This is really not mechanical ascension-Chapter 63 - Qin Xiao’s Little Moves - The Lame Returns (Please Subscribe for the First Time!)

“Is that so…” Li Ming paused mid-action, thinking the old fox was really up to a lot of tricks.

“What do you think?”

Old Yang was indifferent, “What’s this about safety?

I’ve been living here for decades and nothing has happened.

All the neighbors are here.

If I moved, I wouldn’t be used to it.”

After a bit of idle chatter, Yang Yu mentioned something, “I heard from a teacher that among the Blue Star personnel accompanying the interstellar inspection team, there is a professor from the Capital University of Science and Technology with high prestige.”

“He has entrusted the Silver Grey Star Education Department to meet some of us who have already been accepted into the Capital University of Science and Technology.”

“Professor?” Li Ming heard for the first time about the Blue Star accompanying members from Yang Yu; he hadn’t expected that.

“Yes…

Wu Yanqing, Professor Wu,” Yang Yu said with anticipation, “His gene seed purification theories were once included in several interstellar laboratories.

It even started a craze across the stars.”

“However, it seems to have been debunked in the past two years, and his reputation in the stars has waned.

It’s a shame he stopped mentoring students years ago, or it would have been great to be one of his students.”

Yang Yu sighed, clearly not holding out much hope.

Li Ming just listened and didn’t pay much attention as he returned home.

……

Outside Silver Grey City

Hum!

A silver-white gull-winged spaceship hovered above the sand dunes, the glowing blue antigravity rings stirring up swirls of sand.

The hatch opened, and several figures jumped down.

“Just one month has passed, and the planet has already changed so much,” the old man with the pipe remarked with emotion.

“Although the Sixth Patrol Fleet is a bunch of good-for-nothings, they’re certainly sufficient to suppress this place.”

“Let’s find our target quickly.

If we’re cornered by the Sixth Patrol Fleet here, we’ll be in trouble.”

“Understood.”

……

“Old Li, your son is really something else.

You must have been fooling me on purpose, afraid he would follow this path,” the limping man muttered as he walked through the silent sewers.

Suddenly, he stopped and looked up, “Hmm, this should be the place.”

The bed was silently pushed aside, and the limping man looked around with a sense of nostalgia.

“Old Li, once again… fuck!”

The limping man shuddered, seeing a figure leaning against the door frame.

Li Ming’s eyes were strange, “Uncle Limp, you really do have a unique way of making an entrance.”

“You little…” the limping man’s face reddened, annoyed by his earlier blunder.

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But then a terrifying thought struck him.

The last time he came here, Li Ming hadn’t noticed him at all and slept like a log.

But this time, it was as if Li Ming had been waiting for him, and moreover, he hadn’t detected his presence at all up until now.

This kid…

had improved too quickly.

“You could at least say something when you visit,” Li Ming said, almost ready to take action just now.

The limping man eyed Li Ming up and down but didn’t speak.

In a flash, he disappeared from the spot.

Li Ming’s gaze shifted slightly, and he disappeared as well, Bang!

A dull thud echoed through the air, and seconds later, the limping man returned to his original spot, with Li Ming doing the same.

“Good kid!” the limping man said, eyes full of astonishment, “How are you an E-Rank Life Form!?”

From a simple test, he had gauged Li Ming’s current strength.

Not only that, he found Li Ming’s martial skills and habits to be very familiar.

It was as if Li Ming was carved from the same mold as Li Changhai.

Fuck, that bastard Old Li really had been hiding things from me, claiming his son was no good at this or that, yet in secret, he had already passed on all his skills.

“To put it simply, I’m a genius,” Li Ming said frankly.

The limping man choked, “Where did you get your E-Rank gene seed from?”

“The Guard Department gave it to me.”

“You joined the Guard?” the limping man found it even more unbelievable.

“Haven’t you watched the news?” asked Li Ming, puzzled.

“Who pays attention to news from such a backwater place?”

Li Ming brought out his smart device and started playing a video.

“…

My father has always taught me…

to be brave, to be strong…”

The limping man watched for a while, then looked up at Li Ming, then down at the device again, and then up again.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asked, puzzled.

The cripple was silent for a long time before he spoke in a deep voice, “Is Li Changhai really sure that you are his biological son?”

Li Ming’s smile did not reach his eyes, “What kind of question is that?

Why don’t you go down and ask him yourself?”

The cripple sighed, “Li Changhai is honest and silent.

Growing up by his side, how did you become like this?”

Li Ming did not pursue the topic and instead asked, “Why have you come back?”

“With all the commotion you’ve caused, how could I not come back?” The cripple suddenly realized something and asked again, “That’s not right, how did your development progress so quickly?”

“Like I said, I’m a genius.”

The cripple was speechless and changed the subject, “The stir you’ve caused is too big.

You’d best keep it small, in case that group of people take notice, it will become troublesome.”

