Star Ocean: Starting from the Abandoned Mining Space Station.

Chapter 363 Natural Disaster
After finishing all the work in the Mechanical Clan Star Territory.

Chen Ming's consciousness returned to the several bodies he had before he stepped into the trap set by the mechanical clan.

His prosthetic body at the front immediately opened its eyes.

But he was no longer in the command room, but on a hospital bed.

He was taken to the hospital.

Baiquan's voice sounded from the side: "You are awake, the doctor said you are in very good health."

Chen Ming sat up and waved to Bai Quan.

"If you have anything you want to ask, don't rush to ask. I need to talk to a few people and I'll tell them all then."

"Okay, who do you want to see?"

"It would be better if we have more people in the army who are related to psychic energy and two dimensions. Also, call Qiu Bowen."

"Qiu Bowen may not be available."

Baiquan said: "He needs command. The counterattack of the mechanical tribe has suddenly become fierce just now."

"It's okay. This is just the last struggle of the mechanical tribe. We can fight you freely after we survive this wave."

Bai Quan was about to ask Chen Ming how he knew that, but then he remembered what Chen Ming said, "Don't ask."

So he really didn't ask, but just said, "Then I'll go prepare the connection."

But Chen Ming stopped him again and said, "No, I need to have an offline meeting."

Bai Quan was puzzled and asked, "You are looking for so many people, how can you hold a meeting offline?"

"Just find the president."

Bai Quan's expression suddenly became serious. The content of a meeting that required the president of the Psychic Society to personally convene would definitely not be simple.

At the same time Chen Ming's prosthesis woke up.

At the headquarters' ship research institute, Chen Ming's robot also returned to its previous state.

The meeting room was still the same as before.

After noticing the robot moving, the two research institute directors immediately looked at Chen Ming and said, "You're finally back. We've just discussed the results..."

But Chen Ming waved his hand: "Don't talk about this in a hurry, I have something more important to tell you."

Ten minutes later.

Chen Ming efficiently called together all the people he thought needed to be called.

Some people affiliated with the Empire and the Fanchao Research Institute, including the Minister of the Psychic Department, were also called by Chen Ming.

Except for those who were already in the Fanchao Research Institute, everyone else appeared in the Fanchao Research Institute with the help of the president's psychic power.

This is a position designated by the Minister of Psionics.

The research institute also has a conference room, so they just gave it to Chen Ming for use.

Although the Empire's attitude towards Chen Ming had already been determined, it would be treated coldly and left alone. Chen Ming could do whatever he wanted as long as he didn't mess around.

However, when Chen Ming took the initiative to say that there was important news that needed to be announced, he also asked the president to help lead the team.

And just like he said last time, he has never taken the initiative to cause trouble.

No matter what, the person Chen Ming is looking for has to give him some face.

Of course, An Wuping was also called over.

All I can say is that it was fortunate that it was night time when An Wuping was there, and Chen Ming was resting when he regained consciousness, otherwise something might have gone wrong.

How can I continue to chat with the Minister of Psychic Power about the sharing of biotechnology like I am now?

Even the boss was brought over by the president and sat next to the president, watching silently.

The meeting room was soon full and the number of people did not increase any further.

The president didn't seem to have any intention of continuing to use his psychic powers.

Originally, he didn't want to come, after all, the mechanical tribe was counterattacking fiercely, but considering that what Chen Ming said might be important in ten minutes, Qiu Bowen came with Bai Quan and asked the president next to him, "Where is Chen Ming?"

The president said, "He said he would come here by himself."

As soon as the president finished speaking, Chen Ming pushed open the door of the conference room and walked in.

The average person in the conference room didn't see the problem.

But a hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of several psychics, except for the boss and the president.

They understood Chen Ming's situation instantly.

The head of the Psychic Department, Luo Yi, was the first to greet Chen Ming and said, "Mr. Chen Ming, we meet again so soon. How did you do this?"

"You'll know soon."

Chen Ming greeted everyone in the conference room.

He looked at An Wuping, then stared at Luo Yi for a few seconds, then came to the main seat at the conference table.

He inserted a storage unit into the computer and began to play in the conference room the entire process of him causing trouble in the Mechanical Clan's territory.

Only some of these videos were recorded by Chen Ming himself.

The rest was to rely on the spiritual connection between the Queen Worm and Chen Ming to share vision, and then use the device to read the Queen Worm's memory and record the images and sounds.

In this way, even if Chen Ming's body is destroyed, the subsequent situation can still be fully recorded.

