Chapter 427: Caught Out!
Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr
After the headquarters of the number one faction was transferred to Lingtian, Ling Lan did not do as everyone thought and remain in headquarters. Instead, she passed on everything regarding Lingtian and the new headquarters to Wu Jiong, and then continued on with her usual simple classroom-dormitory two-venue lifestyle once again.
However, Ling Lan’s peaceful life was about to end — the second-years’ first mecha practical training lesson was finally here. Ling Lan received the time and venue for their meeting from her communicator, and then led Qi Long, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi over together.
The mentor Qi Long and Luo Lang had chosen was Tang Yu, the same as Ling Lan, while the mentor Xie Yi had chosen was also one of the top instructors in long-range ace mecha. The meeting time and place was exactly the same for all four of them, so they boarded a hover car together to head to their destination.
The location of the practical training was, as everyone had predicted, that large mecha storehouse they had snuck into during the enemy air invasion back then. Today was the first practical training lesson for the mecha piloting department. Along the way, Ling Lan’s group met quite a few other students headed the same way.
Once they entered the storehouse, they saw quite a number of students already waiting there. This was the junior mecha area, but Ling Lan and the rest were already advanced mecha warriors, so their classes would not be held here.
Under the envious gazes of the students here, Ling Lan’s group of four moved ahead to the advanced mecha area. Once there, they saw Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, as well as the other team leaders who were already at the level of advanced mecha warrior. Of course, there were also a few unfamiliar faces who were probably promising newcomers from the other factions.
At this moment, the crowd was looking up excitedly at the tall and majestic row of advanced mecha before them. They were rubbing their palms together in eagerness, wishing they could board the mecha immediately and have a good go operating one. Although the members of Lingtian had already ridden mecha before during the enemy air invasion, they had had to be sneaky while doing so after all. Moreover, the situation that night was tense, so their nerves had been tightly strung — and the moment they had left the storehouse, they had been embroiled in bitter battle, constantly afraid that they would die in combat at any careless misstep.
Today was the day they would truly get to enjoy the joy and excitement of piloting mecha; they were that close to pouncing forwards to touch the mecha they favoured.
“Boss!” A familiar voice cried out from behind Ling Lan. Ling Lan turned in surprise. “Lin Zhong-qing, why are you here?” Lin Zhong-qing was in the Logistics specialization — according to Ling Lan’s intel, the mecha practical training lessons of the students of that specialization would be delayed till their third year.
Lin Zhong-qing was also very puzzled at this moment. “I’m not sure myself. I just received a notification just now, telling me to come here immediately to report for class.” That said, Lin Zhong-qing stretched out his right wrist to display the notification on his communicator.
Ling Lan glanced at it and saw that it was no different from the notification she had received. A thought struck her and she said, “It’s probably a good thing.”
Lin Zhong-qing smiled at her words. “Yep. When I saw you, Boss, I felt that it couldn’t be a bad thing.”
Ling Lan was just about to say something when her ears twitched — she peered at the excited crowd and decided to just let it go.
Several seconds later, they heard the ‘clap, clap, clap’ of applause coming from behind them. The group was startled and quickly turned around to look for the source of the sound. There was now a group of instructors standing behind them, and Tang Yu was in the lead, currently clapping his hands together in a slow measured pace. The clapping sounds they had heard had been produced by Tang Yu.
Qi Long could not help but blink blankly at the sight. His Animal Instinct actually had not alerted him to the presence of the instructors — it looked like the instructors’ methods were truly special. Wu Jiong frowned as well. The vigilant senses he had trained from young had failed to pick up the instructors’ arrival; this frustrated him.
“Ling Lan, Qi Long, Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, Luo Lang, and also Lin Zhong-qing. All of you follow me!” Tang Yu was the first to speak. He motioned for Ling Lan and the other five to come with him, and when Ling Lan turned her head to look back, she saw that the other students were also following the other instructors away.
Tang Yu led Ling Lan’s group of six to an extremely quiet place and then said, “You six will be learning from me from now on.” When he saw Qi Long and the others staring at Lin Zhong-qing with curiosity, he explained, “Lin Zhong-qing is a student I accepted under special circumstances. He will study with you all in future. I hope that you all will learn from one another and improve together.”
“Yes, sir!” Qi Long and the rest answered loudly, happy for Lin Zhong-qing.
Even Ling Lan could not stop her lips from quirking up into a slight smile. For Lin Zhong-qing to have caught Tang Yu’s eye was undoubtedly his luck; Ling Lan’s heart lightened at this turn of events. It should be known that Lin Zhong-qing had sacrificed his passion to choose the Logistics specialization instead for the sake of the battle clan. Ling Lan had always felt rather sorry on behalf of Lin Zhong-qing — Lin Zhong-qing was extremely gifted in mecha piloting, but that talent was wasted in service of the others. Now, having obtained Tang Yu’s favour, Lin Zhong-qing’s future in mecha piloting was boundless.
After giving this instruction, Tang Yu instantly went into their lesson for the day. He first asked Qi Long, Wu Jiong, Li Yingjie, Luo Lang, and Lin Zhong-qing to choose the advanced mecha they wanted, and then he uploaded a document on mecha controls which matched the mecha type they chose onto their communicators.
After that, he asked them to board their mecha and to work on matching their control panel to the contents of their respective documents. He requested that they swiftly learn the relevant control buttons and control stick of the mecha they had chosen within half an hour.
