Chapter 465: Chapter 465: Condition

Cui Shan was extremely reluctant, but he gave in under the pressure.

"Alright."

Soon, the people from the Defense Bureau delivered the Mechanical God.

Long Ming raised his wrist-comm and scanned it into his safe, then said to Xi Yota and the others.

"I’m leaving you to clean up here!"

"Yes, sir."

Captain Xi Yota replied, his expression serious.

Long Ming immediately turned and left the Defense Bureau.

...

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「Star Island 1474, Mountain City Mountain, City Lord’s Mansion.」

Inside a secret passage.

Qian Ying pushed the wheelchair-bound City Lord Qian Luo to the end of the passage, where a lone mechanical lift platform came into view.

"Wait for me here."

Qian Luo told Qian Ying, coughing lightly.

"Yes, Father."

Qian Ying replied respectfully.

City Lord Qian Luo pressed his hands on the armrests and stood up, walking onto the mechanical lift platform by himself.

Although City Lord Qian Luo still appeared decrepit, he was a far cry from the dying man he had been a few years ago.

CLICK!

The metal walls slid shut, and the lift platform began to descend.

Soon, the mechanical platform reached the bottom. A sealed, pitch-black metal door appeared before Qian Luo.

Qian Luo slowly reached out and pressed his hand against the sealed door.

On the surface of the pitch-black door, patterns of flowing, dark red light appeared.

CLICK!

The sealed metal door cracked open in an irregular pattern.

Qian Luo stepped into the dim room again and spoke, his voice hoarse.

"I apologize for the wait."

WHOOSH~

One after another, lights suddenly flickered on.

A colossal mechanical pillar, reaching for the heavens, was revealed.

Embedded in the center of the pillar was a special, ring-shaped mechanical device. Inside it, a golden sphere floated, emitting a faint halo of light.

"Qian Luo. You’ve come."

"It’s taken a bit longer than expected, but I’ve managed to establish a foothold here."

City Lord Qian Luo said to the Wisdom God.

"Very good."

"Our current situation is dire. We need your help. You can name your price!"

"It is not that I am unwilling to help you, but I require a planetary-grade power source."

the Wisdom God said to City Lord Qian Luo, its voice low and deep.

City Lord Qian Luo’s brow furrowed as he replied.

"A planetary-grade power source is incredibly precious. It’s not something money can buy. With our current status and financial resources, it’s impossible for us to obtain one."

"If you cannot obtain a planetary-grade power source, then build one. You will help me collect the necessary materials."

"How much will it cost?"

"Approximately five billion Star Coins."

the Wisdom God gave an estimate.

"Five billion... That’s no small sum. I’ll need some time."

After a few minutes of silence, City Lord Qian Luo replied hoarsely.

"Acceptable. I have waited for ages. A little longer matters not. This is the complete list of materials!"

The Wisdom God presented a list of materials before City Lord Qian Luo.

"I’ll begin the preparations at once."

City Lord Qian Luo said, his expression grave as he looked at the densely packed list of materials.

"Mm. When you are gathering them, be wary of the Star Alliance’s council president. That old fox is exceptionally dangerous."

the Wisdom God warned Qian Luo in its low voice.

"I understand."

City Lord Qian Luo gave a slight nod, then turned and left.

...

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「Blacktan Fortress Planet, Warehouse District.」

Rows of mining mechs were busy stacking sealed crates of ore in their designated storage locations.

Bassaf, Vice Legion Commander of the Forty-Second Legion, stood with his hands clasped behind his back by the second-floor railing, watching the busy figures below.

Just then, Supervisor Dikaya walked over and offered his fawning congratulations.

"Congratulations, Lord Bassaf! This mining operation was a great success. All the submitted ore has been tallied. It’s more than enough to cover the shortfall."

"Well done. Once this is all over, I’ll be sure to reward you handsomely!"

Bassaf was overjoyed to see the quota had been met.

After all, he had taken a huge risk with this operation. Vice Legion Commander Taronna of the Third Legion and Legion Commander Kefamo had thrown all the blame on him.

If he had messed this up, he would have been a dead man.

"I was only doing my duty."

"Mm. I’m leaving this place in your hands. See that you watch it carefully."

"Of course. Take care, my lord."

Supervisor Dikaya said respectfully.

Bassaf promptly turned and left.

At that moment, Gaza chuckled and walked up beside Supervisor Dikaya.

"Supervisor."

"What is it?"

The smile vanished from Dikaya’s face as he asked irritably.

"I followed your orders. Skimmed a little off the top, just as you said."

Gaza replied, lowering his voice.

"I know."

"However..."

"However what?"

Dikaya’s face darkened as he looked at Gaza.

"Didn’t you specifically assign Luoxue’s squad to a more dangerous zone?"

"Are they dead?"

"No. In fact, it was a blessing in disguise. They found grade-three ore."

Gaza explained quietly.

"What did you say?"

Dikaya’s expression immediately turned foul.

"But don’t you worry, sir. I made a point of telling our men to ’deduct’ a portion of the ore they excavated."

"Not bad. A job well done."

"It’s all thanks to your excellent guidance, sir."

Gaza replied with a sycophantic chuckle.

...

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「Starship T434.」

Long Ming followed the crowd, boarded the ship without issue, and found his seat in the first-class section.

He should have been on his way back to Blacktan Fortress much earlier, but he’d been held up by those people.

’Still, it wasn’t a total loss,’ Long Ming thought. ’At least I got a decent Mechanical God out of it.’

As he thought of this, Long Ming raised his wrist-comm and opened his character interface, checking his status to see if he could use the Genetic Potion.

Template One

Name: Long Ming (Genetic Defect) (Symbiotic State)

Race: Carbon-based Human

Genetic Level: Type II

Profession: None

Power: 28

Agility: 29

Physical Strength: 29

Intelligence: 29

Note: Genetic defect. Stamina reduced by 20%. Susceptible to infection.

Long Ming was pleased as he looked over his stats. ’My Power isn’t quite maxed out yet, but with one more breakthrough, I should be ready for the injection soon.’

He closed the character interface and leaned back in his seat.

Just then, a familiar figure sat down beside Long Ming, carrying a faint, pleasant fragrance.

"Helorin."

Long Ming looked at the woman beside him in surprise.

"Long Ming, what a coincidence."

Helorin seemed a little surprised as well.

"Yeah. Are you headed to Blacktan Fortress, too?"

"I am."

"Are you going to Blacktan Fortress on business?"

Long Ming asked curiously.

"No, I’m not. And you, Mr. Long Ming?"

"I’m with the 42nd Legion."

"I see."

Helorin was also a little surprised.

"So, what have you been up to lately, Miss Helorin?"

"Nothing much, really. I just attended the Star-Trace auction not long ago. It’s a shame I didn’t see you there, Mr. Long Ming. I thought you might have attended as well."

"My pockets were a little light, so I decided not to join the festivities."

Long Ming replied with a smile.

Just then, the two passengers in front of them, who were browsing a forum, exclaimed.

"That Star-Trace auction was really something else, huh?"

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