Translator: Henyee Translations  Editor: Henyee Translations

The senior colonel and his a.s.sistants carefully chose three people out of the 200 mecha operators on Ling Lan's side. They purposely excluded Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong, and Gu Dongyang from the list of choices, as they knew that these three people had already bowed their heads down to Ling Lan.

The senior colonel thought they must have received some benefits from Ling Lan, and in turned regained some of their abilities. If not, arrogant people like them would not listen to a major who was much younger than them.

The three people they chose to compete against had unfamiliar names. Then, they chose the three strongest mecha operator based on the past achievements from the 50 useless mecha operators, one of them was even an ace mecha master with a t.i.tle.

The senior colonel felt that no matter how weak a t.i.tled ace mecha master had become, he should still be stronger than a normal ace mecha master.

Ling Lan took over the name list. She looked at it and smiled. She didn't know if the senior colonel was unlucky or lucky, but the three people they chose to compete against were among the group that had the best results. On the other hand, the three people they chose to represent them were among the ones who had the worst results.

Even if I don't want to slap them in the face, it's impossible now! Ling Lan sighed. She pa.s.sed the name list to Lin Zhong-qing who was serving them tea.

As the Head of Logistics, Lin Zhong-qing had the ability to prepare this battle within the shortest period of time.

Ten minutes later, Lin Zhong-qing came back and nodded at his Boss.

Ling Lan stood up. The people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee got a shock, they thought Ling Lan wanted to escape, but instead, she said, "The battlefield has been prepared. Would you all like to watch the match with me or stay here and wait for the results?"

The senior colonel stood up hurriedly. "Of course, we would watch the match with you." He must not let Ling Lan out of his sight. If Ling Lan escaped, it would be difficult for them to catch him again even after they got enough evidence.

Ling Lan didn't know what the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee were thinking. Even if she knew, she wouldn't care, she never had the thought of running away anyway.

Hence, Ling Lan, Li Lanfeng, Li s.h.i.+yu, Lin Zhong-qing, and the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee came to the training ground.

The training ground of 250 Ace Mecha Clan was technologically advanced. The people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee were surprised to see such advanced facilities in an unt.i.tled ace mecha clan. Some of them started to suspect that 250 Ace Mecha Clan was an important ace mecha clan to the 23rd division.

Unconsciously, those people that didn't know the truth were starting to believe what Li Lanfeng had said. They couldn't believe that such a wealthy and powerful ace mecha clan was a retirement home for useless mecha operators. This didn't make sense to them.

The senior colonel looked at the six people who were preparing for battle and frowned. The spirit of these six people was entirely different. Three energetic and motivated mecha operators stood on the right side, and the three on the left looked fine but compared to the three on the right, their aura was much weaker. Their gaze kept s.h.i.+fting around too, seemingly uneasy about the environment they were in. The senior colonel suddenly felt uneasy about a thought that suddenly came into his head. He shouted, "Where is Senior Colonel Kang Lincheng?"

A person on the left raised his hand up high. "I'm here."

Kang Lincheng's eyes lit up. He knew these people must be from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee, as he already met them a few days ago. He turned around and looked at the cold and calm Ling Lan. His heart sunk. Did they fail to apprehend that monster?

Kang Lincheng had enough of this suffering. He had to endure the pain from the agents and from the brutal training every single day, being constantly on the edge of death. Every time he managed to open his eyes the next morning, he would curse his 'good' luck, to him, this luck wasn't good at all. This 'good' luck caused him to experience what it was like to be in a living h.e.l.l, and never being able to escape.

As he was about to reach his limit, a plan suddenly came to his mind and he started to commence his plan. Fortunately, this time G.o.d seemed to be on his side, their vicious and heartless regiment commander went on a land clearing mission with the main team, leaving only a few people in the base. Without the surveillance from those powerful guards, Kang Lincheng managed to advance through his plan rather smoothly. He succeeded in persuading a few mecha operators who equally hated Ling Lan and worked together with them to send their accusations to the military using special means.

Kang Lincheng didn't believe the headquarters of the 23rd division. He suspected that the 23rd division headquarters was the one who sent Regiment Commander Ling to clean them up. He would not walk into their trap.

In these past few days, he kept waiting for the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee to appear. He thought when they appeared, Ling Lan would definitely be dead or at least be taken away to military prison. Yet, he was standing in front of him all fine and proper while he was being summoned. Does he know what I did?

Ling Lan asked Lin Zhong-qing to secretly tell the three mecha operators from their side that the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee suspected the results of their test. The three mecha operators were extremely furious for being doubted against. They decided to show those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds their true power.

They were once well-respected ace mecha masters. After falling from grace and picking themselves up again, they were much more sensitive to other people's derision.

Ling Lan was constantly looking for more ways of improving the abilities of her mecha operators. Since the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee serve themselves up on a silver platter, she would, of course, not be rude and reject it.

The compet.i.tion would a test that was based on the seven basic training of a mecha operator. The pa.s.sing marks were the same as the benchmark provided by the military. The 250 Ace Mecha Clan followed the benchmark of the military so the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee couldn't find anything amiss with them.

The result of the compet.i.tion was just like what Ling Lan had expected. The three capable mecha operators pa.s.sed the test with flying colors, proving the results they got were true. As for the three useless mecha operators, all of them failed, including the one that had a t.i.tle.

The people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee were stunned by the results, especially the senior colonel and those that knew the secret of 250 Ace Mecha Clan. They looked at Kang Lincheng in disappointment and scoffed.

