Poseidon Hegemon did not return to the Imperial City. Xiao Bai was accompanied by Ding Meng, Zhan Feng, and Xiaoluo back to the top of Jinyuan City.
The Imperial City under the temple actually took up a lot of space. It was like a mountain range above the capital. Ming Li and his wife lived in a semi-enclosed house on the hillside. It was similar to the cabin of a starship, but it was remodeled to look like a suite in the human world. There were even a few large balconies overlooking the scenery of the city.
The Ming siblings lived with their parents before. When Xiao Bai arrived, they were already waiting in the living room, which was as big as a basketball court.
Along the way, Ding Meng had been observing the so-called Imperial City. In fact, he had a strong feeling that this Imperial City was a super fortress of unprecedented scale because there were traces of modification everywhere. These were basically borrowed from the Saint Federation. The typical examples were the intelligent system, crystal power source, multi-element alloy, and crystal glaze, and so on.
The flying units of the Iron Mane Nation were very backward, but the starships themselves were of good quality. Take the round black starship for example. It looked a bit like a flying saucer. The performance of such a big, black, and bulky thing was definitely not comparable to starships like Supreme and Conqueror. However, it had its advantages, and this advantage was its material.
The material was the crystallization of the Iron Mane Nation's metallurgy technology. These starships were mostly made of complex metals, supplemented by the frogmen's bio-technological fiber, and some refining technology that even the Federal Empire could not achieve. They often had anti-radar and anti-reconnaissance characteristics in space, so they were not easy to be discovered. Secondly, they were tough and durable. Conventional shipborne firepower could not penetrate their armor at all. Only the continuous output of orbital bombardment or advanced firepower could damage them.
For example, now, Ding Meng was standing in the colorful living room, but his psychic vision was blocked in many places. In the past, his psychic vision could show the whole map, but now it could not. Some parts of the map were incomplete. This was not a problem with his psychic power, but the structure of the cabin, room, and metal had blocked his vision.
At this moment, Ming Yuan had already walked up and took the initiative to reach out his hand. "Brother, welcome home!"
There was no impatience in his eyes, and his expression was calm. This was something that both the Ming siblings had to face.
"Thank you, big brother!" Xiao Bai was the same as Ding Meng in this aspect. He would be polite to whoever was polite to him.
However, while Ming Yuan was polite, Ming Jian and Ming Xue were not. Ming Jian stood in the distance and looked at Little White and Ding Meng with disdain. With Little White's body, among the Steel Mane Men … To put it bluntly, Little White was a cripple. As for Ding Meng, there was no need to talk about him.
Ming Xue sat on the sofa and didn't even stand up. She just rolled her eyes. With her pride, she didn't want to be with a lowly person like Xiao Bai. As a member of the royal family, she had the highest bloodline. Xiao Bai's skin color made him a freak of the Iron Mane Country. If it weren't for the two royal guards, Zhan Feng and Xiao Luo, following behind her, she might have kicked him out.
Ming Yuan seemed to be used to his brother and sister's behavior. He didn't even bother to pay attention to them. He took the initiative to make a gesture. "Brother, Master Ding, please take a seat!"
He sat down on the sofa in the living room, so Ming Jian had to sit down as well. The etiquette of the Steel Mane Men was the same as that of the human world. Once the parents were gone, the eldest son had the final say in the family.
Mingyuan was not a person who liked to be long-winded, so he simply went straight to the point. "His Excellency Sea God has asked me to take good care of Fourth Brother after he comes back. As Fourth Brother's friend, we also welcome His Excellency Ding very much. The Dragon-searching operation is about to begin today. The Council of Elders doesn't want Fourth Brother to have any accident. I hope that you can understand and support him."
After he finished speaking, he immediately prepared for Ding Meng and the others' questions. Who knew that Zhan Feng and Xiao Luo's faces were filled with envy, Xiao Bai's face was filled with confusion, and Ding Meng acted as if she didn't hear anything, not opening her mouth to speak at all.
In fact, Ding Meng knew that the Steel Mane Empire rarely had large-scale military operations. Even if they did, they wouldn't name it with a code name. Since it was named with a code name, it must be of a very high level. As for what kind of operation it was, only the higher-ups would know.
However, since Ding Meng refused to speak, Ming Yuan had to ask Little White, "Brother, don't you have any thoughts about being able to serve our empire?"
Although Little White was confused, it didn't mean that he was stupid. He immediately said, "Wherever Brother Ding Meng goes, I'll go!"
This meant that if he wanted to participate in the operation, Ding Meng would also participate.
Ming Yuan couldn't help but frown. Ming Jian immediately jumped up. "How can a yellow-skinned monkey participate in our empire's operation?
