In the Ancient Star Desert, somewhere in the Desolate Universe Belt, Cloud Magnet Planet.
This is one of the ecclesiastical settlements of the Mechanic Faith. The earth is yellowish-black, and heavy bases in the Mechanic Faith style are rooted in the ground, arranged neatly to form a ring-shaped industrial city. Surrounding it are open-pit mines with countless large industrial cranes hanging from them. The city streets are interconnected, all flattened gray roads, and convoys of transport vehicles roar past, passing pedestrians wearing heavy power armor on both sides of the street.
At the center of the ring city stands a towering mountain, bisected in half to form a platform where a cluster of mechanical temples sits. Above it floats a floating island, emitting a soft, artificial light.
The Mechanic Faith has a large number of followers, numerous internal factions, loose management, and a nomadic nature. It is generally centered around High Priests and various bishops, gathering a group of followers from different factions to form a fleet that constantly migrates to planets in the universe. The goal is to mine the planets for minerals and underground mechanical debris, hoarding or selling them. Therefore, most of the planets occupied by the Mechanic Faith are only temporary outposts, somewhat like a nomadic cult.
The Mechanic Faith has few permanent strongholds. Some are branches of different factions, some are long-term settlements of believers on places like Cloud Magnet Planet, and others are holy sites recognized by all believers.
Now, the heavily armed fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations hover in the dark blue sky of Cloud Magnet Planet, but the cultists on the surface are used to it, occasionally glancing up before lowering their heads and continuing with what they were doing.
The Three Universal Civilizations have already contacted the Mechanic Faith. This loosely organized religious group has always been difficult to manage. The Three Universal Civilizations do not trust the Mechanic Faith's ability to execute orders, so they simply sent a fleet to be stationed there, treating it as a trap node.
At this very moment, on the open-air platform atop the Mechanical Temple, the High Priests, clad in bishop armor, gazed up at the fleet in the sky and muttered to himself.
Seeing this, the priest beside him stepped forward and asked, "High Priests, are you worried about the fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations?"
The High Priests shook his head. "We are just a folk association, law-abiding, and have little interaction with the Three Universal Civilizations. They won't do anything to us. I'm actually glad the Three Universal Civilizations came."
"Thankful?"
"Yes, since the outbreak of the Intelligence Plague, the number of fanatics within the cult has been increasing day by day. They are not only secretly researching Virtual Mutiny Virus, but also trying to spread them. This goes against the original neutrality of the Cult of Mechanic Faith. Their distorted beliefs will bring disaster to the cult. Now that the fleets of the Three Universal Civilizations have arrived, they have indirectly suppressed those fanatics," the High Priests murmured.
Looking back now, he still feels a little heavy-hearted.
After the Three Universal Civilizations developed the three-piece antivirus suite, some fanatics even raised the banner of "driving divine revelation," wanting to improve the virus and crack the antivirus suite in order to continue the Intelligence Plague, insisting that this was a great intelligent revolution.
So he had no choice but to deploy his cult's defense force and imprison these people, but the ideology remained and continued to spread in the settlement.
"Hmm, perhaps." The priest paused, then asked doubtfully, "I still don't understand why the Three Universal Civilizations are temporarily requisitioning our settlements."
"It seems to be related to the Intelligence Plague operation, but I'm not entirely sure..." The High Priests shook his head.
Before he could finish speaking, the armor's built-in radar suddenly reacted.
"An anomaly has been detected in the planet's magnetic field, generating eddy currents. Coordinates..."
The High Priests was taken aback, and together with his companion, turned their heads to look in the direction of the magnetic field vortex.
The magnetic field of Cloud Magnet Planet is very special. The armor of the Mechanic Faith members here has a special monitor for the magnetic field. At this moment, they all heard the radar report, and pedestrians on the street stopped and looked in the same direction.
The group switched to electromagnetic induction vision, where the flow of the magnetic field was clearly visible. In the distance, the electromagnetic field seemed to form a tornado, with bright arcs of electricity appearing out of thin air and rapidly forming an energy field.
But at that moment, something unexpected happened!
Rumble--
A series of dazzling meteors shot out from the Three Universal Civilizations fleets in outer space, rapidly heading towards the electromagnetic field vortex.
Although these meteors were not large, they all emitted astonishing energy fluctuations, leaving behind dazzling streaks of lightning that lingered in the retina for a long time, accompanied by the rumbling sound of thunder, as if the sky were collapsing.
"What is that?!"