“You’re late in saying that, I’ve already killed one,” Li Ming said lightly.

“…” The cripple didn’t know what to feel, overwhelmed by the shock of the day, and then appeared frightened, “They’ve already come?”

“Only one came, and he seemed to think I was an easy target.

The others should be arriving soon,” Li Ming said casually.

“Aren’t you afraid?” The cripple stared at Li Ming but failed to find any sign of fear or unease.

“Would being afraid help?” Li Ming retorted.

The cripple fell silent again, a complicated expression crossing his face—helplessness, sighs, and a hint of despair?

Li Ming shrugged, “Uncle Cripple, just tell me—who are you guys, who are they, and what on earth is going on?”

“This matter…” The cripple opened his mouth, then closed it, seemingly at a loss for where to start.

Sighing, he said, “It’s a clichéd story.”

“Your father and I used to be soldiers from Blue Star, then a big shot took notice of us, and we joined a secret squad to carry out some dirty deeds.”

“…”

The cripple recounted slowly that they were not some ace squad nor did they have any earth-shattering, heart-wrenching stories but were an assassination squad named “Owl Dragon,” specializing in dirty work.

The story ended with a political extermination of a family.

The youngest heir of an old political family on Blue Star survived and, with the aid of an advanced civilization, made a comeback.

The time span was long, and “Owl Dragon” had already been disbanded for five or six years.

“So, all of you retirees need to be wiped out too?” Li Ming frowned.

The cripple sighed, “Yes, he is now a high-ranking official on Blue Star.

With just one word from him, many resources would be mobilized to help him do the job.”

After hearing the story, Li Ming’s emotions hardly fluctuated—it was just a matter of revenge.

“They are called ‘Ash.’ Each squad has about five people, and the squad leader’s strength is certainly no less than the target for elimination.

Your father is an E-level Life Form; they probably won’t exceed him,” the cripple emphasized out of fear that Li Ming might not take it seriously:

“Even E-level Life Forms have their strengths and weaknesses.

An energy level gap couldn’t be bridged even if you threw in 10 F-level Life Forms.”

With a sigh of sorrow, the cripple added, “What’s more important is that even though they act in the shadows, they can still covertly access a lot of official resources.”

“You are in the light, they are in the shadows; this is troublesome.”

“I understand,” Li Ming nodded and said in a low voice, “Actually, I already have a plan.

It’s just a bit difficult to implement on my own.

With you here, it should be much easier.”

“Let’s hear it,” the cripple said, not very concerned as Li Ming was still quite young, and the plan might have many holes.

But as Li Ming went on, the cripple’s face gradually changed, and in the end, he stared wide-eyed at Li Ming, “You…

are ruthless indeed.”

“Just tell me if it can be done or not.”

After deep thought, the cripple nodded, “Brutally simple, but indeed feasible.

If it works, it will cause a huge stir, and those people will probably be on pins and needles.”

“In that case, Uncle Cripple, please get ready.”

The two discussed the details late into the night.

They decided to act separately, as it was unsafe to stay here any longer.

To avoid any mishaps, Li Ming decided to head to the City Defense Building first.

But Yang Laoshi and Yang Yu…

“Don’t worry, they have the same rules as we did back in the day.

They only eliminate the target, avoiding additional trouble.

The more people they kill, the bigger the mess they have to clean up,” the cripple explained:

“They also aren’t recorded.

If they are caught, they are responsible for their own actions.”

Arriving at the City Defense Building, the overall atmosphere was very tense.

The counterattack from the Bounty Hunters had become increasingly severe.

He chatted with a few members of the special operations teams.

In the past two days, over a dozen city guards, all F-level Life Forms, had died.

The Wild Dog Gang and the Rose Society also suffered heavy losses, with many of their officers being claimed for bounties.

“Sigh, those Bounty Hunters are truly desperate, doing whatever it takes.

TMD, can you imagine hiding a bomb inside your stomach?” a colleague with a severed arm cursed angrily, tugging at his wound and grimacing in pain.

Bounty Hunters engage in businesses where they lick blood off knife-edges; their desperate measures outnumber anyone else’s.

The next day, bright and early, he couldn’t wait to check the progress of his gene development.

“Still at 1%.

As expected, this passive type of development is incredibly slow.”

Developing an E-level gene seed requires harsher conditions, at the very least the kind of private training room found in the City Defense Building.

The fact that he could accumulate over time was already freakish.

By mid-afternoon, Li Ming, with a changed appearance, left the City Defense Building to collect his six tons of Zircon Crystal Alloy.

Along the way, Li Ming was extremely cautious, estimating that the people from “Ash” should have already arrived.

He carefully covered his tracks to avoid ambushes.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected occurred until he absorbed the metal energy and returned to the City Defense Building.

His depleted metal energy was now replenished, reaching 6633 points, which greatly relieved Li Ming, enough to meet any unexpected needs.

That evening, Minister Qin delivered an internal speech and called together members of the special operations teams.