Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr Chapter 470: Ling Xiao's Pride and Annoyance!
Translator: H2dH2mr Editor: H2dH2mr The imperial operator's words were also agreed with by his companions. Because of Ling Lan's excellence, these two initially calm imperial operators were also tempted to take her in as a disciple. Hmm, perhaps the next time the First Men's Military Academy recruits, they could go over and take a look. If there are any good seedlings …
Meanwhile, the crowd was abuzz with debate over whether it should have been 51 shots or 52 shots. Ling Xiao, who had been sitting calmly on the rostrum all this while, did not show any change in his expression. However, those familiar with him could see that the corners of Ling Xiao's lips were rising higher and higher, the smile on his lips growing wider and wider. This meant that he was currently in a very, very good mood …
Ling Xiao was of course in a good mood, because he had already seen, and only he could see, that Ling Lan's last shot had a trick up its sleeve. Using a special-class mecha, she had successfully used a top-class technique that only ace mecha could use — — Parallel Shot!
Parallel Shot allowed the operator to fire two beam bullets at the same time. Other than the fact that the beam bullets at the muzzle would be slightly brighter when firing, the posture and firing frequency would be exactly the same as firing one beam bullet. Thus, Parallel Shot was one of the most difficult long-range attacks to detect. Its concealment ability was too high — even an experienced mecha master would not be able to determine whether it was a single shot or a parallel shot. This was also one of the reasons why Parallel Shot could become a top-class ace technique. It was too difficult to deal with, classified as a technique that could not be effectively defended against.
Another reason why Parallel Shot could become a top-class ace technique was that it was too difficult to control. In order to successfully execute Parallel Shot, a mecha master's hand speed had to be at the peak of ace level. Without this speed, even if they wanted to execute Parallel Shot, they would not be able to do so. Of course, even if their hand speed was there, they still might not succeed. The mecha's A.I. also needed to be strong — if they were delayed by 0.01 seconds, the Parallel Shot might be split into two normal beam bullets.
Ling Lan's success made Ling Xiao proud, but at the same time, he felt somewhat helpless. His daughter seemed to have already reached the rebellious stage described in the books.
Ling Xiao had long known that Ling Lan had advanced to ace level, but using Parallel Fire on an ace mecha and using it on a special-class mecha were two completely different concepts. In special-class mecha, the requirements for Ling Lan's finger speed were even harsher. This was because the A.I. of a special-class mecha was slightly weaker than the A.I. of an ace mecha. Do not underestimate this small difference — it would make the operator pay several times the price to execute an ace technique.
After Ling Lan had successfully used her Concurrent Shooting ability, she had successfully fired seven beam bullets at the end of her One-Point Burst. In other words, Ling Lan had fired a total of 53 shots, and not the 52 or 51 shots that everyone thought. This number had tied Ling Xiao's original record of 53 shots. How could Ling Xiao not be proud of this? This genius mecha piloting prodigy was Ling Xiao's daughter! Who said that women were inferior to men? Ling Xiao believed that his daughter would definitely create a miracle!
However, after his pride subsided, Ling Xiao began to fret. He had only asked her to restrain herself for the sake of his daughter's safety. His daughter had indeed been obedient on the surface, but in reality, she had used this action to announce her rebellious nature — even if she had to restrain herself, she had to restrain herself very aggressively!
At this moment, Ling Xiao could not help but let his imagination run wild. Was his daughter trying to prove to him that she was no longer the child who needed him to shelter her from the wind and rain? Had she already grown up enough to face the wild storms outside on her own?
At the thought of this possibility, Ling Xiao felt somewhat dejected. The 16 years he had missed were not so easy to make up for, especially when he found that his daughter was becoming less and less needy of him. This made him hate those people who had plotted against him back then, making him miss his daughter's most precious infant years for nothing.
"It's time to collect some interest on those grudges from back then!" A trace of coldness flashed through Ling Xiao's eyes, and a faint killing intent flashed through them. In the blink of an eye, he had returned to his usual demeanor, still as gentle as jade, smiling faintly as ever.
