Chapter 1149Someone Who Shouldn’t Be Offended?
Ling Lan knew well of the facade Li Lanfeng wore in front of others. Truth be told, Ling Lan also couldn’t confirm whether she had actually seen through Li Lanfeng’s real personality.
His facade was probably due to the instinct of someone who was adept in strategizing. They would never allow anyone to see their real side so unless it was either a partner they deeply loved or a family member they deeply cared about, the real side of those people would never see the light of day. All those ha.s.sles they went through were to avoid their deepest fear, losing control of their destiny, fate, and themselves.
Despite it being a necessary instinct for a competent strategist, the constant pressure they were under, the facade they constantly had to keep up, was very draining for anyone that even the most competent strategist would sometimes succ.u.mb to their instincts, unable to distinguish between their true selves and their facade.
With such a threat looming over Li Lanfeng, Ling Lan of course didn’t want Li Lanfeng to constantly have to put up a facade even to a friend like her. In the end, she could only helplessly say, “I’ll let you loosen up when you’re with me.”
At the very least, she could endure the temptation of his beauty. Compared to others in her mecha clan, she was more confident in herself.
Li Lanfeng, who was originally in despair over his fate, raised his head with unconcealed happiness. His eyes that were saddened instantly brightened up.
‘Ling Lan, are you giving me hope? You should know that if this keeps happening, I might not be able to hold back. I won’t be able to hold back…’ Li Lanfeng felt the wildest desire in his heart finally seeing the light of day. A small yet determined sprout rose from the brown soil to finally see the light.
A small stars.h.i.+p moved slowly towards Planet General’s satellite city, Soldier City!
This stars.h.i.+p had brought Ling Lan and company to report the details of their recent battle to the military headquarters.
After getting off the stars.h.i.+p, Ling Lan and company were then ushered to a special shuttle in Soldier City that went directly to the military headquarters on Planet General.
The previous time they came to Soldier City, they were rewarded the top 10 mecha clan award. However at that time, they did not have a chance to explore Planet General which had quite dampened her team’s atmosphere. This time however, she finally arrived at the planet that represented the top bra.s.s of the Federation’s military.
Ling Lan was alright, but Luo Lang, Xie Yi, and Li Yingjie couldn’t hold in the excitement in their hearts. With the thought of meeting royalty, they carefully took their first steps on Planet General.
Gu Dongyang on the other hand was full of smiles. He was more than happy that he could see his old comrades again. Although everyone went their own separate ways in the end, they still cherished the friends.h.i.+p they had from when they were young and experiencing hards.h.i.+p together.
Ling Lan and company were guided to the reception center of military headquarters to rest as they waited for them to be summoned to make a report.
The name ‘reception center’ didn’t give off a sense of luxury, but its amenities in it could be considered luxurious as there were even high-cla.s.s suites where visitors could rest for the night. Ling Lan and company were invited by the military so they didn’t need to worry about the fee of using the suite. If they were here on private business, Ling Lan felt that even her monthly salary as a regiment commander wasn’t enough for her to stay for a few days.
“Too luxurious.” Ling Lan got into her own exclusive suite and frowned. This setup could already be on par with the standard of an 8-star hotel.
“It can never be too luxurious, Regiment Commander Ling. Soldiers like you fight with you life around the territory of the Federation. Soldiers such as yourself, of course, would need to be treated with the best we have after returning home from a tough battle,” said the logistician accompanying Ling Lan with a slight smile on his face.
“Plus, the military isn’t spending any of its funds to upkeep this place. Just the profit from those buildings in front of us are enough to handle the spendings of the building that serviced soldiers,” explained the logistician.
“You’re saying that soldiers aren’t the only ones living here?” Li Yingjie was curious after hearing the explanation.
“Of course. We serve many wealthy second generations. These people have more than enough money to spend on such luxuries. In order to broaden their horizon, they specially went through certain connections to come and experience the suite themselves.” After saying that, the logistician formed an annoyed expression on his face. “Those people would usually cause trouble from time to time. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were supplying us with a mountain-load of money, they would be instantly kicked out of Planet General.”
