Chapter 926 Handsome!

Ling Lan finally arrived at the Ling family's house. Ling Qin was already waiting for her anxiously at the porch. When he saw the hover car appeared on the horizon, he felt relieved.

The moment the hover car stopped in front of the porch, Ling Qin rushed forward and opened the door, revealing Ling Lan who was covered in bandages. He had already seen her once but he still couldn't hold in his tears. "Young master, you're finally back. Mistress is waiting for you." Their young miss should have lived a life without any worry. However, a single thought caused her to suffer so much. Ling Qin felt regretful as he thought about this.

Ling Lan nodded. Soon, she was carried into the house on a stretcher that was prepared beforehand. She was sent to the treatment room hurriedly while Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang were invited to the main hall to have some rest. Li Lanfeng left Ling Lan without much hesitation because Ling Lan had already preempted him at the start.

If the Ling family's house was not safe, nowhere would be safe.

Ling Lan entered the treatment room and saw her mother waiting for her inside. When Lan Luofeng saw Ling Lan entering with bandages all over her, her eyes turned red. Ling Lan thought that she was going to cry but instead, Lan Luofeng smiled and forced her tears back.

"My Lan'er, you're the best. Mother is proud of you!" Lan Luofeng smiled gently as she kissed Ling Lan on her forehead. Ling Lan was stunned. This Lan Luofeng was different from the one in her memory.

Ling Lan was slowly placed on a bed. Accidentally, Ling Lan saw her mother turning her back to her and wiping her tears away. She quickly understood why her mother was acting like this. Lan Luofeng was worried that she would interfere with her rest when she cried in front of her.

Just like how Ling Lan understood Lan Luofeng, Lan Luofeng understood her too. Hence, she didn't want Ling Lan to worry. That was why she controlled her emotions and gave Ling Lan a smile to comfort her.

This was her mother. She looked like a weak flower that needed the protection of everyone but in actuality, she was stronger than everyone. She never gave up easily. This was why Lan Luofeng was able to protect Ling Xiao's merits from her greedy relatives after he 'died' a few years ago and raised Ling Lan up safely.

"Mummy, I'm fine!" Ling Lan felt touched by the love of her mother. She didn't want her mother to worry.

Lan Luofeng turned immediately. She smiled as she looked at Ling Lan. Everything seemed perfect except for the tears on the corner of her eyes.

It was a tiring journey so Ling Lan didn't chat much with Lan Luofeng. She quickly went to sleep.

When Ling Lan was sleeping, Lan Luofeng and Ling Nanyi asked everyone else to leave. They closed the door and started unwrapping the bandages around Ling Lan.

Lan Luofeng saw the injured skin under the bandages. Every single part of the skin was either bruised or cracked. The wounds hadn't healed. Lan Luofeng couldn't control her emotions anymore. She rushed to the side and started crying. She was afraid that she would wake Ling Lan up so she covered her mouth and forced herself to cry silently.

Tears ran down Ling Nanyi's face too. Ling Qin told her that their young miss was heavily injured but she didn't expect the injuries to be so bad. How painful was it at that time? How did their young miss endure it? Ling Nanyi felt as if her heart was stabbed by a knife.

As a strong mother, Lan Luofeng came back beside Ling Lan after a while and started treating Ling Lan's wounds. Then, she used new bandages to wrap her wounds. Her actions were light and gentle. However, Ling Lan continued frowning in her sleep.

At night, Ling Xiao finally came back. The moment he entered the house, Ling Qin nodded at him and Ling Xiao heaved a sigh of relief. He was fighting a verbal war with the people from the military so he wasn't able to get first-hand news of Ling Lan.

He came to the main hall and saw Lan Luofeng talking with Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang. They were talking about what Ling Lan did on Planet Haijiao. Lan Luofeng's expression was filled with pride as she heard about Ling Lan achievements.

When they saw Ling Xiao, Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang stood up hurriedly. "General!"

"You're both Lan'er's friend. There's no need to be polite," Ling Xiao smiled as he said. He turned and looked at Lan Luofeng. "What are you talking about?"

"You came when we were talking about the battle on Planet Haijiao." Lan Luofeng smiled gently.

"I see. I've something to ask too. Come to my study." Ling Xiao acted quickly. He brought Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang to his study directly.

