"Dear President, welcome to the Western Continent Institute of Science and Technology for your inspection. I'm the person in charge here, and also the director, Sun Xingxue."
The elderly man strode toward Lin Lan, warmly introduced himself, and firmly shook Lin Lan's hand.
"Hello, Elder Sun. Thank you for your hard work in research."
Since the man was clearly much older than him and his attire made it obvious he was a professional researcher, Lin Lan responded with a polite smile.
Proper manners should always be observed.
His identity as a "president" had been given to him by Jian Qian'ou, and that sly old fox certainly wouldn't expose his true identity as the Führer so easily.
Therefore, Lin Lan felt there was nothing wrong with addressing the other party this way.
But to Sun Xingxue, hearing this young president call him "Elder Sun" made him perk up with renewed energy.
He didn't show it outwardly, though. Instead, he looked at Agir and Akashi behind Lin Lan and curiously asked:
"President, may I ask who these four young ladies are?"
"Oh, they're my shipgirls. I'm also the commander of a naval port under the Navy Department."
Shipgirls were, after all, far more beautiful than ordinary humans—so much so that they seemed almost otherworldly.
Even if Lin Lan hid their identities, a professional researching cube technology and ship equipment like Sun Xingxue would easily be able to guess.
So Lin Lan didn't bother hiding it. His role as a commander didn't conflict with being the president of the Western Continent Institute of Science and Technology.
"You're with the Navy Department? Then does that mean Tian'ou Group is finally going to cooperate with your side… Ahem, excellent, excellent!"
If Lin Lan hadn't explained, it might have been fine. But now that he had, Sun Xingxue couldn't help but break into an excited smile.
The elderly man suddenly looked ten years younger, even his tone losing the earlier seriousness.
But he quickly adjusted his demeanor and composed himself.
He stepped aside, revealing the tall, skinny man with glasses behind him, and introduced:
"President, this is my prized student, Researcher Tian Ming.
He specializes in cube-tech mechas and is probably at the forefront of this field in the Oran United States."
"Xiao Tian, come greet the president. Xiao Tian?"
Sun Xingxue waited for a while but noticed Tian Ming didn't respond.
Turning his head, he saw Tian Ming staring wide-eyed at Lin Lan as if he had seen a ghost.
"Xiao Tian! What are you daydreaming about!"
Sun Xingxue frowned and barked, causing Tian Ming to shudder as if he had just snapped out of a trance.
Then Tian Ming quickly forced a smile, scratched the back of his head, and awkwardly said to Lin Lan, Sui Qiong, and the other shipgirls:
"S-Sorry, I'm Researcher Tian Ming. It's an honor to meet you, President Lin, and the esteemed shipgirls."
"Hm? Xiao Tian, how do you know the president's surname is Lin? Have you met him before?"
Hearing this, Sun Xingxue immediately cast a suspicious glance at his student.
"Ah—no, I haven't, I, I..."
Even though it was winter and the cold wind felt like knives cutting across the face, sweat was already beading on Tian Ming's forehead.
His words became panicked and incoherent.
Especially under the gazes of the two tall, beautiful shipgirls, Tian Ming felt as though all his secrets were being exposed, making it hard even to breathe.
Of course, Tian Ming remembered the name of this young commander from the Navy Department.
Because during the first field test of the three cube-powered mechas he developed, they were all defeated by this very Lin Lan!
With the resources of Battleaxe Military, Dongyun City's regional agent Zhu Mobo had long since dug up Lin Lan's name and identity.
Otherwise, Ye Zhanke wouldn't have suddenly ordered one of the two special forces teams heading to seize Lihu County to turn around and attack the port area.
Of course, both special forces teams were completely annihilated in Lihu County by Prince Ruprecht, and Battleaxe Military suffered another bitter loss.
After that, Zhu Mobo seemed to lose his mind and abruptly ordered Tian Ming to focus solely on repairing the Overlord Mecha, with no time to pursue Lin Lan further.
Tian Ming himself had almost entirely put the incident behind him, devoting all his attention to the monumental task of repairing the Overlord Mecha.
Seeing Tian Ming seemingly too scared to speak, Sun Xingxue began to piece things together.
