by <unknown>
The crystal thread was exactly the 'localization antenna' that the real Professor Luo De crafted in order to trace Tang Xiaoxing.
But for a monster of Li Yao's level, a tiny antenna could also be an unparalleled dead weapon that could kill an expert easily!
It was not until this moment that Li Yao began summoning the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit. His back was still utterly undefended.
The third officer crashed at him like an angry rhino. The dagger in his hand that was cracking with electric arcs also looked like the horn of a rhino!
But he still did not have the opportunity to reach within half a meter from Li Yao.
When the guy was still one meter away, Li Yao halted the iron-armed rhino that weighed more than five tons together with his crystal suit in midair through a remote manipulation technique.
Then, he opened his fingers, and the crystal suit on the secret police exploded into tiny and broken pieces that were flying randomly in the air.
In the end, he moved his hand back and pushed it forward. The officer of the secret police was immediately blown hundreds of meters away as if he had been hit brutally by a super high-speed crystal train that happened to be invisible. After a deafening explosion, he crashed into a meat pie on the rusted wall of the cabin.
From the moment Cheng Xuansu pulled the trigger, to the three super experts of the secret police were killed miserably, it took less than five seconds.
Cheng Xuansu's crystal suit had been donned.
But she did not put on the helmet and the facial cover. Her pale face that was barely recognizable was displayed to Li Yao and Cui Lingfeng clearly.
Li Yao's crystal suit was donned, too.
Although it was just a regular Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, in such a dark and creepy environment, it was as dreadful as if it had been possessed by a hundred thousand ghosts living in the deepest depths of hell!
The fourth officer did not move at all to this moment.
It could clearly be heard that cracking noises were echoing from inside his crystal suit, as if countless components inside had collapsed all of a sudden, stopping the crystal suit from moving or being dismantled. It seemed to have turned into an iron coffin in which the officer was tightly confined!
It took only 0.1 seconds for Cheng Xuansu to realize that she was absolutely no match for Li Yao.
No. She did not need to think at all. The moment she smelt the dominating aura leaking out of the gaps of the Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit, she could already make the conclusion with her natural instincts for survival, like when a grazer was faced with a predator!
Her heart, stomach, and abdomen were all constricting violently. Her every shivering cell was shouting the same thing, "Run!"
Thus, Cheng Xuansu ran without any hesitation.
When Li Yao killed the first officer in the most casual way, she had already made the right conclusion. When Li Yao stabbed the crystal thread into the second officer, she had activated the power rune arrays of her crystal suit to the maximum although she had not entirely put it on yet. When Li Yao dismantled the crystal suit of the third officer and blew him away, she had traveled a hundred meters away instantly. But when Li Yao controlled the fourth officer as mysteriously as a phantom, Cheng Xuansu took out a translucent round ball from a pocket on her waist and smashed it on the ground hard.
In cracking noises, Cheng Xuansu was covered by electric arcs, which condensed into a bluish ball more than two meters in diameter and enshrouded her tightly.
Under the cover of the electric arcs, Cheng Xuansu gazed at Cui Lingfeng in a trance and laughed miserably. "So, this is the truth. Everything has been under Uncle Cui's arrangement. You were suspicious of me and set up a trap in order to trick me into taking the bite and confessing everything on my own."
Shivering, she extended her hand and covered her left face, taking off the bionic materials that accommodated the three crimson crystal cameras and revealing the heavily-wounded skin as well as the empty left eye.
Bloody tears slowly flowed out of the depths of the eye socket that was devoid of an eyeball.
Cui Lingfeng's face blanched as he shouted, "Xuansu, no!"
Li Yao realized what Cheng Xuansu was doing, too.
However, his attack was blocked by the electric arcs around Cheng Xuansu, which were a defense rune array of a very high level. Even Li Yao could not break it in only one second.
But one second was more than enough for Cheng Xuansu to draw another storm bolter and aim it at her temple.
"Uncle Cui, as I said… I've had enough of such days. I'm not going to run again. Never!"
