This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 324 Rage and Shadow

The figure on the screen was shaking, and there were all kinds of noisy sounds. Nicholas watched with a gloomy expression.

"Such a big scene, could it be that some Forging-level mechanic has arrived?"

"Two great mechanics from the Mechanics Association came out to greet us. They must be extraordinary people..."

"Who is this guy? He seems to be an interstellar human?"

The screen freezes, locking onto one of the figures and then zooming in.

"Li Ming..." He uttered two words.

"Yes, it's him." Albert nodded from behind. "Over the past month, we have discovered some traces one after another. The Twin Peaks node is one of the three most likely hubs for them to go to."

"Preliminary news had come in a day ago, but it was not certain whether it was these few people."

"His identity has been confirmed. There is an 80% chance that he is not in disguise. The people around him have also been found. They are staying at the Yaoxing Hotel and seem to have been welcomed by Austin."

After Qinglong left, they never gave up the search, and Albert was one of the main persons in charge.

Although the speed is a bit slow, I can still find some clues intermittently.

Even without this video, their whereabouts can be confirmed in two days at most. As long as they have not completely left the interstellar society, it is impossible for them to disappear without a trace.

"They do it openly and without any fear. They really don't take us seriously at all." Nicholas' face was grim.

The argument between him and Sathoggua's group was not over yet, and the fight among his men was in full swing, but he did not forget about Qinglong.

In the Ascender Core Ruins incident, Qinglong seemed to have gained nothing after all the trouble he had.

But he didn't believe that the other party had been lying in wait for so long just to show up at the last moment.

Albert hesitated to speak, feeling helpless. "The Empire has not issued a wanted order for Qing Long. The people of Chaos Star Gap are lawless to begin with, so naturally they cannot be feared."

Nicolael also understood and just snorted coldly. Albert quickly said, "In addition, Qinglong's certification information can be found on the website of the Machinists Association - Casting Star Mechanic."

"So fast?" Nicholas's expression became increasingly grim. "Not even an audit?"

Albert said without saying anything, but smiled bitterly, "The whereabouts of the forging master, Hull, is unknown. The remaining two masters are at odds with each other and seem to be splitting up. The reputation of the Mechanics Association has been declining in recent years, and they want to win over every star-level mechanic."

Nicholas' cheek twitched, and he asked coldly: "Have you found any trace of the Azure Dragon?"

"Not yet." Albert was even more helpless. "Qinglong seems to have disappeared without a trace, and asked Li Ming to handle various matters on his behalf."

"Disappeared without a trace?" Nicholas looked gloomy.

Albert added: "They got the A-level gene seeds from Yeyue Biological Company."

"A-grade gene seed?" Nicolael frowned, "Qinglong wants to fuse?"

Albert hesitated and said, "I'm not sure, it should be Qinglong. According to our information, Li Ming's development progress was only 60% more than a month ago."

"It doesn't matter who it is. This is not important." Nicholas was impatient. What made people afraid of Qinglong was not his own strength.

Even becoming an A-level life form wouldn't change anything.

"Also, Li Ming joined the Black Hole Hall." Albert said again.

"It's only been one day, they're really quick." Nicolael sneered, "The Black Hole Hall is just a bunch of rabble, don't worry about them."

Albert groaned: "Then, almost at the same time, someone posted a bounty in the Black Hole Hall for a junior member."

Nicholas looked over, and Albert quickly projected a picture of a stone that looked pitch black.

"This is..." Nicolael's pupils suddenly contracted, "The Stone of Terrax!"

"Are you sure it's Li Ming?" he asked urgently.
"I can't be sure." Albert was helpless. "Although there is a 70% probability, we don't have the background information of the Black Hole Hall, so it's just speculation."

Nicolael's face was gloomy, and Albert hesitated and asked, "Is this thing important?"

Nicholas glanced at him and said in a deep voice: "Its value itself is fine, but it reveals a lot of things."

"Qinglong, what do you want to do..."

Albert thought, "He seems to want to form a force."

"Build a power?" Nicholas was even more stunned, and then he sneered in anger, "What does he think of me? What does he think of the Xingyuan Empire? Does he think that what happened in the Red River Star Stream has been exposed?"

"You still dare to build a force in the chaotic star gap?"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. Nicholas roared angrily, "No matter what, he is just a Casting-level mechanic!"

