This is really not mechanical ascension-Chapter 218 - 124 - Black eats black?

The smart terminal in his hand was already connected to the security system, allowing him to secretly monitor all surveillance and control the security devices.

Next, as long as he obtained the code from Luo Chuan, he could advance swiftly and directly.

He had only been swiping for a while when someone knocked on the door. Glancing at the wall-mounted window beside the door, he saw it was Chen Yan.

"Sela people."

Li Ming let her in, and after closing the door, Chen Yan revealed an answer that did not surprise Li Ming, and she further explained.

"The mastermind behind this should be that Sain. After Youke was killed, his status plummeted. Some believe he should be held responsible."

"Moreover, he was in charge of the previous conference, and then you thwarted him comprehensively. If he were not still within the borders of Jingnan, he would have already been taken down."

"He needs to do something to redeem himself."

"Redeem himself?" Li Ming’s gaze turned cold. The Sela Civilization had a fully valid reason; they did not want to sit idly by as Li Ming rose in power.

Youke was already dead, and their mindset had also subtly shifted.

He wondered if Chen Jinglong had found anything yet.

"There’s another thing. The senior management of Torch asked me to try and seduce you into helping us with a matter," Chen Yan hesitated.

"Hmm?" Li Ming snapped out of his thoughts, "What matter?"

"In about ten days, a spaceship will arrive at Jingnan Star, carrying some contraband. Given the current level of scrutiny, it’s bound to be discovered," Chen Yan explained, "The higher-ups want you to help us slip it through."

"The official excuse is that it’s something belonging to a friend of mine."

"Contraband? What kind of contraband..." Li Ming showed some interest.

"A batch of interstellar precious metals," Chen Yan’s answer surprised Li Ming.

"Interstellar precious metals?" Li Ming was slightly astonished, "Is that considered contraband?"

"In small quantities, no, but the amount in this batch seems a bit excessive."

Her words stirred something in Li Ming, who then asked, "What’s the use of transporting so much interstellar precious metal?"

"I’m not sure, it seems to have some special use," Chen Yan couldn’t provide a clear explanation and finally added:

"But my contact told me, if you’re too resistant, there’s no need to force this matter through."

"Oh..." Li Ming pondered and did not respond immediately, but said, "Let me think about it, they didn’t ask you for an immediate answer, right?"

"Hmm, I have to give them an answer by the latest in five days. If it doesn’t work out, they’ll find other methods," Chen Yan nodded.

Seeing that Li Ming only nodded without responding, Chen Yan was about to leave but he stopped her.

"Wait, it’s only been twelve minutes, wait another half hour."

Chen Yan looked bewildered, then her face darkened, speechless, and she could only sit down.

Li Ming ignored her, pondering covertly. Torch wanted to smuggle a large batch of interstellar precious metals; the emphasis on "large batch" was notable.

He was somewhat interested, even considering whether to bite back at them.

Finding a way to obtain metal energy was always his top priority. Now only thirty thousand units of metal energy remained, nearly depleted.

But recklessly contacting Torch always carried some risk.

"No, I’m supposed to be a figure on the right side of the law, still officially listed with the city guards. To truly make contact with such a terror organization, I’d need someone to vouch for me. If something went wrong, it’d be easier to claim I was undercover," Li Ming thought, momentarily stunned, as this was Qin Xiao’s tactic from before.

"It’s also time to see Chen Jinglong about the small-scale laboratory matter, to resolve it all at once and see what he thinks," Li Ming decided firmly.

The small-scale laboratory, unlike the large-scale laboratory, required a professor’s position and a series of strict requirements.

One could independently research a minor sub-branch, achieve some breakthroughs, but lack the resources to continue, and thus could apply for research funding from the University of Science and Technology to continue the research.

Millions worth of alloy materials, inflow without outflow, also could not withstand scrutiny, as several people had brought up this matter, which was a hazard, though not yet significant; it was better to resolve it sooner.

If he could secure this laboratory, future purchases of alloy materials would appear justified and reasonable.

Also, the small-scale laboratory could receive no more than forty million in research funds every six months.

As for how to explain past materials and apply for the small-scale laboratory, the Tan Guard Mecha was the answer.

Chen Yan watched as Li Ming’s expression changed continuously—sometimes furrowing his brows, sometimes sneering, which made her heart tremble.

After enduring for over twenty minutes, she could no longer sit still, spoke a few words to Li Ming, and hurriedly left.

Li Ming then accessed the Black Hole Network, found the Night Walker, and reluctantly looked away, thinking about purchasing another one. This time it wasn’t for killing but as an ace up his sleeve.

This device could temporarily elevate his life level by a significant tier. With the current convergence of events, having more aces was never wrong.

Regrettably, he was currently short on funds. After some thought, he went to find Luo Chuan, asking him to escort him on a trip.

Luo Chuan was in his office admonishing the security chief, who stood there with his head bowed, looking embarrassed. Seeing Li Ming enter, Luo Chuan waved the man out.

After closing the door, Luo Chuan spoke coldly, "You took a few days off, and your skills have slackened. I found out only after asking, that these past few days, the surveillance probes everywhere showed varying degrees of fluctuations, and the surveillance system even crashed once. I thought someone had infiltrated."

"They tried to fix it but couldn’t figure out what was wrong."

Upon hearing this, Li Ming’s eyes flickered, and Luo Chuan merely vented briefly, then quickly asked him why he was here. Learning that he was going to see the dean, Luo Chuan offered to escort him.

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