In the Earth Ring Planet command center, the planet's commander was taken aback by the name "Mechanic Emperor." It took him more than ten seconds to speak again on the wide-area channel, his tone becoming cautious:
"Your Excellency of the Mechanic Emperor, Earth Ring Planet is the territory of the Raiso Civilization. Your rash blockade of the planet violates the Planetary Public Security Management Law established by the Shattered Star Ring Civilization Alliance. We hope you can provide a reasonable explanation."
"I'm tracking a fugitive. I'll leave once I'm done. You'd better leave and don't cause me any trouble," Manison's calm voice rang out on the wide-area channel.
"No, we must stay. According to the rules and regulations, we must report this to the higher-ups in the Civilization Bureau afterwards."
"Whatever you say."
After giving a curt reply, Manison hung up the call.
The leader of Earth Ring Planet dared not speak out in anger, suppressing his rage, and ordered the defense fleet to assume a defensive posture and stand by, but did not stop the actions of the Mechanic Emperor.
Although the Raiso Civilization was one of the star cluster-level civilizations in the Shattered Star Ring, their external communications were blocked, and their defense fleet, consisting of only one planet, was powerless against the Mechanic Emperor.
The commander was unwilling to allow the troops to make unnecessary sacrifices, so he chose to remain vigilant and observe, which violated his duty. However, at this moment, he could only be pragmatic and handle the situation flexibly.
With the defense fleet not intervening, the mechanical forces of the Mechanic Emperor began to organize the people on a large scale for investigation. Anyone who could breathe, whether on the street or in a hotel, was taken into custody and driven into the streets, forced to form neat lines.
The Mechanic Emperor was renowned for its power, and even the most arrogant superhumans became like ostriches, obediently submitting to the Mechanic Emperor's mechanical soldiers.
Of course, there were also some clueless civilians, but the mechanical soldiers showed no mercy with their fists. After beating down thousands of disgruntled tourists, the rest of them fell silent in fear.
The mechanical soldiers shoved through the crowd, and Gor and Lotaire were swept along by the flow of people into a queue, their eyes darting around with a mixture of alertness and panic.
Seeing the array of troops set up by the Mechanic Emperor, the two panicked slightly and quietly activated the Soul-Switching Device to communicate with each other through their souls.
"Brother, do you think the Mechanic Emperor is here to arrest us?" Lotaire asked worriedly.
"No way, didn't he say he's here to catch fugitives? We're not fugitives," Gor reassured him.
"Even if he wasn't looking for me and the books, this kind of thorough search still puts us at risk of being exposed."
"That is a problem..."
Gor's face was gloomy and he was in a bad mood, partly because he was worried about his own situation, and partly because he had just discovered that someone had pinched his buttocks hard.
He glared back and saw a red-skinned orc who looked like a mercenary chuckle as he withdrew his hand, flexed his arm to show off his muscles, and even gave him a smug look... Only a low-ranking orc with strong desires would think about mating at a time like this.
Gor felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively pulled her clothes tighter around herself.
"How about we find an opportunity to transfer the screening to people who have already been screened?" Lotaire suggested.
"Let's see how things go. Let's wait and see for now. If things don't go well, I can transfer you into my body so we can share a body temporarily... No, I should transfer myself into your body."
Gor's lips twitched; she secretly regretted choosing such a beautiful body.
Screenings are being conducted in batches, with Manison monitoring the overall situation from the main ship.
"Let's see how long you can hold out."
Manison spoke calmly.
The Soul-Switching Device is extremely well-hidden, rendering all normal detection methods useless. Moreover, the target can transfer to another body at any time, making repeated examinations very troublesome.
He planned to send the personnel who had completed their investigations on different spaceships in batches, away from the range of the Soul-Switching Device, for isolation.
As the number of people dwindles, the Soul-Switching Twins will eventually become restless and activate their abilities, likely targeting those who have already completed their investigations. However, the target is unaware that they will conduct multiple rounds of checks after quarantine, perhaps narrowing down the search area and trapping the suspect.
Another objective of the quarantine was to take everyone on the planet away, including the planet's defense fleet, so that they could have enough time to hide and slowly select the victims.
At the same time, if the Soul-Switching Twins were to activate their ability, the soulless body should collapse and fall unconscious, which is also a clue. Even if the Soul-Switching Twins could create a false impression and use multiple transfers to change the identity of the fallen body, the mere appearance of such a sign would be evidence of their ability being activated. Moreover, doing so would inevitably involve swapping the souls of more people, which would certainly cause chaos and strange behavior.
