This is really not mechanical ascension
Chapter 866 - 448: Going to Explode! (Sorry, it’s a bit late)

Chapter 866: Chapter 448: Going to Explode! (Sorry, it’s a bit late)

The space-time passage connecting the Eternal Abyss and the middle of the Universe is extremely narrow.

Once there’s some kind of very "powerful" object, such as a massive civilization ruin.

There is a possibility of blocking the entrance, leading to an accumulation of things, and once it breaks through, it will be the Red River Catastrophe, with a large number of unknown objects rushing out of the Eternal Abyss, possibly even out of the Red River Star Stream.

Of course, this is only a theoretical speculation, with no actual evidence to support it.

The Interstellar records only show two instances of the Red River Catastrophe.

Though it’s called a catastrophe, it’s not necessarily a bad thing, because more civilization ruins will be pushed to the outskirts of the Red River Star Stream, creating a feast for adventurers and scavengers.

No one knows where those civilizations came from; many civilization ruins cannot be traced back to any records in Interstellar history.

As for the Three Civilizations, the large objects that could cause the Red River Catastrophe are of extraordinary value; the previous two were ruins of powerful civilizations, one being a super-giant fortress over ten times the size of a regular red giant star.

As for the other, Li Ming hasn’t found any relevant information yet.

"Red River Catastrophe..." Li Ming pondered, "I understand, keep a close watch and don’t act rashly for now."

He had long known from Costate that there were no traces of the Eternal Silence Star in the Dark Current Outer Ring, and if one wanted to find it, they had to enter the inner ring.

However, for now, he didn’t plan to inform the Pioneers.

"Understood." Blackbeard nodded.

After ending the communication, Li Ming rubbed his fingers, lost in thought.

Two days later, his smart terminal vibrated incessantly; someone was looking for him. It was Reynolds and Mikhail. After connecting, the virtual screen popped up.

Their large faces each occupied half of the screen.

"We’ve already discussed with the Three Civilizations to conduct preliminary negotiations in half a month," said Reynolds on the left, "An announcement will be made soon, asking the mechanics to temporarily cease their strife."

"As expected, it will be exhaustive; after this negotiation, regardless of the outcome, the number of resisting mechanics will significantly decline," Li Ming nodded.

"There’s no choice but to gamble on the Holy Spirit Ruins," Mikhail said.

"Hope is slim," Li Ming shook his head, not holding out hope.

Mikhail frowned, "Since the disappearance of the Forging Hammer, the Three Civilizations have probed openly and covertly many times, they are very eager. This move, a large part is because of the Holy Spirit Civilization Ruins, so the hope isn’t entirely slim."

Li Ming didn’t explain; for the time being, Adam was taking calculated steps, and the High-level Life Form Union had already been established.

If the division of the Mechanican Association were pinched, Adam would not have been able to establish the Pioneers organization.

Li Ming naturally wouldn’t say it was because he had great confidence in Adam.

Instead, he said, "Speaking of the Holy Spirit Civilization Ruins, do you know that the Red River Star Stream has been abnormal recently?"

Mikhail slightly frowned, dissatisfied with Azure Dragon’s evasive actions, but couldn’t blame him and could only follow along, "Indeed, it resembles the Red River Catastrophe model. For us, it might not be a bad thing."

"By the way, we need to jointly descend during the negotiations." Reynolds reminded.

"I will attend." Li Ming nodded.

After the brief conversation ended, the interstellar alliance quickly issued a joint announcement with the Mechanic Association—

[Due to the recent mechanic strife, soon representatives from various civilizations and the Divine Craftsman will engage in deep exchanges, aiming to resolve the matter peacefully.]

Upon the announcement, many mechanics cheered, believing this was a victory for their resistance. Willingness to negotiate meant concessions.

Many of the striking mechanics immediately made factories resume production; this was a self-damaging tactic, and no one could hold out forever, they’d been eager for a long time.

Li Ming thought that next, he only needed to wait for the negotiations and strive for benefits at the negotiation table.

However, a few days later, the black stone he had stored in space underwent strange changes.

"The fluctuation interval changed from 1.58 seconds to 1.42 seconds?" Li Ming looked at the screen in front of him, where the black stone surface showed no apparent change.

"What on earth is this thing..." Li Ming’s eyes were hesitant, yet he decided to go take a look, he couldn’t just leave it there.

He left the core base and also brought out a few people from the prison but didn’t tell anyone, silently flying towards space.

...

And just as he left the Mechanical Court, an inconspicuous spaceship emerged from the Star Gate, and after multiple verifications, docked at the Star Port.

Anduin and Barbaro exited the spaceship; after leaving the Star Port, they were met with the magnificent Mechanical Court,

People were bustling around; various life forms shuttled back and forth. Anduin couldn’t help but marvel, "Quite a scale; this Mechanical Court has only been established for about three years, right?"

"With Azure Dragon backing it, you know what kind of status he holds, it would be strange if it didn’t develop at this pace." Barbaro didn’t mind, urging, "Let’s go."

"Wait, I’ll notify Azure Dragon first." Anduin shook his head.

"Wait..." Barbaro stopped him, eyes flashing, "No need to notify him."

"What do you mean?" Anduin looked at him, frowning, "You’re not planning to barge in, are you?"

"I’m just curious if he will notice our presence," Barbaro said calmly, "Aren’t you curious?"

"Don’t say you’re not curious; if you weren’t, you wouldn’t ask me at all; you know I’d stop you."