Apocalyptic Mechanist

"How is that possible? This is the mighty Xi Guang, a long-lived Pan-Human who's lived for a century. Her willpower is probably even stronger than Uncle Li's."

She didn't dwell on it further. After a moment of silence, she earnestly approached Jiang Xiao.

"Mr. Jiang, thank you so much for rescuing Xi Guang. Please protect her well. If you need anything at all, just say the word!"

"That's right. As agreed, as long as you don't do anything to harm Pan-Humans, you can use the Spark Gang's resource bank and supplies to your heart's content," Li Yuan added, following up with his assurance.

Xi Ling wasn't too concerned with Li Yuan's underlying meaning. She trusted Jiang Xiao completely.

The xenophobic aura was almost palpable.

Jiang Xiao didn't mind and calmly said, "In that case, I won't be polite. If the Spark Gang needs any firearms or weapons, you can also come to me. Sin Coins or bartering are both acceptable."

Modifying an ordinary firearm took less than ten minutes, and he could also commission human martial artists to gather the materials and intel he needed. It was a win-win!

Li Yuan was overjoyed to hear this and immediately agreed.

He had already heard from Xi Ling before that Mr. Jiang was an extremely powerful and seasoned Mechanist. The firearms he modified were even superior to those of many 'masters' in the Black Mech Gang!

"Speaking of which, I've always been curious why the Sin City Council was hunting Little Guang?"

Jiang Xiao suddenly changed the subject and inquired.

It couldn't be for her Particle Destruction esper ability, could it?

Esper abilities, those wondrous powers in the universe, were something even advanced civilizations couldn't strip away. If an esper didn't cooperate, even the strongest ability couldn't be used by others. The Sin City Council wouldn't go to such great lengths and waste so much time.

Furthermore, if Xi Guang's esper ability were to be leaked, the Starport would immediately descend to handle it.

No, not necessarily. It was strange enough that she, a member of a higher-tier species, was sent to Prison Star, especially one possessing such a high-risk esper ability. It was possible someone wanted to see her escape.

Just as Jiang Xiao was deep in thought, a calm, ordinary voice drifted over: "Because I stole something that belonged to them.

A Starfield Broodmother Egg."

"?"

Countless thoughts froze in that instant. Jiang Xiao's head snapped up, and he looked at Xi Guang in disbelief.

"...If I'm not mistaken, Little Guang is referring to a Starfield Zerg's Broodmother Egg?"

"Yes."

Xi Guang nodded, then walked towards the tattered combat suit Jiang Xiao had casually tossed aside. She retrieved a thumb-sized, dark brown sphere from an inner pocket.

She held it out to Jiang Xiao.

"This is it."

[Starfield Broodmother Egg: The most fundamental core production unit and central command unit of the Starfield Zerg. Each successfully hatched Broodmother Egg can transform into a terrifying Cataclysm (Egg form, Strength level: Tier 1 Elite)]

"???!!!"

It was actually a Starfield Broodmother Egg! Why would there be something like this on Frontier Prison Star?!

If there was a Broodmother in the Old Capital, there shouldn't be a second Broodmother Egg!

The Starport had turned a blind eye to the Zerg in the Old Capital, meaning they must have imposed restrictions on them. Under such circumstances, how could they possibly allow the Zerg to produce a new, complete Broodmother Egg?

First, an esper with Particle Destruction, then a Precision Industrial Box, and now a Starfield Broodmother Egg.

Was Frontier Prison Star this wild?

Did the Starport garrison on K-21 Prison Star offend the higher-ups of the Star Alliance? They were treating them like livestock.

Taking the Broodmother Egg from Xi Guang, Jiang Xiao became even more confused.

What would the Sin City Council want with something so extremely dangerous? They couldn't possibly have the idiotic idea of controlling the Zerg, could they?

The Galaxy wasn't lacking in ambitious individuals, nor was it lacking in idiotic ambitious individuals. There were quite a few fools who wanted to control the Zerg to dominate the Galaxy. Without exception, they were all torn apart by the very bugs they raised before the Star Alliance even showed up!

Whether it was pheromone control, brainwave control, or semi-mechanical modification, none of it worked. Even if you replaced a bug's brain with a chip, they would still attack and devour everything until they died in battle.

Their behavior patterns were all controlled by a core will known as the Overlord.

To this day, the Interstellar Alliance had been unable to influence the loyalty of Zerg units to the Zerg Overlord by any means, unless their entire bodies were replaced with machinery.

But if they couldn't control the Broodmother and obtain the terrifying war potential of the Zerg swarm, simply possessing some mechanical bugs was meaningless.

Li Yuan sighed helplessly, "In short, the Sin City Council wants to use this to lure the Zerg to attack Sin City. This intel was accidentally obtained by Lady Xi Guang, and its reliability is very high."

"Lure the Zerg to attack Sin City? For what reason?" Jiang Xiao couldn't understand.

If the Sin City Council were merely the second or third most powerful entity in Sin City, it could be explained. But they were the de facto rulers of Sin City. Were they rebelling against themselves?

"We don't know. We can't understand it either. Perhaps they have a larger scheme in mind."

A larger scheme?

The biggest scheme for Frontier Prison Star was surely to break out of prison.

So, what was the connection between luring the Zerg to attack Sin City and escaping?

Jiang Xiao quickly recalled the information he had read about the Zerg on the Doran. Fortunately, he had been very interested in such materials back then and had read through them almost like entertainment.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck Jiang Xiao.

