Chapter 730: Investigation! Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Ling Lan led 250 Ace Mecha Clan"s members and approached the entrance of their base camp. Seeing how the entrance was heavily guarded, she raised her eyebrow instantly.
"Boss, something is wrong." Qi Long, with his innate talent Animal Instinct, immediately felt something odd was happening.
"Those at the entrance aren"t our people." Li Lanfeng, with his great memory, saw through the issue immediately.
After hearing those words, the team members instantly had their guards up. They were surprised that after successfully completing the land clearing mission with flying colors, their own headquarters would be surrounded by strangers. Who was it that dared to make a move on 250 Ace Mecha Clan? Did these people not know this ace mecha clan is protected by General Ling Xiao?
The companions who knew about Ling Lan"s real ident.i.ty, of course, knew the Big Boss of the 23rd division was their own Boss"s biological father.
"Just pretend to not know anything. If by any chance something happens, don"t resist," Ling Lan thought deeply for a moment, then ordered.
Ling Lan believed her father wouldn"t let her fall into an inescapable trap. If he didn"t notify her of anything beforehand, it would mean that her father was still in control of the situation. It was just that she wasn"t sure what had actually happened. Who are those people surrounding the clan and where did they come from?
Ling Lan didn"t want the situation to go out of hand and too complex since she didn"t fully understand the situation yet. Thus, she ordered her team members to stay calm and watch the situation unfold itself.
After being told what to do, Ling Lan"s companions walked into the base camp with smiles on their faces. After going through many b.l.o.o.d.y battles with their Boss, their acting was on point. Their fake expressions were almost flawless. If they were to act in the 21st century, every one of them would be able to win an Oscar.
Right as they entered the base camp, they saw He Xuyang smiling as he led a group of people to welcome them.
"Welcome back Regiment Commander Ling, being awarded as one of the top 10 mecha clans in your first land clearing mission, you have brought great honor to the 23rd division. The general is very pleased with your performance." He Xuyang had a politically correct smile on his face while speaking in a formal manner. With this facade, Ling Lan didn"t even need to think to know the people who followed behind He Xuyang were probably not her father"s confidants.
Without He Xuyang"s reminder, Ling Lan saluted in the most standard way that a lower ranked subordinate would greet their superiors. She shouted in a serious tone, "h.e.l.lo, First Staff Officer He, sir.
Before He Xuyang could respond, one of the individuals who followed behind him, a young man with an insignia of a major on his uniform, suddenly approached and rudely interjected, "Regiment Commander Ling, we are from the Federation"s Military Disciplinary and Investigation Committee. We would like your cooperation in our investigation."
His expression and tone were similar to of which someone with a higher authority would speak to someone of a lower rank. It was as though he was ordering around his servant. His att.i.tude instantly angered the mecha operators from 250 Ace Mecha Clan.
"What? Asking our regiment commander to cooperate with what investigation? Investigate what?"
"A measly major actually dares to be disrespectful to our regiment commander? He really doesn"t know his place."
Everyone in 250 Ace Mecha Clan were all veteran elites who fought on multiple battlefields. Veteran elites were considered the hardest opponents on the battlefield. After experiencing countless of life or death situations, they would gradually get stronger. At the same time, the lawlessness of the battlefield made them become ruffians who wouldn"t bow down to anyone. They were also not afraid of the supposed higher-ups of the military and would say what they had in their minds. Not long after, the spot became noisy. In a single moment, the entire area had lost control.
Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang, who stood at the front, frowned. The words "Disciplinary and Investigation Committee" made them remember some not so great memories.
Seeing the mecha operators yelling and cursing, the major had a hint of anger on his face. He felt his authority was being challenged. He immediately waved his hand and fully armed soldiers suddenly stormed in from the surrounding area. They pointed their guns towards everyone in 250 Ace Mecha Clan.
Faced with hundreds of beam guns pointed directly at them, all the mecha operators stopped talking and the entire area became silent, causing the major to have a smirk on his face. They were pretty smart for remembering to bring enough people to instantly shut down these ruffians who only knew about fighting. As expected, if he didn"t take them down a peg, they might have actually thought the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee was weak and useless.
The major tilted his chin up high after thinking he had regained control of the situation. He then shouted proudly, "Regiment Commander Ling, please tell your team members to stay silent. Otherwise, don"t blame me if we take them out for obstruction of justice. They might be going to military prison."
