207-213

Chapter 207: Scheming!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

Ling Lan shook her head and said, "No need. Wait and see!"

The spaceship's captain must have some reason for suddenly acting this way. A memory of the manga Hunter x Hunter she had read in her previous life surfaced in Ling Lan's mind. From the moment Gon Freecss 1 got on the boat to take the Hunter Examination, the testing had already begun.

"Is this a show of force to put us in our place? Or is it, like I suspect, our first test? How interesting!" A trace of humour appeared at the corner of Ling Lan's lips. This originally dull journey had suddenly become much more intriguing.

At this time, the crew members began to hurl jeers and taunts at the students, as if purposely trying to incite the students' anger and make them choose to fight. However, their efforts were all in vain, because the students all managed to restrain themselves in the end, not responding to their taunts.

Frankly, this was all because Ling Lan had chosen to wait and see. Seeing Ling Lan's party's inaction, the slick Wu Jiong was naturally unwilling to make a move recklessly. And while Li Yingjie may be immature and brash, he was not brainless, so he of course knew as well that this was not the time to act rashly. Meanwhile, ever since the grand armed melee, the rest of the Central Scout Academy students 2 had gotten used to following the lead of the three major teams. Since the three major teams were biding their time, the other students naturally followed suit to observe the situation.

And since a large half of the Central Scout Academy students had chosen not to do anything, the students from the other academies naturally would not be so retarded as to volunteer themselves as lab rats. After all, they were all elites from various academies — they were not so simple-minded that they would blow up from some taunting. Thus, this powder keg of a scene was resolved by the silent tolerance of one side.

********

Inside the captain's room, the captain could not hold back a curse, brusquely cutting off the video feed and auditory system on his end.

He turned to glare at the other person in the captain's room and barked, "D*mn, do these batch of students have no bloody guts?"

"They are just being rational. The provocation you arranged is too low-level. Any child with a bit of intelligence would be able to see that something wasn't right." The one who spoke was a middle-aged man dressed in a clean pressed major uniform. His air was dignified, and the flecks of white in his sideburns made him appear mature and reliable, a stark contrast against the captain's crude messiness.

The major passed a bottle of white wine over with a smile. The captain harrumphed, but accepted it, twisted the cap open, and began chugging it down.

"Don't drink so fast. Why are you taking out your anger on yourself?" chided the major.

"D*mmit, isn't there a single one of these little bastards who is more hot-tempered? After all these years, this is the first time I've seen something like this," said the captain in frustration.

Mind you, his task was to assess the students' capabilities and personalities. Provoking them right from the start had always worked very well for him, because there would always be that one or two hot-headed and impulsive brats who would jump out for him to use as an example. This would give him the opportunity to assess the students' attitudes when faced with overwhelming force.

"Well, it's not that there aren't any. They've just been restrained." The major walked over to the screen and replayed the previous footage. On the screen, they could see that there had been a few people who had stood up to protest, but they had been quickly stopped by the people beside them. The scene between Qi Long and Ling Lan was also noted by the two men.

The major enlarged one of the images. It was one of the students from the Central Scout Academy. He was tugging on his teammate's arm, using his gaze to point out a certain direction to his teammate, as if reminding the other that he should be aware of the situation.

Following the student's line of sight, the major scrolled across the image, and Ling Lan's, Wu Jiong's, and Li Yingjie's teams came into view.

"Do you not notice that these students were all waiting for the reactions of these few people?" said the major, pointing at Ling Lan's area.

"Tch, you think I can't see that? While I was speaking, this bunch of brats had obviously been enraged by me, but they all chose to look there at the first moment ..." The captain had noticed.

"That's right. I did a brief check and these students should be from the Central Scout Academy. You too know that a whole 10% of the First Military Academy student population comes from the Central Scout Academy. It goes without saying that within our military academy, the Central Scout Academy faction has the most members ...

"But, it is also the one with the least cohesion!" The spaceship's captain's face was filled with disdain. He himself had not come out from the Central Scout Academy, so he did not bear much good will for the Central Scout Academy. Even though the people who graduated from the Central Scout Academy were generally more talented and more capable than students from the regular scout academies like them, there was just too much infighting within their ranks. They were like a plateful of scattered sand.

"Yes. This is also why although the Central Scout Academy faction has the most people, it has never managed to become the top faction within the military academy! Forcefully being suppressed by the other scout academy factions ... this is their tragedy." These past three years in particular, the Central Scout Academy faction had been even more sluggish 3 — it had not even managed to rank within the top three.

"That's not the only point. Although the students from the Central Scout Academy are all very strong and talented, in our military academy, none of them managed to become the strongest in the school. This is also why they have been unable to make their faction the number one faction." The captain bluntly pointed out the weakness of the Central Scout Academy. Even though its students were more talented and stronger than other students across the board, the one standing at the peak just wasn't any single one of them ...

"True. Especially these last three years, there wasn't a single Central Scout Academy student within the top three. Even the strongest one is just at 5th place. Sigh, the well-established top Central Scout Academy has finally begun to decline ..." The major was affected by a wistful melancholy. Although he was not from the Central Scout Academy, his superior, mentor, and benefactor were all part of the Central Scout Academy faction. Thus, he still had a deep affection for the Central Scout Academy.

"However, this year might be different." The major's initially regretful gaze became focused in a split second. The students from the Central Scout Academy were surprisingly united this time — perhaps a true king had appeared among them, earning all of the students' deference. If that was the case, the power balance of the factions within the military academy may very well go through a momentous change with their addition.

"Perhaps, the assessment this time will give us a pleasant surprise." He and the captain had never been satisfied over all these years, because the students' final decisions had never truly been the answer they wanted.

"You think?" The captain, who had never thought well of the Central Scout Academy, did not think much of the students from it. Infighting was a characteristic of the Central Scout Academy from the start — could this batch really be an exception?

"Then let us just wait and see!" said the major good-naturedly with a laugh, not at all bothered by his friend's scepticism.

"Sure. But, I need to make them stop holding back as soon as possible, otherwise we won't be able to see what we want to see." A sharp light entered the captain's eyes, and a great force of presence silently began to spread. At this moment, he was no longer that rough and arrogant captain, but was more like a wild beast from the depths of the universe, powerful and dangerous!

********

Ling Lan had long known that these two days and one night would not be so peaceful, but she still could not put a finger on the reason for the captain's provocation. If this was really a test — then what were they testing for? Before she could figure anything out, an unexpected conflict occurred before her eyes.

The first half of the first day went by peacefully. Although the crew members would still throw in the occasional taunt, the now calm students managed to resist rising to the bait. However, this peace vanished by the time night came.

At dinner time, Ling Lan's group of six came to the cafeteria and ate a simple dinner. The ship provided a buffet-style meal, but the options were very limited, and the taste was not very good. Although the students were rather unhappy about it, they knew that they were now on the other's home ground, and so could only tolerate.

However, there were some things that could not be resolved just by tolerating them. Very soon, when a student who had finished eating was walking out of the cafeteria, he was shoved back. Quickly, several hulking crewmen had surrounded the student. One of the crewmen rubbed at his own shoulder, demanding arrogantly for the student to kneel and apologise to him for hurting him when he had crashed into him.

The student naturally would not agree to this humiliating style of apologising. He argued with logic, saying that he had been walking just fine — it was the other who had suddenly changed directions when they were about to cross each other to bump into him. He had no time at all to react, which was why the collision happened. If anyone should apologise, it should be the crew member.

"Looks like, that captain has made his move!" Ling Lan's brow furrowed. Could it be that the other wanted to see the students' combat ability? Or was he trying to see how the other students would react to this sort of scenario?

"To observe coldly from the sidelines, or take on the confrontation with righteous anger? Or perhaps they are trying to assess the students' true hearts?" Ling Lan looked at Han Jijyun, an inkling of realisation in her mind.

Han Jijyun also seemed to have figured something out. Without sharing a word, the frowning duo simultaneously thought of the time they had taken the enrolment tests for the Central Scout Academy.

"It's exactly like the Central Scout Academy's test." Not long after, Han Jijyun smiled in realisation.

"This time, the main content of the test is most probably unity!" Unlike before, Ling Lan slowly deduced the test's content.

"I agree!" Han Jijyun nodded. He too felt that this was the greatest possibility.

Against such a large bevy of well-built crewmen with deep bonds and great rapport, it was impossible to fight back as an individual or with the strength of several small teams. To obtain equal standing, they needed to have sufficient power to defend themselves and their rights — the weak have no right to speak ...

The disadvantage of their numbers required them to band together as one unit. Of course, individual performance and combat power would also be important areas of observation — how the students united would depend on the individual abilities of several people, while combat power was a condition to achieve equal status. Otherwise, even if they banded together, it would be a waste of energy if they did not have the strength to back it up.

