966-975

Chapter 966 Tempted!

"Yes, he is your father," Ling Lan smiled as she replied.

Liu Aijun looked at Liu Furong again. He slowly walked over and asked with uncertainty, "Are… are you really my daddy?"

Liu Furong quickly knelt down on one knee and looked at the anticipation in the little boy's eyes, but he could also see that the little boy was a little frightened that his hopes would be dashed too. Liu Furong suddenly felt a wave of regret washing over his heart. He could always proudly held his head up high to everyone, but his wife and children he just could not put up the courage to even look them in the eyes.

"Yes, I'm your father." Liu Furong had tears in his eyes as he nodded.

"Daddy!" Liu Aijun rushed over and hugged Liu Furong's neck. He started crying loudly. He was no longer a child without a father.

Ling Lan had brought Aunt Liu and the other three people over. She pushed Liu Aihua who had turned stiff and whispered, "Little Aihua, hurry up and go to your father."

Liu Aihua moved step by step towards the two people that were hugging each other. Liu Furong looked up when he felt someone standing beside him. It was his daughter whom he always thought about for the past ten years. She was looking at him hopeful eyes too.

"Aihua, my good daughter." Liu Furong hugged Liu Aihua instantly. He hugged his two children tightly. He felt fortunate that he was able to see them again.

Liu Furong controlled his excitement. He consoled his children and then stood up. He looked at Aunt Liu whose eyes were red. He said in a low voice, "Ah Yun." He was fortunate to have met this woman who had given birth to his children and sacrificed her youth for him.

"Zhongguo…" Aunt Liu called out to him. Suddenly, her face turned pale. She gritted her teeth and turned away her face. This man had lied to her for more than ten years. How could she still trust him?

"My surname is Liu and my given name is Furong. I'm currently a soldier. I'm the team leader of team 02 from 250 Ace Mecha Clan. My rank is a senior colonel. Most importantly, I'm sorry that I lied to you." Liu Furong told Aunt Liu his identity honestly. He didn't want to lie anymore to this woman whom he wanted to spend his future with. However, in order to protect Wang Qi, he had no choice but to lie in the past.

"Fu… Furong." Aunt Liu called Liu Furong's real name with some difficulty.

"Yes. Ah Yun, you're Liu Furong's wife. You've always been my wife." Liu Furong rushed forward and hugged the woman who had been living a hard life for the past ten years, all because of him. He would no longer throw them aside. Even if the path ahead was filled with danger, he would bring them along.

Liu Furong's family had finally been reunited. Ling Lan had saved everyone she wanted to save so she decided to leave. Her body started turning translucent.

"Regiment commander!" The moment Ling Lan moved, Liu Furong detected it. He shouted and stopped Ling Lan.

"So, you're the powerful regiment commander who Furong always talked about," Aunt Liu said in surprise.

Ling Lan looked at Liu Furong helplessly. She wanted him to explain to his wife that she wasn't the regiment commander he always talked about.

Liu Furong gave her a pleading look. He hoped that Ling Lan could acknowledge herself as the regiment commander his wife was talking about. After all, she was his regiment commander now.

"I'm afraid that your real name is not Jiang Hui, right?" Luo Yi said after some thought. When Liu Furong said that he was from 250 Ace Mecha Clan, Luo Yi recalled the battle on Planet Haijiao which the Federation had been promoting furiously. He still remembered that the mecha clan that gained the most merits was 250 Ace Mecha Clan and that their regiment commander was someone called Ling Lan.

"Yes." When Ling Lan met Liu Furong, she knew that she wouldn't be able to hide her identity anymore. "My name is Ling Lan." "The son of Ling Xiao." Liu Furong added. He was telling Luo Yi that Ling Lan could be trusted.

"The son of Ling Xiao." Luo Yi was dumbstruck. Everyone in the military knew who Ling Xiao was. That year, they were all indignant at Ling Xiao's passing. They even requested to take revenge for him. So, no one expected Ling Xiao to come back alive again.

"If it's General Ling Xiao, there won't be any problems." That year, when they were betrayed by their own people, Ling Xiao was still 'dead'. This meant that he wasn't the culprit.

"I won't interfere with your business, so you don't have to tell me anything." Ling Lan felt the direction of this conversation was going weirdly when she heard Liu Furong's words. She immediately stated her stand.

Suddenly, Liu Furong pulled the ordinary-looking necklace around Liu Aihua's chest and threw it at Ling Lan.

Ling Lan caught it in the air and asked coldly, "What is this?"

"That thing is useless to us, and since I'm a part of 250 Ace Mecha Clan now, I should pass it to my regiment commander." Liu Furong smiled. He looked like a sly old fox that succeeded in his scheme.

Ling Lan gritted her teeth in anger. 'I came here to relax. Why did I have to face so much trouble on my holiday?' Ling Lan didn't know what this thing in her hand was, but it was definitely troublesome.

However, she couldn't reject Liu Furong after what he said. This item looked old and had nothing to do with her. Yet, it belonged to someone in her mecha clan so she definitely had to do something about it.

Ling Lan squeezed the item tightly. The old and rusty outer shell crumbled apart, revealing a grey oval-shaped object.

"Boss, let me inspect this thing." Little Four could sense that this was something special so he got excited.

Ling Lan picked up the grey object with her fingers. She dangled it above her eyes, pretending to observe it carefully. In actual fact, it was to make it easier for Little Four to inspect the object.

"Boss, I didn't expect it to be that." After a few seconds, Little Four exclaimed in surprise.

"What on earth is it?" Ling Lan was interested. This was something that someone from the higher authorities wanted. He even sacrificed an entire elite titled super mecha clan to get this thing.

"This is the material that can be used to make a body for intelligent entities like me. It can also be used to make the communicator for domain realm masters." Little Four told Ling Lan what he found out.

"It's that thing." Ling Lan's interest got perked.

"A material to make the communicator for domain realm masters…" Ling Lan held the item in her hand. "If it's only a small piece like this, no one would be tempted."

"I can't hide anything from you, regiment commander." Liu Furong didn't expect Ling Lan to know what the item was immediately. "If it was just this piece, no one would be tempted. But, what if it is an entire mine?"

Ling Lan's heart pounded furiously when he heard this and blood started rushing up to her head.

At first, Ling Lan was nonchalant about the whole situation. However, now, she was really tempted. She wanted to give Little Four and her instructors a real body but the material that was needed to do that was one of the most precious resources of the military. Ling Lan didn't have the power to get any of it. Hence, when she heard that there was an entire mine filled with that material, she was really tempted.

Chapter 967 Deal!

'This material is useful for me but to everyone, it can only be used to make a communicator for domain realm masters. It doesn't have many uses. Why would someone annihilate an entire titled super mecha clan for it?' Ling Lan couldn't understand the minds of the higher-ups.

"Boss, this material is not only able to make a communicator. It can also be used for the construction of god-class mechas too." Little Four started explaining to Ling Lan, "However, I think that this is not the main reason. The most important thing is, once a mine filled with this mineral is formed, another precious resource will appear around it. That is probably the real reason why those people wanted this."

"What is the resource?" Ling Lan was curious. 'What is more precious than this material?'

"Titanium-gold iron," Little Four said seriously.

Ling Lan was shocked. She knew that this was the main material for the construction of a god-class mecha. This meant that without this material, god-class mechas couldn't be made. This would explain why the higher authorities of the military were willing to sacrifice an entire titled super mecha clan to get this mine. God-class mechas… no one could resist this temptation.

"I understand." The moment Little Four mentioned titanium-gold iron, Ling Lan couldn't resist the temptation anymore.