Albert understood that Nicholas was troubled not only by the Azure Dragon incident, but also by the Red River Star Stream incident, which had caused a series of chain reactions.

The Bloody Duke lost his son and his soldiers, and gained nothing in the end. This had long been praised by the upper echelons of the empire, especially the traditional royal family, who ridiculed it.

However, he had no accurate evidence to prove that it was Reina who killed Gabriel, which led to a constant dispute with Tsathoggua.

The Xingyuan Empire is a huge and bloated monster.

Normal people have the inherent impression that whoever offends the Xingyuan Empire will be united in the empire to kill that person.

But in reality, it is quite different, for example, this time——
The Royal Family: Cixue is such a loser, how can he be fooled like this? Whoever caused the trouble should make up for it himself, I will not help someone who betrayed the royal family!
Commons: Yes, yes, yes.

More than a month had passed since the incident, and the Bloody Duke still hadn't recovered his dignity, so he was naturally anxious.

Albert hastily added: "Intelligence analysts estimate that Qinglong's actions seem to be to use Li Ming as a target. Building a power or doing business are all pretexts..."

"He's using Li Ming as bait?" Nicholas responded, "He wants to lure me into action?"

"Uh..." Albert groaned and said awkwardly: "The intelligence room analyzed that there must be other intentions, because we actually don't have the ability to capture Qinglong."

How could Qinglong tempt someone who couldn't do it?

Nicholas' face turned dark and he rubbed his brows. There were too many things to do and he didn't have the time to think carefully about them one by one. He was more focused on reading the analysis reports presented by his subordinates.

"Unless you can get the Empire to take drastic measures."

Albert said stubbornly.

Nicholas' face turned cold. He wanted to ask Class X to take action and capture Qinglong, but the Royal Council had rejected his request more than once.

Although he kept yelling about the empire, he knew very well that he could not represent the empire at all.

Qinglong did not essentially harm any imperial interests, but was suspected of harming his interests.

In this situation, it is even more impossible for the empire's top brass to send people there. Everyone knows what Chaos Star Gap is. Li Ming is clearly a bait, but if they send people there, what if there are people from the Yongyao Federation lying in ambush? Wouldn't that be a big loss?

"So, just because of a bait, we are helpless?" Nicholas was dissatisfied: "What else do those people in the Intelligence Analysis Room do except over-analyze?"

"It's mainly because Qinglong is too mysterious. There is no information about him." Albert was also helpless:

"If it's a Forging-level mechanic with clear growth data, we can definitely estimate where the opponent's upper limit is."

"The group of mechanics at the Imperial Academy of Sciences still haven't figured out how Qing Long repaired the Star Killer Lance."

"The biggest possibility is a small-scale time reversal. If Qinglong has this ability..."

Nicholas took a deep breath. Ever since Qinglong appeared, the more he analyzed it, the scarier it became. He was now a little unconfident.

"Okay, the Imperial Academy of Sciences is full of people who just sit there and do nothing. Those old guys should have given way long ago." Nicholas shook his head and said angrily:

"And the group of people in the Intelligence Analysis Room, they couldn't estimate the enemy's upper limit so they set it too high? Why didn't they say that Qinglong was already invincible in the universe?"

Albert didn't say anything, and the Intelligence Analysis Room did not make groundless speculations. They basically conducted a comprehensive analysis based on the existing intelligence.

"Forget it, Albert, just go to the Chaos Star Gap." Nicholas suddenly said.

"Hmm... hm?" Albert nodded subconsciously. Suddenly he froze, "I'll go?"

"That's right." Nicolael was a little annoyed when he saw Albert's evasive gaze, but he had to suppress it and said in a deep voice: "I'm not asking you to catch Li Ming. Just act according to the situation."

"The Chaos Star Gap is quite far away. Since I think Qinglong is fishing, if something goes wrong, I'm afraid I won't be able to arrive in time and fall behind others."

Nicolael's statement made sense. Albert was reluctant, but he could only nod: "I understand."

When Albert left the room, Nicholas's face suddenly darkened. He vaguely felt that the core ruins, Gabriel's death and Qinglong were all related.

He really wanted to give it a try and capture the person at all costs, but he was afraid that he would fall into Tsathoggua's trap, so he was in a dilemma.

"I have to find a way to get the Empire to help me."