"Killing many birds with one stone! A great plan!" Han Jijyun commented, tone admiring. The person who designed this test condition was undoubtedly a genius.

********

The major in the captain's room suddenly felt his nose itch, which caused him to sneeze loudly. He rubbed his nose and said bemusedly, "That's strange, why would I sneeze for no reason? Could the temperature regulation system be down?"

"Checking ... the temperature regulation system is functioning normally. Major Wang Yi, your senses are mistaken." The ship's mainframe did a self-check in response to the major's query and swiftly replied.

"Is that so? Could it be that someone is thinking of me? 4 " wondered the major.

"This question ... there is no detailed data for me to analyse. Please excuse me for not being able to provide an answer!" The mainframe answered dutifully, even though it felt that the major's question was really very pointless and idiotic ...

Chapter 208: Ling Lan's Plan!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

By now, the commotion at the cafeteria entrance had drawn many of the students' attention as they gathered around the scene. Of course, there were quite a few with angry expressions, but they still did not move recklessly. The crew members around were observing them closely — the moment the students made any strange movements, the crew would probably surge forward to show them their place.

Ling Lan glanced coldly at this scene, and suddenly turned to look at Xie Yi and said, "Xie Yi, go invite Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie over!"

Xie Yi's gaze brightened. "Yes!" Since Ling Lan was giving him this order, it meant that he must have acknowledged the role he had set for himself. Even though Luo Lang had said that Boss Lan already recognised him, before he received a clear response from Ling Lan, Xie Yi had still felt somewhat unsettled, afraid that Luo Lang had only been consoling him.

Xie Yi was very good at diplomacy — very soon, Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie had both arrived at the cafeteria with their teams in tow.

"Boss Lan, I heard you were looking for us?" Wu Jiong's expression was surprised. Ling Lan very rarely looked for him, and whenever he did, it always meant something big was about to happen, just like with the grand armed melee back then.

In contrast, with an awkward expression, Li Yingjie called out in a low voice, "Boss Lan!" The pride in his bones made him reluctant to address Ling Lan this way, but ever since Wu Jiong had changed the way he addressed Ling Lan to 'Boss Lan', Li Yingjie had drawn weird looks from everyone in Class-A and Class-B when he had once called Ling Lan by name directly. Even the members of his own team had stared at him strangely. This gave him no choice but to bend his proud neck and lower his head, acknowledging Ling Lan as the boss of their year through clenched teeth.

Ling Lan actually did not mind how others addressed her — whether they called her Boss Lan or called her name directly, it was all fine. They were both just forms of address. She signalled for them to look towards the centre of the conflict, and asked quietly, "What do you both think?"

"Eh? Him? Boss Lan, that's a student from our academy, called Peng Jiayen. He used to be in a merit class, but managed to achieve an upset in his final year to enter Class-B, and then successfully qualified for the First Men's Military Academy. He's talented." Wu Jiong was very familiar with all the outstanding students in the academy, swiftly listing out the other's background without any trouble.

Wu Jiong had just finished telling them about the student's background when the conflict escalated once more. Several crew members of the ship had lost their patience. They took action — two of the crew members stepped forward in unison, attempting to grab the student and force him to his knees to apologise.

Students from the Central Scout Academy were not as weak as they had imagined — sensing the threat, the student twisted his body, evading the two men's pincer attack. However, just as he finished dodging, two more crew members suddenly attacked, leaving no room for the student to evade anymore. He was instantly caught and brought under their control.

This series of attacks happened in the blink of an eye. The other students on the scene did not have any time to react and that student had already been subdued by the crew. Not just that, the other side had even used pure force to push the student to his knees ...

This scene caused rage to emerge on all the students faces; even the expressions of Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie, and the others with them who had just arrived could not help but change. The other side was really going too far in their bullying.

Ever since they had gone through the grand armed melee, as the Central Scout Academy students had fought valiantly together to cooperatively defeat the 10th grade, they had developed a good comradeship with one another. This was unlike the other years before them whose students were mostly indifferent towards one another with clear divisions between the classes. Now, seeing one of their schoolmates who had fought alongside them being shamed this way, all the Central Scout Academy students found themselves growing angry on his behalf!

Several students even reached out to help, but were forced back by the crew ...

Still, the palpable agitation of the surrounding students made the crew members cautious in their continued bullying of that student. At this moment, a leading crew member said with a mocking huff, "This matter has nothing to do with all of you. It's our personal business! Those who tried to take action earlier, I forgive you all for your emotional loss of control. But if you all dare to try and help again now, don't blame us for not staying polite!"

That said, the crew members who had been initially been watching the show from a distance all drew in to close ranks. The crewmen had already been stronger than the students by a clear margin, and now their numbers had grown — this made many of the students begin to waver ...

However, as Ling Lan, Wu Jiong, and company were at their backs, and since they had not indicated that they were going to let this slide, the students did not retreat and disperse, merely holding their ground without taking further action. The two sides were abruptly submerged in silence in an unofficial face-off. The atmosphere became tense in an instant.

"Boss Lan, we cannot just tolerate this offence!" Although Wu Jiong did not want to escalate things, he also did not want to be this cowardly.

By the side, Li Yingjie nodded in agreement, full of support for Wu Jiong's words. They were all prideful elites — this baseless humiliation could not be borne.

Right then, a faint smile pulled on the corner of Ling Lan's lips. Her initially cold and forbidding face was not warmed much by this trace of a smile. Instead, the surrounding people who were familiar with Ling Lan only felt a deeper chill pervade their hearts. They could clearly feel the temperature emanating from Ling Lan drop by another few degrees.

Ling Lan tugged lightly at her sleeves and said calmly, "Three years ago, you all accompanied me in orchestrating a grand armed melee. Now, would you all still have the guts to make a big play with me?" That said, the corners of her eyes lifted slightly as she peered at them through slitted eyes and waited for their response.

Ling Lan's question caused a shudder to run through Wu Jiong's and Li Yingjie's hearts. Wu Jiong calmed himself for a moment before asking warily, "What are you planning?"

Ling Lan threw a glance at Qi Long, and Qi Long and the other four members of her team spread out to surround the three of them. Ling Lan also did not forget to instruct Little Four to scramble the surveillance equipment in this area, manufacturing a false image to fool the monitors.

After receiving the all clear from Little Four, in a voice only loud enough for the three of them to hear, Ling Lan said, "Take complete control of the ship!"

Wu Jiong jerked his head up to stare dumbly at Ling Lan; even Li Yingjie was so shocked by Ling Lan's words that he could only gape at her.

"What? You don't dare?" Ling Lan's gaze swept over to stare at them, a trace of mockery in the corners of her eyes.

Wu Jiong was after all a child from a military family. He quickly regained his composure and asked softly, "You have confidence? That captain does not seem easy to handle." There may be many crew members, but the number of students was also nothing to scoff at. With Ling Lan's reputation and their status and capabilities, it was entirely possible to unite the Central Scout Academy students to form a resistance.

The only worrisome point was that captain. The other was most definitely a Qi-Jin stage expert, if not a Domain-stage one. If Ling Lan was not injured, they might have been able to succeed by attacking altogether.

"Also, the ship must have a protective mecha squad. Once the mecha make a move, we won't have any chances of winning." By now, Li Yingjie had also regained his calm, and brought up the issue of the ship's combat resources.

"Mecha? We just need to lock down the mecha hold and it'll be fine. Unless they want to destroy the ship to perish together, the mecha will just be accessories ..." It's not like they were implacable enemies, determined to kill each other; the other side would definitely never mobilise their mecha squad.

Ling Lan's words enlightened Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie. They were the new students of the First Men's Military Academy, the warriors who would protect the nation in the future — the people on this ship would never dare to truly harm them, so they really did not have anything to fear.

Of course, this did not exclude the possibility that this ship had been sent by the enemy. But if that was the case, things would not end well for them even if they did not fight back. Thus, they might as well take the risk and perhaps win a chance of survival.

Wu Jiong's heart began to pound. If they truly managed to take control of the entire ship, this would definitely be an unprecedented miracle, for he believed that the previous cadets would never have dared to attempt this ... his palms began to sweat, and his face turned somewhat red from his excitement.

Similarly, Li Yingjie also figured it out. He shared a look filled with irrepressible excitement with Wu Jiong, and then they both turned as one to nod solemnly at Ling Lan. They would take this wild gamble together with Ling Lan.

Seeing the both of them agree, Ling Lan let out an internal sigh of relief. Although she had confidence in herself, without the support of Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie, this grand and ambitious endeavour would undoubtedly be much more difficult.

Ling Lan immediately let Little Four create a tactical map with the crew members' positions plotted on it and sent a copy each to Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie. After that, she swiftly outlined her plan.

Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie nodded repetitively as they listened, their eyes shining brighter and brighter. What they had initially thought would be a campaign with very small chances of success changed into a real possibility under Ling Lan's clever planning.

It looked like what Ling Lan had said about taking control of the ship was not a brash and foolhardy attempt, but an idea formed through careful consideration. Otherwise, he would not have this detailed tactical map ready at hand. It looked like while they had been stewing in their forced tolerance, Ling Lan had already been making preparations for her next move.

Although they did not know how Ling Lan had obtained this tactical map with all the positioning of the crew, they believed that this map was real. They had taken a quick glance at several spots as noted on the map, and had found that those crew members had pretty much been standing right where the map said they would be ...

Wu Jiong's admiration towards Ling Lan rose once again, a strange bitterness rising in his mouth at the same time — he could once again feel the huge gap between Ling Lan and himself. Whether it was in terms of strategy or in terms of mental state, he was weaker than Ling Lan by too much. He too had been equally unhappy with the captain's attitude during his welcome speech and the myriad taunts of the crew, but he had only chosen to tolerate all the way, only thinking to safely get through these 2 days and 1 night.

Even when he saw a schoolmate being bullied and shamed for no reason, although he was indignant, he had still only been thinking of how to help that student get through that particular trial and let the matter die down ... yes, in his mind, even as he thought of ways to help his own schoolmate, he was also keeping in mind that he should do his best not to offend the other party, because this was their territory ...

But Ling Lan was different. The fact that his preparations were so thorough meant that Ling Lan had been thinking of taking control of the entire ship from the start. He had never even entertained the idea of just tolerating the crew's abuse in silence. Perhaps Ling Lan's way of thinking was extremely radical, but godd*mn was it exciting! It made his heart race — this was what a man should do ... he truly could not match up to Ling Lan!

Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie led their respective teams away from the scene to carry out their tasks. As the two left, their expressions were extremely interesting. In contrast to Wu Jiong's bitter resignation, Li Yingjie's expression was undoubtedly much more complex. All kinds of envy-jealousy-hate flashed across it, only to end in a helpless sigh as he left downcast ...

Finding that the person he wanted to overcome was so unassailably strong on all fronts, no matter how proud or unyielding Li Yingjie was, he could only let go of his competitive spirit. He knew now that he could no longer rival Ling Lan in this life, because he had already lost the courage to fight against Ling Lan. Just thinking of a head on battle with the other made his heart feel unimaginably weak and feeble.

Chapter 209: Move!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

After Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie left the cafeteria silently with their teams, Qi Long approached Ling Lan and said, "Boss, what do we do next?"

With his capabilities, he had naturally heard Ling Lan's speech on taking control of the ship as well — though of course this was also because Ling Lan had no intention of hiding it from him to begin with. Qi Long was thoroughly fired up by Ling Lan's plan, ready to move.

This was his boss, forever daring to do what others would not dare to do! Qi Long's heart was bursting with pride!

"You are required here to hold the fort. Delay for us as long as possible — attract and hold the crew's attention," instructed Ling Lan in a low voice. Qi Long's task was very important. According to her plan, it would be best if Qi Long could fish out the captain from his room.

"Later, first let Luo Lang step up to help Peng Jiayen! You stay put and keep an eye on things. Wait for my final order!" Ling Lan's expression was extremely serious. Whether or not things would go smoothly on their end depended on the situation here with Qi Long; she hoped everything would turn out well.

"Got it, Boss!" Qi Long replied solemnly.

"Xie Yi!"

"Here, Boss!" Xie Yi replied hurriedly.

"While Luo Lang is holding everyone's attention, you go and gather all the students of Class-A and Class-B from the cafeteria, and get them to come back to the main hall. Remember, do it stealthily. If you can't, it's better not to move at all than to move recklessly!"

Their plan did not have many steps, but each step required finesse. Moreover, Ling Lan did not want the students to leave the cafeteria en masse — this would make those crew members suspicious.

"Understood, Boss," replied Xie Yi somewhat nervously. Ling Lan's request was not easy; his task would definitely be very challenging. However, Xie Yi did not want to disappoint Ling Lan.

After assigning these tasks, Ling Lan brought Lin Zhong-qing and Han Jijyun with her out of the cafeteria into the main hall.

Right now, there was already a significant number of Central Scout Academy students gathered there. They were almost all Class-A and Class-B people. While she had been arranging things with Qi Long and the others, it seemed that Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie had not been idle.

Seeing Ling Lan appear, the spirits of all these students rallied, fighting spirit filling their eyes. Earlier, back when Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie had called them out, they had told them that Boss Lan was going to lead them in playing a grand game today.

Everyone was wondering what this 'grand game' was referring to; many of them were guessing whether it would be like the grand armed melee, but against the crew. Thinking of the possibility, their blood began to boil with excitement. Ever since the grand armed melee, they had not encountered a stage as thrilling as that again. They had really missed that feeling. Furthermore, they did not have a favourable impression of the ship's captain and the crew — it could perhaps even be said that they hated them. As such, they were extremely willing to engage the crew in a vigorous battle.

Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie were currently staking out a corner each, quite a crowd gathered around each of them. When they saw Ling Lan enter the room, they nodded at her silently, signalling to her that they were ready.

However, Ling Lan did not say anything in response nor signal the attack. Instead she walked back to her seat and sat down, at the same time telling the others to do the same. "Watch the show for now!"

Just as everyone took a seat, baffled, rousing cheers rang out from the cafeteria, along with bellows of rage from the crew. A Central Scout Academy student ran into the hall, shouting, "Luo Lang has attacked!"

Luo Lang's actions represented the decision of the uncrowned king, Ling Lan. He would not bow his head to the opponent. It was just like with the grand armed melee back then — he would rather fight valiantly, never submitting even if he might lose terribly.

Everyone turned to look with expectant faces at the seated Ling Lan, waiting for him to give the order.

"Wait a little longer!" Ling Lan glanced at her communicator and said calmly.

At this time, several Class-A students were trickling in from the cafeteria. When they saw the group assembled within the hall, pleasant surprise flashed through their eyes. However, they remembered Xie Yi's warning, so they did not react outwardly. They made their way almost casually to Ling Lan's side, demeanours natural as they found empty armchairs to sit in. It was as if they did not know one another, or perhaps were not very close; everyone treated each other indifferently.

Right then, Ling Lan appeared at ease, but she was in fact anxiously collecting data on the situation around the whole ship with Little Four. Little Four was very reliable. He had already managed to infiltrate the mainframe to use its surveillance systems to monitor the entire spaceship. He then marked the danger zones and areas where the crew were gathered on a map, to facilitate Ling Lan's subsequent actions.

At this time, on the ship, almost everyone's attention was focused on the cafeteria. Even the captain in the captain's room was also focused intently on the conflict in the cafeteria, only checking on the students in the main hall every once in a while.

However, by now, the video feed the captain was seeing was an edited version by Little Four. In his screen, there were only a small few within the main hall, and those few were scattered loosely around the hall with no signs of grouping together.

Meanwhile, Little Four placed the people 'missing' from the hall within the feed of the cafeteria. In this way — in and out, plus and minus — Little Four managed to conceal the movement of the students and the true situation in the main hall.

Soon, there were over a hundred people gathered around Ling Lan. Ling Lan finally gave Little Four the signal to let Qi Long make his move!

********

Inside the cafeteria, the standoff between the two sides had been broken due to Luo Lang's interference. The crew members turned to anger in their shame, and tried to band together to mob Luo Lang. But who was Luo Lang? He was the third rank on the verge of obtaining second rank (Ling Lan excluded)! Although he might still be a distance away from Qi Long, he was about the same level as Wu Jiong. If not for the fact that Wu Jiong's combat style countered his, he would not have had to bear the frustration of being the academy's third rank.

After Luo Lang beat off the third batch of crewmen who wanted to teach him a lesson, he was beginning to feel the strain. The crew members were all very strong and capable — if they had not been intent on subduing him without harming him, he might very likely have not been able to fend off these three batches.

"Tsk! Actually being beaten by a little lady. You all are such a disgrace!" Along with this voice, a young man appeared at the entrance to the cafeteria. His hairstyle was stylish, his expression mocking, his gaze wicked as he ogled at Luo Lang, making Luo Lang feel extremely uncomfortable.

When the crew saw the young man, they called out in unison, "Leader!" It was unexpected that this crew member who looked to be the youngest of them all was actually their leader. Luo Lang and the waiting Qi Long both frowned in silent accord, caution rising in their hearts.

"Tch tch tch, who knew there would be such an exquisite item ... why don't you warm my bed tonight?" said the young man predatorily, as if having discovered some great thing.

"Shut up, bastard!" screamed Luo Lang in response, his face turning red with anger from the other's offensive words.