"Leader Liu, what is your request?" If he wanted to pass this to the Federation, he would have done so long ago. He wouldn't need to disguise himself as a mentally disabled person, so he must have an ulterior motive for doing this.

Liu Furong was satisfied with Ling Lan's response. 'My regiment commander is indeed a smart man. He knows we don't want to pass this to the Federation.'

Liu Furong looked at Luo Yi and Luo Yi nodded in response. The only person that could help the Magic Ace Mecha Clan gained back the merit and the honour they deserved was General Ling Xiao.

Liu Furong looked at Ling Lan and said in a serious tone, "We don't care what you do with it. We just hope that the Magic Ace Mecha Clan can get the honor they deserved. And…" Hatred could be seen in his eyes. "I want to find the person that harmed the Magic Ace Mecha Clan."

In order to bring this item back to the Federation, they defeated many mecha clans from other nations that wanted to snatch it away. Yet, after surviving the attacks from their enemies, they were betrayed by their own people.

Ling Lan thought about it carefully before replying, "Deal!"

She knew what troubles she might face after she agreed, but for the sake of Little Four and her instructors in the learning space, she must accept the challenges that came with the deal.

Liu Furong and Luo Yi visibly relaxed when they heard Ling Lan agreeing to their request. They felt that once Ling Lan agreed, the issue was mostly settled.

After that, Liu Furong took out the map of the mine which he kept for 15 years. He pointed to the position of the mine. Ling Lan was dumbstruck. She felt that she was fooled by Liu Furong.

"This is the correct location?" Ling Lan asked again.

Ling Lan thought that such a precious mine must be located at some primitive planet or some forest or desert where no one would go. However, contrary to her expectations, it was located at a famous place that had millions of tourists visiting every day. How was she able to dig the minerals without alerting anyone?

"Wait, you are not the only ones who knew about this mine." Ling Lan suddenly understood everything

"Of course. We are not professional mine inspectors. We only snatched their findings." Liu Furong smiled. "However, only we have the detailed location of the mine. Those people were afraid that the location of the mine would be leaked so they killed all the inspectors that knew about it."

Liu Furong's words proved that a bloody battle had happened because of this mine in the past. Many people had died because of it.

"How did you find out about it then?" Ling Lan was curious. Since the other party killed everyone who knew about the mine, how did the Magic Ace Mecha Clan find out about it?

Liu Furong gave a bitter smile. He sighed and answered, "I don't know if we're lucky or unlucky. That time, we received a three-star team mission to disguise ourselves and find the evidence for the crime of a person. Accidentally, we noticed that someone was killing a bunch of normal citizens. We thought that this was a piece of evidence for the person we were following so we stopped them." Because of this, they got an opportunity to gain more merits for their mecha clan. However, it caused the annihilation of their mecha clan too.

Ling Lan could guess what happened at the end. The Magic Ace Mecha Clan knew that this was a big secret so they retreated quickly. However, because of their hasty retreat, they left traces behind. The members of the Magic Ace Mecha Clan started to have other thoughts too when faced with great wealth and benefits. There was a fine line between heaven and hell.

Mo'er port allowed private starships and cruise ships to anchor at the berth and have a break. It was located on a man-made planet. Besides the private starships and high-class cruise ships from wealthy elite families, many mercenaries' spacecraft landed on this port too. Most of Mo'er port space was filled with mercenaries.

Mercenaries must have the certification from various countries to prove that they were mercenaries of their respective countries. If not, they wouldn't be able to join this industry. This certification was hard to get. They needed to reach the fifth level and above for the manifestation stage in order to get this certificate. They also needed to pass two out of the three assessments. The three assessments were speed, strength, and combat skills.

This was to ensure the safety of the mercenaries too, as exploring the galaxy was a dangerous job. If the mercenaries didn't have the ability to protect themselves, taking on missions would just be suicide.

Of course, not all the mercenaries belonged to a country. Some came from Chaotic Lands that had no government. The Mercenary Association was in charge of assessing the mercenaries from these areas. They would then give the certification to those young people who managed to pass the assessments and had the dream of becoming a mercenary.

Mo'er port was built by the Mercenary Association. Some associations also had set up their headquarters on the planet. There were also halls that allowed the allowed mercenary teams to take in members and take up missions.

One day, a bunch of people walked down from a cruise ship that parked at Mo'er port.

A young man wearing a mask that covered the top half of his face walked in front of a group of people. He had a black windbreaker and his hands were placed in his pockets. Behind him, a teenager around 15 years old followed closely as he looked around curiously. A small little girl and a little boy ran behind them as they tried to catch up.

Chapter 968 Can't Hide From Him!

Further behind the children, there was a lean man that had patches of white hair on his head. He seemed to be around 60 years old. He looked around the port with a sense of longing. Then, he retracted his gaze and hurried forward nervously. He seemed afraid that he would lose the children in front.

Right at the back, there was a couple. The couple looked at each other lovingly and smiled. The man held the woman's hand as they walked down the cruise ship together.

This bunch of people was Ling Lan's group. Because of a series of coincidence, the unknown faction had a shootout with the government after many of their men died. This battle caused many casualties, causing the number of people dying to escalate sharply. Even the prime minister of Planet Muyang and the people that were in charge of watching over the Wang and Liu family supposedly got killed in battle.

Ling Lan's group took this opportunity to change their names and left Planet Muyang. Little Four even wiped away all traces of Liu Furong's family and Wang Qi and Luo Yi. They were able to 'die' in the battle.

Of course, no matter how perfect the cover-up was, there would still be people suspecting them. If their enemy didn't believe this and send people over to investigate, they might not be able to find any pieces of evidence too. It all depends on the luck of the investigator.

The moment Ling Lan came down the cruise ship, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Her force of presence turned cold. "Since you're here, why are you still hiding?"

'Do they think I'm blind? The corner of your shirt can be seen over there. That pair of legs under the dustbin is so obvious. Can a fake tourist who is pretending to read the newspaper act more naturally? Most importantly, your newspaper is upside-down. Additionally, those two people buying drinks at the small shop can stop looking around suspiciously.'

Ling Lan was furious. She glanced at Liu Furong who had come beside her now. Liu Furong's heart pounded loudly when he saw the cold stare. 'Did regiment commander realize what I did?'

"I said that we won't be able to hide from him. Why do you all still want to hide?" Luo Lang walked out from the corner. The shirt that was seen belonged to him.

Unhappiness could be seen on his face clearly. It seemed like he didn't want to do such a stupid act, but no one agreed with him. Hence, he had no choice but to follow the majority rule.

"I know that we can't fool him but he left us alone and went to play all by himself. So, we must give him a surprise." Qi Long walked over from the dustbin. The pair of legs under the dustbin belonged to him.

Han Jijyun followed behind Qi Long and looked at Ling Lan worriedly. It seemed like he didn't agree with everyone's idiotic behaviour too. However, just like Luo Lang, he wasn't able to win against the majority rule.

The fake tourist that was pretending to read the newspaper was him. When he knew that his boss was coming out, he was so nervous he didn't notice that his newspaper was upside-down. When he saw everyone coming out from their hiding place, he hurriedly threw down his newspaper and rushed over. He touched his head as he greeted his boss. "Boss."

The two people with their drinks smiled at each other when they saw everyone appearing. They walked over too. They were Li Lanfeng and Zhao Jun.

"Well, well, everyone is here. Where is Li Shiyu and Lin Zhong-qing then?" Ling Lan smiled coldly. She didn't believe that those two didn't come.

