Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

The reason why the 13th Division could stand their ground among the top few divisions was mostly because they didn't actively partic.i.p.ate in political fights. They were always considered to be in a neutral position. Although the 13th Division didn't have too many connections with the Third Marshal, they never caused fissures in their relations.h.i.+p with the Third Marshal's faction. The Third Marshal had more than just the 3rd Division under his command. If they do antagonize the Third Marshal, the 13th Division wouldn't be able to fend off against multiple divisions attacking them at the same time. Furthermore, the other neutral divisions may not lend them a helping hand either. Their General Zhao would definitely not allow something like that to happen…

However, Vice General Qi wasn't someone who gives up easily. He also stood on a different side of General Zhao. As it was public information, Vice General Qi had worked under the Second Marshal. He was someone who supported the 13th Division to join the Second Marshal's faction. It was possible that this time, he fully supported the idea of offending the Third Marshal's faction to force General Zhao to join the Second Marshal's faction…

"It's hard to resolve." He Junyi also thought about the disputes between the higher-ups in the 13th Division and too, had a headache. Back then, he used his connections to take his clan to be stationed in Soldier City, it was so he wouldn't be forced to pick a side. Even though he hid so far away from the division, he still couldn't escape from having to pick a side.

"We can't run from it, so we can only make a decision. Where do you stand?" Yue Putian asked seriously.

"General Zhao is a lone wolf. Back then, he only became the General of the 13th Division because the three Marshals didn't want to let either side get the upper hand. In the end, luck landed on General Zhao's hand, who is neutral. Vice General Qi is connected to the Second Marshal but the few officers below him all have their own factions. In reality, among the 23 divisions in the Federation, the 13th Division has the messiest factions allegiances…" He Junyi said frustratingly.

"You don't think General Zhao is any good?" Yue Putian seemed to have understood He Junyi unfinished statement.

"I also don't think Vice General Qi is good either." He Junyi didn't deny Yue Putian's question and spoke out another thought that he had.

"Then, what do we do in this situation?" Yue Putian was kind of confused.

"Report it as is," He Junyi replied coolly. He quickly sent an official investigation report to the division, then silently waited for the higher-ups to give him the orders.

He Junyi using the official report meant this matter was no longer a private matter for Vice General Qi. Although doing this meant offending Vice General Qi, causing them to be careful with each step they would take in the future, but by doing this would decrease the chances of being abandoned by Vice General Qi to nil and becoming a scapegoat after the fact.

He Junyi chose the most neutral path since there wasn't a way they could make both parties happy. Additionally, by doing it the official way, even if Vice General Qi planned on doing something to them, he would need to find an actual and legitimate reason. Otherwise, the other factions who wanted Vice General Qi's position would use the opportunity to bring him down.

The messy politics they hated that gave them headaches were now what they depended on to protect them. He Junyi and Yue Putian couldn't help but laugh bitterly. If this were to continue, the 13th Division might become the weakest division among the 23 divisions.

After learning Yue Putian had reported this situation straight to the military headquarters, Vice General Qi was livid. He hated the fact that those two looked down on him as they chose to offend him rather than the others. Although this action by the two of them caught Vice General Qi with his pants down, he still had managed the 13th Division for so many years. If he could stand at a similar position as General Zhao, then how could he not have his people within the military headquarters?

Not long after, a new order was given out, ordering the Regiment Commander of the 13th Division's stationed clan, Regiment Commander He Junyi and the Regiment Commander of the Wild Lion Ace Mecha Clan, Regiment Commander Yue Putian to go to the Regiment Commander of the 3rd Division's stationed clan to make Qiao Ting apologize…

"They're going too far!"

The Regiment Commander of the 3rd Division's stationed troops slammed the table angrily and almost splitting the desk in half.

The Regiment Commander of the Red Flame Ace Mecha Clan, Regiment Commander Xu Qiuming frowned as he looked through the report the two clans from the 13th Division had sent in. Their att.i.tude was quite tough and seemed that this issue was going to be hard to resolve.

He put down the report and looked towards Qiao Ting who sat there in common military fas.h.i.+on and softly asked, "Qiao Ting, what do you think?"

Qiao Ting coldly said, "They wrongfully accuse me and want to hang me up for trial?" Although he had gone to that store, he only came into contact with Ling Lan and the two of his members. He didn't even know of Young Miss Qi, how could he have bullied her?

"However, they said it was you. Unless you have evidence that could prove your innocence. Otherwise, you won't be able to get out this easily," Xu Qiuming told Qiao Ting the difficulties he had currently.

"The team members that went with me could prove my innocence for me. I never even met her." Qiao Ting rejoiced at the fact that he had went shopping with his team members.

"They are from the same battle team as you. Their statements won't be considered valid." In the military, although witness statements from members of the same battle team were not rejected, but those statements wouldn't be considered main evidence. Those statements could only be used as supporting evidence for other main pieces of evidence. This was to avoid the emotional aspect of brother-in-arms and the possibility of fake evidence. However in this case, Qiao Ting had lost a chance to prove his innocence.

"There's surveillance inside the store, it can prove my innocence." Qiao Ting's expression went cold and spoke with a sad tone.