But this angry appearance only made him even more enchantingly gorgeous! The lovely picture he made stunned all the crew members present. If their hearts and minds had been less steady, they might really have become bewitched by Luo Lang.

A keen light flashed through the young man's eyes, but he continued to mock irreverently, "Asking me to shut up? Then, you are inviting me to take action instead?" That said, with a quick dash, he was reaching out his fingers towards Luo Lang's jaw. It could be called an attack, but could also be called an attempt at molestation.

The other's action caused Luo Lang to become even angrier. He immediately blocked the other's fingers, kicking out fiercely with his right leg at the same time.

"Whump!" The other reacted quickly as well, blocking Luo Lang's attack with a leg of his own. The two of them retreated two steps back — it looked like it was a draw. The students cheered with raised arms for Luo Lang's impressive performance, but only Qi Long frowned lightly once more. He knew that the other's capability was likely slightly better — Luo Lang would have a tough fight now.

Luo Lang too knew this very well. The rage consuming his heart was abruptly pushed aside, his entire being becoming cool and collected. This ability to swiftly adjust his emotional state made the young man's eyes light up, exclaiming in wonder in his heart. Who knew that this girlish youth before his eyes was actually so proficient at controlling his emotions? Just a moment ago he was still raging at the skies, and now, in the blink of an eye, he had become so calm and composed. The young man greatly admired this smooth transition and control. It should be known that unstable emotions would affect one's ability to perform — it was possible that it could add to one's strength, but it was much more likely to cause weakness instead.

"This punk!" Qi Long's initially furrowed brow eased. He had not expected Luo Lang to be so daring, actually activating his innate talent right now. Mind you, Luo Lang's innate talent was very dangerous — it was entirely possible to unleash a dark character instead. It was considered an unstable innate talent, and Luo Lang typically would not activate it.

It was probable that Luo Lang was feeling pressured by the task Boss Lan assigned to him. Now, with the addition of an opponent stronger than him, unwilling to just admit defeat, Luo Lang had chosen to take the risk and activate his innate talent.

Undoubtedly, Luo Lang's luck today was exceedingly good. The character his activation brought out turned out to be his cool persona, which was extremely suited for battle. This made Luo Lang's combat power rise exponentially — even Qi Long now was unsure whether he could beat Luo Lang under the influence of this persona.

Luo Lang and the young leader clashed again, and this time, Luo Lang was again pushed back by two steps, but the young leader retreated a whole four steps. This made the leader's expression shift. From that last crossing of blows, he could already clearly sense the sudden increase in his opponent's strength. The youth who had initially been slightly weaker than him had suddenly become stronger than him by a hair, putting him at a disadvantage.

"What kind of abnormality is this?!" The young leader could not help but wonder silently. Mind you, he had always been called a prodigy, which was why he could enter the optimal peak of Refinement at such a young age, now just one insight and one chance short of entering Qi-Jin stage. In contrast, the opponent had originally been at the peak level of Refinement, but had suddenly shot up to a half step into Qi-Jin ... yes, it was a level even closer to Qi-Jin than optimal peak. He had believed the level to be a myth, but it had unexpectedly appeared in reality, and he had just encountered it.

In the captain's room, the captain saw the young leader and Luo Lang's fight, and his eyes lit up. "Good. This brat may look like a sissy, but his explosive power is astonishingly horrifying. Lil' Ghost has met his match."

In the time it took him to say this, Luo Lang and the young leader had exchanged several more moves. Currently, the leader was beginning to have trouble keeping up with Luo Lang's moves. Everyone could see that the young leader was the one who was disadvantaged; this reality caused the faces of the crew members at the scene to change ...

Right then, Qi Long received a message from Ling Lan. "Move!"

Without thinking, Qi Long darted out like an arrow, throwing his right fist straight at the young leader who was busily blocking Luo Lang's attacks.

Chapter 210: The Operation Begins!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

Qi Long's speed was very fast, moving almost between blinks. Because the young leader was currently fully focused on Luo Lang, he was not on guard against a sneak attack from Qi Long. Thus, Qi Long's unexpected strike hit the other square in the face, and the young leader was sent flying by this one punch to crash heavily to the ground ...

"Leader!" The crew members on the scene cried out in shock. They were shocked that their leader had been struck down with just one punch, and also furious at the other side's shameless sneak attack.

Seeing this, Luo Lang stopped attacking and stood to a side. He cast a discontented glance at Qi Long. "I could have handled him." This one glance was unimaginably flirtatious 1 !

Qi Long seemed oblivious — he only lifted up his right hand to reveal the communicator on his wrist. Luo Lang instantly understood — Boss Lan's orders must have arrived.

********

"Right now, the one that attacked, is he that youth's team leader?" In the captain's room, the major's interest was piqued by Qi Long who had abruptly attacked.

"He should be!" said the captain, frowning. He rather disliked this sneak attack method of Qi Long's.

********

Meanwhile, in the cafeteria, five or six furious crewmen leapt at Qi Long, prepared to teach this despicable punk a lesson.

Qi Long stood his ground, glaring coldly at these crewmen coming at him. Right before they could touch his body, he gave a great bellow, the Qi-Jin in his body circulating rapidly as he stomped the ground heavily with his left foot. With the rebound force produced, he sprang into the air, and let loose with both legs ...

"Bam!" "Bam!" "Bam!" ...

Consecutive sounds of bodies being kicked rang out, and these crewmen were sent flying back like flower petals being scattered by a heavenly flower girl 2 . They fell heavily to the ground and tumbled to the side. One of the crewmen even ended up being bowled in Luo Lang's direction. Facing this sudden human projectile, Luo Lang shifted one small step, and with a slight twist of his body, the crewman grazed by him to crash into the ground ...

At this moment, the young leader had already got back on his feet. Seeing Qi Long knocking down these crew members so easily, he could not help but exclaim with a dark expression, "Qi-Jin stage!"

These three words were hissed through clenched teeth. He would never have thought that such a monster would be concealed within this batch of new cadets. A 16-year-old at Qi-Jin stage ... this was absolutely a legendary existence.

"Qi-Jin stage? How can this be?" The captain, who had been paying close attention to the situation in the cafeteria in his room, heard what the young leader said and could not help but shout.

The major smiled wryly, "Perhaps, the Central Scout Academy has been so quiet for so many years because they were focused on cultivating this monster ..." Ye Yifan, are you preparing your comeback now?

"The military academy may really be in for an upheaval," sighed the major.

"If the other is really at Qi-Jin stage, Lil' Ghost is definitely no match for him!" said the captain with a grim countenance, "I must go and see." He could not afford to let the boat capsize in a ditch 3 . Failing to teach these fresh cadets a lesson, while his capable subordinates were beaten so badly they fell into a funk in the end.

"Mm, it's time for you to go quell the situation." The major was in full agreement. If they did not suppress that Qi-Jin stage fresh cadet, their test was likely to be nipped in the bud, for those students would definitely no longer have any fear of them.

"Don't worry, I will teach him a good lesson. On my turf, no one has ever dared be this cocky." That said, the captain departed from his room.

The captain's movement was immediately reported by Little Four to Ling Lan. Ling Lan clenched a victory fist internally, mentally cheering a loud 'YES' — they had finally managed to hook the captain out of his room 4 ...

However, they still needed to wait a little longer ... Ling Lan held back the excitement in her heart. Her expression extraordinarily calm, she remained still in her seat, closely monitoring the captain's progress.

At this time, some of the students in the hall not from the Central Scout Academy were extremely curious over the large assembly of around 100 students around Ling Lan. One of them slunk up to a Central Scout Academy student right on the fringes of the group and asked softly, "I want to ask, what's the plan behind so many of you gathering here?"

The Central Scout Academy student was actually not very clear why Ling Lan had called them all here — he only knew that it would definitely be something big and exciting. He smiled apologetically at the student who asked, but did not reply verbally.

Seeing that the Central Scout Academy student had no intention of sating his curiosity, the other student could only give up and return back to his companions.

"Did you get any news?" asked one of his companions softly.

That students shook his head regretfully, but said firmly, "There must be some plot. They just do not want to let us know." He looked towards a pensive-looking youth, and could not help but ask him, "Third Elder Brother, what should we do now?"

The pensive youth was startled out of his thoughts by this question. He frowned as he lifted his head, and throwing a glance in Ling Lan's direction, he said, "Wait! So many people won't suddenly disappear. We'll definitely find out what they're up to in the end. "

Over this past half of the day, he had basically figured out that these students were all from the Central Scout Academy. In the past, the students of that academy had always been the object of their envy-jealousy-hate, but from now on, they were all standing at the same starting line.

And it was for precisely that reason that he was unwilling to be excluded by these prodigies at this juncture ...

