Chapter 224 The Approaching Combined Fleet
"Really?" Li Ming was surprised and looked Tiago up and down. "You don't seem to be qualified to make conditions."
Tiago's face changed slightly, and he was about to say something, but he heard Li Ming continue: "But, tell me, if it is really important to me, I can promise you."
Tiago hesitated slightly, but he had no choice but to hope that the other party would keep their promise. He said in a deep voice, "The combined fleet should arrive at the Land of the Stars soon."
"Hmm? Combined Fleet?" Li Ming's expression was slightly serious, and his brows were furrowed. "Are you sure?"
"I have the latest news. The combined fleet is still docked near the North Bor interstellar ice sheet. Someone even photographed Asmara. Don't tell me it's just some kind of holographic image. Do you have any evidence?"
In the Silver Star Cluster, there are countless gray forces secretly watching the Combined Fleet, fearing that the other side will come upon them.
If it was just some kind of large-scale holographic image, it would be impossible to conceal it.
"This is just my speculation, there's no evidence..." Tiago took a breath. Li Ming's eyes became even colder. "Don't worry, I have plenty of time to play with you."
"I heard that the Duke Bug people reproduce by depositing their eggs in other life forms. In this interstellar age, they clone ordinary beasts on a large scale and use them as nests."
"But there's always been a rumor that the higher the level of the parasitic life form, the higher the development potential of the offspring born. I also heard that a Duke insect-man can produce dozens of offspring from a single clutch of eggs..."
A terrifying scene suddenly emerged in Tiago's mind, making his whole body numb. He didn't even care about the pain in his body and hurriedly said, "Listen to my explanation first."
"I'm not familiar with the Land of Stars. The entire plan was designed by Asmara. They planned an escape route for me and set the coordinates."
"If the plan succeeds, we will send you to that coordinate location. It's an empty star field. The higher-ups speculate that since she values you so much, she might personally take you in."
"Although the entire combined fleet hasn't arrived, perhaps some of its elite troops have already gone ahead."
Li Ming rubbed his chin when he heard this. Tiago's speculation sounded reasonable, but it was also possible that Asmara's men were waiting at the coordinates.
"Given how much Asmara values you, he will definitely come to receive you in person," Tiago emphasized.
Li Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and he thought in his heart. In fact, he had this premonition before, but Theo had been paying attention to the joint fleet and claimed that there was no movement, so he relaxed his vigilance.
If Asmara abandoned some of his people and came lightly, the possibility would be very high indeed.
As for Asmara who appeared on the battlefield, it was most likely a holographic projection. A large-scale fleet is difficult to disguise, but a personal projection is difficult to tell whether it is real or fake.
If that's the case... he felt a sense of urgency.
Even if it is not a large force of the Combined Fleet, the people brought by Asmara cannot be underestimated, and the number of A-level life forms must not be small.
"It's time to run away..." Li Ming had this idea before, and even found his next home, which was the Torch Organization.
However, Asmara used Ford's account to interfere, and the Torch Organization has been dragging its feet and has not given a clear response, so he can only stay here for the time being.
"Don't worry, I will keep my promise." Li Ming glanced at the nervous Thiago, who then breathed a sigh of relief and watched Li Ming leave.
Thiago closed his eyes, his eyelids trembling, and carefully felt the changes in his body.
A few minutes later, Li Ming gathered Ulrich and others together and told them the news he got from Tiago.
"March in secret?" Theo frowned and swiped on the smart terminal in his hand.
Ulrich's face was filled with uneasiness. "Did Tiago say when she left?"
"About twenty days ago." Li Ming thought, if Asmara was really marching in secret, he would have set off as soon as he saw his mecha.
"Twenty days ago?" Ulrich's expression darkened even further as he pulled up a star map from his smart device. "Twenty days ago, they were in the Hiberrite galaxy, only ten days away from the nearest Guya civilization, which possessed a warp gate."
"If they jump to the Bavarol civilization, which is closest to the Land of the Stars, and then sail here, it will only take a month."
"Calculating the time, if it's slow, it will take another ten days. If it's fast, we can arrive in another five days."
Theo's gaze fell on Li Ming, and he said in a deep voice, "You mean, Asmara not only secretly sent people to ambush you, but also specially sent elite troops to come to the Land of Stars in advance?"
