This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 545 The Chosen One Arrives

Adam's tone seemed quite disappointed. He slowly leaned back on his throne, stroking the metal texture on the armrest.

Ever since Heckler was tricked by Qinglong last time, he has retreated into his turtle shell.

He wanted to find Qinglong's weak spot and see if he could provoke Heckler again.

At that time, he happened to have collected relevant information about the deserted waterway, so he asked his men to investigate. Nearly half a year later, he came to this conclusion.

But he was very disappointed.

"It's just an X-level gene seed. It's not important to Qinglong." Adam shook his head. Qinglong's own strength is far beyond X-level, and no one knows who this gene seed is prepared for.

Maybe it was for Li Ming, to prepare for a rainy day, he could understand.

But after all, it is not too precious. Even if it is operated, no one can be stimulated.

"Forget it, let's just keep an eye on it for now." Adam pinched his fingers together and put a "continue to pay attention" mark on the information package.

As a result, before I sent the message back to Ansel, a red pop-up window suddenly popped up on the left hand side.

"Urgent information?" Adam's expression was slightly tense, and he quickly answered the call. A solemn middle-aged officer appeared and said in a deep voice: "Holy Emperor, I just received news that Heckler has returned."

"Returned?" Adam's face darkened. "What's the specific situation?"

"We discovered that he had caused quite a stir in the Thranduil Star Region - the Republic of Nantus. An extremely outstanding young officer disappeared. He should be the target he needed."

Adam subconsciously clenched his fists and frowned, "Where is he now?"

"We're still investigating." The middle-aged officer lowered his head in shame.

"Yeah." Adam didn't blame him, knowing that this matter was not simple.

After the red screen went out, Adam rubbed his brows and sighed: "It's only been more than half a year. Heckler is really lucky..."

He was basically certain that Heckler had found the chosen one of the Holy Castle.

Most of the men Heckler had sent out before had to go through the Empire's channels. He could easily mobilize the Pioneers' power to intercept and kill them, making it difficult for this group of people to gain anything.

There had been no progress on Qinglong's side either, especially after Li Ming was "kidnapped" last time, Heckler didn't dare to attack Qinglong at will again.

He simply took action himself, taking all the higher life forms in the camp and killing them one by one according to the list.

This was all a matter of luck. Their efficiency was not high. They had to run around at various coordinate points and they also needed to be a little secretive in their movements to avoid his tracking.

According to Adam's estimation, if he was lucky, it would take two to three years, but if he was unlucky, it could take five or even ten years.

As a result, Heckler found it in just over half a year.

"Once we get the Chosen One, Heckler's plan can be launched. The Holy Castle, the Holy Castle..." Adam kept rubbing his fingers, feeling the rough texture of the armrest.

There are not many things that can truly threaten him, and the Holy Castle is one of them.

His expression changed. "Qinglong holds a chosen one in his hand. According to the previous rules, there will be a final winner in the end, and there will be no way around the one in his hand. But this time it's not the same as before."

"Qinglong doesn't know yet and still thinks he's sitting on the Diaoyutai. Heckler has a simpler method. Should I leak some information to him..."

He was rarely hesitant, as this involved the most fundamental interests of the empire.

Although he didn't want to see Heckler's plan succeed, once the Holy Castle was found, the things inside would greatly enhance the overall strength of the empire.

But at the same time, it would be a big trouble once it fell into the hands of the enemy.

The ideal situation is that he finds the Star of Eternal Silence first. In this way, whether Heckler succeeds or not will hardly affect him.

But now, the deep dimensional world has been thrown into chaos by the Azure Dragon, and the Pioneers are constantly making trouble.

Chronoa didn't know why, but severed its cooperation with them, which led to slow progress.

Thinking of this, Adam couldn't help but feel a little angry, and even a little regretful, "Qinglong..."

But he quickly adjusted his mood, slowly closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, he seemed determined.

"…Forget it, Heckler, let's see how capable you are."

He still held back, mainly because Qinglong's behavior had far exceeded his expectations.

He was afraid that if the news leaked to Qinglong, Qinglong would really seize the Holy Castle.

That is also a huge trouble.

.........

