When outsiders mention Manison's power, they generally refer to it as "the Mechanic Emperor," "the Machine Race," or simply by Manison's name. His name itself represents his power; there is no organization with a name like "XX."
The territory of the Manison is located somewhere in the Ancient Star Desert. It is nominally under the jurisdiction of a star system civilization, but in reality, it is territory controlled by the Manison.
Han Xiao's Dominion avatar, accompanied by a mechanical army, came to visit Manison. He had sent a private message beforehand to arrange a meeting, which Manison agreed to. The meeting was to be held on a planet inhabited by the Machine Race. He controlled many planets, and this was just one of them.
The Dominion's avatar arrived at its destination, where a mechanical planet came into view. A huge Psionic Energy shield enveloped the planet, and a large number of mechanical soldiers patrolled the outer space around the clock. At a rough glance, there were probably three or four hundred million of them, and this was only the outer patrol team of one planet.
"That old man is indeed an old man; he's certainly got a lot of money."
Han Xiao clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Manison's sphere of influence is vast, with mechanical factories and legions deployed in multiple star systems, and an established mechanical civilization serving as a crucial support. The exact size of his forces remains a mystery, with the major powers only knowing that it is an astronomical number.
Han Xiao's troops didn't have to wait long before the planet's protective shield opened a gap, and a squad of Manison's mechanical warriors came forward to lead the way.
Following the guide, the Dominion's avatar slowly descended, and the terrain became increasingly clear in its view.
This is one of the planets inhabited by the Machine Race. You can see cities situated on the land, and tiny pedestrians moving about in the streets. These are all Machine Race.
Manison was the second Beyond Grade A in the history of the Machine Race. Although he had transformed into a new species, he still regarded the Machine Race as his own and served as the leader of the group.
However, unlike Sisko, who values his race, he sees the Machine Race as merely an important resource, without much sense of responsibility or sentiment towards them.
As a race with Beyond Grade A heritage, the Machine Race possesses superior mechanical talent, providing Manison with a large number of high-quality personnel. Many of his mechanics are from the Machine Race. Furthermore, over 80% of the Machine Race population are staunch believers in the Mechanic Faith.
After a while, a group of aircraft flew around and soon a huge mechanical floating island came into view. This was one of Manison's palaces.
The Dominion's clones, along with their mechanical forces, landed on the landing platform of the floating island.
Ding ding ding ding...
The sole of his foot struck the ground with a heavy metallic clang.
As soon as I landed, I heard people talking not far away.
"Hehe, Black Star, it's a bit unexpected that you would take the initiative to visit me."
A series of clattering footsteps were heard, and Manison's Dominion clone walked over. This time, it was not the real Manison who came to meet him.
Seeing this, Han Xiao sneered inwardly.
Ha, you little rascal, what a coward.
After silently muttering a complaint, Han Xiao composed himself and said:
"Hello, I was invited to visit you a few years ago, but I kept putting it off. I happened to be passing by recently, so I came to check in."
His tone was calm, making no mention of the unpleasantness between the two. The electronic voice of the Dominion clone was equally emotionless, revealing no emotion whatsoever.
Manison smiled and didn't mention the previous grudge.
He defeated more than one Divine Throne Mechanic, and in the eyes of a big shot like him, the conflict in this regard hadn't reached the point where they would fight to the death on the spot.
One thing at a time. People at this level, even if there is competition, can still sit down and talk things out calmly.
"In that case, come with me, I'll show you around my base."
Manison turned and led the way.
Due to the last virtual duel, the relationship between the two sides had dropped to a freezing point, but Black Star was, after all, a Peak Beyond Grade A, and since he had come all the way to visit him, Manison would not be impolite, much less refuse to see him.
The two toured the base, seeing only common base facilities and nothing particularly special. Manison had no interest in revealing his various trump cards to a potential competitor, just as Han Xiao hadn't shown him the Space-Time Amber.
Han Xiao had anticipated this and knew that Manison wasn't the type to flaunt his cards, so he didn't harbor any other illusions. His main purpose for this trip was to happily get down to business.
After taking a short walk around, he and Manison went into the conference room, sat down together, and started discussing the main topic.
"Since everyone's using clones, there's no need for drinks." Manison leaned back in his chair and said casually, "What brings you here today?"