Before Li Yao ripped the defense of the electric arcs apart, she had already pulled the trigger and blown up all the organs above her neck. Her every brain cell was burnt into ashes in the middle of the electric arcs and fire.
With such a fierce death, it was absolutely impossible for her to turn into a spectral Cultivator.
The forsaken station regained its dead silence.
Except for the intense stink of blood that had been added to the blowing wind of rust, it was almost exactly the same as ten minutes ago.
In silence, Li Yao and Cui Lingfeng stared at the four dead bodies lying on the ground and the officer of the secret police who was kneeling nearby. Then, they looked at each other with complicated feelings.
Cui Lingfeng grunted and fell to the ground. Pressing his chest hard, he did not have the ecstasy of surviving a disaster at all. Instead, he was filled with fatigue and lethargy. Even his previous deep and thoughtful eyes had become dirty.
Judging from his conversation with Cheng Xuansu, Li Yao speculated that he must have been in a close relation with Cheng Xuansu.
Cheng Xuansu had addressed him as 'Uncle Cui'. He must have raised her and treated her like his own daughter since her childhood.
It did make sense. If they were not so intimate with each other, how would he have been at ease when appointing her as the head of the secret police and his most trusted subordinate?
Cheng Xuansu's betrayal and suicide were a heavy blow for Cui Lingfeng. At this moment, he did not look like the revered Speaker of the Star Ocean Republic, just a random, dying old man who had lost all hope.
"Well…"
Li Yao would not bother to change his face if he were faced with a whole legion of muscular, bloodthirsty soldiers. However, he found it quite awkward to deal with an old man who was so sorrowful that his heart might be dead.
Glancing at him, Cui Lingfeng smiled miserably like a ghost, as if he had seen through everything and lost the momentum to fight on. "Hehe. Hehehe. When the mantis is hunting the cicada, the sparrow is waiting behind to get them both. Xuansu, Zhengyang, and their lot made such thorough plans, but they did not know that they were being played by you the whole time! You're from the federation, aren't you? Do you work in the Dim Moon Squad for Jin Xinyue?"
"About that…" Li Yao would rather admit that not only was he from the federation, he was also the legendary dominator the three Sectors! However, intermittent voices were echoing in the communication channel. Long Yangjun and her companions had marched, pouring fuel on the fire of the situation that was already chaotic enough!
Pondering for a long moment, Li Yao removed his Mystic Skeleton Battlesuit and said, "Make no mistake, Speaker Cui. Of course, I am not the real Professor Luo De, but I am not a citizen of the New Federation, either, and I do not work for Jin Xinyue."
It's more like Jin Xinyue works for me, Li Yao thought to himself.
"Not from the federation?" Li Yao's words were like a super cardiotonic for Cui Lingfeng that turned him from monochrome into multi-colored.
Rolling his eyes quickly, he seemed to be calculating crazily in his head. A moment later, he mumbled, "Of course. You can't be from the federation, and you are even less likely to be Jin Xinyue's subordinate. For the Star Glory Federation, I am too annoying an old man who clings to the name of the 'Star Ocean Republic'. Taking me down through the Immortal Cultivators, clean
ing all the Immortal Cultivators on Firefly as saviors, and then taking over Firefly, that is the best approach for them!"
Even Cui Lingfeng could not figure out the chaotic situation despite his computational ability of the Nascent Soul Stage. The Speaker of the Star Ocean Republic eyed Li Yao up and down for a long time and asked in disbelief, "You're not from the federation, and you're certainly not on the Imperium's side. Otherwise, you wouldn't have stopped the Immortal Cultivators. Who are you exactly?"
Chapter 1618: Li Yao Started Again... |
Before Li Yao could reply, Cui Lingfeng came up with yet another possibility. "Are you from the Covenant Alliance? I'm told that the latest generation of demi-humans in the Covenant Alliance can already simulate all the emotions of a normal human being. Even the Ring-Tu Test cannot distinguish them. So, you are here on behalf of the Covenant Alliance?"
Although the enemy's enemy was not necessarily a friend, Cui Lingfeng definitely found the Alliance of the Holy Covenant slightly more affable than the Imperium of True Human Beings.
