Chapter 288 Shadows Beneath the Core Ruins
"Yes, it's him." Li Ming nodded, and after turning left and right, he arrived at the door of his studio.
Monroe was in a daze, his processor running at high speed. While collecting metal materials during this period, he also had a slight understanding of the current situation.
I learned that Grand Duke Guya was assassinated and his life or death is still unknown.
Because of certain things, he paid special attention to Grand Duke Guya, and further learned that the assassin was a terrible assassin named "Dark Night".
He didn't expect to see the other person here.
And, more importantly, he was actually very polite to Qinglong.
Everything in front of him made him confused. The last time he came into contact with Qinglong was when the other party was lurking under Ulrich's command and doing something secretly.
How long has it been?
"Okay, just put it here." Li Ming waved his hand.
While the Monero processor was running at high speed, the metal materials he brought had been delivered. After the staff put them down, they left carefully.
The door opened, and two mechanical bodies, Thunder and Tepper, came out and carried the things in. They guarded the studio around the clock.
Li Ming was quite looking forward to it, as he was in great need of metal energy.
Monroe followed in, looked around, removed his camouflage, and revealed his mechanical body that was almost completely eroded by green nanoworms.
It was almost back to the point when Li Ming first saw the other party lying in the liquid cabin.
"Where's Sabre?"
Li Ming was counting the metal materials and asked casually.
What Monroe brought were the same metal plates mixed with star core fragments, totaling 120 pieces. He was very familiar with this material, and one piece contained 500,000 metal energies.
About 60 million metal energies can be extracted. I don’t know where Monroe got so much of the same material.
"Saber?" Monroe seemed a little surprised. He didn't expect Qinglong to still remember Saber. "When I came here, I asked him to leave the Red River Star Stream. It's been quite uneasy around here lately."
Li Ming nodded. 50 million for repairs and 10 million for labor costs, just right...
Then, he asked his two mechanical guards to transport all the metal materials into the sealed cabin on the left side of the studio.
Letting Monroe wait here for a while, he walked in and began to absorb the metal energy.
These metal plates were relatively expensive and not very large in size, so he had absorbed most of them in just half a day.
It was about the same as he expected, with a total of 60 million metal energies absorbed.
After walking out of the sealed cabin, Monroe looked at him first. His nervous system, which had been almost eroded by the nano curse, was a little overloaded.
"Even with these metal materials, it is unlikely to be repaired well." Li Ming noticed that the Star King was getting excited, so he took precautions in advance.
"I understand that once it recovers to a certain level, I will be able to stop it from spreading further. That way, I will have enough time to collect more materials," Men Luo explained.
Li Ming suddenly realized, and then said: "Mr. Monroe, it's still the same as before. I will cut off your central control system."
"No problem." Having had this experience once, Monroe naturally did not resist at all. Instead, he took the initiative to cut off the control system.
Li Ming made sure that he was offline before he reached out and covered his body.
As the metal energy surged out, an invisible ripple gradually spread out with his finger as the center, and the green nanoworms around it died on the spot as if they had encountered some natural enemy.
The rotten and bumpy body was gradually repaired until it was as bright and clean as new.
"After being transformed to this extent, can he still be called a human being?" Li Ming's mind was scattered. Monroe in this state was equivalent to a person with his brain taken out.
Normal life forms would definitely be dead, but for mechanically modified bodies, they would just be offline temporarily.
He certainly couldn't accept this kind of transformation, as he had become no different from the mechanical bodies under his command.
Time passed by minute by minute, and two hours later.
Monroe's mechanical pupils lying on the metal plate suddenly lit up and began to run at high speed. Energy sparks burst out from all parts of his mechanical body, and the engine in his chest made a humming sound.
The metal cover on the left forearm lifted up, and a pitch-black energy cannon muzzle popped out. An energy generator extended from the palm of the hand, condensing into a purple lightsaber.
Two ray turrets also rose on his shoulders, and his left hand quickly transformed, constantly assembling into various melee weapons.
On the smooth metal back, a large number of micro-thrusters popped out with a click, and then quickly converged. The entire mechanical body was constantly spreading, assembling, and deforming.
There are almost no traces of green left on the surface of the body, only some residual traces remain on the crotch and calves.
Monroe was familiarizing himself with his body. The system was performing various self-checks, and the report he received made him marvel:
"It's truly amazing! 74% integrity, incredible technology. I'm now able to stop the spread of the Nano Curse."
