Great! I'm surrounded by villains!
Chapter 257 - 177: Eternal and Indestructible

Chapter 257: Chapter 177: Eternal and Indestructible

Duan Mingyuan quickly discovered something unusual.

The Memory Fragment mentioned that Ling Long was the name of the queen’s sister, yet within the memories of Mechanical Star and the Chancellor, there were hardly any traces of this person’s existence, as if, despite her high status, she was a taboo of sorts.

All signs led Duan Mingyuan to a conjecture.

The comrade who had collaborated with Ling Long’s "parents" to steal the legacy of the first great craftsman could very well be the queen’s sister, which could explain how they managed to infiltrate the Royal Court’s stronghold and stole the legacy right under the queen’s nose.

Perhaps it was the betrayal by a relative that made the queen no longer trust anyone; after the great rebellion, she expelled all civilians from the lower city districts, and later, even the Royal Court’s guards and servants were no exception, leaving the throne surrounded only by nobles and bionic beings.

"Ling Long, is that the name those two criminals gave you?"

Someone else barged into the hall.

It was the young man who had brought them to the Royal Court, who, according to the hierarchy of Mechanical Star, should be the captain of the Royal Court’s guard.

His current state could only be described as utterly disastrous—his light armor was torn and ragged, his body pierced by bullets that revealed the intricate metal structure within, and the flesh on the right side of his face had been burned away, leaving the cold skeleton clearly visible.

These were wounds sustained in battle against the rebels who had launched a coup.

The young man stumbled as he walked, using up all his strength by the time he reached the hall, and weakly leaned against the wall, collapsing to the ground.

He had caught up with the final conversation of Duan Mingyuan and the others and had unwittingly learned the girl’s name.

Duan Mingyuan thought that the Metal Puppet relaxed his brow a bit upon learning Ling Long’s name.

Logically, a puppet’s face shouldn’t display any human-like expressions.

But it had to be said, the young man arrived at the perfect time, as they were in need of an insider to clarify the situation.

"What did they tell you? To return to Mechanical Star and take away the treasure they had stolen?"

The Metal Puppet could guess the purpose of Ling Long’s journey.

The moment they fled Mechanical Star and boarded the ship that took in refugees, they doomed the day to come.

For years, he had buried the secret in the depths of his heart, intending to carry all matters to the grave, but upon seeing the "orphan" of an old friend, he changed his mind.

In response to the puppet’s interrogation, Ling Long nodded.

"Given my current state, I can no longer stop you, but at least I hope you can understand the significance of the great craftsman’s legacy for this planet."

The puppet’s gaze swept over the Memory Fragment on the table, "The ’Cocoon’ formation is due to the excessive cultivation of the planet’s Energy, and the Chamber of Commerce and corporations have predicted a countdown of 39 years and four months, that’s the remaining lifespan of ’Mechanical Star’."

In the fables, Mechanical Star would ultimately be destroyed by a plague known as the "Flesh Curse."

Those afflicted with this disease would gradually transform their flesh into metal components, becoming creations much like bionic beings.

When Shanqi Commerce Association warned the Royal Court of Mechanical Star, patients afflicted with the "Flesh Curse" appeared all over the planet, and once the transformation was complete, their thinking also reversed, viewing beings of flesh and blood as heretics.

The citizens of Mechanical Star were meant to have bodies composed of machinery, a symbol of eternity and indestructibility.

In their eyes, the frail bodies of flesh were the real affliction.

"Shanqi Commerce Association offered Mechanical Star a deal, once ’Cocoon’ formation begins, it cannot be reversed, but they would build a space station for the people of Mechanical Star, taking those who survived the ’Flesh Curse’ to live in the station and teaching them the laws of survival in space. In exchange, they hoped to receive the assistance of Mechanical Star’s craftsmen and share their inherited Mechanical Techniques with the Chamber of Commerce.

"The queen rejected the Chamber’s offer. She firmly believed she could find a way to stop the ’Cocoon’ formation and cure the Flesh Curse. She established the Ling Long Disease Research Association and had Ling Long, the most skilled craftsman physician of the time, lead all research."

"Excuse me, I have a question!"

Jiuyue, like a student in class, raised her right hand high and asked, "What’s a craftsman physician?"

She was from another planet and didn’t understand the local terms of Mechanical Star.

"They are doctors who specialize in treating those with Modified Bodies. They believed the ’Flesh Curse’ was the result of Mechanical Star’s inhabitants excessively modifying their own bodies... Every citizen of Mechanical Star has undergone modifications to varying degrees, and the people here have long been unsatisfied with creating intricate mechanisms; instead, modifying themselves is seen as the higher pursuit.

"But even the most outstanding craftsman physicians on Mechanical Star couldn’t determine the cause of the ’Flesh Curse,’ thus she suggested a complete ban on all forms of self-modification and advised reducing the use of Mechanical Energy over the next several years until the future citizens of Mechanical Star no longer needed to rely on energy to live.

