This is not mechanical ascension...

Chapter 640: Mechanical Seed Released
Anduin was still waiting at the stargate, watching the lonely little spaceship come out, with nothing behind it.

The maintainers of the star gates along the way are all his people, and they have relevant reporting information throughout the process.

He knew that Qinglong had inexplicably brought back a bunch of transport warships, and he also knew that those warships left his star gate halfway.

He was naturally curious about what Qinglong was doing on this trip, and he had a vague feeling that this might be a big deal.

"Your Excellency Qinglong..."

Anduin boarded the spaceship only after obtaining consent.

He looked around obscurely, but found no clues. He just asked, "Are there any other star gates on this star gate route that need to exist?"

Under the metal visor, Li Ming was flipping through the virtual screen, communicating with Mikhail, and responded casually: "It's up to you, if you want to destroy it, destroy it, if you want to keep it, keep it."

He only asked Mikhail to erase the star gate at the end. As for the other star gates along the way, they were still intact.

Anduin muttered to himself, but he was even more curious. He had seen the video footage sent by his own people. Those fleets did not have any identification, but they were all high-tech warships.

It was also dragging a lot of metal debris, which looked like some kind of base.

He seriously suspected that Qinglong had gone to clean out a certain base, but he didn't know which side that base belonged to.

What value does it have that is worth Qinglong’s personal efforts and he even specially brought the wreckage back?

After thinking for a while, he asked cryptically, "Is there anything else you need me to do? Do you want me to clean up the traces?"

He thought he had made it clear enough, and if Qinglong wanted to tell him, he should have said it.

Li Ming saw Anduin's little thoughts, but he didn't care. Everyone has curiosity, as long as he didn't cross the line.

He shook his head nonchalantly, "No thanks."

Anduin felt a little disappointed, but he heard Qinglong continue: "There is another matter that I hope you can help with."

"Please go ahead." Anduin looked slightly shocked.

"I would like to borrow the sports-level virtual projection facilities in your base..." Li Ming paused, "I think they should be available."

Sports-level virtual projection facilities are below the reality-interaction-level virtual projection.

The conference hall of the joint organization of higher life forms built by Li Ming in the Wangting base belongs to the highest level of reality interactive projection facilities, while the sports level only requires a certain amount of space.

"Have."

Anduin was obviously disappointed to hear that it was just such a small matter.

But he still pulled himself together and led the way to his main base.

It is an ancient fortress suspended in the void, with twelve thick spiked chains engraved with runes piercing the base of the fortress.

Imprisoned Star Undead floated on the surface of the chains, and seven reverse-rotating crystals were suspended on top of the fortress.

There is a group of guard sculptures at the city gate. The seemingly mottled stone statues have different postures, like a fallen angel with six broken wings, and undried golden blood still stuck between the stone feathers.

The two men landed at the gate. Li Ming's eyes fell on the sculptures. There were imperceptible energy fluctuations inside, like some kind of special creation.

Following Anduin into the fortress, we could see creatures of various races moving around along the way. When they passed by, each of them stopped and looked at him, showing great respect for Anduin.

I came to a small room and pushed open the inconspicuous wooden door, revealing a white metal room without even a crack on the walls or the floor.

"...Winged Spirit..." Anduin only shouted once, and a purple light condensed in the void, transforming into a thumb-sized elf, flapping its wings, and speaking softly: "Master."

"Just connect the signal to it." Anduin said.

Li Ming nodded, but Anduin tactfully did not follow him in.

It doesn’t matter whether he follows in or not. Through the signal switching here, if he wants to know the specific situation, it only takes a word.

However, what Li Ming was going to do this time was not a secret. It was just that the Mechanical Seeds were about to be released and it would take a few days to return to the Mechanical Royal Court, so he might as well stay here.

After closing the door, Li Ming connected the signal through the elf, but did not see the usual projection light.

This room is not like most projection facilities, which spread out from the center to the surrounding areas.

The scene change actually started from the surroundings, the gray-blue picture gradually spread towards the center, and lines appeared on the ground, which could move as he walked.

The scene was quickly constructed and the sound was connected. This was Mikhail's base and Reynolds was standing not far away.

