You said mechs were going to fight monsters, but instead you're destroying stars with your bare

Chapter 169 Even if I'm a machine squadron (Part 2)
The coalition government leaders were filled with doubts after receiving the report.

However, in the absence of any direct evidence and under immense pressure to stabilize the situation, they ultimately acquiesced to this "most reasonable" explanation.

A massive scandal that could have shaken the foundations of the coalition government was thus quietly and completely covered up as a "natural disaster."

Meanwhile, Li Zhe, the "mastermind" who orchestrated all of this, had already quietly returned to Starfish Island with his secret force of hundreds of powerful, skilled, and absolutely loyal puppets...

Starfish Island, underground command center.

Li Zhe looked at the official report on the "gas leak accident" on the screen, a playful smile curving his lips.

The farce ended more smoothly than he had imagined.

Some within the coalition government, for the sake of "stability," seem to prefer that this matter be quickly forgotten even more than he does.

Li Zhe looked at the real-time monitoring footage of the "worker bee puppets" whose identities he had re-faked and who had been arranged to work silently on the construction site, his expression complex.

Their movements were precise and their efficiency astonishing.

Like the most perfect machine, it adds bricks and tiles to that future fortified city.

But their eyes were empty, devoid of all the liveliness that belongs to "human beings".

[Commander, regarding the future of those who have become puppets…] Zero projected a data model. [Their soul essence has not been erased, but merely temporarily 'sealed' by the Queen's mental network. According to my calculations, once you successfully 'establish your foundation' and master the power of higher-dimensional rules, there is a 73.8% probability that you can reverse this process and restore them to ordinary humans.]

Li Zhe nodded.

He then took the little creature, which had evolved into a "Nymph Queen" and was affectionately perched on his shoulder, into the maintenance hangar.

This little guy will be the most important part of his future plans.

"Focus on doing the things at hand well."

“It’s time to start the next phase of construction on our ‘fishing grounds’.”

He gazed at the increasingly clear outline of the fortress city in the 3D projection, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light.

……

With the dust settled on the "gas leak accident," the construction of "Third New Tokyo City" not only did not stop, but instead proceeded at full speed with even more astonishing efficiency.

Using Zero's incredible information manipulation abilities, Li Zhe silently infiltrated the influence of his secret unit into every corner of "Third New Tokyo City" like an invisible spider web.

The "worker bee puppets" became the most mysterious and powerful construction force in the entire project.

He placed some of the "worker bees" with engineering backgrounds into the project's core technical team.

They are no longer just enforcers, but rule-makers.

With the support of Zero's cutting-edge technological blueprint, they began to lead the design of key areas.

For example, in the underground city's energy pipeline network, they cleverly designed and laid several hidden backup energy lines under the pretext of "increasing redundancy and improving wartime survivability".

The final destinations of these lines do not point to urban public facilities, but rather to several vaguely defined "reserved spaces".

These spaces will become hidden bases for Li Zhe to secretly deploy his forces in the future.

The city's electromagnetic catapult track was also implanted with a special control protocol under the guise of "optimizing the acceleration curve," and only Li Zhe's "key" could activate its maximum power "overload" mode.

He forged resumes for some of the "worker bees" with management experience and sent them to the material allocation and logistics support department.

They are no longer simply "requisitioning" resources, but have begun to influence the flow of the entire supply chain.

Taking advantage of their positions, they quietly transferred the rarest and most advanced strategic materials to the underground base on Starfish Island under the guise of "reasonable loss" or "emergency requisition."

A batch of "hyperspace alloy" used to build interstellar warship engines was recorded as "damaged due to abnormal spatial fluctuations" in the transport records, but it was actually transported back to Li Zhe's military factory intact.

A batch of newly developed experimental drugs that can significantly enhance the mental resilience of mech pilots unexpectedly entered Li Zhe's biological laboratory during the "clinical trial data collection" process, resulting in an additional batch of "control group samples".

Another group of "worker bees" with special skills were transformed and reintegrated into society as "retired mech pilots" or "awakened mercenaries." They were no longer limited to maintaining underground order, but began to weave a global intelligence network.

Some established security companies, undertaking the perimeter security work for multiple classified facilities of the joint government, and planting "eyes" in the most core areas.

Some transformed into "ghosts" of the online world, establishing massive intelligence trading platforms on the dark web to gather all valuable information for Li Zhe, from the movements of the abyss to political secrets...

The former "boxer" has now become the sharpest and most secretive sword in Li Zhe's hand.

Over the next few days, the situation on Earth developed rapidly amidst an eerie calm and undercurrents.

Under the strong impetus of Ji Qing, the "Iron Lady of the New Era," the United Government's "All-People Mecha" plan is being rolled out across all member states at an unprecedented speed.

In an instant, an unprecedented "mecha craze" swept across the Blue Star.

Countless ordinary people have obtained the qualification to pilot mechs through simplified examinations and training.

The widespread adoption of this power has greatly enhanced the public's sense of security and sense of community.

This also provided a more solid foundation of public support for the coalition government's rule.

Those once high-ranking "elite mech pilots" have been pushed into a somewhat awkward position in this tide of the times.

Some of them could not accept the dilution of their former privileges and chose passive resistance, ultimately being abandoned by the times.

But more often, there are warriors like Bai Xihe who possess a true sense of the big picture.

They proactively embraced change, humbled themselves, and became instructors and mentors for the new generation of mech pilots, passing on their experience and beliefs without reservation.

As for those abyssal pseudo-humans hiding in the shadows, and certain human traitors, they seem to have temporarily withdrawn their claws and disappeared in this wave of universal mobilization.

The whole world seems to be moving in a brighter, more hopeful direction...

However, Li Zhe was very clear about this.

This is merely the calm before the storm.

He used this precious window of opportunity to accumulate his strength almost frantically.

Thanks to the tireless work of the "worker bee puppets," the underground base on Starfish Island has expanded into a massive and fully functional ultimate fortress.

From fully automated military factories to training grounds capable of simulating various abyssal environments, and biological laboratories capable of gene editing and soul reshaping... this place became Li Zhe's true kingdom.

Meanwhile, the strength of his muscle armor has been steadily improving during this period of arduous training and "nutritional supplementation".

Although the opportunity to "build a foundation" has still not been found.

However, his basic combat strength has been slightly improved, reaching 12.1.

……

Crisis Era Year 1, September 15st.

Li Zhe stood in the huge hangar of the underground base on Starfish Island, looking at the neatly equipped "worker bee puppet" force in front of him, which exuded a chilling aura.

Their equipment has been fully upgraded, with them wearing powered exoskeletons made of lightweight alloys native to Starfish Island and carrying the latest model rifles.

Behind them were rows of special mechs shimmering with a ghostly blue light.

Nearly half a year has passed since this war, which was started by the abyss, began.

And now, Li Zhe finally has his first one...

army!

(End of this chapter)