Chapter 556 The Deterrent Power of the Empire
This time, Li Ming felt the deterrent power of the empire more intuitively.
The number of X-level members in the United Organization of Higher Life Forms far exceeds that of the Empire.
Even if it was due to the inertia of past fear, they wouldn't be so scared as to hold a party in secret.
But just five days later, Li Ming realized that his ideas were still too conservative.
According to the anonymous channel sent through the black hole network, Li Ming accessed the virtual conference space that can only be entered by invitation.
The bright blue rays quickly constructed the surrounding scenes, but to Li Ming's surprise, the other phantom projections swayed like ink dripping into turbid water.
When he focused his observation, it became increasingly blurry and unclear.
Everyone arrived in the form of hidden projections.
He was speechless immediately. Was he really that scared?
And when he descended, everyone looked at him at once, because he was the only one who descended as a projection of his true body.
"True face?" Anduin sent a cryptic message. "It's hard to say what it means to use your true face."
It was quiet all around, but Li Ming seemed to be able to see the strange looks behind these hidden projections.
"What a mistake..." Li Ming was speechless. He only did channel encryption and didn't care about the problem of mimicry projection.
He was not interested in being the maverick. He glanced around and found that there were only about thirty figures coming, so he simply logged off.
After completing the virtual disguise, he waited for nearly half an hour before going online again.
Most of the people had arrived, probably just a few more. Some were talking in low voices, and some were discussing him.
"...Is that so? Lord Qinglong just descended in his true form? So powerful?"
"It's not like we haven't fought the Empire before, so we're not afraid."
"It's not a question of whether or not to be afraid. We must always be cautious. Besides, the situation inside the Red River Star Stream is special. It's hard to predict this time."
"Keep your voice down, he might be here again."
"I didn't say anything. Besides, this is a hidden projection. Do you know who I am? I might be Qinglong."
“…”
Li Ming didn't mind this. He looked around and just stayed where he was!
After waiting for a moment, two or three more figures came online, and then someone spoke. The voice was processed, and the tone and mannerism were unrecognizable. "After eliminating those official X-level life forms, the number is almost there."
Someone immediately said, "Stop talking nonsense. Everyone is hiding their identities. What are you talking about regarding the Star of Eternal Silence?"
"Needless to say, we have to take it. That thing is a powerful weapon left over from the Terrax era. The reason why the empire became an empire is inseparable from that thing."
"That's right. We absolutely have to grab this kind of good stuff. Even with so many of us combined, the Empire can't do anything about it. As long as we get this thing, we'll instantly become the most powerful group in the galaxy."
"Who is this idiot? You haven't even got the item yet, and you're already discussing how to use it."
Concealing their identities from each other, this group of people spoke without restraint.
"Everyone seems quite excited. This is about the lifeblood of the empire. The Star of Eternal Silence won't be easily obtained. We'll definitely have to fight to the death. I wouldn't be surprised if dozens of X-level lifeforms died."
I don't know who said this, but the whole place suddenly became quiet.
"If you're scared, you can leave now."
No one went offline. For them, there was almost no chance of making a leap. Even if the chance of getting the Star of Eternal Annihilation was slim, they had to give it a try.
After a moment of silence, someone said calmly, "It's impossible to get it easily without sacrificing some life, but we must go."
"But where should we go? The deep dimension world is huge, and we can't just look for a needle in a haystack."
"I have news. In addition to the Empire, there is another organization operating in the deep dimensional world."
Suddenly someone spoke, and the noisy voices around suddenly died down.
Everyone had different thoughts, but they all realized that it must be a big shot in the board of directors who spoke up, and it would be difficult for others to have such a channel.
Li Ming's eyes moved slightly, and he couldn't help but look at the figure who was speaking.
Gust? Or Anatoly?
Now, he realized the difficulty of hiding his identity.
Although there are not many suspects, suspicion is still suspicion.
"Pioneer..." the figure continued, and the surrounding voices became noisy again.
Someone has already remembered this organization that cut a piece of flesh from the empire several years ago.
"So it's them. I thought they were secretly eliminated by the Empire, but I didn't expect them to do something big and actually compete with the Empire for the Star of Eternal Silence."
"According to their information, the Star of Eternal Silence is now only one step away from being found." The guy said another sentence.