"The busy man is finally here..." Reynolds came over and said, "If you don't come, we will use fake bodies to disguise ourselves."

"It's not impossible." Li Ming shrugged.

Reynolds grinned, "It would be bad if someone found out."

Li Ming didn't respond to him and asked, "What's the situation?"

"All parties are almost ready." Mikhail's voice came.

Li Ming turned his head and saw a huge virtual screen in front of Mikhail. An elliptical star map was rotating, with dots of bright blue light flashing in it.

There is also a data column next to it--
【Large distribution nodes: 256】

【Medium-sized distribution nodes: 1576】

[Small distribution node: 14238]

Compared to the number of civilizations that are as numerous as the stars in the sky, the total number of these distribution nodes is not that many.

However, Li Ming learned the details. Large nodes are almost only opened in the capitals of cluster-level civilizations, medium-sized nodes are in high-level civilizations, and small nodes supplement intermediate and low-level civilizations.

Except for some special civilizations, a civilization almost only has one node, which is already a large number.

Even if there is a StarNet channel, it still needs to rely on various distribution nodes. Interstellar Express often takes months, which is not enough to cover the shipping costs.

"The promotion has reached a bottleneck!" Mikhail sighed. "Not many people can accept the mechanization of the whole body. Moreover, some civilizations even classify mechanization as illegal."

"Moreover, there have been a lot of opinions on the interstellar network recently, and various conspiracy theories are prevalent. Some people even say that we have left a backdoor in the mechanical seeds, so we can control them at any time."

"It must be those civilizations that are causing trouble." Reynolds snorted coldly, "The transformation of the mechanical seeds has long passed various interstellar tests, consciousness identification tests, and emotional tests to ensure that the transformed bodies still have their own consciousness, but not many people care."

Li Ming nodded, having anticipated these things.

The path of evolution is extremely universal and will sooner or later affect the established interstellar landscape.

The joint launch by these three great masters is not just a ceremony, it also represents a strong endorsement, and both are indispensable.

"After the launch ceremony begins, our projection will be synchronized to all distribution nodes." Mikhail said, and a countdown appeared on the screen, with only six hours left.

Li Ming glanced at the screen and asked, "How is the research on artificial mother ore going?" Although they have reproduced the mechanical seeds, they are still in the exploratory stage for the evolutionary requirements of mechanical bodies.

Li Ming had long known that mother ore was needed to advance the mechanical evolution body to level A, and he told Reynolds and Mikhail.

See if we can develop artificial mother ore technology, which will also be a continuous source of funds.

"It's a bit troublesome..." Mikhail frowned, "The mother ore contains special power. It was basically used for collection in the past. It will take time to artificially produce it..."

Li Ming nodded, knowing that this matter could not be rushed.

Mikhail clicked on the console and said, "There's some news from Levenbeck."

"Oh?" Li Ming became interested.

Mikhail explained: "My people found out that several of his companies and the eroding civilization had been inactive for some time. We arrested a few people and found that they had been silent for a long time."

There was silence for a long time... Li Ming's expression flickered. Before, that guy used Morris to play with the three major civilizations, but now the three major civilizations have parted ways.

I don’t know whether this guy has been wiped out by the three major civilizations or is somewhere else.

"Synchronize this information to me later," he said.

"Okay..." Mikhail nodded, and the distribution nodes on the screen turned green one by one, indicating that they had been connected to Mikhail's signal network.

Li Ming was free and casually browsed the Star Network. The recent release of the Mechanical Seed was almost the biggest event in the entire interstellar space.

The novelty of a new evolutionary path has worn off, and more are being discussed about deeper issues.

For example, whether the consciousness body after the transformation is still his own, whether the three great craftsmen have left a backdoor in the mechanical seed... and other hidden dangers and concerns.

There is also a part of curious discussion, wanting to know whether the gender characteristics still exist after the transformation.

If there is a certain mode of operation, it is possible to combine with other species to give birth to mechanical offspring, or it is possible to replace one's own "parts", which is a strange question.

Of course, there is also one most critical discussion, the issue of lifespan.

Is this a new path to eternal life?
This discussion was almost the most intense, with many research experts jumping out to speak out and express various opinions.