"I'd like to borrow some information," Han Xiao said slowly.
In what aspect?
"I would like to borrow the classified personnel files of the four supercluster civilizations of the Ancient Star Desert and other star cluster-level civilizations."
Manison was somewhat surprised and straightened up slightly.
What do you need this for?
"Looking for someone."
Han Xiao's words were concise and to the point.
He has already gathered the information needed for the plan. On the list of the dead, there were indeed people who had falsified their resumes. The next step is to compare them with the classified personnel files, and the Mechanic Emperor is the best choice for this.
The Ancient Star Desert were not a crippled civilization like the Kunde Race, but a genuine supercluster-level civilization, second only to the Three Universal Civilizations in technological strength.
Hacking in personally is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also has a low success rate. Even if you manage to get in, you could be discovered at any time and not obtain complete data... Taking action hastily is unlikely to lead to any reckless behavior.
Moreover, there are more than one file to compare. To complete the screening, all four super-star clusters would have to be hacked. Even if the perpetrator is found, the other three would be offended. If they are not found, it would be even worse. Wouldn't that be making enemies for no reason? Han Xiao doesn't want to do such a losing business.
On the other hand, Han Xiao also felt that the mastermind behind the scenes must have tampered with the files, possibly deleting the perpetrators' files. Even if he could hack in, it would be useless; he wouldn't be able to find a single clue.
The situation is different for the Mechanic Emperor. As a bigwig in the Federation of Light, his role in the Ancient Star Desert is essentially to keep things under control, and he has been constantly gathering intelligence for the Glory.
With four such good neighbors, Old Mike next door is so engrossed in his work that he occasionally sneaks over to their houses to steal and back up a large number of confidential documents from various periods... Therefore, in the Mechanic Emperor, one can obtain the complete files of four supercluster-level civilizations before they were altered.
After thinking for a few seconds, Manison shook his head and said, "Lending is out of the question. I only accept trades."
"Okay, what do you want?"
"Space-Time Amber," Manison brought up the old story again.
"Impossible."
Han Xiao flatly refused.
You old devil, you're probably just dreaming.
You think you can trade a piece of intelligence for Universal Treasure? You're a real business genius, only the Heavenly Bank could accommodate a prodigy like you.
Not even one?
"Hehe."
Upon hearing this, Manison spread his hands and remained silent, his meaning clear... If you don't accept my price, then what conditions are you going to propose?
Han Xiao thought for a moment, "I can publicly declare that I support you as the strongest mechanic in the universe."
"I am who I am, why should I need your support?" Manison retorted.
"Wouldn't it be better to further solidify your position?"
"I don't need it." Manison waved his hand.
Do we, a glorious Mechanic Emperor, need online trolls? That's ridiculous!
Han Xiao stroked his chin. "Or we can make an agreement: for the next fifty years, I won't challenge your position."
Upon hearing this, Manison asked with interest, "You mean you think you only need fifty years to surpass me?"
"Anything is possible." Han Xiao remained noncommittal.
Manison chuckled softly and said calmly, "No need. I don't need this method to secure my position."
Han Xiao leaned forward. "How about I consider it a favor I owe you?"
"Only favors that need to be repaid have value. Judging from our relationship... your favor means nothing to me."
Manison shook his head, indicating that you were no longer within his circle of friends.
He paused, then, without waiting for Han Xiao's reply, spoke again slowly:
"Fine, I can give you the information you want, but you can't give me what I want. Let the Crimson Dynasty talk to me."
Han Xiao feigned hesitation, "In that case, how about I try to persuade the Empire to provide you with a long-term supply of Evolutionary Totem?"
Manison wasn't interested. "You'd be more interested in giving me the Evolution Cube."
"Are you awake or asleep right now?" Han Xiao asked, puzzled.
Manison, thick-skinned and unconcerned, said, "But totems are useless to me."
"Are you sure?" Han Xiao tapped the table. "You yourself don't need the totem, but you still lead the Machine Race. The totem is still useful to them, isn't it?"
Upon hearing this, Manison began to make plans.
Seeing this, Han Xiao shrugged. "No matter how much you offer, I can't give you that. You need to understand that other forces have obtained some of the secrets of these civilizations through various channels. What you have is just more complete, not unique. If you don't agree to this condition, then this deal has to be void."
