This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 264 - 146: Father’s Eldest Son_2

Chapter 264: Chapter 146: Father’s Eldest Son_2

"It hasn’t been long since it was put up," Li Ming remembered. Yesterday there was nothing, but when he activated the Intelligent Assistance and brought up the recording, it was pitch black.

"The security system here is already connected to the temporary command center, someone erased this segment of the recording."

After thinking for a moment, Li Ming took Feder into the adjacent workshop.

The place had been cleared out, and there were no surveillance devices.

"What do you want to say?" Li Ming finally asked.

Feder was slow to react, still pondering the origin of the surveillance equipment. Suddenly, a realization dawned on him; then, filled with rage yet suppressing his voice, he said,

"Could you inform me in advance if you plan to do something in the future? Don’t wait until after it happens to tell me!"

"Things change too quickly," Li Ming shrugged. "Besides, what’s the rush? Your father has a share in this too. If word of this gets out, it will be a big problem."

"I’ve resolved the issue for you, and you don’t even thank me."

"Thank you?" Feder snorted with scorn, as if he had heard some joke.

Just as he was about to speak, his Intelligent Assistance began to vibrate slightly. He glanced down at it and his expression subtly changed.

"Your father?" Li Ming, using the "Intelligent Assistance", knew without looking.

Feder felt even more depressed. Could Li Ming guess everything?

"Aren’t you going to answer?" Li Ming urged.

Feder did not speak, walked over to the corner, glancing at Li Ming with the corner of his eyes as he decided to answer, "Father..."

"I already know about the situation. You did well; leaving Sun Jing’an alive would have been a risk," said the voice, deep and direct, without any pleasantries.

Feder’s expression shifted and he forced a smile, "I just did what I had to do."

"I previously thought you lacked cunning and decisiveness, and had planned to use the matter with Fu Zongchen to temper you, but you accomplished it so brilliantly," Prince Bai Jiang remarked pensively,

"I was wrong, I should not have restrained you in the past."

Feder: "..."

Despite the praise, why did it feel so awkward?

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Li Ming’s mouth curving in a smile, not knowing what he was laughing about.

"Why aren’t you speaking?" Prince Bai Jiang asked.

"It’s nothing, I’m just thinking about what you said..." Feder replied, but Prince Bai Jiang did not mind, instead moving on, "I heard from Sanger that you have already won over Li Ming?"

"I..." Feder hesitated, cautiously glanced at Li Ming, suppressed his embarrassment, and whispered, "Sort of."

"Hahaha..." Prince Bai Jiang suddenly burst into laughter, "It would be quite a sight if Princess Asmara knew about this."

"Wu Yanqing’s student, already branded by Princess Asmara, was snatched away by you, good job, really good."

Feder no longer knew what to say, and a sense of dread crept in, "Princess Asmara won’t be angry, will she?"

He hadn’t won over Li Ming; on the contrary, he had been threatened by Li Ming. If Princess Asmara bore a grudge against him as well, it would be a huge loss.

"Don’t worry, you are still young; she won’t take it out on you because she has her reputation to consider," said Prince Bai Jiang, unconcerned, and then he brought up another matter, "Regarding Wu Yanqing’s laboratory..."

Feder’s heart stirred, "Father, you might have been deceived by Princess Asmara. Wu Yanqing’s laboratory did not contain any sublimation particle data."

"I was there when Torch was searching; did Princess Asmara use Wu Yanqing as bait to attract attention?"

"Bait..." Prince Bai Jiang paused, his tone slightly wistful, "Because Wu Yanqing was there, the royal family still had a glimmer of hope, and thus hesitated to tear our faces with her for several years."

"Seeing it now... I understand. You did well, I’m aware now."

After ending the communication, Feder exhaled deeply. Though forced to cooperate with Li Ming, at least he had managed to accomplish some actual work.

He calmed his emotions and turned to see Li Ming with a meaningful smile, "How does it feel to be praised by your dear father, good isn’t it."

Damn, Feder’s barely adjusted mood almost collapsed. He gave Li Ming a cold look and left without a word.

Although the death of Sun Jing’an was temporarily kept under wraps, it was impossible to keep a secret forever. Sun Jing’an’s assistant made a scene at the door, attracting even more attention.

