This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 674 - 352: Undercurrent: Why am I surging again?

Chapter 674: Chapter 352: Undercurrent: Why am I surging again?

"What about you?" Li Ming countered.

Lauren and her two companions exchanged glances before she spoke up, "Actually, we’re employed by a research institute to gather certain special materials."

"Give me the coordinates," Li Ming said nonchalantly.

Lauren hurriedly pulled out her smart terminal, which Li Ming took a look at. Based on their route, it wasn’t much of a detour.

"I’ll first escort you to a safe route," Li Ming finally said.

Lauren felt a slight relief and replied, "Thank you, sir."

Li Ming smiled, then boarded Lauren’s ship. He cleared Vermilion Bird’s subprogram, connected to another ship’s control system, and erased the navigation logs.

From here on, they only needed to follow synchronized jumps, and the navigation logs wouldn’t leave a trace.

Lauren secretly lamented that without the navigation logs, it was almost impossible for them to figure out the location.

But she also understood in her heart that Li Ming must have done something extraordinary in the Dimension World. The fact that he didn’t kill them to silence them was already fortunate.

Thinking this, her heart sank slightly, and she obediently followed behind Li Ming’s new ship.

Over ten days later, the two ships parted ways at a juncture in the Dimension World.

In the cabin, Raff repeatedly marveled at the dreamlike experience as he caressed the gun in his hand, saying, "Tsk, this time we really lucked out, ran into such an accommodating big shot."

But Lauren frowned and warned, "Once the two of you return, don’t mention this experience to anyone. If asked, just say you got lost by accident."

From her assumption, Li Ming must have made a move against the Star Abyss Empire.

This wasn’t something they could meddle in lightly. One wrong step, and they’d be utterly destroyed. The best option was to act as if nothing had ever happened.

The other two nodded repeatedly; they weren’t naïve youngsters and understood the gravity of the situation.

The three piloted their ship for another jump. The scene before them suddenly shifted to a lush world, filled with various plants and creatures, clearly modified.

"Ship code identified: Explorer No. 3..."

Crackling noises came over the communications channel, followed by a brief pause before someone asked, "According to your task log, you were scheduled to return a month ago. Why are you only getting back now?"

"We encountered a dimensional vortex during our transit and got lost in several Dimension Worlds," Lauren explained with a serious expression.

The other party was merely conducting routine inquiries, documenting their response before instructing them to undergo inspection to ensure they hadn’t brought any strange viruses.

Inside the sealed inspection room, Raff was already impatient, hurriedly pulling out his smart terminal. "After holding back for so long, finally we can reconnect to the network... Let’s see what big events happened lately."

The other two were about the same, their minds also curious about Li Ming and Robbin.

But before they could start their search, a familiar name popped up in the Star Network’s latest push.

"Hammer Divine Craftsman’s inheritor? Li Ming!?" The giant Raff abruptly stood up, his face filled with fright.

Lauren and the other companion stared speechless.

"Haha... Who would’ve thought? Only gone for a month, and the outside world has already erupted with news this big..." The inspector, noticing their exaggerated reactions, couldn’t help but tease them.

"This Li Ming, apparently came from some minor civilization and was even a student of a Resident-Level Mechanical Master. Now, countless people are looking for him..."

The three of them swallowed hard and exchanged apprehensive glances, trembling slightly, resolute in their decision to bury the name "Li Ming" deep within their hearts.

...

In the Central World under Star Abyss Empire’s control, within the most grandiose building, the core conference room’s doors remained tightly shut. Both sides of a long metal table were filled with solemn high-ranking officials.

Jaint, who had previously been trampled under Dominion Holy Elephant’s foot, sat to the right of the head seat. To the left sat a middle-aged man with a stoic expression.

"According to Dominion Holy Elephant, he doesn’t know where the Hammer Divine Craftsman disappeared to either. He himself was trapped during the search for the Hammer Divine Craftsman," someone began. "As for where exactly he was trapped, he refuses to disclose."

"That chunk of iron..." Jaint’s face darkened, recalling how he was crushed under its foot for over ten days, with countless witnesses to his humiliation.

Various grotesque memes of his suffering had already spread across the interstellar network.

Jaint spoke gravely, "The Hammer Divine Craftsman entered the Dimension World after collaborating with us. Where he vanished and why are of utmost importance. We must uncover the truth!"

The middle-aged man, Diaz, responded indifferently, "Jaint, the Hammer Divine Craftsman worked with your royal family. We don’t have the full details; how do you propose we investigate?"

Jaint’s expression turned cold as he replied, "Diaz, the information we should share has already been disclosed to you."

"Far from sufficient..." Diaz shook his head. "The Hammer Divine Craftsman couldn’t have simply disappeared. What about his movement trajectory?"

"You’re far too greedy..." Jaint stared coldly at Diaz.

"That’s enough." The person seated at the head finally spoke. His voice carried immense authority, an elderly man with snow-white hair clad in elaborate purple attire, his face resembling weathered stone.

As he spoke, everyone in the room sat upright, including Diaz, who restrained his demeanor and commented lightly, "Prince Costat, you shouldn’t hold back any information."

Prince Costat glanced at him and said solemnly, "The pressing matter now is to deal with Dominion Holy Elephant and prevent it from divulging anything detrimental to the Empire."

"Prince Abel has already arrived—he is the pinnacle product of the Empire’s bioengineering, with Level Fifty-Two Development Potential. As for Mechanical Talent, he’s naturally intelligent; learning other disciplines shouldn’t take him much time," Jaint pondered aloud.

"The only remaining question is whether selecting an inheritor was a directive from the Hammer Divine Craftsman or a decision Dominion Holy Elephant made independently."