“However, most of them are aware of their place so they wouldn’t cause trouble for the soldiers here that frequently.” The logistician looked down on those wealthy second generations. Those people only picked on those weaker than them and feared people stronger than them, such actions were the complete opposite with the belief of a soldier.
Ling Lan sent Xie Yi a side-long glance and Xie Yi smiled. “Thank you for taking us here. We can take over from here now.”
The logistician knew what Xie Yi was implying with his words. He knew fully well that these soldiers were probably going to discuss something not suitable for his ears to hear, so he didn’t insist and handed them the card for the suites.
Before leaving, he looked towards these four young soldiers and felt the need to say something. He then said, “Don’t worry about those wealthy second generations. What you should be careful of are those soldiers with a powerful background. Try your best to not offend them. Here, they are this.” He surrept.i.tiously put up his thumb to show that those people hold great sway in Soldier City that could reach the heavens.
“Thank you. We will be careful.” Xie Yi smiled with sincerity. It was such a warm smile that it made the logistician feel warm inside. He felt quite glad that he had done the right thing in his mind.
After the logistician left, Gu Dongyang, who was completely silent like a painting on the wall, sighed lightly. “After so many years, Planet General is still like this and is becoming worse and worse.”
“Oh, I never asked you why you left the police force here and went to join a regular mecha clan.” It should be known that the vice-commander of a police force would just need to work for at most ten years to be promoted into a commander of a certain division who commanded multiple mecha clans. They might also be promoted to a staff officer which was one of the highest peaks of military rank.
After hearing Ling Lan’s words, Gu Dongyang smiled bitterly. “Back then, I was too naive. I just couldn’t stand by and watch a descendant from a powerful family bully another descendant from a normal elite family. The result of me forcing myself into the situation was being tossed into the tras.h.i.+est mecha clan for the rest of my soldier life.”
“Back then, I thought after three or five years, I would be able to restart my life anew once everything had died down,” Gu Dongyang said slowly. “I just didn’t expect that those people would still hold a grudge against me. They did all in their power to make sure that I couldn’t get back on my feet for 10 years. After being repressed for so long, I couldn’t handle it anymore and so I voluntarily decided to go to the place where those people wouldn’t have any say, the frontlines. I wanted to make a new path from myself, but…” After saying all this, Gu Dongyang stopped talking.
That decision made him lose all faith in himself and it also led to him being traumatized until he couldn’t continue to pilot mechas into battle. In the end, he became useless trash who was tossed into 250 Ace Mecha Clan in the 23rd Division. Back then, he thought he was going to just live out the rest of his life with his new depressing ident.i.ty. However, contrary to his expectations, his life started to turn around after entering 250 Ace Mecha Clan.
After thinking about this, the blues on Gu Dongyang’s face dissipated quite a lot. His eyes returned to his original brightened gleam.
“Who is it?” Li Yingjie, who was listening to Gu Dongyang, held it in for a long while. He finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and angrily asked Gu Dongyang.
Gu Dongyang was surprised. “Little Leader Li?”
“Who was that b.a.s.t.a.r.d that pushed you down for ten years? Since we’re here, we must teach him a ruthless lesson.” Li Yingjie clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles made an audible crack sound. It was proof that he absolutely detest the b.a.s.t.a.r.d.
After following Ling Lan for so long, Li Yingjie had long let go of the thought of making his own mecha clan. He now had Lingtian as his number one priority, so he instantly exploded in anger when he heard that his own comrade was bullied for a decade.
“Little Leader Li, that person has both power and status. You should calm down first. Calm down.” Gu Dongyang didn’t want to drag Lingtian into his own personal matter.
He admired Ling Lan very much but he also worried about his young regiment commander. At such a young age, he already had to be responsible for such heavy matters. He was also worried about these youngsters who grew up so quickly on the battlefield. He really didn’t want to add more on their already filled plate.