Chapter 275: Act Independently!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
Han Jijyun was unexpectedly cool-headed, immediately shooting down the two's plan.
Han Jijyun believed that taking reckless action while the circumstances were still unclear would just scare off the villains before they could go after them, and may even make the situation worse. If the opponent became wary and transferred Luo Lang to an even more concealed area, it would make it even harder for them to find him. If this allowed the opponent to successfully hide Luo Lang away for a month's time, even if they managed to find Luo Lang eventually, Luo Lang's future would already be ruined by the opponent. Rather than that, they might as well wait patiently for Boss Lan to emerge before making a decision.
The final exams of the military academy every year were extremely stringent — skipping classes without reason for an entire month would cause a cadet to lose their study right. Many factions would use some underhanded means to steal talent for themselves — kidnapping was one of those methods, but it was used very, very rarely. After all, monitoring them all from above was the surveillance team of the military academy, which kept watch on all the factions and organisations on record within the school. Other than those who were confident they could carry it off flawlessly, the typical faction would not choose to use this method.
The New Cadet Regiment group seated here already had an inkling that Luo Lang had most likely been kidnapped — they just did not know whether it was a personal act, or if some faction or group was behind it ...
This matter caused the mood of the New Cadet Regiment group here to be a little low. Originally, they had all been the elite princes of the Central Scout Academy, growing up smoothly without much hardship along the way. Under Ling Lan's lead, they had not met many obstacles, and though they had been forced into a wagered fight the moment they had entered the military academy, even when everyone had not thought well of their chances, they had prevailed. They had managed to turn the tables around and defeat the Leiting Mecha Clan ...
It could not be denied that they had begun to become proud, their confidence going off the charts, thinking that there were no factions which could prevent the New Cadet Regiment from rising to prominence. However, it was right at this time that Luo Lang had mysteriously gone missing from right beneath their noses. This was like a basin of cold water pouring down on them, causing them to understand that the waters of the military academy were still deeper than they realised. It was still much too early for them to strut around with their tails cocked up high.
"Thump! Thump! Thump! ..." From upstairs, there came the rhythmic, hard sounds of boots striding across the ground, steady and powerful, causing the initially somewhat flustered hearts of those people seated below to settle down. Almost simultaneously, they all stood up and turned their heads to look. A familiar figure was walking down the stairs. Their gazes lit up instantly, the embers of hope flickering in their eyes.
Ling Lan walked down the stairs with an ice cold expression. Seeing the lot of them, she instructed, "Wu Jiong, you all wait here. Pretend nothing has happened ..." Even though Ling Lan's tone was as dispassionate as usual, everyone there could sense the indistinct killing intent radiating from Ling Lan's body, a surge of chilly air penetrating straight into their hearts.
Boss Lan was pissed! Everyone understood tacitly what this meant.
Wu Jiong blinked blankly, but quickly figured things out and said, "Understood, Boss Lan!"
Han Jijyun frowned, a trace of worry flashing through his eyes, and asked, "Boss Lan, you plan to act independently?"
"Yes, I have already found Luo Lang's trail, but that location is unsuitable for group activity. Going alone, it'll be easier for me to rescue Luo Lang," explained Ling Lan.
"Who's the opponent?" Xie Yi suddenly spoke up to ask, his eyes brimming with fiery anger.
"The Tianji Mecha Clan!" Ling Lan bit out each word by word. Her suppressed rage exploded as she uttered these four words, and her right hand reflexively slammed down onto the handrail of the staircase. There was a snap, and the solid wooden railing was actually broken into two pieces by Ling Lan's angry palm.
Han Jijyun's expression could not help but pale drastically at the sight. "Boss Lan, has Luo Lang been harmed?"
Following this question, all the expressions of the others changed greatly as well. Several pairs of furious eyes stared at Ling Lan, hoping he would tell them the answer.
Ling Lan gritted her teeth and said, "Not yet for now. But this does not guarantee that it won't happen later. Thus, I have to hurry over as soon as possible ..."
Ling Lan glanced at Wu Jiong, Han Jijyun and the others, and ordered, "Wu Jiong, Jijyun, I leave this place to you two. No matter what happens, you two must hold the fort. Remember, our New Cadet Regiment knows nothing, and no one has gone out ... as for Luo Lang, he has only gone to the Medical Research Centre for an examination."
After leaving her instructions, Ling Lan rapidly departed the villa without a backwards glance, very quickly disappearing into the night.
Wu Jiong retracted his gaze, turning his head to ask Han Jijyun, "Han Jijyun, say, what do you think Boss Lan is planning to do?"
Han Jijyun indicated for the rest to return to the main hall to sit on the sofa, asking Lin Zhong-qing to bring over a pack of cards for them to while away the time, then replied, "Tragedy is about to befall the Tianji Mecha Clan ..."
"Huh?" Wu Jiong had only guessed that Ling Lan was planning to execute a solo rescue, so he could not understand why Ling Lan did not want to let others know that it was the Tianji Mecha Clan who had abducted Luo Lang.
Han Jijyun merely shook his head, not planning to enlighten Wu Jiong. This made Wu Jiong restless, impatience and annoyance stirring in his heart, causing him to play his cards in a distracted manner.
Xie Yi was in fact similarly uncertain, but he knew his place and so did not think too hard on the matter. Thus, he was not as unsettled as Wu Jiong. In the end, it was still Lin Zhong-qing who could not bear to see Wu Jiong's sorry state, and could not help but hint, "If no one knows that Luo Lang was abducted by the Tianji Mecha Clan, then there will also be no way to prove that the one who wiped out the Tianji headquarters today is our Boss Lan ..."
