Chapter 534 I, Qinglong, will accompany you to the end!
"I have no choice. For the sake of confidentiality." Raphael explained with a smile, "I hope you can understand."
Although the words sound nice, they don't provide any solutions.
Mikhail couldn't help but frown and said, "With such a strong delay, we can't carry out related auxiliary research work."
"No need." The dull response surprised several people. The person who spoke was not Raphael, but Tandin who was standing beside him.
His face was solemn, and his eyes swept unscrupulously over the mechanical bodies of the three people. Although he did not release his own life force, he had a kind of imposing aura:
"You don't need to conduct research, and you don't even need to see the corpse. You just need to provide us with some advice when we need it, or help us repair something."
"Suggestions? Repair things?" Reynolds was slightly stunned. His expression on the highly camouflaged mechanical carrier was not very good. "What do you mean by this? Do you think we are repairmen?"
"Even for the Empire, they're being too arrogant."
This is not the Red River Star Stream, their bodies are safe, and Reynolds spoke very rudely.
Even Mikhail's face darkened. When they came here, they had discussed it and had already figured out that the Empire and the Federation would never let them access the core secrets of the Overlord-level corpse.
But I didn't expect that they wouldn't even be allowed to have any contact with us, and were treated as decorations.
Tandin's expression remained indifferent. "There's no need to act so angry. This matter is of great importance. You came here in mechanical bodies and weren't paying attention to this matter in the first place. How could you expect to learn more secrets?"
"Ha..." Reynolds laughed angrily, "If that's the case, then there's no need for us to cooperate. Why don't we just go our separate ways?"
"No." Tan Ding's voice was dull. "The cooperation was finalized at the beginning. Are you sure you want to withdraw now?"
"I wonder if you three can afford the cost of ending our cooperation?"
Tan Ding's tone was unfriendly. Li Ming frowned slightly. He couldn't figure out what the other party wanted to do. He didn't want him to join or leave.
Reynolds sneered, "The price? At worst, we'll all be finished together and turn this galaxy upside down!"
Tandin's eyes suddenly turned towards him, emitting an extremely dangerous aura. He spoke word by word, "Are you sure?"
Reynolds was about to speak, but was stopped by Mikhail, whose attitude was much softer:
"Sir Tandin, we are not ending our cooperation. However, you and I are both fully aware of the current situation. We will never leak anything. There is no need to continue this superficial cooperation."
"It's indeed not necessary." Tan Ding said indifferently, "But if we insist on maintaining this superficial cooperation, I wonder if the three of you are willing to cooperate?"
Li Ming's heart moved slightly. Was Tandin forcing them to bow their heads, or... testing them?
The main universe is not the Red River Star Stream, and the Empire and the Federation actually have very few means to check and balance the three great masters.
The Mechanics Guild has been incorporated into the Interstellar Alliance, so it is no longer possible to use this as a bargaining chip.
If the butcher knife is raised again, regardless of the reputation of the Imperial Federation, more things will be involved and it will not be that simple.
Perhaps the Empire and the Federation also want to see if these three people have any other ideas.
Is it just empty talk today? He wondered inwardly, but remained silent.
"What a powerful show." Reynolds sneered, "If we say we won't cooperate, will you declare war on us immediately?"
"I tell you, I, Reynolds, will never go back on my word. The reputations of the other two master craftsmen are not bad either."
"If you don't trust us, you can just send someone to kill us directly. There's no need to resort to such petty tactics."
Mikhail didn't stop Reynolds this time.
Even though he is the most thoughtful person, what he wants most now is to restore the mechanical evolution path of the Holy Spirit Civilization as soon as possible.
Instead of dwelling on this corpse and making a fuss about it.
However, this research on the path of mechanical evolution is also their internal secret and cannot be exposed to the Empire and the Federation.
"You've said too much. Just one sentence: will you cooperate or not?" Tan Ding said indifferently.
Reynolds glared and was about to refute when he was interrupted again. This time it was not Mikhail.
"Why did you start arguing?"
The tall and handsome Alves appeared at the dock port at some point, with a warm smile on his face and the tail of his white robe dragging on the smooth metal floor.
If you look closely, you can see that the tail of the robe is actually floating on the floor with a tiny gap.
The good-faced actor came. Li Ming's heart moved slightly, but he kept silent, wanting to see how the other party was going to perform this play.