"They're waiting for you at the mercenary's hall." Xie Yi winked as he said, "Our two sisters-in-law are there too."

Ling Lan felt speechless. She forgot that she had these two debts to clear.

"Why are you here? Are you not going to take care of 250 Ace Mecha Clan?" Ling Lan pushed down her guilt and asked them.

"Leader Yang and Leader Gu are still at our base. Oh, Li Yingjie is there too. It'll be fine," Qi Long answered irresponsibly. He didn't feel guilty that seven out of the ten team leaders left the base.

Li Yingjie, who was at 250 Ace Mecha Clan, saw the messages everyone left for him and shouted in anger, "How can these bunch of people run away without me? Damn it. I want to have a holiday too." Fortunately, Li Yingjie didn't know that they went to look for Ling Lan. If not, he would have broken ties with all these ungrateful and heartless bastards.

"250 Ace Mecha Clan is a piece of fat meat now. Everyone wants to have a bite of it. The military is having a war over the position of our regiment commander." Han Jijyun finally told Ling Lan why they had left. "We don't want to be called by the military for questioning all the time. They kept asking us if we want to leave 250 Ace Mecha Clan. We don't want to beat around the bush with them so we took leave. We'll go back once everything has settled down." Han Jijyun seemed worried. He was afraid that the position of their regiment commander would be taken away by someone else. If that was the case, he would leave 250 Ace Mecha Clan.

He remembered what his father told him a few days ago. He shook his head slightly and pushed the thought away. As long as the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan was their boss, he would stay here.

"It's not so easy to take advantage of 250 Ace Mecha Clan." Li Lanfeng's calm voice floated over. "Huge sacrifices have to be made in order to get the position of the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan." It all depended on General Ling Xiao now. If he wanted to let Ling Lan remain as the regiment commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan, he would have his ways.

"There's no rush. It'll take a few months before everything will be settled. Let's just wait and see," Ling Lan replied indifferently. She didn't care about the position of a regiment commander. She just wanted her father and her to retreat from this crisis safely.

"Why aren't you surprised to see us?" Zhao Jun sighed. He thought that his Boss would have a different expression when he saw them. Yet, he remained as calm as always.

"Don't forget that I'm a hacker." Ling Lan gave Liu Furong a knowing smile.

Liu Furong knew that his regiment commander had realized what he was doing the moment he sent out a message after they left Planet Muyang. Liu Furong didn't know that if Ling Lan didn't want to see her comrades, she could have deleted the message. This meant that Ling Lan agreed to let Liu Furong send out the message.

At this moment, Luo Lang received a message on his communicator. He lowered his head and said to Ling Lan, "Boss, Luo Chao said that it's almost their turn to register a mercenary team. You can hurry over

now."

There were three requirements to form a mercenary team. First, the leader must be at Qi-Jin. Second, there must be at least six members including the leader on the team. Third, the most important requirement, one of the six members must have participated in a mercenary mission that was B grade and above.

These requirements prevented new mercenaries from accepting missions that were above their limit due to the lack of experience, to prevent unnecessary deaths.

Chapter 969 Registration!

"It looks like you all know what I want to do." Ling Lan looked at everyone with an ambiguous smile. After everyone had their little session of snickering, she led them into the hall.

They saw Li Shiyu, Lin Zhong-qing, and Chang Xinyuan sitting together when they entered the hall. They were discussing something among themselves while Luo Chao and Han Xuya sat on one side, waiting eagerly for them.

"Boss!" Han Xuya saw them first. Ling Lan was wearing a mask but she still recognized her. She waved at them happily.

Luo Chao smiled as she looked at Ling Lan silently. Ling Lan was touched by the warmth and support in her gaze.

Ling Lan nodded at them before walking over.

"Boss, how is your body?" Although Li Shiyu said that their Boss's injuries were under control and wouldn't get worse, Han Xuya and Luo Chao were unable to feel at ease unless they asked Ling Lan personally.

"I'm fine." Ling Lan didn't tell them the difficulty she was facing. She didn't say that her body's immune system was almost destroyed. She was able to stabilize her condition only with the help of the second generation Nuwa agent but if she wanted to heal completely, she needed more Nuwa agents. That was why she was covered in bandages. Her hideous wounds were hidden under the bandages, as normal people might feel disgusted if they see it.

Han Xuya and Luo Chao were easy to comfort. Once Ling Lan said that she was fine, they relaxed and started smiling. Well, you couldn't blame them. In their hearts, Ling Lan was someone who always meant what she said and never lied. Thus, if Ling Lan said that she was fine, she was fine.

Li Shiyu stood up too when he saw Ling Lan. He came over and held Ling Lan's wrist to check her pulse.

"Not bad." Her pulse rate was better than a month ago. Li Shiyu felt at ease too. He was afraid that Ling Lan's brittle body would get worse when she came out to travel alone.

"021? 021?" One of the staff members was shouting a number.

Han Xuya raised her hand in a hurry. "Coming!" It was their turn.

Ling Lan walked towards the staff member. The staff member looked at her curiously. Most of the leaders were old so Ling Lan seemed a little too young for the position. The staff member suspected her ability.

"Come, scan your communicator over here." The information on the communicator would determine whether this young man was eligible or not. The staff member held his opinion back and continued with the registration process.

Beep! Ling Lan scanned her communicator. Her information was displayed on the staff member's screen.

"Jiang Hui, 27 years old. B level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Late-stage of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:0 A:1 B:3 C:21 D:37 E:23."

This was the data of the real Jiang Hui. Ling Lan didn't make any changes.

The staff member dismissed his suspicion after seeing Ling Lan's completed missions. He was young but he had already completed so many missions. He even completed an A level mission. A level missions were dangerous and risky. Normal mercenaries wouldn't dare to accept an A level mission.

Since the leader of the team met the requirements, the staff member continued, "Where are the other five members?" A team needed to have at least five members excluding one leader.

"Me!" "Me." "Me." People started shouting in front of the staff member. He saw a line of young men and women rushing to become the second person to register.

The staff member, who was used to handling disgruntled people, was stunned by the enthusiasm of these young people. He actually didn't know what to do.

"Cough!" Ling Lan made a coughing sound. The people that were shoving and pushing each other froze. "Thank you." Li Lanfeng slid out of the crowd and moved to the front. He scanned his communicator successfully.

��Beep. Li Lanfeng: 25 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:1 A:13 B:29 C:21 D:23

E:2."

The staff member gasped when he saw Li Lanfeng's information. He thought that the leader would be the most powerful person among the team but the first member was stronger than him. He even completed an S level mission. S Level missions were extremely dangerous. Anyone below the domain stage would have a hard time completing it.

Qi Long and the others glared at Li Lanfeng. They wanted to beat this sly fox up. Zhao Jun took this chance to scan his communicator and became the third member to register.

"Beep. Zhao Jun: 25 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:1 A:22 B:31 C:37 D:23 E:2."

Most of the time, Zhao Jun acted with Li Lanfeng so the number of missions they had completed was around the same. However, Li Lanfeng wasn't interested in some mission while Zhao Jun liked to take missions to pass his time. Hence, he completed a few more missions than Li Lanfeng.

The staff member saw Li Lanfeng's results but he didn't appear as shocked as when he saw Zhao Jun's data. However, deep down inside, he was dumbfounded.

Qi Long immediately scanned his communicator when he saw that the first two positions as a member were taken. His frightening force of presence stopped everyone from snatching the third position from him.

"Beep. Qi Long: 22 years old. A level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:0 A:4 B:21 C:29 D:39 E:9."

