Chapter 196 Infiltration? I'm not pretending anymore.

"Boss, can this ship... really still fly?"

A Ji huddled in the co-pilot seat of a rusted light assault ship, his mechanical ears twitching along with the coughing of the ship's engines.

This ship was a piece of junk picked up while clearing a pirate battlefield; the arrogant skull emblem on its hull had been half-erased by lasers, revealing the primer underneath, making it look like scrap metal just dragged out of an interstellar junkyard.

"This is called a battle-damaged limited edition skin. Do you know how to appreciate it?"

Lin Yuan sat in the pilot's seat with his legs crossed, having swapped his flashy Ghost Commander uniform for a leather jacket stripped from some unlucky pirate, the collar stained with black smudges that looked like engine oil.

He reached out and patted the dashboard, and two of the red warning lights that had been flashing frantically miraculously went out.

"As long as the power core doesn't explode, it's the best disguise." Lin Yuan looked through the scratched porthole at the massive metal ring in the distance. "That hunk of metal called 'Jealousy' must think we're still outside preparing for a head-on clash. Who would have thought we've already snuck into his cafeteria line?"

In the distance, the massive gravitational lens array was still billowing thick smoke, but the gap Lin Yuan had cut was now packed tightly with ships.

Most of those ships were dilapidated and oddly shaped, clearly belonging to the bottom-tier followers of the Mechanical Papacy or brainwashed pirate ships. They were like a swarm of flies that had smelled blood, scrambling to squeeze into the berths inside the ring.

"That lunatic wants to detonate the star."

Alita, sitting in the back row, said in a low voice. She was wearing a wide gray cloak that covered her conspicuous mechanical limbs, leaving only her eyes, which were glowing with a blue halo, visible. "If we attack directly from the outside, he only needs to cut the constraint field, and that red giant will instantly expand, turning the entire galaxy into an oven."

"So we have to get inside and perform a minimally invasive surgery on him." Lin Yuan pushed the control stick forward. "Hold on tight, this veteran driver is about to cut in line."

The stern of the battered pirate ship spewed a plume of black smoke, and with an extremely arrogant posture, it forcibly shoved aside two transport ships that were waiting in line, cutting straight into the docking channel.

A wave of noisy cursing immediately flooded the communication channel, filled with various alien dialects and highly offensive language.

"It seems that no matter the civilization, road rage is a common ailment." Lin Yuan hummed a little tune, completely unbothered, and even honked the horn twice.

As the ship slowly sailed into the interior of that massive metal ring, the group, who had been joking around, fell silent.

Big. Too big.

It didn't feel real from the outside, but only after entering the interior could one truly feel the oppressive weight of such a stellar-class project.

It was like an ant crawling inside a precise and complex clock.

All around were mechanical structures rolling like mountain ranges. Massive gears meshed silently, and blinding liquid plasma flowed through thick energy conduits, each pulsation causing visible distortions in the surrounding space.

Countless automated mechanical arms were busy working, tearing apart the docked ships like dismantling building blocks.

"This isn't a temple..." Alita's voice trembled slightly. She gripped the armrest of her seat tightly. "This is a... slaughterhouse."

There was no sense of religious sanctity here. There was only cold, unfeeling efficiency.

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes.

On that massive conveyor belt, he didn't see cargo, but rather body after body in cryosleep. There were carbon-based lifeforms, silicon-based lifeforms, and even some rare species he had seen in the Land Abandoned by Gods.

They were stripped of their clothing and equipment, hung up by hooks like dead pork, and sent into giant furnaces glowing with red light.

"This is the 'Raw Material Processing Zone'." A Ji looked at the readings on the sensor, his face turning deathly pale. "That gravitational lens... it's not just for extracting stellar energy; it's also refining the 'Psionic Energy' from living bodies. These lunatics are burning life as fuel!"

Just then, a blinding red scanning beam suddenly enveloped their ship.

[Unregistered ship detected.] [Conducting faith purity scan...]

