If his opponent had been a mecha operator with normal control skills, or perhaps just an inexperienced ace operator, perhaps the ace operator would have been able to salvage the situation. However, his opponent was neither. Skills? Ling Lan had that in spades. Experience? After many years of torment by the learning s.p.a.ce, even the greenest of newbies would have become a veteran mecha operator.

Just as the ace operator bounced his mecha back into the air, his back was struck heavily once again. This time, the blow was even heavier than the one before, instantly knocking his mecha down hard onto the ground, giving him no more chances to get up again.

"Boom!" The large body of the mecha crashed into the ground, sending clouds of dust into the air ... this loud noise drew the attention of the mecha fighting in the sky. Looking down, the two special-cla.s.s mecha were instantly dumbfounded. They could not help but cry out, "Leader!" and their movements inevitably slowed down.

Leaving aside Li Shiyu, Han Jijyun, and Lin Zhong-qing for the moment, along with the special-cla.s.s mecha they were fighting, Qi Long, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi with their great rapport saw their opponent"s movements slow down and almost simultaneously realised that their chance had come ...

Qi Long was the one who reacted the quickest. Possessing Animal Instinct, this fellow noticed the opponent"s opening almost immediately. He was the first to pounce, his beam saber striking out fiercely at the other"s slowed beam saber. Due to being distracted, the special-cla.s.s mecha"s beam saber was directly pushed aside by Qi Long"s forceful blade. Before the other could regain his bearings, Qi Long"s beam saber was already slashing out viciously at the other"s wide open chest area ...

"Zing ..." The piercing sound of a beam saber clashing against a mecha"s beam shield rang out. Sparks flew where the two met.

That special-cla.s.s mecha"s expression changed the instant he was. .h.i.t. He was a little panicked, but when he saw his mecha"s beam shield holding out in defence, he instantly calmed down. He saw his opponent desperately steadying his beam saber, holding it by force against his beam shield to try and exhaust his mecha"s power. He knew this was his chance to counterattack! A ruthless light appeared in his eyes. He controlled his mecha"s right hand to swing his beam saber savagely at his opponent ...

There was a "boom" — the beam saber was intercepted before it could hit. Another mecha had charged over as well to use his beam saber to block his own beam saber. Not only that, the other also raised his other hand to aim right at his c.o.c.kpit ... the beam gun in his opponent"s hand which he had thought nothing of previously now loomed large in his vision, a sight to inspire terror.

The muzzle of the gun flashed with a white light, and his mecha was struck heavily. Although a special-cla.s.s mecha"s beam shield was stronger than an advanced mecha"s — one beam shot would not do any damage to his mecha — but the opponent obviously would not just shoot once. If he could not find a way to break free from these two enemies, the final outcome would certainly be his beam shield running out of energy resulting in his death.

No one wanted to die, and he was no exception. He knew that only by accelerating to retreat and breaking free of their hold on him now could he have any chance of surviving. Thus, he engaged all his thrusters, pushing his speed to the maximum — he just needed one second to completely escape from their attacks ... right as the mecha"s speed indicator showed a shift to overdrive, his mecha hurtled backwards abruptly ... he saw his mecha escaping the other"s beam saber — even if the opponents pushed their engines to pursue him, the difference between their mecha levels made it impossible for them to match his speed.

The special-cla.s.s operator finally let out a sigh of relief. He knew the danger had almost pa.s.sed. As long as he could avoid this crisis, he would definitely kill these few b.a.s.t.a.r.ds ... right then, the back of his mecha was suddenly struck by a great force, stopping the mecha retreating in overdrive in its tracks. At this moment, the beam saber he had just pulled away from once again struck his mecha, while the other opponent"s beam gun was triggered one more without mercy ...

"Awesome, Xie Yi!" Qi Long could not help but shout. It turned out that Xie Yi had been piloting his mecha to attack from behind when he suddenly saw the opponent retreating in overdrive. He immediately changed his movements to use his side to ram into the opponent, stopping the special-cla.s.s mecha from retreating any further ...

Trapped in a pincer attack, no matter how much power the special-cla.s.s mecha"s beam shield had, it could not hold up against the frenzied attacks from the beam sabers and beam guns of the group of three. In the end, the mecha"s beam shield dimmed and then disappeared completely ...

Qi Long decisively cast aside his own darkened beam saber, his hands swiping down to grip the two high-frequency blades that had sprung out from the sides of his mecha"s thighs. Then, he fiercely plunged the two high-frequency blades into the opponent"s c.o.c.kpit ...

No longer defended by a beam shield, even the c.o.c.kpit of a special-cla.s.s mecha was unable to prevent a high-frequency blade from stabbing through ...

"Ah ..." screamed the special-cla.s.s operator. Qi Long"s attack was very accurate, directly piercing through a vital point. The special-cla.s.s operator knew he was unlikely to escape death. With a savage grin, he ruthlessly pulled up the self-destruct system of his mecha ...

Qi Long"s Animal Instinct was very sensitive. As soon as the opponent pulled up the self-destruct system, he sensed danger and quickly shouted, "Run!"

