Chapter 393: The Crisis of Ford's Corona Borealis Ring
The God of Creation looked helpless. "I knew from the beginning that this would be a lose-lose situation. The Mechanics Association has grown to such a point that it has caused dissatisfaction among many civilizations."
"This time, the Empire took advantage of this opportunity to directly establish its own association. With the various materials we left behind, it will achieve twice the result with half the effort."
"They've already called on their allies to join them. If the Federation and the Star Cluster Republican Alliance follow suit, the Mechanics Guild will be doomed."
Li Ming, who was under the skin of the Azure Dragon, suddenly realized that this was the matter.
The God of Creation saw the crisis that was coming. If the Empire could survive this wave, the Mechanics Association would inevitably suffer a heavy blow.
The Master Craftsman continued, "So, we plan to put aside the matter of the Hammersmith and retake control of the Mechanics Association within the Empire. There may be some resistance at that time, so..."
It turned out that they were here to recruit him to boost their influence. Li Ming pondered and thought that it was not impossible. It was just a statement anyway, as long as they gave him some benefits.
"Well..." Qinglong looked a little embarrassed, "I don't really want to get involved in these things."
"Sir Qinglong, the Mechanics Association is one body, we all prosper together and suffer together." The God of Creation was sincere and speechless. He wanted benefits just to help boost the reputation. Did Qinglong only care about money?
Planning to get something for free? Li Ming was speechless. This God-creating Craftsman was too stingy.
He had only been a member for over a year and had not gained any benefits from the Machinists' Association. This guy had been running the business for so many years, and with such a complex network of connections, he had suffered the greatest losses and profits.
He now only has the Mechanical Royal Court under his command, and its development has already been restricted. If he puts the matter of the Hammer Forging Master on hold, who knows how many mechanics will curse him secretly and make things difficult for him.
I wanted him to share the firepower, but it was no benefit and I was scolded. His face suddenly turned cold and said, "I am a timid person and I really don't want to get involved in such a big thing."
Are you still timid? Why weren't you afraid when you were wholesale navigation program?
The creator was speechless. Fortunately, the facial features of the mechanical body were easy to control, otherwise it might have revealed some ugly expressions.
This statement is not a big deal, but it needs to be justified. Only by ending this state of confrontation can he take action against the Royal Mechanics Association.
The God of Creation estimated that it would be possible to eliminate the Royal Mechanics Association only in the early stages.
This time I don't have to bring Qinglong along, I just want to increase my strength and test it out.
Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice: "Your Excellency Qinglong, you may not know that the interstellar situation is volatile now. The Empire is already planning to establish a joint organization of higher life forms. The interstellar space is not a stage for fighting alone."
The interstellar space is indeed very large, but it is also very small. Once such a behemoth is born, it will inevitably squeeze the living space of other forces.
At least, a series of machinery-related industries will no longer be monopolized by the Machinists Association.
This news has already spread, Li Ming muttered. Of course he knew it. Not only did he know it, he was also one of them.
And these two master craftsmen do not seem to be among them.
"I'm a non-confrontational person. I believe no one would provoke me for no reason." Qinglong shook his head firmly. "Besides, I've only been a member for a year. If I interfere in the association's decisive affairs, I'll easily be criticized."
The Master Craftsman frowned. He didn't expect Qinglong to be so stubborn. After all, he was a nominal Master Craftsman of the Mechanics Association, and this platform alone could support him in doing many things.
It's just a platform. He has already done many things that offended people in secret. Is this one more thing?
The Mechanical Soul Master didn't say anything, just stared at Qinglong.
"In that case, forget it." The God of Creation did not continue to persuade, as if Azure Dragon was indispensable.
Then he said with a hint of apology: "I'm really sorry for not informing you in advance of my visit this time."
He didn't seem to want to ruin the relationship, so Qinglong said casually, "No problem, you two are welcome to come anytime."
Both sides could see that the other party was being perfunctory, and there was no need for either party to continue the conversation.
Qinglong waved his hand, and the surrounding space began to distort.
But at the last moment, the God of Creation's eyes flickered, and he suddenly picked up the glass of water on the table and said with a smile: "How about meeting once as a souvenir?"
The Mechanical Soul Master's face changed slightly. He was deliberately trying to embarrass Qinglong.
In case the space parameters are disordered and a major collapse occurs, it would not be a big deal for them to lose two carriers, but Li Ming is still here.
Even if Qinglong saved Li Ming, it would be difficult for him to save face.