"Okay, we'll do what you say, Third Elder Brother." These few people had only managed to qualify for the First Men's Military Academy because of him, so they were very deferential to him, willing to follow his will in all things.

********

When Ling Lan confirmed that the captain had entered the branch passage heading to the cafeteria, she knew that the time to act had arrived. She abruptly stood up, swept her gaze across the students around her, and said softly, "The game begins! Don't ask any questions. Just follow your own team leaders. A bit later on, they will explain what exactly we are planning to do."

Wu Jiong and Li Yingjie nodded at Ling Lan, and then they led 30 over people into passages in two different directions, leaving the main hall ... a majority of the team members followed their team leaders, nonplussed, but the ten or so team leaders present all knew what they needed to do.

The passage that Wu Jiong chose was headed for the engine room — he needed to gain control of the engine room as soon as possible. It should be known that once the power was cut in the engine room, the spaceship would enter a paralysed state where all its systems would be unable to run normally. To take control of the ship, this place was indispensable. Due to the great importance of the engine room, Ling Lan had given this challenging task to Wu Jiong.

Meanwhile, Li Yingjie was headed for the living quarters of the crew. They needed to suppress the crew members inside at soonest notice. They could not allow the crew members to catch their breath and gather together to fight back.

Ling Lan swept her gaze over the remaining people in the room, and said coldly, "Follow me!"

She led the way out of the main hall, Han Jijyun and Lin Zhong-qing close behind her. The remaining students looked at each other in excitement, and then hurried to keep up, not daring to dawdle.

Ling Lan's task was the heaviest. The path she chose required them to take control of two places, one of which was the spaceship's central control room. Mind you, all the facilities and procedures were coordinated and controlled from there. These included the power system, the gravitational system, the surveillance system, the weapons system, the mecha system, detection system, etcetera. All these systems were monitored and controlled by specialised staff. Ling Lan could still ignore the other systems, but to lock down the doors of the different sections, one needed to take control of that room.

Although Ling Lan was sure that the spaceship's side would not mobilise their mecha, Ling Lan decided to eliminate all possibility of that happening anyway. Therefore, Ling Lan decided to take control of the central control room and seal off the mecha hold where all the mecha were being kept so the other party would have no chance to even get close to the mecha!

Besides this place, the other place they needed to take control of was the captain's room behind the central control room. The core of the ship's mainframe was there — only by taking control of the captain's room could they crack the mainframe's authority and gain the right of control, thus truly obtaining the ship's control rights.

Originally, the captain's room was the hardest to conquer because the most capable captain was stationed there. However, due to Ling Lan's planning, this was no longer a problem. This made it much easier for Ling Lan and the students to gain the control rights of the spaceship.

Although the difficulty seemed much reduced, Ling Lan still did not let down her guard — because Little Four had warned her that there was still one person in the captain's room, and Ling Lan was unclear on that mysterious person's capabilities. This added a certain degree of uncertainty to their plan.

In the main hall, very soon, there was not a single Central Scout Academy student left.

"Third Elder Brother, which team should we follow?" One of the members of the group which had been watching Ling Lan and company closely could not help but ask anxiously.

"This one!" The one they called 'Third Elder Brother' still remembered who the head of that group was — it was that student who everyone reverentially called Boss Lan. He had the most interest in him.

This group of people carefully trailed behind Ling Lan's party, slowly following it deeper into the passageway.

Ling Lan's party very quickly divided themselves into combat units, three to a team for a total of 12 teams. The odd man out, Ling Lan, was a solo team on her own. Every time they came to the hiding spot of a crew member, they handled it by pitting one team against one opponent.

To begin with, these students were exceptional prodigies of the Central Scout Academy; their combat prowess was not weak. On top of that, pitting three-man teams against each crew member let them breeze through all the way, bringing down all the concealed sentries without causing much of a stir.

However, they soon met an unforeseen incident. Perhaps the smooth sailing caused the Central Scout Academy students to somewhat lose their focus — when it came to the twelfth batch of sentry crewmen, they bumped into a tough nut to crack. A three-man attack actually did not manage to put down the opponent.

That person reacted quickly — he did not choose to fight back, instead moving towards the hidden warning alarm in his hand. Just when everyone's expressions changed, silently screaming 'oh shit', that person's hand halted abruptly right before it could touch the button. Then, there was a flash of a silhouette, and that person was down on the ground.

Only then did the students notice that Ling Lan, who had been watching their backs at the flank, had finally made a move. With lightning speed, she had struck the opponent unconscious.

Ling Lan swept a cold look over all of them, and the small team which had made a mistake automatically ducked their heads, cold sweat breaking out all over their bodies.

"Be more alert!" These three cold words let the three-man team breathe out a sigh of relief even as they felt consumed by shame.

"Yes!" The three of them answered quietly. They silently reminded themselves that they definitely could not lose focus and make such a mistake again, and lose face.

They did not want to see Ling Lan's disappointed gaze. Ling Lan's greatness had already become rooted in their hearts after 10 years of accumulation and reinforcement. They believed that Ling Lan would definitely reach the pinnacle of strength; thus, they hoped to keep following Ling Lan. This was a wish born out of a deep admiration from the heart ...

Chapter 211: New Members!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

The three youths moved all of the unconscious sentry crewmen into one of the ship's rooms and locked it. Without someone to input the passcode on the panel outside, the people inside the room would not be able to get out. Ling Lan also did not forget to let Little Four disable their communicators, preventing the possibility of any of the opponents revealing their plan if they woke up earlier than expected.

By now, the students following Ling Lan could tell what Ling Lan's objective was. Although it sounded insane, everyone's blood was boiling at the thought. No one chose to withdraw, instead becoming even more excited, believing that this was truly what they should do ...

They were youths who had just stepped out from the scout academy, and were right in their rebellious phase. They had countless fanciful dreams — they were still hot-blooded youths filled with boundless courage. They wanted to make something of themselves and were willing to put in the effort to do it, whatever the cost may be. Still wet behind the ears 1 , they had no fear. As young men, their wings of freedom had yet to be bound by reality ...

Thus, their only thought now was that as long as they kept following Boss Lan before them, they could achieve things they never thought possible — insane things they never would have dreamed of ... and all this was precisely what fed their confidence and pride!

"Third Elder Brother, they, they, they've gone mad! Completely crazy!" When the group trailing Ling Lan's party from afar finally saw what Ling Lan's party was doing, they were instantly scared sh*tless 2 . Some of them were so scared that their bodies had even begun to tremble.

From the perspective of these students, Ling Lan's party's actions were undoubtedly a major crime of insubordination — actually daring to attack the people sent to escort them to their school ... Had they given up on studying at the First Men's Military Academy?!

"Third Elder Brother, let's quickly tell the ship's crew. We must stop them. What they're doing will ruin our pathway to the military academy. They must be lunatics." A member suggested informing the ship's men, thinking that stopping Ling Lan's party's insane actions was the right thing to do.

"Idiot! Shut your mouth!" barked Third Elder Brother, "What do you all know?" Third Elder Brother looked ahead at where the figures had already disappeared and a gleam of intense light flashed across his eyes. Although attacking the crew seemed to be such an unthinkable act, the immediate impression being that the perpetrators must be mad ... after giving the matter a little more thought, it was not necessarily so.

Mulling it over, from the very start of the journey, the captain's introduction had been filled with provocation, and the crew's attitudes had been even worse, their speech full of all kinds of contempt, mocking, taunts, and insults. Even with the students' clear tolerance and giving way, the other side had not let it rest, purposefully forcing that confrontation in the cafeteria, intentionally humiliating that student ... all of this was testing the bottom line of the students.

In other words, this ship, from the captain to its crew, had never intended to make nice with them from the very beginning. Even if they tolerated again and again, the oppression and humiliation would have just gotten worse and worse, until the students could not take it anymore and exploded ... this would have been the inevitable outcome. In that case, why shouldn't they go ahead and address the root of the problem?

That person must be thinking this way, which was why he was doing this! Admiration shone from Third Elder Brother's eyes. How daring was he to be able to make this decision? 3 And how great must his charisma be to be able to convince up to 100 students to willingly take this risk with him?

His thoughts went back to the cafeteria — the other Qi-Jin stage student, he too was an astounding existence. What role did he have to play in this?

"He should be attracting everyone's attention, providing cover for their operation! The person who designed this plan is not just bold, but also very meticulous!" Third Elder Brother had always been a smart guy; he very quickly figured things out. A wave of bitterness surged in his heart — he had once thought he was good enough to challenge these elites once they entered the military academy, but now from the looks of it, he had taken things too lightly. Just this Boss Lan alone — whether in terms of scheming and guts, or realm 4 — was just too far away from him.

