This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 186 The True Purpose of the Combined Fleet: Hidden Star Pirates
After thinking for a moment, Li Ming asked again: "Asmara is the commander?"

Ford nodded. "The combined fleet has Asmara as the commander-in-chief and my father, Prince Baijan, as the deputy commander. It has assembled fleets from thirty-two civilizations."

"They are all acquaintances." Li Ming couldn't help but sigh, "Are you going there to collect military merits?"

Ford's face darkened. "My military theory is at least full marks. What do you mean by fake military merit?"

Military merit is the most valuable merit and is the one that can easily lead to exceptional promotion.

However, the Silver Cluster has been peaceful in recent years, with almost no major wars, making it difficult to gain military merit.

Perhaps out of guilt, he added: "This time, we took the opportunity to launch a crackdown on the Torch Organization. Many people wanted to join the Combined Fleet and gain some credit."

"But I am different from them. I have experience in command."

Hearing this, Li Ming did not argue with him, but just said perfunctorily: "Hmm..."

Seeing Li Ming's perfunctory attitude, Ford felt depressed and couldn't help but said, "I'm not kidding you. My sandbox simulation results are ranked third in the three previous sessions."

Although he is a young man, Ford rarely has a competitive spirit. Even if there is a royal child like Isius who is better than him, he rarely proves anything in front of the other party.

Because the other party can mobilize more resources than him, it is natural that they are more powerful than him.

But facing Li Ming, it’s a little different. This kid is too rebellious. He has always been defeated and always wants to get back at others. He doesn’t want to be looked down upon.

"Awesome, awesome..." Li Ming nodded and asked, "How long will it take for the combined fleet to reach the Land of the Stars?"

Ford shook his head unhappily, "I don't know either."

Facing Li Ming's calm eyes, Ford dodged subconsciously, and forced himself to straighten his chest, "I really don't know. The goal of the joint fleet is not to clear out the Land of Stars, but the Torch Organization."

"And right now, there is no accurate intelligence proving that the Torch Organization's headquarters is in the Land of the Stars."

"We do control a lot of the Torch Organization's outer bases. We must first clean up those bases and complete the deterrence of the Silver Star Cluster. Only after we are sure that we cannot find the headquarters will we head to the Land of the Stars."

Li Ming was thoughtful. The target of the joint fleet was the Torch Organization, or more accurately, to make up for the damage caused by the Torch Organization to the Itlan civilization.

This fleet will obviously continue to show off its power for a long time and only complete its military, strategic and political goals.

"By the way, the Torch Organization has been in contact with the Great Mechanic recently, and seems to be building something. You may be able to start from this aspect and find the headquarters of the Torch Organization." Li Ming mentioned this matter and didn't mind causing some trouble for the Torch Organization.

"We know about this as well." Ford's eyes flickered as he sighed, "However, the master mechanics that the Torch Organization has contacted are not from the Silver Star Cluster, so it is difficult for us to ask them to cooperate."

Li Ming thought for a moment and asked again: "I can confirm that a great mechanic has been invited and is currently in the Land of Stars. Do you want to contact him?"

"Oh?" Ford became excited. "Who?"

"Jessiah..." Li Ming uttered a name, and Ford seemed familiar with it. He immediately said, "Silver Meteor, Mechanical Knight of Fire, Great Mechanic—Jessiah?"

Li Ming was confused for a moment. What the hell is this? Such a long string?
"He actually accepted the invitation from the Torch Organization." Ford obviously didn't know this news, and couldn't help but frowned: "Plus, the Torch has already invited three great mechanics, what on earth do they want to do?"

"Ah..." Ford sighed again, "You may not know that the reason why Jessiah embarked on the path of mechanical transformation was because of us."

"The Knight of Fire is bathing in the fire of our Itlan. It is basically impossible to come into contact with him."

At this point, he quickly glanced at Li Ming and said, "It is very difficult to locate the Torch Organization's headquarters, unless there are mechanics working together from inside and outside, maybe it can be done."

"The Torch Organization is also coveting you. We are a common enemy."

Li Ming narrowed his eyes, "What exactly do you want to say?"

"Has your teacher, the great mechanic, accepted the invitation?" Ford asked tentatively.

Li Ming laughed, "So that's the idea. I won't hide it from you. My teacher did receive an invitation, but he was not interested in getting involved with the Torch Organization and declined."