After a brief silence, the atmosphere on the scene became more intense.
"It's only one step away, so hurry up and don't let them get there first."
"It's too late to smell anything."
"It's not that simple. If they were to get it soon, the other party wouldn't contact this unknown boss."
"I remember that there were rumors outside that His Excellency Qinglong seemed to be a member of the pioneers."
“…”
"Tsk...those Pioneers are not honest either." Li Ming pondered, wondering who was contacting this group of people.
Immediately afterwards, the person who spoke suddenly stretched out an arm with five fingers of uneven length, and a ball of data light emerged from it.
As he shook his hand, the data ball quickly spread in front of everyone as if it was copied and pasted.
"This is the coordinate where the Star of Eternal Silence appeared last time."
There was silence again, and everyone was analyzing the situation quickly, including Li Ming.
After the analysis, he compared them and found, as expected—
These were the coordinates of the first space-time riot. The pioneers and the empire had long since left that area.
Li Ming realized that this guy was holding back, or that this place was just a gathering place. If he followed him, it wouldn't take too long.
"We have the coordinates. I don't know who you are, but you're quite impressive." Someone laughed and said, "So what are we waiting for? Let's meet at these coordinates in two weeks, how about that?"
A sneer rang out immediately: "Half a month later? Believe it or not, someone will go there immediately after he goes offline. Besides, the punctuation here is probably not very detailed."
No one contradicted him.
Li Ming watched coldly, hoping that if these foxes really worked together, they would be no less than becoming the ultimate life forms.
They are just pretending to be a united organization of higher life forms to fight against the empire, but when it comes to real action, everyone ends up doing their own thing.
"Everyone, please do as you please. However, if we are ultimately forced to face the Empire's stranglehold, I hope you will all work together."
"inevitable."
Everyone agreed, and this was also the main purpose of this meeting, to build consensus.
The brevity of the entire meeting was far beyond Li Ming's expectations.
It took less than ten minutes in total to set the goal and reach consensus.
Even as the virtual projections around him dissipated, he was still sighing, "Take off the mask of hypocrisy and your actions will be more efficient."
And immediately, his old friend Anduin contacted him again, with suppressed excitement in his eyes, and asked him when he would set off.
"I'm not sure yet..." Li Ming rubbed his chin. He had the latest coordinates and didn't need to waste extra time looking for them.
At the same time, Chlonoa hadn't figured out how to deal with the situation yet, so he couldn't leave.
"That's right..." Anduin's excited expression softened. "The environment in the deep dimensional world is even more hostile, not suitable for large-scale combat by machines..."
He thought Qinglong was hesitant about his combat strength.
At present, the interstellar world has reached a consensus that Qinglong's powerful strength comes from his mechanical holy spirit.
However, cluster combat of mechanical bodies is subject to great environmental constraints. In some extremely harsh places, the mechanical bodies will suffer heavy losses before the battle even begins.
Like the Red River Star Stream, like a deep dimensional world.
Moreover, it is inconvenient to move with so many mechanical bodies. Once something goes wrong in the deep dimensional world like the Hammersmith, it will not be worth it.
Li Ming narrowed his eyes slightly and did not explain.
"I guess the Empire already knows our plan. I wonder how they will respond. I'm really eager to try." Anduin is already ready to fight. This time he will face the Empire head-on.
He was not naive enough to think that so many people who had just attended the meeting could keep the secret. Someone must have leaked the news, or even more than one person.
And this is part of the pressure exerted by the Star Alliance. Every step of this group of X-level life forms will be known to the Empire.
But it is precisely because of this understanding that we feel a sense of urgency about it.
"I also want to know how the empire will respond." Li Ming was also curious about this.
He didn't underestimate Adam at all and didn't think that he would surrender.
Anduin sighed, "I hope the Empire can hold out longer this time and not surrender to the Covenant so easily."
If the Empire does not surrender, the Covenant will not express its position. The three major civilizations are not related, so they have room to maneuver.
Anduin originally wanted to invite Qinglong to go with him, but after finding out that Qinglong had no intention of going, he chatted with him for a few words and then went offline, obviously to make preparations.
Li Ming's pensive face was reflected on the extinguished virtual screen.
Adam, how are you going to break this situation?
