Chapter 394 The whole story is a coincidence
"Ryan? Blood sacrifice?" Li Ming frowned. This word was strange yet familiar.
What surprised him even more was Prince Ryan's idea of sacrificing the entire Corona Borealis ring. This would be a massacre that would shock the interstellar space.
What method is used? What is the purpose?
In an instant, a lot of thoughts intertwined in his mind.
"Don't be anxious, tell me everything you know." Li Ming's calmness calmed Ford down somewhat.
He still felt a lingering fear when he mentioned it. He took a deep breath before saying, "About half a month ago, Grand Duke Xavier suddenly approached Asmara and said he was ready to intervene in our war with the Inquisitor."
Li Ming's expression flickered, and after a moment he matched the name with the target person. It was Asmara's fiancé, Nicholas' eldest son, who has now inherited the throne of Grand Duke.
Li Ming thought about Old Wu again, and as his thoughts wandered, he couldn't help but ask, "Are they not married yet?"
Ford, who was originally in a state of shock, could not help but pause when he heard Li Ming asking this gossip question. He was speechless, but he still explained:
"Logically, they should have gotten married six months ago, but then news of Grand Duke Nicholas's death arrived, and Asmara used that as an excuse to delay."
"I was also confused at the time. Nicola's death and Xavier's succession as Grand Duke must be a good thing for Asmara." Ford's expression became increasingly relaxed, and he spoke more and more:
"Later I found out that it was because Nicolael's brothers had almost completely divided up his inheritance. Xavier had almost nothing but the title of Grand Duke. He couldn't even intervene in the war between us and the Inquisitor."
"Asmara is so realistic. If they get married, they will just help Xavier fight in the palace."
Li Ming suddenly realized and motioned Ford to continue. After finishing this gossip, Ford was already quite calm. With a bit of sarcasm, he continued:
"That's Xavier. He still thinks Asmara is one of his own, completely unaware that the truth behind Gabriel's death was covered up by his fiancée."
"At that time, we were fighting fiercely with the Judge. Grand Duke Thornblood died, and no one came to our aid. Grand Duke Gu Ya, on the other hand, had fully recovered, and we were losing ground."
"It was at this time that Xavier arrived in person, found Asmara, and brought a few mysterious people with him, declaring that he would help us achieve victory."
"He told Asmara part of the story..." Ford said this, his eyes becoming unfocused, and he vaguely remembered the afternoon when Asmara hurriedly found him.
He rarely saw that kind of panicked expression on the woman he could call aunt.
"Xavier asked Asmara to help them spread something called 'blood seed' to every planet with life in the Corona Borealis ring."
Ford's tone was heavy: "Asmara told me that once that thing is activated, it will devour all life on the planet."
"Blood species?" Li Ming pondered in his heart. He searched his mind but found no relevant information. He looked Ford up and down and asked, "Do you mind drawing a tube of blood?"
He didn't believe it at first, and even doubted whether this person was Ford.
"It's okay." Ford sighed helplessly. He had already anticipated Li Ming's character and rolled up his sleeves.
Li Ming casually drew a tube of blood and asked his mechanical subordinate to go for testing. He then asked, "Why did you fake your death?"
Ford explained in detail: "Asmara told me this so that I could find a way to inform you."
"This matter is so complex that I don't even dare to contact you through the Black Hole Network. We, the core members, are being watched very closely and there's almost no chance to leave."
I don't dare to use the Black Hole Network... Li Ming was silent, shook his head and said, "Actually, there's no need to go through so much trouble. The Black Hole Network is trustworthy."
Can you trust me? Ford paused, vaguely dazed.
Li Ming did not explain too much. He had done a lot in the past six months and had also conducted in-depth research on the black hole network.
After all, he has done a lot of things using the black hole network, but in the past, his abilities were weak and what he did was not a big deal.
But now it’s different. We have to find out whether this thing is really safe.
He now comes into contact with quite a few major interstellar forces in the universe, but the black hole network is always as solidly hidden as an underwater iceberg.
It touched upon many people, including Austin, even Abel, and the pioneers.
It was discovered that although many bigwigs had privately built their own communication networks through the Star Network, they still maintained a high degree of trust in the Black Hole Network.
