The single mecha combat event finally ended with Qiao Ting obtaining first place. This outcome was within most people’s expectations — since Qiao Ting was known to be the second Ling Xiao, then he should of course be an undefeatable presence among his peers like Ling Xiao.
However, the audience’s enthusiasm for more competition was not dampened by much due to the end of this event, because the even more thrilling group mecha combat event would begin the following day.
Compared to the single mecha combat event which represented personal glory, the administrators of all the military academies were much more invested in the group mecha combat event. This was because this competition was the one that truly reflected the strength of a military academy. After every tournament, those academies which ranked higher in the group mecha combat event would be able to receive even more resources from the Federation, as well as gain a higher rate of applications from top-notch scout academy students. Therefore, the group mecha combat event was one of the most intense events of the entire tournament. Although it could not compare to the chaotic state of the team battle royal, it was not weaker by much …
The group rounds were run on a best of five system, first to win 3 matches wins. Each academy could send a total of six participants, five regular members and one substitute member. Unlike with the other events, where the substitute member could sub in at any moment, in the group mecha combat event, the substitute member functioned as a true substitute. Only if a regular member was injured severely enough during the fights that he could not continue on would the substitute be able to replace said member and participate in the matches on his behalf; otherwise, the substitute member would not even have the chance to take the field.
Generally, the five regular members participating in the group event would be the same five members who had participated in the solo event. However, this tradition was broken this year. In the name list submitted by the First Men’s Military Academy, Zhao Jun, who had obtained third place in the single mecha combat event, should have been a regular member, but he was instead relegated to being the most powerful substitute which had almost no chance of taking the field. Moreover, his slot was replaced by an unfamiliar name —— Ling Lan!
The staff member in charge of registration at first thought that the First Men’s Military Academy had made a mistake, and so had specially contacted their chaperoning instructor. When asked, the instructor had smiled wryly and replied that everything listed was as it should be. Even as the staff member was stunned by the answer, he was also curious, wondering what kind of sacred being this Ling Lan was to be able to replace Zhao Jun.
Due to the principle of confidentiality, the staff member did not speak of this issue to anyone else. Thus, the next day, when all of the participants from the various academies took to the field, the audience on the side of the First Men’s Military Academy burst into a commotion …
Han Yu and Mu Shaoyu, who were also regular members for this event, were equally taken by surprise 1 . In particular, Han Yu cast a pitying glance at Zhao Jun standing behind them. In the hands of a clan leader who was so jealous of talent, how could Zhao Jun do well 2 ? At this thought, Han Yu’s intentions of recruiting Zhao Jun back stirred once more.
Only Zhang Jing-an was unmoved because he knew very well that Ling Lan had always been very aberrant. Back in the scout academy, Ling Lan had already been able to give them seniors a serious beating as a seventh-grader. If Ling Lan had become mediocre after entering the military academy, only then would he have truly been shocked …
As for Qiao Ting, whether it was Ling Lan or Zhao Jun, they were just his temporary comrades in this event. As long as they did not hold him back, he did not care about the details. Of course, deep down, he trusted Ling Lan even more than he trusted Zhao Jun. Ling Lan’s figure as he instant-killed him was deeply etched into Qiao Ting’s mind, and it was a scene that he was constantly working on washing away.
Meanwhile, in the VIP area, Lan Luofeng, who had only attended the opening ceremony before hiding away all this while in her accommodations, finally reappeared in public. In high spirits, she was holding Ling Xiao’s arm as she stared at the field, trying to locate her baby daughter among the crowd of 2000 people.
That’s right, the only thing that could draw Lan Luofeng out to attend was her dear and adorable daughter Ling Lan. She had long known that Ling Lan would be participating in the group mecha combat event, so she had been waiting for this competition to arrive. Only at this time could she openly watch her daughter and cheer for her.
At this thought, Lan Luofeng could not help but resent Ling Xiao beside her again. If this bastard had not acted so wilfully, how could she have been separated from her daughter? Having to be so sneaky even just to meet up with her … at this painful thought, Lan Luofeng did not hesitate to reach out her other hand to give her husband’s waist a savage 360-degree pinch-twist. That one pinch did not seem to appease her enough; Lan Luofeng gave Ling Xiao several more hard pinches.
Ling Xiao was in the middle of exchanging a few casual words with the other guests beside him. The corners of his eyes twitched, but he managed to endure the pain and maintain the kind smile on his face. Only after he finished his conversation did he turn around like nothing was wrong, gently grab hold of the jade hand still wrestling with the soft flesh at his waist, smile and say, “Luofeng? What’s wrong?”
Lan Luofeng glared at him and moved her lips silently. From the shape of her lips, Ling Xiao managed to make out the word ‘daughter’, and he realised that his wife must have recalled the stupid thing he had done with regards to their daughter again. His smile instantly turned bitter and he scratched his nose helplessly, saying nothing further.
What else could he say? Lan Luofeng wasn’t wrong to complain — he was the one who forced his daughter to continue hiding her gender, and though he was not the one who made it impossible for Lan Luofeng to visit her daughter openly … who asked Ling Lan to be his daughter? He still needed to take the blame for it and, at the root of it all, he was still at fault anyway for placing Ling Lan in the First Men’s Military Academy. He really did have to tolerate Lan Luofeng’s anger.
