Chapter 527 "Socialite"
Anatoly continued, "His activities are quite far from me, so I don't know much about him."
"But based on the information we have from various sources, he poses the greatest threat, both to you and to me."
His evolutionary path is special, and reputation plays a more important role for him. He spends so much energy and effort not just for power.
Anatoly smiled. "Compared to an unfamiliar Qinglong, I'd rather cooperate with you. We've already taken the initiative, and I believe Qinglong won't forget this."
Gustav remained silent, his mind churning, but he shook his head, "It's not a fight to the death yet. Even if we miscalculated, it's not impossible to ease the situation."
"Of course..." Anatoly nodded. "At our level, it's extremely difficult to truly kill him. We can only suppress him temporarily."
"But..." He changed the subject, "Qinglong has a good relationship with the Empire and the Federation. What happened in the Red River Star Stream probably tied them together."
"Combined with the Empire and the Federation, our situation...is not good."
Gustav naturally understood this. Only Qinglong himself was fine, but the Red River Star Stream incident was involved.
If you are not careful, there is a possibility that you will be attacked and killed secretly.
Gustav didn't think too long before analyzing the pros and cons. He glanced at Anatoly and asked, "How did Qinglong know the coordinates of this place?"
Anatoly couldn't help but smile and immediately explained:
"The Star Alliance was the first to discover these coordinates. Qinglong probably obtained them from the Star Alliance, probably because his students were attacked some time ago."
"The Star Alliance suffered a loss in this matter and had to pay something to appease him."
"The Star Alliance's move was most likely due to the Red River Star Stream," Gustav immediately connected the dots. "Among the three great master craftsmen, Azure Dragon appears to be the weakest, which is why they took action and ended up in trouble."
Now these are all hindsight. If they had known the news earlier, they would not have acted so easily against Qinglong.
"What do you want to know?" Gustav thought for a moment and looked at Anatoly.
Anatoly immediately said, "The origin of the Azure Dragon, and the general information about the Red River Star Stream."
"Qinglong's origin..." Gustav frowned slightly, "I don't know his specific origins either."
"He first appeared in the Land of Stars. His student, Li Ming, is suspected of having killed Prince Ixus of the Itlan civilization..."
"…On the way, they attacked and killed Duke Bai Ye of the Sera civilization and stole their spaceship."
"And when the spaceship set foot on the land of stars, Li Ming disappeared and Qinglong appeared."
These messages may seem ordinary, but in fact they are all information that is almost impossible to find publicly. There is no paper information for various details, and even Anatoly cannot find them.
"...This is the first time Azure Dragon has appeared. It doesn't appear very strong. It's been hiding for a long time under the control of the Collector, Ulrich..."
“…Later, it became entangled with the regional resistance organization Torch…” Gustav roughly described the clues of Qinglong’s “rise”.
"Is that all?" Anatoly couldn't help but frown after hearing this. Although these were all confidential information, when taken together, they were of no use.
The origins of Qinglong remain unknown.
"What else?" Gustav said calmly, "Qinglong's methods are incompatible with any higher life forms in the galaxy. It just has a stronger resemblance to the long-dead Hammersmith."
"Forging Hammer..." Anatoly shook his head. Ever since the Imperial Federation retreated last time, rumors have been circulating within the Mechanics Association that Qinglong is the Forging Hammer, and they listed many clues.
But this groundless speculation is not supported by any evidence.
"The Black Hole Network knows much more than this," Anatoly emphasized.
"You also know it's the Black Hole Network, not me." Gustav frowned. "The Black Hole Network won't tell me anything that belongs to user privacy."
"User privacy?" Anatoly laughed. "Black Hole Network talks about user privacy?"
The credibility of the black hole network is indeed very high, but when higher life forms reach a certain level, they will build their own communication channels.
They firmly believed that the black hole network could not betray any information about A-level and S-level life forms, but it was hard to say about X-level life forms.
"Gustav, you really don't know?" Anatoly pressed. "Doesn't Qinglong have a Black Hole Network account? Hasn't the Black Hole Network ever tried to locate him?"
Gustav still shook his head, "I've already told you everything I can tell you. Although I can communicate with the Black Hole Network, it won't listen to me."