"Alright, I agree." Manison nodded slightly.
He could get as much intelligence as he wanted with ease; it was a simple matter that required no cost. The extra reward of Evolutionary Totem was something Manison found acceptable.
Although he didn't value the deal, the totem was indeed somewhat useful to the Machine Race.
"Then it's settled. I'll go and try to get it from the Empire," Han Xiao said.
This is against the rules, but as long as the number of totems sold is controlled, the Empire won't get hung up on such trivial details.
Due to the suppression by the Glory and the Arcane, many totems are now circulating outside. Although the Empire does not sell them openly, it is not too inflexible if it can exchange them for the intelligence it needs. Given Han Xiao's status, these are all negotiable.
He originally intended to exchange the Evolutionary Totem for this intelligence. As for the verbal support and verbal agreement mentioned earlier, he dared to say it if Manison dared to agree.
Han Xiao wasn't as concerned with saving face as Heber. According to the plan, he still had a lot of room for advancement and didn't intend to continue fighting with the Mechanic Emperor. Therefore, he didn't care about such verbal promises. If Manison agreed, he could save the Evolutionary Totem.
Manison only knew that I had high potential, but he didn't know exactly how fast I was accumulating strength. His impression of me was still from our last encounter, and he didn't know that I had completely obtained [Perfect Mechanical Sense]. As long as we didn't fight, it would be difficult for him to find out... Han Xiao thought to himself.
I acquired this file as a reward for a mission from the Kunde Race. Manison probably thought it was just work for the Empire, unaware of the abilities I could gain from it.
The two reached a consensus, and Han Xiao then submitted an application to the Empire. The higher-ups knew that he was investigating the identity of the mastermind behind the scenes, and after some discussion, they decided to approve Han Xiao's application.
After discussing it for a while, they finalized the quantity of totems to be supplied, which was only a hundred or so, nothing serious.
Manison wouldn't get bogged down in such trivial details of the deal; he simply handed over the intelligence.
With the intelligence in hand, Han Xiao stood up. "The totem will be delivered soon. I'll be going now."
"Um."
Manison had no objections and watched Han Xiao leave before quietly withdrawing from the Quantum Network Vision.
Although he had defeated Black Star in the last virtual duel, it didn't mean that Manison was without any fear. He was worried that Han Xiao was prepared and would imitate him by launching a virtual invasion, so he had long taken precautions and reinforced the quantum network node here with layer upon layer, setting up traps.
Virtual mechanics of their caliber can only hack into the other side through direct confrontation; they have no way to bypass the firewall and remain undetected.
If Black Star refuses to back down and tries to invade, it will face dire consequences.
He hadn't expected that Han Xiao would come and go so quickly, without any intention of causing trouble, rendering all his preparations futile.
"It seems he really has no intention of continuing to fight me... The Empire must have done some ideological work on him."
Based on Han Xiao's performance just now, Manison had a guess and pondered silently.
As the spaceship moved away from the territory of the Machine Race, Han Xiao immediately took action, taking out the parameter model he had prepared beforehand, fitting it with the data he had already prepared, and beginning the matching process.
With the support of efficient computing power, the matching was completed quickly, and a target was identified.
"The Modo Civilization? It really is them."
Han Xiao glanced at it, raised an eyebrow, and saw on the screen that the perpetrator of this falsified resume was an intelligence agent from the Modo Civilization.
"If it's the Modo Civilization..."
Han Xiao searched his memory for a while, recalling some famous figures from the Modo Civilization. On a whim, he took out his communicator and contacted a number.
The call connected after two rings. Only soft breathing could be heard; the other party did not speak first.
"Rotel?"
"Exist."
"I came to the Ancient Star Desert with a mission, and I also have a gift and a book to give you."
"Good."
After exchanging a few brief words, he hung up the call; Rotel was a man of few words.
A reliable adult male doesn't need much instruction; you can call him over with just a word.
It can now be confirmed that the Modo Civilization was the instigator of the Kunde Race incident.
However, Han Xiao still doesn't know who the specific planner is.
But it doesn't matter, the mission requirement is to take revenge on the mastermind as much as possible.
Therefore, it's better to cut the Gordian knot quickly.
The Modo Civilization boasts numerous well-known figures from all walks of life, both present and future...
I'll rip you off!