Seeing the five youths enter their mecha and begin studying and familiarizing themselves with them, Tang Yu then turned to Ling Lan and said, “You, follow me.”
Tang Yu led Ling Lan into the deepest area of the storehouse. Ling Lan knew Tang Yu was planning to bring her into that hidden room to choose a special-class mecha to operate.
Sure enough, Tang Yu opened the secret door and walked into that hidden room to arrive at the special-class mecha area. However, Tang Yu did not stop here as Ling Lan had expected. He walked right through the special-class mecha area, going further into the room to stand before those five different types of ace mecha.
Ling Lan followed close behind him, but was silently surprised, unsure why Tang Yu would bring her here. Could it be that the other had noticed her ruse in hiding her true mecha level?
“The mecha you chose in Mecha World all lean towards close combat, but, in the real world, I hope you will choose a little more carefully. Even though close-combat mecha are extraordinarily powerful, reigning in the top ranks of ace mecha in terms of combat power, the risk of danger is correspondingly high. On the battlefield, the mortality rate of close-combat mecha is also the highest.”
Tang Yu’s warning made Ling Lan raise a brow and she asked in return, “In the Federation army, which type of mecha operator is the majority?”
Ling Lan’s question made Tang Yu pause for a beat, a little stunned, but he soon smiled faintly and replied, “It’s close-combat mecha operators.”
“As you have mentioned, sir, since the mortality rate of close-combat mecha operators is the highest, then why does everyone still choose close-combat mecha?” Ling Lan continued to ask.
Tang Yu said in response, “I think you know what the answer is.”
“Because close-combat mecha are also called guardian mecha. They are the first line of defence protecting one’s teammates. That’s why I want to guard those who have put their faith in me,” Ling Lan said all this lightly, but her tone could not hide the determination in her heart.
For the sake of those childhood friends who had grown up alongside her and believed in her with all their hearts, for the sake of her little companions who did not mind sacrificing their own interests to choose other specializations in order to help her obtain the greatest advantages … Lin Zhong-qing was one, Han Jijyun was another, and then there were the others, such as Luo Chao and the rest in the federal co-ed military academy, as well as that Li Lanfeng who trusted her and was willing to fight by her side …
All of this trust weighed heavily on Ling Lan, so she did not dare to relax. In this world where war could break out at any time, she needed to grow strong enough to protect them all.
Ling Lan’s words made Tang Yu’s eyes shine with a brilliant light, a satisfied smile appearing on his lips. He had asked many other students this question before, and every student’s answer had been different. Each of those answers had their own charm and radiance, but Ling Lan’s answer was undoubtedly the one which pleased him the most thus far. Only by having people to safeguard would one be unafraid of sacrifice and choose close-combat mecha which were known as mecha of death.
“Since you understand the meaning behind close-combat mecha, then I’ll hand this life-risking close-combat mecha to you,” said Tang Yu with a smile, pointing at the ace mecha right in the middle.
“That’s an ace mecha.” Instructor Tang Yu’s unexpected arrangement surprised Ling Lan.
“Isn’t your level in Mecha World at ace operator?” Tang Yu peered at Ling Lan with a half-smile.
Ling Lan’s heart dropped — having successfully deceived all the instructors and students in the academy, she had not expected to be caught out by the keen eyes of Instructor Tang Yu.
“Rest assured. This matter is only known to me and the principal. While you still lack the ability to protect yourself, the matter will stop here with me and the principal,” added Tang Yu. He could understand what Ling Lan was thinking. Even though the First Men’s Military Academy was tightly defended, after the enemy air invasion incident, even the principal could not be certain whether the academy would once again see another enemy invasion if the news of Ling Lan becoming an ace operator as a second-year was exposed. The principal could not take the risk, and he did not intend to gamble.
“Thank you, sir.” This decision of Tang Yu’s and the principal’s was undoubtedly meant to protect Ling Lan. Ling Lan could feel their kind intentions and accepted it gladly, and so she earnestly thanked Instructor Tang Yu.
“Once you’ve entered ace level, there’s nothing much for me to teach you. Every ace operator has their own unique control methods, and this depends on your own study. I won’t keep you by talking any further. If you have anything you don’t understand or anything that confuses you, you can come find me to discuss it. Perhaps my experience can provide you with some tips.” At this point, Tang Yu could not help but smile wryly and grumble, “Who’d have guessed that there would be a student even I, Tang Yu, can’t teach? Taking you in as a student gives me no sense of achievement at all.”
Ling Lan could only listen awkwardly. At this time, she was immensely grateful for her ice-block face for hiding her true thoughts. It was thoroughly unexpected that Instructor Tang Yu, who was so mature and steady in her mind, would also have such a childish side to him; her impression of him was crumbling.
Tang Yu did not know that his image in Ling Lan’s mind was in jeopardy — he asked Ling Lan to board her ace mecha and study on her own. Just like he had said, at ace level, he did not have anything much to teach Ling Lan. And so, he left the hidden room. Compared to Ling Lan, the other five outside was a greater concern for him.
Hence, Ling Lan was left alone to research control methods that would belong to her exclusively. In the meantime, Qi Long and the rest were pushed into gruelling trials and tribulations — every day, they were tortured by Tang Yu till they were half-dead. However, the results were excellent. Not long after, Qi Long’s hand speed gradually increased till it was infinitely close to special-class operator level, and his operation began to show signs of Qi Long’s unique style — Brutal Violence.