This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 196: Li Ming's initiative, Theo's confusion, Ulrich's bewilderment, each with their own agenda
As time went by, Li Ming still didn't come back, and Theo became more and more suspicious: "Did this guy really run away?"

Even if I left for a short time to do something secretive, I should be back by now.

He could only think of the possibility that the other party had already run away, and his face turned ugly: "Ulrich is such an idiot, leaving him here like this, leaking like a sieve."

Having said that, if the other party is under strict guard, he will have no chance to take action.

But now, the chance for Torch to help him was gone, so Theo was naturally angry. He snorted coldly and disappeared.

……

In the collector's castle.

"That batch of goods was intercepted?" Ulrich looked serious as he looked at Hotan who came forward to report.

"Well, a magnetic storm covering several galaxies appeared on the Poseidon Grand Channel. As a last resort, the transport ships had to change their route to the ice flow route..."

Ulrich looked grim. “Ice Stream Channel? Isn’t that a channel within the Lasos Star Cluster? The Inquisitor Civilization will definitely not let us pass through easily.”

“I gave the order a few days ago, what happened to Susilo!?”

Huo Tan was helpless: "There is no way. When the order was issued, they were already in the ice flow channel. The Inquisitor civilization has intercepted our people."

"You see?"

Ulrich said coldly: "I have already told them that the man with golden pupils is already in the hands of the Interstellar Alliance. I don't want to offend either of them."

"The Judge Civilization is holding me back, damn it!"

"Dust-Shining Alloy is extremely rare. If this batch of goods is not delivered, I don't know if there will be enough materials." Ulrich hesitated.

"The laboratory has been almost built, and all the materials are in place. There is no need to prepare everything thoroughly before inviting Master Qinglong Mechanic to come?" Huo Tan said cautiously, "Why not let him do the preliminary preparations first?"

Ulrich remained silent. Of course, there was no need to prepare. If he let that guy come, he could even force him to come over directly.

But mechanical repair is a high-precision job. He can force the other party to come, but he cannot force them to work.

Moreover, the current situation is not the same as what he had expected. This Azure Dragon is too mysterious.

Originally, he thought that this man was just a great mechanic who came to the Land of Stars by chance, and he was quite excited.

Later it was confirmed that this man was an exiled great mechanic who had been in countless troubles and had all kinds of unheard-of skills. He was so mysterious that even he was a little frightened, causing him to gradually become hesitant.

If I get too involved with him, what would I do if some powerful life forms come knocking on my door?

Moreover, this guy was quite arrogant and had no fear of him at all. In the previous few confrontations, he was usually at a disadvantage.

It was completely different from his behavior when he first met the other person, which made him feel uneasy.

During this period, he even vaguely suspected that this Qinglong had learned from somewhere that he possessed the [Matter Reorganization Device], so he deliberately contacted him.

A combination of various factors led to him having many concerns and deliberately delaying time, but the crisis of the Combined Fleet was approaching step by step, leaving him in a dilemma.

"Master, are you worried?" Hortan had followed Ulrich for many years and had noticed some clues during this time.

Ulrich frowned.

Huo Tan whispered, "Master, you think too much. No matter what, you are an A-level life form. When you follow the Star King and occupy the land of stars alone, danger will follow you like a shadow."

Sometimes Ulrich is too cautious, thinks too much, and tends to be hesitant.

"Your Excellency Qinglong, after all, I am only a B-level life form, and I still have to rely on you."

"Maybe there were times when you had to back off due to other considerations, but he never refused to repair items."

Ulrich was silent, and then said sadly, "Yes, I have lived in comfort for too long. I am not even as good as Sandro."

A sharp light flashed in his eyes, "Let's go, I hope he will know what's best for him."

Ulrich seemed to have thought it through, and Hortan nodded and followed behind.

As soon as he left the hall, the collector's eyes moved slightly, and when he looked up, he saw Theo's figure falling from the sky.

He really didn't like other people flying around. Ulrich frowned slightly, but quickly calmed down, "Are you going out?"

"Well, my subordinates reported that there was a clue about Serrad, so I went out to take a look." Theo responded simply, his face not looking too good.

"What do you mean?" Ulrich became interested.

"It's no use." Theo said vaguely, said a few perfunctory words and was about to go back.

However, when he passed by Ulrich, he seemed to have thought of something, "Are you going out?"

"Well, there are some urgent matters that need to be taken care of." Ulrich said vaguely.

