The Legendary Mechanic, page 578
EsGod was already strong enough. Since he had even obtained an evolution, his combat ability would be off the charts.
Thinking of this, Han Xiao could not help but feel pressure.
To kill this fellow, he had to put in a lot of effort.
Chapter 875. Unable to crack The |
Half a month later, within the President’s Office of the Federation of Light, Bader alone. In front of him was a projection of a normal galaxy human, of moderate height and wearing a large white robe. He had lots of wrinkles on his face. Despite his apparent age, however, he looked spry. His eyes especially were glowing like two luminous stellar bodies. His beard stretched down to his chest, and his hair was also kept very long, tied up with silvery magnetic bands.
This projection was the true appearance of the Mechanic Empire’s Manison. His expression was calm, and he was conversing with Bader.
“My troops have sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to the designated scientific research station and completed the handover.” Manison’s voice was old but full of ‘magnetism’.
“Many thanks.” Bader was smiling and nodded. “The promised reward will be sent to your Mechanical Race.”
As long-term allies, Manison’s strength and his achievements had granted him a high position in the Federation of Light. Bader was full of respect toward Manison and had always been serious in ensuring that both parties had a good relationship.
After all, Manison had already assisted several Presidents of the Federation of Light before Bader. Of course, there were also reasons for that; compared to the Arcane Church and the Crimson Dynasty, their rate of change for leaders was much higher.
Manison nodded and changed the topic. “There’s another matter.”
“Please speak.”
“When you decide to come into contact with Black Star, remember to call me.”
Bader lurched.
What’s this curveball? Why do you think that we’ll contact Black Star?
After this incident, Bader did not dare look down on Han Xiao. However, he was also not prepared to send emissaries over to contact Black Star. The latter was allied to the Crimson Dynasty, and unless there was a special reason, a Beyond Grade A would not jump ship. Thus, Bader had no intention of contacting him.
After thinking about it, Bader just thought that Manison was interested in Black Star and agreed. Being Beyond Grade A Mechanics, they would naturally have topics to discuss. It was nothing strange.
“If there’s nothing else, I’m hanging up.” Manison nodded and cut the connection.
Seeing this, Bader waited for another ten seconds or so before contacting the Beyond Grade A Virtual Mechanic under their employment.
“Any abnormalities in the data quantum network?”
“No.”
Hearing this, Bader relaxed. While he trusted Manison, he still had to take precautions. After all, Manison was not directly under the Federation of Light but rather an ally from the Ancient Ones. He might be the strongest mechanic alive in this era, so every time he connected remotely, Bader would have Virtual Mechanics monitor the network so that Manison would not open some backdoor.
At the same time, in the distant Primeval Star River, Manison opened his eyes as his consciousness retreated from the quantum network. He smiled.
“The material sealing the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter has reached the level of a Space Wonder. The Federation of Light… is going to have a headache.”
When Manison took up the task, he knew that he would come into contact with the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, so he had taken along some research equipment to study the material while en route.
However, this Spacetime Amber isolated all forms of energy, and even detecting its parameters was impossible to achieve. It appeared as ‘non-existent’ on a lot of his research equipment, and only when utilizing his space research equipment did he then discover that the spatial and temporal coordinates of the Spacetime Amber were weirdly distorted, fixed at a constant value.
He had tried to break apart the amber by disturbing the spacetime coordinates, but the Spacetime Amber also isolated any influence toward its surrounding spacetime coordinates.
Manison had not managed to discover the material structure of this amber. It appeared to be a physical object, yet when observed under a microscope, it appeared as a universe of its own, an area without any movement.
Since there was no particle movement, and time seemed to not exist, which was the theory behind freezing.
Manison thought of the past, during the time of the exploration era where the three Universal Civilizations had changed the physical constraints of the universe near their mother stars, forming a closed and safe area. The Spacetime Amber seemed to be of a similar principle, only stranger. It was as though this material was a condensed secondary space independent of the universe.
Due to his knowledge, he concluded that this was a material on the level of a space wonder.
After his research, he had ruled out the possibility that the Spacetime Amber was a technological advancement. He did not think that Han Xiao would have such an ability at the moment, so he became interested in the treasure that could create such a material.
Other than Black Star, it was unlikely that anyone could break this.
Thus, Manison was sure that the Federation of Light would try to contact Black Star, and it would also not be long from now.
“At that time, I can take the opportunity to know him. Oh, he seems to have bullied my people some time ago.”
Manison narrowed his eyes, and it was unknown what he was thinking.
…
Not too long ago, Manison had sent the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter to one of the Federation of Light’s research bases, and it was currently being fixed in a huge machinery cabin. Outside was a pile of research instruments, and many researchers were fully concentrated on the task.