Only people who Ling Xiao trusted could enter his study. Ling Lan told Ling Xiao that Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang could be trusted. She was the one who suggested bringing them into the study too.

The moment they entered the study, they saw Ling Lan sitting behind a desk. She had bandages all over her and was flipping through a book.

"Boss, you are fine?" Luo Lang shouted in surprise.

Li Lanfeng tried to appear calm but his eyes betrayed his emotions.

"I'm much better. I'm sorry to make you worry," Ling Lan said apologetically. To prevent other people from suspecting, she lied to her friends too.

"No, this is good. If not, we won't be able to act so sincerely." Li Lanfeng agreed with Ling Lan's decision. The more people knew about this, the greater the chance of a loophole appearing in their acting. It was better to have fewer people with knowledge of this.

Luo Lang was confused. 'What are they talking about?'

"Have a seat." Ling Xiao smiled when he saw the difference in expression between the two people whom his daughter trusted. Li Lanfeng was a sensitive person while Luo Lang was a straightforward person unexpectedly. It didn't seem to suit his looks.

Li Lanfeng and Luo Lang sat on the two chairs at the side. They didn't expect Ling Xiao to sit down on the seat next to them. They thought that their Boss would give up his seat to General Ling Xiao.

"Father, what's the situation in the military? Don't try to fool me. I've asked Ling Yu and Grandfather Ling Qin." Ling Lan stared at her father with cold eyes.

Ling Xiao held his forehead in his heads. 'When did the identity of me and my daughter changed? Is this how my daughter should be speaking to me?'

Li Lanfeng's eyes lit up. He didn't expect Ling Lan to appear so oppressive in front of General Ling Xiao too. 'When will I be able to be like him?"

As for Luo Lang, he just stared at Ling Lan with admiration in his beautiful eyes. 'Ah! My boss is so handsome!'

Chapter 927 Purpose!

"It's nothing really..." Ling Xiao wasn't used to telling his daughter about the problems he was facing. However, under Ling Lan's cold and unrelenting stare, Ling Xiao could only bitterly tell her the truth, "Currently, the law enforcement unit is indeed pressuring me a lot about how I passed on my god-class mecha to you. However, I can still endure it."

'My own daughter is severely injured and she still wants to wait to talk to me in person. Doesn't this mean that she is worried about me?' Ling Xiao's heart felt warm. He also gave up the pride of being a father and finally told Ling Lan everything.

Hearing this, Ling Lan seemingly began to think deeply. In reality, she was in her mindscape looking through all the rules and regulations Little Four had found regarding god-class mechas to try to find a loophole.

Li Lanfeng also began to think deeply about the situation. If he wanted Ling Lan to be safe, then General Ling Xiao must also be safe as well.

Ling Xiao was also thinking of how to perfectly resolve this issue. He didn't want to continue to waste his efforts and time on such trivial things, as he had more important things to do.

The room instantly became silent. Only Luo Lang was looking at the other three people in the room with a confused expression, but didn't dare to make a sound and disturb them.

The Federation had indeed written rules about how a god-class mecha must only be used by its owner. The operator and mecha were forbidden to be separated unless there was an external factor stopping them. This also clearly proved that god-class mechas were the strongest weapons of the nation and was forbidden to be used for self-interest. Ling Xiao had broken both of these rules, so his impeachment was expected.

However, this didn't mean that Ling Xiao would actually be impeached. If the First Marshal wanted to protect Ling Xiao, he still had his methods around it.

Ling Lan frowned as he looked at the rule that can only be invoked by the three marshals.

Desperate times called for desperate measures! If the First Marshal was willing to invoke this rule, then Ling Xiao would not have problems facing the law enforcement unit anymore.

"Dad, where does the First Marshal stand currently?" Ling Lan suddenly broke the silence and asked.

"He is not taking any sides." Ling Xiao was still frowning. The entire military had chosen to not speak about his issue. The Second Marshal's faction also chose to stay silent. After all, the Second Marshal owed him a favor. Ling Xiao originally thought the Third Marshal's faction would take this chance and make a move, but instead they were also silent. This was something he didn't expect would happen.

With the other two marshals being silent and the First Marshal's personality of planning first and executing later, they wouldn't reach a consensus that easily.

