Chapter 589: A Rare Moment of Kindness

The [Power of Thunder] was a small silver-white hammer, somewhat like Thor's Hammer. After use, it directly merged into Li Yu's body.

Li Yu didn't feel any special changes, but after tentatively attacking the Table in front of him three times...

A thick silver-white thunderbolt descended from the sky. Accompanied by the roaring of muffled thunder, it directly blasted through the roof of the Base and shattered the metal table in front of him into pieces.

This was only because he sensed something wrong and retracted his power in time; otherwise, there would have been trouble.

Ear-piercing alarms rang out in the Base, and a large number of Transformer guards rushed over, only to be waved off by Li Yu.

He roughly estimated that the Energy Level of this destructive thunder strike was about equivalent to one of his own full-force attacks.

Moreover, it carried the attack special effects of thunder, so it could be considered a pretty good ability.

After happily finishing organizing his harvest, a message arrived from the outside world, forwarded by Returning Star.

The Skrull Mining Company invited him to their headquarters, willing to explain things clearly face-to-face.

To be honest, this news was somewhat comical. Having Li Yu convince them, were they even worthy?

The Skrull Mining Company was a family-owned enterprise. The founder and current Chairman of the Board was named Skrull.

He built this current company completely from scratch, step by step. He was a ruthless and decisive figure.

However, along with this news came some intelligence information.

Of the sixteen shareholders of the Skrull Mining Company, apart from the three generations of Skrull's family, all the other shareholders had sold their shares.

And the one buying them back was Skrull himself. This entirely didn't seem like something a company about to be annihilated would do.

Instead, it looked more like he was using this opportunity to completely consolidate control, as if he had a certain degree of confidence that he wouldn't suffer an utter disaster.

Returning Star's intelligence organization had already made a specific analysis: there was a 64% probability that the other party was secretly plotting some kind of resistance plan.

However, Skrull had already spread this news throughout the entire Interstellar, and their outward rhetoric was extremely tough.

They believed that this was a struggle between the two factions, the Skrull Mining Company and the Benfir Civilization, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Li Yu, an outsider.

The statement Li Yu released publicly was completely Meddling in Others' Affairs.

What's more, the statement they released also hinted that Li Yu often disregarded the lives of innocent people, and that he himself wasn't clean either.

This news caused an uproar. Many Interstellar Citizens completely hadn't expected the Skrull Mining Company's attitude to actually be this tough.

It could even be said that this was a slap to Li Yu's face. Everyone was waiting to see what Li Yu would do next.

If Li Yu didn't make a corresponding response, it would inevitably attract mockery.

However, even more people were curious as to why the Skrull Mining Company was courting death.

After all, with Li Yu's current Identity and Status, he could easily wipe out this company.

"Interesting..." Li Yu looked at the massive amount of information text in front of him. This mining company suddenly challenging him, if there wasn't someone supporting them from behind, it was clearly impossible.

The people he sent were already halfway there, and it was time to see what would happen next.

He had his subordinates change Destination, selecting the headquarters of the Skrull Mining Company.

Then, he found a Little Brother and used his Ability to Glimpse the Future to see what would happen at the Skrull headquarters.

As his line of sight rose, what appeared before him was a chaotic scene of war. Energy Rays pierced the Atmosphere, the Ground cracked, and massive mechanical tentacles stretched across the sky like mountain ranges.

Outside the planet was a giant Mechanical Octopus, far larger than the planet where the Skrull headquarters was located. Countless war machines surrounded it, creating a world-ending picture.

"Mechanical Octopus?" Li Yu's eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't expect to see this Mechanical Lifeform.

He had heard of this Mechanical Lifeform before, and even thought about modifying it into his own Transformer.

It was just that he didn't have absolute certainty in taking it down, so he put it out of his mind.

"Why is Istrala appearing here? This is already a core civilization cluster, completely outside of its active range."

Li Yu's eyes flickered, and he immediately thought of a possibility—

Could it be that Istrala actually belongs to The Forerunners?

Undoubtedly, the only ones who would make a move against him at this time were The Forerunners.

This originally was his goal as well: going to the Benfir Star System with great fanfare to attract The Forerunners to make a move against him.

Then, under preconceived notions, he would make Bloodlust think that the other party's target was actually him.