This was an all-in-one material analyzer, which was able to analyze the various parameters of the object without destroying it. This was a standard product used by researchers from advanced civilizations, and the Federation of Light’s would naturally be even more advanced. So long as it was an object, its components could be easily analyzed.
The research head stood by the side, his eyes never leaving the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter.
Bader had set down an order that they had to crack the seal for the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter. The research team head knew the seriousness of this job and thus had personally gone to supervise it.
Being in charge of a research base, the head would not be any ordinary person. He was one of the bigwigs in the Federation of Light’s top research institute and had made many various major scientific research contributions. He had even been awarded the Medal of Honor by the President.
“Reporting! The equipment has been calibrated, and the substance analyzer is ready. Permission to begin?”
“Let’s begin.” The head nodded.
The researcher pressed a button, and the substance analyzer started to operate, letting out a droning noise. Everyone watched the screen carefully, where the data was changing rapidly.
After a few moments, the artificial intelligence came to a startling conclusion.
“Data error. Substance is unable to be analyzed. The target has energy insulating properties, and the detection rays cannot penetrate it.”
The substance analyzer was rendered useless? The head was a little surprised, but such incidents were not unseen. This meant that what they had on hand was a problematic object.
The research facility would naturally not only have one type of analyzer. The head ordered the amber to be run through all the tests, and the number of analyzers that could pick up the Spacetime Amber was pitifully low, which left them still clueless about it.
Since Manison was able to discover the anomaly within the spacetime coordinates, they naturally could deduce the same. Both sides came to the same conclusion—there was no method to crack it.
If even a normal analysis did not work, why talk about cracking it?
The research head got more and more mystified, and his head began to hurt. All conventional methods were ineffective, and he did not know where to start.
Just what sort of toy was this‽
As a researcher, he was full of curiosity and had a mentality of challenging the unknown. However, interest was one thing; his mission was another.
Thinking about Bader’s request, the head groaned.
He had a premonition… the president’s hopes would soon be dashed.
This object had completely exceeded all their imaginations.
Chapter 876. Great Mechanic Han in Seclusion, Do Not Disturb |
“Can’t be broken‽”
In the president’s office, Bader received a detailed report from the research department, and a look of disbelief could be seen on his face.
He had never doubted the technological skills of the Federation of Light and felt that breaking the seal of the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter would be a piece of cake. He could not have imagined the research department giving him such a ‘surprise’.
“Space Wonder grade material that seems to have the ability to solidify space…” Bader read the report again in detail.
He suddenly thought about something, and he immediately entered the intranet of the federation to pull out a secret document. This file was ‘Grade 16’, and it belonged to the secret category in the Federation of Light. In the Federation of Light, there were a total of twenty different grades.
Grades 1 to 5 contained information that could be revealed to the public such as annual reports. Grades 6 to 10 were restricted documents that most government officials could view. Grades 11 to 15 were confidential documents where a log of who viewed them would be recorded with some details being removed if the viewer did not have enough security clearance. Grades 16 to 19 were secret documents that only the upper echelons could view. Finally, Grade 20 contained top secret documents that would almost never be revealed to the public.
“Confirming your identity… Welcome, President. You have Grade 19.5 authority and have the right to view the entire document.”
Bader then began to read the document.
Spacetime Freezer!
This Primordial One had worked for the Federation of Light during the exploration era, and the Federation of Light had kept a file on him, which included a lot of detailed information about him and a breakdown of his Esper Ability. After Bader read the report of the Spacetime Amber, he immediately thought about this Primordial One as their abilities were similar.
The leader of a Universal Civilization had received special training and would be extremely familiar with their own civilization’s history, confidential documents, and technological skills. Thus, Bader was able to easily remember the existence of the Spacetime Freezer.
“[Spacetime Freezer] Frogo has the ability to freeze spacetime, and his ability can be ranked as a [Super High Risk Esper Ability]. He can freeze time and space at a set location or target and create a huge influence for Beyond Grade As. The effects of his ability far exceed a Mage’s spacetime spells, and there was once an incident of an entire planet being frozen [See Appendix B-004]. There were many records of him freezing the enemy battleship fleet, resulting in the enemy being unable to fight back, and he turned the tides of a few hundred battles [See Appendix B-027]…
“According to our investigations, Frogo needs to exhaust his energy to maintain the spacetime freeze on a region [See Appendix A-001 for the exact breakdown of numbers]. If the supply of energy is broken, the spacetime seal will disappear. The usage of the Esper Ability can be adjusted, and Frogo can freeze the space around him for defense. It can provide defense against most energy and physical attacks, but it is unable to block mental or soul attacks. After further testing, although his Esper Ability can seal a soul, it cannot prevent a soul from moving, and this proves that Frogo’s Esper Ability isn’t perfect.
“Frogo sacrificed himself in the battle of Planet Millennium [See Appendix B-1940], and his body disappeared.”