"Third Elder Brother, they will definitely fail. That captain is most definitely super strong — they absolutely won't be able to beat him. If we go with them, we will be mistaken as part of them ..." reminded a member.

"So what if we're together? D*mmit, how can we sit out of such an awesome thing? Although we're not Central Scout Academy students, don't forget, we're also graduates of a scout academy, cadets of the military academy just like them ..." said Third Elder Brother.

"If they fail, we will still be mocked and tormented by those crew members. We might as well join them and let the scales tip as far as it can in our favour ... it's a waste of youth not to take crazy risks. I have decided to take the gamble, what about the rest of you?" Third Elder Brother felt his heartbeat speeding up, his blood starting to boil — even though failure would bring nothing good, but what if they managed to succeed?

This was definitely an incident that would shock the military academy — perhaps even up to the entire Federation! He bloody did not want to miss this.

"Third Elder Brother's decision is my decision!" His most loyal team members declared.

"Since you all have decided, then I'll of course join in ..." Although there were still a few people on the team who hesitated, seeing that most of the members had agreed to fight it out, they could only grit their teeth and jump in since they did not want to hold their team back.

The team finally came to an accord. Meanwhile, Ling Lan's party had already disappeared into the passage ahead. Third Elder Brother made his members hurry up — if they were left behind by the other, then they would not be able to pitch in even if they wanted to.

Third Elder Brother was in the lead, and just whilst they were hurrying on their way, a cold and somewhat familiar voice suddenly rang out by his ear. "Since you all are interested, then come along!"

Third Elder Brother's footsteps abruptly stopped. His face shifted slightly, because he had identified the voice — it was the voice of that youth called Boss Lan.

The other team members were baffled by his sudden stop, and Third Elder Brother was suddenly heard to say, "Gao Jinyun, I look forward to working with you."

"Ling Lan, welcome to the team!" The cold voice responded swiftly. As expected, it was that Boss Lan.

"Boss, what are you mumbling to yourself for?" The team members were creeped out by Gao Jinyun's strange behaviour. One of the team members could not help but speak up to ask.

Gao Jinyun did not respond, only saying, "Hurry up and move forwards!"

"Ah? We'll be discovered by the team ahead if we move too fast," said a member worriedly.

"They have already discovered us a long time ago. Just now, they were just inviting us to join them." Gao Jinyun finally explained why he had been muttering to himself.

"So hurry up! No more chit chat!" said Gao Jinyun moodily. That Boss Lan actually possessed the ability to transmit verbal messages from a distance — what ability was this? Could it be a type of spiritual mutation?

"..." Gao Jinyun's words made everyone speechless. Who could have guessed that they had already long been discovered by the other party despite their caution? Thinking back, if they had decided back then to go tell on them, they may have been mercilessly attacked by the other party, ending up shoved into a small dark room just like those incapacitated crew members had been.

At this thought, the members could not help but look at Gao Jinyun gratefully. Once again, it was proven that following Third Elder Brother was not wrong.

The moody Gao Jinyun never would have known that his team members' trust in him would increase once more because of this. They even decided in their hearts that after this, no matter what decision Gao Jinyun made, they would agree unconditionally. This gave him a bunch of stubbornly united team members. In the future, this unity would be what allowed his team to perform exceptionally, securing their spot as the second main force of Ling Lan's entourage ...

"Boss, I did pretty good, right?" Little Four smugly begged for praise from Ling Lan in the mind-space. Earlier, he had used the advanced technology of the learning space to convert Ling Lan's voice into coded supersonic waves which could only be successfully received by the specified person.

Ling Lan said nonchalantly, "Not bad at all! Little Four, keep it up!" Honestly though, Ling Lan really thought what Little Four did was unnecessary. There had really been no need to make things so complicated — he had just needed to transmit her voice through the sound systems already within the ship and let it out within the vicinity of the other group. Even if the message was heard by a few more people, so what? Still, she would not burst Little Four's bubble and discourage him. Since Little Four had the interest to do it, then she would leave him to it, as long as he did not find it troublesome.

"However, don't forget to cover us. The opponent must not discover our movements!" Ling Lan reminded worriedly. She was just afraid that Little Four would get too caught up in his play and forget his main task. The reason why their path had gone so smoothly, not being discovered by the central control room despite taking out so many sentries, was all because Little Four had created fake video feeds, showing the opponent that everything was going on as normal.

"Got it, Boss!" Little Four said, disgruntled. Would he make such a low-level mistake? Why did Boss always ignore what he said? He was a god of the virtual world! He could handle this type of small case without any errors even if he were asleep ...

Leaving aside Little Four's grumbles within the mind-space, at this time, the other people in Ling Lan's party had also sensed Gao Jinyun's party's movements. When Han Jijyun heard the soft susurration of footsteps coming from behind them, his expression could not help but change.

The footsteps sounded rather disorganised, so it looked like the incoming people would not be few. Had they been discovered by the ship's crew?

The other students also began to become restless. Lin Zhong-qing turned to look at Ling Lan, asking her whether he should lead some people over to hold them off.

Only then did Ling Lan speak up to explain, "Don't worry, they are our allies!"

Hearing this, the hearts of everyone there relaxed instantly. The initially tense atmosphere dissipated as they patiently waited for Gao Jinyun's party to catch up.

The moment Gao Jinyun approached Ling Lan's party, he could see everyone stopped there waiting for his party. Thirty pair of bright eyes stared at them in unison, making him feel a tremendous pressure.

"We are students from Huoyun City 5 Scout Academy. I am called Gao Jinyun ..." Gao Jinyun straightened his attitude, and began introducing his party to the other.

"We'll do full introductions later. Jijyun, go arrange it!" Ling Lan coolly interrupted Gao Jinyun, and then immediately turned to head into the depths of the passage. The students did not dare to dawdle, following closely ...

Gao Jinyun reflexively rubbed his nose, silently noting to himself that this Boss Lan was really hard to talk to ...

With the addition of Gao Jinyun's party, Ling Lan's party now had more than 40 people. As they did not know the capabilities of Gao Jinyun's party, Han Jijyun did not split the teams, grouping everyone together as one team to move together.

This column of people did not meet any other unexpected issues along the way. Finally, they neared Ling Lan's first objective, the spaceship's central control room.

Chapter 212: Disguised Infiltration!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

Ling Lan halted, and with a flick of her right arm, the Central Scout Academy students moved with utmost cooperation, dashing to one side to stick closely to the passage walls. Gao Jinyun's party was off by a beat, but they did not mess up. Some of their members just did not dodge as adeptly as the students from the Central Scout Academy, seeming somewhat clumsy in comparison.

This direct comparison showed the difference in skill levels instantly; Gao Jinyun's face felt hot with shame. He silently decided that when he entered the academy, he would definitely train his party up well, to avoid shaming themselves again in front of Ling Lan in future.

Ling Lan signalled for the students to stay in place and not move. Then, with a nimble flash step, she had arrived at the doorway of the central control room. The doors were tightly sealed — entering or exiting required a passcode.

"Little Four, how many people can you confirm inside?" Ling Lan asked Little Four silently.

"There are 53 staff members, and 10 guards." Little Four projected the scene inside the central control room faithfully in Ling Lan's mindspace.

"The opponent has the advantage in numbers. Breaking in forcefully may not allow us to take control quickly. The other side are likely to find time to send out the news of our attack." Ling Lan's brow furrowed, finding the situation somewhat out of her expectations. She had initially thought that since it was a meal time, the staff members inside would be fewer — unexpectedly, there wasn't that much fewer than normal.

"Boss, I can instantly seal off their communication equipment!" Little Four became excited. This was his chance to shine! It was time to show Boss how awesome he could be.

"And the weapons?" Ling Lan threw an icy glance at the smug Little Four, instantly suppressing the other's flames of arrogance. Indeed, all the staff members inside were equipped with beam handguns. If they just charged in, the other side need only find a chance to pull their guns and shoot, and some of their party might unfortunately die here.

Ling Lan did not believe that under this sudden and unexpected attack, the people inside could still keep calm and judge the situation accurately. It would already be a blessing if they did not just shoot indiscriminately all at once — if by any chance a student were to fall here, she would not be able to live with herself.

Little Four was deeply struck by Ling Lan's words. He could only squat down and draw circles on the ground, busying himself with self-reflection ...

Should she use a large-scale spiritual attack? Ling Lan silently speculated. She actually had a solution — she could sense that the people inside were not people with awakened innate talents on the spiritual front; so, her spiritual attacks could totally incapacitate all of them.

However, Ling Lan had one reservation, because Ling Xiao and Mu Shui-qing did not want others to know of this ability of hers. As veteran warriors, they knew the importance of keeping a trump card. In critical moments, that could be the ultimate move that would save one's life.