The followers of the Cloud Magnet Planet Mechanic Faith, including the High Priests, were filled with astonishment and uncertainty.
Just then, this batch of meteors arrived at the location of the electromagnetic field vortex, stopped, dissipated their fiery glow, and revealed their mechanical forms. They were all Dominion clones of various Beyond Grade A mechanics.
The leader, Manison, was the fastest. He raised his eyes and glared, causing the electromagnetic eddy current to pause for a moment. Then, he reached out and grabbed the central electric arc field, which he then absorbed entirely into a miniature triangular container the size of a head.
The abnormal electromagnetic eddy current phenomenon disappeared in the next instant, as if the wind had stopped, the rain had ceased, and the sky was clear, as if the electromagnetic tornado was just an illusion.
"Those are the Dominion clones of Beyond Grade A Mechanic?!"
Upon seeing this, although they didn't know what had happened, the members of the Mechanic Faith instantly became excited.
In their eyes, the appearance of so many Beyond Grade A mechanics was no less than the descent of gods.
However, before they could even feel their joy, the situation on the field changed dramatically once again.
The other Beyond Grade A Dominion clones, who were a step behind, attacked Manison at the same time, launching a backstab.
Bang bang bang!!
A burst of light exploded in mid-air, illuminating the eyes of countless followers of the Mechanic Faith.
The next second, Manison's Dominion clone flew out of the explosion and was then surrounded by the crowd, where they confronted each other.
Upon seeing this, a look of surprise and astonishment flashed in the eyes of each believer.
Are these Beyond Grade A mechanics going to fight here? Does that mean we've been dragged into a "war of gods"?!
Rewind ten seconds.
Among the Three Universal Civilizations fleets in the outer space of Cloud Magnet Planet, mechanical units of different mechanics float, with some of these mechanical units guarding their respective Dominion avatars.
The moment the virus core broke free from the quantum network, the Dominion consciousness of the crowd pursued it, and the eyes of each mechanical body suddenly lit up.
Target locked!
As soon as Han Xiao arrived, the detection radar beeped in his ears.
At the same time, a dark shadow fell rapidly not far away. It was Manison's clone, rushing ahead towards the physical core of the virus.
"That old man is so fast!"
The thought flashed through Han Xiao's mind in a split second. Just as he was about to use his skills, he discovered that all teleportation abilities, such as Void Leap, were unusable.
His eyes narrowed, and he immediately understood what was happening. Without hesitation, he followed closely behind and plummeted to the ground, followed by a series of meteors, all of which were clones or troops of other people.
Bang!
The group passed through the atmosphere one after another, their high-speed flight creating a layer of flames.
Han Xiao stared intently at the target, the electromagnetic eddy current rapidly magnifying in his vision, closing the distance in an instant.
The virus core had just broken free from the quantum network and was attracting magnetic fields and gathering electromagnetic energy to shape its body when it discovered a group of Beyond Grade A Dominion avatars approaching. It immediately wanted to abandon its physical form and escape back into the Quantum Network Vision.
However, in that instant, Manison's eyes flashed with intense lightning as he preemptively activated [Supreme Virtual]!
Buzz!!
The Virtual Soul at the core of the virus was instantly stunned, unable to break free from its still-developing body.
Manison moved with fluid grace, without the slightest pause, quickly taking out a specialized containment device and sucking the virus core inside.
This container is specially designed to contain the virus's core, achieving perfect containment. Once captured, the virus's core will have absolutely no chance of escaping.
"Old Manison succeeded!"
Han Xiao's eyes narrowed.
But in the next instant, the other Dominion clones followed and launched an attack at the same time, with highly concentrated beams of light grazing his body and heading straight for Manison's back.
Bang bang bang bang!
Manison expected, layers of shields appeared, blocking the concentrated fire of the group, and a violent explosion occurred immediately.
Using the momentum, he quickly created distance and turned to face the crowd, still holding the container containing the virus core in his hand.
The crowd surrounded him and confronted Manison.
"Be careful, everyone. If you destroy the container, all my work will have been for nothing."
Manison, however, wasn't angry at all, and said calmly.
Rama, the Guardian of the Federation of Light, spoke in a deep voice, "Manison, hand over the virus core. You know very well that this kind of thing cannot be allowed to circulate."
Remote projections of those in charge, including Sidrun, appeared beside him, their tone serious. "Indeed, Your Excellency of the Mechanic Emperor, you are a reasonable person. Our Three Universal Civilizations will certainly reward you for your outstanding contribution in capturing the virus's core, but this thing must absolutely not be allowed to remain in the hands of others."