Monroe was very excited, and Li Ming was also very satisfied, as he had obtained another 10 million metal energies.
"Congratulations, Mr. Monroe, on your new life." Li Ming smiled.
"Thank you very much." Monroe's attitude became more polite, even solemn. "I will always remember your kindness."
"You're welcome." Li Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and he asked curiously, "Did your strength at your peak reach that of an S-class life form?"
"Hmm..." Monroe murmured, "There's no clear dividing line when judging the strength of a mechanically modified body."
"All of my modified components are made of A-grade materials. Theoretically, I should be an A-grade life form. However, due to the special nature of mechanical modification, if I were to load an energy engine, I could unleash strength far exceeding that of an A-grade life form."
"But facing a true S-class genetic evolution, it's a little underwhelming."
It's a quasi-S-level life form, Li Ming simply and roughly defined it, and then deliberately asked: "The Reina you fought with shouldn't have been an S-level life form at that time."
"Reina!" Monroe's face suddenly darkened, his mechanical pupils spinning at high speed, and he snorted coldly: "He is not an S-level life form, and he is no match for me. If he hadn't used such a trick as the Nano Curse..."
Monroe obviously hated Reina very much. After all, he had been tortured for more than 40 years and his life was worse than death.
"Oh..." Li Ming looked thoughtful. Monroe finally realized what was happening and asked hesitantly, "Why did you suddenly mention Reina?"
"Because he is now an S-level life form, and has been dragged into the vortex of the Ascender's Core Ruins." Li Ming explained casually.
"S-class lifeform?" Monroe's expression changed slightly, and his voice was cold. "It seems that he has gained a lot of benefits over the years."
"Is he still with Grand Duke Gu Ya?" Monroe asked again.
"That's right..." Li Ming nodded and couldn't help but ask, "At that time, was it Grand Duke Gu Ya who was thinking about the [Matter Recombination Fabricator] in your hand?"
"Part of the reason..." Monroe pondered, looked at Qinglong, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Actually, the situation at that time was very complicated..."
"I am not a living being in the rings of Corona Borealis." Monroe's pupils reflected a picture, a very complex star map, which kept expanding and finally froze.
"Haintis is a star cluster-level civilization in the Sea of Stars. There are many star cluster-level civilizations there, and it is known as the birthplace of the next empire-level civilization. Therefore, the Xingyuan Empire and the Yongyao Federation have both deployed measures there to prevent the birth of the next empire-level civilization."
"For some reason, my civilization was indirectly destroyed by the Xingyuan Empire. My father and I were displaced. During this time, my gene seed was removed, and my path to genetic evolution was cut off..."
Li Ming couldn't help but say, "You're not some prince, noble exile, or something like that, seeking revenge against the Xingyuan Empire, or reviving civilization, are you?"
Monroe shook his head. "Neither. I'm just an insignificant civilian. I don't have the lofty goals you mentioned."
That’s about right… Li Ming muttered, feeling that there were too many exiled nobles in the interstellar space. One brick could kill four or five of them.
Monroe continued, "I wandered the stars for several years. My father died at the hands of a group of interstellar pirates, and I ended up in the Land of Chaos."
"For some very complicated reasons, I was spotted by someone who seemed to be a Casting Star-level mechanic. He performed mechanical modifications on my entire body and placed me here to build the Land of Stars."
"Oh?" Li Ming finally showed some interest. "You're using the Land of Stars to pull something from the Red River Star Stream. Is that what they mean?"
"Yes, actually, I didn't know what to pull, but he just let me do it, and do it in a big way."
Li Ming guessed it instantly: "He asked you to deliberately attract attention?"
"Yes." Monroe nodded. "Because of my presence, Grand Duke Gu Ya cast his gaze here for the first time, and even Grand Duke Thornblood contacted me secretly."
"Wait, the Bloodthirsty Duke?" Li Ming captured the key words and frowned.
Why are these two people here again?
"What's wrong?"
Seeing Qinglong's surprised reaction, Monroe couldn't help but ask.
"You might not know." Li Ming kneaded his brows, "This time, the fight for the Ascendant Core Relics was also orchestrated by Grand Duke Blood and Grand Duke Guya."
"Are they again?" Monroe's eyes narrowed slightly, and he pondered, "The Xingyuan Empire is divided into three factions. Among the royal family, the Glory Saint Emperor—Adam—is currently the leader.
