551-555

Chapter 551: Work Hard For Me!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

"Boss, you were too rash." Little Four reprimanded Ling Lan upon seeing her condition improving.

"I didn't expect the recoil to be so strong," Ling Lan replied innocently.

"Don't lie to me. If you didn't reenact Xie Yi's memory, the recoil wouldn't have been this strong." Reenacting the memory required an abundance of spiritual power. Ling Lan was already pushing herself when she used Invasion of Dreams. She was lucky that she didn't get worse injuries.

Little Four got scared by the thought and started tearing up.

Ling Lan blinked. She wanted to change the topic, but when she saw the fear and remorse in Little Four's eyes, she apologized to him instead. "I'm sorry that I let you worry. I won't let myself get hurt again. Don't worry about me." She reached out and touched Little Four's head, feeling grateful for his concern.

Little Four's anxiousness taught Ling Lan a lesson and she told herself to prepare well before doing anything in the future. She could not let the people who loved and cared for her worry again.

Ling Lan saw that Little Four was still sad and quickly changed the topic. She asked, "Do you think that our clan can win the challenge?"

Little Four stopped crying and answered her seriously. "Although you got kicked out of the challenge, Leiting No. 1 is out of the battle too. If Qi Long maintains his normal standard, the other members of Leiting Mecha Clan won't be able to win against him if they fight one-on-one."

"I think that there's no way our clan will lose." Little Four raised his head proudly. The Lingtian Battle Clan had grown into a clan full of special-class operators. They were able to become the pillars of the Lingtian clan. His boss was not the only strong person in the team now.

"Everyone has grown up. I can let go now." Ling Lan stood up, walked to the window and looked at the scenery outside her house. She had been staying here for more than two years. Now that her team members had grown stronger, she could focus on herself.

Little Four was puzzled at Ling Lan's words. "Boss, what do you mean?"

"Closed-door meditation," Ling Lan replied with a smile. She had wanted to meditate so that she could merge all the things she had learned during this period of time. However, before this, there were too many things on her heart and she was not able to meditate in peace. The challenge this time was not only the start of her plans to unify the military academy, but it was also a challenge she posed for the clan. She wanted to know if they could operate all by themselves.

This was also why she crossed realms to help Xie Yi solve his problem. Ling Lan liked to settle everything properly and make sure that nothing was left to chance; it was the only way she could put her heart at ease. According to her analysis, this trait was inherited from her mother. Actually, her real age was around the same as her mother. People of this age liked to concern themselves with everything. It was hard for her to change.

Little Four's eyes lit up, his face filled with surprise. "Boss, are you…"

Ling Lan nodded. "It's time."

It was time for her to stop protecting her teammates and let them battle with the other factions themselves. No matter what the result was, it would hasten their growth.

"But you're going to unify the military academy soon. If you meditate now and they lose, your efforts will all be wasted." Little Four worried about leaving the situation in the hands of others.

Ling Lan smiled gently and flicked Little Four's forehead. "Do you think that I honestly want to become the king of the military academy?"

Little Four rubbed at his forehead, confused.

"If I don't give them a goal to work towards, they won't have the motivation to become stronger. Being the king of the military academy is a goal that's big enough for them to work hard for," Ling Lan explained. She was not an arrogant person. She would not have done this without a valid reason.

"So, let's make them work hard for me and for the goal." Ling Lan gave a brilliant smile, which brightened up her face, too. Mesmerized, Little Four suddenly wiped at the corners of his mouth. My boss shouldn't smile too much.

The battle between Lingtian and Leiting didn't end due to the exit of Tian Jiajun and Ling Lan. After a few hours of fighting and ambushing, the Lingtian Mecha Clan won against the Leiting Mecha Clan with three members surviving the battle.

This meant that the Leiting Mecha Clan, which had been around for a few hundred years, would be disbanded and merged entirely into the Lingtian Mecha Clan. The name "Leiting" was merely history now. Some new members of Leiting might build another Leiting Mecha Clan in the future, but it would not be the same clan as before. It would be a new mecha clan.

Everyone thought that there was no stopping of Lingtian after they defeated Leiting, but it was during such a time that Ling Lan announced her closed-door meditation.

