This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 454 Preparing to Explore Skywalker

Mikhail's high-pitched voice echoed in the room, carrying the unique electromagnetic feeling after being transmitted through the network.

Li Ming remained silent, but had no intention of trying to stop the fight. Instead, he watched with interest.

Perhaps because he rarely saw Mikhail's strong attitude, Reynolds was shocked for a moment.

Mikhail looked indifferent. "When I was sixteen, I witnessed my parents being killed by human traffickers. I was captured, had my ears cut off, and underwent cell sealing surgery. I became a mute spirit. I rose all the way to this point. I am used to seeing the darkness in people's hearts."

"And you, Reynolds, you and Forge Hammer are both Flame Spirit Giants, both of you have low IQs. Forge Hammer finally discovered you and has been training you carefully."

"But over the years, how much of the Mechanics Association's affairs have you cared about? Whenever something happens, they either fight or kill. I've been the one handling so many things. If it weren't for me, the Mechanics Association would have fallen apart long ago!"

"How dare you blame me? You don't even have the qualifications to revive the Forge Hammer!"

Mikhail spoke with great force.

His resume is quite bumpy. The status of the elves in the interstellar world is actually quite embarrassing, because their appearance characteristics and their inherent arrogance and coldness really poke a lot of people's XP.

The secret slave trade continues despite repeated bans, even though this ethnic group is considered a dominant race and has the innate ability to mobilize energy particles.

But for life forms at the forefront of evolution, it is nothing, and some people are still trying to capture them secretly.

Sixteen years old for the elves is roughly equivalent to ten years old for interstellar humans.

Reynolds clasped his fists, his face changing, and for a moment, he was speechless.

Mikhail was still outputting at a high intensity, his voice was cold: "Use your hard-earned mutated brain to think carefully, is there any benefit in leaking the coordinates to them?"

He is really aggressive. He must have been holding back a lot of anger, Li Ming muttered to himself.

Reynolds and Forge Hammer are both Flame Spirit Giants. They are labeled as reckless men. The emergence of two master craftsmen can only be described as a brain mutation.

Reynolds snorted coldly, "You sound nice, as if you've devoted yourself to this cause until your death. You know exactly how much you've gained from this."

"Idiot, didn't Forge Hammer gain any benefits from the Mechanics Association?" Mikhail sneered, making Reynolds speechless. He said in a deep voice: "Then let me ask you, why didn't you tell us about the early appearance of the ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization?"

"You will know sooner or later, and I haven't confirmed it yet." Mikhail paused and shook his head.

Reynolds sneered, "I think you just want to take advantage of the information and make some money yourself."

"Smart as a whim." Mikhail did not dwell on this topic, but he might really have such thoughts.

The two of them vented for a while, and then tacitly skipped over these topics.

Then, Mikhail brought the topic back to the topic, "Qinglong has delayed us for a while, and even if they start to divide it, it will take some time to completely land."

"I'd estimate it was about a year and a half, actually."

"It's still too short..." Reynolds frowned, "It's still unlikely that the Machinists Association will become a joint governance organization."

"It's unlikely, but it's still possible. If we want to reverse this, we just need to make them realize that the price they paid is too high. That's enough." Mikhail's eyes flickered.
"The ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization. We can then conduct a joint exploration, and the three major civilizations will not let it go."

"That's just a ruin, not a relic." Reynolds frowned. "According to what you said, even if the Forge Hammer is resurrected, it can't change the current situation."

"Or did you find something good in the ruins?" He asked suspiciously, still prejudiced against Mikhail.

Mikhail was silent, his voice was low, as if squeezed out from his throat: "Fool, do you know what variables are? If I had a clear way to solve this problem, why would I be chatting with you here?"

In fact, it’s still a gamble, after all, there is no other way.

One year is a bit short for Li Ming. The development progress can only be increased to 10% at most, and it is difficult to make significant improvements in other aspects.

His original estimate was three years. If some gene source material was added, it would be possible to increase the development progress to about 30%.

Moreover, by then, both the number of mechanical bodies and the quality of controlled objects will have a big leap.

It is hard to say whether this problem can be solved, but at least there is more room for maneuver.

