Chapter 577: Open and covert struggles, movements of all parties
"Your Excellency Qinglong..." Sheffield greeted him immediately, and his attitude was much more polite and respectful.
"Mr. Sheffield," Li Ming responded simply, getting straight to the point. "How's the gene seed preparation going?"
Sheffield responded quickly: "Although it's slow, it's progressing. I've found alternatives to many materials. I estimate that in about a year, we should be able to enter the final stage of modulation."
So fast... Li Ming was a little surprised. It seemed that he had made the right choice by looking for Sheffield.
"Your skills are indeed superb. If you have any difficulties, please tell me in time." Li Ming hinted at something.
Sheffield was stunned for a moment, and after a brief hesitation, he couldn't help but let out a wry smile. "I just encountered something really bizarre. An old friend from the Empire contacted me and actually asked me to hand over the Star Beast that Your Excellency gave me."
Hand it over?
Li Ming's heart chilled slightly, but his face remained calm: "Oh? What did you say?"
Sheffield said solemnly, "Of course I sternly refuse. When running a business, the most important thing is credibility. If I do this, where will my credibility be?"
"Then, the other party retreated?" Li Ming asked back, feeling a little surprised.
"Seeing how resolute I was, he simply asked me to cancel the order, but I ignored him completely," Sheffield said sincerely. "Since I've promised you, I will do my best to complete it."
Li Ming's reaction was very calm, and he felt relieved.
It seems that this gene seed is indeed not a high priority in the eyes of the three major civilizations. It simply threatens Sheffield and there is no follow-up.
I just heard Sheffield say that the other party asked him to hand over the star beast. I thought the three major civilizations had found out something, but it seems that it was just a personal behavior.
It sounds simple to say that the three major civilizations are simple, but it is not a program. Once an instruction comes down from above and reaches the specific executor, there is a lot of room for operation.
Perhaps, the purpose of the three major civilizations is just to make Sheffield break away from him, which is expected.
Handing over the star beast was the idea of the specific executors, who wanted to gain some benefits.
Otherwise, he would not have retreated easily after being rejected by Sheffield.
"Sir Sheffield, please prioritize your own interests. If anything goes wrong, just let me know. It's just a Class X gene seed, there's no rush." He acted casually.
Sheffield was not surprised. It was just an X-level gene seed. If Qinglong seemed to care about it, it would be wrong.
After thinking about it, he also left himself a way out: "Please rest assured, if the pressure is really too great, I will make a decision, but no matter what, your interests will not be harmed."
Li Ming nodded indifferently, reminded him to report the progress, and then ended the communication.
The light of the projection capture device in front of him gradually went out. After finding out that the three major civilizations were not too concerned about this matter, Li Ming was temporarily relieved.
"But... Sheffield's attitude is quite firm..." He pondered, "Is it because of Chronoa's death?"
"I think this incident caused quite a stir, and the Higher Life Forms Union Organization must have reacted as well."
This matter accounts for a considerable proportion in his best strategy.
The pressure from the three major civilizations is overwhelming. In the early stages, many higher life forms are forced to avoid it due to inertia.
The death of Klonoa can greatly alleviate the pressure that the three major civilizations bring to others.
A deep voice echoed in the room, "Gustav and Anatoly are probably not fools, unless they really want to be the dogs of the three major civilizations forever..."
………
At the same time, a meeting was being held in the secret channel of the black hole network.
In the virtual conference room, there are blurry figures everywhere, and you can't see even anyone's face.
It was a secret gathering organized by a coalition of higher life forms.
But this time, Qinglong was not invited.
"...I've received information that the three major civilizations have begun collaborating. Currently, many people have received warnings to sever ties with Azure Dragon..."
I don't know who was speaking, but the tone was calm. Someone immediately responded, "Isn't this expected? Cutting off the tentacles shows off your power..."
"What is the purpose of holding this meeting? Could it be that someone still wants to support Qinglong?"
"So what if they're providing support? The three great civilizations have been so high and mighty for too long. Are we really going to let them bully us at will?"
"We're not interested in being cannon fodder for others," someone responded indifferently, "and we don't believe Qinglong can lead us to victory."
"Perhaps there is a piece of news that some people don't know yet." Someone suddenly said calmly, "Klonoa is dead."