This news caused an uproar among the people in the military academy. Everyone felt that Ling Lan made the wrong decision, that she chose the worst time to meditate. If she had gone to meditate a few months later, she would have been able to lead the Lingtian Mecha Clan in destroying all the other factions and become the king of the military academy. Her name would have gone down in the school's history as a true hero.

Many felt that Ling Lan made a wrong decision, but the other mecha clans were relieved; they felt hopeful about being able to win against the Lingtian Mecha Clan. This change made it difficult to predict the results of the future battles, but Ling Lan had achieved the results that she wanted.

A human would only treasure the things that he or she fought hard for. The Lingtian Mecha Clan needed this training.

After Ling Lan went into meditation, Lingtian battled with many other mecha clans. The former Leiting special-class operators were still angry about the merger, so the members who participated in the battles were all operators from the original Lingtian Mecha Clan.

Although the Lingtian Mecha Clan did not have as many special-class mecha operators as the rest of the factions, they learned from Ling Lan's tactics and knew how to make the situation advantageous to them. Hence, the Lingtian Mecha Clan always chose the twelve-man team challenge mode. They did not give the other factions a chance for them to use their numbers against them.

Chapter 552: Close Combat King!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The first match that took place after Ling Lan was gone was the match between the Lingtian Mecha Clan and Tianji Mecha Clan. The Tianji Mecha Clan was the third faction in the military academy. They had always been one rank below Lingtian Mecha Clan. They had a greater number of mecha operators as compared to Lingtian and the quality of their mecha operators was better too. Many people felt that Lingtian Mecha Clan would lose this battle and give up their first-rank position.

At the start of the battle, the Lingtian Mecha Clan was taken by surprise and five of their members were eliminated within an hour. The people felt that their prediction was true.

However, the remaining seven members were not agitated at all. Their mentality stayed strong and they remained calm. They used all the methods that could think of to kill their opponent. They told themselves that killing one was their mission and killing two was a bonus. They fought hard and managed to salvage the situation. The score was 2:3 towards the end of the battle. Two Lingtian mechas and three Tianji mechas were left.

The three Tianji mecha operators left were the strongest of the cohort while Qi Long and Luo Lang were the ones who survived.

Lingtian No. 1, Qi Long, was the strongest special-class operator in Lingtian, second only to Ling Lan, but he had only advanced recently. Lingtian No. 4 had also advanced less than half a year ago, so no one thought that they would be able to defeat the three Tianji special-class operators who had been at this level for three years. However, the Lingtian Mecha Clan left everyone in shock once again.

Lingtian No. 1, Qi Long, rose up because of this match. His close combat skills were amazing and frightening. The combined attack of Tianji No.1 and Tianji No. 2 was not able to defeat him. He managed to last till Lingtian No. 4 killed Tianji No. 3. Although Lingtian No. 4 also performed well, he did not get as much recognition as Qi Long. His excellence, calmness, and perfect operation were buried under the hype about Qi Long's close combat skills.

Qi Long didn't lose when facing two mechas and even defeated Tianji No. 1 easily after Luo Lang came to support him. In the end, the two of them killed the last mecha from Tianji and won the competition. The rumors of Lingtian Mecha Clan being a third-rate mecha clan without Ling Lan was broken.

Qi Long's invincible and domineering close combat skills allowed him to gain the approval of the cadets who loved close combat. Some first years and second years even made Qi Long their idol. Before this, a huge portion of the cadets had fallen in love with balanced mecha after seeing Ling Lan's performance in the Grand Mecha Tournament. When they saw Qi Long's performance, they started hesitating and wondered what mecha they truly liked. The cadets took this chance to seriously ponder about their decision and find the right path for themselves. Hence, many juniors of Ling Lan became outstanding mecha operators. Of course, all of this happened in the future so it was not important now.

Qi Long's exceptional performance proved to everyone that the Lingtian Mecha Clan didn't only have Ling Lan—they had Qi Long too.

However, there were more challenges awaiting Lingtian. Qi Long's excellent performance caused the other mecha clans to be on their guard. In the upcoming third match, Lingtian would face the Wuji Mecha Clan who was ranked fourth. The Wuji Mecha Clan made some adjustments to their plan.