"Could they possibly have given up?" Ling Lan asked hesitantly. However, Ling Xiao understood what Ling Lan wanted to ask.

"Currently, that's not possible." Ling Xiao thought for a moment and gave this answer. Ling Xiao can still feel the care and protection form the First Marshal. Even if this care was slowly disappearing as he grew stronger, it still had not reached a point where the First Marshal would give up on him.

Ling Xiao was someone who knew to appreciate what others did for him. He cherished how the First Marshal cared for him in the past. This was why when he returned, he publicly stood under the First Marshal's faction.

Although he knew that this relationship with the First Marshal had some changes and couldn't return to when they completely trusted each other during their younger years, he still chose to continue to follow the First Marshal. He would follow the First Marshal until the he didn't need him anymore.

"But, they won't help either, right?" Ling Lan hit the nail on the coffin. Otherwise, as a general, Ling Xiao wouldn't become so disheveled from dealing with the law enforcement unit.

"Perhaps everyone's waiting to see who is willing to help me." Ling Xiao thoughts were even more intricate than Ling Lan.

"Understood" Ling Lan now understood why Ling Xiao was so passive recently. The reason the marshals didn't make any moves was to see just how much power Ling Xiao had control of. However, Ling Xiao would rather let himself become disheveled than exposing those working for him.

"However, if the situation continues like this, it wouldn't be beneficial for you father." The three marshals could endure it, but Ling Xiao couldn't. Once it entered the legal system, Ling Xiao must stop everything that he was doing. If the duration of this debacle was to reach three months, his job position would no longer be guaranteed. The 23rd Division that he worked so hard on would then be handed over to someone else.

"I understand. That's why I'm currently looking for a way to resolve this situation without getting into bigger problems." Ling Lan knew of this point and Ling Xiao knew of it even more. If it were to reach that point, then he would have to expose a portion of those working under him.

Li Lanfeng, who had been listening to Ling Lan and Ling Xiao's conversation, suddenly interjected, "Actually, it's not like General Ling Xiao doesn't have any chances to resolve this situation."

"How?" Ling Lan asked. Li Lanfeng always had many strategies in mind. Perhaps he managed to think of something that the two of them hadn't thought of.

"General Ling Xiao has a huge advantage that can be exploited," replied Li Lanfeng.

"Oh? I have an advantage?" Ling Xiao raised his eyebrows in astonishment. His confidants had determined that he was at a disadvantage in every aspect. He didn't think that a young Li Lanfeng would be able to say that he had an advantage somewhere. This made Ling Xiao became very curious of what Li Lanfeng would say..

"Yeah. General, did you forget? You are the Federation's idol." Li Lanfeng told Ling Xiao about what common soldier and citizens thought about him.

Ling Lan's eyes glimmered. "Apply for a public hearing."

"Public hearing? That is a big issue, let me think about it carefully." Ling Lan and Li Lanfeng's words provided Ling Xiao a new train of thought. He began to think about the benefits and disadvantages, and whether it was possible to conduct a public hearing.

"General, you definitely broke the rules. However, in the face of family values and outcomes of the battle, that would mean nothing," Li Lanfeng said proudly.

Ling Lan's eyes shined bright, while Ling Xiao frowned again when they heard that.

If he didn't apply for a public hearing, Ling Xiao would only be able to have an internal hearing. If the law enforcement unit insisted that he committed a crime, nothing he says would matter. However, a public hearing would make the law enforcement unit unable to control the situation that easily. As the idol of the citizens, Ling Xiao would receive a great number of supporters. If they also used these two points to fight against the convictions, it would be impossible for them to lose.

This way, Ling Xiao also didn't need to expose those who worked for him. Just himself would be enough.

In actuality, Ling Xiao didn't like to have his own private matters known to the public. This was why he didn't think of applying for a public hearing in the first place.

"However, if we do this, then you'll really be the person everyone will be talking about, Lan'er." Once the news that Ling Lan was his son becomes public knowledge, the chance of Ling Lan returning to being a female would be even lower. This plan didn't align with Ling Xiao's plans for Ling Lan and was also another reason why he was hesitant to publicly announce it.