"Rejected?" Ford was a little surprised, and couldn't help but sigh: "It seems that your mechanics teacher is very powerful. He can even ignore the Sublimator Ruins."

Ascendant ruins?
Li Ming's heart moved slightly. What Ford meant was that the mechanical masters who were invited would be able to come into contact with the Ascender ruins?
The Torch Organization probably isn't that kind and would share it for free.

What they need made by the great mechanic may be the key to entering the ruins, Li Ming guessed, thoughtfully. No wonder it can attract so many great mechanics.

If that was the case... the beam of light that had just hit the planet seemed to have struck Li Ming's mind, and a sharp light flashed across his eyes.
"Is your combined fleet making such a big fuss really just for the Torch Organization?"

Ford's face froze slightly, and then quickly calmed down, "What do you mean?"

Li Ming stared at Ford: "You don't want to use the power of the entire Silver Star Cluster to help you obtain the Ascendant Ruins?"

Fuck, Ford cursed inwardly, how did this bastard guess it again?

"What a good plan." Li Ming became more and more certain that his guess was correct.

The death of Isius gave Itlan a legitimate reason to assemble a joint fleet. Although they were the only dominant civilization, the power of other civilizations should not be underestimated.

There is nothing more appropriate than using other people's power to do your own things.

"Alas..." Ford neither admitted nor denied it, but just sighed: "You really shouldn't have left. If you leave, not only Asmara, but also my father and the senior members of the royal family will be very dissatisfied with you."

He felt more and more regretful. If Li Ming were in the Itlan civilization, he would have achieved great things.

"Your teacher can hardly protect himself."

Li Ming chuckled, "There is no right or wrong. I am not you. They will not train me unconditionally."

Ford shook his head. This was an unsolvable contradiction. It was impossible for Itlan to cultivate an uncontrollable A-level life form.

On the screen, Ford's eyes moved slightly, and he gestured outside the screen, and then said half-jokingly and half-seriously:
"Let's leave it at that for now. When the coalition forces head to the Land of All Stars, I will notify you to leave as soon as possible. It would be bad if we meet on the battlefield."

Before the screen went out, the last thing Ford saw was the ambiguous smile on Li Ming's face.

"The combined fleet will have to wait for a while, which is good news." Li Ming thought to himself, "However, the collectors are wrong in their estimation. This time, the combined fleet will not leave easily."

He shook his head, drank a tube of development potion, and continued to develop the gene seeds. Under the power of [Gene Warrior], various evolution theories worked together in his cells, and flames and green air currents surrounded his body.

Although his development speed was already fast enough, he still felt it was not enough. "It would be great if it could reach 100% directly." He sighed to himself. He had been looking for something that could directly or indirectly improve the development progress, but there were too few such things.

Early the next morning, Li Ming heard a noise coming from outside. He pushed the door open and walked out, his eyes changing a little.

Between the floating islands, more than a dozen slender spaceships were seen heading towards the trading island. They were obviously a standard fleet, with a flag painted with an upside-down dagger with a black pupil at the end.

"Night Eyes Mercenary Group..." Li Ming frowned slightly. This is another big force in the Land of Stars. Their territory is far away from the floating island, and it is usually difficult to see them.

They are different from the Star Hunters. They are mainly employed by large forces and civilizations, and sometimes even accept war-level employment.

The overall strength should be among the stars, the most capable, and all the players under his command are managed in a militarized manner.

The patrolling soldiers nearby pointed at it and looked quite surprised.

"They are actually from Night Eyes. I may not even see them for a few months, but this time they came in such a big way."

"There is an agreement among the major forces of the Power of Stars that they are not allowed to enter other people's territory at will. This time, something big must be going on."

Li Ming opened the local network of the smart terminal and saw many people discussing this matter. Li Ming soon found the reason.

"It is said that the guy who robbed the Night Eyes Mercenary Group of valuables has not been found yet. The Night Eyes boss is anxious and asked the other major forces in the Land of Stars to join forces to search for him."

"That thing..." Li Ming recalled that a few days ago, the news that the Night Eye Mercenary Group had lost something caused a sensation.

He paid a little attention to it. A-level life form took action personally, but still couldn't find it?
"I don't know what was lost, and it seems quite urgent." Li Ming muttered, but didn't take it to heart. He turned around and went back to develop genetic seeds.