But Costat cut it directly to one year, which is a bit short.

"What is the situation with this ruin of the Holy Spirit Civilization?" Li Ming thought about it and asked.

Before, these two guys were very secretive and didn't want to reveal more information to him.

But now, with more than half a year left before the joint exploration, it’s time to reveal some secret information.

The two people who were originally on the verge of a fight looked at each other and seemed to exchange ideas.

After a while, Mikhail spoke: "It's like this..."

……

The negotiations of the Machinists Association concern a large number of mechanics.

As soon as it ended, the Machinists Association issued a notice to the public:
[After the three masters Qinglong, Chuangzao, and Jihun negotiated with various interstellar civilizations, no new targeted investigations will be launched after the current investigation is completed until a targeted bill is enacted, for a period of one year.]

This announcement is a bit confusing. The one-year delay mentioned by the three major civilizations actually refers to the time when the butcher's knife falls.

Similar joint announcements and bills were issued to dismember the Machinists' Association.

The investigation that has already taken place certainly cannot be terminated just like that, and the investigation must continue.

This result was beyond everyone's expectations. It was not a breakthrough, but it did not make things worse.

"Why is it delayed for a year? It's inexplicable. It's better to give a specific result. If it doesn't work, I'll run away."

"A one-year delay is just time for you to run, isn't it? Big brother, don't you see the pressure the three master craftsmen are facing? It's already amazing that they can buy one year..."

"Looking at the information announcement, Qinglong Pavilion was actually listed at the top. It must have made a lot of efforts in this negotiation..."

Someone compared it with the previous announcements and found something wrong. In the past, Qinglong was always at the end, but this time he was at the front.

Most mechanics don't have any specific impression of this newly emerged master craftsman.

Although there were calls for him to speak out before, he never responded.
With every benefit comes every responsibility. Qinglong didn't get much benefit, and the mechanics couldn't find a reason, so they gave up.

Unexpectedly, I gave them a surprise secretly.

"Your Excellency Qinglong is really kind. Although he is just a figurehead, he doesn't shy away from doing anything when it's time to do something. Unlike the other two master craftsmen, who have enjoyed so many benefits but can't do much."

These mechanics were quite excited and had a more friendly impression of Qinglong.

In the eyes of most people, even if this extra year fails to solve the problem, it gives them enough time to make changes.

.........

At the same time, in another corner of the universe, the stars were shining. A small spaceship silently jumped here, and then waited for a long time before jumping again. This action was repeated five or six times before it finally arrived at its destination.

A wandering fleet in the interstellar space, composed of ships of various models and sizes, numbering no less than ten thousand.

But the surfaces of most warships are covered with marks and scars. The hulls of some ships have faded, revealing the original color of the metal. Some ships even have huge dents on their sides, but they still stubbornly move forward in the starry sky.

The reason why it is called a wandering fleet is that there are a large number of civilian spaceships of different specifications wrapped in the numerous warships, and these spaceships account for the majority.

Faint lights flickered in the portholes of every ship.

The small spaceship went straight all the way, as if it had passed layers of verification long ago, and headed straight for the largest flagship in the fleet.

The ship was like a moving fortress, its huge engine spewing out blue flames, and its surface was also covered with scars.

From the cabin passage to the main channel, many staff members in front of the platform track saw this small blue and white spaceship, and they couldn't help but smile sincerely on their faces. They stopped their work and watched the spaceship fall.

"The Blue Sky is back!"

"Skywalker is back!"

"Clyde is back!"

"..."

Even some staff members who were closer couldn't help but pace towards here.

"Old Neil, get back to work!" someone next to him scolded helplessly.

Old Neil grinned, missing a front tooth, with wrinkles on his face. "The last time I saw Clyde was three months ago..."

“Alright, alright…” The person in charge waved his hands impatiently, but his eyes unconsciously looked towards the blue and white spaceship.

The hatch was open, and an automatic staircase connected to the ground. A figure stepped out. It was a young man with shiny black, slightly curly hair that fell to his shoulders.

He has a resolute look, deep brown pupils, a smile on his face, and a natural sense of affinity.