However, the expected great collapse did not happen. Qinglong just looked at them calmly, his vision infinitely withdrawn.
The next moment, the surroundings turned into the lounge of the Mechanical Royal Court.
The carrier of the God of Creation stood there in a daze. The glass in his hand was still there, the liquid inside was shaking, and the surrounding space was still stable.
"Actually... everything is fine?" The Soul Mechanical Craftsman was so surprised that he could hardly conceal it, looking at the glass in the hands of the Creation Craftsman.
Li Ming only looked up at this moment, "Two master craftsmen, the teacher asked me to arrange accommodation for you, and told me that you can stay as long as you want."
"No need, we'll leave now." The Creator came back to his senses, holding the glass in his hand, and left in a calm tone.
"Ah..." The Mechanical Soul Master shook his head, feeling a little regretful. "Tell your teacher that I'll come alone when I have time."
After saying this, he chased after the God of Creation.
"What do you mean?" The Mechanical Soul Master caught up with him. The four scenes passed by, and the two of them had already walked into the distant sky. Cracks appeared on the glass cup in the hand of the Creator.
"Not sure." The God of Creation said indifferently.
"Not sure?" The Soul Mechanical Master asked doubtfully, "Didn't you say that we could be sure after just one meeting?"
"I was kidding." The Master Craftsman was too lazy to explain, feeling uneasy.
After leaving space, the self-destruction device of the carrier was activated, and it condensed directly into a ball of scrap metal and then annihilated into powder.
"After so many years, he's still like this even after suffering losses." The Mechanical Soul Master couldn't help but snort coldly.
…
Li Ming followed them out and watched them leave. He could probably guess that the creator of the masterpiece must be feeling very uneasy.
The enhanced [Mimetic Projector] had capabilities beyond his imagination, almost equivalent to a real void creation, which scared the two master craftsmen.
The main reason is that the God Craftsman studies the laws of the universe for his own use, so he would be quite shocked to discover something that is different from the laws of the universe.
If it were an X-level life form, it might not be so useful.
But Li Ming did not feel any excitement in his heart, instead he felt a sense of urgency. The master craftsman came today, but what about tomorrow?
They come here in the name of visiting, so I can’t not meet them, right?
If you happen to meet a person with strange abilities and his true colors are seen through, you will be in big trouble.
"One lie must be covered up with countless lies." Li Ming sighed, "You have to pay back for what you have said."
"Let's upgrade it to S-rank as soon as possible. Then we'll have more time. When the development progress reaches 80%, if there's still no Star Beast I need, we'll just find a barely passable one and make do."
His eyes flickered as he went back to developing the gene seeds.
Interstellar time passes like water, and in the blink of an eye, more than half a month has passed.
On this day, the Joint Manufacturing Center, the department headed by Monroe, mainly used the [Material Reorganization Fabricator] to make things.
In the spacious factory building, a silver metal box the size of a house is suspended in the air, with sharp edges and corners, as if it was shaped by the most precise geometric model.
Multiple layers are nested, each layer fits perfectly, yet has a subtle sense of layering.
The outer metal surface is as smooth as a mirror, reflecting the lights inside the factory, forming dazzling spots of light.
Between the layers, one can vaguely see subtle energy flows slowly, like blood flowing in metal veins.
"It is made up of sixteen nested micro-folding spaces, specially designed to accommodate mechanical bodies. It is really an incredible design." Monroe sighed. His whole body was shining with mechanical luster. Li Ming had already removed the last bit of nano curse for him.
He raised his hand slightly, and the silver mechanical body rotated layer by layer, and then shrank. When it was in his hand, it was only the size of a palm.
Li Ming took over - [Primary Mechanical Folding Barracks - Special Type: Specially designed to accommodate mechanical bodies.
Control conditions - 5 million metal energy
Control Ability - Mechanical Barracks: Can accommodate 100,000 humanoid machines. The larger the size, the smaller the number. Various types of damage can be slowly repaired in it.
This is a special device used by the Forging Hammer Master to house mechanical bodies. The complete structure is composed of tens of thousands of parts.
That's why it can be made by hand using the [Material Recombination Fabricator], and each part is the limit of what the fabricator can produce.
This is just the beginner level. There are also intermediate and advanced levels, and the resources and complexity required increase exponentially.
He now has two ways to enlighten the mechanical body. One is large-scale enlightenment, which is not under control and consumes a lot of metal energy, but it cannot be absorbed into the body.