"Of course I know..." Anatoly smiled, not bothering with Qinglong any more. Instead, he asked, "What about the Red River Star Stream incident? How big is it?"
"This matter..." Gustav exhaled, "Ever since the Empire and the Federation flowed out of the Red River Star, the Royal Academy of Sciences Dean Raphael disappeared, and the Federation's lifelong advisor Granger disappeared."
"…Three months later, the Empire and the Federation allocated at least one trillion star coins worth of various resources, and several experts in genetic evolution disappeared…"
"The Black Hole Network speculates that what's happening in the Red River Star Stream must involve major interstellar changes. There's a 70% chance it's related to ultimate life forms..."
No matter how secretive the actions of the Empire and the Federation are, some resources will not disappear for no reason. By combining data and information and seeing the big picture from the small, we can roughly estimate something.
"The Ultimate Life Form..." Anatoly's expression grew serious. "Once the Ultimate Life Form emerges from either the Empire or the Federation, it will immediately reshape the rules of the universe."
Gustav sighed. "Currently, the only people who know about this, besides the Empire and the Federation, are the three great master craftsmen. Azure Dragon is not to be trifled with, and Reynolds and Mikhail are no pushovers either. There's been no news from them lately..."
Anatoly frowned. "A single move could affect the entire body. The Empire and the Federation will certainly do everything in their power to prevent this news from leaking out prematurely."
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. "Since this matter is so secretive, why did the Empire and the Federation allow the three of them to be safe and sound?"
“Who resisted this pressure?”
Although Anatoly was asking, he actually already had the answer in his heart.
"It's Qinglong again..." Anatoly stroked his wine glass, also feeling that this was a difficult situation. "It's probably difficult for us to figure this out on our own. We need to find another ally."
"You want to find the Star Alliance?" Gustav frowned slightly.
"This is our only choice and a natural ally," Anatoly said solemnly, then sighed. "What a shame! If we hadn't reached an agreement yet, Li Ming wouldn't have to let go. He's an S-class lifeform."
Gustav shook his head: "It's not time to fall out yet. No one wants to light this fuse."
………
For the next period of time, Li Ming lived a fulfilling life. He turned into a socialite and visited all the remaining X-level life forms one after another.
As the top of the interstellar food chain, they have huge industries under their command and are the overlords of their region.
Having been forced to attack Qinglong before, he naturally felt guilty and could not refuse Li Ming's request. He could only grit his teeth and cut his flesh and bleed.
With their help and the channels of the Mechanics Association, the development of the Mechanical Royal Court will remain at a high speed for a long time to come.
So, three months later, when they arrived at the Desolate Anchor Stargate Node from the Desolate Channel.
Ford was stunned.
People were constantly moving around in Augustus's conference room.
The people belonging to the Mechanical Royal Court sat on one side with numb expressions, while the people on the other side kept changing and signing a large number of contracts.
Industrial land leasing, low-interest loans, tax incentives, price discounts, etc.
Ford's throat rolled, and it took him a long time to react. He quietly pulled Li Ming's clothes and whispered, "These guys must have taken the wrong medicine. How dare they sign such a big discount?"
He was really confused. Li Ming had not told him clearly before that he would no longer go to the Dusk Banquet, so in the past six months, he was still studying the matter of the Dusk Banquet.
Considering the behavior styles of the participating X-level life forms and their respective industries, he originally estimated that no more than five companies would be able to reach cooperation, and various negotiations would be required.
But the current scene was beyond his imagination, not to mention those forces that had no overlap with the Mechanical Royal Court's industry.
Even if the forces had overlapping industries, they still cut out a piece of meat for them to eat. They were really good people.
"Maybe I really took the wrong medicine." Li Ming shook his head. Ford stayed to continue looking at the contract, and he walked out of the meeting room.
At the entrance of the banquet hall, Robin lowered his head and shivered. In the short five or six minutes just now, he saw more than a dozen X-level life forms.
Each one of them frightened him. It was the gap in life level, like a mouse seeing a cat. His body reacted instinctively and he couldn't control it.
He now deeply regretted following Ford here.
"Boss, you're finally here."
When Robin saw Li Ming, he rushed over as if he had grabbed a life-saving straw, but he shut up before he could say a few words.
