Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

Qiao Ting didn't forget about Ling Lan. After all, Ling Lan and his two female team members could prove that he had already left the store. However, he didn't want to ask them to testify for his innocence. He didn't want Ling Lan to know of his pitiful state… Moreover, Qiao Ting felt that he had received a lot of help from Ling Lan which made Qiao Ting feel even harder to face Ling Lan. Qiao Ting made a decision. As long as there were still other ways to resolve this situation, he would definitely not ask for Ling Lan's help.

Right as the 3rd Division's stationed mecha clan, Red Flame Ace Mecha Clan's regiment commander was busy handling Qiao Ting's issue, a letter of challenge was sent to their headquarters. This letter of challenge was sent by the 23rd Division's newly coined 250 Ace Mecha Clan, which they had proven to be one after their amazing performance in the land clearing mission.

The reason for the letter of challenge was because of Gu Dongyang. Although Gu Dongyang's conflict didn't cause any sides to lose or gain something, Ling Lan still wanted to protect her subordinates' honor and dignity. She definitely wouldn't just swallow the anger of the attack just because they were new in the city. It was after she and Little Four were done going through the regulations of Soldier City, that they decisively played their move. While the 3rd Division was panicking from all the work they had to do, Ling Lan made a move decisively and stomped on them ruthlessly.

This was what the regiment commander of the stationed mecha clan of the 3rd Division wanted to see. However, currently, they were not able to take advantage of it. In order to fully protect Qiao Ting, who the Marshal had firmly decided to protect, they no longer had any extra manpower to fight off 250 Ace Mecha Clan's challenge. In addition to that, if they were to fight with 250 Ace Mecha Clan, it might give the First Marshal's faction a good reason to meddle in the fight. Then, the Third Marshal's faction would have to fend off attacks from both the First Marshal and Second Marshal's factions, which they could very well might not be able to do.

After carefully thinking it over, the regiment commander had to give up on the decision of probing Gu Dongyang's situation. After all, there were still chances in the future to deal with Gu Dongyang's issue and didn't need to be done at this moment. Thus, he proactively asked for peace between the two clans. He sent a representative to 250 Ace Mecha Clan to express how sorry his was.

After receiving a reply, 250 Ace Mecha Clan didn't continue to badger them. The two representatives from each clan began to negotiate regarding compensation. In the end, although the result was the peace that was agreed upon, the price paid for that peace made the regiment commander of the stationed clan of the 3rd Division bleed from the inside out.

G.o.d, the negotiating representative from 250 Ace Mecha Clan is a terrifying human optical supercomputer. All of the demands he had requested were exactly the bottom line of how much he could afford… No matter how painful it was for the regiment commander of the stationed mecha clan of the 3rd Division, he still had to give the agreed compensation. At the same time, he had to thank 250 Ace Mecha Clan for not taking advantage of them while they were under siege.

Additionally, being in a poor mood, his tone of voice wasn't very good when he replied to Major General Jiang Wei. Although he himself had indeed made a move due to the issue of Gu Dongyang, he still couldn't deny that Major General Jiang Wei's orders was the main reason for him to launch the attack. If it wasn't for his orders, would he even pay any attention to 250 Ace Mecha Clan? Would he ask Qiao Ting to investigate the backgrounds of the members of 250 Ace Mecha Clan? Without his orders, he wouldn't know of Gu Dongyang's presence and wouldn't have had to sent people to investigate. The most important part was that he wouldn't have ordered everyone who was on vacation to go to the shopping district to deal with Gu Dongyang. Then, Qiao Ting wouldn't have appeared in that store, causing the annoying issue with the 13th Division's Young Miss Qi…

In short, the root of the problem was this petty, incapable and conniving Major General Jiang Wei.

After receiving the reply of the 3rd Division's stationed mecha clan's regiment commander, Jiang Wei almost smashed his optical supercomputer. This was the disadvantage of being a division officer without any actual power. Even though he was a major general and was a member of the military of the Federation, many ranks higher than those regiment commanders, he still couldn't earn or receive the respect of those regiment commanders who had actual military power. Those regiment commanders did whatever they wanted, without giving any reasons before hanging up.

Jiang Wei originally wanted the troops of the 3rd Division stationed in the city to smacked the 23rd Division. He wanted to Ling Xiao to lose dignity. Now, he was the one who lost dignity…

"Wu Yong, I'll remember this. I will definitely not let you live it down." Anger filled Jiang Wei's eyes. He temporarily put aside his hatred and envy towards Ling Xiao and 250 Ace Mecha Clan, and began to sharpen his blades, readying up to teach Wu Yong a lesson he wouldn't forget.