However, to his surprise, within a few hours, the collector arrived.

Ulrich looked at the mechanical bodies working on the floating island with calm eyes. He didn't care what the other party was doing on the floating island, as long as it completed what he needed.

"Mr. Collector." Li Ming came out to greet him and noticed the bearded man behind Ulrich wearing blue heavy combat armor with the Nighteye logo on it.

Ulrich nodded and followed Li Ming to the simple reception room. He then pointed at the bearded man and introduced him: "This is the captain of the Night Eyes Mercenary Group - Lelian."

"Your Excellency Leilian." Li Ming greeted him, and Leilian responded in a muffled voice: "Your Excellency Qinglong."

Ulrich said, "He came here this time mainly because Nighteyes lost something. Their leader, Theo, was very worried and asked me to help investigate. We have some friendship."

"Sir Lelian, you don't think the thief is here, do you?" Li Ming frowned slightly.

Ulrich shook his head. "That's not the case. I promised to help them investigate. The port has already issued an order. The most important thing now is to determine whether the thief is hiding inside."

Lei Lian said in a deep voice: "Please ask Lord Qinglong to ask everyone on this island to come here."

Li Ming frowned even deeper. Was he going to take off the mimicry mask?

Were they really lost things, or could Ulrich have been unable to resist determining their origins?

Ulrich added, "We just need their blood for comparison."

"Blood comparison?" Li Ming thought for a moment and said, "Okay."

Then he called Yaluo and Kai over, and asked each of them to squeeze out a drop of blood for comparison on the instrument.

Lei Lian looked up, confirmed that he was not the target, and his eyes fell on Li Ming again.

"He doesn't need it. I can guarantee it." Ulrich took the initiative to say, and Li Ming was slightly surprised.

Leilian hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure there are only these two people on the floating island?"

"That's right." Li Ming nodded. Yaluo and Kai didn't know what to do yet, so they were cautious and alert.

Lelian walked out, as if he wanted to thoroughly inspect the entire floating island.

“What a big fuss…” Li Ming asked Yaluo and the other man to leave and asked Ulrich to sit down.

Ulrich smiled, "After all, something is lost. The leader of Nighteyes, Gray Eyes - Theo, has a very bad temper."

"What was lost?" Li Ming asked with a little curiosity. Something that could make an A-level life form so anxious must be something extraordinary.

"It's just a small thing, not worth mentioning." Ulrich had no intention of explaining further. Instead, he gloated over the misfortune: "This time Theo finally got into trouble. A B-level lifeform stole the things and ran away."

Li Ming was not surprised to learn that it was a B-level life form that did it. If it was an A-level life form, it would have run away or fought a violent fight instead of hiding.

"Then this B-level life form should be very powerful." Li Ming agreed.

Ulrich continued, "Yes, this B-level life form is extremely good at camouflage and is extremely fast. None of the B-level life forms of the Night Eyes Mercenaries can catch up with him."

"Oh?" Li Ming frowned, "There shouldn't be many people like this."

"Indeed, there are not many. It is said that it is the hidden star thief, Celad. He is active in the Sophia star cluster. He is a loner with extremely high stealing skills and has committed many crimes." Ulrich said:
"The biggest incident before was the theft of the Gutria Crystal Diamond. His gene seed is biased towards speed, and the B-level gene seed is the rare [Quantum Light Shadow Lizard]."

"Quantum light and shadow lizard?" Li Ming felt that it sounded familiar.

"You know that too?" Ulrich caught the change in Li Ming's expression and continued:

"It is the natural spy race that was exterminated by the Itlan civilization and several other advanced civilizations. Using their genes to modulate gene seeds, we can perform mimicry and camouflage."

"At least, judging from the appearance alone, it is difficult for A-level life forms to see through it, and ordinary detection equipment is useless. It is quite powerful. Many of Yitlan's ace agents have integrated it."

After wiping out the entire clan, they made it into genetic seeds. Tsk… Li Ming sighed inwardly.

While they were talking, Lelian had almost finished the search and was sure that no suspect was found.

After returning, he specifically reminded Li Ming: "Mr. Qinglong, I see that you have a lot of precious metal materials here. It's best to put them away and be careful not to lose them."

Li Ming thanked him for his reminder. He thought Ulrich would leave too, but the collector stayed. After watching Lelian leave, he seemed to have something to say.

(End of this chapter)