment commander of a mecha clan." Ye Ling told Ye Xu the Ye family's family head's plan. He continued with a huge smile on his face, "Maybe Young Master 13 will be the military's youngest regiment commander."

Hearing this, Ye Xu was in a daze. His future was indeed full of prospects, but was it what he actually wanted? He remembered Wu Jiong. The 15th Division was where the Wu family had consolidated their power. Wu Jiong probably would also be nurtured by the Wu family to a great extent.

Ye Ling seemed to have seen through Ye Xu's thoughts. He smiled and said, "Although the Wu family has consolidated their power in the 15th Division, the Wu family still has a fatal weakness. That weakness is their branch families have power as well. The power struggle between the main family and the branch family had already become heated. If Wu Jiong wants to make himself known, he will definitely be constantly pressured by the branch families… He wouldn't be like you, Young Master 13, who is supported by the entire Ye family.

"Wu Jiong isn't someone who would give up easily. He will definitely climb up the ranks," Ye Xu responded coldly. In their entire team, the person who knew the most about Wu Jiong was probably him. Back then, when he and Wu Jiong collaborated and worked hard together to grow gave Ye Xu enough time to learn about what kind of person Wu Jiong was.

"That's only if he has a chance to," Ye Ling half-smiled as he replied. He didn't think highly of Wu Jiong. Although he was capable, he was still somewhat irresolute and hesitant. Someone with such a personality was fated to not go too far up the ranks.

Although Ye Ling was sent by the Ye family to aid Ye Xu, he was also there to watch over Ye Xu. Ye Ling knew more than Ye Xu. He even knew that if Ye Xu had even a single thought of leaving the Ye family, he would be mercilessly destroyed by the Ye family. There were many descendants in the Ye family. Although Ye Xu was the most talented out of all of the descendants in this generation, he wasn't the only one with great prospects. If he didn't listen to the Ye family, they would abandon him entirely without batting an eye.

Chapter 716 - Gather in Soldier City!

Ye Ling's words were met with Ye Xu's silence. Ye Ling wasn't sure whether Ye Xu denied his opinion on Wu Jiong. However, this matter wasn't important. Ye Ling's mission was to instill Ye Xu's mind that he is nothing without the Ye family.

Ye Xu and Ye Ling didn't know that Wu Jiong, who they had just been discussing about, was where they were at. He was also in Soldier City and was a member of the clan from the 15th Division stationed in the city.

However, the difference was the Ye family purposefully sent Ye Xu there to increase his rank. After three years, he would be able to rightly be promoted and be a deputy in some mecha clan. A year after that, he would be able to lead his own clan.

Wu Jiong came here because he didn't have the choice not to. Although Wu Jiong knew his main family had consolidated their power in the 15th Division, he didn't think that his main family was being pressured by the branch family to the point where they couldn't even breathe. The branch family created countless obstacles for him who came in late. Wu Jiong was unable to do anything in the 15th Division… As his bad luck would have it, the rules of the family state that his grandfather and father could not do anything to help him. He could only endure everything that came his way.

Faced with so many obstacles created by the branch family, in order to give himself a chance to breathe, Wu Jiong had no choice but to use his family's connections which he previously had looked down upon. By using the connections the main family had, they sent his name onto the list for stationed troops.

Wu Jiong sat in the military hover car for the troops of the 15th Division and finally arrived at the entrance of Soldier City.

At the entrance of Soldier City, there wasn't any soldiers on standing on guard. However, Wu Jiong knew that the surrounding area definitely hidden countless numbers of surveillance cameras and defensive weapons. Whoever dared to trespass, would definitely be vaporized by high-powered lasers instantly. These people would be evaporated and disappear from this world.

After entering Soldier City, strong looking soldiers belonging to different divisions could be seen. These soldiers would gather together in groups of 10 to 15 or walk and talk together in twos or threes. Although it was just one look at the city, one look was still enough to understand the special culture and extravagance Soldier City had.

However, no matter how great a city was, Wu Jiong still couldn't hide the sadness in his heart. Before entering the 15th Division, he walked a successful path, only making one mistake because of Ye Xu. This made him underestimate the difficulty he would face in the 15th Division…

Wu Jiong rubbed his face with great force. The force he used was so strong, he felt his face was hurting a bit. However, Wu Jiong didn't care about the pain. Instead, because of the pain, he felt much better. As expected, after leaving the care of Boss Lan, he could no longer achieve anything. And now, in order to acquire power as soon as possible, he was doing something he would not have imagined himself doing in the past. If Boss Lan knew about this, he would probably be disappointed right?