Once you have completed a certain level of mission three times, your mercenary level would follow that mission's level. Qi Long had completed A level missions four times so he was an A level mercenary. His level was the same as Zhao Jun and Li Lanfeng.

After him, Luo Lang, Xie Yi, Han Jijyun, and Lin Zhong-qing scanned their communicator and registered. Most of them acted along with Qi Long so their data was similar to him.

The staff member was flabbergasted when he saw multiple A level mercenary registering. Hence, when he saw that Chang Xinyuan was an E level mercenary and didn't complete much mission, he finally felt that things were going back to normal. This was the data a new mercenary team should have. Those level A mercenary before him must be hired with a high salary.

However, this thought was broken after he saw Liu Furong's data.

"Beep. Liu Furong: 43 years old. S level mercenary (freelance). Physical skills: Optimal peak of Qi-Jin. Competed mission: SSS:0 SS:0 S:5 A:43 B:129 C:134 D:63 E:42."

'S level mercenary! Oh my god, where did this new team come from? Where did all these high-level mercenaries come from?'

Chapter 970 Little Four's Mercenary Team!

Luo Yi's mercenary level was not low too. He was an A level mercenary. Soon, everyone finished registering. The staff member asked in a daze, "What is the name of the mercenary team?"

"Lingtian!" In Ling Lan's mindscape, Little Four raised his hands and shouted happily. Lingtian Battle Clan, Lingtian Base, they should have a Lingtian Mercenary Tam now.

Ling Lan looked at the excited Little Four and smiled. "Little Four Mercenary Team."

"Sorry?" The staff member was waiting for a formidable-sounding and pleasant name. Hence, when he heard Little Four Mercenary Team, he was stunned.

"Little Four Mercenary Team." Ling Lan answered carefully. The danger that Little Four went through a while ago made her realize how important he was to her. Although she didn't have the power to let him appear in front of her friends, she could let him appear in their world in another way.

"Boss…" Little Four understood Ling Lan's intention. His eyes turned red.

Ling Lan rubbed his head with a firm gaze. One day, she would let Little Four appear in front of everyone personally so that he could become one of them.

Everyone was surprised by the name of their mercenary team, but no one had any objections. Even if their name was the Cat Mercenary Team or the Dog Mercenary Team, as long as their Boss chose it, they would accept it.

Hence, the name of the mercenary team that would become widely famous in the future was given with a single sentence from Ling Lan.

Before they left, Ling Lan reached out and tapped the staff member's forehead with her finger. She smiled, "Thank you."

"Erm, you're welcome." The staff member felt a warm presence in front of him. However, his forehead felt cold.

The staff member was in a stupor as he watched as Ling Lan's team leave the hall. After a while, he slapped his forehead and muttered to himself, "Why am I in a daze?" He lowered his head and shouted, "022."

"Oh right, the Little Four Mercenary Team seemed to have quite a few people." The staff recalled the mercenary team that had just registered. Then, he realized that he couldn't remember any of the details of the team members anymore. But, this was normal for him, as he had to handle a few hundred mercenary teams every day. Unless the mercenary team was very special or powerful, it wouldn't give him any lasting impression.

After the people with the number 022 came up to him, the staff member forgot about Little Four Mercenary Team entirely. He didn't know that the Little Four Mercenary Team's details were now locked by Little Four.

That meant that people could only see the level of Little Four Mercenary Team. They were unable to see the details of the members of this team anymore. Ling Lan had to nod her head before anyone could see the members' details.

"This feels good. We can finally go on a mission with Boss." Qi Long came to the mission corner of the hall. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore so he raised his hands and shouted.

Before this, Ling Lan never took part in any missions with them. She wanted her friends to become independent, so usually they would follow other mercenary teams to complete their missions. But now, they had their own mercenary team.

Ling Lan smiled. "You only have one month."

The maximum duration of a soldier's holiday was one month. A month later, they had to go back to the military and they wouldn't be able to take part in normal missions anymore.

The excited group of people got dejected suddenly. They lowered their heads in sadness. Their identity as a soldier took over their freedom.

Only Luo Chao and Han Xuya were not affected. They looked at the mission on the screen together and talked among themselves. They had already decided that they would follow their boss wherever she went.

As female soldiers, they had more freedom than male soldiers. The military didn't place much importance in female soldiers so they could change their positions easily. They were not like Qi Long whose capabilities had caught the attention of the higher authorities. If Ling Lan got removed from 250 Ace Mecha Clan, it wouldn't be easy for them to continue following her.

Ling Lan knew that this was possible so she registered this mercenary team. She knew that relationships required time to nurture. If everyone got scattered, the precious relationship they had from growing up together would dissipate slowly as time went by. Even if they were able to gather together again in the future, it wouldn't be the same anymore.

"Boss, Boss, mission 7821, mission 7821…" Han Xuya and Luo Chao, who were discussing silently among themselves, started shouting at Ling Lan excitedly.

Everyone got energetic again and their sad emotions disappeared.

Since they knew their mission number, Ling Lan led them to an optical supercomputer at the side of the hall. She searched the details of mission 7821. Soon, the information appeared on the screen.

Mission number: 7821

Mission level: B

Mission requirements: Adventurer team. Level requirement: None.

Mission details: The employer wants to hire a few adventurer teams to escort a huge merchant fleet to and fro the Chaotic Lands. Starting point: Planet Shanghai from the Huaxia Federation (8 am, 23rd of May). Checkpoints: Chaotic Lands (One week). Final destination: Planet Shanghai from the Huaxia Federation (Estimated date of arrival is the 17th of June).

Ling Lan looked at the estimated date for the end of the mission. A few days after that would the end of their one month leave. Most importantly, they just formed an adventurer team and their lowest level mercenary was a level E mercenary. Normally, they would only get D and E level missions. After accumulating some points, their adventurer team's level would increase and they would be able to apply for higher level missions.

There were no requirements for the adventurer team's level for this mission. It seemed like the merchant needed to leave immediately. If not, it meant that the rewards for this mission were too little, so the powerful adventurer teams didn't want to waste their time and take this mission.

Ling Lan scrolled to the end of the mission and saw the 4 pathetic zeros behind the number '3'. This proved that the rewards for this mission were not just a little, it was extremely little. This amount of money wasn't even enough to pay the monthly salary of the mercenaries. It was reasonable that the powerful mercenary teams didn't want to take this mission. From the looks of it, only teams that had just registered and wanted to improve their grades would disregard the reward and take the mission. Mercenary teams that were low in funds might also take it to get some money.

Ling Lan's team was filled with people from wealthy families in the military so they didn't care about the reward. When they saw that they could visit the Chaotic Lands, they got excited. They had only heard about it from rumours. They rubbed their hands in excitement and prepared themselves to gain new experiences there.

Of course, there were still people who cared about the money. Wang Qi and Liu Aihua's eyes lit up when they saw the 30,000 Federation credits. 'Omg, this is close to 600,000 Muyang credits. It is enough for us to spend for the rest of our life.'

The difference in response was due to each individual's outlook and experience. It had nothing to do with the character of a person.

Chapter 971 Mercenary Team!

It was midnight at the port of Planet Shanghai. A merchant group was about to leave the port so they were busy loading their goods.

In one of the warehouses on the ships, a small mercenary team consisting of seven people gathered in a corner and chatted among themselves. The equipment on them was old, and the badly bruised old mecha models beside them proved that their journey here wasn't easy.