Soldier City was quiet. After three days, the headquarters sent representatives to award the top 10 mecha clans. As the main performer of the military, Li Yinfei sang a few popular songs among the Federation for the troops of the ten mecha clans.

Although Qiao Ting admired Li Yinfei, he didn't know the outcome of the issue regarding Young Miss Qi. Having many worries in his mind, he, of course, wasn't in the mood to find an opportunity to get to know his G.o.ddess.

Even without Qiao Ting, Li Yinfei still had many other young men welcoming her warmly. No matter how innocent and pure Li Yinfei's smile was, she still couldn't hide her excitement and a hint of ambition that no one knew about.

Ling Lan led her entire clan to her clan's designated seating area and she chose to sit at the back on the right of the exit. Only they sat this way with very few people sitting at the very front, creating a large gap of empty seats between them. When Li Yinfei was performing, every time she looked at that area, she could feel her heart boiling.

Are they not welcoming her? Li Yinfei's performance was at the end because the award ceremony had begun at the very beginning. Li Yinfei thought that those from 250 Ace Mecha Clan had left after the award ceremony. She didn't think that 250 Ace Mecha Clan was actually a mecha clan as it didn't even have enough numbers to form a battalion. Of course, they wouldn't leave in the middle of the performance. Even if Ling Lan was cold, proud and indifferent, she still wouldn't do something idiotic like that.

Although Li Yinfei didn't know who the Regiment Commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan was, she already put large 'X' on 250 Ace Mecha Clan in her mind. It had to be said that there had to be some fate between the two people. Li Yinfei and Ling Lan was fated to not be fated at all. Although they weren't at the point where they hated each other, they still managed to reach a point where neither of them saw each other as people.

There were two other people who didn't have a good impression on Li Yinfei. One was Li Lanfeng and the other was Li s.h.i.+yu.

Ling Lan felt the darkness seeping out from Li Lanfeng's body. She turned around and asked, "You don't like Li Yinfei!" This wasn't a question but a statement. No matter how well Li Lanfeng hid his feelings, Ling Lan still managed to see through him with a single glance.

"I don't like that face…" Li Lanfeng clenched both of his fists. Every time he saw Li Yinfei's face, his heart filled with humiliation.

Hearing this, Ling Lan raised her head to look at Li Yinfei, who was performing to the best of her abilities on stage. She carefully examined her then nodded, "Yeah, I don't like her either." It wasn't that she didn't like her G.o.ddess-like beauty. It was her face, it continued to give Ling Lan an unnatural feeling. It irritated her. The longer she looked at her, the more irritated and uncomfortable she became.

Li Lanfeng turned around stunned. He didn't know whether he should be happy or angry. Being in a complicated mood, he opened his mouth in a mock attempt to say something. He could only change his action into a bittersweet smile while keeping his actual feelings inside.

After resting for a short while after the award ceremony, the top 10 mecha clans returned to their own divisions. Compared to the peacefulness of Soldier City, the headquarters of the military and the divisions were considered rowdy.

It was because Ling Lan had ignited a flame which finally started spreading everywhere, causing battles to erupt everywhere. First, the 13th Division and 3rd Division began to go at each other. One wanted to severely punish Qiao Ting, but the other believed that was only a small problem and believed Qiao Ting had just made a small mistake. Qiao Ting was a genius from the new generation and should be only lightly punished.

It couldn't be helped. The 13th Division had hard evidence. This wasn't beneficial for Qiao Ting. Even if they knew Qiao Ting didn't do anything and the evidence was forged, at that moment, they could only ask for a light punishment. It was now impossible to reach a non-guilty verdict.

The integrity of the evidence was brought up for a.n.a.lysis but no one knew where the 13th Division found an imperial rank hacker who made the Third faction's imperial hacker unable to find any flaws. This made the 3rd Division feel quite helpless. However, this proved that the Second Marshal's faction had made all the necessary preparations to destroy Qiao Ting's future.

During the disputes between the two divisions, the First Marshal's faction, Second Marshal's faction and other smaller factions used this chance to take some advantages for their own benefits. Originally, it was only a small dispute between the 13th and 3rd Division. Now, it was as though all of the higher-ups within the Federation's military had a hand in the situation.

Ling Xiao had ordered his people to make moves in the headquarters before the First Marshal's faction was even notified because of Ling Lan's early notification on the issue. With more time for preparation than the others, after making multiple moves, he easily acquired many important positions among the top bra.s.s of the military. It was no accident that those who took those positions were all confidants he had arranged to be there long ago. Of course, on the surface, those people were all neutral and was not connected with anyone with the First Marshal's faction.

