Chapter 380: Hide and Seek
Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Meng Ao hung up the call. His heart was also filled with emotion. There was an uncertain future ahead, and although their relationship with Aslan was harmonious, the cooperation between both sides was not progressing smoothly. Aslan required the political influence of the Solar System, but they had not helped in increasing their military strength. The Solar System federation was in a weaker position, plus that group of bastards making the decisions only knew how to bow and bend their knees. This had caused Meng Ao and the rest to be absolutely helpless. Perhaps this was another opportunity that could cause Aslan to be nervous and allow the Solar System a chance to develop.
Any kind of alliance was simply a temporary solution; only one’s own strength was absolute.
At the Planetary Base Hospital, in the 30-patient ward, there were ten different team members, and Fatty was sitting inside, energetically laughing and talking with his ward mates. His little injury had long since recovered as the medical treatment had been top notch. The AI-controlled operating table only required the military doctors to make a diagnosis, it would then complete the procedures on its own. Of course, the price was extremely steep; each operation would consume upwards of ten thousand nano robots, costing millions of dollars. However, no one cared about the costs here.
Although Taros and Zhang Shan had already been discharged, and Wang Zheng was in no grave danger, Fatty Luo was still lazing in the hospital. On one hand, it was just to hide and laze about, but on the other hand, it was to avoid Lear’s temper. Being so easily injured as a scout had only brought down the team, and thinking back to Lear’s stormy face, Luo Fei was uncomfortable with it. It was better to wait for his anger to subside.
“Fatty, your Solar System team’s luck sure is pretty good. Originally, you had already been eliminated, but you were still able to come back! D*mn! Your team captain is too awesome.”
“Ahaha, it’s still all right. Our luck has been great so far.” Luo Fei was grinning widely. How would he put it? Although Wang Zheng had saved him, Luo Fei still felt that it was not a smart decision. Although he had just barely managed to save the team, if he had chosen the right decisions, there would’ve been no need to take such a risk.
“Sigh… our captain’s luck, let’s not mention it. He got the A-class mission and immediately gave up.” An injured team member who had been eliminated spoke.
“Luck is also a strength. There’s no choice, our team’s luck was also poor. Midway through fighting the leader bug, we had suddenly entered the strange gravity zone. Sigh…”
“No worries, once we’ve recovered, everybody, let’s drive our mecha and kill them all!” Fatty proudly said.
“Fatty, why are you still here? You should have been discharged.”
The head nurse who had passed by the door heard the voice of Fatty, and angrily stormed in.
“Sister Leah, I still feel that my chest is tight, especially when you are glaring at me. I can’t breathe…”
Fatty clutched his chest as if he was about to die.
“Impossible, yesterday you used the same trick on me…”
“Just let him stay here and lift our injured spirits, since the Solar System team also had a close shave.”
A young nurse who was standing outside the door said before winking at Fatty. Only the heavens knew what had happened within these two days of time. Fatty and her had actually developed such a close relationship.
Ever since this Fatty had recovered, the surroundings had also brightened up.
Woong~~ Woong~~~
Just as the head nurse was deliberating, a piercing siren rang from the training grounds.
Immediately, the room quietened down.
Beep~~~
After the siren, was a long series of beeping noises.
This was an emergency alarm, requesting everyone to assemble.
The new round of the IG competition, after three full days of rest, had restarted once again. Fatty’s Skylink had received a mail. The second stage was about to begin, and all members were to assemble.
At this point, Fatty leapt up from his bed. There was no time to fool around anymore, else Lear would really kill him.
“Beautiful Sis, I’ll be back soon!”
Luo Fei threw on his clothes and rushed back. However, he could not avoid the iron fist of the head nurse, which struck his shoulder. “You little punk, stop coming back! I don’t want to see you here anymore!”
“Fatty, stop acting already.”
“You bastard, you promised to give me the Skylink number of the hottest woman on Mars. If you don’t come back, I’ll draw circles and curse you to death!”
The shouts of those scoundrels had a hint of envy within. However, the rest were only able to lie in bed, with disappointment evident in their eyes.
On the star base training grounds.
It was humongous, and could only be described as a ‘great shore’. The huge space in here was able to accommodate at least fifty mecha fighting side by side, without getting into each other’s way.
At this moment, there was an entire mech division here. The hundreds of gleaming mechs, arranged neatly on the training ground, exuded a dense killing aura.
Matching with the mechs, the infantry divisions of the two marine divisions were fully armed to the teeth, and the full range of Aslan’s advanced equipment was deployed. Twenty thousand people were arranged here, a large mass of darkness, similar to that of a dark cloud in the sky.
Akerlof appeared, and his silver hair was particularly glaring under the light. “Soldiers from all over the galaxy, first of all, congratulations on passing the previous round of tests, which means that you have good judgment skills and team strength. The next round of tests is regarding your personal strength.”
His voice fell, and with a clap, the buzzing sounds of everyone’s Skylinks rang out. All of them had automatically displayed a time: “6:00:00”.
What was this? Evening 6 o’clock? Or morning?
Everyone’s gazed back at the silver-haired general on the stage.
“In front of you are the Seventh Marines Division and the Nineteenth Marines Division of Aslan, and the Third Armored Division of Aslan. These three armies have made outstanding achievements in Aslan and have brought us glory.”
Boom, the marines saluted in response to the general’s speech. The uniform movements let out a roar of thunder. It was not something ordinary military men could match up to.
However, this did not bring a shock to the participants present. They all had a sense of superiority in their hearts. After all, they were elites of other countries, and did not belong to Aslan. Only… why were they doing all this? Don’t tell me it was a group battle???
“Now, they will be your opponents. From this time onwards, you have six hours to hide yourselves. After six hours, the will set off and commence the search operation. The amount of time you can stay hidden will be your score. When everything has ended, the points of each team will be totaled. The ten teams with the lowest score will be eliminated. If there are missing members on your team, there is only one choice. The rest of the team have to make up the difference!”
Akerlof’s words led to a whisper amongst the crowd. Lear and the other’s expressions were also dazed for a moment. With Wang Zheng absent, they had to share the burden. There wasn’t much to say, only that they had not expected such a test. If they had listened to Lear in the first stage and abandoned them one at a time, even if they had cleared then, they would still be goners in this round.
However, it was not time to argue who was in the wrong or right. How to win this round was the key.
The countdown started: 5:57…5:50…..
With 98 teams, more than a thousand people rushed out. Time was of the essence, so they would run as far as their limits would allow. While the marines on the other side all had stern expressions on their faces, their glares frosty.