Ling Lan took this advice to heart. Although spiritual attacks were not her only ace in the hole, no one would ever complain about having too many trump cards. Thus, Ling Lan had nodded and agreed.

Ling Lan did not like to go against her word. Since she had already promised her father and her master not to use spiritual attacks unless absolutely necessary in a life-or-death situation, Ling Lan would hold true to that. Therefore, she decisively threw out this option and tried to think of another way.

Ling Lan began to go through anything that could help their operation, and suddenly, a thought came to her mind. She recalled those sentries who had been struck down by them — could they maybe try to use the uniforms and weapons of those men?

Ling Lan immediately returned to Han Jijyun's side, and quietly outlined her plan. Han Jijyun felt that the idea was excellent, and the other team leaders by his side also nodded in approval as they heard the plan. As long as the other party had just a beat of hesitation and uncertainty, that would be their chance.

Although the other side had more people, the combat ability of the staff members were not very strong. As long as the other side did not find a chance to pull their guns and begin shooting en masse, the cadets would definitely be able to keep the situation under control. Their chances of winning were undoubtedly still very high.

All young and courageous scout students were willing to take risks — everyone felt that this plan was worth a shot.

And so, Ling Lan led the group back to the room where they had put the sentries in. Before they entered, Ling Lan let Little Four check to see if any of the men had woken up. After confirming that they were all still unconscious, they opened the door. Everyone rushed in, and very soon, all the sentries' clothes and weapons had been lifted off their bodies.

During this time, Little Four had done a quick scan of the ship, and found that the teams moving around the ship were in groups of 10 men. As such, it looked like the first batch to enter the central control room should not exceed 10 people.

After listening to Little Four's report, Ling Lan was even more certain. This was definitely a spaceship run by military men, because the arrangement of 10 people per unit was precisely the smallest mobile unit of the official Federation army (with the exception of mecha squads).

Inside the room, everyone quickly changed into the sentry uniforms. Even though they were only 16 years old right now, their bodies were already not that much different from that of an adult's. At a glance, it was almost impossible to notice anything off.

Ling Lan was the only one who put on the uniform and then immediately took it off again, because Ling Lan was not the well-built manly type. Her muscles were all leanness and graceful lines — it was impossible to tell she was a combat master when she was not circulating her Qi or actually fighting. Her entire stature was a bit more slender than regular males, so the uniforms were obviously too big on her, not at all fitting.

Everyone agreed that Ling Lan might as well not wear the uniform, because it would be obvious at a glance that she was in disguise, making the disguise completely pointless.

Ling Lan smiled wryly; the difference between genders was still apparent. However, Ling Lan very quickly centred herself again, because there was an even more delicate man in her party, Luo Lang ... at that thought, she immediately had no more regrets.

(Ling Lan, don't you think there is something wrong with the way you are thinking? You are a girl, while Luo Lang is a boy ...) 1

In order to ensure safety, Ling Lan, Han Jijyun, along with several intelligent-type team leaders discussed several action plans inside this sealed room. Among these, Gao Jinyun's performance stood out. He provided multiple possible scenarios that could happen once they entered the central control room, as well as the opponent's possible responses; this made the other team leaders from the Central Scout Academy hold a higher opinion of him.

The students of the Central Scout Academy were a haughty bunch, never ever entertaining the idea that there could be better prodigies than themselves in the other scout academies. So, when Gao Jinyun had first joined them, they had not thought much of him and his party, their attitudes clearly cold and indifferent. If not for the fact that Gao Jinyun's party had performed acceptably all this way, they might have blatantly revealed expressions of disdain.

But this time, many of the scenarios that Gao Jinyun described were things they themselves had not thought of. This made them understand that Gao Jinyun was not a simple character, and their initial bit of contempt slowly disappeared as they began to treat Gao Jinyun as an equal.

Unnoticed by the others, Ling Lan and Han Jijyun shared a glance, the meaning of which only they knew.

At the end, each of the team leaders accepted their own tasks and returned to their respective teams. The moment Gao Jinyun returned, several team members surreptitiously gave him a thumbs up, showing their deep respect for their leader. No matter how composed Gao Jinyun was typically, at this moment, even he could not prevent the corner of his lips from curling up into a slight smile ...

Gao Jinyun wanted to say something humble, say that he had only thought of all these due to the inspiration from the others ... Just as he opened his mouth to speak, he suddenly stopped, and all of his initial glee and satisfaction disappeared. He looked towards Han Jijyun, who was currently discussing the final details with Ling Lan, with a complicated expression. Just then, he had realised that those ideas and scenarios he had suggested had all been completed under the other's careful indirect guidance. In other words, without knowing it, he had been manipulated by the other.

"F*ck, who are these people?!" Gao Jinyun, who had originally been confident in his own intelligence, felt his ego being struck once more. Could it be that only aberrants existed beside aberrants? Still, Gao Jinyun was not someone who could not tell good from bad. The other had clearly been trying to help integrate him into their party with his actions ...

Subsequently, the first batch of members to enter the central control room was selected. They were the ten strongest scout students excepting Ling Lan, while Lin Zhong-qing would take on the role of impersonating the leader of the sentry team.

Ling Lan led all of them swiftly back to the doors of the central control room. To save time, Ling Lan stepped up immediately, letting Little Four crack the passcode for this door.

Of course, in the eyes of the others, all of this was Ling Lan's doing. All they saw was their Boss Lan standing at the door staring at it for about one second, and then his fingers flew over the touchscreen, leaving behind trailing afterimages. Several seconds later, he suddenly stopped and calmly told them the passcode ...

They were once again in awe of Boss Lan's greatness. Who could have expected that the combat-powerful Boss Lan would also be so exceptional when it came to deciphering codes? In their hearts, a question emerged — was there anything Ling Lan could not do?

Lin Zhong-qing, who was disguised as the leader, took a deep breath, trying to calm his pounding heart. Now was his time to perform. He must complete the task Boss Lan had assigned to him perfectly. He must let Boss Lan see that he, Lin Zhong-qing, was definitely a team member worthy of trust.

When Ling Lan had reached out a helping hand back when he had been most troubled, when Ling Lan had clearly known he was joining his team with an ulterior motive but still chose to treat him with dignity, giving him a chance to become strong, Lin Zhong-qing had known that Ling Lan would be the leader he would chase for life ...

Lin Zhong-qing's gaze became resolute in an instant. Ever since joining Ling Lan's team, he had been making preparations for this day. In that case, what was there to be nervous about? Perhaps the personal pep-talk worked, for his initially high-strung emotions eased and faded, leaving himself calm and centred.

He reached out his right hand, and keyed in the passcode with steady fingers. The door gave a sudden click and then slid to the left, revealing a roughly 1.5 metre wide entry.

The people inside heard the sound and looked up reflexively. Seeing that it was just the ship's sentries, they relaxed and turned back to their own work. Only one guard near the door asked in surprise, "Eh? Why are you all here? Has something happened outside?"

Lin Zhong-qing answered calmly, "Yes! We have come to give a report."

Without even thinking about it, the guard connected a call on his wrist communicator, and shouted, "Chief, a leader of one of the sentry teams says that there is a situation outside, and is here to report to you."

"Let him come over here on his own!" A rough voice came from the other end of the communicator.

"Yes, Chief!" The guard ended the call and pointed in a direction, saying, "The chief is over there. You can head right over."

"Thank you!" said Lin Zhong-qing politely, though he was mentally cheering 'YES' loudly to himself. It was unexpected that the ship's central control room was so slack in terms of security, letting him pass so easily without even confirming his identity.

He threw a swift glance at his teammates behind him and then walked off in the direction the guard had pointed out. Lin Zhong-qing knew very well that time was of the essence right now — every second wasted meant an increase in the risk of being discovered.

Chapter 213: Take Control of the Central Control Room!

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

After Lin Zhong-qing left, the team leaders behind Lin Zhong-qing spread out, all of them getting closer to the various positions the guards were standing at. The guard at the door began to sense something off about the situation, and could not help but warn in a low growl, "Hey, you are not permitted to wander around here."

In response, one of the team leaders walked over to clasp the guard's wrist and said with a smile, "Brother, we're just curious. We've been defending the safety of this area all this time but never got the chance to take a good look. Now, while we're waiting, isn't it okay to let your brothers expand our horizons a little ...?"

The guard's stern expression eased a little at this, but there was still some irritation on his face as he said, "Even so, messing around is not allowed. If the chief finds out, you all will definitely not enjoy the consequences. Listen to me, brother, tell your men to get out immediately, otherwise I will report this to the chief!" The guard's tone was tinged with threat. He did not want himself to get into trouble with the chief over this matter.

"Let our leader handle the chief. Brother, come on, give me some face!" The team leader who was impersonating a sentry member abruptly put a stern look on his face, and his low-pitched voice was filled with threat as he leaned in close.

