Chapter 989: Chapter 509: Such a Small Fish (2)
It is absolutely impossible for an A Level life form to move freely in his "Despair Cage".
In an instant, as the opponent slowly stood up, it was as if a colossal creature stretched, supporting the mountain-like pressure on its body.
The air seemed to have been drained of moisture, and the surrounding space began to distort, cracking with cobweb-like patterns, each fissure oozing a dark red glow.
It emitted an ear-piercing groan, like a million shards of glass shattering simultaneously.
The amber beneath shattered into a pitch-black abyss, and the numerous eyeballs suddenly disintegrated, turning into luminous dust, drawing eerie trajectories in the collapsing space.
Vaughnâs pupils constricted, his pair of crimson eyes bulging wildly, and at that moment of crashing collapse, time seemed to stretch.
Every fragment of the cage fell slowly, reflecting Li Mingâs silhouette.
Eventually, the entire area turned into a floating cluster of fragments, slowly rotating in the void, like a frozen moment of explosion.
Bang!
A muffled sound, followed by the noisy surroundings and the stench wafted in once again.
With a splash, Vaughn suddenly knelt on the ground, trembling all over, with thick lines of blood flowing from his drooping head.
Robbin, quick to react, already supported the tottering Vaughn, and with a swipe of his other hand, the bloodstains on the ground evaporated.
By the time the surrounding life forms reacted, he was already being carried away by Robbin.
The shattered space seemed to have inflicted severe injury on this guy, his life force was weakened.
"Was it an attack?" Feder looked at Li Ming who had gotten up, only then did he come to his senses.
"Hmm." Li Ming responded indifferently, and Feder, after a pause, didnât mind, continued to look down and flip through his data, occasionally making annotations.
Soon, Robbin returned with the attacker and went to the restroom for a simple cleanup.
Where his eyes used to be, there were only two bloody hollows left, and his life force kept declining, with uncontrollable convulsions.
"His injuries seem to be quite serious," Robbin whispered, "His consciousness is already blurred."
"Did the backlash hit so hard?" Li Ming raised an eyebrow, glancing at the smart terminal, "The shipâs inspection is almost done, letâs talk about this later."
Everyone headed back to the spaceship, with Vermilion Bird preparing for the transition to the next star gate node.
In the command room, Robbin put down the attacker, amazed: "Who sent him, just an S Level life form."
In his eyes, with Li Ming traveling, that Lord Azure Dragon must be watching over at all times, an S Level life form is just a delivery dish.
"No idea, thatâs why we have to ask him." Li Ming placed his hand on the attackerâs shoulder, activating the [Battlefield Doctor] profession.
The recovery blessing converted by him, through [Battlefield Doctor], can also help others heal injuries, but this ability is rarely used.
At the moment the ability was activated, the attacker seemed to be stimulated, his body twitching even more violently, and his bloodstained eyes gradually healing.
But the shattered eyeballs could not be repaired, with the ends of the nerves gradually clotting, leaving only dark eye sockets.
"Those eyeballs seem to be related to his evolutionary path... interesting..." Li Ming noted.
"You... you people..." Vaughnâs consciousness suddenly cleared, the intense pain in his eyes preventing calm, he instinctively tried to stand up, but felt a terrifying force pressing down on him.
Recalling everything that had just happened, cold sweat streamed down.
Although completely blind, as an S Level life form, he didnât rely solely on sight for action.
But his eyes were his evolutionary medium, containing most of his power.
"Friend, can you tell me your name?"
As the voice sounded, a big hand patted his shoulder as if warning him, the voice sounding gentle and calm, yet Vaughn felt uneasy inside.
"An S Level life form, not likely to be a death soldier, they didnât need to pull those tricks, whoever sent you obviously meant to set you up," Li Ming said casually.
Vaughn then realized with a start, the life force in front of him was peculiar, incredibly strong, beyond reasoning.
What A Level life form; it was far beyond S Level.
"I..." Vaughn hesitated, gritting his teeth, "You... arenât the regular target, who are you?"