Bader frowned and thought to himself, Their abilities are extremely similar indeed. Could there be a link between the two? However, even Frogo himself didn’t have the ability to manifest the frozen spacetime into a physical object. Just what is going on?
He naturally did not know that the Spacetime Amber had been floating around in the universe for many years and had absorbed the radiation from the universe to mutate into a different object. Mutation happened because of the change in gene structure of an individual. Frogo’s Esper Ability was not perfect, and although it was able to freeze spacetime, he could not defend against mental attacks. However, the mutated Spacetime Amber did not have this weakness, and even a mental attack would not be able to pierce the amber that it created.
After thinking for a while, Bader decided to send a copy of this information to the research head and hope that it would be helpful.
Breaking the seal of the Spacetime Amber was far more difficult than he had imagined. Bader had chosen to snatch the Arcane Church’s trump card, but they were not able to use it despite snatching it for themselves. It was no more than an ornament for them.
Thinking back, it seemed as though the Arcane Church would not have been able to break the seal even if they retrieved it.
This should have been a problem for the Arcane Church to have a headache over, but it is now our turn to suffer. I thought that we would offend the Arcane Church greatly, but we only snatched something that the other party wouldn’t even be able to use…
Just what was the point of us snatching this item ‽
It seems as though we’ve suffered a loss!
Bader was truly in a terrible mood.
No wonder, Manison thought that I would send someone to meet Black Star. He also noticed that this item is extremely weird. It seems like I must find an opportunity to contact Black Star.
Bader shook his head. He was not willing to treat the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as just an ornament.
At the same time, he could also allow the descendants of the Spacetime Freezer to be the emissary. As members from the same race, they might be able to detect some clues and find out if the Universal Treasure in Black Star’s hands was related to their ancestor.
…
The Arcane Church was also feeling frustrated.
After a series of negotiations, the Crimson Dynasty had already agreed to allow the Arcane Church ransom back one of their Beyond Grade A. After paying a huge price, the Arcane Church finally got back Dylan. They actually wanted Sagman, but the dynasty did not agree. The first one to be returned would be the weakest one for sure.
However, Dylan’s Spacetime Amber seal was not released, and the dynasty wanted to get the Arcane Church to deal with it on their own. The main reason for doing so was so they could verify if the Spacetime Amber seal was truly as troublesome as Han Xiao made it out to be.
Naturally, the Crimson Dynasty still did not know that the Federation of Light had stolen the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter, and Urranrell wanted to use Dylan as an indicator to see whether the seal on the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter was broken.
The dynasty made use of an excuse that Black Star was currently in seclusion and did not wish to be disturbed. Helpless, the Arcane Church could only get their own research personnel to attempt to break the seal.
The result was naturally the same as the Federation of Light, and they were unable to do a thing to the Spacetime Amber.
The Arcane Church was also extremely frustrated but also a little thankful.
They were frustrated that the dynasty had scammed them once more, and they would have to pay the price to invite the dynasty to unseal Dylan. However, they were thankful because the Federation of Light would probably be helpless toward the Ten Thousand Deity Scepter as well.
Although their own Universal Treasure had been stolen by the Federation of Light, the other party was only able to look at it through the seal but unable to use it.
If not for the grudge between them, the Arcane Church might have praised Black Star.
The Federation of Light and Arcane Church began paying close attention to the other party’s research as a result. They wanted to see if the other party had any progress while also trying to spy on each other to ‘copy the answer’.
With the Arcane Church taking a step back, the conflict between both parties was no longer as heated, and their soldiers were also recalled from the borders. The galactic organizations paying attention to this event heaved a sigh of relief.
The explored universe gradually calmed down.
The Federation of Light and Arcane Church temporarily took a step back, and the Super Star Cluster Civilizations that wanted to exploit the opportunity also became low profile. No one wanted to provoke the Crimson Dynasty at such a moment and wanted to wait until the storm passed.
…
The Black Star Army arrived at the Star System where the Gulal Civilization was located.
The outpost planet of the Pioneer Party was already within their sights, and the Black Star Army landed according to the instructions of the base. The warriors of the Black Star Army disembarked from the thousand-meter-long battleships and gathered at the port.
Apart from the army’s warriors, there were a few million players participating in this mission. A War Employment Mission was a huge event, and it was much more interesting than exploring the Flickering World. Thus, most players accepted the mission and joined the civil war in this Star System Civilization with the identity of mercenaries.
Half a month ago, the Pioneer Party announced that they were working together with the Black Star Army, and news of the Black Star Army’s interference stirred up a huge storm in the Gulal Civilization. The Ancient Emperor Party and Descendant Party were immediately thrown into internal chaos with a small portion of their upper echelons escaping or defecting to the Pioneer Party. The remaining members of the party decided to seize the initiative, and both parties joined hands to attack the Pioneer Party’s territory.