On the first day, the morning matches were to determine the top 200. Aside from a few exciting match-ups, most of the competition was nothing really worth watching. The First Men’s Military Academy easily advanced to the next round — Han Yu, Zhang Jing-an, and Mu Shaoyu alone were enough to handle their opponents. Even as this disappointed Lan Luofeng, who had been eagerly anticipating her daughter’s grand debut, she was also comforted. After all, if her daughter did not have to go out onto the field then she would not be hurt. Compared to seeing her daughter perform well, Lan Luofeng was definitely more invested in making sure her daughter did not get hurt. Thus, Lan Luofeng very quickly adjusted her emotions and continued to watch the afternoon’s matches.
The afternoon matches were to determine the top 100 from the top 200. The opponents of the First Men’s Military Academy were also not very strong — even though Han Yu had some trouble in the first match, fighting his opponent till the end of the time limit to win by point advantage, the subsequent two matches were clean victories by Zhang Jing-an and Mu Shaoyu. The First Men’s Military Academy once again advanced to the next round and yet again, Ling Lan did not have to take to the field.
Still, the First Men’s Military Academy successful advancement into the top 100 made Lan Luofeng very happy. Ling Xiao was quick to grab hold of the opportunity to be all lovey-dovey with his wife. Ever since coming to planet Qiming, it had dredged up all the ‘old grievances and new grudges’ of Lan Luofeng. And so, Ling Xiao suffered a tragic fate — having to sleep consecutive N-nights on the sofa.
The next day, Lan Luofeng’s face was glowing with bliss when she arrived at the combat stadium. With just one glance, Ling Lan could tell that her mum,this not-that-old flower, had been well nurtured by her dad 3 and was now radiating her beauty again …
The competition today was much busier than it had been yesterday. In the morning, the First Men’s Military Academy only had one match, which would let them move from the top 100 to the top 50. This time, their opponent was a military academy from the first-rate planet Tongli 4 . Among all the military academies of the Federation, this academy could rank within the top 30. As such, their team members were not comparable to those from the lower-ranking academies; all five of their representatives were special-class operators.
The match order of the First Men’s Military Academy’s members had never changed. By the time Han Yu began fighting with the first opponent, everyone knew that things were going to be a bit troublesome this time. The opponent was applying the principle of Tianji’s horse-racing — the first fighter from the opponent’s team was very strong; Han Yu was actually being suppressed.
Seeing this, Qiao Ting frowned lightly and said to Ling Lan beside him, “Say, do you think this is their strongest candidate? Or is he just the third strongest?”
Qiao Ting had seen how terrifying Ling Lan’s abilities were from the two rounds of the competition yesterday — Ling Lan was like an encyclopaedia; no matter how weak and unremarkable the opponent was, he could spout data on them like reading off the back of his hand. This led to Qiao Ting and the others turning to Ling Lan by habit to ask whenever they had any questions about the opponents.
Ling Lan replied calmly, “This person entered the top 50 in the single combat event. There is one other in their team who also entered the top 50, but stopped at the top 32, and the other two are out of the top 100 …”
Qiao Ting picked up on Ling Lan’s tone and knew she had something more to say. The furrow of his brow deepened — if Han Yu lost this match, they might really be in trouble. “The final person … is he in the top 16?” If that last member was in the top 16, Mu Shaoyu’s match would be a little precarious.
“Oh, not to that extent. Their best candidate ranked 19,” replied Ling Lan. Mu Shaoyu let out a sigh of relief when he heard this — Mu Shaoyu had ranked 13 in the single mecha combat event, so he was still a steady bracket above the other.
Han Yu’s combat style had probably been thoroughly analysed by the opponent — although the two fighters were about equal in strength, caught off-guard, Han Yu finally lost the match. The spectators were flabbergasted at this opening loss on the part of the First Men’s Military Academy. In their opinion, the First Men’s Military Academy should have been triumphant all the way, fighting their way through their opponents unchallenged into the finals, to finally become champion of the group mecha combat event. That was the way to truly live up to their reputation of the First Men’s Military Academy.
Han Yu’s defeat made him extremely frustrated. He had made it into the top 32 in the singles event, but had now been defeated by someone who ranked lower than him. He felt greatly humiliated, but Ling Lan and the others did not go over to console him. Someone who could become the regiment commander of a mecha clan would certainly have the ability to self-regulate his emotions.
Due to Han Yu’s loss, Zhang Jing-an was clearly much more cautious in the second match. However, no matter how cautious he was, he could not hide the change in his expression when he discovered who his opponent was. His opponent was not the candidate who was in the top 50, but was instead the one who ranked 19.
“Looks like they’ve given up on the third match.” The unexpected appearance of this person here in the second match caused the people of the First Men’s Military Academy to frown. What in the world was the other side aiming for? Even if the opponents won this match, there would be no one else capable of rivalling Mu Shaoyu on their side for the third match.
Standing beside Ling Lan, Zhao Jun seemed to have figured out something. He could not help but chuckle and say, “Boss Lan, they seem to have set their sights on you. That top 32 candidate will probably be arranged to fight in the fourth match.”