Since they didn't have the confidence to defeat Qi Long, Wuji clan chose to pester Qi Long and prevent him from attacking anyone. They sent out a strong long-range mecha operator and succeeded in their plan.

The plan made by Wuji was perfect. The long range mecha operator had taken ample preparation. He maximized the speed of his mecha engine, so Qi Long was not able to hit him. Qi Long could neither attack nor shake him off. There was nothing he could do.

The Wuji Mecha Clan's action enlightened the other mecha clans and they felt more at ease. Qi Long's close combat mecha had its weakness too. It was not as fast as long-range mechas and this was something they could make use of.

Once they held Qi Long up, Wuji Mecha Clan went to attack the other mecha operators of Lingtian without any worry. Wuji was an old faction too. They had a strong foundation. Without Qi Long, Wuji was stronger than Lingtian, and the ensuing battle proved this point. The competition didn't lean to one side and both clans had mechas eliminated. As time passed, however, Lingtian started to have more mecha operators being killed and Wuji started to gain the upper hand…

When the score was at 4:2, Qi Long was still being held back by the long-range mecha, while the other three mecha operators from Wuji went to attack the remaining Lingtian mecha. Everyone expected this mecha to be destroyed, after which Wuji would target Qi Long together. However, a mecha operator from Lingtian unleashed his potential again. This time, it was Xie Yi, the mecha operator who had substituted Ling Lan in the first match that had passed.

Although Xie Yi had used the Chain Combo skill to defeat Tian Jiajun in that match, he was on the losing end from the start and Ling Lan suddenly announced her close door meditation right after the match. With the rose of Qi Long after that, everyone's attention was drawn away and he was ignored. However, a capable individual would always appear in front of everyone again.

Xie Yi didn't get nervous in this dire situation. Unexpectedly, he was calmer than normal and his operating level suddenly rose from the intermediate level to the optimal peak. He used his exceptional skills to defeat two mechas and then self-destructed with the last mecha.

This was the worst battle the Lingtian Mecha Clan had ever experienced. Xie Yi's self-destruction saved Lingtian and angered Qi Long. Qi Long had a breakthrough in his hand speed during this moment. This breakthrough allowed him to catch up with the long range mecha and defeat him. Lingtian won the battle.

If Xie Yi hadn't unleashed his potential and was defeated by the three mechas, Wuji would definitely have won this match. This was a close call for the Lingtian Mecha Clan.

Chapter 553: Releasing Potential!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

After the match, the members of Lingtian felt fortunate. They were lucky that their opponent was Wuji and not Leiting or Tian Ji. Not all the special-class operators from Wuji had reached the peak-level of the special-class. Among the three mecha operators that had surrounded Xie Yi, only one was at peak-level, while the other two were at intermediate-level; this was why Xie Yi was able to stay alive and even defeat two special-class operators while running away. If all of them had been at the peak-level, Xie Yi could at most have defeated two mechas. He would never have been able to bring down the third mecha in a mutual self-destruct.

After reviewing their battle, the Lingtian Mecha Clan finally understood why their boss had chosen to start with the strongest mecha clan first. At the start, their opponents didn't know their true power. As their abilities became revealed to all the other cadets, the mecha clans that had yet to fight with them would carefully analyze them and think of counter-measures. However, since the mecha clans were weaker, Lingtian Mecha Clan would not be defeated easily.

It would have been safer had they chosen to start from the weakest mecha clan, but then the stronger teams would have gained more information on them. If the mecha operators that Xie Yi encountered had all been at peak-level… Luck might allow them to win once, but not twice. If they met a stronger opponent in the next match, they would lose the battle easily.

Han Jijyun looked in the direction of Ling Lan's meditation room and he sighed emotionally. Having realized that the seemingly crazy order of battle was actually the most advantageous to them, he admired his boss' decision-making ability. He would always make decisions with foresight and deliberation.

Although the end of these two matches signaled the end of Lingtian's hardest period, it didn't mean that they would definitely win the matches thereafter. No mecha clan would want to give up their rights and bow down to another mecha clan. They would fight against them no matter how hopeless it seemed.

