My Endless Life.

Chapter 617 Control Room

"I think I was only eleven years old at that time..."

Li Qi murmured to himself.

Elena shrugged it off: "So what?! This kind of thing isn't unusual among nobles!"

A question mark appeared above Li Qi's head again: "?"

He stared blankly at Elena, then turned to the other nobles, noticing the approving or matter-of-fact expressions on their faces. He took a deep breath and looked at Sophiuna:

"This kind of thing...is normal?"

“Rich, you don’t need to know this. It has nothing to do with you!”

Sophiuna's expression grew colder as she listened, and she looked at Elena as if she were looking at a dead person.

Now it's clear why Elena hates Li Qi. It was just Elena's wishful thinking at first, taking a child's promise as true.

Then, when Li Qi got a little older, Elena couldn't wait to do something to him.

But how could Li Qi understand these things at that time? He just felt that Elena had suddenly become very strange, so he rejected Elena and told Zelia about it.

And then… he got drunk, messed up important matters, and was stripped of his heir status…

In short, Li Qi was the cause of Elena's current predicament.

But regarding this, Li Qi stated that he wouldn't take the blame! It was absolutely not his fault! It was Elena's fault for trying to do something to him when she was out of her mind!
Damn it, how come I didn't know that the nobility were so...so...chaotic?

As Li Qi turned to Sophiuna, he suddenly realized why he hadn't known these things before.

He was too well protected.

Sophiuna, Zelia, and Yorin protected him too well.

Therefore, he knew nothing about the sordid affairs among the nobles, and these people would not let the 'naive' Richie know about these things.

No wonder Sophiuna guarded against all nobles, regardless of gender, who approached Li Qi as if they were thieves.

So that's where the root of the problem lies!
Taking another deep breath, Li Qi tried his best to stop thinking about those things. He looked at Elena, and his opinion of her had changed slightly.

Originally, Li Qi just thought that Elena was the kind of person who was angry with Yolin and himself because her inheritance rights were taken away.

Now it seems the other party is a complete pervert!
The reason she hates herself is entirely due to love turning into hate!
If you can't have it, then destroy it completely—this kind of thought process is truly baffling.

Li Qi was too lazy to talk to Elena now, so she grabbed Sophiuna's hand and tried to steer the conversation back on track:
"...I'm sorry, Elena, I don't plan to go with you."

Upon hearing Li Qi's words, Elena instantly calmed down, and her expression became composed:

Do you think you still have the option to refuse?

“I think,” Li Qi said, pulling Sophie towards him, stepping forward with his right foot on the ground, and then smiling. “I do.”

"!"

Elena, slightly bewildered by Li Qi's smile, was stunned for a long time.

But Elena was soon drawn to the ground beneath Li Qi's feet.

The ground melted away like snow, and the hard, specially made rock floor flowed like water, covering Li Qi and Sophiuna in the blink of an eye!
Seeing this, Elena made her move instantly. Her mecha appeared out of thin air, and her huge fist broke through the void, smashing into the sphere in front of her.

As she made her move, Elena was also pondering what methods Li Qi had used.

Magic?! Taoist arts?! No… there’s clearly an ability-shielding device covering this area!

To prevent any unforeseen circumstances, an ability shielding device was used from the start, allowing only those at the seventh rank or higher to unleash their original power.

Li Qi definitely doesn't have a seventh rank, so what kind of ability does he use?
Elena was confused, and she planned to smash the barrier that the other party had temporarily created later and then ask them directly.

All of these thoughts were taken into consideration, but in reality, from the moment Li Qi created the barrier to the moment Elena threw her punch, there wasn't even a single second of time.

To others, it was almost a blink of an eye.

Even so, when Elena smashed the barrier created by Li Qi, she found it to be completely empty!
"What about people?!"

Elena's eyes widened.

The traitorous tier-eight mechanic said, "Underground! They're advancing underground! And very quickly!"

Why can't I sense it!?

"It seems... they had a shielding device?... They've disappeared without a trace."

In other words, the eighth-tier mechanic lost track of Li Qi in the short time it took to speak.

Logically, this shouldn't have happened. The consciousness of two eighth-level experts is enough to penetrate the entire planet. Even if this is an imperial planet with countless suppression devices, the two shouldn't have lost track of Li Qi so quickly.

Clearly, Li Qi possessed another means of concealment that they had not discovered.

Seeing Elena's pale face, the mechanic comforted her:

"The Queen should have known we were coming, so it's normal that they were prepared."

"...I hope so."

Elena's face was gloomy.

She originally chose to disrupt Sophie's wedding alone in order to steal Richie and get revenge on Zelia.