This way, Li Yu's words could form a perfect closed loop, enough to make Bloodlust not doubt him for a long time.

Moreover, according to the information revealed to him by Salvation Ark, The Forerunners had already been Covetously Staring at him lately.

Rather than letting the other party secretly cause trouble, it would be better to directly create an opportunity for them, which would also make it less dangerous.

It's just that he didn't expect the Mechanical Octopus—Istrala to actually be a product of The Forerunners.

This Mechanical Lifeform with extremely high evolutionary potential had once caused many factions to covet it.

Many people wanted to simulate Istrala's birth environment and create another mechanical shark or something similar.

In the end, no faction succeeded. Most people just treated Istrala as a special isolated case.

Now it seemed that it was entirely because The Forerunners provided support from behind that Istrala was born.

"Tsk tsk..." Li Yu felt somewhat emotional. Worthy of being The Forerunners, they were truly wealthy and generous. It's one thing if they don't act.

But once they do, it's a high-level lifeform at the level of Istrala.

According to interstellar records, Istrala was an unquestionable A5 Level Mechanical Lifeform.

"It seems this Skrull Mining Company is already controlled by The Forerunners. This is a Trap set for me..." He had roughly figured out what was going on.

This was also similar to his previous guess. If no one was supporting them, this small company obviously couldn't be this tough.

Immediately, he changed his Destination again to the Benfir Star System, continuing to use The Force to peek into the future.

This time, combat still couldn't be avoided. It could even be said that it was more terrifying than the war at the Skrull Company headquarters.

Because this time, Li Yu saw a familiar person.

"The Boss of the Abyss Institute? This Crazy Bastard is actually involved in this ambush too..." Li Yu frowned slightly. This was unexpected news.

However, thinking carefully, it made sense. He had forged such a huge enmity with the Abyss Institute, The Forerunners wouldn't turn a blind eye and would definitely pull in this assistance.

In other words, this time there were two A5 Level high-level lifeforms.

The Forerunners wouldn't act lightly, but once they did, it was a certain kill setup.

According to the strength data he had previously revealed, the joint attack of these two high-level lifeforms was absolutely foolproof. It could even be said to be somewhat of a waste.

It's just that now he had undergone Earth-shattering changes compared to before.

After pondering for a moment, he already had a general idea in his mind...

……………

The Skrull Mining Company Headquarters was located on a Barren Planet, where the rent was cheap and the Ground was vast enough.

The Earth appeared yellowish-black. One heavy base after another was rooted into the Surface, arranged neatly, forming a massive industrial city.

Surrounding them were open-pit mines with countless large mechanical cranes hanging from them. The streets intersected in all directions, completely paved with compressed gray stone and mud roads, which were not only sturdy but also had an extremely high load-bearing capacity.

Squads of transport vehicles roared past, brushing past the Staff Members wearing Heavy Excavation Armor on both sides of the street.

In the center of the industrial city was a towering metal platform, upon which sat the company's core building complex. Hovering directly above were Artificial Light Sources, emitting a soft glow.

And in the Space Orbit, Press Ships from interstellar media outlets hovered.

They didn't approach the planet closely, avoiding being caught in the crossfire of attacks that could arrive at any moment.

Skrull stood on the rooftop of the company building, gazing at the media Press Ships in the Space Orbit.

"Father, the arrangements have been made. Space Blocking Devices have been prepared within the star system. As soon as the other party arrives, this will become his burial ground!"

The Middle-Aged Man walked over from behind. He now completely didn't think this was a disaster.

On the contrary, he thought this was a rare opportunity, otherwise they would never have been able to get in touch with such a legendary faction.

As long as they successfully survived this crisis, the name of the Skrull Mining Company would surely resound throughout the entire Interstellar.

Of course, this also carried certain risks, but for businessmen, they weren't afraid of risks, only that the ultimate return wouldn't be proportional to the risk.

At the same time, the Press Ships in the Space Orbit had been waiting for a long time.

Ever since the Skrull Mining Company's statement went out, these Interstellar Media outlets were like sharks that smelled blood, scrambling to come here, waiting for Li Yu's possible arrival.

Whether Li Yu came or not, it would be a carnival for them.

Even several sensational Headlines had already flashed through their minds.

…………

However, just as they were waiting bitterly, Li Yu had already appeared within the borders of the Benfir Civilization.

