Chapter 1084: Chapter 557: The Empire’s Deterrent Power
Li Ming, this time, was able to directly feel the Empire’s deterrent power.
The number of X Level Life Forms publicly acknowledged by the High-level Life Form Union far exceeded that of the Empire.
Even with the inertia of past fears, it shouldn’t be to a level where they’d be this scared, sneaking around even for a gathering.
However, just five days later, Li Ming realized that his thinking was still too conservative.
Following the anonymous channel sent through the Black Hole Network, Li Ming logged into a virtual meeting space that was accessible by invitation only.
Blue rays swiftly constructed the surrounding scene, and to Li Ming’s surprise, the other spectral projections wavered like ink dripped into murky water.
When he tried to focus on them, they only became blurrier, unreadable.
Everyone was arriving in the form of concealed projections.
He was speechless; were they really this scared?
But when he descended, everyone’s gaze instantly focused on him, because he was the only one who arrived with a real projection of himself.
"Showing your true face?" Anduin secretly sent a message, "It’s hard to speak freely with your true face visible."
The surroundings were silent, yet Li Ming seemed to sense strange glances beneath those concealed projections.
"A mistake..." Li Ming thought silently to himself; he had only encrypted the channel, not caring about the mimic projection.
Not interested in being that stand-out individual, he glanced around and found over thirty figures had arrived, so he logged off.
After setting up a virtual disguise and waiting for almost half an hour, he logged in again.
Most people had already arrived; estimating a few more were missing, as low murmurs filled the air with some discussing him.
"...Really? Just now Lord Azure Dragon arrived with his true form? So bold?"
"It’s not like he hasn’t dealt with the Empire before; he’s not afraid."
"It’s not a matter of being afraid, one must always be cautious. Besides, the internal situation within the Red River Star Stream is peculiar, this time it’s hard to say."
"Keep it down; he might already be back."
"I wasn’t saying anything important anyway. Besides, with these hidden projections, do you know who I am? I might even be Azure Dragon."
"..."
Li Ming didn’t mind, surveying his surroundings and simply stayed put on the spot!
After a moment, as another two or three figures entered, someone started speaking, their voice processed beyond recognition, "Aside from those official X Level Life Forms, the numbers are almost complete now."
Someone immediately said, "Let’s skip the nonsense; everyone’s hidden their identities. What about the matter of the Eternal Silence Star?"
"What’s left to say? We definitely have to fight for it. That thing is a powerful weapon left from the Terrax era, essential to why the Empire is the Empire."
"Exactly, something this good must be taken. There are so many of us together that the Empire is powerless. As soon as we get our hands on it, we’ll immediately become the strongest among the stars."
"Who’s the fool talking about using it when we haven’t even got it yet?"
With identities concealed, this group spoke with no reservation.
"Everyone seems rather excited. The Empire’s lifeline is involved, acquiring the Eternal Silence Star won’t be easy, risking your life, losing dozens of X Level Life Forms wouldn’t surprise me."
Someone saying this quieted the surroundings considerably.
"If you’re scared, you can leave now."
No one logged off; for them, the opportunity to leap forward was almost non-existent. Even with the slim chance of obtaining the Star of Eternal Silence, they had to try.
After a moment of silence, someone calmly said, "Without paying the price of life, it’s impossible to get it easily. But we must go."
"Still, where to go? The Deep Dimension World is vast; we can’t just search aimlessly."
"I have some news: besides the Empire, there’s another organization active in the Deep Dimension World."
Suddenly someone spoke up, immediately quieting the surrounding chatter.
Everyone had different thoughts but realized it must have been a notable figure on the Council Seat speaking; others wouldn’t have this channel.
Li Ming’s eyes flickered as he glanced at the talking figure.
Gust? Or Anatoli?
Now, he felt the trouble of this concealed identity.
Though there weren’t many suspects, doubt is doubt.
"The Pioneers..." That figure continued, and the surrounding noise grew louder again.
Some had already remembered this organization that carved a piece out of the Empire years back.
"So it was them. I thought they’d been secretly wiped out by the Empire; didn’t expect them to be going big and competing with the Empire for the Eternal Silence Star."
"Based on their information, the Eternal Silence Star is only a step away from being found." That guy added another sentence.
After a brief silence, the atmosphere grew more intense.
"Only a step away, then hurry up, don’t let them beat us to it."
"If we’re late, we won’t even catch the scent of it."
"It’s not that simple; if it were almost in hand, the other side wouldn’t contact this unknown big shot."
"I remember rumors outside saying Lord Azure Dragon might also be a member of the Pioneers."
"..."
"Tsk... Those Pioneer guys are also unsettled." Li Ming pondered, unsure who was contacting this group.
Then, the one speaking suddenly extended an uneven-fingered arm, manifesting a data light ball.
With a shake of his hand, this data light ball replicated and quickly spread in front of everyone like copy and paste.