Alvis walked over slowly and said helplessly, "The atmosphere is so tense, and Mr. Tandin's temper is still so explosive. Rafael, why don't you stop him?"
Raphael smiled bitterly and made way.
"Hmph..." Reynolds sneered. Even he didn't think Alves was just here to ease the situation. He couldn't help but say:
"We were talking so well in the Red River Star Stream, but who knew he would be so different when he came out."
"There's no need for us to get involved, but why is this guy not even allowed to leave?"
"We would have revealed this secret long ago if we wanted to, but the interstellar situation has remained calm until now. You must know how many people are watching this matter."
"Of course I know." Alvis said in a warm tone, "We naturally trust your credibility. Since returning from the Red River Star Stream, Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Mikhail have been very honest and have not been active in the interstellar space."
"Hmm... they should be in the Beilan Vortex Meteor Belt. Are they researching something?"
After the words fell, even Li Ming was slightly surprised.
The coordinates of the Divine Craftsman Laboratory are near the Beilan Vortex Meteor Belt, which is a special starscape in the universe. How could it be leaked?
Although it is not the specific coordinate, but having said this, it is not far off.
The laboratory was built using the mechanical bodies under the command of the two men. Needless to say, the level of confidentiality was very high, so how could it have been leaked?
Mikhail's eyes moved, his expression didn't change much, but his heart was already in turmoil. At this moment, he even suspected Qinglong.
But he quickly dismissed this speculation. Revealing the coordinates would do no good to Qinglong, but would instead hinder him.
Only Reynolds' expression changed the most. He said in a deep voice, "Are you monitoring us?"
"Don't get me wrong, I just happened to find out." Alvis explained gently, but then added, "Of course, I'm also very curious. What kind of thing could have allowed the two master craftsmen to stay together for such a long time?"
"The ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization?" At this point, Alves's gaze had already turned to Qinglong and he asked tentatively, "The little secret of revival?"
Li Ming sighed inwardly. No one was idle. The Empire and the Federation were always worried about these three unstable factors.
People from both the Empire and the Federation participated in the exploration of the ruins of the Holy Spirit Civilization and knew the so-called little secret of the Protoss, which was obtained by Li Ming.
"This has nothing to do with you." Mikhail said indifferently.
"It's related, of course it's related..." Alves smiled, "We need to know what exactly happened that delayed your cooperation with us and even made us unwilling to send our main body."
"Of course, we just want to know and have no intention of interfering," Alves added.
This is to give each other leverage. Li Ming finally understood what the purpose of this scene was.
He didn't care, but Reynolds and Mikhail obviously couldn't accept it.
"Impossible!" Reynolds shouted flatly, looking around. "If we refuse, what are you going to do? Come knock on our door?"
"Then the three of us will stick with you until the end, and show Xingxing what a master craftsman is!"
"What a courage!" Alvis clapped his hands and said soothingly, "It doesn't have to be that serious. Kerlans, the South Wind Galaxy, Gubaoer Star, and Lennadit are all strongholds with strong defenses. Even if we attack them, the losses will probably be heavy."
As soon as he finished speaking, Reynolds' mechanical pupils stared at Alvis, and the energy engine in his chest roared.
Mikhail couldn't help himself and his expression suddenly changed.
Hmm? Could this be their base?
Li Ming noticed the reactions of the two and couldn't help but make some guesses.
Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows, let alone Reynolds and Mikhail. They have countless bases and even branch bases.
But there must be some that are light and some that are heavy, and some core bases carry most of their secrets and power.
The base that could cause Mikhail to lose his composure like this must be the core one.
Mikhail tried his best to calm down and recounted slowly, "These two bases stopped exchanging supplies with other countries over two thousand years ago and became self-sufficient."
"Even in the past, confidentiality was extremely high, and I always thought no one knew."
"As expected of the Empire and the Federation."
Mikhail felt disappointed as all his savings had been drained away.
Four coordinates, two of which are the coordinates of his base.
The other two should belong to Reynolds and Mikhail respectively.
Reynolds had the support of Forging Hammer at the time and basically did not need external resources, so it is understandable that not much was leaked.
The fact that Qinglong can be found is already quite secretive.
At the beginning, he needed to seek cooperation from everywhere and had to contact too many people, so he could figure it out even if one more coordinate was leaked.