"The proposal was rejected, for to use energy and create mechanisms is innate to the people of Mechanical Star; no law can suppress this inborn nature, and the queen also did not support Ling Long’s judgement. She believed the key to the ’Flesh Curse’ and the ’Cocoon’ formation of the planet lay hidden within the Mechanical Energy. They had to delve deeper into harvesting energy, trusting that their exploratory achievements would eventually change the fate of the planet."

This story sounded very familiar to Duan Mingyuan.

He had heard a similar tale on the flagship of the Ashen Consortium.

The last Archbishop Zha’erman also faced the same choice, he observed the increasingly restless Scorching Sun Power and sensed that a crisis was about to descend upon their planet.

At that time, Zha’erman also chose to believe, believing that their exploration of Scorching Sun Power could help them through the difficulty as usual.

The result was that the empire ultimately perished in the radiation of Scorching Sun Power, turning the empire’s citizens into the first refugees in the universe.

The Metal Puppet continued, "The disagreement on the ’Flesh Curse’ drove the two apart, eventually escalating into an irreconcilable conflict. The empress abdicated as the president of the Ling Long Disease Research Association and put her under house arrest, forbidding her from conducting any further research related to the ’Flesh Curse.’ At the same time, she became increasingly engrossed in the legacy left by the first great craftsman, hoping to observe the mysteries of Mechanical Energy from it."

After all, Mechanical Energy was originally harnessed by the first great craftsman, who thus gained fame throughout the universe.

"On this issue, both sides thought the other was obsessed, and as the great rebellion broke out, the empress focused her attention on the Rebels, while Ling Long took the opportunity to steal the legacy of the great craftsman. It seemed that she believed that as long as the legacy was taken away from Mechanical Star, the empress would have no choice but to cease her research. And the one who helped her steal the legacy was her own retainer... only she did not expect that the retainer had ulterior motives and intended to keep the great craftsman’s legacy for himself."

"You already know what happened after."

Ling Long’s retainer fled Mechanical Star, and before being captured, Ling Long hid the great craftsman’s legacy in a place no one could find.

For her, as long as she ensured the empress could not continue delving into the mysteries of Mechanical Energy, her goal was achieved.

"In order to force Ling Long to reveal the whereabouts of the legacy, the empress used many tortures on her, but even until she was sent to the execution platform, Ling Long did not reveal anything about the legacy."

The Metal Puppet bowed its head, and there was nothing good to be said about what happened after.

The empress was afflicted by backlash from overusing the "golden hourglass" and grew increasingly insane from that point onward.

Thus, the identity of the woman publicly executed became clear.

However, the story does not mention why Ling Long showed a relieved smile when sent to the execution platform, nor why she announced to everyone the existence of the great secret, indirectly leading to the arrival of the Cosmic Pirates.

"But according to what you said, Ling Long’s retainers should hate her to death."

Ling Long suddenly spoke up, Ling Long let the ducks they had in hand fly away and wandered miserably as refugees to Blue Star, spending many years on a strange planet, "Why then did they give me the name ’Ling Long’?"

"That’s because the items lost at that time were not only the great craftsman’s legacy, but also a private collection of Ling Long. Before the ’Flesh Curse’ outbreak, Ling Long was conducting a study, which was to endow lifeless puppets with thought and life—the retainers took away one of her collections when they left."

"You mean..."

Ling Long suddenly widened her eyes, disbelievingly blurting out.

To give thoughts and life to a puppet.

"There’s a way to verify it."

The Metal Puppet said, "Only a royal heir’s bloodline can touch the secrets of the legacy; if your body carries Ling Long’s mark, you can break the seal on the legacy."

"But she had tried that before."

"The key is to inject energy, maintaining the same frequency, just like when you uncovered the Memory Fragment."

The voice of the Metal Puppet fluctuated slightly.

He had no knowledge of the legacy’s secrets but had witnessed countless people fight tooth and nail over it.

The Cosmic Pirates followed one after another, turning Mechanical Star into its current state.

If today his life was coming to an end, he hoped to glimpse the great secret of the treasure before dying.

At these words, Jiuyue took out a black staff from her tail and handed it to Ling Long, her hand resting on Ling Long’s shoulder, giving her Strength, "It’s up to you to decide."

The hall fell silent.

After what felt like a long while, Ling Long made her decision, closed her eyes, and grasped the black staff.

Familiar energy was awakened, flowing through her palm like a stream and then coursing up her forearm into her body.

The next moment—

"yo~yo~yo~ Congratulations on unlocking the treasure’s puzzle, here’s a song I recorded personally for you~yo~"

?

The rhythmic rock music echoed in the hall for a long time.

Mirroring the question marks hovering above their heads.