Ling Lan saw the opponent successfully eject from the cockpit, and her entire being instantly relaxed. That last Concurrent Shot had not been her intention. Instead, at that time, she had actually entered the rare state of "One with the Heavens" when she had been executing Point Burst Shot. On the sixth shot, she had reached the peak, breaking through the finger speed that had been limiting her for an entire half a year to enter a whole new level.
And it was also at that moment that she had naturally used the Concurrent Shot technique … in the end, she had succeeded. The mecha, which should have only been half-destroyed, had been completely destroyed because of that extra luminous bullet. Like the straw that broke the camel's back, the opponent's entire mecha had been completely destroyed.
Luckily, she had been shooting from the upper half of the mecha, giving the opponent a chance to eject from the cockpit. It was a miracle that a tragedy had not occurred!
Seeing that the opponent was fine, Ling Lan calmly instructed Little Four to deal with those pieces of evidence that could easily expose her secret and strength. The energy storage unit of the long-barreled beam gun had to be destroyed. If it was discovered that there were still two luminous bullets' worth of energy stored inside, she would definitely be placed in the eye of the storm. At that time, she believed that even her father, Ling Xiao, would not be able to guarantee her safety.
Little Four was very impressive, directly destroying the electronic circuit diagram on the energy storage unit. He had even done some concealment to make it look like the energy storage unit had been overused. At the same time, he had also modified the memory records on the A.I. — Ling Lan's operation would leave behind information on the A.I. — this function was originally meant to help mecha operators review their own operation and find flaws to correct them. However, now, it had become the source of Ling Lan's strength being exposed. Little Four naturally would not overlook this point.
Little Four only needed one to two minutes to deal with these things. The reason why he needed this time was because modifying the memory records on the A.I. was more troublesome, so it had to be done reasonably. If he had just formatted it directly, he could have done it in one second. However, if he really formatted it, it would be too conspicuous. Even if he had not originally been suspected, he would still be suspected.
However, one to two minutes was not long. When Ling Lan slowly operated her mecha to descend to the ground, Little Four immediately reported to Ling Lan that everything was okay.
When Ling Lan descended from her mecha, Zhao Jun raised his two thumbs up high, cheering for Ling Lan. 52 shots. This was the number of shots that almost every special-class long-range operator aimed for. Unfortunately, this number was not so easy to achieve. Those who could reach this number and survive in the end were all imperial operators of the Federation. Some of them had even reached god-class …
Qiao Ting watched as Ling Lan calmly walked over. His fists clenched so tightly that his fingernails seemed to have dug into his flesh. However, Qiao Ting did not feel any pain. He only felt a strong sense of danger in his heart. He even wondered if such an outstanding person would have entered ace level earlier than him.
Thinking of this possibility, Qiao Ting felt as if a fire was burning in his chest, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. He took a deep breath, suppressing the anxiety in his heart … perhaps after he returned from the competition, he would have to think carefully about how to conserve as many power cards as possible so that he could increase the number of shots he could shoot to the maximum possible limit!
"I won't lose!" Qiao Ting threw out these words once more, and then boarded his mecha, preparing to fight. This made Ling Lan rather speechless. It seemed that every time she returned from a victory, Qiao Ting would throw out these words. Just how proud was this Qiao Ting to be so persistent in wanting to win against her? Even going so far as to copy her attack style just to defeat her? Shouldn't it be 'Let the winds blow, I will walk my own path, unmoving?'?
Jingan Military Academy had also lost the second round, and they had lost so miserably. Although Zhu Jing had not been injured because he had ejected in time, when the staff member inspected Zhu Jing's mecha and announced that there was no need to send the mecha for repair, the expressions of the Jingan Military Academy members instantly turned ugly. They felt as if they had been slapped in the face …
This was especially true for Zhu Jing, who had already seen how he had lost through the video feed. He hated Ling Lan to the core. He felt that he had lost too unjustly — it was just a moment of carelessness that had caused him to fall into the opponent's trap. He had been caught off guard, which was why he had been defeated by the opponent's sneak attack.
"Although our defeat is a foregone conclusion, we can't let the First Men's Military Academy shave our heads. No matter what, we have to win a match!" encouraged the team leader of Jingan.