What right does he have? "
This was a very insulting sentence that could only be heard on the frontline of the Fertile Chalk System. The frogmen and the Norse Empire hated each other very much. The soldiers of the Norse Empire called the frogmen prey. They liked to use the word "hunting", which meant that the frogmen were beasts that could be killed at will.
The frogmen called the human soldiers monkeys, which meant that compared to an individual, humans were weaker, just like monkeys. This term was sometimes used by the Steel Mane Empire. It was very insulting.
Ming Yuan didn't react when Ming Jian called Ding Meng a yellow-skinned monkey. It was obvious that he was acquiescing. After all, Ding Meng didn't seem to be outstanding in any way.
Ding Meng suddenly laughed. "Do you think you're very strong?"
Ming Jian snorted. "Nonsense!"
The Steel Mane Empire's Great Warrior Court was indeed not to be underestimated. The warriors who were selected were all elites who had gone through countless trials and tribulations. They were also personally trained by the higher-ups of the empire and received the best training resources.
Ding Meng smiled. "Then, are you qualified to participate in this Dragon Search Operation?"
Ming Jian said proudly, "If I'm not qualified, then I'm afraid that not many people are qualified."
Ding Meng suddenly lowered his head and looked at the long table in front of him. "Hehe, what if I say that you're not qualified?"
Ming Jian was about to refute when he suddenly noticed that the surface of the coffee table was smoking. He took a closer look and saw that there was a finger-sized hole in the steel table. As for how Ding Meng did it, no one present knew.
"Whether I'm qualified or not, it's not up to you!"
Ming Jian swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. Even Ming Xue, who was sitting next to him, could not help but look at Ding Meng a few more times.
Xiao Luo looked at Ding Meng and then looked at Zhan Feng. Zhan Feng was not surprised. Before he came back, he could tell that Ding Meng was not an ordinary human origin ability user. Now, it was great. His gaze could even penetrate a steel plate. If he really stared at you carefully, you would probably be "stared to death"!
"Don't be nervous. I'm just joking with you."
Ding Meng said faintly, "I'm not interested in your Dragon Search Operation. If Xiao Bai wants to go, then I'll go. If he doesn't want to go, then I'll stay here."
Ming Yuan suddenly laughed. "Master Ding, my second brother is a martial artist. He's used to speaking straightforwardly. I hope you don't mind."
Ding Meng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. I've never minded those who are not on the same level as me."
Ming Jian's face suddenly sank. As an elite of the Great Warrior Pavilion, when had he ever been looked down upon like this? But now, he could only stare helplessly.
He also knew that Ding Meng's ability to melt steel plates through the air was something he might not be able to do even if he was given 20 years.
Ming Yuan suddenly waved to the next person. Ming Xue could only stand up and walk over with an ancient miniature optical computer.
Ming Yuan said, "My father is an important person in charge of the empire's treasury. In these past few decades, he has seen many strange and bizarre things. Fourth brother, Master Ding, two lords, please take a look at this."
Ming Xue turned on the optical computer. This optical computer was really too shabby. It could not even generate a screen. Like a projector, it could only project pictures.
There were a total of five pictures. The first one was a star map of the universe, the very ordinary kind. Stars could be seen everywhere in space. The second one was a barren planet, the kind that was gray. The third one was a very dilapidated temple on a gray wasteland. The fourth one was a ball of white light.
If one only looked at these four pictures, one would not be able to see anything wrong with them. However, when the last picture was played, Ding Meng immediately understood why Ming Yuan had accepted Xiao Bai. It was because the picture was an exquisite handbag. It was the anti-gravity subspace handbag from the Federation that Ming Li and his wife had given to Xiao Bai. It was exactly the same. In other words, these five pictures were related to each other to some extent.
Ming Yuan explained, "My parents kept this set of pictures very well when they were alive. Normally, they would not allow us to use this optical computer. After I received the inheritance, I found this in the safe. Fourth brother, can you see anything?"
Xiao Bai shook his head helplessly. "I only have this handbag. I haven't seen anything else."
Ming Yuan sighed. "Actually, I only found out today that my father had given this handbag to you."
Ding Meng said, "What's wrong with this set of pictures?"
Ming Yuan explained, "Now, apart from the fifth picture, Master Lu Qi has seen a similar planet in the distant outer space. As for the other pictures, I don't know what they mean.
However, my parents have been very careful with them. I think they are more important items. "
"Oh?" Ding Meng was a little surprised.
Ming Yuan stared at him. "Master Ding, do you have any thoughts?
You have traveled a lot. I'm sure you know more about the universe than we do. "
Ding Meng shook his head. "I'm sorry. I don't know either."
He was actually denying it. Because of these five pictures, apart from the third one, he had seen the other four before. Or rather, they looked very familiar. It could even be said that there was a certain connection between the five pictures.