This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 400 - 214: The Unexpected Calamity from Afar, The Astute Asimara

Chapter 400: Chapter 214: The Unexpected Calamity from Afar, The Astute Asimara

"Do you think they will preemptively clear out the Land of Stars?" Ulrich, realizing Li Ming’s thoughts, asked undeniably.

"Just a sudden whim." Li Ming didn’t deny it.

"It’s not entirely impossible." Theo suddenly spoke, while Sandro’s gaze also grew more solemn, "Grey Eyes, if you know something, just say it straight, no need to beat around the bush."

Theo shook his head, pulling up a virtual screen, displaying a news report with a black circular logo in the upper left corner—Star Abyss Times.

"...At 7:13 AM, on Clint Star in the Sermo Cluster—Bapulor Star System—Duke Guya’er, who was on an inspection visit, was assassinated."

"A long-distance orbital sniper bullet penetrated Duke Guya’er’s shoulder, and by 1:00 PM, the Empire issued a statement claiming that Duke Guya’er’s life was not in danger and vowing to rigorously pursue the assassin."

"A big shot from the Star Shining Empire was assassinated?" Sandro was astonished, then sneered, "Damn well deserved, wonder who was so bold to assassinate him."

"So the guy’s not dead, huh? Wouldn’t the Star Shining Empire go crazy if he was?"

Ulrich frowned, looking at the news on the screen; he had been busy with follow-up work these last few days, having no time to pay attention to external news.

It was also because Huo Tan had died, otherwise, such big news would definitely have been reported to him, which made him feel even more irked.

"He’s not dead, but almost." Theo extinguished the screen, said indifferently.

Ulrich regained his senses, "What do you mean?"

Li Ming also looked over.

"That bullet was coated with informational state poison. Even though it only slightly pierced through his body, the poison has spread, enough to erase him from the universe," Theo explained, "The Star Abyss Empire hastily assembled an informational state stabilization device, barely keeping him in a state between life and death."

"Is the Star Abyss Empire just swelling their face to look fat?" scoffed Sandro, "Old Empire, not that great, huh."

"This is because the Star Abyss Empire still doesn’t know who’s behind the attack, unsure of how to proceed, so they are temporarily curbing the news," Theo casually explained.

Li Ming then asked, "What does this have to do with the Land of Stars?"

Theo somewhat helplessly replied, "The Star Abyss Empire issued a notice for assistance; many star clusters have responded, and according to what I’ve heard, it seems the attacker fled along the Red River Star Stream."

"The Yitelan Civilization might respond to the call of the Star Abyss Empire, setting up defenses in advance."

"Fuck," cursed Sandro, "Doesn’t that mean he’d get trapped all along his escape route?"

"A disaster without cause." Ulrich shook his head, feeling more and more like he was out of luck, stumbling upon such situations.

Li Ming was also quite speechless, "Hopefully the Torch Organization won’t make us wait too long."

However, Theo added, "I’m just speculating. Although the Star Abyss Empire has issued a large-scale notice for assistance, they haven’t asked these civilizations to necessarily respond."

"The Yitelan Civilization should still follow their own battle plans; so many people in the Silver Star Cluster are watching them, they’re too big to launch a Sudden Attack, no need to worry."

Sandro let out a sigh of relief, then carelessly said, "Worst case, we run away early."

"If you ask me, we should just hide in the Red River Star Stream."

Theo shook his head, "Once we enter the Red River Star Stream, all external communications will be severed, which would actually put us in a passive position."

Sandro was just making a casual suggestion, then continued the previous topic, "Who is this assassin? Do you have any news?"

Theo pondered, "Not yet, the Star Abyss Empire tried to pull information from the Black Hole Network, but was refused."

While the others talked, Li Ming’s gaze became distant, pondering over another matter; he wanted to procure more Main Ship Guns.

Despite their limited number of shots requiring pre-charging, they were indeed fierce.

Anyway, he had to hoard enough to annihilate a Level A Life Form in one go, to have a bit more sense of security.

However, Main Ship Guns are not easy to come by; he had searched on the Black Hole Network, and including various transport fees, one gun costs four to five hundred million Star Coins.

And his current balance was already less than ten million.

"Ulrich’s fleet consists of transport ships, at most a few are armed Escort Ships, not nearly powerful enough."

"I heard Sandro owns a large Main Ship, but it’s too far from here, Theo has some too... but..." Li Ming was calculating, stealing doesn’t seem to be an option.

"tnnd!"

Suddenly, Sandro burst out in anger, his eyes nearly popping out, gritting his teeth: "Damn that Alphonse, daring to seize my Floating Island while I’m not home!"

Li Ming looked over; Alphonse, another Level A Life Form from the Land of Stars, comes from the Rasos Star Cluster, mainly engaged in human trafficking.

"Really asking for it, thinking I’ve got no one left under me." Sandro snorted coldly, "Fellows, we’re all in the same boat now, how can we let him bully us."

Ulrich looked at him coldly, "That’s your problem, what does it have to do with us? If you want to go back and reassert your dominance, nobody’s stopping you."

Theo remained silent, his attitude clear—they were only temporarily bound together, did he really think they were some sort of helpful friends?

"Never mind, I’ve got other things to do, I’ll head back first." Li Ming stood up, leisurely heading upstairs.

His immediate priority was to become a Level B life form, not interested in this thankless task.

Following Sandro might allow him to steal Main Guns, but with many obstacles, several Level A Life Forms watching, it wasn’t convenient, not worth it.