As soon as the words fell, someone gasped, and the entire virtual conference room fell into deathly silence.
After a long while, someone finally asked with difficulty, "Did Qinglong do it?"
"What else?" the man said, "This news is easy to verify."
"Qinglong, do you have the ability to kill a forbidden life form head-on?" Many people were puzzled. "Then why should we still fear the three major civilizations?"
"Should there be other means?"
"No matter what means are used, death is a fact."
In the virtual conference room, a lively discussion broke out.
The man quickly said loudly, "The main reason I'm sharing this news is to tell you all that the three major civilizations are indeed superior, but our Vice Chairman is no ordinary person either."
"Don't place your bets so early and so quickly."
"Fuck it, I've already had my company tear up the contract."
Someone sneered, "What an idiot! The Higher Life Forms Alliance is now out in the open, and it has some power. Doing business with the Mechanical Royal Court won't be a problem. Are you really afraid that the three major civilizations will come and kill you because of this?"
After being scolded, the guy who said he wanted to tear up the contract did not respond.
Some X-level life forms that had not yet torn up the contract were immediately relieved.
I'm still not used to the days of having the support of a united organization of higher life forms.
It may be difficult to work together on big issues right now, but if a business deal is threatened, and there are guys with short tempers, they probably won’t mind speaking up.
"I'm prepared to provide some resources to support our Vice Chairman," someone suddenly said. "The large-scale warning issued by the three civilizations this time is largely due to the existence of the joint organization. They are afraid that we will unite and support Qinglong."
The noisy voices suddenly fell silent, but after a moment, they aroused a warm response.
Since Qinglong has shown his ability, they don't mind giving him some support to see how long he can hold on.
Once a clustering effect is formed, the fear of the three major civilizations will be greatly weakened.
"Alas...it's really troublesome to integrate these people."
After a moment, the virtual projection in front of him collapsed, and Anatoly stood up and sighed.
Gust was still sitting in the chair. "It's already good to be able to do this. If it weren't for Klonoa's death, it would still be difficult for these people to do anything."
"Klonoa..." Anatoly's face showed a hint of fear. "What a big surprise, but the three major civilizations don't seem to be disturbed by this news."
Gustav explained, "From what I've heard, they seem convinced that Qinglong didn't win head-on, but used other means."
"That's not bad..." Anatoly breathed a sigh of relief, but hesitated, "Then... doesn't that mean Qinglong is still at a disadvantage?"
"It doesn't matter whether we are at a disadvantage or not." Gustav shook his head.
"We simply want to use him to build consensus among the higher life forms and plant a seed to make them understand that if we unite, we can truly rival the three major civilizations. However, this is a slow process."
"Hope..." Anatoly said two words, but paused.
He also didn't know whether to hope Qinglong would succeed or fail.
The interstellar space was still eerily quiet, but even ordinary life forms sensed something was amiss. Some hidden information was circulating in secret, such as "the three major civilizations are uniting" and "Blue Dragon...Holy Castle".
But they were all quickly blocked, and those who happened to find out were all dumbfounded.
However, the pressure that was faintly coming from the sky had undergone subtle changes, and many people contacted the Mechanical Royal Court again to start new transactions.
However, even in this impending atmosphere, time passed like a white horse, and in the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed.
On this day, Li Ming was waiting early in the spaceship dock of the main base of the star. Two transport spaceships of different shapes landed with tail flames, and the magnetic anchor chains pierced into the berths.
As the hatch opened, a mechanical figure stepped down and locked eyes with Li Ming. "Sir Li Ming, this is something sent by the Mechanical Soul (Creation) Master Craftsman."
Li Ming's gaze fell on the spaceship, and a hint of heat flashed across his eyes. He didn't say anything polite and immediately asked the people to unload the things.
The total amount of materials in the neat metal box is not large, but they are all extremely precious X-grade alloys, which are the strategic reserve resources of the two people.
Half a month ago, part of the resources from the Holy Revolutionary Army arrived, providing him with a total of 2 billion metal energies.
Adding the accumulation during this period, the balance of metal energy has reached 6 billion. If this large group is absorbed, I wonder if it can reach 20 billion.
