Chapter 392: Adversaries

After leaving the office, Long Ming handed the green fluid to Faiken, and the two walked toward the main entrance.

Along the way, the line for registration grew longer and longer, stretching outside the building.

Long Ming watched the line with some emotion. 'I didn't expect it to go so smoothly,' he thought. 'These people will probably be waiting until dark and still not get their turn.'

Soon, the two of them walked out the building's entrance.

Faiken smiled at Long Ming and said,

"Mr. Red Ghost, do you drink tea?"

"Occasionally."

"Then, please accept this box of tea as a gift."

"I can't accept this," Long Ming hurriedly refused. "I've already troubled you so much and haven't had a chance to thank you properly. How could I possibly take something from you?"

"Alright then. I'll see you this far."

Faiken chuckled as he bid farewell to Long Ming.

"Alright."

Long Ming nodded.

Just then, a sudden roar echoed from the sky.

Long Ming and Faiken looked up.

A four-meter-tall machine descended forcefully, leading a squad of Destroyer-class Mechanical Gods. It was a 4th-generation Mechanical God, the Tusked Beast, covered in dark green armor. A four-pointed halo was embedded in its chest, its shoulders were mounted with large-caliber particle cannons, it wielded a giant gray metal blade, and two pairs of mechanical wings were attached to its back.

Immediately after, Fumira, dressed in a lieutenant colonel's uniform, arrived menacingly with his men.

"Damn it."

Long Ming instantly thought, 'This is bad.'

'They're clearly here for me. I'm in trouble this time; I'm cornered.'

"Largun, he's the one who ambushed us!"

Fumira pointed at Long Ming and spoke to the 4th-generation Mechanical God, gritting his teeth.

CLICK!

The helmet of the Tusked Beast Mechanical God split open and folded back, revealing a rugged-faced, middle-aged man with a fierce gaze. He looked at Long Ming and said coldly,

"Kid, you've got some nerve. You dare to touch someone from our Third Legion? Are you tired of living?"

At this moment, the people lining up and those passing by on business were all drawn by the commotion.

"Isn't that Colonel Largun? Why did he bring so many people? What's happening? Who are they trying to arrest?"

"No idea!"

...

Seeing them target Long Ming, Faiken immediately stepped in and questioned them.

"Colonel Largun, what do you think you're doing?"

"Faiken, this has nothing to do with you!"

Colonel Largun replied coldly.

"It has nothing to do with me just because you say so? If there's an issue, state it clearly."

Faiken showed no deference to Largun.

Largun's brow twitched. He was surprised. 'Why would Faiken want to help this Red Ghost?'

Fumira said, infuriated,

"Officer Faiken, this guy ambushed us online! He looted our equipment and weapons!"

"You can clear the field, so why can't I clear you out in return?"

Long Ming retorted icily.

"He has a point. Are you saying you're allowed to kill people, but he's not allowed to kill you?"

Hearing Long Ming's words, Faiken had a good idea of what had happened.

"You!"

Fumira was about to explode with rage.

"Faiken, since when can a lone wolf attack military personnel?"

Largun replied coldly.

"Hold on. I forgot to mention something. Mr. Red Ghost has already enlisted in the Second Legion, so now we're all colleagues."

Faiken said with a smile.

Hearing Faiken's words, Largun said grimly,

"Fine. Even if he is a colleague, are colleagues allowed to attack each other?"

"Stop. He wasn't a colleague *before* he attacked Fumira, so no rules were broken."

Faiken explained with a chuckle.

"Are you exploiting a loophole?"

Largun's expression turned extremely dark.

"I'm just stating the facts."

Faiken replied nonchalantly.

"Fine, we'll take the loss on this one. But return the Mechanical Gods you took!"

Largun said directly to Long Ming.

Faiken was also taken aback. 'Don't tell me this guy actually destroyed all of Fumira's group's Mechanical Gods?'

"Why should I return my spoils of war to you?"

Long Ming's voice was ice-cold as he replied.

"Kid, you're trying to make a mortal enemy, is that it?!"

Largun glared at Long Ming, his face dark.

He hadn't expected this guy to be so disrespectful.

"Stop. Since we can't reach an agreement, let's follow the military's rules. If you meet online, do as you please. But offline, I suggest you behave yourselves."

Faiken said directly to Largun and his men.

"Fine. Just don't let us catch you."

Colonel Largun said grimly.

"However, there is one thing I must remind you of. Mr. Red Ghost is a new recruit, and he has been commissioned as a Second Lieutenant—the highest possible rank."

Faiken spoke the last part slowly, almost one word at a time.

When Largun heard Faiken's words, his expression changed instantly. He turned his head to Fumira and said,

"Let's go!"

Although Fumira was extremely unwilling, he still left with Largun.

However, once they were a distance away, he asked, furious and confused,

"Largun, you're just letting him go like that?"

Largun stopped, looked at Fumira, and replied,

"Fumira, there's nothing I can do about this. You'll probably have to take the loss."

"Why?"

"Didn't you hear he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant? That's the highest rank a new recruit can get, and it can only be approved by the council and the Military Department. Think about it. With your own background and connections, what kind of position could you get? That should tell you just how powerful this guy's backing is!"

"Then what about my Mechanical God?"

Fumira's expression turned incredibly ugly.

"You only have two options now. First, you can pay to buy it back. Second, you can hunt him down online and take back your lost equipment. But I think that's a long shot. Even I'm not confident we could successfully ambush him. You should think it over carefully!"

Largun sighed, patted Fumira's shoulder, and turned to leave.

Fumira watched Largun's retreating back, his hands clenched into fists, knuckles cracking.

...

Meanwhile, Faiken personally escorted Long Ming to the main gate and said politely,

"Mr. Red Ghost, I'll see you this far. If you need help with anything, please don't hesitate to find me."

"Thank you. Goodbye."

With that, Long Ming turned and left without another word.

Faiken watched Long Ming's retreating back with a trace of envy.

This man called Red Ghost had enlisted in the Second Legion with the highest possible starting rank. With his powerful background and immense strength, his future was so bright it was blinding!

...

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「Several days later, inside the Cloud Hotel.」

Long Ming lay on his bed, browsing the Civilization Forum. He was cramming information about the Star Alliance's military system. Before, when he wasn't part of the system, he didn't have to care. But now that he'd joined the Second Legion, he felt he should at least understand the basics.

However, the more he learned, the more uneasy he felt.

The Star Alliance had a total of forty-two legions. The higher the rank, the stronger the legion. The relationships between the various legions were intricate and complex. In short, they were not united, and the relationship between the Second Legion and the Third Legion was particularly poor.

He also looked up information about starting military ranks. The highest starting rank in the Star Alliance was indeed Second Lieutenant. While quite a few people had received this initial rank, 99.9% of them were granted it during mass recruitments approved by the council. Cases of it being granted through special application were almost nonexistent.