"What's the situation with the Old Capital's Zerg? Why is the Starport letting them roam and breed? Don't tell me it's just to torment criminals?" Jiang Xiao asked seriously.

Li Yuan replied without hesitation, "It's to collect combat data on the Zerg for research.

The Zerg colonies have a clearly defined network connection, with extremely strong anti-interference and transmission efficiency. No matter the distance, lower-level colonies can receive information from higher-level ones.

This might include the latest information on Zerg biological incubation. If a research-oriented hive in the depths of the universe develops a new mass-producible Zerg soldier, the prison star's hive will quickly receive the technical information and begin incubation.

The Starport uses this to collect combat data on these latest ground Zerg units.

The criminals serve as both food resources and stimulation for the Zerg. The chaotic emotions of a large number of criminals can keep the hives in a constantly active state, preventing dormancy.

This way, before the Zerg deploy new soldiers on the front lines, the Interstellar Alliance military can prepare countermeasures. Those large prison stars starting with 'A' even have Tier 3 or Tier 4 hives.

However, I don't think this method is very useful. The speed at which the Zerg adapt to battlefield environments and develop specialized units far exceeds the Interstellar Alliance's preparation speed."

"These are not secrets to the upper echelons of civilization," Jiang Xiao said, a guess forming in his mind. "Since you mentioned Tier 3 and Tier 4 hives, the hive on KL-21 Prison Star must have been restricted, right?"

"Of course. Without high-level resources, hives cannot advance or breed extensively. Furthermore, the Interstellar Alliance has modified these hives. While not preventing them from receiving information, they've limited Tier 2 hives from actively sending it.

Otherwise, the prison star could very well attract an attack from a Zerg fleet..." As he spoke, Li Yuan immediately realized Jiang Xiao's thoughts and said helplessly.

"I know what you're thinking. The Sin City Council wants to lure a Zerg fleet to attack the Starport.

We've made similar speculations, but there's a big problem: once a hive hatches, the Starport will detect the biological signals immediately. It's impossible for the hive to grow to a stage where it can transmit information."

Jiang Xiao, however, chuckled. "Are there really only three Espers on the prison star?"

"How is that possible? I know of at least five..."

"Then how do you know the Sin City Council doesn't have an Esper who can solve this problem? If that Octopus Chairman's psionic power reaches Tier 2 peak, combined with relevant Source Energy equipment, masking the biological signals of Tier 1 or Tier 2 hives wouldn't be difficult."

"The Starport knows about Janus's abilities. They wouldn't let that kind of equipment in, would they?" Li Yuan hesitated, as he believed the Starport's blockade was extremely tight.

Jiang Xiao thought of the Precision Industrial Box in his inventory and smiled without speaking.

He had no intention of explaining. Jiang Xiao felt a surge of excitement; he hadn't even been on the prison star for a month and had already stumbled upon information related to an escape.

Even if he didn't plan to use this method to escape, the actions of the Sin City Council and the Black Mech Gang proved that the Starport's lockdown on the prison star wasn't that strong. Perhaps he could find a way to leave sooner?

When he first arrived at Sin City, his plan was to lay low until his Spirit Energy reached Tier 2 peak or Tier 3, then figure out how to craft a small spaceship and quietly escape using the Origin Data's detection shielding.

However, this would take too long. Crafting a spaceship alone would take at least several years, which felt incredibly long in his sense of time.

Now, it seemed there were definitely other ways...

"I think I understand. Can I study this Zerg egg?" Jiang Xiao asked. He had suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"This is Lord Xi Guang's spoils of war. As long as she agrees, it's fine. In fact, if it weren't for the camp needing Sin City's resources, we wouldn't care whether Sin City existed or not," Li Yuan said.

Jiang Xiao looked at Xi Guang.

"Mhm."

Xi Guang agreed immediately. As long as it didn't threaten the people she cared about, it didn't matter.

Hearing this, Jiang Xiao held the Zerg egg and smiled. "Then you two catch up properly. I'm going to study what else this thing can do. Oh, and Chief Li Yuan, the Spark Gang's resource vault has a Tier 2 Source Energy melee weapon. I wonder if I could..."

"Of course, it'll be delivered before noon," Li Yuan said without hesitation.

Jiang Xiao left with satisfaction and quickly entered a compartment in the corner of the second floor.

Upon reaching the compartment, he quickly locked the door.

Jiang Xiao couldn't help but show anticipation. "Can I research the Starfield Broodmother Egg?"

[This unit is a high-level bio-technology · basic production hub, item strength Tier 1; research allowed, estimated time 335 years]
[Switch research item?]

"No!"

As expected, as long as the item strength didn't exceed Tier 2 peak, his current Mechanist profession slot could influence it. However, the time requirement was too long. In that case...

"How long will it take to fuse with the Starfield Broodmother Egg?"

[Main target selected: Broodmother Egg, estimated time 30 days. Please select a secondary fusion target - technical level not lower than the main target.]

A technical item not lower than the Broodmother Egg?

There was such a restriction. Jiang Xiao pondered for a moment and then looked at the Precision Industrial Box in his inventory.

The hives hatched from the Broodmother Egg all evolved from the most basic state.

Basic Zerg colonies, regardless of technology, have a military strength equivalent to at most an early-stage civilization. The Precision Industrial Box, however, is a product of mid-level civilization technology!

"Does the Precision Industrial Box meet the requirements?"