At this moment, the guard finally saw the face of the 'sentry' who had almost had his entire face covered. Although the other's face was grim with threat, the parts of the face that were exposed were conspicuously young, just like that of a fresh green youth of 15 to 16 years of age. He abruptly recalled their current mission — wasn't it to escort about 500 newly registered students of the First Men's Military Academy from planet Doha?

He swore in his heart, and tried with all his might to wrench his wrist from the other's grasp. At the same time, he tried to shout out to alert his companions that the sentries were fake — this was an enemy invasion!

But before he could sound the warning, the back of his head was struck a heavy blow, cutting off the cry he had been about to unleash. He instantly felt his mind grow murky and dim.

"F*ck, still conscious? The guards here are truly incomparable to those sentry men outside ..." He could vaguely hear a voice speaking by his ear. He then felt another blow to his head, and he fully descended into the darkness, no longer sensing anything.

It turned out that all the students dressed as sentries had charged in under Ling Lan's command. They were split into two batches. The first batch had charged straight for the staff members, while the other had leapt towards those guards grappling with the very first batch of students who had entered with Lin Zhong-qing. As this particular guard had been standing closest to the door, he was the first to be knocked down by the students.

"Nobody move!" The students charged in like wolves and tigers, beam guns in their hands trained on the staff members who were watching the screens. This sudden and unexpected development stupefied the staff members, who just sat there dumbly, not daring to move one bit.

This abrupt situation also disturbed the chief waiting inside for Lin Zhong-qing's report. Seeing this, he pointed angrily at Lin Zhong-qing and bellowed, "Who are you people? Who gave you all the guts to come barging in here?"

Lin Zhong-qing stepped up immediately and said loudly, "Captain's orders. From now onwards, we'll be taking over the control of this area."

"Bullsh*t, why didn't I hear of this?" The chief of the guards did not believe this at all. If the captain had truly given the order for a change in command, he would definitely have been notified.

"My captain only told me. Of course you wouldn't know." By this time, Lin Zhong-qing had already walked closer, narrowing the distance to leave only 3 metres between him and the chief. Hearing the guard-chief's question, Lin Zhong-qing could not help but chuckle.

"Who the hell are you? From which squad?" The guard-chief was livid now. He was the bosom advisor of the captain — the captain would never simply transfer command of the central control room to someone else without notifying him.

As if thinking of something, the guard-chief's face turned dark, "Could it be that you all are mutinying? No, that's not right ... why don't I recognize you? Who the hell are you?"

Lin Zhong-qing did not reply, only leaping forwards as quick as an arrow ...

Seeing this, the guard-chief knew that these fellows were not here with good intentions. Reacting quickly, he drew the beam gun at his waist, but just as he was about to lift it and shoot, it was already too late.

Lin Zhong-qing's attack had arrived. Entirely airborne, he kicked out savagely. The sound of his leg whistling through the air showed how forceful it was, even without getting hit by it, the guard-chief could tell that if the kick landed, he would definitely incur some heavy injury. In the worst case, he might even lose his life.

The guard-chief naturally would not play the fool with his life. He decisively gave up on shooting, choosing instead to cross his wrists to block Lin Zhong-qing's kick.

A muted "Bam!" could be heard as the two collided. Lin Zhong-qing was pushed back by a tremendous force. He somersaulted in the air to land securely on his feet, while the guard-chief stumbled back three paces before the remnant force of Lin Zhong-qing's powerful kick dissipated.

However, Lin Zhong-qing's attack did not stop there. The moment he found his footing, he leapt forwards once more, not giving that guard-chief any chance to open fire. In the meantime, the other students were also leaping at the respective guards they had targeted ...

The staff members may have been stunned for a moment, but they quickly gathered that they were under attack. They really wanted to fight back, but although the enemy seemed to have fewer people, each and every one of them was an exceptional young prodigy. Their combat skills were much better than theirs, as technicians. Several eager staff members had been subdued instantly by sharp-eyed and agile students the moment they even thought of moving, thoroughly scaring the more cautious staff members into submission.

Of course, somewhere out of the notice of the students, Ling Lan was secretly using her spiritual power to monitor the scene. Whenever she noticed some staff members who were covertly trying to activate the alarm system or trying to shoot without being discovered, she would send a spiritual attack at them. The force she used was not enough to knock them unconscious, only giving them a bout of dizziness and making them lose temporary control of their bodies.

By the time they got hold of themselves, their strange movements would have been discovered by the youths closest to them and they would be subdued ...

Thus, whether that strange sensation was something they felt before being struck down or after being struck down, the staff members themselves found it hard to determine. So, in the end, they could only believe that they must have just been subdued by the opponent.

Very soon, the situation was under the students' control. Other than the chief, the other nine guards had all been subdued. This left even more students free to control the scene, further discouraging the staff members from moving. They knew very well how capable their guards were, much stronger than they — if even the guards were no match for these opponents, then they would just be serving themselves out on a platter if they stepped forward.

Moreover, the enemies' identities were unknown. Therefore, all the staff members chose to wait and see — of course, if the other turned out to be enemies of the Federation, they would fight to the death to take them down.

Meanwhile, the guard-chief and Lin Zhong-qing were engaged in a tough fight, neither able to obtain the upper hand. Everyone's attention became focused on the two of them ...

"Boss, I've already successfully taken control of the systems inside!" Ling Lan, who had been waiting outside alone, finally heard Little Four's answer. Little Four had finally completed the task she had set for him, taking command of the various systems of the central control room in a short amount of time.

"Good job, Little Four!" Ling Lan was unstinting with her praise. As a bonus, she even stroked his hair and rubbed his head. The petted Little Four smiled radiantly, face filled with satisfaction.

"Bam!" Lin Zhong-qing and the guard-chief were sprung apart once more after a collision. Landing on his feet, Lin Zhong-qing shouted, "All together!"

Hearing Lin Zhong-qing's cry, several team leaders who had already been rubbing their palms in anticipation leapt forwards without any reservations ... they had long wanted to join the fight, but before Lin Zhong-qing gave explicit permission, they would not simply interrupt. This was a type of respect towards one's companions as well. Of course, now that Lin Zhong-qing had given his approval, they would not hold back.

"You're too despicable!" Seeing Lin Zhong-qing withdraw, only for four to five combat experts like Lin Zhong-qing to take his place, the guard-chief could not help but howl, thoroughly enraged.

At this moment, Lin Zhong-qing stood unruffled in the outer circle of the fight, a smile on his face, but the words he spoke were filled with mockery, "Are you stupid? You are our enemy. Who would speak of morality with an enemy? It's not like we're idiots ..." This contemptuous tone made the already enraged guard-chief feel the flames of his rage grow even hotter.

Unable to calm down, the guard-chief quickly exposed an opening, taking on a powerful direct hit from one of the team leaders. His right shoulder was struck heavily by the other's fist, making him instantly lose strength in his right hand.

Lin Zhong-qing, who had been waiting on the outside for a chance, naturally would not let this rare opportunity go by. His eyes lit up, and with a spring of his right foot, he threw his entire body into the air once more, leaping at the guard-chief.

Lin Zhong-qing's attacks came quickly and somewhat suddenly. When the team leader blocking the guard-chief's line of sight suddenly slid to one side cooperatively to let Lin Zhong-qing's attack through, the guard-chief was not at all prepared, not to mention find time to change moves to suit.

Lin Zhong-qing's kick landed squarely on the other's chest, sending the guard-chief flying backwards to crash heavily onto the wall of the central control room, leaving a faint imprint behind before bouncing off it to fall to the ground.

This kick of Lin Zhong-qing's was extremely powerful; the guard-chief had only had time to gather Qi in his chest as a final defence. But how could this little bit of defence stand up the power behind that kick? The chief was still injured by it. When he fell to the ground, a mouthful of blood spurted out to colour the floor.

Seeing this, three of the team leaders who had been part of the group fighting the guard-chief leapt forwards without any mercy. Two of them grabbed hold of one of the guard-chief's arms each, while the third person put his knee directly on the back of the guard-chief, pushing him to kneel on the ground, completely subduing the other.

Only then did Lin Zhong-qing reveal a proper smile. He had finally completed the task Boss Lan had set for him. He turned his head back to shout proudly, "Leader!"

Following Lin Zhong-qing's cry, a handsome figure walked slowly into the central control room. Dressed fully in black, with gleaming military boots, he walked in with sure steps. His cold but dashing appearance, chilling aura, along with this spirited and majestic attire made everyone's eyes light up, their minds involuntarily exclaiming, "How domineering!"

However, very quickly, the crowd's gazes were drawn to that conspicuously young face. At this moment, everyone instantly realised who these attackers were.