"Hehe, no need to be so nervous. After I finish my research, I will not only hand over the virus core, but also share the techniques I've analyzed."
Manison was very casual and unhurried.
Han Xiao remained silent, glanced around, and nodded secretly, having anticipated the current situation.
In the past, someone intercepted the virus core, probably by stealth. But the current situation is completely different. The virus core is a hot potato. Whichever mechanic gets their hands on it will immediately face difficulties, becoming a target for other mechanics. At the same time, the Three Universal Civilizations will inevitably demand it back publicly.
If warships are of no help in capturing the virus core, then why are the Three Universal Civilizations deploying fleets at the trap node? Clearly, they're not there to deal with the virus core, but rather to deal with these Beyond Grade A mechanics!
The Dominion clones present all possessed short-range warp abilities, and Han Xiao even had Void Flash, but no one used it. This was because the fleet had activated the spacetime stabilization anchor at the trap node long ago, prohibiting warp and flash to prevent anyone from escaping.
It was precisely because the spacetime around the Cloud Magnet Planet was imprisoned that Manison stayed here to engage in verbal sparring; otherwise, he would have vanished the moment he succeeded through a jump.
To escape with the virus core... the only option is to fight your way out!
However, although the Three Universal Civilizations and other mechanics attempted to seize the virus's core, they were concerned about damaging the container, so they exercised restraint even during the sneak attack.
The Three Universal Civilizations preferred to negotiate to get the virus core back from Manison, and were even prepared for the latter to demand exorbitant prices.
"The Mechanic Emperor, the Virtual Mutiny Virus is a strategic weapon technology that can threaten the entire universe. Only the Three Universal Civilizations can control it without any hidden dangers. We cannot allow any risk to exist, so today, no matter what, we must obtain the core of the virus. You should understand the seriousness of this matter."
The head of the Arcane Church's oversight was resolute in his tone.
Manison didn't respond immediately, but instead scanned the other mechanics' clones and slowly spoke:
"See? Whoever gets the virus core will face this situation. Do you still want to keep fighting for it?"
"To be honest, I'm not that interested in the core of the virus, after all, I'm not a virtual mechanic... But, I don't mind using this as leverage to get more good stuff." Kant chuckled.
"Don't look at me. As long as I get the virus core, I will regain my freedom. Now I'm on the side of the Arcane," said Francisco the Mechanical Catastrophe.
"Give it your all whenever you have the chance... Teacher, this is what you taught me." The Mechanical Queen Mornisa said calmly.
Everyone expressed their opinions, for different reasons, but all showed their determination to win.
Finally, Manison's gaze settled on Han Xiao.
"Black Star, and what about you?"
Han Xiao didn't answer directly. Instead, he raised his voice, speaking with a playful tone, "You've asked around, so it's not just a casual chat, is it? Are you stalling for time, or trying to find a temporary ally?"
Upon hearing this, Manison immediately smiled.
Black Star, you're the one who understands me best...
"That's right, I need an ally to help me deal with this tricky situation. You and I both understand the predicament of Beyond Grade A individuals; we're on the same side. My research into Virtual Mutiny Virus technology isn't just about technological pursuits, but also about securing a guarantee for Beyond Grade A individuals. If you're willing to help me, I don't mind if you research this technology with me."
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to Han Xiao, some with curiosity, some with wariness, and some with amusement.
Han Xiao remained unmoved and casually said:
"That sounds good, but I think you'll go back on your word."
"Hehe, you may not believe me, but I need someone to share this risk with me. It's actually more in my interest for two people to control this technology, so I won't go back on my word this time."
"Tsk tsk, words are meaningless; no matter how nicely they sound, they're useless."
"Then how do you want me to prove it?"
Han Xiao pointed to the container in Manison's hand and chuckled softly:
"Since you're willing to work together on the research, it doesn't matter who gets the virus core. You give me the device, I'll take the risks, and you'll help me break through. That way, I'll believe in your sincerity; otherwise, you're just deceiving my feelings."
"I have no problem with that, but once the materials are in your hands, are you really willing to work together on the research? How can I be sure you won't break the contract?" Manison retorted.
"Just like you said, if someone is too famous, they'll attract a lot of attention. I also need a shield." Han Xiao shrugged.
After a few seconds of silence, just as the atmosphere grew increasingly tense, Manison spoke slowly and deliberately, his attitude immediately surprising everyone.
"Since that's the case... why not just give it to you?"