Before the First Men's Military Academy's Qiao Ting had appeared, they had already lost two matches. This meant that they had no chance of winning, because they did not have a mecha operator who could stand up to Qiao Ting. They could only hope that they could win one or two matches before they were defeated to salvage their original 6th place reputation. Otherwise, if they were really defeated by the opponent in three straight matches, they would be no different from those other military academies who had lost before them. They were just unlucky to have met the First Men's Military Academy earlier than them …
However, this hope of theirs was instantly dashed when they saw that Qiao Ting was the third contestant. The third member of Jingan to go up had a pale face. If possible, he really did not want to go up and be abused by Qiao Ting. The difference in levels left him with no room to retaliate … he could only hope that Qiao Ting's fighting spirit would not be so strong, so that he could hold on as long as he could and not embarrass himself too much.
Perhaps he had been provoked by Ling Lan's 52 shots (because no one would have thought that someone could use a special-class mecha to execute the ace ace level Simultaneous Shooting. Coupled with the judgment of the two imperial operators monitoring the field, Ling Lan was finally confirmed by the tournament to have fired a total of 52 shots), Qiao Ting's desire to attack was extremely strong. As soon as the match began, he quickly pulled away from his opponent, and as soon as he was close enough, he used two advanced techniques in quick succession to seal off his opponent in the field.
This match also set a new record for the shortest time for a long-range operator to end a match. Long-range operators were not like close-combat operators, who could immediately engage in close combat and determine the winner. They needed to first increase the distance required by long-range operators before they could attack. This also caused long-range operators to take slightly longer to end a match than close-combat operators. Even for a long-range ace operator like Qiao Ting, who was outstanding and a head above the rest, the time he took to defeat his opponent could not be compared to the shortest time set by a close-combat operator.
However, this was not enough to affect Qiao Ting's status as the most watched and most popular contestant in this tournament. Even though Ling Lan had achieved an outstanding result of 52 shots, it was still overshadowed by Qiao Ting's record-breaking shortest time.
Ling Lan was extremely satisfied with this. She suddenly found that Qiao Ting's earnest and calculative attitude towards her was actually not that bad. At critical moments, he could totally be her shield, allowing her to hide behind him.
'Perhaps I can provoke Qiao Ting a little more? Let him perform even more well? 'Ling Lan rubbed her chin as she thought to herself.
The First Men's Military Academy had defeated Jingan in three matches, allowing them to enter the semi-finals. At this time, in the other three mecha combat arenas, the other three mecha matches for the semi-finals were also going on at the same time. After Ling Lan and the others stared backstage for a while, a message appeared on the large screen. The First Co-ed Military Academy had also defeated their opponent and was the second to enter the semi-finals. Following closely behind, the Third Men's Military Academy had also successfully entered the semi-finals. The two military academies had won only two or three minutes apart.
However, the final spot in the semi-finals was still being fought over fiercely. The Second Men's Military Academy's unexpected defeat had caused the originally determined semi-finals to lose a corner. This also caused the originally fifth ranked Qiguang and the seventh ranked Yaohuang to meet each other. Neither of them wanted to give up this chance to advance further, so they stubbornly fought all five matches. In the end, the fifth ranked Qiguang won this match with a slight advantage of one point under the judgment of all the main referees, advancing to the semi-finals.
The winners and losers of the top eight military academies were finally decided. The Second Men's Military Academy and the Federal Defence Military Academy, who had been revived as losers, respectively went to challenge the originally ninth and eighth ranked military academies. Having already lost once, the Second Men's Military Academy was no longer as arrogant and conceited as they had been at the beginning. In order to ensure victory, they carefully chose the weakest and most confident Ninth Military Academy as their opponent.
It should be said that Jiang Shaoyu's appearance caused the Second Men's Military Academy's strength to increase exponentially. Having been revived as losers, they defeated the Ninth Military Academy in three straight matches, replacing them and entering the semi-finals. Meanwhile, the Federal Defence Military Academy was not so lucky in their match against the originally eighth-ranked military academy. After a tough battle of five matches, they still lost in the end.