Ever since Ling Xiao returned to the Federation, he wasn't planning on trusting anyone before he finds the person who plotted against him. This included the First Marshal, who treated him as a nephew. In order to form his own faction, Ling Xiao silently nurtured and inserted his own confidants while under the watchful eyes of the First Marshal's faction.

It had to be said that after disappearing for 16 years, all the connections and faction members Ling Xiao had publically from before had been reduced to zero, silently disappearing from the public eye. Although some people went onto better prospects, other still patiently waited for Ling Xiao's successor. Thus, after Ling Xiao returned, he quickly picked out a few loyal members who could endure the trials and put them into the deputy rank of important positions. Compared to the main job position, these deputies were not paid any attention.

Five years of hiding was to wait for this opportunity. Under the large movements of all factions, Ling Xiao's small changes were quickly swallowed all the important positions without anyone finding out.

On top of that, as someone under the First Marshal's faction on the surface, Ling Xiao also reaped many benefits. The First Marshal's faction also put forth a lot of effort and reaped many benefits for itself as well.

Of course, some benefited and some lost. The results of the Second and Third faction's battle against each other caused both sides to lose a lot. However, after the battle, the higher-ups in the military that were from these two factions were all elites. It will be very difficult the next time someone wanted to look for trouble with these factions.

However, the 13th Division had the worst outcome from the fight. General Zhao and Vice General Qi were all taken down from their positions. Although General Zhao was indeed treated unjustly by taking his position away, being neutral was still an offense. In addition to that, he didn't have anyone behind him to back him up. If a verdict of negligence was slapped onto his name, he would be easily taken down his position.

In actuality, the reason why General Zhao could sit on the seat of a general was because back then, each faction didn't want to give it to the other factions. In the midst of the stalemate, this position accidentally fell into his hands. Unfortunately, without any charisma, General Zhao wasted many years and didn't gain any control of the 13th Division at that time. Instead, he caused the 13th Division to become split apart into different factions, forcing the division into chaos.

The disappointment the Federation's military had towards General Zhao caused them to make a move on the 13th Division. Now, this time, the military was given a reason to make a move.

Vice Geeral Qi was as dumb as a human could possibly get, even a dog wouldn't bite the hand that feeds it. If this issue wasn't caused by his failure as a father, perhaps he would have had a chance to advance and take the position of general that he wanted so much. Unfortunately, the Third Marshal hated his guts because this man caused his faction lose much influence and power. He almost even destroyed a genius who he set his eyes on and nurtured with full support. If the Third Marshal didn't bring him down, how could he calm the fiery anger he had within his heart?

Faced with the anger of a Marshal, no one dared to protect Vice General Qi, even the Second Marshal had to hide away for a while. Thus, Vice General Qi became a chess piece that was heartlessly tossed aside to quell the anger of the Third Marshal.

Both authoritative figures of the 13th Division were taken down, there would of course be new general to be arranged to take the position. Although the First Marshal's faction wanted this general position, the Second Marshal's faction and the Third Marshal's faction were totally against it. These two factions had the same thought that they definitely couldn't let the First Marshal's faction to take advantage of the situation. They already had lower number of generals compared to the First Marshal's faction. If the First Marshal's faction were to take the position of general for the 13th Division, the other two factions would become powerless.

The military also didn't want the First Marshal's faction to increase its influence. In the end, after the other factions reached an agreement, where the Second Marshal's faction and Third Marshal's factions would choose one person to compete for the position.

The Second Marshal's faction sent out a previous commander lieutenant general in a department under the 13th Division, Yu Dong. The person the Third Marshal's Faction had sent out was a commander lieutenant general in a department under the 3rd Division, Qi Yaoyang.

After hearing about the candidates, those in the Second Marshal's faction went pale. They knew they were going to lose. The insane G.o.d of the battlefield, Qi Yaoyang, who never lost once. Not only was his name famous among common soldiers, even within the Federation's military, there were many people who admired him. They didn't think that the Third Marshal's faction would send out this G.o.d-like individual. It should be known that people like him were hard to keep in check. They weren't sure where the Third Marshal got confidence to be able to order around this G.o.d-like individual.

Without much of a fight, Qi Yaoyang defeated Yu Dong with an overpowering advantage and took over the position as the General of the 13th Division. Yu Dong on the other hand became the Vice General. As for whether Qiao Yaoyang could actually control the 13th Division and whether Yu Dong could strike back and take the position back, was all up in the air. However, it could be predicted that there will definitely be a b.l.o.o.d.y battle within the 13th Division.

However, all of this was not related to Ling Lan and 250 Ace Mecha Clan. They arrived at the headquarters of the 250 Ace Mecha Clan in the 23rd division. It was just that they didn't that there was an important thing waiting for them in the headquarters.