This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 278 - 153 A-Level Controlled Objects_2

Chapter 278: Chapter 153 A-Level Controlled Objects_2

However, Ya Ro just shrugged, "Of course, when I said they were very popular, that was before you joined them. After joining, what kind of treatment you’d get is hard to say."

Li Ming understood; in the City of Stars, with no laws, they certainly wouldn’t be paying salaries.

"It’s not a good place," Luo Chuan seemed to catch what Li Ming was thinking and reminded him, "Without laws, without rules, no one protects you. Death follows you like a shadow, nobody cares who killed you, and even less do they seek vengeance for you."

"Who says there are no rules?" Ya Ro said dissatisfied, "There are rules. They’re just rough. If it was fights all the time, no one would want to go there."

"I’m just asking, just curious," Li Ming smiled.

...

In the Silverless Starry Sky, the asteroid belt stretched for tens of millions of kilometers, with metallic bases scattered across one of the asteroids.

The leader of the Torch Organization stared at the virtual screen in front of him, his face looking incredibly grim, "Six Firework Apostles, all lost in action!?"

"Leader, there’s one still on the run, not yet discovered," reported the person on the screen.

"What’s the difference?" The leader’s gaze was icy cold.

The other party shivered, bowing his head.

"Quite the Asmara, quite the Wu Yanqing, such great patience, really not afraid of accidents, huh," the leader murmured.

"Leader, that Li Ming, do we still go after him?" the subordinate on the screen inquired again.

"How to catch him?" The leader suddenly looked up, his voice cold, "Asmara is on Jingnan Star. She clearly came for me. Let’s put a stop to this for now."

"Understood," came the reply.

After ending the communication, the leader returned to his chair. The vast room was eerily silent. He toggled the screen, opening an audio recording.

"I... I’ve found it, I’ve finally found it..."

It was Wu Yanqing’s experimental log. His eyes flickered, "Wu Yanqing, what exactly did you find?"

Just as he was pondering, the smart terminal began to vibrate incessantly, and it wasn’t a link to the star net.

After answering, the caller quickly spoke up, "Boss, we’ve received anonymous information."

"What anonymous information?" The leader frowned. After receiving the file transmitted by the other party, his expression turned to one of shock as he abruptly rose from his seat.

"Is this for real?"

"Don’t know, but Princess Asmara’s presence on Jingnan Star can now be verified. Perhaps we can give it a try," said the other party, also hesitant.

The leader paced back and forth, apparently contemplating. After a long while, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Give it a try. If it’s true, then there’s hope to unlock the civilization ruins. The rumored interstellar treasure could be our hope for rising!"

...

The next morning, bright and early, Feder came looking for Li Ming, getting straight to the point, "I’ve contacted my father, and you will definitely be given a top-tier C-level gene seed."

"When?" Li Ming, who was tinkering with metal parts, asked.

"My father needs to contact the gene seed modulation department. The royal family normally uses gene sequences, so these top-tier C-level gene seeds aren’t cost-effective. It’ll likely take about half a month," Feder explained, "By the time you reach the Yitelan Civilization, it should definitely be ready."

"By the time I reach Yitelan Civilization?" Li Ming frowned, "When are we leaving?"

"In another two or three days, maybe," replied Feder.

"That soon?" Li Ming was quite surprised.

Feder asked, puzzled, "All the business is taken care of, why stay here any longer?"

"I see," Li Ming nodded thoughtfully, and Feder probed, "Are you sure you won’t pledge allegiance to Princess Asmara?"

"Do you really want me to pledge to her?" Li Ming countered.

"Not really," Feder said sheepishly.

Li Ming then said, "They haven’t even planned to meet me, why should I eagerly throw myself at them."

Butts? Whose butts? Feder’s face looked puzzled.

"Teacher said my gene seed is with Isus, clearly wanting me to butter him up," Li Ming shook his head, "I’m not interested."

"Yeah!" Feder rallied with sudden energy, speaking with shared animosity, "That Isus is not a normal person, he’s psychologically twisted."