Because the controller of the black hole network does not seem to be an individual, through various clues, he speculates that it should be an intelligent entity with autonomous consciousness.
The emergence of the Black Hole Network originated from the Omnic Crisis that originated in the Federation.
Before this crisis, StarNet had its dark side, but it was minor.
The Omnic Crisis caused the interstellar network to be disconnected for a hundred years. Not long after it was reconnected a few years later, the Black Hole Network came into being and grew rapidly at an incredible speed.
Although it possesses a high degree of intelligence and autonomy, the Black Hole Network still acts according to the rules and has never violated them.
The interstellar leaders all know this information to a greater or lesser extent, so they have more trust in the black hole network. However, ordinary life forms who do not understand this information have discussed many conspiracy theories.
This includes but is not limited to the fact that the black hole network is jointly controlled by the three major civilizations in order to know in advance the people and forces that are destructive to civilization.
There were also rumors that someone placed an order on the Black Hole Network in the morning and was taken away in the afternoon.
Asmara and others encountered such a major event that was enough to shock the interstellar space, so they dared not transmit information to the outside world through the black hole network. After all, if they were not careful, they would be torn to pieces.
"Then why did Asmara ask you to come to me?" Li Ming asked again: "Even if this is true, why should I help you?"
Qinglong killed Nicholas, which was basically an established fact in the eyes of the imperial high-ranking officials and certain forces.
However, people of a slightly lower level have no way of knowing this extremely confidential information, and the empire will not actively publicize it.
So on the surface, he or Qinglong had almost no relationship with Prince Ryan. At most, there was a slight collision in the central world, but no one died.
Asmara seemed to be vaguely certain that Li Ming would help her.
Ford seemed to be still in a trance. Li Ming asked again, and then he reacted. He calmed down, hesitated for a while, and said carefully:
"Because that blood race, at the special request of that prince, was first sown in the Blue Star civilization and your home planet."
Suddenly, Ford felt a chill in the room and quickly added, "The entire plan will take at least six months to a year, or even longer, to complete. The vampires need to be stimulated at the same time, so it will take a long time."
Asmara told him at the time that Li Ming or Qinglong must have a deeper connection with Prince Ryan.
Otherwise, they would not specifically target a low-level civilization.
Li Ming had a blank expression on his face, a cold light flashed in his eyes, but he remained calm. He had one last question:
"This matter won't harm Asmara, right? Then Xavier will definitely protect her life, and even the entire Itlan royal family. Does she want to be the saint who saves the Corona Borealis ring again?"
"I can save the royal family, but I can't save the citizens of the entire Itlan civilization." Ford said sadly. Knowing Li Ming's concerns, he gritted his teeth and said, "You can let me search my memory."
Li Ming raised his eyebrows and looked at Ford, who looked ready to die. He was silent for a moment and said, "No need."
Although there are still many questions, Li Ming has already believed most of it. Everyone knows that Li Ming is in the Mechanical Royal Court.
It was impossible for Ryan to go to so much trouble to set a trap for Li Ming. He was not qualified to do so.
Ford felt relieved and couldn't help but say, "Then...this matter..."
"You stay here first and find a way to contact Asmara. I will report to the teacher." Li Ming regained his composure and made arrangements.
Ford nodded, a complex expression emerging on his haggard face. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar Li Ming in front of him, he said hoarsely, "Thank you."
Li Ming smiled and said, "By the way, what life levels are the people following Xavier?"
Ford thought about it and shook his head. "I'm not sure. I haven't seen them take action. However, there's one guy who doesn't seem to fit in with them. He doesn't seem like one of Prince Ryan's men."
He frowned. "It's hard to describe. He's so weird. I've only met him once..."
"Suzaku." Li Ming shouted, and the shadow of Suzaku emerged and stood on his shoulder.
"Suzaku is my AI. Just describe the details to it."
Ford nodded repeatedly and arranged accommodation for him. After seeing Ford off, Li Ming quickly calmed down and tried to figure out the whole situation.
This news came a little unexpectedly. He looked carefully and found the Corona Borealis ring, 36 star clusters, 1,426 galaxies, 1,872 life-bearing planets, and more than 10 trillion intelligent life forms.
He felt it was horrifying that they were all killed. If the news were to get out, he didn't know how big a stir it would cause.
