by <unknown>
Han Xiao’s eyes gleamed.
“However, there’s still some payoff.”
At the very least, this clue revealed the production location to be in the Primeval Star River.
This meant that the four Super Star Cluster Civilizations running the Primeval Star River were the most suspicious. The scope of his investigation had already been narrowed greatly.
Of course, it was possible that a civilization from another Star Fields had intentionally purchased the spaceship from the Primeval Star River to frame someone else. However, Han Xiao would first analyze the suspects with the highest possibilities.
Although he did not have any clues currently, he knew that the dynasty also met with another event similar to the Kunde Race war during the later parts of the exploration phase in his previous life. After experiencing the Kunde Race war, the dynasty was better prepared and managed to find some suspicious characters.
The most suspicious civilization in the Primeval Star River was the Modo Civilization!
Their shoes would definitely be wet if they walked by the side of the river. The dynasty was not easily trifled with.
The mastermind would be able to clean up all the clues of the past, but they would not be able to clean up the clues of the ‘future’ in Han Xiao’s memories!
This was akin to saying, ‘Although you haven’t committed a crime yet, I know that you will in the future.’
He did not know if the Kunde Race incident was done by the Modo Civilization, but since the other party had a ‘past record’, they would be the most suspicious.
Because his clue had led to a dead end, Han Xiao had two ideas.
Since the accident at the factory was deliberate, he could attempt to check the entry records of the planet three years ago and try to find the culprit behind the accident.
It would be extremely easy to tamper with the database of a small factory, but it would be far more difficult to do so for the surveillance system of an entire planet. If the other party was capable of doing so, this path would be cut off as well.
The second method would be to make use of an elimination method. There were only a few possible culprits within the Primeval Star River, and Han Xiao could choose to investigate them individually, starting with the most suspicious Modo Civilization.
He preferred to have different methods up his sleeves and immediately infiltrated the surveillance system of the planet.
With his powerful calculation abilities, he came to a conclusion quickly. There were no suspicious characters who approached the factory on the day of the accident.
“It wasn’t done by an outsider? There are two possibilities. First, the mastermind altered the records of the entire surveillance system. Second, it was an inside job.”
He would be helpless if it was the former, and Han Xiao could only attempt to investigate the latter.
If it was not done by an outsider, it could only be an inside job.
“If I was the culprit and was ordered by my superior to infiltrate into the factory, there would be no need for me to remain in the factory after completing my mission. Thus, I’d need an excuse to leave. If that’s the case…”
Han Xiao searched the list of workers who had died in the accident three years ago.
After the accident, all the workers that were still alive went through a strict check, and many of them resigned. However, Han Xiao was certain that there was a higher possibility of a spy pretending to die. It was a much ‘cleaner’ way of cleaning up their presence. After all, an outstanding intelligence officer would definitely have different identities, and dying would be akin to destroying the identity.
As such, it was likely that the culprit was on the list of workers who died.
It would not be difficult for Han Xiao to check the resumes of these individuals, but it would be impossible for him to find anything strange in their resumes.
Instead, he needed to confirm if any of their resumes had signs of being forged.
It was easy to forge a resume, but checking it was not too difficult either. It was just a little troublesome. One only had to follow the resume to ask the previous organizations and relatives of the individual if such a person existed.
If there were traces of forgery on any of the resumes, it would mean that the individual was suspicious. Then, he just needed to make use of the elimination method by comparing the resumes of the individuals to the files of the intelligence officers of the Modo Civilization and other Super Star Cluster civilizations.
If the culprit had snuck into the factory, they must have used a false identity, and even their appearance might be fake. However, this was not a dead end.
The factory’s data was destroyed, but the planet’s surveillance record was still around. Han Xiao would be able to write an algorithm to analyze the footage and compare them with the intelligence officers of the various organizations.
This way, he would be able to match the culprit to the right organization.
The next problem would be… just how could Han Xiao obtain the files of these intelligence officers.
The Black Star Army did not have any organizations in the Primeval Star River.
Han Xiao scratched his alloy head.
He did not know about the rest, but a possessive jerk like Manison would definitely have plenty of information on the various Super Star Cluster Civilizations.
Even the Federation of Light had to guard against the Mechanic Emperor’s Virtual Intrusion, so he had probably done so before. If that was the case, how could the Super Star Cluster Civilizations be safe?
“Alright then, it seems like I’ll have to go and meet the Mechanic Emperor.”
Chapter 988. Decisive Action. |
On the topic of Manison’s organization, it was usually referred to as the Mechanic Empire or Mechanical Race.
Manison’s territory was located within the Primeval Star River, and although it was the territory of a Star System Civilization on the surface, Manison was actually the one in charge of the place.
Han Xiao had his Lord avatar visit Manison. He had already sent a message before that, and Manison had agreed to meet him. They had set the meeting location on a planet inhabited by the Mechanical Race. Manison had many planets under his charge, and this was one of them.