"She seems really eager for you. Can you tell us why?"
Ulrich also looked over. Li Ming helplessly spread his hands and said, "Everyone, we should be discussing how to deal with the current situation, not fighting among ourselves."
"You have to deal with the situation and know why. Asmara is very interested in you." Theo continued. Ulrich hesitated and did not join in the questioning.
Sandro folded his arms and spoke in a muffled voice, "Wasn't the arrival of the Combined Fleet something we anticipated long ago? It's just an early evacuation. Why bother with so much?"
"Shut up." Theo scolded. What he cared about was not this incident, but the meaning hidden behind it.
Asmara's eagerness to see something they didn't might cause unusual trouble.
"Are you worried?" Li Ming asked, then said calmly, "The solution is actually very simple. We just need to go our separate ways."
"Asmara is only interested in me, why do you all have to pester me?"
"No." Ulrich was the first to shake his head. Although he was vaguely uneasy, he had already realized that Qinglong was planning to use them. After all, there were not many opportunities to take three A-level life forms hostage.
But it is impossible to go our separate ways now. The sunk costs and losses are too great to extricate ourselves from the situation. We must see the benefits that can be gained.
Sandro also shook his head immediately, "No, no, I'm still counting on you to get something."
Theo frowned. The people behind him would not allow him to leave the great mechanic, so he could only remain silent.
"In that case, don't think too much about it." Li Ming smiled, "I suggest that we leave here as soon as possible."
He had no interest in staying and fighting Asmara head-on. Finding a place to continue developing was his best option.
"That's what I thought too. Let's go today and get ready immediately." Ulrich nodded. All his wealth was in this castle, so leaving was just a matter of a word.
"So soon?" Sandro was stunned and said hurriedly, "I have to go back and pack up my fleet."
"Go back, no one will stop you." Ulrich glanced at him.
Sandro snorted coldly, his face turned ashen. How could he leave at this moment?
Because he hadn't been back for a while, his territory had been severely eroded and his subordinates were already resentful.
Although he could issue orders through the smart terminal to let them hide temporarily, it was not certain whether these fleets would still belong to him when he returned. This was the way plunderers worked.
Loyalty is just a joke.
"What did the Torch Organization say? They still haven't given in?" Li Ming asked.
Theo said calmly, "It should be soon. It's mainly because those master mechanics are not in agreement. This battle is also a demonstration of your technical level."
"Should we notify the others?" Ulrich asked. "When faced with such an encirclement and suppression, the Land of the Stars has always stood together."
"What the hell!" Sandro said angrily, "My territory is almost completely eaten up."
"It's really not necessary this time." Theo also shook his head. "We've discussed this before. The Land of Stars probably won't be able to hold out this time."
Ulrich nodded, as if feeling a little emotional, and then quickly went to arrange the evacuation.
This is Ulrich's territory, so naturally we can leave on his spaceship.
Theo's men are all mercenaries with neither good nor bad reputations. They are not wanted in many civilizations and can easily run away to other star clusters without being affected.
Ulrich had suffered a heavy loss not long ago, so he didn't have much to take away. He secretly asked Cassis to pack up, and it only took half a day to finish.
As he was making arrangements in an orderly manner, Li Ming approached Ulrich mysteriously and asked, "Do you have any self-destruct devices?"
Ulrich hesitated and whispered, "Yes, there are a number of high-yield fusion-impact nuclear bombs buried deep underground."
Li Ming's eyes lit up slightly, and he heard Ulrich continue, "I know what you want to do. When Asmara landed on the island, they would definitely prepare a signal jammer. It would be difficult to determine their location, and even more difficult to detonate from the outside."
"Then leave someone to detonate it from the inside," Li Ming added.
Ulrich was helpless. "There are too many variables. I don't trust my men."
"Do you have to tell them the truth?" Li Ming shook his head and muttered for a while. Ulrich's eyes changed, "You are really sinister."
He turned and ordered, "Call Brown."
Until the moment before boarding the spacecraft, Sandro's face looked very ugly.
There are still many good things in his old nest, but there are only a few people under his command who can be called confidants, and it is unknown how many he can save in the end.
…
In an unknown place, at the Torch Organization headquarters, in the core laboratory, it is extremely vast, with a large number of experimental personnel coming and going in a hurry, and large experimental instruments running non-stop.
