This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 385 - 206: Eat As You Take - Collector Style Buffet_2

Chapter 385: Chapter 206: Eat As You Take - Collector Style Buffet_2

The aide beside him looked terrible, continuously bellowing.

Watching the group of raiders move excitedly from room to room, shouting loudly and even trying to move the throne of the Collector from the hall.

It was indeed a treasure, entirely crafted from tan gold, and quite valuable.

"Don’t bother with them," Cassis stopped the aide who wanted to intervene.

She was well aware that it was unrealistic to rely on these raiders; they were merely fodder, a cover for her own movements.

However, the situation inside the castle was far beyond her expectations, and she had temporarily not found any enemies.

"Follow me." She knew this place well and navigated through the raiders. As she passed the fifth floor, her eyebrows were tightly furrowed. The great doors were open, with the Mechanic nowhere to be seen.

Many raiders were partying in the maintenance room, regarding every part of it as treasures.

Some even fought fiercely, which then involved even more people nearby.

Cassis’s eyebrows remained furrowed as she ascended to the sixth floor. The place was in chaos, many rooms were destroyed by explosions, the flames still unextinguished, until she reached a room in the corner.

Several raiders were destroying the door. Upon seeing Cassis and her group arrive and attempting to hinder them, they said, "This is ours..."

Bang! Bang!

An elegant, purple mechanical whip lashed out, smashing two people’s heads instantly before forcefully breaking through the door.

The room was full of complex buttons and hanging screens, but all were turned off.

It was actually the security room of the steel castle, and a few staff members inside were trembling, with bewildered faces.

"Take control of everyone here."

Cassis moved swiftly to the central control panel, her hands moving like a phantom, rapidly clicking, and after a humming sound, the screens hanging on the wall gradually lit up.

"Beep—system rebooting..."

"Skip the self-check, initiate Level One Security, and annihilate all acts and life forms that violate the security protocol!" Cassis said coldly.

"Warning, skipping the self-check may cause some issues..."

"...Initiating Level One Security, please stay in a safe location."

The entire room suddenly turned red, flashing incessantly.

Meanwhile, on the ground floor lobby, a few raiders were disputing over the Collector’s throne, shoving each other amid a barrage of interstellar crude expressions, their faces flushed and almost ready to come to blows.

Suddenly, a red light lit up around the throne and with a hissing sound, a hot cutting laser enveloped the entire throne.

Those raiders gathered around it, unable to react in time, were immediately pierced through, while those slightly further away were terrified.

On the fifth-floor maintenance room, the floor and walls continuously slid open, revealing built-in automatic defense systems.

The raiders caught in the midst of fighting were stunned. Numerous multi-barreled turrets locked on to all present, firing small-caliber energy beams that formed blue chains of light, constantly swaying with the movement trajectories of the targets.

The beams, hitting either the metal floor or the walls, seemed to have no effect, but once they hit a life form, the horrifying high temperature would instantly melt it and cause a minor explosion.

The people were turned into minced meat amid their horrified expressions.

With the security system activated, the Collector’s steel castle was completely transformed into a killing machine.

Cassis watched the wailing raiders on the screen, her face expressionless. Only a small fraction of the raider teams did not attempt to loot.

Only after many were almost dead did she open the broadcast system.

...

In Ulrich’s personal vehicle, lights passed by the side windows like flowing light. He furrowed his brows, feeling an inexplicable unease but not knowing its origin.

And as he neared Sandro’s territory, the unease grew thicker, and he even regretted coming, but he was already nearing the place.

"Judger... Sandro... Kay... Li Ming..." he pondered, his thoughts whirling.

"Sir, five minutes to go," a subordinate at the back reported.

"Hmm." Sandro nodded indifferently. Sandro’s stronghold was now extremely close, and the spacecraft suddenly slowed down as it approached.

Ulrich had already taken out his smart terminal, and according to his estimation, he could have connected to the network by now.

As expected, the moment the virtual screen popped up, a string of messages swarmed in, with numerous pop-ups appearing.

Ulrich slightly stunned, then his pupils suddenly constricted.

"Sir, Sandro and Lord Theo are at the dock..."

Boom!

An immense repulsive force erupted from Ulrich’s side, instantly flipping the Suzhou staff against the wall, with warning sounds erupting all around.

Crack!

The spaceship’s walls, unable to bear the load, cracked open.

"Si... r..." The subordinates pinned against the wall turned red-faced!

Boom!

The whole spaceship exploded like fireworks, smoke billowed, and fragments of metal floated everywhere, while many raiders of the Star Hunter stared up in shock.

Afterward, a terrifying aura burst forth, and the ground of the Floating Island trembled. Ulrich’s menacing voice resounded, "Sandro, you’re asking for it!"

He raised his hand, and a warship parked around, thousands of meters in size, was lifted by an invisible force, the unbearable creaking noise resounded, and the shadow covered the raiders below, all shivering.

Crack—the metal warship folded in the middle.

Crack—immediately compressed into a ball, then "Boom"—exploded with flames bursting from the fissures, hurtling towards the Floating Island like a meteor.

"Ulrich, have you lost your mind!" A red figure rushed from below, penetrating through the meteor fireball, causing it to scatter.

As the flames faded, it was Sandro, his face grim, feigning anger, followed closely by Theo, whose expression flickered.

"Stop pretending—my castle was attacked, dare you say this has nothing to do with you!" Ulrich’s gaze was grim.

"Cut the crap!" Sandro was furious. He hadn’t disconnected from the network and was well aware of the situation, "Blame me when you can’t find anyone else to blame, who said it had anything to do with me."

"Do I still need evidence?" Ulrich’s voice was cold, regretting more and more why he hadn’t stayed home and waited for things to get fixed.

"Fine, fine, even if evidence isn’t needed, then why would I attack?" Sandro retorted angrily.

Ulrich repressed a rage brewing within him, "Why attack, you know very well why!"

"You see, Theo, you decide..." Sandro pondered; Rob and the others should have succeeded by now.

He had been staying at his lair and had seen the bounty information released by Cassis, which also had him on edge.

However, over an hour had passed, and seeing Ulrich’s current state, it seemed that Rob hadn’t been caught.

Since he hadn’t been caught, he must have succeeded, so Sandro had plenty of time to spend here with Ulrich.

"Ulrich, you should return as quickly as possible," Theo said gravely, "Whether it’s him or not, first ascertain what’s been lost; there might still be a chance to remedy it."

Sandro’s fools are definitely no match for the Torch Organization.

However, since their goals are different, Sandro probably wants the Star King’s artifact.

Meanwhile, the Torch Organization just wants the Mechanic. If they’re a bit smarter, they won’t fight, at most each taking what they need.

"Even the Star King ended up in such a state, do you really think it’s something good?" Theo shook his head in secret, this time with Sandro taking the blame; no need to break completely with Ulrich.

Ulrich’s face was cold, and he glanced at his smart terminal again, Cassis had regained control of the castle and was preparing to investigate underground.

However, the elevator shaft had already initiated an emergency lockdown, but it seemed that it had still been breached, and the situation seemed rather dire.

The only good news was that it appeared no one had left the steel castle yet.

"Sandro, come back with me," Ulrich looked up, his eyes fixed on the burly figure.

"I’m going with you?" Sandro stared: "I have several Floating Islands still in riot; my people have gone out to clear it up, how can I go back with you?"

"Go back with him; otherwise, he’ll take this place apart," Theo advised.

"Am I afraid of him?" Sandro scoffed, but seeing the serious Theo, he snorted, "Fine, let’s go; the innocent fear no accusation."