"As you can see, I led the Zerg fleet to attack the capital of the Mechanoids."

"As for why I was able to directly attack the capital of the Mechanical Clan, I have compiled a document of what An Wuping and I have done in the Mechanical Clan Star Region in recent times and placed it on the computer in front of you. If you are interested, you can take a look at it yourself. I will continue."

Everyone in the conference room turned on their computers in unison and looked at An Wuping beside them at the same time.

An Wuping picked up the water cup in front of him and took a sip silently without saying anything.

This acquiescence made everyone present think deeply.

And when all the people in the conference room who could read quickly finished reading the document placed by Chen Ming, which outlined the battle results created by the Zerg in the past few days.

Those who were originally wondering what Chen Ming was going to do all stopped whispering and discussing at once.

At the same time, they couldn't help but look at An Wuping twice more.

The power possessed by the Zerg fleet seems really terrifying.

However, the protagonist of this meeting is Chen Ming.

So everyone turned their attention to the video Chen Ming put on the big screen in the conference room.

The video is being played at a faster speed.

The whole process of Chen Ming's attack on the capital of the Mechanical Clan was quickly reviewed.

Looking at the screen, there were only nine motherships and a large number of destroyers and escort fleets, and not a single cruiser that the mechanical race could mobilize.

Everyone can basically confirm that everything on the computer is real.

However, Chen Ming's focus was obviously on when he successfully reached the surface of the planet and discovered the surface equipment and underground laboratories.

So these contents were quickly skipped over.

And when Chen Ming passed through the destruction area and entered the laboratory.

He explained: "That is the destructive core of the machine race's destroyer."

The existence of the Destroyer was mentioned by Chen Ming a long time ago.

Previously, the Mechanical Clan had used the Destroyer to clash with the Black Mist Zerg.

Therefore, the Empire, which has been monitoring the Black Mist Zerg, has certainly seen the effects of the Destroyer in action.

Know how powerful the Destroyer is.

So when everyone heard Chen Ming say this, everyone suddenly became alert.

"What are they going to do with the Destroyer?"

"Isn't this obvious? A trap."

In the video, Chen Ming decisively stepped into the trap prepared for him by the mechanical clan and came into contact with the core of destruction.

A turbulent wave of destruction swept through Chen Ming in an instant, but Chen Ming did not seem to have changed at all.

"The power released by this thing..."

"That's enough to kill me multiple times, right? But I'm still alive, just in a different state than before."

Baiquan didn't quite understand the conversation between the psychics, so he asked, "Why is it different?"

Chen Ming extended his hand to Bai Quan and said, "Shake hands."

Bai Quan didn't understand what Chen Ming meant, but he still reached out his hand.

But his hand went straight through Chen Ming's body and landed in the air.

"this!"

"As you can see, my physical body is gone, and what remains is only my consciousness."

"But you just now..."

"That's a prosthesis made by An Wuping, for temporary use. Why do you think I ran to the legion when I was still weak? It's obvious that I have the confidence."

Baiquan seemed to be worried about something strange.

"Don't worry, no matter which body it is, it's the same. An Wuping also has my genes stored there. If necessary, he can help me create a stronger body."

Everyone looked at An Wuping again.

Seeing An Wuping take a sip of the freshly brewed tea and nod slightly, everyone turned their attention back to Chen Ming.

Luo Yi asked meaningfully: "So you are different from An Wuping?"

Although this question had a very clear direction, answering it would obviously help Chen Ming explain a lot of things, so he answered it truthfully.

"Not exactly the same. He relies on the hive mind network to achieve the aggregation and splitting of consciousness, while I am a purely independent consciousness. Of course, I do master the honeycomb network technology of the mechanical race."

"Keep watching, the key lies in what comes later."

Although his body collapsed, Chen Ming still struggled to control the core of destruction.

It's just that the people in the conference room couldn't figure out what this meant.

After all, just by watching the video recording, you can't tell that the power of the destructive core is acting on space and destroying the barriers between spaces.

They could only see that Chen Ming seemed to be very interested in the Destruction Core, and he was still holding on to it even after his body was destroyed.

However, Chen Ming was not in a hurry to explain, because the leader of the phase beasts soon appeared.

When the first mechanical mothership was suddenly split into two by an inexplicable force, the video perspective switched to space and then to phase space.

The scene where Chen Ming was integrating his own strength during this period of time was cut off, so that everyone in the conference room could only see the process of the phase beast leader wreaking havoc.