He naturally wouldn't pay attention to the Skrull Company, this jumping grasshopper.

The Forerunners definitely had several backup plans. The Skrull Mining Company Headquarters and the Benfir Star System were not far apart.

No matter which place he went to, the ultimate result would be facing Istrala and the Leader of the Abyss Institute at the same time.

And he still had to create a sense of crisis for Bloodlust, so why go to the Skrull Company's headquarters and waste time.

It's just that since the Skrull Company had already taken sides and initiated serious provocations against him, he naturally wouldn't turn a blind eye either.

He had already sent Hunter to deal with it, while he himself had to focus on the trouble at hand.

For Li Yu's arrival, the Benfir Civilization held a grand welcome ceremony.

"Your Excellency, hello... I am the Minister of Defense of the Benfir Civilization--Lu Neng. On behalf of the Benfir Civilization, I welcome your arrival."

Standing before Li Yu was a tall and thin lifeform. His skin was pale gray, his head was flat, and he only had one eye.

The Benfir Civilization was only an Ordinary civilization covering less than fifty star systems. In front of Li Yu, they didn't dare to be arrogant and their attitude was very respectful.

"Did they contact you?" Li Yu stared at this Minister of Defense and suddenly asked.

"Wh... what?" Lu Neng was startled, stuttering speechlessly, and only reacted after a moment: "Who contacted us?"

He appeared bewildered on the surface, but his heart was filled with apprehension and unease.

Li Yu gave him a meaningful look. Based on the other party's emotional performance, he had already confirmed his guess.

The Benfir Civilization had probably also been controlled by The Forerunners, or at least coerced into cooperation.

"Take me to the star system infected by the virus, to prevent the scope from expanding further." Li Yu didn't continue questioning, but instead said this.

Lu Neng's thoughts were in turmoil, and he forced a nod. He didn't know what Li Yu's casual question just now meant.

Had he already noticed something amiss?

Or was it purely suspicion?

He felt bitter inside, really not wanting to be dragged into a clash between big shots.

But as Ordinary civilizations, they fundamentally had very little room for resistance.

After the virus leaked, the Benfir Civilization immediately adopted an isolation policy, currently temporarily containing the virus within sixteen star systems.

But this already covered half of their Territory. The dissatisfaction among the Citizens within the civilization was very high. Had they not temporarily adopted martial law, the entire Benfir Civilization would probably be in complete chaos by now.

Li Yu boarded the Benfir Civilization's fleet. He didn't bring his subordinates.

Because clearly, the upcoming battle was not something his subordinates could help with.

Arriving in the area of the star system covered by the virus, all he could see was permeating Black Mist. And there were fifteen more such star systems.

Outside the outer blockade line, there were also many Interstellar Media outlets waiting here.

They had already discovered Li Yu's arrival, started filming remotely like crazy, and began drafting press releases.

No one knew where Li Yu would go first, so every Interstellar Media outlet sent people to wait at both the Skrull Company Headquarters and the Benfir Star System.

"Sigh... how innocent these Citizens are..." Li Yu shook his head with slight emotion. Across sixteen star systems, the number of casualties had probably reached tens of billions.

When it didn't involve his own interests, he never minded showering his kindness.

Just as Li Yu was savoring his rare moment of kindness, Claptrap suddenly issued a warning:

"Master, the Spatial Coefficient of this interstellar area has suddenly locked down. Please be careful."

Attached to the [Symbiotic Bio-Armor], he could keenly detect environmental changes.

Beside him, Lu Neng collapsed onto the ground with a thud, his eyes losing focus as he continuously murmured: "We didn't want this either, we didn't want this either..."

"But if we didn't do this, the Benfir Civilization would disappear..."

"Sorry... sorry..."

"Space Lockdown, the first key point of an ambush..." Li Yu didn't look at him, but shook his head and said.

Then he tore open the Spaceship beneath his feet and entered the Starry Sky. A violent air current rushed backward, pulling everyone on the ship into the Starry Sky.

The guards hurriedly found the dazed Lu Neng and equipped him with External Armor to prevent him from dying due to oxygen deprivation.

Subsequently, a Mental Fluctuation swept across this Starry Sky—

"Abyss Sovereign, stop hiding, I see you!"

(End of Chapter)