When they were parting after leaving the military academy, he had set a grandiose goal. Now when he looked back at it, it was totally a joke. As expected, he was indeed a frog at the bottom of a well.

Wu Jiong, who was confident in his own capabilities, began to doubt himself.

"We're here!" Someone shouted and awakened Wu Jiong from his daze. Wu Jiong discovered that while he was thinking about his early-life crisis, they had already arrived at the headquarters of the 15th Division stationed in the city. The soldiers who came here with him excitedly picked up their bags and walked off the hover car.

Wu Jiong smacked his face a few times to make himself more alert. He must walk this path since he already chose this path. Boss Lan hated people who gave up in the middle the most.

Just like that, with a hint of anticipation and sadness, Wu Jiong welcomed the three year time period he will be stationed at the headquarters that will change his destiny. It was just that he didn't think that the person he thought of day and night, was currently taking his comrades and coming to Soldier City.

Inside the regiment commander's office in the stationed base camp of the 3rd Division, a young major was saying his salutations to his commander, the supreme commander of the base camp.

"Qiao Ting, you really don't want to stay for another three years?" The regiment commander looked at this subordinate in front of him who was very capable, unwilling to let him go.

In the beginning, Qiao Ting, who was still new recruit, was instantly put into the stationed army for the three year golden time period. He however didn't want this. This would make people think that he was an untalented individual who could only rise up in rank by using his connections… However, the regiment commander knew that with such a strong family background, Qiao Ting couldn't refuse even if he didn't want it. However, his family didn't give him any nice looks either.

It was just that, during the time when they had a small conflict with someone from the 2nd Division, Qiao Ting brought up the idea of fighting solo in the arena. In the end, he defeated the opponent, increasing the 3rd Division's prestige around the city. Qiao Ting wasn't someone who was incapable and relied on his connections to rise up in the ranks. Instead, he had real capabilities. The only reason he was going through this golden three year period was because the 3rd Division higher-ups wanted to nurture him. Thus, they used this method to let him advance the ranks much quicker and be a regiment commander.

After all, to be the regiment commander, one must have enough merits. Unfortunately the merits gained for the missions during the recruitment stage were not enough to rank up to the position of regiment commander in a short amount of time. In order to nurture the newer generations, every division worked their hardest to help these people collect enough merits. The only reason this mission of being stationed in Soldier City was a golden opportunity was because the merits of this mission were high enough.

Qiao Ting heard his regiment commander's unwillingness to part and could only show a face of sorrow, "Sorry regiment commander, I can only obey the arrangements of the higher-ups." This time, Qiao Ting will be taking up the position of deputy regiment commander of a standard mecha clan. It couldn't be helped. The stationed mission's merits could only help him reach this position. Afterwards, he would still need to continue to work hard to get rid of the word 'deputy' and become an actual regiment commander.

Hearing Qiao Ting's words, the regiment commander could only regrettably say, "If you stay for another three years, you would be able to rank up to regiment commander instantly. However, I still want to congratulate you. Work hard, my major."

The person in front of the regiment commander was publicly announced by the higher-ups to be someone of importance. The regiment commander had an expression full of admiration. It took him a decade to get to his position. This individual in front of him however, used only three years to reach deputy regiment commander. If his performance was good, in one or two years, he would be able to advance to regiment commander. This was just around half a decade.

"Qiao Ting's luck is too good!" thought the regiment commander. This was when each division were focused on developing and nurturing the next generation of commanders. As long as they matured, it would ensure the outstanding nature being passed down to further generations and wouldn't left in the dust by other divisions. If Qiao Ting was born a decade earlier or a decade later, he perhaps wouldn't have such a great opportunity as he has now.

"Thank you regiment commander!" Qiao Ting said gratefully and saluted. Although he was given the cold shoulder treatment by the regiment commander in the beginning, he still treated him well. He trained and nurtured him and also helped him achieved new heights.

If it wasn't for the fact that Qiao Ting knew Ling Lan had entered a division, perhaps Qiao Ting would be willing to wait another three years then be a mecha clan's regiment commander. Now, with the existence of Ling Lan, Qiao Ting was under a lot of pressure. He was afraid if he delayed for another three years, it was possible he would be left in the dust by Ling Lan.

