Chapter 311: Abandon?

Translator: ryuxenji Editor: H2dH2mr

"So what if it's unsuitable for life? Reclamation is not for the sake of seeking lifeforms, but to find minerals and resources," said Han Jijyun coldly in response to Qi Long's question. He felt that this question of Qi Long's was really just too silly.

"Alert. The starship shall enter the atmospheric layer in 10 seconds. Please ensure all anti-shock measures are in place, please ensure all anti-shock measures are in place ..." In the public comms of the mecha, the voice of the starship's JMC rang out.

At the end of the 10 second countdown, all of the mecha operators in the transport hold could feel an intense quaking which lasted for over 10 seconds before the starship gradually stabilised again. At this time, all the mecha operators knew that they should have already passed through the atmospheric layer of X192 and were now truly within the airspace of the planet.

Sure enough, the JMC's voice once again rang out in the public comms. This time, it was to notify them that in 1 minute and 30 seconds, the starship would officially land on the ground of planet X192.

One minute and thirty seconds was not a very short period of time; it was enough for the mecha operators to make all necessary preparations for landing. Even so, when the countdown hit zero and the starship landed heavily on the planet's surface, the intense vibrations still caused many mecha operators to feel their Qi and blood roil in their chests. Quite a few of the mecha operators did not manage to regain their equilibrium till several beats later.

Ling Lan's original party of six did not react in any way. Under Ling Lan's tutelage, even the one with the weakest physical constitution, Han Jijyun, was able to easily withstand the impact. Well aware of her companions' conditions, Ling Lan skipped over them to ask [No Mecha Unrepaired], [Priceless Kinship], and [Self-Defined Destiny] how they were holding up.

[Priceless Kinship] did not delay, instantly responding to say that he had no problem at all. Stopping to think about it, Ling Lan understood instantly. Li Shiyu's body could not be that weak ... he was the dux of the Military Medical Research specialization! Exceedingly intelligent, he would never allow his own body to be all that weak.

[No Mecha Unrepaired] was the second to reply. Just as Ling Lan predicted, he felt somewhat uncomfortable. However, after swallowing a tube of concentrated recovery fluid, he felt much better.

The final one to answer was [Self-Defined Destiny]. Even though he said that everything was fine, what kind of ears did Ling Lan have? She could clearly hear that the other's breath was rather short — the violent vibrations earlier must have given [Self-Defined Destiny] some trouble despite him saying otherwise.

This made Ling Lan frown slightly. She had only been mentally prepared regarding the slightly weaker constitution of [No Mecha Unrepaired]. After all, [No Mecha Unrepaired] was a support type researcher — it was natural for him to have some foundational difference from specialized mecha operators like them. Thus, for [No Mecha Unrepaired] to falter in situations like this was normal. However, things were different with [Self-Defined Destiny]. [Self-Defined Destiny] was a specialized mecha operator too — this was something the other had told her personally and she believed that the leopard would not lie to her. Besides, his control skills were more than sufficient to make him a specialized mecha operator.

She would never, ever have considered that the leopard, who should have an amazing constitution based on her impression of him, would actually have a constitution roughly similar to that of [No Mecha Unrepaired]. This meant that the other's strength and stamina would not support drawn-out battle ...

This forced Ling Lan to ponder calmly — could her old friend the leopard really become a permanent member of her clan? Although Ling Lan had gotten along very well with the leopard, and she also greatly cherished the rapport between them, this did not mean that she would allow the other to drag down her entire clan. She needed to think about the futures of these companions who had grown up alongside her.

It had to be said that in Ling Lan's heart, the leopard was still not as important as her companions. For her companions, she could abandon her leopard.

Sensing his boss's thoughts, Little Four hurriedly explained, "Boss, because the spectre's spiritual power is too strong, that is why the damage to his body is great. It's just like Boss in your previous world. Of course, with the gene agents, this world now has considerably improved on this front, but it still cannot fully cure the problem of the weakened constitution."

Little Four was rather fond of this spectre with abilities similar to his. At the very least, the other gave him a sense of kinship, which was why he decided to speak up for [Self-Defined Destiny]. "Honestly, spectres should not be able to operate mecha. The fact that [Self-Defined Destiny] can do this is already extremely outstanding. Furthermore, having a spectre around is also very advantageous to the clan. Spectres are very sensitive to the presence of other spectres; he will be able to protect the others in the clan during critical moments."

"Won't you be able to protect everyone?" Although Little Four's words moved Ling Lan a little, the problem of the leopard's constitution still made her feel extremely conflicted.

"Of course I can, but Boss, there will always be times when you're alone, or when the team splits up to act. At those times, having an additional spectre will increase the safety rates for everyone on the team no matter how things are arranged," replied Little Four calmly. He did not believe that his boss would trivialize her clan members' safety.

As expected, Ling Lan paused after hearing what Little Four had to say.

"Besides, it's not like the other's weak constitution is unchangeable." Little Four prepared his finishing move.