Just like that, the defeated Federal Defence Military Academy and the originally ninth-ranked military academy, who had been defeated by the Second Men's Military Academy, would enter into a match between the tenth and ninth ranked military academy. If there were no surprises, the ninth and tenth ranked military academies from the previous tournament would still maintain their original rankings. To them, this was also acceptable.
At this moment, the revived Second Men's Military Academy, along with the other three military academies that had lost in the semi-finals, once again had the chance to challenge the semi-finals.
The originally eighth-ranked military academy, which had been defeated by the First Co-ed Military Academy, naturally chose the fifth-ranked military academy. Among the semi-finals, they were the weakest.
However, although the Fifth Military Academy's strength was slightly weaker than the First Men's Military Academy, the Third Men's Military Academy, and the First Co-ed Military Academy, they were still not something that the eighth-ranked military academy could pull down. After four matches, the Fifth Military Academy had already won three matches, keeping their spot in the semi-finals.
Right after them was the Seventh Military Academy. Other than the opponent who had defeated them, the fifth-ranked military academy, they could choose any of the other military academies. After deliberating for a while, the Seventh Military Academy chose the Third Men's Military Academy as their opponent. Among the remaining three military academies, the Third Men's Military Academy was undoubtedly weaker.
However, the Seventh Military Academy still lost this match. Although the Third Men's Military Academy didn't have an ace operator like the First Men's Military Academy, the Second Men's Military Academy, and the First Co-ed Military Academy, the strength of their five mecha operators was very average. They were all at the peak of special-class. To take three matches from these five people, the Seventh Military Academy's strength wasn't enough.
After that, the sixth-ranked Jingan Military Academy, which had been defeated by the First Men's Military Academy, also chose to challenge the fifth-ranked military academy. The two military academies' rankings were very close, and their strength was also very similar. Perhaps they had been bullied badly by the First Men's Military Academy, but the Jingan Military Academy had exploded with powerful combat strength in this match. After a hard battle of five matches, the Jingan Military Academy had managed to snatch three matches from the mouths of the First Men's Military Academy, narrowly defeating their opponent and successfully replacing them to enter the semi-finals.
However, their luck also ended there. The resurrected Second Men's Military Academy chose to challenge them. Perhaps the Jingan Military Academy had already exhausted all their energy in the previous match, or perhaps they simply didn't have the confidence to face the Second Men's Military Academy led by ace operator Jiang Shaoyu, so after the match, the Second Men's Military Academy won three straight matches and cleanly defeated the Jingan Military Academy, replacing their opponent to become one of the semi-finalists.
Just like that, the matches in the morning all ended, and the semi-finalists were officially announced. They were still the same military academies from the last few tournaments. They were the First Men's Military Academy, the Second Men's Military Academy, the Third Men's Military Academy, and the First Co-ed Military Academy.
After a short break in the afternoon, the matches in the afternoon continued. At this time, whether it was the live audience who had rushed to planet Qiming to watch the match or the Federation citizens who were watching the live broadcast at home, all their attention was focused on the combat arena, waiting for the semi-finals and the final match.
Backstage, the four military academies waiting for the final match list to be announced were all in different moods. The five people from the First Men's Military Academy were very calm. No matter which opponent they drew, they were confident that they would win and advance to the finals.
Meanwhile, the other three military academies were currently very worried. What they were most worried about was naturally meeting the First Men's Military Academy in advance. Leaving aside the fact that they had the publicly acknowledged number one of the military academies — ace operator Qiao Ting — below him, there was still Zhao Jun, who had forced ace operator Jiang Shaoyu to a draw; Ling Lan, who had perfect basic controls, created a personal-name technique, and fired a near-perfect shot count; Mu Shaoyu, who had already reached the peak of special-class; and the special-class operator Han Yu, who was slightly weaker than his teammates but was able to suppress more than 80% of the contestants. None of them were easy to deal with.
