Starting as a Mechanical Hunter

Chapter 944: Chapter 50: Liberation Complex

The three black shadows appeared very abruptly; in fact, if Gao Gong’s angle hadn’t happened to be just right, he might not have noticed them at all.

The Collector turned his head, the corner of his eye twitching hard, his eyeballs popping out in a cartoonish way as he said:

”Silver hood... Advanced Liberator of the Liberation Association?!”

The silver-hooded figure in the middle only paused for an instant in midair, then vanished on the spot in the next moment, reappearing opposite the Collector. A pale hand shot out like lightning and clamped directly around the Collector’s pink neck.

The next moment, the hand and the Collector’s neck became transparent at the same time.

”May you be liberated.”

The black shadow’s voice rang out, calm and even.

Yet in the next instant, a similarly transparent staff suddenly thrust out of the Void and lightly tapped the figure’s forehead.

An instant later, a violent data shockwave erupted. This Advanced Liberator was blasted away on the spot, and starting from his forehead, data chains began to wrap around his body.

Name: Wisdom Staff

Category: Virtual Hardware

Manufacturer: Earth Net Group

Quality: Tier 3: Fine

Attributes: DPS:1500, Spiritual Attack:1500, Attack Speed: 1 attack/second, Attack Range: user’s Perception*10

Operating Mode: manual/spiritual link

Effect 1: Digital Lock. Closes the logical framework of AI/Digital Life/Virtual Creature into a loop. Once the loop is completed, it will freeze the target’s thinking. Skill limitations: level lower than Level 90, Perception lower than 500 points.

Effect 2: Wisdom Unlock. Cracks information security devices such as firewalls/digital barriers/walls of mind. Level requirement: Perception 150, Intelligence 150, one Tier 2 Full Level profession (Information side).

Effect 3: Staff Strike. Creates a ”5mm” Mental Shock Wave. Attack Power: user’s Intelligence*20 + Perception*20 + Consciousness*10, with a certain probability of triggering Electronic Damage.

Note: Tier 3 personal gear. In a sense, it’s even rarer than superstructures of the same Tier. Do you understand what that means?

But just as the digital chains were about to complete the loop, the other two figures suddenly vanished, and at the same time the Aura around the body of the one blown away surged sharply. The digital chains shattered inch by inch.

[You dealt 395 *20 + 366 *20 + 3764*10 = 52,860 damage to Navi (lv87), Advanced Liberation Association member]

[Liberation Complex (lv121) has resisted the effect of ”Digital Lock” and has shared 34,135 points of damage]

At the moment the digital lock shattered, Navi once again split into three and appeared opposite them. Only this time, that pair of indifferent, numb eyes was turned toward Gao Gong.

Under the other’s gaze, Gao Gong’s figure seemed to grow faint.

Then in the next instant, Gao Gong collapsed on the spot. It was as if he saw a vast ocean made of life itself surging toward him.

[You have resisted Navi’s ”Eye of Death”, Consciousness temporarily -100]

Gao Gong gave a light cough, and the black taboo markings on his body crept one or two degrees farther up his neck.

”Your Excellency Collector, your collection space doesn’t seem to be quite as secure as you claimed.”

The Collector’s expression turned gloomy at once. Two chubby little tentacles poked his small face, and in the next instant, transparent figures appeared one after another along with spatial distortion, hurling themselves without hesitation at the three upper members of the Liberation Association.

[Tier 3 Species – Void Inhabitant]

Gao Gong swept a glance over the Attributes of these transparent Human Forms and was startled to discover that they were actually an Enhanced soldier species of another Dominator-level civilization in the nearby Star Domain—the Void Dweller.

In terms of raw strength, the Void Dweller civilization ranked only below the Galen Republic and the Mirta Federation, but in terms of reputation, it lagged far behind.

In fact, most Star Thieves barely even had an impression of this civilization.

The reason Gao Gong had taken note of it was simple: this civilization was one of the rare Information Civilizations in the 5th Stellar Vortex.

Compared to ordinary civilizations, whose expansion is marked by opening up the interstellar frontiers, the Evolution of an Information Civilization is defined by constantly marching deeper into dimensions.

In other words, a Level 3 Information Civilization’s territory in the real Cosmos might only be the size of a single planet, but in the Sea of Quanta, it might have already occupied a dozen information dimensions and built dozens of Virtual Realms.

This is also why Information Civilizations are known for their mystery and coldness, and why news of War involving them is very rare.

They simply don’t play your game.

Recalling the scene when he first entered Mechanical Serpent Constellation and was surrounded by several Tier 3 Spatial Energy Weapons, Gao Gong’s expression turned thoughtful.