"…According to the information provided by the Mechanic Association, this is a mechanical life form, which is different from previous mechanical transformations and may be able to break away from the law of consciousness decay."

"Impossible. It's so easy to achieve immortality. It doesn't conform to the laws of the universe..."

Li Ming certainly knew that the Mechanical Holy Spirit was not immortal. The body would also age naturally, but it would be much slower, and the consciousness body could not escape the law of decay and death.

In today's interstellar world, there are many ways to prolong life, and there are a large number of ways to deal with physical failure, but there is no way to change the law of consciousness decay.

Even if all methods are exhausted, even if the container carrying the consciousness remains strong, the consciousness will still gradually die out and it is irreversible.

But in order to maintain the popularity, the Mechanics Guild will naturally not reveal too much relevant information before the release.

Li Ming watched with great interest and time passed slowly.

Even though there are various problems, the temptation of this new evolutionary path is still great given the vast interstellar foundation.

Li Ming has seen many videos, all of which were shot in front of distribution nodes, with endless long queues forming at the doors.

Some people even got tents two or three days in advance and lived there, waiting to be the first to buy.

It doesn't necessarily have to be used by yourself. Everyone knows that this kind of thing will definitely not be popular at the first time and can be sold at a high price.

The price of the Mechanical Seed is not high. The lowest level is currently on sale, which is used to transform life forms of level F and below.

The price is 5,000 star coins, and it can be purchased at a first-launch discount of 4,500 star coins, which can be converted into local currency based on the exchange rates of each civilization.

As for the cost, the three of them calculated that with the advantage of large-scale assembly lines, it could be controlled at around one thousand star coins.

The huge profit of 80% is still over 60% even after deducting the transportation cost and channel fee. This is the monopoly level profit.

And this is only the surface profit. The bigger profit lies in mechanical transformation. If you want to integrate the mechanical seeds, the whole body transformation rate must reach a certain level.

The Mechanical King's Court has expanded its transformation business. His subordinates are all mechanical life forms, so they can learn transformation knowledge faster and have more advantages. The business has now started.

In short, it’s about making money through the whole process.

"Okay..." Mikhail said, and Li Ming came back to his senses.

The countdown on the screen only left one minute.

I don’t know how many people are watching the live broadcast of the sale on the official interface of Mechanical King’s Court, looking forward to it.

As the number returned to zero, the screen darkened slightly, then brightened, and three figures gradually emerged.

Li Ming stood in the center wearing his iconic mecha, with Mikhail on the left and Reynolds on the right.

At the same time, in the exclusive private rooms of large distribution nodes across the interstellar space, the life forms holding wine glasses restrained their expressions.

Looking at the real-life virtual characters in front of them, it was as if the three master craftsmen were standing right in front of them.

Even though they were big shots in their native civilization, and the planet would shake three times if they stomped their feet, they could not help but sit up straight and look at each other in awe.

A medium-sized distribution node in the style of a shopping mall, with huge human projections running through hundreds of floors. There are countless life forms on each floor, with their eyes looking towards the central area with blazing eyes.

Outside the small distribution node, on both sides of the endless long queues, even the official personnel maintaining order couldn't help but look up at the three figures on the big screen of the store.

"Hello, fellow interstellar citizens..." Li Ming spoke first. He was the main window for external publicity and had the highest interstellar reputation.

“…Today is a big day, I know you can’t wait…”

Li Ming was very familiar with this kind of situation. His words and deeds could even be described as witty and humorous. He even made a few jokes, which gave a very good impression.

However, he did not speak for long, only a few minutes, and only gave a brief description of the characteristics of the Mechanical Seed.

“…Finally, does Master Craftsman Reynolds have anything to say?” Li Ming turned around and asked.

"The mechanical seed can withstand any test." He hummed.

"Where is Master Craftsman Mikhail?" Li Ming turned to the other side again.

"Don't buy mechanical seeds from scalpers." Mikhail's words made Li Ming's face look strange for a moment, and Reynolds curled his lips secretly.

Then, Li Ming looked forward, as if he was watching every life form in front of the virtual projection, and concluded with the electromagnetic tone unique to the mecha in his voice.

"Everyone, a new era of evolution has arrived. I wish you all have fun."

(End of this chapter)