Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

Chapter 702: Chapter 212: Unexpected Accident

Two days later.

The laboratory dome underwent a thorough inspection, confirming it was intact and undamaged.

The underground dome was tested, revealing the magma had receded and the structure was undamaged, with no safety concerns whatsoever.

If something repaired by Chen Ming’s psychic energy were to have issues, that would indeed be a big problem.

After waiting for Bai Quan to arrange for new greenery, Chen Ming moved back into the dome.

He resumed his previous routine.

Although he continued to keep an eye on Hu Yi’s affairs.

But he found it difficult to investigate now and lacked suitable avenues for investigation; he had to leave the matter to Bai Quan.

He considered asking his boss about it.

But after thinking about it, he decided against it.

The root of the issue ultimately lay with him; it was his existence that led to conflicts and issues between his boss and Hu Yi.

If he could solve it himself, there was no need to bother others.

Moreover, his boss was very well-informed; it was impossible for him not to know about Hu Yi’s assassination attempt.

Since his boss hadn’t reached out, it’s likely he intended for Chen Ming to handle it personally.

He now had the capability to do this task.

However, Chen Ming couldn’t devote all his attention to Hu Yi.

There’s an old saying: a thousand days for a thief, but not a single day for defense.

Hu Yi had fled with a psychic; the Empire was so large, where to chase? One could only investigate slowly and see if there were any clues to trace.

While tracking clues, Chen Ming had many other matters to attend to.

He not only had to manufacture the facilities for the Purgatory Core and finish his papers.

He also needed to demonstrate and coordinate tests on the situation of the Mechanical Race being controlled by his spiritual energy to researchers and scholars coming from the Fourteenth Legion headquarters.

According to the original plan, Bai Quan should have gathered people for Chen Ming yesterday.

But due to Hu Yi’s matters, for safety reasons, he waited until the three days of geological activity ended.

It was only today that Bai Quan sent over thousands of researchers to Chen Ming.

Among these researchers, those who had to stay were brought individually by Chen Ming to the dome’s office building.

Chen Ming planned to meet each of them personally.

This wasn’t about scrutiny; the vetting process had already been done via their resumes.

Chen Ming simply wanted to meet each person individually to remember their faces.

It was only a brief meeting and a few words, so it soon came to the last person among more than fifty.

When the last researcher walked in, Chen Ming suddenly said to him, ”I remember you; you’re the one who was supposed to bring the Mechanical Race over, Lu Kang.”

The researcher Lu Kang spoke with a hint of barely perceptible excitement, ”Mr. Chen Ming, you still remember me?”

”I remember.”

Chen Ming happened to see his face on the list of those applying to stay, so he chose him.

Of course, there was also the reason he was young, being able to represent and attend conferences at a young age; his technical skills were surely remarkable.

It’s just unknown if people from his original place might have complaints.

As well as other researchers willing to stay here, there might be people at their original location who would complain.

However, it doesn’t matter; Bai Quan will handle the complaints as he was the one who suggested this idea from the start.

Chen Ming stood up from behind the desk, walked over, patted him on the shoulder, and said, ”Alright, you’re the last one, go out now; others must be impatiently waiting.”

”Alright.”

When Chen Ming went outside.

In the square beneath the dome, a dozen Mechanical Race units were already restrained.

A large amount of equipment was densely installed near these Mechanical Race units, with people performing final adjustments nearby.

The presence of these people, alongside those operating the equipment and the thousands watching from outside, made the dome somewhat crowded.

Fortunately, there’s a large broadcast screen near the square displaying images of the Mechanical Race and various complex data, so those outside wouldn’t miss the specifics.

Certainly, each researcher was directly using their terminal to connect to the equipment in the square’s center, obtaining the most accurate data in real-time.

The large broadcast screen was mainly there for show.

Having just spoken with Chen Ming, Bai Quan was chatting with others amidst the crowd.

He noticed Chen Ming coming over, nodded to him, then immediately led an old man surrounded by many people to introduce to Chen Ming, ”This is Wu Hao, head of the Mechanical Research Institute under our Fourteenth Legion; he has contributed greatly to the Mechanical Race research.”

Wu Hao waved his hands repeatedly, saying, ”I dare not take credit, all contributions are the result of collective effort at the institute.”

Chen Ming read many papers related to the Mechanical Race, and Wu Hao’s name had appeared frequently over the past decades.

When Chen Ming taught himself Mechanical Race technology, he referred to many papers in which Wu Hao participated.

So, Chen Ming proactively extended his hand and said, ”Hello, Director Wu.”

Wu Hao enthusiastically shook Chen Ming’s hand and said, ”Truly, the current era belongs to young people; each generation surpassing the previous is the tide of history, what we couldn’t research could only rely on you.”

”I’m flattered; I only gained a slight advantage through my spiritual energy.”

”That’s your talent; you mustn’t say it’s flattery.”

Chen Ming smiled, retrieved his hand, and said, ”Let’s not keep Director Wu and so many people waiting; the sooner we start, the sooner we finish.”

Upon receiving signals from all the equipment operators indicating readiness, Chen Ming went to the center of the site, approaching the Mechanical Race restrained by electromagnetic restraint devices.