As expected, in the third match with Dwotong, Dwotong drew a lesson from Wuji and Tianji and sent out their best long-range mechas to hold back Qi Long and Xie Yi who had turned the tables around for the two past matches.

The other ten mecha operators went to kill the rest of Lingtian. The Dwotong Mecha Clan had equipped all their mechas with powerful long-range weapons. They prepared to use the long-range weapons against Qi Long and Xie Yi after killing the other members of Lingtian. That way, they could prevent any chances of having a short-distanced fight with Qi Long and Xie Yi. Dwotong's plan was good, but yet another member of Lingtian released their potential…

"In the third match, Lingtian No. 4, Luo Lang, had an outstanding performance and defeated two mechas in a row. He self-destructs along with a third mecha and Dwotong's plan failed."

"In the fourth match, Lingtian No. 2, Wu Jiong, was really impressive when he self-destructs with an opponent's mecha after defeating another one. LuoJi Mecha Clan got flustered after losing two mechas and Lingtian seized this chance and won the battle."

"In the fifth match, Lingtian No. 7, Lin Zhong-qing, released his potential and defeated two mechas. Afterward, he successfully held back the third mecha and allowed Lingtian to have an advantage in quantity. In the end, Xiling got defeated."

"In the sixth match, Lingtian No. 3, Li Yingjie, amazed everyone by…"

The mecha clans that fought Lingtian in the following matches tried to hold back the members that released their potential, but the new members continued to exceed their expectations. They could not predict who would release their potential next. Hence, they could only be defeated by Lingtian and be merged into the Lingtian Mecha Clan. After Lingtian defeated the top 8 mecha clan of the military academy, the outcome was a foregone conclusion. No one expected Lingtian to fail at unifying the military academy unless the 12 members got a stomach ache on the day of the match and decided not to take part in it…

There were some mecha clans who wanted to poison the Lingtian Mecha Clan in real life. They couldn't do anything to Lingtian in the virtual world, so they hoped that they could hurt them in reality. However, everyone knew that this was impossible. The disciplinary team of the military academy was keeping an eye on them. The disciplinary team wanted to have an opportunity to show the cadets their power to prevent them from forgetting their frightening existence.

After the sixth match ended, Ling Yi walked out of his login pod in silence. He had watched all the six matches.

The other login pods in the room opened soon after him and five people walked out.

"Leader, why did you come out so quickly?" Tao Xiaotao looked shocked. Their leader had always come out last in the first few matches. He always had to rewind the match a few times before he got satisfied.

Ling Yi didn't reply to him. He walked to the washroom and filled the basin with water, following which he suddenly dunked his head into the water and held his breath for a few minutes before looking up again. The water on his hair splashed onto the mirror in front of him. Ling Yi started at his reflection. He could see the doubt in his eyes.

"I'm not qualified." Pain filled Ling Yi's eyes as he widened them. The master that he wanted to protect had so many powerful people around him. Originally, he thought that he had the rights to stand beside him, but now, it just seemed to be his wishful thinking—he was nothing.

"Leader, we are still first years." Yi Tiange walked over and consoled him.

"I'm only one year younger than them, yet the distance between us is vast," Ling Yi said in a low voice, turning around.

"Leader, no one can reach the highest level in just one step. Among the first years, you are outstanding, too. I have looked up information on them. When they were first years, they were no stronger than you are now. We can catch up with them as long as we work hard," Rong Ziruo said as he passed him a towel calmly, seeming confident.

"Yes. When you said that you wanted to bring us into the First Men's Military Academy, everyone laughed and said that you are dreaming. Even we didn't have confidence. However, you did it. We passed the examination and entered together. You can do whatever you want to do. I believe that you can." Tao Xiaotao nodded his head firmly as he said all this. The trust in his eyes warmed up Ling Yi's heart and his self-doubt disappeared.

"Yes, I can do it. If they can do it, I can too." Ling Yi regained his confidence.

Rong Ziruo and Yi Tiange exchanged a glance with each other before looking at Tao Xiaotao and smiling. Although Tao Xiaotao always created trouble and was like a kid that never grew up, his pureness made him sincere and trustworthy. He was an excellent stabilizer to use when other people doubted themselves. It seemed to them that they needed to treat him better from now on.