Although logically, he believed it was something that wasn't possible. However, Ling Lan was too monstrous which made him unable to guess Ling Lan's progress. It was this thought that made him decisively return to the division. He believed he would only need to be given a year of time for him to get rid of the word 'deputy' and officially be a real regiment commander of a mecha clan.

Right as the regiment commander was about let Qiao Ting leave, his wrist suddenly trembled. He looked down and was stunned by the information sent to his communicator.

"Qiao Ting, before you leave, can you help me do something?" the regiment commander asked with a serious expression on his face.

Qiao Ting stared blankly and quickly replied, "Regiment commander, please tell me. I will do it if it is within my capabilities."

"The list of the top 10 mecha clans from the land clearing mission has been sent out. The higher-ups want us to use this chance to gather some information on one of the mecha clans after they arrive in the city," said the regiment commander with a frown on his face. If it wasn't for the fact that Major General Jiang Wei worked under the Third Marshal, the regiment commander would not want to take these missions that required so much effort and yet yielded so little reward.

"Which mecha clan?" Qiao Ting was shaken. Every top 10 mecha clans from land clearing missions were always well-known veteran clans. They were not easy to get along with. They needed to be careful and not get in trouble with them.

"250 Mecha Clan from the 23rd division," after the Regiment Commander said the name of the clan, his expression had a hint of confusion. It was just that in the history of the top 10 clans from land clearing missions, there had never been a standard mecha clan appearing in the ranks.

Anyone who had common sense would know that only standard mecha clans had numbers as their names. Although the 23rd division was founded five years ago with most of its mecha clans having numbers as their names, in the past 5 years, the 23rd division still had some mecha clans that had established titles. It didn't make sense that those titled mecha clans were no match for a standard mecha clan.

Hearing this, Qiao Ting was also confused. However, the thought of the 23rd division made him shudder. He remembered Ling Lan had gone to the 23rd division.

"Here is the information about that clan. There's only the name of the mecha clan and their regiment commander on the list. You probably have to think of something to get more information. Yes, I will let Little Yang to aid you. In the past three years, he had been your subordinate all this while. It will be easy for you to order him around." The regiment commander handed the top 10 list to Qiao Ting and at the same time gave him some subordinates to help him. Since he gave him a mission, then he should at least give him some means to complete it.

Qiao Ting felt his wrist shake. He lowered his head and opened the list, reading it carefully.

The regiment commander seemed to have thought of something and reminded Qiao Ting, "The higher-ups require us that we acquire the detailed information before the award ceremony. Oh, Qiao Ting, I'll give you a hint. The higher-ups believe that this 250 Mecha Clan has some sort of hidden element. Someone controlling this clan from the shadows. The higher-ups hope that we can find out what is being hidden, they would definitely not let them get their way."

After saying all this, the regiment commander frowned. He knew who these words were directed towards. It was already quite clear. He suddenly thought of people from the same generation as Major General Jiang Wei and General Ling Xiao, instantly understood the situation.

As expected, no matter how high in the food chain a person may sit, they wouldn't be able to escape from the jealousy of others. It was just that, could Major General Jiang really have his way? General Ling Xiao… Even if he had done something, he would definitely not leave any evidence behind. Major General Jiang Wei may be wasting his time. Such a stupid ploy.

Right after the regiment commander insulted Major General Jiang in his mind, he discovered that Qiao Ting hadn't replied to his previous statement. He raised his head confusedly and saw Qiao Ting looking at this communicator with a dumbfounded look, as though he was stunned by something.

"Qiao Ting?" The regiment commander called out with a confused tone.

"Oh? Regiment commander!"Qiao Ting awakened and immediately raised his head and said, "Sorry, I was lost in thought just now."

Chapter 717 - Top Ten Mecha Clan!

"Did you hear what I said?" The regiment commander asked in concern.

"Yes. I will collect all the necessary information before the award ceremony," Qiao Ting said expressionlessly.

"That's good. Go and make your preparations." The regiment commander felt at ease after he knew Qiao Ting heard what he said. He thought that Qiao Ting was too engrossed in reading the documents so he ignored his superiors' words. When he was younger, he was like that too… the regiment commander smiled. He waved his hand and asked Qiao Ting to leave.

The regiment commander didn't notice when Qiao Ting turned around, he clenched his hands tightly. The veins on his hands popped out. This proved Qiao Ting was not as composed as he looked.

