Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

He only realized it afterward, but ordinary people were different."

"This thing is even more terrifying than an evil god, bybiab!" Count Piya drew a breath and carefully recalled the past, trying to identify any other thoughts that might have been altered.

"Bring all our people back. And don't let those scientists continue their research," he ordered.

"Understood!" Link replied at once, then quickly issued the orders.

But problems arose again during the retreat. Some scientists were so engrossed in these miraculous creations that they refused to leave, disobeying military orders. The soldiers had no choice but to knock them down and forcibly carry them back.

That might have been considered normal, but the captured scientists' frantic struggles and fanatical obsession with the Black Stone Tablet made it obvious to everyone that something was terribly wrong.

"This is highly abnormal. They were brainwashed without even realizing it!" Marquis Nord said gravely. The scientists accompanying the army might not have been as skilled as the Empire's top academicians and frontline researchers, but they were also soldiers—and were trained to obey orders.

"Order the entire fleet to halt and regroup. All crew members are to return to their quarters. Shut down the engines, lock the weapons, and wait for further investigation," Lin Zhichen ordered.

The entire fleet soon fell silent. Aside from the shields, all cannons and other operating systems were locked down.

At a time like this, the mindless Autonomous Mechanical Persons proved to be the most reliable. Under the command center's coordination, one of Lord Heaven's Wrath's sub-bodies took control of them and quickly deployed them throughout the fleet to enforce a lockdown.

By then, however, the changes had already begun. The fleet was not made up entirely of Imperial forces; in fact, most of the personnel involved in the