At a star gate node somewhere, a large slender spaceship had just completed space coating and was slowly sinking into the star gate.

The spacecraft looks inconspicuous, with a yellowish-brown surface and even mottled marks of repairs.

However, the decoration inside is not as shabby as it looks from the outside. It is even very cutting-edge. The cabin is clean and tidy, and there are armed guards everywhere.

In the prison cabin on the bottom floor, a humanoid lifeform with light golden skin was restrained on the ground, wearing heavy prison armor.

Only the head was exposed, with delicate scales on both sides of the cheeks, the face was pale, and the eyes were full of confusion.

He looked at the man sitting in front of him, who seemed to be a very distinguished person. He said in a trembling voice, "Sir, is there any misunderstanding between us? I seem to have never...never offended you."

Heckler smiled as he sat in the hoverchair, looking down at the young man restrained on the ground.

"Leonidas, a native of the Republic of Nantus, was born into an ordinary family in the Province of Inbucle and later joined the army..."

"…The owner of the Copper Cross Badge, the Silver Thorn Badge, and the Gold Knight Badge, highly regarded in the army, brave, resolute, and loyal…"

"…He is favored by the daughter of Admiral Vinicius and they plan to marry him in a year. He has a bright future…"

The information was so detailed that Leonidak's throat rolled and he forced a smile, "I... I don't understand."

"Can you explain to me how a child from an ordinary family could survive the meat-grinder-like North Preston Front and achieve such remarkable feats?" Heckler asked with a smile.

"This..." Leonidach's pupils contracted, as if his deepest secret had been revealed.

"…Do you think you are the only special one in the entire universe?" Heckler asked again.

Leonidas had reacted by now and whispered, "I... I'm not special, sir, I was just a little luckier before..."

"You're too flamboyant." Heckler shook his head. "You stand out on my list. A comeback story is certainly nice, but you need someone big enough to hold you up."

At this point, he paused, as if thinking of someone, "Just like Li Ming."

Leonidach became more and more confused, not knowing why the other party mentioned this name. He gritted his teeth and said, "Why on earth, why on earth..." He stopped talking before he finished, and looked behind the other party with trembling pupils, as if he had discovered something incredible.

Boom!Boom!Boom!
The footsteps stopped behind Heckler, "Your Highness, it has been taken care of."

Heckler didn't even turn his head, but just stretched out his hand, and a translucent crystal substance fell into his hand, in which was a purple skull, as if it was frozen.

Leonidach's eyes trembled and he was speechless. This was his deepest secret. It was thanks to the purple skull that he was able to survive on the battlefield many times and achieve remarkable feats.

This thing is very powerful, and he still can't figure out its upper limit.

When he was caught this time, he was still wondering why this thing didn't come out to protect him.

I didn't expect that now this thing is like a toy in the other person's hand.

The other party's life level was far more terrifying than he had imagined.

"…I don't know what you call it, but we call it the Overseer." Heckler held the crystal substance in his hands, intoxicated. "Its mission is to train you, the chosen ones."

"You must think you are unique. In fact, every chosen one thinks so."

"Every one?" Leonidak, who was at a loss, heard a description that shocked him even more.

Heckler was in a good mood and explained considerately, "Yes, don't be surprised. There will be at least 20 to 30 chosen ones like you when each holy castle is revived."

Every holy fort? He heard more incomprehensible terms.

Heckler shrugged. "Of course, looking at the entire galaxy, this number is not that large. You will only encounter them by chance when you grow to a certain stage."

"When you meet, his cruelty is revealed. Only one can survive."

"What?" Leonidach was shocked.

"This is not a gift." Heckler shook his head. "I don't know how many times you have lamented your good luck before, but in fact, your luck is not that good."

Heckler was in a really good mood. Seeing that Leonidak seemed to be in a downtime state, he even comforted him:

"But, you are not too unlucky to meet me. I don't intend to take your life. If you are really lucky enough to hold on until the end of the whole plan, I don't mind giving you more."

Boom!Boom!Boom!
Suddenly, footsteps were heard behind Heckler again, and this time they were more chaotic than before.

“Your Highness… Your Highness…” The officer behind him looked solemn and handed over the smart terminal: “News about Qinglong?”