"I remember the military doesn"t restrict freedom of speech. People have the right to state their opinions. When did the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee have the power to change the rules of the military at will?" As long as it wasn"t a rebellion, the restrictions applied on soldiers were quite loose. He wants to scare her with this pointless scare tactic? He was definitely looking down on Ling Lan.
Ling Lan had a hint of mockery in her expression. She looked towards the major with some pity in her eyes. Did the major actually think that those hundreds of beam guns were enough stop these veteran elites who had crawled out from countless life or death situations? Did he not see that the mecha operators were all excitedly waiting for her to give the order to attack?
Additionally, this young and naive major was being used as a scapegoat by his superiors and he himself knew nothing about it. It was indeed pitiful. Furthermore, when it came to rules and regulations of the military, with Little Four in hand, how could Ling Lan lose in this aspect?
Ling Lan"s reb.u.t.tal questions silenced the major. While he was trying to mumble out some words, a senior colonel beside him couldn"t help but glare at him. As expected, he was too young and couldn"t be relied on for things like this. He fell into the opposition"s trap before even understanding his opponent. It seemed that this chess piece was no longer useful.
After deciding to give up on the young major, the senior colonel suddenly laughed out loud. He then spoke up, "Actually, we would just like to question Regiment Commander Ling a few things. I hope Regiment Commander Ling can just provide some information for us. We"re not looking for trouble. Everyone, please be rest a.s.sured. Little Ma from our department is still young, and not reliable when it comes to these types of things. Regiment Commander Ling, please do forgive him if he had offended you."
"So after seeing forcefully probing wasn"t working, they plan on playing the good cop to lower my guard?" Ling Lan"s eyes flickered and didn"t answer. She only nodded to show that she had agreed.
The major knew he had made a mistake and might possibly lose points with his superiors. He was angry and vengeful. The major made a decision that during questioning, he would definitely make it difficult for Regiment Commander Ling. He wanted Ling Lan to know that offending him was definitely not a good idea.
Seeing that Ling Lan didn"t object to his proposal, the senior colonel was overjoyed. Being able to take down the Regiment Commander of 250 Ace Mecha Clan without any bloodshed was the best outcome. Although they were sent here by the military, they still had to give General Ling Xiao some dignity since they were in the 23rd Division, and couldn"t make too much of a scene. Otherwise, if they actually angered General Ling Xiao, they probably wouldn"t be able to walk out of the headquarters of the 23rd Division alive.
Thinking up to this point, the senior colonel felt helpless. If it wasn"t for the fact that they needed to collect evidence from 250 Ace Mecha Clan, why would they come near the headquarters of the 23 Division? Luckily, General Ling Xiao was a man of justice. He wasn"t like other generals who protected their subordinates by setting up obstacles for them, making them unable to investigate.
If the outcome of this investigation was satisfying, they would have made an achievement for the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee, as they took out a tumor from the military and saved the soldiers who lived in inhumane conditions.
Right as the senior colonel was about ask Ling Lan to follow them, Ling Lan spoke up, "I just returned here, and my uniform is a bit tattered. Since you"re here to seek some information, then please wait for a moment and let me freshen myself up. Then, I"ll will speak with you."
Although Ling Lan"s tone seemed respectful, she still made a decision herself. Before the Senior Colonel could refuse, she saluted He Xuyang and said respectfully, "First Staff Officer He, I apologize for leaving abruptly."
"Haha, you"re tired from traveling and indeed need some rest. I understand, I understand it very well." He Xuyang didn"t give the senior colonel a chance to speak and instantly smiled as he replied.
Ling Lan then turned around gave Lin Zhong-qing an order, "Senior Captain Lin, please lead these officers to the meeting hall to wait for me."
"Yes, regiment commander!" Lin Zhong-qing walked up and gestured towards the officers from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee to follow him.
The people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee could only watch as Ling Lan left with her clan members. In the end, they helplessly followed Lin Zhong-qing to wait in the meeting hall.
They didn"t notice that no matter if it was Lin Zhong-qing who was leading them or He Xuyang, who was still smiling behind them, both of their expressions had hint of coldness.
Those from Lingtian, who followed behind Ling Lan, found it odd for the people from the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee to come to their 250 Ace Mecha Clan to look for their Boss. However, they weren"t worried for their Boss"s safety. They knew very well that if they actually posed a threat to their Boss, General Ling Xiao would make a move and resolve it quickly.