Li Yao scratched his head. "I am neither from the New Federation, nor from the Imperium, much less the Covenant Alliance. Although I do not have conclusive proof, you can figure it out if you think about it more carefully, Speaker. It is purely a coincidence that I appeared here. You were the one who chose me randomly to examine the 'polygraph', and then you brought me to this place later! Regardless of whether I'm from the federation, the Imperium, or the Covenant Alliance, it is impossible that I could be so prophetic that I could guess a random decision you made before you did so, right?"
Cui Lingfeng was slightly dazed. "Fair enough. For confidentiality, it is true that I never decided which refiner exactly would be testing the 'polygraph' in advance. Originally, I was thinking of picking a random name on the list of professors of the Refining Department of Star Ocean University at the last moment. But after I read Professor Luo De's analysis report, it suddenly occurred to me that it would be even more confidential and secure if I summoned Professor Luo De here. Nobody at that time knew my real purpose, and therefore, nobody would play any tricks on Professor Luo De!
"Even if you are from the Covenant Alliance, you couldn't have learnt of the decision in advance because even I didn't know back then!
"Besides, there is no reason for the representatives of the Covenant Alliance to visit the rear of the rear of the Imperium after covering such a long journey. This place is the most underdeveloped area at the remote edge of the cosmos. It is not a critical battlefield in any sense!"
Li Yao nodded quickly, "Exactly. You do have a point, Speaker."
"Not from the federation, not from the Imperium, and not from the Covenant Alliance. Then, who are you exactly?"
Cui Lingfeng stared at Li Yao deeply, especially his plain, unattractive hands that had resumed the previous appearance. "You were quite skilled at dismantling and analyzing the magical equipment. You were even able to mimic Professor Luo De's style to some extent. You also boast such tough combat ability. Xuansu was a top-tier expert even taking all the warriors on Firefly into account, but she did not even have the guts to escape in front of you! You should be a 'double-talented' Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator who has climbed to the peak of both fighting and refining, right? It is my mistake that I did not learn the existence of such an expert at the edge of the cosmos in advance. Who are you exactly? Whose interests do you represent? For what purpose have you snuck into Firefly? Now that you've saved me, I believe that you want to make a deal with me, right?"
Blinking, Li Yao said, "You're overthinking it, Speaker Cui. As I said, this is purely a coincidence. I merely saved your life for the sake that we are both Cultivators. Me and my partners are definitely going to make a deal with someone, but I'm afraid that you are not the one we're looking for."
"…" Cui Lingfeng was dazed.
Li Yao coughed and said, "About our identity, there is no need to conceal it anymore. You'll know it soon enough anyway. However, you may find it hard to believe—"
"Why don't you let me decide?"
Li Yao hesitated for a moment and said, "Well. We're the local Cultivators of the 'Red Lotus Sector'."
Cui Lingfeng frowned deeply. "The Red Lotus Sector?"
"Yes. An insignificant, minor Sector," Li Yao said, "Because our star is highly unstable, and enormous sun storms break out every now and then, the living environment in our place is terribly harsh. Even Red Lotus, the only barely habitable planet, is scourged by calamities caused by the fury of the sun. Therefore, even in the era of the Star Ocean Imperium ten thousand years ago, the Red Lotus Sector was never developed on a large scale. There were only a few residents who made their living by growing certain cash crops that could only grow in the high-heat environment and by raising spiritual animals of the fire class.
"Thankfully, for the same reason, the Armageddon Rebellion ten thousand years ago and the world-blighting battle between the Supreme Emperor and the Mad Armageddon did not affect the Red Lotus Sector much.
"In the ten thousand years that followed, the Star Ocean Imperium completely collapsed, and the Star Ocean Republic struggled to reconstruct everything. But it never had the time to explore our tiny world. In fact, wasn't it the very purpose of Firefly to search for the minor Sectors that strayed from the center of the cosmos when the starship was built in the beginning?