A cold, monotone mechanical synthesized voice rang out inside the cockpit.

"It's over, we're going to be exposed." A Ji tensed up instantly, his hand already reaching for the high-explosive grenade hidden at his waist.

This level of scanning could directly read subconscious fluctuations in biological brainwaves. Aside from wanting to kill, what kind of faith did anyone on this ship have?

"What are you panicking for?" Lin Yuan didn't even move in his chair, a flicker of data light flashing in the depths of his eyes.

"System, give this crappy scanner something intense."

[Received.] [Loading disguise module... Keywords: Fanaticism, Blind Obedience, Self-Destruction.] [Simulated brainwaves uploaded.]

The next second, the red scanning beam suddenly turned into a soft green.

[Faith Purity: Extremely High.] [Evaluation: High-quality expendable material willing to sacrifice themselves for the god even if it means being burned to ashes.] [Welcome home, pious children. Please proceed to Zone C-9 to unload.]

The hatch opened with a boom, revealing a metal corridor leading into the depths.

"See?" Lin Yuan unbuckled his seatbelt, stood up from his seat, and straightened his collar casually. "As long as you're crazy enough, no one in this universe can check your ID."

The group quickly disembarked and blended into the bustling crowd.

"Crowd" wasn't quite the right word here; it was more like a group of walking corpses.

All around were robed believers, their gazes dull, muttering incantations, moving mechanically in one direction. And on both sides of these believers were rows of patrol robots holding electric spears.

The air was filled with a strange mixture of burnt smells and engine oil.

"Over there." Alita suddenly stopped walking. Her gaze cut through the crowd, staring fixedly at a huge transparent container in the distance.

Inside it, hundreds of mangled mechanical heads were soaking. They were her kin.

The neural network cores of the mechanical race were extremely precious; here, they were treated as spare parts for high-level processors.

"Damn it..." Alita's fingers dug deep into the metal casing beneath her cloak, emitting a harsh, grating sound.

A warm, large hand suddenly pressed onto her shoulder.

"Don't be in such a hurry to get angry." Lin Yuan's voice was low but carried a reassuring, roguish quality. "Anger is worthless right now. Save it; I'll take you to tear things apart to your heart's content in a bit."

Alita took a deep breath, the light in her blue electronic eyes flickering, and finally nodded slowly.

They passed through the raw material zone and crept along the maintenance corridors toward the core area of the ring.

The deeper they went, the more bizarre the surroundings became. Large amounts of dark gold inscriptions began to appear on the walls. Those inscriptions didn't look like they had been carved; rather, it looked like some kind of living metal growing on its own.

While passing a corner, a few suppressed sobs caught Lin Yuan's attention. It was an abandoned ventilation duct opening, where a few ragged figures were huddling in the shadows, shivering.

Lin Yuan made a gesture, and the elite members behind him immediately spread out to stand guard.

He stepped forward. They were a few sub-human species that looked like hybrids of rats and humans, wearing heavy electronic collars around their necks.

"Don't kill us! We're just cleaners who escaped!" Seeing Lin Yuan and the others approach, one of the older sub-humans knelt on the ground in terror, kowtowing frantically. "We didn't steal the 'Holy Water'! We really didn't!"

"Shut up." Lin Yuan crouched down and gave a light flick with the high-frequency dagger in his hand. With a click, the electronic collar that could blow off a head snapped in two.

The sub-human froze, touching his neck, looking at Lin Yuan in disbelief.

"I ask, you answer." Lin Yuan toyed with the dagger in his hand. "What the hell is going on in this place? Where is that tin can called 'Jealousy'?"

"Je... Jealousy Lord is at the 'Ascension Platform'..." The sub-human pointed tremblingly toward the end of the corridor. "They... they are preparing for the 'Advent Ritual'."

"Advent?" Lin Yuan frowned. "Who is descending? The Machine God?"