The other way is to control it and then enlighten it. The advantage is that it can be absorbed into the body.
However, it is okay when the number is small, but what if it reaches tens, hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
It takes a lot of time to release it from his body, let alone use it in a head-on battle.
Li Ming nodded in satisfaction and took control directly. Since it was simply used for storage, there was naturally no need to control it.
Once it is under control, it can also automatically repair damaged mechanical bodies. This ability should not be underestimated.
He casually glanced at other things and found that many of them were being researched and manufactured. He had recruited a group of mechanics, but they were basically all senior technicians who were only there to help Monroe.
Back in the room, Li Ming checked the news as usual, but learned an unexpected news -
Ford died.
“… Half a month ago, His Highness Ford died in a battle with the Knights of Inquisition. For his bravery and fearlessness, he was posthumously awarded the title of “Knight of Valor”…” Li Ming looked at the official report of the Itlan civilization.
The death occurred half a month ago, but after various matters were dealt with, it was already half a month later before the report was made.
He felt sad that life is unpredictable.
Ford is also an old friend of his, and the days when they took advantage of each other were quite interesting.
Two days later, as the assembly line worked day and night, the number of mechanical bodies reached 100,000, and he needed to enlighten them.
He was already familiar with these tasks. Coming out of the mechanical warehouse, the number of mechanical bodies under his command had reached 700,000.
"We can start to manufacture C-class mechanical bodies." He pondered. Due to the [Mutation] ability of the [Mechanical Lord], the cost-effectiveness of manufacturing C-class mechanical bodies is extremely high, and there is a probability of mutating into A-class life forms.
But the cost is really terrifying. Even with the assembly line, his current cost can only be controlled at 5 million star coins per body, and he can only mix it on a small scale.
After dealing with this matter, when I was about to go back, I found that Ulrich had a strange expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Li Ming asked casually.
"It's nothing. We caught another stowaway today and he said he was your friend." Ulrich explained simply. This was not the first impostor. There were even more, some who had actually seen Li Ming.
He came from the Blue Star civilization and was considered his schoolmate. He wanted to come here to make a living, but Li Ming was too lazy to pay attention to him and let Ulrich handle everything.
Hearing this, Li Ming didn't care and went back. On the way, he was looking at his smart terminal. There was a picture on it, of a giant beast with huge purple wings and a single horn.
"The Phantom Purple Horned Emperor, whose life form is comparable to an S-class life form with over 60% development progress, is barely passable..." He muttered, "Let's add it to the reserve list for now."
As soon as he returned to the room, Ulrich came to find him again and said quickly:
"Just reviewed the member's report. The stowaway who was caught revealed some things, mentioning the missing star core fragments and metal materials on Blue Star..."
"Hmm?" Li Ming, who originally had no expression on his face, suddenly froze in his eyes.
"I'll bring the person here right away." When Ulrich saw Li Ming's reaction, he knew that he was right.
When the other party mentioned the missing star core fragments and metal materials, he thought of Qinglong instead of Li Ming.
Of course, as everyone knows, Li Ming was accepted as a student by Qinglong when he was on Blue Star, and the real instigator may be Qinglong.
"Could it be him?" Li Ming looked strange, but his guess was soon verified.
A ragged guy was brought in. He seemed to have been cleaned and his facial features were clear.
"No?" Li Ming frowned slightly, but those familiar eyes suddenly turned red, with a hint of tears in their eyes: "Boss...!"
"Fuck!" Li Ming's mouth twitched. It was really him.
"How did you become like this?" Li Ming couldn't help but ask, looking the other person up and down. It was obvious that he was not wearing a camouflage mask and seemed to have had plastic surgery.
Ulrich's eyes moved slightly, then he gestured to Li Ming and turned away.
"I... I..." The other party was speechless and seemed to be very frightened and alert, even though all the people present were robots.
"Come with me." Li Ming brought him into the room, closed the door, and then said, "Fred, what's going on? Aren't you dead? Faking your death?"
That’s right, the guy in front of him is none other than His Highness Ford, who led his troops to charge and died heroically in the official reports of the Itlan civilization!
"Also, did you have plastic surgery?" Li Ming was quite curious.
Ford's eyes trembled and he wailed, "Brother, help! The Corona Borealis ring is about to end!"
"Hmm?" Li Ming frowned. "What's wrong?"
"Prince Ryan..." Ford's throat rolled, "We must sacrifice the entire Corona Borealis ring with blood!"
(End of this chapter)
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