Chapter 732: Weakness!

“Whether the mecha operators from 250 Ace Mecha Clan are kicked out or not has nothing to do with our investigation. Don’t try to change the topic, Regiment Commander Ling, our leader has spoken clearly just now. Your men accused you of using violent means and killing mecha operators in your mecha clan. We would like you to give an explanation for this accusation.” The assistant beside the senior colonel realized that the situation was going against them, so he tried to turn the tables around.

Ling Lan looked up indifferently and replied, “I’ve made myself clear just now. Who did I kill? Where is the evidence? I hope that you can show them to me.”

The lieutenant colonel gritted his teeth and tried to beat around the bush. “You don’t have the right to know some things.”

“In that case, I have to suspect that I’m being framed!” Ling Lan gave them a look of contempt. If they had evidence, then there would be something wrong.

The lieutenant colonel fumed in anger. If they had solid evidence against him, why would they be sitting here and questioning him?

The lieutenant colonel couldn’t win against Ling Lan but his words caused the senior colonel to calm down. He decided to change his method of asking. He tapped his index finger on the table, attracting everyone’s attention. Seeing the confident look on their senior colonel’s face, the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee felt at ease. On the other hand, Ling Lan and her comrades turned vigilant when they noticed that their opponents had regained his composure. They prepared themselves for his attack.

The senior colonel was satisfied with the pressure he had created. He looked at Ling Lan and said slowly, “Let’s not talk about this matter first. I have something I would like to ask you. Why don’t you give it some thought about why do you think your men accused you of such matter?”

When facing this kind of sly criminals who would not confess to their crimes until the last moment, it was useless to lay out everything clearly in front of them. He was fooled by his own experience. He thought that the other party was easy to deal with since he was young, immature, and had only entered the military recently. He didn’t put much thought in his plan so he acted rashly. That was why he met so many obstacles. However, it was still not too late.

The senior colonel viewed the three people in front of him as his greatest opponents now. He no longer dared to underestimate them.

Ling Lan was on her guard. As expected of someone who was sent by the military headquarters, he was definitely a difficult opponent as no matter what her answer was, it would be turned against her.

Ling Lan took her teacup and pretended to think about this question. The senior colonel didn’t interrupt her. He waited silently for her reply.

“Senior colonel, I have some thoughts about this question, maybe I can discuss it with you now.” Li Lanfeng was a sensitive person. He sensed that this question was a trap so he instantly opened his mouth.

The senior colonel turned to look at Li Lanfeng. He pretended to be interested in what he was saying. Ling Lan will not speak for himself now. F**k! The senior colonel hated Li Lanfeng for interrupting him. However, he couldn’t show it on his face. He signaled for Li Lanfeng to speak.

Li Lanfeng smiled. He ignored the glares people were shooting at him and calmly said, “Senior colonel, you should know that an ace mecha clan provides much better treatment to their mecha operators compared to normal mecha clans. This is not just a change in quantity, it is a change in the quality of living too. Anyone with a brain will know what is the better option. Unfortunately, some people just do not have the ability to enjoy this treatment. Our regiment commander is a fair person, he will not let useless people get what they shouldn’t.”

As he spoke, he looked at Ling Lan with his eyes full of respect. If Ling Lan was not firm enough, her expression would have changed under the intense and eerie gaze of Li Lanfeng. It is so scary.

Li Lanfeng’s speech and expression almost caused the senior colonel to vomit out blood. Regiment Commander Ling is fair? Those mecha operators are useless people? How can he say such lies so uprightly? It seems like he really underestimated these young people.

Li Lanfeng knew that he shouldn’t get too overboard. He could already feel Ling Lan’s intense desire to punch him in the face. He retracted his gaze. Although he wanted to become Ling Lan’s confidant and close friend, he didn’t want to become her punching bag… Li Lanfeng wasn’t a masochist.

Li Lanfeng sighed after he retracted his gaze. He gave a disappointed and sympathetic look. “They knew that they don’t have the ability to stay in 250 Ace Mecha Clan but they were not willing to let go of their current way of living. This caused them to turn crazy. It’s reasonable that they chose to frame our regiment commander.” Li Lanfeng started his retaliation.

“Frame?” The senior colonel narrowed his eyes. Seemed like the other party had made their preparation. They were indeed hard to tackle.

“That’s right, they framed us! Those mecha operators don’t have the capabilities to enjoy but they wanted to enjoy the benefits and treatment of an ace mecha member. They didn’t want to give up the benefits so they wanted to use this method to prevent our Regiment Commander Ling from chasing them away…” Li Lanfeng’s smile had disappeared. His cold eyes and firm tone showed how angry he was. His intent gaze stabbed the hearts of the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee. They lowered their heads and avoided his gaze.

Li Lanfeng knocked on the table with his right hand as he continued. “If you all believed them and decided on the verdict without making the proper investigation, they would succeed in their plan. The regiment commander that comes to replace Regiment Commander Ling would turn a blind eye to them to prevent this from happening to him. By right, only the best mecha operators could enjoy the benefits of being in an ace mecha clan. Yet, these useless people took advantage of their positions. This is a humiliation to all the ace mecha masters. You are tricked by these useless people. We can’t allow that to ever happen.”