Han Xiao’s avatar arrived at the location, and he could see a mechanical planet. It was covered by a gigantic psionic shield with a large number of mechanical soldiers patrolling outside the atmosphere of the planet.
“An old man is an old man indeed. He is truly rich.”
Han Xiao shook his head.
Manison’s territory was extremely wide, and he had many different factories and armies in the various Star Fields. Furthermore, he had his own developed mechanical civilization, and the exact size of his army was unknown. The various organizations only knew that he had a terrifying number of soldiers.
Han Xiao’s troops did not wait for too long before an opening was created in the protective shield. A mechanical soldier squad then led the way for him.
He followed the guide, and his Lord avatar landed on the planet.
He could see many different cities scattered around the planet and many pedestrians roaming the streets.
Manison was the second Beyond Grade A in the Mechanical Race, and although he had transformed into a new species, he still treated the Mechanical Race as his kind and took on the position of leader.
However, he was different from Psyker. To him, the Mechanical Race was only an important resource, and he did not feel too responsible for them.
As the race that had the lineage of a Beyond Grade A, the Mechanical Race had outstanding natural talent, which provided Manison with many useful skills. Many of the Mechanics under his charge came from the Mechanical Race. Furthermore, at least eighty percent of the Mechanical Race population were part of the Machinery Faith.
A large floating island could be seen. This was one of Manison’s palaces.
The Lord avatar then landed
on the floating island together with the other mechanical soldiers.
Clank clank clank…
The sound of metal rang out as the mechanical soldiers landed.
The moment he landed, Han Xiao heard someone calling out to him.
“Ah, to think that you’d take the initiative to find me. This is truly out of my expectations.”
Manison’s Lord avatar walked over. It was not Manison’s main body who had come to meet him.
Upon seeing that, Han Xiao sneered in his heart.
Tsk, so cowardly.
After cursing Manison in his heart, Han Xiao said, “You invited me over to be a guest a few years ago. Since it was convenient for me, I came over to take a look.”
He did not mention the conflict between the two. The mechanical voices of the two avatars also had no emotions.
Manison smiled and also did not mention their previous skirmish.
He had defeated plenty of Divine Throne Mechanics, and to a bigshot like him, this was not considered significant enmity.
At his level, even if the other party was his competitor, he could still sit down and have a calm conversation with them.
“If that’s the case, then follow me. I will give you a tour of my base.” Manison turned around and led the way.
Because of their previous face off, both parties had a strained relationship. However, Black Star was a peak Beyond Grade A Super after all, and Manison naturally would not be rude if the other party came to visit him.
Both of them toured around the base for a while, and Han Xiao saw many ordinary facilities. He did not see anything special. After all, Manison would not reveal his trump cards to a competitor of his. It was just like when Han Xiao was not willing to show Manison his Spacetime Amber.
Han Xiao had already expected this. Manison was not an individual who liked to show off his trump cards and thus did not expect to see much.
After touring around the place for a while, he entered the conference room with Manison, and they began chatting.
“Since we are both using avatar, there’s no need for drinks.” Manison leaned back calmly. “Why are you here?”
“I wish to borrow some intelligence,” Han Xiao said calmly.
“In what way?”
“I wish to borrow the files on the intelligence officers of the four Super Star Cluster and other Star Cluster Civilizations.”
Manison was a little surprised, and he sat up straight.
“Why do you want this?”
“To find someone,” Han Xiao replied succinctly.
He had already searched through the information and found a forged resume. He only needed to compare it to the files of the intelligence officers. Asking the Mechanic Emperor for help was the best choice.
The gangsters of the Primeval Star River were not like the Kunde Race natives. Their technological capabilities were only second to the three Universal Civilizations.
It would require a great deal of effort for him to personally infiltrate their system, and it was likely that he would be discovered as well.
Furthermore, he needed to infiltrate more than one of the Super Star Cluster Civilizations. Even if he could find the culprit in one of them, he would offend the other three in the process. Han Xiao did not want to create enemies for himself for no good reason.
On the other hand, Han Xiao felt that it was likely for the other party to have deleted the files of the culprit so that he would not be able to find anything.
The Mechanic Emperor was different in this regard. As a bigshot of the Federation of Light, he had always been collecting intelligence.
With these four good neighbors of his, he would definitely run around in their backyard once in a while and steal a large amount of confidential information. As such, it was more likely for him to obtain a complete file from the Mechanic Emperor.
Manison pondered for a while before shaking his head. “It is impossible to lend it to you. I will only do a trade.”
“Alright, what do you want?”
“Spacetime Amber,” Manison said.
“Impossible.” Han Xiao rejected him without hesitation.
Are you dreaming, old fool?