In the very center, on the metal laboratory table, there is an instrument half the height of a person. It opens from the center, and the internal metal structure is extremely precise, with bright blue energy flowing.
Above was a constantly rotating three-dimensional image. Jessiah stood aside with his hands open, and the three-dimensional image enlarged, appearing to be some kind of physical drawing.
Compared to the drawing, the items on the metal plate seem to be only a small part.
"1437th energy conduction failure. The third spectrometer detected energy of unknown spectrum. Recording..."
"The 2345th material property test failed. The corresponding properties cannot be matched with the drawing. Continue to try the alloy ratio..."
The sounds of various failed experiments continued to come, and Jessiah had become accustomed to it.
"Idiot, the bosai value should be between 2γ and 3Ψ, otherwise it will cause thermal expansion!"
"A bunch of useless, brainless people!"
Deyes's face turned red and he kept roaring. The torch experimenters were scolded and looked like they had lost all hope in life.
"Deyes..." Jessia frowned. "It's obvious that bioalloy has nothing to do with the color value. Who knows how the sublimators synthesized it? There's no point in scolding them."
Deyes snorted coldly, "It's been three months, and we've only made so little progress. Even in another three years, I'm afraid we won't be able to do it. If we bring our experimental team here, we can speed it up."
"There are too many people. The Torch Organization will never agree to this. Besides, there is a simpler solution." Jessiah said calmly, and he just kept turning the blueprint in front of him to adjust the details.
"You're talking about that Master Mechanic Qinglong again, right?" Deyes's face darkened. "I've already said that's just your speculation. Even if he's highly skilled, he can't necessarily solve our problem."
"What if there's still no progress after we invite him here? And his origins aren't clear yet. This is a bomb!"
Jesseia shook his head. Apart from him, the other two great mechanics did not approve of Qinglong coming.
"Deyes, you're simply worried that he'll share your profits. I know you want to see if there are any materials for forging a Star-Forging Device in the Ascendant Ruins."
Deyes was exposed, but he didn't care. "So what?"
Jessiah said indifferently: "If we can't build this thing, we can't even get in."
"I told the Torch Organization to bring all our teams here. Their people are incompetent..." Deyes frowned and paused in the middle of his words.
The surrounding experimenters retreated to the sides. Jessia turned back and nodded slightly: "Mr. Cornett."
The one who came was the Torch Leader. He looked around at the three Master Mechanics and said, "We have decided to send Master Mechanic Qinglong, along with the three A-level life forms, Theo, Ulrich, and Sandro."
"What?" Deyes yelled, "Cornet, are you crazy?"
Cornett said calmly, "Mr. Deyes, the slow progress is obvious to all. If we don't find a solution, no one will be able to get in."
"We have no way, but he is sure he has a way? How can he prove it?" Deyes was anxious.
Cornett didn't say anything, but just opened the smart terminal, created a virtual projection, and played a battle video.
This time, the picture is obviously clearer and seems to have been processed with auxiliary equipment.
He briefly introduced: "Not long ago, the A-level life form Tiago ambushed this Lord Qinglong, but was captured."
"Oh?" Jessiah became alert and observed carefully, and Deyes's expression paused slightly.
"In this battle, he displayed a second A-class combat mecha, and was assisted by an A-class combat mechanical body. Both of these require extremely high technical content." Connet said.
These mechanics are strictly forbidden to contact the outside world, and can only get information from Connit.
"This mecha..." The taciturn old mechanic Benny came over and observed carefully. When he saw the mecha resisting Tiago's attack, he was surprised:
"It's resistant to EMP electromagnetic interference. Where on earth did he find this nanomaterial? It seems to be even stronger than the previous one."
Among items of the same level, combat mechas are the most complex to build and can best reflect the level of craftsmanship.
"It's clearly biased towards defense, lacking any weapon modules, and is also a proponent of the 'Fiers Theory.'" Benny observed it for a moment and couldn't help but say, "Fiers Theory posits that due to performance limitations, a single combat mecha shouldn't have both."
Deyes's expression changed slightly, and when the silver combat machine rushed into the battlefield and demonstrated its combat strength, Jessiah suddenly became excited: "How, how is this possible!"
(End of this chapter)
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