This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 322 - 175: The Joy of the Collector [Material Reorganization Machine] (Sorry, sorry, it’s late again)

Chapter 322: Chapter 175: The Joy of the Collector [Material Reorganization Machine] (Sorry, sorry, it’s late again)

"Being in contact with many things is nothing special," Li Ming waved his hand, "Which item does the client want me to repair? Or shall I fix them all?"

Ulrich’s eyes flickered slightly, "Then fix them all."

Li Ming was somewhat surprised and calculated for a moment, "This eight-tone sphere is not easy to repair, dream alloy is extremely rare."

"No problem, I have it," Ulrich immediately responded, "Just name your price."

"Um..." Li Ming raised an eyebrow slightly, "If you provide the materials, for all three items together, let’s make it a round sum, one billion."

"One billion Star Coins?" Huo Tan couldn’t help himself, "Your price is way too high, my master is even supplying the materials."

"Materials are nothing," Li Ming said nonchalantly, "The most important thing is the technique. The resonance technology of the eight-tone sphere’s sound cavity is now mastered by very few people."

"That’s the price," Ulrich didn’t bargain, "How many days will you need?"

"It might take some time, about ten days," Li Ming pondered.

"Ten days?" Ulrich was taken aback once more, then nodded, "Okay, I’ll come to find you in ten days, the materials will be sent over soon."

He was indeed swift and resolute, leaving right after placing the items.

Once outside, Huo Tan couldn’t help but ask, "Master, do you really trust him that much?"

"Wasn’t it you who brought me to see him?" Ulrich said, "Why are you losing confidence in him now?"

"I was just thinking, he’s talented, wondering if we could recruit him for ourselves," Huo Tan explained, "But he seems to have surprised you as well, which makes me uneasy."

"Indeed, if he can really fix them, it’s like finding a treasure," Ulrich clenched and opened his palm.

"But what if he can’t fix them?" Huo Tan asked again, unable to keep his concern in check.

"If he can’t fix them?" Ulrich gave a faint smile without saying a word.

...

"Just left the items here without fear of being double-crossed. That’s the confidence of an ’A’ class life form," Li Ming muttered to himself as he looked at the several items in front of him. He then called Ya Ro, "We’ll close the shop for a few days."

"Ah?" Ya Ro was puzzled, "What happened?"

The business was booming, why suddenly close up shop?

"Got a big deal," Li Ming didn’t explain much. The very idea of opening this repair shop was to reel in a big fish like Ulrich.

Now that the big fish was hooked, there was no need to keep the shop open.

"Alright then," Ya Ro left without fully understanding the situation.

Li Ming looked at the items before him, and pondered, "Dealing with Ulrich is like negotiating with a tiger. After all, he’s an ’A’ class life form, leaving me very little room to maneuver."

"But from the initial contact, he seems to be like Ya Ro said, not resorting to violence as the first course of action."

"However, riding on this east wind, the Star Hunters can do no harm to me. I might even be able to fleece something from him, perhaps in the name of a Collective... Hmm..."

He sorted out the thoughts in his mind.

Of course, he dared to bait a big fish like Ulrich not based on hearsay about this Collector from Ya Ro.

But rather--

[Hot Nuclear Fusion Bomb--Consumable: A bomb of tremendous power.

Control Conditions: One million five hundred thousand metal energy.

Control Effect--Hot Nuclear Reaction: Temporarily upgrade to a ’B’ class life form and gain a 1000% Fire Element boost.]

This was his trump card, acquired from the Black Hole Network soon after he arrived on this Floating Island, worth seventy million.

The remaining scarce metal energy he had was all invested in this thing.

This was his fallback; if things went south, he still had an escape route.

...

The shop’s closure caused quite a stir; good Mechanics were rare in the Land of Stars, and with Li Ming having cleared out three, options became even scarcer.

Many interstellar desperados, who came seeking fame, found themselves in a wasted trip, gathering and making noise at the shop front, even attracting the attention of the island’s security forces who forcibly dispersed them.

This led many to wonder privately; street conflicts weren’t unheard of, and Ulrich’s security forces wouldn’t have reacted so quickly otherwise.

Such an extraordinary performance was worth pondering.

And just like that, ten days flew by.

That day, Ya Ro and Kay were utterly bored. Kay had almost gotten used to this lifestyle, even feeling it was not bad, which made him curse himself frequently.

Ding dong!

The doorbell rang, and Ya Ro raised an eyebrow. Since the last visit from Ulrich’s security team, it had been a long time since anyone dared to knock on the door.

"Who is it?" He opened the door, hesitated, recognizing the visitor.

It was the last customer before Li Ming closed the shop, and Li Ming had instructed him that if these two showed up, to let them in.

"It’s you two, please come in," Ya Ro stepped aside as Ulrich nodded, "Where is the boss?"

"He’s gone out, hasn’t come back yet," Ya Ro explained.

"Gone out?" Huo Tan’s heart tightened slightly, the surveillance team had not reported anything?

Ulrich didn’t seem to mind, "Then let’s wait for him for a while."

The two of them sat down, Kay stood in the corner, thinking it had nothing to do with him, but didn’t understand why one person kept looking at him.

Suddenly, Ulrich spoke, "I have a little hobby of collecting interesting trinkets. I wonder if you have any on you?"

Ya Ro was slightly taken aback, "Trinkets? What kind do you mean?"

Kay moved to the left and realized that the person’s gaze followed him, finally understanding that Ulrich was addressing him.

Ya Ro also realized this, glanced at Kay, then back at Ulrich, and once more at Kay.

Suddenly he gasped, stepping back, a storm surging in his heart.

He was not stupid, in fact rather clever, and had guessed the identity of the visitor, Ulrich!