"News has come from the front: Iso has gone missing and is suspected to have been captured by Black Star."
As a high-ranking member of the Modo Civilization read out the intelligence, the conference room fell into a deathly silence.
After a long pause, a high-ranking military officer finally spoke in a deep voice, "The plan has apparently failed. The situation is dire. What are your thoughts?"
"I thought with the Mechanic Emperor involved, we'd definitely be able to complete the mission, but it turns out they're useless and completely unreliable." Someone's eyes flickered with suspicion. "Could it be that he deliberately leaked information to Black Star, causing him to sabotage our plans, as a way of showing his loyalty and repairing his relationship with Black Star?"
"He wouldn't do that, don't doubt him." The Three Kings of Modo shook their heads. "Ingratiating himself with Black Star isn't his style, and his feud with Black Star can't be resolved so easily. The Three Universal Civilizations ' wariness of him won't just disappear like that... You should think about how to deal with the consequences of the plan's failure."
Everyone knew that this matter couldn't be blamed on the Mechanic Emperor. Even the Mechanic Emperor's forces, on which they had placed high hopes, couldn't escape, so their own forces were even less likely to succeed.
Even so, the high-ranking officials present couldn't help but feel disappointed with the Mechanic Emperor.
"Iso has the soul of a suicide soldier inside him, and Black Star can extract information about our plans through interrogation. We're not worried about anything else, but we're concerned about the information about the Soul-Switching Device being leaked," another high-ranking official said.
When finalizing their plan, the Modo Civilization considered the consequences of failure. They appeared secretive, not wanting to be discovered, but this was merely a necessary condition for successfully framing someone. In reality, what Modo feared was not the plan being exposed and Black Star finding out that they were behind it.
After all, they are enemies, so it's only natural for them to target you. Even without this conspiracy, the Black Star Army wouldn't have stopped invading. Since there's no room for negotiation, they're not afraid of offending Black Star.
Even if the Three Universal Civilizations found out, Modo was like a dead pig that doesn't fear boiling water—having already fought with the Three Universal Civilizations, they no longer needed such an excuse to cause trouble; he simply didn't care about the debts he had.
Modo Civilization was truly worried about was that if the plan failed, information about the Soul-Switching Device would be leaked and found out by Black Star.
However, since we have chosen to use the Soul-Switching Device for our plan, we have to bear such risks. It is inherently a risky move, and it is impossible to have no risks at all.
Especially now that the Soul-Switching Device is no longer in their hands and has been taken away by the Soul-Switching Twins, many unexpected factors have been added.
"Speaking of which, why haven't the Twin Souls contacted us yet? The mental trap on them should have been triggered long ago." Someone asked doubtfully.
"Yeah, it's been almost a month, and the alternate personality still hasn't awakened?"
"Could it be that something unexpected happened, Soul-Switching Twins suppressed the awakening of their alternate personalities? But how is that possible? They're at most Grade B superhumans. Could this also be the power of the Soul-Switching Device?"
"In any case, we must prepare for the worst now," the Three Kings of Modo said in a deep voice.
In everyone's mind, a mental trap set by Beyond Grade A superhuman against Grade B superhuman should be foolproof. However, the strangeness of the Soul-Switching Device is something that even the person in charge of Marvell Project cannot fully understand. Currently, only the Soul-Switching Twins are known in the entire universe to be able to use the Soul-Switching Device, and only the two of them know all its functions.
"We must take action. Why don't we send our Beyond Grade A to the Shattered Star Ring to search for them?" someone suggested.
"No, Beyond Grade A is too conspicuous. If it exposes our lineage, we'll never return. Black Star wouldn't mind having another item in our collection."
Most people present did not agree with sending Beyond Grade A to retrieve the Soul-Switching Device. Everyone knew about the hostile relationship between Black Star and us; if they went, they might not come back.
If we don't find the Soul-Switching Device and instead lose a Beyond Grade A, we'll be losing a fortune!