He sighed deeply and helplessly looked toward Lin Lan:
"President, it seems there may have been some... past grievances between you and Xiao Tian..."
"He did commit several foolish acts while working for Battleaxe Military.
Now that he fully understands his mistakes, I will make sure he is severely punished. I beg you, please spare his life..."
From Sun Xingxue's plea, Lin Lan learned that Tian Ming used to work for the Battleaxe Military.
Considering he specialized in cube-tech mechas, Lin Lan instantly figured out who Tian Ming really was.
Back when he first arrived in Dongyun City, he had offended a proxy of the local coast guard, and at the docks, he, Deutschland, and Graf Spee were attacked by three highly mobile mechas.
Lin Lan had already suspected that those mechas were powered by cube technology developed by Battleaxe Military.
Although the three mechas were easily destroyed by Deutschland and Graf Spee, their speed and combat capabilities left a deep impression on Lin Lan.
This Tian Ming was likely the very person who created those three mechas.
With that in mind, Lin Lan walked expressionlessly toward Tian Ming, who was trembling under the deadly gazes of Ulrich and Agir, looking pale and terrified.
Sun Xingxue raised his hand to stop Lin Lan.
Seeing the fear on Tian Ming's face, he guessed his student must have deeply offended this president in the past.
Now, it seemed that assumption was true.
But in the end, Sun Xingxue let his hand drop weakly, closed his eyes, and turned his face away, unwilling to watch his student be killed by this man.
Yes, in the Zhuhai Commerce Council, a person of the president's rank could kill an ordinary person without consequence.
At that level, high-ranking corporate officials had authority that surpassed even the Tribunal.
Battleaxe Military and Goilia were one thing, but even the Tian'ou Group, which was far more respectable, was no exception.
"M-My lord, President Lin, I was wrong, truly wrong! Please, I beg you, spare my life..."
Tian Ming's pupils shrank as the young commander he had once offended approached with a cold expression. In terror, he wailed and tried to flee.
But despair washed over him when he realized he couldn't even lift his legs.
Under the icy stares of Ulrich and Agir, Tian Ming felt like a lone boat adrift in a sea of blood—utterly suffocated and hopeless.
Lin Lan walked up to the now nearly collapsed Tian Ming and raised his hand.
Then—
Smack.
He slapped Tian Ming hard on the shoulder, causing him to stagger and collapse to his knees in front of Lin Lan.
"What are you so scared of? I never said I was going to settle the score."
Only then did Lin Lan reveal a mischievous grin.
He looked down at the kneeling, gasping Tian Ming—the bespectacled man who had once developed cube-powered mechas for Battleaxe Military—and said:
"Not bad, kid. You even managed to build cube-tech mechas. You've got talent."
That's right—Lin Lan had never intended to kill the guy.
Not only had he already known that Sui Qiong was only able to become a shipgirl after being repaired at Dongyun City's mecha institute…
In a way, Tian Ming had played an irreplaceable role in her birth.
More importantly, Lin Lan's grudge with the Battleaxe Military would soon be completely settled.
At that moment, Battleaxe Military's big boss Ye Zhanke, who was in Haifeng City, was already on the brink of death.
And most crucially, that attack at Dongyun City's docks hadn't caused Lin Lan any real loss—no one was injured, and nothing was damaged.
If it had been like the incident in Lihu County, where thugs rounded up Liao Continent residents from outside the county and injured many, Lin Lan would never have let this guy go.
Being able to research cube-powered mechas using counterfeit cognitive cubes provided by the Sirens—and even repair the Overlord Mecha—Tian Ming was indeed a scientific powerhouse.
Now that he was part of the Tian'ou Group, Lin Lan couldn't be bothered to dig up old grievances. Better to let him redeem himself through future work.
Seeing this, Ulrich and Agir finally turned their gazes away and withdrew their hostility.
"I swear, the Commander's getting more and more devious, nya... But I kinda like it, nya~"
The sly merchant Akashi stared at Lin Lan's back, as if seeing her own reflection, and gave a mischievous grin of her own.
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50 advanced chapters on p@t re on (.) com/SenatusTheta
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