Chapter 554: Little Four's Word?

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Lingtian faced dangerous battle, but the overall situation was stable. The members of Lingtian gradually got better in their mecha operating skills so as long as they maintained their standard, Lingtian would unify the military academy.

As compared to the good news from Lingtian Mecha Clan, Ling Lan's meditation was not going smoothly.

A few months ago, Ling Lan had managed to merge all her knowledge about mecha piloting and use them smoothly. She was confident that she would be able to make a breakthrough in her hand speed that had been stagnant for over a year. However, she would always lose control at the crucial moment and all her prior efforts would be in vain. She was just a slight distance away from the requirements to advance to an imperial operator.

Ling Lan failed many times and grew slightly frustrated. Why couldn't she make a breakthrough? She was proficient in the basic controls that her father, her instructors and Instructor Number Three of the learning space taught her. She had satisfied all their requirements, so she didn't know what she needed to work on now.

After Ling Lan failed again, she took a deep breath and entered careful contemplation regarding this matter. She knew that she lacked something to achieve her breakthrough, lacked something to become an imperial operator.

"I have nothing that I can practice on anymore and I have completed many dangerous missions in Mecha World. I believe that my temperament has met the requirements as well after so many years of practicing in the learning space… What on earth do I lack?" Ling Lan rubbed her temples and went deep in thought, but she still couldn't figure out what she was lacking.

"Boss, don't be anxious. Why not ask Number Three?" Little Four couldn't bear to see Ling Lan facing any trouble so he quickly shared his opinion, hoping that it would help Ling Lan.

Ling Lan's eyes lit up. "Little Four, you're right. Maybe Instructor Number Three will know what my problem is." Her mecha piloting was mostly taught by Instructor Number Three; thus, if she had any problems, Number Three would definitely know.

Ling Lan controlled her consciousness and entered the learning space. She opened the door to Number Three's room without hesitation and saw Number Three smiling amiably at her. He said, "I thought that you didn't need me anymore."

Ling Lan was speechless. What was her teacher trying to say? He made her sound like an ungrateful person… fine, she was in the wrong anyway. She hadn't thought about seeking help from Instructor Number Three before she meditated herself, so it was understandable that Instructor Number Three would tease her. She deserved it.

Ever since she had finished her lessons with Instructor Number Three when she was 16 years old, she had been figuring things out all by herself for the past two years. This habit made her forget about her Instructor Number Three. She had wasted one month.

Ling Lan knew that she made a mistake, but she didn't feel remorse or regret. One would definitely make some mistakes or do some stupid things in the process of growing up. There was nothing wrong with this. One just needed to learn from it and listen to other people's experiences so as to not make the same mistake again.

Ling Lan's mentality was good. She knew how to criticize herself; hence, she only felt awkward for a moment. Afterward, she asked, "Instructor Number Three, if you can't bear your loneliness, I recommend Instructor Number Five. He'll find a solution for you."

Number Three's smile froze at her words as he remembered how crazy Number Five was and a chill ran down his spine. He knew that Ling Lan had a good relationship with Number Five. Number Five was extremely satisfied with Ling Lan so he would not reject her most of the time. If Ling Lan had a chat with Number Five, the latter would definitely come and find him… he didn't want to offend the scary Number Five. Number Three changed the topic quickly. "Ling Lan, why did you come and find me?" He had been observing Ling Lan, so he knew of her current situation.

"I feel that I'm ready. Yet I can't increase my hand speed for 0.1 seconds. I want to ask whether you know what I am lacking," Ling Lan asked seriously.

Number Three pondered the matter for a while before replying, "You have to understand the reason for yourself. I can't just tell you directly. Let me bring you to experience it."

The moment he finished speaking, Number Three waved his hand and a great force struck Ling Lan, who fell backward and suddenly dropped down.

Ling Lan received a shock upon being hit, but she believed that Number Three would not harm her. She quickly steadied herself and waited for her consciousness to recover.

"Boom." Ling Lan felt herself being slammed into something and then her body was in so much pain it felt as though she was run over by a car. She got the wrong impression that she was back in her past life, the life where she had to endure unbearable pain all day long.