You want a Universal Treasure in exchange for an intelligence report? You are truly a business wonder.
“Not even a single drop?”
“Haha.”
Upon hearing that, Manison folded his arms and remained silent. His meaning was obvious. Since you aren’t willing to accept my price, what are you prepared to give?
After thinking for a while, Han Xiao said, “I can openly admit that you are the strongest Mechanic.”
“I already am the strongest. Why do I need your admission?” Manison asked.
“Isn’t it a good thing to stabilize your foundations?”
“I don’t need it.” Manison waved his arms.
I am the Mechanic Emperor. Do I need your support? What a joke!
Han Xiao then stroked his chin and said, “Perhaps we can come to an agreement. I will not challenge your position within fifty years.”
Upon hearing that, Manison said with interest, “You mean to say that you will be able to exceed me within fifty years?”
“Everything is possible,” Han Xiao said.
Manison smiled and calmly replied, “It’s alright. I don’t need such a method to secure my status.”
Han Xiao then leaned forward slightly and said, “Why don’t I owe you a favor?”
“Only a favor that can be repaid is worth something. Do you think your favor is worth anything to me with our relationship?” Manison shook his head.
After pausing for a while, Manison did not wait for Han Xiao to reply and said, “Forget it. I can give you the intelligence that you want, but you won’t be able to give me what I want. Get the Crimson Dynasty to talk to me.”
Han Xiao pretended to fall into deep thought. “If that’s the case, why don’t I persuade the dynasty to provide you with some Evolutionary Totems?”
Manison was not interested. “Why not you give me the Evolution Cube instead?”
“Are you asleep or awake?” Han Xiao asked.
Manison had thick skin and said, “But the totem isn’t useful to me.”
“Are you sure?” Han Xiao knocked on the desk. “You will not be able to use the totems, but the Mechanical Race that you are leading will be able to make use of them. It is still useful to them, right?”
Upon hearing that, Manison fell into thought.
Han Xiao then shrugged his shoulders and said, “I will not give you anything more. You should know that the other organizations will also have such information. It is just that the information in your hands is more complete. However, it isn’t unique. If you can’t agree to this, the deal is over.”
Manison nodded. “Alright, I agree.”
He could easily obtain as much intelligence as he wanted. It was an extremely easy matter to him and did not cost him anything. For him to be able to gain the Evolutionary Totems in the process, Manison felt that it was acceptable.
Although he did not think too much about this trade, the totems were pretty useful to the Mechanical Race.
“Alright, it’s settled. I will communicate with the dynasty regarding this,” Han Xiao said.
Although he was breaking the rules, as long as he controlled the number of totems that he sold, the dynasty would not be bothered about something so small.
Because of the pressure of the federation and church, some of the totems were sold on the black market. Although the dynasty did not sell the totems openly, they would not be too stubborn if it could be used in exchange for some important intelligence.
He originally planned to use the totems to exchange for the intelligence report.
Han Xiao was not like Heber who cared a great deal about his face. He still had huge potential for growth according to his plans and was not planning to fight the Mechanic Emperor any time soon. Thus, he would not be bothered with such useless promises. If Manison had a
greed to his promise, he would have been able to save his Evolutionary Totems.
Manison only knows that I have a great potential but does not know exactly how fast I can increase my strength. His impression of me is kept at the previous time we fought, and he isn’t aware that I have now grasped [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. As long as I do not fight him, it would be difficult for him to realize that.
Manison probably thinks that I am only running an errand for the dynasty but does not know that I am able to strengthen myself from this mission.
After coming to an agreement, Han Xiao made an application to the dynasty. After knowing that he was pursuing the identity of the mastermind, the upper echelons discussed the matter for a while before agreeing.
Since they were only going to provide a little more than a hundred totems, it would not affect the big picture.
Manison then sent the intelligence report over to him.
With the intelligence report in his hands, Han Xiao stood up and said, “The totems will be sent over soon. I will make a move first.”
“Alright.”
Manison then looked at Han Xiao leave before exiting from the quantum network.
Despite winning against Black Star previously, this did not mean that Manison was not wary of Han Xiao at all. He was worried that Han Xiao had come with bad intentions and had thus prepared a trap for Han Xiao just in case.
For Virtual Mechanics at their level, they would have to attack the other party head on if they wanted to infiltrate the other party’s system. It would be impossible to remain undetected by the firewall.
If Black Star wanted to infiltrate his system, Black Star definitely would not have been let off easily.
However, he never imagined that Han Xiao would come and go quickly without any ulterior motives, meaning all his preparations went to waste.
“It seems like he no longer has any plans to fight me. The dynasty should have influenced his thoughts slightly.”
Manison had a guess based on Han Xiao’s actions.
…
As Han Xiao’s spaceship left the territory of the Mechanical Race, he took out the algorithm that he had prepared and began the matching process.