.........

Somewhere in the starry universe, the desolate starry universe is like a black curtain, dotted with twinkling stars. There is a huge nest suspended here that looks like it is made of black branches.

Each branch is as thick as a mountain range, stacked together in a messy yet orderly manner. From a distance, it looks like a giant womb.

In the core hall, a pale light flickered, coming from the swaying gray-white flames on the black lampposts.

A group of figures covered in black veil stood here, of different heights, weights and bodies. There were no seats, they were just gathered together.

"Sisters, the latest news is that the human with level 46 development potential has reappeared." An ethereal voice suddenly sounded, echoing in the empty hall.

After a brief silence, a heated discussion broke out. "He appeared again. That Forging-level mechanic didn't even hide him."

"Holy Mother, where is he?" a figure in black veil couldn't help but ask in a soft voice.

The Virgin Mary wore a black crown, with six white hands folded on her abdomen, and her voice was still light and graceful:

"In the Chaos Gap, the Twin Peaks hub, a sister discovered his whereabouts and wanted to obtain the seeds, but was discovered and executed by Austin."

"He has left now, but since he has appeared in our sight, we will not let him leave." The Virgin Mary said slowly.

"Forty-six level development potential, under thirty years old, we have been waiting for a thousand years. As long as we get his seed and combine it with the black goat's egg, the offspring born will definitely have a development potential of fifty levels." The Virgin Mary said slowly, her voice gradually becoming louder:

"The Star of Eternal Silence, the empire's most mysterious weapon, the hope of controlling it is within reach."

"Four thousand three hundred years ago, Adam broke his promise, and the previous Mother Saint stole the Star of Eternal Silence, causing the empire to be shaken and fighting to continue. Adam launched a siege, which nearly destroyed us. But after so many years of waiting, the opportunity finally came."

"May the Virgin Mary bless you!" the black-veiled members said in unison.

"However, the Azure Dragon cannot be underestimated. With our current strength, we can only outsmart him." The Virgin Mary added, "We have to get ahead of the conservatives. According to our information, his orientation is still the opposite sex."

“So I’m going to…”

"I'll go." Someone suddenly spoke among the crowd of people in black veil. She had a graceful figure and looked like a human form. In the dim light, through the black veil, a pair of amber eyes could be vaguely seen.

"Desire, you're doing it yourself?" The Virgin Mary was surprised: "I was planning a show."

The woman's voice was lazy: "This matter needs to be foolproof. Besides, I like such a young and outstanding boy."

"This is a bit risky." The Virgin Mary murmured.

Desire responded: "He's just a Forge-level mechanic. Even if he's discovered, it won't be a problem for me to escape. As long as I can see his true form, he won't even be able to wear a mecha."

The Virgin Mary recalled various materials and nodded, "In that case, it couldn't be better. I will activate the mother nest and teleport you there alone."

.........

"hiss--"

In the spaceship room, Li Ming opened his eyes and sighed helplessly. The elemental energy surging on the surface of his skin gradually subsided.

Even though he was mentally prepared, Li Ming was still shocked by the outrageous development speed.

He had been away from the Gemini Hub for thirteen days, and during this process, he had been developing gene seeds almost every moment.

Gravity adjustment can already be pulled to more than 1 times to assist in development, but the overall development progress has still not reached %.

"This is too slow. I'm afraid it will take nearly 1 days to reach %."

"At this rate, after three more declines, it will probably take ten or even more than ten years to develop to 100%. And that's while working non-stop." After a rough estimate, Li Ming was secretly shocked.

The negative emotions caused by rate attenuation in the past are nothing compared to this time.

"It will take ten years to develop 100%..." Li Ming muttered. If Ulrich and others heard it, they would probably be dumbfounded.

Let alone ten years, being able to become an S-level life form within a hundred years is astonishing enough.

"However, after mastering the sublimation source crystal, the development blessing will be doubled directly. If we upgrade a few more S-level gene sources, it should be much faster."

"You don't need the Terrax Stone to upgrade the gene essence, but S-level gene essence can only be extracted from S-level life forms, which is not easy."

Li Ming thought about it, then said helplessly: "I'm still not used to this kind of time scale of more than ten years."

You have to eat one bite at a time and plan one step at a time. Nothing can be achieved overnight.

(End of this chapter)