But now, not only did Li Qi fail to snatch her, but Sophiuna was also taken away by him.

Although the Ninth Princess was merely an add-on in this affair, with the Empress and numerous ministers being the main course, this defeat still gave Elena a bad feeling.

Hopefully, nothing unexpected happens to the Second Prince.

Decompose, transform, reconstruct.

These are the basic abilities that make up alchemy.

Li Qi discovered that after his alchemy was improved and integrated, it seemed that he no longer needed to fear any shielding or suppression.

At least for now, what Elena prepared is of no use to him.

He used alchemy to break down the ground and temporarily create a device to increase his speed, allowing him to travel underground.

Because it was a floating city, Li Qi didn't dare to travel too far. After circling around underground, he stopped.

This should be an underground passage located on the edge of the floating city.

"Rich...Rich?"

Sophiuna, who had been brought down from above by Li Qi, was still in shock.

Although she could see Li Qi's movements clearly and knew what he had done, it was precisely because of this that Sophiuna was so surprised by Li Qi's abilities.

Wasn't her fiancé a mecha pilot before? Where did he get this ability that seems to operate on the rules?!
Sophiuna stared blankly at Li Qi, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

“Now is not the time to be surprised.” Li Qi didn’t have time to explain to Sophiuna.

While the two and Elena were arguing in the hall, the floating city had completely turned into a battlefield, with the Second Prince's men and the Empress's men fighting each other everywhere.

The same goes for the underground passage here!
The reason is simple: the energy source supporting the floating city lies in its underground core! If the Second Prince wants to completely seal off this floating city, preventing the Empress from leaving and reinforcements from entering, then he has essentially won half the battle!
Therefore, the place is also very chaotic, and shouts of killing can be heard everywhere.

The warehouse where Li Qi and Sophiuna are currently located... is not safe; someone could come here at any time.

"Okay, what do we do now?"

Sophiuna realized what was happening and subconsciously asked Li Qi.

Li Qi looked at her with a strange expression, pointed to himself, and said, "...You're asking me?"

"..."

Sophiuna then came to her senses, regained some of her usual composure, and nodded, saying:
"That's true. Sorry, I was a little confused just now."

"It doesn't matter, anyway, even if we do something, it won't help the overall situation."

Li Qi released Sophie, turned to look at the supplies in the warehouse, and while searching for materials that could be used to make alchemical tools, he also spoke to Sophie.

The current situation is clearly a struggle between the Empress's faction and the Second Prince's faction, and the top combat power of both sides must involve the peak of the ninth rank.

Although Sophiuna has some influence, her power is not yet fully formed, so she cannot get involved in the struggle between the two.

This is why the Empress compensated her and Li Qi, because the Empress also knew that the two of them were victims in this incident, and no one could change the overall situation.

Therefore, Sophiuna is actually unable to do anything right now.

Their original mission was to serve as hostages, waiting for the Queen to end everything and rescue them.

But now... Li Qi has brought them out.

"First...how do I get out of here? No...I have to go help the Queen Mother..."

Concerned for Li Qi's safety, Sophiuna wanted to flee immediately.

But thinking of the Empress who was still here, Sophiuna hesitated.

Sophiuna's reverence for the Queen, as well as the familial bond between them, made her quite worried about the Queen.

More importantly, if she were to escape from here now... it might further lower the Queen's opinion of her.

But Li Qi's safety is also very important...

Sophiuna was torn, but Li Qi had already picked and chosen in the warehouse and made several sets of knight outfits in the blink of an eye.

"Alright, stop worrying about it. Since you're worried about the Queen, just go check on her later. Although I don't think we'll be able to get involved in their battle..."

As Li Qi spoke, he tossed the knight's uniform to Sophiuna.

Sophiuna stared at the style of the knight's uniform, her eyes widening slightly: "This is...?"

"Wear the clothes of the knights behind Elena. Let's go to the control room of the floating city now."

As Li Qi spoke, he began changing his clothes in front of Sophiuna.

Since Sophiuna is hesitant, let him decide.

Aside from the important figures, the most crucial element of the floating city is its central control system. If this system is destroyed, anyone below the fourth rank will likely perish.

Within this floating city, 'ordinary people' below the fourth-level cultivators make up 80% of the population.

Although the Second Prince's main goal was to control the floating city, not to destroy it.

But as the saying goes, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Regardless, Li Qi had to go to the control room to take a look.

As long as there are no eighth-level experts in the control room, even if it's only a seventh-level expert, Li Qi felt he could handle it.

The alchemy he now possesses seems to be 'a little bit' better than he imagined.

(End of this chapter)