Li Ming was thinking about this when Ulrich came over hurriedly with a strange look on his face. He leaned forward and reported in a low voice, "...We've received another letter from a company. They're willing to provide a 50 billion interest-free loan..."
"It's another interest-free loan. Since they are willing to give it, just take it first." Li Ming said indifferently.
Ulrich nodded, wanting to say something but stopping himself. He originally thought that the Mechanical Royal Court would be facing a situation of being deserted by everyone.
As a result, the trough seemed to last only a little over a month.
Not long after Li Ming came back, the company that had previously responded coldly changed its attitude and approached him eagerly, even willing to provide generous interest-free loans and new order contracts.
This really confused Ulrich.
Li Ming knew in his heart that Anduin had already told him about the anonymous meeting a month and a half ago, which was probably the work of Gustav and Anatoly.
The death of Chlonoa was equivalent to tearing a crack in the shadow of the three major civilizations, and many people wanted to bet on both sides.
During this period, the scattered interest-free loans amounted to nearly 400 billion star coins. Li Ming took a part of it to purchase alloy resources.
It is worth mentioning that the alloy resources he purchased from several channels were also slightly cheaper.
Li Ming followed this batch of resources all the way back to the Heavenly Palace. After letting the transporting mechanical body leave, he couldn't wait to open the box.
The dazzling array of lights made it difficult for him to open his eyes, and he immediately began to absorb the metal energy with familiarity.
Although it contains a lot of metal energy, it doesn't take too much time because it is an extremely cutting-edge alloy.
However, in just one day, his metal energy balance reached a terrifying 18 billion.
Li Ming's throat rolled over. It was a pity that he had not yet found the auxiliary materials to advance to the ultimate control object.
He didn't even have a clue about this, and could only speculate based on the resources needed for the promotion before, from Dimension Crystal to World Blood.
Basically, you are dealing with the dimensional world if you want to upgrade to the ultimate control object.
What might be needed is a higher-level material of the World Blood—World Essence.
According to the Supervisor, this thing is the main material for promotion to the Overlord Titan and can only be born in the Overlord-level dimensional world.
But in the current deep dimension, he had never heard of the birth of a dimensional world at this level.
There will always be a way out when you reach the mountain... Li Ming suppressed the thoughts in his mind and pulled out the Star of Eternal Silence from his body.
After clenching his fist, tremendous metal energy surged out. In just a moment, hundreds of billions of metal energy disappeared without a trace.
In the control column, two almost identical fragments were shining brightly.
He exhaled slowly, feeling a long-lost pain in his flesh, but he soon began to try to control the difference.
A layer of fuzzy space-time distortion area covered the surface of his body. This was [Regional Time Regulation], which was extremely fine, like a mimic skin.
Before he gained control, he was far from being able to do it so precisely. This has many benefits, and reducing losses is one of them.
He tried to slow down the flow of time, but suddenly he felt weak and his strength drained away like a flood.
Then everything around entered a special slowdown state. The operating track of the track cutting machine in the distance was clearly visible, and the changes in each thin alloy slice when it cut through the light could be seen.
"Sure enough, it still needs to be under control..." Li Ming couldn't help but sigh. The level of precision of this control is far beyond what can be achieved through normal use.
He can even use this difference in the speed of time to fight.
However, when he tried to activate the power of another fragment, he found that the flow rate of time and space could not be superimposed and was still 1:2.
"Only by combining them can the ability become stronger." Li Ming stretched out his hand, and two pieces of metal energy fragments appeared in his palm.
This time, he received a completely different message.
"It takes 10 billion metal energies to bridge the gap..." Li Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, and couldn't help sighing. It's great to be rich and powerful. 10 billion metal energies can be described as "talent".
"However, why is there no indication of the metal energy required to fully restore it?"
He muttered something and began to mend the pieces.
As the metallic energy surged out, the two fragments in his hands trembled, and streams of bright blue light flowed out, weaving overlapping Ouroboros rings between the fragments.
It then transformed into liquid threads to repair another piece of debris. Each thread of light split into more at the moment of contact, gradually pulling the two fragments together.
The moment the two pieces combined, a faint blue arc of electricity burst out, melting along the wrinkles of space and time at the cracks in the fragments, and soon they merged together.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