………
In the deep dimensional world, the Wandering Legion, the prison ship of the 13th Squadron.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The dull thud of combat boots hitting the metal floor echoed through the corridor.
The burly figure walking in front was much larger than the soldiers behind him.
A guy with disheveled hair and a bloody face was detained in the center and dragged forward by soldiers on both sides.
When they reached the room at the end of the corridor, it seemed someone was already waiting there. He wasn't wearing a combat mecha, but his uniform was neat and tidy. He jokingly asked, "Joseph, why are you on this mission again?"
"I caught this guy, so naturally I have to catch him again." Joseph pushed open the black metal door, turned around, and grabbed the detained figure with his metal hand, saying in a deep voice:
"You're quite capable of escaping three times in a row. I'm curious how you managed to do it."
Zoro raised his head with difficulty, grinning to reveal his bloody teeth, then he tried his best to spit out a mouthful of blood foam, which fell on the shell of the mecha in front of him.
"Okay." The pupils on Joseph's visor lit up, and he threw Zorro into the room.
The metal walls in the room spit out liquid metal, instantly wrapping around his limbs and condensing into barbed shackles. Countless metal hairs grew on the inner walls, contracting in sync with the rhythm of his pulse.
Once it exceeds the normal rules, it will be locked immediately.
The purple-black light hanging from the ceiling was now casting a shadow on the left side of Zorro's cheek.
The genetic lock on his neck ring suddenly became hot, and under his skin, he felt a pain like being bitten by millions of ants.
This was the prison's poison bait for his abilities, triggering neural signals whenever his cells tried to break out.
“…In these three prison escapes, he perfectly avoided the patrolling soldiers and escaped the surveillance equipment each time. It’s unbelievable…” The man standing next to Joseph outside the door exclaimed.
"I've already reported that the lunatics at the Imperial Academy of Sciences are very interested in him."
As he spoke, the imprisonment measures had been completed and a large amount of unknown drugs had been injected. Zoro was already extremely weak, and now he couldn't even walk.
"This is a confinement measure for Class A life forms. You should feel honored." Joseph said indifferently. He had Zorro carried and taken to the depths of the prison.
Buzz--
The door of the prison cabin was opened, and there were translucent single cells distributed here, and almost every cell had a resident.
There are special mechanical rings on their wrists and ankles to limit their abilities.
The guys who were lying on the metal floor, either sleeping or chatting with their cellmates, stopped what they were doing when they heard the noise.
The red-skinned people who were lying down and sleeping turned over and approached the electrified fence cautiously.
They looked towards the gate, their faces not showing fear, but rather an uneasy anticipation, uneasiness and excitement.
"It's Zorro again, he's been caught!" The person closest to the prison door suddenly shouted, and the sound spread instantly.
After a brief silence, there was a burst of noise, some lamenting, some excited.
"Haha, I knew he couldn't get away. Old Bro, kneel down and kowtow."
"You useless thing! I trusted you so much!"
“…”
Joseph suddenly stopped, raised his right arm, and tapped it a few times casually. There was a crackling sound of electric arcs, and the whole prison was filled with miserable wails.
He threw Zoro into an empty cabin, and after standing still, the armor on his left ribs opened. He took out the broken black communicator and said in a cold voice: "Last chance, who are you contacting?"
"Haha..." Zorro sneered. Seeing this, Joseph couldn't help but say coldly: "Scavenger, no one can rescue you, and no one dares to challenge the empire. Give up your unrealistic fantasies."
After Joseph left, there was a gradual movement around. In the prison next to him, a short goblin gnashed his teeth and whispered:
"Zorro, Zorro, you bastard, that was my treasured old communicator. I told you to hide it carefully. How did you get it destroyed?"
"Don't worry...I'll pay you back tenfold when I get out." Zoro said in a low voice.
"Go out? You've already gone out three times." The goblin jumped up and down anxiously. "You've looted all the good stuff from us. Didn't you say you could send for help?"
"Of course, he is my brother who has shared life and death with me. He will definitely come to save me." Zorro responded unconsciously with a weak breath.
"Your brother!?" Everyone around was silent, their faces changing, and they cursed loudly: "Didn't you say you were the descendant of the mastermind of some powerful force?"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
