Chapter 492: Only Life and Death, No Good and Evil
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
It was a good thing that the members of Qiao Ting’s team had all remembered the rules of the battle royale and did not shoot at the opponents’ cockpit; otherwise, this round of unexpected beam attacks would have clipped a good portion of Feihong Military Academy’s battle team members.
However, even so, red lights began to flash on many of the opponent mecha’s screens. The A.I. began to repeatedly give the announcement, “You have died!” This announcement meant that that team member was eliminated. These mecha operators were so angry that they smashed the controls in the cockpit. The battle royale had just begun and they got eliminated before they did anything… Qiao Ting was so despicable. He even attacked other attacking teams… Was he not afraid that he would anger everyone?
Still angry, they landed their mecha on the ground and waited for the staff members of the battle royale to send transport to take them to the resting area. They decided that once they went back, they would watch Qiao Ting’s group and see what happened to them in the very end.
Qiao Ting confused the opponent and took the enemy by surprise. However, as those who were able to become the attacking team, the other side’s captain and some of their members were all quite capable. They reacted quickly and successfully dodged this round of treacherous sneak attacks.
Seeing this, Qiao Ting swung his right arm with great force. His team members saw this motion. All the close combat mecha, including balanced mecha, switched their weapons and held up cold weapons. They all moved towards the few mecha that were left.
At the same time, the long-range mechas quickly changed to their specialized sniper rifles, and they aimed towards the few special-class mechas that were still struggling after being surrounded.
Although those remaining mechas of Feihong Academy used kamikaze methods to try and bring down some of their opponent’s mecha, this was still a one-sided battle. How could the long-range mecha armed with sniper rifles, who were watching them from the very beginning, give them a chance to commit kamikaze? When they saw the opponents’ irregular movements, they instantly pulled the trigger and hit them, regrettably eliminating them from the tournament.
Qiao Ting saw that all the mechas had landed on the ground. He pulled out his short range beam gun and shot once towards an empty field not far from those mechas. This shot instantly melted the thick layer of snow on the ground. Not only that, but it also left a hole that was burnt black.
The expression of the captain from Feihong changed after seeing this. He heard the A.I. finally say the phrase, “You have died.” His feigned death and defeat was seen through by the enemy. Qiao Ting used the last shot to tell him that in the face of a real enemy, Qiao Ting would shoot again at the cockpit in order to make sure the enemy was dead.
He had originally wanted to take the mecha’s wreckage to their headquarters to tell his commander who had “killed” them. Qiao Ting’s shot deprived him of that chance. Having “died”, he would now be taken to the resting area by the staff members of the tournament. At the same time, all of his forms of communication were closed. He could only silently wait for the battle royale to end.
“I hope the commander and the others will quickly discover Qiao Ting’s despicable behavior.” The captain of Feihong Military Academy’s team held only one hope.
After shooting that last shot, Qiao Ting put away his beam gun with satisfaction. Their first battle was perfect. Other than one close combat member who was hit by one opponent that was “dying” and had their mecha damaged by 30%, all the other members did not sustain any damage and were still at 100%.
“Little Lu, how long will it take to repair your mecha a bit?” Qiao Ting asked the member who had their mecha damaged.
Little Lu laughed weakly in response and said, “Captain, it’s very difficult to recover to 100% with only the A.I.’s self-repair function. It can probably only repair to around 90% in the end…”
The systems that were affected were slowly restored by the A.I. However, the A.I. wouldn’t be able to repair the outer layer of the mecha. Seeing this, Little Lu sighed and said, “If only that Chang Xinyuan had joined our battle team in the beginning.” A small problem like this, with an outstanding repair mechanic, was something could be easily solved.
The only reason Qiao Ting used Leiting methods to try and make Chang Xinyuan join his team was that he saw the monstrous talent Chang Xinyuan had in regards to repairing and modifying mechas. He was scared that this genius would be taken by others; thus, he had used that method to announce he was determined to take Chang Xinyuan in, preventing the other teams from daring to touch Chang Xinyuan. Qiao Ting originally thought that Chang Xinyuan would submit to him, but he didn’t think that someone would throw a wrench in the works. Ling Lan disregarded his pushiness and immediately took Chang Xinyuan as his own subordinate.
What bothered him more was that Chang Xinyuan was willing to join the newly formed Lingtian Battle Clan with an unknown future, instead of his own battle clan…
Little Lu’s words made Qiao Ting’s expression change a bit. He was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly said, “Little Lu, are my methods too pushy? It annoys people right? That’s why I can’t get the people that I want, right?”
Little Lu immediately shook his head at this and said, “I don’t think so captain. You are our captain. Being a bit pushy is a must.”
Qiao Ting’s eyes were darkened and could not be lit up easily. The depressing atmosphere made Little Lu, who was standing beside Qiao Ting, feel pressured as sweat dripped down his back. He silently sent a message to his vice-captain to come and save him.
“Captain, all our members have rested up. What is our next move?” the vice-captain asked, waving towards Little Lu at the same time, telling him to find a chance to get away.