Several people from the research institute became excited at once and wanted to say something to Chen Ming.

However, Chen Ming did not give them a chance and gestured for them to continue watching.

When the patriarch destroyed all the motherships of the mechanical clan, it entered the surface of the planet.

It landed near Chen Ming, and the view returned to Chen Ming.

Just switched back to the perspective.

From Chen Ming's perspective, he saw a bloody mouth swallowing his consciousness.

A few seconds later.

The body of the Phase Behemoth Chief, who had just destroyed nine motherships of the Mechanical Clan with extremely powerful means, suddenly froze and almost lost his life in an instant.

"What the hell..."

Qiu Bowen, who knew the combat capability of the mechanical mothership best, subconsciously wanted to swear, but he restrained himself.

Chen Ming explained: "I tested its consciousness strength, and it was clear that its consciousness strength was not good enough."

"By the way, this phase behemoth leader has entered the scarlet dimension for about a few minutes."

"So although its power has become stronger, its consciousness is close to collapse, so it is not difficult to deal with it."

"That's nothing, what comes next is the key point."

Chen Ming eliminated the patriarch, suppressed the core of destruction, and repaired the damage to the core of destruction.

Nature also took away the core of destruction.

And when the destruction core left its original location.

The collapsed space gap finally appeared on the screen.

Although the cracks in space were being repaired by something, several psychics and researchers studying space technology present immediately sensed something was wrong.

Luo Yi asked again: "What is this?"

"This is a gap in the spatial barrier created by the Destruction Core, connecting the Phase Space... and the Scarlet Dimension."

"what!"

"Isn't it?!"

There was a commotion in the meeting room.

Chen Ming said nothing and waited silently for the others to finish arguing.

After the meeting room quieted down, he said, "I don't think I need to lie to people. It won't do me any good."

Luo Yi hesitated for half a second between believing and not believing, and finally chose to believe. He also directly grasped the crux of the problem and asked: "Does this mean..."

"Yes, the Scarlet Dimension has been able to lock the location of this dimension through this gap. The sequelae of the dimensional infection will begin to expand from this gap and will never stop."

"What I'm doing is using the consciousness of the Phase Beast Patriarch - it does this by itself - to temporarily repair this gap, as you can see."

"temporary?"

"Yes, it's only temporary. We need someone to guard and repair this place all the time. Otherwise, once this gap collapses, you can probably guess the consequences."

"Even if you have sealed it off, will the aftereffects of the dimensional infection still occur?"

"Yes, but there is also good news. This place has cracks in three dimensions at the same time. It is also a very interesting place. It should be used for research. It is just a little dangerous..."

The director of the Legion's Psychic Research Institute said subconsciously: "This is not a question of whether it is dangerous or not, right?"

Chen Ming spread his hands and said, "It's a good thing that the Destruction Core was exploded in the Mechanical Clan's star field, otherwise the gap would have appeared in the Empire, which would have been even more troublesome."

“Is there any way to eradicate it?”

"I don't know. This will take time to study, both my time and your time."

"I think it's not enough for me to do this alone. The whole empire must work together to study it."

“That’s why I’m informing everyone here.”

"Otherwise, if we continue to allow this gap to remain, the final result will not be dimensional infection, but dimensional invasion."

“That was a true natural disaster.”

"I know you all have your doubts, but I've already told you the coordinates. You can check them out yourself if you want. Take safety precautions."

"One more thing."

Chen Ming finished playing the video and took out a storage unit the size of a brick.

"I also got something from the Mechanical Clan's territory."

This storage unit contains the star map that Chen Ming got from the mechanical clan.

The people in the conference room suddenly felt a headache. A storage unit the size of the tip of a little finger can maintain the basic operation of a cruiser.

What is stored in such a brick-sized storage unit?
The size of the storage unit that Chen Ming used when playing the video just now was very normal, so he was definitely not playing tricks by taking out the brick at this time.

Chen Ming modified the computer and connected this ordinary office computer to the external server he usually used, which made it convenient for him to open files and prevented the computer from being burned.

Even so, everyone in the conference room waited for a long time before the files in the storage unit were completely opened.

"have a look."

“This is our universe.”

This star map document records data on a vast cosmic structure.

And within this cosmic structure lies everything that the Empire occupies, and much, much more.

That's why Chen Ming didn't react at first when he saw it just now.

Because there are a large number of galaxies on this star map that are beyond the Empire's field of view and cannot be reached under normal circumstances, that is, beyond the range of the Empire's observable universe.