"It may become more dangerous for our regiment commander, but it would also be an opportunity." As long as Ling Xiao was fine, no would dare to lay their hands on 250 Ace Mecha Clan.

In the end, Li Lanfeng still didn't give up on the hope that Ling Lan could remain in the military. Li Lanfeng wanted to use the power of the people to make everyone know of Ling Lan's sacrifices and identity. This would make the higher-ups in the military not dare to make any moves on Ling Lan. Once that happens, even if Ling Lan wouldn't be able to pilot a mecha because of his injuries, he would still be 250 Ace Mecha Clan's one and only regiment commander.

Everything that Li Lanfeng was doing now was for this reason.

Chapter 928 Running Away From Home!

Ling Xiao's request for a public hearing shocked the entire military. Some people wanted to stop him but it was Ling Xiao's right to do it. Most people remained silent in this matter but that didn't mean that they supported the people who reprimanded Ling Xiao. Thus, under such circumstances, Ling Xiao's request was approved quickly. An exciting conference was going to occur in the Federation soon.

Just like what Li Lanfeng had expected, most of the citizens of the Federation had good feelings towards Ling Xiao. Besides those people that were jealous of him, most citizens couldn't accept the fact that the law enforcement unit reprimanded Ling Xiao.

The conference was held as planned. The entire Federation was watching the conference. Anyone that was free would enter the virtual world and witness the conference for themselves.

During the conference, the law enforcement department started reprimanding Ling Xiao righteously for his illegal behaviour. Then, they told the public that the mecha operator Ling Lan, whom they admired and respected, was actually the son of Ling Xiao. They used this point to prove that Ling Xiao had secretly sent his god-class mecha out to protect his son. Basically accusing him that everything he had done was for his personal gain.

He Xuyang was in charge of refuting the claims. He led his group of advisers and used the result approach to refute their claims. No matter what they claim, they should look at the results first. Did General Ling Xiao cause any anger or losses to the Federation due to his illegal actions?

The procurators were speechless when all the results were laid out before them. If it wasn't for the god-class mecha, the bases on Planet Haijiao would all be annihilated. The reinforcements would be in a dire position and the result would be the loss of close to 700 million soldiers. Of course, Ling Xiao's illegal act harmed one person, and that was his son, Lieutenant Colonel Ling Lan.

Very soon, Ling Lan's diagnosis was thrown out. His spiritual power was exhausted and his potential was at the negatives now. His body was injured badly and his physical condition was now at the lowest grade, G. These results meant that even if Ling Lan managed to recover, he wouldn't be able to go back to being an imperial operator anymore. He could at most become an advanced mecha warrior.

This diagnosis came from the hands of many experts and military doctors from the military hospital. The most advanced medical equipment was also used to scan Ling Lan's body to make sure that the results were true. (Little Four couldn't do anything to humans but he could easily handle the lowly medical equipment.)

Ling Xiao's actions saved 600 million soldiers but harmed his only son. It also caused the Federation to lose a potential god-class operator and also caused the idol of the Federation to lose his only heir. Could this be said as personal gain?

He Xuyang's questions caused the citizens' hearts to waver. That's right, if Ling Xiao did it for his personal gains, he could have asked Ling Lan to leave with the god-class mecha. Based on how powerful a god-class mecha was, Ling Lan could definitely escape from Planet Haijiao by himself. After that, Ling Lan would still have a bright future ahead of himself and Ling Xiao wouldn't have to be called to account for those crimes too.

However, Ling Lan used his own strength to defend the base during the battle on Planet Haijiao. He jumped and fought with the enemy for 20 minutes using a god-class mecha. He defended the base until reinforcements arrived, but one foot of his was in the grave now.

The citizens of the Federation thought about the news they had heard on Ling Lan's dire conditions (This was Li Lanfeng's doing. Little Four helped him a little too). This was enough to prove that Ling Lan was prepared to live or die with the base. If the reinforcements didn't come, Ling Lan would have died in battle.

The citizens were touched by Ling Lan's selfless actions. They couldn't control their emotions anymore, and they made their final decisions. They proclaimed Ling Xiao as innocent. The votes flooded the mainframe of the military, so much so it almost crashed the mainframe.

The support for Ling Xiao climbed higher and higher. More than 80% of the citizens supported Ling Xiao. The law enforcement