Little Lu surreptitiously operated his mecha and dashed away from Qiao Ting’s side. Little Lu, now returned to the team, silently let out a sigh of relief. When the captain had asked him whether he was pushy and annoying, Little Lu’s heart had almost stopped beating… Wuwuwu. Was it possible that the captain knew he hated him before? That’s why he gave him a warning? Little Lu began to have a bee in his bonnet. He decided that in the future, he would no longer say bad things about the captain behind his back.
Little Lu used the vice-captain’s interruption as a chance to get away. Qiao Ting didn’t even react. After thinking deeply for a few seconds, he raised his head and asked his own vice-captain, “Vice-Captain Zhou, do you think Ling Lan is someone who is pushy and domineering?”
Vice-Captain Zhou became dumbfounded and didn’t know why Qiao Ting suddenly asked about Ling Lan. However, he still thought about it seriously and then replied, “Commander Ling Lan is very cold. I remember his cold glance. That feeling was like being cut open by a cold knife. Cold and painful with a lot of pressure. It was an aura that had a feeling that those who obeyed would prosper and those who were against him would perish. He is pushy.” Vice-Captain Zhou’s last few words were said without hesitation.
“Similarly, I’m pushy and domineering. Why is he successful, but I am a failure?” Qiao Ting’s eyes showed a bit of confusion. They were at the same level. They both controlled a strong mecha clan, but Ling Lan was able to do anything he wanted. Every single thing was in accordance with his wishes. On the contrary, once Ling Lan had appeared, Qiao Ting kept suffering setbacks. This made him suspect that Ling Lan was an obstacle he couldn’t overcome in his lifetime.
Qiao Ting’s words surprised Vice-Captain Zhou. He quickly said, “It’s not like that captain. A moment’s success or failure doesn’t mean that it is for life. Captain, your future will definitely be better than Ling Lan’s.” Vice-Captain Zhou’s were eyes filled with confidence. He was Qiao Ting’s most dedicated supporter. He believed that Qiao Ting would become just like General Ling Xiao and create miracle after miracle. The future would inevitably be Qiao Ting’s.
Vice-Captain Zhou’s words shook Qiao Ting, making his eyes become clear. He was moved by the full trust his vice-captain had in him. At the same time, he also silently laughed weakly. Even though he kept telling himself that Ling Lan, being the child of a god-class operator, had no future, the things that Ling Lan had done recently had hit him pretty hard. However, in his mind, he still couldn’t let go of the fact that Ling Lan was the opponent that he had to surpass in his lifetime.
“Looks like I have to beat him once. Then I can be free for real.” Qiao Ting sighed heavily. He finally understood his thoughts. Since Ling Lan had unconsciously become his inner demon, then he had to defeat this inner demon.
“Ling Lan! I’ll wait for you in the army. The time you join the army will be the time of our rematch!” Qiao Ting had already made up his mind. He couldn’t let Ling Lan affect the speed of his progress. He would not be affected and keep going forward. In the future, when they both joined the army, he would find a chance to resolve this link between Ling Lan and him.
Now that he had resolved his worries, Qiao Ting focused and prepared the next plan of action. He quickly led his team members away from their current location. They circled above Area P and came to a different spot. In order to try their best to confuse the other military academies, the attack just now had to seem as if it had nothing to do with them
Not long after, the members of Feihong Military Academy, who were defeated by Qiao Ting, were taken to the resting area by transport ships. The surrounding areas of the other military academies only got wind that one team suffered a sneak attack and lost completely, but as for who did it, no one knew. After receiving this information, the commander of the headquarters of Feihong Military Academy situated in Area S was very angry. He swore to find those sneaking bastards and torture them to vent his anger…
In the monitoring room, they saw Qiao Ting use the psychology that their opponent would want to form an alliance to get a close enough range where the Feihong Military Academy had no guard up. They perfectly performed a sneak attack on the opponents and took down a 24-man mecha team with only one of their own mecha damaged. This made the monitoring room instantly became silent.
“Qiao Ting. How could he do this?” an officer said suddenly, expecting better from Qiao Ting.
“They even attacked an attacking team. That’s shameless.” Many of them were discontent with Qiao Ting’s decision and believed that it wasn’t right.
“In order to win, they’ve lost sight of what is called a bottom line,” everyone said criticizingly.
“I remember that in rules of the battle royale, other than yourself, everyone else is an enemy. Why would you need a bottom line when you go against enemies?” Someone raised a counter-argument.
“But the main part of the battle royale is to fight for territories and not to destroy your enemies,” rebutted someone.
“Isn’t destroying the enemy readying you for taking territories? If there’s no opponent, then those territories would be free to grab at any time. They didn’t go against the rules of the battle royale.” In no time, the monitoring room had split into two groups. These two groups, one for Qiao Ting’s methods and one disagreeing, began arguing nonstop.
Finally, the argument fell onto Ling Xiao. The two sides could not argue anymore and all turned to ask General Ling Xiao to see what he thought.
Ling Xiao’s lips showed a faint smile as he plainly and softly said, “I only know that on the battlefield, there’s only life or death and no such thing as good or evil.”
If one was to talk about good or evil on the battlefield, it would be considered a joke. You are only a person if you can live! Even if you become a piece of sh*t, it wouldn’t matter if you died right? Who would care?