"You came to attack me, yet you donât even know my name?" Li Ming was surprised, answering casually, "My name is Li Ming."
"Li Ming?" Vaughn was taken aback, feeling his mind going blank.
"The Azure Dragonâs student?" he asked with difficulty, not truly inquiring, clenching his teeth in disbelief: "How could it be, how could the target be you!"
"Youâre clearly a discarded piece, spill it," Li Ming said calmly, "Tell me whoâs behind you, and maybe, Iâll even help you take revenge."
Whoâs setting me up?
Vaughnâs mind highlighted several figures, his face fluctuating with uncertainty.
After a moment, he took a deep breath, saying, "Iâm with the Empire..."
"The Empire?" Li Ming remained indifferent, while Vaughn explained: "To be precise, Iâm with the Empireâs Lower House."
"The Lower House? Hecklerâs men?" Li Ming quickly locked onto the suspect, that guy still hasnât given up on Robbin?
No, this time itâs directed at me, Li Ming couldnât help but furrow his brow.
This attacker came directly for him, with no one aware of Robbinâs existence.
But last time, Heckler had already sent an X Level life form, how could it only be an S Level this time?
Hmm... last time was against the Mechanical Court, this time was a solo attempt.
If Heckler didnât fully grasp the events within Red River Star Stream.
Then from their data, I would still be an A Level life form, so sending an S Level would be logical.
Li Ming pondered, then asked: "How did you know my route?"
"The person responsible for intelligence gave it to me," Vaughn shook his head, "We each have our own duties."
"Our journey is top-secret, could there be a mole?" Robbin leaned in, his face serious.
"No, everyone within the Court undergoes the âHonestâ review..." Feder shook his head, referring to a unique form of scrutiny internally known as the âTruth Chairâ, leaving everyone trembling in fear.
He continued: "Actually, tracking our whereabouts wouldnât be difficult, even though the log at this star gate node doesnât affect voyage records, there are still external shuttle data transmitted alongside the ship model."
"Only the star gate nodes of the Mechanical Court are under our control, ensuring no information leaks, but not the other nodes, with resources for massive data screening, they could easily identify a ship coming from the Mechanical Court."
Their thoughts diverged, Feder was accustomed to mobilizing massive resources, while Robbin always worked solo.
Feder frowned: "But they still need one more piece of info, that weâd indeed leave the Mechanical Court, and the passengers arenât just nobodies, an issue at the Dinner at Dusk."
Li Mingâs eyes flickered, Anatoli?
Heckler knew I was heading to the Dinner at Dusk, but didnât know I would bring Robbin along.
He thought of making a move on me, planning to capture me, then trade for Robbin?
Unfortunately, he only hooked an S Level life form; itâs of no use.
"Will you kill me?" Vaughn hesitantly asked.
"Though you were just following orders, but..." Li Ming shook his head, "Of course, if you have any special leverage, we can talk,"
Vaughn fell into silence, a palpable fear rising within him, wanting to plead but not knowing what leverage he had.
Service? Does the Azure Dragon Association lack an S Level life form like him?
Intelligence? He was merely following orders, where would he have intel?
Silently, his consciousness suddenly dispersed.
Thud! A headless corpse collapsed on the floor, yet the blood was drawn back, not spilling out.
"Coating complete, preparing to transition to the next node," Vermilion Bird reported just then.
"Wait..." Feder couldnât help but call out, looking down at the corpse on the floor: "Should we change the route?"
Robbin couldnât help but look over in surprise.
Having spoken, he explained, "I suspect this guy was just a vanguard, used to confirm info, continuing along the original route could be risky."
Robbin nodded, "Makes sense, no harm in being cautious."
"No need," Li Ming shook his head, hoping to coax a big fish onto the hook for a sumptuous meal.
Feder was taken aback, then fell into thought.
Several mechanical bodies came over, cleaning the body without a trace left.
During the healing process earlier, he had already extracted the genetic essence from the attacker.