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Lin Yuan fell silent, quietly gazing at Bermington, while everyone nearby also watched him in silence, as if waiting for a lottery draw. However, many could already guess that Lin Yuan would undoubtedly side with Kress. After all, a Level 14 Mechanical Assembler could easily assemble an interstellar lifeboat and leisurely return to Mechanical City, completely unfazed by the threat posed.
A few seconds later, as everyone expected, Lin Yuan let out a triumphant laugh. "Sorry, Mr. Bermington, but I have never liked being just a bystander. Kress is so beautiful; why not play the hero and save the damsel in distress?"
Hearing Lin Yuan's audacious words, Bermington surprisingly did not get angry. He merely smiled mysteriously and turned to leave. In no time, his subordinates and the members of the Viper Mercenary Corps also withdrew.
In the blink of an eye, the Interstellar Exploration Ship roared as it shot out of Earth's atmosphere and vanished into space.
"Mr. Papaya, thank you for your praise. However, I still think what you did was rather unwise. Bermington won't just use this one method; he will find ways to keep us trapped here until I submit to my father. But I won't back down, and as a result, you might not be able to return to Mechanical City within ten Mechanical Years. I know you are an excellent Mechanical Assembler, but I can guarantee that that despicable Bermington will leave a thousand ways to intercept your lifeboat in space," Kress said with a hint of regret, clearly feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Heh! Kress, you are quite candid. But I think the key issue isn't here; it's about why you and your Viper Mercenary Corps came to Earth. Can you answer me?" Lin Yuan suddenly spoke seriously.
"Oh? Mr. Papaya, why do you ask?" Kress replied in surprise.
"Is it inconvenient to answer?" Lin Yuan asked in return.
"Not at all. Alright, I'll be honest. Three months ago, I received a mysterious message expressed in my sister Claire's name. My sister Claire went missing three thousand years ago; my family searched for her for a long time without success. We even thought she was long gone. However, this time I received her message asking me to come to Earth and wait for three months. This is the fundamental reason I led the Viper Mercenary Corps here. But upon our arrival on Earth, we discovered that the S-15 Sub-base had been destroyed by external forces. We checked the records from Mechanical City but found nothing conclusive. So I have been waiting here while investigating why the S-15 Sub-base was destroyed."
"What results did you find?" Lin Yuan asked eagerly.
"Unfortunately, no results!" Kress shook her head. "We also found no traces left by my sister. Until yesterday, the three months she mentioned had completely passed. Oh, by the way, we did discover signs of resistance here; however, that's quite normal since many Earthlings still refuse to believe in Mechanical City and claim they have been brainwashed—they call themselves rebels."
After hearing Kress's words, Lin Yuan fell into silence. This seemed different from what he had imagined! Could it be that he had guessed wrong? Was everything merely coincidence?
If it were just coincidence, then he had made a grave mistake; even more tragically, he missed his chance to return to Mechanical City.
But how could it possibly be mere coincidence?
No, there must be some aspect he had overlooked; it had to be a conspiracy! And this conspiracy had already been triggered when he first discovered that the S-15 Sub-base had been destroyed.
Taking a deep breath, Lin Yuan once again ran through the sequence of events in the Intelligent Brain System, A180. At this moment, he found himself missing Claire.
Yet even without Claire's assistance, he felt that something was amiss—very much so!
Indeed, this was why he had previously stepped forward, deliberately adopting a foolish demeanor to side with Kress.
In truth, even if Lin Yuan wasn't a genius, he certainly wasn't a fool, nor was he the type to rush to help others in need just for the sake of it!
Moreover, even if he were to take a thousand steps back and consider himself a naive hero who couldn't stand injustice, Kress wouldn't need his help. Kress was a master of D-Class; with one hand, he could easily take Lin Yuan down. What was the point of him trying to assert his presence?
Even if—taking another thousand steps back—Kress were Claire's twin sister, he still had no reason to act like a fool and attract Firepower!
He had no personal connection with the real Claire; what mattered to him was merely an Intelligent Core Program named Claire.
But even if he took yet another thousand steps back and acknowledged that the Intelligent Core Program Claire was related to Kress, Lin Yuan still wouldn't engage in such behavior. He understood better than anyone the principle that one should not bring harm upon oneself; he had countless reasons to avoid risks that had nothing to do with moral boundaries!