Ling Lan, Ling Lan, it's actually Ling Lan. He is a regiment commander now! Is he someone I can never surpass? Qiao Ting was screaming in his heart. The three years he spent as a recruit, the three years he was so proud of, was not worth much at all…

Qiao Ting gritted his teeth. If God allowed him to be born, why must God create Ling Lan too? If God made someone so excellent, why did he make someone even better? Qiao Ting felt helpless.

He was unconvinced. Why did Ling Lan have such a smooth life? He managed to achieve so much within his first year. He even rose to be a regiment commander! Maybe someone powerful pushed Ling Lan up to this position just like what his regiment had said.

Qiao Ting remembered Ling Lan's cold and sharp eyes. He felt as though a bucket of cold water was splashed on him, instantly calming him down.

Ling Lan was not someone who would walk through the backdoor! As his lifelong opponent, Qiao Ting understood Ling Lan. Others might change but the cold and arrogant Ling Lan would not.

That year, Ling Lan stood up against every faction in the military academy in order to protect his friends. No matter how powerful or high ranked his opponent was, he would never bow down to anyone. Others might misunderstand Ling Lan but he wouldn't… if he did, he had no right to be Ling Lan's opponent.

The confusion in Qiao Ting's eyes disappeared. He would do his job well, not to find any evidence against Ling Lan, but to find out how he managed to be a regiment commander so quickly. Qiao Ting felt that he might be able to learn something new from Ling Lan and not waste more time on the wrong path.

He didn't have much time left. If delayed more, Ling Lan would run too far ahead and he would never be able to be his opponent. Qiao Ting was a proud person. He didn't want to look at Ling Lan's back a few years later and sigh at his own fate.

As for whether this Ling Lan was the Ling Lan he knew… Qiao Ting never had this query. Years of battling allowed him to know that this was the Ling Lan he knew.

A few days later, all the units in Soldier City knew the top ten mecha clans of this land clearing mission were going to enter the city and attend an awards ceremony. Many officers with high positions had gotten the name list of the top ten mecha clans.

Ye Ling came to Ye Xu's place with a frown on his face. He was still thinking whether he should let the other party see the documents in his hand when Ye Xu walked out of his room.

"Why have you come?" Ye Xu raised his eyebrows. Ye Ling was unhappy Ye Xu was looking at him as though he was his servant. He scoffed. He passed the document to Ye Xu and looked at his expression intently. He wanted to know if Ye Xu was still able to maintain his composure when he saw the name.

Ye Xu frowned when he saw the derision in Ye Ling's eyes. Ye Xu always kept a low profile and hid behind Wu Jiong in the Scout Academy and the military academy, but he was an observant and intelligent person too.

From the very beginning, he knew there was something wrong with Ye Ling's identity. Ye Ling was not as simple as he looked. However, he currently didn't have much power at his disposal so he was unable to fight against the Ye family. Thus, he had no choice but to step onto the other party's trap. After that, in order to have Ye Ling lower his guard around him, he disguised himself as an arrogant person who looked down on the Ye family.

Ye Ling didn't trust Ye Xu and Ye Xu guarded against Ye Ling too. Hence, he was able to notice the slight difference in Ye Ling's gaze.

Ye Xu took over the document calmly. He told himself he must control his emotions. He guessed this document must have something to do with him. If not, Ye Ling would not behave like this. He must not let Ye Ling see through his disguise.

Ye Xu opened the document. It was a list of the top ten teams of the land clearing mission. He was stunned. These ace mecha clans should have nothing to do with him, right? He must have made a mistake in his disguise.

Ye Xu started suspecting himself. However, as an observant person, he still sensed Ye Ling gaze at him. Hence, although he was confused, he still took care of his expression.

Ye Xu calmly looked through the list…

Top ten mecha clans for the land clearing mission of Planet Juhao (The official name for the planet):

Jing Tian Ace Mecha Clan (1st Division) Regiment Commander: Sun Yiqing.

Swift Thunder Ace Mecha Clan (2nd Division) Regiment Commander: Lei Ganqi.

Chiyan Ace Mecha Clan (3rd Division) Regiment Commander: Xu Qiuming.

Yuhen Ace Mecha Clan (4th Division) Regiment Commander: Su Yongkang.

Pojun Ace Mecha Clan (6th Division) Regiment Commander: Jin Feiyang.

Hidden Dragon Ace Mecha Clan (9th Division) Regiment Commander: Hua Tianyi.