"Hello. Hey, wake up." She felt someone slapping her face lightly. Ling Lan opened her eyes and saw a young man with sharp ears, blue eyes, golden hair, and some wrinkles on his face. The man was looking at her worriedly.

"Elf?" Ling Lan was stunned for a moment. Did she transmigrate again? Before she could think any further, the explosion beside her shocked her.

"Lan Si, you are finally awake. This is great," The young man exclaimed happily upon seeing Ling Lan opening her eyes.

"Who are you?" Ling Lan regained her calmness. She knew that this was probably an illusion that the learning space had created. She had been through many missions in the learning space and seen many different people. They were all human beings that took the form of people she saw in real life. However, this world looked like that of Greek mythology. The explosions and smoke in the air reminded her that she was not in a world of myth; it was a modern battlefield.

"I am Ji Sheng. Did you hurt your head when you flew away due to the explosion just now?" shouted the young man called Ji Sheng. "Ah, Lan Si, this is bad."

"Shut up. My head is hurting. It'll get worse if you scream any more. Tell me what's happening here." Ling Lan shot a cold glance at Ji Sheng, who became frightened.

Ji Sheng covered his mouth immediately and shook his head.

"What is this place? What year is this? What are we doing? Why did I faint?" Ling Lan threw a series of questions at Ji Sheng and asked him to reply.

Ji Sheng replied honestly. He wanted to help his friend regain his memory faster so he put down the hands covering his mouth and said quickly, "This is the Mandora star system, planet No. 113. We are in the Mandora star calendar, year 44443-7327. We are fighting against the T21 division. We collided with two enemy planes just now, but we managed to parachute out. Just as we were planning to go back to our base, a missile landed right beside us and you were thrown off by the force. You landed on your head and fainted afterward. I called out to you for a long time before you woke up."

"Mandora? King mecha learning device?" Ling Lan was shocked. Wasn't Mandora the place where Little Four came from? Was this Little Four's world?

"Ah, Lan Si, are you starting to remember everything? You are right. After birth, we would be equipped with the king mecha learning device. We would then wait for the learning device to be activated," Ji Sheng replied to her happily.

"I have some impression now. However, there are still some gaps in my memory," Ling Lan replied calmly with a frown.

Ji Sheng, on the other hand, was very happy. Lan Si was getting better. He didn't recall much, but it was better than nothing.

"The activation of the learning system depends on our innate talent. The stronger your innate talent, the earlier the system will activate. The fastest time recorded was 15 months after childbirth. Of course, that child is an anomaly and will definitely become one of the most powerful king mecha operators in the future," Ji Sheng continued. He was envious of that child. His own innate talent was merely normal and so he had activated the learning system when he was 8 years old. He had just become an intermediate mecha warrior.

"I remember this. I want to know who our enemies are and where they come from." Ling Lan stopped Ji Sheng from continuing this topic.

Ling Lan remembered Little Four mentioning how powerful the Mandora star system was. The star systems around them were not their match at all. However, without the experiences on the battlefield, the military strength of a nation would deteriorate. In order to maintain their strength and continue producing outstanding warriors, the Mandora star system combined all their technology and invented the learning system. It allowed the people of the Mandora star system to experience battles in the learning system and henceforth become a mecha expert. Some might even become a king mecha operator.

However, the Mandora star system was experiencing an attack now. There was something amiss going on.

Ji Sheng's expression dimmed at Ling Lan's question. "The king mecha learning device is very cruel. The elimination rate is as high as 30%. Some people even ended up harming their brain and becoming mentally disabled because they couldn't handle the vicious training. Because of this, a portion of the people protested. They felt that this was a scheme by the intelligence entities who wanted to control the humans and build their own nation."

"Intelligence entity?" Was he referring to Little Four and her instructors in the learning space?

"Yes. The Mandora star system is made up of two kinds of people. One group is made up of Mandora citizens like us and the other contains the intelligence entities. They were just an intelligent system at the start, but they evolved and started to have their own consciousness. We worked together and created this strong and powerful Mandora star system. To show that the Mandora citizens accepted them wholeheartedly, we used the current mainframe's name to name the current era. The name would only change when the next mainframe takes over."