The Modo Civilization had a complex view of the Soul-Switching Device; on the one hand, they valued its function, but on the other hand, they used it with great caution.
Over the years, they secretly tested trillions of people, and only the Soul-Switching Twins became suitable candidates. Without both, this Cosmic Wonder was useless. Moreover, it was mostly used for conspiracies and tricks, such as replacing important figures in certain industries with their own people. But once discovered, their souls would be interrogated, which would implicate Modo himself and cause trouble. Therefore, they rarely used the Soul-Switching Device, and it mostly sat gathering dust in a warehouse.
Therefore, although the executives present really wanted to get the treasure back, they were unwilling to pay too high a price, feeling it wasn't worth it.
Bang!
A high-ranking military officer slammed his fist on the table, interrupting the discussion. His face contorted with anger, he gritted his teeth and said, "Damn it! On someone else's turf, we're so constrained in our actions. If we were on our own turf, we wouldn't need all this trouble; we would have already crushed Black Star."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked distressed and helpless.
There was no other way; Black Star had very few weaknesses. They were powerful, had extensive connections, many followers, and a powerful backer. They were so formidable in every field that they left the Black Star in despair. They simply had no other options.
About ten days later.
In the Black Star Fleet's main ship office, Han Xiao received the data compiled by Phillip and glanced at it.
"Is all the intelligence here?"
"Yes, this is all the information we've gathered so far regarding the Soul-Switching Device."
"Phillip said in a childish voice."
Over the past ten days, the Black Star Army has launched a large-scale investigation based on the clues Han Xiao obtained from Iso.
First, they brought the tracking team whose souls had been swapped under control, and obtained some new information, including details about the original transport unit.
According to the original plan, these assassins, who were acting as spies, would be removed by the Soul-Switching Device after completing their mission, making it appear as an accidental death and leaving no clues.
The sudden escape of the Soul-Switching Twins left them trapped inside the bodies of the Black Star Army soldiers. Fearing Black Star's quantum network surveillance, they dared not contact Modo's forces rashly and were unaware of the Soul-Switching Twins' escape. Many even thought they were about to be caught red-handed while continuing their undercover work.
After obtaining information from these people, Han Xiao, with the help of the Child of Destiny and several lucky individuals, conducted a thorough search and captured several Modo Civilization warships that had not managed to escape the Shattered Star Ring. From these people, he learned about the escape of the Soul-Switching Twins.
However, the trail ended there. The people of Modo didn't know where the Soul-Switching Twins had gone, so they couldn't provide any information.
Han Xiao glanced through the intelligence report, shook his head slightly, and sighed, "Sigh, the Soul-Switching Twins can constantly change their bodies; they'll be hard to find now."
He wasn't an expert in the realm of souls, but he did know one: the Oathkeeper, the leader of the Sanctum Organization and the current host of the Soul Flame.
This guy might have a way to quickly find the Soul-Switching Twins, since no matter how they change bodies, their souls remain the same.
However, when Han Xiao tried to contact the Oathkeeper, he was told that the Oathkeeper had entered the Sanctuary and had not yet returned, and that he did not know what the oath-taker was doing inside, so he could not be relied upon.
"Current search methods rely solely on virtual technology, Bold Explorer, and a sliver of luck—they're not very efficient..." Han Xiao's eyes darted around. "The Mechanic Emperor is probably also searching for the Soul-Switching Device; I could keep an eye on it."
While tracking down the Modo forces, Han Xiao obtained additional intelligence, learning that some other transport ships had also lost contact.
However, these spaceships did not fall into his hands. Upon investigation, he discovered that they were related to the affiliated forces of the Mechanic Emperor, which basically confirmed that the Mechanic Emperor was also searching for the Soul-Switching Device.
Since shifting the blame to the Mechanic Emperor more than half a month ago, the Three Universal Civilizations have taken action. Some of the Mechanic Emperor's affiliated forces, which were pretending to be legitimate enterprises, have been ordered to be shut down and temporarily banned.