The leader of this team was a skinny middle-aged man around 50 years old. His face showed many signs of old age. He drank the low-grade alcohol that the merchants gave them and looked at the team members around him. He sighed sadly. "I'm sorry, everyone. I'm too incapable. For the past ten years, our situation kept getting worse. Now, we even need to take missions that require so much time and effort, but don't have good rewards so we can fill up our stomachs."

"Grandpa Leader, what are you talking about. If it wasn't for you, I would have died from hunger when I was six years old." One of the young men who looked around 14 years old smiled. He didn't mind the harsh times they were facing.

"Little Tao, it's a waste of your talent if you remain in Shadow Cat." The leader looked at Little Tao and shook his head in pity. He was someone who didn't have much ability and the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team would probably remain in this bad state. There was no future for them. With Little Tao's ability and talent, he could go to a better mercenary team. He might even be able to enter an elite mercenary team too. However, this little fellow stubbornly remained here, so that he could repay the kindness of that one bowl of rice when he was young.

"I think that this life is pretty good." Little Tao smiled brightly. "We can take missions and earn money to feed ourselves. The grandfathers in the team take good care of me and treat me like their own grandson. If I go outside, I won't be able to enjoy such treatment. I will probably be bullied by the older members. Plus, if that happens, your heart will ache."

"Little Tao is getting better at talking." The other old members of Shadow Cat smiled happily.

They were all ordinary people. They didn't have many abilities so they were only low-level mercenaries. They just wanted to earn some money to keep themselves and their families alive. Mercenaries like them were like extras among all the huge mercenary teams. They were able to survive until now because their leader was a careful person, as he never took missions that exceeded their limits. However, this also meant that the level of their mercenary team would never increase. At the same time, their standard of living got worse. A low standard of living wouldn't attract powerful mercenaries. A mercenary team that wasn't powerful enough wouldn't be able to accept the harder missions which had more rewards. Hence, as the cycle continued, the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team's situation got worse over time. They couldn't even feed themselves properly now.

This was why the leader of Shadow Cat decided to take this mission. They didn't have any rice left back at home. He knew that this mission might be dangerous and the result was uncertain, but he could only take the risk.

While they were chatting, the door of the warehouse suddenly opened. The person-in-charge of this merchant team walked in with a few other people. There was a muscular man around 50 years old, a cultured young man around 30 years old, a smart-looking middle-aged man and an arrogant and wealthy young man.

The person-in-charge pointed at the leader of Shadow Cat and said, "This is the leader of the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team, Yuan Mulin. Leader Yuan is the first to arrive."

The person-in-charge pointed at the muscular man and introduced, "This is the leader of the Grey Bat Mercenary Team, Dibi Luya." Dibi Luya greeted everyone friendly.

"The leader of Red Maple Mercenary Team, Ye Shao." The cultured young man smiled and nodded at everyone.

"The leader of Poison Teeth Mercenary Team, Jiang Bizhi." The smart-looking middle-aged man nodded coldly. He didn't look like a friendly person.

"The leader of Mighty Sky, Ma Yizhe." The wealthy man seemed to look down on these poor leaders so he just raised his head arrogantly and scoffed. He didn't greet anyone.

The three leaders' expressions changed when they saw Ma Yizhe's attitude. Among all the three leaders, Ye Shao and Dibi Luya were more shrewd, so they immediately started smiling again. Jiang Bizhi, on the other hand, continued wearing his cold expression. He just glared at Ma Yizhe with a vicious gaze like the eyes of a poisonous snake.

"This will be your accommodation for the time being. I hope that everyone can work together for this mission and come back alive." The person-in-charge ignored the tension that was going on between the leaders. They only invited these mercenary teams to protect their merchant team, As for the relationship of the mercenary teams, it was not their concern.

The person-in-charge wanted to leave. Ye Shao suddenly thought of something and shouted, "President Tu, is everyone here?"

President Tu replied, "The Little Four Mercenary Team is still on their way."

"Haha, Little Four Mercenary Team? Who came up with such a weak name?" Ma Yizhe laughed loudly when he heard this.

President Tu didn't say anything. He just smiled. Names were given by the leaders based on their own preferences. It had nothing to do with ability. Plus, he didn't think that the name 'Mighty Sky' was any good too.

Suddenly, his communicator vibrated. He looked down and smiled. "Speak of the devil, they're here." He walked out of the warehouse. Around 10 minutes later, he came in with someone wearing a mask. This young person had a gentle aura. It was Ling Lan.

"This is the leader of Little Four Mercenary Team, Jiang Hui." President Tu's smile was more sincere this time. For some reason, he had a good impression of Jiang Hui. President Tu thought that this must be because of fate.

After that, he introduced the other leaders to Jiang Hui. Jiang Hui's presence was gentle so even Ma Yizhe, who laughed at the name of Ling Lan's team, didn't give her attitude. He didn't appear as arrogant and irritating as before.

The warehouse was segregated into six different sections naturally. Every section belonged to a respective mercenary team. Very soon, the five new teams moved their pieces of equipment and mechas into the warehouse.

Ling Lan's team was situated between Shadow Cat and Poison Teeth. Soon, the 14 brand new mechas that belonged to them got transported into the warehouse.

Ling Lan was late because she was preparing the equipment for her team. Fortunately, Ling Lan had loads of money and Little Four knew many ways of getting things. Little Four found a secret black market and managed to get 14 modified mechas within two short days. Of course, a lot of money was spent on it. They even got some equipment for the mechas and spare parts. The other leaders might have looked down on this young mercenary team but the moment their mechas entered the warehouse, they became serious. They decided that they wouldn't provoke this mercenary team until they knew more about their background.

Chapter 972 Accident!

The 14 mechas and the pieces of equipment caused the other five mercenary teams to become vigilant of the Little Four Mercenary Team. However, when the members of this team came down from the cockpit of their mechas, this vigilance died down.

The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team were mostly young men around 20 years old. There were even three women, a teenager that was still underage, and two young children. Obviously, this was a team made up of ambitious young people. Their family background must be good too since they were able to get such good mechas and pieces of equipment. The only two middle-aged men must be their bodyguards.

Plus, they might be doing it for fun, all of them wore a metal mask that covered half their faces just like their leader.

Soon, it was 8 am. The merchant team finally finished their preparations. They were ready to leave.

It had to be said that the merchant team was really stingy, as the three meals they provided were very simple.

Besides Shadow Cat, the other mercenary teams didn't lack money. They took out their own food and started eating. Ling Lan and her team members didn't like to torture themselves too. Lin Zhong-qing had thought about this possibility so he had prepared a lot of good food while they were getting ready all their equipment for the mission. After some time, all the team members from the Little Four Mercenary Team had oily lips from their delicious meal. This just further confirmed to everyone that this was a bunch of young masters having fun.

The members of Shadow Cat swallowed their saliva as they watched the members of Little Four eating their hearty meal happily while they had already finished their simple meal. They rolled themselves up to hide the sound from their growling stomach. Little Tao was still growing so the simple meal provided by the merchant team couldn't satisfy him.

However, he still controlled his hunger and didn't reveal any signs of it. He knew that the old men in his team needed more nutrients because their bodies were exhausted from the continuous fighting. If they knew that he was still hungry, they would definitely give him some of their food and he didn't want them to do that.

Little Tao thought that he hid his hunger well but a few people managed to hear it. Ma Yizhe looked at him with disdain. If they had a hard time filling up their stomachs, it meant that the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team was useless.

The other leaders didn't portray their thoughts so directly but they also looked down on Shadow Cat. No one wanted to work with useless people.

As for the Little Four Mercenary Team, besides the old man, the two children, and Aunt Liu, everyone heard it.

