This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 366 - 197: Collector’s Mechanic’s Little Black Room - Ship Main Gun 【Gun and Cannon Badge】

Chapter 366: Chapter 197: Collector’s Mechanic’s Little Black Room - Ship Main Gun 【Gun and Cannon Badge】

"A Mechanic?"

Brown drew in a sharp breath, his green ears flapping incessantly, becoming more obsequious, "So, it’s a Mechanic..."

Then, Brown turned his head, and his voice suddenly grew incredibly loud, "Listen up, all of you lazy bastards, standing before you is a Mechanic! I want you all to be on your toes and show your best techniques."

Huo Tan’s mouth twitched. He glanced carefully at the Mechanic beside him, afraid that he might think of something, but fortunately, the man’s expression was impassive, though rather intrigued.

The noise at the scene grew more intense, as numerous gazes steadfastly turned their way, belonging to various races, all of them looking quite fatigued—clearly treated as laborers. There were no fewer than thirty or forty of them around.

No wonder there were hardly any Mechanics in the Land of Stars; Ulrich had kept them all hidden here.

"What is that?" Li Ming’s eyes gleamed as he walked quickly towards something; it was a huge cannon barrel nearly a hundred meters in length, silver all over, with energy confinement devices encircling it every ten meters and a massive energy generator at the end.

"This is from the Tris Civilization, the main cannon of a Saiya-class battleship..." the Mechanic next to him hurriedly responded, as repairing this seemed rather complex, with five or six Mechanics surrounding it.

Li Ming placed his hand on it.

[Particle Confinement Ship Cannon—Special Model: Removed from the main ship, requires a large amount of energy to fire (Note: cannot be upgraded)

Control Conditions: Three million metal energy

Control Effect: Over-spec energy storage

Control Ability—Bombardment: Materializing ship cannon, bombarding a specific target (Note: pre-energy storage required)]

Could this big cannon be controlled?

Li Ming was somewhat surprised. However, there was no rating, and both the effect and ability were odd; it was hard to know without controlling it.

The ability possible was materialization, which seemed rather indirect, unlike typical controlled objects.

And it couldn’t be upgraded—a first encounter for him.

The required metal energy was not inconsequential, a main battleship’s heavy cannon—Li Ming grew contemplative, a flicker of curiosity igniting within him.

His interest piqued, he decided to scout the place thoroughly, seeing if he could discover anything interesting.

The huge vault underground was untouchable, but this could be considered a little treasury.

Seeing Li Ming’s excited demeanor, Huo Tan wasn’t surprised at all—Mechanics were all the same.

As long as no chaos ensued, Ulrich had granted him quite high permissions.

[Gravity Battle Axe—C grade]

"This was sold to the master not long ago, by a Sost merchant who came to the Land of Stars to trade, it seems to be some kind of ornament," Huo Tan glanced at the restoration data and marked the damaged mechanical axe.

The observing skills of this Azure Dragon Great Mechanic were good enough; if he retained something, it was definitely worthwhile.

However, Huo Tan frowned slightly just as he saw Li Ming pick up another item to examine it closely. Most items sent here for repair had been inspected by several appraisers under the Collector.

None were considered particularly good, so why had this Mechanic scrutinized two items already?

Though it was odd, he took it upon himself to note this down, remaining confused until a few minutes later when Huo Tan became utterly disoriented.

Because this Mechanic, had picked up and closely examined every single item on the workbench.

The only difference was the duration of observation, but those minute differences were hard to interpret.

Sure enough, he’s being cautious, Huo Tan thought, shaking his head slightly with a hint of helplessness; he had intended to use the Mechanic’s discernment to find something overlooked.

But, from the start, the man was on guard; otherwise, with his skills, would he need to examine each item so closely?

"The taste of fried rice is even more delicious..." Li Ming said, his expression odd, looking at a half-remaining, nameless spatula in his hand, whose front was gone, leaving only the handle.

After putting it down, he kindly reminded him, "Don’t fix it, this is just a spatula."

The Dwarf Mechanic researching the data was instantly dumbfounded.

Setting down the item, he moved to the next workbench. Since touching it was required to display relevant information, it appeared as if he meticulously observed each item.

The majority were C-grade items, with only a few B-grade; anything higher was beyond these Mechanics’ control.

Even so, many items were beyond repair.

"Hmm..." Li Ming paused and stopped at a particular workbench, where a thin, multi-limbed creature of the Insect Race was fixing a palm-sized badge.

[Gun and Cannon Badge—Consumable: From a deceased master of firearms.

Control Conditions: One million metal energy

Control Ability—Gun Training: Enhances firearm-related professions.]

Following behind, Huo Tan introduced, "This was also extracted by the master from the Red River Star Stream last time; it seems to be a badge of some civilization."

He normally didn’t speak about items with a clear history, and for those not listed, he didn’t care if this Mechanic could recognize them or not, he would still introduce them.

Li Ming’s mind stirred; this item was excellent, perfectly suitable to enhance his firearms profession.

His eyes flickered, and he spoke up, "I fancy this badge. It’s mine now."

Huo Tan frowned slightly, instinctively wanting to refuse. His choosing this item meant it had to be good.

Yet an outright refusal might not seem appropriate and could cause complications if a dispute arose.

But he subtly tilted his head, giving Brown a look. Brown first appeared confused, then began to sweat profusely, shaking his head slightly.

Huo Tan merely smiled faintly, but his eyes seemed colder. As Brown saw the Mechanic pocketing the item, he steeled himself to call out, "Lord Azure Dragon."