This not only caused considerable losses to the Mechanic Emperor, but more importantly, it froze a large number of Mechanic Emperor affiliated troops, significantly reducing the number of personnel it could currently mobilize, thus indirectly increasing the difficulty for the Mechanic Emperor to search for the Soul-Switching Device.
However, Han Xiao felt that the Mechanic Emperor should have known about the existence of the Soul-Switching Device earlier than him. Moreover, the Mechanic Emperor's stronghold, like Modo's, was in the Ancient Star Desert, and it had been infiltrating for many years. Perhaps it possessed some unknown intelligence, and keeping a close eye on it might yield unexpected gains.
Various thoughts flashed through his mind, and Han Xiao spoke:
"Continue the investigation. Report any developments to me, especially keep a close eye on the affiliated forces of the Mechanic Emperor. Don't let any of their troops escape our sight."
Half a month later, at the edge of the Shattered Star Ring region, on Earth Ring Planet.
This is a transit planet located near an inter-stellar gate, handling a massive daily passenger flow. Many long-haul interstellar flights resupply here. The planet is managed by the Shattered Star Ring, a star cluster-level civilization, and is an officially controlled public transportation hub.
On the bustling streets, creatures of different races jostle each other, and the noisy, crowded atmosphere reveals a sense of prosperity.
Two figures, a woman and a man, walked down the street, observing their surroundings and conversing quietly. They were none other than the Soul-Switching Twins, Gor and Lotaire.
"Brother, has your alternate personality made any moves these past few days?"
"I suppressed it three days ago, and it's almost depleted. I need to replenish my soul today."
"Me too. This planet has a lot of people, making it a good target. This is the last stop before leaving the Shattered Star Ring. We need to absorb a large amount of blood and suppress it for a longer period of time," Lotaire said.
"Don't do anything now, wait until we leave," Gor said in a low voice.
Their goal was to leave the Shattered Star Ring. After constantly changing bodies, they finally reached the edge of the Shattered Star Ring without any major incidents. They planned to refuel there and then escape the star system through the stargate.
To suppress the mental trap, the two absorbed numerous souls on the planets they passed, constantly "recharging" themselves. Most of the victims were wild beasts. It wasn't that the two were acting out of kindness, but rather that absorbing too many intelligent beings would attract attention and make it difficult to remain hidden.
Now that they had finally reached the edge of the star field, they would be basically safe once they escaped. So the two decided to pull off one last big heist, absorbing a large number of souls in order to find a way to completely break free of the mental trap.
This way, they won't need to commit crimes in other star systems and can perfectly hide themselves.
"We're finally leaving the Shattered Star Ring! We'll soon be truly free," Lotaire said excitedly, Infinite anticipation for the bright future.
"This is the first step in our quest for supremacy!"
Gor clenched her fists, her eyes shining with excitement.
The first step to realizing our ambitions is to take that step successfully. After years of imprisonment, it's finally over. As long as we have time to develop, with our brothers' abilities and the miraculous power of the Soul-Switching Device, we will surely grow into giants in the universe!
However, just as the two were looking forward to the future, something unexpected happened: the city alarm suddenly went off!
Waaaaah--
The piercing alarm blared throughout the city, and countless people looked up in astonishment, wondering what had happened.
What happened?
"This is a planetary alert! Is someone attacking our planet?!"
The pedestrians on the street panicked, and the street where the Soul-Switching Twins were located also became chaotic.
"Brother, could they be coming after us?" Lotaire's heart skipped a beat, his face filled with anxiety.
"Don't panic! No one should be able to find us, and even if they were, they wouldn't make such a commotion." Gor, her voice filled with doubt and uncertainty.
Just then, someone suddenly pointed to the sky and shouted, "Look, there's a fleet!"
Everyone looked up and saw warships breaking through the atmosphere and hovering in mid-air. A dark mass of mechanical soldiers covered the sky, without any faction markings, so it was unclear which organization they belonged to.