Manison had prepared many search plans, the most radical of which was even planetary extermination—killing off all sentient beings in batches, which would force the Soul-Switching Twins to reveal themselves, and then kill them to silence them. However, the side effects were too severe, and he would not take this plan unless absolutely necessary.
"In about two hours, we'll be able to get everyone on the planet onto the ship and isolate them. The efficiency is average, but it's enough; there's still plenty of time..."
Manison was secretly calculating the time when he suddenly sensed something and abruptly turned his head to look behind him.
Waaaaah--
The spaceship's radar simultaneously sounded an alarm. In the distant starry sky, streaks of warp light shot towards them and stopped not far away. The brilliant blue light dissipated, revealing a jet-black fleet. The outer armor was engraved with the faction's insignia that Manison could never forget—it was the Black Star Army!
"They actually came looking for us?"
Manison was taken aback.
Strange, this force clearly shook off its pursuers, so how did the Black Star Army follow? Could it be a prophecy? But the ship's information concealment devices are still active. With Iso's abilities, he shouldn't be able to predict the exact location. Could there be an even more powerful prophet?
This is a bit troublesome. Black Star has discovered what's going on here, and the plan has changed. We must speed things up and get everyone on board.
"... Fortunately, it was just an ordinary search fleet, with only about thirty warships."
Manison reacted immediately, waving his hand, and a large number of waiting mechanical troops turned and charged towards the Black Star Army fleet that had arrived.
He planned to eliminate Black Star's men first to prevent them from interfering with him.
However, in the next instant, three powerful energy fluctuations suddenly erupted within the Black Star Army fleet!
Waaaaah--
The spacecraft's energy detection radar readings instantly exceeded the limit, triggering an alarm!
Manison paused for a moment.
Three Beyond Grade A?!
Under his gaze, three figures flew out from the Black Star Army fleet, confronting his mechanical troops at a distance. They were Black Star, Ames, Hila, all present in their true forms!
Han Xiao glanced at the situation on Earth Ring Planet, a playful smile appearing on his lips. He connected to the wide-area channel and said jokingly:
"Oh, looks like I was almost late."
"What are you doing here?" Manison didn't bother with Xiao Han.
"Oh, you mean why I wasn't lured away by your bait?" Han Xiao curled his lip. "The Shattered Star Ring is my territory. If you could fool me so easily, what would become of me as the leader of this star region?"
In fact, the decoy that Manison had set up in the opposite direction some time ago almost fooled him, Manison's force has now shaken off its original pursuers.
However, Han Xiao, as Peak Beyond Grade A virtual mechanic, was fighting on home ground and also used big data search to analyze the commonalities in the movement routes of all of Manison's troops. He also discovered vegetative state incidents on multiple planets, and after using statistical models to calculate, it just so happened to match the movement route of one of Manison's troops.
Although Master Han didn't know anything about the mental trap, it didn't stop him from guessing that this was a clue that Manison was investigating.
So, like the Mechanic Emperor, based on the vegetative state incident, he pinpointed the escape route of the Soul-Switching Twins and specially dispatched a fleet to come directly to Earth Ring Planet.
Therefore, this legion's fleet did not come by tracking them, but rather they happened to encounter the Mechanic Emperor, which confirmed that they had come to the right place.
The three were not originally in the fleet, but Han Xiao had the fleet bring a "Throne". The moment the Mechanic Emperor was discovered, he received the message and directly used the Sovereign Mecha to teleport all three of them over, which led to the current scene.
Just as the two were locked in a heated standoff, the star commander of Earth Ring Planet was overjoyed and hurriedly opened the wide-area channel to send a message.
"Your Excellency Black Star! I am the administrator of Earth Ring Planet. The Mechanic Emperor forcibly took over the planet, and we were powerless to resist. Fortunately, you have arrived. We hope you will uphold justice for us. The Raiso Civilization will surely repay you afterwards!"
The star leader of the Earth Ring Planet could only Fury helplessly, but now that he saw the Black Star arrive, he immediately felt like he had found a pillar of support and decisively asked for help.
As everyone knows, the Shattered Star Ring is now under the control of Black Star, who is the top leader among the Starfield's superhumans. In the Star Lord's eyes, Black Star is one of their own, capable of upholding justice for them.
Han Xiao waved his hand casually. "Okay, take your troops and withdraw from the planet. Leave the rest to me."
"Okay!"
Without saying a word, the leader of the Earth Ring Planet led his defense fleet to the sidelines to watch the battle.
When the Mechanic Emperor asked him to leave, he refused, but as soon as Black Star spoke, he left decisively. In the Shattered Star Ring, Han Xiao's words carried much more weight than Manison's.