Anatoly came over. The reputation of this twilight hermit is now quite big.
Robin didn't even dare to glance at them. During the six months they had been in the Desolate Anchor, news about the Dusk Banquet had been endless.
This is the real top interstellar boss, even bigger than those bosses just now.
"Are you leaving?" Anatoly asked kindly.
"Well, thank you for your care these days." Li Ming nodded.
"It's my duty." Anatoly said calmly, "By the way, I heard you were discussing business. I have some connections in the Federation and have already made the arrangements. You can just send someone to connect with me."
"Excuse me, sir." Li Ming accepted everyone who came. As long as Qinglong could withstand it, there would be no problem.
Anatoly smiled, but his eyes grew deeper.
About two months ago, they were on their way back from the deserted channel.
The Star Alliance suddenly announced the cessation of sanctions against the Mechanics Association, causing quite a stir.
At this point, the multiple rounds of sanctions launched by the three major civilizations against the Mechanics Association have all ended.
Although more than half a year has passed since Li Ming was kidnapped, many people still connect this incident with the previous one, believing that it was Qinglong's doing.
But in Anatoly's opinion, it is much more than that.
In order to appease Qinglong, the Star Alliance not only gave out the coordinates, but also stopped attacking the Mechanics Association.
This deal was beyond Anatoly's expectations. The price was too high, and this made him even more wary of Qinglong.
"Where's your teacher?" Gustav also came over, his eyes sweeping over Robin, who looked ordinary in a tailored black suit. "Still can't get in touch with him?"
Robin's breathing stagnated. He was the chairman of the United Organization of Higher Life Forms, the founder of the Black Hole Hall, and he was also a member of the Black Hole Hall.
"I can't get in touch with you for now." Li Ming said apologetically, "My teacher disappears so often. I'm really sorry. I can pass on any messages you two have."
"Nothing, just asking." Gustav shook his head, thinking that Qinglong simply didn't want to bother with them.
The contract was almost signed soon. Li Ming took his people, said goodbye to them, and left Augustus.
Outside the Anchor of Desolation stargate node, a large number of scavenging spaceships were trembling. Many people had already recognized that in this huge fleet before them, many of the strangely shaped spaceships were all vehicles used by X-level life forms.
Anatoly looked out the window at Li Ming and the others leaving and whispered, "What's going on with the Star Alliance?"
Gustav's eyes flickered. "All I know is that they expended a great deal of energy, seemingly searching for someone, and several battles broke out as a result."
"Who?" Anatole asked impatiently.
After the cooperation was reached that day, they contacted Gutierrez.
However, contrary to their expectations, Gutierrez, while somewhat interested in their olive branch, was not that keen.
He only promised to help each other and provide some assistance in the expansion of the joint organization of higher life forms. He did not seem to be anxious about the Red River Star Stream.
This made them both realize that something was wrong. They thought that the attitude of the Star Alliance should not be so indifferent, so they mobilized their own connections to investigate the secrets behind it.
Gustav said in a deep voice, "I don't know. I only know that there was someone codenamed Alchemist Baron. It seems that this person assisted Ryan in carrying out the interstellar massacre."
"When did you start investigating?" Anatoly asked, "Was it after Li Ming was kidnapped?"
"Almost." Gustav nodded.
Anatoly pondered. "That makes sense. Perhaps Azure Dragon revealed this name to them. But, what does this Alchemist Baron have to do with the secrets of the Red River Star Stream?"
"I'm not sure..." Gustav explained, "But this person is no ordinary person. He has been hiding in the Sea of Stars for many years, and the Star Alliance still has no concrete clues."
"At least we have a clue, which is better than being clueless." Anatoly couldn't help but say, "Let's investigate this guy thoroughly."
…
"How did you run into them?"
Back on the spaceship, Robin couldn't help but ask, "There was a rumor a while ago that everyone who attended the Twilight Banquet disappeared. It caused a lot of uproar and sparked a lot of speculation."
"We bumped into each other by chance." Li Ming casually flipped through the smart terminal. Ford was sorting out the materials and couldn't help but ask, "Are we going back to the Mechanical King's Court now?"
"Yeah." Li Ming nodded, his expression changing slightly as he looked at the virtual screen: "New civilization?"
(End of this chapter)
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