Chapter 530: Live Longer Than Others!

After the Lingtian Mecha Clan took in those freshmen members with great potential, their numbers had reached the standard of a medium sized mecha clan. At this point, the Lingtian Mecha Clan was no longer the small mecha clan they were in the past. Adding on the glory and prestige they had earned in the last year, along with Ling Lan’s outstanding display of operating skills on her long-range mecha that shocked the other mecha operators… all of this had allowed Lingtian to finally possess their very first battle force with considerable power and their very own culture.

However, a new year meant a new beginning. Not a single mecha clan was satisfied with their current results, as they all wanted to improve—a battle for power would soon begin.

All the mecha clans were waiting for someone to challenge Lingtian first. In these dark times, all of the Lingtian Mecha Clan was silent.

Inside a physical training dojo, the third-year special mecha piloting class cadets, who were training, were currently huddled together beside two mechas and watching them as they were fighting.

“Ding, ding, ding. The betting has now begun. All those who wants to bet on Instructor Tang Yu defeating Boss within a certain number of hits should come find me to bet.” A cool and clear voice rang out loudly in the dojo, drawing everyone’s attention to the speaker.

“Xie Yi, this time I won’t lose to you.” Someone saw the individual who was shouting and shouted back.

Xie Yi smiled and replied, “Sure, I’ve already prepared everyone’s credits from before. Just waiting for you guys to win it back.”

Xie Yi’s words made these people who had always lost to him feel better instantly, and they all went over to him in preparation to place their bets for the next round.

Seeing this, Lin Zhong-qing’s lips showed a hint of a smile. Luo Lang saw this and poked him lightly, saying, “Heh heh, are we going to have another huge sum of reserve funds?”

Lin Zhong-qing said sternly, “Luo Lang, how could this bet be 100% winnable? You should talk to Xie Yi and stop him. Otherwise, if Boss finds out, he will definitely rip off a layer of Xie Yi’s skin.”

Luo Lang looked at Lin Zhong-qing with determination as he replied, “In that case, why don’t you go talk to him?”

Lin Zhong-qing glanced at Luo Lang with a half-smile. “Everyone in the team knows that aside from Boss, Xie Yi listens to you the most.”

Luo Lang proudly raised his head at that. “That’s because Xie Yi and I are good friends. We know each other very well.”

“Yes, yes, yes, you guys are close friends, and that’s why the person to talk to Xie Yi should be you, his close friend, right?” Lin Zhong-qing retorted.

Luo Lang was instantly speechless. Just a brief moment of carelessness and he had gotten himself caught up in the betting as well. However, ever since the other personalities of Luo Lang had been taken down by Ling Lan and they decided to serve the original as the master, the original’s IQ wasn’t as low as before. Thus, he quickly thought of one point and said, “Okay, Lin Zhong-qing, I was almost tangled up in there by you. Boss definitely knows that Xie Yi made a betting pool. In the past, we even used this to replenish the funds for the logistics division of our team.”

“It’s different from before now. In the past, everyone didn’t know about Boss’ capabilities, which was why Xie Yi could win. Now, though, everything about Boss that he himself revealed is known to everyone,” Lin Zhong-qing explained.

Luo Lang felt that his words sounded logical and he couldn’t help but begin to worry for Xie Yi. He was prepared to talk to Xie Yi after the current bets. If he really did lose, Xie Yi would meet a terrible end.

At that moment, everyone had already placed their bets. Xie Yi looked at the details of the wagers and couldn’t help but shake his head as he said, “Aren’t you guys underestimating my boss too much? No one actually bet that he’d be able to endure more than 300 rounds. Who wants to bet for more than 300 rounds? I’ll triple the return.”

Although Xie Yi raised the rate of the bet by quite a lot, there was still no one betting for it. This was because everyone remembered that in the previous month, Ling Lan could only endure 187 rounds with Instructor Tang Yu. No matter how monstrous Ling Lan was, it was impossible for him to suddenly improve to the point where he could endure for 300 rounds after only a month’s interval.

Very nearly everyone had wagered that Ling Lan would be able to endure for around 200 rounds, while there was only one person who wagered that Ling Lan would be able to endure 250 rounds…

Xie Yi regrettably began preparing to close shop, but it was right then that he heard someone shout, “I’ll wager on it.” Xie Yi’s smile instantly froze. When he raised his head, however, his smile had already returned to normal. He asked with a huge smile on his face, “Gao Jinyun, how many credits do you want to bet?”

Gao Jinyun’s sudden shout had also surprised the team members beside him. They didn’t make a sound as they trusted him, however, and waited for Gao Jinyun to reply instead.

Gao Jinyun only hesitated for a fleeting second before he became completely determined, after which he firmly said, “I’ll bet 30,000 credits.” This was the entire sum of his personal credits. He was very confident in Boss Ling Lan, just like the rest of her team. Since Xie Yi had made such a remark, it had to mean that Boss Ling Lan had the capability to endure for 300 rounds.