Seeing this, Han Xiao withdrew his gaze, looked at the vehicle of the Mechanic Emperor, and snorted.
"I'm already here, aren't you going to come out and say hello?"
After the words were spoken, more than ten seconds later, Manison's Dominion clone flew out and confronted him from a distance.
"Black Star, you're ruining my plans again."
Manison spoke indifferently, his voice a blank electronic tone, yet a hint of annoyance lingered in his intonation.
"Hehe, Mechanic Emperor, I won't beat around the bush with you. Our goals should be the same: the item is on Earth Ring Planet. Whoever has the greatest ability gets it."
Han Xiao crossed his arms over his chest, displaying an unyielding stance.
In reality, he was secretly overjoyed. He had no excuse to pick a fight before, but now he had finally run into someone. The way he looked at Old Manison was as if he were looking at a walking treasure trove of expertise.
Manison glanced at the three of them and said indifferently:
"Three against one, you think you can guarantee a win?"
"Ha, you've misunderstood." Han Xiao's lips curled into a smile. "Dealing with you is a piece of cake for me; the other two won't interfere."
Upon hearing this, Ames and Hila couldn't help but turn their heads and look at him quietly.
Seeing this, Han Xiao coughed lightly and said in a low voice, "Ahem, you two are responsible for searching the planet and finding the target. Hila, you have some expertise in the soul realm, so you're suitable for finding people. Ames's force field is convenient for capturing people."
"You promised to let me help you in the fight..." Ames frowned.
"We'll talk about it when we fight Modo. I'll take on the Mechanic Emperor; I want to fight them one-on-one."
"You think I'm holding you back?" Ames narrowed her eyes.
"... A little." Han Xiao was quite honest at this moment, too lazy to make excuses.
Ames's eyes twitched. After thinking for a moment, she seemed unable to refute it.
She wasn't one to argue unreasonably. She glared at Han Xiao, then turned and flew towards Earth Ring Planet.
On the other side, Hila tilted her head and thought for a moment, then held up three fingers.
"Three times."
"What, three times?" Han Xiao asked, puzzled.
"I missed the chance to fight a powerful figure from the Mechanic Emperor, so you must spar with me three times afterward. You cannot refuse whenever I ask."
"Fine, fine, I'll do whatever you say, not just three times, but thirty times." Han Xiao said helplessly.
"Okay, thirty times it is a deal!"
Hila nodded in satisfaction and, without saying a word, immediately led her fleet to follow Ames.
Han Xiao's eyelids twitched; he was utterly speechless.
This crazy woman's maniacal fighting tendencies are becoming increasingly exaggerated, and she's somehow learned to take advantage of others' misfortunes. He strongly condemns this opportunistic behavior.
The reason for sending Ames and Hila was to try to trigger Beyond Grade A challenge mission. Otherwise, given Han Xiao's thick skin and steadiness, he wouldn't have bothered with a one-on-one fight; he would have already swarmed in for a righteous brawl.
Suppressing his urge to complain, Han Xiao looked at Old Manison again and said in a deep voice:
"Alright, now that no one's bothering us, this is a rare opportunity. Since we've run into each other today, we should definitely get to know each other better."
Manison watched as Ames and Hila landed on the Earth Ring Planet without interference.
He knew that stopping Black Star was futile unless he defeated him.
Seeing that Han Xiao was left alone, Manison slowly said:
"The three of you together could give me some trouble, but you actually want to fight me one-on-one? You've really shown some skill."
"Oh, you're making it sound like I lost to you last time, but I seem to remember we drew?"
Manison laughed twice, his laughter devoid of any emotion.
"Black Star, you should know better than me how much of your 'battle record' is fabricated. Do you really think you could have fought me to a draw without a dozen or so people helping you this time?"
"A draw? No, no, no, I didn't think so." Han Xiao narrowed his eyes. "I'm here in my true form today. My goal is to destroy your Dominion avatar. It's time to break my record."
"Heh, I admit, your special technique of burning potential can indeed temporarily hold you off against me, but that's all. Defeat me? Train for another hundred years! Besides, how much potential do you have left to squander? If that's all the confidence you have, I reckon you're going to be in a sorry state today."
How will you know if you don't try?
Han Xiao narrowed his eyes, his body trembled, Mechanical Force flickered, and energy concentration soared as he quickly entered battle mode.
Seeing this, Manison shook his head, his Mechanical Force surged, and his strength also began to rise steadily. The golden Mechanical Force seemed to plate the metal body of the Dominion's clone with gold.
"Looks like I'm in luck today, and I'll get a pleasant surprise. Since you dare to face me in your true form, I'll gladly accept the Space-Time Amber as your apology."