With the suppression of the Mechanical King's Court on the outside and the actions of the Homo Evolutis on the inside, Qi Yuan, who was only at Tier 3, suddenly felt a sense of urgency.
If he couldn't advance to the Fourth Stage, with his current strength, he could be slapped to death by the slightest wave.
However, according to the Talent Tree, if he wanted to step into Tier 4, he had to complete all the check-ins in the Black Steel Shelter.
With his current position, he could complete most of the check-ins, but there were still a few that he couldn't touch for the time being.
Among them, the two most difficult check-ins were in Feng Qian's laboratory and the board of directors' meeting room. If he couldn't solve these two check-ins, his path to Tier 4 would be very difficult.
After returning to the laboratory, Qi Yuan fed the Blazing Angel another wave of energy.
Looking at the satisfied Blazing Angel working hard to activate the energy weapon, Qi Yuan shook his head.
He suppressed the Blazing Angel's advancement because he was worried that her strength would exceed his by too much, and it would easily cause a backlash. However, if he couldn't advance to Tier 4, he might have to let go of the Blazing Angel's restrictions and let her become stronger first.
On the second day after returning to the laboratory, the Public Order Department confirmed the identities of Hu Sha and Ning Jiajia as spies. Although the two of them hid it well and didn't give themselves away for many years, once the Public Order Department locked onto them, even the most perfect concealment couldn't erase all traces. It was just like how Qi Yuan could track them through the date of the experiment.
After obtaining the evidence, the Public Order Department acted as fast as lightning. Xia Shixun persuaded Zhuang Guo to take action against Hu Sha directly.
That night, Qi Yuan received a message from Le Shikun that the two of them were under control. After replying, Qi Yuan put down his work and went to the Public Order Department to find Le Shikun.
Although Qi Yuan didn't report back to him immediately after finding the clues and chose to contact Xia Shixun through Tanqiu, Le Shikun didn't mind too much. On the contrary, he agreed with Qi Yuan's vigilance.
One of the spies, Ning Jiajia, was in the Investigation Department. If Qi Yuan wasn't cautious enough, the two spies would've escaped long ago.
After knowing that Qi Yuan was coming, Le Shikun specially arranged for the meeting to be at the surveillance room and sent everyone out.
Qi Yuan pushed the door open and entered, only to find Le Shikun alone in the surveillance room. He knew that Le Shikun was helping him hide his identity.
"Qi Yuan!" Le Shikun greeted him with a smile.
"It's all thanks to you this time. Otherwise, our investigation team would have embarrassed the public order department."
The investigation team that was supposed to catch spies had been infiltrated by a spy. Moreover, this spy was the woman of the vice head of the public order department.
Ning Jiajia's actions were like a slap to the public order department's face.
If the investigation failed because of this, not only would the Order Department lose face, the investigation team would also be implicated.
Qi Yuan smiled and didn't dwell on this issue. The more indifferent he appeared, the more the Public Order Department would report back to him.
"Did the capture go smoothly?" Qi Yuan asked.
Le Shikun smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Qi Yuan was a little surprised. Although Hu Sha was at the peak of the Tier 5 realm, this was the Black Steel Shelter. Anyone below the Tier 7 realm would not be able to cause any trouble. Moreover, Xia Shixun had already made a move, so there was no reason for him to fail.
"Is Hu Sha hiding her strength, or is there an even stronger enemy hiding in 77 White Elephant Street?"
Le Shikun paused for a moment and said in a low voice,
"77 White Elephant Street indeed hid a Level 6 Mechanical Body, but it didn't put up much resistance before it was controlled."
"The arrest of Hu Sha went very smoothly. Minister Xia persuaded Director Zhuang Guo. In order to minimize the conflict between the two departments, Director Zhuang Guo even sent his personal attendant, Wei Jing, to arrest Hu Sha in the Danger Management Department."
"Although Hu Sha isn't weak, Wei Jing is a Rank Seven. In front of a mysterious Tian Qi, Hu Sha doesn't even have a chance to resist."
"During the capture, all three parties carried out the operation at the same time. We didn't expect that the operation on both sides would go so smoothly. However, when we captured the weakest Ning Jiajia, an accident occurred."
"Ning Jiajia seems to be only at Tier 4," Qi Yuan said.
Le Shikun nodded.
"Although Ning Jiajia is only at Tier 4, Director Yan is at Tier 6. The people in charge of capturing Ning Jiajia didn't expect Ning Jiajia, who is only at Tier 4, to be able to control the Tier 6 Director Yan. In the end, if it wasn't for Wei Jing's timely arrival and subduing Director Yan, the operation would've been messed up."