Since other people can revert back to their old form again, why can't you? You have a t.i.tle. Kang Lincheng understood what they were thinking from just the look of their faces. His face turned red, clearing showing the amount of frustration he had.

He hated the Federation. It only knew how to use them and never consider their future. He had been fighting for 10 years. Why couldn't he retire?

In reality, the Federation had created many plans for those mecha operators who got tired of fighting and wanted to retire from the military. The Federation allowed those mecha operators to apply for retirement and would supply them with a place to stay and a stable job. Of course, the pay and treatment would not be the same as they were in the military but the Federation would still give them rewards based on their merits. They would not let their past mecha operators lived a hard life.

However, Kang Lincheng didn't like the retirement plans the Federation had planned for him. He felt that the Federation owed him more. He wasn't willing to give up the treatment he received in an ace mecha clan as the benefits given to an ace mecha clan was the best.

To escape from being on a battlefield ever again, he pretended he was mentally traumatized by the war. That way, the division had no choice but to continue providing for him until the end of his days. When the 23rd Division was formed, the division he was in threw him into the 23rd division to get rid of him and a few other useless mecha operators. Kang Lincheng was happy at this result. He believed that General Ling Xiao would continue providing for them in order to not disheartened the soldiers that just entered his division. His commander knew this, and that was why he sent them to this division.

Kang Lincheng expected Ling Xiao to be a gentle and patient person. However, this was not true. He was more vicious and brutal compared to other generals. After bearing with them for five years, he decided to clean them. He even sent a bold and heartless major to torture them to death.

Kang Lincheng regretted his actions. If he didn't come to the 23rd division five years ago, he would still be able to live his carefree life. He would not lose his face in front of the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee too.

Ling Lan didn't care what these useless mecha operators were thinking. From the moment they accused her, she had given up on them.

She looked at the senior colonel calmly. "Senior colonel, what do you think?"

The senior colonel felt his face burning. The truth had been laid out in front of him. He felt that a single wrong decision would cause him to lose entirely. He sighed. "Regiment Commander Ling, seems like I need to reexamine the truthfulness of the accusation." He still didn't want to admit defeat.

The major that hated Ling Lan looked at them in disbelief. When he heard what his leader said, he thought his leader had given up on the investigation. He got agitated and said instantly, "Did you torture them brutally because they couldn't meet your expectations?"

The senior colonel glared at him. At first, he felt that this major was young and motivated so he was suitable to be on the frontline. Now, he was just a stupid teammate.

Ling Lan decided to ignore the major since the Senior Colonel of the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee had decided to take a step back, she didn't need to argue with this small figure.

However, the major became more confident when Ling Lan didn't reply to him. He wasn't willing to return to the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee just like this. From the gazes of his comrades, he knew that nothing good would happen to him after he comes back. If he took a gamble now, he might still have a chance to earn some merits.

The major plucked up his courage and decided to make one last-ditch effort. He cast aside all his considerations and said everything on his mind, "If you are really innocent, why are there so many accusations? Framing you? This word is just humiliating the mecha operators."

The major looked up and told the secret that all the higher authorities knew. "Other people might not know where these mecha operators come from but I do. Every one of them has achieved many military achievements. They are well-respected seniors, so their characters can be trusted. They are weak now because they were traumatized during battles. Thus, the military has the responsibility to provide for their future. They were sent to 250 Ace Mecha Clan in the past so that they could retire peacefully here. However, you disobeyed the orders of your superiors and made them undergo brutal training so that you can gain merits for yourself. You punished the people that didn't listen to you cruelly. You are a criminal!"

The people that didn't know the truth let out a gasp. They started discussing among themselves. They didn't expect the normal-looking 250 Ace Mecha Clan to have such a history. Did Regiment Commander Ling really do all these brutal things for his own gains?

Kang Lincheng was elated. Seems like the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee is preparing to take down Ling Lan.

The senior colonel knew that things had gone out of hand after the major had said that. When he talked to the major before this mission, he told him the secret of 250 Ace Mecha Clan so that he could be more confident about this mission. However, this young fellow just said this secret out blatantly…

But who knows? This might be their chance to finally corner that criminal. Even if the argument failed, he could just push all the blame to the major. Hence, the senior colonel kept quiet. He looked at Ling Lan and wondered how he would respond to this.

Li Lanfeng saw that the other party finally said the secret and threw a glance at Li s.h.i.+yu. He should come out now.

Li s.h.i.+yu smiled. He coughed and said, "h.e.l.lo everyone, let me introduce myself. My name is Li s.h.i.+yu. I'm a specialist military doctor from the hospital at 23rd division headquarters."

"Li s.h.i.+yu? This name sounds familiar." The senior colonel remembered when he was reporting his work to his superiors, he heard the dean of the military headquarters' hospital chatting with them. The dean was commenting that it was a pity that they didn't manage to scout a talented military doctor into their team, and the name of this talented military doctor was Li s.h.i.+yu.

He had a strong impression of this name because he was the only person who rejected the recruitment from Flying Dragon Special Forces. It caused a commotion among the Federation at that time. Many officers knew of this name.

"Major Li s.h.i.+yu, the military doctor who created the newest model of restorative agent. I have long heard about you!" The senior colonel gave a sincere smile. People at their level could offend anyone but a military doctor. No one knew when they would require their help to save their lives. The higher your position was, the more fearful you were of death.