As he spoke, he looked around and lowered his voice, "He has that kind of fixation with Princess Asmara... you’re essentially betraying Princess Asmara, and he’s not going to be pleased with you."

Li Ming’s face faltered slightly, his eyes reflecting surprise as he looked towards Isus, "According to seniority, isn’t Princess Asamara related to him..."

"Exactly, which is why I say he’s twisted. Otherwise, why would a fine prince side with Asmara?" Feder continued on, saying even this scandalous information to make Li Ming see reality.

"Do you two have a grudge?" Li Ming squinted, questioning.

"Uh..." Feder’s face turned awkward, his gaze drifting, "Yes, there’s a bit of a history."

"What if I help you kill him? What would he be like then?" Li Ming suddenly said.

Feder was briefly stunned, then burst into laughter, "Haha, stop joking. If you really kill him, I’ll acknowledge you as my big brother."

"Being a big brother isn’t interesting," Li Ming shook his head.

"If you kill him, name your conditions, alright?" Feder said dismissively, shaking his head as if having detected something was amiss.

After a brief chat, Feder left.

Li Ming’s mouth quirked slightly, a metallic pendant appearing in his hand. He tapped it lightly and a holographic image projected--

"What if I help you kill him..."

"If you kill him, set your conditions..."

Just then, Feder, who had already left, turned back, his face grim, "Isus is here, he’s probably looking for you. I don’t want to run into him."

"Isus..." Li Ming put away the metallic pendant with an unruffled demeanor, not surprised, nor rejecting the prospect of meeting.

In the reception room, the Prince indeed had a grander entourage than Feder, protected by a B-grade life form.

"Hello, Prince Isus," Li Ming extended his left hand first.

Isus paused slightly, Li Ming added with a hint of apology, "Sorry, my right hand hasn’t healed yet."

"It’s fine." Isus, surprisingly amiable today, somewhat awkwardly extended his own left hand.

Their handshake was quick, and they soon let go,

For some reason, Isus felt that Li Ming’s gaze had become fervent by a few degrees.

[Subspace Folding Ring: A ring crafted by containing subspace folding technology within dimension-grade gold.

Control Conditions: Three million metal energy

Control Effect: Subspace Folding

Control Ability -- Space Blink: Can shuttle through space within a 10m range.]

This was the first genuine A-grade Controlled Object Li Ming had come across; perhaps because it was only an auxiliary tool, it only required three million metal energy to control.

What surprised him, however, was that the effect turned out to be Personal Space, and the ability could actually defy spatial warping.

Such a fine item indeed, truly a fine item.

"Please, have a seat," Li Ming was quite enthusiastic. Isus was surprised but also satisfied.

He said warmly, "Mr. Li Ming, there was so much happening yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to converse properly with you, which I feel is truly a pity. So I made a special effort to visit today."

"It’s expected for Your Highness to be busy," Li Ming agreed amicably.

Isus nodded slightly, "I’m a straightforward person, so I’ll just speak frankly. Professor Wu is a dear friend of Princess Asmara."

"Princess Asmara has also been paying attention to you for some time and looks forward to meeting you. She even prepared a C-grade gene seed for you already."

"However..." Isus sighed, "I shouldn’t be saying these things, but I quite admire you, and I still feel I should remind you, playing both sides isn’t a good habit."

"A misunderstanding, definitely a misunderstanding," Li Ming responded immediately, "I hold Princess Asmara in high esteem, I would never be a fence-sitter."

Isus scrutinized him, seemingly trying to discern the truth in his words. After a long moment, he finally smiled, "I hope so. Moreover, there’s another matter why I’m here today. We received an anonymous report suggesting you might be a seed of Torch."

"Of course, this is nonsense. Nevertheless, the informant provided some leads concerning you embezzling forty million in research funds to support the Torch Organization."

"According to the information, you claimed part of the materials were consumed by you, and part were taken by Torch."

Isus pondered for a moment, "Could you explain what exactly you did with the consumed alloy materials?"