"Is it the Empire's instruction, or does Ryan want to play on his own?" He estimated that the Corona Borealis star ring was almost adjacent to the Empire's territory.
But precisely because of this, if there really was an imperial order, they would not do so.
"If the distance was farther, it might be the Empire's instruction, but with the distance so close, I feel like Ryan is trying to drag the Empire into the water in order to avoid any accidents." Li Ming pondered.
No one could withstand the backlash of the exposure of this Star Ring-level massacre.
A sharp light flashed in Li Ming's eyes. It seemed that the feasibility of this matter was extremely high.
But a question arises: what does Ryan want to do by paying such a huge price?
With only this information, Li Ming naturally couldn't come up with the answer, but it must be of great importance. What the enemy wants is what he wants to stop.
After figuring out the general thread, he acted very quickly. With a slight movement of his eyes, he had already switched on the [Quantum Communication Ring] and the next moment he arrived at the Iron Throne Hall.
The Iron Throne Hall has many functions, including summoning everyone or just a few people.
Soon, shadows appeared on the seats in front of him and beside him.
He summoned the Navigator and the Bloodfallen.
The Pioneers have been on the move for more than six months, but they are also smart. The Polk Declaration is not a clarion call for a general offensive. They are still focused on cutting off the empire's tentacles abroad.
The main activity took place in the Sea of Stars, and the results were indeed remarkable. Ryan was almost restricted from going anywhere, and the number of imperial garrisons was greatly reduced.
This also indirectly shows that the empire was indeed deteriorating, arousing the greed of many ambitious people.
Elsewhere, most of the time, they're just laying the groundwork, without any big plans.
According to Blackbeard, "There aren't that many big plans. I wonder how many years each one takes to prepare."
Li Ming occasionally came up to exchange information, and by chance he found out the true identities of several members.
"Qinglong?" The navigator was a little surprised. After all, Qinglong had never taken the initiative to summon anyone.
"What do you want from us?" The Bleeding Man was also surprised.
"I just learned something incredible." Li Ming said.
"Unbelievable?" The navigator became interested. "What could possibly be so unbelievable to Lord Qinglong?"
"Someone is preparing to sacrifice the entire Corona Borealis ring with blood." Li Ming spit out a few words.
After the words fell, the other two did not speak for the first time, and the gray mist on the chair kept surging.
After a moment, the Bloodfallen One said suspiciously, "A blood sacrifice to the Corona Borealis ring? Why haven't we received any news?"
There's no way such a major event could go on quietly.
The navigator asked, "Who is so bold? Daring to cause trouble right under the Empire's nose? Isn't this a slap in the face of the Empire?"
The Corona Borealis star ring is adjacent to the empire's territory. It's not quite right to say that the civilization there is like a dog tied at the doorstep, but it's almost the same.
The dog was killed and the owner knew nothing about it?
"It's still under investigation. As for who did it," Li Ming paused before saying, "Prince Ryan."
After he finished speaking, the Blood-Falling One spoke in a high, doubtful voice, "This is impossible... He's still trapped in the Sea of Stars by us."
Li Ming glanced at him. So surprised?
The navigator was also suspicious, "Where did you get this information?"
"Believe it or not," Li Ming said calmly, "I'm going to take action on this matter. Let's work out a plan. If it's done right, it will definitely deal a heavy blow to the empire."
That's right, he planned to use the power of the pioneers. It would be difficult for him to handle such a big thing by himself.
Seeing his confidence, both of them fell silent. After a long while, the navigator said:
"Since Your Excellency is so certain, let's conduct an intelligence investigation first. Blackbeard and Falcon have some forces in the Corona Borealis ring. Let them cooperate."
"If we confirm that this is true, we will proceed to the next step."
The Blood-Losing One remained silent.
Li Ming also knew that more concrete evidence was needed to convince the two guys, so he responded, "I'll have my students go there and cooperate with them."
"By the way, I hope you two won't leak this information to other people." Li Ming reminded again.
"Your Excellency should be aware of the confidentiality of the Pioneers," the navigator said calmly.
Li Ming knew the value of this sentence. Since the pioneers gradually surfaced, there have been people jumping around.
A more accurate number is three, who were purged three months ago, two months ago, and one month ago respectively.
(End of this chapter)
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