Bight Moon Ace Mecha Clan (1st Division) Regiment Commander: Liu Shu.

Ferocious Lion Ace Mecha Clan (13th Division) Regiment Commander Le Putian.

Courage God Ace Mecha Clan (7th Division) Regiment Commander: You Zhongling.

250 Mecha Clan (23rd Division) Regiment Commander: Ling Lan.

Ye Xu looked through the list quickly. He remained calm all the way but when he saw the name of the last regiment commander, he couldn't control his emotions anymore. No matter how prepared Ye Xu was, this name still impacted him greatly.

"Young Master 13, I remember the captain of the battle clan you joined during your military academy days was called Ling Lan too, right?" Ye Ling was satisfied with Ye Xu's reaction. He purposely teased Ye Xu before saying, "Sigh, I must be thinking too much. He is a recruit just like you. How can he be the regiment commander of a top ten mecha clan? It must be a coincidence. This person must have the same name as him. What a pity. Your captain must be slaving away in some unknown mecha clan."

These were Ye Ling's true thoughts. There were so many people in the Federation. It was normal to have the same name as someone else. He wanted to tell Ye Xu without the Ye family, he would be in the same situation as his past captain, slaving away in some unknown mecha clan for three years. He would not have experienced such a good opportunity like this where he just needed to enjoy his three years as a recruit, then go back and become a high officer. Compared to the masses, Ye Xu had a high starting point.

Ye Xu looked at the familiar name in shock. He took some time to regain his senses. What Ye Ling said made sense but for some reason, Ye Xu felt that this Ling Lan was his boss.

Others might not be able to be a regiment commander in their first year as a recruit but his boss was someone who always created miracles. Ye Xu smiled. Only he understood the pride and happiness in his smile. He also felt a little sad. As expected, he couldn't be compared to his Boss.

Wu Jiong was also as stunned as Ye Xu. The two of them had parted ways but their intuition was the same. They both knew deep down the Regiment Commander of 250 Mecha Clan was their Boss Lan.

The day of the awards ceremony arrived. Almost all the units in Soldier City sent their representatives to get a position at the plaza where the awards ceremony was held. Most of them were here to see the Courage God Ace Mecha Clan as well as the 250 Mecha Clan.

The ten mecha clans entered the Soldier City based on the order as the were placed. All the mecha operators walked into the plaza after getting off the hover bus. The first eight mecha clans were well-known mecha clans in the military world. Some of the mecha operators in these mecha clans were super ace mecha masters with a title. All the ace mecha masters in the Federation knew that ace mecha masters without a title were not really ace mecha masters. They were only given the ace level because they needed to go to the battlefield.

When the super ace mecha masters got out of the hover bus, many mecha operators wanted to rush over and interact with them. All of them looked at the super ace mecha masters with respect. If any one of the super ace mecha masters would give them some advice, their mecha piloting skills would improve tremendously. There was a huge difference between having a good teacher versus finding the path yourself. Less time and effort would be spent on the wrong path.

Unfortunately, the rules in Soldier City was strict. The mecha operators were jumping with excitement in their heart but no one dared to move and challenge the rules of the Soldier City.

When the Courage God Ace Mecha Clan entered, the gazes of the mecha operators in the crowd changed. Most of them were indifferent.

The Courage God Ace Mecha Clan received this title just recently and there were no super ace mecha masters in this mecha clan too.

Chapter 718 - Who Is He?

Most of the mecha operators from Courage God Ace Mecha Clan were just normal ace mecha masters. Their team leaders were elite ace and their regiment commander, who was the strongest among them, was just shy of becoming a peak-level ace mecha master. Most of the units stationed in the city had a similar power structure to the Courage God Ace Mecha Clan.

The concept of survival of the fittest was ingrained deeply into all the soldiers' minds. Hence, when they saw a mecha clan similar to them in terms of ability, they wanted to challenge them. Many mecha operators already had the thought of testing the mecha operators from Courage God after the ceremony. They must have a fight with them.

The underwhelming appearance of the Courage God Ace Mecha Clan caused everyone to start looking down on 250 Mecha Clan. If a titled super ace mecha clan was so weak, then a normal mecha clan would be worse. This mecha clan probably relied on their exceptional luck to get to this position.