The fundamental reason behind his previous actions—like performing magic to ensure everyone knew of his existence—was that he had seen one, no, twenty familiar faces. Those were the very familiar acquaintances Lin Yuan first encountered after awakening: the Gatekeeper!
Yes, Lin Yuan saw the Gatekeeper. He would never forget that moment at Sub-base S-15 when the Gatekeeper somehow acquired a powerful E7-level Mechanical Body and chased him down relentlessly. It forced him to abandon the S-15 Sub-base, which had just begun to improve economically, and flee back to Mechanical City, only to be sold off as Forced Labor shortly thereafter!
How could Lin Yuan ever forget such an E7-level Mechanical Body?
However, here in this place, Bermington had brought out twenty E7-level Mechanical Warriors—all of them identical to the Mechanical Body used by the Gatekeeper back then!
Lin Yuan wasn't sure if his description was accurate or whether this situation was absurd or bizarre.
He only knew one thing: Bermington must have some unknown connection with the Gatekeeper or perhaps with Earth Resistance.
Beyond that, Lin Yuan couldn't think of any more concrete reasons to explain all this; it couldn't possibly be a coincidence!
Lin Yuan, with his level 14 assembly skills, determined that it was an entire set of closely related Mechanical Bodies. It felt a bit awkward, but perhaps the best way to describe it was as twenty identical twin brothers.
Therefore, there was bound to be a problem.
In this situation, Lin Yuan faced three choices. The first was to stay out of it entirely, taking a backseat and not interfering with either Kress's side or Bermington's side.
The second option was to keep a low profile, go with the flow, and join Bermington's side. No matter what, he could just muddle through and return to Mechanical City later.
The third choice was to stand with Kress.
From a conventional perspective, among these three options, as long as one wasn't extremely arrogant or foolish, the second option seemed the most sensible. After all, if one friend dies, it doesn't affect another; it has nothing to do with oneself!
However, the problem arose: what if Bermington was actually the backer of the Gatekeeper and Earth Resistance or a composite of their interests?
This speculation, while absurd, was not difficult to prove. For instance, why did the twenty E7-level Mechanical Warriors under Bermington look exactly like the Mechanical Bodies once used by the Gatekeeper?
It couldn't possibly be the same model produced; just as no two people among five billion Earthlings are exactly alike, there are also no two Mechanical Lives among fifty trillion that are identical unless they are not Mechanical Lifeforms at all!
Moreover, why did Bermington come to Earth so eagerly to stop Kress and neutralize her power so swiftly?
Finally, why was the S-15 Sub-base destroyed?
Why did Kress's Viper Mercenary Corps come here?
All these clues, although not entirely clear among themselves, made Lin Yuan most fearful; he dreaded truly being caught in a massive whirlpool.
Although Earth Humans were very insignificant among the Seven Great Families of Mechanical City relative to the entire Mechanical City, for Lin Yuan, it felt like the difference between an elephant and an ant.
So if Kress really discovered some deadly truth on this Earth that could even affect Bermington's interests and his identity and status, then what would be the best course of action?
Of course, it was about silencing witnesses!
Since it was about silencing witnesses, all members of the Viper Mercenary Corps were likely on that list. Therefore, if Lin Yuan truly wanted to blend in and escape this situation, he had a high chance of being caught and killed without realizing it.
Even if Lin Yuan's suspicions were somewhat valid, he would never take such a risk!
Thus, he was left with only two choices: to stay out of it or to ally with Kress.
But the problem was that if Bermington was indeed coming to silence witnesses, what good would pretending to be uninvolved do? Was it just burying his head in the sand? He hadn’t mastered that powerful skill yet!
So, the most rational choice for him was to join Kress. After all, Kress was at least a master of D-Class, and with the D1-level Giant Jordo and E7-level Vansdell on their side, it would certainly be better than struggling alone.
This was also why he had created such a nonsensical commotion earlier; it wasn't for Bermington's sake but for Kress. On one hand, it made her realize how important he was, and on the other hand, it prepared for the possible battles ahead.
However, Kress's response now plunged Lin Yuan into new confusion. Since Kress's people had not discovered any deadly truths on this planet, Lin Yuan's previous assumptions naturally fell apart.
Perhaps this was just an internal family dispute?
Lin Yuan thought to himself, and for now, that was all he could think.
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