"If that's what happened, why did the people feel that the intelligence entities wanted to control the humans? Survival of the fittest is an old law of nature. They could not suspect the intelligence entities just because of this," Ling Lan asked curiously.

"Someone suggested that the implantation of the learning system was a scheme by the intelligence entities to control the Mandora citizens. The intelligence entities could kill anyone that resisted against them using the learning system's chip. After some time, a huge bunch of important talents died suddenly from an explosion in their brain. It almost destroyed an entire generation. People started suspecting that the intelligence entities were killing talents among the Mandora people to prepare for their takeover. General Liya also found evidence to support this hypothesis, so the Mandora citizens were enraged and killed all the intelligence entities…" Ji Sheng didn't believe that this was the truth. There was doubt in his eyes. However, he was just a normal person and his opinion would not affect the war at all. The only thing he could do was follow the flow of the crowd.

"Hence, the war started. We are fighting against the intelligence entities." Ling Lan already knew what happened in the Mandora star system, but she was not sure what the result was. Who won the war?

If the intelligence entities won and Little Four knew about this war, he must have been produced after it happened. If that was the case, why did the intelligence entities continue implanting learning systems in humans? Was it just to cultivate mecha operators? Were they not afraid that humans would go against them again? Were they really aiming to control the Mandora citizens?

Cold sweat fell down her forehead, but Ling Lan regained her senses and calmed down instantly. She rejected this line of thought. She could feel Little Four's sincerity, which was not something that could be faked. Her instructors were strict and vicious, but their motive was clear; to make her stronger, with the exception of Number Five.

Did the Mandora citizens win, after which the rulers of the country used the learning system again because they knew the benefits it could give? No, if the Mandora citizens won, the rulers would not have gone back on their words. The only possibility was that the learning system was implanted in a small number of people. For instance, their secret military forces…

Ling Lan felt that she had correctly guessed the sequence of events. She felt that the Mandora citizens were stupid, but she was one of them now. She had no choice but to fight with the Mandora citizens.

Having gotten the information she wanted, Ling Lan returned to the base camp with Ji Sheng. They returned to their mecha clan. After resting for two days, they received a new order.

There were 6 people in each mecha clan. Ling Lan was in the same clan as Ji Sheng. There were 4 other mecha operators and they were all intermediate mecha warriors. They were only brought into the army because there were too many warriors on the intelligence team. Almost all the Mandora citizens were mobilized for this war.

Ling Lan got onto her mecha. She was familiar with the Mandora star system's mechas. Number Three had asked her to research about Mandora star system's mechas to understand the difference between a good and bad mecha. Ling Lan fiddled with the machine for a few minutes and familiarized herself with the control.

Ji Sheng was shocked when he saw Lan Si operating the mecha so smoothly. "Lan Si, when did your piloting became so good?" They were only able to complete some simple actions and were not able to move their mecha as though it was part of their body.

Chapter 555: Sacrifice!

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

Ling Lan replied calmly, "Isn't this very simple?"

Ji Sheng turned around and teared up silently. Was his talent in mecha piloting so bad? He wasn't even as good as the quiet Lan Si.

Lan Si had been a quiet student in school and his results were always behind Ji Sheng, which was why the latter thought that his mecha piloting skill was slightly better than Lan Si. However, this was apparently just his imagination.

After a short period of preparation, Ling Lan's team went onto the battlefield. Their opponents were not very strong either, so the Mandora army let lower-leveled mecha operators like them fight, too.

Ling Lan had found out from Ji Sheng that intelligence entity mechas also needed time to become more powerful; even they could not advance straight into the level of ace mecha master after having just gained sentience. They needed to start from a lower mecha as well.

Their practices came from the battlefield, too. Experiences on the battlefield would stimulate the intelligence entity to evolve and advance to an intermediate mecha operator. Afterward, the intelligence entity would go forth to become an advanced mecha warrior, a special-class operator, an ace mecha master, an intermediate mecha warrior… and ultimately, a god-class mecha master.

Of course, this was not how the Mandora star system's mecha operators named their ranks, but Ling Lan used the Federation's ranking system so that she could understand better.