Yang Mingzhi, Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang, who didn"t know Ling Lan"s relationship with Ling Xiao, were quite concerned and worried. They knew very well what seeing the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee could mean. People who were under the watchful eyes of theirs would either die or lose a part of themselves. If one was to say the three of them were fearful of Ling Lan"s ruthless ways back in the day, in the past three months of the land clearing mission, they realized the great capabilities of Ling Lan as a regiment commander. They slowly accepted this young yet capable regiment commander as their own regiment commander.
Could their hopes that had just been brought up, be once again shattered by the politics of the higher-ups?
Yang Mingzhi hesitated for a moment. As they were about to part ways, he finally spoke up, "Regiment commander, talk with them within 250 Ace Mecha Clan. Don"t leave with them." In 250 Ace Mecha Clan, if something was to occur, they could still protect their regiment commander. If their Regiment Commander was to leave with them, then no one would be able to help him.
Ling Lan was stunned. Although Yang Mingzhi was very cooperative with her training exercises and completed her commands well, she still knew very well that he never saw her as his regiment commander. He just didn"t want to make life difficult for himself, so he complied with everything she had said. Ling Lan didn"t want to force the issue, after all, Yang Mingzhi was originally a major and could be the leader of a brigade. No matter if it was in terms of experiences or merits, he had many more compared to Ling Lan. Yang Mingzhi cooperating fully was the best outcome Ling Lan could ask for.
It was just that she didn"t think he would speak up for her. Does this mean she has received some of his trust?
These nice surprises kept coming. After Yang Mingzhi spoke up, Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang all agreed with Yang Mingzhi"s opinion on the matter. They believed she shouldn"t leave 250 Ace Mecha Clan. If the opposition wanted to take Ling Lan by force, they could help in stopping them from doing so.
Ling Lan was grateful. The words of the three of them were, however, not wise at this moment. It should be known that if they had any physical altercation with them, they would easily be considered to have betrayed the military. Then Yang Mingzhi, Gu Dongyang, and Liu Furong would lose all of their merits and achievements, and become criminals in the military records. The place where they would be sent to, would probably be the military prison.
"I know, but please do not worry," Ling Lan said in a serious tone.
However, Yang Mingzhi and the others didn"t trust in Ling Lan"s promise. General Ling Xiao had shown no intentions of protecting 250 Ace Mecha Clan since the Disciplinary and Investigation Committee had arrived at 250 Ace Mecha Clan with First Staff Officer He. Who else could help Ling Lan if the head of the division wasn"t going to do anything?
Seeing Yang Mingzhi and the others were indeed worried about her, Ling Lan was afraid that they would make sudden moves based on their concern. She thought for a moment then spoke, "It will be fine. I have the same surname as General Ling Xiao. He will protect me."
After saying that, Ling Lan disappeared. She was probably going to her room.
Yang Mingzhi, Gu Dongyang and Liu Furong looked at each other. Liu Furong wasn"t sure what he had heard was correct and so he asked, "What did Regiment Commander Ling say just now? Did you guys hear it?"
"He said he and General Ling both have the surname Ling, so the General will protect him…" Gu Dongyang repeated.
"But, General Ling Xiao always resolves things justly. Even if it was his own family, he still may not make any moves…" Liu Furong frowned and didn"t understand why Ling Lan was so confident that Ling Xiao would do something like that.
Yang Mingzhi on the other hand had a light bulb lit up in his head. He remembered he had heard something many years ago from someone. When Ling Xiao "sacrificed himself", he had a posthumous child. Back in the day, the Ling family and Ling Xiao"s wife, Lan Luofeng, had fierce fight for Ling Xiao"s inheritance. In the end, Lan Luofeng had won. This was also the reason why the Ling family had left Planet Doha. Then, he thought about how when Ling Xiao returned, he didn"t meet with any family members except for his immediate family members. Now it seemed the event was true…
Could Ling Lan be Ling Xiao"s… Yang Mingzhi"s heart began to beat furiously. If that was the case, he and Liu Furong might perhaps be able to get justice for their comrades who sacrificed themselves for nothing.
Yang Mingzhi had a realization, but he didn"t tell what he had thought of to Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang. General Ling Xiao had kept his son a secret for a long time. There was definitely a reason behind it. He shouldn"t say anything in case he screws it all up.
Seeing Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang still confused about the meaning behind Ling Lan"s words, Yang Mingzhi coughed and said, "Our regiment commander can definitely resolve this issue. It"s the same as when we thought 250 Ace Mecha Clan would never be able to stand up again. Now, we should learn to trust our regiment commander."
Hearing Yang Mingzhi"s words, Liu Furong and Gu Dongyang seemed to have realized something. They both nodded and returned to their own dormitories to wait for the final result.