But, Ling Lan didn't look down on Shadow Cat because of this. Although Shadow Cat's situation was bad, Little Tao's actions showed that the relationship between the team members was strong. Plus, she saw Little Tao rejecting the food from his comrades when they offered it to him.

Compared to strength, Ling Lan felt that true friendship was more important. Without a doubt, Shadow Cat was much better than the other mercenary teams in this area.

Ling Lan had a good impression of Shadow Cat but she wasn't planning to help them. From the start, she didn't plan to have any interactions with the other mercenary teams.

However, sometimes accidents happen.

For instance, Liu Aihua.

The two children didn't hear the growl from the stomach, but the two children referred to Wang Qi and Liu Aijun. Liu Aihua, on the other hand, had her innate talent awakened so she heard the growl. She gave him a look of pity, as she was familiar with this sound. She used to have similar experiences too. She knew that the feeling of hunger wasn't good.

Liu Aihua was an obedient child but she was too kind sometimes. She knew that Little Tao was hungry and she had good food in her hands too. Hence, she ran over without much thinking and passed the drumstick in her hand to Little Tao. "Big brother, this is for you."

Little Tao was stunned. He didn't expect a little girl who was a stranger to him to give him her drumstick. He was touched but he shook his head. "Thank you, little sister. I'm not hungry." He was very hungry but he didn't wish to owe people favors. Plus, she was just a small little girl, she needed the food more than him.

Ma Yizhe laughed when he heard Little Tao's reply. "Little brat, stop pretending. Since someone is offering you food, eat it. If not, your stomach will continue growling. It's not good if you disturb our rest."

The leader of Shadow Cat and the other members instantly understood what was happening. At first, they were puzzled at Little Aihua's actions. "Little Tao, since you're still hungry, why didn't you tell us? Old people like us can't finish all those food anyway."

It looks like he was really old. He should have noticed that Little Tao was still hungry. Even old men like them weren't full after the meal. How could Little Tao be full?

"Speaking of which, your team is really terrible. You can't even feed your team members properly. I wonder how a useless mercenary team like yours manage to survive till now. Tsk tsk tsk…" Ma Yizhe shook his head and sighed. He appeared to be pitying them but his words were sarcastic.

Yuan Mulin was furious and his face turned red in anger. A lot of people had laughed at them before but they all did it behind their backs. This was the first time someone mocked them directly. Yet, he had to bear with it. Among the six mercenary teams, they had the fewest number of people and most of his team members were old and weak. If they really had a conflict with another mercenary team, they would be at a disadvantage.

Yuan Mulin was able to control his emotions but Little Tao couldn't, as he was young and hot-blooded. He replied coldly, "What does that have to do with you? Why are you being such a busybody?"

A muscular man sitting beside Ma Yizhe suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Little Tao. Little Tao's words had angered him. Liu Aihua was in his way so he reached out and wanted to throw Liu Aihua aside.

Aunt Liu and Wang Qi shouted in astonishment when they saw this.

The gazes of the members of the Little Four mercenary team turned cold. Liu Furong was prepared to get up but Little Tao acted before him. He hugged Liu Aihua and rolled to the side, managing to evade the attack.

Everyone from Little Four mercenary team relaxed a little. Liu Furong calmed down and sat down. He decided to observe the situation first.

Chapter 973 Worth it!

Little Tao pulled Liu Aihua up. He was furious. "What are you trying to do?" 1

The muscular man didn't reply to him. He just smiled and continued attacking Little Tao furiously.

Luckily, Little Tao was agile. Although he had Liu Aihua beside him, he still managed to dodge all the attacks.

The muscular man's eyes turned vicious when he couldn't hit Little Tao. He suddenly changed his target and started attacking Liu Aihua. Little Tao was afraid that Liu Aihua would be hurt so he couldn't dodge as freely as before, making his movements seem restricted. As for Liu Aihua, she didn't panic at all, she just stared at the man's fist intently.

This wasn't the normal reaction for a ten-year-old who was in danger. Ma Yizhe furrowed his brows as he watched at the side. Then, he turned to look at the Little Four Mercenary Team, they seemed oblivious to the fact that one of their team members was in danger.

Ma Yizhe was arrogant and he looked down on everyone, but he didn't want to cause too much unnecessary trouble.

However, the reaction of the members of the Little Four Mercenary Team stunned him greatly. Besides the teenager and the lady who seemed to be the little girl's mother, everyone else was calmly eating their food. Only the two of them looked at the fight with a frightened expression. Some of them even laughed and chatted among themselves.

The two beautiful young ladies didn't look worried too. The lady who seemed more extrovert was pointing at the fight and seemed to be explaining something to the other lady.

'What is happening? Are they not worried about the little girl? Or are they confident that she wouldn't get hurt?' 1

If it was the first possibility, it wasn't much of a problem. If it was the second… Ma Yizhe turned serious. No matter what the reason was, their calmness proved that they were not easy to deal with.

Ma Yizhe wanted to let his subordinate teach Little Tao a lesson but now, he shouted, "Zhang Mo, come back."

Zhang Mo, who was the muscular man, instantly came back to Ma Yizhe's side.

Ma Yizhe turned to look at Ling Lan and gave an ambiguous smile. "Leader Jiang, please watch over your members if you want to prevent unnecessary troubles."

Ma Yizhe decided to be careful. He asked Ling Lan to bring Liu Aihua away so that he wouldn't offend the Little Four Mercenary Team too much.

All the members of Little Four Mercenary Team looked at Ling Lan as they waited for her reply.

As for Little Tao, he took this opportunity to push Liu Aihua away. He was the one who offended them. He shouldn't implicate this little girl who kindly came to give him some food.

Ling Lan raised her head and glanced at Ma Yizhe. She calmly twirled the knife in her hand and cut off a small piece of steak in front of her. She placed it inside her mouth and chew it slowly. She only replied after she finished eating the piece of steak. "What's the matter?"

The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team smiled. It looks like their Boss wanted to interfere with this matter.

Her nonchalant attitude infuriated Ma Yizhe. His gaze turned cold as he said angrily, "I've reminded you already. Since you don't mind, don't blame us if anything bad happens."

Little Tao got agitated when he heard that the Little Four Mercenary Team wasn't going to care about Liu Aihua anymore. He shouted, "Leader Jiang, this has nothing to do with her. Please forgive her for acting rashly." He heard that many mercenary teams would give up on a member that was disobedient. Little Tao was still young so he thought that Liu Aihua had angered Ling Lan because she gave her food away on her own accord.

'What a simple and naive fellow.' Liu Furong took a sip of wine and thought. However, he approved of his kindness in helping Liu Aihua.

Luo Yi smiled brightly. He lowered his voice and said, "Little Liu, you can groom this kid."

"Why?" Liu Furong was surprised.

Luo Yi continued smiling. "You need to find a son-in-law, right? Compared to letting her be fooled by some random young man, why not groom a few talented people now so you won't have to worry in the future."

Liu Furong's expression turned dark. "What are you talking about? Old Luo, my daughter is still young." He suddenly understood the worry of being a father. He now had to be conscious about protecting his daughter from being fooled by some stupid brat.

Liu Furong had some admiration for Little Tao but now, it was all gone. 2

Ling Lan looked at the agitated Little Tao. She touched her chin and smiled as she asked, "What if I don't want to?"

'I have changed my aura into a gentle person now. Why does he still think that I am so heartless that I would abandon my own members?'