Li Lanfeng’s words caused those people who didn’t know the truth to feel angry towards the mecha operators, who provided them with witness reports. They started to suspect that the mecha operators were lying to them. Only those that knew what 250 Ace Mecha Clan really was, knew Li Lanfeng was just talking nonsense.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t refute him directly. This situation had happened to a normal ace mecha clan before. They settled many similar cases before.

Li Lanfeng’s upright and just speech caused a commotion among the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee. This is bad. The senior colonel immediately replied, “These mecha operators fought in wars before and are experienced soldiers. They wouldn’t do this kind of thing for their own benefit.”

Li Lanfeng sneered. “What criminal is a criminal from birth?” Everyone knew what he was trying to say.

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The senior colonel almost fainted from anger. Li Lanfeng was outrightly suspecting them, ever since the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee was formed, no one dared to question their actions directly in front of their faces. It was like giving them a slap on their faces.

The senior colonel glared at Li Lanfeng. He gritted his teeth. However, Li Lanfeng was not afraid. He looked back at the senior colonel firmly.

After training with Ling Lan, the force of presence this senior colonel exuded was nothing to him.

The senior colonel looked at the calm Li Lanfeng and felt demotivated. Where did these young people come from? Even when facing high-ranked and experienced officers like them, they maintained their composure. They never flinched when they attacked them. Instead, they retaliated powerfully. Were they really framed? For the first time, the senior colonel suspected himself.

The major couldn’t control himself anymore when he saw his leader being speechless. He sprung up and shouted. “Do you have evidence to prove that they had framed you?”

Li Lanfeng looked at him with contempt. “Do you have evidence then?” They didn’t have any evidence and yet, they dared to come to their territory and incriminate them? Do they think that 250 Ace Mecha Clan was easy to bully?

The argument went back to the same point again. The senior colonel knew that this was their weakness, so he wanted to beat around the bush and get more information out from the other party. However, they were too composed. They knew their strength and what could bring them more benefits. Hence, they kept talking about the points that gave them advantages.

The major was frustrated when Li Lanfeng talked back. He spoke without thinking. “Since you said that they are useless and they framed you because they stand the thought of you having the possibility of chasing them out of the military, why don’t you prove to us how capable your mecha operators are?”

They were all mecha operators disregarded and sent out from their own divisions. He didn’t believe that the difference between their capabilities would be so stark. If they were able to discover that the useless mecha operators were on par or even better than the capable mecha operators, they could prove that Ling Lan used unscrupulous methods to rule over her mecha clan. This way, even without evidence for the crime of killing her mecha operators, they would be able to take her away.

As long as they were able to bring Ling Lan back to the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee, they would be able to control what happened after that. The major’s eyes were filled with hatred. He must destroy Ling Lan.

Ling Lan wanted to laugh when she heard what the major said. Isn’t he helping her? As expected, the worse thing was not meeting a powerful opponent, it was having a stupid teammate.

The senior colonel looked hesitant when he heard what the major said. He had thought about this too, but since 250 Ace Mecha Clan had managed to become one of the top ten mecha clans during this land clearing mission, so he didn’t dare to mention this. He was afraid that he would lose terribly.

The senior colonel’s expression changed. In the end, he chose to cut off all means of retreat. Truth be told, he didn’t believe that all the 250 mecha operators in 250 Ace Mecha Clan had regained their ace mecha operating skills. These people had been diagnosed by professional military doctors. How could they be healed by this new regiment commander?

If it was that simple, 250 Ace Mecha Clan would not have been formed in the first place. The senior colonel felt that this was quite possible so he nodded. “He is right. Since you said that those mecha operators who framed you are useless, you can invite them to have a battle with those capable mecha operators and let us see the difference in them.”

Ling Lan touched her teacup and went into deep thought.

The people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee were elated when they saw that. As expected, this was their weakness.

“Don’t you trust your mecha operators?” The senior colonel resumed his smile.

Ling Lan thought for a moment before replying, “That is possible. However, there are too many people in 250 Ace Mecha Clan. It will take a long time if we let everyone participate in the battle. The preparation will be hard too. Why not we choose a few representatives from each side?”

The truth is, you want to choose the few most capable mecha operators, right? Since there are so many useless mecha operators so they had to be a few that managed to recover. All the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee believed that this was her real intention. Their eyes lit up. The major was excited, he could already sense the merits coming towards him.

“You are right.” The senior colonel smiled brightly. The tension between the two parties disappeared.

The major was frustrated when he saw his superior agreeing to Ling Lan.

Before Ling Lan could say anything, the senior colonel continued, “How about this? We will randomly choose someone from the capable and useless category. We don’t know their real strengths so this would be a fair decision.”

The senior colonel smiled. He tried to detect any signs of agitation from the other party but Ling Lan’s expression didn’t change at all. The senior colonel was disappointed.

Ling Lan knew what the senior colonel was trying to do. Unfortunately, she was really not afraid. The results of the mecha operators were all real. Those that were capable went along with her for the mission while those useless ones continued to train at the base.

Since the other party wanted to get a slap in the face, Ling Lan would not stop them. She nodded indifferently, “That is fine too.”

The senior colonel felt uneasy when Ling Lan agreed so readily. However, he quickly threw this uneasiness to the back of his mind. He trusted himself, maybe Ling Lan just wanted to try his luck.