Very soon, the mecha operators from 250 Mecha Clan slowly got out from their hover bus. The first person to step out of the bus was a cold-looking youth. The moment he appeared on the plaza, everyone turned quiet. Soldiers with weaker wills couldn't help but tremble.

"That person is very strong." An old mecha operator who got dragged to come by his friend tensed up the moment the young man appeared in his sight. He instantly got on his guard. This was the instincts of an experienced and strong soldier. This old mecha operator felt an unprecedented sense of danger from the bottom of his heart.

"Who is he?" Every soldier experienced various degrees of shock. They were all from the top strata of mecha clans, so everyone was quite familiar with each other. However, no one was prepared for the shock when such a powerful and unknown person appeared from 250 Mecha Clan.

These powerful mecha operators could feel the dangerous force of presence exuding from that young man. Those with a lower level of physical skills couldn't sense this force of presence. They could just felt that this young man was very cold, as cold as ice. Their sixth sense repeatedly rang alarms in their heads, warning them not to never provoke that young man.

As expected of my boss! Wu Jiong's eyes turned red when he finally saw Ling Lan. The hardships he experienced at the 15th Division made him miss his days at the military academy. He missed those carefree days with Ling Lan. He missed the times when there was always someone in front of him, taking care of everything. Too bad, he would never feel this sense of stability anymore.

"Wu Jiong, do you know him?" The person beside Wu Jiong, a 28 years old man with an arrogant look on his face, noticed Wu Jiong's red eyes.

Wu Jiong looked at Ling An. He was the first person who offered him help after he entered his division. Wu Jiong was sure Ling An knew his background due to his surname but just wasn't sure whether he was from the branch families or the main family. After all, the 15th Division belonged to the Wu family. Additionally, with him suffering more hardships than the average recruit, it was quite obvious he was from the Wu family.

Even a normal mecha operator could feel the invisible tension between the higher authorities of the 15th Division. A smart person would not choose his side before the inevitable conflicts had ended but Ling An was different. He chose to help Wu Jiong when he was at his lowest point in life. Wu Jiong was grateful to Ling An. Hence, he brought Ling An along on this gold-plated mission when he was given this opportunity.

Wu Jiong wanted to help his team members who entered the 15th Division but they were not ace mecha masters yet. Thus, they couldn't participate in the gold-plated mission. The military didn't want the plaza to be filled with weaklings so they set the requirement to have only ace mecha masters and above. This rule helped them to segregate out the weaker people.

Of course, Wu Jiong knew the main reason why he accepted Ling An so quickly was because he had the surname 'Ling'.

Wu Jiong wanted to tell Ling An who Ling Lan was but he changed his mind. "Nothing. A speck of sand got into my eyes."

Ling An's expression froze for a moment. After a while, he smiled and said, "That's true. Many hover cars came so it's normal to have a lot of sand."

Wu Jiong looked at Ling Lan again. He saw familiar faces stepping down after Ling Lan. He suddenly felt calmed. The anxiousness in his heart disappeared. He smiled for the first time in a long time. He clenched his fist.

As expected of Boss Lan. He created miracles during his first year in the military. Since he is working so hard, how can I give up just because there are obstacles? Wu Jiong turned around. He saw the person he wanted to see. There was no point in staying here any longer.

"You are not watching anymore?" Ling An asked in surprise. 250 Mecha Clan just came out but Wu Jiong had already lost his interest.

"Yes. I have already seen what I wanted to see. It's time to go back for training," Wu Jiong replied indifferently.

Ling An's expression changed. "You mean that harsh training you always do?" Why does Wu Jiong like to torture himself? Ling An suspected the information he got was wrong. Was Wu Jiong not a direct descendant of the Wu family but was instead from the branch family?

This thought flashed past Ling An's mind. However, he soon denied the thought. If Wu Jiong was not from the main family, why would he be sent to the garrison?

"Yes. I must do it every day. As for you, you can do it if you want it," Wu Jiong replied.

"I will definitely accompany you. We are comrades," Ling An replied with a smile. He must not let his past efforts go to waste. No matter how hard it was, he would accompany Wu Jiong…

Real friendships are formed when you pass through thick and thin together. Ling An had his own plans.

As for that person… Ling An turned and looked at Ling Lan who was standing in front of the members of 250 Mecha Clan. If that person was who he thought he was, they definitely would be able to meet in the future. He just hoped that the stupid things the Ling family did in the past would not affect their generation.