Heckler's relaxed and happy expression froze slightly. He didn't want to hear this name, but he still looked down. It was a video.

He looked at her for a moment with a frown on his face, then suddenly stood up, letting out a sense of oppression that belonged to a higher life form.

Leonidak, who was in a trance, was awakened. He looked up suddenly and found that the big man who had just looked relaxed and happy, as if he was in control of everything, now had a face full of doubt.

“Qinglong…actually…” He uttered a few words, then slowly sat down and said in a deep voice: “It has come to this. No wonder Adam and the Federation have such an ambiguous attitude…”

"Qinglong, Adam..." Leonidak only felt that these two names were familiar. When he thought about them carefully, they suddenly struck his mind like thunder, and his emotions surged in his heart.

He remembered who these two names belonged to, and his expression became even more miserable. To be able to call such a big shot casually, this guy must have a complicated background.

"Fortunately, I pulled away decisively." After watching the entire video, Heckler couldn't help but feel fortunate.

It’s not that I’m afraid of Qinglong, but if I continue to entangle with Qinglong, I will only waste precious time.

He glanced at other derivative news, mainly the deputy director seat, but he didn't care much about it and was still paying attention to Qinglong itself.

But soon his expression became uncertain again, "...the two X-level life forms disappeared silently, and he didn't contact the empire. I'm afraid he is in danger. For the Godcrafter, he is a rare transformation material..."

He originally didn't think Qinglong would dare to actually kill anyone, but after this video came out, he understood what Qinglong relied on.

He would naturally not easily swallow the loss of two X-level life forms, but now was definitely not the time to cause trouble for Qinglong.

"Don't worry, don't worry..." He murmured in his heart: "Find this holy castle, obtain the Titan relics, defeat Adam, and take over the Titan's body. Only then will it be time to settle the accounts..."

Leonidachus watched the ever-changing expressions of the great man in front of him with anxiety.

He suddenly stood up, as if he had no intention of talking to him anymore. His face was expressionless, and he only said, "Keep an eye on him, don't let him commit suicide."

……

Mechanical Royal Court, in the Tiangong Laboratory.

Sixteen robotic arms were performing extremely precise processing in front of Li Ming. A large number of metal parts were assembled together in an orderly manner, eventually forming a mechanical heart.

Li Ming couldn't help but nodded after reaching out and touching it, "This is it..."

He specifically went to Ulrich and asked for the model of the mechanical auxiliary heart from his butler. Although Ulrich looked strange, he still gave it to him.

Then, he found the manufacturer based on the model number, contacted the other party through the official website of the Mechanical Royal Court, offered a lucrative contract, and asked for the original drawings.

The other party was just a small company, so they naturally agreed immediately. With the original drawings, it was very easy for Li Ming to build it.

Even tiny parts can be rubbed by the [mechanical hand].

It was built in just half a day.

After taking control and upgrading it, he was able to restore the ability of [Source of Immortality].

He stretched out his hand, and after the upgrade, the more refined mechanical heart appeared in his hand. After a pause, Li Ming clenched his hands, and crackling electric sparks burst out from the mechanical heart.

Then he put it back in the control column.

"Thirty-eight million is needed for repairs, and we're still almost there..." He muttered, took it out again, rubbed it in his hands, and the broken metal parts were attracted together by the magnetic restraint device.

He put it back on the control bar and nodded with satisfaction. "Fifty-nine million, that's about it."

Then, he expended metal energy to start repairing it. A virtual screen appeared in front of him, with several "0"s arranged in sequence to count the time, even down to five decimal places.

As the energy of the metal was injected, the almost crushed mechanical heart slowly recovered, and time passed by minute by minute.

In Suzaku's careful scan, the timer stopped at the number "34.727".

"35 seconds..." Li Ming pondered, it was not too long.

With this calculation, if you want to carry out non-stop hammering as expected, you will need an estimated 12 [Life Power Cores] to be switched continuously.

"It's about 1.3 billion metal energies, which is not too much..." Li Ming muttered. He was very motivated and prepared to rub it out as soon as possible, and then speed up the development progress to complete the peak transcendence level trial.

"After the fight, the Holy Castle can be opened."

(End of this chapter)