Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Chen Yifan and everyone else had arrived near the bottom of the hill. The map showed them that their destination was on the top of the hill.
In these few minutes, everyone was in an anxious state. They were afraid that they would step on a trap the next second. It was the most mentally exhausting ten minutes in their entire journey. However, when they reached the bottom of the hill, Chen Yifan realized that he was fooled by the people from the 250 Mecha Clan.
In the first five ambushes, he didn’t notice certain clues so he didn’t choose the best way to handle the situation. However, since he was able to bring his younger brother safely passed those ambushes, he felt that he had completed his task. He didn’t feel frustrated. Yet, now, he felt a sense of helplessness. It felt like all his thoughts had been predicted by his opponent.
“There must be some powerful individuals at the last checkpoint. I was fooled by them entirely,” Chen Yifan muttered to himself.
“Brother, we are near our destination. Why did you stop?” Chen Yi’an saw Chen Yifan stopping in his tracks and felt puzzled.
Chen Yifan gathered his spirits when he heard his younger brother’s voice and replied, “Be careful. The last ambush is probably here.” This was the last place their opponent could conduct their ambush. Chen Yifan was certain that they would be attacked on the hill.
All the recruit agreed with what Chen Yifan said. After experiencing the first five ambushes, they didn’t believe that their superiors would let them pass the test so easily.
Hence, all the recruits gathered their strengths and walked up the hill.
The road up the hill was quiet. It was so quiet, the recruits could hear their own heartbeats. They got nearer and nearer to their destination and no one attacked them yet.
All the recruits arrived on an empty field at the halfway point of the hill. A flag pole was embedded right in the middle of the empty field. The flag of the 250 Mecha Clan was attached to it.
The 250 Mecha Clan was not an official ace mecha clan so they didn’t have their own personal flag. Their flag was the 23rd division flag but the number ‘250’ was painted on the other side of the flag. The symbol that represented their mecha clan was painted next to the numbers.
Two soldiers stood below the flag. Once they saw the recruits, they looked at the time on their communicators and said something to each other with a smile. They seemed happy to see the recruits reached here on time.
The recruits realized that they had reached their final destination. They were elated. There were 10 more minutes before the appointed time. They had completed the recruit test.
Unexpectedly, there was no scary ambush on the last part of their journey. They managed to successfully pass the test easily.
All the recruits jumped around happily. Although this was just a temporary team, they went through the toughest journey together. Such an experience drew everyone together, many of them hi-fived each other. Some of them even hugged the person beside them.
Guo Rongqi felt relief too. He hugged Chen Yifan excitedly. “Chen Yifan, we pass. We pass. In the end, there is no ambush. We just scared ourselves.”
On the other hand, Chen Yifan just stared at the two people standing at the field. He was in a daze. Did they really pass? Was the last ambush just an illusion that their opponents gave them?
Chen Yifan looked at the map on his communicator. The red flag which represented their destination was in their current spot. This meant that they had really passed the test.
“Recruits, why are you all shouting? Are you all not coming over here to end your test?” A stern voice came from the other side.
The recruits finally realized that they still had not registered and ended the mission officially. Everyone rushed towards the center of the field.
Just as Chen Yifan wanted to ask Chen Yi’an and the other two to follow the recruits, he coincidentally glanced at his communicator. The green dot which represented his position was moving further away from the red flag. Although it was near, the spot where the two soldiers were standing at was not where the red flag was.
Chen Yifan looked up immediately. He turned his head and saw a simple thatched hut on his right. The flag of the 250 Mecha Clan was placed on the roof of the hut. Something flashed passed his mind. He reached out and pulled Chen Yi’an with one hand. He didn’t know who he grabbed with his other hand but he just pulled the person and rushed to the hut.
Chen Yifan wanted to remind everyone but he didn’t have the time to. If he stayed for a moment longer, he would be attacked too.
Sure enough, the moment Chen Yifan moved, the recruits that rushed to the center of the empty field got attacked by the soldiers hiding around them. They had no chance of retaliating at all.
At that moment, all the recruits finally realized what was happening. This was not their final destination, this was an ambush! They were all caught off guard. It appeared when they felt the most relieved.
They were completely annihilated! They made so many plans before this but everything went to waste. They couldn’t even initiate their plans when faced with the psychological tactic played by their opponents.
Chen Yifan dragged two people with him but his speed was still fast. If he was given another second, he would be able to enter the hut. No one would be able to catch them then.
Just as he was about to enter the hut, he felt a strong Qi-Jin energy coming behind him. His gaze turned sharp. He took a deep breath and directed all his Qi-Jin power to his arms. Two strong forces came out of his hands and push Chen Yi’an and Zhou Yu forward.
Chen Yi’an and Zhou Yu flew towards the entrance of the hut. Chen Yifan turned around and attacked with his palms again.
“Boom!” His palms collided with his opponent’s fist and a loud explosion occurred. Chen Yifan felt a huge energy coming towards him. He stopped using his Qi-Jin. The energy from his opponent caused him to fly towards the hut.
“Huh?” Chen Yifan heard his opponent’s puzzled voice.
At the same time, he saw two figures flying past him. They landed in front of him. He recognized one of them. It was his younger brother.