However, Gao Jinyun was not in a battle team that was directly under Ling Lan, after all, and didn’t know of her real potential. The reason he could bet this much was because he trusted his own eyes and instincts.

“Captain, isn’t that a bit too much?” Gao Jinyun’s vice-captain wore an expression of concern as he asked this question.

Gao Jinyun quietly explained, “I’m only doing this for myself. The credits used will be my own personal credits. I won’t use the team’s credits.”

The logistics team member responsible for handling the credits disagreed upon hearing his words. “No way. You are our captain, and your decision is our decision. The 30,000 credits will come from the team funds.”

Gao Jinyun was surprisingly determined this time. “You guys don’t have to convince me. I trust Boss, and that’s why I’m willing to bet. This is my own thoughts, though. It has nothing to do with you guys.”

Gao Jinyun usually listened to the opinions of his team members; however, once he made a decision, there would be no changing it. The members of Gao Jinyun’s team watched as he gave his 30,000 credits to Xie Yi.

Gao Jinyun’s vice-captain and other team members quietly discussed this matter for a few seconds. When Gao Jinyun turned around, they all said, “Gao Jinyun’s team will wager 30,000 credits as a group that Boss Ling Lan will be able to endure for 300 rounds.” Since their captain trusted Boss Ling Lan, then being his team members, they had to follow in his footsteps. Even if they lost, they had to use their actions to support the captain.

Although Xie Yi was full of smiles and had a face of full confidence, he was actually crying inside. The bets that he had made today had ended up all for naught, as the money that he would make would most likely not be enough to pay Gao Jinyun’s team. These guys were f**king insane.

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It turned out that the only reason Xie Yi thought of setting up bets was that before Boss and Instructor Tang Yu began their fight, he had asked the former on how many rounds he would be able to endure. Ling Lan’s answer was more than 300 rounds, and this was also why Xie Yi had asked whether there was anyone who was going to bet on 300 rounds or more. At that moment, Xie Yi was hating himself for having such a big mouth. Even if he did set the bet, why did he have to say that he would pay triple to the winner?

Bystanders couldn’t see the pain in Xie Yi heart, but all the members of Ling Lan’s battle team saw through his facade.

Lin Zhong-qing sighed quietly. As expected, sinners would eventually have to pay for their sins; Xie Yi was going to be in trouble this time.

On the side, Luo Lang was already considering whether he should open his small bank to help Xie Yi fill the lack of cash after the bets were completed.

Qi Long, who was focused on the battle the entire time, had discovered the activity on Xie Yi’s end at that moment. He frowned and asked, “Did Xie Yi get into trouble this time?” Ever since Qi Long had formed his aura after his physical skills advanced to the peak late-stage of Qi-Jin, a tough presence would emanate from his entire body. Even if he looked like a nice person, he still gave off the tough feeling of a strong individual. This made others not dare to underestimate him.

Of course, this was also because Qi Long didn’t have complete control of his aura. If he really could control it completely, Qi Long would still be the same as before and would not make people become cautious of him when they were around him.

Han Jijyun held in his laughter and nodded, replying, “Gao Jinyun’s team has put in him in a bad spot this time.”

“Gao Jinyun… he respects Boss very much.” Qi Long had a very good impression of him. Every time they met, Qi Long felt that Gao Jinyun was similar to himself.

“Yeah, he also trusts Boss very much.” Han Jijyun’s impression of Gao Jinyun was similarly very good. How could he bet so much if he didn’t fully trust Boss, putting down 60,000 credits?

Of course, Ling Lan’s team didn’t care about that amount of credits. The credits they had acquired during their time in the scout academy was compounded through investments made by Boss—the sum had already reached the 100 million range. It could be said that in the military academy, out of all the battle teams, only their team didn’t have to worry about the logistics aspect of their team.

Later on, Boss was focused on advancing and didn’t have time to deal with the credits. Thus, he transferred more than 100 million credits to Lin Zhong-qing. It was at that time that they learned that Lin Zhong-qing had another terrifying talent—doing business. Lin Zhong-qing’s eye for investments wasn’t as accurate as Boss, but he wasn’t too far behind. The 100 million credits that they had from back then had accumulated into 300 million. This number was already excluding their expenses in the past two years.

However, no matter how many credits the battle team had, Lin Zhong-qing was just as frugal as Boss. The team members had to put in an application every time they needed to use credits and had to go through many steps. If the estimated expense was not carefully calculated or was more than 500 credits, the application would always be sent back. The team members resented all of this. However, it was Lin Zhong-qing’s unwavering front that made the others learn how to calculate and estimate, not wasting even a little bit.

Qi Long and Han Jijyun were only talking casually. They also know that even if Xie Yi lost those credits, it wouldn’t hurt him at all.