"Uncle Kohler, it's your turn today." Clyde looked at the middle-aged man who was preparing to inspect the spacecraft. He was missing a leg and had a mechanical leg to replace it, which made a creaking sound when he walked.

"You... remember my name?" Kohler, with a full beard, trembled and his eyes turned red.

"Of course I remember. I remember that five months ago, you were the one who helped me inspect the spaceship." Clyde smiled. Old Kohler was stunned and speechless.

With the encouragement of several of his companions, he lowered his head and went to work.

"Then the uncle won't be able to sleep at night..." A teasing voice came from behind, and the girl with short purple hair jumped out.

"Don't talk nonsense." Clyde seemed helpless, and several of his companions walked out of the cabin, all with indifferent expressions.

Clyde greeted everyone along the way, and he could accurately call out the name of everyone he met.

"Aren't you going back to report first?" Seeing Clyde heading towards the residential area, a gloomy-looking companion behind him hesitated.

"I promised the little brats that I would deliver the stuff to him as soon as I got back." Clyde turned around and said earnestly, "It will only take a short detour and take two or three minutes."

The other party had no choice but to watch Clyde walk through the corridor and come to the residential area, which was supposed to be a warehouse.

But now it has been transformed into a temporary residence, with layers of metal houses piled up on top of each other.

Most of them are women, repairing a lot of defective parts. Many teenagers are helping out, carrying parts with great effort, and are sweating profusely from exhaustion.

"Clyde is here!" Someone with sharp eyes saw Clyde and shouted in surprise.

A large number of young children came running over, and the older girls with dirty faces looked over shyly.

"Don't grab... don't grab..." Clyde didn't care. He happily took out colorful candies from the cloth bag behind him and stuffed them into the children's hands one by one.

Several companions standing not far away gave off an aura of keeping strangers away, but even the gloomiest middle-aged man couldn't help but force an ugly smile on his face when he saw Clyde being surrounded.

"You are Skywalker--Clyde?"

Suddenly, a withered hand came out of nowhere and grabbed Clyde.

"You..." Clyde was stunned. His palm was covered with dense black symbols.

Following the hand that looked like dry tree bark, I saw a hunchbacked old man, covered in a black robe.

"Ah - big food ghost!" A child shouted and ran away.

Clyde is speechless, a big eater, a weirdo passed down by word of mouth in their civilization who feeds on children.

"Excuse me..." He was very polite, looking at the other party, but at the same time he was alert.

"Who are you!?" The companion behind him rushed up and shouted, "Show me your ID!"

“…It really looks like it…” The old man raised his head, his face was haggard, and his wrinkled skin was covered with various runes, and his eyes were completely black.

Clyde's heart was shocked. He tried hard secretly, but was shocked to find that he couldn't break free. He was a B-level life form.

"I have a few words to say to you..." The other person ignored the others around him and stared straight at Clyde.

"Who the hell are you?" The gloomy middle-aged man stood in front of Clyde and shouted.

"It's okay..." Clyde pushed the middle-aged man away and signaled his companions to move away.

There was a stalemate at first, but his companions still couldn't persuade him and could only push them away cautiously. Some of them had already left quietly, obviously to inform higher-ups.

"Skywalker -- Clyde, was born in the Ryder Star System of the Hokor Federation Republic. Three years ago, the dictatorial president demanded that you pay a high tax of more than 30%. Your governor refused to pay, and although he explained the economic situation in detail, it still led to a devastating blow."

"Your father was the Governor's most loyal servant, and he died in battle. You, the people, also began to wander with him. Two years ago, you emerged and were given the rumored title of Skywalker."

Clyde frowned slightly, "You are right...but..."

"I want to hear your philosophy..." The old man's eyes were dark, but Clyde still felt a strong sense of scrutiny.

"My philosophy?" He was a little confused.

The old man continued, "What are you going to do now? Are you going to continue wandering with these people?"

Clyde thought, "President James is hated by the people and the heavens. Many people in the country are dissatisfied with him. We have secretly contacted several governors and are preparing to gradually resist and overthrow his rule."

"Then, you will take his place, and hundreds of years later, your descendants will exploit the people again?" the old man added.

(End of this chapter)