Alves kept smiling. "Two thousand years isn't that long ago. We may even have some information that you, the Excellency, have forgotten."
Reynolds stopped talking, his face looked extremely ugly, and one could even hear a buzzing sound coming from inside the carrying machine.
He also understood Alves's subtext. These were just the words they said, and perhaps there were more they didn't say.
What was even more difficult for him to accept was that he had leaked one more information than Mikhail. This guy hid it so deeply that the coordinates of the base were the same as those leaked by Qinglong.
Li Ming watched quietly, feeling a sense of emotion in his heart. The internal structure of the imperial civilization was extremely bloated, but it was not without its advantages.
They might even set up a department specifically for a newly emerging force or person, and then have it exist for thousands of years with the sole purpose of collecting relevant data and information.
As the importance of the goal increases, more and more resources can be mobilized.
These coordinates are naturally kept extremely confidential now, but in the initial stage, they probably don’t matter much.
The atmosphere was silent. Reynolds and Mikhail remained silent. They had thousands of years of accumulation under their hands, but once their lair was found and various electromagnetic interference equipment was set up, most of the mechanical bodies would become scrap metal.
Mikhail became even more uneasy and thought more. At this moment, could the Empire and the Federation have already deployed troops outside?
"Cooperate or not, tell or not?" Tan Ding spoke again, his tone still indifferent.
"Hmm..." Li Ming murmured, pretending to be confused and asking, "What do these coordinates mean?"
Mikhail looked at it suddenly, his heart stagnating slightly, a gleam of light flashing in his mechanical pupils, which was a bit unbelievable. There was no Qinglong base among them?
As soon as Qinglong opened his mouth, he understood that the other two places belonged to Reynolds and there was no Qinglong base at all.
He is so powerful. Even though the Empire Federation takes him seriously, they still haven’t found his base?
Reynolds was a little slow to react, but he finally realized what was happening and asked in astonishment, "The remaining two are both Lao Mi's?"
The smile on Alves' face faded slightly.
Qinglong is the most difficult one. We have searched thoroughly but found almost nothing.
Even if it is a backup of Forging Hammer's consciousness, it is impossible that it has no intersection with the interstellar space, and resources cannot appear out of thin air.
The resource throughput of the Mechanical Royal Court has not been much so far, and a considerable portion of it has been converted into mechanical bodies.
Alves was silent for a moment, then smiled his signature smile again. "I heard last time that Li Ming was kidnapped, but I didn't have time to ask. Is he okay?"
"Li Ming?" Li Ming said his name with a hint of amusement. After chuckling twice, he paused and sneered again: "Ha..."
The laughter grew louder and louder, and Li Ming's own laughter echoed throughout the empty dock.
Alves laughed until his expression became restrained and expressionless.
Tandin laughed so hard that his brows furrowed and his eyes became grim.
However, Reynolds felt as if he had someone to rely on and sneered silently.
Mikhail breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the Empire and the Federation really had no way to deal with Qinglong.
Even Li Ming took it out.
Amidst the laughter, Alvis felt a surge of inexplicable anger rising. His calm attitude vanished, and he said coldly, "Sir Qinglong, is there anything so funny?"
They did not find Qinglong's base or any clues, but they were not completely helpless.
Li Ming's voice gradually subsided, and he shook his head and said, "Nothing, it's just that when I think about how many fish I've caught with this bait, I feel like laughing."
Fish? Alves' temple throbbed faintly.
"Li Ming is fine, you don't have to worry. Besides..." He paused suddenly, and everyone's eyes were on him.
When he spoke again, his voice was already extremely cold. "Some things can be said directly. I understand your concerns, but as Reynolds said, we promised it in the first place, and we won't go back on our word."
"You are all well aware of the recent events regarding the Star Alliance. I am very grateful to the Empire and the Federation for speaking out for justice."
"But at the same time, the Star Alliance also gave me a blank check. As long as I tell them, I can ask for any conditions."
Li Ming spoke without hesitation, since no one would verify such things anyway.
After he finished speaking, the surroundings remained silent. Li Ming looked around, and even Alvis and Tandin were a little afraid to look him in the eye.
Suddenly, Li Ming's voice rose several degrees: "But, I refused, that's why the Star Alliance is so calm now!"
"If you're still worried, no matter what you want to do, I, Qinglong, will accompany you to the end!"
(End of this chapter)
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