They all knew that if they met the First Men's Military Academy in the semi-finals, then it would definitely be a tragedy. Even if they were lucky enough to chew through this tough rock and advance to the finals, they wouldn't have the energy to compete with their opponents in the finals. Some of the members of the other military academies even prayed silently, hoping that some god would help them and that they would not meet the First Men's Military Academy in the semi-finals …
No matter how worried they were, the moment that would decide their fates would eventually come. One of the military academies would eventually become the sacrificial lamb of this competition …
When the final list of opponents appeared on the big screen, the Third Men's Military Academy could only sigh. They were just too unlucky this year, actually meeting the jinx that was the First Men's Military Academy in the semi-finals!
Ling Lan and the others still used the same old trick, using rock-paper-scissors to determine the order of battle. This time, Han Yu finally managed to turn the tables and win the first round. Mu Shaoyu's performance was similarly sharp. After Han Yu, he took the second round, while Zhao Jun took the third round. Finally, when Qiao Ting and Ling Lan faced off against each other, Qiao Ting finally defeated Ling Lan by a hair's breadth and took the fourth round. Meanwhile, Ling Lan had no choice but to be placed last and become the last member to hold the line.
In reality, Ling Lan, Qiao Ting, and the others all knew that Han Yu's situation in the first round was not looking good. After all, his opponent was also a long-range attacker who had already reached the peak of special-class, one level higher than Han Yu. Unless Han Yu suddenly erupted in battle and achieved a breakthrough, there was no chance of him winning.
Even so, Qiao Ting, Ling Lan, and the others still placed their hopes on Han Yu, hoping that he would perform well. However, hope was just hope. Reality was cruel. Han Yu was suppressed by his opponent right from the start of the match. They were both long-range attackers, but Han Yu was beaten to a pulp by his opponent. He could only run and dodge, unable to fight back at all. However, it was also in this match that everyone witnessed Han Yu's outstanding dodging ability. Even though he was beaten to the point where he could not even raise his head, his opponent's effective attacks were few and far between.
The two of them, one attacking and the other dodging, finally ran out of time. As expected, Han Yu lost because his points were lower than his opponent's. Han Yu was well aware of this result. After returning and greeting Ling Lan and the others, he sat down on the side, looking as if his soul had left his body.
Although Han Yu's personality was somewhat detestable, Qiao Ting and the others could see that other than the first few matches where he looked down on his opponent and performed poorly, as long as it was his turn to fight, he would do his best. This included this match. Although he had still lost, Han Yu had still managed to last until the end of the match despite being one level lower than his opponent. It was clear to see his effort and tenacity in the competition.
Thus, Han Yu's abnormal behaviour after returning made Zhao Jun and Mu Shaoyu somewhat worried. As Mu Shaoyu had to prepare for his match, he could only set aside his worries for the time being and board his mecha to make the final adjustments.
Zhao Jun hesitated for a moment before walking towards Han Yu. He wanted to ask what was wrong with Han Yu. After all, he had worked under Han Yu for four years. Although they had used each other more, after working together for so long, they still had some feelings for each other. No matter what, he still needed to show some concern for the other.
Zhao Jun had just reached out to wake the other when another hand was faster than him. Before he could touch Han Yu, it clamped down on his wrist.
Zhao Jun felt his wrist go numb and he could no longer move. He turned around in shock and saw that the one who had stopped him was actually Boss Lan.
"That match just now inspired Regiment Commander Han," said Ling Lan as she let go of his hand.
Zhao Jun was stunned once more. "Boss Lan, you're saying that Han Yu … he had an epiphany?" Although Zhao Jun had asked, he had not expected to get an answer. This was because he knew that Ling Lan never lied. If she said that Han Yu had an epiphany, then Han Yu must have had an epiphany.
Right then, Zhao Jun could not help but feel envious and jealous of Han Yu. How lucky must he have been to have an epiphany like this? Zhao Jun thought of himself and instantly burst into tears. Why wasn't he so lucky? He wanted to have an epiphany every day but just could not. That solid barrier that had always been blocking him from advancing to ace level — when would it loosen?
Knowing that Han Yu was having an epiphany, Zhao Jun did not disturb him. 15 minutes later, it was Mu Shaoyu's turn to take the stage!
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