Theo's grey pupils flickered with a faint silver glow, and he asked, "Can you take me to meet Qinglong?"

Ulrich's eyes flashed sharply, "You want to see him?"

"I want to create another A-level weapon and ask for his opinion." Theo had a good reason.

Ulrich hesitated, his tail swishing behind him, and after a moment he said, "He is on that floating island. You can go there anytime. No need to ask me."

Theo shook his head: "After all, he is your subordinate, so it is better to go through you."

Ulrich's expression softened, and he thought, "I just happened to be going to look for him too, let's go together."

Theo looked a little surprised, and the two of them tacitly did not mention the perfunctory conversation they had just had, and followed Ulrich onto the aircraft.

"The collector knows him better and should be able to confirm whether he has escaped or not." Theo was still unwilling to accept the result.

At the edge of the floating island, at a small dock, a group of people got off the aircraft.

Ulrich always landed from the dock of the floating island and walked over on foot. He never landed directly in the center of the floating island.

Halfway through the journey, Ulrich frowned slightly. The instinct of a higher life form made him feel that something was not right.

Stopping and looking around, metal scraps were piled up everywhere. The floating island had become a garbage dump, and several rooms could be vaguely seen among the metal wreckage.

"What's wrong?" Theo stopped and asked, looking confused.

"Nothing, just a very strange feeling." Ulrich shook his head, not knowing where that feeling came from.

Until they arrived at Li Ming's studio, Huo Tan went to knock on the door and then stood aside.

Theo was thinking in his heart, Ulrich always thought that this person was under his control, it was probably hard to imagine that the other party could come and go freely here.

I hope the other party hasn't left the Land of Stars. Ulrich will definitely block his territory in anger. If he hasn't left, there may still be a chance.

But Theo didn't have much hope. The other party had disappeared for more than ten hours and probably left completely.

After a while, the door opened and Li Ming poked his head out, looking quite surprised. "Mr. Collector?"

Ulrich nodded slightly, but inexplicably felt that everything was normal, yet also seemed a little abnormal.

Theo, who was standing at the back, suddenly had his pupils shrink. He looked at Li Ming who opened the door and walked out in disbelief, with a storm in his heart.

He is back! ?

When did he come back? He came back just after I left? What a coincidence?
Theo found it hard to understand. It wouldn't take him too long to return to the floating island from here. Although he deliberately made a detour to cover up his flight traces, it would only take him about ten to twenty minutes.

He spent nearly ten hours here and didn't wait for this guy. As a result, he came back just during the time he was flying back?

Theo didn't believe it. Of course, he had an even more incredible guess, which was that the other party had been staying in the room, but he didn't notice.

But this is almost impossible.

Various thoughts intertwined in his mind, and he could not come to a specific conclusion.

"Sir Theo is here too?" Li Ming looked at Theo from behind and said with surprise.

After all, as an A-level life form, he had calmed down after a moment and nodded slightly.

"Please come in." Li Ming moved sideways, and no clues could be seen. He held a spray gun in one hand and a welding gun in the other.

After Theo came in, he felt more and more like vomiting blood. He had been here for ten hours and was tired of it.

Li Ming seemed to be repairing the light golden armor, which made Theo feel confused. Was this really the place he came from before?
Ulrich frowned slightly. What on earth is going on here?

The feeling that something was wrong grew stronger in his heart, and he looked around, but couldn't put his finger on it.

"Sorry, this is a studio, there's not much room to sit, please forgive me." Li Ming said embarrassedly, put down the spray gun in his hand, and before the two of them could speak, he took the lead and said:
"Mr. Collector, I was just about to look for you, but I didn't expect you to be here first."

"Looking for me?" Ulrich was surprised and swallowed back the words he was about to say.

"Yeah..." Li Ming frowned and said, "I don't know why, but I've had a bad feeling in my heart these past two days. I always feel like someone is going to do something to me."

"So, can I move into your castle? It will be convenient for my restoration work..."

Ulrich was stunned. Before he could say anything, Li Ming took the initiative to ask to move over?

Li Ming couldn't say it clearly because Theo was here, but Ulrich understood that what the other party was talking about was the work of repairing the [Matter Reorganization Fabricator].

He had thought of many things to say, but in the end he didn't say a single word.

Although it met his expectations, he was not happy at all.

Taking the initiative to ask means that the other party is not afraid.