"Oh?" Ling Lan was extremely interested. If the problem of the leopard's constitution could be resolved, she naturally did not want to abandon the leopard. After all, it was so rare to find a friend with such good rapport. Ling Lan treated Qi Long and her other childhood companions as followers and sons to be raised, while the leopard was the very first one to give her the feeling of having a friend. As such, Ling Lan treasured him greatly.

"Boss, have you forgotten how your body recovered? As long as there are gene agents, once I've modified them, the other will be able to absorb them endlessly. Combine that with your Qi exercises and the foundational physical skills of the learning space, and by applying all three methods simultaneously, this problem should be fixed in two to three years." Little Four reminded Ling Lan. How she had resolved her own latent issues would be how the other could resolve his own latent issues.

"I'll have to think about this." Ling Lan glanced at [Self-Defined Destiny] and cut short the topic. This was because all the mecha had already begun to leave their secured seats and were now lining up to walk out of the hold's door. There was one other reason why Ling Lan did not want to make a decision just yet. She wanted to first see if the leopard could actually gain her companions' acknowledgement. If her companions truly accepted him, she would willingly help her leopard solve this problem.

Everything would still depend on how the leopard performed in future! Ling Lan sighed internally and then led her party members to walk out of the hold doors.

Right then, Li Lanfeng had no idea that he had almost been given three strikes 1 by his rabbit. As soon as he could, he downed some restorative agent, and very soon, his body had recovered. He quickly followed the other members of his party forward, rather frustrated with himself deep inside. He had not expected all the members of the rabbit's party to have such sturdy constitutions. Of all the members, his constitution actually ranked at the very bottom ... he silently clenched his fists tight, deciding that he would increase his nightly basic training by threefold. He definitely would not disgrace his rabbit.

The moment they stepped out of the starship transport's hold, a wave of heat swept over them. Even though the temperature within their mecha cockpits had already been adjusted lower, they could still feel the difference from the temperatures of an inhabitable 2 planet. On the respective screens of all the mecha in Ling Lan's party, an endless desert came into view. It was a swirling sheet of white with not a single speck of any other colour. After only looking at the scene for several seconds, they could already feel their eyes vaguely starting to prickle in pain.

"Adjust the temperature of your cockpit. Lower it by 10 degrees. And set your visuals to infrared mode." Just when everyone was stunned, Ling Lan's voice rang out in their party comms.

Used to obeying Ling Lan's commands, Qi Long and the others quickly made the adjustments as instructed. Once they had adjusted the initial internal temperature of 25 degrees down to 15, they felt all the heat which had penetrated the cockpit completely wiped away. Their cockpits once again returned to regular levels of comfort. Meanwhile, changing their screen displays to infrared mode eased the strain on their eyes. They no longer felt as if they were staring into a blizzard of white, and their eyes stopped hurting.

Li Lanfeng had the utmost faith in his rabbit, so he did not think much of the other's immensely accurate judgment. However, Li Shiyu and [No Mecha Unrepaired] could not help but feel a jolt go through their hearts. Their leader must know everything about mecha like the back of his hands; otherwise, he would not have been able to make such accurate and precise judgments in a split second. [No Mecha Unrepaired] found his respect for Ling Lan deepening, while Li Shiyu too gradually began to acknowledge this Boss Lan who he had never thought well of, who liked to turn common sense on its head.

When they truly walked out onto the planet, they were shocked by the scene before their eyes. Those mecha that had walked out before them were currently struggling against the sands of the area. Many mecha had sunk into the sandy ground, while even more had no choice but to power up their engines to fly into the air and move forwards that way.

"Warning. Do not use your engines for a long time. The temperature and atmospheric elements here will cause great damage to your engines." In the public comms channel, the JMC's anxious voice rang out once more in warning.

He had barely finished speaking when in the skies not too far away, a loud boom rang out as a mecha's engine abruptly exploded. The strength of the explosion instantly sent the mecha careening to the ground. The entire mecha crashed into the sand and its massive body became completely buried within it. If not for the help of his party members, he would not have been able to resolve this dire situation on his own — all that would have awaited him was death.

"Godd*mn, what a dangerous planet." Witnessing this scene, Xie Yi could not help but exclaim in the party comms. However, he was only exclaiming for the sake of exclaiming; he would not shrink back in fear because of this.

"Let us go." Ling Lan's voice had yet to fade when she had already controlled her mecha to begin striding onto this patch of desert. But then, [Self-Defined Destiny] suddenly shouted, "Wait a moment!"

"Hm?" Ling Lan controlled her mecha to dip her head at him, signalling for [Self-Defined Destiny] to explain why he had stopped her.

"I think that it's better to first send someone to test things out," said Li Lanfeng with a smile, "I volunteer myself. As a new member, I hope everyone can give me a chance to perform." Li Lanfeng's words made the initially rather tense atmosphere of the team dissipate instantly. Qi Long even began to laugh uproariously, while there were several other soft giggles and chuckles that were almost inaudible — god knows who was laughing so secretly.

The corners of Ling Lan's lips quirked up; she was extremely in favour of the leopard's behaviour, so she said, "Alright, go." Ling Lan hoped the leopard would be accepted by her companions; thus, she naturally indicated her support of the leopard's request without any hesitation.

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