Qi Yuan was also a little surprised. There were two whole ranks between Tier 4 and Tier 6. Logically speaking, it was impossible for Ning Jiajia, who was only at Tier 4, to control Yan Junyi, who was at Tier 6.
"How did she do it?" Qi Yuan asked.
"The Veda!" Le Shikun said.
"Director Yan is a Mechanic. In order to advance to Tier 7 and become an advanced Mechanical Apostle, he gave up all of his flesh and blood. Ning Jiajia used the Veda to secretly control part of Director Yan's Mechanical Body. If she exposed herself a little later, Director Yan would've become Ning Jiajia's puppet."
Qi Yuan was shocked.
Yan Junyi was a Mechanic!
He had given up all his flesh and blood and transferred all his thoughts into a metal can. He was a man of steel in the truest sense of the word. This Ning Jiajia was still able to climb into his bed. How did she do it?
"Although Wei Jing managed to subdue Director Yan in time and prevented him from killing more people, he gave Ning Jiajia a chance to commit suicide. This woman committed suicide before she was captured by us. She also used poison to destroy her own brain. We didn't even have the chance to make her into a brain in a vat."
A brain in a vat was a method that involved digging out the enemy's brain and placing it in a nutrient solution to directly read the data in the cerebral cortex.
Although this method was cruel, it was very effective. It perfectly replaced the role of torture in an interrogation.
Qi Yuan looked at the surveillance camera. It showed a projection of the interrogation of Hu Sha. The spy from the Mechanical King's Court was staring blankly ahead with a blank expression.
"Is his brain damaged?" Qi Yuan asked.
Le Shikun nodded.
"It's very difficult to instigate a spy of this level. Therefore, after Wei Jing controlled him, he directly used the ability of the Mysterious Domain to read part of his shallow memories. I didn't expect Hu Sha to be such a ruthless character. He set up a trap in his brain in advance. Once his consciousness is invaded and his memories are read, his brain will self-destruct."
"Although Wei Jing stopped in time and spared Hu Sha's life, his brain was damaged. That's why he became like this."
"You can still get anything out of him like this?" Qi Yuan asked.
Le Shikun shook his head.
"It's just routine. In another half an hour, he'll be made into a brain in a vat. However, his brain is damaged. Even if he's made into a brain in a vat, we probably won't be able to dig out any more information."
"What's the situation with the mechanical body hidden at 77 White Elephant Street?" Qi Yuan pretended to ask casually.
After entering the Public Order Department, Qi Yuan discovered that the check-in point at 77 White Elephant Street had disappeared. In its place was a new check-in point at the Public Order Department.
If he was not mistaken, the checkpoint at 77 White Elephant Street should be on this mechanical body. As the orderly department took control of this mechanical body, the checkpoint was also transferred to the orderly department.
"In the mechanical room at the back, a few machinists are dismantling this mechanical body to see if they can find any useful clues."
"What are you going to do with this mechanical body?" Qi Yuan asked.
Le Shikun glanced at Qi Yuan and smiled.
"After our machinists are done with the inspection and confirm that there are no hidden Veda, this mechanical body should be imprisoned on the twelfth floor of the prison. Then, the people in your lab will take samples for research."
Qi Yuan shrugged.
"The Mechanical Palace's achievements in the field of machinery are indeed unique. It's expected that they would take samples of this mechanical body for research."
"If it's convenient, I'd like to take a sample first."
"Although it's a little against the rules, if it's you, it's not a problem at all," Le Shikun said.
Qi Yuan deserved the credit for being able to uncover the two spies. Taking a sample in advance was just a small favor to him.
Under Le Shikun's lead, Qi Yuan soon saw the mechanical body brought back from 77 White Elephant Street.
It looked like a set of bronze armor. If it wasn't for the milky white light emitting from the armor, Qi Yuan would have thought that it was an antique grade ornament.
"This is the Tier 6 mechanical body?" Qi Yuan pretended to be surprised and asked.
Le Shikun nodded.
"77 White Elephant Street is an antique shop. There are all kinds of old metal products inside. When the search team entered 77 White Elephant Street, they did not realize that it was a mechanical body at first. If it was not for the Tier 6 machinist in the team, they would have been fooled by it."
"How's the inspection going?" Qi Yuan asked.
"For the time being, we haven't found the existence of the Veda. However, we still need to continue the inspection to see if there are any hidden Veda in hibernation."
"Its control center and energy core have been taken away. Now, it's just a steel can that can't move. If you want to take a sample from its control center and energy core, you might have to wait for a while until they're done with the inspection."