Ulrich knew that there was one thing he and the other party had always kept in tacit agreement, which was what the great mechanic should do after repairing the [Matter Reorganization Fabricator].

This thing is Ulrich's biggest secret, and he doesn't want more people to know about it.

Killing is the best choice.

He believed that the other party must have thought about it, but he was still so proactive. Could it be...

Ulrich had all kinds of speculations and shook his head secretly. His old problem came back again. When the time comes, he will put it under his nose and set up surveillance everywhere. He doesn't believe that the other party can make any waves.

Theo was full of doubts and looked at Li Ming. He took the initiative to move into the castle?
With Ulrich around, he couldn't act arbitrarily, but this was too sudden.

Because of a bad feeling?
This reason sounds a bit ridiculous. Could it be that he found out that someone had been to his studio?

Theo couldn't figure it out, and this feeling of being unable to figure it out made him feel very uncomfortable.

The three men had ulterior motives. Although Li Ming remained calm on the surface, he had already cursed Theo eight hundred times in his heart.

I don't know what made this guy want to do this to him. He is not afraid of thieves stealing, but he is afraid of thieves thinking about it.

Li Ming often plays the role of a thief, so he naturally understands the logic behind it and prepares to find a safer place.

As for the repair work of Star King's body, Li Ming didn't care. He had been paralyzed for so many years, it didn't matter if he was paralyzed for a while longer. Nothing was more important than his own safety.

"That's fine..." Ulrich said reluctantly, "Then when are you going to go? Do you want to pack up?"

"There's nothing to pack up now." Li Ming said immediately.

More anxious than me?
Just because of a premonition in your heart, you are more cautious than me?

Ulrich was even more puzzled and felt more and more baffled, but he could not find a reason to refuse. He could only let Li Ming go back with them, and at the same time packed some materials and items, including the light gold armor and several mechanical bodies.

Along the way, Theo pretended to ask about some information about A-level weapons, and Li Ming answered in detail and gave various suggestions.

After returning to the castle, Ulrich still felt strange and asked Hortan to arrange a room for him while he went to take care of some things.

"The guest rooms are on the third floor... the fourth floor is the cafeteria..." Huo Tan introduced along the way.

Li Ming interrupted: "Sir Theo and Sandro are both on the third floor?"

Huo Tan nodded: "Yes."

"Which floor is Mr. Ulrich on?" Li Ming asked.

"Seventh floor." Huo Tan didn't quite understand.

"Does he have a room next door?"

Huotan was disheveled and shook his head blankly: "No, the entire floor belongs to Sir Ulrich."

"What about the sixth floor?" Li Ming asked again.

"The sixth floor is where we live," said Huo Tan.

"Then let's go to the sixth floor. We are all family. How can I live in the guest room?" Li Ming said immediately.

Huo Tan hesitated for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "Okay, I'll have someone clean up a room as soon as possible."

"What about the fifth floor?" Li Ming followed Huo Tan into the elevator, but found that there was no option for the fifth floor on the elevator page.

"This..." Huo Tan hesitated, his old face full of embarrassment.

Li Ming said dissatisfiedly: "We are all family, what can't you tell me?"

Our own people… Huo Tan complained inwardly and explained: “The fifth floor is the workshop, and some mechanics work here.”

"Oh?" Li Ming's eyes lit up and he became interested. "Can you take me to see it?"

Huo Tan felt a toothache and said he wanted to ask Ulrich. After the call, he said, "Please follow me."

The elevator stopped on the fourth floor. Li Ming followed him to a metal door at the end of the metal corridor. After various tests, it slowly opened a gap with a buzzing sound.

After entering, there is a staircase going upwards. The floor and walls are all silver-white with almost no gaps. The smell of rusted metal hits you in the face.

After going up the stairs, there is an extremely large open space with a large number of workbenches arranged in a regular pattern. The harsh friction sounds, sparks, and noisy discussions are heard all the time, just like a large factory.

The air was still filled with heat waves from the high-temperature smelting.

"Lord Hotan..." A tiny guy came jogging over. He was shorter than a dwarf, only reaching Li Ming's knees. His skin was dark green, his eyes were huge, and his head was bald, like a goblin.

With a flattering smile on his face, "Why didn't you tell me in advance? Does the collector have any instructions?"

"Brown, this is the great mechanic, His Excellency Qinglong. I'm here to show him around." Huo Tan pointed at Li Ming.

(End of this chapter)