Could the power behind this Black Market Master actually be the Void Dweller civilization?

”Boss, I want in too!” Xiao Yu’s expression was eager and itching to go. She hadn’t had a proper fight in a long time. Back on the Space Station she’d been responsible for guarding the Great Curved Saber’s retreat and hadn’t gotten any chance to trade blows at all.

On the other side, Jack Klein was just as eager.

In the worldview of any civilization, striking down interstellar terrorists is always an act of justice.

Gao Gong glanced at the somewhat frightened Collector. Not every Advanced species possessed powerful combat strength.

This Pai Daxing was obviously that type of Advanced creature.

”If you want in, go.”

Xiao Yu let out a cheer. On her Mechanical Body, dense ion jets lit up, and her figure vanished on the spot.

Jack Klein’s Energy Lasso, as if hooked onto some formless rock in Space, swung his figure across in a single jubilant arc.

Yet a moment later, the situation on the field took a somewhat unexpected turn.

Even with over a hundred ”Void Inhabitants” and two Strong of Tier 3 Strength joining in, the situation did not immediately improve.

A major part of the reason was the ”Undying” trait of the Liberation Association upper echelon.

Their Undying trait was a hundred times stronger than that of ordinary Liberators.

Whether it was the Void Inhabitants’ Void Assimilation, Xiao Yu’s consummate Mechanical Blade Art, or Jack Klein’s methods, they could only carve exaggerated wounds into the enemies’ bodies—wounds that vanished in place with just a slight tremor.

Meanwhile, the ”killing methods” of these three made the besiegers extremely wary; a single misstep meant they’d be ”liberated.”

Gao Gong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”Possessing both ’Instant Death Judgment’ and ’Infinite Damage Recovery’ Attributes... If the system panel didn’t list you as ’Advanced Carbon-based Species’, I’d suspect you were Cloud Wing Assassins.”

Their displayed means were very similar to the Antivirus Guardians in Cyber Space, and in some respects even more twisted.

Because they weren’t showing these Traits inside a Virtual Network, but manifesting them in reality, in the state of Carbon-Based Species.

”This isn’t a Boss Template buff. A Carbon-Based Species Boss Template can’t exhibit the Traits of an Information Species. This is—an ’Advanced Taboo Body’!”

From the long string of question marks on the enemies’ panel, Gao Gong picked out this one option.

That hadn’t been easy.

Once a target exceeds level 30, Investigation Skills fail; and when the enemy enters the so-called ”Liberation Complex” state, their level exceeds his Investigation range altogether.

And unfortunately, even the annotation for this option was also nothing but question marks.

”Looks like the rumors are true. To some extent, Forbidden Technology really can brush against a corner of Ascension Technology.”

Gao Gong’s gaze turned back to the Collector. By now this ”Pai Daxing” had regained his calm. In his tentacle, a Transparent Planet appeared and kept spinning, and as it spun, the scenery on its surface kept changing.

”Have you found the mastermind behind these Liberation Association members?” Gao Gong asked curiously.

Obviously, Liberation Association members wouldn’t attack this Black Market for no reason. Even if they wanted to preach their philosophy, hitting a high-ranking official of a civilization would be more influential than hitting a Black Market Master; the latter would only make people think it’s just underground forces biting each other.

”That’s not important, General,” the Collector said coolly. ”What’s most important now is to find out how they got through my layers of defenses and entered the deepest layer of my collection space.”

”I don’t want my treasures to be constantly coveted by outsiders.”

”This guy really wants money more than his life,” a certain Du Gao Technology executive muttered.

Gao Gong could actually understand his thinking quite well.

Honestly, even if it were him, he couldn’t slip in silently.

Perhaps with a powerful body he could brute-force his way through the outer few layers of the collection space.

But being discovered would be inevitable.

”Do you have any ideas, General?” the Collector asked abruptly.

”The complex relationship between time and Space isn’t necessarily fully grasped even by an Advanced Civilization, let alone you and me,” Gao Gong thought for a moment, then said, ”But judging from the behavior of these Liberation Association members, what I want to say is: time is information, Space is also information. Certain special Information Technology might be able to bypass your blockade.”

A surge of indescribable Radiance suddenly burst from the Collector’s eyes.

But in contrast, his hand clenched, and the Transparent Planet vanished.

”Make your move, General.”

”Looks like you’ve realized something.”

”I’ll give you generous rewards.”

”All right then.”

Neither of them was worried about the situation at hand, for one main reason: docked right beside them was a Star Destroyer.