Of course, it is not completely impossible for the current empire to observe, but it just needs to use some superluminal means.

It was not until Chen Ming discovered the territory of the empire on this star map that he realized he was seeing a more vast world.

But it’s more than that.

When Chen Ming just got the star map, he found that the location of the empire had been marked on the star map.

Also marked out are the locations of the areas occupied by all the mechanical clans.

All, or rather, all in the universe covered by this star map file.

Close to the border of the empire.

Some are hundreds of millions, billions or even tens of billions of light years away.

All we can say is that the mechanical race exists almost everywhere in the entire star map.

No matter how remote, small or barren the place is, they can be found.

No matter how carefully you look or how much you expand your vision, all you can see are the mechanical race.

The only creatures that exist on this star map are the mechanical race.

And the human empire seems to be surrounded by an endless number of machines.

Chen Ming had just searched carefully, but he could not find any trace of other civilizations on this star map.

He didn't know whether the mechanical race had no records, or the universe was really lonely, and only humans had developed civilization.

He would rather believe the latter.

Because although the mechanical race is a brutal race, their brutality is only directed at humans.

Academically, it is believed that the mechanical race is targeting humanoid creatures, because according to the remains of the Shining Civilization discovered by the Empire, the main species of the Shining Civilization is likely to be humanoid creatures.

Moreover, the mechanical race has no special hatred towards ordinary creatures, and they can coexist with indigenous creatures on some habitable planets.

Although because the mechanical race's own nanorobots produce toxic substances when operating, the planet with a mechanical colony will sooner or later become a planet that is highly toxic to living things.

But they certainly don't deliberately target ordinary creatures.

Therefore, Chen Ming felt that the mechanical race would most likely not harm other creatures. In the universe, there was really only one civilization, human beings.

Of course, the Yuhui next door is not yet civilized, and they are at risk of being taken over by the Empire at any time.

In short, countless star fields on this star map are occupied by the mechanical race.

The distance between some mechanical tribes is so far that they are unable to communicate with each other and can only have basic understanding of each other.

Even the closest group of mechanical people that provided reinforcements to the mechanical people here is more distant from the mechanical people here than the diameter of the area occupied by the entire empire.

The distance between the mechanical clans is still quite far.

However, when the number and coverage of the mechanical clan are expanded to a certain scale, the power is really too huge compared to the imperial mechanical clan.

And that's just the observable universe.

In that deeper and darker universe, no one knows what exists.

The star map file was zoomed in and out, fully displaying the same mechanical races in different places and the empire surrounded by numerous mechanical races.

The more people in the conference room looked at it, the more silent they became.

If it was in the past, it would be fine.

But now, the empire has just begun to rediscover its pioneering spirit and wants to restart the pioneering era, but heavy shackles and chains are now placed around the empire's neck.

This is a heavy blow to any ambitious person.

"This is something I got from the Mechanical Tribe. You know what the Mechanical Tribe is like."

"If one mechanical race knows about it, then all mechanical races know about it."

"The mechanical race here is on its last legs. You might as well guess whether they will do something? Maybe soon..."

Luo Yi added on behalf of Chen Ming: "The mechanical race will unite and launch an extermination campaign against the empire. Given the way the mechanical race does things, I have no doubt that they will really do this."

"If such a large number of mechanical races were to unite... it would be a disaster for the empire."

"This is also a natural disaster, a natural disaster that poses a more real threat to the empire than the dimensional invasion."

Luo Yi glanced at An Wuping and suddenly felt relieved.

Fortunately, they still maintained a fairly friendly relationship with An Wuping, and An Wuping did not lose his mind or his sense of being a human being in the process of getting along with the Zerg.

Otherwise, the empire might have to face a third natural disaster, and it would be one that was imminent.

Chen Ming glanced at everyone present and said, "I don't think anyone would say this is my problem, right?"

"Even if the mechanical race didn't intend to target me, their destructive core was there, and it would have caused today's result sooner or later."

"The Mechanical Race has long known about the Empire, so if the Empire invades the Mechanical Race, it will certainly be counterattacked by the Mechanical Race."

"No one wants to cause trouble for me, right?"

"of course not."

Luo Yi also knew that Chen Ming was annoyed by all kinds of people, so he immediately made a promise to him.

Chen Ming nodded: "Okay, then this is what I called you all here to talk about today."

"That's it. If you have any questions about the details, you can ask me now or later."

"If you want to quickly verify whether what I said is true or not, I have a quick method here."

"Meeting dismissed."

(End of this chapter)