“Our battle team is already a five-star team. If we want to advance, we need to have secondary battle teams. Gao Jinyun’s battle team…” Qi Long frowned as he fell into deep thought. Although taking in secondary battle teams wouldn’t be as harsh as taking in new team members, loyalty was something that couldn’t be of similar importance to new team members; they had to unconditionally listen to the head team’s orders. Qi Long and the others were all looking at the battle teams in the Lingtian Mecha Clan. Currently, only Gao Jinyun’s team had managed to catch their eyes, but it was just that taking in secondary battle teams was a very important matter. They were still just looking.

“We’ll see!” Han Jijyun raised his chin and pointed towards the arena. “Since our captain isn’t even in a rush, then we don’t need to rush either.” They were responsible for providing the list of choices, but the final decision would be made by their boss, Ling Lan.

Hearing this, Qi Long replied with a smile, “You’re right!”

In the arena, Ling Lan was operating a special-class mecha, while Tang Yu was operating an ace mecha. Although they appeared to be in the midst of a fierce and terrifying mecha battle, in reality, the two of them were very relaxed.

“Ling Lan, how many rounds do you plan on getting to this time?” Despite launching a seemingly ruthless attack, Tang Yu asked this with a smile.

“300 rounds, or maybe more. I’ll see,” Ling Lan replied calmly as she raised her right hand and used her beam saber to easily intercept Tang Yu’s attack.

At their level, if it wasn’t a battle to the death, it was possible for them to trade blows up to 10,000 times. Even if Ling Lan’s operating skills were of a special-class operator, her actually skill level of being an ace operator made it so that Instructor Tang Yu couldn’t actually defeat her that easily.

“If it wasn’t to protect you, I would have truly liked to immediately publicize the news of you advancing to ace operator.” Tang Yu blocked and intercepted Ling Lan’s attack. Using this block, he performed a side kick.

Ling Lan operated her mecha to dodge. At the same time as she attacked with her beam saber, she said, “No rush. I’m preparing to officially advance in the second half of my fourth year.” Even if she got into the 23rd Division and with her father protecting her, Ling Lan still wanted to get in with her own strength. She wanted her father’s subordinates to know that she was no prince that entered through a backdoor.

“Looks like you already have it all thought out,” Tang Yu remarked with amazement. She was able to restrain herself from the temptation of gaining instant success. Every step that Ling Lan took was firm.

“I have to save some face for Senior Qiao Ting,” replied Ling Lan. Qiao Ting had advanced at the very beginning of his fourth year, and it was because of this that he was viewed as the second Ling Xiao and received the admiration of everyone else.

“You want to use Qiao Ting as an excuse, don’t you? Out of all the cadets that I’ve taught, you’re the craftiest,” Tang Yu said wholeheartedly. “However, it’s possible that you’ll be the one to live the longest.” In reality, it wasn’t that he hadn’t taught any star pupils. It was just that the more talented the cadet, the more arrogant they were. They didn’t want to give in and this led to them dying young, leaving Tang Yu heartbroken.

“My goal isn’t to acquire boundless glory. Instead, it’s to live longer than the others!” Ling Lan declared without hesitation. This was her hope for the future and she was working hard towards this goal.

“To live longer?” Tang Yu was stunned for a second. Afterwards, as though he had thought it through, he said, “That’s true. In the end, it’s all about living longer than everyone else.”

Tang Yu’s expression was slightly saddened. He suddenly realized that the lessons he had taught to his pupils from before could have been all wrong. Perhaps it was better that he taught his pupils how to survive more easily on the battlefield. The sure-kill techniques used in battle were actually compiled by those who still lived after each and every battle. As long as his pupils survived, they would naturally come to an understanding and would not need him to use his time to teach them how to kill others.

However, there was obviously no life-or-death battles in the academy. Even if he taught them more, how could he make his pupil understand the secrets of those sure-kill techniques? They, as instructors, had led them down the wrong path…

Tang Yu had a feeling that when he taught cadets in the future, he would put the main focus on how to survive in a battlefield. This would greatly increase the survival rate of his pupils.

After many years, he had proof and he sent his research to the military’s headquarters. After the people at headquarters carried out further research on this subject, they discovered that this was indeed the case in terms of survival rate of the cadets; thus, they decided that they would conduct an academy-wide experiment in the First Men’s Military Academy. In the classes for real battles, the lesson content changed from the training of sure-kill techniques to instructing cadets about survival techniques upon entering a battlefield.

After accumulating more than 10 years of data, they discovered that the change was very effective, and thus they put it through to every academy in the Federation. The result was that the mortality rate of the Federation’s veterans decreased compared to the other countries. This made the Federation’s military strength increase once again and also brought a true 100 years of peace to the Federation’s borders. And all of this came about from Ling Lan’s one statement of wanting to live longer than everyone else!

Tang Yu would later reveal this truth on his deathbed, following which Ling Lan, who was already legendary, would once again experience a rise in fame—she would gain the respect and gratitude of every soldier in the country.