Wu Jiong's eyes lit up. "So that's how it is." However, he very quickly became despondent, pointing out the flaw in the logic, "But there are surveillance equipment in every area of the military academy ..."
Han Jijyun smirked coldly, "And how much of Boss Lan's methods do you know? If Boss Lan wants you to do this, then you do this. This won't be a mistake."
Wu Jiong suddenly recalled their time on the spaceship — Boss Lan had successfully taken control of the surveillance equipment before then. His gaze brightened once more and he shouted, "I've got it!"
This cry drew the cold glares of the other three there with him. Han Jijyun, in particular, looked at him disdainfully as he mocked, "If you understand, then be quiet about it. Do you want to draw everyone here and negate Boss Lan's alibi?"
Wu Jiong did not become angry even though he had been mocked by Han Jijyun. Since his doubts had been answered, he could now play his cards with an easy mind ...
********
Meanwhile, the moment Ling Lan exited the doorway, she asked Little Four within the mindspace, "Tianji headquarters, which way is it?"
Little Four showed a map to her instantly, with an arrow marking Ling Lan's current location and a red flag marking the position of their target. The information was clear with just one glance. He also spoke up to say, "I suggest you first take a hover car ride, and then choose a stop near them to get off. This way, you can save some strength and internal energy ..." Little Four knew what Ling Lan was going to do on this trip, so he wanted to help Ling Lan reduce the drain on her energy. After all, destroying a headquarters was a laborious task — they should save whatever energy they could while they could.
Ling Lan decided to listen to Little Four's advice. With just one step, she had travelled over 100 metres away, arriving at the closest hover car stop to her living quarters in two steps. Then, she waited for a hover car to arrive. Even if she would use her Qi-Jin sparingly for now, time was still of the essence. She did not hope to see Luo Lang being tormented at this final juncture.
The hover car arrived quickly, and Ling Lan darted into it like a spirit. Before Ling Lan could key in anything, Little Four had taken the initiative to choose a stop about 1 kilometre away for Ling Lan, concealing his command from the system at the same time.
In the mainframe of the military academy, this hover car Ling Lan was riding was still an empty car floating around the school. Furthermore, the moment when Ling Lan had gotten into the car and the period later when she got out would also be altered on the surveillance records. Of course, Little Four's tampering was perfect — no one would ever notice any trace of modification ...
Just like that, with no witnesses or material proof, Ling Lan left her own villa.
********
In one of the rooms within Tianji headquarters, the white-uniformed youth suppressed the intense pain coming from his body, and swallowed the ultra-effective medication his subordinate had brought for him.
"Brother Xi, are you alright?" A blue-uniformed person asked worriedly.
"I bloody didn't expect that Luo Lang to have such powerful spiritual power, able to resist my ability," hissed the white-clothed youth sullenly, "Not only that, he lashed back, wounding me."
The other had clearly lowered his guard and believed his words ... why had he regained mental clarity at the final moment? It was then that he had been injured — if he had not held back from showing any signs of pain, the other might have seen through his act immediately. And also perhaps because he had forced himself to tolerate that rebound force in silence, the injury he had received was 30% worse than it would have been originally.
"Wait till I've healed completely. I'll definitely torment that fellow properly." A savage expression emerged on the white-clothed youth's face, utterly ruining his originally rather charming face, leaving behind only ugliness beyond measure.
"Congratulations, Brother Xi. Not only have you obtained a beauty, you have also obtained a physical skills prodigy, adding yet another great helper for our Tianji Mecha Clan," Lu Yong-guang congratulated at one side fawningly. This improved the white-clothed youth's mood greatly, the viciousness in his face fading considerably, morphing him back into a handsome, lively and sunny youth.
"You performed well this time. Later, go to the contribution department and collect a 2nd-tier resource. I'll give you my warrant in a bit." His mood greatly improved, the white-clothed youth began to reward his underling who had performed well.
"Thank you, Brother Xi. Thank you, Brother Xi!" said Lu Yong-guang with pleasant surprise. He had initially thought he would be lucky to get a 3rd-tier resource, but Brother Xi was unexpectedly so generous this time.
A blue-clothed youth by Lu Yong-guang's side felt that this was not very appropriate, and was just about to speak up about it when a companion standing beside him tugged on his arm, signalling him to stay silent. The lord before them now was an obstinate and conceited person; he was not that just and righteous Lord Regiment Commander of theirs who was currently in Closed Door Meditation 1 .
After basking in a round of flattery by Lu Yong-guang, the white-clothed youth abruptly thought of something and asked nervously, "You've eliminated all signs, right? You're sure no one will be able to trace us back here?"
Lu Yong-guang replied proudly, "Don't worry, Brother Xi, I've handled everything. Even if the number one hacker, Lin Zhidong, gets involved, he won't be able to trace us anytime soon." That said, he laughed and said, "That New Cadet Regiment has also shot themselves in the foot. After offending Leiting, you think Lin Zhidong will help them? Definitely not, and as for the others ... I believe no one will be able to crack my methods."
Hearing these words of Lu Yong-guang, the white-uniformed youth relaxed instantly and began to laugh. His doubts were gone — now, as long as he was given enough time, he would definitely be able to train that beauty well, so that the other would submit to him, body and soul, in the end.
The white-clothed youth was so confident because his spiritual mutation was a type of magical hypnotism. He could easily obtain the favour of others with it. If he wanted the other to love him wholeheartedly, as long as he had enough time, he would succeed. Just like with his previous lovers ... this was exactly how he had reeled them in, and even until now, they still thought they had been willing 2 .