Compared to Ling Lan, he would rather pester Wu Jiong. Ling Lan was the only son of General Ling Xiao. He was the real heir of the military. This was probably why he was able to become a regiment commander when he was just a recruit. No one was able to be fair and just all the time. Even the military idol, Ling Xiao, who was the icon of fairness, couldn't do it.

However, this was something he was happy to see. If not, he wouldn't be unable to get anything from Ling Lan when he got close to him.

Only those stupid old fools would offend the guardian deity of the Ling family, Ling Xiao, in order to get such a small gain. This was why they were in such a bad state now. Even the branched descendants of the Ling family couldn't have a smooth path in the military. They needed to look for other people to help them.

Thinking about this, Ling An gave a cold smile. He was one of the innocent victims that were implicated by what happened that year. He hated General Ling Xiao for being so heartless but, he also hated the narrow-minded elders of the Ling family even more.

Wu Jiong didn't know what Ling An was thinking about behind him. At that moment, all he had was one thought. He must not let his Boss Lan get too far ahead of him.

That year, when he left the military academy, he made a promise with his Boss Lan. Wu Jiong clenched his fist. Boss Lan, give me three years. I will fulfill my promise!

He was supposed to be Boss Lan's companion! He would not let other people get this position.

Wu Jiong walked forward with a firm resolve and footsteps. Ling An noticed this. The aura on Wu Jiong had changed… was it because of a stimulation? Or was there something he didn't notice?

Ling An swiftly turned around and looked at Ling Lan. His instincts told him that Ling Lan was the reason why there was a change in Wu Jiong.

Unfortunately, he had no information about Ling Lan's past deeds. Thus, he didn't know how Wu Jiong knew Ling Lan. To protect his son, General Ling Xiao used every means to remove any information on Ling Lan. If he didn't have prior knowledge of the name of General Ling Xiao's son, he would be as oblivious as everyone else here.

On the other hand, Ye Ling and Ye Xu had entirely different expressions when they saw Ling Lan. Ye Ling looked shocked. He didn't know how a normal recruit with no background was able to climb to the rank of a regiment commander.

As for Ye Xu, he was suppressing his excitement. As expected of his Boss Lan. No matter where he goes, he would create miracles. It was a pity he couldn't follow behind him anymore.

Ye Xu felt a little sorry for leaving Wu Jiong but he didn't regret it. That was why he was able to endure Wu Jiong's anger. However, he didn't dare to look at Ling Lan. He was afraid of the cold and sharp eyes that could seemingly see through his thoughts..

"Young Master 13, are you sure Ling Lan is just a normal person?" Ye Ling finally calmed down and asked Ye Xu.

Ye Xu looked at Ye Ling coldly. Does he have the right to say Boss Lan's name?

He saw Ye Ling looking away and sneered. The Ye family was crazy to even think that they were a powerful elite family. They thought that just because they had the support of a division, they were mighty and all the descendants of the Ye family had to bend their backs backward to work for them. They forced their descendants to serve them. Even the subordinates they sent had no respect for their masters. His subordinate, Ye Ling, didn't care about his idol and blatantly said his idol's name. Is this how a subordinate should act?

The Ye family is rotting!

Chapter 719 - Background?

Ye Xu couldn't help but remember the irritating Li Yingjie who grew up with him. They were both from elite families and had similar family feuds in their families. Yet, the Li family treated their descendants much better than the Ye family. They would raise them up unconditionally. They provided their descendants with adequate resources but their future depended on their own efforts. This was why the Li family didn't do anything when Li Yingjie and Li Lanfeng decided to enter the 23rd division and not the 4th division (Ye Xu didn't know the details of the Li family so he made the wrong assumptions).

Ye Xu was jealous. Why is that irritating Li Yingjie so lucky? Why was he fortunate enough to be born into the Li family? How could he shamelessly enter the 23rd division with Boss Lan when he disturbed Boss Lan during their days in the scout academy?

Ye Ling knew that he said something that caused the ire in Ye Xu. If he had called Wu Jiong by his name, Ye Xu might not be angry. However, if he called Ling Lan by his name, Ye Xu would definitely get angry at him for this. Even today, Ye Xu always called Ling Lan, Boss Lan.

To compensate for his mistake, he smiled and said hurriedly, "I'm just shocked. Young Master 13, tell me, is Ling Lan really just from a normal family?" This was impossible. He must have a powerful background. If not, the descendants of the Li family, the Ye family, and the Wu family would not bow down to her so easily.