"There's no need to go through so much trouble," Qi Yuan said calmly.
"I'll just take a sample from this empty shell."
The light beam was still on this mechanical body, which meant that if there was really a secret in this mechanical body, it would not be in the control center and energy core. It would be inside this seemingly empty mechanical body.
Le Shikun naturally did not object to Qi Yuan's request. Qi Yuan approached the mechanical body and easily touched the light beam. He completed the check-in and received another Tier 3 Ability Point.
At the same time, Qi Yuan noticed that the metal part covered by the light beam was a metal buckle on the mechanical body's waist.
Qi Yuan's eyes flashed slightly, and he directly took off the metal buckle. This buckle that was favored by the light beam must have a special secret.
Qi Yuan tried to put the Talent Point closer to the metal buckle, and the familiar notification appeared again.
A hidden Veda was hibernating in this metal buckle. It could be fused with the Talent Point to give a brand-new Tier 3 ability — Virtual Intrusion.
Qi Yuan was shocked. This mechanical body might also be a trap left behind by the Mech Dynasty, just like the Mech Beast 12- 00055. If the order department did not discover this hidden mechanical body and locked it up on the twelfth floor of the prison, allowing the laboratory to take samples, the explosion in the laboratory would most likely happen again.
It was not that the order department was careless, but the Tier 6 mechanical body of the Mechanical Palace was too rare. Neither the order department nor the laboratory could bear to destroy it. If they could completely crack and absorb a Tier 6 mechanical body of the Mechanical Palace, the reward would definitely be more than destroying three mechanical bodies of the same strength on the battlefield.
Qi Yuan suppressed the shock in his heart and put the metal buckle in the container provided by Le Shikun.
A hibernating Veda, of course, would not be able to cause more damage. It still needed the experimental equipment to be tampered with and someone to wake it up.
If this Veda was really a trap left behind by the Mechanical Palace, it meant that there was at least one spy in God's Sanctuary.
Now that Ning Jiajia was dead, and Hu Sha's brain was damaged and he could not communicate with her, it would be difficult to find the last spy.
Qi Yuan's mind raced. It did not matter if there were other spies in God's Sanctuary. Since the Veda was in his hands, no one would be able to use it to wreak havoc.
"How much do you know about the Veda in the Mechanical Throne?" Qi Yuan asked.
"We don't know much." Le Shikun shook his head.
"It's not just us. Even the combat divisions that have fought the Mechanical Palace know little about the Veda."
"But one thing is for sure. Even within the Mechanical Palace, the Veda is very precious."
"I've consulted a Tier 7 Mechanic, and he determined that the Veda of the Mechanical Dynasty is a kind of semi-intelligent digital lifeform. If they improve further, the Mechanical Dynasty will be able to create real intelligent digital lifeforms, and their strength will increase further."
Qi Yuan frowned.
The most fundamental difference between a Mechanic who had abandoned all flesh and blood and a robot was that a Mechanic had an independent intelligence. Although a robot had a very complete mechanical logic and could almost perfectly execute a human's orders, in reality, they did not have true intelligence.
If the Mechanical Palace could create a real intelligent lifeform, it meant that their robots would become mechanical lifeforms. They would create a new intelligent race.
"I hope the Mechanical Palace is not that crazy." Qi Yuan could not help but shake his head.
Once the Mechanical Palace created a real intelligent digital lifeform, it would be followed by the birth of a mechanical lifeform.
Although a mechanical lifeform would increase the Mechanical Palace's power, if the machine had a real life and could think on its own, it would be impossible to control it like a robot.
Once the Mechanical Palace opened Pandora's Box, it would release an enemy of all flesh and blood.
After completing the check-in, Qi Yuan received a sleeping digital lifeform. Just as he was about to leave, Wei Jing suddenly came looking for him.
"Qi Yuan, hello!
I am Wei Jing! "Wei Jing smiled and greeted him without any arrogance.
"Hello, may I ask why you are looking for me?"
Qi Yuan did not dare to be careless in front of a Apocalypse elite from the Mysterious Domain. Even if he brought Blazing Angel, a mere Tier 4 energy entity would not be able to do anything in front of Wei Jing.
"I was dragged by someone and wanted to invite you to meet me to clear up the misunderstanding," Wei Jing said.
Qi Yuan's mind raced. He had a lot of enemies, but there weren't many people who could persuade a seventh-order powerhouse like Wei Jing to act as a lobbyist. Furthermore, Wei Jing was Director Zhuang Guo's personal attendant. Could the person who could make him act as a lobbyist be related to Director Zhuang Guo?