That very night, numerous people made calls to inquire about what exactly had happened.

"Dead!?"

Facing Qi Xing’s inquiry, Li Ming did not hide anything and nodded:

"His secret arms dealing was related to Torch. If your family is involved, you better drop it now."

"Of course not." Qi Xing’s voice was strained as he quickly ended the call.

Huang Jianzhong also called to inquire; Li Ming couldn’t be bothered with him and brushed him off.

The next day, the incident caused even greater turmoil. Ren Cangsong, backed by Feder, brought people to seal off the entire branch of the Star Creation Company—the more dramatic his actions, the better.

However, to Li Ming’s surprise, this investigation indeed unearthed a significant scandal.

Three days later, in the conference room, everyone gathered together, including both Li Ming and Feder.

Ren Cangsong paced back and forth with a grim expression, as the virtual screen continuously displayed an abundance of data and videos.

"Does Star Creation Company really have ties to Torch?" Li Ming looked down at the distributed materials, his expression one of amazement.

The data recorded that since Caroline’s incident led to the lockdown of Jingnan Star, Star Creation Company, under the guise of its franchise rights, had secretly transported many unidentifiable materials to Jingnan Star.

After the lockdown was relaxed, such activities had become even more frequent, and many people were smuggled in as well.

"Yes, they are relentless in their schemes against you," Ren Cangsong nodded, his gaze sweeping over Li Ming and Feder.

"Wasn’t the entire territory locked down at that time? How could they still get in?" Feder furrowed his brow.

"The territorial lockdown was just an order; its execution still relies on subordinates," Ren Cangsong massaged his temples, "Star Creation Company has been in operation for so many years, who knows how much leverage they hold over so many people."

"These items are probably sacrifices for the Dimensional Creatures," Li Ming observed after looking at a few pictures, among them the familiar Dark Magnetic Titanium.

"Correct, that is also our assumption. I suspect Torch is up to something big," Ren Cangsong spoke gravely, "I have already suggested that Jingnan immediately initiate a Level Three Alert, with all off-duty city guards to return to their posts, implementing a round-the-clock three-shift system."

"The first, second, fourth, and sixth patrol fleets are on their way."

"However..." Ren Cangcang’s look was one of worry, "I just fear that with Sun Jing’an’s sudden incident, it might provoke Torch to expedite certain plans."

"Reinforcements, I wonder if they’ll arrive in time."

The atmosphere in the meeting was somber; Feder glanced repeatedly at Li Ming. Did he anticipate that Star Creation Company was really problematic?

"Gentlemen, there’s no need to worry." Sanger assured them, "The Light Quantum Constraint-based Sky Space Shield is strong enough to withstand direct attacks from main ships and even a Level A Life Form would have difficulty breaking through it."

Being a product sold to Jingnan Star by the Yitelan Civilization, its power was naturally well understood.

The looks on everyone’s faces relaxed slightly, but then Li Ming added, "Torch probably knows about the Sky Space Shield as well."

The previously eased faces darkened once more; naturally, if Torch knew, it also meant that if they made a move, they must have a method to tear through the Sky Space Shield.

After being ushered out of the conference room, Li Ming pondered; it was highly unlikely that Sun Jing’an was a Torch agent, otherwise, there would have been no need to approach him.

But it was hard to be sure about the people under him; the company’s vetting abilities were far inferior to those of the local civilization, and who knew how many people had been infiltrated.

After mulling it over, he once again asked Feder, "Is the thing I asked for arriving soon?"

"It will be delivered tomorrow." Feder’s brow was creased in worry, contemplating potential risks that might arise.

Early the next morning, Feder sent someone to retrieve four small containers from the Giant Shield Company.

Everyone at the temporary command post glanced over, curious about the contents.

However, given Feder’s esteemed status and Sanger’s personal screening to ensure there were no issues, the containers were brought in and transported to Li Ming’s already ravaged laboratory.

"Alright, everything is here." Feder patted the container as the small mechanical augmentation arms unfolded and the doors opened.

Inside the containers, stabilized with gravity balancing devices, were Star Core Fragments.

The traits of the Star Cores varied, some extremely light and others quite heavy.

The four Star Cores laid out before Li Ming, two crimson and two jade green, pulsed with light that ebbed and flowed like breathing, strikingly beautiful to behold.