"No... not a god..." The sub-human's pupils dilated with extreme fear. "It's... it's the 'Hunger from Beyond the Stars'... The Bishop said we have to sacrifice the entire star to it in exchange for... in exchange for eternal life..."

Lin Yuan's movements paused. Beyond the stars. Hunger. These words instantly reminded him of the female voice that spoke in his head, as well as his own void engine, which was unreasonably gluttonous.

It seemed the situation was even murkier than he had imagined.

"Alright, run back. There's a junk ship in Zone C-9; whether you live or die is up to your own luck."

Lin Yuan stood up, no longer paying attention to the unfortunate lot, and turned to look at the huge, tightly closed alloy door at the end of the corridor. That was the core area.

"Stop." A cold mechanical voice suddenly exploded above their heads.

A security mech, three stories tall, stepped out of the shadows, its six red electronic eyes locking onto Lin Yuan and his group.

The Gatling cannon in its hand had already begun to spin up, the muzzle aimed straight at the center of Lin Yuan's forehead.

"Unknown biological signatures detected. Present your transit permit, or be processed into organic fertilizer."

The atmosphere instantly froze. A Ji's hand had already reached for the EMP grenade on his back, and the mechanical wings behind Alita began to unfold silently.

Lin Yuan looked at the pitch-black muzzle and suddenly smiled. He stretched, tossed the pirate disguise chip he had been hiding in his sleeve onto the ground, and crushed it with his foot.

"Transit permit?" Lin Yuan cracked his neck, causing a series of popping sounds.

"I intended to get along with you as an ordinary believer, but all I got in return was alienation and fear."

He suddenly raised his head, the black Void Energy in his eyes erupting instantly like a beast breaking free from its chains.

"No more pretending." "I'm from the Earth Demolition Office, and today I'm here to perform a 'physical demolition' on this illegal construction of yours!"

Boom—! Before the security mech could even react, Lin Yuan's figure had already vanished from where he stood.

The next instant, a fist wrapped in terrifying black electric arcs slammed directly into the mech's heavy chest armor.

That steel giant, weighing dozens of tons, was folded backward and sent flying instantly, as if it were a soda can hit by a high-speed train!

Bang! The mech smashed heavily into that huge alloy door, causing a massive dent in the door that was supposedly resistant to nuclear explosions, before the entire door collapsed with a roar.

A piercing alarm instantly rang throughout the corridor. [Warning! Core area under invasion!] [Warning! Energy level reaction exceeded threshold!]

"Do it!" Lin Yuan dusted off his hands, even though there was no dust, and stepped over the wreckage of the mech, crossing through the door first. "Tear down everything you see; don't save any materials for Old Wang!"

Alita and the elite soldiers behind her roared, and all kinds of heavy firepower were instantly unleashed.

However, the moment they rushed into the core hall, everyone froze.

Inside the massive core hall, thousands of mechanical guards were in chaos. But strangely, they didn't charge toward the intruders. On the contrary.

These emotionless killing machines were, at this moment, like panicked cockroaches, frantically surging toward the console in the center of the hall, even trampling and crushing each other.

And in the direction with their backs to Lin Yuan, which was the top of the console, a strange, writhing black shadow was slowly expanding.

Those mechanical guards weren't gathering. They were fleeing for their lives. They were terrified of the thing they had summoned themselves.

"That is..." Countless red warning boxes popped up in Alita's electronic eyes. "What is that thing?"

Lin Yuan stared at that shadow, and the void engine within him suddenly emitted an unprecedented hum, one that was almost like "vigilance." It was different from the previous appetite. This time, it was the vigilance of encountering a peer.

"Interesting." Lin Yuan curled his lips into a bloodthirsty arc, drew the high-frequency combat blade from his back, and pointed the tip directly at the shadow.

"So the real host was waiting here."

"Hey! You pitch-black thing!" Lin Yuan's voice echoed through the hall, drowning out all the alarms.

"That star is reserved by yours truly. If you dare touch even a bite, believe it or not, I'll stew you along with it!"