"Grand Duke Cixue and Grand Duke Gu Ya are two princes under the Holy Emperor. Because their fiefdoms are adjacent to each other, they have always had a lot of friction."
Monroe's meaning was unclear: "Do you know the person behind me? How should I choose when I face the two of them?"
Li Ming showed an inquiring look at the right moment.
"Sowing discord, trying every possible way to sow discord!" Monroe spat out a few words.
Li Ming paused for a moment and suddenly realized that something big must be happening here, and it must be a huge thing.
"A forging-star level mechanic. An Ye's gun was also made by a forging-star level mechanic..." Li Ming subconsciously thought, could it be the same person?
"Is it Grand Duke Guya who has the upper hand between the two of them?" Li Ming asked.
"That's right." Monroe nodded. "Gu Ya is much older than Grand Duke Cixie. Cixie is a new noble. The royal family only has so much cake. If he wants to get more, he can only take from others."
Li Ming murmured, "So Gu Ya was injured but not killed, which made Cixue even more greedy..."
Is it really the same person?
He couldn't help but wonder, a game that lasted for more than forty years?
Maybe it's more than that. He only knows this much. The lifespan of higher life forms is longer than one can imagine. These two events happened only forty years apart. Even if it happened four hundred years apart, it wouldn't be surprising.
Monroe sighed, "Last time, Grand Duke Guya didn't send out any S-class lifeforms, and Grand Duke Thornblood only contacted me secretly."
"But this time, the competition between them has become more obvious, and they even dispatched S-level life forms."
Li Ming thought of the [Matter Recombination Fabricator] again and asked, "Did he also give me that fabricator?"
"A bait." Monroe said, "The man behind me doesn't care who gets the thing."
Rich and powerful... Li Ming sighed.
"But..." Monroe sneered at this point, "But I haven't been in the interstellar space for so many years for nothing. Grand Duke Gu Ya thinks he can kill me with Reina and the Nano Curse?"
"Unfortunately, I escaped at the last moment."
Li Ming nodded thoughtfully, then asked in confusion: "Since you escaped, why didn't you contact that Casting Star Mechanic?"
Monroe shook his head. "He was just using me as a tool. When he was remodeling me, he implanted many components that restricted me. The nano curse corroded them all."
"I'm worthless now. He may not save me."
Li Ming had a vague impression of the star-casting mechanic and had a guess.
This core relic is also a game, right?
"Your Excellency seems to have some ideas about the core ruins as well?" Monroe looked at the pensive Qinglong and asked tentatively.
"I do have some ideas." Li Ming said frankly.
Monroe hesitated, "I'm afraid this matter isn't that simple. I advise you not to take any risks. I have a vague feeling that there are serious implications behind this."
Li Ming just nodded but did not respond.
Monroe didn't say much. Given their relationship, it would be impolite to persuade him further.
"What are your plans now?" Li Ming asked.
"I don't have any plans for now." Monroe shook his head, his mechanical pupils glowing red. "I do have some thoughts about Reina."
Li Ming couldn't help but be surprised: "You just advised me not to take risks."
Monroe shook his head, his voice gradually becoming colder. "We are different. I have no ties. I have already repaid the favor that person showed me. Now, of course, I want... revenge!"
That’s perfect… Li Ming couldn’t help but grin.
Monroe calmed down and asked, "Theo, are Ulrich and the others on the boat?"
"You want to meet them?"
Monroe nodded, then hesitated and said, "If it doesn't interfere with your plans, I do have this idea. There are some old things that are a knot in my heart."
"That won't interfere." Li Ming shook his head with a faint smile on his face. "I'm sure they'll be very happy to see you again."
Monroe has transformed into a human form again, and the corners of his mouth are pulled apart.
Li Ming sent a few messages and the two left the studio.
Five minutes later, in the main ship's conference room No. 1, Theo and his companions gathered together and sat in two rows.
Sandro looked around nervously. Seeing that no one spoke, he finally couldn't help but ask, "Why did Qinglong call us here? Does anyone know?"
"Jessiah?"
No one paid any attention to him. Everyone looked calm and had different thoughts in their minds.
Finally, after waiting for a few more minutes, everyone turned around at the same time and saw that the door of the conference room was opened and Qinglong walked in.
(End of this chapter)
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