"We developed independently in the extremely harsh environment for ten thousand years. The furious flames of the sun destroyed our civilization time and time, keeping the development level of our civilization to a shockingly low height where we could barely manage to survive. Everybody could only fight with the shabbiest magical equipment and their flesh and blood. Basically, well, we were no different from the ancient Cultivators in the tales.
"We lived in ignorance just like that for ten thousand years. Although the legends of the Star Ocean Imperium spread in our world, and we looked forward to the advanced civilizations of mankind, hoping that they would bring us new hope, eventually, what we got was the conquerors of the Imperium of True Human Beings.
"The Imperium of True Human Beings swallowed the Red Lotus Sector. The Immortal Cultivators destroyed our home and savaged our compatriots! The Imperium was too magnificent for us, who were still in the medieval age, to resist. Countless Cultivators of the Red Lotus Sector perished in the war against the Imperium. Most of the survivors were transformed into Immortal Cultivators and joined the army of the Imperium, establishing a new reign of terror!
"Only a few of us were lucky enough to have stolen a starship of the Imperium of True Human Beings and captured a lot of marines on it. From them, we learned the tricks to pilot a starship.
"When the army of the Imperium was not alert, we fled from the Red Lotus Sector and bid farewell to our hometown forever. I will never forget that day. It happened 443 years ago."
Li Yao's eyes gradually turned red, but there were no tears in them, as if his tears had long been vaporized by his fury.
His statement was almost flawless.
The Red Lotus Sector was a real existence. It was also true that the temperamental star of the Red Lotus Sector and the catastrophes that it caused had led to the slow development of the civilization there, which was in the medieval age in many respects. The Imperium of True Human Beings' conquest over the Red Lotus Sector had taken place 450 years ago for real, too.
The Star Glory Federation had captured some members of the army of the Imperium from the claw fleet where Heiye Lan was ten years ago. After interrogating any random captive, they would prove that the Red Lotus Sector was a real thing.
Of course, as for whether or not a tiny number of Cultivators stole a starship of the army of the Imperium and escaped from the Red Locus Sector more than four hundred years ago, it could never be proved true or false.
Deep in thought, Cui Lingfeng asked without offering any remarks, "What then?"
"We were essentially another 'Firefly', only many times smaller. We hid here and there in the
sea of stars and evaded the pursuit of the Imperium," Li Yao said. "But we were too weak and too inexperienced at piloting the starship. Therefore, we were no match for Firefly at all. In just a couple of years, the Cultivators who escaped perished one after another, until there were only a dozen of us left in the end.
"After the survivors discussed the issue, we agreed that we could not continue like that anymore. It was not because of the Imperium's hunting. Our starship was so insignificant that it was basically a grain of dust in the universe, and it would be very difficult for the Imperium to catch us. The biggest problem that we faced was the shortage of resources. The survivors all boasted a high Cultivation, and the resources we consumed every day were astronomical. We took few assets with us in the first place. They were far from enough for us to consume at such a rate.
"If it went on like that, we would either end up attacking and eating each other or surrender to the Imperium when we were grasped by desperation.
"We were neither willing to kill each other nor to surrender to the Imperium. Therefore, we could only wager on setting the destination of the starship to the edge of the cosmos. Then, we switched the starship to autopilot. After that, everybody entered the hibernation capsules, hoping to try our luck.
"Just like that, the starship drifted for more than four hundred years while we were all in the hibernation state, until the starship detected very intense spiritual waves nearby, which we learned later to be the space ripples triggered by the melding of the Heaven's Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector. We were woken up by the mainframe crystal processor of the starship, and we blended into this place, the Dragon Snake Space Zone, in secret.
"As absolute strangers, we did not know what this place was at all and whether or not it was another territory of the Imperium. Therefore, we decided to change our appearance and conceal our name so that we could observe everything in the Dragon Snake Space Zone.
"After we discovered that there was a powerful country of Cultivators in this place named the Star Glory Federation, which was preparing to resist the Imperium of True Human Beings, we were all overjoyed and thought about collaborating with the Star Glory Federation. Or rather, well, we were even thinking of joining the federation to deal with the Imperium together, hoping that we could march back to the Red Lotus Sector one day.