The three boys scattered in three different directions. They had just flown away when that special-cla.s.s mecha exploded. The explosion created by the self-destruct sequence of a special-cla.s.s mecha was unlike that of a normal mecha — although the three boys had instantly dialled their beam shields to their maximum defence value, the shields were still unable to fully neutralize the force of the explosion. The three mecha were instantly thrown off-balance, spinning out of control to crash into the ground below.

Xie Yi took the worst hit. Because he had been immobilizing the opponent, he had had the least time to dodge and run. As such, he had been exposed to more of the blast force than the others, instantly being thrown by the explosion into the forest. Only after crashing into and snapping several large trees did he fall to the ground ...

Even though their method had been mutually damaging, Qi Long, Luo Lang, and Xie Yi had still finished off their opponent in the end. Without Li Lanfeng, the remaining three in the other group — Li Shiyu, Lin Zhong-qing, and Han Jijyun — attacked the other special-cla.s.s mecha from two sides. Their situation was tough, perhaps even somewhat perilous — if Ling Lan had not managed to strike down the ace operator, causing their opponent to pause in his attack out of shock, they would not have been able to stop to catch their breath.

This fight had shown them that there was still a huge gap between them and an experienced special-cla.s.s operator. If not for Li Lanfeng"s efforts to protect them from the start, perhaps the three of them would have already had to withdraw from the battle. Even so, their primary attacker Li Lanfeng had still been struck down ...

Li Shiyu looked at the special-cla.s.s mecha before his eyes and mentally cursed his own helplessness. He could not save his eldest cousin brother, and now he also could not save another Li family member, Li Lanfeng 1 . If only his mecha control skills were stronger, then Li Lanfeng would not have been ... Li Shiyu"s only wish now was that the two beam shots had not struck Li Lanfeng, even though the chances of this wish coming true were miniscule ...

Similarly, Han Jijyun, who was panting heavily in his c.o.c.kpit, was currently cursing himself during this short period of rest they had gained. At the heart of it, Li Lanfeng had fallen to save him. The one who should have been thrown to the ground was actually him — those last two beam shots should also have been his to bear. However, Li Lanfeng had taken his place to suffer all this. If Han Jijyun could be said to have harboured some doubts still about Li Lanfeng"s motives for joining the New Cadet Regiment, he no longer felt the same way about it now. Which idiot would be so stupid as to manipulate his way into an opponent"s faction and then selflessly sacrifice himself for the sake of his opponent? He had truly misunderstood Li Lanfeng, thought Han Jijyun with regret.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhong-qing kept a watchful eye on the special-cla.s.s mecha. Even as he was recovering his strength, he asked himself silently: if he was faced with the same situation, would he have been able to make the same choice as Li Lanfeng?

Lin Zhong-qing found that he could not answer yes without hesitation — this made him feel somewhat ashamed. Li Lanfeng had just joined the team, but he was already able to treat the other team members as his own brothers, willing to sacrifice himself to protect them. In comparison, he had followed Boss Lan for so long in this team, but he still could not be sure whether he could do the same ... was this the difference between him and Li Lanfeng? The other was truly a selfless and sincere person, just as sunny and warm as his smile. He was kind and friendly, definitely not at all a person like himself, who had come out from a black-hearted, scheming, dark and sinister laboratory, could hope to compare to ...

How enviable!

Lin Zhong-qing thought with a bitter smile. The feeling Li Lanfeng gave off was completely different from Boss Lan. Without having to say a word, Boss Lan already would have an overbearing aura just sitting in silence. One gaze from Boss Lan was enough to make others cower; his dominance was unparalleled. He gave courage to those who followed him, secure in his strength. His followers would not cower, retreat, or hesitate, and of course, they never felt lost. He was like a steady rock in a roiling sea — by his side, there was nothing to fear and nothing to worry about. As long as they followed him loyally, Boss Lan would lead them to a grand new world. This was the power of a hegemon, causing others to inevitably believe in him, entrust their dreams to him, and follow in his footsteps.

In contrast, at first sight, Li Lanfeng already came off as the older brother living next door. It was impossible to reject his warmth and friendliness — his ever-smiling face made others inevitably think fondly of him. Unconsciously, he would have silently obtained your trust, gaining the status of an important friend or relative in your mind ... like now, even though he had not had much interaction with Li Lanfeng thus far, he had already fully accepted the other as a friend. Of course, the other"s actions had indeed left him with no objections.

Some people were heaven-blessed to be liked by others, such as this Li Lanfeng!

These thoughts went by in a flash across Lin Zhong-qing"s mind, and the temporary break was quickly over. Just when Qi Long"s team of three had begun their fierce attack on their special-cla.s.s operator opponent, the special-cla.s.s operator fighting Li Shiyu"s team saw that his teammate was in a tight spot and wanted to go and help. However, how could Li Shiyu and the others allow the other to do so? Without even having to think about it, they charged over to block the special-cla.s.s mecha ...

Li Shiyu and the other two did all they could and finally managed to delay the special-cla.s.s mecha for about ten seconds. And these ten seconds were enough to p.r.o.nounce the end of the other special-cla.s.s mecha.