Little Tao's expression changed drastically. He looked at Ma Yizhe and his men who were getting restless. He instantly made a decision. He said calmly, "Although I don't have much capabilities, I can still help with small matters. If you are willing to continue protecting her, I'll owe you my life. Anytime you need it, you can come and take it."

"Little Tao!" Yuan Mulin shouted angrily. 'Why is this kid so stupid? How can he owe his life to a little girl he just met?;

Plus, it was obvious that those people would help the little girl no matter what. The little girl might not be important to them, but no one in the right mind would take a step back.

"Little Aihua, you used one drumstick to get a life. It's well worth it," Ling Lan said calmly. 1

'A drumstick for a life? Worth it? What is Brother Jiang Hui saying?' Little Aihua looked at the drumstick that was still in her hand while looking puzzled.

"I'm sorry, this young man belongs to me now. Leader Ma, please forgive him for my sake." Ling Lan really wanted to have a relaxing trip. She also hoped that their journey would be quiet and peaceful.

Ma Yizhe narrowed his eyes. He said coldly, "Leader Jiang, are you standing up for him?" Ma Yizhe felt that Ling Lan was purposely trying to suppress him.

Ling Lan cut another piece of steak and placed it in her mouth. She said indifferently, "Are you not planning to solve this peacefully?"

The members of the Little Four Mercenary Team put down whatever they were doing and looked at Ma Yizhe and his team. The atmosphere in the warehouse turned tense suddenly. A huge battle seemed imminent. 2

The leader of Poison Teeth, Jiang Bizhi, had decided to sit on the fence. Ye Shao and Dibi Luya exchanged glances with one another. In the next second, Ye Shao stood up and smiled. "Leader Ma, the child just made a mistake. If you get angry at him, you will be stooping to their level. Come, let's have a chat with all the leaders." He turned and looked at Ling Lan, "Leader Jiang, what do you think?"

Ling Lan smiled gently. "I'm okay. I just wonder if Leader Ma is willing to do it." Ling Lan didn't want to create trouble, especially unnecessary trouble.

Ma Yizhe snorted. Ye Shao comforted him for a while before he decided to sit down for a chat.

Chapter 974 Living Harmoniously In Peace

However, Ye Shao and Dibi Luya purposely disregarded Yuan Mulin. They didn't invite him over. This was even worse than humiliating him verbally. Yuan Mulin's face turned red in shame.

Ling Lan didn't move from her seat. She gave a half-smile and looked at Ye Shao. "Are you not planning to invite Leader Yuan?"

Yuan Mulin looked at Ling Lan gratefully. Ling Lan was helping him. If Ling Lan didn't mention anything, he would have to bear with the humiliation. His mercenary team would be trampled upon by the other mercenary teams if he said anything to gain the last bit of dignity he had left.

Yuan Mulin was not the only one that was grateful to Ling Lan. The members of Shadow Cat were grateful that she helped them keep their pride. Because of this, Little Tao also decided that owing his life to Ling Lan was worth it.

Ye Shao's expression froze. After a moment, he slapped his forehead and pretended to be sorry. "Leader Yuan, look at me. Sorry about this. Please come and have a chat together."

Yuan Mulin looked at Ling Lan unconsciously. Unknowingly, he started following Ling Lan.

Ling Lan smiled and stood up. She walked towards the area where Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, Jiang Bizhi, and Ma Yizhe were at.

Ye Shao, Dibi Luya, and Jiang Bizhi narrowed their eyes when they saw this. They got more vigilant of Ling Lan.

Luo Yi lowered his voice and said to Liu Furong, "Your regiment commander is not simple."

"If he is simple, he wouldn't be able to become a regiment commander of a mecha clan at the age of 21," Liu Furong replied with a proud expression.

"Look at how proud you are." Luo Yi drank some wine. His gaze turned unfocused. "At first, I thought that he achieved all these with the help of his father." Ling Xiao was one of the ten great generals so he definitely had the ability to let his son become a regiment commander.

"When he became out regiment commander that year, no one knew he was Ling Xiao's son." Liu Furong smiled. He remembered how everyone looked down on Ling Lan when they first knew that a young man was going to be their regiment commander. They thought that he would fail too. Furthermore, a lot of people had tried to help them from their dark place before, but none of them succeeded except for a 21-year-old man.

No one knew that this gentle-looking person was actually cold-blooded and ruthless. Their regiment commander was someone who would kill you if he felt that you had no hope. Liu Furong remembered Ling Lan's brutal methods in the past and felt cold sweat all over his body. The time when he advanced to the domain stage, he really felt that his regiment commander didn't plan to let him stay alive.

"Oh right. You haven't told me how you enter General Ling Xiao's 250 Ace Mecha Clan." He couldn't understand why that powerful person in the 3rd Division let him off.

Liu Furong sneered. He slowly told Luo Yi what had happened to him over the years. At first, he was still under the control of that person after he went into 250 Ace Mecha Clan. His opportunity to escape from his grasp came when Ling Lan appeared.

While Liu Furong was talking to Luo Yi, Ling Lan was met with many questions. The other leaders tried to dig out more information from her, but she just smiled most of the time and didn't reply to them. Hence, the other leaders couldn't do anything but stare at her. As for Yuan Mulin, they just ignored him all the way. Yuan Mulin didn't make his presence known too. He just remained quiet until the end.

Ling Lan returned to her mercenary team and sat with her team members.

Han Jijyun whispered, "Boss, what are the backgrounds of all those mercenary teams?"

"Grey Bat and Red Maple are strong teams. Their leaders are strong too. Ma Yizhe seemed rash but every step he took is precise. Jiang Bizhi has a tight mouth too. Besides Shadow Cat, the other mercenary teams have their own motive for accepting this mission." Ling Lan said calmly, "There must be something going on."

"Isn't Ma Yizhe's mercenary team a new mercenary team?" Luo Lang was surprised. Ma Yizhe gave him the impression that he was rash and wealthy. He thought that Ma Yizhe created his mercenary team because he was bored and wanted to have some excitement in his life.

"Of course not." Xie Yi explained hurriedly, "His team members knew what to do the moment Ma Yizhe looked at them. How could this be a team that just got created? Well, unless they knew each other since they were young just like us."

Luo Lang remembered how fast the members of Mighty Sky reacted when they almost had a fight just now. Their cooperation and cohesiveness were not awkward nor faked at all. He nodded.

"Your regiment commander is a monster," Luo Yi exclaimed. Ling Lan just had a short chat with the leaders but he managed to understand each mercenary team well. He felt that if more time was given to Ling Lan, he would be able to surpass Regiment Commander Wang. He might even become the second Ling Xiao.

"They always say that a Ling Xiao only appears every thousand years. If that is the case, our regiment commander is someone who appears every ten thousand years." Liu Furong felt that Ling Lan would become even stronger than Ling Xiao, as he was even more brutal and vicious than Ling Xiao.

Mighty Sky, Shadow Cat, and Little Four Mercenary Team had some conflict on the first day but the entire trip was relatively peaceful. Everyone lived harmoniously. They all lived in the same warehouse so they saw each other every day. After some time, they got familiar with each other too.

As for Little Tao, whose full name was Tao Ying, he would come to the Little Four Mercenary Team whenever he was free. He was 13 years old so he became good friends with Wang Qi who was 16 years old and Liu Aihua, who was 10 years old. The little burden, Liu Aijun, would always follow behind the three of them. The four youths always stayed beside Chang Xinyuan and Luo Yi. They would observe them as they did maintenance for the mechas.