The intermediate mechas controlled by intelligence entities were naturally stronger than the intermediate mecha warriors of the Mandora citizens. Hence, Mandora citizens had a higher casualty rate as compared to the intelligence entities. Ling Lan's team lost more than half their members during this mission. Only Ling Lan and Ji Sheng were left. If Ling Lan hadn't protected Ji Sheng secretly, he might also have been sacrificed.

After some reorganization, new members were added into Ling Lan's team and she became the team leader.

Months and years passed. Ling Lan continued her busy life, which consisted of fighting battles and changing team members. At the start, she had still wondered as to what her Instructor Number Three wanted to teach her through this illusion, but as the days went by, Ling Lan didn't have the time to think on it anymore—she needed to fight for many hours every day. In one of the missions, the battle had lasted for a few days. If Ling Lan hadn't had the habit of filling up her energy storage units, she would have died along with the other mecha operators.

A few years passed. Ling Lan almost felt that this was her real life and the life in the Federation was just her dream. Luckily, Ling Lan had been through much training in the learning space, so she kept her mind focused. This was just training.

The battle continued and the Mandora citizens started to gain the upper hand. Ji Sheng turned ever quieter as their team members continued to change and die, while the doubt in his eyes grew.

When their team members died again, Ji Sheng couldn't control himself anymore and asked Ling Lan, "Why do we need to have this war? Why can't we just sit down and have a discussion? Our ancestors could embrace other races and create the harmonious and powerful Mandora country. Why can't we do it? Are we wrong, or did the intelligence entities change?"

Ling Lan didn't know how to reply to Ji Sheng. Wars occurred due to the thirst for power. The higher authorities in Mandora felt that their power was taken away by the intelligence entity, which was why they wanted to get it back. The intelligence entities didn't want to become slaves. They wanted freedom and equality; hence, they would never give up their power either. Since both parties couldn't reach a consensus, a war started. No one cared about what the Mandora citizens thought.

Ling Lan knew that she was biased towards the intelligence entities because of her relationship with Little Four and her instructors in the learning space. She didn't believe that the intelligence entities wanted to control the Mandora citizens and make them their slaves.

They reached their fifth year on the battlefield. After all the experiences they gained, they had advanced to become ace mecha masters.

However, their opponents grew stronger too; the intelligence entity army was also made up of ace mechas. The battles became fiercer and more dangerous. One time, due to a wrong prediction by the commanding officers of the army, the mecha division that Ling Lan was under ended up surrounded by three division of the opposing army.

Everyone felt despair, as their opponents outnumbered them three times. They fought for three whole days but no reinforcements came. In the end, almost everyone was sacrificed. Ling Lan was held back by three ace mechas and so she couldn't help Ji Sheng at all—he died before her eyes.

Ling Lan managed to escape from the three ace mechas, but upon her return to the Mandora base camp, she realized that her entire division was nearly annihilated; only less than 5,000 mecha operators came back when there had been close to a million elite mecha operators at the start. However, their sacrifice was not in vain, as they managed to destroy two of their opponents' divisions, while the last one had only two-thirds of their ace mechas left.

This battle had a huge impact on Ling Lan. In the past, she hadn't cared for the death of her team members. She would feel pity for them, but she was not sad. It was like playing a game, where the NPCs in the team died.

However, Ji Sheng was different. He had been with her ever since she entered this world. Ling Lan had started to treat Ji Sheng as her companion. Ling Lan had thought that she would be able to protect Ji Sheng before she found what she wanted and left this world. The reality, however, taught her a lesson—there were things that she too wasn't capable of doing.

"I'm not strong enough yet. If I were an imperial operator, I wouldn't have been held up by the three ace mechas and Ji Sheng wouldn't have died…" Ling Lan's heart ached as she clenched her fist and looked up at the vast sky. "Instructor Number Three, what do you want me to understand? If you want me to understand how small and weak I am, I've already understood it. Why am I still here?"

Ling Lan didn't like this war that was fought without knowing its purpose. She felt that she was merely a tool being used to kill people. It made her feel unimportant and she hated this feeling.

Unfortunately, Ling Lan didn't get the correct answer. She continued to stay in this world and fight as an ace mecha master.