Internal conflict

It was not until evening that a military vehicle drove into the base. Rena led everyone in jumping out, while Lin Ran was already feasting in the dining hall.

"Damn! Brother Ran, skipping training is one thing, but you didn't even wait for us to eat!"

"Exactly! Brother Ran, take us out for skewers! I'm sick of eating this stuff at the base every day."

"We still have training tomorrow. Maybe we shouldn't," Xiaolun said hesitantly.

"It won't affect training. We brothers can go have a few drinks and come back early!"

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean? You're going out without us?" Rena stopped eating and demanded fiercely.

"No, no, Sister Rena! You can take the girls shopping! What's so fun about tagging along with a bunch of grown men?"

"Tch, let's see how you get there if Lin Ran won't go with you. Qilin, keep your man in line!"

"Hey! Brother Ran, you can't be afraid of your wife! We're men-we've got to be the masters of our households!"

"All right, all right, I'll take you out, okay? Let me decode your bodies and see if I can transport you."

"Oh, okay!" The three nodded blankly.

[Analyzing Galaxy Power---10%--20%--Analysis failed!]

[Loading Dark One, analyzing---10%--20%--30--40%--Analysis failed!]

Lin Ran tried Liu Chuang and Zhao Xin as well. He could compute fifty percent of their bodies; it seemed Xiaolun's body really was more complicated to transport.

"I can't complete the calculations. Come on, let's go get skewers."

Lin Ran swiped a card, and the base gates slowly opened. Everyone dashed out in a flash.

"Let's go! They can get skewers. We'll shop first, then get skewers!"

"Skewers are fine, but I don't have any money left for shopping," Qiangwei said, looking warily at Rena.

"I have money. Spend mine."

"Huh? Weren't you a police officer before? How much could a police officer earn?"

"No, Lin Ran just gave it to me. Several tens of millions."

"Several tens of millions! Did Lin Ran go rob a bank this afternoon? Whatever, who cares! As long as we have money! Let's go spend it!"

With a cheer, Rena took the three women on a wild spending spree. Qilin did not feel the pinch either. Lin Ran had already told her to spend as she pleased!

The four men drank enough beer and liquor to leave bottles strewn across the ground. After returning to the base, Lin Ran fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

Over a month later, Su Xiaoli and the other members of the Super Soldier Company's second batch arrived as well. Lin Ran had even made their dark alloy armor for them; otherwise, they would have had to wait a while longer. After all, that antique Deno Three struggled to do anything.

"I'm going back to Flower Fruit Mountain," Monkey Brother said when he came to see him that night.

"All right. Your gene engine is damaged right now. Watch out for those people from Lieyang coming to make trouble for you."

"Don't worry. As long as Pan Zhen doesn't come, the others can't do anything to me."

Watching Monkey Brother disappear into the night sky, Lin Ran could not help sighing. What exactly was the relationship between Su Xiaoli and Monkey Brother? Lovers?

Over half a month later, Lin Ran and the others destroyed another Taotie force attempting a sneak attack. With Lin Ran's help, Qilin also upgraded to a Third Generation Divine Body called the Judgment King Body. This surprised Lin Ran; he had originally thought Qilin's third-generation body would only be at the Super Soldier level.

Still, this worked out nicely. Lin Ran reckoned Kaisa would descend upon Earth soon. He just did not know whether Pipi Xi would come.

Time passed unnoticed, and Lin Ran discovered that Ge Xiaolun and the other two had gotten full of themselves. Perhaps their several victories had made them think the Taotie were nothing special. Rena and Cheng Yaowen had also developed a conflict.

While they were training in the mountains that day, Lin Ran stopped. Ge Xiaolun and the others looked at him in confusion.

"Brother Ran, why did you stop running?"

"You recruits, move farther away," Lin Ran told Su Xiaoli and the others.

"I see you lot are about to soar into the heavens. You don't train properly, and you don't teach the recruits properly either. Do you think you're a cut above everyone else?"

"No, no, Brother Ran. We were wrong, okay?"

"You're only inheritors of the Shenhe Super Gene, not its creators. You know better than anyone what you were like before your genes awakened."

"A few days ago, I saw you two actually dare to ignore those soldiers' orders. They don't have super genes. Their lives are as fragile as paper before those Taotie! Yet you thought you knew best and launched an attack on your own. If I hadn't stepped in in time, do you two know how many soldiers you would have gotten killed?"

"Make your move. Unless you beat me today, I'll make sure you go back missing a few parts," Lin Ran said coldly.

Liu Chuang and the other two exchanged looks, but none of them was willing to attack. A black sword suddenly appeared in Lin Ran's hand. He hurled it, pinning Ge Xiaolun to a large tree.

"Holy shit! Brother Ran, you're serious!"

Liu Chuang and Zhao Xin hurriedly transported their armor and weapons over and stood in front of Ge Xiaolun. Rena and Qilin stood quietly to one side, watching the show.

"Only by defeating me will you get a chance to admit your mistakes."

"Go!" Liu Chuang helped Ge Xiaolun pull the black sword out of his chest, gritted his teeth, and charged.

Lin Ran beckoned, and the dark alloy black sword appeared in his hand again. With one strike, he sent Liu Chuang flying, even knocking his axe away. He then sidestepped Zhao Xin's attack and blasted him away with a punch. Compared with the three of them, Lin Ran's movements looked incomparably fluid, while Ge Xiaolun and the other two seemed clumsy. This was because they were unpracticed in using dark energy. Of course, they also lacked combat experience.

"And you? As Galaxy Power, whom the Super God Academy values most, is this all you can do after training for so long? Can you do anything in battle besides use brute force? Any soldier who inherited a super gene would be a hundred times better than you!"

The wound in Ge Xiaolun's chest slowly healed. He glared angrily at Lin Ran, then charged with his greatsword. Once he reached Lin Ran, Ge Xiaolun shouted "Silence!" That was right-he had already discovered this move.

Unfortunately, Lin Ran's movements did not pause in the slightest-or rather, his pause was too brief. Another sword thrust pierced Ge Xiaolun's body.

"If I were holding my Azure Heaven War Halberd instead of a dark alloy longsword, you would already be dead. Truly dead. Your Invincible Body is only invincible against conventional attacks; you aren't genuinely immortal. If this little bit of strength is enough to make you get full of yourself, I can finish you off personally and spare you from dying at the enemy's hands."

Lin Ran flicked his blade, flinging Ge Xiaolun away. The enormous wound in his chest failed to heal for a long time.

"And you two. The Deno War happened so many years ago, yet you're dragging it up again now. Since you joined the Super Soldier Company, your identity is that of a soldier in the Super Soldier Company, and that is your only identity! You are not the prince of De Star, and she is not the chief god of Lieyang Star. If you still want revenge, leave the Super Soldier Company and get the hell off to some galaxy I can't see to fight it out, so I don't have to be annoyed by the sight of you."

Lin Ran directed these words at Cheng Yaowen, because he had been the one stirring up conflict all this time. He barely acknowledged Rena's orders, and whenever she sought him out, he responded with harsh words.

"Let me be alone for a while." Cheng Yaowen opened his mouth, but in the end, he walked away alone, forlorn.

Rena, Liu Chuang, and the others wanted to go after him, but Lin Ran stopped them. If he could not let go of his hatred, he was no longer suited to staying in the Super Soldier Company.

"You three, write me a five-thousand-character self-criticism each when we get back!"

After they returned this time, Du Kao was surprised to discover that the atmosphere in the Super Soldier Company had changed. The restless arrogance of the preceding days had vanished completely.