Because of Tao Ying, the Little Four Mercenary Team and the Shadow Cat Mercenary Team had a good relationship with each other. Lin Zhong-qing took pity on the old mercenaries so he would occasionally give them some leftover parts. The old mercenaries from Shadow Cat were thankful.

The team members from Red Maple and Grey Bat always had meals and played games together. Soon, they became brother teams and formed an alliance among themselves. The people from Mighty Sky and Poison Teeth would sometimes join them for their meals and games. All in all, the six mercenary teams had a harmonious time, at least on the surface.

Finally, the merchant fleet arrived at the Chaotic Lands.

The people from Shadow Cat heaved a sigh of relief. They were afraid that the fully loaded merchant ships would meet intergalactic pirates along the way. If that was the case, they might not be able to go back home alive.

On the other hand, the other mercenary teams were more nervous when they landed.

Ye Shao and Dibi Luya, who always had smiles on their faces, turned serious too.

President Tu appeared at the entrance of the warehouse. He cupped his hands and bowed at them. "We'll have to trouble you for the coming week."

As expected, the merchant team didn't hire them to protect the ships during the journey to and fro the Chaotic Lands. They hired them to protect them when they were in Chaotic Lands.

Chapter 975 Black Market!

The members of Little Four Mercenary Team took a tour around the biggest city in Chaotic Lands and came back with various information about this place.

Just like its name suggests, Chaotic Lands was a place where reasoning was useless. The fist was the most important thing here. There was no government so the order of the place was messy. Acts of violence could happen anytime. Yet, this place was the most prosperous and free market in the entire Federation. Many merchants and wealthy people filled the roads of the city. Thus, as long as you have money, you could buy anything here.

Crimes happened in the Chaotic Lands all the time. If people who didn't have the ability to protect themselves came to this place accidentally, they would be killed almost instantly.

The Chaotic Lands and the Lawless Lands were the two places where evil congregated. However, they were very different even though their principles seemed similar.

The Lawless Lands was really messy. It was filled with criminals from various nations, merciless killers, and brutal murderers. Every day, innumerable people died. Huge fights occurred all the time. Compared to the Lawless Lands, the Chaotic Lands was much more orderly. Besides the fact that average people were not suitable to live here, everything else was fine.

The reason no one dared to create a huge mess here was because the Chaotic Lands was actually controlled by three underground kings. They were Frost Monarch, Hades, and Ninja. It was rumored that all three of them were imperial level domain experts. However, that was just a rumor. There was no evidence to prove it.

Out of the three uncrowned kings, Ling Lan was most interested in Frost Monarch. From his name, she could tell that he was an ice element domain realm masters. Fighting with a formidable warrior who had the same element as her would be of great help.

Ling Lan was a half step into the imperial level. She had tried her best to extend the various techniques in her domain and practiced using them with the various states, but she still couldn't manage to find her breakthrough opportunity. She was stuck at the entrance of imperial level.

Of course, this was just Ling Lan's thoughts. She wouldn't offend Frost Monarch purposely so that she could have a battle with him. If she came here alone, she might do it. But, her comrades were with her. Ling Lan wouldn't put her comrades at risk, especially when they were in someone else's territory.

The six mercenary teams split into two groups. One group would stay with the fleet and protect the ships while the other was in charge of protecting the person-in-charge of the merchant team when he went to discuss business deals with other merchants. Three days later, the two teams would swap. To ensure that the results were fair, the leader of Grey Bat, Dibi Luya, suggested that they draw lots.

Yuan Mulin agreed with the suggestion. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe thought for a while and decided to go with it. Since the majority agreed, Ling Lan and Yuan Mulin's opinion didn't matter.

This drawing lots were not the low-level kind where everyone would close their eyes and choose a piece of paper. First, they would appoint someone to throw the balls of paper in the air. Everyone would use their ability to get the order they wanted.

Ling Lan didn't really care at the start but when she saw Dibi Luya and Ye Shao choosing to stay with the fleet first, she had a change of mind. She snatched the last piece of paper with the same sequence as Dibi Luya and Ye Shao before Jiang Bizhi caught it.

In the end, Little Four, Grey Bat, and Red Maple were in one team. They would stay with the fleet first and then go out. Jiang Bizhi and Ma Yizhe sighed when they realized the results of the lots. It seemed like they wanted to be the second batch that would leave the fleet too.

'Why do they want to stay on the fleet first?' Ling Lan was puzzled. It was a coincidence that she chose to come to the Chaotic Lands, so she was unfamiliar with this area. Little Four tried to find more information but there was not a single mainframe in this place. Even the communicators here were deactivated so Little Four's progress of obtaining information was slow.

For the first three days, everything was peaceful. The two groups swapped their positions. It was time for Ling Lan's team to go out. For the first two days of her shift, she protected the person-in-charge of the merchant team as he ran around the market to buy or exchange goods. On the third day, when Ling Lan arrived at the destination with the person-in-charge, she finally understood why the leaders wanted to be in the second batch that would come out.

It was because there was a secret event on the third day. It was known as the black market. The Chaotic Lands was already a place where people could trade freely but a black market still existed, so there must be some interesting things inside.

There was a special way to enter the black market, which only the president of the merchant team, President Tu, knew.

Every year, the method of entering the black market would change. Hence, President Tu wasn't afraid that this secret would be leaked out.

The black market was also an extremely dangerous place. Some people didn't mind to kill to gain whatever they want so President Tu brought the three mercenary teams with him to boost his confidence and security.

Plus, if the people he brought to the black market was able to gain the liking of the person-in-charge of the black market and get an invitation the following year, he would be able to get heavy commissions too. He had nothing to lose from this so President Tu allowed them to follow him without any worry.

The moment they entered the black market, they saw all the representatives from all the various huge merchant clans as well as the wealthy and powerful people from the various nations. Those that got the invitation but couldn't come personally would send their confidants over to take part in this distinguished gathering.

The black market was split into three districts. The outer ring was the normal district. Of course, the normal district was filled with weapons banned from moving out of the various nations. There were also precious minerals and mines, savage beast forbidden to be sold, rare artifacts and national treasures, as well as books teaching special techniques. There were even some secret scriptures. However, these were only the lowest tier of goods. Even mechas from the various countries could be found here. The highest level of mecha available in the normal district was actually the special-class mecha. Everyone knew that mechas from a country were banned from being sold outside the country.

The inner ring was the special district. Ace mechas from different nations could be found here. Of course, they were not the latest model. If the latest model of ace mechas were available, the various nations would have made noises by now. They would organize their troops and collaborate with one another to destroy the Chaotic Lands. Besides mechas, there were other interesting items too. For instance, new supplies, ores, plants. Some products that could only be found on Planet Juhao were seen here too.

The center of the ring was the private collection district. Military starships were sold here. Ling Lan even saw the Divine Dragon starship in the list of items sold. This starship was just retired from the military and was considered the highest grade starship of the Federation. Ling Lan was astounded. In order to get this starship here without alerting anyone, someone from the higher authorities must be part of this. However, this was not the only thing that shocked Ling Lan. After the starship, humans started appearing on the list.

There were men, women, children, as well as the elderly. They were locked up in cages. The virtual screen beside the cage contained information about the innate talents of these people. It also showed their current level and their potential.

Most of them were children like Liu Aihua. These children had amazing potentials and were prodigies that managed to awaken their innate talent at a young age. They should have grown to become elites, but they were now being sold as goods. They would become their buyer's tools or slaves.

Ling Lan frowned. She could accept the other items found here. Even if they were adults being sold, she wouldn't be so bothered about it. Yet, this bunch of children who had fear and hope in their eyes made her feel uncomfortable.