At that moment, the sound of spaceships taking off came one after another. The defense fleet stationed on Earth Ring Planet rushed to the scene and issued a stern question on the wide-area communication channel:
"This is the Earth Ring Planet Defense Fleet Command Center. Your unauthorized breach of the planet's atmosphere violates the spaceport parking regulations. Please identify yourselves immediately!"
After a full two seconds, an aged voice finally rang out in the wide-area channel:
"I am Manison of the Mechanic Emperor, and this planet is temporarily under my control."
As soon as he finished speaking, countless pedestrians were astonished to find that their communicators had suddenly lost internet access and could not send any messages.
An uproar erupted. Everyone knew that the Mechanic Emperor had cut off Earth Ring Planet's external communications and blocked the entire planet's quantum network!
"The Mechanic Emperor?! What's he doing here?"
Gor's eyes widened, her face filled with astonishment.
The two escaped early and were unaware of Modo's subsequent cooperation with the Mechanic Emperor. At this point, they still believed they were just innocent bystanders caught up in the incident.
They were just one step away from a bright future, but then an unexpected event occurred, leaving them both shocked and furious.
However, the opponent was the infamous Mechanic Emperor. Even if Gor was arrogant, she knew that she couldn't afford to offend them. She could only pray that the Mechanic Emperor would finish its business quickly, lift the blockade, and let them leave.
at the same time.
In the flagship above the Earth Ring Planet, a Dominion avatar of Manison, crackling with electricity, stood at the porthole, gazing at the heavily armed defensive fleet outside, and spoke calmly:
"Seal off the entire planet, forbidding any life form from leaving. The target is here. Sift through all the life on this planet until you find it!"
Outside the window, countless mechanized soldiers landed and brought the panicked crowd under control. Countless shouts soared into the sky and faintly reached Manison's ears.
He surveyed the land, absolutely certain that the Soul-Switching Twins were on Earth Ring Planet.
His pursuit was quite tortuous. Because it wasn't his own territory, he couldn't act as openly as the Black Star Army. He managed to secretly intercept a few transport ships, but learned from the crew that Zhuanhun Shuang and Tu Shu Zi had already escaped, and the trail went cold.
However, Manison learned additional information from the mole, discovering the mental trap set by the Soul-Switching Twins. Using big data analysis, he found an event on a certain planet where a large number of creatures lost their souls and became vegetative, leading him to guess that this was the work of the Soul-Switching Twins.
He searched along the way and discovered more similar incidents, thus determining the escape route of the Soul-Switching Twins. Finally, today he located Soul-Switching Twins whereabouts.
Because his affiliated forces were being targeted and being eradicated, Manison was no longer worried about being exposed afterward, so he went all out and sealed off the entire Earth Ring Planet to search for them.
If it weren't for the fact that most of the subordinate forces of the Shattered Star Ring were suddenly frozen by the Three Universal Civilizations, which almost cut off the clues and delayed things for several days, he felt that he might have found the person long ago.
Despite encountering numerous obstacles, he still succeeded!
"While mental traps aren't exactly top secret, none of the lower-ranking crew members knew about them, and Black Star was naturally unaware of them either. That's why he could only wander around aimlessly, hoping for the best, which is why I lured him away so easily recently... Tsk, he's still too green to mess with me."
Manison shook his head.
A few days ago, he deliberately had a subordinate force blockade the planet in the opposite direction in his own name, pretending to have found traces of the Soul-Switching Device to attract attention.
This feint lured away a large portion of the Black Star Army's fleet. In his view, even if Black Star received the news now, it would be impossible for them to reach Earth Ring Planet in a short time.
However, just to be on the safe side, Manison still blocked the quantum network on Earth Ring Planet, trying to delay the Black Star Army from obtaining the intelligence.
As soon as he finds something, he slips away. Even if a higher civilization holds him accountable afterward, he can't expect to get rid of the benefits he's already gained.