The two regiment commanders looked at Qiao Ting's troubled expression and they couldn't help but sigh, "Qiao Ting… If they already prepared to go against you then that means they already have hard evidence on you."

"That's not possible." How could there be evidence of something that he didn't do?

The two regiment commanders looked at each other. Xu Qiuming understood and explained to Qiao Ting, "That evidence isn't something they said, but is actual evidence. It's just that if they think it's real then it's real."

Qiao Ting's expression tensed up, "You're saying their so-called evidence is fake?" If that was the case, then he wouldn't be able to explain himself no matter how much he tried. Who was it that wanted to go against him? The anger in Qiao Ting rose up but he didn't lose his cool. He began to quickly think about ways to get himself out of this difficult situation.

"We can go to the shop and get the untouched surveillance footage!" Qiao Ting quickly thought of a way. As long as he has the footage, no matter what the other side said, it wouldn't be that easy to pin it on him.

Seeing Qiao Ting immediately realize a way out of the situation, the two regiment commander nodded in acknowledgment. Intelligent, capable, ability to understand quickly and calmly a.n.a.lyzing the situation without panicking. As expected of the genius the Marshal had set his eyes upon.

As for this issue regarding Young Miss Qi… The people of the Third Division was not that easily bullied.

The two regiment commanders' eyes glimmered. The 13th Division's Vice General Qi along with the Second Marshal's faction would not have an easy time taking down someone with limitless potential.

The two of them quickly escalated this issue to where the faction of the Second Marshal purposefully did some meddling in an attempt to attack the younger generations they were currently nurturing. This made the two of them become even more annoyed at Vice General Qi and the Second Marshal's faction.

Xu Qiuming saw the hope in Qiao Ting's eyes. Qiao Ting hoped they would send someone to get the original footage from the store. Xu Qiuming sighed. Qiao Ting was still too young and naive. How could the opposition give them a chance to get the original footage if they had already placed the blame on him? It could be predicted the original footage at the store would have been destroyed or damaged by now.

Xu Qiuming showed an expression of pity, making Qiao Ting's heart drop. The calm expression he originally had finally began to change, "Is the original footage gone?"

As expected of an intelligent person, he reacted quickly. Xu Qiuming didn't answer and instead contacted his subordinate. In front of Qiao Ting he asked, "Little Yuan, did you get the original footage from the store?"

"Regiment commander, I was just about to report my mission status to you. According to the store owner, after taking the surveillance footage, Young Miss Qi destroyed their surveillance equipment. They paid hackers to recover it but it was ineffective."

"Got it, then just stop trying. Come on back." Xu Qiuming was already mentally prepared for this. He only ordered his subordinate to go the store to get the footage just in case. Now it seemed that the 13th Division really did everything flawlessly. They didn't give them any chance and wanted to completely pressure Qiao Ting.

Most importantly, this issue was a difficult one. It could be a big issue or it could be a small one. This was fully dependant on the opposition. If the opposition wanted an apology, then it wouldn't be that big of an issue and wouldn't cause any problems for Qiao Ting in the future. They were afraid that the opposition might make the issue about hara.s.sment of a female. That would make it very difficult for Qiao Ting in his future. In the military, the most non-tolerable mistake was making mistakes like these. Once the other side uses this reason, Qiao Ting would be done for.

The reality Qiao Ting thought of was the same as Regiment Commander Xu had predicted. The original surveillance footage was destroyed and there wasn't any evidence to prove his innocence. Qiao Ting finally felt panicked. He slapped himself with great force to try to calm himself down. At that moment, he finally understood what it meant to be unable to explain himself even though he was innocent.

"Qiao Ting, don't worry. The Marshal won't let their plan come to fruition," comforted Xu Qiuming.

However, this might result into a fight between the Second Marshal's and Third Marshal's factions. In these kinds of fights, many officers from both sides would be moved around. Some would fall and other rise. It could also create an opportunity for the First Marshal's faction and other factions to use it to their advantage…

If it was possible, they didn't want to see this kind of situation to occur. However… Qiao Ting must be protected! If they easily abandoned an exceptional and capable genius like Qiao Ting, then who else wouldn't be abandoned? Once the Third Marshal's faction loses the favours or the faith of the people, it would definitely crumble down. This was the most terrifying outcome.

They understood this and their Marshal understood it even more.

It had to be said that Qiao Ting was lucky. Before this debacle occurred, Qiao Ting wasn't someone who couldn't be abandoned. That was because he wasn't as important as he was now. Whether the Marshal was willing to help protect him or going to protect were two different things. However now, Qiao Ting was someone that the Marshal could not give up on and couldn't not protect.

Furthermore, as luck would have it, before this situation occurred, Qiao Ting had successfully advanced to the domain stage. He had it registered which made him be the first to break the record of the Federation for the youngest domain expert… This made Qiao Ting jump from being one of the quite talented mecha operators to a genius who was on par with the monstrous individual within the Flying Dragon Special Forces. He also became an important bargaining chip that they could not abandon.

Xu Qiuming had a complicated expression on his face as he looked towards Qiao Ting. Some people were winners in life, like this Qiao Ting! Even if he was to be in a crisis, there would still be someone there to protect him, helping him to get past it. It would make people be green with envy.