There is someone behind him! Chen Yifan immediately got a hold of the situation. Seems like their opponent made ample preparations and placed someone at the entrance of the hut too.
Should he give up on his brother and enter the hut himself? This thought flashed past his mind. The person who attacked them just now was as strong as him. He could feel it from the punch that he received from his opponent. If he didn’t enter the hut now, he might not have another chance.
Even though he thought about entering the hut himself, he already controlled the power in his body and landed steadily on the ground. He was only three meters away from the hut.
Chen Yifan didn’t regret his decision. His younger brother was the reason why he entered the military in the first place. If his younger brother couldn’t pass the test, there was no point in him passing it. Additionally, he could feel the force of presence of the Qi-Jin master behind him. He might not even succeed if he tried to enter the hut just now. Once he failed to enter the hut, he would be surrounded by two Qi-Jin masters. He had no hope in completing the mission.
Chen Yifan looked at the Qi-Jin master who attacked him first. It was a bulky young man. For some reason, he felt that this person looked familiar. He tried to remember where he met this young man before.
“Not bad!” His opponent wanted to attack him again but the person behind him said, “Brother Jun, leave this person to me.” Chen Yifan felt that this voice was familiar too. He suddenly wanted to laugh. He actually found a person who looked familiar and a person who sounded familiar in the 250 Mecha Clan. He must be too tired.
The muscular young man frowned. “This is my prey.”
The person behind him continued. “The two people on the ground are yours. I know this person. There’s something I want to ask him.”
“You know him? Really?” The muscular young man looked suspicious. Seems like he had been fooled by the other person before.
“Of course. Chen Yifan, are you not going to greet your old opponent?” The person behind Chen Yifan suddenly called his name. Chen Yifan was shocked. He turned around immediately and saw a familiar humble-looking young man smiling at him.
“Qi Long!” Chen Yifan gritted his teeth. He knew who this young man was. This was the person he lost to during the Grand Mecha Tournament. He would never forget him, the leader of the First Men’s Military Academy that year, Qi Long.
Qi Long ignored the anger in Chen Yifan’s eyes. He leaned against the door of the hut and crossed his hands in front of his chest. He spoke as though he was talking to an old friend. “Chen Yifan, with your capabilities, you can be a senior captain in any division. Why are you here as a logistician? Why are you just a low-level private? Don’t tell me that you offended someone and got implicated.”
“That is none of your business,” Chen Yifan replied furiously. He was fine with losing to the First Men’s Military Academy but he couldn’t accept the consequences he had to endure. Their team leader was the one who was incapable and caused them to walk into the trap, but because their leader had a powerful background and would most probably become a high-ranking officer in the military in the future, he couldn’t have any shameful past records. Thus, the blame was pushed onto him, the so-called second-in-command. He was not given any power during the entire battle but he had to endure all the blame.
He wanted to retaliate and lodge a complaint but it was useless. This humiliation was written down in his records. He lost his confidence in the military academy after this episode. And in turn, caused him to lose his confidence in the military too. That was why he didn’t want to enter the military. He became the only cadet that went back to his hometown after graduation.
Chen Yifan never expected that he would enter the military because of Chen Yi’an. The only difference was that he was a low-level logistician now and not an elite.
“Well, it is indeed none of my business but since you are part of the 250 Mecha Clan, it is my business now.” Qi Long flicked his epaulette. He gave an evil smile, “Private Chen Yifan, I’m your superior, Senior Captain Qi Long.”
Actually, the smile just seemed evil to Chen Yifan. To other people, Qi Long was giving a humble and sincere smile.
“Are you from the Third Men’s Military Academy too? Are you my brother’s senior?” Chen Yi’an asked curiously. He is a senior captain so he must have entered the military a long time ago. If he knows my brother, he could only be my brother’s senior.
Chen Yifan’s face turned red when he heard his younger brother’s words. He knew that Qi Long was one year younger than him. Was his brother trying to imply that he was not as good as Qi Long? Chen Yifan understood what it’s like to have a dull teammate. His younger brother is just slapping his face!
Qi Long smiled. “Of course not. I’m from the First Men’s Military Academy. I should be one year younger than your older brother.”
“How is that possible?” Chen Yi’an was shocked. “You are a senior captain!” To Chen Yi’an, a senior captain was already a high-ranking officer. He knew that he might be unable to even become a staff sergeant at the end of his military career. He heard that many people retired as a corporal… Chen Yi’an counted mentally. A senior captain was five ranks higher than a corporal. He looked at Qi Long again. He stared at Qi Long’s epaulette intently.
Zhao Jun and Qi Long laughed at Chen Yi’an’s expression. Qi Long smiled and pointed at Chen Yifan. “If your brother wants to, he can become a senior captain too. I don’t understand why your brother chose to become a normal logistician.”
Qi Long shook his head. Since Chen Yifan decided to join the military, why did he choose to become the lowest-ranked soldier? If his friends didn’t carefully look through the profiles, they wouldn’t know that one of their logisticians was actually an ace operator.
Chen Yi’an looked at his older brother in surprise. He thought about himself and felt touched. He cried, “Older brother, you chose to become a normal logistician because of me. I’m so sorry.”