Ye Xu smiled coldly. Of course, he had a good background. Speaking of it, his background was the strongest out of all of them. But, he would not tell Ye Ling anything. This was the secret between the leaders of Lingtian. Moreover, Ye Xu believed Boss Lan didn't rely on General Ling Xiao to get to this position. He was not so weak. He used his own efforts to clear the path for himself, to rise up to the ranks of a regiment commander.

Ye Xu had confirmed the name 'Ling Lan' on the namelist was his Boss Lan so he had no reason to stay here any longer. He turned and left immediately. Ye Ling was furious when Ye Xu didn't reply to him. He could feel the contempt from Ye Xu. However, he controlled his anger. Before the Ye family gives up on Ye Xu, he must not offend him.

Ye Ling realized Ye Xu was slowly becoming similar to someone over this period of time.

He chased after Ye Xu. Along the way, he turned back and looked at Ling Lan who had frozen the crowd.

If he wanted Ye Xu to work for the Ye family willingly, he needed to destroy that person in his heart so that he would have no hope to retreat.

Ye Ling gave a cold smile. So what if he was strong? Without a powerful background, the Ye family could easily destroy his future.

When Ling Lan stepped onto the plaza, she felt a few intense gazes falling on her. Little Four was in a good mood, so he quickly found those people and showed her their faces in an instant.

Ling Lan was stunned to see a few familiar faces. She didn't expect to see some of her comrades which she hadn't seen for a few years here. Why are they at Soldier City?

Little Four noticed Ling Lan's confusion and excitedly explained everything to her. Ling Lan realized every division had its own personal stationed army. The stationed army was an army every mecha operator wanted to enter. This gold-plated mission was a mission every mecha operator wanted to take.

Ling Lan felt her head hurting. She was worried because Little Four kept sleeping but when he was awake and was in a good mood, she couldn't handle him. He talked so much, her head hurt from his chattering. She almost couldn't maintain her Boss-like persona.

However, Little Four's chattering allowed her to understand why Wu Jiong and Ye Xu were here. The Ye family and the Wu family probably wanted to use this method to let them rise up in ranks quickly. Ling Lan felt there was nothing wrong with this. Since they had this opportunity, why not make use of it?

Ling Lan was not as fair and just as people thought. If someone could climb up the ranks within a short period of time, they should just do it. Hence, this philosophy of hers allowed her to use her father to help her get what she wanted unapologetically…

The powerful operators were shocked, the moment Ling Lan appeared. However, if 250 Mecha Clan only had Ling Lan, it was still a lousy mecha clan to these people. They would not respect or fear it. Yet, the mecha operators that followed behind her caused them to view 250 Mecha Clan differently.

Among the young soldiers standing behind Ling Lan, two middle-aged mecha operators stood out. The powerful mecha operators at the scene recognized these two people.

They were mecha operators with a title. One of them was a member of the Seven Stars of the South while the other was a member of the Seven Stars of the North. These two people, who were from entirely different divisions, appeared together in a normal mecha clan. This was definitely something impressive.

Not only that, but the people in the crowd also recognize some powerful mecha operators who didn't have a title but had many military achievements. These mecha operators were quite famous. Some of them were even their old brother-in-arms and their past comrades.

They remembered these mecha operators and knew why they left their previous division. The highest-ranked military doctor gave them a verdict, of them not being able to operate a mecha anymore. This caused them to leave their beloved division and was sent somewhere to enjoy their retirement.

They thought they would not see them again. Yet, they appeared here. They could operate mechas again and even became one of the top ten mecha clans in a land clearing mission, winning against many powerful ace mecha clans.

The crowd was confused. Were the verdicts given by the military doctors wrong? Did they really lose their ability to operate mechas or were they sent to carry out a special mission?

Even after all the mecha operators from 250 Mecha Clan had assembled, the mecha operators in the crowd still had not regained their senses. Hence, amidst their confusion, the ten mecha clans were sent to their respective camping grounds where they could rest and prepare for the awards ceremony that was three days later.

"Senior officer, we have made the necessary arrangements. 250 Mecha Clan will be camping next to the camp of the 3rd division."

Jiang Wei nodded in satisfaction when he heard the report. If he was able to embarrass 250 Mecha Clan before the awards ceremony, he would be able to humiliate Ling Xiao.

Ling Xiao, this time, you will not have such a smooth path! Jiang Wei gave a cold smile.